Glossary
- Stock: A security that represents a share of ownership in a company and constitutes part of the company’s equity capital.
- Bank: A financial institution that accepts deposits, offers loans, and provides other financial services to its clients.
- Balance Sheet: A document summarizing the income and expenses of an individual, family, or business over a specific period.
- Bond: A debt security issued by an entity (company or government) to raise funds, promising to repay the principal with interest.
- Budget: A detailed plan outlining how an individual or organization intends to allocate financial resources over a given period.
- Capital: The sum of money or other assets that can be used to generate income or investments.
- Credit Card: A payment tool that allows the purchase of goods and services on credit, with the obligation to repay the spent amount at a later date.
- Debit Card: A payment tool that allows spending of money available in one’s bank account.
- Checking Account: A type of bank account that allows deposits and withdrawals, providing payment tools such as checks and debit cards.
- Credit: A sum of money that a person or organization can borrow, with the obligation to repay it with interest.
- Debt: A sum of money that a person or organization owes to a creditor.
- Diversification: An investment strategy that involves spreading capital across various assets to reduce risk.
- Dividend: A portion of a company’s profits distributed to shareholders.
- Economics: The study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
- Financial Balance: A situation in which the income and expenses of an individual or a business are balanced.
- Finance: The discipline that studies the management of money, investments, and financial instruments.
- Tax System: The set of laws and regulations governing taxation.
- Mutual Fund: An investment vehicle that pools money from various investors to purchase a variety of financial securities.
- Risk Management: The process of identifying, assessing, and controlling financial risks.
- Inflation: The general increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy over time.
- Interest: The cost of borrowing money, expressed as a percentage of the principal.
- Investment: The allocation of financial resources into activities or instruments with the goal of generating a return.
- Liquidity: The ease with which an asset or investment can be converted into cash without losing value.
- Stock Market: The place (physical or virtual) where shares of publicly listed companies are bought and sold.
- Mortgage: A long-term loan typically used for purchasing real estate, which must be repaid with interest.
- Convertible Bond: A debt security that can be converted into a predetermined number of shares of the issuing company.
- Net Worth: The difference between an individual’s or a company’s assets and liabilities, representing their net wealth.
- Savings Plan: A planned strategy for setting aside a portion of income for future goals.
- Portfolio: A collection of investments held by an individual or organization.
- Loan: A sum of money borrowed that must be repaid with interest.
- Profit: The positive difference between a company’s revenues and costs, representing its net gain.
- Quote: The current price of a stock or other financial security in the market.
- Income: The amount of money earned by an individual or organization through work, investments, or other activities.
- Return: The measure of gain or loss generated by an investment over time, usually expressed as a percentage.
- Savings: The portion of income not spent and set aside for future use.
- Expenditure: The use of money to purchase goods and services.
- Interest Rate: The percentage representing the cost of borrowed money or the gain on invested money.
- Taxes: Mandatory contributions imposed by the government on individuals and businesses to finance public spending.
- Government Bonds: Debt securities issued by the government to finance its activities and public debt.
- Nominal Value: The face value of a security or currency, which may differ from its market value.
- Volatility: A measure of the fluctuation in a security’s price over time, indicating the level of risk involved.
- Warrant: A financial instrument that gives the holder the right to buy shares of a company at a predetermined price within a certain period.
- Trust Administration: The management of an individual’s assets by a trustee for the benefit of another individual or entity.
- Fundamental Analysis: The evaluation of a security’s intrinsic value through analysis of financial data and economic factors.
- Technical Analysis: The study of price movements and volumes of a security to predict future trends.
- Insurance: A contract that transfers the financial risk of unforeseen events from an individual or organization to an insurance company.
- Asset: All valuable possessions owned by an individual or company that have economic value.
- Self-Financing: The process through which a company generates capital through its profits rather than seeking external funding.
- Risk Aversion: Investors’ preference to avoid risk, favoring safe investments.
- Bankruptcy: A state of insolvency where an individual or company is unable to pay its debts.
- Tax Base: The value on which taxes are calculated.
- Benchmark: A standard reference used to measure the performance of an investment or portfolio.
- Speculative Bubble: A situation where asset prices rise rapidly and unsustainably, often followed by a sharp decline.
- Junk Bond: A high-risk, high-yield bond issued by companies with a low credit rating.
- Capital Gain: The profit earned from selling an investment at a price higher than the purchase price.
- Market Capitalization: The total market value of a company calculated by multiplying the stock price by the total number of shares outstanding.
- Coupon: Periodic interest payments made to bondholders.
- Collateral: An asset used as security for a loan, which may be claimed by the lender if payments are not made.
- Accounting: The process of recording, classifying, and summarizing financial transactions.
- Income Statement: A document summarizing a company’s revenues, costs, and profits over a specific period.
- Fixed Costs: Expenses that do not change with the level of production or sales.
- Variable Costs: Expenses that vary according to the level of production or sales.
- Consumer Credit: Loans provided to consumers for the purchase of goods and services.
- Financial Crisis: A period of severe economic instability characterized by falling asset values and difficulties in the financial system.
- Crowdfunding: A method of financing that collects small amounts of money from many people, typically via online platforms.
- Default: The inability of a borrower to make required payments on a loan or bond.
- Depreciation: The reduction in the value of an asset over time.
- Derivatives: Financial instruments whose value is derived from another asset, such as futures, options, and swaps.
- Dividends: A portion of a company’s profits distributed to its shareholders.
- Direct Debit: A service that allows automatic payment of bills and other expenses directly from a bank account.
- Due Diligence: The detailed evaluation of a company or investment before making an acquisition or investment.
- Leverage: The use of debt to increase the potential return of an investment.
- Equity: A company’s own capital, representing the shareholders’ ownership.
- Risk Exposure: The amount of risk that an investor or company is willing to accept.
- ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund): An investment fund traded on a stock exchange, which replicates the performance of a market index.
- Fair Value: The estimated value of an asset based on reasonable valuation models.
- Consumer Confidence: An economic indicator that measures the level of optimism consumers have about the future economic situation.
- Pension Fund: A long-term savings plan designed to provide income after retirement.
- Forward Contract: A derivative contract that obligates the parties to exchange an asset at a future date at a predetermined price.
- Deductible: The amount that the insured must pay out of pocket before the insurance covers the remaining costs.
- Merger: The union of two or more companies into a new entity.
- Guarantee: Assurance that a debt or obligation will be fulfilled.
- Wealth Management: A financial service that offers professional advice and investment management for individuals and organizations.
- Hedge Fund: An investment fund that uses advanced strategies to achieve high returns, often with high risk.
- Holding Company: A company that owns the majority of shares in other companies.
- Income Tax: A tax on the income earned by individuals and businesses.
- Stock Index: A measure of the value of a section of the stock market.
- Liquidity Ratio: An indicator of a company’s ability to pay its short-term debts.
- Core Inflation: A measure of inflation that excludes volatile prices for food and energy.
- Insider Trading: The buying or selling of securities based on non-public material information.
- Compound Interest: Interest