Financial markets in the context of "Financial centre"

The secondary market, also called the aftermarket and follow on public offering, is the financial market in which previously issued financial instruments such as stock, bonds, options, and futures are bought and sold. The initial sale of the security by the issuer to a purchaser, who pays proceeds to the issuer, is the primary market. All sales after the initial sale of the security are sales in the secondary market. Whereas the term primary market refers to the market for new issues of securities, and "[a] market is primary if the proceeds of sales go to the issuer of the securities sold," the secondary market in contrast is the market created by the later trading of such securities.

With primary issuances of securities or financial instruments (the primary market), often an underwriter purchases these securities directly from issuers, such as corporations issuing shares in an initial public offering (IPO) or private placement. Then the underwriter re-sells the securities to other buyers, in what is referred to as a secondary market or aftermarket (or a buyer in contrast may buy directly from the federal government, in the case of a government issuing treasuries).

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (also called the Exchange Act, '34 Act, or 1934 Act) (Pub. L. 73–291, 48 Stat. 881, enacted June 6, 1934, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 78a et seq.) is a law governing the secondary trading of securities (stocks, bonds, and debentures) in the United States of America. A landmark piece of wide-ranging legislation, the Act of '34 and related statutes form the basis of regulation of the financial markets and their participants in the United States. The 1934 Act also established the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the agency primarily responsible for enforcement of United States federal securities law.

Companies raise billions of dollars by issuing securities in what is known as the primary market. Contrasted with the Securities Act of 1933, which regulates these original issues, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 regulates the secondary trading of those securities between persons often unrelated to the issuer, frequently through brokers or dealers. Trillions of dollars are made and lost each year through trading in the secondary market.

Federal holidays in the United States are 11 calendar dates designated by the U.S. federal government as holidays. On these days non-essential U.S. federal government offices are closed and federal employees are paid for the day off.

Federal holidays are designated by the United States Congress in Title V of the United States Code (5 U.S.C. § 6103). Congress only has authority to create holidays for federal institutions (including federally-owned properties), employees, and the District of Columbia. As a general rule of courtesy, custom, and sometimes regulation, other institutions, such as banks, businesses, schools, and the financial markets, may be closed on federal holidays. In various parts of the country, state and city holidays may be observed concurrently with federal holidays.

Financial integration is a phenomenon in which financial markets in neighboring, regional and/or global economies are closely linked together. Various forms of actual financial integration include: Information sharing among financial institutions; sharing of best practices among financial institutions; sharing of cutting edge technologies (through licensing) among financial institutions; firms borrow and raise funds directly in the international capital markets; investors directly invest in the international capital markets; newly engineered financial products are domestically innovated and originated then sold and bought in the international capital markets; rapid adaption/copycat of newly engineered financial products among financial institutions in different economies; cross-border capital flows; and foreign participation in the domestic financial markets.

Because of financial market imperfections, financial integration in neighboring, regional and/or global economies is therefore imperfect. For example, imperfect financial integration can stem from the inequality of the marginal rate of substitutions of different agents. In addition to financial market imperfections, legal restrictions can also hinder financial integration. Therefore, financial integration can also be achieved from the elimination of restrictions pertaining to cross-border financial operations to allow (a) financial institutions to operate freely, (b) permit businesses to directly raise funds or borrow and (c) equity and bond investors to invest across the state line with fewer [or without imposing any] restrictions. However, it is important to note that many of the legal restrictions exist because of the market imperfections that hinder financial integration. Legal restrictions are sometimes second-best devices for dealing with the market imperfections that limit financial integration. Consequently, removing the legal restrictions can make the world economy become worse off.In addition, financial integration of neighboring, regional and/or global economies can take place through a formal international treaty which the governing bodies of these economies agree to cooperate to address regional and/or global financial disturbances through regulatory and policy responses. The extent to which financial integration is measured includes gross capital flows, stocks of foreign assets and liabilities, degree of co-movement of stock returns, degree of dispersion of worldwide real interest rates, and financial openness. Also there are views that not gross capital flows (capital inflow plus capital outflow), but bilateral capital flows determine financial integration of a country, which disregards capital surplus and capital deficit amounts. For instance, a county with only capital inflow and no capital outflow will be considered not financially integrated.

In finance, market depth is a real-time list displaying the quantity to be sold versus unit price. The list is organized by price level and is reflective of real-time market activity. Mathematically, it is the size of an order needed to move the market price by a given amount. If the market is deep, a large order is needed to change the price.