tarp v.— Note: From TARP, the Troubled Assets Relief Program, intended to aid American financial institutions in jeopardy. «Bank of America has been “tarped” (a new verb), like AIG, but not as much. Only $45 billion was handed over from the...
take under n.— «The rumor turned out to be wrong, as rumors often do. But this one even had an exact price: Lehman would be sold for $15 a share, traders buzzed all afternoon, in what would amount to a “take under”—Wall Street parlance for when a...
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 financial...
spreader n.— «Another trader sounded more sanguine: “Big orders executed in a rapid fashion, coupled with spreaders there to help absorb some of the volatility, creates extreme swings.” A spreader is someone who simultaneously buys and sells two...
mattressing n.— «In the leaked testimony, Mr Kerviel even spoke of a technique called “mattressing,” the term used by other traders and managers at the bank to hide their results.» —“Custom and practice, or a man with a lot to prove?” by John...
tape bomb n.— «Wall Street traders like to call unexpected news events “tape bombs.” The terminology presumably dates back to the days when the physical flow of ticker tape delivered the latest ups and downs of stock price movements. Last week...