The market price per share of a business divided by the earnings per share (See earnings per share). The P/E multiple is sometimes applied to a business's profits to calculate the value of the business.
pearl/gem
A good investment.
PFI (Private Finance Initiative)
A UK Government initiative in the late 1980s to introduce the benefits of private sector management and finance into public sector projects, such as road building and the building and running of hospitals. The PFI differs from privatisation in that responsibility - e.g. clinical responsibility in hospitals - remains in the public sector.
POTS
Plain Old Telephone Service
Preference shares
Part of the capital of a company. Unlike ordinary shares, preference shares are usually paid back over time out of retained profits. Holding preference shares involves less risk than ordinary shares but does not give access to the capital gains that can accrue when a successful company is sold. A variant is "A" ordinary shares in a private company, which carry a guaranteed right to share in the profits but may not have the same benefits as ordinary shares if the business is sold or floated.
Private equity
Covers a multitude. Technically it is Equity Capital and other risk money which doesn't come via the public market. The term is also used to describe the industry but principally the buy-out and growth
capital segments.
Private placing
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