常见商贸英语术语.doc

常见商贸英语术语
A
accounts payable — The amount a company owes for goods already received. Not unlike a person’s credit card balance; you’ve got the VCR, but you haven’t taken the money out of the bank yet.
accounts receivable — The amount a company is owed for goods it sold on credit.
accrual method of accounting — Used for most corporate financial statements. Revenues are counted during the time they’re earned, and expenses are counted during the time they’re incurred. Cash doesn’t need to change hands to be recorded. This is a fuller way of looking at financial health. It’s as if you kept records not just of checks you’d written and deposits you made, but also of what you owed on your credit cards and what you were owed by others. You can feel pretty rich if your checking account is flush, but if you owe thousands on your credit card and don’t take that into account, you can spend yourself into trouble.
allowance for bad debt — The amount of debt a company expects not to collect. This is subtracted from what the company is owed for goods it sold on credit (accounts receivable), so the balance sheet better reflects the company’s true economic health.
arbitration — One method of settling disputes, including union-employer battles. The parties choose a third party to settle their disagreement. This is called binding arbitration when the parties also agree to abide by the arbitrator’s decision.
assets — Things a company controls, which usually means it owns these items. A car company’s assets would include everything from computers used by the accounting department, to cars not yet sold, to the factory where the autos are made. Items must have value and must have been obtained for a measurable cost; broken computers that can’t be repaired don’t count, nor does a company’s reputation.
automatic teller machine (ATM) — The machines that let you do your banking without dealing with a person. At ATMs, you can take cash from your account, make deposits and move money between accounts. All you need is a password you key in and an access card.
B
balance of trade — An accounting of a country’s exports versus imports.
balance sheet — A reckoning of a company’s financial health at a given time. Lists assets, liabilities and equities.
bankruptcy — A word you don’t want to hear if a company or person owes you a lot of money. The person or company is considered bankrupt if they’re unable to pay their debts. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court tries to sort out the financial troubles and get creditors paid. Companies filing for protection under Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code are shut down and their assets handed over to the creditors. Under Chapter 11, companies try to rework their debts and stay in business.
binding arbitration — Better really mean it when you use this method of solving a dispute. Warring parties—like a union and employer—agree to argue their cases before a neutral party and accept the outsider’s decision.
board of directors — A group of people chosen by stockholders to watch over a company and its executives, and to set overall corporate policy. Their job is to try to keep the company healthy and ensure stockholders get a good return on their money.
bond — A written promise to repay a loan plus interest, usually more than one year after the bond is issued. Investors buy bonds from a company or government entity, essentially loaning the company or government that money.
buying on margin — For those who don’t have lots of money, but believe that’s what it takes to make a killing on the stock market. Stock buyers purchase stocks with borrowed money, gambling the share price will rise enough to pay off the loan and then some.
C
call — An option to buy a certain amount of stock at a specific price during a specific time.
capital — Money needed to start or grow a business. This pool can come from securities offerings and retained earnings.
Capital budget — Shows plans for buying long-term assets—machinery and other things you expect to last several years—and estimates the costs of those purchases.
cash flow — Money coming into a company and being paid out by the company. Ideally you’d want to take in at least as much as you pay out. On a personal level, you’re having a cash-flow problem if you can’t make your mortgage payments. You’re not necessarily poor; your house might be worth a lot if sold, but you’re still having cash-flow problems.
cease and desist order — Federal Trade Commission ruling that orders a stop to an unfair business practice.
certificates of deposit (CDs) — Generally considered conservative investments. You purchase the CDs from financial institutions–essentially loaning your money–and they promise to pay you back on a fixed date, usually with interest. You can invest for several months, but longer investments generally earn higher interest.
Clayton Act — One of the United States’ antitrust laws. This one forbids price discrimination.
closed-end fund — A mutual fund that sells a limited number of shares.
collective bargaining — The process by which labor leaders and management iron out agreements on pay and working conditions.
commercial paper — Short term unsecured debt, with maturity up to 270 days. Banks, corporations and others raise money by issuing commercial paper to investors.
commission broker — A person who does the trades for a stock broker’s clients, receiving a commission for the work. The stock broker places orders with them.
common stock — Regular old stock. Owners of this bottom rung of stocks have a piece of the company and get to vote for the board of directors and on corporate policy. But they have to queue up behind owners of preferred stock both to receive dividends and, usually, to receive assets if a company is liquidated.
consumer price index (CPI) — Measures price changes of common goods and services, including such things as housing and food. What you quote when you’re trying to convince your boss you need a raise to keep up with inflation.
corporation — A business owned by shareholders.
cost of goods sold — How much it cost the seller to make or buy the goods sold. Same as “cost of sales.”
Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) — A type of raise workers can get to reflect the higher cost of consumer goods. Also a sort of corporate hardship pay for employees sent to live and work in expensive places.
coupon — A detachable part of traditional bond certificates. You present these to the issuer to collect your interest payments.
Coupon rate — A bond’s annual interest rate, stated as a percentage of what was originally paid for the bond. Gets its name from traditional bond certificates, which have coupons you detach and return to the issuer to collect your interest payments.
cumulative preferred — Preferred stock that is due dividends, even if payments are delayed until the company can afford them. The amount owed builds until the dividends are paid. Owners are entitled to their payments before common-stock owners can collect theirs.
current assets — Cash and assets that are expected to be used, sold or converted to cash in the near future, usually one year. A sporting goods store’s current assets would include the money in the register and its bicycles, as well as short-term insurance policies and marketable securities—securities expected to be turned into cash in one year.
Current liabilities — These liabilities must be paid in a relatively short time, usually one year. Taxes are one example.
D
debentures — You need to trust in a company and its strength to give this type of loan, which isn’t backed by collateral.
debt-to-net-worth ratio — Also debt-equity ratio. To get it, you divide liabilities by stockholders’ equity. This is a general measure of how safe creditors can feel about their loans. Creditors often avoid lending to companies with a high debt-equity ratio.
deflation — Opposite of inflation. Decrease in the general price of consumer goods and services.
demand deposit — Checking account. So named because you can demand your money—or write a check—without clearing it with the bank first.
depreciation — Dividing the cost of an asset over that asset’s usable life. When dealing with a $200,000 factory expected to be used for 10 years, you would count $20,000 a year as expenses. Assets are considered unusable if they don’t work well anymore or are obsolete.
derivative — A type of investment whose value depends on the value of other investments, indices or assets. A stock option is a common type of derivative.
discount brokers — Discount stock brokers are to full-service brokers as warehouse stores are to boutiques. You don’t expect much, if any, advice from your discount broker on what to buy. She or he usually doesn’t expect you to pay as much as you would at full-service brokers. A discount broker’s main job is to carry out your requests to buy and sell.
diversification — An investing technique. The idea is to buy lots of different types of investments so if the value of one nose dives, you’re not suicidal.
dividends — Payments corporations make to their shareholders. The per-share amount is determined by corporate earnings.
Dollar-cost-averaging— A system of buying securities at regular intervals with a fixed-dollar amount. The investor buys by the dollar’s worth rather than by the number of shares. If the number of dollars stays constant, investments buy more shares when prices are low and fewer when prices are high. Temporary downswings in price benefit the investor who continues to buy in good times and bad, as the price at which shares are sold exceeds the average purchase price.
Dow Jones Industrial Average — An important stock market indicator, used to judge the stock market’s general well-being and how well your stocks are doing comparatively. It measures the performance of 30 industrial stocks. When the media reports that the market rose 20 points, they’re really saying the Dow rose 20 points.
E
earnings per share — The amount of money a company makes per share of common stock. This figure is calculated by taking net income and dividing it by the number of common shares outstanding.
export — A domestically produced good sold abroad. What Japan made its fortunes on–exports to the US and elsewhere.
F
Fair Labor Standards Act — One of the key federal laws protecting workers. This is the one you drop into conversation if your boss wants you not to claim all that overtime you’re working. Established minimum wage and 40-hour work week. States that workers get 1.5 times regular hourly pay if they work more than 40 hours in a week.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) — A child of the Great Depression, this independent federal agency is supposed to inspire confidence in banks. It insures deposits up to $100,000 in member commercial banks, so depositors can get their money back if a bank goes belly up.
Federal Reserve System — Group of banks that regulate the US money supply, sets rules designed to keep commercial and savings banks solvent and provides emergency loans to those banks. Overseen by a board appointed by US presidents. The chairman of that board is very powerful, and his actions are closely watched by investors.
Federal Trade Commission Act — Law that established the Federal Trade Commission to enforce antitrust rules. The act gave the FTC the right to define unfair methods of competition and make rules to prevent such practices.
fixed assets — A company’s nonliquid assets, such as its office building or factory.
Fixed costs — Costs that don’t vary with sales volume. Rent is a fixed cost; companies need to pay it whether they make money that month or not. Other fixed costs are insurance payments and executives’ salaries.
Fixed-rate loans — A loan whose interest rate doesn’t change. A conventional mortgage is an example.
float — Provides financial breathing room if you’re short of cash. This is the value of the money that stays in your account until a check you wrote is processed.
franchising — Setting up a system like McDonald’s. A company (the franchiser) grants the right to use its name and sell its products to a person or group (the franchisee).
full-service brokers — Like the full-service island at the gas station. You usually pay more, but you also get more–in this case a wide range of services including advice on what stocks to buy and sell. The “self-serve” variety of broker is called a discount broker, who generally just handles trades.
futures contract — An agreement to buy or sell a commodity or financial instrument at a specific price and on a set date. Unlike an option, in that the seller must sell and the buyer must buy at the established time. Futures can be traded among parties.
G
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) — An international accord meant to stimulate trade. It encourages lowering tariffs and abolishing quotas that restrict imports.
general partner — General partners are liable for all of their partnership’s debts.
generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) — Rules and procedures generally accepted by accountants. The rules guide them in assessing and reporting on a company’s finances.
gross domestic product (GDP) — Key indicator of an economy’s health, this is the value of all the goods and services produced by a country in a given period of time. Used to be called Gross National Product, or GNP.
gross national product (GNP) — Out-of-date name for gross domestic product (GDP). GDP is a key indicator of an economy’s health; it’s the value of all the goods and services produced by a country in a given period of time.
Gross profit — Sales revenue minus the cost of making or buying the things that were sold (cost of goods sold). If a manufacturer sold 10 bikes for $300 a piece, and each bike cost him $250 to make, the company’s gross profit is $500.
Gross sales — Revenue from a company’s total sales before deducting for returns and discounts.
growth funds — Mutual funds that invest in companies that pay little or no dividends and reinvest their profits in expansion and in research and development. You buy these if you’re willing to give up dividend income in return for a chance at big gains in the stock price over time.
H
I
income from continuing operations — Revenue minus expenses, including taxes. This doesn’t include income from discontinued operations, like a closed arm of the corporation; extraordinary items or the financial effect of a change in accounting principles.

individual retirement account (IRA) — You may place $2,000 a year in these accounts, which are used to invest in stocks, certificates of deposit, etc. The contributions may be tax deductible depending on whether you’re covered by a company retirement plan and whether your adjusted gross income is low enough. IRAs accumulate money tax-deferred.
inflation — An increase in the general price of consumer goods a