The stock (also capital stock) of a corporation constitutes the equity stake of its owners. It

represents the residual assets of the company that would be due to stockholders after discharge of

all senior claims such as secured and unsecured debt. Stockholders' equity cannot be withdrawn

from the company in a way that is intended to be detrimental to the company's creditors

In finance, a bond is an instrument of indebtedness of the bond issuer to the holders. It is a

debt security, under which the issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the

bond, is obliged to pay them interest (the coupon) and/or to repay the principal at a later date,

termed the maturity date.[1] Interest is usually payable at fixed intervals (semiannual, annual,

sometimes monthly). Very often the bond is negotiable, i.e. the ownership of the instrument can be

transferred in the secondary market. This means that once the transfer agents at the bank medallion

stamp the bond, it is highly liquid on the second market

In finance, a forward contract or simply a forward is a non-standardized contract between two

parties to buy or to sell an asset at a specified future time at a price agreed upon today, making it a

type of derivative instrument.[1][2] This is in contrast to a spot contract, which is an agreement to buy or

sell an asset on its Spot Date, which may vary depending on the instrument, for example most of the

FX contracts have Spot Date two business days from today. The party agreeing to buy the

underlying asset in the future assumes a long position, and the party agreeing to sell the asset in the

future assumes a short position. The price agreed upon is called the delivery price, which is equal to

the forward price at the time the contract is entered into.

In finance, an option is a contract which gives the buyer (the owner) the right, but not the obligation,

to buy or sell an underlying asset  or instrument at a specified strike price on or before a

specified date. The seller has the corresponding obligation to fulfill the transaction – that is to sell or

buy – if the buyer (owner) "exercises" the option. The buyer pays a premium to the seller for this

right. An option that conveys to the owner the right to buy something at a specific price is referred to

as a call; an option that conveys the right of the owner to sell something at a specific price is

referred to as a put. Both are commonly traded, but for clarity, the call option is more frequently

discussed.

A security is a tradable financial asset of any kind.[1] Securities are broadly categorized into:

debt securities, (e.g., banknotes, bonds and debentures)

equity securities, (e.g., common stocks)

derivative securities, (e.g., forwards, futures, options and swaps).

The company or other entity issuing the security is called the issuer. A country's regulatory structure

determines what qualifies as a security. For example, private investment pools may have some

features of securities, but they may not be registered or regulated as such if they meet various

restrictions.

The derivatives market is the financial market for derivatives, financial instruments like futures

contracts or options, which are derived from other forms of assets.

The market can be divided into two, that for exchange-traded derivatives and that for over-the-

counter derivatives. The legal nature of these products is very different, as well as the way they are

traded, though many market participants are active in both.

As money became a commodity, the money market became a component of the financial

markets for assets involved in short-termborrowing, lending, buying and selling with original

maturities of one year or less. Trading in money markets is done over the counterand is wholesale.

There are several money market instruments, including Treasury bills, commercial paper, bankers'

acceptances, deposits,certificates of deposit, bills of exchange, repurchase agreements, federal

funds, and short-lived mortgage-, and asset-backed securities.[1] The instruments bear differing

maturities, currencies, credit risks, and structure and thus may be used to distribute exposure.[2]

Money markets, which provide liquidity for the global financial system, and capital markets make up

the financial market.

An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations, and governments

in raising financial capital byunderwriting or acting as the client's agent in the issuance

of securities (or both). An investment bank may also assist companies involved in mergers and

acquisitions (M&A) and provide ancillary services such as market making, trading

of derivatives and equity securities, and FICC services (fixed income instruments, currencies,

and commodities).

A mutual fund is a type of professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many

investors to purchase securities.[1] While there is no legal definition of the term "mutual fund", it is

most commonly applied only to those collective investment vehicles that are regulated and sold to

the general public. They are sometimes referred to as "investment companies" or "registered

investment companies". Hedge funds are not mutual funds, primarily because they cannot be sold to

the general public.

In finance, technical analysis is a security analysis methodology for forecasting the direction

of prices through the study of past market data, primarily price and volume.[1] Behavioral

economics and quantitative analysis use many of the same tools of technical analysis,[2][3][4][5] which,

being an aspect of active management, stands in contradiction to much of modern portfolio theory.

The efficacy of both technical and fundamental analysis is disputed by the efficient-market

hypothesis which states that stock market prices are essentially unpredictable. 

In finance, a derivative is a contract that derives its value from the performance of an underlying

entity. This underlying entity can be an asset, index, or interest rate, and is often called the

"underlying".[1][2] Derivatives can be used for a number of purposes, including insuring against price

movements (hedging), increasing exposure to price movements for speculation or getting access to

otherwise hard-to-trade assets or markets.[3] Some of the more common derivatives

include forwards, futures, options, swaps, and variations of these such as synthetic collateralized

debt obligations and credit default swaps. Most derivatives are traded over-the-counter (off-

exchange) or on an exchange such as theChicago Mercantile Exchange, while

most insurance contracts have developed into a separate industry. Derivatives are one of the three

main categories of financial instruments, the other two being stocks (i.e., equities or shares)

and debt (i.e., bonds and mortgages).