deed	a legal document that details the transfer or sale of a property
deep pocket	a company or an individual that provides funds for another company
direct debit	a claim on an individual or organisation by a creditor and paid by the individual's or organisation'
discount	a reduction in the price
diversification	increasing the variety of business, service or product types
divestment	a proportional reduction in an ownership stake
dividend	an amount payable to shareholders from profits
downsizing	organisational restructuring
drop a bundle	lose a lot of money
dynamic pricing	pricing that changes in line with demand
embezzlement	a financial crime, fraud
endorse	to sign a bill or cheque on the back to show that its ownership has been passes on to another person
entrepreneur	somebody who sets up a business
exchange rate	the rate at which one currency can be exchanged for that of another country
excise duty	a tax on goods such as alcohol or tobacco
expense	a cost incurred in buying goods or services
fill or kill	to carry out a client's order immediately or else the order is cancelled
financial year	the twelve-month period for which a company produces accounts
fixed asset	a long-term asset such as a machine or building
foreign currency	a currency used in a foreign country
GDP	Gross Domestic Product
gnomes of Zurich	a derogatory name for Swiss bankers
go-go fund	a unit trust that trades in high-return and high-risk investments
golden handcuffs	a financial incentive paid to employees to remain in an organisation
golden handshake	a sum of money given to a senior executive on his involuntary departure from a company
go public	to float the shares of a company
hard currency	a currency that is traded in a foreign exchange market and for which there is demand
haggle	to negotiate the price
hedge fund	a unit trust that takes considerable risk
hire purchase	a method of paying for a product or service in which the buyer pays a series of instalments over a p
hostile bid	a takeover bid that is opposed by the target company
hot issue	a new security that is expected to trade at a significant premium on its issue price
illiquid	not easily convertible into cash
IMF	International Monetary Fund
income tax	tax levied on any income
inflation rate	a rate at which the general price level increases
inheritance tax	tax payable on property inherited after somebody's death
insolvency	the inability to pay debts
interest	the rate that a lender charges for a loan
interim dividend	a dividend whose value is determined on the basis of a period less than a full fiscal year
Internal Revenue Service	tax office
invoice	a document that the supplier sends to a customer detailing the cost of product and requesting paymen
joint venture	a project undertaken by two or more parties
ledger	a book in which transactions are recorded
legal tender	banknotes and coins accepted within a given jurisdiction
lessee	the person who uses a leased asset
lessor	the person who provides the asset being leased
loan shark	somebody who lends money at excessively high rates of interest
long-term liabilities	loans that are due after at least one year
majority shareholder	a shareholder with a controlling interest in a company