Category: Stock Market Glossary

Buyout – When the majority of a company’s shares of stock (controlling interest) are bought.

Certificate of Deposit (CD) – A special form of deposit offered by banks that generally pays compound interest for a…

Closed-End Fund – Like open-end mutual funds, these are collections of securities managed by a professional investment advisor. Unlike open-end…

Closing Price (Close) – The last price at which a stock is traded on a particular day.

Collateral – Property that a borrower must legally turn over to a lender if the borrower cannot repay a loan.

Commission – A fee that brokers earn by completing trades for investors. A commission is usually based on the number…

Common Stock – A type of security, or financial instrument, that represents a fractional ownership of the issuing company. If…

Company – A business formed to manufacture or supply products or services for profit.

Compound Growth – Growth from earnings received on reinvested earnings as well as on the initial amount invested.

Compound Interest – Interest paid on the principal and the accrued interest. Interest earned on an investment is added to…

Consensus – To reach team agreement on a decision.

Conservative Strategy – Investments in fixed income and preferred stocks.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) – A measure of the level of prices paid by the average American consumer. Percentage changes…

Corporate Bonds – Bonds are major sources of corporate borrowing. Debentures, the most common type of corporate bond, are backed…

Corporate Governance – It refers to the ethics of the corporate structure of a given company, like the policies on…

Corporation – A company legally separate from stockholders who own it and the managers who run it.

Cost-Benefit Analysis – This is a process of evaluating the costs and benefits of an investment decision. The analysis can…

Current Assets – Resources that a company owns and could sell for cash during the year.

Current Liabilities – The amount of a company’s debts payable within a year.

Cyclical Stocks – Stocks of companies whose performance tends to mirror the economy. When the economy grows the stocks turn…