Spot
A spot transaction is a two-day delivery transaction (except in the case of trades between the US Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Turkish Lira and Russian Ruble, which settle the next business day), as opposed to the futures contracts, which are usually three months. This trade represents a “direct exchange” between two currencies, has the shortest time frame, involves cash rather than a contract; and interest is not included in the agreed-upon transaction. The data for this study come from the spot market. Spot transactions has the second largest turnover by volume after Swap transactions among all FX transactions in the Global FX market. NNM
Forward
One way to deal with the foreign exchange risk is to engage in a forward transaction. In this transaction, money does not actually change hands until some agreed upon future date. A buyer and seller agree on an exchange rate for any date in the future, and the transaction occurs on that date, regardless of what the market rates are then. The duration of the trade can be a one day, a few days, months or years. Usually the date is decided by both parties.
Future
Foreign currency futures are exchange traded forward transactions with standard contract sizes and maturity dates — for example, $1000 for next November at an agreed rate.
Futures are standardized and are usually traded on an exchange created for this purpose. The average contract length is roughly 3 months. Futures contracts are usually inclusive of any interest amounts.
Swap
The most common type of forward transaction is the currency swap. In a swap, two parties exchange currencies for a certain length of time and agree to reverse the transaction at a later date. These are not standardized contracts and are not traded through an exchange.
Option
A foreign exchange option (commonly shortened to just FX option) is a derivative where the owner has the right but not the obligation to exchange money denominated in one currency into another currency at a pre-agreed exchange rate on a specified date. The FX options market is the deepest, largest and most liquid market for options of any kind in the world..
Exchange-traded fund
Exchange-traded funds (or ETFs) are open ended investment companies that can be traded at any time throughout the course of the day. Typically, ETFs try to replicate a stock market index such as the S&P 500.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Foreign exchange market
The foreign exchange market (forex, FX, or currency market) is a worldwide decentralized over-the-counter financial market for the trading of currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends.
The purpose of the foreign exchange market 'Forex' is to assist international trade and investment. The foreign exchange market allows businesses to convert one currency to another foreign currency. For example, it permits a U.S. business to import European goods and pay Euros, even though the business's income is in U.S. dollars. Some experts, however, believe that the unchecked speculative movement of currencies by large financial institutions such as hedge funds impedes the markets from correcting global current account imbalances. This carry trade may also lead to loss of competitiveness in some countries.[1]
In a typical foreign exchange transaction a party purchases a quantity of one currency by paying a quantity of another currency. The modern foreign exchange market started forming during the 1970s when countries gradually switched to floating exchange rates from the previous exchange rate regime, which remained fixed as per the Bretton Woods system.
The foreign exchange market is unique because of
* trading volume results in market liquidity
* geographical dispersion
* continuous operation: 24 hours a day except weekends, i.e. trading from 20:15 UTC on Sunday until 22:00 UTC Friday
* the variety of factors that affect exchange rates
* the low margins of relative profit compared with other markets of fixed income
* the use of leverage to enhance profit margins with respect to account size
As such, it has been referred to as the market closest to the ideal perfect competition, notwithstanding market manipulation by central banks.[citation needed] According to the Bank for International Settlements,[2] average daily turnover in global foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.98 trillion as of April 2007. Trading in the world's main financial markets accounted for $3.21 trillion of this. This approximately $3.21 trillion in main foreign exchange market turnover was broken down as follows:
* $1.005 trillion in spot transactions
* $362 billion in outright forwards
* $1.714 trillion in foreign exchange swaps
* $129 billion estimated gaps in reporting
The purpose of the foreign exchange market 'Forex' is to assist international trade and investment. The foreign exchange market allows businesses to convert one currency to another foreign currency. For example, it permits a U.S. business to import European goods and pay Euros, even though the business's income is in U.S. dollars. Some experts, however, believe that the unchecked speculative movement of currencies by large financial institutions such as hedge funds impedes the markets from correcting global current account imbalances. This carry trade may also lead to loss of competitiveness in some countries.[1]
In a typical foreign exchange transaction a party purchases a quantity of one currency by paying a quantity of another currency. The modern foreign exchange market started forming during the 1970s when countries gradually switched to floating exchange rates from the previous exchange rate regime, which remained fixed as per the Bretton Woods system.
The foreign exchange market is unique because of
* trading volume results in market liquidity
* geographical dispersion
* continuous operation: 24 hours a day except weekends, i.e. trading from 20:15 UTC on Sunday until 22:00 UTC Friday
* the variety of factors that affect exchange rates
* the low margins of relative profit compared with other markets of fixed income
* the use of leverage to enhance profit margins with respect to account size
As such, it has been referred to as the market closest to the ideal perfect competition, notwithstanding market manipulation by central banks.[citation needed] According to the Bank for International Settlements,[2] average daily turnover in global foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.98 trillion as of April 2007. Trading in the world's main financial markets accounted for $3.21 trillion of this. This approximately $3.21 trillion in main foreign exchange market turnover was broken down as follows:
* $1.005 trillion in spot transactions
* $362 billion in outright forwards
* $1.714 trillion in foreign exchange swaps
* $129 billion estimated gaps in reporting
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Global Forex Market
The global Forex market is the largest and most liquid market in the world. One of the primary reasons for the current economic crisis is due to the lack of liquidity in the world's marketplace. Too much money was tied up in long term investments, and the economy could not handle shortage of liquid cash. In the Forex markets, you are simply trading liquid money, so you do not have worry about the contribution of Forex trading in relation to the economic meltdown.
With world's GDP breaking over $65 trillion dollars in the last year, the Forex market is the largest area for profit in the world. You have the opportunity to profit from all $65 trillion dollars due to the different exchange rates between one countries currency and another. You simply capitalize on these exchange rates and enjoy your profits as the market moves in your favor.
Unfortunately, many would-be Forex profiteers do not even give themselves a chance to enjoy a piece of the profit. It is a common misconception that one needs an extensive amount of cash and initial investment to successfully participate in the Forex market. This notion could not be more flawed. In the Forex market, you are able to use what is called a 100 to 1 leverage on the market. This means that for every $1 you invest into the trade, you are, in essence, investing $100. If you were to invest $15 into a currency play that you are sure will turn out in your favor, you will actually profit from $1500 worth of money.
Unlike any of the world's stock markets, the Forex market is never "closed." Even if it is 2am in your current time zone, the Forex market will be open because of the fact that Forex is thriving global market. By using this seemingly trivial fact, many investors make money 24 hours a day from their investments. While are in bed sleeping, their Forex investments continue to profit due to the fact that there is always an open market. Experienced Forex traders are able to play upon the opening surges or dips of global markets, by therefore leveraging their money for or against a certain exchange rate.
Since the Forex market is open 24 hours a day, it is constantly evolving and therefore passes right over many would-be investors. Don't allow yourself to be left in the dust of the Forex market. Jump into the market and start profiting today.
With world's GDP breaking over $65 trillion dollars in the last year, the Forex market is the largest area for profit in the world. You have the opportunity to profit from all $65 trillion dollars due to the different exchange rates between one countries currency and another. You simply capitalize on these exchange rates and enjoy your profits as the market moves in your favor.
Unfortunately, many would-be Forex profiteers do not even give themselves a chance to enjoy a piece of the profit. It is a common misconception that one needs an extensive amount of cash and initial investment to successfully participate in the Forex market. This notion could not be more flawed. In the Forex market, you are able to use what is called a 100 to 1 leverage on the market. This means that for every $1 you invest into the trade, you are, in essence, investing $100. If you were to invest $15 into a currency play that you are sure will turn out in your favor, you will actually profit from $1500 worth of money.
Unlike any of the world's stock markets, the Forex market is never "closed." Even if it is 2am in your current time zone, the Forex market will be open because of the fact that Forex is thriving global market. By using this seemingly trivial fact, many investors make money 24 hours a day from their investments. While are in bed sleeping, their Forex investments continue to profit due to the fact that there is always an open market. Experienced Forex traders are able to play upon the opening surges or dips of global markets, by therefore leveraging their money for or against a certain exchange rate.
Since the Forex market is open 24 hours a day, it is constantly evolving and therefore passes right over many would-be investors. Don't allow yourself to be left in the dust of the Forex market. Jump into the market and start profiting today.
Stock traders and stock investors
Individuals or firms trading equity (stock) on the stock markets as their principal capacity are called stock traders. Stock traders usually try to profit from short-term price volatility with trades lasting anywhere from several seconds to several weeks. The stock trader is usually a professional. Persons can call themselves full or part-time stock traders/investors while maintaining other professions. When a stock trader/investor has clients, and acts as a money manager or adviser with the intention of adding value to their clients finances, he is also called a financial advisor or manager. In this case, the financial manager could be an independent professional or a large bank corporation employee. This may include managers dealing with investment funds, hedge funds, mutual funds, and pension funds, or other professionals in equity investment, fund management, and wealth management. Several different types of stock trading exist including day trading, trend following, market making, scalping (trading), momentum trading, trading the news, and arbitrage.
On the other hand, stock investors are firms or individuals who purchase stocks with the intention of holding them for an extended period of time, usually several months to years. They rely primarily on fundamental analysis for their investment decisions and fully recognize stock shares as part-ownership in the company. Many investors believe in the buy and hold strategy, which as the name suggests, implies that investors will hold stocks for the very long term, generally measured in years. This strategy was made popular in the equity bull market of the 1980s and 90s where buy-and-hold investors rode out short-term market declines and continued to hold as the market returned to its previous highs and beyond. However, during the 2001-2003 equity bear market, the buy-and-hold strategy lost some followers as broader market indexes like the NASDAQ saw their values decline by over 60%.
On the other hand, stock investors are firms or individuals who purchase stocks with the intention of holding them for an extended period of time, usually several months to years. They rely primarily on fundamental analysis for their investment decisions and fully recognize stock shares as part-ownership in the company. Many investors believe in the buy and hold strategy, which as the name suggests, implies that investors will hold stocks for the very long term, generally measured in years. This strategy was made popular in the equity bull market of the 1980s and 90s where buy-and-hold investors rode out short-term market declines and continued to hold as the market returned to its previous highs and beyond. However, during the 2001-2003 equity bear market, the buy-and-hold strategy lost some followers as broader market indexes like the NASDAQ saw their values decline by over 60%.
How To Choose A FOREX Broker?
Most investors who trade Forex stocks use a broker. A broker is an individual or a company, who buys and sells stocks according to the investor's wishes. Brokers earn money by collecting commissions or fees for their services.
You should check that a broker is registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as protection against fraud or abusive trade practices. A Forex broker also needs to be associated with a financial institution, such as a bank in order to provide funds for margin trading. Picking the right Forex broker for you will take some work on your part. There are brokers who charge a flat fee and some that charge commission. It may be a good idea to talk with friends and business associates about their brokers. You may get some good leads, and you're certain to hear who to stay away from. There is nothing like word of mouth advertising.
If you are thinking of investing online, you could choose several online brokers and contact their help desks. Seeing how quickly they respond to your questions could be key in how they will respond to their customers needs. If you don't get a speedy reply and a satisfactory answer to your question you certainly wouldn't want to trust them with your business. Just be aware that as in other types of businesses, pre sales service might be better than after sales service.
Before you choose an online broker get a copy of their online demo account. What features are included? Is the software reliable? Does it offer automatic trading? Are there extra software features that cost more?
Before setting up an account with a Forex broker you will need to do further investigation. How quickly will these brokers execute your buy/sell orders? What is their policy on slippage? What are the transaction fees? What is the spread, fixed or variable? What are the margin requirements and how are they calculated? Does the margin change with currency traded? Is it the same for mini accounts and standard accounts?
Don't forget to ask about minimum account balances and interest payments on account balances. Make sure that your funds will be insured.
You should check that a broker is registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as protection against fraud or abusive trade practices. A Forex broker also needs to be associated with a financial institution, such as a bank in order to provide funds for margin trading. Picking the right Forex broker for you will take some work on your part. There are brokers who charge a flat fee and some that charge commission. It may be a good idea to talk with friends and business associates about their brokers. You may get some good leads, and you're certain to hear who to stay away from. There is nothing like word of mouth advertising.
If you are thinking of investing online, you could choose several online brokers and contact their help desks. Seeing how quickly they respond to your questions could be key in how they will respond to their customers needs. If you don't get a speedy reply and a satisfactory answer to your question you certainly wouldn't want to trust them with your business. Just be aware that as in other types of businesses, pre sales service might be better than after sales service.
Before you choose an online broker get a copy of their online demo account. What features are included? Is the software reliable? Does it offer automatic trading? Are there extra software features that cost more?
Before setting up an account with a Forex broker you will need to do further investigation. How quickly will these brokers execute your buy/sell orders? What is their policy on slippage? What are the transaction fees? What is the spread, fixed or variable? What are the margin requirements and how are they calculated? Does the margin change with currency traded? Is it the same for mini accounts and standard accounts?
Don't forget to ask about minimum account balances and interest payments on account balances. Make sure that your funds will be insured.
Effective Strategies in Forex
Starting out in the Forex world of trading can be quiet daunting. So we have put together some of the most powerful strategies to help your forex trading.
So you are serious about profiting in forex trading, then you need to watch forex trends which are short term.
Here we are going to give you a 3 step simple method which if you use it correctly, will help you catch every superior forex trend and lead you to long-term term currency dealing success.
New and inexperienced traders don't try to follow the trend for forex lengthier term - instead they try forex scalping or day trading hoping to grab short term profit. These methods focus the trader on small moves and they hope to catch small profit however as most short term moves are random, this leads to equity eliminate.
Also make sure you are using the Best Forex Broker
The other alternatives are swing trading and long term forex trend following and this article is all about the latter method. If you look at any forex chart, you will see long-term term trends that last for months or years. These moves can and do yield serious profit - present we will outline a simple method to get them.
Breakouts
By far the best way of catching the serious moves is to use a forex dealing strategy based around breakouts. A breakout is simply a move on a forex chart where a new high or low is made and resistance or support is broken.
It's a fact that most leading moves start from new highs or lows.
While it might appear that you are not buying or selling at the greatest level, you are in terms of the odds of the trend continuing. Most forex traders make the mistake of waiting for the breakout to come back and get in at a better price but these traders never get on board. The grounds for this is if a breakout occurs, then you have a new strong trend and a pullback is not very likely to occur.
Most traders don't buy or sell breakouts and that's exactly why it's such a powerful method.
The only point to keep in mind is a support or resistance which is ruined, should be valid and that means at least 3 points in at least 2 different times frames. The more tests and the greater the spacing between the tests the more valid the level is.
Confirmation
Of course not every breakout keeps and some reverse, these are false and can cause losses. You therefore need to confirm each move. All you need to do to achieve this is to put a few momentum indicators in your forex trading system to confirm your dealing signal.
These indicators give you an estimation of the strength and velocity of price and there are many to choose from. We don't have time to discuss them here (simply look up our other articles) but two of the greatest are - the stochastic and Relative Strength Index RSI
Stops and Targets
Stop points are easy with breakouts - Simply behind the breakout point.
If you have a serious trend then you need to be careful you can milk it, so don't move your stop to soon and keep it outside of normal volatility. If it is a huge move, trailing stops should be held a long-term way back and the 40 day moving average is a good level to use.
You have to keep in mind that when the trend does eventually turn you are going to give some profit back. You don't know when the trend is going to end, so don't predict.
It's ok to give a serious back, as that's the nature of trading forex. Keep in mind if you got 50% of all leading trend you would be very rich. When you are long-term term trend following you have accept giving a bit back and taking dips in open equity as the trend develops - this is noise and does not affect the long term trend.
The above is a simple way to trend watch forex and catch the high odds moves that yield the serious profit. If you are learning forex dealing and want a simple method that is robust and will help you get every major move, then you should base your dealing on the above method.
So you are serious about profiting in forex trading, then you need to watch forex trends which are short term.
Here we are going to give you a 3 step simple method which if you use it correctly, will help you catch every superior forex trend and lead you to long-term term currency dealing success.
New and inexperienced traders don't try to follow the trend for forex lengthier term - instead they try forex scalping or day trading hoping to grab short term profit. These methods focus the trader on small moves and they hope to catch small profit however as most short term moves are random, this leads to equity eliminate.
Also make sure you are using the Best Forex Broker
The other alternatives are swing trading and long term forex trend following and this article is all about the latter method. If you look at any forex chart, you will see long-term term trends that last for months or years. These moves can and do yield serious profit - present we will outline a simple method to get them.
Breakouts
By far the best way of catching the serious moves is to use a forex dealing strategy based around breakouts. A breakout is simply a move on a forex chart where a new high or low is made and resistance or support is broken.
It's a fact that most leading moves start from new highs or lows.
While it might appear that you are not buying or selling at the greatest level, you are in terms of the odds of the trend continuing. Most forex traders make the mistake of waiting for the breakout to come back and get in at a better price but these traders never get on board. The grounds for this is if a breakout occurs, then you have a new strong trend and a pullback is not very likely to occur.
Most traders don't buy or sell breakouts and that's exactly why it's such a powerful method.
The only point to keep in mind is a support or resistance which is ruined, should be valid and that means at least 3 points in at least 2 different times frames. The more tests and the greater the spacing between the tests the more valid the level is.
Confirmation
Of course not every breakout keeps and some reverse, these are false and can cause losses. You therefore need to confirm each move. All you need to do to achieve this is to put a few momentum indicators in your forex trading system to confirm your dealing signal.
These indicators give you an estimation of the strength and velocity of price and there are many to choose from. We don't have time to discuss them here (simply look up our other articles) but two of the greatest are - the stochastic and Relative Strength Index RSI
Stops and Targets
Stop points are easy with breakouts - Simply behind the breakout point.
If you have a serious trend then you need to be careful you can milk it, so don't move your stop to soon and keep it outside of normal volatility. If it is a huge move, trailing stops should be held a long-term way back and the 40 day moving average is a good level to use.
You have to keep in mind that when the trend does eventually turn you are going to give some profit back. You don't know when the trend is going to end, so don't predict.
It's ok to give a serious back, as that's the nature of trading forex. Keep in mind if you got 50% of all leading trend you would be very rich. When you are long-term term trend following you have accept giving a bit back and taking dips in open equity as the trend develops - this is noise and does not affect the long term trend.
The above is a simple way to trend watch forex and catch the high odds moves that yield the serious profit. If you are learning forex dealing and want a simple method that is robust and will help you get every major move, then you should base your dealing on the above method.
What are the benefits of forex trading?
The are many benefits of forex trading when compared to other financial markets. One of the major advantages over all other markets is the low margin requirements.
Some modern retail brokers offer traders leverage of a whopping 500:1. This is a margin requirement of just 0.2%. This may sound very enticing when we think that we can open a $1,000,000 position for just $2,000. However, it is important to remember that leverage can work with you as well as against you. Leverage can amplify your trading gains as well as your losses.
Another huge benefit of the forex market is the fact that it is open 24 hours a day. Just as one financial center closes, another opens. More information about the trading times of different financial centers can be found on our trading hours page.
The Forex market is the most liquid of all the financial markets. The main of this is the fact it can result in some very low spreads (the difference between the buy and sell price), especially on the major currency pairs. For example I have seen spreads of lower than 1 pip on EUR/USD.
Due to the high liquidity of the forex marketplace, it makes it possible to trade a very wide range of forex trading strategies. Some of these include scalping strategies, news spike strategies, swing trading strategies, pseodo hedge type strategies, carry trade strategies and many more.
Another benefit of the currency market is the fact that as it trades currencies, and currencies all have a base interest rate, it opens the opportunity to buy a currency with a high interest rate, whilst selling a currency with a low interest rate. This enables the trader to profit from the difference in the interest rates. This is known as the carry trade.
In conclusion, the forex market has many advantages over the other financial markets and there is great potential to earn excellent returns on your investment. However, it is very important to remember that whilst leverage can improve your trading gains, it can also increase your trading losses.
Some modern retail brokers offer traders leverage of a whopping 500:1. This is a margin requirement of just 0.2%. This may sound very enticing when we think that we can open a $1,000,000 position for just $2,000. However, it is important to remember that leverage can work with you as well as against you. Leverage can amplify your trading gains as well as your losses.
Another huge benefit of the forex market is the fact that it is open 24 hours a day. Just as one financial center closes, another opens. More information about the trading times of different financial centers can be found on our trading hours page.
The Forex market is the most liquid of all the financial markets. The main of this is the fact it can result in some very low spreads (the difference between the buy and sell price), especially on the major currency pairs. For example I have seen spreads of lower than 1 pip on EUR/USD.
Due to the high liquidity of the forex marketplace, it makes it possible to trade a very wide range of forex trading strategies. Some of these include scalping strategies, news spike strategies, swing trading strategies, pseodo hedge type strategies, carry trade strategies and many more.
Another benefit of the currency market is the fact that as it trades currencies, and currencies all have a base interest rate, it opens the opportunity to buy a currency with a high interest rate, whilst selling a currency with a low interest rate. This enables the trader to profit from the difference in the interest rates. This is known as the carry trade.
In conclusion, the forex market has many advantages over the other financial markets and there is great potential to earn excellent returns on your investment. However, it is very important to remember that whilst leverage can improve your trading gains, it can also increase your trading losses.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Cash Back Credit Cards: Good or Bad Idea?
Getting a credit card that offers cash back always sounds like a good idea. What could be better than getting cash back on all the purchases that you make with your credit card? It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?
Well, there are cards that give you free cash, but it is usually only around 1% cash back. However, free money is free money, right? Well, sometimes.
If you like to buy a lot of things in one month, this kind of credit card probably sounds great to you. However, you need to keep in mind that they are not going to give you cash back on every purchase that you make. Even if they claim to give you cash back on every purchase, they will only give you up to a certain amount per transaction. The company also has a strict limit on the amount that they will give back to their customers. If you read the little, bitty print on the form that you signed, you will see a paragraph with their limits in the terms and agreements
What should your decision be? If you have a good credit rating, then this card is a great option for you. Research different card companies – there are cards out there that offer you up to 3% cash back and impose very few limits. If, however, you have a bad credit rating, you may want to find a credit card that will help you rebuild your credit.
Well, there are cards that give you free cash, but it is usually only around 1% cash back. However, free money is free money, right? Well, sometimes.
If you like to buy a lot of things in one month, this kind of credit card probably sounds great to you. However, you need to keep in mind that they are not going to give you cash back on every purchase that you make. Even if they claim to give you cash back on every purchase, they will only give you up to a certain amount per transaction. The company also has a strict limit on the amount that they will give back to their customers. If you read the little, bitty print on the form that you signed, you will see a paragraph with their limits in the terms and agreements
What should your decision be? If you have a good credit rating, then this card is a great option for you. Research different card companies – there are cards out there that offer you up to 3% cash back and impose very few limits. If, however, you have a bad credit rating, you may want to find a credit card that will help you rebuild your credit.
Market participants
A few decades ago, worldwide, buyers and sellers were individual investors, such as wealthy businessmen, with long family histories (and emotional ties) to particular corporations. Over time, markets have become more "institutionalized"; buyers and sellers are largely institutions (e.g., pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, index funds, exchange-traded funds, hedge funds, investor groups, banks and various other financial institutions). The rise of the institutional investor has brought with it some improvements in market operations. Thus, the government was responsible for "fixed" (and exorbitant) fees being markedly reduced for the 'small' investor, but only after the large institutions had managed to break the brokers' solid front on fees. (They then went to 'negotiated' fees, but only for large institutions.
However, corporate governance (at least in the West) has been very much adversely affected by the rise of (largely 'absentee') institutional 'owners'.
However, corporate governance (at least in the West) has been very much adversely affected by the rise of (largely 'absentee') institutional 'owners'.
What is Stock Market?
A stock market is a public market (a loose network of economic transactions not a physical facility or discrete entity) for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.
The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion US at the beginning of October 2008.The total world derivatives market has been estimated at about $791 trillion face or nominal value, 11 times the size of the entire world economy. The value of the derivatives market, because it is stated in terms of notional values, cannot be directly compared to a stock or a fixed income security, which traditionally refers to an actual value. Moreover, the vast majority of derivatives 'cancel' each other out (i.e., a derivative 'bet' on an event occurring is offset by a comparable derivative 'bet' on the event not occurring.). Many such relatively illiquid securities are valued as marked to model, rather than an actual market price.
The stocks are listed and traded on stock exchanges which are entities of a corporation or mutual organization specialized in the business of bringing buyers and sellers of the organizations to a listing of stocks and securities together. The stock market in the United States is NYSE while in Canada; it is the Toronto Stock Exchange. Major European examples of stock exchanges include the London Stock Exchange, Paris Bourse, and the Deutsche Börse. Asian examples include the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the Bombay Stock Exchange. In Latin America, there are such exchanges as the BM&F Bovespa and theBMV
The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion US at the beginning of October 2008.The total world derivatives market has been estimated at about $791 trillion face or nominal value, 11 times the size of the entire world economy. The value of the derivatives market, because it is stated in terms of notional values, cannot be directly compared to a stock or a fixed income security, which traditionally refers to an actual value. Moreover, the vast majority of derivatives 'cancel' each other out (i.e., a derivative 'bet' on an event occurring is offset by a comparable derivative 'bet' on the event not occurring.). Many such relatively illiquid securities are valued as marked to model, rather than an actual market price.
The stocks are listed and traded on stock exchanges which are entities of a corporation or mutual organization specialized in the business of bringing buyers and sellers of the organizations to a listing of stocks and securities together. The stock market in the United States is NYSE while in Canada; it is the Toronto Stock Exchange. Major European examples of stock exchanges include the London Stock Exchange, Paris Bourse, and the Deutsche Börse. Asian examples include the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the Bombay Stock Exchange. In Latin America, there are such exchanges as the BM&F Bovespa and theBMV
Trading characteristics
There is no unified or centrally cleared market for the majority of FX trades, and there is very little cross-border regulation. Due to the over-the-counter (OTC) nature of currency markets, there are rather a number of interconnected marketplaces, where different currencies instruments are traded. This implies that there is not a single exchange rate but rather a number of different rates (prices), depending on what bank or market maker is trading, and where it is. In practice the rates are often very close, otherwise they could be exploited by arbitrageurs instantaneously. Due to London's dominance in the market, a particular currency's quoted price is usually the London market price. A joint venture of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Reuters, called Fxmarketspace opened in 2007 and aspired but failed to the role of a central market clearing mechanism. The main trading center is London, but New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore are all important centers as well. Banks throughout the world participate. Currency trading happens continuously throughout the day; as the Asian trading session ends, the European session begins, followed by the North American session and then back to the Asian session, excluding weekends. Fluctuations in exchange rates are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows caused by changes in gross domestic product (GDP) growth, inflation (purchasing power parity theory), interest rates (interest rate parity, Domestic Fisher effect, International Fisher effect), budget and trade deficits or surpluses, large cross-border M&A deals and other macroeconomic conditions. Major news is released publicly, often on scheduled dates, so many people have access to the same news at the same time. However, the large banks have an important advantage; they can see their customers' order flow. Currencies are traded against one another. Each currency pair thus constitutes an individual trading product and is traditionally noted XXXYYY or YYY/XXX, where XXX and YYY are the ISO 4217 international three-letter code of the currencies involved. The first currency (XXX) is the base currency that is quoted relative to the second currency (YYY), called the counter currency (or quote currency). For instance, the quotation EURUSD (USD/EUR) 1.5465 is the price of the euro expressed in US dollars, meaning 1 euro = 1.5465 dollars. Historically, the base currency was the stronger currency at the creation of the pair. However, when the euro was created, the European Central Bank mandated that it always be the base currency in any pairing. The factors affecting XXX will affect both XXXYYY and XXXZZZ. This causes positive currency correlation between XXXYYY and XXXZZZ. On the spot market, according to the BIS study, the most heavily traded products were: EURUSD: 27% USDJPY: 13% GBPUSD (also called cable): 12% and the US currency was involved in 86.3% of transactions, followed by the euro (37.0%), the yen (17.0%), and sterling (15.0%) (see table). Volume percentages for all individual currencies should add up to 200%, as each transaction involves two currencies. Trading in the euro has grown considerably since the currency's creation in January 1999, and how long the foreign exchange market will remain dollar-centered is open to debate. Until recently, trading the euro versus a non-European currency ZZZ would have usually involved two trades: EURUSD and USDZZZ. The exception to this is EURJPY, which is an established traded currency pair in the interbank spot market. As the dollar's value has eroded during 2008, interest in using the euro as reference currency for prices in commodities (such as oil), as well as a larger component of foreign reserves by banks, has increased dramatically. Transactions in the currencies of commodity-producing countries, such as AUD, NZD, CAD, have also increased.
Commercial Companies
An important part of this market comes from the financial activities of companies seeking foreign exchange to pay for goods or services. Commercial companies often trade fairly small amounts compared to those of banks or speculators, and their trades often have little short term impact on market rates. Nevertheless, trade flows are an important factor in the long-term direction of a currency's exchange rate. Some multinational companies can have an unpredictable impact when very large positions are covered due to exposures that are not widely known by other market participants.
About Forex Trading
Forex Trading is an international foreign exchange market, where money is sold and bought freely. In its present condition was launched in the 1970s, when free exchange rates were introduced, and only the participants of the market determine the price of one currency against the other proceeding from supply and demand. As far as the freedom from any external control and free competition are concerned, FOREX is a perfect market. It is also the biggest liquid financial market. According to various assessments, money masses in the market constitute from 1 to 1.5 trillion US dollars a day. (It is impossible to determine an absolutely exact number because trading is not centralized on an exchange.) Transactions are conducted all over the world via telecommunications 24 hours a day from 00:00 GMT on Monday to 10:00 pm GMT on Friday. Practically in every time zone (that is, in Frankfurt-on-Main, London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc.) there are dealers who will quote currencies
s a more objective market, because if some of its participants would like to change prices, for some manipulative purpose, they would have to operate with tens of billions dollars. That is why any influence by a single participants in the market is practically out of the question. The superior liquidity allows the traders to open and/or close positions within a few seconds. The time of keeping a position is arbitrary and has no limits: from several seconds to many years. It depends only on your trading strategies. Although the daily fluctuations of currencies are rather insignificant, you may use the credit lines, that are accessible even to currency speculators with small capitals ($ 1,000 - 5,000), where the profit may be impressive.
s a more objective market, because if some of its participants would like to change prices, for some manipulative purpose, they would have to operate with tens of billions dollars. That is why any influence by a single participants in the market is practically out of the question. The superior liquidity allows the traders to open and/or close positions within a few seconds. The time of keeping a position is arbitrary and has no limits: from several seconds to many years. It depends only on your trading strategies. Although the daily fluctuations of currencies are rather insignificant, you may use the credit lines, that are accessible even to currency speculators with small capitals ($ 1,000 - 5,000), where the profit may be impressive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)