(FINANCE) borrowing securities for immediate sale, in anticipation of a sharp decline. Short selling requires strong nerves and excellent market timing; it also requires the ability to locate tranches of securities to borrow. If the short seller is correct, then she can buy back the securities at a much lower price, and lock in very high profits with very little initial investment.
Closely related to the concept of a short position. However, a short position includes buying put options (for example), while a long position could include short selling put options. So they are not exactly the same.
If a short sellers are wrong about the market, they are left hastily covering shorts, or buying the item they borrowed at a HIGHER price than they sold it for.
Closely related to the concept of a short position. However, a short position includes buying put options (for example), while a long position could include short selling put options. So they are not exactly the same.
If a short sellers are wrong about the market, they are left hastily covering shorts, or buying the item they borrowed at a HIGHER price than they sold it for.
Jim Fisk was a master of the short squeeze; he appeared to cooperate with short selling until he was able to call in loans, forcing his counterparties to cover their shorts.
by Abu Yahya September 02, 2010
Get the short selling mug.(US ECONOMY) One of the 12 district Federal Reserve Banks. Based in New York (2nd FR district). Along with members of the Federal Reserve Board, enjoys a permanent seat on the FOMC (other district banks only get to rotate).
Main job is to regulate banks and administer monetary policy through open market operations. Former New York Fed president Tim Geithner is now Secretary of the US Treasury Department (as of early 2009).
Main job is to regulate banks and administer monetary policy through open market operations. Former New York Fed president Tim Geithner is now Secretary of the US Treasury Department (as of early 2009).
Prior to 1928, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was the de facto leader of the entire system. This was because of the powerful personality and connections of Benjamin Strong, a former J.P. Morgan partner.
by Abu Yahya September 10, 2010
Get the Federal Reserve Bank of New York mug.(FINANCE) a financial derivative that consists of a contract to buy a fixed amount of a thing at a fixed price at a fixed time in the future,. For example, a commodity future may specify 1000 British barrels (bbl) of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for $85.75/bbl, for delivery at Cushing, OK, on 31 November 2010.
Futures are "written" by the person with the commodity to sell, and sold to either a financial speculator or else to someone who wants the product--in this case, an oil refinery. Sellers/owners do this because they want to be assured of a fixed price for the thing they're selling. The official reason for buying a future is to get a fixed price for something. This allows businesses to plan ahead.
However, since futures contracts are traded on secondary markets, it's possible to make (or lose) a lot of money trading them.
Futures are "written" by the person with the commodity to sell, and sold to either a financial speculator or else to someone who wants the product--in this case, an oil refinery. Sellers/owners do this because they want to be assured of a fixed price for the thing they're selling. The official reason for buying a future is to get a fixed price for something. This allows businesses to plan ahead.
However, since futures contracts are traded on secondary markets, it's possible to make (or lose) a lot of money trading them.
SOMEBODY: A futures contract can be extremely valuable for doing business. One of the best examples was Southwest Airlines, which weathered the oil crisis of 2007-2008 with futures for aviation fuel. When the market price of fuel doubled, Southwest was able pay a low, low contract price.
SOMEBODY ELSE: Doesn't it ever backfire?
SOMEBODY: Yes, the market price could fall through the floor and you'd be stuck paying THAT instead of the new, lower price. But at least you know what your cash flow will be.
SOMEBODY ELSE: Doesn't it ever backfire?
SOMEBODY: Yes, the market price could fall through the floor and you'd be stuck paying THAT instead of the new, lower price. But at least you know what your cash flow will be.
by Abu Yahya April 05, 2010
Get the futures contract mug.A currency whose value is set by the currency markets; money whose exchange rate relative to other currencies is determined mainly or entirely by unrestricted trading in the currency. Most currencies are dirty float|dirty floats, which means that the government issuing them attempts to manage their traded value in some way; or else hard peg|hard pegs, in which the value is tied to something specific.
When a currency is floating, then its value may rise because the county is running a trade surplus, or it is running a capital account surplus. Floating currencies are not fiat money, although they are often confused for each other.
When a currency is floating, then its value may rise because the county is running a trade surplus, or it is running a capital account surplus. Floating currencies are not fiat money, although they are often confused for each other.
by abu yahya September 28, 2008
Get the floating currency mug.national income and product accounting; refers to the formal system of measuring capital accounts, current accounts, and gross domestic product.
National income and product accounting is the centerpiece of national economic
accounting in the United States. The NIPA's show the real and nominal value of output, the composition of output, and the distribution across types of income generated in its production.
Abraham & Mackie, *Beyond the Market,* p.40
accounting in the United States. The NIPA's show the real and nominal value of output, the composition of output, and the distribution across types of income generated in its production.
Abraham & Mackie, *Beyond the Market,* p.40
by Abu Yahya February 14, 2009
Get the NIPA mug.(MATHEMATICS) a function of numbers that are the root of a base. For example, log(base 2) means a function of numbers that are the numbered roots of 2. The log(base 2) of 2 is 1, meaning 2 raised to the power of 1 is 2 (2^1 = 2); log(2) of 4 is 2, and so on.
The idea here is that any number can be expressed as 2 raised to some power; better still, if you do math with the logs of a number rather than the numbers themselves, you can find useful patterns. For example, if you are graphing population growth, and you just plot the raw number of people over time, you aren't going to notice anything in particular. If you plot the log of population, you can see that, while population is growing, the rate of growth is falling.
Usually, if you are doing statistical research with numbers that always have to be positive (like population, death tolls from diseases, etc.), you need to use logarithms for the numerical values in order to represent a confidence interval.
Logs usually have a base of e or 10. Logs with a base of e are called natural logs.
The idea here is that any number can be expressed as 2 raised to some power; better still, if you do math with the logs of a number rather than the numbers themselves, you can find useful patterns. For example, if you are graphing population growth, and you just plot the raw number of people over time, you aren't going to notice anything in particular. If you plot the log of population, you can see that, while population is growing, the rate of growth is falling.
Usually, if you are doing statistical research with numbers that always have to be positive (like population, death tolls from diseases, etc.), you need to use logarithms for the numerical values in order to represent a confidence interval.
Logs usually have a base of e or 10. Logs with a base of e are called natural logs.
by Abu Yahya April 23, 2010
Get the logarithm mug.(EU GOVERNMENT) agency of the European Union that publishes harmonized statistics for the 27 member states of the EU. The EU does not collect the statistics, but reviews and edits statistics collected by its member states so that the data is comparable for all of the countries in it.
BILL: I'm blogging about the economy of Europe, but I don't know what the economic indicators are. You know, the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, hours worked, and so on.
ANNA: Go to the Eurostat web page. It's really awesome!
ANNA: Go to the Eurostat web page. It's really awesome!
by Abu Yahya July 15, 2010
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