Bad bank A financial institution, or part of one, that looks after a bucket of debts that may turn sour. Strictly speaking it is the loans, not the bank, that is bad. Good banks, and especially talented bankers, are needed to orchestrate bad-bank salvage operations.
Bear A pessimistic investor
Billion One and nine noughts (1,000,000,000). AKA a thousand million
Bookrunner Holder of the begging bowl. A book runner is someone that leads negotiations about the pricing of shares, or bonds, or other financial thingumy-jjgs. Normally it is an investment banker and the terminology is borrowed from the race track. Indeed, a bookrunner is not unlike a bookmaker: he or she or it acts as a go-between with those that have money (investors) on one side and those that want it (companies, banks and governments) on the other. As Leslie Crowther or Bruce Forsyth might say, companies and governments will only raise the money they want if the price is right. If shares or bonds are priced too high, investors will give them the cold shoulder. If the price is too low, the government of company could sell itself short, and taxpayers or pre-existing investors may well get the hump. A bookrunner may hold a formal or informal auction, or solicit bids in other ways, and work out from the information received where to set the final price. Another name for a bookrunner is a lead manager. Co-bookrunners, or co-lead managers, share the responsibilities. Book runners, like bookmakers, may also put their own money where their mouth is and invest in the issue, or underwrite it.
Bull A stock market investor with an optimistic disposition. Only sceptics reckon bulls talk rubbish.
Certificates of deposit Sometimes, in finance land, jargonised names are more self explanatory than the innocent observer might think. A "certificate of deposit" (CD) is exactly that, a document that represents a deposit, often at a bank. All other things being equal, a CD is worth the amount deposited with the bank. Think of one like an old-style building society pass book, if you like. The owner receives all the interest payable on the deposit, just as the holder of a building society pass book received all the financial goodies payable. Why do CDs exist? They usually have a fixed life span, and because they do, banks know that the can rely on having the funds in the coffers for that time. For their part, depositors get a better interest rate by agreeing to the lock-in. Because CDs are tradable, the original depositor can get his or her hands on money before the end of the pre-agreed term, by selling the CD -- together with all the rights and responsibilities that go with it -- in the second-hand market. Proper CDs are among the most boring and reliable investments there are. In the Stanford case, it seems that financial instruments called certificates of deposit were weird mutants, or not real CDs at all.
Commercial paper Promises, made by companies, to pay. Invoices, which are glorified IOUs, represent one variety of commercial paper. The IOU may be a promise to settle an unpaid bill for work done; it may be a promise to repay a loan.
Credit insurance Guarantees given to banks, and other lenders. With government-backed credit insurance, the lender will not lose money even if the borrower welches.
Creditors People who lend money, or those who are in credit
Debtors People who borrow money, or those who are in debt
Deflation What happens when things get cheaper. While many might think falling prices are a good thing, it is bad in at least three key ways. Firstly, if the price of stuff is going down, consumers will be tempted to wait before buying. Since tomorrow never comes, steady reductions in prices means that stuff never gets bought. And if falling prices becomes a widespread problem, companies stop making stuff, the economy stagnates, shops empty and people lose their jobs. Secondly, falling prices means that companies get less money for selling goods and services. If revenues fall, there is less money knocking around to pay wages and companies reduce their wages bills by stopping over-time, or making people redundant. If they do that, prices continue to spiral downwards because there is less money around to spend. Thirdly and most scarily, deflation increases the real, underlying, weight of debts. The size, in pounds, dollars, euros or yen, of a mortgage does not change, but if you earn less, it will take longer to pay the interest and pay off the capital. Governments hate deflation because they are habitual borrowers, and the last thing they want to do is spend a larger part of their declining tax revenues on paying interest. Those with mortgages should be similarly fearful. Although inflation is disliked, it is seen as the better of two evils -- not least because inflation lightens the underlying weight of outstanding debts.
Depression When recessions get really bad, they become depressions. Unlike recession there is no widely accepted textbook definition of a depression, although some say it comes when GDP shrinks by a total of 10 per cent. It will feel distinctly like a depression if a recession goes on for more than a year. After two years, talk of recessions is sure to be replaced by ultra-glum references to depression.
Discount Sometimes thought of as a bargain. More often a measure of financial desperation
Dove An observer who is believes that friendly economic levers (such as interest rates) should be pulled
Due diligence Homework of the business and, or financial kind. It is undertaken ahead of any large transaction and is intended to discover exactly what lies beneath the bonnet of a company and how that company is likely to fare in future. But as is suggested by Edmond Jackson, our correspondent, due diligence is not always as thorough as its fancy name, and its participants, might lead you to believe.
Franchise Exhibitions are a great way for a franchisee candidate to speak with many franchisor representatives and get information on a wide range of franchise brand. One of the marquee exhibitions for the UK market is the British & International Franchise Exhibition on 20th & 21st March at London Olympia. 
