Market Slang

[Sharky]

Read with interest in the Evening Standard today that many of the so called fat fingered trades, such as the New York trader last night who entered a $4 billion sell order instead of the intended $4 million, causing a 100-plunge on the dow, stem from market slang meaning different things to different people.

So with a little help from the Standard, here's T2W's quick guide to market slang, might even save you a few yards!?!...

A Valerie: a single-lot contract, in reference to 1970s Blue Peter presenter Valerie Singleton

A Prince Charles: 12 contracts, because "one does".

An Archer: an instruction to buy or sell 2000 in reference to the amount Jeffrey Archer allegedly paid prosititute Monica Coghlan.

A Yard: 1 billion

A Bag: 1000, stemming from the Cockney rhyming slang "a bag of sand is a grand."

A Monkey: 500 (in reference to the animals once pictured on Indian banknotes)

A Pony: 25 (again, in reference to the animals once pictured on Indian banknotes

Let me know if there's any more that I've missed out!

Sharky.

 

[96pills]

lets bring this thread back to life, but rather than just slang for numbers lets think of some other slang terms used in the city. I have a few I heard on a trading floor
Tanks- When the market suddenly goes down, "The FTSE tanks on this news"
Smoked- To loose a lot. "We are going to get smoked if they approve those loans"
Ship in/out- Buy or sell.

Any others?...

 

[96pills]

Cable- Slang FX term for GBP/USD i beleive.

please correct me if im wrong...

 

[A Dashing Blade]

Joan Collins - A four fingered Kit-Kat

(gets coat)

 

[TomTom]

Co*k an henner £10 tenner.
Deep sea Diver £5 fiver.

Spread Betters Nightmare, they have hunted my stops again and closed my trade at the high/low when the market did not even get there

 

[Lord Flasheart]

All looks out of date to me,lets upgrade the cockney t2win slang

Gordon Brown.......Down The markets gone Gordon
Ed.................... Balls Thats totall ED
George bush.........Push I feel an upward george coming on
Condelisa Rice......Price This is a good condelisa
Meryl Streep.........cheap This looks a bit meryl
Digeridoo............Clue I havent got a digery what will happen today

etc etc

 

[Adamus]

dead cat bounce = last little up-turn before the price finishes its collapse.

 

[montmorencyt2w]

What is he consensus on "The Beast"? I've heard two versions.


Slang generally: I love modern rhyming slang. Pity a lot of it is unprintable
I'd have thought that the credit crunch must have produced some...

 

[96pills]

this is brilliant lads keep it comming

 

[Lord Flasheart]

This moneys gone down the John McCain(drain)

 

[Adamus]

Slang that I've heard but might get the meaning wrong:

take a bath - lose big time
put to bed - close out a trade
fill your boots - load up a big position

 

[stevespray]

Battle Cruiser - Pub

 

[Adamus]

There's the expression 'bed & breakfast' but I don't remember what it is.

And also 'wash its face' in relation to a position I think.

I obviously don't hang around with City types enough.

 

[montmorencyt2w]

Bed and Breakfasting is what you are forced to do when a major account is blown big-time and you end up on the streets...

no, but seriously folks, here is one definition:
How to use CFDs for Bed & Breakfast Capital gains tax tricks

It seems that our Gordy put a stop to it, but wiley types on the web suggest ways of doing similar using other means. Bit above my head really (or just not very interesting).


Currency pairs: are there any other apart from Cable?

In lieu of any real ones, I have just invented

"Chunnel" for GBP/Euro and
"Manchetous" for Euro/GBP (Channel=la manche + pun on "mange tous").

OK, it's not very good, but work with me here folks...