Dictionary_of_Banking_and_Finance

for up to five years following persistent breach of company legislation in terms of failing to file returns, accounts and other

documents with the Registrar’

[Accountancy]

disqualify /d s kwɒl fa / verb to make a person unqualified to do something, such as to be a director of a company

dissolution / d sə lu ʃ(ə)n/ noun the ending (of a partnership)

dissolve /d zɒlv/ verb to bring to an end to dissolve a partnership

distrain /d stre n/ verb to seize goods to pay for debts

distress /d stres/ noun the act of taking someone’s goods to pay for debts

distressed companies /d strestk mp(ə)niz/ plural noun companies which may go into liquidation, and whose shares are seen as a speculative buy

distress merchandise /d stresm% tʃənda s/ noun US goods sold

cheaply to pay a company’s debts

distress sale /d stres se l/ noun a sale of goods at low prices to pay a company’s debts

distress securities fund /d stres s kjυər tiz f nd/ noun a type of fund

which invests in companies where there may be a major problems

distributable profits /d s-

tr bjυtəb(ə)l prɒf ts/ plural noun profits which can be distributed to shareholders as dividends if the directors decide to do so

distribute /d str bju t/ verb 1. to share out dividends Profits were distributed among the shareholders. 2. to send out goods from a manufacturer’s warehouse to retail shops Smith Ltd distributes for several smaller companies. All orders are distributed from our warehouse near Oxford.

distributed profits /d str bjυt dprɒf ts/ plural noun profits passed to shareholders in the form of dividends

distribution / d str bju ʃ(ə)n/ noun the act of sending goods from the manufacturer to the wholesaler and then to retailers Stock is held in a distribution centre which deals with all order processing. Distribution costs have risen sharply over the last 18 months. She

has several years’ experience as distribution manager.

‘British distribution companies are poised to capture a major share of the European market’ [Management News]

distribution channel / d str -

bju ʃ(ə)n tʃ n(ə)l/ noun the route by which a product or service reaches a customer after it leaves the producer or supplier (NOTE: A distribution channel

usually consists of a chain of intermediaries, for example wholesalers and retailers, that is designed to move goods from the point of production to the point of consumption in the most efficient way.)

‘…there is evidence that distribution channels are supply driven’ [Quarterly Review of Marketing]

distribution network / d str -

bju ʃ(ə)n netw% k/ noun a series of points or small warehouses from which goods are sent all over a country

distribution of income

/ d str bju ʃ(ə)n əv nk m/ noun payment of dividends to shareholders

distribution slip / d str bju ʃ(ə)n sl p/ noun a paper attached to a document or to a magazine, showing all the people in an office who should read it

distributive trades /d str bjυt vtre dz/ plural noun all businesses involved in the distribution of goods

distributor /d str bjυtə/ noun a company which sells goods for another company which makes them a network of distributors a number of distributors spread all over a country

distributorship /d str bjυtəʃ p/ noun the position of being a distributor for a company

diversification /da v% s f -

ke ʃ(ə)n/ noun the process of adding another quite different type of business to a firm’s existing trade

diversify /da v% s fa / verb 1. to add new types of business to existing ones

The company is planning to diversify into new products. 2. to invest in different types of shares or savings so as to spread the risk of loss

divest /da vest/ verb to divest oneself of something to get rid of something The company had divested itself of its US interests.

divestiture /da vest tʃə/ noun a sale of an asset

dividend / d v dend/ noun a percentage of profits paid to shareholders to raise or increase the dividend to pay out a higher dividend than in the previous year to maintain the dividend to keep the same dividend as in the previous year to omit or pass the dividend to pay no dividend the dividend is covered four times the profits are four times the dividend the shares are quoted ex dividend the share price does not include the right to the dividend

COMMENT: The dividend is calculated as the proportion of profits a company can pay to its shareholders after tax has been paid, always keeping some of the profit back to reinvest in the company’s products or activities. Large companies usually pay dividends twice a year, once after the half-year results have been declared (called the ‘interim dividend’) and gain when the final results are published.

dividend check / d v dend tʃek/ noun US same as dividend warrant

dividend cover / d v dend k və/ noun the ratio of profits to dividends paid to shareholders

dividend forecast / d v dendfɔ kɑ st/ noun a forecast of the amount of an expected dividend

dividend payout / d v dendpe aυt/ noun money paid as dividends to shareholders

dividend per share / d v dend pəʃeə/ noun an amount of money paid as dividend for each share held

dividend warrant / d v dendwɒrənt/ noun a cheque which makes

payment of a dividend (NOTE: The US term is dividend check.)

dividend yield / d v dend ji ld/ noun a dividend expressed as a percentage of the current market price of a share

divisional headquarters /d -

v $(ə)nəl hed kwɔ tez/ plural noun the main office of a division of a company

DJIA abbreviation Dow Jones Industrial Average

DM, D-mark abbreviation

Deutschmark

dock dues / dɒk dju z/ plural noun a payment which a ship makes to the harbour authorities for the right to use the harbour

doctor / dɒktə/ noun a specialist who examines people when they are sick to see how they can be made well The staff are all sent to see the company doctor once a year.

document / dɒkjυmənt/ noun a paper, especially an official paper, with written information on it He left a file of documents in the taxi. She asked to see the documents relating to the case.

documentary / dɒkjυ ment(ə)ri/ adjective in the form of documents documentary evidence

documentary credit

/ dɒkjυment(ə)ri kred t/ noun a credit document used in export trade, when a bank issues a letter of credit against shipping documents

documentary proof

/ dɒkjυment(ə)ri pru f/ noun a proof in the form of a document

documentation / dɒkjυmen-

te ʃ(ə)n/ noun all the documents referring to something Please send me the complete documentation concerning the sale.

document image processing

/ dɒkjυmənt m d$ prəυses ŋ/ noun a system for scanning documents, such as cheques, and storing the information in a retrieval system

documents against acceptance

/ dɒkjυmənts ə enst ək septəns/ noun 1. an arrangement whereby buyers receive documents for the goods on their acceptance of a bill of exchange 2. a note to a bank to instruct it that documents attached to a draft should be given to the drawee when the draft is accepted

do-it-yourself conveyancing

/ du t jə self kən ve əns ŋ/ noun the drawing up of a legal conveyance by the person selling a property, without the help of a lawyer

dole queue / dəυl kju / noun a line of people waiting to collect their unemployment money (NOTE: The US term is

dole line.)

dollar / dɒlə/ noun a unit of currency used in the US and other countries, such

as Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Brunei, Canada, Fiji, Hong Kong, Jamaica, New Zealand, Singapore and Zimbabwe The US dollar rose 2%. They sent a cheque for fifty Canadian dollars. It costs six Australian dollars.

a five dollar bill a banknote for five dollars

dollar area / dɒlər eəriə/ noun an area of the world where the US dollar is the main trading currency

dollar balances / dɒlə b ləns z/ noun a country’s trade balances expressed in US dollars

dollar cost averaging / dɒlər kɒstv(ə)r d$ ŋ/ noun pound-cost

averaging

dollar crisis / dɒlə kra s s/ noun a fall in the exchange rate for the US dollar

dollar gap / dɒlə p/ noun a situation where the supply of US dollars is not enough to satisfy the demand for them from overseas buyers

dollar millionaire / dɒlə m ljə neə/ noun a person who has more than one million dollars

dollar stocks / dɒlə stɒkz/ plural noun shares in US companies

domestic /də mest k/ adjective referring to the home market or the market of the country where the business is situated Domestic sales have increased over the last six months.

domestic consumption /də-

mest k kən s mpʃən/ noun use in the home country Domestic consumption of oil has fallen sharply.

domestic demand deflator /də-

mest k d mɑ nd di fle tə/ noun a figure used to remove inflation from the calculations for domestic demand

domestic interest rates /də-

mest k ntrəst re ts/ plural noun interest rates payable in a local currency on deposits placed in that country

domestic market /də mest kmɑ k t/ noun the market in the country where a company is based They produce goods for the domestic market.

domestic production /də mest k prə d kʃən/ noun the production of

goods for use in the home country

domestic sales /də mest k se lz/ noun sales in the home country

domicile / dɒm sa l/ noun the country where someone lives or where a company’s office is registered verb she is domiciled in Denmark she lives in Denmark officially bills domiciled in France bills of exchange which have to be paid in France

dong /dɒŋ/ noun a unit of currency used in Vietnam

donor / dəυnə/ noun a person who gives, especially someone who gives money

door-to-door salesman / dɔ tə dɔ se lzmən/ noun a man who goes

from one house to the next, asking people to buy something

dormant / dɔ mənt/ adjective no longer active or no longer operating

dormant account / dɔ mənt ə-

kaυnt/ noun 1. a bank account which is no longer used 2. a past customer who is no longer buying Let’s re-establish contact with some of our dormant accounts. All the old reports on dormant accounts have been filed away.

double / d b(ə)l/ adjective twice as large or two times the size Their turnover is double ours. to be on double time to earn twice the usual wages for working on Sundays or other holidays in double figures with two figures, from 10 to 99 Inflation is in double figures. We have had double-figure inflation for some years. verb to become twice as big, or make something twice as big We have doubled our profits this year or our profits have doubled this year. The company’s borrowings have doubled.

double-digit / d b(ə)l d d$ t/ adjective more than 10 and less than 100

double-entry bookkeeping

/ d b(ə)l entri bυkki p ŋ/ noun a system of bookkeeping where both debit and credit entries are recorded in the accounts at the same time (e.g., when a sale is credited to the sales account the purchaser’s debt is debited to the debtors account)

double option / d b(ə)l ɒpʃ(ə)n/ noun an option to buy or sell at a certain price in the future (a combination of call and put options)

double taxation / d b(ə)l t k-

se ʃ(ə)n/ noun the act of taxing the same income twice

doubtful / daυtf(ə)l/ adjective which is not certain

doubtful loan / daυtf(ə)l ləυn/ noun a loan which may never be repaid

Dow 30 / daυ θ% ti/ noun same as

Dow Jones Industrial Average

Dow Jones Average / daυ d$əυnzv(ə)r d$/ noun same as Dow Jones

Industrial Average

Dow Jones Index /daυ d$əυnzndeks/ noun any of several indices

published by the Dow Jones Co., based on prices on the New York Stock Exchange.

COMMENT: The main index is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (see below). Other Dow Jones indexes are the Dow Jones 20 Transportation Average; Dow Jones 15 Utility Average; Dow Jones 65 Composite Average (formed of the Industrial average the Transportation Average and the Utility Average taken together and averaged); also the Dow Jones Global-US Index is a capitalisation weighted index based on June 30, 1982 = 100. A new Eu- ropean-based index is the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 Index, comprising fifty blue-chip companies from various European countries.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

/daυ d$əυnz n d str əl v(ə)r d$/ noun an index of share prices on the New York Stock Exchange, based on a group of thirty major corporations

The Dow Jones Average rose ten points.General optimism showed in the rise on the Dow Jones Average. Abbreviation DJIA

down /daυn/ adverb, preposition in a lower position or to a lower position

The inflation rate is gradually coming down. Shares are slightly down on the day. The price of petrol has gone down. to pay money down to pay a deposit They paid £50 down and the rest in monthly instalments.

downgrade / daυn re d/ verb to reduce the forecast for a share

down market / daυn mɑ k t/ noun a stock market which is falling or is at its lowest level

downmarket /daυn mɑ k t/ adverb, adjective cheaper or appealing to a less wealthy section of the population The company has adopted a downmarket image. the company has decided to go

downmarket the company has decided to make products which appeal to a wider section of the public

down payment / daυn pe mənt/ noun a part of a total payment made in advance We made a down payment of $100.

downside factor

f ktə/, downside

/ daυnsa d pə tenʃ(ə)l/ noun the possibility of making a loss in an investment

downside risk / daυnsa d r sk/ noun a risk that an investment will fall in value (NOTE: The opposite is upside

potential.)

downstream / daυnstri m/ adjective referring to the operations of a company at the end of a process (such as selling petrol through garages considered as an operation of a petroleum company). Compare upstream

downswing / daυnsw ŋ/ noun a downward movement of share prices

(NOTE: The opposite is upswing.)

downtick / daυnt k/ noun US a price of stock sold which is lower than the price of the previous sale

down time / daυn ta m/ noun 1. the time when a machine is not working or not available because it is broken or being mended 2. time when a worker cannot work because machines have broken down or because components are not available

downtown / daυntaυn/ adjective, adverb, noun (in) the central business district of a town His office is in downtown New York. She works in a downtown store. They established a business downtown.

down trend / daυn trend/ noun a falling trend in prices The price per chip has been in a long-term down trend.

downturn / daυnt% n/ noun the movement towards lower prices, sales or profits a downturn in the market price The last quarter saw a downturn in the economy.

dozen / d z(ə)n/ noun a twelve to sell in sets of one dozen cheaper by the dozen the product is cheaper if you buy twelve at a time

Dr abbreviation drachma

drachma / dr kmə/ noun a former unit of currency in Greece (NOTE:

Usually written Dr before a figure:

Dr22bn.)

draft /drɑ ft/ noun 1. an order for money to be paid by a bank We asked for payment by banker’s draft. to make a draft on a bank to ask a bank to pay money for you 2. a first rough plan or document which has not been finished A draft of the contract or The draft contract is waiting for the MD’s comments. He drew up the draft agreement on the back of an envelope. verb to make a first rough plan of a document to draft a letter to draft a contract The contract is still being drafted or is still in the drafting stage.

drafter / drɑ ftə/ noun a person who makes a draft the drafter of the agreement

drafting / drɑ ft ŋ/ noun an act of preparing the draft of a document The drafting of the contract took six weeks.

drain /dre n/ noun a gradual loss of money flowing away The costs of the London office are a continual drain on our resources. verb to remove something gradually The expansion plan has drained all our profits. The company’s capital resources have drained away.

draw /drɔ / verb 1. to take money away to draw money out of an account to draw a salary to have a salary paid by the company The chairman does not draw a salary. 2. to write a cheque He paid the invoice with a cheque drawn on an Egyptian bank. (NOTE: drawing – drew – has

drawn)

drawback / drɔ b k/ noun 1. something which is not convenient or which is likely to cause problems One of the main drawbacks of the scheme is that it will take six years to complete. 2. a rebate on customs duty for imported goods when these are then used in producing exports

draw down /drɔ daυn/ verb to draw money which is available under a credit agreement

drawdown / drɔ daυn/ noun the act of drawing money which is available under a credit agreement

drawee /drɔ i / noun the person or bank asked to make a payment by a drawer

drawer / drɔ ə/ noun the person who writes a cheque or a bill asking a drawee to pay money to a payee the bank returned the cheque to drawer the bank would not pay the cheque because the person who wrote it did not have enough money in the account to pay it

drawing account / drɔ ŋ ə kaυnt/ noun a current account, or any account from which the customer may take money when he or she wants

drawing rights / drɔ ŋ ra ts/ noun a right of a member country of the IMF to borrow money from the fund in a foreign currency.

rights

draw up / drɔ p/ verb to write a legal document to draw up a contract or an agreement to draw up a company’s articles of association

dressing up / dres ŋ p/ noun US same as window dressing

drift /dr ft/ noun gradual movement without any control verb to move gradually in a particular direction

Shares drifted lower in a dull market. Strikers are drifting back to work.

drive /dra v/ noun an energetic way of doing things verb to drive a company out of business to force a company into liquidation The company was almost driven out of business a few years ago.

driver / dra və/ noun something or someone that provides an impetus for something to happen

drop /drɒp/ noun a fall a drop in sales Sales show a drop of 10%. The drop in prices resulted in no significant increase in sales. verb to fall Sales have dropped by 10% or have dropped 10%. The pound dropped three points against the dollar.

‘…while unemployment dropped by 1.6 per cent in the rural areas, it rose by 1.9 per cent in urban areas during the period under review’ [Business Times (Lagos)]

‘…corporate profits for the first quarter showed a 4 per cent drop from last year’s final three months’ [Financial Times]

‘…since last summer American interest rates have dropped by between three and four percentage points’ [Sunday Times]

droplock bond / drɒplɒk bɒnd/ noun a floating rate bond which will convert to a fixed rate of interest if interest rates fall to a certain point.

debt-convertible bond

drop ship / drɒp ʃ p/ verb to deliver a large order direct to a customer

drop shipment / drɒp ʃ pmənt/ noun the delivery of a large order from the manufacturer direct to a customer’s shop or warehouse without going through an agent or wholesaler

dry goods /dra υdz/ plural noun cloth, clothes and household goods

DTI abbreviation Department of Trade and Industry

dual / dju əl/ adjective referring to two things at the same time

dual control / dju əl kən trəυl/ noun a system where two people have to sign a cheque, or validate a transaction, or have keys to a safe, etc.

dual currency bond / dju əlk rənsi bɒnd/ noun a bond which is

paid for in one currency but which is repayable in another on redemption

dual listing / dju əl l st ŋ/ noun the listing of a share on two stock exchanges

dual pricing / dju əl pra s ŋ/ noun the fact of giving different prices to the same product depending on the market in which it is sold

duck /d k/ lame duck

dud /d d/ noun, adjective referring to a coin or banknote which is false or not good, or something which does not do what it is supposed to do (informal)

The £50 note was a dud.

dud cheque / d d tʃek/ noun a cheque which cannot be cashed because the person writing it has not enough money in the account to pay it

due /dju / adjective 1. owed a sum due from a debtor to fall or become due to be ready for payment bill due on May 1st a bill which has to be paid on May 1st balance due to us the amount owed to us which should be paid 2. correct and appropriate in the situation in due form written in the correct legal form a receipt in due form a contract drawn up in due form after due consideration of the problem after thinking seriously about the problem

‘…many expect the US economic indicators for April, due out this Thursday, to show faster economic growth’ [Australian Financial Review]

due diligence /dju d l d$əns/ noun 1. an examination of the accounts of a company before it is taken over to see if there are any problems which have not been disclosed 2. the duty of an official such as a bank manager not to act in an irresponsible way

dues /dju z/ plural noun orders taken but not supplied until new stock arrivesto release dues to send off orders which had been piling up while a product was out of stock We have recorded thousands of dues for that item and our supplier cannot supply it.

dull /d l/ adjective not exciting, not full of life

dull market /d l mɑ k t/ noun a market where little business is done

dullness / d lnəs/ noun the fact of being dull the dullness of the market

dump /d mp/ verb to dump goods on a market to get rid of large quantities of excess goods cheaply in an overseas market

‘…a serious threat lies in the 400,000 tonnes of subsidized beef in European cold stores. If dumped, this meat will have disastrous effects in Pacific Basin markets’ [Australian Financial Review]

dumping / d mp ŋ/ noun the act of getting rid of excess goods cheaply in an overseas market The government has passed anti-dumping legislation. Dumping of goods on the European market is banned. panic dumping of sterling a rush to sell sterling at any price because of possible devaluation

Dun & Bradstreet / d n ənbr dstri t/ noun an organisation

which produces reports on the financial rating of companies, and also acts as a debt collection agency. Abbreviation

D&B

duplicate noun / dju pl kət/ a copy

He sent me the duplicate of the contract. in duplicate with a copy to print an invoice in duplicate receipt

in duplicate two copies of a receipt verb / dju pl ke t/ to duplicate with

another (of a bookkeeping entry) to repeat another entry or to be the same as another entry

duplication / dju pl ke ʃ(ə)n/ noun the act of doing something that is already being done in the same way by somebody else, copying duplication of work the fact of doing the same work twice unnecessarily

Dutch /d tʃ/ adjective referring to the Netherlands

Dutch auction / d tʃ ɔ kʃən/ noun an auction where the auctioneer offers an item for sale at a high price and then gradually reduces the price until someone makes a bid

dutiable goods / dju tiəb(ə)lυdz/ plural noun goods on which a customs duty has to be paid

duty / dju ti/ noun 1. a tax which has to be paid Traders are asking the government to take the duty off alcohol or to put a duty on cigarettes. goods which are liable to duty goods on which cus-

toms or excise tax has to be paid 2. work which has to be done

‘Canadian and European negotiators agreed to a deal under which Canada could lower its import duties on $150 million worth of European goods’ [Globe and Mail (Toronto)]

‘…the Department of Customs and Excise collected a total of N79m under the new advance duty payment scheme’ [Business Times (Lagos)]

duty-free / dju ti fri / adjective, adverb sold with no duty to be paid He bought a duty-free watch at the airport.He bought the watch duty-free.

duty-free shop / dju ti fri ʃɒp/ noun a shop at an airport or on a ship where goods can be bought without paying duty

duty of care / dju ti əv keə/ noun a duty which every person has not to act in a negligent way

duty-paid goods / dju ti pe dυdz/ plural noun goods where the duty has been paid

e. & o.e. abbreviation errors and omissions excepted

early / % l / adjective, adverb before the usual time The mail arrived early.

to take early retirement to retire from work before the usual age adjective at the beginning of a period of time

He took an early flight to Paris.

early closing day / % li kləυz ŋ de / noun a weekday, usually Wednesday or Thursday, when some shops close in the afternoon

early withdrawal / % li w ð drɔ əl/ noun the act of withdrawing money from a deposit account before the due date Early withdrawal usually incurs a penalty.

early withdrawal penalty / % li w ð drɔ əl penəlti/ noun a penalty

which a depositor pays for withdrawing money early from an account

earmark / əmɑ k/ verb 1. to reserve for a special purpose to earmark funds for a project The grant is earmarked for computer systems development. 2. to link a tax to a particular service, such as earmarking road taxes for the upkeep of roads

earn /% n/ verb 1. to be paid money for working to earn £100 a week Our agent in Paris certainly does not earn his commission. Her new job is more of a transfer than a promotion, since she doesn’t earn any more. How much do you earn in your new job? 2. to produce interest or dividends a building society account which earns interest at 10%What level of dividend do these shares earn?

earned income /% nd nk m/ noun income from wages, salaries, pensions, fees, rental income, etc. (as opposed to ‘unearned’ income from investments)

earner / % nə/ noun a person who earns money a nice little earner a business that produces a good income

earnest / % n st/ noun money paid as an initial payment by a buyer to a seller, to show commitment to the contract of sale

earning capacity / % n ŋ kə p s ti/ noun the amount of money someone should be able to earn

earning potential / % n ŋ pə tenʃəl/ noun 1. the amount of money which someone should be able to earn 2. the amount of dividend which a share is capable of earning

earning power / % n ŋ paυə/ noun the amount of money someone should be able to earn She is such a fine designer that her earning power is very large.

earnings / % n ŋz/ plural noun 1. salary, wages, dividends or interest received High earnings in top management reflect the heavy responsibilities involved. The calculation is based on average earnings over three years. compensation for loss of earnings payment to someone who has stopped earning money or who is not able to earn money 2. money which is earned in interest or dividend 3. the profit made by a company

‘…the US now accounts for more than half of our world-wide sales. It has made a huge contribution to our earnings turnaround’ [Duns Business Month]

‘…last fiscal year the chain reported a 116% jump in earnings, to $6.4 million or $1.10 a share’ [Barrons]

earnings before interest, taxes,

depreciation and amortisation

/ % n ŋz b fɔ ntrəst t ks z d -pri ʃie ʃ(ə)n ənd ə mɔ ta ze ʃ(ə)n/

plural noun revenue received by a com-

pany in its usual business before various deductions are made. Abbreviation

EBITDA

earnings cap / % n ŋz k p/ noun the upper limit on the amount of salary that can be taken into account when calculating pensions

earnings credit / % n ŋz kred t/ noun an allowance which reduces bank charges on checking accounts

earnings drift / % n ŋz dr ft/ noun a situation where an increase in pay is greater than that of officially negotiated rates The earnings drift is caused by a sudden increased demand for a certain class of employee. Also called salary

drift, wage drift

earnings growth / % n ŋz rəυθ/ noun an increase in profit per share

earnings number / % n ŋz n mbə/ noun profits expressed as a percentage

earnings performance / % n ŋz pə fɔ məns/ noun a way in which

shares earn dividends

earnings per share / % n ŋz pəʃeə/ plural noun the money earned in dividends per share, shown as a percentage of the market price of one share. Abbreviation EPS

earnings projection / % n ŋz prə-

d$ekʃən/ noun a forecast of earnings per share

earnings-related contributions

/ % n ŋz r le t d kɒntr bju ʃ(ə)nz/ plural noun contributions to social security which rise as the worker’s earnings rise

earnings-related pension / % n ŋz r le t d penʃən/ noun a pension

which is linked to the size of a person’s salary

earnings season / % n ŋz si z(ə)n/ noun the time of year when major companies declare their results for the previous period the quarterly ritual known as earnings season

earnings yield / % n ŋz ji ld/ noun the money earned in dividends per share as a percentage of the current market price of the share

EASDAQ noun an independent European stock market, based in Brussels and London, trading in companies with European-wide interests

ease /i z/ verb to fall a little The share index eased slightly today. noun a slight fall in prices

East Caribbean dollar /i stk r biən dɒlə/ noun a unit of cur-

rency used in Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Lucia and St Vincent

easy / i zi/ adjective 1. not difficult 2. referring to a market where few people are buying, so prices are lower than they were before The Stock Exchange was easy yesterday. share prices are easier prices have fallen slightly

easy money / i zi m ni/ noun 1. money which can be earned with no difficulty 2. a loan available on easy repayment terms

easy money policy / i zi m nipɒl si/ noun a government policy of expanding the economy by making money more easily available (through lower interest rates and easy access to credit)

easy terms / i zi t% mz/ plural noun financial terms which are not difficult to accept The shop is let on very easy terms.

EBA abbreviation Euro Banking Association

EBITDA abbreviation earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization

EBRD abbreviation European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

e-business / i b zn s/ noun a general term that refers to any type of business activity on the Internet, including marketing, branding and research

E-business is a rising part of the economy.

‘…the enormous potential of e-business is that it can automate the link between suppliers and customers’ [Investors Chronicle]

EC abbreviation European Community

(NOTE: now called the European Union)

e-cash / i k ʃ/ noun same as digital cash

ECB abbreviation European Central Bank

ECGD abbreviation Export Credit Guarantee Department

e-cheque / i tʃek/, echeque noun same as electronic cheque

e-commerce / i kɒm% s/ noun a general term that is normally used to refer to the process of buying and selling goods over the Internet

‘…the problem is that if e-commerce takes just a 3 per cent slice of the market that would be enough to reduce margins to ribbons’ [Investors Chronicle]

‘…the new economy requires new company structures. He believes that other blue-chip organizations are going to find that new set-ups would be needed to attract and retain the best talent for e-commerce’ [Times]

econometrics / kɒnə metr ks/ plural noun the study of the statistics of economics, using computers to analyse these statistics and make forecasts using mathematical models

economic / i kə nɒm k/ adjective 1. which provides enough money to make a profit The flat is let at an economic rent. It is hardly economic for the company to run its own warehouse. 2. referring to the financial state of a country economic planning economic trends Economic planners are expecting a comsumer-led boom. The government’s economic policy is in ruins after the devaluation. The economic situation is getting worse. The country’s economic system needs more regulation.

‘…each of the major issues on the agenda at this week’s meeting is important to the government’s success in overall economic management’ [Australian Financial Review]

economical / i kə nɒm k(ə)l/ adjective which saves money or materials or which is cheap This car is very economical. economical car a car which does not use much petrol an economical use of resources the fact of using resources as carefully as possible

economic crisis

kra s s/, economic

/ i kə nɒm k d preʃ(ə)n/ noun a situation where a country is in financial collapse The government has introduced import controls to solve the current economic crisis.

economic cycle / i kənɒm ksa k(ə)l/ noun a period during which trade expands, then slows down and then expands again

economic development

/ i kənɒm k d veləpmənt/ noun the expansion of the commercial and financial situation The government has of-

fered tax incentives to speed up the economic development of the region. Economic development has been relatively slow in the north, compared with the rest of the country.

economic environment

/ i kənɒm k n va rənmənt/ noun the general situation in the economy

economic forecaster / i kənɒm kfɔ kɑ stə/ noun a person who says how he thinks a country’s economy will perform in the future

economic growth / i kənɒm krəυθ/ noun the rate at which a coun-

try’s national income grows

economic indicator / i kənɒm knd ke təz/ noun various statistics, e.g. for the unemployment rate or overseas trade, which show how the economy is going to perform in the short or long term

economic model / i kənɒm kmɒd(ə)l/ noun a computerised plan of a country’s economic system, used for forecasting economic trends

economic planning / i kənɒm kpl n ŋ/ noun the process of planning the future financial state of the country for the government

economics / i kə nɒm ks/ noun the study of the production, distribution, selling and use of goods and services plural noun the study of financial structures to show how a product or service is costed and what returns it produces

I do not understand the economics of the coal industry. (NOTE: takes a singular

verb)

‘…believers in free-market economics often find it hard to sort out their views on the issue’ [Economist]

economic sanctions / i kənɒm ks ŋkʃ(ə)ns/ plural noun restrictions on trade with a country in order to influence its political situation or in order to make its government change its policy

to impose economic sanctions on a country

economic slowdown / i kənɒm ksləυdaυn/ noun a general reduction in

a country’s economic activity

economic stagnation / i kənɒm k st ne ʃ(ə)n/ noun a lack of expan-

sion in the economy

economic value added

/ i kənɒm k v lju d d/ noun the