B2B
B2B is an abbreviation for business-to-business. B2B describes a commercial activity as being targeted toward business entities rather than more... http://www.investorglossary.com/b2b.htm
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B2C
B2C is the abbreviation for business-to-consumer electronic commerce. B2C is an electronic Internet-facilitated medium where products or services are more... http://www.investorglossary.com/b2c.htm
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Baby Bells
Baby bells, or Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs), were essentially the divested local telephone service providers. Baby bells were the more... http://www.investorglossary.com/baby-bells.htm
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baby boomer
In the United States, a baby boomer refers to anyone born during the high-birth-rate years of the postwar period, generally more... http://www.investorglossary.com/baby-boomer.htm
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back door financing
Back door financing is a method used by U.S. government agencies to bypass congressional appropriations (the conventional way of obtaining more... http://www.investorglossary.com/back-door-financing.htm
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back pay
Back pay is a payment due for work done prior to the current pay period. Back pay may be more... http://www.investorglossary.com/back-pay.htm
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back taxes
Back taxes are taxes owed for years prior to the current tax year. Back taxes are generally considered past more... http://www.investorglossary.com/back-taxes.htm
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back testing
Back testing is the examination of past performance to predict the future price of an investment. Back testing can incorporate more... http://www.investorglossary.com/back-testing.htm
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back-end load
A back-end load is a sales charge or a commission paid when an investor sells an investment. A back-end load more... http://www.investorglossary.com/back-end-load.htm
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bad debt
Bad debt is the portion of a company's receivables that are uncollectible. Companies account for bad debt either by the more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bad-debt.htm
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bait and switch
Bait and switch is a deceptive means of sales where a product is advertised at an attractive price (bait) then more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bait-and-switch.htm
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balance
In accounting, the balance of an account is defined as the sum of all debits and credits to that account. more... http://www.investorglossary.com/balance.htm
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balance sheet
A balance sheet is a snapshot of the financial position of a company. On the left side are the assets, more... http://www.investorglossary.com/balance-sheet.htm
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balanced budget
A balanced budget is a budget in which income equals expenditures. In other words, if a country takes in X more... http://www.investorglossary.com/balanced-budget.htm
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balanced fund
A balanced fund is a mutual fund that invests in stocks, bonds, and money market investments (cash). The proportion of more... http://www.investorglossary.com/balanced-fund.htm
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balanced investment strategy
A balanced investment strategy is an investment approach that tries to balance shorter-term income with long-term growth. A balanced investment more... http://www.investorglossary.com/balanced-investment-strategy.htm
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balloon loan
A balloon loan is any loan that has one final large payment called the balloon payment due at the end more... http://www.investorglossary.com/balloon-loan.htm
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balloon payment
A balloon payment is the final installment payment for what is commonly known as a balloon, or bullet loan. more... http://www.investorglossary.com/balloon-payment.htm
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bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits and makes loans. The bank has a unique, characteristic balance more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bank.htm
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bank draft
A bank draft is a written order in the form of a check instructing the payment of money from one more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bank-draft.htm
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bankrupt
To be bankrupt is to be insolvent, or in bankruptcy. In law, bankruptcy is the term for a state more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bankrupt.htm
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base interest rate
The base interest rate is the lowest interest rate that investors will accept for investing in a non-Treasury security. more... http://www.investorglossary.com/base-interest-rate.htm
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basis point
Yields on fixed-income securities fluctuate regularly, but may change only within hundredths of a percentage point. These small variations are more... http://www.investorglossary.com/basis-point.htm
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basis points
Basis points are the number of points often used to quote changes in yields on bonds or the difference in more... http://www.investorglossary.com/basis-points.htm
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bear
Bears are market participants who expect the market to decline. Bears may expect the broad market averages to decline, or more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bear.htm
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bear market
A bear market is a market in which prices decline against a background of widespread pessimism (the opposite of bull more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bear-market.htm
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bear trap
A bear trap occurs when a declining market reverses direction, catching short sellers off guard. In a bear trap more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bear-trap.htm
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before-tax income
Before-tax income, also known as pretax income, is the amount of income the company has generated before it pays Federal, more... http://www.investorglossary.com/before-tax-income.htm
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behavioral finance
Behavioral finance integrates ideas from the fields of individual and social psychology with classical financial theory to understand the performance more... http://www.investorglossary.com/behavioral-finance.htm
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Beige Book
The Beige Book is a "Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District," as its formal title more... http://www.investorglossary.com/beige-book.htm
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bell
In a financial exchange, the sound of the bell indicates the start or close of the market for the trading more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bell.htm
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bellwether
A bellwether stock is a stock that is generally viewed an an indicator of overall market or sector direction. IBM, more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bellwether.htm
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benchmark
A benchmark is a security or index against which the performance of other securities is judged. A benchmark is a more... http://www.investorglossary.com/benchmark.htm
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benchmark interest rate
The benchmark interest rate is the lowest interest rate that an investor will accept for a non-Treasury investment. The more... http://www.investorglossary.com/benchmark-interest-rate.htm
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beta
Beta, the second Greek letter, is used by investors to mean the volatility of any stock, mutual or hedge fund, more... http://www.investorglossary.com/beta.htm
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bid
In practical terms, the bid is the available price at which an investor can sell shares of stock. The ask more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bid.htm
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bid/ask spread
The bid/ask spread is the difference between the price sellers are asking for and the price that buyers are willing more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bid-ask-spread.htm
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Big Board
Big Board is the nickname of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Over 80 percent of U.S. securities are more... http://www.investorglossary.com/big-board.htm
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Black Friday
Black Friday refers to September 24, 1869. On Black Friday, a group of speculators led by James Fist and more... http://www.investorglossary.com/black-friday.htm
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Black Monday
Black Monday, or October 19, 1987, was the day of the single largest broad decline in the history of US more... http://www.investorglossary.com/black-monday.htm
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Black Tuesday
Black Tuesday refers to October 29, 1929. Black Tuesday occurred five days after the US stock market crash of more... http://www.investorglossary.com/black-tuesday.htm
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Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model
The Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model predicts an option’s price given the strike price, expiration date, risk-free rate of return, stock more... http://www.investorglossary.com/black-scholes-option-pricing-model.htm
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blow-off top
A blow-off top refers to an extremely fast spike up in a stock's price, followed by an extremely fast and more... http://www.investorglossary.com/blow-off-top.htm
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blue chip stock
Blue chip stock is equity in the securities of high quality companies. Blue chip stock is often also high more... http://www.investorglossary.com/blue-chip-stock.htm
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blue-collar
Blue-collar is a workplace designation that defines an employee who performs manual or technical labor, such as in a factory more... http://www.investorglossary.com/blue-collar.htm
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Board of Directors
Board of directors refers to a group of people that are elected by shareholders of a company who make decisions more... http://www.investorglossary.com/board-of-directors.htm
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Board of Governors
A Board of Governors is the collective name given to the individuals who oversee the operation of an institution directly more... http://www.investorglossary.com/board-of-governors.htm
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Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing the activities of a nonprofit organization, ranging from huge foundations to small more... http://www.investorglossary.com/board-of-trustees.htm
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boardroom
The boardroom is the executive conference room designed as the meeting place for the board of directors of a corporation more... http://www.investorglossary.com/boardroom.htm
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boiler room
Boiler room is an unflattering term used to describe a place of business where high-pressure telemarketing tactics are used to more... http://www.investorglossary.com/boiler-room.htm
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boilerplate
Boilerplate is standard generic verbiage which is repeated verbatim in numerous contracts, agreements, licenses or other documents. Boilerplate material is more... http://www.investorglossary.com/boilerplate.htm
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bonds
A bond is a financial instrument that is purchased by an investor (bondholder) and entitles the bondholder to receive payment more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bonds.htm
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book value
Book value has two accounting meanings. Book value is the value of an asset on a balance sheet, which more... http://www.investorglossary.com/book-value.htm
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book-to-bill ratio
The book-to-bill ratio measures the relationship between orders received and the amount of product shipped and billed. The book-to-bill ratio more... http://www.investorglossary.com/book-to-bill-ratio.htm
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bookings
Although the term bookings has multiple meanings, in the financial sense bookings are funds that are expected to be received more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bookings.htm
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boom
A boom refers to a rising financial market. Another term for boom would be a bull market. During a stock more... http://www.investorglossary.com/boom.htm
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bottom fisher
A bottom fisher is an investor who attempts to buy stocks at or near their lowest price. A bottom fisher more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bottom-fisher.htm
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bottom line
Bottom line is an informal term for net income. It derives from the position of net income on the income more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bottom-line.htm
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bourse
A bourse is a European financial market. Based on the French word for purse, a bourse may be a more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bourse.htm
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break-even analysis
Break-even analysis is a managerial tool used in business to estimate a fair, competitive and profitable price for products and more... http://www.investorglossary.com/break-even-analysis.htm
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break-even point
The break-even point for any investment is the price at which an investor neither makes nor loses money on that more... http://www.investorglossary.com/break-even-point.htm
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bridge loan
A bridge loan is a temporary source of financing intended to last only until more permanent financial arrangements can be more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bridge-loan.htm
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broker loan rate
The broker loan rate, also known as the call money rate, is the interest rate that banks charge a broker more... http://www.investorglossary.com/broker-loan-rate.htm
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broker recommendation
A broker recommendation is an opinion given by a broker regarding the merits of a particular stock. A broker recommendation more... http://www.investorglossary.com/broker-recommendation.htm
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broker/dealer
A broker/dealer is an individual or a firm which is legally entitled to buy and sell securities for itself as more... http://www.investorglossary.com/broker-dealer.htm
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brokerage
Brokerage refers to a licensed firm or an individual (known as a broker) that buys and sells stocks for its more... http://www.investorglossary.com/brokerage.htm
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brokerage house
A brokerage house is a place from which a broker conducts business. The term brokerage house is often referred to more... http://www.investorglossary.com/brokerage-house.htm
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bubble
In markets, a bubble is an extended period of extreme overvaluation. Bubbles occur in stock markets, real estate, commodities and more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bubble.htm
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bull
A bull is an investor who purchases a financial instrument in the expectation that it will increase in value. For more... http://www.investorglossary.com/bull.htm
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business day
The business day is defined as any of the days Monday through Friday less holidays, during which most businesses are more... http://www.investorglossary.com/business-day.htm
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business model
A business model is the way or ways that a company generates revenues and profits. A particular business model can more... http://www.investorglossary.com/business-model.htm
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business plan
A business plan defines a business and its goals. A good business plan is an essential tool for starting more... http://www.investorglossary.com/business-plan.htm
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business-to-business
Business-to-business, or B2B, describes a transaction, product or service, or business strategy as targeted to a business rather than the more... http://www.investorglossary.com/business-to-business.htm
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business-to-consumer
Business-to-consumer, or B2C describes a transaction, product or service, or business strategy as targeted to the consumer market rather than more... http://www.investorglossary.com/business-to-consumer.htm
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buy on close
A buy on close order is an order to buy stock at the close of the trading day. A buy more... http://www.investorglossary.com/buy-on-close.htm
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buy on opening
A buy on opening order is an order to your broker to buy a stock at the opening bell. more... http://www.investorglossary.com/buy-on-opening.htm
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buy order
A buy order is an order to buy a stock or other asset. It is used to add long positions more... http://www.investorglossary.com/buy-order.htm
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buyer's market
A buyer's market is any market in which there are more sellers than there are buyers. The laws of supply more... http://www.investorglossary.com/buyer's-market.htm
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buying on margin
When investors engage in buying on margin, they borrow money to purchase securities. The first step in buying on more... http://www.investorglossary.com/buying-on-margin.htm
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buyout
A buyout is an investment transaction in which a company or a controlling interest in the company’s shares, is purchased. more... http://www.investorglossary.com/buyout.htm
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