The largest single acquisition of territory by the United States, the Louisiana Purchase more than doubled the size of the nation, creating a vast new territory to be explored and incalculable commercial opportunities to be exploited.

The mainstream American novel has evolved as a fundamentally individualcentered form of representation.

Acting as official representatives of the United States government, Lewis and Clark explored and charted territories newly acquired through the Louisiana Purchase.

Through his persistent work and vision as a labor union leader, Lewis helped shape the modern American labor union and boost the financial standing of the average American worker.

The Lend-Lease Act, which provided war material to Allied nations, created massive production for American industry and employment for labor.

The United States is a nation of laws, and from its inception, the legal profession has been at the heart of its government, culture, and economy.

Historically linked by their geographical proximity and their shared histories of being created by European colonialism, the United States and the many nations of Latin America have long been important trading partners.

Land laws helped determine the development and distribution of perhaps the United States’ greatest economic resource—its land.

American businesses regard strikes as a hindrance to productivity as well as an interference with management rights.

The working conditions and compensation of workers have a profound effect on American society and the economy.

The Department of Labor is directly related to business communities in the United States by its official charge to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of wage earners of the United States.

Liability is the status of being responsible or obligated under the law. Persons and businesses can be subject to both civil (private) and criminal liability.

The Lorenz curve, named after statistician Max Otto Lorenz, shows the portion of total money INCOME accounted for by different proportions of the nation’s households. The Lorenz curve displays the cumulative percentage of households on the horizontal axis and cumulative percentage of household income on the vertical axis.

A local option sales tax (LOST) is an addition to an existing sales tax made by a local government or municipality for a specific purpose. Local option sales taxes, usually ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 percent, are enacted to pay for special projects, typically things like roads, bridges, and schools.

Loans are generally represented by PROMISSORY NOTES (unconditional promises to pay). Loans may be for the long term (maturities greater than one year) or short term (less than one year) and may be secured (backed by collateral, ASSETS pledged to lessen the loan’s RISK) or unsecured (such as a signature loan).

A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a form of business where partners retain individual liability but have no LIABILITY for most LLP obligations. An LLP is similar to a PARTNERSHIP except for the LLP’s lack of liability. LLPs are used by many professional groups as a means of maintaining a partnership while not being liable for each partner’s actions.

A limited liability company (LLC) is a business form that combines some of the advantages of the corporate business form with the favorable tax treatment of business PARTNERSHIPs. Like a CORPORATION, a limited liability company is a legal entity existing separately from its owners, creating limits to their LIABILITY. Owners of LLCs, called members, have no personal liability for LLC obligations.

According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, life cycle is “the series of changes in form undergone by an organism in development from its earliest stage to the recurrence of the same stage in the next generation.” In business, life cycle is the series of stages individuals, products, and organizations go through from the beginning to the end of its existence.

Licensing is an agreement offering the right to use a manufacturer’s process, trademark, patent, or trade secret by a Licensee in a foreign market. Licensing arrangements are often considered in a company’s international expansion efforts, since it offers the opportunity to generate royalties without INVESTMENT in resources or the assumption of RISK associated with market development.

A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the takeover of a company using borrowed funds. In an LBO, the ASSETS of the company being acquired are used as collateral to secure LOANS needed to finance the company’s purchase. The takeover company or group then repays the loans using the PROFITs from the company being acquired or by selling off part or all of the assets of the targeted company.

In business a person with leverage is someone who can influence a company’s operations and get things done, usually with only minimal effort. Within a firm there are two kinds of leverage: operating leverage and financial leverage.

A letter of credit is commercial tool through which a bank or other financial institution instructs a suitable institution to advance a specified sum of money to the bearer. It is primarily used by importers to offer secure financing to exporters. The letter of credit refers to the document representing the goods, not the goods themselves. It is called a circular letter of credit when it is not addressed to any particular corresponding institution.

Leasing involves temporary grants of the right to possess, use, and occupy real estate or PERSONAL PROPERTY in exchange for rent or other payments. Leasing is a widespread business and consumer practice. Apartments, automobiles, trucks, equipment, facilities, mining claims, and many other forms of property are leased.

Although it is difficult to agree on a precise definition of leadership, it can be described as the process of influencing people to direct their efforts toward the achievement of some particular goal or goals. Good leaders encourage people to perform at higher levels and to achieve their goals, whereas ineffective leadership can contribute to lackluster performance.