back up the truck v. phr.— «The safety of these securities caused financial firms to load upon on them (“back up the truck,” in Wall Street parlance). They were considered so safe that financial firms used borrowed funds to buy more, and...
splurge n.— «Tom Brokaw asked Hank Paulson on Meet The Press…what rules should be put in place for the splurge (that’s my new favorite term for the wall street bailout).» —“Rules For The Splurge” by Fred...
walk on a bank n.— «More likely than the kind of exodus of depositors that quickly sank IndyMac is what some bankers call a slow-motion “walk on the bank” which could cripple financial institutions already weakened by credit...
fat tail n.— «Finance is about numbers, and some numerical analysis will always be needed to see trends and plan investment strategies. But there are limits to numerical jugglery, and this is the underlying message of the current round of...
black swan n.— Note: Probably related to the theories of philosopher Karl Popper. «Finance is about numbers, and some numerical analysis will always be needed to see trends and plan investment strategies. But there are limits to numerical...
stranger-originated life insurance n.— «In what has to be the wackiest new trend in life insurance, many consumers are allowing total strangers to place bets on when they will expire—and the sooner they go, the bigger the payoff. It’s...