There are many financial terms that are commonly used in daily discussions, however it may be difficult to define some of them if asked. Here are a few simple definitions to assist you with the daily Financial Update

Basis Point
One-hundredth of a percentage point. For example, the difference between 5.25% and 5.50% is 25 basis points.

Bear Market
A market in which stock prices are falling. The rule of thumb seems to be at least 20 percent. However, a lot depends on how long the drop lasts. The quicker the rebound, the less likely that investor psychology will turn from optimism to the pessimism that usually accompanies a bear market. 

Bull Market
A market in which stock prices are rising for a length of time. Prices need not rise continuously. There can be days, weeks and even months in which prices fall. What matters is the long-term trend.  When it comes to people, bullish describes one who is optimistic.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)
There are thousands of investment indexes around the world for stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities however the DJIA is one of the best known and most widely quoted stock market averages in the media. It contains an average made up of 30 actively traded blue chip stocks spanning many different industries that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow, as it is called, is a barometer of how shares of the largest U.S. companies are performing.. The DJIA is calculated by adding the prices of each of the 30 stocks and dividing by a divisor. The average is quoted in points rather than dollars.  It is price weighted, meaning that a $2 change in a $100 per share stock will have a greater affect than a $2 change in a $20 per share stock.

Gross Domestic Product

GDP is the value of all goods and services produced in Canada in a calendar year. The gross domestic product includes only final goods and services, not goods and services used to make another product. Changes in the gross domestic product are an indication of economic output.

Income Trust
Trusts structured to own debt and equity of an underlying entity, which carries on an active business, or has royalty revenues generated by the assets of an active business. By owning securities or assets of an underlying business, an income trust is structured to distribute cash flows, typically on a monthly basis, from those businesses to unit holders in a tax-efficient manner. The trust structure is typically utilized by mature, stable, sustainable, cash-generating businesses that require a limited amount of maintenance capital expenditures. An income trust is an exchange-traded equity investment that is similar to a common share

Index or stock price index
A statistical measure of the state of the stock market, based on the performance of stocks. Examples include the S&P/TSX Composite Index

Recession

Two consecutive quarters of contraction in the gross domestic product

TSX Composite Index
Comprises the majority of market capitalization for Canadian-based, Toronto Stock Exchange listed companies. It is the leading benchmark used to measure the price performance of the broad, Canadian, senior equity market. It was formerly known as the TSE 300 Composite Index