- L -

Leading Indicators - Statistic that are considered to precede changes in economic growth rates and total business activity, e.g. factory orders.

Liability - In terms of foreign exchange , the obligation to deliver to a counterparty an amount of currency either in respect of a balance sheet holding at a specified future date or in respect of an un-matured forward or spot transaction.

Limit order - A request to deal as a buyer or seller for a foreign currency transaction at a specified price, or at a better price, if obtainable.

Liquidation - Any transaction that offsets or closes out a previously established position.

Liquidity - The ability of a market to accept large transactions.

- M -

Maintenance margin - The minimum margin which an investor must keep on deposit in a margin account at all times in respect of each open contract.

Make a market - A dealer is said to make a market when he or she quotes bid and offer prices at which he or she stands ready to buy and sell.

Managed float - When the monetary authorities intervene regularly in the market to stabilize the rates or to aim the exchange rate in a required direction.

Margin call - A claim by one's broker or dealer for additional good faith performance monies usually issued when an investor's account suffers adverse price movements.

Margin - The amount of money or collateral that must be, in the first instance, provided or thereafter, maintained, to ensure against losses on open contracts. Initial must be placed before a trade is entered into. Maintenance or Variation margin must be added to initial to maintain against losses on open positions. Sometimes herein the amount that needs to be present to establish or thereafter maintained is sometimes herein referred to as necessary margin.

Mark to market - The daily adjustment of an account to reflect accrued profits and losses often required to calculate variations of margins.

Market maker - A market maker is a person or firm authorized to create and maintain a market in an instrument.

Market order - An order to buy or sell a financial instrument immediately at the best possible price.

Micro economics - The study of economic activity as it applies to individual firms or well defined small groups of individuals or economic sectors.

Mid-price or middle rate - The price half-way between the two prices, or the average of both buying and selling prices offered by the market makers.

Minimum price fluctuation - The smallest increment of market price movement possible in a given futures contract.

Monetary Base - Currency in circulation plus banks' required and excess deposits at the central bank.

Moving Average - A way of smoothing a set of data, widely used in price time series.

- N -

Net Position - The amount of currency bought or sold which have not yet been offset by opposite transactions.

NFP : Non-Farm Payroll. Reported monthly, this figure represents the total number of paid U.S. workers of any business, excluding farm employees, general government employees, private household employees, and employees of nonprofit organizations that provide assistance to individuals. The NFP report also includes estimates of the average work week and average weekly earnings of all non-farm employees.