A debt is an obligation owed by one party (the debtor) to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.
A debt is created when a creditor agrees to lend a sum of assets to a debtor. Debt is usually granted with expected repayment; in modern society, in most cases, this includes repayment of the original sum, plus interest.
In finance, debt is a means of using anticipated future purchasing power in the present before it has actually been earned. Some companies and corporations use debt as a part of their overall corporate finance strategy.
Read more about Debt: Payment, Types of Debt, Debt Syndication, Letters of Credit, Accounting Debt, Inflation and Exchange Rates, Effects of Debt, Etymology, History of Debt, Criticisms, Levels and Flows
Other articles related to "debt, debts":
... When a consumer becomes severely delinquent on a debt (often at the point of six months without payment), the creditor may declare the debt to be a ... is considered to be "written off as uncollectable." To banks, bad debts and even fraud are simply part of the cost of doing business ... However, the debt is still legally valid, and the creditor can attempt to collect the full amount for the time periods permitted under state law, which is usually 3 to 7 years ...
... Global debt underwriting grew 4.3% year-over-year to $5.19 trillion during 2004 ... It is expected to rise in the coming years if the spending habits of millions of people worldwide continue the way they do ...
... The Ottoman public debt was a term which dated back to 4 August 1854, when the Ottoman Empire first entered into loan contracts with its European creditors ... the terms reflected the imperial administration's willingness to constantly refinance its debts ... In 1881, as part of the Decree of Muharrem which reduced the overall public debt, the Ottoman Public Debt Administration was established ...
... Subordinated debt is debt that ranks lower than ordinary depositors of the bank ... Only those with a minimum original term to maturity of five years can be included in the calculation of this form of capital they must be subject to proper amortization arrangements ...
... In economics, consumer debt is outstanding debt of consumers, as opposed to businesses or governments ... In macroeconomic terms, it is debt which is used to fund consumption rather than investment ... It includes debts incurred on purchase of goods that are consumable and/or do not appreciate ...
Famous quotes containing the word debt:
“This is the debt I pay
Just for one riotous day,”
—Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906)
“I have been told, that in some public discourses of mine my reverence for the intellect has made me unjustly cold to the personal relations. But now I almost shrink at the remembrance of such disparaging words. For persons are love’s world, and the coldest philosopher cannot recount the debt of the young soul wandering here in nature to the power of love, without being tempted to unsay, as treasonable to nature, aught derogatory to the social instincts.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Capitalism is an art form, an Apollonian fabrication to rival nature. It is hypocritical for feminists and intellectuals to enjoy the pleasures and conveniences of capitalism while sneering at it.... Everyone born into capitalism has incurred a debt to it. Give Caesar his due.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)