Glossary
One page for each word you meet in US filings and economic data.
Insider trades
- Form 4The filing an officer, director or more-than-10% owner of a US listed company sends the SEC after trading the company's stock.
- InsiderThe people Section 16 of the US Securities Exchange Act requires to report their trades: a company's officers, its directors and holders of more than 10% of its stock.
- Form 4 transaction codesThe single letter on each Form 4 line that says whether it is an open-market purchase, a sale, an option exercise or something else.
- Rule 10b5-1 trading planA plan an insider writes before knowing any inside information that sets when and how much stock will be traded later.
- Cluster buyingSeveral insiders of the same company each buying shares in the open market within a short period.
Congress trades
- STOCK ActA 2012 US law that makes members of Congress and senior officials disclose their stock trades within 45 days.
- Periodic Transaction ReportThe document a member of Congress files under the STOCK Act to report trades: House members with the Clerk, Senators with the Secretary of the Senate.
- Congress trade amount rangesSTOCK Act reports give each trade's size as a range such as $1,001–$15,000 or $15,001–$50,000, not an exact amount.
Lobbying
- Lobbying Disclosure ActA 1995 US law that makes lobbying of Congress and the executive branch, and what it costs, public every quarter.
- Foreign Agents Registration ActA 1938 US law requiring anyone doing political or publicity work in the US for a foreign government, party or company to register with the Justice Department.
- Former-official lobbyistsPeople who worked as congressional staff or senior executive-branch officials and now lobby; their past posts are disclosed on lobbying reports.
Government contracts
- US federal contractsContracts US federal agencies sign with companies for goods and services; the amount, recipient and place of performance are public on USAspending.
- Contract modificationA change to an existing federal contract that adds money or changes its term or scope, published separately with a modification number.
- Foreign Military SalesThe program through which the US government sells weapons and military services to foreign governments; sales above set amounts are notified to Congress first.
Korean lawmakers
The president
Economic data
- FOMCThe Federal Reserve body that sets the policy rate; it holds eight scheduled meetings a year.
- Federal funds rateThe rate at which US banks lend each other overnight money; the Fed sets a target range for it, and that range is the US policy rate.
- Dot plotA chart in which each FOMC participant places one dot at the year-end policy rate they think appropriate.
- Consumer Price IndexAn index of the prices urban US consumers pay for goods and services, published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- PCE price indexThe personal consumption expenditures price index, published monthly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis; the Fed's 2% inflation goal is set on it.
- Jobs reportThe Bureau of Labor Statistics report, usually released on the first Friday of the month, with the change in nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate.
- US Treasury yieldsThe yields on US government debt, quoted by maturity: the 2-year, the 10-year and others.
Dividends, splits and buybacks
- Ex-dividend dateThe first day on which a buyer no longer receives the coming dividend; to get it, buy by the day before.
- Stock splitDividing each share into several and lowering the price in proportion; the company's value and each holder's stake stay the same.
- Share buybackA company buying its own shares in the market, which lowers the share count and raises each share's claim on the business.