Money

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Money is anything that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value, and occasionally, a standard of deferred payment.

Nearly all contemporary money systems at the national level are fiat money systems. Fiat money is without value as a physical commodity, and derives its value by being declared by a government to be legal tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the national boundaries of the country, for "all debts, public and private". By law, the refusal of a legal tender (offering) extinguishes the debt in the same way acceptance does. Some bullion coins such as the Australian Gold Nugget and American Eagle are legal tender, however, they trade based on the market price of the metal content as a commodity, rather than their legal tender face value (which is usually only a small fraction of their bullion value).

The money supply of a country is usually held to consist of currency (banknotes and coins) and 'deposit money' (the balance held in checking accounts and savings accounts). These demand deposits usually account for a much larger part of the money supply than currency. Deposit money is intangible and exists only in the form of various bank records. Despite being intangible, deposit money still performs the basic functions of money, as checks are generally accepted as a form of payment and as a means of transferring ownership of deposit money.

More generally, the term "price system" is sometimes used to refer to methods using commodity valuation or money accounting systems.

For more information about Money, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with money

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The Thought Is What Counts

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Holiday gift givers who expect to be appreciated for choosing the most expensive gifts are likely to be disappointed when their presents are unwrapped. Cost has little impact on how much we value the gifts we receive, according ...


Are most consumers planners when it comes to time and money? New study shows some benefits

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Planning -- regarding money or time -- can bring tangible benefits to consumers. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research discovered what makes planners tick.


Broadband stimulus moves at dial-up speeds

Technology / Telecom

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Mark Morgenthaler wants nothing more than to hire 15 people to help expand his wireless Internet service, Surfnet Communications in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He can't wait to start accepting applications, interviewing candidates, ...


Post Office card error leaves Italians in the red: report

Technology / Other

created Nov 26, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0

A computer glitch left Italian Post Office customers in the red by processing card transactions at 100 times their value, Italian press reported Thursday.


Analysts say AmEx is most interested in the so-called peer-to-peer services of Revolution

American Express takes aim at PayPal with Revolution

Technology / Internet

created Nov 22, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

With its deal to buy Revolution Money, American Express is taking aim at the growing market for online and alternative payments, in a challenge to recognized leader PayPal, analysts say.


Monetary gain and high-risk tactics stimulate activity in the brain

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Monetary gain stimulates activity in the brain. Even the mere possibility of receiving a reward is known to activate an area of the brain called the striatum. A team of Japanese researchers report in the January 2010 issue ...


Online payment firm PayPal has opened its software platform to outside developers

PayPal courts outside developers

Technology / Internet

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

PayPal has opened its software platform to outside developers in a move designed to unleash a flood of creative uses for the online financial transaction service.


Poor in rural Oregon face 'double binds' when getting food

Medicine & Health / Health

created Oct 27, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

A new study by Oregon State University researchers shows that those in poverty in rural Oregon often know what kinds of foods they should be eating, but face tough choices between eating well and spending less money for meals.


PayPal is owned by California-based online auction titan eBay

PayPal opening doors to outside developers

Technology / Internet

created Oct 21, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

PayPal plans to throw open the doors of its software platform to enable outside developers to build innovative tools using the online financial transaction service.


For online bargains, working together yields deals (AP)

For online bargains, working together yields deals

Technology / Internet

created Oct 16, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- From karaoke to kickball, some things just don't work without a group of people. A startup wants to add one more to that list: Online bargain hunting.


Candy bar or healthy snack? Free choice not as free as we think

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Oct 13, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

If you think choosing between a candy bar and healthy snack is totally a matter of free will, think again. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that the choices we make to indulge ourselves or exercise self-c ...


Second Life

Is Second Life's Economy Too Big To Fail?

Technology / Internet

created Oct 13, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (7) | comments 1

One of the more interesting developments in terms of technology is the virtual economy -- and how it translates into something that involves real money.


Entrepreneurs face venture capital funding drought

Technology / Business

created Oct 13, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The number of US venture capital firms that raised new investment money sank to a 15-year low in the last fiscal quarter as a drought of funding threatened innovation around the world.


2,200 applicants in play for federal Internet grants

Technology / Telecom

created Oct 12, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The federal government is sorting through 2,200 applications seeking $28 billion to bring high-speed Internet access to more people, officials said at an Orlando technology conference Monday.


NYU anthropologist to examine how human rights rankings are created

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Oct 05, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

New York University Anthropology Professor Sally Engle Merry will examine how rankings of human rights are created under a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation. The resulting research is designed to help ...