Bear Market - Answers A condition of the stock market in which stock prices are falling.
Bull Market - Answers A condition of the stock market in which stock prices are rising.
Common Stock - Answers A basic share of ownership in a company that comes with voting rights.
Dividend - Answers A portion of a company's profits, paid to shareholders, usually quarterly
Market Capitalization - Answers An indicator of the size of a public company, as measured by the total
dollar value of its stock; calculated by multiplying share price by number of outstanding shares;
companies are often categorized as small cap, mid cap, or large cap, though the specific dollar categories
vary by source.
Market Analysis - Answers A systematic study of the market.
IPO (Initial Public Offering) - Answers The introduction of a corporation's stock to the market.
Preferred Stock - Answers A basic share of ownership in a corporation that comes with extra privileges
but no voting rights.
Return - Answers The reward or benefit received in return for an investment.
Insider - Answers Owners, directors, and key management of a company
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) - Answers Federal agency that regulates the financial
markets; charged with protecting the investing public from fraud or malpractice
Stockholders' Equity - Answers Assets minus liabilities; also known as shareholders' equity, book value,
and net worth; sometimes referred to as equity
401(K) PLAN - Answers An employee-sponsored, tax-deferred retirement plan
EDGAR - Answers Stands for Electronic Data Gathering and Retrieval; section of the SEC web site in
which all of the mandatory filings are housed
Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) - Answers Federal agency that regulates the financial markets;
charged with protecting the investing public from fraud or malpractice.
Share - Answers In investing, a piece of ownership in a corporation; also known as a stock.
Shareholder - Answers Anyone who owns stock in a corporation; also known as a stockholder
Stock - Answers Shares or units of ownership in a corporation.
Stock Exchange - Answers A place (physical or virtual) where stocks are traded by brokers who represent
buyers and sellers NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange.
, Ticker Symbol - Answers System of letters that uniquely identifies a company; also known as call letters.
Bond - Answers Debt securities issued by companies or entities to raise money. Bonds typically make
regular interest payments therefor they are a good way to generate a reliable stream of income. Bonds
can be thought of as an I.O.U. between the lender and the borrower that includes the details of the loan
and its payments. They have an end date when the principal of the loan is due to be paid to the bond
owner and usually includes terms for variable or fixed interest payments that will be made by the
borrower.
Face Value (Or Par Value) - Answers The original bond amount that is to be repaid at maturity
Coupon Rate - Answers the rate of interest the bond issuer will pay on the face value of the bond
expressed as a percentage.
Maturity Date - Answers the date on which the bond will mature and the bond issuer will pay the
bondholder the face value of the bond.
Issue Price - Answers the price at which the bond issuer originally sells the bonds
Issuer - Answers The corporation or governing body borrowing a bond investor's money
Government Bonds - Answers issued by governments to raise money. In the US, they are issued by the
Treasury. Bonds issued by the Treasury with a year or less to maturity are called "Bills"' bonds issued
with 1-10 years to maturity are called "notes"; and bonds issued with more than 10 years to maturity
are called "bonds". The entire category of bonds issued by a government treasury are often collectively
referred to as "treasuries."
Corporate Bonds - Answers bonds that are issued by companies
Municipal Bonds - Answers bonds that are issued by states and municipalities. Some municipal bonds
offer tax-free coupon income for investors.
Savings Bonds - Answers Non-marketable bonds offered by the U.S. government
Secured Bonds - Answers Bonds that are "guaranteed" to be repaid—by backing from collateral or a
mortgage, for instance
Yield - Answers What a bond brings an investor at a particular bid price over the time period—listed as a
percentage
Annual Report - Answers A document outlining the financial status of a business (Also known as a Form
10-K)
Balance Sheet - Answers A financial statement that captures the financial condition of the business at
that particular moment (assets and liabilities)