Finance FAQs

What does overhead mean in regards to accounting?
It is to describe costs of running a business, e.g. rent rates and salaries ...... More »
What are the differences between perfect competition and monopoly competition?
In a monopoly, you are gaining an unfair advantage over any competition because you own so many infrastructures. Monopolies used to be known as trusts, which is why you sometimes hear of Anti-Trust Law violations. At one time, AT&T o...... More »
What are dashboards?
A management reporting tool to gauge how well the organization company is performing. It normally uses "traffic-lights" or "smiley faces" to determine the status. ...... More »
How many square feet of pizza are eaten in the United States each month?
Take your figure of 300 million people in America. How many people eat pizza? Let's say 200 million. Now let's say the average pizza-eating person eats pizza twice a month, and eats two slices at a time. That's four slices a month. If ...... More »
What is the size of the market for disposable diapers in China?
Here's a good example of a market sizing. How many people live in China? A billion. Because the population of China is young, a full 600 million of those inhabitants might be of child-bearing age. Half are women, so there are about 300 million...... More »
How many gallons of white house paint are sold in the U.S. every year?
THE "START BIG" APPROACH: If you're not sure where to begin, start with the basic assumption that there are 270 million people in the U.S. (or 25 million businesses, depending on the question). If there are 270 million people in the United Sta...... More »
You have a five-gallon jug and a three-gallon jug. You must obtain exactly four gallons of water. How will you do it?
You should find this brainteaser fairly simple. If you were to think out loud, you might begin by examining the ways in which combination of five and three can come up to be four. For example: (5 - 3) + (5 - 3) = 4. This path does not actually lea...... More »
Why are manhole covers round?
The classic brainteaser, straight to you via Microsoft (the originator). Even though this question has been around for years, interviewees still encounter it. Here's how to "solve" this brainteaser. Remember to speak and reason out loud w...... More »
What are business cycles and what role do the Federal Reserve and Federal Government have in trying to control them?
It is very important that you understand that the Federal Reserve is not a government institution. It does not take its orders from the federal government. Yes, they put their hand in and try to change the course of the U.S. Economy. ...... More »
What is the decimal equivalent of 3/16 and 7/16?
A commonly-used Wall Street interview question, this one isn't just an attempt to stress you out or see how quick your mind works. This question also has practical banking applications. Stocks often are traded at prices reported in 1/16s of a ...... More »