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abu yahya's definitions

Aldrich–Vreeland Act

Bill passed into law May 1908. Created a scheme for preventing banking liquidity crises (such as the Crisis of 1907); also created a commission for massive banking reform. The Aldrich-Vreeland Commission deliberated for three years before sending their plan to Congress.

In 1912, Republicans lost control of Congress and the White House. The Aldrich-Vreeland was modified by Sen. Carter Glass (D-VA), then submitted it to Congress and passed December 1913. This created the Federal Reserve System.

Sen. Glass argued that the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was totally different from the plan developed by the Republicans. Anna Schwartz and Milton Friedman, in *A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960* (1963) explained it was pretty much the same. In any event, the Aldrich-Vreeland Act was one of the most important pieces of legislation ever passed in response to an economic crisis.
MARC: Wow! Glenn Beck says that Woodrow Wilson was actually a crypto-communist.

BILL: Sorry, that's silly.

MARC: Well, didn't he create the Federal Reserve Bank? That's socialistic, isn't it.

BILL: Uh, it was designed during the Administration of William Howard Taft, Marc. Ever heard of the Aldrich–Vreeland Act?

MARC: President Taft? I had no idea he was a Communist too!
by Abu Yahya April 5, 2010
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International Monetary Fund

(ECONOMICS) international bank created after World War 2 to coordinate currency stabilization. Main policy tool consists of lending money to central bank of countries facing a liquidity crisis.

In some cases, as when a member government is insolvent, the IMF will impose a structural adjustment program (SAP) requiring the government to jettison programs it has to serve the poor. For this reason, the IMF is often harshly criticized.
It is often said that the International Monetary Fund makes economic crises worse by imposing the same austerity program everywhere, thereby further reducing a member state's ability to pay its sovereign debt.

(Another way of putting this is that the IMF's policies are pro-cyclical
by Abu Yahya May 5, 2010
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Federal Reserve Bank

(ECONOMICS) Any of the 12 constituent district banks of the Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve Banks may be referred to either by the number of the district they serve (e.g., 12th FRB) or by the city in which they are headquartered (e.g., FRB of San Francisco).

Representatives of the FRB's are eligible to serve on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the committee that actually administers monetary policy through sales or purchases of treasury securities.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (2nd FRB) is by far the most important of the 12 district banks. Each bank holding company is likely to have a subsidiary in NYC, and the 2nd District is uniquely guaranteed a seat on the FOMC. The other 11 rotate, with 4 taking a year-long turn at the FOMC at any given time.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has historically supplied the secretaries of the Treasury or else the chairmen of the Federal Reserve Board.
by Abu Yahya May 5, 2010
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RMBS

(FINANCE) real estate mortgage backed securities; usually used to refer to the derivatives created by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that were used to create collateralized debt obligations CDO's.

Most economists seem to agree that the 2008 crisis was caused by the collapse of the real estate market, which was mainly caused by the toxic relationship between RMBS's and the CDO's created mostly with them.
For almost eighty years the RMBS business helped people buy homes, with few serious problems. Then Congress abolished Glass-Steagall, the banks merged and created CDO's, and total disaster followed.

And now our neighborhoods look awful as well.
by Abu Yahya April 5, 2010
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external balance

the current account balance; the net flow of liquid assets to the citizens of a particular country. The external balance includes the trade balance, net foreign factor income, and net foreign aid *received*. Usually the main cause of an external deficit is a trade deficit.
External balances are critical to good economic policies.
by Abu Yahya February 14, 2009
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option

(FINANCE) a type of financial derivative; a certificate that gives the owner the right to buy (or sell) a fixed amount of a specific thing for a specific price (the strike price).

An option to buy something else is called a call option; an option to sell something else is called a put option. An option has a strike price, which is the price at which you are entitled to buy (or sell) the underlying commodity, or stock, or foreign currency, or whatever.

Options allow the owner to speculate in the possibility that market prices will change in a certain direction, without actually spending the value of the underlying item. For example, suppose WTI crude is $85.75/bbl. In order to make $1000 off of a $0.25 increase in the price, you ordinarily would need to own 4000 bbls of crude, which you can't afford. So, instead, you buy a call option for 4000 bbls with a strike price of $85.75/bbl (i.e., exactly what it is now). This option will cost a tiny amount of money. If the price goes up to $86.00/bbl, you don't own the oil, but your options are now worth $1000 to somebody who wants to buy that oil.

An option with intrinsic value (for example,a call option whose strike price is less than the spot price) is "in the money." An option with no intrinsic value is "out of the money."
BILL: So, options are just like gambling, am I right?

ANNA: For most people. But if you're already in the business of buying or selling a particular thing, an option can protect you against a bad price movement.

BILL: But options on stocks? I mean, unless a company wants to reward its own executives, or something?

ANNA: Well, you might need options on stocks to hedge risk, if you're a fund manager. That way you can focus on long-run investing.
by Abu Yahya April 5, 2010
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trade balance

the amount of goods and services that a country exports, minus the goods and services that it imports *in a calendar year*. In 1999 Japan exported much more than it imported, so it had a trade surplus. The same year, the United States imported more than it exported, and therefore had a large trade deficit.

The trade balance is negative if a country runs a trade deficit, and positive if it runs a trade surplus.
The trade balance is an extremely important indicator of economic health for most countries. Typically (not not always) the value of the currency is strongly influenced by the trade balance also.
by Abu Yahya February 14, 2009
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