NASDAQ Definition

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NASDAQ is a computerized system established by the NASD to facilitate trading by providing broker/dealers with current bid and ask price quotes on over-the-counter stocks and some listed stocks. Unlike the Amex and the NYSE, the NASDAQ (once an acronym for the National Association of securities Dealers Automated Quotation system) does not have a physical trading floor that brings together buyers and sellers. Instead, all trading on the NASDAQ exchange is done over a network of computers and telephones. Also, the NASDAQ does not employ market specialists to buy unfilled orders like the NYSE does. The NASDAQ began when brokers started informally trading via telephone; the network was later formalized and linked by computer in the early 1970s. In 1998 the parent company of the NASDAQ purchased the Amex, although the two continue to operate separately. Orders for stock are sent out electronically on the NASDAQ, where market makers list their buy and sell prices. Once a price is agreed upon, the transaction is executed electronically.

Learn new Accounting Terms

ETC (EXPORT TRADING COMPANY) is a private company that usually purchases items from domestic manufacturers, then sells them to foreign markets. The difference between an EMC and an ETC is sometimes insignificant, i.e., an EMC may occasionally take title of goods, while an ETC may sometimes work strictly on commission without purchasing the goods. The difference is what the company normally does.

ACCOUNTING DATA is all the information and data contained in journals, ledgers and other records that support financial statements, e.g. spreadsheets. It may be in computer readable form or on paper.

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