Definition of National Futures Association (NFA)

National Futures Association (NFA)

The futures industry self regulatory organization established in 1982.

Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

An international bank headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, which
serves as a forum for monetary cooperation among several European central banks, the Bank of Japan, and the
U.S. Federal Reserve System. Founded in 1930 to handle the German payment of World War I reparations, it
now monitors and collects data on international banking activity and promulgates rules concerning
international bank regulation.

Deferred futures

The most distant months of a futures contract. A bond that sells at a discount and does not
pay interest for an initial period, typically from three to seven years. Compare step-up bond and payment-inkind
bond.

Domestic International Sales Corporation (DISC)

A U.S. corporation that receives a tax incentive for
export activities.

Futures

A term used to designate all contracts covering the sale of financial instruments or physical
commodities for future delivery on a commodity exchange.

Futures commission merchant

A firm or person engaged in soliciting or accepting and handling orders for
the purchase or sale of futures contracts, subject to the rules of a futures exchange and, who, in connection
with such solicitation or acceptance of orders, accepts any money or securities to margin any resulting trades
or contracts. The FCM must be licensed by the CFTC. Related: commission house , omnibus account

Futures contract

Agreement to buy or sell a set number of shares of a specific stock in a designated future
month at a price agreed upon by the buyer and seller. The contracts themselves are often traded on the futures
market. A futures contract differs from an option because an option is the right to buy or sell, whereas a
futures contract is the promise to actually make a transaction. A future is part of a class of securities called
derivatives, so named because such securities derive their value from the worth of an underlying investment.

Futures contract multiple

A constant, set by an exchange, which when multiplied by the futures price gives
the dollar value of a stock index futures contract.

Futures market

A market in which contracts for future delivery of a commodity or a security are bought or sold.

Futures option

An option on a futures contract. Related: options on physicals.

Futures price

The price at which the parties to a futures contract agree to transact on the settlement date.

Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae)

A wholly owned U.S. government corporation
within the Department of Housing & Urban Development. Ginnie Mae guarantees the timely payment of
principal and interest on securities issued by approved servicers that are collateralized by FHA-issued, VAguaranteed,
or Farmers Home Administration (FmHA)-guaranteed mortgages.

Gross national product (GNP)

Measures and economy's total income. It is equal to GDP plus the income
abroad accruing to domestic residents minus income generated in domestic market accruing to non-residents.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development - IBRD or World Bank

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development makes loans at nearly conventional terms to countries for projects of high
economic priority.

International Banking Facility (IBF)

International Banking Facility. A branch that an American bank
establishes in the United States to do Eurocurrency business.

International bonds

A collective term that refers to global bonds, Eurobonds, and foreign bonds.

International Depository Receipt (IDR)

A receipt issued by a bank as evidence of ownership of one or more
shares of the underlying stock of a foreign corporation that the bank holds in trust. The advantage of the IDR
structure is that the corporation does not have to comply with all the regulatory issuing requirements of the
foreign country where the stock is to be traded. The U.S. version of the IDR is the American Depository
Receipt (ADR).

International diversification

The attempt to reduce risk by investing in the more than one nation. By
diversifying across nations whose economic cycles are not perfectly correlated, investors can typically reduce
the variability of their returns.

International finance subsidiary

A subsidiary incorporated in the U.S., usually in Delaware, whose sole
purpose was to issue debentures overseas and invest the proceeds in foreign operations, with the interest paid
to foreign bondholders not subject to U.S. withholding tax. The elimination of the corporate withholding tax
has ended the need for this type of subsidiary.

International Fisher effect

States that the interest rate differential between two countries should be an
unbiased predictor of the future change in the spot rate.

International fund

A mutual fund that can invest only outside the United States.

International market

Related: See external market.

International Monetary Fund

An organization founded in 1944 to oversee exchange arrangements of
member countries and to lend foreign currency reserves to members with short-term balance of payment
problems.

International Monetary Market (IMM)

A division of the CME established in 1972 for trading financial
futures. Related: Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE)

A London exchange where Eurodollar futures
as well as futures-style options are traded.

London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE)

London exchange where Eurodollar futures as well as futures-style options are traded.

Most distant futures contract

When several futures contracts are considered, the contract settling last.
Related: nearby futures contract

Multinational corporation

A firm that operates in more than one country.

National market

Related: internal market

Nationalization

A government takeover of a private company.

Nearby futures contract

When several futures contracts are considered, the contract with the closest
settlement date is called the nearby futures contract. The next futures contract is the one that settles just after
the nearby futures contract. The contract farthest away in time from settlement is called the most distant
futures contract.

Next futures contract

The contract settling immediately after the nearby futures contract.

Savings and Loan association

national- or state-chartered institution that accepts savings deposits and
invests the bulk of the funds thus received in mortgages.

SIMEX (Singapore International Monetary Exchange)

A leading futures and options exchange in Singapore.

Spot futures parity theorem

Describes the theoretically correct relationship between spot and futures prices.
Violation of the parity relationship gives rise to arbitrage opportunities.

Theoretical futures price

Also called the fair price, the equilibrium futures price.

futures contract

Exchange-traded promise to buy or sell an asset in the future at a prespecified price.

international Fisher effect

Theory that real interest rates in all countries should be equal, with differences in nominal rates reflecting differences in expected inflation.

Futures Contract

A contract in which the seller agrees to provide something to a buyer at a specified future date at an agreed price.

Gross National Product

Total output of final goods and services produced by a country's citizens during a year.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Organization originally established to manage the postwar fixed exchange rate system.

International Reserves

See foreign exchange reserves.

National Debt

The debt owed by the government as a result of earlier borrowing to finance budget deficits. That part of the debt not held by the central bank is the publically held national debt.

National Income

GDP with some adjustments to remove items that do not make it into anyone's hands as income, such as indirect taxes and depreciation. Loosely speaking, it is interpreted as being equal to GDP.

National Income and Product Accounts

The national accounting system that records economic activity such as GDP and related measures.

National Output

GDP.

National Saving

Private saving plus public saving. That part of national income which is not spent on consumption goods or government spending.

Net National Product

GNP minus depreciation.

Publicly Held National Debt

See national debt.

international fund

A mutual fund that can invest in securities issued anywhere outside of Canada.

Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA)

An association of most of the life and health insurance companies in Canada that conducts research and compiles information about the life and health insurance industry in Canada.

Related to : financial, finance, business, accounting, payroll, inventory, investment, money, inventory control, stock trading, financial advisor, tax advisor, credit.