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Financial Glossary
C

C
Fifth letter of a Nasdaq stock descriptor specifying that issue is exempt from Nasdaq listing requirements for a temporary period.
CA
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CANADA.
CAD
The ISO 4217 currency code for Canada Dollar.
CAMPS
See: Cumulative Auction Market Preferred Stocks
CAPM
See: Capital asset pricing model
CAPS
See: Convertible adjustable preferred stock
CARs
See: Certificates of Automobile Receivables
CARDs
See: Certificates of Amortized Revolving Debt
CATS
See: Certificate of Accrual on Treasury Securities (CATS)
CAX
The ISO 4217 currency code for Canadian Cent.
CBO
See: Collateralized Bond Obligation.
CBOE
See: Chicago Board Options Exchange
CC
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS.
CD
See: Certificate of deposit
CD
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CONGO, THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF.
CDN
See: Canadian Dealing Network
CEC
See: Commodities Exchange Center
CEG
See: Canadian Exchange Group
CF
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC.
CFAT
Cash flow after taxes.
CFAT
See: Cash flow after taxes
CFC
See: Controlled foreign corporation
CFTC
See: Commodity Futures Trading Commission
CG
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CONG.
CH
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for SWITZERLAND.
CHAP
See: Clearing House Automated Payments System
CHESS
See: Clearing House Electronic Subregister System
CHF
The ISO 4217 currency code for Swiss Franc.
CHIPS
See: Clearing House Interbank Payments System
CI
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for COTE D'IVOIRE.
CK
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for COOK ISLANDS.
CL
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CHILE.
CLF
The ISO 4217 currency code for Chile Unidades de Fomento.
CLP
The ISO 4217 currency code for Chilean Peso.
CM
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CAMEROON.
CMBS
See: Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities
CME
See: Chicago Mercantile Exchange
CML
See: Capital market line
CMO
See: Collateralized mortgage obligation
CN
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CHINA.
CNY
The ISO 4217 currency code for Chinese Renminbi (Yuan).
CO
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for COLOMBIA.
COP
The ISO 4217 currency code for Colombian Peso.
CR
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for COSTA RICA.
CRC
The ISO 4217 currency code for Costa Rican Colon.
CTA
See: Cumulative Translation Adjustment
CU
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CUBA.
CUP
The ISO 4217 currency code for Cuban Peso.
CUSIP
See: Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures
CV
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CAPE VERDE.
CVE
The ISO 4217 currency code for Cape Verde Islands Escudo.
CX
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CHRISTMAS ISLAND.
CY
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CYPRUS.
CYP
The ISO 4217 currency code for Cyprus Pound.
CZ
The two-character ISO 3166 country code for CZECH REPUBLIC.
CZK
The ISO 4217 currency code for Czech Republic Koruna.
Cabinet crowd
NYSE members who trade bonds with a low daily traded volume. See: Automated Bond System.
Cabinet security
A stock or bond listed on a major exchange with low daily traded volume.
Cable
Exchange rate between British pound sterling and the U.S. dollar.
CAC 40 index
A broad-based index of common stocks composed of 40 of the 100 largest companies listed on the forward segment of the official list of the Paris Bourse.
Cage
A section of a brokerage firm used for receiving and disbursing funds.
Calendar
List of new issues scheduled to come to market shortly.
Calendar effect
Describes the tendency of stocks to perform differently at different times, including performance anomalies like the January effect, month-of-the-year effect, day-of-the-week effect, and holiday effect.
Calendar spread
Applies to derivative products. A strategy in which there is a simultaneous purchase and sale of options of the same class at different strike prices, but with the same expiration date.
Call
An option that gives the holder the right to buy the underlying futures contract.
Call date
A date before maturity, specified at issuance, when the issuer of a bond may retire part of the bond for a specified call price.
Call feature
Part of the indenture agreement between the bond issuer and buyer describing the schedule and price of redemption's prior to maturity.
Call loan
A loan repayable on demand. Sometimes used as a synonym for broker loan or broker overnight loan.
Call loan rate
See: Call money rate
Call money rate
Also called the broker loan rate , the interest rate that banks charge brokers to finance margin loans to investors. The broker charges the investor the call money rate plus a service charge.
Call option
An option contract that gives its holder the right (but not the obligation) to purchase a specified number of shares of the underlying stock at the given strike price, on or before the expiration date of the contract.
Call an option
To exercise a call option.
Call premium
Premium in price above the par value of a bond or share of preferred stock that must be paid to holders to redeem the bond or share of preferred stock before its scheduled maturity date.
Call price
The price, specified at issuance, at which the issuer of a bond may retire part of the bond at a specified call date.
Call protection
A feature of some callable bonds that establishes an initial period when the bonds may not be called.
Call provision
An embedded option granting a bond issuer the right to buy back all or part of an issue prior to maturity.
Call risk
The combination of cash flow uncertainty and reinvestment risk introduced by a call provision.
Call swaption
A swaption in which the buyer has the right to enter into a swap as a fixed-rate payer. The writer therefore becomes the fixed-rate receiver/floating-rate payer.
Callability
Feature of a security that allows the issuer to redeem the security prior to maturity by calling it in, or forcing the holder to sell it back.
Callable
Applies mainly to convertible securities. Redeemable by the issuer before the scheduled maturity under specific conditions and at a stated price, which usually begins at a premium to par and declines annually. Bonds are usually called when interest rates fall so significantly that the issuer can save money by issuing new bonds at lower rates.
Called away
Convertible: Redeemed before maturity.
Option: Call or put option exercised against the stockholder.
Sale: Delivery required on a short sale.
Cumulative Auction Market Preferred Stocks (CAMPS)
Stands for Cumulative Auction Market Preferred Stocks, Oppenheimer & Company's Dutch Auction preferred stock product.
Canadian agencies
Agency banks established by Canadian Banks in the US
Canadian Dealing Network (CDN)
The organized OTC market of Canada. Formerly known as the Canadian Over-the-Counter Automated Trading System (COATS), the CDN became a subsidiary of the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1991.
Canadian Exchange Group (CEG)
The CEG is an association among the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Montreal Exchange, the Vancouver Stock Exchange, the Alberta Stock Exchange, and the Winnipeg Stock Exchange for the purpose of providing Canadian market data to customers outside Canada.
"Can get $xxx"
Refers to over-the-counter trading. "I have a buyer who will pay $xxx for the stock". Usually a standard markdown (1/8) from $xxx is applied to this price in bidding the seller for its stock. Antithesis of cost me.
Cancel
To void an order to buy or sell from (1) the floor, or (2) the trader/salesperson's scope. In Autex, the indication still remains on record as having once been placed unless it is expunged.
"Cannot compete"
In the context of general equities, cannot accommodate customers at that price level (i.e., compete with other market makers), often because there is no natural opposite side of the trade.
"Cannot complete"
In the context of general equities, inability to finish an order on a principal or agency basis, given prevailing price instructions and/or market conditions.
Cap
An upper limit on the interest rate on a floating-rate note (FRN) or an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).
Capacity
Credit grantors' measurement of a person's ability to repay loans.
Capital
Money invested in a firm.
Capital account
Net result of public and private international investment and lending activities.
Capital allocation decision
Allocation of invested funds between risk-free assets and the risky portfolio.
Capital appreciation
See: Capital growth
Capital appreciation fund
See: Aggressive growth fund
Capital asset
A long-term asset, such as land or a building, not purchased or sold in the normal course of business.
Capital asset pricing model (CAPM)
An economic theory that describes the relationship between risk and expected return, and serves as a model for the pricing of risky securities. The CAPM asserts that the only risk that is priced by rational investors is systematic risk, because that risk cannot be eliminated by diversification. The CAPM says that the expected return of a security or a portfolio is equal to the rate on a risk-free security plus a risk premium multiplied by the assets systematic risk. Theory was invented by William Sharpe (1964) and John Lintner (1965).
Capital budget
A firm's planned capital expenditures.
Capital budgeting
The process of choosing the firm's long-term capital assets.
Capital Builder Account (CBA)
A Merrill Lynch brokerage account that allows investors to access the loan value of his or her eligible securities to buy or sell securities. Excess cash in a CBA can be invested in a money market fund or an insured money market deposit account without losing access to the money.
Capital expenditures
Amount used during a particular period to acquire or improve long-term assets such as property, plant, or equipment.
Capital flight
The transfer of capital abroad in response to fears of political risk.
Capital formation
Expansion of capital or capital goods through savings, which leads to economic growth.
Capital gain
When a stock is sold for a profit, the capital gain is the difference between the net sales price of the securities and their net cost, or original basis. If a stock is sold below cost, the difference is a capital loss.
Capital gains distribution
A distribution to the shareholders of a mutual fund out of profits from selling stocks or bonds, that is subject to capital gains taxes for the shareholders.
Capital gains tax
The tax levied on profits from the sale of capital assets. A long-term capital gain, which is achieved once an asset is held for at least 12 months, is taxed at a maximum rate of 20% (taxpayers in 28% tax bracket) and 10% (taxpayers in 15% tax bracket). Assets held for less than 12 months are taxed at regular income tax levels, and, since January 1, 2000, assets held for at least five years are taxed at 18% and 8%.
Capital gains yield
The price change portion of a stock's return.
Capital goods
Goods used by firms to produce other goods, e.g., office buildings, machinery, equipment.
Capital growth
The increase in an asset's market price. Also called capital appreciation.
Capital-intensive
Used to describe industries that require large investments in capital assets to produce their goods, such as the automobile industry. These firms require large profit margins and/or low costs of borrowing to survive.
Capital International Indexes
Market indexes maintained by Morgan Stanley that track major stock markets worldwide.
Capital investment
See: Capital expenditure.
Capital lease
A lease obligation that has to be capitalized on the balance sheet.
Capital loss
The difference between the net cost of a security and the net sales price, if the security is sold at a loss.
Capital market
The market for trading long-term debt instruments (those that mature in more than one year).
Capital market efficiency
The degree to which the present asset price accurately reflects current information in the market place. See: Efficient market hypothesis.
Capital market imperfections view
The view that issuing debt is generally valuable, but that the firm's optimal choice of capital structure involves various other views of capital structure (net corporate/personal tax, agency cost, bankruptcy cost, and pecking order), that result from considerations of asymmetric information, asymmetric taxes, and transaction costs.
Capital market line (CML)
The line defined by every combination of the risk-free asset and the market portfolio. The line represents the risk premium you earn for taking on extra risk. Defined by the capital asset pricing model.
Capital rationing
Placing limits on the amount of new investment undertaken by a firm, either by using a higher cost of capital, or by setting a maximum on the entire capital budget or parts of it.
Capital requirements
Financing required for the operation of a business, composed of long-term and working capital plus fixed assets.
Capital shares
One of two types of shares in a dual-purpose investment company, which entitle the holder to the appreciation or depreciation in the value of a portfolio, as well as the gains from trading in the portfolio. Antithesis of income shares.
Capital stock
Stock authorized by a firm's charter and having par value, stated value, or no par value. The number and the value of issued shares are usually shown, together with the number of shares authorized, in the capital accounts section of the balance sheet. See: Common stock.
Capital structure
The makeup of the liabilities and stockholders' equity side of the balance sheet, especially the ratio of debt to equity and the mixture of short and long maturities.
Capital surplus
Amounts of directly contributed equity capital in excess of the par value.
Capital turnover
Calculated by dividing annual sales by average stockholder equity (net worth). The ratio indicates how much a company could grow its current capital investment level. Low capital turnover generally corresponds to high profit margins.
Capitalization
The debt and/or equity mix that funds a firm's assets.
Capitalization method
A method of constructing a replicating portfolio in which the manager purchases a number of the most highly capitalized names in the stock index in proportion to their capitalization.
Capitalization rate
The rate of interest used to calculate the present value of a number of future payments.
Capitalization ratios
Also called financial leverage ratios, these ratios compare debt to total capitalization and thus reflect the extent to which a corporation is trading on its equity. Capitalization ratios can be interpreted only in the context of the stability of industry and company earnings and cash flow.
Capitalization table
A table showing the capitalization of a firm, which typically includes the amount of capital obtained from each source - long-term debt and common equity - and the respective capitalization ratios.
Capitalized
Recorded in asset accounts and then depreciated or amortized, as is appropriate for expenditures for items with useful lives longer than one year.
Capitalized interest
Interest that is not immediately expensed, but rather is considered as an asset and is then amortized through the income statement over time.
Captive finance company
A company, usually a subsidiary that is wholly owned, whose main function is financing consumer purchases from the parent company.
Caput
An exotic option. It represents a call option on a put option. That is, you
Car
A loose quantity term sometimes used to describe the amount of a commodity underlying one commodity contract; e.g., "a car of bellies." Derived from the fact that quantities of the product specified in a contract once corresponded closely to the capacity of a railroad car.
Carrot equity
British slang for an equity investment with the added benefit of an opportunity to purchase more equity if the company reaches certain financial goals.
Carry
Related: Net financing cost.
Basel Accord
Agreement concluded among country representatives in 1988 in Switzerland to develop standardized risk-based capital requirements for banks across countries.
Carryforwards
Tax losses allowed to be applied to offset future income in some specified number of future years.
Carrying charge
The fee a broker charges for carrying securities on credit, such as on a margin account.
Carrying costs
Costs that increase with increases in the level of investment in current assets.
Carrying value
Book value.
Cartel
A group of businesses or nations that act together as a single producer to obtain market control and to influence prices in their favor by limiting production of a product. The United States has laws prohibiting cartels.
Cash
The value of assets that can be converted into cash immediately, as reported by a company. Usually includes bank accounts and marketable securities, such as government bonds and banker's acceptances. Cash equivalents on balance sheets include securities that mature within 90 days (e.g., notes).
Cash account
A brokerage account that settles transactions on a cash-rather than credit-basis.
Cash asset ratio
Cash and marketable securities divided by current liabilities. See: Liquidity ratios.
Cash basis
Refers to the accounting method that recognizes revenues and expenses when cash is actually received or paid out.
Cash and equivalents
The value of assets that can be converted into cash immediately, as reported by a company. Usually includes bank accounts and marketable securities, such as government bonds and Banker's Acceptances. Cash equivalents on balance sheets include securities (e.g., notes) that mature within 90 days.
Cash budget
A forecasted summary of a firm's expected cash inflows and cash outflows as well as its expected cash and loan balances.
Cash & carry
Applies to derivative products. Combination of a long position in a stock/index/commodity and short position in the underlying futures, which entails a cost of carry on the long position.
Cash commodity
The actual physical commodity, as distinguished from a futures contract.
Cash conversion cycle
The length of time between a firm's purchase of inventory and the receipt of cash from accounts receivable.
Cash cow
A company that pays out most of its earnings per share to stockholders as dividends. Or, a company or division of a company that generates a steady and significant amount of free cash flow.
Cash cycle
In general, the time between cash disbursement and cash collection. In net working capital management, it can be thought of as the operating cycle less the accounts payable payment period.
Cash deficiency agreement
An agreement to invest cash in a project to the extent required to cover any cash deficiency the project may experience.
Cash delivery
The provision of some futures contracts that requires not delivery of underlying assets but settlement according to the cash value of the asset.
Cash discount
An incentive offered to purchasers of a firm's product for payment within a specified time period, such as ten days.
Cash dividend
A dividend paid in cash to a company's shareholders. The amount is normally based on profitability and is taxable as income. A cash distribution may include capital gains and return of capital in addition to the dividend.
Cash earnings
A firm's cash revenues less cash expenses, which excludes the costs of depreciation.
Cash-equivalent items
Examples include Treasury bills and Banker's Acceptances.
Cash flow
In investments, cash flow represents earnings before depreciation, amortization, and non-cash charges. Sometimes called cash earnings. Cash flow from operations (called funds from operations by real estate and other investment trusts) is important because it indicates the ability to pay dividends.
Cash flow after interest and taxes
Net income plus depreciation.
Cash flow break-even point
The point below which the firm will need either to obtain additional financing or to liquidate some of its assets to meet its fixed costs.
Cash flow per common share
Cash flow from operations minus preferred stock dividends, divided by the number of common shares outstanding.
Cash flow coverage ratio
The number of times that financial obligations (for interest, principal payments, preferred stock dividends, and rental payments) are covered by earnings before interest, taxes, rental payments, and depreciation.
Cash flow matching
Also called dedicating a portfolio, this is an alternative to multiperiod immunization that calls for the manager to match the maturity of each element in the liability stream, working backward from the last liability to assure all required cash flows.
Cash flow from operations
A firm's net cash inflow resulting directly from its regular operations (disregarding extraordinary items such as the sale of fixed assets or transaction costs associated with issuing securities), calculated as the sum of net income plus noncash expenses that are deducted in calculating net income.
Cash flow time line
Line depicting the operating activities and cash flows for a firm over a particular period.
Cash investments
Short-term debt instruments—such as commercial paper, banker's acceptances, and Treasury bills—that mature in less than one year. Also known as money market instruments or cash reserves.
Cash management
Refers to the efficient management of cash in a business in order to put the cash to work more quickly and to keep the cash in applications that produce income, such as the use of lock boxes for payments.
Cash management bill
Very short-maturity bills that the Treasury occasionally sells because its cash balances are down and it needs money for a few days.
Cash markets
Also called spot markets, these are markets that involve the immediate delivery of a security or instrument. Related: Derivative markets.
Cash offer
Often used in risk arbitrage. Proposal, either hostile or friendly, to acquire a target company through the payment of cash for the stock of the target. Compare to exchange offer.
Cash-on-cash return
A method used to find the return on investments when there is no active secondary market. The yield is determined by dividing the annual cash income by the total investment. See: Current yield or yield to maturity.
Cash on delivery (COD)
In the context of securities, this refers to the practice of institutional investors paying the full purchase price for securities in cash.
Cash plus convertible
Convertible bond that requires cash payment upon conversion.
Cash position
The percentage of a mutual fund's assets invested in short-term reserves, such as US Treasury bills or other money market instruments.
Cash price
Applies to derivative products. See: Spot price.
Cash ratio
The proportion of a firm's assets held as cash.
Cash reserves
See: Cash investments
Cash sale/settlement
Transaction in which a contract is settled on the same day as the trade date, or the next day if the trade occurs after 2:30 p.m. EST and the parties agree to this procedure. Often occurs because a party is strapped for cash and cannot wait until the regular five-business day settlement. See: Settlement date.
Cash settlement contracts
Futures contracts such as stock index futures that settle for cash and do not involve delivery of the underlying.
Cash-surrender value
The amount an insurance company will pay if the policyholder tenders or cashes in a whole life insurance policy.
Cash transaction
A transaction in which exchange is immediate in the form of cash, unlike a forward contract (which calls for future delivery of an asset at an agreed-upon price).
Cashbook
An accounting book that is composed of cash receipts plus disbursements. This balance is posted to the cash account in the ledger.
Cashier's check
A check drawn directly on a customer's account, making the bank the primary obligor, and assuring firms that the amount will be paid.
Cashout
Occurs when a firm runs out of cash and cannot readily sell marketable securities.
Casualty-insurance
Insurance protecting a firm or homeowner against loss of property, damage, and other liabilities.
Casualty loss
A financial loss caused by damage, destruction, or loss of property as a result of an unexpected or unusual event.
Catastrophe call
Early redemption of a municipal revenue bond because a catastrophe has destroyed the project that provided the revenue source backing the bond.
Cats and dogs
Speculative stocks with short histories of sales, earnings, and dividend payments.
Caveat emptor, caveat subscriptor
Latin expressions for "buyer beware" and "seller beware," which warn of overly risky, inadequately protected markets.
CEDEL
A centralized clearing system for Eurobonds.
Ceiling
The highest price, interest rate, or other numerical factor allowable in a financial transaction.
Central bank
A country's main bank whose responsibilities include the issue of currency, the administration of monetary policy, open market operations, and engaging in transactions designed to facilitate healthy business interactions. See: Federal Reserve System.
Central Limit Theorem
The Law of Large Numbers states that as a sample of independent, identically distributed random numbers approaches infinity, its probability density function approaches the normal distribution. See: Normal Distribution.
Centralized cash flow management
Provision of consolidated cash management decisions to all MNC units from one location, usually at the parent's headquarters.
Cents per share
The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned.
Checkwriting
Free checkwriting privileges offered with nonretirement accounts for select mutual funds.
Certainty equivalent
An amount that would be accepted today (risk free) in lieu of a chance to receive a possibly higher, but uncertain, amount.
Certainty Equivalent Return
The certain (zero risk) return an investor would trade for a given (larger) return with an associated risk. For example, a particular investor might trade an uncertain expected 4% active return with 6% risk, for a certain active return of 1.5%.
Certificate
A formal document used to record a fact and used as proof of the fact, such as stock certificates, that evidence ownership of stock in a corporation.
Certificate of Accrual on Treasury Securities (CATS)
Refers to a zero-coupon US Treasury issue that is sold at a deep discount from the face value and pays no coupon interest during its lifetime, but returns the full face value at maturity.
Certificate of deposit (CD)
Also called a time deposit this is a certificate issued by a bank or thrift that indicates a specified sum of money has been deposited. A CD has a maturity date and a specified interest rate, and can be issued in any denomination. The duration can be up to five years.
Certificates of Amortized Revolving Debt (CARD)
Pass-through securities backed by credit card receivables.
Certificates of Automobile Receivables (CAR)
Pass-through securities backed by automobile loan receivables.
Certificateless municipals
Municipal bonds with one certificate which is valid for the entire issue, and having no individual certificates, easing transactions. See: Book-entry securities.
Certified check
A bank guaranteed check for which funds are immediately withdrawn, and for which the bank is legally liable.
Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
A person who has passed examinations accredited by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, showing that the person is able to manage a client's banking, estate, insurance, investment, and tax affairs.
Certified financial statements
Financial statements that include an accountant's opinion.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
An accountant who has met certain standards, including experience, age, and licensing, and passed exams in a particular state.
Chair of the board
Highest-ranking member of a Board of Directors, who presides over its meetings and who is often the most powerful officer of a corporation.
Chaos
A deterministic non-linear dynamic system that can produce random looking results. A chaotic system must have a fractal dimension, and exhibit sensitive dependence on initial conditions. See: Fractal Dimension, Lyapunov Exponent, Strange Attractor.
Chapter 7 Proceedings
Provisions of the Bankruptcy Reform Act under which the debtor firm's assets are liquidated by a court because reorganization would fail to establish a profitable business.
Chapter 11 Proceedings
Provisions of the Bankruptcy Reform Act under which the debtor firm is reorganized by a court because the estimated value of the reorganized firm exceeds the expected proceeds from its liquidation.
Changes in financial position
Sources of funds provided from operations that alter a company's cash flow position: depreciation, deferred taxes, other sources, and capital expenditures.
Characteristic line
The market model applied to a single security; a regression of security returns on the benchmark return. The slope of the regression line is a security's beta.
Characteristic portfolio
A portfolio which efficiently represents a particular asset characteristic. For a given characteristic, it is the minimum risk portfolio, with portfolio characteristic equal to 1. For example, the characteristic portfolio of asset betas is the benchmark. It is the minimum risk beta = 1 portfolio.
Charge off
See: Bad debt
Charitable remainder trust
An irrevocable trust that pays income to a designated person or persons until the grantor's death, when the income is passed on to a designated charity. A charitable lead trust by contrast allows the charity to receive income during the grantor's life, and the remaining income to pass to designated family members upon the grantor's death.
Charter
See: Articles of incorporation
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
An experienced financial analyst who has passed examinations in economics, financial accounting, portfolio management, security analysis, and standards of conduct given by the institute of Chartered Financial Analysts.
Chartists
A technical analyst who charts the patterns of stocks, bonds, and commodities to find trends in patterns of trading used to advise clients. Related: Technical analysts.
Chasing the market
Purchasing a security at a higher price than expected because prices are rapidly climbing, or selling a security at a lower level when prices are quickly falling.
Chastity bonds
Bonds redeemable at par value in the case of a takeover.
Chatter
See: Whipsawed
Chattel Mortgage
A loan agreement that grants to the lender a lien on property other than real estate. Chattel is personal or movable property.
Cheapest to deliver issue
The acceptable Treasury security with the highest implied repo rate; the rate that a seller of a futures contract can earn by buying an issue and then delivering it at the settlement date.
Check
A bill of exchange representing a draft on a bank from deposited funds that pays a certain sum of money to a certain person or party.
Checking the market
Searching for bid and offer prices from market makers to find the best deal.
Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE)
A securities exchange created in the early 1970s for the public trading of standardized option contracts. Primary place stock options, foreign currency options, and index options (S&P 100, 500, and OTC 250 index)
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT)
The largest futures exchange in the US, and was a pioneer in the development of financial futures and options.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)
A not-for-profit corporation owned by its members. Its primary functions are to provide a location for trading futures and options, to collect and disseminate market information, to maintain a clearing mechanism, and to enforce trading rules. Applies to derivative products. Primary place futures (OTC 250 industrial stock price index, S& P 100 and 500 index) and futures options (S&P 500 stock index) are traded.
Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX)
A major exchange trading only stocks, with 90% of trades taking place on an automated execution system, called MAX.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
A title held often by the Chairperson of the Board, or the president. The person principally responsible for the activities of a company.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
The officer of a firm is responsible for handling the financial affairs of a company.
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president.
Chinese hedge
Applies mainly to convertible securities. Trading