P - R

PAR VALUE - the face value of a stock or bond.

PERSONAL INCOME - consumer income reported monthly by the Department of Commerce and is also included in the Gross Domestic Product reports (GDP) reports.

PREFERRED STOCK - a security representing a priority ownership in a corporation to that of the common stockholders, as to dividend payments and any assets in the event of liquidation.

PRICE EARNINGS RATIO - (P/E)

• Trailing P/E - The stock price divided by the last four quarters (12 months) of the company's earnings. The "trailing P/E" is what most news publications show as the P/E.
  
  
• Median P/E - The average annual P/E of a stock over the last 10 year period.

PRIME RATE - (aka Prime Lending Rate or Prime Interest Rate) the base lending percentage rate reported by the larger commercial banks.

PRODUCER PRICE INDEX - (PPI) the Department of Labor index of goods categorized by industry type and by the particular stage of an items production. Among these categories are raw materials, intermediate phases of production, and finished goods. These indexes serve as an indicator of inflation.

QUADRUPLE WITCHING - See TRIPLE WITCHING

RETAIL SALES - monthly measure of all U.S. retail activity. Published by the Department of Commerce.