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By Mervin Hester

 Foreign currency trading is done in a foreign exchange market where one type of currency is exchanged or traded for another type of currency. Currency trading is regarded as the largest financial market in the world. Players participating in currency trading within a FOREX market are the large banks like Citibank and Deutsche bank, nationalized and government banks, multinational firms, financial institutions and investment companies. The daily volume of the present global forex market is around US $3 trillion. Given the huge size and high liquidity of the markets worldwide, small players cannot easily do trading in a FOREX market.

Trading within a market is done in levels, where a player in a level doesn’t have access to other levels. The top level is the inter-bank market comprised of large banks like Deutsche bank, Citibank, Union bank of Switzerland and other banks across the world. The top ten players sweep off 70% of the total business done in the FOREX trading. In the top level, the difference between the bid and ask price known as Spread is very minute and is not available to other circles outside. As the levels descend, the difference increases mainly due to the volumes traded. Level of access for a player is determined by the ‘line’, the money with which one is trading. Currency trading has almost doubled today since 2001 mainly because of the recongnition of FOREX trading as an investment and asset class and also an increase in the fund management assets of pension funds and hedge funds.

Commercial companies do currency trading mainly to pay their customers for their good or services and trade in small amounts compared to large banks. Investment management companies do trading to manage the pension or endowment or investment portfolio of their customers and are usually in large amounts, because they have to invest in foreign equities for which they need to exchange currency to buy those equities.

Let us see the typical characteristics of a FOREX currency trading. Due to the over-the-counter nature, the currency markets doesn’t trade in a single dollar or a euro rate, but rather a different number of rate applicable only to that particular market. There is no central house or hub or exchange or clearing house as traders deal directly with each due to this OTC nature. Usually these rates are close to each other; otherwise special traders called arbitrageurs take advantage of the difference in the rates and make huge profits out of it. Main trading centers across the world are in London, New york, Tokyo and Singapore. As the time zones differ, trading is done almost 24 hours a day. Fluctuations in the rate occur due to changes in the inflation, interest rates of banks, GDP growth, trade deficits and surpluses, cross-border M&A deals, economic situations, financial health and some other macro economic conditions.

Currencies are traded for each other and each pair of currencies is a separate and unique product and usually denoted by XXX/YYY. During creation, the XXX is known as base currency is the strongest and YYY the weakest. Today the US dollar is in almost 88% of the transactions followed by Euro (37%) and yen. The most traded pairs are Euro/US dollar, US dollar/Yen and GB pound/US dollar.

Trading is done through different kinds of instruments like derivatives, spot transactions, forward transactions, options and futures, swaps and exchange-traded funds. Currency speculation is done by speculators who do an important job of transferring the risk from those who can’t bear to those who can bear it. Speculators always face controversies due to the risk they take up. Currency trading is affected by some factors like economic and financial situations, political scenarios, and other psychological issues related to the markets.

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All About Interest Rates

By Haywood Dickerson

 One of the most confusing things about borrowing money is calculating the interest rates. Interest rates vary and when you go to take out a loan or a mortgage it might seem intimidating when the loan officer starts talking about interest rates per annum, nominal rates and market interest rates.

There are different types of interest rates depending on whether you are borrowing money or investing money.

When you are borrowing money you have to pay interest back at a set rate. These rates are determined by several factors. One of these factors is risk. If you have a bad credit rating the rates at which you pay interest on loans may be significantly higher than someone who has a pristine credit rating.

The reason for this is that the lender sees you as a risk. When you are a risk, the rates applied to your lending rise. This can make it especially difficult for someone with a bad credit rating to purchase anything major including a home or a vehicle. They may be able to afford the initial payments, but once the interest rates are added, the amount exceeds their budget.

Another factor that determines interest rates is the length of the loan. Lower interest rates are often offered if the consumer extends the period of the loan. To the consumer this may seem like a windfall. They view the smaller interest rates as a savings to them. Short term it is but since the loan is being extended to take advantage of the lower interest rates, they are actually paying out more money in interest over the length of the loan.

Interest rates do not only affect just the consumer but they have an impact on the economy as a whole as well. When interest rates climb, people are less likely to purchase goods that aren’t essential to their lives. Car sales drop and home sales often plummet as well. The average consumer doesn’t want to spend the extra money on the increased interest because the rise in rate just means less money in their pocket. The cost of the goods they are purchasing hasn’t changed, it’s the cost of purchasing those goods that has.

On the other side of the interest rates spectrum is investing. People want to invest when interest rates are high so as to yield the biggest profit. Years ago the traditional savings account was often viewed as the traditional investment tool. The bank would post their interest rates and people would save their money in the hopes that it would grow substantially over the course of a number of years.

Today you are more apt to find people investing in many diversified things; money market funds, the stock market and bonds. If you decide to invest in bonds they will have a posted interest rate. The rates on bonds might be slightly higher than other investments because with many bonds you have to lock your money in to the investment for a specific amount of time. The period can be anywhere from several months to several years.

Interest rates impact our lives everyday whether we are aware of them or not. To keep on top of both your borrowing and investment needs it’s a good idea to follow interest rates.

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Learning from Your Financial Mistakes

By Mervin Hester

 In this day and age, there really shouldn’t be any reason to make certain financial mistakes. Do a search of the internet and you will find that there are thousands of articles out there that warn you of the pitfalls of certain choices. Advice for living a financially stable life is everywhere. What are you waiting for?

Here are the most common mistakes that I’ve seen people make. I’ve even made a few of them myself. These are the financial mistakes that you can learn from. You’ve probably made a few of them yourself, they are very common.

Mistake #1: Using that little plastic card to get what you want.

We’ll just start off with the number one mistake out there. This is probably the most common mistake in the country. Almost every person in the US today has a credit card. It is almost like a right of passage when you turn eighteen. There are even people out there that aren’t eighteen yet that have them.

Credit card debt is the fastest way to ruin your finances. It is easy to acquire and difficult to pay off. The minimum balance doesn’t pay off enough of your outstanding balance to help you very much. You will be paying on your balances for decades. Even a $500 balance can take you over a decade to pay off if you simply make the minimum payment.

Add in the interest rate, which rarely goes down. If you miss a payment, you will really be paying the bank. Thirty percent interest is common on a credit card once a payment has been missed. And you only have to miss that payment by a day — which can happen in the mail or processing if you don’t plan ahead well enough.

Mistake #2: Buying more home than you can afford.

With the real estate market in the state it is today, many people are regretting their housing decisions. Adjustable rate mortgages are acceptable loan products for some people. But only if they can afford the maximum rate that the loan can hit if interest rates go up. Too many people only consider that introductory rate. They stretch and purchase as much as they can afford. Then, when rates go up and their rate adjusts, they can’t afford the payment. Add that to a slowing housing market, and you may have a foreclosure on your hands.

If you are going to buy a home, make sure that you purchase what you can afford. Take out a fixed-rate mortgage so that you know what your payments will be. If rates go drastically down in the next couple of years, you can always refinance. If rates go up, you are protected. Try to aim for a 15-year mortgage over a 30-year. It will save you hundreds of thousands in interest. But if you can’t do it, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is an acceptable loan choice for the purchase of a home.

Mistake #3: Not controlling your money.

Too many people live paycheck to paycheck. They have no savings. They have no retirement plan. They have nothing to back them up in the case of an emergency. They have no control over their money.

You have to take control of your finances if you want to retire someday. You have to learn how to budget, save, invest and spend. All it takes is a little time. And once you get in the habit, you will notice that your life has more control. You should say where your money goes, not lenders or creditors or anyone else.

Mistake #4: Not saving for retirement.

There are more seniors in the work place now than there were twenty years ago. And even more than there were fifty years ago. If you want to retire with enough money to live comfortably, you have to start putting something back today. Start an IRA. Contribute to your employer’s 401(k) plan. Figure out how much you need to invest and find a way to do it. This is your future. You don’t want to reach sixty and realize that you can’t afford to stop working. There is no guarantee that you will be able to draw social security or other forms of assistance then. What if you become ill and have to retire? What if you get hurt? Prepare for the future. Start saving for retirement today.

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