The act of buying and selling goods simultaneously in different markets to gain an immediate profit. Impressive, but tricky.Arbitrage is the buying and selling of assets, profiting from the price difference between the price paid to buy and the price at the time of sale. Arbitrage is when an asset (stocks, currencies, etc.) is bought in one market and sold in another for a higher price. Arbitrage in layman's terms is the possibility to make money with no risk. More specifically, it is the simultaneous purchase and sale of something. The simultaneous purchase and sale of the same securities, commodities, or foreign exchange in different markets to profit from unequal prices. Arbitrage is the simultaneous purchase and sale of the same asset in different markets in order to profit from a difference in its price. This document evolved from a set of notes developed for the Global Economy course at New York University's Stern School of Business. Arbitrage is the activity of buying securities or currency in one financial market and selling it at a profit in another.