Merrill Lynch, for example, is a full-service broker. Index funds are mutual funds which are set up to mimic or copy particular groups of companies. They buy and hold whatever stocks are in the index that they're based on. Once it goes public, shares of the company will trade through stock markets and exchanges. There can be a lot of investor interest and excitement over IPOs.
Interest is what a borrower pays to a lender in exchange for the use of the borrowed money.
So if you deposit money in a bank, you're really lending the bank your money, and the bank pays you interest for it. A game of chance, where many people buy tickets and winners are chosen at random. Lotteries are an easy way to lose money. A merger is when one company buys another or joins forces with another. If you invest your money in the Money Market, you'll usually earn a little more than the current interest rate offered by banks.