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Digital assets and currencies

Understand assets, networks and trading mechanics with sources you can check.

Banking

100 point check

The 100 point check is a personal identification system adopted by the Australian Government to combat financial transaction fraud by individuals and companies, enacted by the Financial Transactions Reports Act (1988) (FTR Act), which established the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and which continued in existence under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-

Trading basics

Aaron's

The Aaron's Company, Inc., commonly known as Aaron's, is an American lease-to-own retailer. The company focuses on leases and retail sales of furniture, electronics, appliances, and computers. The company sells through company-operated and franchised stores and its e-commerce platform.

Assets

Alameda Research

Alameda Research was a cryptocurrency trading firm founded in September 2017 by Sam Bankman-Fried and Tara Mac Aulay. In November 2022, Alameda's sister cryptocurrency exchange FTX experienced a solvency crisis that resulted in both companies filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That same month, anonymous sources told The Wall Street Journal that FTX had loaned more than half of its custome

Finance

Alternative financial service

An alternative financial service (AFS) is a financial service provided outside traditional banking institutions, on which many low-income individuals depend. In developing countries, these services often take the form of microfinance. In developed countries, the services may be similar to those provided by banks and include payday loans, rent-to-own agreements, pawnshops, refund anticipa

Finance

Altman Z-score

The Z-score formula for predicting bankruptcy was published in 1968 by Edward I. Altman, who was, at the time, an Assistant Professor of Finance at New York University. The formula may be used to determine the probability that a firm will go into bankruptcy within two years. Z-scores are used to predict corporate defaults and an easy-to-calculate control measure for the financial distres

Banking

Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank is an American financial institution. It is the largest union-owned bank and one of the only unionized banks in the United States. Amalgamated Bank is currently majority-owned by Workers United, an SEIU Affiliate.

Securities & exchanges

Arlington Asset Investment

Arlington Asset Investment Corp. is a mortgage real estate investment trust headquartered in McLean, Virginia. It is an investment firm that focuses primarily on investing in mortgage related assets and residential real estate.

Trading basics

Asset protection

Asset protection (sometimes also referred to as debtor-creditor law) is a set of legal techniques and a body of statutory and common law dealing with protecting assets of individuals and business entities from civil money judgments. The goal of asset protection planning is to insulate assets from claims of creditors without perjury or tax evasion.

Banking

Asset-based lending

Asset-based lending is any kind of lending secured by an asset. This means, if the loan is not repaid, the asset is taken. In this sense, a mortgage is an example of an asset-based loan. More commonly however, the phrase is used to describe lending to business and large corporations using assets not normally used in other loans. Typically, the different types of asset-based loans include

Finance

Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada

Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada (APTUSC) is the professional society of active public treasurers of counties, provinces, cities, and special districts in the United States and Canada. It sets ethical standards for the treasury profession in state and local government.

Securities & exchanges

Bearer instrument

A bearer instrument is a document that entitles the holder of the document to rights of ownership or title to the underlying property. In the case of shares (bearer shares) or bonds (bearer bonds), they are called bearer certificates. Unlike normal registered instruments, no record is kept of who owns bearer instruments or of transactions involving transfer of ownership, enabling the own

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

Securities & exchanges

Beneficial ownership

In domestic and international commercial law, a beneficial owner is a natural person (or persons) who ultimately owns or controls an interest in a legal entity or arrangement, such as a company, trust, or foundation. Legal owners (i.e. owners of record), commonly described as registered owners, may hold those interests as beneficial owners or for the benefit of someone else, in which cas

Banking

Bethmann family

The Bethmann family (; BET-mahn) has been remarkable for the high proportion of its male members who succeeded at mercantile or financial endeavors. This family trait began in medieval northern Germany and continued with the Bethmann bank, which Johann Philipp Bethmann (1715–1793) and Simon Moritz Bethmann (1721–1782) founded in 1748 and soon catapulted into the foremost ranks of German

Finance

Black Knight, Inc.

Black Knight, Inc. is an American corporation that provides integrated technology, services, data and analytics to the mortgage lending, servicing and real estate industries, as well as the capital and secondary markets. Black Knight is also known for its monthly benchmark data reports: Mortgage Monitor, a month-end analysis of mortgage performance statistics derived from Black Knight's

Securities & exchanges

Bucket shop (stock market)

A bucket shop is a business that allows gambling based on the prices of stocks or commodities. A 1906 U.S. Supreme Court ruling defined a bucket shop as "an establishment, nominally for the transaction of a stock exchange business, or business of similar character, but really for the registration of bets, or wagers, usually for small amounts, on the rise or fall of the prices of stocks,

Finance

California Municipal Treasurers Association

California Municipal Treasurers Association (CMTA) is the professional society of active public treasurers of California counties, cities, and special districts. It sets ethical standards for the treasury profession in state and local government in California.

Finance

Capitalization rate

Capitalization rate (or "cap rate") is a real estate valuation measure used to compare different real estate investments. Although there are many variations, the cap rate is generally calculated as the ratio between the annual rental income produced by a real estate asset to its current market value. Most variations depend on the definition of the annual rental income and whether it is

Banking

Cashier

A retail cashier or simply a cashier is a person who handles the cash register at various locations such as the point of sale in a retail store. The most common use of the title is in the retail industry, but this job title is also used in the context of accountancy for the person responsible for receiving and disbursing money or within branch banking in the United Kingdom for the job kn

Assets

Celsius Network

Celsius Network LLC was a cryptocurrency company. Headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey, Celsius maintained offices in four countries and operated globally. Users could deposit a range of cryptocurrency digital assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, into a Celsius wallet to earn a percentage yield, and could take out loans by pledging their cryptocurrencies as security. As of May 2022, t

Banking

Check kiting

Check kiting or cheque kiting (American and British English, respectively) is a form of bank check fraud, involving taking advantage of the float provided by a bank to make use of non-existent funds in a checking or other bank account. Thus, instead of being used as intended, as a negotiable instrument, checks are misused to source (and manage the flow and timing of) a form of unauthoriz

Finance

Chief risk officer

A chief risk officer (CRO), chief risk management officer (CRMO), or chief risk and compliance officer (CRCO), is an executive accountable for enabling the efficient and effective governance of significant risks, and related opportunities, to a business and its various segments. Risks are commonly categorized as strategic, reputational, operational, financial, or compliance-related. CROs

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

Trading basics

Co-insurance

In insurance, co-insurance or coinsurance is the splitting or spreading of risk among multiple parties.

Banking

Commercial mortgage

A commercial mortgage is a mortgage loan secured by commercial property, such as an office building, shopping center, industrial warehouse, or apartment complex. The proceeds from a commercial mortgage are typically used to acquire, refinance, or redevelop commercial property.

Securities & exchanges

Concession (contract)

A concession or concession agreement is a grant of rights, land, property, or facility by a government, local authority, corporation, individual or other legal entity.

Trading basics

Conforming loan

In the United States, a conforming loan is a mortgage loan that both meets the underwriting guidelines of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises or GSE) and that does not exceed the conforming loan limit. The most well-known guideline is the size of the loan, which for 2024 was generally limited to $766,550 for one-unit single family homes in the continental US. Other guidelines inc

Finance

Contingency fund

A contingencies fund or contingency fund is a fund for emergencies or unexpected outflows, mainly economic crises.

Trading basics

Corn Exchange, London

The Corn Exchange was a commercial building in Mark Lane, London, England. The original structure dated from 1747, but the exchange later amalgamated with a rival exchange and was rebuilt several times before finally closing in 1987.

Trading basics

Corporate raid

In business, a corporate raid is the process of buying a large stake in a corporation and then using shareholder voting rights to require the company to undertake novel measures designed to increase the share value, generally in opposition to the desires and practices of the corporation's current management. The measures might include replacing top executives, downsizing operations, or l

Trading basics

Corporate synergy

Corporate synergy is a financial benefit that a corporation expects to realize when it merges with or acquires another corporation. Corporate synergy occurs when corporations interact congruently with one another, creating additional value.

Payments & settlement

Corporate travel management

Corporate travel management is the function of managing a company’s strategic approach to travel (travel policy), the negotiations with all vendors, day-to-day operation of the corporate travel program, traveler safety and security, credit-card management and travel and expenses ('T&E') data management.

Finance

Credit union league

A credit union league or credit union central is cooperative federation for credit unions.

Trading basics

Creditor

A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property or service to the second party under the assumption (usually enforced by contract) that the second party will return an equivalent property and

Networks

Dark Machine

Dark Machine is a Japanese mixed-media project produced by Project Carbuncle. It includes a video game that uses Web3 elements, including integrated cryptocurrency and an NFT marketplace. An anime television series titled Dark Machine: The Animation and produced by Production +h. premiered in October 2026.

Finance

Datalogic

Datalogic S.p.A. is an Italian company working in the automatic data capture and process automation markets. The group specializes in the design and production of barcode readers, mobile computers, radio-frequency identification, sensors for detection, measurement and safety, vision and laser marking systems. Datalogic products are used in many supermarkets and points of sale, at airpor

Finance

Debt buyer

A debt buyer is a company, sometimes a collection agency, a private debt collection law firm, or a private investor, that purchases delinquent or charged-off debts from a creditor or lender for a percentage of the face value of the debt based on the potential collectibility of the accounts. The debt buyer can then collect on its own, utilize the services of a third-party collection agenc

Trading basics

Debt restructuring

Debt restructuring is a process that allows a private or public company or a sovereign entity facing cash flow problems and financial distress to reduce and renegotiate its delinquent debts to improve or restore liquidity so that it can continue its operations.

Trading basics

Debt settlement

Debt settlement (also called debt reduction, debt negotiation or debt resolution) is a settlement negotiated with a debtor's unsecured creditor. Commonly, creditors agree to forgive a large part of the debt: perhaps around half, though results can vary widely. When settlements are finalized, the terms are put in writing. It is common that the debtor makes one lump-sum payment in exchange

Trading basics

Default (finance)

In finance, default is failure to meet the legal obligations (or conditions) of a loan, for example when a home buyer fails to make a mortgage payment, or when a corporation or government fails to pay a bond which has reached maturity. A national or sovereign default is the failure or refusal of a government to repay its national debt.

Finance

Department of Finance (Ireland)

The Department of Finance (Irish: An Roinn Airgeadais) is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Finance.

Trading basics

Early history of private equity

The early history of private equity relates to one of the major periods in the history of private equity and venture capital. Within the broader private equity industry, two distinct sub-industries, leveraged buyouts and venture capital experienced growth along parallel although interrelated tracks.

Trading basics

Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act

The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (abbreviated EGRRCPA; Pub. L. 115–174 (text) (PDF), S. 2155) was signed into law by President Donald Trump on May 24, 2018. The bill eased financial regulations imposed by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act after the 2008 financial crisis.

Finance

Electronic lien and title

Electronic lien and title, also known as ELT, is a program offered by various US States allowing for the electronic exchange of lien and title information with lienholders in lieu of a paper certificate of title.

Trading basics

Electronic Road Pricing

The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system is an electronic toll collection scheme adopted in Singapore to manage traffic by way of road pricing, and as a usage-based taxation mechanism to complement the purchase-based Certificate of Entitlement system. As of September 2026, only 33 ERP gantries are in operation, the currently operating and surviving gantries will be rebranded as "road cha

Trading basics

Equity stripping

Equity stripping, also known as equity skimming, is a type of foreclosure rescue scheme. Often considered a form of predatory lending, equity stripping became increasingly widespread in the early 2000s. In an equity stripping scheme an investor buys the property from a homeowner facing foreclosure and agrees to lease the home to the homeowner who may remain in the home as a tenant. Often

Trading basics

Expedited Funds Availability Act

The Expedited Funds Availability Act (EFA or EFAA) was enacted in 1987 by the United States Congress for the purpose of standardizing hold periods on deposits made to commercial banks and to regulate institutions' use of deposit holds. It is also referred to as Regulation CC or Reg CC, after the Federal Reserve regulation that implements the act. The law is codified in Title 12, Chapter

Trading basics

Expenditure-tax Act, 1987

The Expenditure-tax Act, 1987 is an Act of the Parliament of India. It applies to any charges incurred by an individual and in the event that these charges are implied to be chargeable expenditure. The Act is applicable to all the States and Union Territories in India.

Trading basics

Expenditures in the United States federal budget

The United States federal budget consists of mandatory expenditures (which includes Medicare and Social Security), discretionary spending for defense, Cabinet departments (e.g., Justice Department) and agencies (e.g., Securities & Exchange Commission), and interest payments on debt. This is currently over half of U.S. government spending, the remainder coming from state and local governm

Trading basics

Fair Credit Billing Act

The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) is a United States federal law passed during the 93rd United States Congress and enacted on October 28, 1974, as an amendment to the Truth in Lending Act (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.) and as the third title of the same bill signed into law by President Gerald Ford that also enacted the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Its purpose is to protect co

Trading basics

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Pub. L. 95-109; 91 Stat. 874, codified as 15 U.S.C. § 1692 –1692p, approved on September 20, 1977 (and as subsequently amended), is a consumer protection amendment, establishing legal protection from abusive debt collection practices, to the Consumer Credit Protection Act, as Title VIII of that Act. The statute's stated purposes are: to eli

Finance

Farm Debt Mediation Act

The Farm Debt Mediation Act (French: Loi sur la médiation en matière d’endettement agricole, S.C. 1997, c. 21) ("FDMA") is an act of the Parliament of Canada that enables a debt advisory service to insolvent farmers by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, as well as certain protective provisions available to help facilitate mediation with creditors while allowing such farmers to continue th

Finance

Federal grants in the United States

Federal grants in the United States are a form of economic aid issued by the government out of the general federal revenue. A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States.

Finance

FHA insured loan

An FHA insured loan is a government-backed loan designed to help a broader range of Americans—particularly first-time homebuyers—achieve homeownership with more flexible credit, income, and down payment requirements than conventional loans. Offered through FHA-approved lenders and insured by the Federal Housing Administration, these loans are widely used today as a practical and accessib

Finance

Financial analyst

A financial analyst is a professional undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job. The role may specifically be titled securities analyst, research analyst, equity analyst, investment analyst, or ratings analyst. The job title is a broad one:

Finance

Financial Literacy and Education Commission

The Financial Literacy and Education Commission (the Commission) was established under Title V, the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act which was part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT) Act of 2003, to improve financial literacy and education of persons in the United States. The FACT Act named the Secretary of the Treasury as head of the Commission and r

Trading basics

Financial Stability Oversight Council

The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) is a United States federal government organization, established by Title I of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 21, 2010. The Office of Financial Research is intended to provide support to the council.

Finance

Fintech Association of Sri Lanka

FinTech Association of Sri Lanka (FASL) is an independent, not-for-profit organization representing the fintech community in Sri Lanka and fostering connections with the global fintech sector.

Trading basics

Flipping

In finance, flipping is purchasing an asset to quickly resell (or "flip") it for profit. Within the real estate industry, the term is used by investors to describe the process of buying, rehabilitating, and selling properties for profit. In 2017, 207,088 houses or condos were flipped in the US, an 11-year high. That number represents 5.9 percent of all single-family properties sold durin

Trading basics

Floating charge

In finance, a floating charge is a security interest over a fund of changing assets of a company or other legal person. Unlike a fixed charge, which is created over ascertained and definite property, a floating charge is created over property of an ambulatory and shifting nature, such as receivables and stock.

Finance

Foreclosure

Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan.

Finance

Foreclosure rescue

Foreclosure rescue in the United States is where a mortgage that is in arrears and where the lender is at the stage of foreclosing on the loan agrees to stop the foreclosure in exchange for funds received through loan modification or from a government grant. It may also refer to funds that allow the homeowner to repurchase the property at or after foreclosure.

Trading basics

Foreign Investment Law of the People's Republic of China

The Foreign Investment Law is a law of the People's Republic of China governing foreign direct investment in China. The law was adopted by the National People's Congress on March 15, 2019, and came into effect on January 1, 2020. It replaces the Law of the People's Republic of China on Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Wholly Foreign-owned E

Finance

Fraudulent conveyance

A fraudulent conveyance or fraudulent transfer is the transfer of property to another party to prevent, hinder, or delay the collection of a debt owed by or incumbent on the party making the transfer, sometimes by rendering the transferring party insolvent. It is generally treated as a civil cause of action that arises in debtor/creditor relations, typically brought by creditors or by ba

Finance

Frazier–Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act

The Frazier–Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act was an Act of Congress passed in the United States in 1934 that restricted the ability of banks to repossess farms.

Assets

FTX

FTX Trading Ltd., trading as FTX (Futures Exchange), is a bankrupt company that formerly operated a cryptocurrency exchange and crypto hedge fund. The exchange was founded in 2019 by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang and collapsed in 2022.

Finance

Fundraising

Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gather money for nonprofit organizations, it is sometimes used to refer to the identification and solicitation of investors or other sources of capit

Assets

Genesis (cryptocurrency company)

Genesis is a cryptocurrency intermediary for institutional investors, with Digital Currency Group (DCG) as its parent company.

Finance

Geneva Securities Convention

The Unidroit convention on substantive rules for intermediated securities, also known as the Geneva Securities Convention, was adopted on 9 October 2009. It has been signed by only one of the 40 negotiating States (Bangladesh), but not entered into force. The official commentary was published in 2012.

Finance

GIFT International Financial Services Centre

The GIFT International Financial Services Centre (GIFT IFSC) is a financial centre and special economic zone in GIFT City, India. It was established in 2015 as a financial hub to provide world-class infrastructure and services for financial institutions and companies operating in areas such as banking, insurance, capital markets, and asset management. GIFT IFSC is regulated by the Intern

Finance

Gross rent multiplier

The gross rent multiplier (GRM) is a real estate valuation metric defined as the ratio of a property's purchase price to its annual gross rental income, before deducting expenses such as property tax, insurance, and utilities. It represents the number of years of gross rent required to recover the full purchase price of the property. For a prospective investor, a lower GRM indicates a re

Trading basics

Hire purchase

A hire purchase (HP), also known as an installment plan, is an arrangement whereby a customer agrees to a contract to acquire an asset by paying an initial installment (e.g., 40% of the total) and repaying the balance of the price of the asset plus interest over a period of time. Other analogous practices are described as closed-end leasing or rent-to-own.

Banking

Hollow Sword Blade Company

The Hollow Sword Blades Company was a British joint-stock company founded in 1691 by a goldsmith, Sir Stephen Evance, for the manufacture of hollow-ground rapiers.

Finance

Home equity investments

Home equity investments (HEI) are financial products that allow homeowners to access their home equity as a lump sum without incurring monthly payments. They first emerged around 2015 and function by enabling investors to purchase a minority stake in a homeowner's property for a predetermined duration. In return, investors receive either a percentage of the home's future market value or

Trading basics

Home equity line of credit

A home equity line of credit (HELOC; /ˈhe̞ːˌlɒk/ HEE-lok) is a revolving type of secured loan in which the lender agrees to lend a maximum amount within an agreed period (called a term), where the collateral is the borrower's property (akin to a second mortgage). Because a home often is a consumer's most valuable asset, many homeowners use their HELOC for major purchases or projects, suc

Finance

Home equity loan

A home equity loan is a type of loan in which the borrowers use the equity of their home as collateral. The loan amount is determined by the value of the property, and the value of the property is determined by an appraiser from the lending institution.

Finance

Home equity protection

Home price protection is an agreement that pays the homeowner if a particular home price index declines in value over a period of time after the protection is purchased. The protection is for a new or existing homeowner that wishes to protect the value of their home from future market declines.

Trading basics

Home warranty

A home warranty is a contract that agrees to provide a homeowner with discounted repair and replacement services. However, the words "home warranty" are not always used explicitly to mean a legal warranty is being conveyed. In many cases, at least in the United States, a home warranty is not a warranty at all, but rather a home service contract that covers the repair and/or replacement

Finance

Honored Economist of Ukraine

The Honored Economist (also translated as The Merited Economist of Ukraine, Ukrainian: Заслужений економіст України) is an honorary title of Ukraine, awarded for personal merits to the Ukrainian state to citizens who worked in a relevant branch of the economy or socio-cultural sphere, as a rule, for at least ten years, have high work achievements and professional skill.

Finance

Hypothec

Hypothec (; from Lat. hypotheca, from Gk. ὑποθήκη: hypothēkē), sometimes tacit hypothec, is a term used in civil law systems (e.g. the law of most of Continental Europe) to refer to a registered real security of a creditor over real estate, but under some jurisdictions it may additionally cover ships only (ship hypothec), as opposed to other collaterals, including corporeal movables othe

Trading basics

Imputed rent

Imputed rent is the estimated rental price that an individual would pay for an asset they own. This concept applies broadly to capital goods but is most frequently used in housing markets to measure the rent homeowners would pay for a housing unit equivalent to their own. Imputing housing rent is essential for accurately measuring economic activity in national accounts, as asset owners d

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

Finance

Index of real estate articles

This aims to be a complete list of the articles on real estate.

Trading basics

Insolvency

In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company (debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be insolvent. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet insolvency.

Finance

Insolvency practitioner

In the United Kingdom, only an authorised or licensed insolvency practitioner (IP) may be appointed in relation to formal insolvency procedures.

Securities & exchanges

Investor relations

Investor relations (IR) is a "strategic management responsibility that is capable of integrating finance, communication, marketing and securities law compliance to enable the most effective two-way communication between a company, the financial community, and other constituencies, which ultimately contributes to a company's securities achieving fair valuation." as defined by National Inv

Securities & exchanges

ISDA Master Agreement

The ISDA Master Agreement, published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), is the most commonly used master service agreement for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives transactions internationally. It is part of a framework of documents, designed to enable OTC derivatives to be documented fully and flexibly. The framework consists of a master agreement, a schedule,

Trading basics

Land banking

Land banking is the practice of aggregating parcels of land for future sale or development.

Finance

Layaway

Layaway (lay-by in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa) is a purchase agreement in which the seller reserves an item for a consumer until the consumer completes all the payments necessary to pay for that item, and only then hands over the item.

Trading basics

Lease

A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the lessee) to pay the owner (referred to as the lessor) for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial or business equipment are also leased. In essence, a lease agreement is a contract between two parties: the lessor and the lessee. The lessor is the legal

Trading basics

Leasehold estate

A leasehold estate or a leasehold interest is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant has rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a leasehold estate is typically considered personal property.

Finance

Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Bill

The proposed bill Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Bill is officially contained in the United States House of Representatives bill entitled H.R. 4191: Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Act of 2009. It is a proposed piece of legislation that was introduced into the United States House of Representatives on December 3, 2009 to assess a tax on US f

Payments & settlement

Liberty Reserve

Liberty Reserve was a Costa Rica-based centralized digital currency service that billed itself as the "oldest, safest and most popular payment processor, serving millions all around a world". Liberty Reserve was conceived as a "PayPal for the unbanked," allowing the 2.5 billion people without bank accounts or credit histories to participate in the modern economy. The site had over one mi

Trading basics

Liquidation

Liquidation or winding-up is the process in law by which a company is brought to an end and its assets and property distributed to claimants. When a company has been liquidated, it is sometimes said to be wound-up or dissolved, although dissolution technically refers only to the final stage of liquidation.

Finance

Master of Quantitative Finance

A master's degree in quantitative finance is a postgraduate degree focused on the application of mathematical methods to the solution of problems in financial economics. There are several like-titled degrees which may further focus on financial engineering, computational finance, mathematical finance, or financial risk management.

Securities & exchanges

MF Global

MF Global Holdings Ltd., formerly known as Man Financial, was a major global financial derivatives broker, or commodities brokerage firm that went bankrupt in 2011. MF Global provided exchange-traded derivatives, such as futures and options as well as over-the-counter products such as contracts for difference (CFDs), foreign exchange and spread betting. MF Global Inc., its broker-deal

Trading basics

Micros Systems

Micros Systems, Inc. was an American computer company that manufactured hardware and developed software and services for the restaurant point of sale, hotel, hospitality, sports and entertainment venues, casinos, cruise lines, specialty retail markets, and other similar markets. Analyst estimates cited in 2003 put Micros' market share at about 35% of the restaurant point-of-sale business

Trading basics

Midland Credit Management

Midland Credit Management, Inc. is an American debt buyer and debt collection company headquartered in San Diego, California, and has offices throughout the United States as well as in India and Costa Rica. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Encore Capital Group (Nasdaq: ECPG). It is one of the largest debt collectors in the United States.

Payments & settlement

Money order

A money order is a directive to pay a pre-specified amount of money from prepaid funds, making it a more trusted method of payment than a cheque.

Banking

Mortgage note

In the United States, a mortgage note (also known as a real estate lien note or borrower's note) is a promissory note secured by a specified mortgage loan.