1. The optimal hedge consists of a position in a single .......... whose strike price is independent of the level of expense the institution is willing to incur for its hedging program.

2. If the journal entries are error-free and were posted properly to the general ledger, the total debit balances should eQual the total credit balances, and if they don't, then an error has occurred somewhere in the process; the total of the accounts on the debit and credit side is referred to as the .......... balance.

3. A .......... settlement allows you to invest in another person's life insurance policy: you purchase the policy (or part of it) at a price that is less than the death benefit of the policy, and when the seller dies, you collect the death benefit.

4. Shares of The McClatchy Co. dropped 3.2 percent in trading Monday, falling to a 52-week .......... ; the stock fell 66 cents to $20.21 in lighter-than-average trading volume, and then it dipped another 6 cents in after-hours trading.

5. A Fed is a Federal Reserve Board action designed to make more credit available by adding reserves to the banking system.

6. .......... market value is the aggregate worth, in dollars, of a group of securities held in a cash or margin brokerage account, calculated using the prior trading day's closing prices of each security in the account; the figure includes most common investment vehicles, but excludes commercial paper, options, annuities and precious metals.

7. Preferred .......... Organization (PPO) plans are the number one choice for millions of Americans: there is freedom of choice among in-network providers, lower out-of-pocket costs (copay only for most in-network office visits) and a strong emphasis on preventive health.

8. Commodities prices rose across the .......... in the week that the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates to prop up the domestic economy: crude oil surged to an all-time high and gold hit its highest level in 28 years, while strong demand from China and other developing countries helped boost all commodities.

9. ..........-stock futures are a way to reap the benefits of a stock's performance without actually owning the stock; one of the advantages they enjoy is that they are cheaper to trade and easier to use for hedging strategies than options.

10. Agilent lived up to the high billing most industry watchers expected in its initial public offering: shares climbed as high as about 50 in morning trading, and yesterday the company raised the price range of the shares coming to the market to $26 to $28 per share; the stock priced .......... at $30 last night, Merrill Lynch said today.