- Interest
- The price paid for borrowing money. It is expressed as a percentage rate over a period of time and reflects the rate of exchange of present consumption for future consumption. Also, a share or title in property. The New York Times Financial Glossary
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interest in‧terest [ˈɪntrst] noun1. [uncountable] FINANCE an amount paid by a borrower to a lender, for example to a bank by someone borrowing money for a loan or by a bank to a depositor (= someone keeping money in an account there ) :• Any spare cash is best put in a savings account where it will earn interest.
• US savings bonds will pay interest at 7.01% from May 1 through Oct. 31.
interest on• a period during which you only pay interest on the loan and make no capital repayments
• Some credit cards don't charge interest on unpaid balances.
acˌcrued ˈinterest [uncountable] FINANCEinterest earned during a period of time, whether it has been paid and received or not:• After five years the original loan has to be paid in full, plus all the accrued interest.
ˌadd-on ˈinterest [uncountable] FINANCEˈbank ˌinterest [uncountable] FINANCE• You must declare bank interest you receive to the tax authorities.
ˈbond ˌinterest [uncountable] FINANCEinterest payable or paid to lenders on bonds:• Mr Trump's Taj Mahal Casino might have trouble paying its junk bond interest.
ˈbuilding soˌciety ˌinterest [uncountable] FINANCEthe interest a building society pays to investors who have savings accounts:• Building society interest is taxed under a special arrangement, and basic-rate tax does not have to be paid on it.
ˌcompound ˈinterest [uncountable] FINANCEinterest calculated on both a sum of money lent and on the unpaid interest already earned or charged on that money — compare simple interestdeˈbenture ˌinterest [uncountable] FINANCE• The company also said it can't pay debenture interest of $5.3 million due this month.
ˌgross ˈinterest [uncountable] TAXinterest before tax is taken away:• Only non-taxpayers should be registered for gross interest.
imˌputed ˈinterest [uncountable] FINANCEinterest on a loan which is based on the difference between the market rates of interest, and the actual interest paid on the loan:• Investors don't have to pay tax on imputed interest every year.
ˌnet ˈinterest• This cheque account pays net interest of 3.25%.
2. [uncountable] FINANCE the difference between interest that a person or organization receives from investments and interest that they pay for borrowing:• The bank's net interest income increased by 19% last year.
ˌsimple ˈinterest [uncountable] FINANCEinterest calculated only on the principal (= the original amount invested), not on any accrued interest:• I charged him 5% simple interest on the principal per week.
ˌtrue ˈinterest [uncountable] FINANCEthe interest that a particular sum of money would earn at a particular rate of interest to bring it to a known sum at the end of a particular period of time:• The true interest cost on the Series A bonds is 6.262%.
2. [countable] FINANCE shares that you own in a company, or a part of a company that a person or organization owns; = HOLDING; STAKE:true interest in• Highlands Gold Ltd holds a 30% interest in the mine.
• He acquired interests in a number of publishing companies.
conˌtrolling ˈinterest [countable] FINANCEenough shares to control a company:• He bought a controlling interest in the firm.
maˌjority ˈinterest [countable] FINANCEmore than half of a company's shares, or enough shares to control the company:• Roche acquired a majority interest in Genetech.
miˌnority ˈinterest [countable] FINANCEless than half of a company's shares, or fewer shares than the biggest shareholder:• Later in the year, AT&T sold a minority interest to other carefully selected companies.
ˌworking ˈinterest [countable] FINANCEan interest held by a company in a particular activity, especially the oil industry:• Amoco, an energy concern, is the operator of the project with a 43.75% working interest.
3. vested interest disapproving a group of people with strong reasons for wanting something to happen because they will gain an advantage from it:• He is determined to prevent powerful vested interests from blocking the reform.
• The husband can release his interest in the legal estate to his wife.
the right to benefit from some property or a contract:• The shares sold yesterday were held by a number of charitable trusts in which Sir David had a beneficial interest.
— see also conflict of interest, open interest, short interest* * *
interest UK US /ˈɪntrəst/ noun► [U] FINANCE money that is charged by a bank or other financial organization for lending money: interest charges/payments »Interest charges on an overdraft are usually quite high.
charge/pay interest »A number of providers don't charge any interest for an introductory period when you get one of their cards.
interest on sth »The interest on a mortgage is higher than the interest earned on savings.
»You can expect to pay interest of 4–6% on the loan.
with interest »I paid back the whole sum with interest within a month.
»monthly/annual interest
► [U] FINANCE money that you earn from keeping your money in an account in a bank or other financial organization: earn/receive/pay interest »You will earn interest at 4% as long as you have money in your account.
»Consumers look for the best rate of interest on their savings.
»You will receive interest payments on your investments monthly.
»The account pays interest of up to 5%.
»monthly/annual interest
► [C] an involvement or a legal right, usually relating to a business or possessions that you own with other people: »He is a multi-millionaire with business interests around the world.
an interest in sth »The bank has a legal interest in the building until the money is repaid, as it was offered as security on the loan.
► [S or U] the feeling of wanting to give your attention to something or of wanting to be involved with and to discover more about something: show interest (in sth) »Customers are showing a lot of interest in this new design.
lose interest (in sth) »Keep your points short and snappy when you make your presentation, or the audience might lose interest.
take an interest (in sth) »Since our company featured in a national newspaper, people are starting to take an interest in what we do.
have an interest in sth »I've always had an interest in aviation.
»Just out of interest, how many people were at the conference?
► [C] an activity that you enjoy doing or a subject that you like to spend time learning about: »She lists her interests as music, running, and learning languages.
► [U] the quality that makes you think that something is interesting: be of interest to sb »I think this report would be of interest to you.
► [C or U] something that brings someone advantages or that affects someone or something: »A union looks after the interests of its members.
»It's in your interests to keep careful records.
»In the interests of safety, please do not smoke.
»I believe it is in everyone's best interests if I resign.
→ See also ACCRUED INTEREST(Cf. ↑accrued interest), ADD-ON INTEREST(Cf. ↑add-on interest), BANK INTEREST(Cf. ↑bank interest), BENEFICIAL INTEREST(Cf. ↑beneficial interest), COMPOUND INTEREST(Cf. ↑compound interest), CONFLICT OF INTEREST(Cf. ↑conflict of interest), CONTROLLING INTEREST(Cf. ↑controlling interest), EX-INTEREST(Cf. ↑ex-interest), EXPRESSION OF INTEREST(Cf. ↑expression of interest), GROSS INTEREST(Cf. ↑gross interest), IMPUTED INTEREST(Cf. ↑imputed interest), MAJORITY INTEREST(Cf. ↑majority interest), MINORITY INTEREST(Cf. ↑minority interest), NET INTEREST(Cf. ↑net interest), SIMPLE INTEREST(Cf. ↑simple interest), TRUE INTEREST COST(Cf. ↑true interest cost), WORKING INTEREST(Cf. ↑working interest), VESTED INTEREST(Cf. ↑vested interest), ZERO INTEREST(Cf. ↑zero interest)
Financial and business terms. 2012.
