(MONEY Magazine) – For ready reference during this tour of foreign markets, we offer a glossary:

ADR. American Depositary Receipt; a document showing that you own one or more shares, or a fraction of a share, in a block of foreign stock held by a U.S. bank. ADRs trade on U.S. stock exchanges or over the counter. BIG BANG. A shot heard round the world on Oct. 27, 1986, when the London Stock Exchange eliminated fixed brokerage commissions. England had earlier opened its gates to outside brokerage firms, which rushed in to set up shop in anticipation of the increased investment volume that deregulation would generate. The combination of the two events enabled London to reassert its status as a center of international finance. BOURSE. The French word (from purse) for stock exchange. The Paris exchange and several other markets in France, Switzerland and Belgium are called bourses. CLOSED-END FUND. An investment company resembling a mutual fund except that it issues a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange, usually at a premium or discount to net asset value. DENATIONALIZATION. The transfer of a government-owned company to private ownership, usually by a public stock offering. ECU. European currency unit; an amalgam of Western European currencies developed by member nations of the European Common Market for the purpose of simplifying transactions among them. Some American and foreign corporations have issued bonds that are denominated in ECUs. ENDAKA. Japanese for yen shock, an economic trauma that shook Tokyo because of the 43.5% appreciation of the yen against the dollar over the past two years. EUROBOND. A bond issued by the government or a corporation in one country and denominated in its currency but sold outside that country. Companies in many parts of the world, including the U.S., have floated Eurobonds, usually to tap additional sources of capital.

GILTS. British government bonds and money-market securities. OUT-SOURCING. The business practice of shopping the world for the cheapest supplier of parts, manufacturing processes or other products and services. SDRs. Special drawing rights; credits issued by the International Monetary Fund to its 151 member countries in amounts proportional to each nation's gross national product. A country can buy or sell SDRs on the open market when it wants to stabilize the value of its currency in the foreign exchange market. SUPRANATIONALS. Special agencies formed by groups of countries to support their economies and trade relationships and sometimes to finance economic development with supranational bond issues. Examples: the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Asian Development Bank. ZAITECH. A Japanese word for fast-track trading techniques in financial markets, often computer assisted, that the U.S. has pioneered and that are increasingly popular in Japan.