Hardening
What is 'Hardening' 1. A term used to describe a price of commodity or futures contracts that is gradually stabilizing. 2. A futures market that is slowly advancing in prices. Explaining 'Hardening' 1. After a rise or fall in prices, a slow return to historically accepted levels is considered a hardening. ...
Hard Stop
What is 'Hard Stop' A price level that, if reached, will trigger an order to sell an underlying security. Hard stops are set at a constant price and are inherently good until cancelled. A hard stop is used to protect the downside of holding an investment by always being active, and is only triggered once the price...
Hard-To-Borrow List
What is a Hard-To-Borrow List A hard to borrow list is inventory utilized by brokerages to identify securities that are not available for borrowing for transactions that are short-sale. The hard-to-borrow list of a brokerage firm gives an up-to-date list of securities which one cannot short. The security may be on the hard-to-borrow list because it is in short supply...
Heating Degree Day (HDD)
What is 'Heating Degree Day - HDD' The number of degrees that a day's average temperature is below 65oFahrenheit (18o Celsius), the temperature below which buildings need to be heated. The price of weather derivatives traded in the winter is based on an index made up of monthly HDD values. The settlement price for a weather futures...
Harvest Strategy
What is a ‘Harvest Strategy' A harvest strategy is a business plan for reducing or completely eliminating investment in a particular product, brand, or business line because a company's management has determined that the expense of attempting to boost sales any further would not be justified by the likely future revenues from the product or brand line. A harvest strategy...
Hedge Clause
What is 'Hedge Clause' A provision included in published financial reports that indemnifies the author, or authors, against any responsibility for any errors, omissions, or oversights contained within the report. Hedge clauses can be found predominately in analyst reports, company press releases and on most investing websites. A hedge clause is also known as a "disclaimer"....
Hard Loan
What is 'Hard Loan' A foreign loan that must be paid in the currency of a nation that has stability and a reputation abroad for economic strength (a hard currency). Explaining 'Hard Loan' For example, a loan agreement between a Brazilian company and an Argentinean company where the debt is to be paid in...
Harvard MBA Indicator
What is 'Harvard MBA Indicator' A long-term stock market indicator that evaluates the percentage of Harvard Business School graduates that accept "market sensitive" jobs in fields such as investment banking, securities sales & trading, private equity, venture capital and leveraged buyouts. If more than 30% of a year's graduating class take jobs in these areas, the Harvard...
Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem
DefinitionThe Heckscher–Ohlin theorem is one of the four critical theorems of the Heckscher–Ohlin model, developed by Swedish economist Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin. It states that a country will export goods that use its abundant factors intensively, and import goods that use its scarce factors intensively. In the two-factor case, it states: "A capital-abundant country will export the capital-intensive...
Health Reimbursement Account (HRA)
What is a 'Health Reimbursement Account - HRA' A health reimbursement account (HRA) consists of employer-funded plans that reimburse employees for incurred medical expenses that are not covered by the company's standard insurance plan. Because the employer funds the plan, any distributions are considered tax deductible (to the employer). Reimbursement dollars received by the employee are generally...