Asset -- An asset in business is defined as any item of value owned by a company. Bonds (all types) -- A bond is a certificate issued by a corporation when it needs to raise capital. Bonds are essentially loans that you make to a corporation in return for being paid interest, usually on specified dates. When the bond matures, the corporation pays back the principal plus any interest due. Business to Business (B2B) -- Business to business refers to business conducted between companies, rather than between a company and an individual consumer. These activities include the provision raw materials and products, as well as services such as advertising or distribution. Buyout -- Purchase of at least a controlling percentage of a company's stock in order to take over its assets and operations. A buyout can be accomplished through negotiation or through a tender offer. Competitive Intelligence -- Competitive intelligence is the process of monitoring the competitive business environment for information on everything from marketing to long range business planning. Credit Rating -- Your credit rating is an independent statistical evaluation of your ability to repay debt based on your borrowing and repayment history. Credit guarantors use a point system to evaluate your credit history, often on a scale of 0-9, or 9-0. A corporation's credit rating is an assessment of whether it will be able to meet its obligations to bond holders and other investors. Credit rating systems for corporations generally range from AAA or Aaa at the high end to D (for default) at the low end. Database -- a database is a structured method of organizing information. The purpose of it is to make the information stored in it easy to search and quick to retrieve. Gross National Product(GNP) -- The GNP of a country is an economic statistic which defines the total amount of money of the citizens of a country internationnally. Growth Rate -- percentage rate at which the economy, stocks, or earnings are growing. The economic growth rate is normally determined by the growth of the Gross Domestic Product. Individual companies try to establish a rate at which their earnings grow over time. Firms with long-term earnings growth rates of more than 15% are considered fast-growing companies. Analysts also apply the term growth rate to specific financial aspects of a company's operations, such as dividends, sales, assets, and market share. Analysts use growth rates to compare one company to another within the same industry. Indices -- An index reports changes, usually expressed as a percentage, in a specific financial market, in a number of related markets, or in the economy as a whole. Each index -- and there are a large number of them -- measures the market or markets as it tracks from a specific starting point, which might be as recent as the previous day or many years in the past. That's one reason two indices tracking similar markets may report different numbers. Industry Analyst -- person in an investment house, bank trust department, or mutual fund group who studies a number of companies and makes buy or sell recommendations on the securities of particular companies and industry groups. Most analysts specialize in a particular industry, but some investigate any company that interests them, regardless of its line of business. Some analysts have considerable influence, and can therefore affect the price of a company's stock when they issue a buy or sell recommendation. IPO -- The first time a company offers publicly traded shares is known as an Initial Public Offering. Corporations use IPOs to sell shares to the general public. There is no guarantee that purchasing shares at an IPO will be a successful stock investment. Liability -- In finance a liability is any money claim against the assets of a company whether long term or short term. Merger -- Classified as a type A reorganization, in which one corporation absorbs the corporate structure of another, resulting in liquidation of the acquired enterprise. Minority Owned Business Enterprise -- as defined by the United States Small Business Administration, a Minority Owned Business Enterprise(MBE) is as a business which is independently owned and controlled by one or more persons who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the U.S. and who are members of any of the following groups: Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans, Asian Indian Americans or members of groups or other individuals found to be economically and socially disadvantaged. North American Industrial Classification System(NAICS) -- NAICS is a classification scheme which is a successor to the Standard Industrial Classification(SIC) system and which provides a standardized series of industry codes to be used for the U.S.,Canada and Mexico. Net Worth -- This is a company's assets minus its liabilities. In other words, it is the amount of money you would have if you sold all of your possessions and paid off all of your debts. Not for Profit Company -- Organization in which no stockholder or trustee shares in profit or losses; usually exists to accomplish some charitable, humanitarian, or educational purpose; also called nonprofit. Such groups are exempt from corporate income taxes (except for unrelated business income), and donations to these groups may be tax-deductible for the donor. Some examples are hospitals, colleges and universities, and foundations. Not used off by the United States Internal Revenue Service (USIRS); they use tax exempt. A not for profit or nonprofit organization is one established for purposes other than profit making. Privately Held Company -- A privately held company is one whose stocks are not traded for purchase on a stock exchange. Publicly Held Company -- Technically, any corporation whose shares are freely transferrable. Specifically: 1. Under SEC definition, a corporation with assets of $10 million or more and 500 or more holders of any class of equity security. Such corporations are required to make periodic reports to the SEC. 2. Under New York Stock Exchange rules, a member corporation whose outstanding stock is owned by 100 or more persons, not including members, allied members, or employees of that member company. In other countries the definition of "publicly held" will vary according to the regulations in force in the individual country. Risk -- Measurable possibility of losing or not gaining value. Risk is differentiated from uncertainty, which is not measurable. Service Industries - According to the 1987 U.S. SIC Description, service industries include: Hotels, rooming houses, camps, and other lodging places, personal services, business services, automotive repair, services, and parking, miscellaneous repair services, motion pictures, amusement and recreational services, health services, legal services, educational services, social services, museums, art galleries, botanical & zoological garden, membership organizations, engineering and management services, private households, miscellaneous services. Security Exchange Commission -- Federal agency empowered to regulate and supervise the selling of securities, to prevent unfair practice on security exchanges and over-the-counter markets, and to maintain a fair and orderly market for the investor. Standard Industrial Classification System(SIC) -- The SIC code is a standardized series of 4-digit codes developed by the United States Department of Commerce to identify specific industries. The SIC code has been superseded by the NAICS code. Stock (all types) -- 1.Ownership of shares of a corporation that are a claim on the corporation's earnings and assets. 2. Inventories of accumulated goods in manufacturing and retailing businesses. Stock Exchange -- Organized marketplace in which stocks, common stock equivalents, and bonds are traded by members of the exchange, acting both as agents (brokers) and as principals (dealers or traders). Such exchanges have a physical location where brokers and dealers meet to execute orders from institutional and individual investors to buy and sell securities. Takeover -- Change in the controlling interest of a corporation. A takeover may be in the form of a friendly acquisition and merger or an unfriendly bid that the management of the target company might fight. Tender Offer -- An offer by a company to shareholders to repurchase some or all of their shares in the company.