Finance terms from the week of Monday, September 28, 2026
35 clues and answers from Monday, September 28, 2026 to Sunday, October 4, 2026, each with a
plain-language definition where the term is one worth knowing. These
puzzles are no longer playable; today's game is on the
play page and the last seven days are in the
practice archive.
1 This Norwalk, Connecticut financial data and analytics firm said in its latest weekly earnings report this week that S&P 500 profits grew about 28.9% in the third quarter, a third straight quarter of growth above 25%. Name the firm.
Answer: FACTSET(7 letters)
2 With energy costs keeping price pressures elevated, the US central bank lifted its policy rate this month for the first time since 2023, pushing it further above the neutral level to deliberately damp demand. What one-word adjective describes such a stance?
Answer: RESTRICTIVE(11 letters)
3 A US soup and snacks maker's shares fell more than 8% this week after it paired a weak fiscal 2027 outlook with a reset of its quarterly cash payout to 25 cents from 39 cents a share. What single word names that per-share cash distribution to holders?
Answer: DIVIDEND(8 letters)
A distribution of a company's earnings to shareholders, usually paid quarterly in cash.
4 In accounting, this is the systematic writing off of an intangible asset's cost (a patent, a licence, acquired software) over its useful life, the counterpart of the periodic charge taken on physical plant and equipment. What is the term?
Answer: AMORTIZATION(12 letters)
5 In the final days before the US federal fiscal year closes on September 30, agencies rush to award contracts so unspent budget authority is not lost. What single word names the government's formal process of buying goods and services from outside vendors?
Answer: PROCUREMENT(11 letters)
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
1 Shares of this Chandler, Arizona-based supplier of embedded control processors and analog devices rose 5.4% on Monday, Sept. 28 as AI-linked silicon names helped lift the Dow 478 points to a close above 51,800. Name the company.
Answer: MICROCHIP(9 letters)
2 Consumers' expectations for price rises over the coming year jumped to 4.6% in September from 4.0% in August, while the five-year measure edged up to 3.4%, in the best-known US consumer sentiment survey. Which state university has run that survey since the 1940s?
Answer: MICHIGAN(8 letters)
3 As of Sept. 25 the initial public offering of this Oulu, Finland-based maker of a smart health-tracking finger ring was reported to be roughly four times oversubscribed ahead of its market debut. Name the company.
Answer: OURA(4 letters)
4 In lending, this is a clause in a loan agreement or bond contract obliging the borrower to keep leverage or interest cover within set limits, or to refrain from acts such as selling key assets; breaching it can trigger default. What is the term?
Answer: COVENANT(8 letters)
A condition in a loan agreement requiring the borrower to maintain certain financial ratios or refrain from certain actions. Breaching one can trigger default.
5 With the third quarter's books closing on Sept. 30, firms whose results are landing outside their published outlook often issue a pre-announcement. What single word names a company's own forecast of coming revenue and profit, which it may raise, cut or withdraw?
Answer: GUIDANCE(8 letters)
A company's own forecast of its future results, issued alongside reported figures.
1 The US aviation regulator said this week it will not certify the 737 Max 10 until it evaluates a newly discovered software glitch, and the planemaker's shares closed nearly 7% lower. Name the Arlington, Virginia-based manufacturer.
Answer: BOEING(6 letters)
2 The government sold $70 billion of five-year notes this week at a yield of 5.033%, the highest since 2006, while the 10-year benchmark touched 5.13%. What single word names the competitive bidding process by which new government debt is sold to investors?
Answer: AUCTION(7 letters)
3 Royal Caribbean agreed this week to pay about $3 billion for a 50% equity stake in which Caribbean all-inclusive, couples-only resort chain founded in Jamaica by Gordon "Butch" Stewart?
Answer: SANDALS(7 letters)
4 In options trading, this is the simultaneous purchase of a call and a put on the same underlying with the same strike price and the same expiry date, a position that profits if the price moves sharply in either direction.
Answer: STRADDLE(8 letters)
5 The third quarter's books close on September 30, but a material event such as a fire, a takeover or a lawsuit settlement can occur after that date yet before the statements are issued, and accounting rules still require disclosure. What one-word adjective names such an event?
Answer: SUBSEQUENT(10 letters)
Thursday, October 1, 2026
1 Oil rallied late last week, with the North Sea benchmark up 2.7%, after President Trump publicly rejected this Gulf country's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Name the country.
Answer: IRAN(4 letters)
2 The benchmark 10-year US government yield jumped to 5.135% this week, its highest since July 2007, dragging the average 30-year fixed US home-loan rate up to 7.45%. What single word names a long-term loan secured on residential property?
Answer: MORTGAGE(8 letters)
3 Shares of this New York-based children's book publisher and distributor, famous for its school book fairs and the US editions of Harry Potter, slid more than 10% after it reported an adjusted fiscal first-quarter loss of $3.63 a share. Name the company.
Answer: SCHOLASTIC(10 letters)
4 In an initial public offering, this over-allotment option lets underwriters sell up to 15% more shares than originally offered when demand is strong, and buy stock back to support the price if it sags. What is that clause nicknamed?
Answer: GREENSHOE(9 letters)
An over-allotment option letting underwriters issue additional shares above the planned size of an offering, typically up to 15%.
5 Third-quarter earnings season opens this month. What single word names the unofficial profit figure circulating among traders and trading desks just before a company reports, which often differs from the published analyst consensus?
Answer: WHISPER(7 letters)
An informal expectation for a company's results circulating among traders, distinct from the published analyst consensus.
1 Shares of this El Segundo, California toymaker behind Barbie and Hot Wheels slid about 4.2% late last week after it named former Pandora Media chief Roger Lynch as its new chief executive and chairman. Name the company.
Answer: MATTEL(6 letters)
2 The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the price index for personal ___ expenditures, came in cooler than expected on Wednesday, sharply reducing market expectations for another rate rise at the late-October meeting. What single word fills the blank?
Answer: CONSUMPTION(11 letters)
3 Intercontinental Exchange and this New York-based electronic bond-trading venue pulled and refiled their Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notifications in late September, pushing the antitrust waiting period on their merger out to Oct. 29. Name the target.
Answer: MARKETAXESS(11 letters)
4 In economics, this word goes before "loss" to name the surplus destroyed when a tax, tariff or price control pushes a market away from its efficient quantity, value that nobody captures, not even the government collecting the tax. What is the word?
Answer: DEADWEIGHT(10 letters)
5 October brings the anniversary of the 1929 crash, when investors who had bought shares with as little as 10% down were hit with broker demands for more cash and sold out. What single word names both that borrowed-money trading and those cash calls?
Answer: MARGIN(6 letters)
In trading, the collateral posted to support a leveraged position. In accounting, profit expressed as a percentage of revenue.
1 Shares of this Copenhagen-based jewellery maker, famous for its charm bracelets, fell more than 4% on Oct. 1 after chief executive Berta de Pablos-Barbier said shoppers' appetite for its products had cooled. Name the Danish company.
Answer: PANDORA(7 letters)
2 Bullion extended its record run on Oct. 2, adding about 0.9% to roughly $4,217 a troy ounce as investors hedged against inflation and the Fed's hawkish turn. Name the precious metal that price refers to.
Answer: GOLD(4 letters)
3 An Arizona-based power-semiconductor company amended its merger agreement to acquire this San Jose maker of touchpads, fingerprint sensors and human-interface chips in an all-cash deal worth about $5.7 billion, or $123 a share. Name the target.
Answer: SYNAPTICS(9 letters)
4 In monetary economics, this is the profit a government makes from issuing money: the gap between the face value of the coins and notes it puts into circulation and what it costs to produce and distribute them. What is the term?
Answer: SEIGNIORAGE(11 letters)
The profit a government earns from issuing currency - the difference between a unit of money's face value and what it costs to produce.
5 Oct. 15 is the last day for US individuals who asked the IRS for more time back in April by filing Form 4868. What single word names that six-month grant of additional time to file a return?
Answer: EXTENSION(9 letters)
Extra time the IRS grants to file a return, requested before the original deadline.
1 Shares of disk-drive maker Seagate fell this week after this Japanese industrial and electronics group, a pioneer of NAND flash, said it planned to double its memory-chip production. Name the company.
Answer: TOSHIBA(7 letters)
2 The September US jobs report landed far below forecast, with only about 29,000 positions added against roughly 84,000 expected, and the share of the labour force out of work but actively seeking it climbed to 4.2%. What single word names that rate?
Answer: UNEMPLOYMENT(12 letters)
The share of the labour force without work but actively seeking it.
3 This Boise, Idaho-based memory-chip maker posted fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $33.42 a share, more than eleven times the $3.03 of a year earlier and above consensus, lifting its stock about 3%. Name the company.
Answer: MICRON(6 letters)
4 In accounting, this is the writedown booked when an asset's carrying value on the balance sheet exceeds the amount recoverable through sale or continued use, forcing a charge against profit; goodwill is tested for it annually.
Answer: IMPAIRMENT(10 letters)
A write-down recognising that an asset's carrying value on the balance sheet exceeds what it can now recover.
5 October 15 is the last day for US individuals who asked the IRS for more time to file their returns. Miss it and the failure-to-file charge runs at 5% of unpaid tax per month, up to 25%. What single word names such a punitive charge levied by a tax authority?