B |
| Fifth
letter of a Nasdaq stock descriptor specifying that issue is the Class B shares of the company. |
B2B |
| An
Internet strategy of dealing directly with businesses, rather than consumers, i.e. business to (2) business. |
BAN |
| See:
Bank anticipation notes |
BEACON |
| See:
Boston Exchange Automated Communication Order-Routing Network |
BEARS |
| See:
Bonds Enabling Annual Retirement Savings (BEARS) |
BIC |
| See:
Bank Investment Contract |
BIF |
| See:
Bank Insurance Fund |
BIS |
| See:
Bank for International Settlements |
Baby bond |
| A
bond with a par
value of less than $1000. |
Back
away |
| In the context of general equities, to withdraw from a previously declared interest, indication, or transaction; broker-dealer's
failure, as a market maker in a given security, to make good on a bid/offer for the minimum quantity. |
Back fee |
| The
fee paid on the extension date
if the buyer wishes to continue the option. |
Back months |
| In
the context of futures and options trading,
refers to the months of contracts
with expiration dates farthest away. See farthest month. |
Back office |
| Brokerage
house clerical operations that support, but do not include, the trading of stocks and other securities. All written confirmation and settlement of trades, record keeping, and regulatory compliance happen in the back office. |
Back on the shelf |
| In
the context of general equities, permanently cancelled
order/interest
in a stock by a customer. See: Take a powder. |
Back
taxes |
| Due taxes that have not been paid on time. |
Back up |
| (1)
When bond yields
rise and prices fall, the market
is said to backup. (2) An investor who swaps
out of one security into another of shorter current maturity is said to back up. |
"Back up the truck" |
| In
the context of general equities, "Prepare for a very large buyer." |
Backdating |
| In
the context of mutual funds,
a feature allowing fundholders to use an earlier date on a letter of intent to invest in a mutual fund in exchange for a reduced sales charge, e.g. Giving retroactive value to purchases from the earlier date. |
Backed in |
| In
the context of general equities, to describe result of unanticipated events that allow for a purchase at a discount or a sale at a premium. |
Back-end load fund |
| A
mutual fund that charges investors a fee to sell (redeem) shares, often ranging from 4% to 6%. Some back-end load funds impose a full commission if the shares
are redeemed within a designated length ofg time, such as one year. The commission decreases, the longer the investor holds the shares. The formal name for the back-end load is the contingent deferred sales charge, or C.D.S.C. |
Back-testing |
| Creating
a hypothetical portfolio performance history by applying current asset selection criteria to prior time periods. |
Back-to-back financing |
| An
intercompany loan channeled through a bank. |
Back-to-back loan |
| A
loan in which two companies in separate countries borrow each other's currency for a specific time period and repay the other's currency at an agreed-upon maturity. |
Backup
line |
| A commercial paper issuer's bank line
of credit covering maturing notes
if, for some reason, selling new notes to cover the maturing notes is not possible. |
Backwardation |
| A
market condition in which futures prices are lower in the distant delivery months than in the nearest delivery month. This may occur when the costs of storing the product until eventual delivery are effectively subtracted from the price today. The opposite of contango. |
Bad debt |
| A debt that is written off and deemed uncollectible. |
Bad delivery |
| Antithesis
of good delivery. |
Bad title |
| Title
to property that does not distinctly confer ownership, usually in the context of real estate. |
Bai-kai |
| Two-sided
market picture,
in Japanese terminology applies mainly to international equities. |
Bailing out |
| In
the context of securities, refers to selling a security or commodity
quickly, regardless of the price. May occur when an investor no longer wants to sustain further losses on a stock. Also refers to relieving an individual, corporation, or government entity in financial trouble. |
Bailout bond |
| A
bond issued
by the Resolution Funding Corporation (Refcorp)
to save the failing savings and loan associations
in the late 1980s and early 1990s. |
Baker
Plan |
| A
plan by former U.S. Treasury Secretary James Baker
under which 15 principal middle-income debtor countries
(the Baker 15) would undertake growth-oriented structural
reforms, to be supported by
increased financing from the World Bank
and continued lending from commercial banks. |
Balance of payments |
| A
statistical compilation formulated by a sovereign nation of all economic transactions between residents of that nation and residents of all other nations during a stipulated period of time, usually a calendar year. |
Balance of trade |
| Net
flow of goods (exports minus imports) between two countries. |
Balance sheet |
| Also
called the statement of financial condition, it is a summary of a company's assets, liabilities,
and owners' equity. |
Balance sheet exposure |
| See:
Accounting exposure. |
Balance sheet identity |
| Total
assets = Total liabilities
+ Total stockholders' equity |
Balanced budget |
| A
budget in which the income equals expenditure. See: budget. |
Balanced fund |
| An
investment company that invests in stocks
and bonds. The same as a balanced mutual fund. |
Balanced mutual fund |
| This
is a fund that buys common stock,
preferred stock,
and bonds. The same as a balanced fund. |
Balloon
interest |
| In the context of serial bond issues,
the elevated coupon rate on bonds with late maturities. |
Balloon maturity |
| Any
large principal payment due at maturity for a bond
or loan with or without a sinking fund requirement. |
BAN |
| See:
Bond anticipation note. |
Bank anticipation notes (BAN) |
| Notes
issued by states and municipalities
to obtain interim financing for projects that will eventually be funded long
term through the sale of a bond
issue. |
Bank collection float |
| The
time that elapses between when a check is deposited into a bank account and when the funds are available to the depositor, during which period the bank is collecting payment from the payer's bank. |
Bank discount basis |
| A
convention used for quoting bids
and offers for Treasury
bills in terms of annualized yield,
based on a 360-day year. |
Bank
draft |
| A draft addressed to a bank. |
Bank holding company |
| A
company that owns or has controlling interest
in two or more banks and/or other bank holding companies. |
Bank Insurance Fund (BIF) |
| A
unit of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
that provides deposit insurance
for banks excluding thrifts. |
Bank for International Settlements (BIS) |
| An
international bank headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, which serves as a forum for monetary cooperation among several European central banks, the Bank of Japan, and the U.S. Federal Reserve System. Founded in 1930 to handle the German payment of World War I reparations, it now monitors and collects data on international banking activity and promulgates rules concerning international bank regulation. |
Bank Investment Contract (BIC) |
| Interest guaranteed by the bank in a portfolio over a specific time frame with a specific yield. |
Bank
line |
| Line
of credit that by a bank grants to a customer. |
Bank trust department |
| Bank
department that deals with estates, administers trusts,
and provides services such as estate planning advice to its clients. |
Bank wire |
| A
computer message system linking major banks. It is used not for effecting payments, but as a mechanism to advise the receiving bank of some action that has occurred, e.g., the payment by a customer of funds into that bank's account. |
Banker's acceptance |
| A
short-term credit investment created by a nonfinancial firm and guaranteed by a bank as to payment. Acceptances are traded at discounts to face
value in the secondary market.
These instruments have been a popular investment for money market funds. They are commonly used in international transactions. |
Bankmail |
| An
agreement between a company engaged in a takeover
bid and a bank that the bank will not finance
the bid of another acquirer. |
Bankruptcy |
| Inability
to pay debts.
In bankruptcy of a publicly owned entity, the ownership of the firm's assets is transferred from the stockholders to the bondholders. |
Bankruptcy cost view |
| The
argument that expected indirect and direct bankruptcy costs offset the other benefits from leverage so that the optimal amount of leverage is less than 100% debt financing. |
Bankruptcy risk |
| The
risk that a firm will be unable to meet its debt obligations. Also referred to as default or insolvency
risk. |
Bankruptcy view |
| The
argument that expected bankruptcy costs preclude firms from financing entirely with debt. |
Bar |
| Slang
for one million dollars. |
Barbell
strategy |
| A fixed income strategy in which the maturities of the securities included in the portfolio are concentrated at two extremes. |
Barefoot pilgrim |
| A
slang term for an unsophisticated investor
who has lost everything on the stock
market. |
Bargain
hunter |
| In the context of general equities, purchaser who is extremely selective in the price sought on a transaction. |
Bargain-purchase-price option |
| Gives
the lessee the option to purchase the asset at a price below fair
market value when the lease
expires. |
Barometer |
| Economic
and market data that represent an overall trend. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average is an example of a stock
market barometer. |
BARRA's
performance analysis (PERFAN) |
| A
method developed by BARRA, a consulting firm in Berkeley, Calif. It is commonly used by institutional investors applying performance attribution analysis
to evaluate their money managers'
performance. |
Barrier
options |
| Option
contracts with trigger points that, when crossed, automatically generate buying or selling of other options. These are exotic options. |
Barron's confidence index |
| Index measuring the ratio of the average yield on 10 top-grade bonds
to the average yield on 10 intermediate-grade bonds. The discrepancy between high-rated top-grade bonds and low-rated bond yields establishes a measure that is indicative of investor confidence. |
Barter |
| The
trading/exchange of goods or services without using currency. |
Base |
| A
technical analysis tool. A chart pattern depicting the period when the supply and demand of a certain stock are in relative equilibrium, resulting in a narrow trading range. The merging of the support level and resistance
level. |
Base
currency |
| Applies mainly to international equities. Currency in which gains or losses from operating an international portfolio are measured. |
Base interest rate |
| Related:
Benchmark interest rate. |
Base market value |
| A
group of securities, average market price at a specific time. Used for the purpose of indexing. |
Base
period |
| A particular period of time used for comparative purposes when measuring economic data. |
Base probability of loss |
| The
probability of not achieving a portfolio
expected return. Related: Value at risk. |
Base
rate |
| British equivalent of the U.S. prime rate. |
Basic
balance |
| In a balance
of payments,
the basic balance is the net balance of the combination of the current account and the capital
account. |
Basic business strategies |
| Key
strategies a firm intends to pursue in carrying out its business plan. |
Basic IRR rule |
| Accept
the project if IRR is higher than the discount rate; reject the project if it is lower than the discount rate. It is wise to also consider net present value for project evaluation. |
Basis |
| The
price an investor pays for a security plus any out-of-pocket expenses. It is used to determine capital gains or losses
for tax purposes when the stock
is sold. Also, for a futures contract,
the difference between the cash price and the futures price observed in the market. |
Basis point |
| In
the bond market,
the smallest measure used for quoting yields
is a basis point. Each percentage point of yield
in bonds equals 100 basis
points. Basis points also are used for interest
rates. An interest rate of 5% is 50 basis points higher than an interest rate of 4.5%. |
Basis price |
| Price
expressed in terms of yield to maturity
or annual rate of return. |
Basis risk |
| Uncertainty
about the basis
at
the time a hedge may be lifted. Hedging
substitutes basis risk for price risk. |
Basket |
| Applies to derivative products. Group of stocks that is formed with the intention of either being bought or sold all at once, usually to perform index arbitrage or a hedging
program. |
Basket
options |
| Packages that involve the exchange of more than two currencies against a base currency at expiration. The basket option buyer purchases the right, but not the obligation, to receive designated currencies in exchange for a base currency, either at the prevailing foreign exchange market rate or at a prearranged rate of exchange. Multinational corporations with multicurrency cash flows frequently use basket options because it is generally cheaper to buy an option on a basket of currencies than to buy individual options on each of the currencies that make up the basket. |
Basket trades |
| Related:
Program trades. |
BD form |
| An
SEC required document of brokerage houses that outlines the firm's finances and officers. |
Boston Exchange Automated Communication Order-Routing Network (BEACON) |
| This
system permits the automatic execution
of trades based on the current stock prices on the consolidated markets at any of the U.S. securities
exchanges. |
Bear |
| An investor
who believes a stock or the overall market will decline. A bear market is a prolonged period of falling stock prices, usually by 20% or more. Related: bull. |
Bear
CD |
| A bear CD pays the holder a fraction of any fall in a given market index. |
Bear hug |
| Often
used in risk arbitrage. Hostile takeover
attempt in which the acquirer
offers an exceptionally large premium
over the market value of the acquiree's share so as to as to squeeze (hug) the target into acceptance. |
Bear market |
| Any
market in which prices exhibit a declining trend. For a prolonged period, usually falling by 20% or more. |
Bear raid |
| In
the context of general equities, attempt by investors to move the price of a stock opportunistically by selling large numbers of shares short.
The investors pocket the difference between the initial price and the new, lower price after this maneuver. This technique is illegal under S.E.C. rules, which stipulate that every short sale must be on an uptick. |
Bear spread |
| Applies
to derivative products. Strategy in the options market
designed to take advantage of a fall in the price of a security or commodity,
usually executed by buying a combination of calls and puts
on the same security at different strike prices in order to profit as the security's price falls. |
Bear trap |
| The
predicament facing short sellers when a bear market reverses its trend
and becomes bullish. The assets continue to sell in anticipation of further declines in price, and short sellers then are forced to cover at higher prices |
Bearer bond |
| Bonds
that are not registered on the books of the issuer.
Such bonds are held in physical form by the owner, who receives interest payments by physically detaching coupons from the bond certificate and delivering them to the paying agent. |
Bearer form |
| Describes
issue form of security not registered on the issuing corporation's books, and therefore payable to its bearer. See also: Bearer bond; coupon
bond. |
Bearer share |
| Security not registered
on the books of the issuing corporation and thus payable to possessor of the shares. Negotiable without endorsement and transferred by delivery, thus avoiding some of the control associated with ordinary shares. Dividends
are payable upon presentation of dividend coupons, which are dated or numbered. Applies mainly to international equities. |
Bearish |
| Words
used to describe investor attitude. |
Beating
the gun |
| In the context of general equities, gaining an advantageous price in a trade through a quick response to market developments. |
Before-tax profit margin |
| The
ratio of net income
before taxes to net sales. |
Beggar-thy-neighbor |
| An
international trade policy of competitive devaluations and increased protective barriers that one country institutes to gain at the expense of its trading partners. |
Beggar-thy-neighbor devaluation |
| A
devaluation that is designed to cheapen a nation's currency and thereby increase its exports at the expense of other countries. Devaluation can also reduce a nation's imports. Such devaluations often lead to trade wars. |
Behind |
| Used for listed equity securities. At the same price but entered after your order/interest,
such as on the specialist's
book. Antithesis of ahead of you. |
Bell |
| Signal
on a stock exchange to indicate the open and close
of trading. |
Bellwether issues |
| Related:
Benchmark issues. |
Below par |
| Less
than the nominal or face
value of a security. |
Benchmark |
| The
performance of a predetermined set of securities, used for comparison purposes. Such sets may be based on published indexes or may be customized to suit an investment strategy. |
Benchmark error |
| Use
of an inappropriate proxy for the true market
portfolio. |
Benchmark
interest rate |
| Also called the base interest
rate, it is the minimum interest rate investors will demand for investing in a non-Treasury security. It is also tied to the yield to maturity offered on the comparable-maturity Treasury security that was most recently issued (on-the-run). |
Benchmark issue |
| Also
called on-the-run or current-coupon issue
or bellwether issues. In the secondary market, the benchmark issue is the most recently auctioned Treasury issues for each maturity. |
Beneath |
| Used
for listed equity securities. 1) Behind;
2) Lower in price. |
Beneficial ownership |
| Often
used in risk arbitrage. Person who enjoys the benefits of ownership even though title is in another name. (Abused through the illegal use of a parking violation.) |
Beneficiary |
| Term
used to refer to the person who receives the benefits of a trust or the recipient of the proceeds of a life insurance policy. |
Best's rating |
| A
rating A.M. Best Co. assigns to insurance companies based on the company's ability to meet its obligations to its policyholders. |
Best-efforts sale |
| A
method of securities distribution/underwriting
in which the securities firm agrees to sell as much of the offering as possible and return any unsold shares to the issuer.
As opposed to a guaranteed or fixed-price sale, in which the underwriter agrees to sell a specific number of shares (and holds any unsold shares in its own account if necessary). |
Best-interests-of-creditors test |
| The
requirement that a claim holder voting against a plan of reorganization must receive at least as much as if the debtor were liquidated. |
Beta |
| The
measure of a fund's or a stock's
risk in relation to the market
or to an alternative benchmark.
A beta of 1.5 means that a stock's excess
return is expected to move 1.5 times the market excess returns. E.g., if market excess return is 10%, then we expect, on average, the stock return to be 15%. Beta is referred to as an index of the systematic
risk due to general market conditions that cannot be diversified away. |
Beta equation (security) |
| The
market beta of a security is determined as follows: Regress excess returns
of stock y on excess returns of the market. The slope
coefficient is beta. Define n as number of observation
numbers. Beta =
[(n) (sum of [xy]) ]-[ (sum of x) (sum of y)]/
[(n) (sum of [xx]) ]-[ (sum of x) (sum of x)]
where: n = # of observations (usually 36 to 60 months)
x = rate of return for the S&P 500 index
y = rate of return for the security
Related: Alpha |
Biased expectations theories |
| Related:
Pure expectations theory. |
Bid |
| The
price a potential buyer is willing to pay for a security.
Sometimes also used in the context of takeovers
where one corporation is bidding for (trying to buy) another corporation. In trading, we have the bid-ask
spread which is the difference between what buyers are willing to pay and what sellers are asking for in terms of price. |
Bid away |
| Refers
to over-the-counter trading. Bid
from another dealer exists at the same (listed) or higher (O.T.C.) price. |
Bid-asked spread |
| The
difference between the bid
and the asked prices. |
Bid price |
| This
is the quoted bid, or the highest price an investor
is willing to pay to buy a security.
Practically speaking, this is the available price at
which an investor can sell
shares of stock.
Related: Ask, offer. |
Bid-to-cover ratio |
| The
ratio of the number of bids
received in a Treasury security
auction compared to the number of accepted bids. |
Bid wanted |
| Used
in the context of general equities. Announcement that a holder of securities wants to sell and will entertain bids. |
Bidder |
| A firm or person that wants to buy a firm or security. |
Bidding buyer |
| In
the context of general equities, a nonaggressive
buyer who prefers to await a natural
seller in the hope of paying a lower price. |
Bidding through the market |
| In
the context of general equities, aggressive
willingness to purchase a security
at a premium to the inside
market. Contrast with bidding buyer. |
Bidding up |
| Moving
the bid price higher. |
Big Bang |
| The
term applied to the liberalization in 1986 of the London Stock Exchange (L.S.E.) when trading was automated. |
Big Board |
| A
nickname for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Also known as The Exchange.
More than 2,000 common and preferred stocks
are traded. Founded in 1792, the N.Y.S.E. is the oldest exchange in the United States, and the largest. It is located on Wall Street in New York City. |
Big picture |
| To
highlight trading interest due to the size of the trade. |
Big
producer |
| A successful broker who generates a large volume of commission.
See Rainmaker. |
Big uglies |
| Unpopular
stocks. |
Bill of exchange |
| General
term for a document demanding payment. |
Bill of lading |
| A
contract between an exporter and a transportation company in which the latter agrees to transport the goods under specified conditions that limit its liability. It is the exporter's receipt for the goods as well as proof that goods have been or will be received. |
Billing cycle |
| The
time elapsed between billing periods for goods sold or services rendered. |
Binder |
| An
amount of money paid to indicate good
faith in a transaction
before the transaction is completed. |
Binomial option pricing model |
| An
option pricing model in which the underlying asset can assume one of only two possible, discrete values in the next time period for each value that it can take on in the preceding time period. |
Bi-weekly mortgage loan |
| A
mortgage loan on which interest
and principal payments are made every half-month (total of 26 payments) as opposed to monthly payments. This results in earlier loan retirement. |
Black
Friday |
| A precipitous drop in a financial market . The original Black Friday occurred on September 24, 1869, when prospectors attempted to corner the gold market. |
Black market |
| An
illegal market. |
Black Monday |
| Refers
to October 19, 1987, when the Dow
Jones Industrial Average fell 508 points on the heels of sharp drops the previous week. On Monday, October 27, 1997, the Dow dropped 554 points. While the point drop set a new record, the percentage decline was substantially less than in 1987. |
Black-Scholes option-pricing model |
| A
model for pricing call
options based on arbitrage
arguments. Uses the stock
price, the exercise price, the risk-free interest rate, the time to expiration, and the expected standard deviation of the stock return. Developed by Fischer Black and Myron Scholes in 1973. |
Blank check |
| A
check that is duly signed, but the amount of the check is left blank to be supplied by the drawee. |
Blank check offering |
| An
initial public offering by a company whose business activities are undefined and therefore speculative. |
Blanket certification form |
| See:
NASD form FR-1 |
Blanket fidelity bond |
| SEC-required insurance coverage that brokerage firms are required to have in order to cover fraudulent trading by employees. |
Blanket inventory lien |
| A
secured loan that gives the lender a lien
against all the borrower's inventories. |
Blanket recommendation |
| A
recommendation by a brokerage firm sent to all its customers advising that they buy or sell a particular stock regardless of investment
objectives or portfolio size. |
Blind pool |
| A
limited partnership that does not announce its intentions as to what properties will be acquired. |
Blind trust |
| A
trust in which a fiduciary third party has total discretion to make investments on behalf of a beneficiary
while the beneficiary is uninformed about the holdings of the trust. |
Blitzkrieg
tender offer |
| In the context of a takeover, refers to a tender
offer that is priced so attractively that the tender is completed quickly. |
Block |
| Large
quantity of stock or large dollar amount of bonds held or traded. As a rule of thumb, 10,000 shares or more of stock and $200,000 or more worth of bonds would be described as a block. |
Block call |
| In
the context of general equities, conference meeting during which customer indications and orders, along with the traders' own buy/sell
preferences, are conveyed to the entire organization. See block list. |
Block
house |
| Brokerage
firms that help to find potential buyers or sellers
of
large block trades. |
Block list |
| In
the context of general equities, listing of stock
the investment bank is looking for (wants to buy)
or (wants to sell) at the beginning of the day, whether on an agency or principal
basis. |
Block
trade |
| A large trading order, defined on the New
York Stock Exchange as an order that consists of 10,000 shares of a given stock
or at a total market value of $200,000 or more. |
Block trader |
| A
dealer who will take a position
in the block trades to accommodate customer buyers and sellers of blocks. See: Dealer, market maker,
principal. |
Block
voting |
| Descirbes a group of shareholders banding together to vote their shares in a single block. |
Blocked currency |
| A
currency that is not freely convertible to other currencies due to exchange controls. |
Blow-off top |
| A
steep and rapid increase in price followed by a steep and rapid drop. This is an indicator seen in charts and used in technical analysis of stock
price and market trends. |
Blowout |
| The
rapid sale of all shares in a new securities offering.
See: hot issue. |
Blue list |
| Daily
financial publication featuring bonds
offered for sale by dealers
and banks that represent billions of dollars in par
value. Also available on-line at www.bluelist.com. |
Blue-chip company |
| Used
in the context of general equities. Large and creditworthy company. Company renowned for the quality and wide acceptance of its products or services, and for its ability to make money and pay dividends. Gilt-edged
security. |
Blue-sky laws |
| State
laws covering the issue and trading of securities. |
Bo Derek stock |
| High
quality stock. |
Board broker |
| Employee
of the Chicago Board Options Exchange
who manages away from the market
orders, which cannot be executed
immediately. |
Board
of Directors |
| Individuals elected by the shareholders of a corporation who carry out certain tasks established in the charter. |
Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System |
| The
managing body of the Federal Reserve System,
set which policies on bank practices and the money
supply. |
Board
room |
| A room at a brokerage firm where its clients can watch an electronic board displaying stock prices and transactions.
Also refers to the room where Board
of Directors meetings take place. |
Bogey |
| The
return an investment manager is compared to for performance evaluation. |
Boiler room |
| Used
to describe place or operation in which unscrupulous salespeople call and try to sell people speculative, even fraudulent, securities. |
Boilerplate |
| Standard
terms and conditions. |
Bolsa |
| Spanish
for stock exchange. |
Bolsa de Commercio de Santiago (SSE) |
| Chile's
preeminent stock exchange. |
Bolsa de Valores de Rio de Janeiro (BVRJ) |
| Brazil's
second-largest stock exchange. |
Bolsa de Valores de Sao Paulo (BOVESPA) |
| The
largest stock exchange in Brazil. |
Bolt |
| Used
for listed equity securities. Block
trading version of COLT. |
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) |
| See:
National Stock Exchange; Mumbai stock exchange. |
Bond |
| Bonds
are debt and are issued
for a period of more than one year. The U.S. government, local governments, water districts, companies and many other types of institutions sell bonds. When an investor buys
bonds, he or she is lending money. The seller of the bond agrees to repay the principal amount of the loan at a specified time. Interest-bearing bonds pay interest periodically. |
Bond agreement |
| A
contract for privately placed debt. |
Bond anticipation note (BAN) |
| A
short-term debt instrument issued by a state or municipality to borrow
against the proceeds of an upcoming bond issue. |
Bond broker |
| A
broker on the floor
of an exchange who trades
bonds. |
Bond Buyer |
| A
daily publication featuring many essential statistics and index figures relevant to the fixed income markets. |
Bond
Buyer's municipal bond index |
| A
municipal bond price tracking index published daily by the Bond Buyer. |
Bond
counsel |
| An attorney who prepares the legal opinion concerning a municipal
bond issue. |
Bond covenant |
| A
contractual provision in a bond indenture.
A positive covenant requires certain actions, and a negative covenant limits certain actions. |
Bond crowd |
| Members
of the stock exchange who transact bond orders
on the floor of the exchange. |
Bond discount |
| The
difference by which a bond's market price
is lower than its face value.
The antithesis of a bond premium,
which prevails when the market price
of a bond is higher than its face value. See: Original
issue discount. |
Bond-equivalent
basis |
| The method used for computing the bond-equivalent yield. |
Bond equivalent yield |
| Bond
yield calculated on an annual percentage rate
method. Differs from
annual effective yield. |
Bond indenture |
| Contract that sets forth the promises of a corporate bond issuer
and the rights of investors. |
Bond indexing |
| Designing
a bond portfolio so that its performance will match the performance of some bond index. |
Bond market association |
| An
international trade association of broker/dealers and banks in U.S. government and federal agency securities, municipal securities, mortgage-backed securities, and money market securities. |
Bond mutual fund |
| A
mutual fund holding bonds. |
Bond points |
| A
conventional unit of measure for bond prices set at $1 and equivalent to 1% of the $100 face value of the bond. A price of 80 means that the bond is selling at 80% of its face or par value. |
Bond
power |
| A form used in the transfer of registered bonds from one owner to a different owner. |
Bond premium |
| See:
Bond discount |
Bond rating |
| A
rating based on the possibility of default by a bond
issuer. The ratings
range from AAA (highly unlikely to default) to D (in default). See: Rating, investment grade. |
Bond ratio |
| The
percentage of a company's capitalization
represented by bonds. The ratio is calculated by dividing the total bonds due after one year by that same figure plus all other equity. See: Debt-to-equity-ratio. |
Bond swap |
| The
sale of one bond issue
and purchase of another bond
issue simultaneously. See: Swap; swap order. |
Bond value |
| With
respect to convertible bonds,
the value the security would have if it were not convertible. That is the market value of the bond minus the value of the conversion option. |
Bondholder |
| The
firm often has stockholders
and bondholders. In a liquidation,
the bondholders have first priority. |
BONDPAR |
| A
system that monitors and evaluates the performance of a fixed income portfolio, as well as the individual securities held in the portfolio. BONDPAR decomposes the return into the elements beyond the manager's control--such as the interest rate environment and client-imposed duration policy constraints--and those that the management process contributes to, such as interest rate management, sector/quality allocations, and individual bond selection. |
Bonds Enabling Annual Retirement Savings (BEARS) |
| Holders
of BEARS receive the face value
of bonds underlying
call option, which are exercised
by CUBS (an acronym for Calls Underwritten by Swanbrook). If the calls are exercised by CUBS, BEARS holders receive the total of the exercise price. |
Bon voyage bonus |
| See:
Greenmail. |
Boning |
| Charging
a lot more for an asset than its worth. |
Book |
| A
banker or trader's positions. |
Book cash |
| A
firm's cash balance as reported in its financial statements. Also calledledger cash. |
Book
profit |
| The cumulative book income plus any gain or loss on disposition of assets. |
Book
runner |
| The managing underwriter
for a new issue. The book runner maintains the book of securities sold. |
Book to bill |
| In
the context of general equities, high-technology industry's demand to supply ratio of orders on a firm's book to number of orders filled. Measures who the company has more orders than it can deliver (>1), equal amounts (=1), or less (<1). This monthly figure is of major interest to investors/ traders
in the high-technology sector. |
Book value |
| A
company's total assets minus intangible assets
and
liabilities, such as debt.
A company's book value might be higher or lower than its market value. |
Book
value per share |
| The ratio of stockholder
equity to the average number of common
shares. Book value per share should not be thought of as an indicator of economic worth, since it reflects accounting valuation (and not necessarily market valuation). |
Book-entry securities |
| System
in which securities are not represented by paper certificates but are maintained in computerized records at the Fed in the names of member banks, which in turn keep computer records of the securities they own as well as those they are holding for customers. In the case of other securities where a book-entry has developed, certificates reside in a central clearinghouse or by another agent. These securities do not move from holder to holder. |
Bootstrap |
| Term
used to describe the start-up of a company with very little capital. |
Bootstrapping |
| Creating
a theoretical spot rate curve
using one yield projection as the basis for the yield of the next maturity. |
Borrow |
| To obtain or receive money on loan with the promise or understanding that it will be repaid. |
Borrowed reserves |
| Funds
borrowed from a Federal
Reserve Bank by member banks to maintain the required reserve ratios. |
Borrower fallout |
| In
the mortgage pipeline, the risk that prospective borrowers of loans committed to be closed will elect to withdraw from the contract. |
Bot |
| Shorthand
for bought. Antithesis of SL, meaning sold. |
Bottom |
| Refers
to the base support level for market prices
of any type. Also used in the context of securities
to refer to the lowest market price of a security during a specific time-frame. |
Bottom fisher |
| An
investor seeking stocks
that have fallen to prices at or near their bottom, which he or she believes will trend up in the future. |
Bottom-up equity management style |
| A
management style that de-emphasizes the significance of economic and market cycles, focusing instead on the analysis of individual stocks. |
Bought
deal |
| Security
issue in which one or two underwriters buy
the entire issue. |
Bounce |
| A
check returned by a bank because it is not payable, usually because of insufficient funds. Also used in the context of securities to refer to the rejection and ensuing reclamation of a security; a stock price's abrupt decline and recovery. |
Bourse |
| French
for a stock market. |
Boutique |
| A
small, specialized brokerage firm
that offers limited services and products to a limited number of clients. Antithesis of financial supermarket. |
Box |
| The
actual physical location at a brokerage house or bank where securities or other documents are stored for safekeeping. Alternatively, a quotation machine or battery march. |
Bracket |
| A
term signifying the extent of an underwriter's
commitment in a new issue, e.g., major bracket or minor bracket. |
Bracket creep |
| The
gradual movement into higher tax brackets
when incomes increase as a result of inflation. |
Brady bonds |
| Bonds
issued by emerging countries under a debt reduction plan. |
Branch |
| An
operation in a foreign country incorporated in the home country. |
Breadth of the market |
| In
the context of general equities, percentage of stocks
participating in a particular market
move. Technical analysts say there was significant breadth if two-thirds of the stocks listed on an exchange move in the same direction during a trading session. See: A/D line. |
Break |
| A rapid and sharp price decline. Related: Crash. |
Break
price |
| Used in the context of general equities. Change one's offering or bid
prices to move to a more realistic, tight
level where execution is more feasible. Often done to trim one's position, thus "breaking price" from where the trades occurred (if long,
"break price" downward 1/8 a point or more). |
Break-even analysis |
| An
analysis of the level of sales at which a project would make zero profit. |
Break-even lease payment |
| The
lease
payment at which a party
to a prospective lease is indifferent between entering and not entering into a lease arrangement. |
Break-even payment rate |
| The
prepayment rate of an MBS coupon that will produce the same cash flow yield (CFY) as that of a predetermined benchmark MBS coupon. Used to identify for coupons higher than the benchmark coupon the prepayment rate that will produce the same cash flow yield (CFY) as that of the benchmark coupon; and for coupons lower than the benchmark coupon the lowest prepayment rate that will do so. |
Break-even point |
| Refers
to the price at which a transaction
produces neither a gain nor a loss. In the context of options, the term has the additonal definitions: 1.
Long calls
and short uncovered
calls: strike price plus premium. 2. Long
puts and short
uncovered puts: strike
price minus premium. 3.
Short covered call:
purchase price minus premium. 4.
Short put
covered by short stock:
short sale price of underlying
stock plus premium. |
Break-even tax rate |
| The
tax rate at which a party to a prospective transaction is indifferent between entering into and not entering into the transaction. |
Break-even time |
| Related:
Premium payback
period. |
Breaking the syndicate |
| Terminating
an agreement among underwriters,
specifically the investment banking
group assembled to underwrite the issue
of a security. |
Breakout |
| A
rise in a security's price above a resistance level (commonly its previous high price) or a drop below a level of support (commonly the former lowest price.) A breakout is taken to signify a continuing move in the same direction. Can be used by technical analysts as a buy
or sell indicator. |
Breakpoint
sale |
| For mutual
funds, refers to the investment
amount necessary to make the fundholder eligible for a reduced sales charge. See: Letter of intent; right of accumulation. |
Breakup value |
| See:
Private market value. |
Breeden, Douglas T. |
| Inventor
of one of the foundational asset pricing models in finance, the consumption based capital asset pricing model. Chairman of Smith Breeden Associates. |
Bretton Woods Agreement |
| An
agreement signed by the original United Nations members
in 1944
that established the International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.)
and the post-World War II international monetary system of fixed exchange rates. |
Bridge financing |
| Interim
financing of one sort or another used to solidify a
position until more permanent financing is arranged. |
"Bring it out" |
| In
the context of general equities, "make stock available for sale to indicated buyers." |
British clearers |
| The
large clearing banks that dominate deposit taking and short-term lending in the domestic sterling market. |
Broad
tape |
| An expanded version of the ticker tape, which is displayed on a screen in the board room of a brokerage firm and shows constantley updated financial information and news. |
Broken up |
| Used
for listed equity securities. Prevented from executing
a trade (committed to upstairs)
due to exchange priority rules excluding one's order (e.g., higher bid/lower
offer on floor, market
order to satisfy). |
Broker |
| An individual who is paid a commission for executing
customer orders. Either a floor broker
who executes orders on the floor of the exchange, or an upstairs broker
who handles retail customers and their orders. Also, person who acts as an intermediary between a buyer and seller, usually charging a commission. A "broker" who specializes in stocks, bonds,
commodities, or options acts as an agent and must be registered with the exchange where the securities are traded. Antithesis of dealer. |
Broker-dealer |
| See:
Dealer. |
Broker loan rate |
| Related:
Call money rate. |
Brokered CD |
| A
certificate of deposit issued by a bank or thrift institution bought by a brokerage firm in bulk for the purpose of reselling to brokerage customers. A broker CD features a higher interest rate, usually 1% higher, and is FDIC insured and do not usually have commissions. |
Brokered
market |
| A market in which an intermediary offers search services to buyers and sellers. |
Brought over the wall |
| Compelling
a research analyst of an investment bank to work in the underwriting department for a corporate client, therefore allowing for the transmission of insider information. Also called "Over the Chinese wall". |
Brussels Stock Exchange (BSE) |
| Stock exchange that handles the majority of securities transactions
in Belgium. |
Bubble
theory |
| Security
prices sometimes move wildly above their true values, or the price falls sharply until the "bubble bursts.". |
Budget |
| A
detailed schedule of financial activity, such as an
advertising
budget, a sales budget, or a capital budget. |
Budget deficit |
| The
amount by which government spending exceeds government revenues. |
Buck |
| Slang
for one million dollars. |
Bucket
shop |
| An illegal brokerage firm that accepts customer orders but does not attain immediate executions. A bucket shop broker
promises the customer a certain price, but waits until a price discrepancy is present and the trade is advantageous to the firm and then keeps the difference as profit. Alternatively, the broker
may never fill the customer's order
but keep the money. |
Budget
surplus |
| The amount by which government revenues exceed government spending. |
Build a book |
| In
the context of general equities, develop customer orders to gather demand/supply in order to make a bid or an offer. |
Builder buydown loan |
| A
mortgage loan on newly developed property that the builder subsidizes during the early years of the development. The builder uses cash to buy down the mortgage rate to a lower level than the prevailing market loan rate for some period of time. The typical buydown is 3% of the interest rate amount for the first year, 2% for the second year, and 1% for the third year (also referred to as a 3-2-1 buydown). |
Bulge |
| A
short-lived stock price increase. Synonymous with bubble. |
Bulge
bracket |
| A tier of firms
in an underwriting syndicate
that have the highest participation level. See: Mezzanine
bracket. |
Bull |
| An
investor who thinks the market
will rise. Related: Bear. |
Bull-bear bond |
| Bond whose principal
repayment is linked to the price of another security.
The bonds are issued in two tranches: In the first tranche repayment increases with the price of the other security, and in the second tranche repayment decreases with the price of the other security. |
Bull CD |
| A
bull CD
pays its holder a specified percentage of the increase in return on a specified market index
while guaranteeing a minimum rate of return. |
Bull market |
| Any
market in which prices are in an upward trend. |
Bull
spread |
| A spread
strategy in which an investor buys an out-of-the-money
put option, financing it by selling an out-of-the money call option on the same underlying security. |
Bulldog bond |
| Foreign
bond issue
made in London. |
Bulldog market |
| The
foreign market in the United Kingdom. |
Bullet contract |
| A
guaranteed investment contract
purchased with a single (one-shot) premium.
Related: Window contract. |
Bullet loan |
| A
bank term loan that calls for no amortization. |
Bullet
strategy |
| A fixed income strategy in which a portfolio is constructed so that the maturities of its securities are highly concentrated at one point on the yield curve. |
Bullion coins |
| Metal
coins consisting of gold, silver, platinum, or palladium that are actively traded. Some examples include the American eagle and the Canadian maple leaf. Their price is directly connected to the underlying price of their metal. |
Bullish |
| Words
used to describe investor attitudes. Bullish refers to an optimistic outlook, while bearish means a pessimistic outlook. |
Bump-up CD |
| A
certificate of deposit granting the owner the right to increase its yield one time for the remaining term of the CD. The power is exercised
by the owner in the event of an interest
rate hike. |
Bunching |
| Describes
the act of traders combining round-lot orders for execution
at the same time. Bunching can also be used to combine odd-lot orders to save the odd-lot
differential for customers. Also used to refer to the pattern on the ticker
tape when a series of trades
for a security appear consecutively. |
Bundling, unbundling |
| Creation
of securities either by combining primitive
and derivative securities into one composite hybrid or by separating returns on an asset into classes. |
Burn rate |
| Used
in venture capital financing to refer to the rate at which a start-up company expends capital to finance overhead
costs prior to the generation of positive cash
flow. |
Burnout |
| Depletion
of a tax shelter's benefits. In the context of mortgage backed securities it refers to the percentage of the pool that has prepaid their mortgage. |
Business combination |
| See:
Merger |
Business
cycle |
| Repetitive cycles of economic expansion and recession. The official peaks and troughs of the U.S. cycle are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, MA. |
Business day |
| A
day in which financial markets
are open for trading. |
Business failure |
| A
business that has terminated operations with a loss to creditors. |
Business risk |
| The
risk that the cash flow
of an issuer will be impaired because of adverse economic conditions, making it difficult for the issuer to meet its operating expenses. |
Business segment reporting |
| Reporting
the results of the separate divisions or subsidiaries of a business. |
Busted convertible |
| Related:
Fixed income equivalent. Mainly applies to convertible securities.
Convertible bond selling essentially as a straight bond. Assuming the issuer
is "money good," or will continue to meet credit obligations, such issues can be highly attractive since the price makes virtually no allowance for the bond's call on the common stock, although such issues usually carry high premiums. |
Bust-up
takeover |
| A leveraged
buyout in which the buyer sells off the assets
of the target_company to repay the debt that financed the takeover. |
Butterfly |
| In
the context of equities, a firm with two divisions may split into two companies and issue original shareholders two shares (one in each of the new companies) for every old share they have. |
Butterfly shift |
| A
nonparallel shift in the yield curve
involving the height of the curve. |
Butterfly
spread |
| Applies to derivative products. Complex option strategy that involves selling two calls and buying two calls on the same or different markets, with several maturity dates. One of the options has a higher exercise price and the other has a lower exercise price than the other two options. The payoff diagram resembles the shape of a butterfly. |
Buy |
| To
purchase an asset; taking a long position. |
Buy-and-hold strategy |
| A
passive investment strategy with no active buying and selling of stocks from the time the portfolio is created until the end of the investment horizon. |
Buy-and-write strategy |
| An
options strategy that calls for the purchase of stocks and the writing of covered call options on them. |
Buy the book |
| An
order, typically from a large institutional investor to a broker to purchase all the shares
available at the market from the specialist and other brokers
and dealers at the current offer price. The book refers to the record a specialist kept before the advent of computers. |
Buy hedge |
| See:
Long hedge |
Buy in |
| To cover, offset,
or close out a
short position. Related: Evening up, liquidation. |
Buy limit order |
| A
conditional trading order that indicates a security may be purchased only at the designated price or lower. Related: Sell limit order. |
Buy minus order |
| In
the context of general equities, rare market
or limit order to buy
a stated amount of a stock,
provided that the price to be obtained is not higher than the last sale if the last sale is a minus or zero-minus tick, and is not higher than the last sale minus the minimum fractional change in the stock if the last sale is a plus or zero-plus tick. (If limit, then the buy
cannot occur above the limit, regardless of tick.) |
Buy on the bad news |
| Buying stock
shortly after a price drop resulting from bad news from the company. Investors believe that the price has hit bottom and will trend upward. See: Bottom
fisher. |
Buy on close |
| Buying at the end of the trading session at a price within the closing range. |
Buy on margin |
| Borrowing
to buy additional shares,
using the shares themselves as collateral. |
Buy on opening |
| Buying
at the beginning of a trading session at a price within the opening range. |
Buy order |
| An
order to a broker
to purchase a specific quantity of a security. |
Buy-side analyst |
| A
financial analyst
employed by a nonbrokerage firm, typically one of the larger money management firms that purchases securities on its own account. |
Buy stop order |
| A
buy order not to be executed
until the market price rises to the stop price. Once the security
has broken through that price, the order
is then treated as a market order.
Also known as a suspended market order. |
"Buy them back" |
| Used
for listed equity securities. "Cover
my short position. |
Buyback |
| The
covering of a short position by purchasing a long contract,
usually resulting from the short sale
of a commodity. See: Short
covering, stock buyback.
Also used in the context of bonds.
The purchase of corporate bonds
by the issuing company at a discount in the open market.
Also used in the context of corporate finance.
When a firm elects to repurchase some of the shares trading in the market. |
Buydowns |
| Mortgages in which monthly payments consist of principal and interest.
During the early part of the loan, portions of these payments are provided by a third party to reduce the borrower's monthly payments. |
Buyer's market |
| Market in which the supply exceeds the demand, creating lower prices. Antithesis of seller's_market. |
Buyers/sellers on balance |
| Used
for listed equity securities. Indicates that at a given time (usually before the opening of a stock/market or at expiration
time), there are more buyers/sellers in the marketplace, usually with market orders. See: Imbalance
of orders. |
Buying climax |
| A
rapid rise in the price of a stock
resulting from heavy buying, which usually creates the market condition for a rapid fall in the price. |
Buying the index |
| Purchasing
the stocks in the S&P
500 in the same proportion as the index
to achieve the same return. |
Buying
power |
| The amount of money available to buy securities, determined by adding the total cash held in brokerage accounts and the amount that could be spent if securities were margined
to the limit. |
Buyout |
| Purchase of a controlling interest
(or percent of shares) of a company's stock. A leveraged
buy out is effected with borrowed money. |
Bylaws |
| Rules
and practices that govern management of an organization. |