services that make up GDP and changes in the composite of GDP. Gearing Financial leverage. GEM (growing equity mortgage) Mortgage in which annual increases in monthly payments are used to reduce outstandingprincipal and to shorten the term of the loan. General Average Provision in maritime law where all shippers on a given voyage would reimburse the ship line in the event of vessel sinking or catastrophic damage. It also provides for the reimbursement to those shippers whose cargo was thrown overboard in order to save the vessel. General Average Contribution The amount of money paid by each shipper involved in a General Average. General account Federal Reserve Board's term for a margin account provided to a customer by a brokerage firm. Governed by Regulation T of the FED. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) A treaty adopted by the United Nations aimed at elimination of international trade barriers between member countries. General cash offer A public offering made to investors at large. Generic credit spread Refers to the corporate bond spread for a particular credit rating and expiry. For example, 10-year single A corporates were priced or trading at 130 basis points above Treasuries last night, or said diffrently, 130 is the generic credit spread for 10-year single A corporates. General ledger Accounting records that show all the financial statement accounts of a business. General lien An attachment that gives the lender the right to seize the personal property of a borrower who has not fulfilled the obligations of the loan, but prevents the lender from seizing real property. General loan and collateral agreement The agreement governing the broker-dealer'sborrowing against listed securities from a bank for the purpose of carrying on business and making transactions. See: Broker loan rate. General mortgage A type of obligation that covers all a borrower's mortgageable properties, not just one specific property. General obligation bonds Municipalsecurities secured by the issuer's pledge of its full faith, credit, and taxing power. General Order A penalty imposed on imported goods that are not promptly cleared through customs. General partner A participant who has unlimited liability for the obligations of a partnership. General partnership A partnership in which all participants are general partners. General revenue The sum of taxes, charges, and miscellaneous income taken in at the state and local level while neglecting overlapping revenue which may be erroneously counted twice. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) The overall conventions, rules, and procedures that define accepted accounting practice at a particular time in the U.S. Generation-skipping transfer or trust A trust in which a principal amount is placed in a trust on the death of person A and is transferred to A's grandchildren when A's children die. The income from the trust goes to the children of person A while they survive. Generic Describes the characteristics and/or experience of the total universe of a coupon of MBSsector type; that is, in contrast to a specific pool or collateral group, as in a specific CMOissue. Genetic Algorithms Models that optimize rules by mimicking the Darwinian Law of survival of the fittest. A