unit 5 part II

listed company

a company which has any of its securities listed on any recognised stock exchange

to drive a hard bargain

to demand a lot or refuse to give much when making an agreement with someone

to put someone on the spot

to cause someone difficulty or make them embarrased by forcing them to make a difficult decision

to throw the baby out with the bath water

to lose the good parts when you get rid of the bad parts of sth

to fight a losing battle

to try hard to do sth when there is no chance of success

to be in the firing line

to be in the leading or most vulnerable position in an activity

to put a spanner in the works

to cause problems and prevent sth from happening as planned

audit committee

a committee of an organisation's board of directors which is responsible for oversight of the financial reporting process

compensation committee

a committee that determines all executive compesation packages, including salary and any other forms of compensation

nomination committee

a committee that evaluates a firm's board of directors and examines the skills and characteristics required of board candidates

stock option

a benefit in the form of an option given by a company to an employee to buy shares in the company at a discount or at a stated fixed price

short change

insufficient money given as change; to treat unfairly or dishonestly especially by giving less than is deserved or expected

demagoguery

political activity or practices that seek support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument

shareholder capitalism

an economic system in which the dominant corporate form is legally independent companies that can pool capital from many shareholders with limited liability, complemented by an open stock market to trade these shares freely

shareholder value

the part of its capitalization which is equity as opposed to long-term debt

shareholder activism

a form of activism in which shareholders use equity stakes in a corporation to put pressure on its management

motion

a suggestion that is made formally at a meeting and then decided on by voting

misgovernance

the mismanagement of a company at the highest level

corporate governance

the balance of control between the stakeholders, managers and directors of an organization

equity stake

when a company or organization owns shares in a company

financial reporting

the financial information that companies give about their activites and the ways that they prepare and show it

private equity

investments in companies whose shares are not traded on a public stock exchange

poison pill

sth in company's financial or legal structure that is meant to make it difficult for another company to buy it in a takeover

greenmail

when a company buys back its stock from a company that is trying to take it over, often for a very high price, to try to prevent a takeover

share swap

a change in the ownership of shares from one person or organisation to another, or the arrangements for doing this

rogue trader

someone who works for a financial institution and makes unauthorized and reckless transactions on the financial market

stakeholder

someone who has invested money into sth or who has some important connection with it, and therefore is affected by its success or failure

severance deal

an amount of money, and other advantages such as advice on finding a new job, that are offered to an employee when a company tells them to leave, these deals are often offered when companies are restructuring

FSA

Financial Services Authority; an organisation that in 1997 took control of regulation of the British financial services industry from the nine separate organisations which previously had been responsible for banking, insurance etc.