leverage

Spend tens if not hundreds of billions to boost the economy. Pass a law giving homeowners more leverage over lenders.

Do more to address the growing ranks of unemployed workers.

Although the current lending environment gives lenders a good amount of leverage when negotiating fees with brokers, many people have little idea what constitutes normal closing costs for their loans.

"Give me a lever and a place to stand," Archimedes said, "and I will move the Earth." On Wall Street, using leverage means using borrowed money to amplify returns.

No one knows who invented leverage. But it's not hard to imagine him saying, "Give me enough leverage and a place to sit, and I will blow up your portfolio."