P · Moneywise Dictionary

P E Ratio P E Ratio tells you how many years of a company's current profit you are paying for when you buy its share, nothing more mysterious than that.

P&L P&L is a financial summary showing all the money coming in, going out, and left over.

Pac Man Defence Pac Man Defence is a takeover strategy where a target company tries to buy its attacker.

Pacific Rim Pacific Rim describes the countries and economies sitting around the edge of the Pacific Ocean, from China and Japan to the United States and Chile.

Paid In Capital Paid In Capital is the total money shareholders have put into a company by buying its shares, whether at face value or above it.

Paid Up Capital Paid Up Capital is the actual money shareholders have handed over to a company for their shares, sitting fully paid, not promised.

Paint The Tape Paint The Tape means trading a stock among yourself or a group just to create fake activity that pushes the price up or makes it look busier than it really is.

Pair Trade Pair Trade means buying one stock and short selling a related one at the same time, betting on the gap between them rather than which way the market moves.

Pairs Trading Pairs Trading means betting on two similar stocks moving back in line with each other, buying the weak one and selling the strong one at the same time.

Pandemic Pandemic: a disease outbreak across many countries at once that shuts down normal economic life, and in the process teaches economics the hard way.

Paper Gold Paper Gold is a way to invest in gold's price through a certificate, ETF or account, without ever holding the metal in your hand.

Paper Loss Paper loss is a drop in the value of something you still own, so you have not actually lost money until you sell.

Paper Money Paper Money is the cash and notes we trade for goods, worth something only because everyone agrees it is, unlike the land or skill that actually holds value.

Paper Profit Paper Profit is the gain you see on your investment while you still hold it, real on the screen but not yet real in your pocket until you sell.

Paper Trading Paper trading is practising to buy and sell shares with pretend money, so you learn the moves before any real ₦ is at risk.

Par Bond Par Bond is a bond trading at exactly its face value, so what you pay is what you get back at maturity, no more, no less.

Par Value Par value is the small fixed amount printed on a share certificate that has almost nothing to do with what the share is actually worth on the market.

Parent Company Parent company is a business that owns enough shares in one or more other companies to control them, the way a holding firm sits above its brands.

Pareto Principle Pareto Principle is the idea that roughly 20% of your effort, customers, or habits usually produce about 80% of your results.

Parity Parity means two currencies (or a currency and a basket of goods) are worth exactly the same, so ₦1 buys the same real value as $1 would in its own economy.

Parking Lot Parking Lot, in real estate, is a piece of land set aside for cars, and sometimes the term for capital that sits idle while an investor waits for a better deal.

Parliamentary Privilege Parliamentary Privilege is the legal shield that lets lawmakers speak freely in the chamber and do their job without fear of being sued or arrested for it.

Part Time Job Part time job: paid work you do for fewer hours than a full time role, giving you income on the side without swallowing your whole week.

Partial Hedge Partial hedge is when you protect only part of your position from loss, so some risk is covered and some is left exposed on purpose.

Partial Liquidation Partial liquidation is when a company sells off or closes part of its business, not the whole thing, and often pays some of the proceeds to shareholders.

Partial Payment Partial payment is when you pay part of what you owe now and promise to settle the rest later, instead of paying the whole debt at once.

Participating Bond Participating Bond is a bond that pays its fixed interest and then lets you share in the company's profits on top, if things go well.

Participating Preferred Stock Participating preferred stock is a share type that lets an investor collect a fixed dividend and still share in extra profits when a company is sold.

Participation Loan Participation Loan: a big loan that one bank cannot carry alone, so several lenders join hands to fund it and share the risk and the returns.

Particular Average Particular Average is a partial loss in shipping insurance that one cargo owner alone must bear, not a loss shared by everyone on the vessel.

Partner Partner: someone who owns a share of a business with you and shares in both the profit and the wahala when things go wrong.

Partnership Partnership is when two or more people own and run a business together, sharing the profit, the loss, and the headache of who forgot to restock.

Partnership Agreement A partnership agreement is the written document that spells out who owns what, who does what, and what happens when partners disagree or one wants out.

Pass Through Entity Pass through entity is a business that does not pay its own tax; the profit passes straight to the owners, who declare it and pay tax in their own names.

Pass Through Security Pass through security is a bond built from a pile of loans, where the repayments borrowers make each month flow straight through to the investors who hold it.

Passive Activity Passive activity is income you earn from a business or rental you do not actively run day to day, like rent from a flat you own but do not manage yourself.

Passive Income Passive income is money that arrives without you trading your time for it, though almost all of it required work first.

Passive Investing Passive investing means putting your money in a broad fund and leaving it alone to grow, instead of trying to outsmart the market every week.

Passive Management Passive Management means investing in a way that simply copies a market index instead of paying someone to pick winners for you.

Patent Patent is the legal right that lets an inventor stop others from making, using or selling their invention without permission, usually for up to twenty years.

Patent Pending Patent Pending means someone has filed an application to protect an invention and is waiting for the patent office to decide, so nobody should copy it yet.

Paternity Leave Paternity Leave is the short, paid time off a new father gets from his employer to be at home after his child is born.

Patient Capital Patient capital is money invested with no rush for returns, given time for a business to grow before anyone expects profit back.

Pawn Pawn means handing over something valuable, like jewellery or a phone, as security for a loan you promise to repay before you lose it for good.

Pawn Broker Pawn Broker: someone who lends you money and holds your valuable item as security until you repay, keeping it forever if you never do.

Pawn Shop Pawn Shop: a shop that gives you cash on the spot when you drop off something valuable, like jewellery or a gadget, as security until you repay.

Pay Cut Pay cut means your salary drops from what it used to be, whether by agreement, by company decision, or by a new role that pays less than the old one.

Pay Day Pay Day is the date your salary lands in your account, the one day on the calendar that makes every other day worth it.

Pay For Performance Pay For Performance is a pay structure where your salary or bonus rises and falls with what you actually deliver, more than the hours you show up for.

Pay Off Pay off means to finish clearing a debt completely, or, in everyday speech, for a decision or habit to prove worthwhile over time.

Pay Period Pay Period is the stretch of time your work covers before you get paid, whether that is a week, two weeks, or a month.

Pay Rise Pay rise means your employer agrees to pay you more than before, usually as a percentage increase to your base salary.

Pay Roll Pay Roll is the full list and process a company uses to pay its staff, covering who gets paid, how much, and what is deducted before the money lands.

Pay Stub Pay stub: the slip that shows how your gross salary became your take home pay, line by line, deduction by deduction.

Pay Yourself First Pay Yourself First means saving a part of your income the moment it lands, before rent, data, jollof rice and 'small small' spending eat it all.

Payable on Death Payable on Death is a bank account instruction that names someone to receive the money automatically when the account holder dies, without waiting for probate.

Payback Period Payback Period is the amount of time it takes for money you put into a business or a piece of equipment to come back to you in full.

Paycheck Paycheck is the money your employer pays you for work done, whether it lands as cash, a bank transfer, or a payslip with a cheque attached to it.

Paycheck to Paycheck Paycheck to paycheck describes living where your salary finishes every bill and obligation before the next one lands, leaving nothing spare in between.

Payday Loan Payday Loan: a small, short term loan meant to bridge you to your next salary, priced so steeply that the 'help' can cost more than the hole it fills.

PAYE PAYE means Pay As You Earn. It is the system where your employer deducts income tax from your salary and pays it to the relevant tax authority on your behalf.

Payee Payee is the person or business named to receive money from a cheque, transfer, or payment instruction.

Payer Payer means the person or business sending money in any transaction, whether by transfer, cheque, or cash, while the other side simply receives it.

Paying Agent Paying Agent: the bank or institution appointed to actually hand over money on behalf of another party, like a company paying bondholders or dividends.

Payment Payment is the moment value actually moves from one person to another, whether by cash, transfer, card, or a promise that gets settled later.

Payment Card Industry Payment Card Industry is the whole group of businesses, from banks to Visa to your local POS agent, that make it possible for a plastic card to move your money.

Payment Gateway Payment gateway is the digital pipe that carries a customer's card or bank details safely to your business account when they pay you online.

Payment in Kind Payment in Kind means a company pays interest or a bill by handing over more of the same debt or asset instead of cash, so the debt grows while no money moves.

Payment Network Payment Network is the invisible highway that carries your money from one bank or card to another until it lands safely where it is going.

Payment Processor Payment Processor is the invisible worker that moves money from a customer's card or bank account into a business's account, safely and fast.

Payment Service Provider Payment Service Provider is the company that stands between your POS machine or website and the banking system, moving money from a payer to your account.

Payment Terms Payment terms are the agreed rules for when and how a customer must pay you, and getting them clear in writing is what keeps a business alive.

Payments System Payments System is the whole network of banks, cards, apps and rules that moves money from one person's account to another, safely and on time.

Payout Ratio Payout Ratio shows how much of a company's profit it pays out to shareholders as dividends, and how much it keeps for itself.

PayPal PayPal is an online payment service that lets you send or receive money and pay for things abroad without giving out your card details directly.

PayPoint PayPoint is a physical shop or kiosk registered as an agent where Nigerians without a nearby bank branch can deposit, withdraw or transfer money.

Payroll Payroll is the system a company uses to work out and pay staff salaries, taxes and deductions, on the same date, every single month.

Payroll Tax Payroll tax is the money an employer takes off your salary and sends straight to the tax authority before your pay even reaches your account.

PE Firm PE Firm is a company that buys other companies with pooled investor money, fixes them up or trims them down, then sells them for a profit years later.

PE Multiple PE Multiple is the price of a share divided by its earnings per share, showing how many years of current profit it takes to buy back that price.

PEG Ratio PEG Ratio measures how expensive a stock is once you account for how fast its earnings are growing, more than its current price to earnings figure.

Penalty Penalty is the extra charge a bank or lender takes from you for breaking a rule, missing a date, or ending an agreement before its time.

Penalty Charge Penalty Charge is the extra fee a bank, lender or authority adds when you break a rule, miss a date or fall short of what you agreed to.

Penalty Fee Penalty fee is the extra charge a bank, landlord or lender adds when you break a rule or miss a deadline, like paying late or withdrawing early.

PenCom PenCom regulates Nigeria's pension industry, and it exists so that the money you save for retirement cannot be touched by your employer.

Pending Order Pending Order means an instruction you give your stockbroker or trading app to buy or sell a share automatically once the price reaches the level you set.

Penny Saved is Penny Earned Penny Saved is Penny Earned means the ₦200 you refuse to waste today works exactly like ₦200 you laboured to earn, only easier.

Penny Stock A penny stock is a very low priced share in a small company, holding out the dream of big gains and the real risk of big losses.

Pension A pension is money set aside during your working life so that you have an income after you stop working.

Pension Fund Pension Fund is the pool of money deducted from your salary and topped up by your employer, invested and grown until you retire and can draw from it.

Pension Plan Pension Plan: a savings arrangement, usually shared between you and your employer, that pays you an income once you stop working.

Pension Reform Act The Pension Reform Act created Nigeria's contributory pension system, replacing a scheme that had repeatedly failed the people who paid into it.

Per Capita Per capita means a total amount divided by the number of people involved, so you can compare fairly across countries or groups of different sizes.

Per Diem Per diem is a fixed daily allowance your employer pays to cover meals, transport and small expenses when you travel for work, separate from your normal salary.

Percentage Lease Percentage Lease is a shop rent deal where you pay a base amount plus a slice of your sales, so the landlord earns more when your business does well.

Perfect Competition Perfect competition describes a market with so many identical sellers that no single one can raise prices, because buyers will simply walk to the next stall.

Perfect Hedge Perfect Hedge is a position that removes all risk from an investment, so any loss on one side is matched exactly by a gain on the other.

Performance Bond Performance Bond is money or a guarantee a contractor puts up to prove they will finish a job properly, refundable if they deliver.

Performance Fee Performance Fee is the extra charge a fund manager takes when your investment does well, on top of the regular management fee.

Performance Index Performance Index: a scorecard made of many stocks put together, so you can tell at a glance whether the market is having a good day or a bad one.

Performance Management Performance management is the habit of checking, guiding and rewarding how people work, so effort actually turns into results the business needs.

Performance Metrics Performance metrics are the numbers a business actually watches to know if it is winning or just busy, not the ones that look nice on a poster.

Performance Review Performance Review is the yearly conversation where your employer scores your work, and where you can, if you prepare, turn that score into more money.

Performing Loan Performing loan: a loan where the borrower is paying back as agreed, on time, no drama, and the bank sleeps well at night because of it.

Period Cost Period Cost is a business expense tied to time passing, like rent or salaries, not to how many units the business made or sold.

Periodic Inventory Periodic Inventory is a stock counting method where a business only checks and records how much stock it has at set intervals, not after every single sale.

Periodic Payment Periodic Payment is a fixed amount of money paid or received at regular intervals, like rent, salary, loan instalments or a monthly pension.

Permanent Capital Permanent capital is money invested in a business with no fixed date it must be paid back, giving the company room to plan for the long term.

Permanent Income Permanent income is the steady, dependable earning power you can count on long term, not the one off alert that makes your balance look impressive for a week.

Permanent Life Insurance Permanent Life Insurance is life cover that stays active for your whole life, as long as you keep paying, and it usually builds some cash value along the way.

Permanent Resident A permanent resident can live and work in a country indefinitely without being a citizen, which brings most of the rights and few of the obligations.

Perpetual Bond Perpetual Bond is a bond that pays interest forever and never returns your capital, because there is no maturity date at all.

Perpetual Inventory Perpetual inventory is a stock system that updates your quantity and cost records the moment you sell or buy, instead of once in a while.

Perpetuity Perpetuity is a stream of money that keeps paying forever, with no end date, and its worth today is simply the yearly amount divided by the rate of return.

Perquisite Perquisite means a job benefit outside salary, like a company car or free housing, that adds real value to what you earn.

Personal Allowance Personal Allowance is the slice of your income that HMRC lets you keep completely free of tax before any calculations begin on the rest.

Personal Assistant Personal Assistant is someone paid to handle another person's schedule, errands, calls and small decisions so their boss can focus on the bigger ones.

Personal Brand Personal Brand is the name people call you before you enter the room, built from how you work, speak and show up, more than what your CV says.

Personal Cheque Personal Cheque: a written and signed instruction from your own account telling your bank to pay someone a specific amount of money.

Personal Development Personal development is the steady work of growing your skills and mind so your ability to earn and decide keeps improving, more than your bank balance.

Personal Finance Personal finance is how you plan, spend, save and grow the money that passes through your hands, so it works for you instead of vanishing before the month ends.

Personal Finance Budgeting Personal finance budgeting is the simple habit of deciding, before the month starts, where your money will go instead of wondering afterwards where it went.

Personal Financial Statement Personal Financial Statement is a simple snapshot of what you own and what you owe, used to work out what you are truly worth in money terms.

Personal Goodwill Personal Goodwill is the value tied to a business owner's own name, skill or relationships, not to the company itself, so it cannot be sold with the business.

Personal Identification Number Personal Identification Number is the four digit code that proves an ATM card or transaction belongs to you, and no one should ever ask you for it.

Personal Income Personal income is all the money you receive as an individual before tax, from salary to side hustle credits to that dividend alert that makes your day.

Personal Income Tax Personal Income Tax is the money government takes from what you earn as a person, whether from salary, business or a side hustle, to fund public life.

Personal Loan Personal Loan is money a bank or lender gives you upfront for any need, which you repay in fixed instalments with interest over an agreed time.

Personal Property Personal property is everything you own that you can move, from your car and generator to your phone and jewellery, as opposed to land or a building.

Personal Savings Personal savings is the money you set aside from what you earn, kept safe and untouched for future use rather than spent immediately.

Petroleum Industry Petroleum Industry is the whole business of finding, pumping, refining and selling crude oil and gas, from the offshore rig to the fuel in your generator tank.

Petty Cash Petty Cash is the small stash of physical money an office keeps on hand for tiny, immediate expenses that do not deserve a full cheque or transfer process.

Phantom Income Phantom income is money the tax office says you earned, and taxes you on, even though not one kobo of it landed in your account.

Phantom Stock Phantom Stock is a promise to pay you cash in future based on the company's share value, without ever handing you real shares.

PhD PhD is the highest academic degree, earned after years of original research, and in Nigerian career terms it is both a badge of honour and a slow, costly climb.

Phillips Curve Phillips Curve: an economic idea that says when unemployment falls, inflation tends to rise, and when unemployment rises, inflation tends to cool down.

Phishing Phishing is when a fraudster pretends to be your bank or a trusted brand to trick you into handing over your PIN, password or OTP.

Phone Banking Phone banking lets you call a special bank number, punch in some codes or talk to an agent, and check your balance or move money without visiting a branch.

Physical Asset Physical Asset: something you own that you can touch, like land, a house, a generator, or gold, and that holds value even when the naira is misbehaving.

Physical Delivery Physical delivery means when a contract ends, you actually receive or hand over the real thing, more than cash for the price difference.

Picker Picker is investing slang for someone who chooses individual shares themselves, hoping to beat the market rather than just buying a fund that tracks it.

PIN PIN is the four digit number that stands guard over your card or account, proving to the machine that you are really you.

Pip Pip is the tiniest standard move in an exchange rate, usually the fourth decimal place, and it is how forex traders measure both their wins and their losses.

Pipe Dream Pipe Dream: a money hope so far from your real income and effort that it stays a fantasy, like planning to retire on a business you have never started.

Pitch Deck Pitch Deck: the short slide presentation a founder uses to show investors what the business does, why it will make money, and why they should fund it.

Pivot Point Pivot Point is a price level traders calculate to guess where a stock or currency might turn around or break through during the trading day.

Pivot Strategy Pivot strategy is when a business changes direction, product, or customer focus because what it was doing is not working, without abandoning the whole idea.

Place of Birth Place of Birth is the country or city where you were born, a fixed detail on your documents that can calmly shape your citizenship, visas and even your taxes.

Placement Placement is when a company sells its shares directly to a chosen few investors instead of throwing the offer open to the whole public.

Plain Vanilla Plain Vanilla means the simplest, most standard version of a financial product, with no fancy add ons or complicated twists.

Planned Economy Planned economy is a system where the government, not shops or shoppers, decides what gets made, how much, and at what price.

Plant Asset Plant Asset means the big, solid things a business owns and uses for years to make money, like buildings, machines and vehicles, not things it plans to sell.

Platform Business Platform Business: a company that makes its real money by connecting two groups of people, and often owns none of the stuff changing hands.

Plus Tick Plus Tick is when a stock trades at a price higher than its last trade, a small green flag that buyers are currently winning the tug of war.

Pod Cast Pod Cast means a recorded audio show people listen to on their phones, and for a business owner it can be a cheap way to build trust and sell without shouting.

Point of Sale Point of Sale (POS) is the moment and machine that let you pay by card or transfer right where you are, from a shop counter to a roadside stall.

Point of View Point of View is the lens you use to judge money decisions, and two honest people can look at the same figure and see very different things.

Points Points are upfront fees you pay a mortgage lender at closing, where one point equals one percent of the loan amount, to get a lower interest rate.

Poison Pill Poison Pill is a company's defence trick that makes it too costly or diluted for an unwanted buyer to take over.

Polarity Polarity is the pull between two opposite money instincts, like saving and spending, that never fully cancel out but need managing together.

Policy Loan Policy Loan is money you borrow from your own life insurance company using the cash value your permanent policy has built up as security.

Policy Mix Policy mix is the combination of government spending decisions and central bank interest rate decisions used together to steer an economy.

Policyholder Policyholder is the person or business whose name sits on an insurance contract, the one who pays premiums and has the right to make a claim.

Political Risk Political risk is the chance that government action, from new laws to sudden bans, changes what your money or business is worth overnight.

Ponzi Scheme A Ponzi scheme pays early investors with money from new investors rather than from any real profit, and it always collapses.

Pool Pool means several investors combine their money to trade or invest together, sharing gains, losses, and sometimes secrets that regulators frown on.

Pool of Funds Pool of Funds means money from many different investors gathered together and invested as one large sum instead of many small, separate ones.

Pooled Income Fund Pooled Income Fund: a shared basket where many people's donations or savings are mixed together and invested as one large fund, with income split among them.

Pooling Pooling is when two or more parties put their money, assets, or risk together into one shared pot instead of each person carrying the load alone.

Portable Pension Portable pension is a retirement savings account that stays yours and moves with you, no matter how many times you change jobs or employers.

Portfolio A portfolio is the whole collection of investments you own, and it matters more than any single thing inside it.

Portfolio Allocation Portfolio allocation is how you divide your money across different types of investments so that no single one can sink you or single handedly make you rich.

Portfolio Insurance Portfolio insurance is a strategy that protects your stock investments from big losses without you having to sell everything and run.

Portfolio Investment Portfolio investment means buying shares, bonds or funds for returns and growth, not to run or control the company, unlike putting money into your own business.

Portfolio Management Portfolio management is the ongoing work of choosing, mixing and adjusting your investments so they work together towards your goals, not against each other.

Portfolio Manager Portfolio Manager: the person or team deciding what a fund buys, holds, and sells, so you do not have to do it yourself.

Portfolio Rebalancing Portfolio rebalancing means adjusting your investments back to your original plan after some grow faster than others and tip the balance.

Portfolio Turnover Portfolio turnover measures how often a fund manager buys and sells the investments inside a fund within a year, expressed as a percentage.

Portfolio Variance Portfolio Variance is a way of measuring how much your total investments swing up and down together, more than each one on its own.

POS Agent A POS agent is the person at the kiosk with a card machine who hands you cash, takes your deposit or pays a bill for a small fee.

Position Position means how much of a particular stock, bond, or asset you currently hold, and whether that holding is set up to gain when the price rises or falls.

Position Limit Position Limit is the maximum quantity of a stock or contract one investor is allowed to hold, so no single person can calmly take over the market.

Position Sizing Position sizing is deciding how much money to put into one investment so that if it goes wrong, it does not wreck your whole portfolio.

Position Trading Position trading means buying an investment and holding it for months or years, ignoring the daily noise so the bigger story has time to play out.

Positive Carry Positive carry is when the money you borrow earns more than it costs you, so holding the position pays you while you wait.

Positive Cash Flow Positive cash flow means more money comes into your hands than goes out of them in a given month, with something left standing at the end.

Positive Correlation Positive correlation is when two things tend to rise and fall together, so knowing what one did tells you roughly what the other did too.

Post Dated Cheque Post dated cheque: a cheque written today but dated for the future, a promise that says pay me later, not now.

Post Money Valuation Post money valuation is what a startup is worth right after new investor cash is added, that is pre money value plus the fresh investment.

Power of Attorney Power of Attorney is a signed legal document that lets you hand someone else the authority to act and sign on your behalf in specific matters.

Power of Compounding Power of Compounding is the way small, regular savings grow faster over time because your returns start earning their own returns.

PPP PPP is the idea that a dollar (or its naira equivalent) should buy the same basket of goods everywhere once exchange rates are fair.

Pre Approval Pre approval is a lender's early nod that says you can likely borrow a certain amount, before you've even chosen what to spend it on.

Pre Authorisation Pre authorisation is a temporary hold a merchant places on your card to reserve funds before the final amount is known and charged.

Pre Existing Condition Pre existing condition is any illness or health issue you already had before applying for insurance, and it can affect what the policy pays or covers.

Pre Money Valuation Pre Money Valuation is what a startup is worth right before an investor's cash lands, the number every negotiation over shares actually starts from.

Pre Paid Card A Pre Paid Card is a card you load money onto before you spend, so you can only spend what is already sitting on it, nothing more.

Pre Qualification Pre qualification is a lender's early, informal guess at how much mortgage you could likely get, based on what you tell them about your income and debts.

Pre Tax Income Pre tax income is the money you earn before government takes its share, the big number on your offer letter before reality sets in.

Predatory Lending Predatory lending is when a lender designs a loan to trap you in debt rather than help you out of a tight spot, using confusing terms and punishing fees.

Predatory Pricing Predatory pricing is when a big seller drops prices below cost on purpose to chase smaller rivals out of business, then raises prices once they are gone.

Preferred Customer Preferred Customer is the buyer a business calmly bends its rules for, because their money is steady, their orders are big, or their name opens doors.

Preferred Equity Preferred equity is a class of ownership that gets paid before ordinary shareholders but after all the lenders, sitting in the middle of the queue.

Preferred Provider Organisation Preferred Provider Organisation is a health cover plan with a network of hospitals and doctors that charge you less because they have a deal with your insurer.

Preferred Shareholder Preferred Shareholder: an investor who gets paid dividends before ordinary shareholders and stands closer to the front of the queue if a company winds up.

Preferred Stock Preferred Stock is a class of company shares that pays you a fixed dividend first, before ordinary shareholders get anything, but usually without voting rights.

Prefinancing Prefinancing means money a buyer or partner gives a business upfront, before delivery, so it can produce or fulfil the order.

Premium A premium is what you pay an insurer, usually monthly or yearly, to keep your cover in force.

Premium Bond Premium Bond is a UK savings product where your money is safe and instead of interest you get monthly entries into a prize draw that can pay up to £1 million.

Premium Pricing Premium Pricing is when you charge more than the market average on purpose, because you have built a reason for people to pay it gladly.

Prepaid Expenses Prepaid Expenses means money you have already paid for something you will only enjoy later, like rent or insurance, so it sits as an asset until it is used up.

Prepaid Income Prepaid income is money a business has already collected for goods or services it has not yet delivered, so it is recorded as a liability until it earns it.

Prepayment Prepayment means paying off a loan or bill before it is due, and surprisingly, some lenders punish you for it instead of thanking you.

Prepayment Penalty Prepayment Penalty is the fee a lender charges you for paying off your loan early, because your loyalty to their interest income was not part of the plan.

Prepayment Risk Prepayment risk is the chance that a loan behind your bond investment gets paid off early, so your steady interest income stops sooner than you planned.

Prescribed Order Prescribed Order is the fixed sequence a law or contract says you must follow, such as who gets paid first when a company closes down.

Present Value Present value is what a future sum of money is worth today, once you account for the fact that money now is worth more than the same money later.

Pretax Earnings Pretax earnings are what a company has left after paying all its bills and staff, but before the taxman takes his own share.

Price Price is the amount of money you must hand over to get a good or service, the number where a seller's wish and a buyer's willingness finally shake hands.

Price Action Price action is the story a stock's price tells just by moving, without you needing news, charts full of indicators, or anyone's opinion.

Price Cap Price Cap is a government set limit on how high the price of something can legally go, usually to protect ordinary people from paying too much.

Price Ceiling Price ceiling is a legal limit on how high a price can go, set by government to protect buyers, but it often creates shortages instead.

Price Chart Price Chart: a consider that shows how a share's price has moved over time, so you can see the story hiding behind the numbers.

Price Discrimination Price discrimination is when a business charges different customers different prices for the same product, based on who they are or how much they can pay.

Price Earnings Growth Ratio Price Earnings Growth Ratio tells you whether a share's price is cheap or dear once you consider how fast the company's profit is actually growing.

Price Earnings Ratio Price Earnings Ratio shows how many years of a company's current profit it would take, at today's price, to earn back what you paid for the share.

Price Elasticity Price Elasticity measures how much the quantity people buy changes when price changes, showing whether demand is sensitive or stubborn.

Price Fixing Price fixing is when sellers who should be competing calmly agree on what to charge, so buyers lose the benefit of one seller trying to undercut another.

Price Floor Price floor is the lowest amount the law allows a good or service to be sold for, set to protect the seller even if buyers would happily pay less.

Price Index Price Index is a single number that tracks how the average cost of a basket of goods changes over time, so you can tell if life is getting pricier.

Price Leader Price Leader is the biggest or boldest seller in a market whose pricing choices force everyone else to react.

Price Maker Price Maker: a business that sets its own price because what it sells is rare, special, or has no real competition nearby.

Price Movement Price movement is simply the way a stock, bond or currency's value rises and falls over time, driven by whatever buyers and sellers agree it is worth right now.

Price Penetration Price penetration is selling new or newly launched goods cheaply at first to win customers fast, then raising the price once people are hooked and loyal.

Price Risk Price Risk is the danger that the value of what you bought, shares, bonds, or dollars, will fall before you get the chance to sell or use it.

Price Sensitivity Price sensitivity is how much a change in price makes people buy more or less of something, and every market has its own limit.

Price Skimming Price skimming means launching a new product at a high price, then lowering it gradually as demand from early buyers slows and competitors show up.

Price Stability Price stability means the general level of prices in an economy stays fairly calm over time, so ₦1,000 buys roughly the same today as it will in a year.

Price Support Price support is when government sets a minimum price for something like maize or fuel, so producers do not suffer when the market price falls too low.

Price Taker Price taker: a seller or buyer who must accept the market's going rate because they are too small to influence it on their own.

Price to Book Ratio Price to Book Ratio compares a company's share price to the value of what it actually owns, minus what it owes, to show if the stock is cheap or expensive.

Price to Cash Flow Ratio Price to Cash Flow Ratio shows how many years of a company's actual cash it would take to pay back what you spent buying its shares.

Price to Earnings Ratio Price to Earnings Ratio shows how much investors are willing to pay for every ₦1 a company earns, and it tells you if a share is cheap or dear.

Price to Sales Ratio Price to Sales Ratio compares a company's share price to its revenue per share, showing how much investors pay for every ₦1 of sales.

Price War Price War: when two or more sellers keep slashing prices to steal customers from each other, until profit almost disappears for everyone involved.

Price Weighted Index Price Weighted Index is a market index where shares with the highest price move the whole index most, regardless of how big the company actually is.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is one of the four biggest audit and advisory firms in the world, checking company accounts and giving business advice.

Pricing Power Pricing power is a business's ability to raise prices without losing its customers to a cheaper rival down the road.

Primary Beneficiary Primary beneficiary is the person you name first in line to receive your money, policy or account if something happens to you.

Primary Dealer Primary Dealer is a bank or financial institution licensed to buy government securities straight from the source and resell them to the rest of the market.

Primary Earnings Per Share Primary Earnings Per Share is the profit a company made per share, using only shares that already exist today, no maybes included.

Primary Market Primary Market is where a company or government sells brand new shares or bonds straight to investors for the first time, before any trading begins.

Primary Mortgage Market Primary Mortgage Market is where you, an actual human being, go to borrow money from a bank or mortgage institution to buy a house.

Primary Offering Primary Offering means a company is selling brand new shares for the first time, so your money goes straight to the company, not to another investor.

Prime Borrower Prime Borrower is someone whose track record with money is so solid that lenders compete to give them cheaper loans and better terms.

Prime Brokerage Prime Brokerage is a bundle of services banks give big investors like hedge funds, covering lending, custody, trading and settlement all in one place.

Prime Lending Rate Prime Lending Rate is the interest rate a bank charges its safest, most trusted customers, the benchmark from which everyone else's loan rate is built up.

Prime Rate Prime Rate is the lowest lending rate a bank offers its safest, most trusted borrowers, and the yardstick many other loan rates are built on top of.

Principal The principal is the original amount borrowed or invested, before any interest is added to it.

Principal and Interest Principal and interest are the two parts of every loan repayment, the money you actually borrowed and the extra cost you pay for borrowing it.

Principal Payment Principal payment is the part of your loan repayment that reduces the actual amount you borrowed, separate from the interest charged on top.

Principal Residence Principal residence is the one home you actually live in most of the time, the address you would give if someone asked where you truly stay.

Principle of Indemnity Principle of Indemnity means insurance can only restore what you lost, never hand you a profit on top of your misfortune.

Print Money Print money means a government or central bank creates new currency, often to cover its own spending, and it usually ends in higher prices for everyone else.

Prior Probability Prior probability is the belief you hold about an outcome before new evidence arrives, the starting guess you adjust once fresh information comes in.

Priority Claim Priority Claim is a legal right that lets certain creditors get paid before others when a person or company runs out of money to pay everyone.

Privacy Policy Privacy Policy is the document that tells customers what personal information a business collects, why, and what it does with it.

Private Banking Private Banking is the special, personal banking service that wealthy clients get, with a dedicated manager, custom advice, and none of the queueing.

Private Company Private Company means a business owned by a small group of people whose shares are not sold to the public on any stock exchange.

Private Debt Private debt is money lent to a business directly by an investor or fund, away from banks and stock markets, usually at a higher return for taking more risk.

Private Equity Private Equity is money from an investment fund that buys into a company, often taking control, to grow it and sell it later at a profit.

Private Equity Fund Private Equity Fund is a big pool of investors' money used to buy whole companies, fix them up, and sell them later for a profit.

Private Health Insurance Private health insurance is a plan you pay into so a private company, not a government hospital queue, covers your medical bills when you fall ill.

Private Investment Private Investment is money put into a business that is not listed on any stock exchange, often through direct deals, angel funding, or private equity.

Private Label Private label means a shop or entrepreneur buys goods made by a factory and sells them under their own brand name instead of the manufacturer's.

Private Mortgage Insurance Private Mortgage Insurance is a policy that protects a lender, not you, when you buy a home in the United States or United Kingdom with a small deposit.

Private Placement Private placement is when a company sells shares or bonds directly to a chosen few investors instead of offering them to the public through the stock market.

Private Sector Private sector means all the businesses owned and run by individuals or companies, not government, from the roadside pepper seller to Dangote Cement and MTN.

Private Wealth Management Private Wealth Management is the personal service rich families use to protect, grow and pass on their money, with a banker who knows their business by name.

Privatisation Privatisation is when government sells or hands over a company it owns, like NEPA or a refinery, to private investors to run for profit.

Pro Bono Pro Bono means offering your skill for free, usually your professional skill, because someone needs it and you can give it without going under.

Pro Forma Pro forma is a financial statement that shows how numbers would look under a certain assumption, not how they actually turned out.

Pro Rata Pro rata means sharing something in exact proportion to a fair measure, like time worked, money invested, or ownership held, instead of splitting it equally.

Probate Probate is the legal process of proving a will and distributing an estate, and in Nigeria it can take years.

Probate Court Probate Court is the court that confirms a will is valid and gives someone legal power to share out a dead person's property and money.

Process Innovation Process innovation means redesigning how work gets done so a business saves time, cuts cost or serves customers better, more than buying new tools.

Procter and Gamble Procter and Gamble is the American company behind Pampers, Always, and Ariel, and its shares are a classic example of a steady, dividend paying global stock.

Procurement Procurement is the organised way a business finds, checks and buys the goods or services it needs, rather than just grabbing whatever is nearest or cheapest.

Producer Price Index Producer Price Index tracks how much prices change for the people who make and grow things, before those goods ever reach your local market stall.

Product Development Product development is the whole process of turning an idea into something people can actually buy and use, from the first sketch to the version on the shelf.

Product Differentiation Product differentiation is what makes a customer choose your garri or your app over the ten others sitting right beside it on the shelf or screen.

Product Diversification Product diversification is when a business adds new products or services to its lineup so it does not depend on just one thing to survive.

Product Launch Product Launch is the planned moment a business makes a new product available to customers, backed by promotion designed to get people talking and buying.

Product Life Cycle Product Life Cycle is the pattern a product follows from launch, through growth and maturity, to the day it stops selling and needs replacing.

Product Mix Product Mix is the full set of goods or services a business sells, and how they are grouped by variety, range, and depth to meet different customer needs.

Production Capacity Production capacity is the most a business can make in a given time with the machines, workers and space it currently has.

Production Cost Production Cost is everything you spend to turn raw materials into a finished product, before you add your profit and sell it.

Production Function Production function is the recipe that shows how much a business can produce when you mix in workers, machines, land and materials in different amounts.

Production Quota Production Quota: a limit set on how much of something, usually oil, a country or company is allowed to produce in a given period.

Productivity Productivity measures how much output you get from the hours, tools and effort put in, and it is the real engine behind rising wages and living standards.

Profession Profession is a career built on trained skill and a recognised body that can hold you to standard, like law, medicine, or accounting.

Professional Fees Professional Fees are the amounts you pay a qualified expert, like a lawyer or accountant, for their skilled advice or service, separate from goods or salary.

Professional Liability Insurance Professional Liability Insurance covers you when a client says your advice or work cost them money, even if you did nothing wrong in your own eyes.

Professional Network Professional network is the group of people who know your work and will vouch for you, and it often gets you further than your certificates.

Profile Profile means the public record of your skills and work history, on LinkedIn or elsewhere, that decides whether opportunity finds you or passes you by.

Profit Profit is what remains after every cost is paid, and it is the only number that tells you whether a business actually works.

Profit and Loss Statement Profit and Loss Statement is the report that shows whether a business made money or lost money over a set period, by comparing income to expenses.

Profit Centre Profit Centre is a part of a business that is measured on its own money made and money spent, so managers can see exactly who is pulling weight.

Profit Margin Profit margin is the percentage of your revenue you actually keep, and it matters far more than how much you sell.

Profit Maximisation Profit maximisation means running a business so that the gap between what comes in and what goes out is as wide as it can honestly be.

Profit Motive Profit motive is the simple human urge to earn more than you spend, the engine behind every business decision, from Mama Nkechi's pepper soup joint to Amazon.

Profit Sharing Profit sharing is when a company gives staff a slice of what it actually made, on top of salary, so everyone eats when business is good.

Profit Taking Profit taking is when investors sell shares that have gone up in price so they can lock in the gain before it disappears.

Profit Warning Profit Warning is an official notice from a company that its earnings will be lower than expected.

Profitability Profitability measures whether a business actually makes money after all its costs, and a company can be busy and popular yet still not be profitable.

Profitability Index Profitability Index compares the value a project returns against every naira invested, so you can rank projects when money is limited.

Profitability Ratio Profitability Ratio: a measure that shows how much profit a business squeezes out of its sales, assets or capital, more than how much it sold.

Program Trading Program trading is when a computer buys or sells a big basket of shares at once, following rules, instead of a human picking each one by hand.

Progressive Tax Progressive Tax is a system where the more you earn, the higher the rate you pay on the extra income, so it climbs step by step with your pocket.

Project Finance Project Finance means funding a big venture on the strength of what it will earn, not on the sponsor's other assets or general credit.

Project Management Project Management is the skill of turning a plan like building a house or launching a product into finished work, on time and within the budget you set.

Promissory Note A promissory note is a written, signed promise to pay a set amount of money, either on demand or by an agreed date.

Promote Promote means to talk up a business or product so loudly and cleverly that people notice, trust it, and eventually buy.

Promoter Promoter is the person who has the idea, gathers the money and people, and does the paperwork to bring a company into legal existence.

Property Property is anything you own that has value, whether it is land, a house, or the rights attached to them, more than the physical brick and roof.

Property Damage Property damage is harm done to a person's building, car, goods or land, and the money it takes to repair or replace what was broken.

Property Insurance Property insurance pays to repair or rebuild your building and its contents after fire, flood, theft or other listed disasters damage them.

Property Management Property Management is the paid job of running a rented building day to day, from collecting rent to fixing leaking taps, so the owner does not have to.

Property Manager Property Manager: the person or company a landlord pays to run a rental property day to day, from collecting rent to fixing the generator when it spoils.

Property Tax Property tax is the yearly bill you pay to the government simply for owning land or a building, whether or not you earn a kobo from it.

Proportional Tax Proportional Tax means everyone pays the same percentage of their income or transaction, regardless of whether they earn ₦45,000 or ₦4,500,000 a month.

Proprietary Account Proprietary Account is a bank's own trading account, holding money that belongs to the bank itself, not to any customer.

Proprietary Software Proprietary Software is a program a company builds, owns and locks up, so you can use it but you cannot see, copy or change what runs inside it.

Proprietary Trading Proprietary Trading is when a bank or investment firm trades stocks, bonds or currencies with its own money to make profit for itself, not for clients.

Proprietor Proprietor means the sole owner of a business, the one person legally and financially married to everything it does, good or bad.

Proprietorship Proprietorship means one person owns and runs a business alone, with no legal wall between their personal money and the business money.

Prospectus Prospectus is the official document that lays out the full details of an investment before you're asked to put your money into it.

Prosperity Prosperity means your life works well and stays working well, more than that your account balance looks good this month.

Protectionism Protectionism is when a government shields local businesses from foreign competition, usually through tariffs, quotas or bans on certain imports.

Protective Put Protective Put is buying an option that lets you sell your shares at a fixed price later, so a market crash cannot hurt you past a certain point.

Provident Fund Provident Fund is a savings pot your employer helps build for you, paid out as one lump sum when you leave the job, unlike a pension that trickles out monthly.

Provision Provision is money a company sets aside now for a cost it expects to pay later, even though it does not know the exact amount or date yet.

Provision for Bad Debt Provision for Bad Debt is the money a business sets aside because some customers who owe it will probably never pay.

Proxy Proxy is the written permission you give someone else to vote for you at a company meeting when you cannot attend yourself.

Proxy Fight Proxy Fight means a battle where shareholders are persuaded to hand over their voting rights so one group can outvote the company's own board.

Proxy Statement Proxy Statement is the document a company sends shareholders before its annual meeting, explaining what will be voted on and letting you vote without attending.

Proxy Vote Proxy Vote is when a shareholder who cannot attend a company meeting hands another person the right to vote on their behalf.

Prudential Regulation Prudential Regulation is the set of rules that force banks to keep enough capital and cash so your money survives their bad decisions.

Public Auction Public Auction is a sale open to any buyer, where a security or asset goes to whoever bids the highest price, right there in front of everyone.

Public Company Public Company: a company whose shares anyone can buy or sell, often through the stock exchange, once it has met strict rules on disclosure and ownership.

Public Debt Public debt is all the money a government has borrowed and still owes, whether to its own citizens, foreign lenders, or institutions like the World Bank.

Public Finance Public finance is how government raises money through tax and borrowing, and how it spends that money on roads, salaries, subsidies and debt.

Public Goods Public Goods are things like streetlights and clean air that everyone can use, and one person using them does not stop another from using them too.

Public Limited Company Public Limited Company means a business that has sold shares to the public and answers to thousands of shareholders instead of just one owner and their cousin.

Public Listing Public Listing is when a company's shares start trading on a stock exchange, so anyone with a brokerage account can buy a piece of the business.

Public Offering Public offering is when a company sells its shares to the general public for the first time, so anyone with money and a broker can own a piece of it.

Public Ownership Public ownership means the government, on behalf of citizens, owns and runs a business, service or asset instead of a private company.

Public Private Partnership Public Private Partnership is a deal where government and a private company share the cost, risk and reward of building or running something the public needs.

Public Relations Public Relations is the work of managing what people think and say about your business, especially when something goes wrong and everyone is watching.

Public Sector Public sector is the part of the economy owned and run by government, from NEPA and NNPC to your local council office and the polytechnic down the road.

Pull Back Pull back means a stock or market dips a little after rising, a short breather before the crowd decides where it wants to go next.

Pump and Dump A pump and dump is when insiders hype an asset to drive the price up, then sell to the people they excited, leaving them holding it.

Punitive Damages Punitive Damages are extra money a court makes a wrongdoer pay, not to cover your loss, but to punish them and warn others off doing the same thing.

Purchase Agreement Purchase Agreement: the written contract that spells out exactly what is being sold, for how much, and under what conditions, before any money changes hands.

Purchase Money Mortgage Purchase Money Mortgage is a loan the seller of a property gives the buyer to help pay for it, instead of the buyer going to a bank.

Purchase Order Purchase Order: a buyer's written promise to pay for specific goods or services before they are delivered, and proof a supplier can take to the bank.

Purchasing Power Purchasing power is what your money can actually buy, and it is the only honest way to measure whether you are getting richer.

Purchasing Power Parity PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) compares what money can actually buy in different countries, more than what it says on the exchange rate board.

Pure Play Pure Play: a company that does one main business only, so buying its shares means betting on that single business, nothing else hiding inside it.

Put Bond Put Bond is a bond that lets the lender force the borrower to pay back early, on set dates, instead of waiting till the very end.

Put Call Parity Put Call Parity is the rule that keeps a call option, a put option, the share price and cash all fairly priced against each other, so nobody gets a free lunch.

Put Call Ratio Put Call Ratio measures how many investors are betting prices will fall (puts) against those betting prices will rise (calls), used to sense market mood.

Put Option Put option is a contract that gives you the right to sell a stock at an agreed price, useful as insurance when you fear the price will fall.

Put Writer Put writer is the person who sells a put option, agreeing to buy shares at a set price later, in exchange for a fee paid to them today.

Pyramid Scheme A pyramid scheme pays you for recruiting other people rather than for selling anything real, and it collapses when recruitment stops.