Federal Home Loan Bank Act
DefinitionThe Federal Home Loan Bank Act, is a United States federal law passed under President Herbert Hoover in order to lower the cost of home ownership. It established the Federal Home Loan Bank Board to charter and supervise federal savings and loan institutions. It also created the Federal Home Loan Banks which lend to building and loan associations, cooperative...
Fair Trade Investing
What is 'Fair Trade Investing' Investing in companies or projects that promote fair trade with producers in developing nations. Basic fair trade philosophies call for equal pay for suppliers of raw goods and materials as well as respect for strong environmental practices and a focus on the trading relationships between advanced economies and developing nations. ...
Farmers Home Administration (FmHA)
What is 'Farmers Home Administration - FmHA' A USDA entity established to assist farmers and rural families by funding and guaranteeing loans for housing and other farming-related needs. Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) offers financing and technical help to rural individuals and communities via four key programs: housing, utilities, business, and community development. The organization operates around 1,900 county and district...
Fat Cat
What is 'Fat Cat' A slang word used to describe executives who earn what many believe to be unreasonably high salaries and bonuses. These top executives also receive generous pensions and retirement packages, consisting of extra compensation not available to other company employees. Explaining 'Fat Cat' This term conjures up the image of cats that...
Family Limited Partnership (FLP)
What is 'Family Limited Partnership - FLP' A type of partnership designed to centralize family business or investment accounts. FLPs pool together a family's assets into one single family-owned business partnership that family members own shares of. FLPs are frequently used as an estate tax minimization strategy, as shares in the FLP can be transferred between generations,...
Farmer Mac – Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation – (FAMC)
DefinitionThe Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, also known as Farmer Mac, is a stockholder-owned, publicly traded company that was chartered by the United States federal government in 1988 to serve as a secondary market in agricultural loans such as mortgages for agricultural real estate and rural housing. The company purchases loans from agricultural lenders, and sells instruments backed by those...
Fail
What is 'Fail' In common trading terms, if a seller does not deliver securities or a buyer does not pay owed funds by the settlement date, then the transaction is said to fail. In a stock exchange, this occurs if a stockbroker does not deliver or receive securities, within a specified time after a security sale or...
Factory Orders
Definition The monthly Full Report on Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, & Orders from the United States Census Bureau, more commonly called the Factory Orders report, totals the dollar volume of new orders, shipments, unfilled orders, and inventories reported by domestic manufacturers. Figures within the Factory Orders report are reported in the billions of dollars and also in a percent change from...
Fibonacci Retracement
DefinitionIn finance, Fibonacci retracement is a method of technical analysis for determining support and resistance levels. They are named after their use of the Fibonacci sequence. Fibonacci retracement is based on the idea that markets will retrace a predictable portion of a move, after which they will continue to move in the original direction. Fibonacci Retracement Fibonacci Retracement is...
Failed Break
What is 'Failed Break' A price movement through an identified level of support or resistance that does not have enough momentum to maintain its direction. Since the validity of the breakout (or breakdown) is compromised, many traders close their positions and the price fails to make the sharp move that many were expecting. A failed...