Definition of 'Tariff'

A tax imposed on imported goods and services. Tariffs are used to restrict trade, as they increase the price of imported goods and services, making them more expensive to consumers. They are one of several tools available to shape trade policy

Investopedia explains 'Tariff'

Governments may impose tariffs to raise revenue or to protect domestic industries from foreign competition, since consumers will generally purchase cheaper foreign produced goods. Tariffs can lead to less efficient domestic industries, and can lead to trade wars as exporting countries reciprocate with their own tariffs on imported goods. Organizations such as the WTO exist to combat the use of egregious tariffs.

Definition of 'Options Contract'

A contract that allows the holder to buy or sell an underlying security at a given price, known as the strike price. The two most common types of options contracts are put and call options, which give the holder-buyer the right to sell or buy respectively, the underlying at the strike if the price of the underlying crosses the strike. Typically each options contract is written on 100 shares of the underlying.

Investopedia explains 'Options Contract'

For example, a trader believes that the price of a stock will rise from its current price of $40 to a level nearing $100. Rather than purchasing the stock itself, she can purchase a call option for a fraction of the price at a strike anywhere between $40 and $100. If the stock does indeed rise to $100, and assuming the call option was bought at a strike of $75, the holder stands to gain $25 per share on the contract, minus any premiums paid for the option itself.

Definition of 'Forward Contract'

A cash market transaction in which delivery of the commodity is deferred until after the contract has been made. Although the delivery is made in the future, the price is determined on the initial trade date.

Investopedia explains 'Forward Contract'

Most forward contracts don't have standards and aren't traded on exchanges. A farmer would use a forward contract to "lock-in" a price for his grain for the upcoming fall harvest.

Definition of 'Futures Contract'

A contractual agreement, generally made on the trading floor of a futures exchange, to buy or sell a particular commodity or financial instrument at a pre-determined price in the future. Futures contracts detail the quality and quantity of the underlying asset; they are standardized to facilitate trading on a futures exchange. Some futures contracts may call for physical delivery of the asset, while others are settled in cash.

Investopedia explains 'Futures Contract'

The terms "futures contract" and "futures" refer to essentially the same thing. For example, you might hear somebody say they bought "oil futures", which means the same thing as "oil futures contract". If you want to get really specific, you could say that a futures contract refers only to the specific characteristics of the underlying asset, while "futures" is more general and can also refer to the overall market as in: "He's a futures trader."

What is the difference between forward and futures contracts?

Fundamentally, forward and futures contracts have the same function: both types of contracts allow people to buy or sell a specific type of asset at a specific time at a given price. However, it is in the specific details that these contracts differ. First of all, futures contracts are exchange-traded and, therefore, are standardized contracts. Forward contracts, on the other hand, are private agreements between two parties and are not as rigid in their stated terms and conditions. Because forward contracts are private agreements, there is always a chance that a party may default on its side of the agreement. Futures contracts have clearing houses that guarantee the transactions, which drastically lowers the probability of default to almost never.

Secondly, the specific details concerning settlement and delivery are quite distinct. For forward contracts, settlement of the contract occurs at the end of the contract. Futures contracts are marked-tomarket daily, which means that daily changes are settled day by day until the end of the contract. Furthermore, settlement for futures contracts can occur over a range of dates. Forward contracts, on the other hand, only possess one settlement date. Lastly, because futures contracts are quite frequently employed by speculators, who bet on the direction in which an asset's price will move, they are usually closed out prior to maturity and delivery usually never happens. On the other hand, forward contracts are mostly used by hedgers that want to eliminate the volatility of an asset's price, and delivery of the asset or cash settlement will usually take place.

Definition of 'Swap'
Traditionally, the exchange of one security for another to change the maturity (bonds), quality of issues (stocks or bonds), or because investment objectives have changed. Recently, swaps have grown to include currency swaps and interest rate swaps.

Investopedia explains 'Swap'

If firms in separate countries have comparative advantages on interest rates, then a swap could benefit both firms. For example, one firm may have a lower fixed interest rate, while another has access to a lower floating interest rate. These firms could swap to take advantage of the lower rates.

Definition of 'Capital Asset Pricing Model - CAPM'

A model that describes the relationship between risk and expected return and that is used in the pricing of risky securities.

The general idea behind CAPM is that investors need to be compensated in two ways: time value of money and risk. The time value of money is represented by the risk-free (rf) rate in the formula and compensates the investors for placing money in any investment over a period of time. The other half of the formula represents risk and calculates the amount of compensation the investor needs for taking on additional risk. This is calculated by taking a risk measure (beta) that compares the returns of the asset to the market over a period of time and to the market premium (Rm-rf).

Investopedia explains 'Capital Asset Pricing Model - CAPM'

The CAPM says that the expected return of a security or a portfolio equals the rate on a risk-free security plus a risk premium. If this expected return does not meet or beat the required return, then the investment should not be undertaken. The security market line plots the results of the CAPM for all different risks (betas). Using the CAPM model and the following assumptions, we can compute the expected return of a stock in this CAPM example: if the risk-free rate is 3%, the beta (risk measure) of the stock is 2 and the expected market return over the period is 10%, the stock is expected to return 17% (3%+2(10%-3%)).

Definition of 'Arbitrage Pricing Theory - APT'

An asset pricing model based on the idea that an asset's returns can be predicted using the relationship between that same asset and many common risk factors. Created in 1976 by Stephen Ross, this theory predicts a relationship between the returns of a portfolio and the returns of a single asset through a linear combination of many independent macro-economic variables

Investopedia explains 'Arbitrage Pricing Theory - APT'

The arbitrage pricing theory (APT) describes the price where a mispriced asset is expected to be. It is often viewed as an alternative to the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), since the APT has more flexible assumption requirements. Whereas the CAPM formula requires the market's expected return, APT uses the risky asset's expected return and the risk premium of a number of macro-economic factors. Arbitrageurs use the APT model to profit by taking advantage of mispriced securities. A mispriced security will have a price that differs from the theoretical price predicted by the model. By going short an over priced security, while concurrently going long

the portfolio the APT calculations were based on, the arbitrageur is in a position to make a theoretically risk-free profit.

Definition of 'Fama And French Three Factor Model'

A factor model that expands on the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) by adding size and value factors in addition to the market risk factor in CAPM. This model considers the fact that value and small cap stocks outperform markets on a regular basis. By including these two additional factors, the model adjusts for the outperformance tendency, which is thought to make it a better tool for evaluating manager performance.

Investopedia explains 'Fama And French Three Factor Model'

Fama and French attempted to better measure market returns and, through research, found that value stocks outperform growth stocks; similarly, small cap stocks tend to outperform large cap stocks. As an evaluation tool, the performance of portfolios with a large number of small cap or value stocks would be lower than the CAPM result, as the three factor model adjusts downward for small cap and value outperformance. There is a lot of debate about whether the outperformance tendency is due to market efficiency or market inefficiency. On the efficiency side of the debate, the outperformance is generally explained by the excess risk that value and small cap stocks face as a result of their higher cost of capital and greater business risk. On the inefficiency side, the outperformance is explained by market participants mispricing the value of these companies, which provides the excess return in the long run as the value adjusts.

Definition of 'Market Penetration'

A measure of the amount of sales or adoption of a product or service compared to the total theoretical market for that product or service. The amount of sales or adoption can be an individual company's sale or industry while the theoretical market can be the total population or an estimate of total potential consumers for the product.

Definition of 'Economies Of Scale'

The cost advantage that arises with increased output of a product. Economies of scale arise because of the inverse relationship between the quantity produced and per-unit fixed costs; i.e. the greater the quantity of a good produced, the lower the per-unit fixed cost because these costs are shared over a larger number of goods. Economies of scale may also reduce variable costs per unit because of operational efficiencies and synergies. Economies of scale can be classified into two main types: Internal arising from within the company; and External arising from extraneous factors such as industry size.

Investopedia explains 'Economies Of Scale'

Economies of scale is a simple concept that can be demonstrated through an example. Assume you are a small business owner and are considering printing a marketing brochure. The printer quotes a price of $5,000 for 500 brochures, and $10,000 for 2,500 copies. While 500 brochures will cost you $10 per brochure, 2,500 will only cost you $4 per brochure. In this case, the printer is passing on part of the cost advantage of printing a larger number of brochures to you. This cost advantage arises because the printer has the same initial set-up cost regardless of whether the number of brochures printed is 500 or 2,500. Once these costs are covered, there is only a marginal extra cost for printing each additional brochure. Economies of scale can arise in several areas within a large enterprise. While the benefits of this concept in areas such as production and purchasing are obvious, economies of scale can also impact areas like finance. For example, the largest companies often have a lower cost of capital than small firms because they can borrow at lower interest rates. As a result, economies of scale are often cited as a major rationale when two companies announce a merger or takeover. However, there is a finite upper limit to how large an organization can grow to achieve economies of scale. After reaching a certain size, it becomes increasingly expensive to manage a gigantic organization for a number of reasons, including its complexity, bureaucratic nature and operating inefficiencies. This undesirable phenomenon is referred to as "diseconomies of scale".

Definition of 'Bridge Financing'

In investment banking terms, it is a method of financing used by companies before their IPO, to obtain necessary cash for the maintenance of operations. Bridge financing is designed to cover

expenses associated with the IPO and is typically short-term in nature. Once the IPO is complete, the cash raised from the offering will immediately payoff the loan liability.

Definition of 'Consortium'
A group made up of two or more individuals, companies or governments that work together toward achieving a chosen objective. Each entity within the consortium is only responsible to the group in respect to the obligations that are set out in the consortium's contract. Therefore, every entity that is under the consortium remains independent in his or her normal business operations and has no say over another member's operations that are not related to the consortium.

Investopedia explains 'Consortium'

Consortiums are often used within the non-profit sector, specifically with educational institutions. They often pool resources such as libraries and professors and share them among the members of the group. Several groups of North American colleges and universities operate under consortiums. For-profit consortiums also exist, but they are less prevalent. One of the most famous for-profit consortiums is the airline manufacturer Airbus
Under consortium financing, several banks (or financial institutions) finance a single borrower with common appraisal, common documentation, joint supervision and follow-up exercises, these banks have a common agreement between them, the process is somewhat similar to loan syndication.

Growth-share matrix

The growth-share matrix (aka the product portfolio,[1] BCG-matrix, Boston matrix, Boston Consulting Group analysis, portfolio diagram) is a chart that had been created by Bruce D. Henderson for the Boston Consulting Group in 1970 to help corporations with analyzing their business units or product lines. This helps the company allocate resources and is used as an analytical tool in brand marketing, product management, strategic management, and portfolio analysis.[2] Analysis of market performance by firms using its principles has called its usefulness into question, and it has been removed from some major marketing textbooks.[3]

Leveraged Buyout (LBO)

What It Is:
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is a method of acquiring a company with money that is nearly all borrowed.

How It Works/Example:
The basic idea behind an LBO is that the acquirer purchases the target with a loan collateralized by the target's own assets. In hostile takeover situations, the use of the target's assets to secure credit for the acquirer is one reason the LBO has a predatory reputation.

Why It Matters:
The purpose of an LBO is to make a large acquisition without having to commit a lot of capital. The acquirers also want to maximize shareholder value by attempting to create a stronger and more profitable combined entity. The buyer needs to ensure that the expected synergies materialize in order to realize financial returns. The risks associated with a LBO deal are why share prices often fall when a company announces news of a LBO. However, such a price fall can be a buying opportunity if investors think the company will be able to pay down the debt, which increases the value of the shares. The world's most famous LBO is the approximately $25 billion takeover of RJR Nabisco by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 1989. The deal was so famous (and so brazen) that it was immortalized by the book and movie Barbarians at the Gate. In those days, many companies used LBOs to purchase undervalued companies only to turn around and sell off the assets (these acquirers were called corporate raiders). Today, however, LBOs are increasingly used as a way to make an average company become a great company.