Economy and Business Terms - Charlie, your teacher of English
Maturities on commercial paper rarely range any longer than 270 days. Commercial paper is usually
issued at a discount from face value and reflects prevailing market interest rates.
Commodity: A commodity is any homogenous item which may be freely bought and sold. The term
typically refers to products such as coffee, cocoa and soybeans (soft commodities) or gold,
aluminum and platinum (hard commodities). Pork belly and frozen orange concentrate were
featured in the 1980s film, Trading Places.
Commodities typically are bought and sold in futures markets where producers combine with
manufacturers and speculators to create a smoothly functioning market.
Compensation: (1) Payment for goods or services.(2) Damages necessary to restore an injured
party to his or her position before the wrongdoing.(3) In eminent domain, payment to property
owners for the value of the property taken and any damage caused to the value of the remaining
property.
It is also the payment for services rendered. One is due compensation when one has performed a
service for an employer or client. Examples of compensation include wages, salaries, tips, fees, and
commissions. Compensation is usually the primary component of an individual's tax liability. It is
also called remuneration.
Conditions: Economic conditions refer to the state of the economy in a country or region. They
change over time in line with the economic and business cycles, as an economy goes through
expansion and contraction. Economic conditions are considered to be sound or positive when an
economy is expanding and are considered to be adverse or negative when an economy is
contracting.
A country's economic conditions are influenced by numerous macroeconomic and microeconomic
factors, including monetary and fiscal policy, the state of the global economy, unemployment levels,
productivity, exchange rates, inflation and many others.
Consideration: It is something of value given by both parties to a contract that induces them to
enter into the agreement to exchange mutual performances.
Consideration is an essential element for the formation of a contract. It may consist of a promise to
perform a desired act or a promise to refrain from doing an act that one is legally entitled to do. In a
bilateral contract— that is, an agreement by which both parties exchange mutual promises—each
promise is regarded as sufficient consideration for the other. In a unilateral contract, an agreement
by which one party makes a promise in exchange for the other's performance, the performance is
consideration for the promise, while the promise is consideration for the performance.
Consideration must have a value that can be objectively determined. A promise, for example, to
make a gift or a promise of love or affection is not enforceable because of the subjective nature of
the promise. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Consultant: It is an experienced professional who provides expert knowledge (often packaged
under a catchy name) for a fee. He or she works in an advisory capacity only and is usually not
accountable for the outcome of a consulting exercise. Some consultants (like Peter Drucker and W.
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