· bond: a certificate issued by a government or a company promising to repay borrowed money at a fixed rate of interest at a specified time
· capital gain(s): a profit from the sale of property or of an investment
· capitalize: convert into capital
· day trader: a person who buys and sells particular securities on the same day
· default: inability to pay interest or other money that is owed on time
· due diligence: detailed examination of a company and its financial records, done before becoming involved in a business arrangement with it, such as buying it or selling its shares to investors
· dividend: a sum of money paid regularly by a company to its shareholders out of its profits
· equities: ordinary shares in a company which enable shareholders to receive part of the company's profits after the holders of preference shares have been paid
· flotation: an offer of a company’s shares for sale on a stock market for the first time
· go bankrupt: do not have enough money to pay debts
· go public: change from a private to a public company by selling shares on a stock market for the first time
· listed company: a company whose shares are bought and sold on a stock market
· market maker: a person whose job is to buy and sell stocks and shares for other people on the stock market
· maturity: time when an investment, a security, or an investment policy becomes ready to be paid
· nominal value: price of a share, bond, or security when it was issued, rather than its current market value
· over-the-counter: which allows to buy and sell shares directly, using a computer system, rather than on a stock market
· primary market: sale of shares, bonds, etc. at the time when they are first made available, rather than when they are traded later
· prospectus: a legal document offering a company's shares for sale, and giving details about the company and its activities
· retained earnings: part of a company’s profit in a particular period that it decides to keep, rather than paying it to shareholders as a dividend
· securities: shares, bonds, or other certificates that you buy in order to earn regular interest from them or to sell them later for a profit
· secondary market: sale of existing (rather than new) bonds and shares
· shares (AE stocks): one of the equal parts into which a company's capital is divided, entitling the holder to a proportion of the profits
· stock exchange: market in which securities are bought and sold
· stockbroker: a person whose job is to buy and sell stocks and shares for people who want to invest money.
· spread (=mark-up): difference between buying and selling prices for particular shares, currencies, etc.
· underwrite: guarantee to buy the shares if there are not enough other buyers