Investment

Yield Gap
The difference between the average dividend yield on equities and the average yield on long-dated government bonds.
Security (Economic)
A comprehensive understanding of financial securities, their types, and implications in economics.
Tranche
A tranche is a specific class of bonds within an offering, separated according to their degree of risk.
Assisted Area
A UK region made eligible for special government assistance under the state aid rules of the European Commission to encourage investment due to persistently above-average unemployment.
Exposure to Risk - Definition and Meaning
A detailed exploration of the term 'Exposure to Risk,' its definition, historical context, and associated key concepts in economics.
Stag in Economics
An overview of the term 'stag' in economics, referring to investors who subscribe to new issues of shares with the aim of selling them quickly for a profit.
Bank
A comprehensive overview of banks as financial institutions, their types, and roles in the economy.
Personal Equity Plan (PEP)
A UK system, established in 1986, allowing tax-free investments in shares and unit trusts.
Capital Mobility
An exploration of capital mobility, its definitions, constraints, and implications.
Earnings Per Share (EPS)
A comprehensive overview of Earnings Per Share (EPS), its significance, and its implications in economics and finance.
Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
An overview of the internal rate of return (IRR) concept which determines the interest rate where the net present value of a project is zero.
Unwind
Unwinding an investment position, particularly in futures contracts.
No Arbitrage
The absence of opportunities to earn a risk-free profit with no investment, ensuring market equilibrium.
Period of Gestation
The time period between the initiation of an investment project and the beginning of its production phase.
Beta Coefficient
A measure of how variations in the return on a particular share correlate with variations in the return on a market index.
Mortgage-Backed Security
Debt obligations that represent a claim on the cash flow from a pool of mortgage loans, typically on residential properties.
Option Value
An examination of the concept of option value in economics, including its implications for investment decisions and financial instruments.
Pension Insurance Contract
A comprehensive overview of pension insurance contracts, their definition, concepts, and contextual applications.
Profit-Taking
The concept of selling an asset to realize accrued capital gains, considering the implications and risks involved in the decision-making process.
Sources of Capital
Understanding the various sources from which businesses obtain their capital, including owner savings, borrowing, equity, depreciation allowances, trade credit, and government financing.
A-share
An ordinary share in a company with no voting rights for the holder, typically traded at a lower price than voting shares.
AAA Rating
An in-depth exploration of the AAA credit rating, its significance, and its role in economics.
Accelerated Depreciation
An economic concept enabling firms to write down capital goods for tax purposes at a faster rate than normal depreciation, encouraging investment and allowing tax deferral.
Aggregate Demand
An in-depth explanation of aggregate demand, its components, and significance in both closed and open economies.
animal spirits - Definition and Meaning
An economic concept introduced by John Maynard Keynes that refers to the instincts and emotions that influence human behavior in economic decision-making.
Annuity Factor
The factor that converts a lump sum into recurring payments over a specified period of time
Asset-Backed Security
A security backed by a pool of assets such as loans, leases, or receivables. It offers investors regular payments comparable to bond coupons and helps in risk diversification.
Averch-Johnson Effect
The observation that whenever the profit-to-capital ratio of a company is regulated, it has an incentive to over-invest in capital, resulting in inefficiently high levels of capital accumulation.
Backward Integration
The expansion of a firm’s activities to include the production of inputs formerly sourced from outside.
BBB - Definition and Meaning
An explanation of the BBB rating, a medium risk classification by Standard & Poor's for securities.
Bearer Bond
A security where the person or organization holding the certificate of title is entitled to receive any interest and redemption payments.
Blue Chip
The equity shares of large, reputable companies with high market capitalization and liquidity.
Bond
A security with a redemption date over a year later than its date of issue.
Bull Market
A comprehensive overview of the bull market, including its definition and economic implications.
Capital Allowances
Deductions of investment expenditure from a firm’s taxable profits to encourage investment.
Capital Expenditure
A comprehensive exploration of capital expenditure in economics, including its definition, historical context, and various analytical frameworks.
Capital Formation
Capital formation refers to the process of adding to the stock of real productive equipment by constructing it or purchasing it from outside suppliers.
Capital Gain
An overview of capital gains, their definitions, and implications across different economic frameworks.
CAPM - Definition and Meaning
Comprehensive entry defining the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) in financial economics.
Carry Forward Losses
The right to deduct past losses from present profits in calculating liability to tax.
Cheap Money
The maintenance of low interest rates intended to encourage investment, particularly during recessions.
Commercial Bill
An extensive look at commercial bills, their definition, historical context, analytical frameworks, comparisons, and suggested readings.
Compound Interest
The interest on a deposit or loan that itself earns interest in later periods.
Contango
A structural term in the futures market where the futures price of a commodity is higher than its spot price.
Convertible Debenture
A comprehensive examination of convertible debenture, its characteristics, historical background, and analytical frameworks.
Cost of Capital
The rate of return an enterprise must offer to induce investors to provide capital, including debt and equity components.
Cum Dividend
Sale of shares including the right for the purchaser to receive a dividend already declared but not yet paid.
Cumulative Preference Share
A type of preference share where dividends, including any arrears, must be paid to the shareholder before any dividends can be paid to ordinary shareholders.
Debenture
A secured loan instrument raised by a company, typically with fixed interest and sometimes with a fixed redemption date; it defines the rights of debenture holders in different scenarios.
Direct Investment Abroad
An overview and analysis of direct investment abroad, referring to foreign direct investment.
Dividend Cover
The ratio of total earnings for equity in a company to dividends paid out, often indicating financial health and sustainability of dividend payments.
Efficient Markets Hypothesis
The theory that where assets are traded in organized markets, prices take account of all available information, making it impossible to predict future price movements.
Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)
A comprehensive exploration of the Enterprise Investment Scheme, a UK initiative to encourage the formation of new small companies through various tax reliefs
Eurobond
A bond issued in a eurocurrency, which is a European currency held outside its country of origin, featuring various maturities and interest rates without withholding taxes.
Financial Economics
The field of economics that analyses the individual allocation of resources between consumption and financial assets, and the equilibrium consequences of individual choices.
Financial Intermediary
A firm whose main function is to borrow money from one set of people and lend it to another, reducing risk and transaction costs for both parties.
Gilt-edged security
An in-depth look at gilt-edged securities, which are fixed-interest securities issued by the UK government.
Gross Domestic Capital Formation
A comprehensive exploration of Gross Domestic Capital Formation, its definitions, methodologies, and relevance in economics.
Gross Domestic Fixed Capital Formation
The component of domestic gross investment that includes durable goods, excluding stocks and work in progress.
Gross Investment - Definition and Meaning
An exploration of gross investment, encompassing its components, significance, and related economic frameworks.
Hedge Fund
An overview and analysis of hedge funds as investment vehicles focusing on speculative positions in markets for shares, currencies, and derivatives.
Holding Company
A company that holds shares in other companies to form a corporate group and does not produce goods or services.
Indexation
A system for making the performance of an investment or unit trust mimic that of a share index.
Indirect Investment
An exploration of the concept of indirect investment, its mechanisms, and implications in financial markets.
Individual Savings Account (ISA)
An Individual Savings Account (ISA) is a financial scheme in the UK that allows individuals to save money without paying income tax or capital gains tax.
Induced Investment
Investment in response to changes in output, typically examined at a macroeconomic level.
Institutional Shareholder
A comprehensive overview of Institutional Shareholders in the context of economics.
Investment
Definition, meaning, and conceptual frameworks of investment, including its types and implications in various economic theories.
Investment in Knowledge
Expenditure on research and development, higher education, and software to ensure economic growth through technological advancement.
Investment in Stocks and Work in Progress
The value of the real change in stocks, both of inputs and finished products, and of work in progress, during any period.
Investment Incentives
Overview of investment incentives and their role in encouraging investment activities through various economic measures.
Investment Pools - Definition and Meaning
Organized financial arrangements that combine funds from multiple investors to acquire financial assets.
Joint-Stock Company
An economic term denoting a legal business arrangement where investors pool funds to undertake business activities.
Junk Bonds
A comprehensive look at junk bonds, including their definitions, historical context, and significance within various economic frameworks.
Leveraging
Leveraging refers to using borrowed funds to finance an investment.
Liquidity Preference
An exploration of liquidity preference, the tendency to favor assets that can easily be converted into cash, and its implications in different economic frameworks.
Loanable Funds
Theory of interest rate determination by the demand and supply of loanable funds.
Local Content - Definition and Meaning
A comprehensive look at the concept of local content in economics, its implications, and applications in trade and investment policies.
Margin
Understand the concept of margin, its applications in trading, and its significance in economic transactions.
Medium-Dated Security
A security with a maturity period of between 5 and 15 years when first issued
Multiplier–Accelerator Model
An examination of the multiplier–accelerator model, which explains economic fluctuations through the interaction of the multiplier and the accelerator.
National Savings
An overview of National Savings Bonds, a financial product backed by the UK government.
Net Present Value
An entry about the Net Present Value (NPV) concept in economics, explaining its significance and calculation.
Net Yield
Definition and meaning of net yield, with context and comparative analysis within different economic frameworks.
Open-Ended Fund
A form of mutual fund with no restriction on the number of shares issued based on investor demand.
Optimal Growth Theory
The analysis of the best growth path for an economy by balancing current utility loss and future utility gain. See also golden rule.
Ordinary Share
The UK term for a share in the equity of a company, equivalent to common stock in the US.
Overseas Investment
Insights into the concept of overseas investment and its implications in economics.