foreign direct investment; includes direct capital investment in companies that have not yet issued stock. As opposed to portfolio investment (purchases of traded securities in a firm). Both FDI and portfolio investment refer to capital transfers from country to country.
by abu yahya September 28, 2008

Latin, "thus"; used to indicate that an error in the original has been replicated in a quote.
When you're quoting someone else, and the original includes an error (spelling, fact, conception) it may be necessary to assure readers that (a) you noticed the error and (b) it is not yours, but that of the person you're quoting. Since it is a Latin expression, it needs to be italicized, and in the Urban Dictionary this means enclosing it in asterisks.
When you're quoting someone else, and the original includes an error (spelling, fact, conception) it may be necessary to assure readers that (a) you noticed the error and (b) it is not yours, but that of the person you're quoting. Since it is a Latin expression, it needs to be italicized, and in the Urban Dictionary this means enclosing it in asterisks.
His columns are full of brilliant insights such as this one:
"World War II erupted at Munich *sic* in 1941 *sic* because President Roosevelt *sic* was too weak-kneed to stand up to Hilter *sic*."
The man should not be allowed to go about unattended, let alone publish newspaper columns.
"World War II erupted at Munich *sic* in 1941 *sic* because President Roosevelt *sic* was too weak-kneed to stand up to Hilter *sic*."
The man should not be allowed to go about unattended, let alone publish newspaper columns.
by Abu Yahya March 07, 2009

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.
While Japan had a trade surplus and the USA had a trade deficit, both had something called a trade balance, which was negative for the USA and positive for Japan.
A country can have an overall trade deficit (like the USA in all years since 1980) and still have trade surpluses with individual countries (e.g., the USA occasionally has trade surpluses with Brazil).
While Japan had a trade surplus and the USA had a trade deficit, both had something called a trade balance, which was negative for the USA and positive for Japan.
A country can have an overall trade deficit (like the USA in all years since 1980) and still have trade surpluses with individual countries (e.g., the USA occasionally has trade surpluses with Brazil).
Usually, when a country runs a trade surplus it tends to export the excess foreign currency back to the deficit country as portfolio investment. In this way, the foreign currency retains its value.
by Abu Yahya February 14, 2009

(FINANCE) for a financial instrument, the person/institution who takes the opposite position. For example, in a credit default swap (CDS), the buyer is someone who needs insurance against the possibility that a borrower will default on a loan. In that case, the counterparty is whoever receives the CDS premiums, and pays out in the event of default.
The purpose of financial options is to minimize risk to the buyer; therefore, it creates potentially lucrative opportunities for the counterparty, because the counterparty takes on so much risk.
by Abu Yahya April 05, 2010

(FINANCE) a limited liability partnership (LLP), originally limited to 99 partners, and organized to trade securities under specialized guidelines. The first hedge funds were organized to be a counterparty to the riskiest forms of derivative transactions: writing exotic options or swaps in which the buyer transferred most risks (and potential gains) to the hedge fund, but then offsetting the risk with different derivatives.
The first hedge funds benefited (or thought they benefited) from the Black-Scholes formula used to calculate the value of options; supposedly a hedge fund manager could design an immensely complex portfolio consisting mainly of explosively volatile instruments , whose pieces were supposed to absorb each other's risk.
Hedge funds mainly avoided the consequences of the financial meltdown they helped create, racking up gains through the '00's that far exceeded the rest of the stock market.
The first hedge funds benefited (or thought they benefited) from the Black-Scholes formula used to calculate the value of options; supposedly a hedge fund manager could design an immensely complex portfolio consisting mainly of explosively volatile instruments , whose pieces were supposed to absorb each other's risk.
Hedge funds mainly avoided the consequences of the financial meltdown they helped create, racking up gains through the '00's that far exceeded the rest of the stock market.
The hedge fund used to play a major role in absorbing and structuring the risks associated with hedging risks associated with large portfolios, but they now are sophisticated gambling enterprises.
Hedge funds supply market liquidity for the most exotic of instruments.
Hedge funds supply market liquidity for the most exotic of instruments.
by Abu Yahya September 02, 2010

In economics, (1) Materials or equipment used to produce goods (e.g., tools, parts, inventory, buildings, fixtures, hours of training); or (2) money that is used in a business venture. Capital is created by saving, rather than consuming, economic output. Over time, saving accumulates into capital; it also depreciates.
by abu yahya September 29, 2008

(FINANCE) financial instrument in which buyer is someone who needs insurance against the possibility that a borrower will default on a loan. In that case, the counterparty is whoever receives the CDS premiums, and pays out in the event of default.
WHY IT'S BAD
Loans are usually made by either commercial banks (in which a loan officer is supposed to make a professional assessment of risk of default before handing over the money), or by investment banks (which underwrite securities like bonds). If the borrower has a high risk of default, then the loan should not be made--period.
Credit default swaps were a stupid method of supposedly turning a bad loan into a "risky" (and potentially high-yield) "investment"; they were in reality a strategy for fraud. Since portfolio managers knew they were bundling securitized loans that contained mostly crap, they would arrange credit default swaps and cash in when the borrowers defaulted.
WHY IT'S BAD
Loans are usually made by either commercial banks (in which a loan officer is supposed to make a professional assessment of risk of default before handing over the money), or by investment banks (which underwrite securities like bonds). If the borrower has a high risk of default, then the loan should not be made--period.
Credit default swaps were a stupid method of supposedly turning a bad loan into a "risky" (and potentially high-yield) "investment"; they were in reality a strategy for fraud. Since portfolio managers knew they were bundling securitized loans that contained mostly crap, they would arrange credit default swaps and cash in when the borrowers defaulted.
What the bankers hit on was a sort of insurance policy: a third party would assume the risk of the debt going sour, and in exchange would receive regular payments from the bank, similar to insurance premiums. JPMorgan would then get to remove the risk from its books and free up the reserves. The scheme was called a "credit default swap," and it was a twist on something bankers had been doing for a while to hedge against fluctuations in interest rates and commodity prices.
{Newsweek, "The Monster That Ate Wall Street," 27 Sep 2008}
{Newsweek, "The Monster That Ate Wall Street," 27 Sep 2008}
by Abu Yahya July 17, 2010
