Wall Street Dictionary: The Most Up-To-Date and Authoritative Dictionary of Financial Terms
Over the past decade, Americans have had a love affair with the stock market as they've poured billions of dollars into mutual funds, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), and 401(k)s. But how knowledgeable is the investing public? Shook's Dictionary comes to the rescue with an authoritative compilation of over 4000 financial terms with straightforward definitions investors (beginning or advanced) can understand. What constitutes a "public" or "private" company? What is an "income statement"? What is the difference between a "put" and a "call"? Shook answers these and many other questions. Unfortunately, there are also a few lapses. The "Big Six" accounting firm designation has shrunk to the "Big Five" with the recent merger that produced PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Fannie Mae is the official name, not a nickname, of the old Federal National Mortgage Association. The omission of Internet-related material is peculiar given the rise of "day trading" on Wall Street, and the next edition should include terms such as "e-trade," "e-commerce," or "Internet stocks." The author should also define "Roth IRA" to indicate that there are different types of IRAs. Lastly, some of the more analytic descriptions might benefit from a small graphic to better illustrate difficult concepts (such as "yield curve"). Barron's Dictionary of Finance & Investment Terms (5th ed.), published in 1998, provides such graphics, and the explanations are clearly enhanced. Despite these flaws, this is still a pretty good ready-reference tool that will be well thumbed in years to come. Recommended for larger business collections.ARichard S. Drezen, Washington Post News Research Ctr., Washington, DCCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.