Financial Terms From the UK

I started listening to a podcast from Financial Times in the UK, The FT Money Show, because I’m interested in how people in other countries deal with their finances. I’ve heard the expression that “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” It is true. Just from listening to two recent shows, I’ve learned quite a few things for which the terms are different in the UK and in the US. I had to look them up in Wikipedia. I’m listing them here with their rough equivalents in the US.

Terms aside, people in the UK are actually dealing with similar issues. There is concern for the housing market (flat to slightly down) and for the commercial real estate market (down 30-40%). There is speculation on what the British currency will do against the U.S. dollar, on whether the central bank will lower interest rate, talks about getting account opening bonuses for switching checking accounts and lowering utility costs by switching energy providers. It is quite interesting.