Luxweb Finance, le monde de la finance au Luxembourg

Glossary	Financial Newsletter
This glossary contains over 500 financial terms and definitions to help you get a better understanding of the world's financial markets. Select from the following menu to start navigating through the Luxweb Finance glossary.

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Base Rate	The lowest rate of interest that banks will charge for loans and deposits. It is related to the money markets which are in turn influenced by the minimum lending rate. The interest rate on most loans can be quoted as a percentage over base rate.
Basis	The difference in price between a futures price and the value of the underlying asset.
Bear Market	A bear market is where prices have been falling for some time.
Bellwether Stock	Bellwether Stock is one that is supposed to lead a market. They are generally stocks with a big capitalisation and also reflect the signs of which way the economies in which they trade are heading.
Beta Coefficient	Used to measure a share’s volatility or how much more or less a share’s price moves compared with the market as a whole. The greater the beta the greater the sensitivity to market movements generally.
Bid	The price at which a market maker is prepared to buy stock. The opposite is the offer price which is the price at which he is prepared to sell stock. Hence the expression "the bid-offer spread".
Bill Broker	One who trades in bills of exchange, either acting for themselves or as an intermediary for another.
Bills	Short-term fixed interest loan stock. Commonly issued by governments or very large corporations.
Bond	Bonds are securities that pay a fixed rate of interest issued by companies and governments. The repayment of the principal is due at a pre-determined date called maturity.
Bonus Issues	Also known as a capitalisation issue or Scrip issue is the issue of additional shares by a company to its shareholders at no cost.
Breakout	A price move that dynamically breaks through the current support or resistance level to signal a possible continuing move in that direction.
Bridging Loan	A short term loan that bridges the period between an immediate need and the time when a proper long-term facility can be arranged.
Broker	Professionals who buy and sell shares on behalf of their clients.
Bull Markets	bull market is one where share prices generally have been rising across the whole market for some time.
Buy and Hold Strategy	A strategy that entails purchasing a company’s shares and holding on to them over the long term as opposed to the more active strategies of trading in and out of shares on a frequent basis.