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Just as your pulse is checked during a routine physical, free cash flow is used as an indicator of a company's health. It equals the cash brought in from operations minus the money needed to pay the bills. Think about leftover money in your checking account after you pay this month's bills.
Investors and analysts see this leftover money as a gauge of a company's ability to perform. It is available for transactions such as handing out dividends and working on new products.
Some argue free cash flow is wrongly overshadowed by the emphasis often placed on earnings. Earnings numbers can be manipulated and don't always tell the whole story -- and earnings don't mean much if there's nothing left over after a company pays its expenses. Even if you bring in a six-figure salary, but no money left after paying the bills, are you in great financial shape?
You don't have to be Einstein to figure out free cash flow. To calculate the number, subtract the company's expenditures and dividends from its operating cash flow.
If the free cash flow is written in red ink, it doesn't necessarily signal curtains. This is common for young companies looking to grow. It also could be a result of heavy investments, which in the long run could be worth a standing ovation.
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Monday, May 05, 2008
Kaplan Launches Facebook Application to Smash Test Stress and College Admissions Anxiety
Comtex
NEW YORK, May 05, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----With homework assignments, exams and extracurricular activities fueling teenage stress, Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions has launched "SmashWall by Kaplan," a new Facebook application that gives teens a new and interactive way to smash, splatter and taunt their ways to test stress relief.
Here's how it works: to download the application (for which a Facebook profile is required), students can either visit Kaplan's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/kaplan or go directly to http://apps.facebook.com/smashwall. Upon downloading and opening the application, students see a clean, white wall, just asking for trouble. That's where the "smashables" come in. Just to the right of the wall are icons for a pizza, tomato, lava lamp, boysenberry pie and wet muddy rug. Users just click and drag each smashable icon to the wall and watch and hear realistic-sounding splats and shattering as they "smash" their stress away.
While SmashWall users start out with just five smashables, more can be acquired by scoring points for inviting new users or engaging in good natured "smash talk" with Facebook friends. Additional smashables include a cup of coffee, watermelon, ninja stars, brown eggs and 3-tiered wedding cake.
SmashWall follows Kaplan's foray into the social networking space last year through MySpace (www.myspace.com/kaplan). Recently, Kaplan extended its reach to iTunes(R) with SAT* prep downloads for iPods(R), as well as into the comic book arena with a Manga (Japanese term for graphic novels) series that teaches the most commonly tested words on the SAT* and ACT**.
Possible scenarios for SmashWall fun:
-- On pins and needles waiting to hear back from your top choice school? Throw that lava lamp against a friend's wall to watch and hear it shatter into pieces!
-- Can't finish the SAT* writing section on time during a practice run? Splatter that pizza against the wall and see the pepperoni fall to the ground and cheese ooze all over!
-- Stumped by that harder than nails algebra question on a practice ACT**? Go martial arts by shooting a ninja star at your wall!
-- After you mess up your Facebook friend's wall with a watermelon, rub it in with an original taunt, or one of several pre-created by Kaplan, like "You just got pwned." ("pwned" is a slang term coined by gamers after so many of them continuously made an error when trying to type "owned".)
Each year more than 2 million students apply to college.
*SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board, which neither sponsors nor endorses this product.
**ACT is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc., which neither sponsors nor endorses this product.
iTunes(R) and iPod(R) are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc. All rights reserved.
About Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions
Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions (www.kaptest.com), a division of Kaplan, Inc., is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. Established in 1938, Kaplan is the world leader in the test prep industry. With a comprehensive menu of online offerings and a complete array of books and software, Kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, as well as English language and professional licensing exams. Kaplan also provides private tutoring and college and graduate admissions consulting services.
Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO)
SOURCE: Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions
Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions Russell Schaffer, 212-453-7538 russell.schaffer@kaplan.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
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