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Monday, August 3, 2009

The Basic Facts Of Currency Exchange

By Chris Cole

Forex is the foreign currency exchange market. It makes it possible for personal firms and states to do business with each other. If you are going to Europe, you go to the bank and exchange your bucks for Euro Bucks because you can't spend greenbacks in France. The bank takes your forex and packages it with other currency exchanges and then tries to sell it at a better exchange rate than they gave you. That is how they make a profit.

Not like the stock markets, forex doesn't have a particular location. It operates when world wide banks operate and is open twenty-four hours a day, from the opening of business in New Zealand on Monday, to the close of business in Asia on Friday.

The majority of the traders are central and international banks, and world business companies.

Most traders in forex are central banking organizations, massive multi national banks, multi national corporations, presidencies and currency investors. Small investors trade in derivatives rather than in the currencies themselves. Small financiers account for about 7% of the total market.

The ten most active traders do about 80% of the trades. These are enormous world banks and they make up the top tier of the market. The profit margins at this level are tiny and the bid and ask costs aren't available to traders outside of the top tier. About 53% of the trading volume is done in the top tier. The following tier contains large global corporations, investment banks and large hedge funds.

The majority of the trades in currency exchange, about seventy percent, are speculative. The trades are done in order to make a profit. Small speculators cannot deal without delay in this market, they should employ a broker. Thanks to the global nature of the market, till recently, there were only a few restrictions on brokers and they could make trades against their customer's best interests. Now, there's a crackdown on brokers who are concerned in this practice.

Like most investments, foreign exchange is hopeful. Some folk earn a profit and others lose money. When the exchange rates float too much, investors usually run for historically stable currencies like the Swiss franc, which drives up the rate of exchange for the franc.

There are many kinds of derivatives with various levels of risk available to small investors. The most common derivative is the futures contract which is generally for a quarter. It is similar to futures contacts traded on the commodities market. The spot contract is a futures contract for a short period of time, customarily 2 days. The forward contract helps limit risk as the money is exchanged on an agreed upon date in the future. One type of forward contract is known as a swap, where the 2 parties exchange currency for an agreed upon period. The safest derivative is the foreign exchange option. Rather like a stock option, it gives the holder a right to exchange currency for a formerly agreed rate at an agreed upon date, but the holder has no need to make the exchange.

The currency market is highly complicated and with a lot less regulation than the stock market, more subject to abuses. It's advantages are its liquidity and the incontrovertible fact that it trades twenty four hours a day. This is a fairly speculative investment and should be approached with caution by small investors. Before considering an investment in foreign exchange, you'll need to study the market and the best investment methods. - 23196

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