- point
- See minimum price fluctuation. The CENTER ONLINE Futures Glossary————See basis point. American Banker Glossary————The smallest unit of price change quoted, or one one-hundredth of a percent. Related: minimum price fluctuation and tick. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary————The smallest increment of price movement possible in trading a given futures contract. Exchange Handbook Glossary
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▪ I. point point 1 [pɔɪnt] noun [countable]1. a single idea, opinion, or fact, especially one that is part of a plan, argument, or discussion:• That's a very interesting point.
• I agree with your point about the importance of safety.
• Hemade the point that economic growth would create the wealth necessary to protect the environment.
2. a level on a scale:• Gas prices have reached their highest point so far this year.
• The president's approval rating has hit its lowest point.
the price that a company decides to sell a product for, on a scale of possible prices :• It is always important to pick the correct price point.
3. the point the main idea in something that is said or done which gives meaning to all of it:• The point is that staff are not allowed to smoke in the building.
• Have I completely missed the point (= failed to understand the main meaning of something ) ?
4. one of a series of parts into which a meeting, plan etc is divided:• What's the first point on the agenda?
• The corporation announced a five-point plan for overhauling its businesses.
ˈaction ˌpointsomething that you decide must be done, especially after a meeting or after studying something carefully:• We drew up a list of action points arising from the interview.
5. FINANCE a unit of measure used in Indexes (= series of figures giving the general level of financial markets, economic activity etc ) :• The Financial Times 30 Share Index closed up 11 points at 1659.5.
ˈbasis ˌpointFINANCE a measurement of the interest rate on bonds. One basis point is one hundredth of one percent:• The price of New York City bonds should go up by no more than about 10 basis points in next Wednesday's sale.
perˈcentage ˌpoint FINANCEone percent, used as a unit of measure when talking about changes or differences in interest rates:• The Bank of Japan cut the rate by half a percentage point, to 4% (= from 4.5% to 4% ) .
6. a place or position:• Your luggage will be searched at the point of departure.
• Visas cannot be issued at the entry points along the border.
asˈsembly ˌpointthe place where people should go to if there is a fire or other emergency7. an exact moment, time, or stage in the development or progress of something:• It is too early to tell whether last month's increase marks a turning point (= a time when a situation changes ) for the company.
• The economy seems to be moving to the point of no return (= the point where it becomes so bad it cannot recover ) .
ˈbreak-even ˌpoint FINANCE ACCOUNTINGthe level of sales at which the income from goods sold is just enough to cover the costs of production so that neither a profit nor a loss is being made:• The service's break-even point is around 3,500 subscribers.
a time when there is an important change in a business or industry:• The business has reached an inflection point, and we may even see a drop in profits over the next financial year.
reˈorder ˌpoint MANUFACTURINGthe point when it is necessary to order more of a product, taking into account the demand for the product, and the time it takes to deliver itˈtrigger ˌpoint1. FINANCE the number of shares in a company above which a shareholder is forced to take a particular course of action. For example, if the shareholder has 30% of the shares in a company, it is forced to make an offer for the remaining shares:• We can accumulate more shares up to the trigger point.
2. COMMERCE the price below which an imported product must fall before trade restrictions are put on it8. a unit used to measure how good someone or something is or how suitable they are for something:• The details you give are assessed according to a points system.
9. a particular quality or feature that something or someone has:• Finance has never been his strong point.
• Every system has its good points and its drawbacks.
ˈselling ˌpoint MARKETINGa feature of a product that makes it sell well:• A selling point for houses around here is the amazing lake view.
a feature of a product that no other similar products have, used in advertising etc to try to persuade people to buy it:• Finding a unique selling point for banking services is not easy.
10. spoken a sign (.) used to separate a whole number from any Decimals that follow it — see also bullet point[m0] ▪ II. point point 2 verb1. point the finger (at somebody) to blame someone for something:• To minimise his sentence, he pointed the finger at people he had dealt with.
2. point the way to show how something could change or develop successfully:• The article summarises the current law and points the way forward.
point something ↔ out phrasal verb [transitive]to tell someone something they did not already know or had not thought about:• Some economists have pointed out that low inflation is not necessarily a good thing.
point to something phrasal verb [transitive]to mention something because you think it is important:• He pointed to the seventy million dollars he had made for the firm.
point to/towards something phrasal verb [transitive]if something points to a fact, it makes it seem very likely that it is true:• The economy's performance in April pointed toward a recovery in the manufacturing sector.
point something ↔ up phrasal verb [transitive]to make something seem more important or noticeable:• The latest economic figures point up the failure of the government's policies.
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Price movements are expressed in terms of points.► See also Pip.* * *
Ⅰ.point UK US /pɔɪnt/ noun► [C] an idea, opinion, or piece of information that is spoken or written: »I agree with your point about the management team.
»Thank you, that was a very interesting point.
make/raise a/the point »He made the point quite forcefully that no more money was available.
get a point across »I wasn't sure what point she was trying to get across.
prove sb's point »I think that proves my point. The figures just don't stack up.
► [U or S] purpose, or the fact of something being useful: no point (in doing sth) »There is no point in discussing this further if you've already made up your mind.
► [C] a particular detail or characteristic of a person or thing: the main points »I noted down the main points of his speech.
good/bad point »The government's financial plan has both its good and its bad points.
»When you are appraising someone, try to emphasize their good points.
»Speaking in public is not one of her strong points.
► [C] MEETINGS one part that a meeting, plan, etc. is divided into: »We have seven points on the agenda today.
»Has anyone any comments on Point 4?
»We need to examine the proposals point by point.
»My boss gave me a five-point plan for improving my performance.
► [C] a particular time or stage that is reached in a process: highest/lowest point »Copper prices rose to their highest point in two weeks.
»The stock went to $74 at one point.
get to/reach a/the point »It's taken us years to get to the point where we're making a reasonable profit.
»We shall need to discuss this further at some point.
at this point (in time) »This is not something that we want to introduce at this point in time.
► [C] a mark or unit for counting or measuring something: score points »You will normally be accepted if you score more than 20 points on the test.
»The bond rose 10 basis points, from 2.932 to 2.942 percent.
»Interest rates have gone up two percentage points.
»We will introduce an Australian-style points system for work permits.
► [C] a particular place: »The building served as the group's meeting point.
»The store is the focal point of the small community.
► [C] a small round mark that is used in numbers to separate whole numbers from parts of numbers: »A kilogram equals two point two (2.2) pounds.
»a decimal point
→ See also ACTION POINT(Cf. ↑action point), ASSEMBLY POINT(Cf. ↑assembly point), BASIS POINT(Cf. ↑basis point), BREAK-EVEN POINT(Cf. ↑break-even point), BREAKING POINT(Cf. ↑breaking point), BREAKPOINT(Cf. ↑breakpoint), BULLET POINT(Cf. ↑bullet point), GROSS RATING POINT(Cf. ↑gross rating point), HALF POINT(Cf. ↑half point), INFLECTION POINT(Cf. ↑inflection point), ORDER POINT(Cf. ↑order point), PERCENTAGE POINT(Cf. ↑percentage point), PRICE POINT(Cf. ↑price point), QUARTER-POINT(Cf. ↑quarter-point), RATINGS POINT(Cf. ↑ratings point), REORDER POINT(Cf. ↑reorder point), SELLING POINT(Cf. ↑selling point), STRATEGIC INFLECTION POINT(Cf. ↑strategic inflection point), TALKING POINT(Cf. ↑talking point), TIPPING POINT(Cf. ↑tipping point), TRIGGER POINT(Cf. ↑trigger point), TURNING POINT(Cf. ↑turning point), UNIQUE SELLING POINT(Cf. ↑unique selling point)Ⅱ.point UK US /pɔɪnt/ verb [I or T]► to show someone the direction that they should go, or what they should do: »The figures pointed us in the direction that we should be taking over the next year or so.
Financial and business terms. 2012.
