Glossary
Leading Indicators | Market statistics that signal the state of the economy for a given period of time, such as unemployment rate, housing starts, and change in money supply. |
Legal Entity |
A person or organization that can legally enter into a contract, and may therefore be sued for failure to comply with the terms of the contract. |
Legislation | Written and approved laws. |
Lending Securities |
Securities borrowed from a broker's inventory, other margin accounts, or from other brokers when a customer makes a short sale and the securities must be delivered to the buying customer's broker. |
Leverage |
The ratio of debt to equity to finance a company's operations and new projects. A company is highly leveraged if it is using a large proportion of debt (i.e., bonds or loans) versus equity to finance its operations. |
Liabilities |
The claims against a corporation, including, but not limited to, accounts payable, salaries payable, dividends declared payable, debenture bonds, and bank loans. |
Lien | An attachment that gives the lender the right to seize the personal ownership of a borrower who has not fulfilled the obligations of the loan, but prevents the lender from seizing real ownership. |
Limit Down | The minimum price change allowed for a commodity futures contract per trading day. |
Limit Order |
An order to buy or sell a stock at a customer specified price. |
Limit Up | The maximum price change allowed for a commodity futures contract per trading day. |
Linkage |
The ability to buy or sell a contract on one exchange and sell or buy the contract on another exchange. |
Liquid Asset | Asset that is easily and cheaply turned into cash-notably, cash itself and short-term securities. |
Liquidation | Occurs when a firm's business is terminated. Assets are sold, proceeds are used to pay creditors, and any leftovers are distributed to shareholders. Any transaction that offsets or closes out a long or short position. |
Liquidity |
Ease with which a security can be traded on the market. |
Listed Securities |
Stock or bond that has been accepted for trading at the Amman Stock Exchange. |
Loan | Temporary borrowing of a sum of money. |
Locked-in Trades | Matched trades which are guaranteed to settle as initially entered on trade date. |
Long |
The position of an individual who has bought financial instruments. |
Low Price | The day's lowest price of a security that has changed hands between a buyer and a seller. |