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Click over any alphabet to get a partial list of terms or click over 'Full List' to get complete list of terms on one page. A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z Full List |
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Laddering Laddering is an investment strategy that calls for establishing a pattern of rolling maturity dates for a portfolio of fixed-income investments, such as intermediate-term bonds or certificates of deposit (CDs). For example, instead of buying one Rs.15,000 CD with a three-year term, you buy three Rs.5,000 CDs maturing one year apart. As each CD comes due, you can reinvest the principal to extend the pattern, use the money for a preplanned purchase, or have it available to take advantage of a new investment opportunity or cover unexpected expenses. And if you ladder, you can avoid having to liquidate a large bond investment if you need just some of the money or reinvest your entire principal at a time when interest rates may be low. Leverage Leverage is an investment technique in which you use a small amount of your own money to make an investment of much larger value. In that way, leverage gives you significant financial power. For example, if you borrow 90% of the cost of a home, you are using the leverage to buy a much more expensive property than you could have afforded by paying cash. And if you sell the property for more than you borrowed, the profit is entirely yours. Buying share on margin is a type of leveraging, as is buying a futures contract or an option. Leveraging can be very risky, however, if the investment doesn't perform as you anticipate. At the very least, you risk losing your own money and must repay any money you borrowed. And with some leveraged investments, you could be responsible for even larger losses if the value of the underlying product drops significantly. Leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout occurs when a group of investors using borrowed money or other kinds of debt, takes control of a company. Libor – London Interbank Offer Rate Often used as a basis for pricing Euroloans. Libor represents the interest rate at which first class banks in London are prepared to offer dollar deposits to other first class banks. There are a number of similar rates like HIBOR (Hongkong Interbank Offer Rate); SIBOR (Singapore Interbank Offer Rate); TIBOR (Toronto Interbank Offer Rate). Liquidity If you can convert an investment easily and quickly to cash, with little or no loss of value, you have liquidity. The term is sometimes used to describe investments you can buy or sell easily. For example, you could sell several hundred shares of a blue chip share by simply calling your broker, something that might not be possible if you wanted to sell less traded shares or real estate. The difference between cash-equivalent investments and securities like shares and bonds, however, is that securities constantly fluctuate in value. So while you may be able to sell them quickly, you might get back less than you paid to buy them if you sell when the price is down. |