Economy and Business Terms - Charlie, your teacher of English
example, seek to generate income on a regular basis. Others seek to preserve an investor's money.
Still others seek to invest in companies that are growing at a rapid pace. Funds can impose a sales
charge, or load, on investors when they buy or sell shares. Many funds these days are no load and
impose no sales charge. Mutual funds are investment companies regulated by the Investment
Company Act of 1940. Related: open-end fund, closed-end fund.
NASDAQ: It is the largest electronic exchange in the world and the second largest exchange in the
United States. It was established in 1971 and was originally organized as a successor to over-thecounter "curb trading" that was previously popular in New York. As a result it was considered in
some circles an over-the-counter trading system as late as the mid-1980s. NASDAQ has the
highest trading volume of any exchange in the world, and is a popular exchange for technology
companies. It was originally owned by the NASD (now FINRA) and was spun off in 2000 and 2001.
Nominal Interest Rate: The interest rate on an investment or loan without adjusting for inflation.
The nominal interest rate is simply the interest rate stated on the loan or investment agreement. If
one makes a loan at a high nominal interest rate, this does not guarantee a real profit. For example,
if the nominal interest rate on a loan is 7% and the inflation rate is 4%, the real interest rate is only
3%.
Nominal Value: It's the stated value of an issued security. Nominal value in economics also refers
to a value expressed in monetary terms for a specific year or years, without adjusting for inflation.
When used in reference to securities, nominal value is also known face value or par value.The
nominal value of a security, such as a stock or bond, remains fixed for the duration of its life. What
fluctuates is the security's market value, which may be markedly different from its nominal value.
Offer: A promise that, according to its terms, is contingent upon a particular act, forbearance, or
promise given in exchange for the original promise or the performance thereof; a demonstration of
the willingness of a party to enter into a bargain, made in such a way that another individual is
justified in understanding that his or her assent to the bargain is invited and that such assent will
conclude the bargain.
The making of an offer is the first of three steps in the traditional process of forming a valid contract:
an offer, an acceptance of the offer, and an exchange of consideration. (Consideration is the act of
doing something or promising to do something that a person is not legally required to do, or the
forbearance or the promise to forbear from doing something that he or she has the legal right to do.)
Offshore: Many countries, territories and jurisdictions have offshore financial centers (OFCs).
These include well-known centers like Switzerland, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, and lesswell-known centers like Mauritius, Dublin and Belize. The level of regulatory standards and
transparency differs widely among OFCs. Supporters of OFCs argue that they improve the flow of
capital and facilitate international business transactions.
Oligopoly: A market structure with just a few firms controlling a high percentage of total sales, such
as car manufacturing.
An oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of
sellers (oligopolists). Oligopolies can result from various forms of collusion which reduce competition
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