| Glossary of Export Import Trade Terms Starting with - O |
| Words |
Description |
| OPIC |
Overseas Private Investment Corporation. A US agency that assists US companies protect their investment against risk in a particular country besides providing other services. |
| Ocean Bill of Lading |
A bill of lading indicating that the exporter consigns a shipment to an int'l carrier for transportation to a specified foreign market. |
| Offer (Ask) Rates |
The rate at which a market maker is willing to sell the quoted asset. |
| Offering Statement |
In the United States, a shortened registration statement required by the Securities and Exchange Commission on debt issues with less than a nine-month maturity. |
| Official Settlements Balance (Overall Balance) |
An overall measure of a country’s private financial and economic transactions with the rest of the world. |
| Offshore Financial Centers (OFCs) |
The many types of financial institutions that operate without financial supervision by governments or other agencies. |
| Oligopoly |
A market dominated by so few sellers that action by any of them will impact both the price of the good and the competitors. |
| On Board Bill of Lading |
A bill of lading in which a carrier certifies that goods have been placed on board a certain vessel. |
| Open Account |
A trade arrangement in which goods are shipped to a foreign buyer without guarantee of payment. |
| Open Insurance Policy |
A marine insurance policy that applies to all shipments made by an exporter over a period of time rather than to one shipment only. |
| Open and Reform Policy |
An economic policy enacted by the Chinese government combining central planning with market-oriented reforms to increase productivity, living standards, and technological quality without exacerbating inflation, unemployment, and budget deficits. |
| Open-end Fund |
A mutual fund in which the amount of money under management grows/shrinks as investors buy/sell the fund. |
| Operating Cash Flow |
Earnings before interest and depreciation minus taxes. It measures the cash flow generated form operations, not counting capital spending or working capital requirements. |
| Operating Exposure |
Changes in the value of real (no monetary) assets or operating cash flows as a result of changes in currency values. |
| Operating Leverage |
The trade-off between fixed and variable costs in the operation of the firm. |
| Operational Efficiency |
Market efficiency with respect to how large an influence transactions costs and other market frictions have on the operation of a market. |
| Operator |
A corporation, partnership, or person that operates a zone or sub zone under the terms of an agreement with the Grantee. |
| Operator's Bond |
All zone operators must submit to Customs a bond to assure compliance with Customs regulations. |
| Opportunity Cost |
Most valuable alternative that is given up. The rate of return used in NPV computation is an opportunity interest rate. |
| Opportunity Set |
The set of all possible investments. |
| Order Bill of Lading |
A negotiable bill of lading made out to the order of the shipper. |
| Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) |
A group of 30 countries that meets regularly to discuss global issues and make appropriate economic and social policies. |
| Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) |
A producer cartel that produces and sells oil. |
| Out-of-the-Money Option |
An option that has no value if exercised immediately. |
| Outright Quote |
A quote in which all of the digits of the bid and offer prices are quoted. (Contrast with points quote.) |
| Outsourcing |
A situation in which a firm's functions are performed or provided by a person or group from outside the company. |
| Overall Balance |
(See official settlements balance.) |
| Overall FTC limitation |
In the U.S. tax code, a limitation on the FTC equal to foreign-source income times U.S. tax on worldwide income divided by worldwide income. |
| Ownership-Specific Advantages |
Property rights or intangible assets, including patents, trademarks, organizational and marketing expertise, production technology and management, and general organizational abilities, that form the basis for the multinational’s advantage over local firms |
