FACTOID # 144: A three-minute local phone call in Ecuador costs 60 U.S. cents, 60 times as much as in Ukraine, Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, or Uzbekistan.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

SEARCH ALL

FACTS & STATISTICS    Advanced view

Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 

 

(* = Graphable)

 

 


Encyclopedia > Market liquidity

Market liquidity is a business, economics or investment term that refers to an asset's ability to be easily converted through an act of buying or selling without causing a significant movement in the price and with minimum loss of value. An act of exchange of a less liquid asset with a more liquid asset is called liquidation. Liquidity also refers both to that quality of a business which enables it to meet its payment obligations, in terms of possessing sufficient liquid assets; and to such assets themselves. Wall Street, Manhattan is the location of the New York Stock Exchange and is often used as a symbol for the world of business. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Invest redirects here. ...

Contents

Summary

A liquid asset has some or more of the following features. It can be sold (1) rapidly, (2) with minimum loss of value, (3) anytime within market hours. The essential characteristic of a liquid market is that there are ready and willing buyers and sellers at all times. An elegant definition of liquidity is also the probability that the next trade is executed at a price equal to the last one. A market may be considered deeply liquid if there are ready and willing buyers and sellers in large quantities. This is related to a market depth, where sometimes orders cannot strongly influence prices. In finance, market depth is the size of an order needed to move the market a given amount. ...


The liquidity of a product can be measured as how often it is bought and sold; this is known as volume. Often investments in liquid markets such as the stock exchange or futures markets are considered to be more liquid than investments such as real estate, based on their ability to be converted quickly. Some assets with liquid secondary markets may be more advantageous to own, are willing to pay a higher price for the asset than for comparable assets without a liquid secondary market. The liquidity discount is the reduced promised yield or expected return for such assets, like the difference between newly issued U.S. Treasury bonds compared to off-the-run Treasuries with the same term remaining until maturity. Buyers know that other investors are not willing to buy off-the-run so the newly issued bonds have a lower yield and higher price. The volume of a solid object is the three-dimensional concept of how much space it occupies, often quantified numerically. ... Invest redirects here. ... A futures exchange, is a corporation or organization which provides a marketplace in which to trade derivatives such as futures contracts and options. ... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ...


Speculators and market makers are key contributors to the liquidity of a market, or asset. Speculators and market makers are individuals or institutions that seek to profit from anticipated increases or decreases in a particular market price. By doing this, they provide the capital needed to facilitate the liquidity. The risk of illiquidity need not apply only to individual investments: whole portfolios are subject to market risk. Financial institutions and asset managers that oversee portfolios are subject to what is called "structural" and "contingent" liquidity risk. Structural liquidity risk, sometimes called funding liquidity risk, is the risk associated with funding asset portfolios in the normal course of business. Contingent liquidity risk is the risk associated with finding additional funds or replacing maturing liabilities under potential, future stressed market conditions. When a central bank tries to influence the liquidity (supply) of money, this process is known as open market operations. Speculation involves the buying, holding, and selling of stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, collectibles, real estate, derivatives or any valuable financial instrument to profit from fluctuations in its price as opposed to buying it for use or for income via methods such as dividends or interest. ... A market maker is a person or a firm which quotes a buy and sell price in a financial instrument or commodity hoping to make a profit on the turn or the bid/offer spread. ... In law, the ordinary course of business covers the usual transactions, customs and practices of a certain business and of a certain firm. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Open Market Operations are the means by which central banks control the liquidity of the national currency. ...


Futures

In the futures markets, there is no assurance that a liquid market may exist for offsetting a commodity contract at all times. Some futures contracts and specific delivery months tend to have increasingly more trading activity and have higher liquidity than others. The most useful indicators of liquidity for these contracts are the trading volume and open interest. A futures exchange, is a corporation or organization which provides a marketplace in which to trade derivatives such as futures contracts and options. ...


There is also "dark liquidity", referring to transactions that occur off-exchange and are therefore not visible to investors until after the transaction is complete. It does not contribute to public price discovery.[1]


Banking

In banking, liquidity is the ability to meet obligations when they come due without incurring unacceptable losses. Managing liquidity is a daily process requiring bankers to monitor and project cash flows to ensure adequate liquidity is maintained. Maintaining a balance between short-term assets and short-term liabilities is critical. Deposit accounts represent the primary funding (liabilities) in traditional commercial banks, and the loan portfolio represents the primary asset. The investment portfolio represents a smaller portion of assets, and serves as the primary source of liquidity. Investment securities can be liquidated to satisfy deposit withdrawals and increased loan demand. Banks have several additional options for generating liquidity, such as selling loans, borrowing from other banks, borrowing from a Central bank, such as the US Federal Reserve bank, and raising additional capital. In a worst case scenario, depositors may demand their funds when the bank is unable to generate adequate cash without incurring substantial financial losses. Most banks are subject to legally-mandated reserve requirements intended to help banks avoid liquidity crises. The Fed redirects here. ...


Business

In business, the term refers to a company's ability to meet its obligation when and in the event they fall due. If a firm is unable to meet its obligation in time, the company is in danger of insolvency. Therefore, heavy weight is put in finance planning by the controlling staff in order to register all potential shortages in funds. If there is a shortage, the Treasury will be informed in order to be prepared to raise capital for the next business period. If a shortage of funds is registered too late and the funds are insufficient, banks may reject lending a company capital, and in consequence bankruptcy might be inescapeable. Notice of closure stuck on the door of a computer store the day after its parent company, Granville Technology Group Ltd, declared bankruptcy (strictly, put into administration—see text) in the United Kingdom. ...


In business, merchants often have liquidation sales, in which inventories are sold at discount to raise cash or to get rid of inventory more quickly. Liquidation, or winding up, refers to a business whose assets are converted to money in order to pay off debt. ...


See also


  Results from FactBites:
 
Liquidity (483 words)
The liquidity of a market is often measured as the size of its bid-ask spread, but this is an imperfect metric at best.
Examples of assets that tend to be liquid include foreign exchange, stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange or on-the-run Treasury bonds.
Schwartz and Francioni (2004) is the essential text on liquidity in equity markets.
FRB: Speech, Warsh--Market Liquidity: Definitions and Implications--March 5, 2007 (4000 words)
Liquidity exists when investors are confident in their ability to transact and where risks are quantifiable.
While policymakers and market participants know with certainty that these episodes will occur, they must be humble in their ability to predict the timing, scope, and duration of these periods of financial distress.
If liquidity conditions and risk premiums of the last several quarters were the sole basis by which to judge the stance of monetary policy, it would be hard to conclude that monetary policy has been restrictive.
  More results at FactBites »


 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.