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Trading basics

Aid to the Church in Need

Aid to the Church in Need (German: Kirche in Not, Italian: Aiuto alla Chiesa che Soffre, French: Aide à l'Eglise en détresse, Latin : Auxilium Patienti Ecclesiae) is an international Catholic pastoral aid organization, which yearly offers financial support to more than 5,000 projects worldwide.

Trading basics

Alberto di Jorio

Alberto di Jorio (18 July 1884 – 5 September 1979) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church and for many years along with the layman Bernardino Nogara the powerhouse behind the growing wealth of the Vatican and the Istituto per le Opere di Religione (popularly known as the "Vatican Bank").

Banking

Aleksander Meysztowicz

Aleksander Meysztowicz (Polish: [a.lɛkˈsan.dɛr mɛ.ɘ̟ʂˈtɔ.vit͡ʂ]; 8 December 1864 – 14 February 1943) was a Polish politician, landowner, and social activist. He served as the Minister of Justice of Poland from 1926 to 1928, and the chairperson of the Provisional Governing Commission and the Minister of Internal Affairs in the Republic of Central Lithuania from 1921 to 1922. He was also a

Trading basics

Almshouse

An almshouse is a form of charitable housing that developed in medieval Europe to provide long-term accommodation for people unable to support themselves, most often the elderly or disabled. Originating from earlier hospital foundations associated with Christian charity, almshouses emerged as distinct institutions by the later medieval period, typically housing small numbers of residents

Trading basics

Annates

Annates ( or ; Latin: annatae, from annus, "year") were a payment from the recipient of an ecclesiastical benefice to the collating authorities. Eventually, they consisted of half or the whole of the first year's profits of a benefice; after the appropriation of the right of collation by the Roman see, they were paid to the papal treasury, ostensibly as a proffered contribution to the ch

Securities & exchanges

Armenia Stock Exchange

The Armenia Stock Exchange (AMX; Armenian: Հայաստանի ֆոնդային բորսա, romanized: Hayastani fondayin borsa), formerly known as NASDAQ OMX Armenia and the Armenia Securities Exchange, is the only stock exchange currently operating in Armenia. It is located in Yerevan, the capital city. The state regulatory authority for the stock exchange and the Armenian securities market is the Central B

Fiat currencies

Armenian dram sign

The Armenian dram sign (֏, image: ; Armenian: Դրամ; code: AMD) is the currency sign of the Armenian dram. In Unicode, it is encoded at U+058F ֏ ARMENIAN DRAM SIGN.

Trading basics

Arnold of Brescia

Arnold of Brescia (c. 1090 – June 1155), also known as Arnaldus (Italian: Arnaldo da Brescia), was an Italian canon regular from Lombardy, who called on the Church to renounce property-ownership and participated in the Commune of Rome of 1144–1193. He is considered a Proto-Reformer and precursor of the Protestant Reformation.

Trading basics

Ascension (healthcare system)

Ascension is a large private Catholic healthcare system in the United States. Ascension had 142,000 employees, 90 hospitals, and 40 senior living facilities operating in 17 states and the District of Columbia as of July 1, 2025. Ascension is one of the largest nonprofit and one of the largest Catholic health systems in the United States. It also operates a number of for-profit firms, in

Banking

Bai Salam

Bai Salam (Arabic بيع سلم, more accurately transliterated as Bai us Salami) is an Islamic contract in which full payment is made in advance for specific goods (often agricultural products) to be delivered at a future date. It is necessary that the quality of the commodity intended to be purchased is fully specified leaving no ambiguity leading to dispute. Bai salam covers almost every

Finance

Benefice

A benefice () or living is a reward received, usually in exchange for (or as a consequence of) services rendered; such payment also operates as a retainer to help ensure the delivery of such services, or fulfilment of the duties of the relevant office, into the future. The term is still used, although the substance of benefices has recently changed, in many historical parishes and positi

Trading basics

Bernardine of Feltre

Bernardine of Feltre (sometimes Bernardinus of Feltre; 1439 – 28 September 1494) was a Friar Minor and missionary who was born in Feltre, Italy and died in Pavia. He is remembered in connection with the monti di pietà of which he was the reorganizer and, in a certain sense, the founder, together with Michele Carcano. The feast of Blessed Bernardino is kept in the Order of Friars Minor on

Trading basics

Bernardino Nogara

Bernardino Nogara (June 17, 1870 — November 15, 1958) was the financial advisor to the Vatican between 1929 and 1954, appointed by Pope Pius XI and retained by Pope Pius XII as the first Director of the Special Administration of the Holy See. According to historian John F. Pollard, Nogara laid "the foundations" for "one of the biggest pillars for the Vatican's post-Second World War fina

Trading basics

Bernardino of Siena

Bernardino of Siena, OFM (also Bernardine or Bernadine; born Bernardino degli Albizzeschi; 8 September 1380 – 20 May 1444), was an Italian Catholic priest and Franciscan missionary preacher in the Republic of Siena. He was a systematizer of scholastic economics.

Trading basics

Broederlijk Delen

Broederlijk Delen is a Flemish aid and development agency, which specializes in trying to improve the living conditions of rural communities in Africa and Latin America.

Banking

Cahorsins

The Cahorsins were merchants and financiers from the French city of Cahors and the surrounding region of Quercy during the High Middle Ages. During their 13th-century heyday, they were among the most prominent communities of Christian long-distance traders outside of Italy, and were particularly prominent in commerce between England and its continental lands of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Th

Finance

Cathedraticum

Cathedraticum (a Latin word from cathedra, episcopal seat or throne) is a specified sum of money to be paid annually toward a bishop. It is a mark of honour and a sign of subjection to the cathedral church, from which its name is derived.

Trading basics

Catholic Extension

The Catholic Extension Society (also known as Catholic Extension and the Catholic Church Extension Society) is a national fundraising 501(c)(3) organization which supports and strengthens poor mission dioceses across the United States. They provide funding and resources to dioceses and parishes through programs and services investing in people, infrastructure and ministries. This support

Trading basics

Catholic Health Initiatives

Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) was a national Catholic healthcare system, with headquarters in Englewood, Colorado. CHI was a nonprofit, faith-based health system formed, in 1996, through the consolidation of three Catholic health systems. It was one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States. In February 2019, CHI merged with Dignity Health, forming CommonSpirit Health.

Trading basics

Catholic Near East Welfare Association

The Catholic Near East Welfare Association (abbreviated CNEWA, pronounced "k-NAY-wah" ) is a papal agency established in 1926 and dedicated to giving pastoral and humanitarian support to Northeast Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and India. CNEWA operates specifically in areas of concentrated mass poverty, war, and displacement, providing human dignity and addressing basic needs

Banking

Central Bank of Paraguay

The Central Bank of Paraguay (Spanish: Banco Central del Paraguay) is Paraguay's highest monetary authority, and the country's governing body, in finances and economics. Its headquarters are in Asunción's Carmelitas neighbourhood.

Trading basics

Chalice (Canada)

Chalice is a Catholic international aid charity focused on child, family, and community development headquartered in Bedford, Nova Scotia.

Banking

Challenges in Islamic finance

Challenges in Islamic finance are the difficulties in providing modern finance services without violation of sharia (Islamic law).

Finance

Christian finance

Christian finance is a kind of ethical finance following Christian ethics. The notion of "Christian finance" or "Catholic finance" refers to banking and financial activities that are not widely used. Whether the activities of the Knights Templar (12th century), Mounts of Piety (appeared in 1462) or the Apostolic Chamber attached directly to the Vatican, a number of operations of a bankin

Finance

Church tax

A church tax is a tax collected by the state from members of some Christian denominations to provide financial support of churches, such as the salaries of its clergy and to pay the operating cost of the church. It is related to the concept of tithes and offerings. Not all Christian countries have such a tax. In some countries that do, people who are not members of a religious community

Finance

Collection for the Holy Places

The Collection for the Holy Places (Latin: Collecta pro Locis Sanctis), also known as the Good Friday Collection, is an annual collection, taken up at the request of the pope, in Catholic churches around the world for the support of Christians in the Holy Land. Dating back to the seventeenth century and reaffirmed by Pope Paul VI in 1974, it is traditionally taken on Good Friday.

Banking

Contractum trinius

The contractus trinus, contractus triplex, or simply triple contract, is a set of contracts used by European bankers and merchants in the Middle Ages, notably by the Fugger family, as a method of circumventing the canon law prohibition of usury.

Banking

Court Jew

Court Jew (also court factor, court agent, or chamber agent) was a term used in early modern period Europe, particularly in Germany for Jewish moneylenders who lent to or managed money for the upper classes in return for social privileges.

Banking

Curiel family

The Curiel family (Dutch: Curiël or also known as: da Costa) is a prominent Sephardi Jewish family.

Trading basics

Data broker

A data broker is an individual or company that specializes in collecting personal data (such as income, ethnicity, political beliefs, or geolocation data) or data about people, mostly from public records but sometimes sourced privately, and selling or licensing such information to third parties for a variety of uses. Sources, usually Internet-based since the 1990s, may include census and

Banking

Ecobank Uganda

Ecobank Uganda is a bank in Uganda that operates as a commercial bank under a license granted by the Bank of Uganda, the central bank and national banking regulator.

Trading basics

Edmund Szoka

Edmund Casimir Szoka (September 14, 1927 – August 20, 2014) was an American Catholic prelate who served as president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and as president of the Governorate of Vatican City State from 1997 to 2006. He previously served as bishop of Gaylord in Michigan from 1971 to 1981 and archbishop of Detroit in Michigan from 1981 to 1990. Szoka was eleva

Securities & exchanges

Emmanuel Lemelson

Emmanuel Lemelson (born Gregory Manoli Lemelson) is an American-born Greek Orthodox priest, social commentator and hedge fund manager.

Finance

Federal budget of Russia

The federal budget of Russia (Russian: федеральный бюджет России) is the leading element of the budget system of Russia. It is a major state financial plan for the fiscal year, which has the force of law after its approval by the Russian parliament and signed into law by the President of Russia.

Finance

Fiscal pedaling

Fiscal pedaling (a calque from Brazilian Portuguese: pedalada fiscal, or simply pedaladas) is a governmental creative accounting technique involving the use of state-owned banks to front funds required for paying general government obligations without officially declaring a loan, thus hiding these transfers from public scrutiny and delaying repayment from the Treasury to these banks. As

Banking

Frank Hanna III

Frank J. Hanna III is an American entrepreneur, merchant banker and philanthropist. He was one of three entrepreneurs profiled in the Acton Institute and PBS documentary film The Call of the Entrepreneur.

Trading basics

Fuld-Gilad-Herring Academy of Competitive Intelligence

The Fuld-Gilad-Herring Academy of Competitive Intelligence is an educational organization bringing professional training to the field of competitive intelligence (CI). Established in 1996, the academy has expanded its training to thousands of managers from 58 countries and six continents at its campuses in Cambridge, MA and Brussels, Belgium. The academy is the only CI-dedicated institut

Trading basics

Giacomo Antonelli

Giacomo Antonelli (2 April 1806 – 6 November 1876) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Cardinal Secretary of State for the Holy See from 1848 until his death. He played a key role in Italian politics, resisting the unification of Italy and affecting Catholic interests in European affairs. He was often called the "Italian Richelieu" and the "Red Pope."

Trading basics

Historical money of Tibet

The use of historical money in Tibet started in ancient times, when Tibet had no coined currency of its own. Bartering was common, gold was a medium of exchange, and shell money and stone beads were used for very small purchases. A few coins from other countries were also occasionally in use.

Banking

History of pawnbroking

Pawnbroking, lending money on portable security, began in ancient history. The practice was widespread in many parts of the world, from ancient Greece to medieval China and medieval Europe.

Trading basics

Impact investing

Impact investing refers to investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return". At its core, impact investing is about an alignment of an investor's beliefs and values with the allocation of capital to address social and/or environmental issues.

Trading basics

In commendam

In canon law, commenda (or in commendam) was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice in trust to the custody of a patron. The phrase in commendam was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical benefice, which was temporarily without an actual occupant, in contrast to the conferral of a title, in titulum, which was applied to the regular and unconditi

Fiat currencies

Indonesian rupiah

The rupiah (pronounced [ruˈpi.ah]; symbol: Rp; currency code: IDR) is the official currency and sole legal tender in Indonesia. It is issued and managed by Bank Indonesia, while its banknotes and coins are produced by the state-owned Perum Peruri. The name derives from the Sanskrit rupya, meaning "wrought silver". One rupiah is legally divided into 100 sen, although regular currency is i

Finance

Indulgence

In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (Latin: indulgentia, from indulgeo, 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is du

Finance

Institute for the Works of Religion

The Institute for the Works of Religion (Italian: Istituto per le Opere di Religione; Latin: Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution that is situated inside Vatican City and run by a Board of Superintendence, which reports to a Commission of Cardinals and the Pope. It is not a private bank, as there are no owner

Trading basics

Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda

The Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda (IRAU) is a government agency mandated to "ensure the effective administration, supervision, regulation and control of the business of Insurance in Uganda".

Banking

Interest (economics)

In finance and economics, interest is payment from a debtor or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct from a fee which the borrower may pay to the lender or some third party. It is also distinct from dividend which is paid by a company to its share

Banking

Interest-free economy

An interest-free economy or interest free economy is an economy that does not have pure interest rates.

Finance

Johann Tetzel

Johann Tetzel (c. 1465 – 11 August 1519) was a German Dominican friar and preacher. He was appointed Inquisitor for Poland and Saxony, later becoming the Grand Commissioner for indulgences in Germany. Tetzel was known for granting indulgences on behalf of the Catholic Church in exchange for tithes to the Church. Indulgences grant a degree of expiation of the punishments of purgatory due

Trading basics

Luxury goods

In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a product or item or service for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a more significant proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to necessity goods, where demand increases proportionally less than income. Whereas people consume necessity goods

Finance

Mass stipend

In the Catholic Church, a Mass stipend is a donation given by the laity to a priest for celebrating a Mass for a particular intention. Despite the name, it is considered as a gift or offering (Latin: stips) freely given rather than a payment (Latin: stipendium) as such.

Finance

Mense

A mense (from Latin mensa 'table') is the name of a form of ecclesiastical income in the Catholic Church. Historically, the mense was a land tax that was used as income for its holder (i.e. bishop, abbot, canons or monks, pastor, etc.). In an abbey this support was called the In commendam and was divided into three lots, one for the commendatory abbot, one for the religious community a

Trading basics

Mergers and acquisitions in United Kingdom law

Mergers and acquisitions in United Kingdom law refers to a body of law that covers companies, labour, and competition, which is engaged when firms restructure their affairs in the course of business.

Finance

Ministry of Finance (Russia)

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation (Russian: Министерство финансов Российской Федерации), also known as MinFin (Минфин России), is a ministry of the Government of Russia responsible for financial policy and general management in the field of finance.

Banking

Mount of piety

A mount of piety is an institutional pawnbroker run as a charity in Europe from Renaissance times until today. Similar institutions were established in the colonies of Catholic countries; the Mexican Nacional Monte de Piedad is still in operation.

Banking

Murābaḥa

Murābaḥa (Arabic: مرابحة, derived from ribh Arabic: ربح, meaning profit) was originally a term of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) for a sales contract where the buyer and seller agree on the markup (profit) or "cost-plus" price for the item(s) being sold. In recent decades it has become a term for a very common form of Islamic (i.e., "shariah-compliant") financing, where the price is marked

Finance

National Social Security Fund (Uganda)

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF; also NSSF Uganda), is a quasi-government agency responsible for the collection, safekeeping, responsible investment, and distribution of retirement funds from employees of the private sector in Uganda who are not covered by the Government Retirement Scheme. Participation for both employers and employees is compulsory. The Uganda National Social Se

Trading basics

Paul Marcinkus

Paul Casimir Marcinkus (; January 15, 1922 – February 20, 2006) was an American Catholic prelate who served as president of the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, from 1971 to 1989. He also served as president of the Governorate for Vatican City State from 1989 to 1990, following eight years as vice-president. He was the titular Archbishop of Horta.

Finance

Pax-Bank

Pax-Bank eG is a German bank that focuses on Christian finance headquartered in Cologne. The bank states that it is a German: Bank für Kirche und Caritas (Bank for the Church and Charities), a cooperative Catholic universal bank. Its members consist of institutions of the Catholic Church and private individuals from the clerical field. The bank was founded as a self-help organization by

Trading basics

Pension regulation

Pension regulation is a legal term encompassing, the set of laws, rules and authoritative standards governing the pension industry, and the procedures needed to enforce them.

Trading basics

Pensions in Armenia

There are various types of Pensions in Armenia, including social pensions (granted to all individuals who reach the age of 63, both for laborers and not), mandatory funded pensions (a return on investment from mandatory funded pensions), or voluntary funded pensions (payments of supplementary pension collected over the years from income as well as insurance fees). Currently, Amundi-ACBA

Finance

Peter's Pence

Peter's Pence (or Denarii Sancti Petri and "Alms of St Peter") are donations or payments made directly to the Holy See of the Catholic Church. The practice began under the Saxons in England and spread through Europe. Both before and after the Norman Conquest the practice varied by time and place: initially, it was given as a pious contribution, whereas later it was required by various ru

Trading basics

Pierre de Murat de Cros

Pierre de Murat de Cros, O.S.B., (c. 1320 – 1388) was a French monk of aristocratic origins who became a cardinal of the Avignon Obedience during the Great Schism, as well as the Archbishop of Arles and the Chamberlain of the Apostolic Camera (Latin: Camerarius Apostolicus). Refusing from the day of his election to support Bartolomeo Prignano (Pope Urban VI, the former head of the rival

Trading basics

Profit motive

In economics, the profit motive is the motivation of firms that operate so as to maximize their profits. Mainstream microeconomic theory posits that the ultimate goal of a business is "to make money" - not in the sense of increasing the firm's stock of means of payment (which is usually kept to a necessary minimum because means of payment incur costs, i.e. interest or foregone yields), b

Finance

Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority

The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) is a parastatal organisation in Uganda that is responsible for regulation and supervision of procurement and disposal of government-owned property and other assets.

Trading basics

Rothschild loans to the Holy See

Rothschild loans to the Holy See refers to a series of major financial loans arranged between the Rothschild family and the Holy See of the Catholic Church. The first loan, which occurred in 1832, took place in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars during the pontificate of Pope Gregory XVI (involving James Mayer de Rothschild and Carl Mayer von Rothschild). This loan agreed on was for a

Banking

Savings bank (Spain)

In Spain, a savings bank (Spanish: caja de ahorros or informally caja, Catalan: caixa d'estalvis, also caixa, Galician: caixa de aforros, informally caixa, Basque: aurrezki kutxa) is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and granting loans. Spanish banks fall into two categories: Privately owned banks (bancos) and government owned banks (cajas—literally

Trading basics

Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund

The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, better known by its acronym SCIAF, is the official aid and development agency of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Established in 1965, SCIAF now works in eight countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America and providing assistance to vulnerable people. SCIAF works with partner organisations and has responded to humanitarian disasters with e

Finance

Secretariat for the Economy

The Secretariat for the Economy (Italian: Segreteria per l'economia) is a department of the Roman Curia with authority over all economic activities of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.

Finance

Stanisław Gebhardt

Stanisław Mieczysław Gebhardt (13 July 1928 – 27 February 2025) was a Polish resistance fighter, economist, émigré political activist, international social entrepreneur and veteran member of the Christian democratic movement. After his return to Poland after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, he was associated with centre-right politics and regarded as a political historian. Gebhardt received

Banking

Sukuk

Sukuk (Arabic: صكوك, romanized: ṣukūk; plural of Arabic: صك, romanized: ṣakk, lit. 'legal instrument, deed, cheque') is the Arabic name for financial certificates, also commonly referred to as "sharia compliant" bonds.

Trading basics

Tax law

Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a legal context. The rates and merits of the various taxes, imposed by the authorities, are attained via the political process inherent in these bodi

Securities & exchanges

The International Stock Exchange

The International Stock Exchange (TISE) is a stock exchange headquartered in St. Peter Port, Guernsey.

Finance

Uganda Investment Authority

The Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) is a semi-autonomous investment promotion and facilitation organisation in Uganda and is owned by the government of Uganda.

Trading basics

Unam sanctam

Unam sanctam is a papal bull that was issued by Pope Boniface VIII on 18 November 1302. It laid down dogmatic propositions on the unity of the Catholic Church, the necessity of belonging to it for eternal salvation, the position of the Pope as supreme head of the Church and the duty thence arising of submission to the Pope in order to belong to the Church and thus to attain salvation. Th

Trading basics

Vix pervenit

Vix pervenit (lit. 'It has hardly reached') is an encyclical, promulgated by Pope Benedict XIV on 1 November 1745, which condemned the practice of charging interest on loans as usury. Because the encyclical was addressed to the bishops of Italy, it is generally not considered ex cathedra. The Holy Office applied the encyclical to the whole of the Roman Catholic Church on 29 July 1836, du

Trading basics

William E. Conway Jr.

William E. "Bill" Conway Jr. (born August 27, 1949) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Conway is co-executive chairman and co-founder of the Carlyle Group. He is chairman of the board of trustees of Johns Hopkins Medicine and a member of the board of trustees of the Catholic University of America. According to Forbes, Conway had a net worth of US$3.6 billion as of