The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF). Is the name of a program created by the US Federal Reserve (the Fed), announced on November 25, 2008. The facility will support the issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) collateralized by student loans, auto loans, credit card loans, and loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Under the TALF, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) will lend up to $1 trillion (originally $200 billion) on a non-recourse basis to holders of certain AAA-rated ABS backed by newly and recently originated consumer and small business loans.

Top Down/Bottom Up Investing. The top-down style of investment management places primary importance on country or regional allocation, and bottom-up concentrates primarily on individual stock selection. Top-down managers generally focus on global economic and political trends in selecting the countries or regions where they expect to find investment opportunities. Only then do they employ a more fundamental analysis of individual stocks in order to make their final selections. Bottom-up managers usually begin their search with fundamental analysis, in order to find companies whose current prices may fail to reflect their potential longer-term value.