Ch 9. The Financial System, Money, & Prices Flashcards
Financial intermediaries
Firms that extend credit to borrowers using funds raised from saver
Bond
A legal promise to repay debt, usually including both the principal amount and regular interest payments
Principal amount
the amount originally lent
Maturation date
the date the principal amount will be paid
Coupon payments
Regular interest payments made to the bond holder
Coupon rate
the interest rate promised when a band is issued; the annual coupon payments are equal to the coupon rate times the principal amount to the bond
Stock (equity)
a claim to partial ownership of a firm
Dividend
A regular payment received by stock holders for each share they own
Risk premium
the rate of return that financial investors require to hold risky assets minus the rate of return on safe assets
Diversification
the practice of spreading one’s wealth over a variety of different financial investments to reduce overall risk
Mutual fund
A financial intermediary that sells shares in itself to the public, then uses the funds raised to buy a wide variety of financial assets
Money
An asset that can be used in making purchases
Medium of exchange
An asset used in purchasing goods and services
barter
the direct trade of goods or services for others
Unit of account
a basic measure of economics value
Store of value
an asset that serves as a means of holding wealth
M1
Sum of currency outstanding and balances held in checking accounts
M2
All the assets in M1 plus some additional assets that are usable in making payments but greater cost or inconvenience than currency or checks
Bank reserves
Cash or similar assets held by commercial banks for the purpose of meeting depositor withdrawals and payments
100% banking reserves
a situation in which banks’ reserves equal 100% of their deposits
Reserve deposit ratio
Bank reserves divided by deposits
Fractional-reserve banking system
A banking system in which bank reserves are less than deposits so that the reserve-deposit ratio is less than 100%
Federal Reserve System (Fed)
The central bank of the U.S.
Open-market purchase
The purchase of government bonds from the public by the Fed for the purpose of increasing the supply of bank reserves and the money supply