Business Glossary: M

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M Fifth letter of a NASDAQ stock symbol specifying that the issue is the company's fourth class of preferred shares.

M1 Measure of the U.S. money stock that consists of currency held by the public, travelers checks, demand deposits and other checkable deposits including NOW (negotiable order of withdrawal) and ATS (automatic transfer service) account balances and share draft account balances at credit unions.

M2 Measure of the U.S. money stock that consists of M1, certain overnight repurchase agreements and certain overnight Eurodollars, savings deposits (including money market deposit accounts), time deposits in amounts of less that $100,000 and balances in money market mutual funds (other than those restricted to institutional investors).

M3 Measure of the U.S. money stock that consists of M2, time deposits of $100,000 or more at all depository institutions, term repurchase agreements in amounts of $100,000 or more, certain term Eurodollars and balances in money market mutual funds restricted to institutional investor.

MA The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MOROCCO.

MAB See: Master Air Waybill

MAD The ISO 4217 currency code for the Moroccan Dirham.

MBO See: Management buyout

MBSCC See: Mortgage-Backed Securities Clearing Corporation

MC The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MONACO.

MD The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MOLDOVA, REPUBLIC OF.

MDA See: Multiple discriminant analysis

MDL The ISO 4217 currency code for the Moldovan Leu.

MG The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MADAGASCAR.

MGF The ISO 4217 currency code for the Madagascar Franc.

MH The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MARSHALL ISLANDS.

MHS See: Manufactured housing securities

MK The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MACEDONIA, THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF.

MIP See: Monthly income preferred security

MIT See: Market-if-touched

MKD The ISO 4217 currency code for the Macedonian Denar.

ML The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MALI.

MLP See: Master limited partnership

MM The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MYANMAR.

MMDA See: Money Market Demand Account. Same as Money Market Deposit Account

MMK The ISO 4217 currency code for the Myanmar (ex-Burma) Kyat.

MMME See: Middle Market Manufacturing Exporter

MN The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MONGOLIA.

MNC See: Multinational corporation

MNT The ISO 4217 currency code for the Mongolian Tugrik.

MO The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MACAU.

MOC See Market on Close.

MOP The ISO 4217 currency code for the Macau Pataca.

MP The two-character ISO 3166 country code for NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

MQ The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MARTINIQUE.

MR The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MAURITANIA.

MRO The ISO 4217 currency code for the Mauritanian Ouguiya.

MRQ A short-form for Most Recent Quarter. Often used in the context of explaining company performance. MRQ earnings, for example.

MS The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MONTSERRAT.

MSCI See: Morgan Stanley Capital International

MT The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MALTA.

MTL The ISO 4217 currency code for the Maltese Lira.

MU The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MAURITIUS.

MUR The ISO 4217 currency code for the Mauritius Rupee.

MV The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MALDIVES.

MVR The ISO 4217 currency code for the Maldive Islands Rufiyaa.

MW The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MALAWI.

MWK The ISO 4217 currency code for the Malawian Kwacha.

MY The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MALAYSIA.

MYR The ISO 4217 currency code for the Malaysian Ringgit.

MX The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MEXICO.

MXN The ISO 4217 currency code for the Mexican Peso.

MZ The two-character ISO 3166 country code for MOZAMBIQUE.

MZM The ISO 4217 currency code for the Mozambique Metical.

Macaroni defense A tactic used by a corporation that is the target of a hostile takeover bid involving the issue of a large number of bonds that must be redeemed at a higher value if the company is taken over.

Macaulay duration The weighted-average term to maturity of the cash flows from a bond, where the weights are the present value of the cash flow divided by the price.

Macro In the context of hedge funds, a style of management that takes long-term strategic bets. For example, the manager might believe that the Yen will appreciate relative to the dollar over the next six months and alter the portfolio to capture this potential profit opportunity.

Macro country risks Country risks or political risks that affect all foreign firms in a host country.

Macroassessment Overall risk assessment of a country without consideration of an MNC's business.

Macroeconomics Analysis of a country's economy as a whole.

Madrid Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Madrid) The largest of Spain's four stock exchanges.

Magic of diversification The effective reduction of risk (variance) of a portfolio, achieved without reduction to expected returns through the combination of assets with low or negative correlations (covariances). Related: Markowitz diversification.

Mail Delay Time a payment spends in the postal system before delivery.

Mail float Time period that checks for payment spend in the postal system.

Mailing Date A specific date set for the mailing of certain material to security holders such as interim reports, proxy material and dividend checks.

Maintenance Appropriate ongoing adjustments to security holder records.

Maintenance call A call for additional money or securities when a margin account falls below its exchange-mandated required level.

Maintenance fee A yearly charge to maintain brokerage accounts, such as asset management accounts or IRAs.

Maintenance margin The dollar amount required to be kept at the OCC throughout the life of an option contract; percentage of the dollar amount of securities that must always be kept as margin.

Maintenance margin requirement A sum, usually smaller than but part of the original margin, that must be maintained on deposit at all times. If a customer's equity in any futures position drops to or below, the maintenance margin level, the broker must issue a margin call for the amount at money required to restore the customer's equity in the account to the original margin level. Related: Margin, margin call.

Majority shareholder A shareholder who is part of a group that controls more than half the outstanding shares of a corporation.

Majority voting Voting system under which corporate shareholders vote for each director separately. Related: Cumulative voting.

Make a market Dealers are said to make a market when they quote bid and offered prices at which they stand ready to buy and sell.

Make-up The amount of deficiency when a cash flow or capital item is deficient. For example, an interest make-up relates to the interest amount above a ceiling percentage.

Make whole provision Related to the lump-sum payments made when a loan or bond is called, equal to the NPV of future loan or coupon payments not paid because of the call. The payment can be significant and negate the attractiveness of a call.

Making delivery Refers to the seller's actually turning over to the buyer the assets agreed upon in a forward contract.

Malaysia Commodity Exchange A subsidiary of the KLSE that trades interest rate futures on the three-month Kuala Lumpur Interbank offered rate.

Maloney Act 1938 legislation amending the Securities Exchange Act that regulates the OTC market.

Managed account An investment portfolio one or more clients entrusted to a manager who decides how to invest it.

Managed float Also known as "dirty" float, this is a system of floating exchange rates with central bank intervention to reduce currency fluctuations.

Managed Futures In the context of hedge funds, a style of management that focuses on short-term trading in the futures market.

Management The people who administer a company, create policies, and provide the support necessary to implement the owners' business objectives.

Management buying The acquisition of a controlling interest in a promising business by an outside investment group that retains existing management and places representatives on the board of directors.

Management buyout (MBO) Leveraged buyout whereby the acquiring group is led by the firm's management.

Management/closely held shares Percentage of shares held by persons closely related to a company, as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Part of these percentages often are included in "institutional holdings"--making the combined total of these percentages over 100. There is overlap as institutions sometimes acquire enough stock to be considered by the SEC to be closely allied to the company.

Management contract An agreement by which a company will provide its organizational and management expertise in the form of services.

Management fee An investment advisory fee charged by the financial adviser to a fund typically on the basis of the fund's average assets, but sometimes determined on a sliding scale that declines as the dollar amount of the fund increases.

Management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) A report from management to shareholders that accompanies the firm's financial statements in the annual report. It explains the period's financial results and enables management to discuss topics that may not be apparent in the financial statements in the annual report.

Manager A medium-level participant established according to final take.

Managerial decisions Decisions concerning the operation of the firm, such as the choice of firm size, firm growth rates, and employee compensation.

Managerial flexibility Flexibility in the timing and scale of investment provided by a real investment option.

Managing underwriter The leading firm in an underwriting group, which originates the deal and acts as an agent for the group.

Mandate The formal appointment to advise on or arrange a project financing.

Mandatory convertibles A debt instrument that is exchangeable at some point for equity in the form of common stock or a new issue.

Mandatory redemption schedule Schedule according to which bond sinking fund payments must be made.

Manipulation Dealing in a security to create a false appearance of active trading, in order to bring in more traders. Illegal.

Manufactured housing securities (MHS) Loans on manufactured homes-that is, factory-built or prefabricated housing, including mobile homes.

Maple Leaf A gold, silver, or platinum coin minted in Canada that usually trades at slightly more than its current bullion value.

Margin Allows investors to buy securities by borrowing money from a broker. The margin is the difference between the market value of a stock and the loan a broker makes. Related: Security deposit (initial). In the context of hedging and futures contracts, the cash collateral deposited with a trader or exchanged as insurance against default.

Margin account (stocks) A leverageable account in which stocks can be purchased for a combination of cash and a loan. The loan in the margin account is collateralized by the stock; if the value of the stock drops sufficiently, the owner will be asked to either put in more cash, or sell a portion of the stock. Margin rules are federally regulated, but margin requirements and interest may vary among broker/dealers.

Margin requirement A performance bond paid upon purchase of a futures contract that protects the exchange clearinghouse from loss.

Margin stock Any stock listed on a national securities exchange, any over-the-counter security approved by the SEC for trading in the national market system, or appearing on the Board's list of over-the-counter margin stock and most mutual funds.

Margin trading Buying securities, in part, with borrowed money.

Marginal Incremental.

Margin agreement The agreement governing customers' margin accounts.

Marginal cost The increase or decrease in a firm's total cost of production as a result of changing production by one unit.

Marginal efficiency of capital The percentage yield earned on an additional unit of capital.

Marginal revenue The change in total revenue as a result of producing one additional unit of output.

Marginal tax rate The tax rate that would have to be paid on any additional dollars of taxable income earned.

Marginal utility The change in total satisfaction as a result of consuming one additional unit of a specific good or service.

Margin call A demand for additional funds because of adverse price movement. Maintenance margin requirement, security deposit maintenance.

Margin department The department in a brokerage firm that monitors customers' margin accounts, ensuring that all short sales, stock purchases, and other positions are covered by the margin account balance.

Margin of profit Gross profit divided by net sales. Used to measure a firm's operating efficiency and pricing policies in order to determine how competitive the firm is within the industry.

Margin of safety With respect to working capital management, the difference between (1) the amount of long-term financing and (2) the sum of fixed assets and the permanent component of current assets.

Margin requirement (options) The amount of cash an uncovered (naked) option writer is required to deposit and maintain to cover his daily position valuation and reasonably foreseeable intraday price changes.

Margin security A security that may be bought or sold in a margin account as defined in Regulation T.

Marine Cargo Insurance Insurance covering loss or damage to goods in transit.

Marital deduction A tax deduction that allow spouses to transfer unlimited amounts of property to one another.

Marital trust A trust created to allow one spouse to transfer, during life or upon death, an unlimited amount of property to his/her sp