Unit 4 American economy Key terms

Big Dig – is the unofficial name of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T), a megaproject that rerouted the Central Artery, the chief highway through the heart of Boston, into 5.6 km tunnel under the city. This project was developed in response to traffic congestion on Boston's historically tangled streets, which were laid out long before the advent of the automobile. The Big Dig was the most expensive highway project in the U.S.

Carter bonds – are a series of medium-term bonds issued by the USA in 1978 to prevent a fall of the US Dollar. They were placed outside the USA. The name comes from the US President Jimmy Carter. It was enacted under the Exchange Stabilization Fund.

Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is a bill presently being considered in the United States Congress. Its text states that it would "amend the National Labour Relations Act to establish an efficient system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labour organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes."

Federal Reserve – the federal banking authority in the U.S. that performs the functions of a central bank and is used to implement the country's monetary policy, providing a national system of reserve cash available to banks. Created in 1913, the Federal Reserve System consists of twelve Federal Reserve Districts, each having a Federal Reserve Bank. These are controlled from Washington, DC, by the Federal Reserve Board consisting of governors appointed by the U.S. president with Senate approval

Foreign-exchange reserves – (also called Forex reserves) in a strict sense are only the foreign currency deposits and bonds held by central banks and monetary authorities. However, the term in popular usage commonly includes foreign exchange and gold, SDRs, and IMF reserve positions.

Initial public stock offering (IPO) – is when a company issues common stock or shares to the public for the first time. They are often issued by smaller, younger companies seeking capital to expand, but can also be done by large privately-owned companies looking to become publicly traded.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – is the United States federal government agency that collects taxes and enforces the internal revenue law. It is an agency within the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is responsible for interpretation and application of Federal tax law.

Reserve currency – (also called anchor currency) is a currency which is held in significant quantities by many governments and institutions as part of their foreign exchange reserves. It also tends to be the internationals pricing currency for product traded on a global market, such as god, oil, etc.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 – is a United States federal law enacted on July 30, 2002, as a reaction to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals including those affecting Enron, Tyco International, WorldCom. These scandals, which cost investors billions of dollars when the share prices of affected companies collapsed, shook public confidence in the nation's securities markets. President George W. Bush signed it into law, stating it included "the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt."

The Treasury – the government department responsible for budgeting for and controlling public expenditure, management of the national debt, and the overall management of the economy

Trade deficit – the amount by which the cost of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports