A type of transaction that limits investment risk with the use of derivatives, such as options and futures contracts. Hedging transactions purchase opposite positions in the market in order to ensure a certain amount of gain or loss on a trade. They are

The price at which a security first trades upon the opening of an exchange on a given trading day. A security's opening price is an important marker for that day's trading activity, especially for those interested in measuring short-term results, such as

An expense set aside as an allowance for bad loans (customer defaults, or terms of a loan have to be renegotiated, etc).

The physical delivery costs of an underlying financial instrument or options contract often based on the average price of trades over a set time period. The exchange delivery settlement price is the amount of cash settled in the final agreement. Usually,