Word List: Assets, Depreciation, Liabilities, Appraisal, Liquidation, Collateral, Capitalization, Residual, Capital Gains, Equities
It was a dark and stormy night, and I was sitting in my office surrounded by piles of financial reports. I was a top-notch private investigator, and my latest case was a doozy. A wealthy businessman named Harold had hired me to find out why his assets were depreciating faster than he could make them grow.
I had been working on the case for weeks, tracking down leads and talking to key witnesses. I was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, but I wasn’t making much headway. That was until I received a cryptic message from Harold himself.
“Meet me at the old abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town,” the message read. “I have information about the missing valuation.”
I grabbed my coat and headed out into the night, not knowing what I was about to find. When I arrived at the warehouse, I was met by Harold and a group of shady-looking characters.
“I’ve gathered all of the key players here,” Harold said. “They all have a stake in the missing valuation.”
As I listened to the various accounts, I began to piece together the puzzle. It turns out that Harold’s liabilities were greater than his assets, and he was in danger of going into liquidation. He had tried to secure a loan by using his property as collateral, but the bank wouldn’t grant him the loan because the appraisal showed that his property was worth less than he owed.
Desperate, Harold had turned to a group of unscrupulous investors who promised to help him recoup his losses by taking advantage of the residual value of his property. But instead of helping him, they had stolen his capital gains and left him with even more debt.
I knew that I had to act fast to save Harold from complete financial ruin. I called in some favors and managed to track down the missing equities, which had been hidden away in a secret offshore account.
With the missing valuation in hand, I was able to help Harold restructure his capitalization and secure a loan from the bank. In the end, he was able to turn his business around and make a fresh start.
And as for me, I was just happy to have solved another case and helped someone in need.
Vocabulary
Assets
Meaning: Something valuable that a person or company owns. Collocations: Financial assets, tangible assets, intangible assets
Depreciation
Meaning: A decrease in value over time due to wear and tear, obsolescence, or market conditions. Collocations: Depreciation schedule, accelerated depreciation, straight-line depreciation
Liabilities
Meaning: Something that a person or company owes to someone else. Collocations: Current liabilities, long-term liabilities, contingent liabilities
Appraisal
Meaning: An evaluation of the value of something, such as a property or piece of artwork. Collocations: Property appraisal, independent appraisal, market appraisal
Liquidation
Meaning: The process of selling off assets to pay off debts. Collocations: Forced liquidation, voluntary liquidation, Chapter 7 liquidation
Collateral
Meaning: Something pledged as security for a loan or other obligation. Collocations: Loan collateral, property collateral, personal collateral
Capitalization
Meaning: The amount of money invested in a business, or the value of a company’s outstanding shares of stock. Collocations: Capitalization rate, market capitalization, debt-to-capitalization ratio
Residual
Meaning: The remaining value of an asset after depreciation or other expenses have been subtracted. Collocations: Residual value, residual income, residual payment
Capital Gains
Meaning: The profit made from the sale of an asset, such as stocks or real estate. Collocations: Capital gains tax, short-term capital gains, long-term capital gains
Equities
Meaning: The value of a company’s assets minus its liabilities. Collocations: Stock equities, private equities, equity investments