Balance sheet - A condensed financial statement showing the nature and amount of a company's assets, liabilities and capital on a given date. In dollar amounts, the balance sheet shows what the company owned, what it owed and the ownership interest in the company of its stockholders.

Basis point - One gradation on a 100-point scale representing 1%; used especially in expressing variations in the yields of bonds. Fixed income yields vary often and slightly within one percent and the basis point scale easily expresses these changes in hundredths of 1%. For example, the difference between 12.83% and 12.88% is 5 basis points.

Bear - Someone who believes the market will decline.

Bear market - A declining market.

Bearer bond - A bond that does not have the owner's name registered on the books of the issuer. Interest and principal, when due, are payable to the holder.

Beneficiary - A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity or other contract. Someone covered by Medicare is also called a beneficiary.

Benefit Accrual - The amount of benefits accumulated under the plan.

Benefit Period - The number of years an insurance policy will provide benefits. Many disability and long-term care insurance policies offer buyers a choice of between three and five years; some offer lifetime benefits.

Benefit Trigger - A condition that must exist in order for an insurance company to pay benefits under a long-term care insurance policy.

Benefits - Monetary sums paid or payable to a person insured under an insurance policy, or to someone else, such as a health care provider, to whom the insured person has assigned the benefits.

Bid and Asked - Often referred to as a quotation or quote. The bid is the highest price anyone wants to pay for a security at a given time, the asked is the lowest price anyone will take at the same time.

Block - A large holding or transaction of stock - popularly considered to be 10,000 shares or more.

Blue chip - A company known nationally for the quality and wide acceptance of its products or services, and for its ability to make money and pay dividends.

Blue Sky Laws - A popular name for laws various states have enacted to protect the public against securities frauds. The term is believed to have originated when a judge ruled that a particular stock had about the same value as a patch of blue sky.

Bond - Basically an IOU or promissory note of a corporation, usually issued in multiples of $1,000 or $5,000, although $100 and $500 denominations are not unknown. A bond is evidence of a debt on which the issuing company usually promises to pay the bondholders a specified amount of interest for a specified length of time, and to repay the loan on the expiration date. In every case a bond represents debt - its holder is a creditor of the corporation and not a part owner, as is the shareholder.

Book value - An accounting term. Book value of a stock is determined from a company's records, by adding all assets then deducting all debts and other liabilities, plus the liquidation price of any preferred issues. The sum arrived at is divided by the number of common shares outstanding and the result is book value per common share. Book value of the assets of a company or a security may have little relationship to market value.

Broker - An agent who handles the public's orders to buy and sell securities, commodities or other property. A commission is charged for this service.

Brokers' loans - Money borrowed by brokers from banks or other brokers for a variety of uses. It may be used by specialists to help finance inventories of stock they deal in; by brokerage firms to finance the underwriting of new issues of corporate and municipal securities; to help finance a firm's own investments; and to help finance the purchase of securities for customers who prefer to use the broker's credit when they buy securities.

Bull - One who believes the market will rise.

Bull market - An advancing market.

Buy side - The portion of the securities business in which institutional orders originate.