Chapter 9

intermediary

n. a person or an organization that helps other people or organizations to make an agreement by being a means of communication between them

mortgage

n. a legal agreement by which a bank or similar organization lends you money to buy a house, etc., and you pay the money back over a particular number of years;

securities

n. documents proving that somebody is the owner of shares, etc. in a particular company

crisis

n. a time of great danger, difficulty or doubt when problems must be solved or important decisions must be made

precipitously

ad. in a way that is very steep, high and often dangerous

scrape by

to manage to live on the money you have, but with difficulty

dissave

v. spent your savings when your comsumption is greater than income

vicious

a. very bad or severe

cushion

n.  something that protects you against something unpleasant that might happen

weigh

v. to have a particular weight

call forth

to produce a particular reaction

volatile

a. ​(of a situation) likely to change suddenly; easily becoming dangerous

prime

a. of the best quality; excellent

expenditure

n. the act of spending or using money

venture

n. a business project or activity, especially one that involves taking risks

upfront

a. paid in advance, before other payments are made

bid

v.  to offer to pay a particular price for something, especially at an auction

plow into

to invest a large amount of money in a company or project

doldrums

n. ​the state of feeling sad or depressed

kook

n. a person who acts in a strange or crazy way

maturity

n.  (of an insurance policy, etc.) the time when money you have invested is ready to be paid

default

n. failure to do something that must be done by law, especially paying a debt

compensate

v. to provide something good to balance or reduce the bad effects of damage, loss, etc.

soundness

n. the fact that something can be relied on and will probably give good results

repossess

v. to take back property or goods from somebody who has arranged to buy them but who still owes money for them and cannot pay

collateral

n. property or something valuable that you promise to give to somebody if you cannot pay back money that you borrow

arbitrage

n. the buying and selling of equally risky assets, ensures that equally risky assets earn equal returns.

dividend

n. an amount of the profits that a company pays to people who own shares in the company

pauper

n. a very poor person

confiscation

n. ​the act of officially taking something away from somebody, especially as a punishment

go under

to become bankrupt

impartially

ad. in a way that does not support one person or group more than another

rip off

to cheat somebody, by making them pay too much, by selling them something of poor quality, etc.

loophole

n. a mistake in the way a law, contract, etc. has been written that enables people to legally avoid doing something that the law, contract, etc. had intended them to do

usury

n. the practice of lending money to people at unfairly high rates of interest

prop up

to prevent something from falling by putting something under it to support it

authoritarian

a. believing that people should obey authority and rules, even when these are unfair, and even if it means that they lose their personal freedom

grim

a. looking or sounding very serious

curtail

v. to limit something or make it last for a shorter time

rash of sth.

a series of unpleasant things that happen over a short period of time

seminal

a. very important and having a strong influence on later developments

protracted

a. lasting longer than expected or longer than usual

foreclosure

n. the act of taking control of somebody's property because they have not paid back money that they borrowed to buy it

owner's equity

The difference between the value of a house and the unpaid amount on the mortgage

insolvent

a. ​not having enough money to pay what you owe

securitization

n. the process in which certain types of assets are pooled so that they can be repackaged into interest-bearing securities.

pension

n. an amount of money paid regularly by a government or company to somebody who has retired from work

sucker

n. (informal) a person who is easily tricked or persuaded to do something

delinquency

n. failure of payment

yank

v. ​to pull something/somebody hard, quickly and suddenly

demise

n. ​the end or failure of an institution, an idea, a company, etc.

wary

a. ​careful when dealing with somebody/something because you think that there may be a danger or problem

credit crunch

an economic condition in which it suddenly becomes difficult and expensive to borrow money

disarray

n. ​a lack of order or organization in a situation or a place

liability

n. the amount of money that a person or company owes

trauma

n. a very frightening or upsetting experience

on the verge of sth

very near to the moment when somebody does something or something happens

cronyism

n. the situation in which people in power give jobs to their friends

adrift

a. if a boat or a person in a boat is adrift, the boat is not tied to anything or is floating without being controlled by anyone