1: Introduction Flashcards
1. The Corporation 2. Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis 3. Financial Decision Making and the Law of One Price 4. Appendix: The Price of Risk (144 cards)
agency problem
When decision makers, despite being hired as the agents of other stakeholders, put their own self-interest ahead of the interests of the stakeholders.
ask price
The price at which a market maker or specialist is willing to sell a security.
bid-ask spread
The amount by which the ask price exceeds the bid price.
bid price
The price at which a market maker or specialist is willing to buy a security.
board of directors (BoD)
A group elected by shareholders that has the
ultimate decision-making authority in the corporation.
“C” corporations
Corporations that have no restrictions on
who owns their shares or the number of shareholders, and therefore cannot qualify for subchapter S treatment and are subject to direct taxation.
chief executive officer (CEO)
The person charged with running the corporation by instituting the rules and policies set by the board of directors.
chief financial officer (CFO)
The most senior financial manager, who often reports directly to the CEO.
corporation
A legally defined, artificial being, separate from its owners.
dark pools
Trading venues in which the size and price of orders are not disclosed to participants. Prices are within the best bid and ask prices available in public markets, but traders face the risk their orders may not be filled if an excess of either buy or sell orders is received.
dividend payments
Payments made at the discretion of the corporation to its equity holders.
Dodd-Frank Act
A 2010 Congressional act that sought to bring about financial stability by bringing about sweeping changes to the financial regulatory system in response to the 2008 financial crisis.
equity
The collection of all the outstanding shares of a
corporation.
equity holder
An owner of a share of stock in a corporation (also shareholder or stockholder).
high frequency traders (HFTs)
Traders who place, update, cancel, and execute trades many times per second.
hostile takeover
A situation in which an individual or organization, sometimes referred to as a corporate raider, purchases a large fraction of a target corporation’s stock and in doing so gets enough votes to replace the target’s board of directors and its CEO.
limit order
Order to buy or sell a set amount of a security at a
fixed price.
limit order book
Collection of all current limit orders for a given security.
limited liability
When an investor’s liability is limited to her initial investment.
limited liability company (LLC)
A limited partnership without a general partner.
limited partnership
A partnership with two kinds of owners, general partners and limited partners.
liquid
Describes an investment that can easily be turned into cash because it can be sold immediately at a competitive market price.
liquidation
Closing down a business and selling off all its assets; often the result of the business declaring bankruptcy.
liquidity
Extent to which the market for an asset is liquid. Limit orders provide liquidity by making available an immediate opportunity to trade.