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Face Value |
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The amount of money printed on the face of the certificate; the original dollar amount of indebtedness incurred. |
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Fall |
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The situation wherein one side of a trade (buyer or seller) does not live up to the contractual obligations of the trade, i.e., failure to deliver money or failure to deliver the securities on settlement date. |
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Federal Funds |
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Member bank's deposits held by the Federal Reserve; also implies immediately available funds. |
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Federal Funds Rate |
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The rate of interest charged for the use of federal funds. |
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Federal Home Loan Bank |
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One of twelve federally chartered banks that regulates credit to its member institutions. |
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Federal Housing Administration (FHA) |
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A division of HUD; it insures residential mortgage loans and sets construction standards as its principal activities. |
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Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) |
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A corporation created by Congress to support the secondary mortgage market; it purchases and sells residential mortgages insured by the FHA or guaranteed by the Veterans Administration. |
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Federal Reserve System |
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A quasi-governmental organization of 12 regional banks and a governing board of directors. The Federal Reserve Bank has several discretionary powers over the volume of credit in the united States. The system seeks to actively manage the U.S. economy through utilization of its powers, which are limited to influencing monetary variables. |
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Feed Ratios |
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The variable relationships of the cost of feeding animals to market weight to sales prices, expressed as ratios, such as the hog/corn ratio. These serve as indicators of the profit return or lack of it in feeding animals to market weight. |
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First Mortgage Bonds |
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Bonds that are collateralized by a first lien on tangible assets. In the event of a default, a first mortgage bond holder can demand liquidation of those assets in satisfaction of the debt. |
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First Notice Day |
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The first day on which notices of intent to deliver the commodity in fulfillment of a given month's futures contract can be made by the seller to the clearinghouse and by the clearinghouse to a buyer. |
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Fixed Exchange Rate |
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Official rate set by monetary authorities for one or more currencies. In practice, even fixed exchange rates are allowed to fluctuate between definite upper and lower bands, leading to intervention. |
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Flat / Square |
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Where a Client has not traded in that currency or where an earlier deal is reversed thereby creating a neutral (flat) position. e.g. bought $100,000 then sold $100,000 = FLAT. |
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Floating Exchange Rate |
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When the value of a currency is decided by supply and demand. |
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Foreign Exchange Swap |
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Transaction which involves the actual exchange of two currencies (principal amount only) on a specific date at a rate agreed at the time of the conclusion of the contract (short leg), at a date further in the future at a rate agreed at the time of the contract (the long leg). |
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Forex |
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An abbreviation of foreign exchange. |
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Forward Points |
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The interest rate differential between two currencies expressed in exchange rate points. The forward points are added to or subtracted from the spot rate to give the forward or outright rate. |
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Forward Rate |
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The rate at which a foreign exchange contract is struck today for settlement at a specified future date. |
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Fully Disclosed Account |
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An account carried by the Futures Commission Merchant in the name of the individual customer. Opposite of an Omnibus Account. |
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Fundamental Analysis |
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An approach to market behavior that stresses the study of underlying factors of supply and demand in the commodity, in the belief that such analysis will enable one to profit from being able to anticipate price trends. Contrasted with Charting. |
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Futures |
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An agreement to purchase or sell a given quantity of a commodity, security, or currency at a specified date in the future. Also called a futures contract. We use the governing S&P 500 futures contract (changes each quarter) as the key leading indicator of the equity market. See also "Index Arbitrage." |
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Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) |
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An individual or organization which solicits or accepts orders to buy or sell futures contracts or commodity options and accepts money or other assets from customers in connection with such orders. Must be registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. |
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Futures Contract |
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An agreement to later sell or buy a commodity of a standardized amount and standardized minimum quality grade, during a specific month, under terms and conditions established by the federally designated contract market upon which trading is conducted, at a price established in the trading pit. |
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Futures Industry Association (FIA) |
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The national trade association for the futures industry. |
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Futures Price |
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The price of a particular futures contract is determined by open competition between buyers and sellers on the trading floor of a commodity exchange. |
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Fundamental Analysis |
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Analysis based on economic factors. |
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Fair Value |
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A mathematical relationship between the S&P 500 cash and futures index.
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Federal Funds Rate |
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The interest rate banks charge on overnight loans to banks that need more cash to meet bank reserve requirements. The Federal Reserve sets the interest rate. |
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Federal Open Market Committee |
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The policy-making arm of the Federal Reserve Board. It sets monetary policy to meet the Fed's objectives of regulating the money supply and credit. The FOMC's chief tool is the purchase and sale of government securities, which increase or decrease the money supply, respectively. It also sets key interest rates, such as the discount rate.
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Federal Reserve |
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The central bank of the U.S. that sets monetary policy. The Federal Reserve oversees money supply, interest rates and credit with the goal of keeping the U.S. economy and currency stable. Governed by a seven-member board, the system includes 12 regional Federal Banks, 25 branches, and all national and state banks that are part of the system.
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Fibonacci Numbers |
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Fibonacci numbers are a sequence of numbers in which each successive number is the sum of the two previous numbers: 1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144,610, etc. There are four popular Fibonacci studies: arcs, fans, retracements, and time zones. The interpretation of these studies involves anticipating changes in trends as prices near the lines created by the Fibonacci studies.
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Flag |
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A sharp price spike followed with a sideways consolidation with a bias counter to the rally. Prices usually break out of this consolidation pattern with an objective equal to the mast preceding the flag.
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Float |
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The number of outstanding shares in a corporation available for trading by the public. |
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Fundamental Analysis |
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Analysis technique that looks at a company's financial condition, management, and place in its industry to predict a company's stock price movement.
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FX |
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An abbreviation of foreign exchange. |