The amount of gold bullion or gold coins held by a country’s central bank to support its currency and provide security for its international debts.

In the UK, a term used to describe industrial action, or strikes, which are legal, i.e., about matters connected to working conditions and employment, rather than political matters, and that workers striking for legal reasons should not lose their jobs.

Financial incentives or benefits given to a valued employee to ensure that they continue working for a company, and to discourage them from wanting to leave to work for another company.

Usually offered to high-ranking executives in a large company. A clause in their contract which provides them with a large sum of money and/or other benefits in the event of them losing their job or retiring.

A company’s agreement with an employee, usually a top executive, which promises a significant amount of money and/or benefits if the employee is forced to leave their job, usually because of a change of company ownership, outside of the control of the original employer company.

Describes a business which has failed.

The difference or premium which a purchaser pays, or which a seller asks, for a business or company compared to the ‘book value’ of its assets, typically representing intangibles such as brand value, intellectual property, talent, market relationships, etc., and which tend to reflect the overall value and appeal with which the purchaser regards the […]

A period of time given to a debtor to enable them to pay an overdue bill or loan, or extra time given in a contract for a piece of work to be finished.

A provision in a new law which allows the person or business already engaged in the activity, which may have been made illegal, to continue to be so engaged.

A term used on the Stock Exchange to describe a Bear Market in which share owners are reluctant to sell because they face substantial losses, and buyers are reluctant to buy because the financial outlook is poor. Those who are in it can’t get out, and those who are on the outside have no desire […]