


Buying and selling securities.


The voluntary exchange of goods and/or services for money or an equivalent good or service. In ancient times and frequently even now, trade was conducted through the bartering of goods. In developed economies, trades are usually made with an intermediary, especially money or credit. Trade is regulated by laws of the particular jurisdiction in which a trade is made. Common restrictions include prohibitions on selling stolen property or non-existent goods. Most states, however, have much more complex regulations for trade, depending on the complexity of goods and services traded in their jurisdiction. States also regulate trade between parties in different jurisdictions. For example, two countries may encourage trade between each other, or, more famously, discourage trade through quotas and/or tariffs.

In modern finance, trade especially refers to trade on securities exchanges. For example, the sale of a stock from one investor to another is known as a trade. This type of trade is regulated by special agencies in the appropriate jurisdiction; trade in the United States is regulated by the SEC, among other organizations. See also: Countertrade, Free trade, Protectionism.
References in periodicals archive ?
Does the trading company have a successful track record of retiring trade credits over the last five years?
Behind all of this, longer-term transformations in foreign economies--and perhaps most of all in China--are turning their relations with the United States and its trading partners in directions we can understand, but only partially.
This is the true meaning of the term "program trading.
Even if this is the last big trade round, new approaches for the trading system will more easily be built on the heels of success.