Patriot Act
Law issued in the USA following the terrorist attacks of September 11 and including, among other things, a series of provisions aimed at controlling the financing world and, in particular, money laundering operations through foreign banks.

Payout ratio
Dividends paid divided by company earnings over some period of time, expressed as a percentage.

Pension fund
A fund set up by a company or government to invest the pension contributions of members and employees. These are then paid out when the beneficiaries reach the retirement age.

Preference share
Certificate representing one unit of ownership in a company. Preference shares receive dividends before ordinary shares, but have no voting rights.

P/E ratio (price-earnings ratio)
The current market price of a company share divided by the earnings per share (EPS) of the company. The P/E ratio is one of the main indicators used to decide whether the shares in a company are expensive or cheap, relative to the market.

Primary market
The market into which a new issue of bonds, or any other form of medium-long term money-market paper, is launched.

Private equity
Investments in the venture capital of non-listed companies, usually small and medium-sized.

Prime rate
The interest rate at which banks lend to their best (prime) customers.

Project finance
Financing method in which the lender mainly examines the profitability of one single project both as a source of reimbursement and as a guarantee of the loan. This type of loan is generally destined to large, complex and expensive infrastructure projects, for example in the energy, chemical, mining, transport, environmental and telecommunication sectors.

Profit warning
An announcement made by a listed company that forecasted results will not be obtained.

Put option (sell option)
An option contract that gives the holder the right to sell a certain quantity of an underlying asset to the writer of the option, at a specified price (strike price) up to a specified date (expiration date).