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Foreign Exchange Derivative
A foreign exchange derivative is a financial derivative whose payoff depends on the foreign exchange rates of two (or more) currencies. These instruments are commonly used for currency speculation and arbitrage or for hedging foreign exchange risk. History Foreign exchange transactions can be traced back to the fourteenth Century in England. The development of foreign exchange derivatives market was in the 1970s with the historical background and economic environment. Firstly, after the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, in 1976, the International Monetary Fund held a meeting in Jamaica and reached the Jamaica agreement. When the floating exchange-rate system replaced a fixed exchange-rate system, many countries relaxed control of interest rates and the risk of financial market increased. In order to reduce and avoid risks and achieve the purpose of hedging, modern financial derivatives were created. Secondly, economic globalization promoted the globalization of financ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derivative (finance)
In finance, a derivative is a contract between a buyer and a seller. The derivative can take various forms, depending on the transaction, but every derivative has the following four elements: # an item (the "underlier") that can or must be bought or sold, # a future act which must occur (such as a sale or purchase of the underlier), # a price at which the future transaction must take place, and # a future date by which the act (such as a purchase or sale) must take place. A derivative's value depends on the performance of the underlier, which can be a commodity (for example, corn or oil), a financial instrument (e.g. a stock or a bond), price index, a price index, a currency, or an interest rate. Derivatives can be used to insure against price movements (Hedge (finance)#Etymology, hedging), increase exposure to price movements for speculation, or get access to otherwise hard-to-trade assets or markets. Most derivatives are price guarantees. But some are based on an event or p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forward Exchange Rate
The forward exchange rate (also referred to as forward rate or forward price) is the exchange rate at which a bank agrees to exchange one currency for another at a future date when it enters into a forward contract with an investor. Multinational corporations, banks, and other financial institutions enter into forward contracts to take advantage of the forward rate for hedging purposes. The forward exchange rate is determined by a parity relationship among the spot exchange rate and differences in interest rates between two countries, which reflects an economic equilibrium in the foreign exchange market under which arbitrage opportunities are eliminated. When in equilibrium, and when interest rates vary across two countries, the parity condition implies that the forward rate includes a premium or discount reflecting the interest rate differential. Forward exchange rates have important theoretical implications for forecasting future spot exchange rates. Financial economists have p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uncovered Interest Arbitrage
Uncovered interest arbitrage is an arbitrage trading strategy whereby an investor capitalizes on the interest rate differential between two countries. Unlike covered interest arbitrage, uncovered interest arbitrage involves no hedging of foreign exchange risk with the use of forward contracts or any other contract. The strategy involves risk, as an investor exposed to exchange rate fluctuations is speculating that exchange rates will remain favorable enough for arbitrage to be profitable. The opportunity to earn profits arises from the reality that the uncovered interest rate parity condition does not constantly hold—that is, the interest rate on investments in one country's currency does not always equal the interest rate on foreign-currency investments plus the rate of appreciation that is expected for the foreign currency relative to the domestic currency. When a discrepancy between these occurs, investors who are willing to take on risk will not be indifferent between t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interest Rate Parity
Interest rate parity is a no-arbitrage condition representing an equilibrium state under which investors compare interest rates available on bank deposits in two countries. The fact that this condition does not always hold allows for potential opportunities to earn riskless profits from covered interest arbitrage. Two assumptions central to interest rate parity are capital mobility and perfect substitutability of domestic and foreign assets. Given foreign exchange market equilibrium, the interest rate parity condition implies that the expected return on domestic assets will equal the exchange rate-adjusted expected return on foreign currency assets. Investors then cannot earn arbitrage profits by borrowing in a country with a lower interest rate, exchanging for foreign currency, and investing in a foreign country with a higher interest rate, due to gains or losses from exchanging back to their domestic currency at maturity. Interest rate parity takes on two distinctive forms: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foreign Exchange Spot
A foreign exchange spot transaction, also known as FX spot, is an agreement between two parties to buy one currency against selling another currency at an agreed price for settlement on the spot date. The exchange rate at which the transaction is done is called the spot exchange rate. As of 2010, the average daily turnover of global FX spot transactions reached nearly US$1.5 trillion, counting 37.4% of all foreign exchange transactions. FX spot transactions increased by 38% to US$2.0 trillion from April 2010 to April 2013. Settlement date The standard settlement timeframe for foreign exchange spot transactions is T+2; i.e., two business days from the trade date. Notable exceptions are USD/ CAD, USD/ TRY, USD/PHP, USD/ RUB, and offshore USD/ KZT and offshore USD/ PKR currency pairs, which settle at T+1. USD/ COP settles T+0. Majority of SME FX payments are made through Spot FX, partially because businesses aren't aware of alternatives. Execution methods Common methods o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foreign Exchange Risk
Foreign exchange risk (also known as FX risk, exchange rate risk or currency risk) is a financial risk that exists when a financial transaction is denominated in a currency other than the domestic currency of the company. The exchange risk arises when there is a risk of an unfavourable change in exchange rate between the domestic currency and the denominated currency before the date when the transaction is completed. Foreign exchange risk also exists when the foreign subsidiary of a firm maintains financial statements in a currency other than the domestic currency of the consolidated entity. Investors and businesses exporting or importing goods and services, or making foreign investments, have an exchange-rate risk but can take steps to manage (i.e. reduce) the risk. History Many businesses were unconcerned with, and did not manage, foreign exchange risk under the international Bretton Woods system. It was not until the switch to floating exchange rates, following the collapse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foreign Exchange Hedge
A foreign exchange hedge (also called a FOREX hedge) is a method used by companies to eliminate or "hedge" their foreign exchange risk resulting from transactions in foreign currencies (see foreign exchange derivative). This is done using either the cash flow hedge or the fair value method. The accounting rules for this are addressed by both the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and by the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) as well as other national accounting standards. A foreign exchange hedge transfers the foreign exchange risk from the trading or investing company to a business that carries the risk, such as a bank. There is a cost to the company for setting up a hedge. By setting up a hedge, the company also forgoes any profit if the movement in the exchange rate would be favourable to it. Foreign exchange risk When companies conduct business across borders, they must deal in foreign currencies. Companies must exchange foreign currencies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contract For Difference
In finance, a contract for difference (CFD) is a financial agreement between two parties, commonly referred to as the "buyer" and the "seller." The contract stipulates that the buyer will pay the seller the difference between the current value of an asset and its value at the time the contract was initiated. If the asset's price increases from the opening to the closing of the contract, the seller compensates the buyer for the increase, which constitutes the buyer's profit. Conversely, if the asset's price decreases, the buyer compensates the seller, resulting in a profit for the seller. History Invention Developed in Britain in 1974 as a way to leverage gold, modern CFDs have been trading widely since the early 1990s. CFDs were originally developed as a type of equity swap that was traded on margin. The invention of the CFD is widely credited to Brian Keelan and Jon Wood, both of UBS Warburg, during their Trafalgar House deal in the early 1990s. Asset management and syntheti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covered Interest Arbitrage
Covered interest arbitrage is an arbitrage trading strategy whereby an investor capitalizes on the interest rate differential between two countries by using a forward contract to ''cover'' (eliminate exposure to) exchange rate risk. Using forward contracts enables arbitrageurs such as individual investors or banks to make use of the forward premium (or discount) to earn a riskless profit from discrepancies between two countries' interest rates. The opportunity to earn riskless profits arises from the reality that the interest rate parity condition does not constantly hold. When spot and forward exchange rate markets are not in a state of equilibrium, investors will no longer be indifferent among the available interest rates in two countries and will invest in whichever currency offers a higher rate of return. Economists have discovered various factors which affect the occurrence of deviations from covered interest rate parity and the fleeting nature of covered interest arbitrage oppo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carry Trade
The carry of an asset is the return obtained from holding it (if positive), or the cost of holding it (if negative) (see also Cost of carry). For instance, commodities are usually negative carry assets, as they incur storage costs or may suffer from depreciation. (Imagine corn or wheat sitting in a silo somewhere, not being sold or eaten.) But in some circumstances, appropriately hedged commodities can be positive carry assets if the forward/futures market is willing to pay sufficient premium for future delivery. This can also refer to a trade with more than one leg, where you earn the spread between borrowing a low carry asset and lending a high carry one; such as gold during a financial crisis, due to its safe haven quality. Carry trades are not usually arbitrages: pure arbitrages make money no matter what; carry trades make money only if nothing changes against the carry's favor. Interest rates carry trade/maturity transformation For instance, the traditional revenue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Financial Risk
Financial risk is any of various types of risk associated with financing, including financial transactions that include company loans in risk of default. Often it is understood to include only downside risk, meaning the potential for financial loss and uncertainty about its extent. Modern portfolio theory initiated by Harry Markowitz in 1952 under his thesis titled "Portfolio Selection" is the discipline and study which pertains to managing market and financial risk. In modern portfolio theory, the variance (or standard deviation In statistics, the standard deviation is a measure of the amount of variation of the values of a variable about its Expected value, mean. A low standard Deviation (statistics), deviation indicates that the values tend to be close to the mean ( ...) of a portfolio is used as the definition of risk. Types According to Bender and Panz (2021), financial risks can be sorted into five different categories. In their study, they apply an algorith ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leverage (finance)
In finance, leverage, also known as gearing, is any technique involving borrowing funds to buy an investment. Financial leverage is named after a lever in physics, which amplifies a small input force into a greater output force. Financial leverage uses borrowed money to augment the available capital, thus increasing the funds available for (perhaps risky) investment. If successful this may generate large amounts of profit. However, if unsuccessful, there is a risk of not being able to pay back the borrowed money. Normally, a lender will set a limit on how much risk it is prepared to take, and will set a limit on how much leverage it will permit. It would often require the acquired asset to be provided as collateral security for the loan. Leverage can arise in a number of situations. Securities like options and futures are effectively leveraged bets between parties where the principal is implicitly borrowed and lent at interest rates of very short treasury bills.Mock, E. J., R. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
