Statistical Terms Glossary

Hedging method consisting of sale of securities on the spot market and simultaneous purchase of forward contracts. See cash and carry.

Convertible bond that may be redeemed at the issuer’s discretion against existing shares of an underlying company that has no economic relation with the issuer or the guarantor of the bonds.

Floating rate note carrying a spread inversely related to movements of interbank rates.

Reverse investment refers to the acquisition by a direct investment enterprise of a financial claim on its direct investor.
Because direct investment is recorded on a directional basis, capital invested by the direct investment enterprise in its direct investor (reverse investment) is regarded as an offset to capital invested in the direct investment enterprises by a direct investor and its related enterprises, except in instances when the equity participations are at least 10 percent in both directions.

Repurchase agreement initiated by the lender of underfunds.

A swap which offsets the interest rate or currency exposure on an existing swap. It can be written with the original counterparty or with a new counterparty. In either case, it is typically executed to realize capital gains.

An operation whereby the central bank buys or sells assets under a repurchase agreement or conducts credit operations against collateral.

See periodic review clause.

Goods that are significantly different from existing goods. They are generally produced on entirely new production lines using production inputs and processes that are considerably newer than those used to produce existing goods.

Revolving credit refers to credit with a clause for automatic renewal (under certain conditions)

Any line of credit that be borrowed against up to a stated credit limit and into which repayments go for crediting.

A fund for project-related expenditure.

A medium- to long-term finance instrument that allows the borrower, by issuing short-term paper, to benefit from cheaper short-term funds. An RUF consists of the following:
- Euronotes;
- the borrower issues short-term paper for periods of less than one year through different mechanisms (CDs, in the case of banks);
- underwriting banks’ contingent liability (backup line);
- a group of underwriting banks, whose obligation consists of purchasing any of the above-mentioned unsold short-term notes at previously arranged rates or, alternatively, who provide funds through separate lending arrangements that offer the issuer the certainty that the requested amount will be available.
The instruments that RUFs most closely resemble are floating-rate notes and syndicated loans. An RUF, however, includes the special feature of staggered maturities.

A medium-term arrangement under which a borrower can issue short-term paper (Euronotes) backed up by commercial bank underwriting commitments. There are several variations of this system. They include 1) the NIF, where the commitment is typically from five to seven years, while the paper is issued on a revolving basis, usually for three- or six-month maturities, though maturities do range from seven days to a year. Most are denominated in U.S. dollars and involve six-figure or higher sums. 2) the short-term note issuance facility (SNIF), a term used for NIFs with short-term notes. 3) the RUF, which is a variation of the NIF, with separate underwriting and distribution (the lead manager being sole placing agent, while the underwriters take up any notes which cannot be placed or extend loans of equivalent amount). 4) the transferable RUF (TRUF), where the underwriting commitment is transferable. 5) the multiple component facility and others such as borrower's option for notes and underwritten standby (BONUS), revolving acceptance facility by tender (RAFT), securitized note commitment facility (SNCF), etc. Note purchase facility and euronote facility are the generic terms and note issuance facility is often used as a generic term. French generally uses the English term, though the above translations have been seen.

Introducing a new set of weights into the index.

Refers to the crop marketing year beginning 1 April for Japan, Australia, 1 August for the United States, 1 September for the European Union, 1 October for Mexico, 1 November for Korea and 1 January for other countries.

A mix of farming practices that comprises of rice as the major crop followed by subsequent cultivation of other crops.