Dictionary Of Finance And Investment Terms (barron's Financial Guides)

title author publisher isbn10 | asin print isbn13 ebook isbn13 language subject publication date lcc ddc subject cover next page > cover next page > : : : : : : : : : : : < previous=""> page_i next page > Page i Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms Fifth Edition John Downes Editor, Beating the Dow Former Vice President, AVCO Financial Services, Inc. Office for Economic Development, City of New York Jordan Elliot Goodman Financial Analyst, NBC News at Sunrise Author, Everyone's Money Book Creator, The Money Answers Program Former Wall Street Correspondent, MONEY Magazine, Time Warner Incorporated Former Business News Commentator, Mutual Broadcasting System < previous=""> page_i next page > < previous=""> page_ii next page > Page ii © Copyright 1998 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. Prior editions © Copyright 1985, 1987, 1991, 1995 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microfilm, xerography, or any other means, or incorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright owner. All inquiries should be addressed to: Barron's Educational Series, Inc. 250 Wireless Boulevard Hauppauge, NY 11788 http://www.barronseduc.com Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 98-38302 International Standard Book No. 0-7641-0790-9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Downes, John, 1936 Dictionary of finance and investment terms / John Downes, Jordan Elliot Goodman. 5th ed. p. cm. ISBN 0-7641-0790-9 1. Finance Dictionaries. 2. InvestmentsDictionaries. I. Goodman, Jordan Elliot. II. Title. HG151.D69 1998 332'.03dc21 98-38302 CIP PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 987 < previous=""> page_ii next page > < previous=""> page_iii next page > Page iii Contents Preface to the Fifth Edition iv How to Use This Book Effectively vi Terms 1 Abbreviations and Acronyms < previous=""> 717 page_iii next page > < previous=""> page_iv next page > Page iv Preface to the Fifth Edition People retiring in the early years of the 21st century, the baby boom generation, have witnessed a revolution in the world of finance and investment. The forces of globalization assure that their children, face a future just as dynamic. Deregulation of the securities, banking, and savings industries, starting in the 1970s, made a vast range of financial and investment products and services available to people at all economic levels. It also led to abuses and financial losses that required government intervention and a modernization of investor safeguards. Merger mania in the "roaring 1980s" saw many of America's best-known corporations embroiled in hostile takeovers or leveraged buyouts financed by junk bonds, giving rise to defensive tactics known by such colorful names as the "poison pill," the "Pac-Man strategy," or the "white knight." Insider trading scandals were one result, but another was the innovation of investment techniques designed to capitalize on the profit opportunities created by corporate takeovers. The 1990s brought corporate downsizing and restructuring, massive stock buybacks, strategic mergers on a global scale, and a prolonged bull market fueled by corporate profitability, low inflation, and sustained econ