High-quality securities that are assumed to be risk free, or commercial paper that is issued by solid blue-chip companies that have minimal risk of default. Fine paper will trade at a small spread over government issued fixed-income securities to reflect their marginal risk over truly risk-free debt. |||Fine paper, by virtue of its sterling credit quality, generally offers yields that are lower than those of lower rated securities. In the fourth quarter of 2008, however, the credit crunch resulted in a near-total freeze of the U.S. commercial paper market, and even the finest of paper was subject to financial uncertainty.
The phenomenon of less-known firms producing abnormally high returns on their stocks. Taobiz explains Neglected Firm Effect Neglected firms are usually the smaller firms that analysts tend to ignore. Information available on these smaller companies tends to be limited to those items that are required by law, such as the 10-K. Blue-chip firms, on the other hand, have a higher profile, which provides large amounts of high quality information (in addition to legally required forms) to institutional investors such as pension or mutual fund companies. The abnormally high return exhibited by neglected firms may also be due to the lower liquidity or higher risks associated with the stock.
An obligation of NYSE specialists to remain on the sidelines and refrain from acting as principal when there is sufficient market demand and supply to efficiently match orders. Taobiz explains Negative Obligation The negative obligation ensures that specialists are not getting involved in the market on their own behalf when the market is able to "make itself" and sufficiently match buyers with sellers. This obligation on the specialists provides the public with the opportunity to transact with each other without specialist intervention.
A federally guaranteed obligation is debt that is backed by the full power of the United States government. This type of debt is considered risk-free because it is guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. |||Examples of federally guaranteed obligations include Treasury bills (T-bills), Treasury notes and Treasury bonds. These different obligations are categorized based on length of time before maturity. Bills mature in less than one year; notes mature in one to 10 years; bonds mature in more than 10 years. Bonds are considered safe when the issuing country is deemed economically stable. The debt of developing countries would carry more risk because their instability can lead to payment default.
A situation in which the cost of financing a securities or financial futures position exceeds the yield earned. Taobiz explains Negative Carry A negative carry would occur if an investor borrowed $1000 at 12.5% and used the $1000 to purchase a bond yielding 9.5%. The bond's coupons would not cover the interest owing, so the investor would end up paying 3% to make the investment. An investor might, however, achieve a positive after-tax yield if the bond is tax-exempt and interest on the loan is tax-deductible.
A publicly traded, shareholder-owned corporation that was federally chartered by an act of Congress in 1988. Farmer Mac's mission is to establish a secondary market for agricultural real estate and rural housing mortgage loans, as well as to increase the availability of long-term credit at stable interest rates for American farmers, ranchers and rural homeowners. To fulfill its mission, Farmer Mac purchases newly originated and seasoned agricultural loans from lenders, issues long-term standby commitments to purchase agricultural mortgage loans, exchanges loans for mortgage-backed securities through a swap program, and purchases and guarantees mortgage bonds backed by eligible agricultural mortgage loans. |||Farmer Mac's programs and mission are very similar to Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's programs and missions for traditional residential mortgages. Farmer Macs was established to provide a liquid secondary market for agricultural mortgages, thereby lowering interest rates and providing a stable flow of funds to agricultural borrowers. This is similar to how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were established to provide similar benefits to the residential mortgage market.
The National Stock Exchange is India's largest financial market. Established in 1992, the NSE has developed into a sophisticated, electronic market, which ranks third in the world for transacted volume. The NSE conducts transactions in the wholesale debt, equity and derivative markets. Taobiz explains National Stock Exchange Of India Limited - NSE based in Mumbai, India, the National Stock Exchange is a leader in market technology. The exchange's supports more than 3,000 VSAT terminals, making the NSE the largest private wide-area network in the country. The National Stock Exchange has been a pioneer for Indian financial markets, being the first electronic limit order book to trade derivatives and ETFs.
The NASD was a self-regulatory organization of the securities industry responsible for the operation and regulation of the Nasdaq stock market and over-the-counter markets. It also administrated exams for investment professionals, such as the Series 7 exam. Taobiz explains National Association Of Securities Dealers - NASD The NASD watches over the Nasdaq to make sure the market operates correctly. In 2007, the NASD merged with the New York Stock Exchange's regulation committee to form the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA.