Letter P Dictionary

P&L: Acronym for profit and loss statement.
P/E ratio: Acronym for price/earnings ratio, which refers to a common measure of the degree...
PAB: The ISO currency code for the Panamanian Balboa. Learn more about Panama and the Panamanian Balboa at GoCurrency.com
Pacific Rim: The Far Eastern countries and markets bordering the Pacific Ocean, consisting...
package mortgage: A type of mortgage, including the furniture and other personal property in addition to the house.
paid: A payment made on an obligation.
paid up: The case in which all payments due have been paid.
paid-in capital: The capital received from investors for stock, equal to capital stock plus paid-in capital. Also known as contributed capital.
paid-in surplus: The price paid by investors per share at issue minus the par value per share,...
painting the tape: The illicit practice of traders buying and selling a specific security among...
pairs trade: The establishment of a long position in one stock and a short position in another...
Pakistani Rupee: The official currency of Pakistan. Learn more about Pakistan and the Pakistani rupee at GoCurrency.com
Panamanian Balboa: The official currency of Panama. Learn more about Panama and the Panamanian Balboa at GoCurrency.com
panic: The sudden, widespread fear of economic or market collapse.
paper: A short-term debt security.
paper asset: An asset that is not readily usable or convertible to cash.
paper dealer: A dealer who buys commercial paper, and resells it at a lower interest rate, in order to realize a profit.
paper gold: A measure of a country's reserve assets in the international monetary system. Also known as Special Drawing Rights (SDR).
paper loss: A loss that has occurred, but not realized through a transaction, (i.e. a stock...
paper profit: A profit that has occurred, but not realized through a transaction, (i.e. a...
paper trading: The making of simulated, moneyless transactions to practice or test theories.
paper trail: The recorded documents that outline a process, activity, or event.
Papua N. G. Kina: The official currency of Papua New Guinea. Learn more about Papua New...
par: The face value of a bond. Generally $1,000 for corporate issues, with higher...
par bond: A bond selling at its face value.
par value: The face value of a bond. Generally $1,000 for corporate issues, with higher...
Parabolic SAR: Parabolic SAR was developed by Welles Wilder. It is a time/price trend following...
Paraguay Guarani: The official currency of Paraguay. Learn more about Paraguay and the Paraguayan Guarani at GoCurrency.com
parallel importing: The case in which an importer finds a cheaper price of a good or equivalent...
parallel loan: An arrangement in which two companies in different countries borrow each other's...
parent company: A firm that owns enough voting stock in another firm to control management and...
Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students: Abbreviated as PLUS, refers to a non-need-based loan made to the parents of...
Pareto's Law: A rule of thumb that twenty percent of a population earns eighty percent of its income.
pari passu: A term in venture capital term sheets, indicating that one series of equity...
Paris Club: A term used to describe the point at which a debtor nation meets with creditor nations to renegotiate its official debt.
parity: Equality, as in amount
parity price: A price for a commodity that is pegged to another price.
parking: The putting of assets into a safe investment (i.e. a money market account),...
partial release: A mortgage provision permitting some of the pledged collateral to be released if certain requirements are met.
partial spinoff: The case in which a parent firm sells a minority share of a child firm. Also known as carve-out.
partial surrender: The removal of a portion of the original cash balance of an insurance policy or annuity.
partially amortized loan: A loan that is partially repaid by amortization during one portion of the term, and partially repaid at the end of the term.
participating dividend: The dividend paid on participating preferred stock. This is an unusual dividend...
participating GIC: A type of GIC in which the policyholder is not guaranteed a specific return,...
participating insurance: An insurance policy that pays a dividend to its holder.
participating preferred: A preferred stock which, in addition to a regular dividend, also pays an additional dividend.
participating trust: An SEC-registered investment firm that purchases a fixed, unmanaged portfolio...
participation: An ownership interest in a mortgage or other loan.
participation certificate: A type of financing in which an individual buys a share of the lease revenues...
participation loan: A loan made by more than one lender.
Participation Rate - Australia: The seasonally-adjusted proportion of the entire population that is currently...
partition: A divide that separates.
partner: An individual who is a member of a partnership.
partnership: A type of business organization in which two or more individuals manage and...
party: In finance, a party is an entity involved in a transaction or agreement....
pass-through: A security signifying pooled debt obligations, passing income from debtors to...
pass-through coupon rate: The interest rate paid on a pass-through security.
passbook: A book issued by a bank or savings institution in order to record deposits,...
passive income: The income originating from real estate and business investments, where the...
passive investor: An investor who does not play an active role in the daily activities of a particular business.
passive loss: The case in which passive income is negative.
passive management: A money management strategy that attempts to match the return and risk characteristics...
passive market-making: A process that permits a market maker to be both the underwriter and buyer of a firm's securities in a secondary public offering.
past-due balance method: A technique for calculating finance charges in which no interest is charged...
patent: The exclusive right granted by a government to an inventor to manufacture, use,...
patent pending: A statement issued by the U.S. Patent Office, informing the applicant that a patent has been applied for, but not yet granted.
patronage dividend: A taxable distribution made by a cooperative to its members.
pattern: The formation on a technical analysis chart, outlining recent price movements. Also known as trading pattern.
pattern day trader: An SEC title applying to any individual who buys and sells a particular security...
pawn broker: A small lender who lends money at a high interest rate, and holds some of the borrower's personal goods as collateral.
pay: The process of compensating a party for the delivery of goods or services....
payable date: The date on which a dividend will be paid to its shareholders.
payables: An item on a balance sheet, which equals the sum of all money owed by a firm....
payback: The break-even point of an investment.
payback period: The amount of time needed to break even on an investment.
paydown: The repayment of part of an outstanding loan balance.
payee: An individual who receives a form of payment (i.e. cash, check, money order, or promissory note).
payer: An individual who makes a payment.
paying agent: An agent who makes dividend payments to stockholders or principal and interest payments to bondholders.
payment: The partial or complete discharge of a financial obligation in the form of the transfer of funds, assets, or services.
payment date: The date on which a dividend, mutual fund distribution, or bond interest payment...
payment for order flow: The practice by the securities industry of providing a monetary incentive for...
payment in kind: A payment made in the form of goods and services, as opposed to cash.
payment-in-kind security: A bond paying interest in the form of additional bonds, or a preferred stock...
payoff diagram: A chart of the profits and losses for a particular options strategy prepared...
payout: The expected financial return from an investment over a given period of time....
payout period: The dividends per share, divided by earnings per share.
payout ratio: The dividends paid divided by firm earnings over some period of time, expressed...
payroll: 1 Total amount a business pays periodically for its workers. 2 List of employees,...
PBGC: Acronym for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which refers to a federal...
PCE Deflator, (Personal Consumption Expenditure Deflator) - United States: A measure of inflation based on changes in personal consumption. Unlike the...
peace dividend: The reallocation of spending from defense purposes to peacetime purposes (i.e. housing, education, and social projects).
peak: The highest price, value or rate reached.
PEG ratio: A stock's price to earnings ratio divided by its year-over-year earnings growth rate
pegging: The holding of prices or exchange rates over some time period.
PEN: The ISO currency code for the Peruvian Sol. Learn more about Peru and the Peruvian Sol at GoCurrency.com
penalty: A fee imposed as a consequence for a violation of a rule.
Pending Home Sales - United States: Tracks residential housing contract activity of existing single-family homes....
pennant: In technical analysis, refers to a chart pattern occurring when the trading...
penny stock: Stocks that trade at market prices below one dollar per share. Usually, any...
penny stock, SEC definition: The term "penny stock" generally refers to low-priced (below $5), speculative...
pension: A fixed amount, other than wages, paid at regular intervals to a person or to...
pension benefit: A payout from a retirement plan, generally distributed to the employee as an annuity.
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: Abbreviated as PBGC, refers to a federal corporation established under ERISA,...
pension fund: A fund set up for a pension plan.
pension plan: A fixed amount, other than wages, paid at regular intervals to a person or to...
pension reversion: The conclusion of a pension plan, undertaken by a firm with an overfunded pension plan in order to reclaim the surplus assets.
people pill: A type of poison pill action in which most or all of the current management...
per: Signifying, for each.
per capita: Statistically accepted as average per person. Per Capita is used to quantify...
per capita income: Per Capita Income is derived by dividing total personal income (in the US, an...
per diem: Occurring daily. The phrase is latin for 'per day', and is often used when referring to daily employee expenses or reimbursements.
per se: by, of, for, or in itself; intrinsically.
per stirpes: A method for distributing the estate of a deceased individual, which specifies...
percent held by institutions: The percentage of outstanding common shares being held by institutional investors (i.e. pension plans).
perfect capital market: A market without any arbitrage opportunities.
perfect competition: A type of market in microeconomic theory in which no single firm has market control over prices.
perfect hedge: A hedge that eliminates the risk of another investment.
perfect title: A title that is free of liens and legal questions as to ownership of the property,...
perfecting title: The correction of flaws or defects in a title.
performance: The results of activities of an organization or investment over a given time period.
performance bond: A bond issued by an insurance firm to guarantee satisfactory completion of a project by a contractor.
Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) - New Zealand: A measure of business sentiment for the New Zealand Manufacturing sector. The...
performance-based compensation: A fee paid to the general partner of a hedge fund as an incentive; the amount...
peril: Anything with the potential of causing loss.
period: An interval of time.
periodic payment plan: The process of making regular contributions, generally monthly, to a mutual...
perk: Abbreviation for perquisite, refers to an employee benefit or incentive.
Perkins loan: A need-based, low-interest loan available to students as opposed to their parents....
permanent capital: The sum of common stock, preferred stock, and retained earnings.
permanent financing: A long-term debt or equity financing plan, generally used to purchase or develop...
permanent life insurance: A type of life insurance encompassing a death benefit similar to a term life...
permission marketing: A marketing technique that requires the approval of the client to which the technique is targeting.
permit: A document providing for the legal authorization to conduct an activity.
perpendicular spread: The act of purchasing options with the same expiration dates but different strike prices.
perpetual: The quality of having no expiration date.
perpetual inventory: Perpetual Inventory is an inventory accounting system which allows firms to...
perpetuity: See in perpetual.
Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) - United States: Comprehensive measure of how much consumers spend each month, counting expenditures...
Personal Consumption Expenditures: Abbreviated as PCE, refers to those funds spent on goods and services targeted...
personal exemption: An amount excluded from taxable income, granted to any taxpayer who cannot be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer.
Personal Financial Specialist: Abbreviated as PFS, refers to a certified public accountant who also offers...
personal guarantee: A promise made by an entrepreneur, obliging him to personally repay debts on which his corporation defaults.
personal identification number: Abbreviated as PIN, refers to the code used by an individual so that he can access his bank account at an ATM machine.
personal income: An individual's aggregate earnings from wages, passive incomes, and investment interest and dividends.
Personal Income - United States: Broad gauge of employee earnings in the US . Personal Income measures the pre-tax...
Personal Injury Protection: Abbreviated as PIP, refers to an extension of car insurance available in some...
personal interest: The interest accrued on personal loans and consumer purchases.
personal property: Any form of property, other than real estate, owned by an individual. Also known as chattel.
Peruvian New Sol: The official currency of Peru. Learn more about Peru and the Peruvian Sol at GoCurrency.com
petrodollars: Any payment to oil-producing countries, especially those in the Middle East, and deposited in Western banks.
petty cash: A small amount of cash left readily available by a business for incidental expenses.
PFS: Acronym for Personal Financial Specialist. A Certified Public Accountant who...
PGK: The ISO currency code for the Papua New Guinea Kina. Learn more about...
phantom income: Any reportable or taxable income that does not generate cash flow (i.e. taxable income from zero coupon bonds).
phantom option plan: A form of bonus compensation for an employee, where the employee receives a...
Philadelphia Fed Survey - United States: Survey conducted by the Philadelphia Fed questioning manufacturers in the Third...
Philippines Peso: The currency of Philippines.See GoCurrency World Currencies Page & Currency Converter
phone switching: The capability of transferring money between funds in the same mutual fund family by telephone request.
PHP: The ISO currency code for the Philippines Peso.
physical commodity: The commodity delivered to the contract buyer at the completion of a commodity...
physical market: A type of market in which commodities, such as grain, gold, crude oil, or RAM...
physical option: The right to purchase a physical commodity, as opposed to a stock, index, or...
physicals: The commodity delivered to the contract buyer at the completion of a commodity...
pickup: The value gained in a bond swap for which the bond purchased has a higher yield than the bond sold.
pickup bond: A type of callable bond that has a high coupon rate and whose callable date...
piggyback loan: The case in which two lenders participate in the same loan.
piggyback registration rights: The rights of an investor to register and sell his or her unregistered stock in the event that the firm conducts an offering.
PIN: Acronym for Personal Identification Number. The code used by an individual so...
Pink Sheets: A daily listing of bid and ask prices for the major over-the-counter stocks,...
pink slip: An employee’s notice of termination.
pip: Pip or "percentage in point," refers to the very last digit of a currency price....
PIPE: Acronym for Private Investment in Public Equity, refers to a transaction in...
pipeline: The flow of upcoming underwriting deals.
pit: A circular area on the exchange's floor where the trading of a specific futures contract or option contract occurs.
Pitcairn Is Dollar: The currency of Pitcairn.See GoCurrency World Currencies Page & Currency Converter
pitch: The set of activities intended to persuade someone to buy a product or take a specific course of action.
PITI: Acronym for principal, interest, taxes, and insurance, the four components of a mortgage payment.
pivot point: A technical indicator determined by averaging a particular stock's high, low,...
PKR: The ISO currency code of Pakistan. Learn more about Pakistan and the Pakistani rupee at GoCurrency.com
placed-in-service date: The date on which an asset becomes available for use by a particular business.
placement: The act of selling new securities.
plaintiff: The party that files a lawsuit.
plan asset: An asset in a retirement plan that serves as an investment vehicle for participating employees.
plan sponsor: An employer who sets up a pension plan.
planning: The process of making plans, developing strategies, and outlining the logistics of a situation.
plant: A long-term, tangible asset held for business use and not expected to be converted...
plateau: A formation on a data analysis chart in which a price experienced very little up or down movement during a given time period.
play: A speculative investment.
playback: The recording of a firm's quarterly earnings announcement.
pledge: See pledging.
pledging: The offering of assets to a lender to be used as collateral for a loan.
PLN: The ISO currency code for the Polish Zloty.
plow back: The action of a firm reinvesting its earnings into building its core business,...
plunge: A sudden, acute decline in a security's price or an overall market.
PLUS loan: Acronym for Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students.
plus tick: A stock market transaction (or sometimes, a quote) at a price higher than the...
plus tick rule: SEC rule requiring short sales to be made only on an uptick or zero-plus tick....
PMI: Acronym for Private Mortgage Insurance. Mortgage insurance provided by nongovernment...
PMI Services (Survey) - German - Euro-zone: Gauge for the overall performance of the German service sector. The Services...
PMV: Acronym for Private Market Value. The value of a firm if each of its parts were...
point: Price changes are normally quoted in percentage points and are often denoted...
point of sale: Abbreviated as POS, refers to the physical location at which goods are sold to clients.
point-and-figure chart: A chart which plots price movements only, without measuring the passage of time.
points: Finance charges paid by the borrower at the beginning of a loan. One point is 1% of the loan amount.
poison pill: Any tactic by a firm designed to avoid a hostile takeover. One example is the...
policy: A contract of insurance, describing the term, coverage, premiums and deductibles. Also known as insurance policy.
policy limit: Maximum lifetime benefit of a given insurance policy; often $1 million, although some policies have no limit.
policy loan: A loan made by an insurance firm to a policyholder on the security of the cash value of the policy
policy surrender: The early termination of an insurance product by the policyholder.
policyholder: The owner of an insurance policy; generally, but not always, the insured.
Polish Zloty: The currency of Poland.See GoCurrency World Currencies Page & Currency Converter
political risk: The risk of loss when investing in a given country caused by changes in a country's...
Ponzi scheme: A pyramid scheme.
pool: Group of related financial instruments, such as mortgages, combined for resale...
pool factor: Outstanding mortgage pool principal divided by the original principal balance, and expressed as a decimal between 0 and 1.
pooled fund: Any fund in which multiple investors contribute assets and hold them as a group....
pooling of interests: One method of accounting for a firm merger, in which the balance sheets of the...
population: A group of individuals or items that share one or more characteristics from which data can be gathered and analyzed.
portability: The ability of an employee to retain benefits, such as a pension plan or insurance coverage, when switching employers.
PORTAL: The NASD's system for secondary trading of unregistered securities in transactions...
portfolio: A collection of investments all owned by the same individual or organization....
portfolio insurance: A strategy of hedging a stock portfolio against market risk by selling stock...
portfolio management: An individual who controls the assets of a mutual fund. The portfolio manager...
portfolio manager: An individual who controls the assets of a mutual fund. The portfolio manager...
portfolio theory: see modern portfolio theory.
portfolio tracking: Monitoring a collection a stocks, whether held in a real or imaginary portfolio,...
portfolio turnover: The rate of trading activity in a fund's portfolio of investments, equal to...
Portuguese Escudo: The official currency of Portugal. Learn more about Portugal and the Portuguese Escudo at GoCurrency.com
POS: Acronym for Point Of Sale. The physical location at which goods are sold to clients.
position: The total amount of a security that the trader is either long or short that...
position limit: The maximum number of listed option contracts on a single security which can...
position trader: Commodities trader who, unlike most traders, takes a long-term, buy and hold...
positioning: In the FX markets, positioning refers to the placement of a trade in reference...
positive carry: Condition in which the cost of financing an investment is less than the return...
Positive Sloping Triangle: With ascending triangles, trend lines converge with a horizontal trend line...
Positive Volume Index: Abbreviated as PVI, refers to an index that tries to determine the actions of...
positive yield curve: A case in which long-term debt instruments have higher yields than short-term...
possession: The control and occupancy of property.
post: The site at which transactions in the listed stocks occur.
post-money valuation: The valuation of a firm following its latest round of funding, and equivalent...
postdate: To put a future date on a document or check, postponing when it becomes effective or negotiable.
posting: The process of transferring entries from a journal of original entry to a ledger book.
pot: The portion of a new issue, set aside by the lead underwriter for distribution...
pour-over will: A provision in a will, outlining that certain assets are to be transferred (poured over) to a trust.
power: The capability to act with force.
power of appointment: A right, granted in a written instrument such as a will or trust, permitting...
Power of Attorney: A legal document allowing a person to assign another person, called the attorney...
PPI: Producer Price Index - PPI - measures changes in the selling price producers...
PPO: Acronym for Preferred Provider Organization. A health care organization composed...
Pre-Budget Report - UK: A Pre-Budget Report (PBR) is delivered by the Chancellor to the House of Commons...
pre-depreciation profit: The profit prior to consideration of non-cash expenses.
pre-existing conditions: The medical conditions existing before a health insurance policy was issued.
pre-money valuation: A firm's valuation right prior to its latest round of financing.
pre-syndicate bid: A bid entered before the effective date of a secondary offering, made to stabilize the price during distribution.
pre-tax profit margin: The net profit before taxes, divided by net sales.
prebilling: The issuance of an invoice prior to the good or service being provided.
precedence: The right to precede in order, rank, or importance; priority
precious metals: Any of the following metals: gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
predatory lending: Any kind of fraudulent, deceptive, discriminatory, or unfavorable lending practices.
predatory pricing: An anti-competitive measure employed by a firm in order to protect market share...
preempt: To act in advance; to prevent.
preemptive right: The right of current shareholders to maintain their fractional ownership of...
preference shares: A class of ownership in a corporation that has a higher claim on the assets...
preferred debt: A type of debt that takes precedence over other debts.
Preferred Provider Organization: Abbreviated as PPO, refers to a health care organization composed of physicians,...
preferred shares: A class of ownership in a corporation that has a higher claim on the assets...
preferred stock: A class of ownership in a corporation that has a higher claim on the assets...
preforeclosure sale: A procedure in which a lender permits a mortgagor to avoid foreclosure by selling...
preliminary official statement: The initial document published by an underwriter of a new municipal securities offering.
preliminary prospectus: The initial document published by an underwriter of a new issue of stock, and...
premature distribution: The withdrawal before the age of 59 ½, from a qualified retirement plan; generally accompanied by a penalty.
premise: The underlying rationale or basis for an argument.
premises: A tract of land including its buildings.
premium: The amount by which a bond or stock sells above its par value.
premium bond: A bond whose selling price exceeds its par. Opposite of discounted bond.
premium income: The income received from selling an option.
premium over bond value: The absolute difference between the market price of a convertible bond and the...
premium over conversion value: The absolute difference between the market price of a convertible security and the price at which it is convertible.
premium raid: An offer to purchase shares in a firm from current shareholders at a premium...
prepaid interest: The interest paid before it is earned.
prepayment: The payment of all or part of a debt preceding its due date.
prepayment penalty: A penalty sometimes burdened on a borrower who makes a prepayment.
prepayment privilege: A clause in certain loans, permitting the borrower to pay off the debt prior...
prepayment risk: The likelihood that homeowners will pay off their mortgage loans early (i.e....
prepayment speed: The average rate at which mortgage holders are expected to pay off their loans....
prequalification: The act of determining how much a prospective home buyer might be eligible to borrow before he or she has applied for a loan.
prerefunding: The issuing of a longer-maturity bond in order to pay off an earlier bond, in...
preretirement survivor annuity: A condition of a retirement plan that permits the dependents of a vested employee...
present value: The current value of one or more future cash payments, after taking into consideration...
preservation of capital: A conservative investment strategy characterized by a desire to avoid risk of loss.
President: The highest ranking officer in a corporation, following the Chairman of the...
pretax: The price before the levying of taxes.
previous balance method: A technique used to calculate finance charges on a credit card account, taking...
price: The value or cost of an asset, typically expressed in monetary terms. For...
Price and Volume Trend: The Price and Volume Trend (PVT) is a cumulative total of volume adjusted according...
price change: The change in the price of a security from one day's close to the next day's close.
Price Channel: Bound by a lower and upper trendline, the price channel is a continuation pattern...
price discovery: The process of determining market prices by virtue of market interactions between buyers and sellers in a free marketplace.
price divergence: Situation where indicators suggest trend in a different direction than price...
price efficiency: The level to which the prices of assets reflect the available marketplace information.
price fixing: Establishing the price of a good or service, as opposed to permitting it to be determined naturally through free market forces.
price gap: A significant price movement of a security or commodity between two trading sessions. Also known as gap.
price index: Any index that tracks inflation by measuring price changes (i.e. the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index).
price leadership: An economic term referring to a situation in which a market leader sets the...
price limit: The highest and lowest prices that a commodity or option is allowed to reach...
price persistence: The change in price of a stock over a period of time relative to that of a market...
price range: The lowest and highest prices reached by a given security over a specified period...
price risk: The risk associated with a given security or physical commodity.
price skimming: A pricing technique designed to allow a business to charge each potential client...
price spread: An option strategy utilizing the simultaneous purchase and sale of options of...
price support: The minimum government-set price for a good, supported by payments to producers...
price to book ratio: A stock's capitalization divided by its book value. The value is the same whether...
price to cash flow ratio: A stock's capitalization divided by its cash flow for the latest fiscal year....
price to earnings: See price/earnings ratio.
price to earnings ratio: A common measure of the degree of expensiveness of a stock. The P/E ratio is...
price to sales ratio: The ratio of a stock's capitalization to its sales over the trailing 12 months....
Price Value of a Basis Point: Abbreviated as PVBP, which refers to the change in the price of a given bond if the required yield changes by one basis point.
Price Wages and Sales Reports by Country: Overview - Price, wage and sales reports give insight into inflationary...
price-earnings ratio: A common measure of the degree of expensiveness of a stock. The P/E ratio is...
price-weighted index: A stock index, where each stock affects the index in proportion to its price per share.
price/earnings ratio: A common measure of the degree of expensiveness of a stock. The P/E ratio is...
priced out: A condition in which the market has already altered the price of a security as a result of a specific piece of news or information.
Primary Dealer: A title given by the Federal Reserve System to commercial banks or dealers who...
primary distribution: The original sale of a firm's securities in which the proceeds from the sale are received directly by the firm.
primary earnings per share: The earnings per share, including common stock, stock options, and some convertible debt.
primary exchange: The main exchange, where a given stock is listed. The stock may trade on other...
primary instrument: A financial instrument whose value is not derived from that of another instrument,...
primary listing: The main exchange, where a given stock is listed. The stock may trade on other...
primary market: The market for new securities issues, and purchased directly from the issuer.
primary offering: The original sale of a firm's securities, in which the proceeds from the sale...
prime: The interest rate that commercial banks charge their most reliable borrowers...
prime accounts: Any form of accounts received that satisfy the lender's criteria as specified...
prime broker: A broker who acts as a settlement agent, provides custody for assets, provides...
prime brokerage: The specialized brokerage services provided by brokers to specific clients who need non-standard services.
prime paper: Commercial paper with a very high credit rating.
prime rate: The interest rate that commercial banks charge their most reliable borrowers...
prime rate fund: The mutual fund that attempts to match the return of the prime rate, by investing in high quality corporate debt.
principal: The amount borrowed, or the part of the amount borrowed but unpaid. Also known as principal amount.
principal amount: The amount borrowed, or the part of the amount borrowed but unpaid. Also known as principal.
principal balance: The outstanding balance of principal on a mortgage, which does not include interest or other charges.
principal risk: The risk of losing the amount invested due to bankruptcy or default. There is...
principal shareholder: The shareholder who owns more than ten percent of a firm's outstanding shares.
principal-agent relationship: The arrangement that exists when one person acts on behalf of another (i.e....
principle: A rule or ethical standard.
prior lien bond: A bond with a higher claim than other bonds from the same issuer.
prior preferred stock: A preferred stock which has a higher claim than other preferred stock from the same issuer.
prior redemption privilege: A clause in certain loans, permitting the borrower to pay off the debt prior...
prioritization of debt: The preferred treatment of one debt over another.
private: Opposite of public.
private banking: The providing of banking services to very wealthy individuals and families....
private company: A firm whose shares are not traded on the open market. Opposite of public firm.
Private Consumption - Germany - Euro-zone: Represents household spending on all goods and services. Fluctuations in Private...
private corporation: See private firm.
private debt: Any form of debt owed by individuals and businesses within a given country.
private equity: A type of equity security of firms that are not listed on a public exchange.
private funds: Private sector funds available without government involvement or support.
Private Investment in Public Equity: Abbreviated as PIPE, which refers to a transaction in which accredited investors...
private letter ruling: A letter sent by the IRS in response to a request for clarification or interpretation of a tax law.
private limited partnership: A limited partnership with less than 35 limited partners, and thus able to avoid SEC registration.
Private Market Value: Abbreviated as PMV, refers to the value of a firm if each of its parts were...
Private Mortgage Insurance: Abbreviated as PMI, refers to mortgage insurance provided by nongovernment insurers...
Private New Capital Expenditures and Expected Expenditures - Australia: The value of actual and expected purchases of new capital. Capital purchases...
private placement: The sale of securities directly to institutional investors, such as banks, mutual...
private sector: The part of a nation's economy which is not controlled by the government.
private sector pass-through: Mortgage-backed securities issued by a non-governmental financial institution.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Abbreviated as PSLRA, refers to the act of legislation that made significant...
privately held corporation: See private firm.
privatization: The repurchasing of all of a firm's outstanding stock by employees or a private...
privilege: A special right granted to somebody.
privilege dealer: A dealer of options.
privileged bond: A convertible bond that has attached warrants.
privity: Any kind of private or secret knowledge.
pro forma: A description of financial statements that have at least one hypothetical condition built into the data.
pro rata: Calculated in proportion to a given rate. In financial terms, this term is most...
probability distribution: A curve displaying all the values that the random variable can take and the likelihood that each will occur.
probate: The review or testing of a will before a court of law to ensure that the will is authentic.
proceeds: Any form of money received through a sale or loan.
procure: To acquire or obtain.
producer: The entity that manufactures a product. Also known as maker.
Producer and Import Prices - Switzerland: Tracks inflation in producer and import prices in Switzerland . The headline...
Producer Price Index: Producer Price Index - PPI - measures changes in the selling price producers...
Producer Price Index (Input) - UK: A monthly survey that measures change in input prices as incurred by UK manufacturers....
Producer Price Index (Output) - UK: A monthly survey that measures the price changes of goods produced by UK manufacturers....
Producer Price Index (PPI) - Australia: Measures changes in the selling prices received by producers. Because PPI analyzes...
Producer Price Index (PPI) - Euro-Zone: Measures changes in the selling prices of goods and services used by Euro-zone...
Producer Price Index (PPI) - United States: Measures changes in the selling prices producers charge for goods and services,...
Producer Prices - France - Euro-zone: Measures changes in producer prices. Producer prices, also known as "factory...
Producer Prices - Germany - Euro-zone: Measures the change in the prices paid by domestic producers. Producer prices,...
product: The final output of the manufacturing process, offered to the marketplace to satisfy a specific need or want.
product line: A set of related products sold by a single firm.
productive: Producing or tending to produce goods and services having exchange value..
productivity: Producing or tending to produce goods and services having exchange value.
productivity report: A release of economic data outlining the output each unit of labor is producing...
profession: An occupation, especially one that requires further education.
profile: A summary of a firm's products and operations.
profit: The positive gain resulting from an investment or business operation after subtracting for all expenses. Opposite of loss.
profit and loss statement: An official quarterly or annual financial document published by a public firm, showing earnings, expenses, and net profit.
profit center: A business unit or department that is treated as a distinct entity enabling...
profit margin: The post-taxes net profit divided by total sales revenue, for a given 12-month period, expressed as a percentage.
profit motive: The primary objective for which firms strive to achieve.
profit ratio: The post-taxes net profit divided by total sales revenue, for a given 12-month period, expressed as a percentage.
profit warning: An announcement made by a public firm following its earnings announcement indicating...
profit-sharing: An agreement in which an employer shares some of its profits with its employees....
profit-taking: The strategy utilized by investors of selling when prices, with the hope of securing gains.
profitability: Having the ability to earn a profit.
profiteer: An individual who aims for high profits, often at the expense of others.
program: The stated policy or course of action followed by an individual or institution regarding its financial matters.
program trading: A type of computer-driven and automatically-executed program to trade securities,...
progressive tax: A tax system in which those who earn higher incomes pay a higher percentage...
project: A set of related tasks which have a specific goal.
projected maturity date: The expected date on which the final payment of a collateralized mortgage obligation must be received.
projection: A quantitative estimate of future, economic, or financial performance.
promissory note: A document signed by a borrower promising to repay a loan under agreed-upon terms. Also known as note.
promotion: An activity (i.e. a sale or advertising campaign) that is designed to increase visibility or the sale of a product.
proof: Any form of evidence that substantiates a claim.
proof of concept: Any form of evidence that demonstrates that a business model or idea is feasible.
prop trading: A proprietary trader is one who is involved with transactions with a securities...
property: Something at the disposal of a person, a group of persons, or the community.
property assessment: The process of assigning a value on an asset for the purpose of taxation. Also refers to the tax itself. A
property damage coverage: A type of insurance policy that pays for damage caused to the property of others,...
property inventory: A written record of personal property owned, along with price paid and current value, and used for tax or insurance purposes.
property tax: A local tax levied on property owned, such as real estate or automobiles. Generally federal income tax-deductible.
proportional representation: A method of shareholder voting in which the members are not required to vote...
proportional tax: A system, where all levels of income are taxed at the same rate. Also known as flat tax.
proposal: A formal description of the creation or termination of a contract. A proposal...
proprietary trading: Any kind of transaction made by a securities firm that affects the firm's account, but not the accounts of its clients.
proprietor: A self-employed owner of an unincorporated business (also known as a proprietorship), or an owner of real estate.
proprietorship: A business structure in which an individual and his or her firm are considered a single entity for tax and liability purposes.
prorata: Having the quality of occurring on a proportional basis.
prorate: The quality of allocating proportionately.
prospect: The potential of a given client.
prospectus: A legal document providing securities or mutual fund shares for sale, required...
prosperity: Having the quality of financial well-being.
protectionism: The government's placing of duties or quotas on imports, in order to protect domestic industries from global competition.
protective put: A put option purchased for an underlying security, previously owned by the holder...
protective put buying: The purchasing of put options whose underlying security is already held in the same portfolio.
protest: A statement that expresses disagreement with a payment, and reserves the right to recover it later.
prototype plan: A type of retirement plan prepared by a bank, securities firm, or other financial institution that may be adopted by an employer.
provision: Any clause or stipulation in an agreement (i.e. acceleration, accidental death...
provision for income taxes: An earnings report item estimating current year tax liability.
provisional call feature: A feature in a convertible issue enabling the issuer to call the issue if the price of the stock reaches a certain price.
proximo: Occurring n the following month.
proxy: A written authorization given by a shareholder for someone else, generally the...
proxy contest: A strategy that a firm may take in the case of a hostile takeover. A proxy contest...
proxy fight: A strategy that a firm may take in the case of a hostile takeover. A proxy contest...
proxy statement: A document that the SEC requires a firm to send to its shareholders that provides...
proxy vote: A vote that is cast by one entity on behalf of another. In the context of securities,...
Prudent Expert Act: The revised version of the prudent man rule required by ERISA to guide managers of pension and profit sharing portfolios.
Prudent Investor Act: The primary rule for which professional money management, as stated by Judge...
Prudent Man Rule: The primary rule for which professional money management, as stated by Judge...
PSA: Acronym for Public Securities Association, which refers to a trade organization...
PSLRA: Acronym for Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which refers to...
PTE: The ISO currency code for the Portuguese Escudo. Learn more about Portugal and the Portuguese Escudo at GoCurrency.com
public: Having shares available to retail investors in the open market.
public bond: A bond, issued by a U.S. government-sponsored agency, and allowing certain groups...
public book: A record kept by an exchange member of the limit orders that have not yet been...
public company: A firm that has issued securities through an offering, and are now traded on...
public domain: Anything that is openly available to everyone and not subject to copyright protection.
public employee: An employee of the state.
public equity: Equity capital invested in a public firm.
Public Finances - UK: The amount of money financed to the UK government. A higher value indicates...
public float: The portion of a firm's outstanding shares that is in the hands of public investors,...
public goods: An exception to the free-market system marked by two characteristics. First,...
public limited partnership: A limited partnership that is registered with the SEC and is offered to the general public through broker/dealers.
public offering: The making available of a new securities issue to the public through an underwriting. Also known as offering.
public offering price: Abbreviated as POP, refers to the price at which a new securities offering is made upon availability to the public.
public ownership: See public firm.
public purpose bond: A type of municipal bond which exempt from federal income taxes, provided the...
public record: Something recorded in a publicly accessible place.
public relations: Any kind of efforts to establish and maintain a firm's image with the public.
public sector: The part of the economy concerned with providing basic government services.
Public Sector Net Borrowing - UK: The amount of new debt held by the UK governments. In the long run, the public...
Public Securities Association: Abbreviated as PSA, refers to a trade organization of dealers, brokers, and bankers who underwrite and trade securities offerings.
public utility: An organization providing a basic service to the public, such as water, energy, transportation, or telecommunications.
public works project: A government project created for good of its citizens.
publicity: A spread of information that attracts attention to a firm, product, person, or event.
publicly held: A firm that has previously issued securities through an offering, and which...
publicly traded: A firm that has previously issued securities through an offering, and which...
publicly-traded fund: A fund with a fixed number of outstanding shares, and behaves more like stock...
Puerto Rico Dollar: The currency of Puerto Rico.See GoCurrency World Currencies Page & Currency Converter
punitive damages: Any form of compensation in excess of actual damages, used to punish the offender.
purchase: To obtain ownership of a security or other asset in exchange for money or value. Also known as buy.
purchase acquisition: A type of accounting method used in any merger not treated as a pooling of interests.
purchase agreement: A legal agreement detailing a sale of property, including price and terms.
purchase order: The written authorization for a supplier to ship products at a specified price,...
purchase outright: The payment of the full purchase price, in cash.
purchase-money mortgage: A home-financing technique in which a buyer borrows from the seller instead...
purchaser: An individual who acquires by the payment of money or its equivalent
purchasing power: The value of money, as measured by the quantity and quality of products and services it can buy. Also known as buying power.
purchasing power parity: The theory that, in the long run, identical products and services in different...
purchasing power risk: The potential risk of loss in the value of cash due to inflation.
pure competition: A market characterized by a large number of independent sellers of standardized products.
pure index fund: A portfolio that is managed as to perfectly match the performance of the overall market.
pure lease: An equipment lease, generally for a short term, in which the lessee does not...
pure monopoly: A market, where one firm has control over the entire market for a product, generally...
pure no-load fund: A mutual fund that does not require a sales or redemption charge or a 12b-1 fee.
pure play: A firm devoted to only one industry, or a firm whose stock price is highly correlated...
purpose loan: A loan backed by securities and used for purchasing other securities, in accordance with Federal Reserve Board margin requirements.
purvey: To furnish or provide.
purview: The range of control or expertise.
put: An option contract that gives the holder the right to sell a certain quantity...
put bond: The uncommon type of bond, allowing for the bondholder to redeem the bond at...
put option: An option contract that gives the holder the right to sell a certain quantity...
put provision: A relatively uncommon feature of a bond that allows the holder to redeem the...
put ratio backspread: A type of investment strategy, where an investor combines long and short puts to create a spread with little risk of loss.
put swaption: A swaption in which the buyer has the right to enter into a swap as a floating-rate payer.
put warrant: A security that provides the holder with the right to sell the underlying security at a specified price.
put/call ratio: The put volume divided by call volume for a specific period of time.
PVBP: Acronym for Price Value of a Basis Point, which refers to the change in the...
PVI: Acronym for Positive Volume Index. An index that tries to determine the actions...
PYG: The ISO currency code for the Paraguayan Guarani. Learn more about Paraguay and the Paraguayan Guarani at GoCurrency.com
pyramid: The idea that a portfolio should be built on a solid base of low-risk investments with a smaller amount of high-risk investments.
pyramid scheme: An illegal investment scheme, where investors are promised impossibly high returns...
pyramiding: The use of profits earned on open positions to purchase additional securities.