Funds you can stand to lose = money that you can afford to lose.

In othervwords you should only use 'spare' cash.

Short term = a period that can be traded on the financial markets

The following is a rough guide - and may vary slightly depending on the instrument being traded.

Short term = from one day to one month.

Long term = from one month to two years.

Medium term = from two to ten years or longer.

As I'm sure people are aware, banks make (and lose) money on the money market where they lend to each other.

The shortest period that can be traded on the deposit market is 'overnight'. That is to say, funds are lent this afternoon, to be repaid tomorrow morning.

There are set periods in the market with most trades being dealt for :

1 day, 2 days, 1 week, one month, two months, three months - up to one year. - These are all known as 'short term' periods.

Banks deal in all of the periods mentioned - short, long and medium term.

If a dealer asked me what I had in medium term dollars, I knew he wanted me to quote prices from two to five years on the dollar deposit market.

The terms are also used in other financial markets such as derivatives.