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abu yahya's definitions

bank reserves

(FINANCE) an amount of precious metals, silver, cash, or other thing of value that a bank keeps in storage to meet unexpected liabilities.

Banks generally accept deposits and lend out money. The deference between the rate of interest paid out to deposits, and the rate of interest required for loans, is called "the spread"; it is the bank's source of income.

Banks are not allowed to lend out 100% of the money they receive as deposits; if they did, then depositors would be unable to take money out of the bank. On the other hand, the bank has to lend most of the money out, since it needs the income earned from interest on loans. Throughout the history of the Usonian banking system, the US states or the federal government have had rules about interest rates, reserves, and financial accounting used by banks.

Since Aldrich-Vreeland Act (1908), banks have been allowed to hold deposits with the US Treasury, then (after 1913) with the Federal Reserve System. Deposits in the FRS do not earn interest, but the reserve banks permit member banks to borrow if they fall short of the reserve requirements (see federal funds rate)
Bank reserves serve two purposes: they allow banks to pay depositors on demand, and they play a role in monetary policy.
by Abu Yahya September 4, 2010
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short selling

(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.
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 2, 2010
mugGet the short sellingmug.

NLRA

(US HISTORY) National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act); 1935 law that permitted most US workers to form labor unions. It created the National Labor Relations Board to enforce this right. Named for Sen. Robert F. Wagner (D-NY).

The NLRB conducts secret-ballot elections to determine whether employees want union representation and also investigates unlawful labor practices by employers and unions. The act guarantees employees the right to organize, choose representatives, and bargain collectively. The NLRB regulates all employers involved in interstate commerce other than transport, agriculture, and government.
The NLRA was probably the most important single piece of New Deal legislation.
by Abu Yahya April 5, 2010
mugGet the NLRAmug.

green mind

Philippine slang for someone who thinks compulsively erotic thoughts; dirty minded; the tendency to give innocent phrases a sexual connotation.

Occasionally the use of the term "green minded" by Usonian English speakers (to mean "environmentally conscious") causes Pinoys great amusement.
WILLIAM: How long have you lived here?

ALFREDO: Ever since I came in the USA

WILLIAM: Dude, you had sex with the USA? Did she get pregnant?

ALFREDO: Aw, man, you have a green mind!
by Abu Yahya February 22, 2010
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Supply Side Economics

*noun*; a subdivision of economics that focuses on addressing recessions by stimulating supply, rather than demand. During a recession, supply siders recommend cutting taxes rather than increasing government spending.


"Supply side" is in contrast to traditional practitioners of Keynesianism, "demand siders" who believe the main fiscal policy tool for recessions should be increased government spending.

Both supply siders and demand siders believe the government is responsible for formulating effective fiscal policy during recessions.

The most famous advocate of supply side economics was Arthur Laffer.
When Ronald Reagan ...promised to cut taxes ...he claimed tax revenue would go up, not down... as the economy boomed in response to lower rates. Since then, supply side economics ... has become a central tenet of Republican political and economic thinking in the country.

"McCain sticks to Supply Side Economics..." *International Herald Tribune* (24 March 2008)
by Abu Yahya March 5, 2009
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beat sweetener

(JOURNALISM) using flattery to gain access to sources. The phrase is usually used in the context of White House or Congressional press corps, who use fulsome praise of high-ranking officials whose favor they need. Usually, officials like to be publicly represented as magnificent, selfless, tireless public servants; in exchange for such blurbs, they may invite specific reporters to exclusive events, thereby boosting the reporter's status.

It's actually been a feature of the business press for ages.
Since the financial crisis of 2008, business reporters have tended to write dismissively of bank executives. Six years ago they were likely to have written a beat sweetener about some CEO who was now shithead-of-the week.
by Abu Yahya April 9, 2010
mugGet the beat sweetenermug.

liquidity preference

*noun*; the tendency for the public to want to hold income in cash relative to its willingness to hold it as interest-bearing savings (bonds).

The liquidity preference is analogous to a supply curve for lendable funds. If the price for lendable funds--that is to say, the interest rate--is high, then the amount be be large. If the interest rate is low, then the public will be more inclined to hoard income as cash.

Income held as cash is not spent on goods and services, so if the amount increases abruptly then there will be a recession. If it is held in some interest-bearing form, then it can be spent on fixed capital, thereby increasing output and employment.

During a recession, if the liquidity preference is high, a lot of money is going to be held as cash. One could free up some cash for job-creating investment by raising interest rates, but that would eradicate a lot of business opportunities. So monetary authorities monetize debt instead, creating a new supply of credit to replace the savings lost by falling interest rates.
...An individual’s liquidity preference is given by a schedule of the amounts of his resources, valued in terms of money or of wage-units, which he will wish to retain in the form of money....

John M. Keynes, *General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money* (1936), Ch.13
by Abu Yahya March 3, 2009
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