Financial Definitions Starting with "N"

The Nakahara Prize is an award from the Japanese government to Japanese economists under age 45 who have made significant contributions to the world of economics. The board of directors of the Japane...

A naked call is an options strategy in which an investor sells a call option unassociated with units of the underlying security.In a naked call strategy, the sale of a call option is predicated on the...

Naked option refers to an option contract which does not comprise ownership of the underlying security by the purchasing or selling party. It is the opposite of a covered option.Also called an uncover...

Naked position refers to any securities holding which has not been hedged for risk by any accompanying options or futures contracts.A naked position in a given security is exposed entirely to fluctuat...

A naked put is a put option which is unaccompanied by the actual units of the underlying security specified in the contract.The seller, or writer, of a naked put option incorporates a specific quantit...

Naked shorting refers to the practice of shorting units of a given security in advance of ensuring whether or not they can be borrowed.Traders and investors engage in short selling in order to make a ...

A naked warrant is a warrant that is not attached to a bond or preferred stock. Warrants are securities that give the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy a certain number of securities (...

A named beneficiary is a person identified as the recipient of benefits from a pension plan, insurance policy, trust or other instrument. For example, let's say John Doe has a life insurance poli...

A named fiduciary is a person or entity responsible for managing a qualified retirement plan in accordance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). For example, let's say Company...

A named perils insurance policy is a policy that covers losses from events specifically named in the policy. For example, let's say John Doe owns a houseboat. His homeowners insurance policy does not...

A nanny tax is a colloquial term for the Social Security, Medicare and federal unemployment taxes due on the pay to caregivers. For example, let's say John and Jane Doe hire Sally Smith to t...

A nano cap is a company with the smallest market capitalizations in the market place, typically below $50 million. Market capitalization is a measure of the market value of the outstanding stock of t...

In the futures market, a narrow basis occurs when the spot price of a commodity is close to the futures price of the same commodity. For example, let's say the price of a bushel of wheat is $1 ri...

Narrow moat refers to the size of a company's competitive advantage. The term is an adaptation of the term "economic moat." Long ago, castles were traditionally part city and part defensive...

Narrow money is a colloquial term for the total of a country's physical currency plus demand deposits and other liquid assets held by the central bank. The economic term for narrow money is M1. N...

NASD Rule 2790 is a rule prohibiting FINRA members from buying IPO shares for personal gain. The rule is now just called Rule 2790, because NASD became FINRA in 2007.   For example, let's ...

Nasdaq, which stands for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system, is a computerized system for stock trading. The Nasdaq does not have a physical trading floor; it i...

The Nasdaq 100 index is one of the most frequently cited "technology" indexes. The Nasdaq 100 Index is composed of the 100 largest stocks (based on market capitalization) traded on the Nasdaq...

The Nasdaq Composite is a broad market index that encompasses about 4,000 issues traded on the NASDAQ National Market. The index first started in February of 1971 with a base value of 100.The Nasdaq C...

In economics, a Nash equilibrium occurs when two companies in a duopoly react to each other's production changes until their prices reach an equilibrium. The term is named after John Nash, who is a...

National accounting, also called macro accounting, is a method of calculating the economic activity of a country or region. In the United States, federal government agencies typically use national ac...

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) is a trade organization for insurance professionals and financial advisors. Founded in 1890, the organization originally was calle...

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) is an industry trade group representing mortgage brokers. Founded in 1973, the NAMB's primary objective is to promote ethics and professionalism am...

The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) is a trade association for real estate professionals. The NAR has 1 million members in the United States. Its members are involved in many parts o...

The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) was a regulatory organization that oversaw the securities industry. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) superseded NASD in 2007. ...

The National Automated Clearinghouse Association (NACHA) operates the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) network, which allows companies and consumers to send payments from one account to another. NACHA w...

A national bank is a bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve system and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. In global terms, a national bank is a country's central bank. In this context,...

The National Bank Surveillance System is a computer system that collects financial information about banks. The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency established the NBSS in 1975. It produce...

The National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) is the highest bid and lowest offer price quoted on Nasdaq. For example, let's say the following people have buy orders (bids) for Company XYZ (these are th...

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that studies the economy. Founded in 1920, the NBER undertakes and distributes unbiased econ...

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is an agency of the United States government that charters and oversees federal credit unions. It was created by Congress in 1970.A credit union is a ba...

A national currency is simply the currency issued by a country's central bank. Currency is a medium of exchange for goods or services within an economy. For example, in the United States, the nat...

National income accounting is a government accounting system to measure economic activity. For example, national income accounting measures the revenues earned in the nation's companies, wages pa...

The national market system (NMS) is a system that regulates the disclosure and execution of trades across all exchanges.   Congress established the National Market System in 1975. The NASD and...

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is a trade group that represents retailers. The NRF represents retailers in the United States and 45 countries. The retailers in the NRF operate more than 3.6 mil...

The national savings rate is the percentage of gross domestic product that households, governments and businesses save rather than spend. There are only two things to do with money: spend it or save ...

Nationalization occurs when a country's government seizes the assets of corporations or resources without paying for those assets. Let's say Country XYZ elects John Doe. A year before he is d...

Natural capital is a term that describes an economy's natural resources such as water, timber or oil. Let's say Company XYZ is a paper manufacturer. It owns 50,000 acres of forestland in vari...

Natural unemployment is the level of unemployment always present in an economy as industries expand and contract, as technological advances occur, as new generations enter the labor force and as worke...

Near money is a term for highly-liquid assets that are quickly and easily converted into cash. They may also be referred to as cash equivalents.  Examples of near money investments are int...

Negative amortization occurs when the principal balance on a loan (usually a mortgage) increases because the borrower's payments don't cover the total amount of interest that has accrued. For example...

A negative amortization limit is a clause in a loan that restricts the amount of negative amortization that can occur during the contract.Negative amortization occurs when the principal balance on a l...

Negative amortizing loans are loans in which the loan's principal balance increases even though the borrower is making payments on the loan. For example, let's assume that John wants to borrow $100,0...

Negative arbitrage occurs when the interest rate a borrower pays on its debt is higher than the interest rate the borrower earns on the money that will be used to repay the debt.For example, let's...

A negative assurance is an auditor's written statement that an audit did not uncover any signs of fraud or violations of accounting rules.For example, let's assume that Company XYZ hires an au...

Negative authorization is the term for a credit card system that approves or disapproves a credit card transaction based on whether the card appears on lists of stolen, canceled, closed, or lost accou...

Negative butterfly refers to a change in the yield curve whereby medium-term yields change by a greater magnitude than short-term and long-term yields. It is important to note that the negative butter...

Negative carry means that the price of borrowing money is higher than the returns earned on borrowed money. It is the opposite of positive carry.For example, let's assume John borrows $10,000 from...

Used in foreign exchange (forex), a negative carry pair refers to a situation in which the investor buys the currency of a country with low interest rates and shorts the currency of a country with hig...

A negative confirmation occurs when entities that have a relationship with an auditor's client indicate they have financial discrepancies or disagreements regarding their accounts with the client....

Negative convexity refers to the shape of a bond's yield curve and the extent to which a bond's price is sensitive to changing interest rates.The degree to which a bond's price changes whe...

Negative correlation describes a relationship in which changes in one variable are associated with opposite changes in another variable. For example, many economists have discovered that people tend ...

A negative covenant is a promise a company makes to not exceed certain financial ratios or not conduct certain activities. Negative covenants are almost always found in loan or bond documents.For exam...

A negative directional indicator (known as negative DI) is a technical measure of a downtrend's momentum. Mathematically speaking, a negative directional indicator exists when the difference in a ...

Negative equity occurs when liabilities exceed the value of assets. For example, let's assume that Company XYZ has $20 million of total assets and $40 million of total liabilities. Company ...

Negative float is the amount of time between when a person writes a check and when that check clears the account. In banking, the formula for negative float is: Negative Float = Account's Ledge...

A negative gap occurs when a bank's interest-bearing liabilities exceed its interest-earning assets.Let's assume Bank XYZ has $40 million of interest-rate sensitive assets (mostly loans) and $...

Negative gearing is an investment strategy whereby an investor can deduct any shortfall in income from an investment that does not cover the interest expense and maintenance costs associated with owni...

Negative goodwill, also called a bargain-purchase amount, occurs when a company buys an asset for less than its fair market value. Negative goodwill is the opposite of goodwill.For example, let's ...

In economics, negative growth usually refers to shrinking gross domestic product (GDP).For example, if the United States' GDP falls from $14.4 trillion to $14.1 trillion, we would say that the U.S...

Negative income tax refers to transfer payments given to families whose reported household income fall below a predetermined amount and qualifies them for a supplemental payment from the government.Fo...

In the trading world, negative obligation refers to a stock specialist's responsibility to avoid buying or selling shares for their own accounts in order to match orders. The New York Stock Exchan...

A negative pledge clause is lending agreement language designed to prevent borrowers from pledging the same collateral to multiple lenders or otherwise taking actions that might jeopardize the securit...

For mortgages, negative points are a strategy for qualified borrowers to decrease the amount of cash they need upfront to finance their home. A mortgage company will pay fees and closing costs on ...

A negative return is a loss on an investment. For example, if an investor buys $1,000 of Company XYZ stock and then sells it for $500, the investor has a negative return of 50%. Similarl...

Negative verification is a bank method for verifying bank records. For example, let's assume Bank XYZ is performing an internal audit of the computer system that generates customers' monthl...

A negative volume index (NVI) identifies days in which trading volume of a particular security is substantially lower than other days.Mathematically, the NVI compares the day's volatility to its m...

Negative watch is a status that credit-ratings agencies assign to companies that might receive a lower credit rating in the future.Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch's are the three...

Negatively amortizing loans are loans in which the loan's principal balance (usually a mortgage) increases even though the borrower is making payments on the loan. For example, let's assume that John...

Negotiable refers to an item that can be sold or transferred to another party as a form of unconditional payment. Negotiable also means that the terms of an agreement can be adjusted.  A negotiab...

A negotiable certificate of deposit (NCD) is a certificate of deposit that differs from a conventional CD in that its terms are negotiated with the issuer. Another difference is that it can be sold...

A negotiable instrument is a signed document that gives the bearer of the document permission to obtain a certain amount of money.   Checks are the most common negotiable instrument. They are ...

A negotiable order of withdrawal account (NOW) is an interest-earning bank account in which the account holder can write checks against the balance. Most mutual savings banks, commercial banks, sa...

Negotiation is a process in which two or more parties resolve a dispute or come to a mutual agreement. Negotiations occur all the time in the business world, and they are often strategic in nature. I...

Nellie Mae is a subsidiary of Sallie Mae (SLM), the largest originator, funder and servicer of student loans in the United States. Specifically, it is responsible for originating Federal Stafford Loan...

A nest egg is a slang term describing money saved for the future. For example, let's say that John Doe works at Company XYZ. He saves $300 a week for 40 years. At the end of the 40 years, h...

Net Advantage to Leasing (NAL) refers to the money a company or individual saves from leasing an asset rather than buying it.Under a lease agreement, the user (the lessee) agrees to make periodic paym...

Most commonly used in reference to mutual or closed-end funds, net asset value (NAV) measures the value of a fund's assets, minus its liabilities. NAV is typically calculated on a per-share basis. A ...

In finance, the net asset value per share (NAVPS) is the value of one share of a mutual fund.A fund's NAVPS fluctuates with the value of its underlying investments. The formula for NAVPS is: NA...

  Net assets are what a company owns outright, minus what it owes. Net assets provide a rough guide for the value of company resources. Typically, the higher a company's net asset valu...

Net book value is the net value of an asset carried on its balance sheet.  Net book value results from the accounting technique of depreciating or amortizing the value of an asset: a compa...

Net borrowed reserves are a measure of the difference between what a bank has borrowed from the Federal Reserve and the cash reserves it holds above the required minimum. The opposite of net borrowed ...

A net borrower (also called a "net debtor") is a company, person, country, or other entity that borrows more than it saves or lends. Borrowing can take the form of traditional bank lending, bu...

Net cash flow is the difference between a company’s cash inflows and outflows within a given time period. After paying for all operating costs and debt payments, a company has a positive cash fl...

Net change refers to the difference in closing price of a stock, bond, mutual fund, ETF or other traded financial instrument from one period to the next.In fundamental analysis, net change is used to ...

The net current asset value per share (NCAVPS) equals a company's current assets divided by its number of shares outstanding.The formula for NCAVPS is: NCAVPS = (Current Assets - Current Liabil...

Net debt is a company's total debt less cash on hand. The formula for net debt is: Net Debt = Short-Term Debt + Long-Term Debt - Cash and Cash Equivalents For example, let's assume th...

Net debt per capita is a government's total debt (less cash on hand) per person. The formula for net debt per capita is: Net Debt per Capita = (Short-Term Debt + Long-Term Debt - Cash...

Net debt to assessed valuation is a term used in the municipal bond world to compare the value of debt to the value of the issuer's assets purchased or assessed.The formula for net debt to assesse...

Net debt to estimated valuation is a term used in the municipal bond world to compare the value of debt to the market value of the issuer's assets. It is not the same as net debt to assessed valua...

Net domestic product (NDP) represents the net book value of all goods and services produced within a nation's geographic borders over a specified period of time. Gross domestic product (GDP) is the b...

Net earnings represent the amount of sales revenue left over after all operating expenses, interest, taxes and preferred stock dividends (but not common stock dividends) have been deducted from a comp...

A net exporter is a country that sells more to other countries than it buys from other countries. Countries are often net exporters in some industries (natural gas, for example) but net importers in o...

Net exports are the difference between a country's total value of exports and total value of imports. Depending on whether a country imports more goods or exports more goods, net exports can be a...

Net free reserves is a measure of how much cash a bank holds above the Federal Reserve's required minimum. The opposite of net free reserves is net borrowed reserves.The formula for net free reser...

A net importer is a country that buys more from other countries than it sells to other countries. Often, countries are net importers in some industries (natural gas, for example) but net exporters in ...

For businesses, net income indicates how well a company is managing its profit (both earnings and expenses). For individuals, this number is defined more loosely: it can refer to your gross income...

Net income after taxes (NIAT) is the number of sales dollars remaining after all operating expenses, interest, depreciation, taxes and preferred stock dividends have been deducted from a firm's to...

Net interest cost (NIC) is a way to compute the average annual interest expense for a bond issue. The formula for net interest cost is:Net Interest Cost = (Total Interest Payments + Discount...

Net interest income is the difference between interest received from assets and interest paid on liabilities.  The formula for net interest income is: Net Interest Income = Interest Received ...

Net interest margin is the ratio of net interest income to invested assets.  Net interest margin is also known as "net yield on interest-earning assets."  The formula for net interest ma...

Net interest margin securities (NIMS) provide investors with cash flows from securitized mortgages. The first NIMS came into the marketplace in the mid-1990s.When the homeowners make their mortgage pa...

Net interest rate differential is the difference in interest rates associated with two different currencies or two different economic regions.For example, let's assume an investor in Japan puts he...

In banking, the net interest rate spread is the difference between interest earned on loans, securities, and other interest-earning assets and the interest paid on deposits and other interest-bearing ...

Net investment is the measure of a company's investment in capital assets, such as the property, plants, software and equipment that it uses for operations.The formula for net investment is: N...

Net investment income is what an investment company receives in capital gains, dividends and interest payments, less administrative fees. The formula for net investment income is:Net Investment I...

Net lending is an economic measure of whether governments are either providing financial resources to other sectors of the economy or using resources from other sectors of the economy (the latter is c...

Net liquid assets are cash and securities that can be converted to cash quickly, minus current liabilities.The formula for net liquid assets is: Net Liquid Assets = Cash + Marketable Securities - C...

An investor is net long when he or she has more long positions than short positions for a particular asset, market sector or portfolio. The concept also applies to commodities trading. Net long is the...

A company reports a net loss when its expenses exceed revenues during a specific period of time. A net loss is the opposite of net income or net profit, which is when a organization's revenu...

Net margin is the percentage of revenue remaining after all operating expenses, interest, taxes and preferred stock dividends (but not common stock dividends) have been deducted from a company's t...

Net national product (NNP) is the market value of a nation's goods and services minus depreciation (often referred to as capital consumption). The formula for NNP is: NNP = Market Value of Finishe...

Net of tax simply means that the number in question is the amount left over after taxes.For example, let's say you win $1,000,000 on a game show. After the show, a nice person backstage will also ...

The net operating cycle, also called the "cash conversion cycle," is the number of days it takes a company to generate revenues with assets. Analysts can calculate the length of the cycle with t...

A net operating loss (NOL) is a negative profit for tax purposes. It usually occurs when a company's tax deductions exceed its taxable income, making the company unprofitable. Net operating...

One key indicator of a business success is net operating profit after tax (NOPAT). Considered an “apples-to-apples” measure, NOPAT helps investors determine how well one company is performing ...

Net operating profit less adjusted taxes (NOPLAT) is a measure of profit that includes the costs and tax benefits of debt financing. put another way, NOPLAT is earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT...

A net option premium is the difference between the price paid to purchase an option and the price received from the sale of a different option.The formula for net option premium is: Net Option Prem...

Net payoff is the profit or loss on the sale of a good or service after all the costs of producing and selling that good or service have been subtracted.Let's assume investor X wants to sell his h...

Net present value (NPV) reflects a company’s estimate of the possible profit (or loss) from an investment in a project. Companies must weigh the benefits of adding projects versus the benefits o...

Net Present Value of Growth Opportunities (NPVGO) is the simply the present value of additional cash flows associated with an acquisition, net of the purchase price of the acquisition. Essentially, th...

The net present value rule is the idea that investors and managers should only engage in deals, projects or transactions that have positive net present value (NPV).  Using the NPV formula, the n...

Net proceeds refers to the amount of money remaining after an asset has been sold and related expenses have been paid.For example, a homeowner sells his house for $100,000. After deducting real estate...

Also referred to as the bottom line, net income, and net earnings, net profit represents how much money a company has after all expenses are paid. You can think of net profit like your payche...

Net profit margin is a metric that indicates how well a company can transform its revenues into profits. Net profit margin is the percent of revenue remaining after all operating expenses, interes...

Net profits interest is the proportion of net profits paid out to a particular investor, according to his or her percentage stake in the company. Net profits interest is most often used in refere...

The net realizable value (NRV) of an asset is the money a seller expects to receive for the sale of an asset after deducting the costs of selling or disposing of the asset.Let's assume Company XYZ...

Net receivables refers to the net amount of money remaining after deducting the provision for bad debt. It is primarily used in businesses that sell on credit.Net Receivables = (Total Amount Borrowed ...

Net revenue is defined as a company’s sales (revenue) minus discounts and returns. Net revenue is sometimes called the ‘real top line’ because it reflects total sales with only direct sales-...

A net revenue pledge requires issuers of municipal bonds to use their net revenues (revenue minus expenses) to pay the principal and interest of the municipal bonds before any other use.Let's assu...

Net sales usually refers to a company's revenue net of discounts and returns. Sometimes, though, the user is referring to net profit, which is sales net of all expenses.Let's assume restaurant...

In banking, net settlement is simply the sum of the day's credits and debits.Let's assume XYZ Bank has the following activity today: Outflows: Cash withdrawals     ...

In finance, net short refers to holding more short positions than long positions in a given security, sector or portfolio. Net short is the opposite of net long.For example, let's assume an invest...

In economics, net taxes are taxes on production less subsidies received. Alternatively, net taxes are taxes paid to the government less transfer payments.Let's assume that the United States collec...

Net unrealized appreciation (NUA) refers to the difference between the cost of a security or investment and the current market value of that security or investment. Let's assume Jane purcha...

In trading, net volume refers to the difference between a security's uptick volume and its downtick volume.Let's assume that investors bought 4,000,000 shares of Company XYZ today (the uptick ...

Net worth refers to the total value of an individual or company expressed as total assets less total liabilities. The net worth of an individual is simply calculated as total assets (e.g. home equity...

The neutrality of money is a theory stating that changes in the money supply only affect prices and wages rather than overall economic productivity. For example, when the Federal Open Market Committe...

The new economy refers to the convergence of manufacturing, services and technologies to produce high value-added, technology-enabled, and adaptable industries.Industry trends have always adapted to c...

As the name implies, new highs/new lows represents the number of all stocks making new 52-week highs or lows. The result is graphed, and the aggregate number of new highs and new lows is used as a mar...

New Home Sales is an economic indicator released monthly by the United States Census Bureau. The data reflect the number of newly constructed homes purchased in the previous month.  This indicato...

A new issue is a never-before-offered security. Let's assume that Company ABC makes a public offering of shares in order to finance its business expansion. Company ABC, the issuer of the st...

A new paradigm is a new logical framework for understanding a situation. In the financial markets, a new paradigm refers to the shift in the underlying economic rules and factors that affect the marke...

The New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), founded in 1870, is a physical commodity futures exchange located in New York City. The NYBOT trades options and futures on cotton, sugar, coffee, orange juice, an...

The New York Clearing House Association, founded in 1853, is the country's first and largest bank clearing house. The Clearing House was created to streamline the bank settlement process, which ha...

The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), founded in 1872, is the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange, headquartered in lower Manhattan. NYMEX handles trades worth billions of dollars ...

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the oldest stock exchange in the United States, and it's located on Wall Street in lower Manhattan. It is the world's largest stock exchange by market cap...

A no load fund, also called a "no transaction fee mutual fund," is a mutual fund that does not charge a sales commission to investors. shares of no load funds are purchased directly from the fund comp...

A no penalty CD is a type of certificate of deposit. A certificate of deposit, or CD, is a financial product offered by banks and credit unions for personal savings and investing. It offers an interes...

Also referred to as face value or par value, nominal value is the value shown on the face of a security certificate or instrument, including currency. The concept most commonly applies to stocks and b...

A nominee is a person or entity that takes possession of securities or other assets for the purpose of making transactions on behalf of the owner of the securities or other assets. For example, let&#...

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 e...

A non-accredited investor is an individual or organization that does not meet the description of a "sophisticated" investor as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to t...

A non-cash charge is a write down or expense against earnings that does not involve cash.A company will take a non-cash charge against non-cash items on the balance sheet, such as depreciation, amorti...

A non-cash item is an entry on an income statement or cash flow statement correlating to expenses that are essentially just accounting entries rather than actual movements of cash.Depreciation and amo...

The descriptors "exempt" and "non-exempt" are used to describe different categories of employees as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) according to US Federal employment law. Typically,...

A non-financial asset has a value based on its tangible characteristics and properties.A company's balance sheet includes several types of assets and liabilities. Assets include financial assets, such...

Non-GAAP earnings (GAAP stands for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) are measures of profit that don't follow a standard calculation for companies and are not necessarily required in their dis...

In banking, non-interest income is revenue derived mostly from fees and other activities outside the core activity of lending. For example, let's say Bank XYZ charges customers $25 for bounced checks...

Non-negotiable refers to something that cannot be bought, sold, exchanged or transferred. Non-negotiable also can refer to a term or condition that is not open to negotiation.Certain securities, contr...

A non-operating asset is an asset that generates income, but is unrelated to the core operations of the company.Also called a redundant asset, a non-operating asset usually generates some form of reve...

A non-qualified plan is a retirement plan to which the IRS does not grant specific tax benefits. A non-qualified retirement plan is essentially whatever a qualified plan is not. In other words, if th...

In most states, writing a bad check is at least a misdemeanor, with the consequences growing depending on the state, the amount involved, and whether the transaction crosses state lines. Most NSFs are...

Noncallable refers to a security that cannot be redeemed by the issuer prior to maturity.  Sometimes, it is referred to as non-redeemable.When a security is issued, it carries a set term (the tim...

Nonfarm payrolls is an economic indicator released by the Department of Labor on the first Monday of each month at 8:30am EST. The data reflect the change in nonfarm payrolls from the previous month.T...

Nonperforming assets are a bank's nonperforming loans plus the real estate owned by the bank due to foreclosures.On a bank's balance sheet, loans made to customers are listed as assets. The bi...

A nonperforming loan is a loan that is close to defaulting or is in default.Let's assume Bank XYZ lent $1,000,000 to Company ABC, which much repay the loan in monthly installments of $25,000. Comp...

A nonqualified option (NQO) is the right but not the obligation to purchase shares of a company, usually the option holder's employer, for a fixed price by a certain date. Option grants are incen...

Also called a positive yield curve, a normal yield curve is one in which short-term yields are lower than long-term yields. A yield curve is a graph that plots the yields of similar-quality...

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an agreement among the United States, Canada and Mexico designed to remove tariff barriers between the three countries. NAFTA was implemen...

To notarize means to have a notary affix his or her seal and signature to a document signifying that he or she witnessed the signing of the document. For example, when John and Jane Doe buy...

Notaries are important people because they give documents legal weight. Notaries are commonly involved in the creation of wills, trusts, deeds and powers of attorney. Each state sets forth its own req...

In the finance world, a note is debt. Notes are typically medium-term debt, but not always. For example, Treasury notes (T-notes) are intermediate-term bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury. Th...

A notice of seizure is a bad thing. During this time, the IRS takes physical custody of the taxpayer's assets, which could range from cash accounts to homes, cars and other assets. Let's sa...

The notice to creditors is a way to inform creditors of their opportunity to make claims against a bankrupt company, an estate or other entity. Let's say Company XYZ files for bankruptcy. As part...

Notional principal amounts never change in an interest rate swap, and they are the core of the calculations involved in these transactions. An interest rate swap is a contractual agreement between tw...

Notional values are most discussed in derivatives and currency transactions because those transactions often involve hedging, which means that a small amount of money can influence a very large invest...

The null hypothesis (H0) suggests that there is no statistical significance in a given set of observations. This implies that any kind of deviation or importance you see in a data set is only the resu...

People who enjoy numismatics often have rare coins that can be quite valuable. But not all numismatics fans have to have money to keep collections. Using a fun site such as wheresgeorge.com, which let...

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. However, the NYSE does observe certain holidays.The dates listed for holidays reflect the dat...