See COMPOUNDING, FUTURE VALUE.

Futures or futures contracts are sales of commodities for delivery at some later time. In the United States, futures generally refer to CONTRACTs specifying a fixed quantity and quality of a commodity to be delivered to a location at a certain date. Futures contracts are traded under the rules of the COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION (CFTC).

Free-trade areas are regional agreements to reduce TARIFFs, quotas, and other barriers to trade among the participating nations while retaining national TRADE BARRIERS with respect to other countries. The goal in creating areas for FREE TRADE is to stimulate ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT and increase economic bargaining power.

Free trade is international trade without restraints imposed by governments. For a variety of reasons, governments often impose limitations on trade, and thus totally free trade does not exist in the world. Limitations on trade include TARIFFs, quotas, and other NONTARIFF BARRIERS.

Free on board, most commonly called FOB, is a shipping term that has much significance in the accounting for a firm�s ASSETS. There are two FOB situations: FOB shipping point and FOB destination. When a seller needs to ship goods to a buyer, the two parties will negotiate the manner in which the goods are transported, either FOB shipping point or FOB destination.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which can be found in Title 5 of the U.S. Code, Section 552, was enacted in 1966 and provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information.

See FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION.

Fraud is intentional misrepresentation and has long been a major problem both for businesses and consumers. In 17th-century England, a law on oral contracts prohibited parties to a lawsuit from testifying on their own behalf. This frequently led to third parties offering false testimony about the existence of an oral CONTRACT.

Franchising is a contractual agreement between a manufacturer or business-idea owner�the franchiser�and a WHOLESALER or retailer�the franchisee. The franchiser sells to the franchisee the right to market its products or ideas and to use its TRADEMARKs and brand names.

The term 401(k) comes from a section of the Internal Revenue Code allowing special tax consideration to help people save for retirement. Americans, particularly �baby boomers,� have relatively low savings rates. The 401(k) plan was created to induce Americans to increase their savings.