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Digital assets and currencies

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Banking

2022 Henan banks protests

The 2022 Henan banks protests were a series of demonstrations against four regional banks of Henan province, including Yuzhou Xinminsheng Village Bank, Shangcai Huimin County Bank, Zhecheng Huanghuai Community Bank and New Oriental Country Bank of Kaifeng, over alleged financial corruption. Deposits totaling around 40 billion yuan at these four banks in Henan, as well as at Guzhen Xinhua

Trading basics

Abkhazian apsar

The apsar (Abkhaz: аԥсар, āpsār; symbol:) is a currency of Abkhazia. So far, coins in denominations of 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, and 100 apsars and banknotes in denominations of 10, 25, 50, 100, 200 and 500 apsars have been issued. While the coins and banknotes are legal tender in the Republic of Abkhazia, their usage is limited, and they are mostly made for collectors. In Abkhazia, t

Trading basics

Altafiber

Cincinnati Bell, Inc., doing business as Altafiber, is a regional telecommunications service provider based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It provides landline telephone, fiber-optic Internet, and IPTV services through its subsidiaries Altafiber Home Phone and Hawaiian Telcom, which are the incumbent local exchange carriers for the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area (aka "The Tri-

Trading basics

Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive 2011

Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive 2011 (2011/61/EU) is a directive of the European Union on the financial regulation of hedge funds, private equity, real estate funds, and other "Alternative Investment Fund Managers" (AIFMs) in the European Union. The Directive requires all covered AIFMs to obtain authorisation, and make various disclosures as a condition of operation. It fo

Banking

An Introduction to Islamic Finance

An Introduction to Islamic Finance is a book written by Pakistani scholar Taqi Usmani on Islamic banking and finance. The book remains one of the gateway publications on Islamic finance. Most of the focus of the book is on banking rather than fund management. The author urges Islamic banks to develop their own culture, as ultimately it is the value system that matters. The book displays

Securities & exchanges

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) is the regulator of the capital market of Bangladesh, comprising Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE). The commission is a statutory body and attached to the Ministry of Finance.

Trading basics

Brent Crude

Brent Crude is the world's most widely used benchmark for the price of crude oil. The term can be used in three ways. First, to refer to a trading classification—a specific quality or type of crude oil. Brent Crude is light—it has low density, yielding high volumes of petrol and diesel after refinement; and sweet—it contains low levels of sulphur, which makes it easy to refine. Secondly,

Finance

Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory in the western Caribbean. With a population of over 90,000, it is the most populated of all the British Overseas Territories. The 264-square-kilometre (102-square-mile) territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located south of Cuba and north-east of Honduras, betwee

Banking

Central bank digital currencies by country

A wide range of countries and currency unions have explored, piloted, or deployed central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which serve as direct liabilities of a central bank and legal tender alongside physical cash and bank deposits. National initiatives generally focus either on wholesale CBDCs for interbank settlements or retail CBDCs for use by the general public.

Finance

Central Financial Work Conference

The Central Financial Work Conference, previously known as the National Financial Work Conference, is the highest-level conference in China in regards to financial work. It is held every five years.

Fiat currencies

China Foreign Exchange Trade System

The China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS; Chinese: 中國外匯交易中心), also known as National Interbank Funding Center (NIFC; Chinese: 全国银行间同业拆借中心), is a financial market infrastructure and electronic trading platform in China, established in 1994 in Shanghai under the People's Bank of China (PBC).

Trading basics

Christopher Skase

Christopher Charles Skase (18 September 1948 – 5 August 2001) was an Australian businessman who later became one of his country's most wanted fugitives, after his business empire crashed spectacularly and he fled to Mallorca, Spain.

Fiat currencies

Coins as votive offering

In many cultures, coins are used as votive offerings, usually through the act of throwing coins at or in specific objects such as rivers, lakes, ponds, wells, fountains, statues, bells, vehicles, and other objects to pray for blessings, avert disasters, and make wishes.

Finance

CPA Australia

CPA Australia ("Certified Practising Accountant") is a professional accounting body in Australia, originally founded as the "Incorporated Institute of Accountants" in 1886. As of 31 December 2020, it has 168,736 members in 150 countries and regions. CPA Australia currently has 19 staffed offices across Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, New Zealand and

Fiat currencies

De facto currency

A de facto currency is a unit of money that is not legal tender in a country but is treated as such by most of the populace. The United States dollar and the euro are the most common de facto currencies.

Trading basics

Denominación de origen

In Spain and Latin America, the denominación de origen (Spanish: [denominaˈθjon de oˈɾixen]; lit. 'designation of origin') is part of a regulatory geographical indication system used primarily for foodstuffs such as cheeses, condiments, honey, and meats, among others. In wines, it parallels the hierarchical systems of France (1935) and Italy (1963), although Rioja (1925) and Jerez (1933

Trading basics

Dial-a-Phone

Dialaphone (Dial-A-Phone, Dial A Phone) was an independent mobile phone retailer in the United Kingdom. It was established in February 1995 as a direct marketer and supplier of mobile phones and mobile phone accessories. The e-commerce website went online in September 2000. In 2008 it was acquired by Phones 4u who as of September 2014 collapsed into administration closing branches, onli

Banking

Dinar

The dinar (, ) is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (dīnār), which was possibly borrowed via the Syriac dīnarā from the Latin dēnārius.

Trading basics

Eir (telecommunications)

Eircom Limited, trading as Eir ( AIR; stylised eir), is a large fixed, mobile and broadband telecommunications company in Ireland. The company, which is currently incorporated in Jersey, traces its origins to Ireland's former state-owned monopoly telecommunication provider Telecom Éireann and its predecessors, P&T (the Dept. of Posts and Telegraphs) and before the foundation of the state

Trading basics

EZ-Link

The EZ-Link card is a rechargeable contactless smart card and electronic money system that is primarily used as a payment method for public transport such as bus and rail lines in Singapore. A standard EZ-Link card is a credit-card sized stored-value contact-less smart-card that comes in a variety of colours, as well as limited edition designs. It is sold by SimplyGo Pte Ltd, a merged en

Banking

Fils (currency)

The fils (Arabic: فلس) is a subdivision of currency used in some Arab countries, such as, in modern times, Iraq and Bahrain. The term is a modern retranscription of fals, an early medieval Arab copper coin first produced by the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) beginning in the late 7th century and used throughout the region under its rule.

Finance

Financial Supervisory Commission (Taiwan)

The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC; Chinese: 金融監督管理委員會; pinyin: Jīnróng Jiāndū Guǎnlǐ Wěiyuánhuì; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kim-iông Kàm-tok Kóan-lí Úi-oân-hōe, abbreviated to 金管會) is an independent government agency subordinate to the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It is responsible for regulating securities markets (including the Taiwan Stock Exchange and the Taiwan Futures

Trading basics

Foreign direct investment in China

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been an important part of the economy of the People's Republic of China since the 1980s. During the Mao period, most foreign companies halted their operations in China, though China remained connected to the world economy through a limited scale of international trade. Since 1978, China was again open to foreign investment and within two decades it bec

Banking

Gharar

Gharar (Arabic: غرر) literally means uncertainty, hazard, chance or risk. It is a negative element in mu'amalat fiqh (transactional Islamic jurisprudence), like riba (usury) and maisir (gambling).

Banking

Gold dinar

The gold dinar (Arabic: ﺩﻳﻨﺎﺭ ذهب) is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH 77 (696–697 CE) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal (4.25 grams or 0.137 troy ounces).

Trading basics

Hibu

Hibu Inc. (styled hibü), formerly Yellowbook Inc., is a provider of web development and hosting, digital listings and reputation management, search engine and social media marketing, and digital advertisements. Hibu is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Trading basics

Hisense

Hisense Group Co., Ltd. is a Chinese multinational major appliance and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong, China. Television sets are one of its principal products. In the first quarter of 2026, Hisense accounted for 13% of global television shipments, behind Samsung and TCL, according to Counterpoint Research. Hisense also operates as an original equipment manuf

Trading basics

IShares

iShares is a collection of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index mutual funds managed by BlackRock, which acquired the brand and business from Barclays in 2009. The first iShares ETFs were known as World Equity Benchmark Shares (WEBS) but have since been rebranded.

Banking

Islamic banking and finance

Islamic banking, Islamic finance (Arabic: مصرفية إسلامية masrifiyya 'islamia), or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Some of the modes of Islamic finance include mudarabah (profit-sharing and loss-bearing), wadiah (safekeeping), musharaka (joint ventu

Finance

Judgment defaulter

In China, judgment defaulter (Chinese: 失信被执行人) or court defaulters, commonly known as laolai (Chinese: 老赖) or untrustworthy person (Chinese: 失信人), is defined as a person who is able to fulfill legal obligations determined by the court, but has refused to do so, or illegally tries to evade enforcement such as hiding their assets.

Finance

King Abdullah Financial District

King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) or simply Al-Maliyyah is a major mixed-use financial district located in the Al-Aqeeq neighbourhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It serves as the country's financial centre and a central hub for banking, investment, and professional services.

Trading basics

Knife money

Knife money (Chinese: 刀币) is the name of large, cast, bronze, knife-shaped commodity money produced by various governments and kingdoms in what is now China, approximately 2,500 years ago. Knife money circulated in China between 600 and 200 BCE during the Zhou dynasty.

Finance

LandlordInvest

LandlordInvest is a peer-to-peer lending platform that enables people to invest in residential, commercial, and semi-commercial bridging and development loans. The platform's target audiences are professional property investors and landlords. It was the first residential property-backed Innovative Finance ISA made available to UK savers.

Trading basics

Lebanese pound

Lebanese pound or Lebanese lira is the currency of Lebanon. It was formerly divided into 100 piastres (Arabic: قرش qirsh) but, because of high inflation during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), subunits were discontinued.

Trading basics

List of disasters by cost

Disasters can have high costs associated with responding to and recovering from them. This page lists the estimated economic costs of relatively recent disasters.

Trading basics

List of electronic toll collection systems

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

Finance

List of financial districts

A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host skyscrapers and other buildings of architectural importance and are called financial centres; such major centres also include important financial

Trading basics

Local government financing vehicle

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

Finance

MerchantBridge

MerchantBridge & Co. Ltd. was a London-based boutique private equity firm that specialized in investments in the Middle East and especially Iraq, where it was one of the largest such firms. It was in existence from 2001 to 2018.

Trading basics

Merlin Entertainments

Merlin Entertainments Limited is a global entertainment company based in London, England, which operates a number of theme park resorts and other visitor attractions. It is currently owned by the consortium Motion JVCO Ltd, which includes Kirkbi (the investment arm of the Kristiansen family that also controls the Lego Group), Blackstone Inc and CPP Investments.

Finance

Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan)

The Ministry of Finance of Afghanistan (Dari: وزارت مالیه افغانستان, Pashto: د افغانستان د مالیې وزارت) is responsible for the implementation and execution of the budget, collection of taxes, organization, and control of public expenses in Afghanistan; it also controls the management of the Custom Affairs. It is located next to the Pashtunistan Square in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood

Finance

Ministry of Finance (Iraq)

The Ministry of Finance (MoF; Arabic: وزارة المالية) is a central government ministry of Iraq tasked with formulating financial policies of the state, preparing the general budget bill, and overseeing as well as managing public expenditure. The banks of Rafidain and Rasheed, as well several other enterprises, are operated by the ministry. It publishes a monthly report called the Open Bud

Finance

Ministry of Finance (Kuwait)

Ministry of Finance is one of the governmental bodies of Kuwait and part of the cabinet. It is concerned with the executive general administration of public financial affairs in the State of Kuwait. As of August 2025 the Acting minister is Dr. Sabeeh Al-Mukhaizeem.

Finance

Ministry of Finance (Taiwan)

The Ministry of Finance (MOF; Chinese: 財政部; pinyin: Cáizhèngbù; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Châi-chèng-pō͘) is the ministry of the Republic of China (Taiwan) responsible for government revenue, taxation, treasury, government land properties, customs in Taiwan. The current minister is Chuang Tsui-yun.

Trading basics

Ministry of Planning (Iraq)

The Ministry of Planning (MoP; Arabic: وزارة التخطيط العراقية) is a central government ministry of Iraq whose task is to promote economic growth and human development through strategic planning as well as to realize sustainable development, social justice, poverty-alleviation, the reduction of unemployment, institutional reform, and development of standardisation.

Finance

Ministry of Revenue (Imperial China)

The Ministry or Board of Revenue was one of the Six Ministries under the Department of State Affairs in imperial China.

Banking

Modern gold dinar

The modern gold dinar (sometimes referred as Islamic dinar or Gold dinar) is a proposed bullion gold coin, so far not issued as official currency by any national state. It aims to revive the historical gold dinar, which was a leading coin of early Islam. Advocates have suggested it could consist of minted gold coins (dinars) or of silver coins (dirhams).

Banking

Mu'amalat

Muamalat (also muʿāmalāt, Arabic: معاملات, literally "transactions" or "dealings") is a part of Islamic jurisprudence, or fiqh. Muamalat has been defined as Islamic "rulings governing commercial transactions",

Trading basics

Natural gas prices

Natural gas prices, as with other commodity prices, are mainly driven by supply and demand fundamentals. However, natural gas prices may also be linked to the price of crude oil and petroleum products, especially in continental Europe. Natural gas prices in the US had historically followed oil prices, but in the recent years, it has decoupled from oil and is now trending somewhat with c

Trading basics

OFX (company)

OFX Group Limited is an Australian financial technology company that provides international payments, foreign exchange and spend management services. It is headquartered in Sydney and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Trading basics

Omani rial

The Omani rial (Arabic: ريال, symbol: ; currency code: OMR) is the currency of Oman. It is divided into 1000 baisa (also written baiza, بيسة).

Finance

Pakistan Crypto Council

Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) is a Pakistani regulatory body established to develop policy, infrastructure and regulation for blockchain technology and digital assets within Pakistan. It operates under the Ministry of Finance with input from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), and other federal agencies.

Trading basics

Panel discussion

A panel discussion, or simply a panel, involves a group of people gathered to discuss a topic in front of an audience, typically at scientific, business, or academic conferences, fan conventions, and on television shows.

Fiat currencies

Petrocurrency

Petrocurrency (or petrodollar) is a word used with three distinct meanings, often confused:

Trading basics

Phones 4u

Phones 4u was a British mobile phone retailer based in the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1996 and was one of the largest mobile phone retailers in the UK before it ceased operations and filed for administration on 15 September 2014. Since then, the company has been under the control of its administrators, PwC.

Finance

Policy bank

Policy bank (Chinese: 政策性银行), or policy lender, is a state-owned financial institution established by the government of the People's Republic of China with the goal of implementing official economic policies and carrying out financial business in specific fields. This measure separates policy finance from commercial finance and establishes a policy bank to undertake strictly defined poli

Securities & exchanges

Production sharing agreement

Production sharing agreements (PSAs) or production sharing contracts (PSCs) are a common type of contract signed between a government and a resource extraction company (or group of companies) concerning how much of the resource (usually oil) extracted from the country each will receive.

Banking

Profit and loss sharing

Profit and Loss Sharing (also called PLS or participatory banking) refers to Sharia-compliant forms of equity financing such as mudarabah and musharakah. These mechanisms comply with the religious prohibition on interest on loans that most Muslims subscribe to. Mudarabah (مضاربة) refers to "trustee finance" or passive partnership contract, while Musharakah (مشاركة or مشركة) refers to equ

Trading basics

Qatari riyal

The Qatari riyal (Arabic: ريال قطري; sign: QR in Latin, ر.ق in Arabic; ISO code: QAR) is the official currency of the State of Qatar. Each riyal, the base unit, is divided into 100 dirhams (Arabic: درهم).

Trading basics

Qinetiq

QinetiQ ( as in kinetic) is a British defence technology company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire. It operates primarily in the defence, security and critical national infrastructure markets and runs testing and evaluation capabilities for air, land, sea and target systems.

Banking

Qirad

The qirad (also known as Muqaradah by Hanafi and Hanbali scholars) was one of the basic financial instruments of the medieval Islamic world. It was an arrangement between one or more investors and an agent where the investors entrusted capital to an agent who then traded with it in hopes of making profit. Both parties then received a previously settled portion of the profit. The agent

Trading basics

Qiwi

QIWI plc was a Russian company that provides payment and financial services in Russia and CIS countries. The group includes QIWI payment system, QIWI Bank, CONTACT money transfer system, Factoring PLUS, Flocktory, and RealWeb. The company has representative offices in three countries.

Finance

Qualifying investor alternative investment fund

Qualifying Investor Alternative Investment Fund or QIAIF is a Central Bank of Ireland regulatory classification established in 2013 for Ireland's five tax-free legal structures for holding assets. The Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle or ICAV is the most popular of the five Irish QIAIF structures, it is the main tax-free structure for foreign investors holding Irish assets.

Finance

Quicken Interchange Format

Quicken Interchange Format (QIF) is an open specification for reading and writing financial data to media (i.e. files).

Banking

Riba

Riba (Arabic: ربا ,الربا، الربٰوة, ribā or al-ribā, IPA: [ˈrɪbæː]) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as "usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business (especially banking). Riba is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an (3:130, 4:161, 30:39, and the commonly referenced 2:275-2:280). It is also mentioned in many hadith (

Finance

SCO Interbank Consortium

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Interbank Consortium (abbreviated as SCO IBC) is a platform for joint financing of development projects by members and other participants of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Banking

Sharia and securities trading

Sharia and securities trading is the impact of conventional financial markets activity for those following the Islamic religion and particularly sharia law. Sharia practices ban riba (earning interest) and involvement in haram. It also forbids gambling (maisir) and excessive risk (bayu al-gharar). This, however has not stopped some in Islamic finance industry from using some of these ins

Trading basics

Swing producer

A swing producer or swing supplier is a supplier or a close oligopolistic group of suppliers of any commodity, controlling its global deposits and possessing large spare production capacity. A swing producer is able to increase or decrease commodity supply at minimal additional internal cost, and thus able to influence prices and balance the markets, providing downside protection in the

Finance

The Economist Group

The Economist Newspaper Limited (commonly the Economist Group) is a British media company headquartered in London, England. It is best known as publisher of The Economist newspaper and its sister lifestyle magazine, 1843. The Economist Group specialises in international business and world affairs information. Its principal activities are in print and digital media as well as in conferenc

Finance

The Points Guy

The Points Guy (TPG) is an American travel website and blog that produces sponsored news and stories on travel, means of accumulating and using airline points and miles, and credit cards (in particular, credit card reviews). The site was founded in 2010 and was initially a blog written by founder Brian Kelly. By 2017, the site employed 20 full-time staff in addition to 50 freelance contr

Trading basics

Turkmen manat

The manat (Turkmen: manat; abbreviation: m; code: TMT) is the currency of Turkmenistan. The original manat was introduced on 1 November 1993, replacing the ruble at a rate of 1 manat = Rbls 500. The manat is subdivided into 100 tenge (Turkmen: teňňe).