Institutional investor

Institutional investor – An organization whose primary purpose is to invest its own assets or those held in trust by it for others. Includes pension funds, investment companies, insurance companies, universities and banks

Good 'til canceled (GTC)

Good 'til canceled (GTC) or open order - An order to buy or sell that remains in effect until it is either executed or canceled.

Intermarket Trading System (ITS)

Intermarket Trading System (ITS) – An electronic communications network now linking the trading floorof seven registered exchanges and FINRA to foster competition among them in stocks listed on either the NYSE or AMEX and one or more regional exchanges. Through ITS, anybroker or market maker on the floor of any participating market can reach out to other participants for an execution whenever the nationwide quote shows a better price is available

Gold fix (GF)

Gold fix – The setting of the price of gold by dealers (especially in a twice-daily London meeting at the central bank); the fix is the fundamental worldwide price for setting prices of gold bullion and gold-related contracts and products.

Investment banker – Also known as an underwriter. The middleman between thecorporation issuing new securities and the public. The usual practice is for one or more investment bankers to buy outright from a corporation a new issue of stocks or bonds. The group forms a syndicate to sell the securities to individuals and institutions. Investment bankers also distribute very large blocks of stocks or bonds - perhaps held by an estate.

General mortgage bond (GMB)

General mortgage bond – A bond that is secured by a blanket mortgage on the company's property but maybe outranked by one or more other mortgages.

Investment company

Investment company – A company or trust that uses itscapital to invest in other companies. There are two principal types: the closed-end and the open-end, or mutual fund. Shares in closed-end investment companies, some of which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, are readily transferable in the open market and are bought and sold like other shares. Capitalization of these companies remains the same unless action is taken to change, which is seldom. Open-end funds sell their own shares to investors, stand ready to buy back their old shares, and are not listed. Open-end funds are so called because their capitalization is not fixed; they issue more shares as people want them

US jobless claims fall by 9,000 to 363,000

U.S. Department of Labor Office of Public Affairs Washington, D.C. EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION USDL12-2167-NAT Program Contacts: TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL IN THIS Scott Gibbons (202) 693-3008 RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL Tony Sznoluch (202) 693-3176 8:30 A.M. (Eastern), THURSDAY Media Contact: (202) 693-4676 November 1, 2012 UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending October27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 363,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 372,000. The 4-week moving average was 367,250, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 368,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent for the week endingOctober 20, unchanged fromthe prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 20 was 3,263,000, an increase of 4,000 from thepreceding week's revised level of 3,259,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,266,500, a decrease of 6,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,272,750. UNADJUSTED DATA The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 339,750 in the week ending October 27, a decrease of 5,476 from the previous week. There were 369,647 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011. The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent during the week ending October 20, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted numberfor persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,839,018, an increase of 23,295 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 percent and the volume was 3,199,527. The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending October 13 was 5,035,367, an increase of 112,147 from the previous week. There were 6,783,614 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2011. Extended Benefits were onlyavailable in New York duringthe week ending October 13. Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,586 in the week ending October 20, a decrease of 405 from the prior week. There were 2,817 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 7 from the preceding week. There were 18,144 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending October 13, an increase of 575 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claimingbenefits totaled 39,718, an increase of 1,603 from the prior week. States reported 2,098,646 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending October 13, an increase of 45,689 from the prior week. There were 2,945,642 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2011. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending October 13 were in Alaska (4.0), Puerto Rico (3.7), Virgin Islands (3.4), New Jersey (3.2), California (3.1), Pennsylvania (3.1), Connecticut (3.0), Oregon (2.8), Nevada (2.7), Arkansas (2.6), Illinois (2.6), New York (2.6), and North Carolina (2.6). The largest increases in initialclaims for the week ending October 20 were in North Carolina (+2,400), Pennsylvania (+1,679), New Jersey (+1,575), Georgia (+1,477), and Tennessee (+888), while the largest decreases were in California (-16,586), Florida (-2,414), Texas (-1,572), Michigan (-1,308), and Ohio (-1,214)

JPMorgan sues London Whale's boss

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The harpoons are out at JPMorgan. The bank is pursuing legal action against Javier Martin-Artajo, the former boss of the trader who lost the bank billions of dollars earlier this year and came tobe known as the "London Whale." Greg Campbell, a lawyer forMartin-Artajo, said Wednesday that JPMorgan had filed a lawsuit in the United Kingdom against his client, who supervised Iksil in the bank's chief investment office in London.Martin-Artajo has not yet been served with the complaint and does not know the specifics of the allegations, Campbell said.

LUSAKA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Zambia's central bank increased its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 9.25 percent on Wednesday, saying its monetary policy committee had noted upward risks to inflation. "The committee weighed the risks and was of the opinion that inflationary pressures during the policy-relevant period may pose a threat to the end-year inflation target of 7.0 percent," it said in astatement.