money	notes and coins
acceptance house	an institution that accepts financial instruments and agrees to honour them should the borrower defa
account	a structured record of transactions
accountancy	the practice of accounting
accountant	a professional person who maintains and checks business records
accounting cost	the cost of maintaining and checking business records
accounting cycle	the regular process of formally updating a firm's financial position
accounting code	a number assigned to a particular account
accounting event	a transaction recorded in a particular book of account
accounting fees	payments paid to an accountant for preparing accounts
accounting insolvency	the condition that a company is in when its liabilities exceed its assets
accounting manual	a collection of accounting instructions
accounting department	a unit in a company that deals with accounts
accounts payable	the amount that a company owes for goods or services obtained on credit
accounts receivable	the money that is owed to a company for goods or services provided
accrued income	money that has been earned but not yet received
accrued liabilities	money which is recorded although payment has not yet been made
actual cash value	the amount of money, less depreciation, that it would cost to replace something damaged
actual turnover	the number of times during a particular period that somebody spends the average amount of money
actuary	a statistician who calculates probable lifespans so that insurance premiums could be accurately dete
adjusted book value	the value of a company in terms of the current market values
advanced payment	an amount paid before it is earned].
aged debt	a debt that is overdue by one or more given periods
aggregate income	the total of all incomes in an economy without adjustments for inflation or taxation
aggregate-supply	the total of all goods and services produced in an economy
alien corporation	companies which are based in one country but registered in another].
amalgamation	the process of two or more organisations joining together].
amortise	to reduce the value of an asset gradually by writing off its cost
angel investor	an individual or a group willing to invest in an unproven but well-researched e-business idea
annual charge	a management fee paid yearly
annual report	documents prepared each year to give a true and fair view of a company's state of affairs
appreciation	the increase in value of certain assets over time
approved account	financial reports that have been accepted by the company's board of directors
arbitrage	the buying and selling of foreign currencies or products between two or more markets in order to mak
armchair economics	economic forecasting or theorising based on insufficient data
asset	any tangible or intangible item to which a value can be assigned
asset allocation	an investment strategy that distributes investments in a portfolio so as to achieve the highest retu
asset restructuring	the purchase or sale of assets
asset stripper	a company that acquires another company and sells its assets to make a profit
associate company	a company which is partly owned by another company
ATM	an electronic machine from which bank customers can withdraw paper money
audit committee	a company's board of directors that monitors the company's finances
average accounting return	the percentage return realised on an asset
average cost of capital	the average of what a company is paying for the money it borrows
Baby Bell	one of the regional phone companies that was established after the demise of AT&T in 1984
bad debt	a debt which is considered to be uncollectable
bad debt reserve	money that a company sets aside to cover bad debts
bad will	negative goodwill
balance	the state of an account
balance of payments	a list of a country's credit and debit transactions
balance sheet	a financial report stating the total assets and liabilities at a given date
balloon loan	a credit repaid in regular instalments with a single larger final payment
bang for the buck	return on investment
bank charge	an amount charged by the bank to its customers for services provided].
banker's credit	a financial instrument typically issued by an exporter or importer for a short term that a bank guar
banker's draft	a bill of exchange payable on demand and drawn by one bank on another
banker's reference	a written report by a bank regarding a customer's creditworthiness
banker's hours	short hours of work
bank overdraft	borrowing from a bank on a current account
bankruptcy	the condition of being unable to pay debts
barefoot pilgrim	an investor who has lost everythiong in securities
barren money	money that is unproductive because it is not invested
barter	the direct exchange of goods
basket of currencies	a group of selected currencies used in establishing a standard of value for another unit of currency
take a bath	suffer a serious financial loss
bean counter	a derogatory term for an accountant
bearish	relating to unfavourable business conditions and falling prices
bear market	a market in which prices are falling and in which a dealer is more likely to sell securities rather
bell cow	a product that sells well and makes a reasonable profit
belt and braces man	a very cautious lender who asks for extra collateral as well as guarantees for a loan
bid	an offer to buy all or a majority of the capital shares of a company
bidding war	a competition between prospective buyers for the same stock or security
Big Bang	radical changes of practices on the London Stock Exchange
big bath	the practice of making a particular year's poor income look even worse by increasing expenses and se
big GAAP	generally accepted accounting principles that apply to large companies
Big Three	Ford, Chrysler and GM
bilateral credit	credit allowed by banks to other banks
bond	a promise to repay with interest on specified dates money that an investor lends a company or a gove
bond issue	bonds sold by a corporation or government agency at a particular time and identifiable by date of ma
bond yield	the income one receives from a bond investment
bookkeeper	a person responsible for financial records
books of accounts	ledgers and journals used in preparing financial statements
bottom line	the line in a financial statement that shows net income or loss
breakeven point	the moment when a company makes neither a profit nor a loss
brokerage	a company whose business is buying and selling stocks for clients
bubble economy	an economy or a market in which prices for goods and services rise far above actual values
budget deficit	the extent by which expenditure exceeds revenue
budgeted revenue	revenue budget
budget surplus	the extent by which revenue exceeds expenditure
bull	somebody who anticipates favourable business conditions
bullish	relating to favourable business conditions
bull market	market in which prices are rising and in which a dealer is more likely to buy than sell
business risk	the uncertainty associated with the unique circumstances of a particular company
business segment	a distinguishable part of a business or enterprise
buyer's market	a situation in which supply exceeds demand
capital asset	property that the company owns
capital costs	expenses on the purchase of fixed assets, e.g. land and buildings
capital goods	stocks of physical or financial assets
cartel	an alliance of business companies formed to control competition and prices
cash crop	a crop, e.g. tobacco, that can be sold for cash
cash discount	a discount offered to a customer who pays for goods with cash
cash flow	the movement through an organisation of money that is generated by its own operations
category killer	a major organisation that puts out of business smaller companies
chartered accountant	a qualified professional accountant in the UK
cheap money	low interest rates
clicks and mortar	hybrid businesses involved in e-commerce and traditional stores
Clintonomics	economic policy of US President, Bill Clinton
closed economy	an economic system in which no external trade takes place
closing price	the price of the last transaction at the end of the trading session
COLA	cost of living adjustment; modifying the level of earnings in proportion to the level of inflation a
collateral	property or goods used as security against a loan
commercial bank	a bank that provides services to individuals
commodities	a good or service, e.g. cotton, wool or a laptop
commission	a payment made to an intermediary often calculated as a percentage of the value of goods or services
competition	rivalry between companies
competitive advantage	a factor giving a company supremacy over competitors
comprehensive income	total income
conglomerate company	a company that owns a diverse range of businesses in different industries, a holding company
consolidated debt	the use of a large loan to eliminate smaller ones
contingency plan	action to be implemented only upon the occurrence of anticipated future events other than those acce
corporate bond	a long-term bond issued by a corporation
corporate fraud	a financial crime committed by a corporation
cost cutting	a reduction of costs on all operations
cost-effective	offering the maximum benefit
creative accounting	the use of accounting methods to hide aspects of a company's financial dealings in order to make the
credit	a financial arrangement to buy goods or services and pay for that at a later date
credit ceiling	the largest amount that a lender will permit somebody to borrow
credit crunch	a situation in which money for borrowing is unavailable
creditor	a person or entity to whom money is owed
credit rating	an assessment of somebody's creditworthiness
credit risk	the possibility that a loss may occur in connection with a credit
current assets	cash or assets that are readily convertible to cash
current liabilities	money owed which falls due for payment within one year
cyclical unemployment	temporary unemployment
daisy chaining	creating artificial transactions in order to make a particular security appear more active than it i
dear money	money which has to be borrowed at a high interest rate
debt collection agency	a business that secures the repayment of debts for third parties
debt counselling	a service offering advice and support to individuals who are financially stretched
debt rescheduling	the reorganisation of debt repayments
debtor	a person or entity owing money
debtnocrat	a senior bank official who specialises in lending large sums, e.g. to developing countries
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
default	failure to comply with the terms of a binding legal agreement
deflation	a reduction in the general level of prices
depression	a slowdown in economic activity
digital cash	money that exists in electronic form
digital economy	an economy in which e-commerce dominates
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
dormant account	a bank account which is no longer used
dormant company	a company which has not made any transactions during a specified accounting period
downsizing	organisational restructuring
drop a bundle	lose a lot of money
dynamic pricing	pricing that changes in line with demand
earnings cap	the top limit of earnings
earnings yield	money earned by a company during a year
economic growth	an increase in the national income of a country
economic sanctions	restrictions on trade with a country
e-business	a company that conducts business/activity on the Internet
economic welfare	the high level of prosperity in an economy
elephant	a very large financial institution
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 perso
entrepreneur	somebody who sets up a business
equity	the issued ordinary share capital plus reserves
errors and omissions	mistakes from incorrect record keeping or accounting
ethical investment	investment only in companies whose policies meet the ethical criteria of the investor
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
executor	a person appointed under a will to ensure that the deceased's property is distributed according to t
expense	a cost incurred in buying goods or services
extendable bond	a bond whose maturity can be delayed
face value	the value written on a financial instrument
factoring	the sale of debts to a third party at a discount
fallen angel	a stock that was once very desirable but has now dropped in value
feeding frenzy	a period of frantic buyer activity in a market
fill or kill	to carry out a client's order immediately or else the order is cancelled
final dividend	the dividend paid at the end of a year's trading
finance company	a business that lends money to people or companies against collateral
financial distress	the condition of being in severe difficulties over money
financial year	the twelve-month period for which a company produces accounts
fixed asset	a long-term asset such as a machine or building
float	the act of selling shares or bonds to finance a project
force majeure	an event such as a strike, war or storm that is beyond the control of the parties who have signed th
foreign currency	a currency used in a foreign country
free period	the period of grace allowed to credit card holder before payments for credit card purchases is deman
FTSE 100	a share index
GATT	General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
GDP	Gross Domestic Product
gilt-edged security	a security issued by the UK government that pays a fixed interest after a fixed period
gnomes of Zurich	a derogatory name for Swiss bankers
go-go fund	a unit trust that trades in high-return and high-risk investments
GNP	Gross National Product
glamour stock	a fashionable security
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
high yield	a return on investment that is higher than average
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
hyperinflation	very rapid growth in the rate of inflation
illiquid	not easily convertible into cash
IMF	International Monetary Fund
income redistribution	a government policy to redirect income to a targeted sector of a country's population
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
initial public offering	the first instance of making shares available to the public
insolvency	the inability to pay debts
insurance broker	a person or company that sells insurance contracts
interest	the rate that a lender charges for a loan
interest rate cap	an upper limit on interest rates
interest yield	the annual rate of interest earned on a security
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
killer bee	somebody who helps a company avoid being taken over, especially a banker
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
letter of intent	a document in which a company indicates an intention to do something, e.g. to buy a business
liquidator	the person appointed to sell assets of an insolvent company
loan shark	somebody who lends money at excessively high rates of interest
long-term debt	loans that are due after at least one year
long-term liabilities	=loans that are due after at least one year
luxury tax	a tax on goods or services that are non-essential
majority shareholder	a shareholder with a controlling interest in a company
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
mature economy	an economy that is no longer growing rapidly
money laundering	the process of making money obtained illegally appear legitimate
moral hazard	the risk that the existence of a contract will cause behavioural changes in one or both parties to t
mortgage	a credit to finance the acquisition of land and real property
multinational corporation	a corporation operating in different countries
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
non-profit organisation	an organisation that does not have financial profits as a main strategic objective
NYSE	New York Stock Exchange
offer for sale	an invitation to buy
opening bell	the beginning of a day of trading on a market
opening price	a price for a security at the beginning of a trading day
overdraw	withdraw more money from a bank account than it contains
overdraft	withdrawal of more money from a bank account than it contains
paper money	banknotes
Parquet	Paris Bourse
pawnbroker	a person who lends money against a security, e.g. jewellery, cars etc.
Pay As You Earn	a system for collecting direct taxes in the UK
payroll	a record showing each employee his gross pay, deductions and net pay
payslip	a document given to employees when they are paid
penny shares	very low-priced stock that is a speculative investment
public offering	a method of raising money used by a company by which it invites the public to apply for shares
per capita income	the average income of each of a particular group of people, e.g. citizens of a country
personal identification number	PIN
petty cash	a small amount of money used for minor business expenses
petty cash account	a record of small cash payments for minor business expenses
pension	money received regularly after retirement
poison pill	a measure taken by a company to avoid a hostile takeover
price instability	a situation in which the prices alter daily
principal	the original amount of a loan not including interest
private company	a company which has not been registered as a public company
problem child	a subsidiary company that is not performing well
parent company	a company with one or more subsidiary undertakings
proceeds	an income from a transaction
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
profit motive	a desire of a business to make profit
pro-forma invoice	an invoice sent to the purchaser in advance of goods
projection	an expected future trend
protectionism	a government economic policy of restricting the level of imports
protective tariff	a tariff imposed to restrict imports
public debt	the money that the government owes
public limited company	quoted companies with shares listed on the stock exchange
pump-priming	the injection of further investment in order to revitalise a company in stagnation
quoted companies	companies listed on a stock exchange
rating agency	an organisation which gives a rating to companies issuing bonds
Reaganomics	the economic policy of US President Ronald Reagan
receivership	a state of insolvency prior to liquidation
recession	a slowdown in the business cycle
recovery	the return to economic health after a depression
Red tape	excessive bureaucracy
refinancing	the process of taking out a loan to pay off other loans
Reserve Bank	a bank such as a US Federal Reserve that holds the reserves of other banks
Retail banking	services provided by commercial banks to individuals
revenue	the income generated by a product or service
revolving credit	a credit facility which allows the borrower to borrow or repay debt as required
rigged market	a market where two or more parties are buying and selling securities among themselves to give the im
risk capital	money used to finance new companies
ROI	return on investment
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
seasoned equity	shares that have traded long enough to have good value
secondary market	a market that trades in existing shares rather than new share issues
share certificate	a document that certifies ownership of a share in a company
shareholder	a person or entity that owns shares in a company
share issue	the offering for sale of shares in a business
shell company	a company that has ceased to trade but is still registered
sleeping partner	a person or entity that invests money in a company but takes no part in the management of the busine
slump	a severe downturn in the business cycle
slush fund	a fund used by a company for illegal purposes such as bribing officials
solvent	referring to assets being worth more than liabilities
standing order	an instruction given by an account holder to a bank to make regular payments on a given date to the
stealth wealth	advantage that the owner of a company does not realise he has
stock exchange	a registered market in securities
takeover	an acquisition by a company of a controlling interest of another company
tangible assets	assets that are physical, such as buildings, cash and stock
tariff	a government duty imposed on imports
tax dodge	an illegal method of paying less tax than an individual or company is legally obliged to pay
tax evasion	the illegal practice of paying less money in taxes than is due
tax exile	a person or business that leaves a country to avoid paying taxes
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
trade barrier	a condition imposed by a government to limit free exchange of goods internationally
trade war	a competition between two or more countries for a share of international or domestic trade
Treasury	a government department responsible for the nation's financial policies, as well as the management o
turbulence	unpredicted and swift changes in a company's external or internal environment
turkey	a poorly performing business or investment
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
velocity of money	the rate at which money circulates in an economy
venture capital	money used to finance new companies with high earning potential and high risk
wages	a form of pay given to employees for the work they have done on a weekly basis
wallflower	an investment that does not attract interest from potential investors because it has not been profit
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
wholesale price	a price charged to customers who buy large quantities of an item
white elephant	a product or service that has not sold well despite large amounts of money pumped into its developme
world economy	the global marketplace
write-off	a reduction in the recorded value of an asset, usually to zero
WTO	World Trade Organisation
yield	a percentage of the amount invested that is the annual income from the investment
zillionaire	a very wealthy person
zombie	a business that continues to trade even though it is officially insolvent