| A | B |
|---|
| Usuary Laws | regulations governing the amount of interest that can be charged on a loan. |
| Short selling | the sale of a security that is not owned by the seller, or that the seller has borrowed believing it will be bought at a lower price and they can pocket the difference. |
| Toxic Assets | a popular term for certain financial assets whose value has fallen significantly and for which there is no longer a functioning market, |
| Glass-Steagall Act | was passed by Congress in 1933 and prohibits commercial banks from engaging in the investment business. It was enacted as an emergency response to the failure of nearly 5,000 banks during the Great Depression. |
| Pension | a retirement plan that requires an employer to make contributions into a pool of funds set aside for a worker's future benefit. |
| Hedge Funds | private investment funds that pool capital from investors and use specific strategies to generate a return on investment. |
| Capital Venture | a type of private equity, a form of financing that is provided by firms or funds to small, early-stage, emerging firms that are deemed to have high growth potential, or which have demonstrated high growth (in terms of number of employees, annual revenue, or both). |
| Commodity Futures Modernization Act | United States federal legislation that officially ensured modernized regulation of financial products known as over-the-counter derivatives. It was signed into law on December 21, 2000 by President Bill Clinton. |
| Dodd Frank Bill | a United States federal law that places regulation of the financial industry in the hands of the government. |
| rating Agencies | Companies that assess the creditworthiness of both debt securities and their issuers. In the United States, the three primary bond rating agencies are Standard and Poor's, Moody's and Fitch. |
