The J curve represents a hypothetical short-term increase in a country's trade deficit that occurs immediately following a decline in the value of its currency.When a country experiences a sustain...

The J-curve effect refers to a "J" shaped section of a time-series graph in which the curve falls into negative territory and then gradually rises to a higher level than before the decline.The...

A jackpot is a big winning -- often the largest a competition or event has to offer. Let's say John Doe goes to Las Vegas to get away from his wife for a few days. He puts a few dollars in a slot...

The annual Jackson Hole Economic Summit focuses on prominent economic issues that face the U.S. along with the rest of the world.The Jackson Hole Economic Summit is also referred to as the Jackson Hol...

The Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is a conference focusing on important economic issues that face the United States and the rest of the world. The Jackson Hole Econo...

JAJO stands for January, April, July, and October -- the four months in which companies are likely to declare dividends. A dividend declaration is an announcement of an upcoming dividend payment, ...

The January Effect refers to a pattern exhibited by stocks -- particularly small-cap stocks -- in which they've shown a tendency to rise during the last several trading days in December and then c...

The Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) is a credit rating agency in Japan. Similar to Moody's or Standard & Poor's in the United States, JCR rates debt securities and conducts market, indus...

Jekyll and Hyde is a term to describe volatile corporate earnings. Let's say Company XYZ reports a profit in the first quarter of 5 cents per share. In the second quarter, it reports a loss of 15...

Jensen's measure is a statistical measurement of the portion of a security's or portfolio's return that is not explained by the market or the security's relationship to the market but ...

Jingle mail occurs when a property owner sends his/her keys to the mortgage lender because he/she is unable to continue to make payments.Jingle mail -- denoting the jangling sound of keys in an envelo...

A jitney is an illegal scheme in which two brokers trade a stock back and forth in order to increase the trading volume and earn commissions. In some circles, a jitney is also scheme in which a broker...

A job footprint describes the variety and scope of functions for a given role in an organization.For example, a nurse's job footprint may include administering medication, recording vital signs, a...

A job lot is a commodities futures contract where the underlying commodity is denominated in smaller amounts than a regular futures contract.Commodity futures contracts are agreements between a buyer ...

The job market is the group of individuals seeking employment within an economy.As with any market, there is a supply and a demand for employment opportunities that directly affects wage and salary le...

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) is the name of a detailed report on the U.S. job market published each month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.Each month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor S...

Jobber is a slang term for an agent in business, particularly trading.In the broadest sense of the word, a jobber is an individual who makes a living from commissions he/she earns as an agent for tran...

Jobless claims refer to the unemployment benefits claims filed by unemployed individuals each week.People who have lost their jobs or have been unemployed for some length of time are entitled to relie...

A jobless recovery refers to a sustained economic upturn accompanied by persistent or increasing unemployment levels.The New York Times first used the term "jobless recovery" in the 1930s to e...

The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 was a bill passed by the U.S. Congress in 2003 as an economic stimulus measure. Often abbreviated JGTRRA, the Job and Growth Tax Re...

Jobs growth is a U.S. economic indicator that represents the number of new jobs created in a given month.The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes its jobs growth number each month as part of its ...

JIBAR is a market indicator and a benchmark for various interest rates in South Africa. JIBAR calculates the average one-month, three-month, six-month, and 12-month rates. It is published daily. The ...

John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) was the founder of Standard Oil Company and became one of the world's wealthiest people.  Widely regarded as the richest person in American history, Rockefeller's ...

A joint account is any type of bank account held by two or more persons.All members of a joint bank account are responsible for any liabilities in connection with the account. Actions taken on the acc...

Joint and several liability means an obligation to make a payment either together or individually. For example, let's say John and Jane Doe buy a car. They take out a loan from Company XYZ for the...

A joint and survivor annuity is an annuity with two named beneficiaries. The annuity provides both beneficiaries with recurring income for life. Joint and survivor annuities, as the name suggests, se...

A joint bond is a bond that is backed by an issuer and one or more additional guarantors.A company that wants to raise capital using bonds may choose to issue joint bonds if it generates low or fluctu...

Joint credit is credit extended by a lender to two or more parties. Loans secured from joint credit are the responsibility of all parties.Two or more parties may apply for joint credit with a lender. ...

Joint endorsement is a requirement by many banks that checks be endorsed by all parties of a joint account.If two or more individuals jointly hold a bank account, the bank may require a joint endorsem...

Joint liability refers to the individual and collective obligation of more than one party on a loan.Joint liability is best illustrated by two married people who apply jointly for a credit card to max...

A joint life with last survivor annuity is an annuity that provides spouses with income until both spouses have died. The annuity also gives the holder the option to give a portion of the remaining in...

Joint probability is the likelihood of more than one event occurring at the same time.he joint probability for two events, A and B, is expressed mathematically as P(A,B). Joint probability is calculat...

A joint return is a tax return filed by two people based on their marital status at the end of the year or at the time of death of either one of the individuals.There are generally two ways for a marr...

The joint return test is used by the IRS to determine whether or not a taxpayer may be validly claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. This test also determines whether or not a married taxpayer m...

A joint stock company is a company whose stockholders have the same privileges and responsibilities as an unlimited partnership.  A joint stock company issues shares similar to a public company ...

Joint supply is the simultaneous output of two or more products from a single process or material.Products that are generated in joint supply cannot be produced independently from one another. For thi...

Joint tenancy is an arrangement in which two or more individuals occupy a property. Participating tenants each share equally in the rights and responsibilities related to the property.If multiple indi...

Joint tenants in common (JTIC) is a type of ownership wherein two or more individuals jointly own a property or portfolio of assets. If one owner dies, his or her portion of the property or portfolio ...

Joint tenants with right of survivorship (JTWROS) is a type of ownership in which all joint owners have equal portions of ownership that are immediately allocated to remaining owners if one owner ...

A joint venture (JV) is a project or enterprise in which multiple companies or individuals invest. Participants usually share equally in the project's direction and profits.If two or more parties ...

A joint-life payout is a retirement-benefit payout method whereby a retiree receives benefits from the retirement plan until he or she dies, and the retiree's spouse or partner then receives benefits ...

Jointly and severally is a legal phrase that means two or more persons are fully responsible equally for the liability.Jointly means that both parties have joint liability, giving responsibility for t...

A Jonestown defense is a tactic to prevent hostile takeovers. It often results in the death of the target. Let's say Company ABC makes a bid to buy Company XYZ. Company XYZ's founder, who is t...

The Joseph Effect is a statistical measure that indicates whether certain price movements are part of a long-term trend. The Joseph effect is really a description of the Hurst exponent, which is a me...

In the finance world, journal is short for journal entry. It is also short for The Wall Street Journal. Journal entries are records of individual financial transactions in a company's accounting ...

A judgment is a court order to pay someone else a sum of money or other remedy. Let's say John Doe owns a pit bull he hasn't trained very well. One day, John's dog jumps the fence and mau...

A judgment lien allows a creditor to take possession of a piece of a debtor's property if the debtor does not pay his or her debts. Let's say John Doe owns a pit bull breeding company that bo...

Judgmental credit analysis occurs when a banker approves or denies a credit application based on his or her experience with similar projects rather than the applicant's creditworthiness.   ...

A judicial foreclosure occurs when a court allows a lender to seize and sell a borrower's collateral when the borrower has failed to repay the lender. The term is most often associated with real estat...

A jumbo loan, also called a jumbo mortgage, is a mortgage that exceeds the maximum amount that will be guaranteed by a government-sponsored entity like Fannie Mae. Once a loan is made between from a ...

A jumbo pool is a security backed by mortgages from several issuers. To understand how jumbo pools work, it's important to understand how they're created. Let's assume you want to buy a ho...

A junior accountant is an entry-level accountant. An accountant is a trained, knowledgeable person who performs functions necessary to compile, inspect, interpret, and/or report financial statements a...

In the event of a borrower’s bankruptcy, junior debt is debt that is repaid after the obligations to senior lenders or creditors have been fulfilled. Usually, it also has no collateral. For exa...

Junior equity is an issuance of stock that is subordinate to other stock issued by a company. For example, if Company XYZ issues preferred stock, those shares are senior to Company XYZ's common s...

A junior mortgage is a loan secured by the equity in a house. Equity equals the value of the house less the balance owed on the homeowner's first (or in some cases, preceding) mortgages. Junior m...

A junior security is subordinate to other securities issued by a company. For example, if Company XYZ issues preferred stock, the shareholders of that stock are senior to Company XYZ's common sto...

A junk bond is a fixed-income security that is rated below investment grade by one or more of the major bond ratings agencies.  A junk bond works the same as most other bonds: An investor p...

Junk fees appear in mortgage closing documents and usually benefit the loan originator or the lender. Let's say John and Jane Doe buy a house and receive the Truth in Lending Act statement at clo...

A Juris Doctor (JD) is a law degree. According to Merriam-Webster, the term first came into use in 1969. It usually takes three years of law school to obtain a JD. The designation is often a require...

Jurisdiction risk is the risk of doing business in another country. Let's assume you are considering purchasing a bond issued by a Canadian company or a bond issued by a Nigerian company. Both co...

Just compensation is the fair market value that a federal or local government must pay to a property owner in order to seize that private property for public use. Let's say John Doe lives in a ho...

Just In Case (JIC) is an inventory-management method whereby materials, goods and even labor are on hand so they are there when needed in the production process. The method is generally the opposite o...

In the manufacturing and logistics world, just in time (JIT) inventory management helps companies reduce storage costs and improve quality. Originated by the Toyota Motor Company, just in time practic...