What is Speculation? Speculation is the buying of an asset or financial instrument with the hope that the price of the asset or financial instrument will increase in the future. Speculative investors tend to make decisions more often based on technical analysis of market price action rather than on fundamental analysis of an asset or…
What is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)? The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), also commonly referred to as “the Dow Jones” or simply “the Dow,” is one of the most popular and widely recognized stock market indices. It measures the daily stock market movements of 30 U.S. publicly-traded companies listed on the NASDAQ or…
What is Risk and Return? In investing, risk and return are highly correlated. Increased potential returns on investment usually go hand-in-hand with increased risk. Different types of risks include project-specific risk, industry-specific risk, competitive risk, international risk, and market risk. Return refers to either gains or losses made from trading a security. The return on…
What is a Daily Trading Limit? The daily trading limit refers to the maximum amount by which the price of a stock or other exchange-traded security can rise or fall during a trading session. The limits are decided by the exchange in an attempt to avoid extreme volatility or manipulation in the markets. Once a daily limit price…
What is a Resistance Line? A Resistance line, sometimes also known as a Speed Line, helps identify stock trends and levels of support and resistance. Resistance lines are technical indication tools used by equity analysts and investors to determine the price trend of a specific stock. They are very useful in predicting the probable movement…
What is a Ticker? A ticker is a symbol, a unique combination of letters and numbers that represent a particular stock or security listed on an exchange. The symbol is used to refer to a specific stock, particularly during trading. Trades are executed based on a company’s ticker symbol, which is recorded in the exchange’s trading system….
What are Private Equity Funds? Private equity funds are pools of capital to be invested in companies that represent an opportunity for a high rate of return. They come with a fixed investment horizon, typically ranging from four to seven years, at which point the PE firm hopes to profitably exit the investment. Exit strategies include IPOs…
What are Bollinger Bands? Bollinger Bands are a technical analysis tool developed by John Bollinger in the 1980s for trading stocks. The bands comprise a volatility indicator that measures the relative high or low of a security’s price in relation to previous trades. Volatility is measured using standard deviation, which changes with increases or decreases…
What is a Small-Cap Stock? A small-cap stock is a stock of a publicly traded company whose market capitalization ranges from $300 million to approximately $2 billion. The word “cap” in this term refers to a company’s market capitalization. The classification between small, mid, and large-cap companies is subjective and can vary among brokerages and market…
What is the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE)? The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) is a futures exchange located in London. Sir Brian Williamson established LIFFE on September 30, 1982 to take advantage of the UK’s removal of currency controls in 1979. Originally located in the historic Royal Exchange…
