Leading Indicator
Lagging indicators are technical indicators that register change after the economy does as a whole. A good example of a lagging indicator is employment as it will tend to increase or decrease after upturns or downturns in the wider economy.
Leverage
The ratio of the amount used in a transaction to the required security deposit (also referred to as margin).
Libor – London Inter-Bank Offered Rate
The London Inter-Bank Offered Rate. Large international banks use LIBOR when borrowing from another bank.
Limit Order
Limit orders allow you to set a price at which you want to buy or sell a financial instrument. Unlike market orders, your purchase or sale will be executed only when the price reaches the level that you specify.
Liquidation
The closing of an existing position through the execution of an offsetting transaction.
Liquidity
Liquidity refers to the degree that an asset can easily be bought or sold on a given market. The ability of a market to accept large transactions with minimal to no impact on price stability. A highly liquid asset can be bought and sold in large numbers without this activity substantially altering its market price.
Long
A position to purchase more of an instrument than is sold. Hence, an appreciation in value if market prices increase.
Long Position
A position that appreciates in value if market prices increase. When the base currency in the pair is bought, the position is said to be long.
Loonie
The Loonie is the market nickname of the Canadian dollar. It is derived from the Common Loon, the provincial bird of Ontario which appears on one side of the Canadian one dollar coin.
Lot
A unit to measure the amount of the deal. The value of each deal always corresponds to an integer number of lots.