Month: November 2020

An index swap refers to a hedging contract in which a party exchanges a predetermined cash flow with a counter-party on a specified date. A debt, equity or other price index is used as the agreed exchange for one side of this swap. An overnight index swap applies an overnight rate index such as the federal funds or Libor rates. Index swaps are specialized groups of conventional fixed rate swaps, with terms that can be set from three months to more than a year.

The term unsubscribed refers to newly issued securities that have not seen much interest, or subscriptions, from investors ahead of the issue date or have not been offered by brokerages. If you wanted to own the newly issued shares, you’d be able to purchase them only as you would any other stock—through the secondary markets. In other words, shares from an initial public offering (IPO) that are not purchased, or subscribed, ahead of the IPO’s release are labeled unsubscribed.

Risk is defined in financial terms as the chance that an outcome or investment’s actual gains will differ from an expected outcome or return. Risk includes the possibility of losing some or all of an original investment.

Purchasing power is the value of a currency expressed in terms of the amount of goods or services that one unit of money can buy. Purchasing power is important because, all else being equal, inflation decreases the amount of goods or services you would be able to purchase.

Wall of worry is the financial markets’ periodic tendency to surmount a host of negative factors and keep ascending. Wall of worry is generally used in connection with the stock markets, referring to their resilience when running into a temporary stumbling block, rather than a permanent impediment to a market advance.

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (FHLMC) is a stockholder-owned, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) chartered by Congress in 1970 to keep money flowing to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing for middle-income Americans. The FHLMC, familiarly known as Freddie Mac, purchases, guarantees, and securitizes mortgages to form mortgage-backed securities.

Waiver of premium for disability is a provision in an insurance policy that states the insurance company will not require the insured to pay the premium if they are seriously injured. Insurance companies can vary in their definition of a disability, and policies can vary on when and for how long they will waive a premium in the event of a disability. It is important to note that insurance companies may charge a higher premium to include this waiver in the policy.

The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is an American financial services company founded in 1999 that provides clearing and settlement services for the financial markets. When the DTCC was established in 1999, it combined the functions of the Depository Trust Company (DTC) and the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC). The NSCC is currently a subsidiary of the DTCC.

The term bookie is short or slang for bookmaker. A bookie is someone who facilitates gambling, most commonly on sporting events. A bookie sets odds, accepts, and places bets, and pays out winnings on behalf of other people.

The law of diminishing marginal returns states that, at some point, adding an additional factor of production results in smaller increases in output. For example, a factory employs workers to manufacture its products, and, at some point, the company operates at an optimal level. With other production factors constant, adding additional workers beyond this optimal level will result in less efficient operations.