Guide to Analysing Companies

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EUROCREDIT
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include a loan in yen to a US company or one in euros to a
Japanese borrower.
Eurocurrency
Currency deposited by companies, banks or federal govern-
ments outside their own country. Usually, this means the cur-
rency of a non-European country (that is, dollars) deposited in
Europe.
Euromarket
A market for Eurocredits, eurocurrencies and euro-
bonds, that is, securities in the currency of one country but
held in another – for example, the market for dollar deposits (or
Eurodollars) in Europe; or the market for sterling (or Euro-
sterling) in the United States. There were two coincidental and
complementary influences on the development of the Euro-
market: fear of the consequences of a cold war between Russia
and the United States which encouraged investors to switch de-
posits to western Europe; and restrictions on US banks which
encouraged them to conduct part of their business in London.
Euronext
A company that owns the Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and
Lisbon stock exchanges as well as the London International Fi-
nancial Futures Exchange (liffe), which is part of its deriva-
tives division, Euronext.liffe. Since 2002, Euronext has also
had links with the tokyo stock exchange. The aim is to
build a common platform so that the various exchanges share
the same technology and trading and clearance systems. As
nasdaq found to its cost, international tie-ups of this kind are
more easily described than made. In 2002, nasdaq had to
retreat from an expensive attempt to establish an offshoot in
Japan.
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Euro.NM
An association of European stockmarkets that are designed
for smaller companies. The members are the second-tier
markets in Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt and Paris. The ex-
changes banded together in 1996, partly to defend themselves
from competition from London’s aim, which had ambitions to
be the capital market of choice for growing companies in
Europe, and from easdaq, which was subsequently taken
over and renamed nasdaq Europe. The association aims to
offer common rules and regulations so that companies and
those who invest in them have to contend with as little bureau-
cracy as possible. The formula worked well until the dotcom
boom turned to bust in 2000. Since then, fewer companies have
sought listings and business has been leaner. So much so that,
in 2002, the Deutsche börse closed down its Neuer Markt, orig-
inally set up to attract young technology companies.