VATFIN9400 - Glossary of terms: L

LCAC	Listed Companies Advisory Committee.
Letter of Credit	A letter setting out the availability of funds previously agreed. Used in international trade as a guarantee of the client’s financial bona fides.
Letter of Renunciation	This applies to a rights issue and is the form attached to an allotment letter which is completed should the original holder wish to pass entitlement to someone else, or to renounce rights absolutely.
Leveraged Buyout	The purchase of a company or group that is funded by a high level of borrowing. Often used in management buyouts where staff and/or management buy an operation or company from the parent company.
LIFFE	London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange
Liquidity	Ease with which an item can be traded on the market.
Listed Company	A company whose shares have been admitted to the Daily Official List. It has had to comply with the Exchange’s listing regulations.
Listing	Only certain securities are ‘listed’ on the London Stock Exchange. If a company is not listed, it cannot be traded on the Exchange.
Listing Particulars	The details a company must publish about itself and any securities it issues before these can be listed in the Daily Official List. Often called a prospectus.
Loan Assignment	The sale of a loan (from a bank’s loan portfolio) to a third party who will assume all rights and obligations of the original loan. See also Loan Swaps.
Loan Stock	Stock bearing a fixed rate of interest.
Loan Swaps	An arrangement whereby two or more institutions exchange loans from their respective portfolios. See also Loan Assignment.
Local	An individual trading on their own account on a financial or commodities futures/options exchange on a speculative basis.
London Clearing House (LCH)	An organisation which clears and guarantees contracts traded on LIFFE and commodities exchanges.
London Inter bank Offered Rate (LIBOR)	The rate at which London banks lend to each other. This rate is used as the base for other loans by banks to their customers.
London Investment Bankers Association (LIBA)	The principal trade association in the UK for firms that are active in the investment banking and wholesale securities industry. Represents the London offices of investment banks from around the world.
London Market Information Link	The Exchange’s new main source of UK financial data for market professionals and information vendors. It is part of the London Stock Exchange’s Sequence programme.
Long	A trader who has bought more stock than he has sold is said to be long in that stock, i.e. a ‘Bull’ position is held.