| Glossary of Export Import Trade Terms Starting with - H |
| Words |
Description |
| Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) |
A method of classification used by many countries to determine tariffs on imports. |
| Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative |
The HIPC Inititiative is a major international response to the burdensome external debt held by the world's poorest, most indebted countries. It originated in 1996 as a joint undertaking of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). |
| Hedge |
A position or operation that offsets an underlying exposure. For example, a forward currency hedge uses a forward currency contract to offset the exposure of an underlying position in a foreign currency. Hedges reduce the total variability of the combined |
| Hedge Funds |
Private investment partnerships with a general manager and a small number of limited partners. |
| Hedge Portfolio |
The country-specific hedge portfolio in the International Asset Pricing Model serves as a store of value (like the risk-free asset in the CAPM) as well as a hedge against the currency risk of the market portfolio. |
| Hedge Quality |
Measured by the r-square in a regression of spot rate changes on futures price changes. |
| Hedge Ratio |
The ratio of derivatives contracts to the underlying risk exposure. |
| Hedging |
Reducing the risk of a cash position by using the futures instruments to offset the price movement of the cash asset. |
| High-Withholding-Tax Interest Income |
In the U.S. tax code, interest income that has been subject to a foreign gross withholding tax of 5 percent or more. |
| Historical Volatility |
Volatility estimated from a historical time series. |
| Holding-Period Return |
The rate of return over a given period. |
| Home Asset Bias |
The tendency of investors to over invest in assets based in their own country. |
| Homogeneous Expectations |
Idea that all individuals have the same beliefs concerning future investments, profits, and dividends. |
| Hyperinflation |
An extremely high rate of inflation, often exceeding several hundred or several thousand percent, that causes a country's money to become practically worthless. |
| Hysteresis |
The behavior of firms that fail to enter markets that appear attractive and, once invested, persist in operating at a loss. This behavior is characteristic of situations with high entry and exit costs along with high uncertainty. |
