Glossary

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Variance

    A measure of a variable's volatility relative to its average.
Venture Capital
    Capital supplied to particularly high-risk projects, such as start-ups or to companies denied conventional financing.
Vertical Integration
    Merger between a supplier and its customers. An example would be when an oil-refining firm acquires a firm that owns oil fields.
Visible Hand
    The phrase comes from Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand," whereby markets alone do the job of resource allocation. With "visible hand" the government intervenes in the market, which suggests a belief in the market's failure in that particular area.
Volatility
    The range of possible outcomes. A measure of risk of an individual asset when held in isolation, i.e., not as part of a portfolio.
Volume
    The number of shares or contracts traded in a security or an entire market during a given period, typically a day.