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debenture
Long-term corporate bond, bearing fixed interest and often unsecured, issued by a company or government agency; assets may be pledged as security.
debt/equity ratio
A leverage or gearing ratio, calculated as total debt divided by common stockholders’ equity times 100.
debt ratings
Triple A is the top rating for creditworthiness of a borrower as measured in the US by debt rating agencies Moody's Investors Services and Standard and Poor's. A triple A rating means that there is almost no likelihood of the borrower failing to pay.
debt refinancing
Involves raising new money to repay existing debt. Itis something borrowers do all the time, and should not be confusedwith debt restructuring, a more fundamental process in which aborrower changes the structure of its debts (this usually happenswhen a borrower gets into trouble, and involves a reorganisation of itsliabilities, for instance by converting debt into equity). Debtrescheduling refers to a delay in the repayment of a debt, usuallyapplying to both interest and principal payments, and can involve arenegotiation of the terms of the debt.
depreciation
Writing down the value of an asset in a company’sbooks to reflect its loss of value through age and use.
derivatives
Asset or security whose value depends on a contractual relationship to another, eg a future and option.
discount house
Company that specialises in discounting bills of exchange, Treasury bills and short-dated government bonds. The Bank of England uses discount houses to counteract shortages of day-to-day credit.
discount rate
In the US the rate at which the Federal Reserve will lend short term funds. Most countries’ bank rates are known as the discount rate.
discounted value
Present value of the future sum after it has beendiscounted back. The higher the discount rate used, the lower thepresent value of the future sum.
disqualification
In the UK a director found guilty of "unfit" conductmay be disqualified from holding any management position forbetween two and 15 years; around 300-400 such orders are made eachyear.
dividends
Amount a company distributes as a return to shareholders. Usually declared as a dividend per share (DPS). Failure to pay is know as passing, a heinous crime in the UK but more common elsewhere. UK dividends are usually paid twice a year; US dividends are paid quarterly.
dividend cover
Number of times a company’s most recent netdividend to shareholders could be paid out of its annual earnings (profits after tax).
drawdown
Income drawdown pension schemes allow people to deferbuying an annuity when they retire and instead draw an income direclyfrom the fund.
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