Buy after sell limit order. Two orders treated as one, the first order being to sell. If done, the buy order becomes valid.

A department of a bank or a firm operating in financial markets that processes deals executed and handles delivery, settlement and regulatory procedures.

Arrangement whereby a loan in the currency of one country is set against a loan in another nation's currency. It can be used to avoid or overcome exchange risks and controls. Also known as parallel loans.

Typically a bank line of credit used to provide back-up liquidity should an issuer be unable to roll the outstanding commercial paper. This back-up will be typically a standard line agreement or a Swing Line.

Outlined at the 1985 Seoul meeting of the International Monetary Fund by the U.S. Treasury Secretary James Baker. The plan proposed that commercial banks lend a further 20 billion dollars over 1986-88 to the 15 largest debtor countries. Multilateral lending by official financial institutions would increase by 50 per cent above 1985 levels to nine billion in the same period with a major part played by the World Bank. The 2.7 billion dollar IMF Trust Fund would be used as new borrowing facilities for the poorest sub-Saharan African nations with an annual income per head of less than 500 dollars.

Record of one country's net transactions with the rest of the world over a given period, including trade, services, capital movements and unilateral transfers.

Monetary record of a country's net imports and exports of physical merchandise.

A summary of the assets and liabilities of a company presented by that company at a given date, often at the end of the company's financial year. It is not an exact statement of the financial position but reflects this as fairly and accurately as possible.

The situation in a government's budget where its expenditure matches revenue. Also known as a neutral budget.

A type of investment fund where the main objective is to preserve capital, therefore investing in bonds, preferred and ordinary shares. See Closed End Company, Mutual Fund.

Lump sum paid to cover a voyage in ballast, i.e. without a cargo.

A loan which consists of regular monthly payments with one large (balloon) payment at maturity. Most of these loans have a term of between 3 and 5 years.

A large final payment.

A bill of exchange issued or accepted by a bank. It is thus more acceptable than a normal trade bill of exchange as the risk is less while the discount is also smaller. See Bill of Exchange.

Commercial banks often impose limits on how much of a debt portfolio can comprise securities of one particular borrower as a means of good asset and risk management.

Document issued by a bank after being paid on a bill of exchange thus allowing the purchaser of the goods to take delivery.

Weekly or monthly statement issued by a central bank showing its financial position in summary form.

A day when commercial in any city are open for business.

Central banks are responsible for the issuing of banknotes and oversee design and printing. This also applies to coinage. The bank withdraws notes and coinage when they are being replaced or, simply, worn.

A chart that collects and represents price information on a vertical bar. The top of the bar is the highest price and the bottom of the bar the lowest. A dash on the left hand side of the bar denotes the open price and a dash on the right hand side the close price.

A charter where the charterer provides the crew. Also known as demise charter.

Volume measurement of liquid in the petroleum industry. Equal to 42 U.S. gallons or 35 Imperial gallons or about 0.136 tonnes depending on specific gravity which can range from 7.1 to 7.8 barrels per tonne.

Recognised world-wide as bpd. Measures the flow of crude oil production from a field or producing company or nation. May also measure the throughput of crude at a refinery or its capacity or output of refined petroleum products.

An option which is activated or deactivated once the underlying reaches a set level, known as the barrier. Can be categorised into trigger options: Down and In, Up and In; and knockout options: Down and Out, Up and Out.

The bankers acceptance, sometimes known as a Time Draft, is an order to pay a specified amount of money to the person who has accepted a trade bill at a specified date in the future. Bas are drawn on, and accepted by, a bank which assumes the responsibility to make payment on the draft on the day it matures. They are bearer form short term non-interest bearing notes sold at a discount, redeemed by accepting banks for full face value at maturity. See Bills of Exchange.

The currency which forms the base of the quotation, i.e. the denominator expressed as a unit of one (or sometimes 100). For example, the base currency in the U.S. dollar/German mark quotation is the U.S. dollar whereas the base currency in the German mark/Swiss franc quotation is the German mark. See Quoted Currency.

Economic indicators have a base date and usually a starting number of 100. For instance, a base date for a relatively new index could be shown as 100 equals January 1, 1994.

Major industrial non-ferrous metals other than precious metals and minor metals. See Copper, Lead, Tin, Zinc, Aluminium, Nickel.

Unit of measure (one hundredth of a percentage point, i.e. 0.01%) used to express movements in interest rates or bond yields.

The measure of a change in the price of a bond compared with a given change in interest rates. Quoted in U.S. cents. A bond with a basis point value of 0.04 would indicate the bond price will change by 4 cents per 1 basis point shift (0.01 percent) in the yield curve. Also known as dollar duration. See Modified Duration.

Bauxite is the ore from which Aluminium is produced. Alumina is the semi-finished product. Major bauxite producers include Australia, Brazil, China, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, India, Jamaica, Surinam and former Yugoslavia. Major alumina refiners include Australia, China, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Jamaica and the U.S.

A market player who believes prices will fall and would therefore sell a financial instrument with the view to repurchasing it at a lower price. Opposite to a Bull.

Market in which prices are declining or are expected o decline. Opposite to Bull Market.

An option strategy combining the purchase and sale of two puts (bear put spread) or two calls (bear call spread) with different strikes on the same underlying.

A security for which ownership of evidenced by possession of a physical certificate. Coupons are detached and presented for interest payments, with no other record of ownership being kept. See Registered Form.

Shares owned by the holder of the certificate with no specifically named owner listed. Dividends are claimed by clipping coupons from the certificate and sending them to a paying agent. Bearer bonds are similar.

Holding a belief that prices will fall. A bearish sentiment in the market will therefore push prices lower. Opposite to Bullish.

Involves selling a share on a day shortly before the end of the tax year and buying it back again the following morning. This can allow shareholders to register a capital loss or profit (where valid) for tax purposes but also permits the repurchasing of shares if a rise is expected.

Additional features of a securities issue designed to attract investors and/or reduce issuer costs.

An exceptional item recorded separately in a company's profit and loss account. It does not have to directly affect the balance sheet, i.e. the earnings figure. See Extraordinary Item, Financial Reporting Standard 3.

A security that is usually the most recently issued of good size, the terms of which set standards for the market. The benchmark issue is therefore the most liquid and has the highest turnover.

The investor who owns securities held in Street Name or Nominee Account. The beneficial owner has the same rights as an investor whose stock is in customer name, i.e. the holder of record. See Nominee Account.

A factor measuring the share volatility relative to the overall market as measured by various stock market indices. When the factor is less than one, then a share is considered less volatile than the overall market. A factor greater than one indicates a share is more volatile.

A market maker's price to buy a commodity, security, currency or any financial instrument. A two-way price comprises the bid and ask/offer. The difference between the two quotations is known as the Spread.

A market in which there is more interest from buyers than sellers. Opposite to Offered Market.

Popular term for the change in U.K. Stock Exchange rules and practices throughout 1986, taking full effect on October 27, 1986. Banks and insurance companies were allowed to own stock exchange subsidiaries, new electronic dealing systems were established, fixed commissions were eliminated and the hitherto strict segregation was ended between brokers (retail) and jobbers (wholesale). The merging of brokers and jobbers became known as Dual Capacity.

Colloquial name for the New York Stock Exchange.

The stem of a rate. When giving a quotation, dealers may only refer to the points (in foreign exchange) or to fractions (in money markets). In the US, the big figure is known as the Handle.

Describes for foreign trade purposes details of the goods being sent. A marine bill of landing can give the holder the right of possession to goods and acts as a receipt for them. In the U.S. and U.K., it is a negotiable instrument and a document of title.

An individual purchase of Treasury bills by the Federal Reserve to provide reserves to the banking system on a permanent basis. See Outright Purchases.

Very old financial instruments originally used to finance international trade. A bill of exchange is an order to pay a specified amount of money to the holder of the bill either at a set future date (a Time Draft) or on presentation of the bill (a Sight Draft). Also known as Eligible Bills, Commercial Bills, and trade bills and BAs.

Transacting large share lots, usually in the U.S., in excess of 10,000 shares among institutional buyers or sellers.

Bank accounts where withdrawals cannot be freely made, e.g. accounts frozen due to political or legal disputes.

A generic term for shares of major companies with sound earnings and dividend records and above average share performance. In current parlance the description remains valid even when a long established blue chip company is suffering adversely. Blue chip stocks are also known as Income Stock.

A fixed interest security under which the issuer contracts to repay the lender a fixed principal amount at a stated date in the future and a series of interest payments either semi-annually or annually. This type of bond is called a bullet or straight bond. See Zero Coupon Bond, Call Feature, Put Feature, Sinking Fund, Floating Rate Bond.

The calculation which converts the yield of a money market instrument such as a Treasury bill into the equivalent yield of a Treasury bond.

Trades a book of bonds on behalf of an institution, or occasionally for his own account. Also makes prices to customers via bond salesmen.

Securities registered by the issuer usually in computerised form and for which there are no physical issues. This method reduces paperwork expenses and simplifies transfer of ownership. EUROCLEAR and CEDEL, originally set up as clearing systems for Eurobonds, currently clear government bonds of several European countries in book entry form.

The value at which the assets were originally entered in the books of the company, i.e. on the balance sheet.

Book value is normally defined as cost less aggregated depreciation and is not normally a valuation.

Net amount of money needed by a government to finance budget deficits and maturing debt.

The final or real cost or result. The term derives from companies' profit and loss accounts in which the bottom line shows the extent of the profit or loss after all income and expenses have been accounted for.

An expression used in technical analysis that would be the setting of a new low in a downtrend followed by a higher close than the previous day's closing rate (sometimes the previous two days).

Commitment from an underwriter or lead manager to purchase the whole issue of a security for resale to the secondary market. This method transfers the risk of being unable to sell a whole issue at the offering price from the issuer to the underwriter.

In 1989, U.S. Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady proposed the concept of bonds backed by the U.S. Treasury but with actual repayments being made by a sovereign lesser developed country. If a nation is unable to maintain its current payment schedule then it can reschedule repayments by exchanging its sovereign or bank debt for a Brady bond. This bond is usually guaranteed by U.S. Treasury Zero Coupon bonds which the nation purchases to back the bonds which are in default. See U.S. STRIPS.

Occurs when a price climbs above a resistance level (usually its previous high) or falls below a support level (usually its previous low). Usually breakouts occur from trendlines of formations.

The Brent System consists of 14 North Sea oil fields linked to the Brent system pipeline which pumps the oil ashore to the Shetland Islands' Sullom Voe oil terminal. The Brent Field is but one, albeit the largest, in the system and is not to be confused with the pipeline or the whole complex of fields. At Sullom Voe, Brent system crude is blended with oil from the Ninian pipeline system (four fields – the largest being the Ninian) to create Brent blend crude, the international benchmark blend.

An agreement, signed by 44 nations in 1944 at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA, to effect a post-war international monetary system. From this came the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The system was based on fixed exchange rates combined with temporary financing facilities to overcome crises. In 1971 the dollar ceased to be convertible into gold at the then 35 dollars per ounce official price and that element of the Bretton Woods system was superseded by an era of floating currencies.

An individual or company that matches bids and offers in a market and charges a commission or brokerage fee.

The commission or fee charged by a broker. In the U.S., it is commonly used to refer to a brokerage firm.

The broker acting as agent for the buying and selling of listed securities on a stock exchange between the investor and the specialists. Specialists and floor brokers do not trade directly with the public. A commission or Markup/Markdown is charged per transaction.

Organisation dealing in stocks or commodities which operates on very low overheads and aims to undercut conventional firms.

Official of governmental statement of actual or projected revenue and expenditure. Such a statement is usually annual and delivered before a country's parliament. Technically any measures therein are usually proposals and subject to parliamentary approval.

Stock of commodities held by an international organisation to stabilise prices and supplies by buying and selling, using the resources of the stockpile.

The original purpose of a building society was to finance long term durable consumer expenditure, as in house purchases, and to run retail savings accounts. Since the Building Societies Act of 1986, which formalised the increased competition between banks and building societies, the distinctions between the two have become increasingly blurred. Some building societies now offer current accounts, unit trusts, personal pensions and raise funds through the wholesale money markets.

A market player who believes prices will rise and would therefore purchase a financial instrument with a view to selling it at a higher price. Opposite to a Bear.

Market in which prices are rising or are expected to rise. Opposite to Bear Market.

Precious metal in non-coin form such as ingots, bars or wafers.

The German central bank based in Frankfurt. Its credit policies are set by its central bank council. Which normally meets every second Thursday and consists of board members (directorate) and the heads of its regional arms (landeszentralbanken) which run its operations in Germany's 11 federal states. See Germany – Key Interest Rates.

Measure of volume. In the U.K., it equals eight Imperial gallons or 36.4 litres for corn, fruit, liquids, etc. In the U.S. it equals 35.3 litres. The weight of a bushel varies according to the commodity involved.

The risk that a company issuing stock may not produce the sales and earning growth as forecast. In this case, the price of the share will remain depressed. Business risk affects both new and old businesses.

A strategy of buying high quality stocks with a view to holding them long term. The success of this strategy depends on the long term trend of the stock market, the characteristics of the share and dividend reinvestment plan.

Term for a company buying back its own shares with the amount usually defined as a percentage of the shares held by each shareholder. Also used to describe a Repurchase Agreement (repo).

The purchase of at least a controlling interest in a company's stock to take over its assets and operations.