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Special Drawing Rights

(Encyclopedia)Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), type of international monetary reserve currency established (1968) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Created in response to worries concerning the limitations of...

Kitt Peak National Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Kitt Peak National Observatory, astronomical observatory located southwest of Tucson, Ariz.; it was founded in 1958 under contract with the National Science Foundation and is administered by the Assoc...

margin requirement

(Encyclopedia)margin requirement, that part of a security's price that a buyer must pay for in cash. The balance of the price is met by the broker, who, in effect, is supplying a client with a loan. The smaller the...

Bernanke, Ben Shalom

(Encyclopedia)Bernanke, Ben Shalom bĕrnăngkˈē [key], 1953–, U.S. economist and government official, b. Augusta, Ga.; grad. Harvard (B.A., 1975), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D., 1979). He was a p...

central bank

(Encyclopedia)central bank, financial institution designed to regulate and control the money supply of a nation, with the goal of fostering economic growth without inflation. Although central banking systems have v...

Volcker, Paul Adolph

(Encyclopedia)Volcker, Paul Adolph, 1927–2019, American economist, government official, and banker, b. Cape May, N.J. After working as an under secretary in the Treasury Department (1969–74) and as president of...

militia

(Encyclopedia)militia məlĭshˈə [key], military organization composed of citizens enrolled and trained for service in times of national emergency. Its ranks may be filled either by enlistment or conscription. An...

panic

(Encyclopedia)panic, crisis in financial and economic conditions, marked by public loss of confidence in the financial structure. Panics are characterized by a general rush of investors to convert their assets into...

Allston, Washington

(Encyclopedia)Allston, Washington ôlˈstən [key], 1779–1843, American painter and author, b. Georgetown co., S.C. After graduating from Harvard (1800), where he composed music and wrote poetry (published in 181...

Bug, river, E Europe, also known as Western Bug

(Encyclopedia)Bug bo͞og, bŭg [key], Pol. Bug, Ukr. Buh or Zakhidnyy Buh, river, c.480 mi (770 km) long, rising in the Volhynian-Podolian hills, W Ukraine. It flows N along the Polish-Ukrainian and Polish-Belarusi...