Zero Interest Rate Policy: a method of stimulating growth while keeping interest rates close to zero. Historically used in places such as Japan and the United States during the Great Recession.
Source: Investopedia
Investment-Grade Bond
Investment-Grade Bond: Investment-grade refers to bonds with a Moody’s rating of Baa or higher, Standard & Poor's rating of BBB or higher … or both. Bonds with lower ratings are considered speculative grade. Many investors have policies that require them to limit their bond investments to investment-grade issues
Source: The Street
Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E):
Market Correction
Market Correction: Usually a negative movement of 10% or more in a stock, bond, commodity or index to amend an overvaluation, interrupting an uptrend in the market or an asset. Generally a temporary price decline of a shorter duration than a bear market or recession, although it can herald both.
Source: Investopedia
Full Employment
Full Employment: Full employment is when all available labor resources are in use in the most economically efficient way. It combines the highest numbers of skilled and unskilled labor that can be employed at any time. Any remaining unemployment would be comprised of workers and companies in transition.
Source: Investopedia
Polar Vortex
Polar Vortex: An area of low pressure in the upper atmosphere near both of the Earth’s geographical poles. In the winter of 2014, the regular polar vortex experienced a breakdown and a large part of the vortex was forced southward. Eventually the cold air in Canada and the mild temperatures in the United States merged which led to extreme wind chills and record cold temperatures in the central, southern and eastern parts of the United States.
Source: Wikipedia, Weather Underground
Tapering
Tapering: Prior to May of 2013, “tapering” was a term most commonly heard in athletics training. On May 22, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated in testimony before Congress that that Fed may “taper” the bond-buying program, called quantitative easing (QE), in the coming months. The expectation in 2013 is that the Fed will gradually bring its current pace of $85 billion per month in bond purchases to zero by the middle half of 2014.
Source: about.com
LTE Technology
LTE Technology: Acronym for Long-Term Evolution telecommunications, which is the standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for data terminals and mobile devices. It was first made publically available in Stockholm in 2009, LTE is typically marketed as 4G technology though this description is not completely accurate.
Source: Wikipedia
European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Fund
European Stability Mechanism (ESM): A proposed international organization which, if established, will provide financial assistance to members of the Eurozone that are facing financial difficulties. The ESM is intended to replace existing temporary funding programs that are currently in place.
Source: Wikipedia
The Continent
The Continent: An abbreviated description often used by the United Kingdom, Icelanders and other European island nations, such as Cyprus and Malta, to describe the “mainland” continent of Europe. It is often disputed among Europeans what is considered the eastern boundary of the Continent.
Source: Wikipedia
10-Year Treasury
10-Year Treasury: a long term debt obligation that matures in 10 years; issued by the United States government. Interest is paid on a semi-annual basis and, at maturity the face value of the note is paid out to the holder. Treasury notes are state and local tax-exempt but are still taxable at the federal level. Treasury notes are also available in two, three, five and seven-year terms.
Source: Investopedia
Accretive
The Affordable Care Act (ACA)
The Affordable Care Act (ACA): An informal term for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010—legislation promoted by President Barack Obama that changed how health insurance functions in the U.S. The ACA expanded eligibility of Medicaid and required most Americans to purchase health insurance. It also set up exchanges in several states so insurers could compete to provide the most cost-effective options for consumers.
Source: The Free Dictionary
Alpha
Alpha: Alpha is a measurement of investment performance on a risk-adjusted basis. Alpha takes the volatility or price risk of an investment and compares its risk-adjusted performance to a benchmark index. The excess return of the fund relative to the return of the benchmark index is a fund’s alpha.
Source: Investopedia, Wikipedia
Annuity
Annuity: An annuity is a contract between a consumer and an insurance company that requires the insurer to make payments to the consumer, either immediately or in the future. The consumer buys an annuity by making either a single payment or a series of payments. Similarly, the payout may come either as one lump-sum payment or as a series of payments over time.
Source: Investor.gov and Investopedia
Asset-Backed Securities (ABS)
Asset-Backed Securities (ABS): financial securities that are backed by a specific pool of underlying assets. Typically these pools are a group of assets, such as mortgage loans, car loans or bank loans, that are unable to be securitized individually. Asset-backed securities are an alternative to investing in corporate debt.
(Sources: Investopedia, Wikipedia)
Athens Stock Exchange
Beggar-Thy-Neighbor Policy
Beige Book
Beige Book: The informal, commonly used name for the ongoing Fed reports titled, The Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions, by Federal Reserve District. Published eight times a year just before each Federal Open Market Committee meeting on interest rates, this report is used to inform members of the committee on changes in the economy since the last meeting.
How the Beige Book is compiled: Each of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its district. Anecdotal information comes in such forms as reports from bank and branch directors, interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts and other sources. The information summarized in the Beige Book is organized by district and sector.
Significance of the Beige Book for the Federal Open Market Committee: The primary goal of FOMC meetings is to establish a target Federal Funds rate. FOMC members also receive economic forecasts (the Green Book) and an analysis of monetary policy alternatives (the Blue Book), but the Beige Book is the only of these reports made available to the public. Often eagerly awaited by investors and economists, the Beige Book has a considerable impact on the potential actions the FOMC may take at its next meeting. The Beige Book is made public approximately two weeks before the FOMC meets.
Sources: Investopedia, Federal Reserve Board, Investing Answers
Bellwether
Bellwether: An event or indicator that shows the possible presence of a trend in overall market or sector direction. The performance of certain companies/stocks and bonds are considered by analysts to indicate the condition of the economy and financial markets because their performance is well-correlated with a trend. Bellwether companies are usually the market leaders in their respective sectors. The term is a combination of “bell” and “wether.” Shepherds would often hang bells around the necks of the wether (male sheep) that led the flock, in order to find them.
Source: Investor Glossary, Investopedia