Annual Equivalent Rate. The interest calculated under the assumption that interest is paid and compounded per year. This means interest is added to your original balance so you have a higher starting [..]

A London based Stock Exchange for smaller and growing companies. AIM stands for “Alternative Investment Market”.

Any item of economic or financial value owned by someone or a company. Examples are cash, money in bank accounts, investments, real estate like a house, a car, and other property.

A term used to describe the takeover or buying of a company by another. Also called a “takeover”. An acquisition is done by purchasing the shares of the target company. Sometimes these takeovers are f [..]

Things you own which have financial value, like a house or a car.

An overview of a company’s assets (what it owns) and liabilities (what it owes) at the end of a financial year.

An investor who believes that share prices (the Market) will go down. So he/she sells, hoping to buy them back at a lower price later on. A Bear market is a market which is going down.

A bond is a certificate issued by a company which oblige it to pay certain sums at certain times to the holder of the bond (a bit like a cheque). So, when someone buys a company’s bond, he or she is e [..]

A term usually referring to houses and property, but sometimes used when describing more traditional businesses and not those associated with, say, telecoms or hi-tech businesses.

An opposite of a bear. An investor who believes the market will go up will buy shares in the hope of selling them at a higher price later. A bull market is one that is rising.