Payment of a financial obligation earlier than is expected or required.

The use of debt financing.

A financial obligation, or the cash outlay that must be made at a specific time to satisfy the contractual terms of such an obligation.

Limitation of possible loss to what has already been invested.

A partner who has limited legal liability for the obligations of the partnership.

A partnership that includes one or more partners who have limited liability.

Asset that is easily and cheaply turned into cash - notably cash itself and short-term securities.

A market is liquid when it has a high level of trading activity, allowing buying and selling with minimum price disturbance. Also a market characterized by the ability to buy and sell with relative ease.

Ratios that measure a firm's ability to meet its short-term financial obligations on time.

Loan capital ranks ahead of share capital for income and capital. Loans typically are entitled to interest and are usually, though not necessarily, repayable. Loans may be secured on the company's assets or may be unsecured. A secured loan will rank ahead of unsecured loans and certain other creditors of the company. A loan may be convertible into equity shares. Alternatively, it may have a warrant attached which gives the loan holder the option to subscribe for new equity shares on terms fixed in the warrant. They typically carry a higher rate of interest than bank term loans and rank behind the bank for payment of interest and repayment of capital.

Value of property, equipment and other capital assets minus the depreciation. This is an entry in the bookkeeping records of a company, usually on a "cost" basis and thus does not necessarily reflect the market value of the assets.