management buy-out	the purchase of an existing business by an individual manager or management group from within that b
margin	the difference between the cost and the selling price of a service
market economy	an economy in which a free market in goods and services operates
money laundering	the process of making money obtained illegally appear legitimate
mortgage	a credit to finance the acquisition of land and real property
national debt	the total borrowing of a country's government
near money	assets that can be quickly turned into cash, e.g. bank deposits, short-dated bonds
NYSE	New York Stock Exchange
overdraft	withdrawal of more money from a bank account than it contains
payroll	a list of employees who receive salaries or wages, together with the amounts due to each
payslip	a small document showing details of money earned and tax and insurance paid
PIN	personal identification number
pension	money received regularly after retirement
principal	the original amount of a loan not including interest
parent company	a company with one or more subsidiary undertakings
profit and loss account	the summary record of a company's sales revenues and expenses over a period
profiteer	an individual who aims to make excessive profits disregarding others
public debt	the money that the government owes
quoted company	companies listed on a stock exchange
red tape	excessive bureaucracy
revenue	the income generated by a product or service
rogue trader	a dealer in stocks and shares who uses illegal methods to make profits
royalties	a proportion of the income from the sales of a product to its creator or owner, e.g. a land owner, i
salary	a form of pay given to employees at regular intervals for the work they have done
savings account	an account with a bank that pays interest
secondary market	a market that trades in existing shares rather than new share issues
shareholder	a person or entity that owns shares in a company
share issue	the offering for sale of shares in a business
sleeping partner	a person or entity that invests money in a company but takes no part in the management of the busine
stock exchange	a registered market in securities
tariff	a government duty imposed on imports
tax evasion	the illegal practice of paying less money in taxes than is due
tax haven	a country that has very low taxes
tiger	any of the key markets in the Pacific region, except Japan: Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Ta
tight money	a situation where it is expensive to borrow money
Treasury	a government department responsible for the nation's financial policies, as well as the management o
turnover	total sales revenue for an accounting period
tyre kicker	a potential customer who asks for information and requires attention but does not buy anything
unemployment	the situation when some members of a country's labour force are willing to work but cannot find empl
unlimited liability	full responsibility for the obligations of a general partnership
unlisted company	a company that has no securities listed on a stock exchange
variable interest rate	an interest rate that changes in relation to a standard index during the period of a loan
VAT	value-added tax
wages	a form of pay given to employees for the work they have done on a weekly basis
wear and tear	the deterioration of a tangible fixed asset as a result of normal use
white knight	a person or entity liked a company's management who buys the company when a hostile company is tryin
whizz kid	a young, successful person who makes a lot of money in large financial transactions
white elephant	a product or service that has not sold well despite large amounts of money pumped into its developme
write-off	a reduction in the recorded value of an asset, usually to zero
yield	a percentage of the amount invested that is the annual income from the investment]