glossary Please select a letter below and then vertically scroll to find the word you are looking for  A  |  B  |  C  |  D  |  E  |  F  |  G  |  H  |  I  |  J  |  K  |  L  |  M   N  |  O  |  P  |  Q  |  R  |  S  |  T  |  U  |  V  |  W  |  X  |  Y  |  Z  OEICS Open-ended investment companies, a substitute for unit trusts with a single price for buying and selling. official receiver A civil servant and also a court officer attached to the UK's Insolvency Service, which is an executive agency of the Department of Trade and Industry. The official receiver is first on the scene in any bankruptcy or compulsory liquidation. offshore centre Financial centre free of many taxes and constraints, such as the Bahamas, Bahrain, Cayman Islands. operating profit The difference between sales and total operating expenses. option Agreement entitling the holder to buy (call) or sell (put) shares or commodities, within a given time and at a given price, from or to the other party to the agreement. ordinary shares Rank after preference shares and debentures for dividend payments; the securities that usually confer ownership of the company. In the US they are known as common stock. other current assets All other current assets besides cash and equivalents, receivables, inventories and prepaid expenses over-the-counter market (OTC) Trading in shares away from organised exchanges; usually carried out over the telephone or via a computer network. back to top