A clearing house is an intermediary between buyers and sellers of financial instruments. Further, it is an agency or separate corporation of a futures exchange responsible for settling trading accounts, clearing trades, collecting and maintaining margin monies, regulating delivery, and reporting trading data.
All the world's 10 most valuable companies, including Alphabet, Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT), are based in the U.S., according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from S&P Capital IQ based on the S&P Global 1200 index. Alphabet's rise to No. 1 with a market value Tuesday of $554.8 billion is a historic moment.
ESPN is more valuable than Hewlett-Packard, Loweâs, Sprint and Twitter based on Wunderlichâs estimate and the most valuable media brand in the world. ESPNâs value is derived from the massive cash flow the company generates, which is expected to reach $4.5 billion this year, up 39% from five years ago. For comparisons sake, CBS Corp., the highest rated broadcast network, had operating income of $1.6 billion last year.