A guide to what the financial buzzwords in Billions actually mean

"How was your day?" is a dull question at the best of times. 

Aimed at a mate who works in the world of finance, it gains a whole new level of tedium.

"Oh it was wretched. My contact on the SEC put me in touch with a Bull who was on to a sure thing, then a block-trade came in and stuffed the whole thing up, and now my boss is bound to put a bankster label on me."

To help you decipher this cryptic nonsense, we've turned to Sky Atlantic’s Billions (now available on Sky Box Sets) for some pointers on the top ten financial buzzwords.

SEC

The U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is often referred to as the Watchdog of Wall Street, aiming to protect investors and maintain fair, orderly and efficient markets.

Bull

An investor who thinks the market, a specific security or an industry will rise. Investors who takes a bull approach will purchase securities under the assumption that they can be sold later at a higher price. 

Block-trade

A block trade involves a significantly large number of shares or bonds being traded at an arranged price between parties, outside of the open markets, in order to lessen the impact of such a large trade hitting the tape.

Cashing out the shorts

When an investor or speculator engages in short selling, he or she borrows shares of a company from an existing owner, sells those borrowed shares at the current market price, and pockets the cash. 

Bloomberg

Bloomberg is a major global provider of 24-hour financial news and information and is well known for the Bloomberg Terminal, which is an integrated platform that streams together price data, financials, news and trading data.

Insider information

Insider information is a non-public fact regarding the plans or condition of a publicly traded company that could provide a financial advantage when used to buy or sell shares of the company's stock.

Warren Buffet

Commonly referred to as "The Oracle of Omaha" because of his Nebraska roots, Warren Buffett is widely regarded as the world's most prominent value investor.

Bear

A "bear" is considered to be the opposite of a bull. Bear investors believe that the value of a specific security or an industry is likely to decline in the future.

Hedging

A hedge is an investment to reduce the risk of adverse price movements in an asset. 

You also find them in gardens. 

Bankster

A member of the banking industry seen as profiteering or dishonest, this person is the ultimate mix between a Banker and Gangster and is known in the finance world for their under the table dealings.