Vocab - Business/Government Flashcards
AAA rating
Rating applied to bonds issued by most credit-worthy companies
(Then AA, A, BBB, BB, B, etc.)
Appreciation
An increase in any item’s value over time
Asset
Item which has intrinsic value, such as real estate or bonds
Balance of trade
Difference between value of a country’s exports and imports
Broker
One acting as a middleman between buyers and sellers
Commodities
Raw material products (such as soy beans, wheat, or oil), as opposed to manufactured products
Copyright
Legal ownership and sole control of their creations, granted to artists and certain others for a specific length of time
Deficit
Excess of spending over income
Deflation
Fewer dollars buy more goods
Lower prices = increased value of currency
Discount rate
Interest charged by Federal Reserve to its members (commercial banks)
Due diligence
Efforts made by investors to determine the legitimacy of securities
Depreciation
Reduction in value over time, due to age or use
Dunn and Bradstreet
Publishers of selected stock market prices
Escrow
Funds held in trust by a third party while a transaction is in progress
Fair market value
Price which most willing sellers and willing buyers would agree upon during sale negotiations
Federal Reserve
Central banking system of the United States, controlling value of the dollar by setting interest rates, and loaning funds to commercial banks
Fortune 500
Publication which reports on certain important corporations
- by extension, any large, profitable enterprise (“it was a Fortune 500 operation”)
FTC
Federal Trade Commission
Futures
Estimation of commodity values at a future point in time
EXAMPLE: what investors expect wheat will sell for next August
General domain
Items whose copyright protection has lapsed
Inflation
More dollars buy fewer goods
Higher prices = decreased value of currency
LEI (formerly GDP - gross domestic product)
Leading economic indicators
One measure of a nation’s economic performance over a period of time
Liquidity
Assets available for immediate use (such as cash) instead of assets held for investment or other purposes (such as real estate or fine art)
NASD
National Association of Securities Dealers
NASDAQ
Stock price quotations published by NASD
NYSE
New York Stock Exchange
Patent
Legal ownership and sole control over productions, granted to investors and certain others for a specific length of time
Prime rate
Interest rate charged by banks to their preferred business customers
SEC
Securities and Exchange Commission
Securities
Documents which show ownership of stocks or bonds
T-bill
A U.S. Treasury note, widely considered a risk-free investment
Trademark
Similar to copyright, but limited to names, symbols, or other product identification marks or company logos
