currency in circulation

The total amount of paper currency, coins, and demand deposits that is held by consumers and businesses rather than by financial institutions, central banks, and the U.S. Treasury. Currency in circulation is thus the sum of currency held by the public, and is a component of a bank's reserves. It is an important factor that the Federal Open Market Committee takes into account when setting the money supply, since a decline in the currency in circulation means that banks don't have as many demand deposits in their reserve. This can mean that fewer loans could be extended to borrowers because the bank will have to make up for a decline in reserves.

annuity

1. A contract sold by an insurance company designed to provide payments to the holder at specified intervals, usually after retirement. The holder is taxed only when they start taking distributions or if they withdraw funds from the account. All annuities are tax-deferred, meaning that the earnings from investments in these accounts grow tax-deferred until withdrawal. Annuity earnings are also tax-deferred so they cannot be withdrawn without penalty until a certain specified age. Fixed annuities guarantee a certain payment amount, while variable annuities do not, but do have the potential for greater returns. Both are relatively safe, low-yielding investments. An annuity has a death benefit equivalent to the higher of the current value of the annuity or the amount the buyer has paid into it. If the owner dies during the accumulation phase, his or her heirs will receive the accumulated amount in the annuity. This money is subject to ordinary income taxes in addition to estate taxes.

2. More generally, a series of payments of set size and frequency, often to a retired person.

Lorenz curve

A model developed by economist Max Lorenz in 1905. It represents a probability distribution of statistical values, and is often associated with income distribution calculations. For example, a Lorenz curve can show that the bottom 40% of households bring in 25% of a country's income. If income distribution were perfectly equal, 40% of households would bring in 40% of income.

consumer discretionary

A category of industries, made up of companies which deal with products or services that are not necessities. The degree of spending and amount of consumption of these products and services varies depending upon the individual. These industries include automobiles, high-end clothing, restaurants, hotels, and luxury goods.

Bull Trap

A sign which supposedly indicates that a security is reversing its path, and is starting to rise instead of decline, but in actuality the security continues to decline after this signal is seen. It is seen as a trap because some people will see this signal and purchase the stock because they believe they will benefit from this increase in value, but they are trapped with a poor performing stock when they find out that the stock is still falling.

Multiple Exchange Rates

A system where a country will have both fixed and floating foreign exchange rates at the same time, and both can be used when exchanging currencies in that country. In this situation, the market is divided into any number of segments, each with its own exchange rate. This is frequently used to give preferential treatment to people dealing with goods and products that are the most important to the country; people importing these goods can be given a better exchange rate than people who are importing goods that are not as necessary for the country. If a country only imposes two different exchange rates at the same time, it is referred to as a dual exchange rate system.

iron condor

Options trading strategy that requires the traders to buy and hold four different options. An iron condor has a similar structure to an iron butterfly, but two of the options located in the center have different strike prices. In order to create an iron condor, the trader must hold a long and short position in two different strangle strategies. Two vertical spreads (bull call spread and bull put spread) with the same expiration date are also utilized with an iron condor.

Spider

SPDR. Shares of a security designed to track the value of the S&P 500. Spiders trade on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol SPY. One SPDR unit is valued at approximately one-tenth of the value of the S&P 500. Dividends are distributed quarterly, and are based on the accumulated stock dividends held in trust, less any expenses of the trust. also called Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipt.

Fibonacci retracement

A tool used in technical analysis which plots the Fibonacci ratios on a graph which displays a stock's price over time. The key Fibonacci ratios are 23.6%, 38.2%, 61.8%, and 78.6%. The different Fibonacci ratios are used to predict how likely it is for the stock to return to that price by retracing its previous actions. 

Direct Stock Purchase Plan

DSP. A SEC-regulated program which enables a company to sell shares of stock directly to investors, rather than through a broker, enabling the investors to avoid paying a commission. DSPs are a good way to invest small amounts since you don't even have to be a current shareholder in order to purchase the shares. The company will not charge you a commission, but they may charge you a small fee in order to set up a stock purchase account. Direct Stock Purchase Plans are not related to Directed Share Programs (which have the same acronym, DSP).