Financial Glossary

Kamikaze Defense A kamikaze defense is a method for deterring a potential acquirer from purchasing a company. How it works: Kamikaze defense is named after the suicide attacks of Japanese pilots during World War II. For example, Company FGH makes a bid to buy Company STW. The STW board of directors does not want to sell ...

What is the January Effect? A recurring trend in the stock market during the month of January (mostly the first half of the month) wherein stock prices tend to go up. Towards the end of the year many investors sell-off stock, in order to adjust gains and to lower the ...

Z-Bond A CMO tranche that resembles a Zero Coupon Bond and ordinarily has neither the first, nor the last claim on the CMO’s underlying cash flows and asset value. Hence, the Z-Bond has significant Credit Risk and Market Risk . ZENS Zero-coupon exchangeable notes. Equity-linked notes that pay at maturity ...

Yankee market The U.S. foreign market. The market in the U.S. for securities that non U.S . companies and governments issue. Example: Some shares of Nomura Securities trade in New York in the Yankee market. Yard Definition: One billion units of a currency. Usage: “I’ve got a customer who wants ...

Xerxes The sensitivity of Convexity to a change in yield. The “Convexity” of Modified Duration The third derivative of a financial instrument’s value with respect to its yield. Hedging so that Xerxes equals zero is one step beyond Convexity hedging, which is itself one step beyond matching durations of one’s ...

Warrant An option that a corporation issues, with its own shares as the underlying asset. The crucial implication is that exercise of the option changes the number of claims against the corporation’s assets. Thus, the pricing equations for Call (Put) Warrants and ordinary Call (Put) Options differ by the dilution ...

Value date 1. In the Eurodeposit and FX markets, the delivery date for funds traded. For the spot market it would be the spot date, ordinarily two business days after the transaction. For the forward market it would be a future delivery date. In the bond market (usually), the date ...

U.K. Mips Goldman, Sachs’s variation on its Mips structure, tailored to maximize its advantages for the UK market in ways that the U.S. government wouldn’t allow. Grand Metropolitan Delaware (limited partnership) issued 20 million “preferred securities” paying quarterly dividends at $25, lending the proceeds to Grand Metropolitan plc via a ...

Tailed calendar spread A calendar spread trade involving one long position and one short position of different sizes (in contracts). Tandem spread A spread consisting of calendar spreads in two commodities. Tanker Freight Swap A Swap with payoffs that depend on an average of tanker shipping rates. TED Spread Definition: ...

Samurai market Japan’s foreign market. The market in Japan for securities that non Japanese companies and governments issue. Example: Some shares of General Motors trade in the Samurai market. Scalper, Scalp-beggar A exchange floor trader who is a market maker. Scalping Disseminating (e.g., via a newsletter, press release, web page, ...