All Non-Legal Business/Government CRA Terms

All non-legal business/government prefixes, suffixes, and infixes from the CRA and AAERT.

AAA rating

a rating applied to bonds issued by the most creditworthy companies; the system then includes the less favorable ratings of AA, A, BBB, BB, B, etc.

appreciation

an increase in any item's value over time

Asset

an item which has intrinsic value, such as real estate or bonds

balance of trade

the different between the value of a country's exports and imports

broker

one acting as a middleman between buyers and sellers

commodities

raw material products, such as soybeans, wheat, or oil, as opposed to manufactured products

copyright

legal ownership and sole control over their creations granted to authors, artists, and certain others for a specific length of time

deficit

an excess of spending over income

deflation

fewer dollars buy more goods; lower prices = increased value of currency

discount rate

the interest rate charged by the Federal Reserve to its members (commercial banks)

due diligence

efforts made by investors to determine the legitimacy of securities

depreciation

reduction in value over time, due to age or use

Dunn & Bradstreet

publishers of selected stock market prices

escrow

funds held in trust by a third party while a transaction is in progress

fair market value

the price which most willing sellers and willing buyers would agree upon during sale negotiations

Federal Reserve

the central banking system of the United States, controlling the value of the dollar by setting interest rates, and loaning funds to commercial banks

Fortune 500

a publication which reports on certain important corporations; by extension, any large, profitable enterprise

FTC

Federal Trade Commission

futures

estimates of commodity values at a future point in time; for example, what investors expect wheat will be selling for next August

general domain

publications, musical compositions, or other items whose copyright protection has lapsed

Hill, the

relating to Congress, not the executive or judicial branches

inflation

more dollars buy fewer goods; higher prices = decreased value of currency

LEI (formerly GNP, gross national product)

leading economic indicators; one measure of a nation's economic performance over a period of time

liquidity

assets available for immediate use, such as cash, versus assets held for investment or other purposes, such as real estate or fine art

NASD

National Association of Securities Dealers

NASDAQ

stock prices quotations published by NASD

NYSE

New York Stock Exchange

patent

legal ownership and sole control over their creations granted to authors, artists, and certain others for a specific length of time

prime rate

the interest rate charged by banks to their preferred business customers

SEC

Securities and Exchange Commission

securities

documents which show ownership of stocks or bonds

T-bill

a U.S. Treasury note, widely considered a risk-free investment

trademark

similar to copyright, but limited to names, symbols or other product identification marks or company logos