Industry WIKI

The least developed countries (LDCs) are developing countries listed by the United Nations that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed by the UN in its resolution 2768 (XXVI) on 18 November 1971.

Foreign exchange reserves, also called Forex reserves, in a strict sense, are foreign-currency deposits held by nationals and monetary authorities. However, in popular usage and in the list below, it also includes gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs), and IMF reserve positions because this total figure (more accurately called "official reserves", "international reserves", or "off

This is a list of electronic toll collection systems in use on toll roads throughout the world.

Livestream shopping (also known as live video shopping) is used by brands to promote and sell products through livestreams on digital platforms, often in collaboration with influencers.

A loan shark is a person who offers loans at interest rates that are extremely high or illegal, has strict terms of collection, and generally operates outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, aggressive, and extortionate actions when seeking to enforce the satisfaction of the debt. As a consistent or repeated illegal business operation or "racket", loan shark

In China, a local government financing vehicle (LGFV) (Chinese: 地方政府融资平台) is an investment company formed by local governments to raise funds, usually by borrowing money to finance real estate development and other local infrastructure projects. They allow local governments to finance infrastructure projects while complying with laws prohibiting them from issuing bonds or having deficits

The London Metal Exchange (LME) is a futures and forwards exchange in London, United Kingdom with the world's largest market in standardised forward contracts, futures contracts and options on base metals. The exchange also offers contracts on ferrous metals and precious metals. The company also allows for cash trading. It offers hedging, worldwide reference pricing, and the option of ph

The London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM) is an over-the-counter trading centre for platinum and palladium and a commodity trading association. London has always been a centre for the research in and development of most of the platinum group metals. Trade was established in the early 20th century, typically by existing dealers of gold and silver. The LPPM has been involved in fixin

The Malaysia Derivatives Exchange (MDEX), also known as Malaysian Distribution Exchange, is a limited share company formed during June 2001 in Malaysia through the merger of the Kuala Lumpur Options and Financial Futures Exchange (KLOFFE) and the Commodity and Monetary Exchange of Malaysia (COMMEX Malaysia). It is a subsidiary of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE).

Michael Hudson (born March 14, 1939) is an American economist who is Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri–Kansas City and a researcher at the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College. He is a contributor to The Hudson Report, a weekly economic and financial news podcast produced by Left Out.

The Ministry of Finance (Spanish: Ministerio de Hacienda) is the cabinet-level administrative office in charge of managing the financial affairs, fiscal policy, and capital markets of Chile; planning, directing, coordinating, executing, controlling and informing all financial policies formulated by the President of Chile.

The Ministry of Finance is a government ministry of the Republic of Liberia. As of 2024, the Liberian Finance Minister is Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, who was confirmed in September 2024. The minister is appointed by the President of Liberia, with the consent of Senate of Liberia.

The Ministry of Finance or Ministry of Treasury (Spanish: Ministerio de Hacienda, MH) is the department of the Government of Spain responsible for the design and implementation of the government policy on public finance and budget. It applies and manages the regional and local financing systems and the provision of information on the economic-financial activity of the different Public Ad

The Ministry of Finance (Abrv: MOF; Thai: กระทรวงการคลัง, RTGS: Krasuang Kan Khlang) is a cabinet ministry in the Government of Thailand.

The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Міністерство фінансів України) is the ministry of the Government of Ukraine charged with developing and implementing national financial and budget policies, and with defining national policies in customs and taxation. The ministry is responsible for ensuring that the state has enough resources to perform its functions and that financial poli

Monetary reform refers to proposals to change a country's monetary system, including how money is created, regulated, and distributed. Such reforms seek to address perceived problems with current monetary schemes, like financial instability, wealth inequality, or inflation. Monetary reform movements grow during economic crises, proposing alternatives to prevailing systems.

Monzo Bank Limited, trading as Monzo (), is a British online bank based in London, England. Monzo launched as part of a number of app-based challenger banks entering the UK market.

The Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) was a draft agreement negotiated in secret between members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) between 1995 and 1998. It sought to establish a new body of universal investment laws that would grant corporations unconditional rights to engage in financial operations around the world, without any regard to nati

Namaste Wahala (lit. 'Hello Trouble') is a 2020 Nigerian cross-cultural romantic comedy film produced, written and directed by Hamisha Daryani Ahuja on her directorial debut. The film stars Ini Dima-Okojie and Ruslaan Mumtaz in the lead roles.

Nathan Cedric Tankus is an American expert on state and banking finances, with a focus on the Federal Reserve. He has been a visiting researcher at the Fields Institute and a research assistant at the University of Ottawa. He has written for the Financial Times, Business Insider, the Review of Keynesian Economics, Truthout, Jacobin, Naked Capitalism, and Rolling Stone.

The National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) formerly known as National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics (NACEN) is the apex civil service training institute of the Government of India for capacity building of civil servants in the field of indirect taxation, particularly the areas of Customs, GST, Central Excise, Service Tax and Narcotics Control Admin

Negative interest on excess reserves is an instrument of unconventional monetary policy applied by central banks to encourage lending by making it costly for commercial banks to hold their excess reserves at central banks so they will lend more readily to the private sector. Such a policy is usually a response to very slow economic growth, deflation, and deleveraging.

A non-performing loan (NPL) or non-performing asset (NPA) is a bank loan that is subject to late repayment or is unlikely to be repaid by the borrower in full. Non-performing loans represent a major challenge for the banking sector, as they reduce profitability. They are often claimed to prevent banks from lending more to businesses and consumers, which in turn slows economic growth, alt

Nouriel Roubini (born March 29, 1958) is a Turkish-born American economic consultant, economist, speaker, and writer. He is a professor emeritus since 2021 at the Stern School of Business of New York University. Roubini earned a BA in political economics at Bocconi University in Italy and a doctorate in international economics at Harvard University. He was an academic at Yale University

The official cash rate (OCR) is the term used in Australia and New Zealand for the bank rate and is the rate of interest which the central bank charges on overnight loans between commercial banks. This allows the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to adjust the interest rates that apply in each country's economy. The OCR cannot be changed by transactions betwee

Offshoring is the relocation of a business process from one country to another—typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting. Usually this refers to a company business, although state governments may also employ offshoring. More recently, technical and administrative services have been offshored.

The overnight policy rate is an overnight interest rate set by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) used for monetary policy direction. It is the target rate for the day-to-day liquidity operations of the BNM. The overnight policy rate (OPR) is the interest rate at which a depository institution lends immediately available funds (balances within the central bank) to another depository institution

Paris Saint-Germain FC were initially fan-owned, with around 20,000 members under a non-profit association governed by 1901 French law (Association PSG). The club was led by board members Guy Crescent, Pierre-Étienne Guyot and Henri Patrelle. In 1973, a group of French businessmen led by Daniel Hechter and Francis Borelli took control of the club. PSG changed ownership in 1991 when Canal

Monetary reform of 1991 (known also as Pavlov Reform) was the last such reform in the Soviet Union. The reform retired and confiscated large-denomination bills to attempt to dampen inflation and combat the black market within the Soviet Union. It began on January 22, 1991. Its architect was Minister of Finance Valentin Pavlov, who was to become the last prime minister of the Soviet Union

A payment processor is a data and communications center ("switch") that moves payment transactional data and messaging between a card issuing bank, a merchant, and a card acquiring bank (USA model) to enable financial transactions between purchasers and sellers. It processes payment information for various channels such as credit cards and debit cards or bank accounts. They are usually

A paywall is a method of restricting access to content, with a purchase or a paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their websites as a way to increase revenue after years of decline in paid print readership and advertising revenue, partly due to the use of ad blockers. In academics, research papers are often subject to

PFTS index is a benchmark index of PFTS Ukraine Stock Exchange, Ukraine's leading bourse. Beside PFTS Index, there are also the UX Index of the Ukrainian Exchange and the Ukrainian Average Index 50 (UAI-50) being composed by analysts of internet-publisher fundmarket.ua.

A pig-butchering scam or romance baiting scam is a form of online relationship and investment fraud in which perpetrators cultivate fake romantic or social relationships with victims before persuading them to invest money, often in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. Such scams are common on social media and dating apps, and often involve catfishing, investment fraud, and romance scams.

Plastic cards usually serve as identity documents, thus providing authentication. In combination with other assets that complement the data stored on the card, like PINs, they also serve authorization purposes, most often as debit or credit cards for allowing their holders to make financial transactions. Early and simpler cards feature only hard-to-imitate integrated photographs, securit

Popcat is an Internet meme originating in October 2020, in a series of videos which showcase two images of a domestic short-haired cat named 'Oatmeal', where one image has its mouth closed and the other has its mouth open, with the second image being edited to give its mouth an 'O' shape. The meme was later created into a popular game. It has since also been made into a widely available

Premium Bonds is a lottery bond scheme organised by the United Kingdom government since 1956. At present it is managed by the government's National Savings and Investments agency.

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is a United Kingdom financial services regulatory body, formed as one of the successors to the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The authority is responsible for the prudential regulation and supervision of banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and major investment firms. It sets standards and supervises financial institutions at t

Q-commerce, also referred to as quick commerce, is a type of e-commerce where emphasis is on quick deliveries, typically in less than an hour. Q-commerce originally started with food delivery and it still represents the largest chunk of the business. It has quickly expanded to other categories particularly for grocery delivery, medicines, gifts, and apparel.

Quick Response Code Indonesia Standard (abbreviated as QRIS, the abbreviation being a wordplay on keris, a traditional sword; Indonesian: Kode QR Standar Indonesia) is a QR code payment system developed by Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Indonesian Payment System Association (ASPI) aimed to integrate all non-cash payment methods in Indonesia. Launched in 2019, the system enables peer-to-peer

Quantitative easing (QE) is a monetary policy action where a central bank purchases predetermined amounts of government bonds, company shares, or other financial assets (liquidity) in order to artificially stimulate economic activity. Quantitative easing is a novel form of monetary policy that began in Japan and came into wide application in the US following the 2008 financial crisis. It

Quantitative tightening (QT) is a contractionary monetary policy tool applied by central banks to decrease the amount of liquidity or money supply in the economy. A central bank implements quantitative tightening by reducing the financial assets it holds on its balance sheet by selling them into the financial markets, which decreases asset prices and raises interest rates. QT is the re

Raymond Thomas Dalio (born August 8, 1949) is an American billionaire investor and founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge funds.

Razer Inc. is a Singaporean-American multinational corporation and technology company that manufactures, develops, and markets gaming-focused computer hardware and other consumer electronics as well as financial services.

Remittances to Bangladesh are money transfers (remittances) sent by the Bangladeshi diaspora to Bangladesh. According to the World Bank, Bangladesh is the 7th highest recipient of remittances in the world with almost $32.8 billion in 2025 and was the third highest recipient of remittances in South Asia. These transfers play a significant role in the Bangladeshi economy, contributing sub

A rent party (sometimes called a house party) is a social occasion where tenants hire a musician or band to play and pass the hat to raise money to pay their rent, originating in Harlem during the 1920s. These parties were a means for Black tenants to eat, dance, and get away from everyday hardship and discrimination. The rent party played a major role in the development of jazz and blu

A rent strike, sometimes known as a tenants strike or a renters strike, is a method of protest commonly employed against large landlords. In a rent strike, a group of tenants agree to collectively withhold paying some or all of their rent to their landlords en masse until demands are met. This can be a useful tactic of final resort for use against intransigent landlords, but can carry ri

Once the strategic plan is in place, retail managers turn to the more managerial aspects of planning. A retail mix is devised for the purpose of coordinating day-to-day tactical decisions. The retail marketing mix typically consists of six broad decision layers including product decisions, place decisions, promotion, price, personnel and presentation (also known as physical evidence). Th

Risk parity (or risk premia parity) is an approach to investment management which focuses on allocation of risk, usually defined as volatility, rather than allocation of capital. The risk parity approach asserts that when asset allocations are adjusted (leveraged or deleveraged) to the same risk level, the risk parity portfolio can achieve a higher Sharpe ratio and can be more resistant

The National Payment Card System (Russian: Национальная система платёжных карт; known its acronym NSPK) is an operational and payment clearing house for processing bank card transactions within Russia and the operator of the Mir card payment system. It is the operational and payment clearing house of the Faster Payment System (FPS) and wholly owned by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR).

Sarkaru Vaari Paata (transl. Government song) is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language action comedy drama film written and directed by Parasuram. It is produced by Mythri Movie Makers, 14 Reels Plus and G. Mahesh Babu Entertainment and stars Mahesh Babu, Keerthy Suresh and Samuthirakani in lead roles. The film follows a conflict between Mahi, a financier and MP named Rajendranath, after his dau

Saving is income not spent, or deferred consumption. In economics, a broader definition is any income not used for immediate consumption. Saving also involves reducing expenditures, such as recurring costs.

A secured loan is a loan in which the borrower pledges some asset (e.g. a car or property) as collateral for the loan, which then becomes a secured debt owed to the creditor who gives the loan. The debt is thus secured against the collateral, and if the borrower defaults, the creditor takes possession of the asset used as collateral and may sell it to regain some or all of the amount ori

Self-checkouts (SCOs), also known as assisted checkouts (ACOs) or self-service checkouts, are machines that allow customers to complete their own transaction with a retailer without using a staffed checkout. When using SCOs, customers scan item barcodes before paying for their purchases without needing one-to-one staff assistance. Self-checkouts are used mainly in supermarkets, although

In finance, being short in an asset means investing in such a way that the investor will profit if the market value of the asset falls. This is the opposite of the more common long position, where the investor will profit if the market value of the asset rises. An investor that sells an asset short is, as to that asset, a short seller.

The Silverites were members of a political movement in the United States in the late-19th century that advocated that silver should continue to be a monetary standard along with gold, as authorized under the Coinage Act of 1792. The Silverite coalition's famous slogan was "16 to 1" – that is, the ratio of sixteen ounces of silver equal in value to one ounce of gold, a ratio similar to t

The Singapore dollar (sign: $; code: SGD) is the official currency of the Republic of Singapore. Each dollar is divided into 100 cents (Malay: sen, Chinese: 分; pinyin: fēn, Tamil: காசு, romanized: kācu). It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issues the banknotes and co

In the United States, the Single Audit, Subpart F of the OMB Uniform Guidance, is a rigorous, organization-wide audit or examination of an entity that expends $750,000 or more of federal assistance (commonly known as federal funds, federal grants, or federal awards) received for its operations. Usually performed annually, the Single Audit's objective is to provide assurance to the US fed

The social credit system (Chinese: 社会信用体系; pinyin: shèhuì xìnyòng tǐxì) is a national credit rating and blacklist implemented by the government of the People's Republic of China. The social credit system is a broad governance strategy to track businesses, individuals, and government institutions and enhance their perceived trustworthiness rather than a single system. It is based on varyi

Special drawing rights (SDRs, code XDR) are a supplementary foreign exchange reserve asset defined and maintained by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). SDRs are the units of account for the IMF, and not a currency; rather, SDR value is based on a basket of currencies, the specific composition of which is reviewed every five years. SDRs represent a claim to currency held by IMF member

The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) is a Federal government body and Investment Promotion Agency constituted under the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The SIFC was established on 20 June 2023 with the stated goal of acting as a "'single window' to facilitate investors, establish cooperation among all Government departments, and fast-track project development." The council cons

Sustainable finance is the set of practices, standards, norms, regulations and products that pursue financial objectives while taking into account environmental, social, and governance considerations. It is often used interchangeably with Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) investing. It is important to distinguish between ESG integration for better risk-adjusted returns and the bro

Tangerine Bank (operating as Tangerine) is a Canadian direct bank that is a subsidiary of Scotiabank. It offers no-fee chequing and savings accounts, guaranteed investment certificates (GICs), mortgages and mutual funds (through a subsidiary). Many savings and investment products are eligible for registration under a tax-free savings account (TFSA), registered retirement savings plan (RR

In economics, the paradox of banknotes or cash paradox is the observation that while the share of cash transactions has fallen over the past few decades due to alternative forms of payment such as credit cards and other electronic payment instruments, the demand for physical currency, measured as the ratio of currency in circulation (CIC) to GDP, has been steadily increasing since the ea

Ticketer is the brand name for a range of electronic ticket machines provided by British company Corvia Ltd, primarily for usage on buses. The cloud-based system, first marketed on a small scale in 2008, has since developed into a rival to the three major ticket issuing systems used by bus companies throughout Britain.

The Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry was a judicial inquiry into allegations of conflict of interest, bribery and misappropriation of funds around computer leasing contracts entered into by the City of Toronto government in 1998 and 1999. It was held concurrently with the Toronto External Contracts Inquiry.

Touch 'n Go eWallet is a Malaysian digital wallet and online payment platform, established in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July 2017 as a joint venture between Touch 'n Go and Ant Financial. It allows users to make payments at over 280,000 merchant touch points via QR code, as well as perform peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers.

Travelex International Limited is a foreign exchange company founded by Lloyd Dorfman and headquartered in Peterborough, United Kingdom. Its main businesses are foreign currency exchange, issuing prepaid credit cards for use by travellers, supplying central banks with foreign currency and global remittance. Travelex operates more than 600 stores and 700 ATMs in over 20 countries.

The U.S. Dollar Index (USDX, DXY, DX, or, informally, the "Dixie") is an index (or measure) of the value of the United States dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies, often referred to as a basket of U.S. trade partners' currencies. The Index goes up when the U.S. dollar gains "strength" (value) when compared to other currencies.

In business, a unicorn is a startup company valued at over US$1 billion which is privately owned and therefore its company shares are not publicly listed. The term was coined in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee, choosing the mythical animal to represent the statistical rarity of such successful ventures.

The Emirati dirham (symbol: ; currency code: AED; ;) Arabic: درهم إماراتي, abbreviation: د.إ in Arabic, Dh; is the official currency of the United Arab Emirates. Each dirham is subdivided into 100 fulus (singular is "fils"). It is pegged to the United States dollar at a constant exchange rate of approximately 3.67 AED to 1 USD. In March 2025, the UAE Central Bank announced the creation o

In late 2021, the prices of many essential goods in the United Kingdom began increasing faster than household incomes, resulting in a fall in real incomes. The phenomenon has been termed a cost-of-living crisis. It is due in part to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a global surge in inflation, wage stagnation attributed to the Conservative Party's austerity program

Venmo is an American mobile payment service founded in 2009 and owned by PayPal since 2013. Venmo is aimed at users who wish to split their bills or pay a business. Account holders can transfer funds to others via a mobile phone app. Account holders must be residents of the United States. Venmo also operates as a small social network, as users can observe other users' public transactions

A venture capital trust or VCT is a tax efficient UK closed-end collective investment scheme designed to provide venture capital for small expanding companies, and income (in the form of dividend distributions) and/or capital gains for investors. VCTs are a form of publicly traded private equity, comparable to investment trusts in the UK or business development companies in the United St

VIX is the ticker symbol and popular name for the Chicago Board Options Exchange's CBOE Volatility Index, a popular measure of the stock market's expectation of volatility based on S&P 500 index options. It is calculated and disseminated on a real-time basis by the CBOE, and is often referred to as the fear index or fear gauge.

Vix Technology (Vix) is an Australian company that designs, supplies and operates automated fare collection (AFC) systems, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), access, payment and passenger information display systems (PIDS) for the public transit industry.

The inequality of wealth (i.e., inequality in the distribution of assets) has substantially increased in the United States since the late 1980s. Wealth commonly includes the values of any homes, automobiles, personal valuables, businesses, savings, and investments, less any associated debts.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. Established on 1 January 1995, pursuant to the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement, it succeeded the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was created in 1948. As the world's largest international economic organization, the WTO has 166 members, representing over

XTX Markets Limited is a British algorithmic trading company based in London. It was founded in January 2015 by Alexander Gerko, who is currently co-CEO alongside Hans Buehler. The company employs around 300 people globally (as of 2026) and uses state-of-the-art machine learning technology to produce price forecasts for over 50,000 financial instruments across equities, fixed income, cur

Yape (pronounced [ˈʝape]) is a digital wallet and mobile payment application developed by the Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP) in 2016. As of 2025, it has over 20 million users. Its features include instant, commission-free peer-to-peer transfers, bill payments, and purchases using a smartphone via a phone number or QR code, without requiring a traditional bank account, enabling its use b

Zero interest-rate policy (ZIRP) is a macroeconomic concept describing conditions with a very low nominal interest rate, such as those in contemporary Japan and in the United States from December 2008 through December 2015 and again from March 2020 until March 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. ZIRP is considered to be an unconventional monetary policy instrument and can be associated with