- Discount
- Referring to the selling price of a bond, a price below its par value. Related: premium. The New York Times Financial Glossary
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▪ I. discount dis‧count 1 [ˈdɪskaʊnt] noun [countable]1. COMMERCE a reduction in the cost of goods or services in relation to the normal cost:• You can nearly always get books there at a discount.
• The company is trying to increase market share by selling its trainers at discount prices.
ˌbulk ˈdiscount COMMERCEa lower price that is offered for buying a large number or amount of something:• As twenty are required it might pay to ask your supplier for a bulk discount.
ˈcase rate ˌdiscount COMMERCEthe discount when you pay less for something because you buy a complete case (= box of goods) rather than just one thingˌcash ˈdiscount COMMERCEa lower price that is offered for quick payment or payment in cashno ˈclaims ˌdiscount INSURANCEa lower price for insurance offered to an insured person or organization if they do not make a claim during a particular period of time:• A motoring breakdown scheme is offering members a 20% no claims discount if they do not call out the service during the year.
ˌtrade ˈdiscount COMMERCEa lower price offered by a producer to a shop or business:• Our normal trade discount (33.3%) will be applied.
ˌvolume ˈdiscount COMMERCEanother name for bulk discount• Zero-coupon bonds are sold at a discount to their face value and pay no interest until maturity.
3. fine rate of discount FINANCE if a bill of exchange is traded at a fine rate of discount, it is bought and sold at a price near to the amount shown on it, because the buyer knows there is little risk of it not being paid:• Accepting Houses accept bills of exchange for a fee, which enables the bill to be traded at a fine rate of discount.
4. FINANCE if something in a financial market is traded at a discount, it is bought and sold at a lower price than something else to which it is compared:• The premium of platinum over gold narrowed to $11, but there is a good chance platinum will trade at a discount to gold soon.
ˌbanker's ˈdiscount also ˌbank ˈdiscount FINANCEthe difference between the value shown on a bond, share etc that is bought by a bank from a customer, and the amount that the customer actually receives from the bank. The banker's discount is kept by the bank as paymentˌbond ˈdiscount FINANCEthe difference between a bond's present price in the market and its actual value[m0] ▪ II. discount dis‧count 2 [ˈdɪskaʊnt] verb [transitive]1. COMMERCE to offer something for sale at a lower price than usual:• The retailers discounted the goods below prices set by the manufacturer.
• Games were discounted to as little as $5.
2. FINANCE to change the price of something in a financial market by taking into account good or bad news that affects it:• I think the market has discounted almost all of what can go right with the economy this year.
3. FINANCE to sell Securities at less than the value shown on them. The person who buys the securities makes a profit when the borrower buys them back at their full value at the repayment date4. FINANCE to sell a bill of exchange or other commercial bill before its normal payment date for less than it will be worth on that date. The buyer makes a profit when the bill is paid in full by the borrower at the repayment date* * *
Generally used to describe when something is selling below its normal price. An asset or fund is described as being at discount when its value is above its market price. In the money markets it is the action of buying financial paper at less than par value. In the foreign exchange markets it is a margin by which the forward rate falls below spot. In the futures market it is referred to as backwardation. Opposite of premium.► See also Backwardation, Premium.* * *
Ⅰ.discount UK US /ˈdɪskaʊnt/ noun► [C or U] COMMERCE a reduction in the usual price of a product or service: get/receive a discount »You get a discount if you buy four ink cartridges.
give/offer a discount »Car manufacturers are offering discounts of up to 15% on all new models.
huge/deep/big discount »They purchased the stock at a huge discount.
»The price without discount will be around $55.
► [C, usually singular] FINANCE the difference between the reduced price that you originally paid for a security, and the amount you will be paid back when it is ready to be paid: »All these securities are sold at a discount to their par value.
→ See also BANKER'S DISCOUNT(Cf. ↑banker's discount), BOND DISCOUNT(Cf. ↑bond discount), BULK DISCOUNT(Cf. ↑bulk discount), CASH DISCOUNT(Cf. ↑cash discount), CASE RATE DISCOUNT(Cf. ↑case rate discount), DEEP DISCOUNT(Cf. ↑deep discount), FREQUENCY DISCOUNT(Cf. ↑frequency discount), NO CLAIMS BONUS(Cf. ↑no claims bonus), TRADE DISCOUNT(Cf. ↑trade discount), VOLUME DISCOUNT(Cf. ↑volume discount)Ⅱ.discount UK US /dɪˈskaʊnt/ US /ˈdɪskaʊnt/ verb► [T] COMMERCE to sell a product or service for less than the usual price: »Our entire inventory is discounted below retail prices.
discount sth by 55%/a quarter, etc. »The initial charges will be 5.25%, discounted by 2% to 3.25 % until 31 January.
► [T, usually passive] STOCK MARKET if shares are discounted, they go down in price, often following bad news: »Stocks were being discounted because of political concerns related to the upcoming election.
► [T] FINANCE to buy a bill of exchange before its payment date at a price that is lower than its value, in order to make a profit when it is paid on its payment date: »If an exporter has good credit, the bank may purchase or discount his collection bills.
Ⅲ.discount UK US /ˈdɪskaʊnt/ adjective [before noun]
Financial and business terms. 2012.
