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- Quadratic programming
- Variant of linear
programming whereby the objective function is quadratic rather than linear. For
example, in portfolio selection, we will often minimize the variance of the portfolio
(which is a quadratic function) subject to constraints on the mean return of the
portfolio.
- Q
ratio or Tobin's Q ratio
- Market value
of a firm's assets divided by replacement value of the firm's assets.
Quality option - Also called the swap
option, the seller has choice of deliverables in Treasury
Bond and Treasury note futures contract. Related: cheapest to deliver issue
Quality spread - Also called credit
spread, the spread between Treasury securities and non-Treasury securities
that are identical in all respects except for quality rating. For instance, the difference
between yields on Treasuries
and those on single A-rated industrial bonds.
Quantos - Currency
options with a guaranteed exchange rate that
enable buyers who like the asset, German bonds for example, but not the asset's pricing currency, to
arrange to be paid in a different currency for a fee.
Quanto swap - See: differential
swap.
Quick assets - Current assets
minus inventories.
Quick ratio - Indicator of a
company's financial strength (or weakness). Calculated by taking current assets less inventories,
divided by current liabilities. This ratio
provides information regarding the firm's liquidity
and ability to meet its obligations. Also called the Acid
Test ratio.
Quotation - Used in the context of general equities. Highest bid and lowest offer (asked) price currently available on a security or a commodity.
Insider market.
Glossary created by Campbell R. Harvey, Professor of Finance, Fuqua
School of Business at Duke University. |
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