Currency Trading Information

Forex Market Overview


"FX" is an abbreviation of "forex" or "foreign exchange." Foreign exchange is the largest and most liquid market in the world trading approximately $2 trillion every day (that's over 30 times the daily volume of NASDAQ and NYSE combined). The forex market is a cash interbank/interdealer market. In simplest terms, this means the foreign currencies traded in the forex market are traded directly between banks, foreign currency dealers and forex investors wishing either to diversify, speculate or to hedge foreign currency risk. The forex market is not a "market" in the traditional sense due to the fact that there is no centralized location for fx trading activity and, therefore, trades placed in the forex market are considered over-the-counter (OTC). Forex trading between parties occurs through computer terminals, exchanges and over telephones at thousands of locations worldwide. CFOS/FX clients can trade through online forex trading platforms and/or over the telephone directly with a forex broker on our trading desk.

Until recently the forex market has not been available to the small speculator. The large minimum foreign currency transaction sizes and financial requirements left this market in the hands of banks, major foreign currency dealers and the occasional large fx speculator. Now, with the ability to leverage large positions with a relatively small amount of capital (margin), the forex market is now more liquid than ever and available to most investors.

Five major currencies dominate trading in the foreign exchange markets: the U.S. Dollar, Eurocurrency, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc and British Pound. The foreign currencies are traded in pairs, also known as crosses, in the forex spot market. For example, purchasing the EUR/USD in the forex spot market simply means the purchaser is buying the Eurocurrency and selling the U.S. Dollar in anticipation of the Eurocurrency gaining value in relation to the U.S. Dollar. Similarly, the seller of a EUR/USD contract would be selling the Eurocurrency against the U.S. Dollar. Official figures show the U.S. Dollar is on one side of 83% of all spot foreign exchange transactions. The "spot" market simply refers to a currency contract with a prompt valuation date requiring settlement within two business days.

Over the past several decades, an increase in international trade and foreign investment has made the economies of the world more interrelated. New opportunities for investors have also been created with the fall of communism and the dramatic growth of the Asian and Latin American economies. Today, supply and demand for a particular currency is the driving factor in determining exchange rates. Many factors such as regularly reported economic figures and unexpected news reports, such as disasters or political instabilities, could also alter the desirability of holding a particular currency, thus influencing international supply and demand for that currency. It should come as no surprise that many shrewd investors have already taken advantage of the fluctuation in exchange rates to profit handsomely.

John Nobile - Senior Account Executive
CFOS/FX - Online Forex Spot and Option Brokerage


MORE RESOURCES:

Currency Trading Markets Remain Highly Correlated to Dow Jones ...
Daily FX, NY - Nov 18, 2008
Currency trading markets continue very highly correlated to broader risky asset classes, as the common theme of financial market deleveraging creates strong ...
Currency Trading Markets Remain Highly Correlated to Dow Jones ... Daily FX
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Kuwait Times

Forex Expo promotes currency trading as alternative to bourse
Kuwait Times, Kuwait - Nov 20, 2008
By Dana Khraiche, Staff writer KUWAIT: Currency trading has its ups and downs. Recently, one of Kuwait's largest lenders, Gulf Bank suffered a major crisis ...


AFP

WSJ(11/11) Currency Trading: Bad Crop: Commodity Currencies
Alibaba News Channel, NEW YORK - Nov 11, 2008
In currency markets gripped by turmoil, investors have targeted one group for special punishment: big commodity exporters. This cluster includes the ...
Euro firms against dollar, pound sinks amid credit turmoil AFP
An investment class that is still thriving The Australian
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Maktoob Business (press release)

Dollar Posts Weekly Gain as Stock Plunge Spurs Haven Demand
Bloomberg - 17 hours ago
“It’s all about risk in this emotional market,” said Jacob Oubina, a currency strategist at FOREX.com, a unit of online currency trading firm Gain Capital ...
Japan: Yen Gains on Speculation Investors Sold High-Yielding Assets FreshPlaza
Yen Falls on Speculation Japan Investors Buying Overseas Assets Bloomberg
Dollar Falls Against Euro on Drop in New York Manufacturing Bloomberg
Bloomberg
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ProSignal Inc. Releases a Fully Automated Online Forex Currency ...
MarketWatch - Oct 28, 2008
The web-based version of the forex currency trading platform provides individual forex traders access to hundreds of forex trading strategies offered by a ...


Telegraph.co.uk

Hedge your bets with currency trading
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - Nov 5, 2008
Unlike stocks and bonds, not all currencies can fall at the same time. Here's how to play the market. By Rosie Murray-West If you are going on holiday to ...


The view from MIT's business school dean
BusinessWeek - Nov 20, 2008
Try Currency Trading Learn to Trade FX with a Free Demo. Free Commentaries and Market news. Wharton Executive MBA Program Get Your Career On The Leadership ...


Currency Trading Strategies from DailyFX+ Prove Strongly ...
Daily FX, NY - Nov 3, 2008
Our DailyFX+ Forex Trading Signals saw their best single-month performance on strong market volatility, and expectations for similar price action could ...


Forex Market Update: Currency Trading Mixed Ahead of Major Event Risks
Daily FX, NY - Nov 6, 2008
The European market lacked depth ahead of key rate decisions from the BoE and the ECB. Both central banks are widely expected to cut rates by at least 50 bp ...


14th November Daily Currency Trading Strategies
Forex Factory - Nov 13, 2008
Euro and sterling have pared all their yesterdays losses after the sharp rise in US equity markets. This suggests that markets are dictated by liquidity ...

Currency-Trading - Google News

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