Glossary of Financial Terms - B

Balance Sheet

A financial report showing the status of a company's assets, liabilities, and owners' equity on a given date.

Bankers Acceptances

A bill of exchange, or draft, drawn by the borrower for payment on a specified date, and accepted by a chartered bank. Upon acceptance, the bill becomes, in effect, a postdated certified cheque.

Beta coefficient

A measurement of the extent to which the returns on a given stock move with stock market.

Beta risk

Risk of a firm measured from the standpoint of an investor who holds a highly diversified portfolio.

Bond

Usually a fixed interest security under which the issuer contracts to pay the lender a fixed principal amount at a stated date in the future, and a series of interest payments, either semi-annually or annually. Interest payments may vary through the life of bond.

Break-Even

This is a term used to describe a point at which revenues equal costs.

Break-Even Analysis

An analytical technique for studying the relationships between fixed cost, variable cost, and profits. A breakeven chart graphically depicts the nature of breakeven analysis. The breakeven point represents the volume of sales at which total costs equal total revenues (that is, profits equal zero).

Bridge Loan

A short term loan to cover the immediate cash requirements until permanent financing is received.

Business Expansion Investment

The use of capital to create more money through the addition of fixed assets or through income producing vehicles.