List of Glossary Terms
The PDSnet Glossary of Terms contains definitions and explanations for over 2600 financial market terms. These definitions are constantly kept up-to-date with current topical examples from the markets. They are also updated for changes in legislation and current events like COVID19 and the July 2021 civil unrest.
The terms in the Glossary are directly linked to all PDSnet articles, confidential reports, lecture modules and other material. This means that a client reading one of our publications can immediately see which terms are defined in the Glossary and click through to read the definition. Terms within the definitions in the glossary are similarly linked, which gives the Glossary an enormous educational depth share market investors.
| M0 |
The total amount of money in the country. There are various methods for measuring the money supply, itemised and defined as "M0, M1, M2 and M3". Thus the broadest measure of the money supply... read more |
| M1 |
The total amount of money in the country. There are various methods for measuring the money supply, itemised and defined as "M0, M1, M2 and M3". Thus the broadest measure of the money supply... read more |
| M2 |
The total amount of money in the country. There are various methods for measuring the money supply, itemised and defined as "M0, M1, M2 and M3". Thus the broadest measure of the money supply... read more |
| M3 |
The total amount of money in the country. There are various methods for measuring the money supply, itemised and defined as "M0, M1, M2 and M3". Thus the broadest measure of the money supply... read more |
| MA |
An average of the most recent prices of a share progressed each trading day such that the same number of days remain in the average.... read more |
| MAC |
A material adverse change clause is included in most major contracts and allows parties to exit the contract or modify it if a something happens which significantly changes the value of the assets... read more |
| MACD |
The crossing of two exponentially smoothed moving averages that are plotted above and below a zero line. The crossover, movement through the zero line,... read more |
| MACROECONOMICS |
That part of economics which looks at the economy as a whole and how it functions both internally and externally, in its relationhships with other economies. This is as opposed to microeconomics... read more |
| MAIDEN DIVIDEND |
The first dividend paid by a company after listing on the JSE. A company's first dividend is typically the subject of much speculation. The prospectus will give a five year projection of how... read more |
| MAIN BOARD |
To be listed on the main board of the JSE a company must have at least R1m in subscribed capital in the form of at least 1 m shares. It must have a satisfactory profit... read more |
| MAINTENANCE MARGIN |
A set minimum margin (per outstanding futures contract) that a customer must maintain in his margin account to retain the futures position. See also Margin. |
| MAIZE |
A cereal crop widely cultivated and used for a multitude of food products either directly (as with sweet corn) or indirectly as feed for other animals like chickens... read more |
| MAJOR AUCTION |
The overall trend of the market such as might be observed on a bar chart. |
| MAJOR SHAREHOLDER |
A shareholder with a dominant shareholding, but insufficient to give them control of a company. When a shareholder acquires more than 35% of a listed company... read more |
| MAJORITY SHAREHOLDER |
The shareholder or group of shareholders who own a controlling interest in the company - usually 50% of the voting shares plus 1 share. Obviously, the identity of... read more |
| MANAGED ACCOUNT |
An account opened with a stockbroker where the client has entered into an arrangement with the stockbroker that authorises the stockbroker to conduct transactions... read more |
| MANAGED FUND |
A managed fund is similar to a collective investment scheme (CIS) in the sense that investors' funds are pooled and managed by a professional fund manager for a fee. Most stockbroking firms offer... read more |
| MANAGED FUTURES |
A fund that uses the futures market as its primary asset. |
| MANAGEMENT |
This refers to the people who manage a company, including the board of directors. The quality of management of a company is obviously critical... read more |
| MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS |
Management accounts tell the management and board of directors whether their individual products are profitable by breaking down all the company's costs and allocating them to individual products.... read more |
| MANAGEMENT BUY-OUT |
The acquisition of all or part of the share capital of a company by its directors and senior executives. The management is usually assisted by loans from an institution. |
| MANAGEMENT RATIOS |
Financial ratios which are used to assess the management of a company's working capital. These ratios include the stock turn ratio and the debtors collection period ratio each of which measure... read more |
| MANAGING DIRECTOR |
The leader of a company's board of directors. The CEO is in charge of and responsible for everything that happens in the company. However,... read more |
| MANDATE |
When you open a stockbroking account you will be required to sign a mandate - which is an agreement between you and your broker which determines the extent of his control over your account. A... read more |
| MANDATORY CORPORATE ACTION |
An event which results from a decision of the company's board of directors and which does not require shareholder compliance. For example, the declaration of a dividend is a corporate action... read more |
| MANDATORY OFFER |
When one shareholder acquires more than 35% of a listed company, he is obliged by the Securities Regulation Panel to make an offer to all the shareholders of the company to acquire their shares.... read more |
| MANGANESE |
Manganese is a chemical element, used as an alloy, especially in stainless steel. South Africa has 22 operating manganese mines, (September 2020) and has... read more |
| MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION |
This refers to the production of the manufacturing sector of the economy. ItS production excludes mining production and agricultural production and it accounts for approximately... read more |
| MANUFACTURING SECTOR |
That sector of the economy which is engaged in processing raw materials and other materials into saleable products. Not all manufactured products... read more |
| MARGIN |
1. In stock trading, an account in which a purchase of stock may be financed with borrowed money; in futures trading, the deposit placed with the clearinghouse to assure fulfilment of the contract.... read more |
| MARGIN CALL |
A call from a broker or firm to a customer, to bring margin deposits up to a required minimum level. A margin call essentially means that a customer's account equity is no longer sufficient to... read more |
| MARGINAL COST |
This is the cost of producing one additional unit of a product. This is a variable cost which excludes the fixed overheads involved in production and looks at the materials cost of the additional... read more |
| MARGINAL PRODUCER |
A term usually applied to gold-mining companies with a very high cost of extraction and therefore a low margin. If their cost of extraction is close to the gold price, then very small fluctuations... read more |
| MARGINAL PROPENSITY TO CONSUME |
This is an economics concept which indicates how much of their income people in the economy as a whole will spend. Whatever is left is saved. The savings rate is critical to the economy because... read more |
| MARGINAL PROPENSITY TO SAVE |
A economics concept which refers to the average proportion of a person's salary which he/she will save in the economy. In South Africa, the marginal propensity to save is mostly less than 2%... read more |
| MARGINAL RATE OF TAX |
The tax bracket which individuals in South Africa with the highest incomes pay. In the tax year which ends on 28th February 2018, the marginal tax bracket... read more |
| MARGINAL TAX BRACKET |
The tax bracket which individuals in South Africa with the highest incomes pay. In the tax year which ends on 28th February 2018, the marginal tax bracket... read more |
| MARGINAL TAX RATE |
The tax bracket which individuals in South Africa with the highest incomes pay. In the tax year which ends on 28th February 2018, the marginal tax bracket... read more |
| MARK MOBIUS |
An international fund manager who is the chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group with more than $50bn under management, Mobius has also served on the World Bank's Corporate Governance Forum.... read more |
| MARKED TO MARKET |
Calculation of the difference between the contract price and the market price. |
| MARKET |
A securities exchange that is properly formulated and run in accordance with an Act of Parliament. The Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) is... read more |
| MARKET ACTION |
The price of trades and the volumes changing hands during the trading day - in other words, intra-day. In general we do not advise investors... read more |
| MARKET APPRECIATION |
The difference between what was paid for a share and its current market price. This is distinct from the realised profit, which can only occur if the share is actually sold and the money is in... read more |
| MARKET APPRECIATION |
The difference between the purchase price of a share and its current market price. Another term for this is "market appreciation". The opposite... read more |
| MARKET BREADTH |
The extent or scope of change in share prices. Market breadth is most often measured by analysing the number of shares that advanced or declined during the period or by counting the number of... read more |
| MARKET BUBBLE |
An asset bubble is a period where the price of a particular asset reaches unsustainable levels due to investor enthusiasm. Over the centuries there... read more |
| MARKET CAPITALISATION |
The current market price of a share multiplied by the number of shares that the company has in issue. The market capitalisation of a company... read more |
| MARKET CARPETS |
A feature in your Software which allows you to view the entire JSE, sector by sector, in the form of a matrix of squares with each sector represented by a square. The colour of the square indicates... read more |
| MARKET CONDUCT REGULATOR |
Previously known as the Financial Services Board (FSB). The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), newly named with the advent of the Twin Peaks mechanism,... read more |
| MARKET CRASH |
A sudden fall in stock market prices, sometimes in a single trading day, and which is usually followed by a bear trend. This happens generally because market prices have risen to unrealistically... read more |
| MARKET FORCES |
The sentiment in the market at any given time - which can be either bullish or bearish. Investors as a group tend to respond to the algebraic sum of a multitude of economic factors such as the... read more |
| MARKET MAKER |
A broker or bank continually prepared to make a two-way price to purchase or sell for a security or currency. |
| MARKET NOISE |
An incorrect interpretation of the market due to daily price and volume fluctuations. Volatility in the market can be smoothed out with a moving average. Usually the smaller the time period under... read more |
| MARKET ORDER |
An order given to a broker with no price limitation. The broker is instructed to obtain or sell a specific number of shares "at best" - as opposed to a limit order, where the instruction is only... read more |
| MARKET PERCEPTION |
The way in which the investing public in general feel about a share, an industry or the market as a whole. In other words, do they see a share as highly-rated or poorly-rated? Are they expecting... read more |
| MARKET PRESSURE |
The constraint on a share price brought about by either buying or selling pressure. Market pressure can be either bullish or bearish, depending on whether there is more buying or selling pressure.... read more |
| MARKET PRICE |
The price of a share in the market. This is the result of continuous trading - an interaction of supply and demand. The price of a share in the market is determined... read more |
| MARKET RATING |
The value which the market places on a share. The price of a share in relation to its most recent earnings per share are reflected in the P:E ratio and it's reciprocal, the earnings yield. Highly... read more |
| MARKET RISK |
The uncertainty of returns attributable to fluctuation of the entire market as opposed to a specific share. The risk in the market as a whole is usually known as "systematic risk" while the risk... read more |
| MARKET SENTIMENT |
Crowd psychology, typically a measurement of bullish or bearish attitudes among investors and traders. There is a definite "herd" effect in market sentiment where bullish or bearish sentiment,... read more |
| MARKET SHARE |
The percentage of a particular market which a company controls. Companies, especially in the retail sector are constantly fighting to maintain or increase their market... read more |
| MARKET STRATEGY |
An approach to investment or a set of rules for investment which has a specific objective. For example, a portfolio can be high risk or low risk in its orientation, or it can favour commodities... read more |
| MARKET TIMING |
Using analytical tools to devise "buy" and "sell" signals. Market timing is the realm of technical analysis while fundamental analysis is better for share selection. |
| MARKET VALUE |
Company value determined by investors, obtained by multiplying the current price of company stock by the common shares outstanding... read more |
| MARKET-IF-TOUCHED ORDER |
An order placed much like a Limit order (buy orders should be placed below the current market price; sell orders above the current market price), but when the market touches the specified price,... read more |
| MARKET-ON-CLOSE ORDER |
An order to buy or sell a futures or options contract at the prevailing market price during the closing range (usually, the last 30-60 seconds of trading). Similar to a market order in that no... read more |
| MARKETABLE LOT |
Also called a "round lot", this is the number of shares which is normally traded. On the JSE the marketable lot is 100 shares - as it is for most markets around the world. A few markets have... read more |
| MARKETABLE SECURITY |
A security which is traded on an organised exchange. This is a broad term which incorporates all types of securities such as equities, bonds and derivatives. If a security is marketable, it can... read more |
| MARKETS |
A securities exchange that is properly formulated and run in accordance with an Act of Parliament. The Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) is... read more |
| MARKITWIRE |
... read more |
| MATCHING |
The off-setting of a buy order against a sell order in the market. Matching is done automatically by the JSE computer as soon as the price of a buy order (a bid) is the same as the price of a... read more |
| MATCHING PRINCIPLE |
The accounting principle which requires that the expenses of a period are subtracted from the incomes of the same period in order to arrive at the profit or loss for that period. For example,... read more |
| MATERIAL ADVERSE CHANGE |
A material adverse change clause is included in most major contracts and allows parties to exit the contract or modify it if a something happens which significantly changes the value of the assets... read more |
| MATIF |
The Marche A Terme Des Instruments Financiers exchange in Paris. MATIF SA is France's futures exchange, absorbed in the merger of the Paris Bourse with Euronext NV to form Euronext Paris. Derivatives... read more |
| MATURITY |
U.S. Treasury Bills reach their face value on the maturity date. T-Bills are issued at a discount to face value and gradually increase in value until reaching the full face value on the maturity... read more |
| MATURITY DATE |
U.S. Treasury Bills reach their face value on the maturity date. T-Bills are issued at a discount to face value and gradually increase in value until reaching the full face value on the maturity... read more |
| MAXIMUM ADVERSE EXCURSION |
A historical measurement of the closed losing trades versus the closed profitable trades of a trading system. Used to determine the stop-loss level that can be used that will allow winning trades... read more |
| MAXIMUM ENTROPY METHOD |
More flexible than Fourier analysis, the maximum entropy method is both a tool for spectrum analysis and a method of adaptive filtering and trend forecasting. As a tool for spectrum analysis,... read more |
| MCSA |
Previously known as the Chamber of Mines, this organisation represents employers in the mining industry in South Africa. Its objective is to support and promote mining in this country. It was... read more |
| MEAN |
The mean of a set of numbers. Averages are used extensively in the share market for the determination of market indexes and economic... read more |
| MEAN DEVIATION |
The average absolute value of the difference between the population of numbers and the mean. |
| MEAN RETURN |
The average monthly total return of a stock. The total return is price change added to dividends. |
| MEAN REVERTING |
The term adopted in academic literature for one possible state of a price series: that state when price is oscillating randomly about some (unknown) mean value. That is, it is not trending. |
| MEDIAN LINE |
The line that is drawn from an extreme that bisects a line drawn through the next corrective phase after the pivot point. See Andrews Method. |
| MEDIUM TERM BUDGET POLICY STATEMENT |
Better known as the MTBPS or the "mini-budget" this is a statement by the Treasury given by the Minister of Finance at the end of October each year. It considers the medium term economic outlook... read more |
| MEGAPHONE |
A technical analysis formation which is the opposite of an asymmetrical triangle. The broadening formation occurs when there is uncertainty and high volatility in the market.... read more |
| MEMBER FIRM |
A stockbroking firm which has at least one employee who is a qualified stockbroker. Membership of the JSE takes three forms (1) a trading service provider (TSP) who can perform trades on behalf... read more |
| MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION |
A document required in terms of the old Companies Act which was lodged with the Registrar of Companies and which set out the relationship of a company with the outside world. In terms of the... read more |
| MEMORANDUM OF INCORPORATION |
Introduced in May 2011, the Memorandum is a single document that, in terms of the new Companies Act, replaces the old memorandum and articles of association. The MOI includes details of the relationship... read more |
| MENTAL ATTITUDE |
Mental Posture is your emotional response to the share market in general and to your shares in particular. Objectively, investing in shares should be a very scientific process. The reality is... read more |
| MENTAL POSTURE |
Mental Posture is your emotional response to the share market in general and to your shares in particular. Objectively, investing in shares should be a very scientific process. The reality is... read more |
| MERGER |
This occurs where two or more companies come under the control of one, whose shareholders then become the shareholders of the companies that were... read more |
| METASTOCK |
MetaStock has been providing award-winning charting and analysis tools for the self-directed trader for over 30 years. Capitalising on technical analysis, the MetaStock line of trading software... read more |
| MEZZANINE DEBT |
Debt in a company which ranks below senior debt, but above equity in the distribution of net assets on liquidation. On liquidation the liquidators first sell the assets of the company and then... read more |
| MICROECONOMICS |
That part of economics which deals with the individual firm or consumer. This is as opposed to macroeconomics which deals with the economy as a whole. Microeconomis considers the equilibrating... read more |
| MICROLENDER |
A person or organisation that specialises in making small, short-term, unsecured loans usually at very high interest rates. Following the end of the apartheid era and the advent of the... read more |
| MID-TERM BUDGET POLICY STATEMENT |
The mid-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) is usually tabled by the Minister of Finance at the end of October each year with the objective of updating the annual... read more |
| MILK INDEX |
This is an index of currency values produced by Rand Merchant Bank based on the cost of a litre of milk in various countries in Africa. It is similar to the Economist magazine's... read more |
| MILLENNIUM EXCHANGE |
A trading platform adopted by the JSE for the trading of equities and derivatives in equities and currencies. This platform was developed and produced by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).... read more |
| MILTON FRIEDMAN |
Friedman was a Nobel prize winning American economist who developed the economic school of thought known as "monetarism". This school rejected the Keynesian approach in the mid-1970s. The major... read more |
| MINE REHABILITATION |
Mines are required by law in South Africa to set aside funds so that at the end of the mine's life the ground where the mine was can be returned as far as reasonably possible to its original... read more |
| MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT |
The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA - 28 of 2002) recognises that these natural resources belong to the South African Nation are not renewable and places the government... read more |
| MINERAL RESERVES |
These are the minerals belonging to a mining company which can be extracted profitably. All mining companies try to extend their mineral reserves by drilling exploratory cores to establish exactly... read more |
| MINI-BUDGET |
The mid-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) is usually tabled by the Minister of Finance at the end of October each year with the objective of updating the annual... read more |
| MINI-BUDGET |
Better known as the MTBPS or the "mini-budget" this is a statement by the Treasury given by the Minister of Finance at the end of October each year. It considers the medium term economic outlook... read more |
| MINIMUM SUBSCRIPTION |
Section 108 (2) of the Companies Act requires the directors of a company intent on raising capital from the public by a sale of shares to determine the minimum amount of capital necessary for... read more |
| MINIMUM WAGES |
These are set by the Minister of Labour in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act for each industry in the economy. The problem with setting a minimum wage is that often it makes a particular... read more |
| MINING |
The extraction and exploitation of metals and minerals from the ground. This activity in South Africa is controlled by the Mineral and Petroleum Resource... read more |
| MINING CHARTER |
The constitution seeks to redress the racial imbalances of the past and in the mining industry this is achieved by the mining charter. The charter aims to have at least 26% of mining companies'... read more |
| MINING HOUSE |
A large multi-national company which specialises in the exploitation of minerals. There are several very large mining houses world-wide and most of them... read more |
| MINOR AUCTION |
The latest trend of the market, i.e., what it is doing now. |
| MINORITY INTEREST |
A shareholding of less than 50% of the total issued share capital of a company. Companies work on the principle of majority rule - decisions are made by the majority... read more |
| MISMATCH FACTOR |
This is the gross profit margin which banks make on lending money to the commercial sector. It is the difference between the prime overdraft rate... read more |
| MISTRADE |
A trade which deviates significantly from the price of the last transaction because of a capturing mistake. Since the JSE moved over to a completely electronic trading platform and moved away... read more |
| MIT |
An order placed much like a Limit order (buy orders should be placed below the current market price; sell orders above the current market price), but when the market touches the specified price,... read more |
| MIXED CAPITALISM |
Mixed capitalism is an economic system which combines elements of capitalism and socialism. This means that consumers are given a singificant amount of freedom in the labour market and the retail... read more |
| MIXED CAPITALIST SYSTEM |
Mixed capitalism is an economic system which combines elements of capitalism and socialism. This means that consumers are given a singificant amount of freedom in the labour market and the retail... read more |
| MOBILE VIRTUAL NETWORK OPERATOR |
A company that rents network infrastructure from a network owner (like MTN, Vodacom, Cell-C and Telkom) and then sells its data and voice services to its customer base. There... read more |
| MOBIUS MARK |
An international fund manager who is the chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group with more than $50bn under management, Mobius has also served on the World Bank's Corporate Governance Forum.... read more |
| MOC |
An order to buy or sell a futures or options contract at the prevailing market price during the closing range (usually, the last 30-60 seconds of trading). Similar to a market order in that no... read more |
| MODERN PORTFOLIO THEORY |
Investing theory in which portfolio managers estimate and manage risk and return. Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) is based on the "random walk hypothesis" which basically maintains that it is impossible... read more |
| MODIFIED ENDOWMENT CONTRACT |
Life insurance in which funds such as policy loans, assignments, pledges, and partial surrenders are considered gross income and subject to income tax. |
| MOI |
Introduced in May 2011, the Memorandum is a single document that, in terms of the new Companies Act, replaces the old memorandum and articles of association. The MOI includes details of the relationship... read more |
| MOMENTUM FILTER |
A measure of change, derivative or slope of the underlying trend in a time series. Implemented by first applying a low pass filter to the data and then applying a differencing operation to the... read more |
| MOMENTUM INDICATOR |
A market indicator utilising price and volume statistics for predicting the strength or weakness of a current market and any overbought or oversold conditions, and to note turning points within... read more |
| MOMENTUM METROPOLITAN HOLDINGS LIMITED |
10 - 09 - 2020 Momentum Metropolitan (MTM) is an insurance company listed on the JSE and the Namibian stock exchanges. It was formed by the merger of Momentum and Metropolitan in December... read more |
| MONETARISM |
An approach to economics developed by Milton Friedman in which he proposes that increases in the money supply have an almost direct impact on the inflation rate because the velocity of circulation... read more |
| MONETARY POLICY |
Monetary policy is the control of the economy by changes in the money supply, as a result of changes in the level of interest rates, and the... read more |
| MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE |
A committee formed by the Reserve Bank of South Africa which meets regularly to discuss and decide on interest rate changes within the country. This... read more |
| MONETARY STIMULATION |
A policy implemented by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank to encourage economic growth through the money supply... read more |
| MONEY BILLS AMENDMENT PROCEDURE AND RELATED MATTERS ACT |
This Act (13 of 2018) deals with the oversight role which Parliament has over government's taxes, the allocation of funds and its borrowings. It includes the process by which the budget is approved... read more |
| MONEY FLOW |
A number of technical indicators that incorporate volume and price action to measure buying or selling pressure. |
| MONEY MANAGER |
The JSE is dominated by institutional investors which account for as much as 90% of all trades. These institutions are pension funds, insurance... read more |
| MONEY MARKET |
The money market does not take place at a central place; it is really a communications network which allows banks, money brokers, businesses, discount houses, the government and the Reserve Bank... read more |
| MONEY MARKET ACCOUNT |
... read more |
| MONEY MARKET FUND |
A mutual fund made up of money market instruments that are short term in nature. |
| MONEY MARKET UNIT TRUST |
A unit trust which only invests in fixed interest investments on the money market, sometimes also called a "fixed interest unit trust". These unit trusts offer much greater security that unit... read more |
| MONEY STOP |
A fixed amount of money that a market participant would lose if a stop were hit. |
| MONEY SUPPLY |
The total amount of money in the country. There are various methods for measuring the money supply, itemised and defined as "M0, M1, M2 and M3". Thus the broadest measure of the money supply... read more |
| MONOPOLISTIC COMPETITION |
A market which has many competitors, but there is sufficient product differentiation to avoid easy substitition of one product for another. On a scale with monoploy on one end and perfect competition... read more |
| MONOPOLISTIC PROFIT |
The additional profits which a monopoly can generate because there are no close substitutes for its product and no competitors. Monopolist profits are rare and usually occur because of a geographic... read more |
| MONOPOLY |
The situation where one business controls enough of the supply of a product or service to be able to force the price up by being the only supplier. A good example of this is De Beers, which has... read more |
| MONOWAVE |
In Elliott wave theory, a single wave within a range of waves. |
| MOODYS |
This is one of the three major world-wide ratings agencies involved in rating bonds - both government and corporate. Generally, they will do an assessment of South Africa as an issuer of debt... read more |
| MOODYS INVESTORS SERVICES |
This is one of the three major world-wide ratings agencies involved in rating bonds - both government and corporate. Generally, they will do an assessment of South Africa as an issuer of debt... read more |
| MORAL HAZARD |
This is a term from the insurance industry which refers to the situation where an insured person may take greater than normal risks because they know that they are insured against the consequences.... read more |
| MORATORIUM |
A period of grace on the repayment of debt and the interest due on it. If a company is placed under business rescue, then it is immune... read more |
| MORGAN STANLEY CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL |
MSCI is an American producer and calculator of international indexes for the share market and fixed income securities. Their indexes go back to 1969. The most important of these for South African... read more |
| MORNING FIX |
A fixing of the gold price in London at a fixing session. This is done by five leading bullion houses, by matching supply and demand to equalise at a certain price. There is also an afternoon... read more |
| MORNING STAR |
A bottom reversal pattern in candlestick charting. According to Steve Nison, a signal that the bulls have seized control. This formation occurs where a lower candle comes between to higher candles.... read more |
| MORTGAGE ADVANCE |
An additional loan which is secured by the mortgage on a property. For people who have a mortgage it is usually fairly easy to obtain an additional mortgage or to extend their existing mortgage.... read more |
| MORTGAGE BOND |
A loan which is secured against fixed property - as opposed to a lien which is secured against movable property. The interest rate on mortgage bonds... read more |
| MOTOR VEHICLE SALES |
A monthly economic indicator showing the number and value of new motor vehicles sold in South Africa. The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South... read more |
| MOVING AVERAGE |
An average of the most recent prices of a share progressed each trading day such that the same number of days remain in the average.... read more |
| MOVING AVERAGE CONVERGENCE/DIVERGENCE |
The crossing of two exponentially smoothed moving averages that are plotted above and below a zero line. The crossover, movement through the zero line,... read more |
| MOVING AVERAGE CROSSOVERS |
... read more |
| MPC |
A committee formed by the Reserve Bank of South Africa which meets regularly to discuss and decide on interest rate changes within the country. This... read more |
| MPRDA |
The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA - 28 of 2002) recognises that these natural resources belong to the South African Nation are not renewable and places the government... read more |
| MPT |
Investing theory in which portfolio managers estimate and manage risk and return. Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) is based on the "random walk hypothesis" which basically maintains that it is impossible... read more |
| MSCI |
MSCI is an American producer and calculator of international indexes for the share market and fixed income securities. Their indexes go back to 1969. The most important of these for South African... read more |
| MSCI |
An average index of the stock markets of emerging economies produced and maintained by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI).... read more |
| MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEX |
This is an index produced by Morgan Stanley Capital International covering 23 emerging markets overall indexes. Those countries are: Egypt, South Africa, Peru, Turkey, Brazil, India, Thailand,... read more |
| MTBPS |
Better known as the MTBPS or the "mini-budget" this is a statement by the Treasury given by the Minister of Finance at the end of October each year. It considers the medium term economic outlook... read more |
| MTBPS |
The mid-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) is usually tabled by the Minister of Finance at the end of October each year with the objective of updating the annual... read more |
| MTF |
A European platform on which financial instruments of various types can be traded. The instruments could be over-the counter equities, commodities or more unusual items. The platform offers investment... read more |
| MULTI-NATIONAL COMPANY |
A company which has offices and businesses in many different countries. These are generally very big well-known names like Microsoft, Coca Cola, Nestle and Sony, but South Africa has spawned... read more |
| MULTI-YEAR PRICE DETERMINATION |
A system employed by the National Energy regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to establish the price which Escom can charge for electricity. Escom submits an application to NERSA for evaluation... read more |
| MULTILATERAL TRADING FACILITY |
A European platform on which financial instruments of various types can be traded. The instruments could be over-the counter equities, commodities or more unusual items. The platform offers investment... read more |
| MULTIPLE |
The market price of a share divided by its most recent average annual earnings per share. This gives the reciprocal of the "earnings yield",... read more |
| MULTIPLIER EFFECT |
An economics term which refers to the fact that an injection of money into the economy becomes income for many different organisations and individuals and ultimately increases national income... read more |
| MUNICIPALITY |
A mechanism for providing governance over a local area. In South Africa there are 8 metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities - making a total of 257.... read more |
| MUTUAL FUND |
A company which employs professional fund managers to invest the funds of investors in a variety of assets (such as bonds, equities and property) with the objective maximising the shareholders'... read more |
| MVNO |
A company that rents network infrastructure from a network owner (like MTN, Vodacom, Cell-C and Telkom) and then sells its data and voice services to its customer base. There... read more |
| MYPD |
A system employed by the National Energy regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to establish the price which Escom can charge for electricity. Escom submits an application to NERSA for evaluation... read more |