fixed-rate loan: a loan whose interest rate doesn't
change. A conventional mortgage is an example.
flat tax: a tax that would eliminate most deductions
and apply the same tax rate to all incomes.
float: provides financial breathing room if you're short
of cash. This is the value of the money that stays in your
account until a check you wrote is processed.
foreign exchange market: place where foreign
currencies are bought and sold.
fractional reserve banking: system in which banks hold
a percentage of their customers' deposits and lend the rest.
franchise: a license to operate an individually owned
business as if it were pan of a large chain.
franchisee: one who purchases a franchise.
franchising: setting up a system like McDonald's. A
company (the franchiser) grants the right to use its name and
sell its products to a person or group (the franchisee).
