Business and Personal Finance Dictionary

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• WSJ PRIME RATE
  
  The initials stand for the Wall Street Journal, which surveys large banks and publishes the consensus prime rate. It's the most widely quoted measure of the prime rate, which is the rate at which banks will lend money to their most-favored customers. The prime rate will move up or down in lock step with changes by the Federal Reserve Board. The prime rate is an important index used by banks to set rates on many consumer loan products, such as credit cards or auto loans. If you see that the prime rate has gone up, your variable credit card rate will soon follow.
  
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