| If you looking for information on UK Universities then you are in right place. There are many student from all over the world who would love to have their study abroad in the UK. Firstly we have to say that UK has most strict visa rules. Even for students UK visas are really hard to get. So prepare yourself very well and collect every possible document ready which you think it might help for you to get your student visa. There are a lot of benefit studying in the UK. Most important benefit of studying in the UK is getting to learn English Language in its own lands. We compared UK Universities and published many reviews about studying in the UK. Would you like to be Sponsor for this page or any other pages in Learnist.org please contact us ! Students should always get multiple moving quotes from 4 – 6 movers and also ask for references. | |
uk universities
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Consolidate Student Loans - Smart Tips
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Consolidating student loans is a great opportunity to lower your monthly payments and free up some cash each month. The following tips we provided here to find the best methods for you on the process of consolidating student loans:
•If you are in your grace period, it is the best time to consolidate your student loans. You are in the grace period if you have finished school but you are not yet in the repayment period, which usually begins 6 months after your graduation. If you consolidate your student loans during your grace period you can usually qualify for a lower interest rate from the lender.
•The federal government passed a recent law that lets borrowers consolidate their student loans with any eligible FFELP (Federal Family Education Loan Program) lender. This means that you have more lenders to choose from than you did in the past.
•The federal government has set the interest rate on consolidation of federal school loans, and this is part of federal law, so lenders are legally bound and cannot charge you a higher interest rate for any reason. It's always best for you to get the lowest interest rate you can from the lender that you choose, but interest rates on consolidating student loans that were backed by the federal government are fixed for the life of the loan and can't be higher than 8.25%. That doesn't mean that a lender can't charge you less interest, so it still pays to shop around for the best rate.
•If you have both federal and private student loans, don't let your lender put them together into one consolidated loan. If you do, you will lose the federal benefits that are part of your federal loans. For instance, the cap on interest charged is at 8.25% now for federal student loans, and you would lose this cap if you consolidated both federal and private loans into the same loan. Deferment and forbearance are options that you can use with federal student loans if you fall upon bad economic times like losing your job to layoff or termination, becoming disabled and unable to work, etc. These are important benefits that you would be wise not to lose. Deferment is when the government allows you to postpone payment of the principal on the loan for a period of time. Depending on the type of loan you have, you may or may not need to repay the interest during deferment. Forbearance is when the government allows you to stop your payments for a period of time, but you still need to pay the interest payments. In both deferment and forbearance, there may be ways for you to add the interest payments onto the back of your loan so that you pay nothing during the period of deferment or forbearance.
•The Higher Education Act was passed for the protection of students taking out loans for educational expenses. It specifically mandates that federal student loan consolidations have to have fixed interest rates, no processing fees or loan fees of any kind, no credit checks for the borrower, no prepayment penalties if the borrower pays off the loan early, and a lower interest rate if the loan is consolidated during the grace period.
Visit
http://www.coreconsolidatestudentloans.com/consolidate-student-loans/student-loan-consoli
A Student's Guide - Best Consolidation of Loans Practices
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In Recent days reality that the steep and huge prices of education and further increasing its requirements and demands of the college lifestyle, making young students to seek out the best consolidation-loan student practices to help them to cope with their difficult financial situations. After having read this brief yet informative article, one would have gained a little more understanding which specific best consolidation-loan student practices is best suitable for you. which will actively boost one`s credit scores.
Knowing the best consolidation-loan student practices and methods can help student with lot of expenses, bills, loans and unplanned miscellaneous expenses etc., settling them all can be daunting to say the least! A Method for long way can be simplified student lifestyle. This is possible as you have just one bill to pay every month instead of multiple creditors knocking down your college dorm and disturbs.card bills, car payments, you can also choose to consolidate student loans into one streamlined bill, still it may in the long run you end up paying a higher interest rate. http://www.gradloanusa.com
- 30 year payback option on current balance
- No pre-payment penalties for early payment
Additional benefits you may be interested in when choosing to consolidate student loans with the regular expenses, is that they paint a better picture on your credit history. Having a good credit score can be your emergency lifeline in case you need to make that emergency loan-- in case you are pushed against the wall with nowhere else to turn to.
Ultimately one of the best tools a student can possess is have the ability to have steady source of funding in case of unexpected situations. A good credit score, best consolidation-loan student practices can help to achieve that end.
Kyle Black is a writer and researcher in many fields including the financial markets. Save thousands of dollars today and avoid unnecessary interest rates and bad financial decisions.
Private Loan Consolidation - An Easy Method of Debts
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when completing your studies, a major problematic still persists i.e. how to clear the debts incurred for sponsoring your higher education. As you have lent the loans from various lenders, making multiple payments at the same time will definitely burn your pocket. The only vital solution available to you is student private loan consolidation. By resorting to this option, it will be easier for you to pay off your debts in a easy suitable methods.first thing is that you consolidate all your unpaid high interest debts in to a single loan will make it easier for you to clear the debts. All you have to do is to make a single monthly payment at reduced rates. it is not a matter from whom you have availed the loans, be it from government or private lenders. One thing is certain that students' loans pile up in a fast paced manner. But with this consolidation loan, it permits you to bundle up all the previous debts in to a single manageable amount. -- this is to avoid the multiple creditors and this is the way, you have to deal with only one lender to whom you are obliged, instead of multiple creditors. http://www.gradloanusa.com/
- Introductory rate starting as low as 5.76%
- Option to pay interest-only for the first two years
- If you have a cosigner now, this could be an avenue to get them off
Looking to grab the precise consolidation loan is not that difficult. The loan market is full of lenders who are willing to help you in this regard. Before approving the loan, the lenders would check your background, financial position, the extent of the debts that remains to be paid along with the interest rates. then after which, they will offer you the consolidation loan at reliable rates, which in turn will save you a considerable amount of money.
Student private consolidation loan can be best obtained through the online mode. The online lenders approve the loan instantly so that you can settle the debts as soon as possible. By taking a deep research, you will be able to select a deal that suits your prevailing circumstances. .If there is any confusion;consult with bankers and take the help of finance advisers. Over and above all, it can be assumed that with this consolidation loan, you have the means to settle your debts without facing too many obstacles.
Julia Russell works as an executive in financial department for Get Student Loans. She has a lot of experience in finance field. To gain more information about Student Private Loan Consolidation, bad credit student loans, student loans refinance, college student loans visit
common view - Student Loan Debt Consolidation
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A student loan debt consolidation loan allows you to combine your federal student loans into a single loan with one equal monthly payment. The repayments of a student loan debt consolidation loan can be significantly lower than the payment required under the standard 10-year repayment option. Under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, banks, secondary markets, credit unions, private bankers and other lenders provide the student loan debt consolidation loan. Under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program, the federal government provides the student loan debt consolidation loan.
Most federal education loans are eligible for inclusion in a student loan debt consolidation loan, including subsidized and unsubsidized Direct and FFEL Stafford Loans, SLS, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Nursing Loans, and Health Education Assistance Loans. However, private education loans are not eligible for inclusion in a student loan debt consolidation loan.
To find out which loans can be included in a student loan debt consolidation loan contact the Direct Loan Origination Center's Consolidation Department if you’re applying for a direct student loan debt consolidation loan. Contact a participating FFEL lender if you’re applying for a FFEL student loan debt consolidation loan.
It is worth noting that you are still eligible for a student loan debt consolidation loan after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment. You can also get a student loan debt consolidation loan while you're in school. You must, however, be attending at least half time and have at least one Direct Loan or FFEL in an ‘in-school period’ which generally means that you have been continuously enrolled at least half time since the loan was disbursed. There are a number of conditions that need to be met for you to qualify for a student loan debt consolidation loan, particularly if you are delinquent or in default and your loan holder will be able to give you all the necessary information.
If the same holder holds all the FFEL loans you want to consolidate, you must obtain the student loan debt consolidation loan from that holder, unless you haven't been able to get a loan with income-sensitive repayment terms that are acceptable to you. To be eligible for a William D. Ford direct student loan debt consolidation loan, you must have either a direct Stafford subsidized or unsubsidized loan that will be included in the student loan debt consolidation loan or have at least one Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program Stafford subsidized or unsubsidized loan. this link provides you more information.
http://www.debt-helper.info
Federal Student Loan Consolidation Rates
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| Rates through June 30, 2007 | Rates effective from July 1, 2007 | ||||
| Date Disbursed | Grace Period Rate | Repayment Rate | Grace Period Rate | Repayment Rate | |
| Stafford | 7/2006 - Present | 6.8% Fix | 6.8% Fix | 6.8% Fix | 6.8% Fix |
| 7/1998 - 6/2006 | 6.54% | 7.14% | 6.62% | 7.22% | |
| 7/1995 - 6/1998 | 7.34% | 7.94% | 7.42% | 8.02% | |
| 7/1994 - 6/1995 | 7.94% | 7.94% | 8.02% | 8.02% | |
| Prior to 7/1992 | 8.09% | 8.09% | 8.17% | 8.17% | |
| PLUS | 7/2006 - Present | 8.5% Fix | 8.5% Fix | 8.5% Fix | 8.5% Fix |
| 7/1998 - 6/2006 | 7.94% | 7.94% | 8.02% | 8.02% | |
| 7/1994 - 6/1998 | 8.34% | 8.34% | 8.05% | 8.05% | |
| 10/1992 - 6/1994 | 8.34% | 8.34% | 8.05% | 8.05% | |
| 7/1987 - 9/1992 | 8.49% | 8.49% | 8.20% | 8.20% | |
| Grad PLUS | 7/2006 - Present | 8.5% | 8.5% Fix | 8.5% Fix | 8.5% Fix |
| Perkins | All Disbursements | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% |
Federal Stafford Loans
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Cash in on a great offer! Get one of the most affordable loans available. Federal Stafford Loans are government-secured student loans available to undergraduate and graduate students at rock-bottom rates. There’s no collateral or credit check required, and payments are deferred until you graduate. "
Stafford Loan Eligibility
- You must have submitted a FAFSA to be eligible for a
- For subsidized
- You must be a
- You must be enrolled or plan to enroll at least half time.
- You must be accepted for enrollment or attend a school that participates in the Federal Family Education Loan Program.
- You must not be in default on any education loan or owe a refund on an education grant.
Stafford Loan Interest Rates
Note: Graduate Stafford Loans (both subsidized and unsubsidized) have a fixed interest rate of 6.8% through 2013.
| Academic Year | Subsidized Rates | Unsubsidized/Graduate Rates |
| 2007-08 | 6.80% | 6.80% |
| 2008-09 | 6.00% | 6.80% |
| 2009-10 | 5.60% | 6.80% |
| 2010-11 | 4.50% | 6.80% |
| 2011-12 | 3.40% | 6.80% |
| 2012-13 | 6.80% | 6.80% |
| Current Stafford Loan interest rates in effect from | ||
STUDENT LOAN COMPARISION
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STUDENT LOAN COMPARISION
| TYPES OF LOANS | ELIGIBILITY | LOAN AMOUNT | INTEREST RATE | REPAYMENT PERIOD |
| Federal Perkins Loans | Undergraduate and graduate students; do not have to be enrolled at least half-time* | Undergraduate—up to $4,000 a year (maximum of $20,000 as an undergraduate) Graduate—up to $6,000 a year (maximum of $40,000, including undergraduate loans) Amount actually received depends on fnancial need, amount of other aid, availability of funds at school | 5 percent | Lender is your school Repay your school or its agent Up to 10 years to repay, depending on amount owed |
| FFEL | Undergraduate and graduate students; must be enrolled at least half-time* | Depends on grade level in school and dependency status (see chart on page 11) Financial need not necessary | Changes yearly; for 2005-06 was 5.3 percent for loans in repayment For those with fnancial need, government pays interest during school and certain other periods | Lender is a bank, credit union, or other participating private lender Repay the loan holder or its agent Between 10 and 25 years to repay, depending on amount owed and type of repayment plan selected |
| Direct | Same as above | Same as above | Same as above | Lender is the U.S. Department of Education; repay Department Between 10 and 30 years to repay, depending on amount owed and type of repayment plan selected |
| FFEL PLUS Loans | Parents of dependent undergraduate students enrolled at least half-time* (see dependency status); parents must not have negative credit history | Student’s Cost of Attendance* - Other aid student receives | Changes yearly; for 2005-06, was 6.1 percent for loans in repayment; government does not pay interest | Same as for FFEL |
| = Maximum loan amount | ||||
| Direct PLUS Loans | Same as above | Same as above | Same as above | Same as for Direct Stafford Loans above, except that Income Contingent Repayment Plan is not an option |
STUDENT LOAN CONSOLIDATION
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Student loans, unlike grants and work-study, are borrowed money that must be repaid, with interest, just like car loans and mortgages. You cannot have these loans canceled because you didn’t like the education you received, didn’t get a job in your feld of study or because you’re having financial difficulty Loans are legal obligations, so before you take out a student loan, think about the amount you’ll have to repay over the years.
Types of Loans:
Federal Perkins Loans are:
• Made through participating schools to undergraduate, graduate and professional students.
• Offered by participating schools to students who demonstrate the greatest financial need (Federal Pell Grant recipients get top priority).
• Made to students enrolled full-time or part-time.
• Repaid by you to your school.
• Stafford Loans are for undergraduate, graduate and
professional students. You must be enrolled as at least
a half-time student to be eligible for a Stafford Loan.
Types of Loans:
Federal Perkins Loans are:
• Made through participating schools to undergraduate, graduate and professional students.
• Offered by participating schools to students who demonstrate the greatest financial need (Federal Pell Grant recipients get top priority).
• Made to students enrolled full-time or part-time.
• Repaid by you to your school.
• Stafford Loans are for undergraduate, graduate and
professional students. You must be enrolled as at least
a half-time student to be eligible for a Stafford Loan.
debt managment helps student
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debt managment helps student
It helps the student to plan his/her repaying program. student`s financial situation will be stabilized and he/she will most likely have additional money in your monthly budget for essential items. so every student will have a clear plan for resolving their credit problems and they’ll have the encouragement to work on that plan until any student is living debt free. Certified credit counselors will design a debt management plan to meet every student`s specific needs and help them get back on a manageable budget. A debt management plan is for the students if they want:
Reduced creditor calls.
Reduced payments.
Reduced interest and finance charges
Waived late and over-limit fees.
Help with reestablishing credit.
Support in maintaining your commitment to becoming debt free
Having your debts paid off in a realistic and reasonable length of time
at 9:21 AM 1 comments
Debt Consolidation -- Means
An agreement is worked out with your creditors based on what you can afford to pay. In many instances payment amounts and interest are lowered helping you to get out of debt quicker and for far less money.
Debt consolidation is typically some type of loan in which most or all of a consumer’s debt is rolled into one payment. Loan types can include signature, second mortgages, home equity line of credit and others. Although in some situations debt consolidation loans can afford a consumer an opportunity to address high credit card interest rates or multiple payments to multiple creditors there are some common risks involved. To begin with, caution must be used in the type of loan chosen. Think long and hard about consolidating unsecured debt to a loan secured by your home. In a worse case scenario, you are putting your home at risk. Also, carefully examine the terms of any consolidation loan with a variable interest rate for what rate increases could mean to you down the road. Finally, understand this – research shows that consolidating your debt into another loan to gain a handle on debt, often back fires on consumers. Odds are that within one year you will increase your debt by using the same credit cards you paid off in the consolidation loan, finding your self making payments not only on the credit cards but also on the consolidation loan.
It helps the student to plan his/her repaying program. student`s financial situation will be stabilized and he/she will most likely have additional money in your monthly budget for essential items. so every student will have a clear plan for resolving their credit problems and they’ll have the encouragement to work on that plan until any student is living debt free. Certified credit counselors will design a debt management plan to meet every student`s specific needs and help them get back on a manageable budget. A debt management plan is for the students if they want:
Reduced creditor calls.
Reduced payments.
Reduced interest and finance charges
Waived late and over-limit fees.
Help with reestablishing credit.
Support in maintaining your commitment to becoming debt free
Having your debts paid off in a realistic and reasonable length of time
at 9:21 AM 1 comments
Debt Consolidation -- Means
An agreement is worked out with your creditors based on what you can afford to pay. In many instances payment amounts and interest are lowered helping you to get out of debt quicker and for far less money.
Debt consolidation is typically some type of loan in which most or all of a consumer’s debt is rolled into one payment. Loan types can include signature, second mortgages, home equity line of credit and others. Although in some situations debt consolidation loans can afford a consumer an opportunity to address high credit card interest rates or multiple payments to multiple creditors there are some common risks involved. To begin with, caution must be used in the type of loan chosen. Think long and hard about consolidating unsecured debt to a loan secured by your home. In a worse case scenario, you are putting your home at risk. Also, carefully examine the terms of any consolidation loan with a variable interest rate for what rate increases could mean to you down the road. Finally, understand this – research shows that consolidating your debt into another loan to gain a handle on debt, often back fires on consumers. Odds are that within one year you will increase your debt by using the same credit cards you paid off in the consolidation loan, finding your self making payments not only on the credit cards but also on the consolidation loan.
Forex trading examples
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An investor has a margin deposit with Saxo Bank of USD 100,000.
The investor expects the US dollar to rise against the Swiss franc and therefore decides to buy USD 2,000,000 - 2% of his maximum possible exposure at a 1% margin Forex gearing.
The Saxo Bank dealer quotes him 1.5515-20. The investor buys USD at 1.5520.
Day 1: Buy USD 2,000,000 vs. CHF 1.5520 = Sell CHF 3,104,000.
Four days later, the dollar has actually risen to CHF 1.5745 and the investor decides to take his profit.
Upon his request, the Saxo Bank dealer quotes him 1.5745-50. The investor sells at 1.5745.
Day 5: Sell USD 2,000,000 vs. CHF 1.5745 = Buy CHF 3,149,000.
As the dollar side of the transaction involves a credit and a debit of USD 2,000,000, the investor's USD account will show no change. The CHF account will show a debit of CHF 3,104,000 and a credit of CHF 3,149,000. Due to the simplicity of the example and the short time horizon of the trade, we have disregarded the interest rate swap that would marginally alter the profit calculation.
This results in a profit of CHF 45,000 = approx. USD 28,600 = 28.6% profit on the deposit of USD 100,000.
Example 2:
The investor follows the cross rate between the EUR and the Japanese yen. He believes that this market is headed for a fall. As he is not quite confident of this trade, he uses less of the leverage available on his deposit. He chooses to ask the dealer for a quote in EUR 1,000,000. This requires a margin of EUR 1,000,000 x 5% = EUR 10,000 = approx. USD 52,500 (EUR /USD 1.05).
The dealer quotes 112.05-10. The investor sells EUR at 112.05.
Day 1: Sell EUR 1,000,000 vs. JPY 112.05 = Buy JPY 112,050,000.
He protects his position with a stop-loss order to buy back the EUR at 112.60. Two days later, this stop is triggered as the EUR o strengthens short term in spite of the investor's expectations.
Day 3: Buy EUR 1,000,000 vs. JPY 112.60 = Sell JPY 112,600,000.
The EUR side involves a credit and a debit of EUR 1,000,000. Therefore, the EUR account shows no change. The JPY account is credited JPY 112.05m and debited JPY 112.6m for a loss of JPY 0.55m. Due to the simplicity of the example and the short time horizon of the trade, we have disregarded the interest rate swap that would marginally alter the loss calculation.
This results in a loss of JPY 0.55m = approx. USD 5,300 (USD/JPY 105) = 5.3% loss on the original deposit of USD 100,000.
Example 3
The investor believes the Canadian dollar will strengthen against the US dollar. It is a long term view, so he takes a small position to allow for wider swings in the rate:
He asks Saxo Bank for a quote in USD 1,000,000 against the Canadian dollar. The dealer quotes 1.5390-95 and the investor sells USD at 1.5390. Selling USD is the equivalent of buying the Canadian dollar.
Day 1: Sell USD 1,000,000 vs. CAD 1.5390. He swaps the position out for two months receiving a forward rate of CAD 1.5357 = Buy CAD 1,535,700 for Day 61 due to the interest rate differential.
After a month, the desired move has occurred. The investor buys back the US dollars at 1.4880. He has to swap the position forward for a month to match the original sale. The forward rate is agreed at 1.4865.
Day 31: Buy USD 1,000,000 vs. CAD 1.4865 = Sell CAD 1,486,500 for Day 61.
Day 61: The two trades are settled and the trades go off the books. The profit secured on Day 31 can be used for margin purposes before Day 61.
The USD account receives a credit and debit of USD 1,000,000 and shows no change on the account. The CAD account is credited CAD 1,535,700 and debited CAD 1,486,500 for a profit of CAD 49,200 = approx. USD 33,100 = profit of 33.1% on the original deposit of USD 100,000.
An overview of the Forex market
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The Forex market is a non-stop cash market where currencies of nations are traded, typically via brokers. Foreign currencies are constantly and simultaneously bought and sold across local and global markets and traders' investments increase or decrease in value based upon currency movements. Foreign exchange market conditions can change at any time in response to real-time events.
The main enticements of currency dealing to private investors and attractions for short-term Forex trading are:
- 24-hour trading, 5 days a week with non-stop access to global Forex dealers.
- An enormous liquid market making it easy to trade most currencies.
- Volatile markets offering profit opportunities.
- Standard instruments for controlling risk exposure.
- The ability to profit in rising or falling markets.
- Leveraged trading with low margin requirements.
- Many options for zero commission trading.
forex
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Since Then I’ve Generated A $1,000,000 Cash Windfall In 12 Months Working From Home And I’m About To Reveal EXACTLY How You Too Can Replicate My Success With Step-By-Step Blueprints And A System So Powerful You’re Guaranteed To Make Money Or I’ll Refund Every Cent.”
Now before we start getting into this, how about a screenshot to prove my bold claims?
Unbroken spell of ennui on KSE
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KARACHI (November 15 2008): The Karachi share market witnessed another dull session on Friday and the benchmark KSE-100 index remained unchanged at 9,184.09 points level due to investors concerns over the increasing discount rate and issue of floor mechanism. Trading activity further shrank as the ready market volume declined to 57,920 shares as compared to 66,600 shares traded a day earlier.
No trading activity was witnessed at the futures counter. Trading took place in 24 scrips, out of which five closed in positive and five in negative while the value of 14 scrips remained unchanged. National Assets was the overall market volume leader with 14,500 shares and gained Re. 0.08 to close at Re. 0.50. Mukhtar Textile closed at Re. 0.54, up by Re. 0.01 with 11,000 shares. Nimir Resins remained unchanged at Rs 5.05 with 10,000 shares. Haydery Const lost Re. 0.02 to close at Rs 1.03 with 5,500 shares.
Gharibwal Cement declined by Re. 0.42 to close at Rs 16.20 with 4000 shares. Tri-Star Power remained unchanged at Rs 1.64 with 3,000 shares. PSO closed at Rs 267.49 without any change with 1,000 shares. NIB Bank remained unchanged at Rs 8.45 with 1,000 shares. Habib-ADM Limited gained Re. 0.52 to close at Rs 10.20 with 1,000 shares. East West Life Insurance closed at Rs 7.00 without any change with 1,000 shares.
Crescent Sugar and Habib-ADM Limited were the highest gainers and gained Re. 1.00 and Re. 0.52 to close at Rs 9.55 and Rs 10.20 respectively while Pak Datacom and Sitara Energy were the worst losers and lost Rs 2.00 and Re. 0.61 to close at Rs 46.00 and Rs 19.75 respectively.
Ahsan Mehanti at Shehzad Chamdia Securities said that selling activity continued as discount rates raised and investors uncertain over market floor unfreeze and government bail out of capital market by injecting Rs 50 billion. Investors awaited outcome of board of directors meeting with SECP to discuss market floor. Foreign selling continues as a result of downgrading of Pakistan foreign currency rating by a foreign credit rating agency.
No trading activity was witnessed at the futures counter. Trading took place in 24 scrips, out of which five closed in positive and five in negative while the value of 14 scrips remained unchanged. National Assets was the overall market volume leader with 14,500 shares and gained Re. 0.08 to close at Re. 0.50. Mukhtar Textile closed at Re. 0.54, up by Re. 0.01 with 11,000 shares. Nimir Resins remained unchanged at Rs 5.05 with 10,000 shares. Haydery Const lost Re. 0.02 to close at Rs 1.03 with 5,500 shares.
Gharibwal Cement declined by Re. 0.42 to close at Rs 16.20 with 4000 shares. Tri-Star Power remained unchanged at Rs 1.64 with 3,000 shares. PSO closed at Rs 267.49 without any change with 1,000 shares. NIB Bank remained unchanged at Rs 8.45 with 1,000 shares. Habib-ADM Limited gained Re. 0.52 to close at Rs 10.20 with 1,000 shares. East West Life Insurance closed at Rs 7.00 without any change with 1,000 shares.
Crescent Sugar and Habib-ADM Limited were the highest gainers and gained Re. 1.00 and Re. 0.52 to close at Rs 9.55 and Rs 10.20 respectively while Pak Datacom and Sitara Energy were the worst losers and lost Rs 2.00 and Re. 0.61 to close at Rs 46.00 and Rs 19.75 respectively.
Ahsan Mehanti at Shehzad Chamdia Securities said that selling activity continued as discount rates raised and investors uncertain over market floor unfreeze and government bail out of capital market by injecting Rs 50 billion. Investors awaited outcome of board of directors meeting with SECP to discuss market floor. Foreign selling continues as a result of downgrading of Pakistan foreign currency rating by a foreign credit rating agency.
embership card of KSE defaulter member sold for Rs 55 million
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KARACHI (November 14 2008): Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Thursday sold out a membership card of one of the defaulter members through accepting the highest bid of Rs 55 million. Sources said that in all six bids were received to buy the cards. The highest bid was given by a local firm M M Commodities, which was accepted.
The two members of the exchange namely Ismail Abdul Shakoor and Sikandar Bagasra were declared defaulters as they failed to pay their dues. About the sale of the second card, sources said that KSE wants to sell it at the same amount. For this, the exchange will ask the second highest bidder to increase his bid to Rs 55 million, otherwise, the KSE board will take some other decision in this regard.
The selling of the KSE card at Rs 55 million shows the gravity of the situation at the local bourses, which has also started affecting the value of its membership, market participants said adding that the said card was sold out at much lower price. The value of this card was much higher just a few months back as on card was sold out at Rs 140 million some five months ago, they added. The KSE members are facing hard times as the market has declined by over 42 percent from its all-time high level recorded in April this year.
The two members of the exchange namely Ismail Abdul Shakoor and Sikandar Bagasra were declared defaulters as they failed to pay their dues. About the sale of the second card, sources said that KSE wants to sell it at the same amount. For this, the exchange will ask the second highest bidder to increase his bid to Rs 55 million, otherwise, the KSE board will take some other decision in this regard.
The selling of the KSE card at Rs 55 million shows the gravity of the situation at the local bourses, which has also started affecting the value of its membership, market participants said adding that the said card was sold out at much lower price. The value of this card was much higher just a few months back as on card was sold out at Rs 140 million some five months ago, they added. The KSE members are facing hard times as the market has declined by over 42 percent from its all-time high level recorded in April this year.
Do you want to make savings in your health insurance? I'll give you tips that will ensure you get that without compromising your coverage. If you use
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Home Insurance provides coverage in the event of damage to your property, as well as liability for injuries and damage you cause to other people. The homeowners insurance section of this site can help you make the right choices about this important form of protection for you and your family.
Home Insurance is a package policy. This means that it covers both damage to your property and your liability or legal responsibility for any injuries and property damage you or members of your family cause to other people. This includes damage caused by household pets.
Damage caused by most disasters is covered but there are exceptions. The most significant are damage caused by floods, earthquakes and poor maintenance. You must buy two separate policies for flood and earthquake coverage. Maintenance-related problems are the homeowners' responsibility.
What is Home Insurance?
Home Insurance provides financial protection against disasters. A standard policy insures the home itself and the things you keep in it.Home Insurance is a package policy. This means that it covers both damage to your property and your liability or legal responsibility for any injuries and property damage you or members of your family cause to other people. This includes damage caused by household pets.
Damage caused by most disasters is covered but there are exceptions. The most significant are damage caused by floods, earthquakes and poor maintenance. You must buy two separate policies for flood and earthquake coverage. Maintenance-related problems are the homeowners' responsibility.
Health Insurance Savings
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Do you want to make savings in your health insurance? I'll give you tips that will ensure you get that without compromising your coverage. If you use them well, you'll get the best health insurance coverage for you at the best price possible.
1) Be Prepared. Know what you want. Ask your doctor what's best for you and why it's best for you. If you don't get this information from an expert you can trust, you'll be easily pushed around by recommended policies from every wannabe expert out there. Once you get this information, you are set. The cheapest policy is too expensive if it leaves you exposed. In the same vein, an oversize coverage (stuff you don't need) is equally expensive.
2) Understand your peculiar needs. Are you a lady who plans to have a baby soon? Do you have a health condition? It's a very wise decision to get coverage that takes care of your needs. That's what health insurance is all about in the first place.
3) Depending on your frequency to the hospital, you can request a higher deductible. The higher you make your deductible the lower your health insurance premium. However, bear in mind that your deductible has to be paid first before your insurance company is obligated by law to do anything. Therefore, make sure you ask for a deductible that you can handle with a level of ease.
Nitol Solar scores International Finance Corporation Investment
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Polysilicon production to begin mid 2009.
Last Thursday, July 31, 2008, Nitol Solar Limited and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), one of the five institutions comprising The World Bank Group, announced a $50 million equity investment and $25 million loan by IFC to Nitol Solar per the dueling press releases:
Nitol Solar and IFC Announce Strategic Investment
IFC Supports Solar Cell Technology in Russia, Helping Alleviate Global Shortage
The Summary of Proposed Investment notes the investment will facilitate construction of Nitol Solar’s $450 million polysilicon manufacturing plant with 3700 MT (metric ton) per year annual capacity. The Nitol Solar plant is located in the Usolie-Sibirskoe, Irkutsk region, Russia, per my earlier post, From Siberia with Polysilicon.
The IFC investment follows the March 13, 2008, Nitol Solar and Suntech Announce Strategic Investment expanding upon the original Suntech Announces First Phase Polysilicon Supply Agreement with Nitol Solar. In this agreement, Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE:STP):
will acquire newly issued ordinary shares comprising a minority interest in Nitol Solar Ltd. for a total consideration of up to $100 million, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions.
Later, Nitol Solar and Suntech Expand Polysilicon Supply Agreement again resulting in a substantial increase in the polysilicon committed volumes to be supplied between 2009 and 2015 to Suntech and:
Suntech has already paid the first $33 million installment of this investment to Nitol Solar.
Besides Suntech, Nitol Solar has announced polysilicon deals with ersol Solar Energy AG (see ersol and NITOL Group sign Polysilicon supply Letter of Intent), Motech Industries, Inc., Trina Solar Limited, and Evergreen Solar, Inc.
On the technical front, Nitol Solar produced first industrial batch of Polysilicon claims the first batch of polysilicon produced from the plant is suitable for manufacturing solar wafers per testing by the Evans Analytical Group (EAG Limited, LON:EAG). Suitability of the polysilicon for monocrystalline silicon wafers is not specified.
Although Nitol Solar delayed their IPO (Initial Public Offering) in February 2008 (see Russia's Nitol Solar postpones IPO- source) because of market conditions, they have rounded out their Management Team, Board of Directors, and Scientific Counsel with international talent.
I noticed a bit of revisionist history in Nitol Solar’s previous press releases. An over enthusiast marcom or public relations team updated all prior references from the “Nitol Group” to “Nitol Solar”. I wonder if the IFC will help Nitol Solar rectify these fine corporate governance points since the:
IFC is also working with Nitol Solar to enhance its environmental and social practices and assist the company by implementing international best practices in corporate governance.
And don’t forget Nitol Solar =is= a polysilicon reactor customer of the Class Action suited GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOLR) per GT Solar Signs $49M Polysilicon Reactor Contract with Nitol Group or the revised Nitol Solar and GT Solar Signed $49M Polysilicon Reactor Contract.
Solve a Tough Business Problem Contest
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Have you solved a tough business problem, and want to share your lesson with other entrepreneurs?
Business.com is running a contest with the potential for you to win from $2,000 to $10,000. All you have to do is share how you solved your business problem, in the “What Works For Business” contest.
How do I enter the contest?
Simply submit a short description of a challenge your business has faced and how the issue was solved. (See examples.) An expert panel of judges — including our own Anita Campbell and Joel Libava of Small Business Trends — will narrow down the field to 50 finalists. Then winners across 10 categories will be determined by popular vote in December.
Who can enter?
If your business is located in the U.S. or Canada, you are eligible to win.
What’s the deadline?
Enter by December 3, 2008
Where Do I Enter?
To enter, submit a brief description of a business challenge you have faced and how you solved it.
All winners will be featured in a national, year-long publicity campaign related to the contest. As always, be sure to read the contest rules carefully.
Market size and lequidity
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The foreign exchange market is unique because of
its trading volumes,
the extreme liquidity of the market,
the large number of, and variety of, traders in the market,
its geographical dispersion,
its long trading hours: 24 hours a day except on weekends (from 5pm EST on Sunday until 4pm EST Friday),
the variety of factors that affect exchange rates.
the low margins of profit compared with other markets of fixed income (but profits can be high due to very large trading volumes)
the use of leverage
Main foreign exchange market turnover, 1988 - 2007, measured in billions of USD.
As such, it has been referred to as the market closest to the ideal perfect competition, notwithstanding market manipulation by central banks. According to the Bank for International Settlements,[1] average daily turnover in global foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.98 trillion. 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 forex swaps
$129 billion estimated gaps in reporting
Of the $3.98 trillion daily global turnover, trading in London accounted for around $1.36 trillion, or 34.1% of the total, making London by far the global center for foreign exchange. In second and third places respectively, trading in New York accounted for 16.6%, and Tokyo accounted for 6.0%. In addition to "traditional" turnover, $2.1 trillion was traded in derivatives. Exchange-traded forex futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts. Forex futures volume has grown rapidly in recent years, and accounts for about 7% of the total foreign exchange market volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe (5/5/06, p. 20).
Top 10 currency traders [3]% of overall volume, May 2008
Rank
Name
Volume
1
Deutsche Bank
21.70%
2
UBS AG
15.80%
3
Barclays Capital
9.12%
4
Citi
7.49%
5
Royal Bank of Scotland
7.30%
6
JPMorgan
4.19%
7
HSBC
4.10%
Foreign exchange trading increased by 38% between April 2005 and April 2006 and has more than doubled since 2001. This is largely due to the growing importance of foreign exchange as an asset class and an increase in fund management assets, particularly of hedge funds and pension funds. The diverse selection of execution venues such as internet trading platforms offered by companies such as First Prudential Markets and Saxo Bank have made it easier for retail traders to trade in the foreign exchange market. [4] Because foreign exchange is an OTC market where brokers/dealers negotiate directly with one another, there is no central exchange or clearing house. The biggest geographic trading centre is the UK, primarily London, which according to IFSL estimates has increased its share of global turnover in traditional transactions from 31.3% in April 2004 to 34.1% in April 2007. RPP The ten most active traders account for almost 73% of trading volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe, (2/9/06 p. 20). These large international banks continually provide the market with both bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices. The bid/ask spread is the difference between the price at which a bank or market maker will sell ("ask", or "offer") and the price at which a market-maker will buy ("bid") from a wholesale customer. This spread is minimal for actively traded pairs of currencies, usually 0–3 pips. For example, the bid/ask quote of EUR/USD might be 1.2200/1.2203 on a retail broker. Minimum trading size for most deals is usually 100,000 units of currency, which is a standard "lot". These spreads might not apply to retail customers at banks, which will routinely mark up the difference to say 1.2100 / 1.2300 for transfers, or say 1.2000 / 1.2400 for banknotes or travelers' checks. Spot prices at market makers vary, but on EUR/USD are usually no more than 3 pips wide (i.e. 0.0003). Competition is greatly increased with larger transactions, and pip spreads shrink on the major pairs to as little as 1 to 2 pips.
its trading volumes,
the extreme liquidity of the market,
the large number of, and variety of, traders in the market,
its geographical dispersion,
its long trading hours: 24 hours a day except on weekends (from 5pm EST on Sunday until 4pm EST Friday),
the variety of factors that affect exchange rates.
the low margins of profit compared with other markets of fixed income (but profits can be high due to very large trading volumes)
the use of leverage
Main foreign exchange market turnover, 1988 - 2007, measured in billions of USD.
As such, it has been referred to as the market closest to the ideal perfect competition, notwithstanding market manipulation by central banks. According to the Bank for International Settlements,[1] average daily turnover in global foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.98 trillion. 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 forex swaps
$129 billion estimated gaps in reporting
Of the $3.98 trillion daily global turnover, trading in London accounted for around $1.36 trillion, or 34.1% of the total, making London by far the global center for foreign exchange. In second and third places respectively, trading in New York accounted for 16.6%, and Tokyo accounted for 6.0%. In addition to "traditional" turnover, $2.1 trillion was traded in derivatives. Exchange-traded forex futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts. Forex futures volume has grown rapidly in recent years, and accounts for about 7% of the total foreign exchange market volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe (5/5/06, p. 20).
Top 10 currency traders [3]% of overall volume, May 2008
Rank
Name
Volume
1
Deutsche Bank
21.70%
2
UBS AG
15.80%
3
Barclays Capital
9.12%
4
Citi
7.49%
5
Royal Bank of Scotland
7.30%
6
JPMorgan
4.19%
7
HSBC
4.10%
Foreign exchange trading increased by 38% between April 2005 and April 2006 and has more than doubled since 2001. This is largely due to the growing importance of foreign exchange as an asset class and an increase in fund management assets, particularly of hedge funds and pension funds. The diverse selection of execution venues such as internet trading platforms offered by companies such as First Prudential Markets and Saxo Bank have made it easier for retail traders to trade in the foreign exchange market. [4] Because foreign exchange is an OTC market where brokers/dealers negotiate directly with one another, there is no central exchange or clearing house. The biggest geographic trading centre is the UK, primarily London, which according to IFSL estimates has increased its share of global turnover in traditional transactions from 31.3% in April 2004 to 34.1% in April 2007. RPP The ten most active traders account for almost 73% of trading volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe, (2/9/06 p. 20). These large international banks continually provide the market with both bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices. The bid/ask spread is the difference between the price at which a bank or market maker will sell ("ask", or "offer") and the price at which a market-maker will buy ("bid") from a wholesale customer. This spread is minimal for actively traded pairs of currencies, usually 0–3 pips. For example, the bid/ask quote of EUR/USD might be 1.2200/1.2203 on a retail broker. Minimum trading size for most deals is usually 100,000 units of currency, which is a standard "lot". These spreads might not apply to retail customers at banks, which will routinely mark up the difference to say 1.2100 / 1.2300 for transfers, or say 1.2000 / 1.2400 for banknotes or travelers' checks. Spot prices at market makers vary, but on EUR/USD are usually no more than 3 pips wide (i.e. 0.0003). Competition is greatly increased with larger transactions, and pip spreads shrink on the major pairs to as little as 1 to 2 pips.
Foreign exchange market
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The foreign exchange (currency, forex or FX) market is where currency trading takes place. FX transactions typically involve one party purchasing a quantity of one currency in exchange for paying a quantity of another. The FX market is one of the largest and most liquid financial markets in the world, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, corporations, governments, and other institutions. The average daily volume in the global forex and related markets is continuously growing. Traditional turnover was reported to be over US$ 3.2 trillion in April 2007 by the Bank for International Settlement. [1] Since then, the market has continued to grow. According to Euromoney's annual FX Poll, volumes grew a further 41% between 2007 and 2008.
Market participants
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Unlike a stock market, where all participants have access to the same prices, the forex market is divided into levels of access. At the top is the inter-bank market, which is made up of the largest investment banking firms. Within the inter-bank market, spreads, which are the difference between the bid and ask prices, are razor sharp and usually unavailable, and not known to players outside the inner circle. The difference between the bid and ask prices widens (from 0-1 pip to 1-2 pips for some currencies such as the EUR). This is due to volume. If a trader can guarantee large numbers of transactions for large amounts, they can demand a smaller difference between the bid and ask price, which is referred to as a better spread. The levels of access that make up the forex market are determined by the size of the “line” (the amount of money with which they are trading). The top-tier inter-bank market accounts for 53% of all transactions. After that there are usually smaller investment banks, followed by large multi-national corporations (which need to hedge risk and pay employees in different countries), large hedge funds, and even some of the retail forex-metal market makers. According to Galati and Melvin, “Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, and other institutional investors have played an increasingly important role in financial markets in general, and in FX markets in particular, since the early 2000s.” (2004) In addition, he notes, “Hedge funds have grown markedly over the 2001–2004 period in terms of both number and overall size” Central banks also participate in the forex market to align currencies to their economic needs.
Banks
The interbank market caters for both the majority of commercial turnover and large amounts of speculative trading every day. A large bank may trade billions of dollars daily. Some of this trading is undertaken on behalf of customers, but much is conducted by proprietary desks, trading for the bank's own account.
Until recently, foreign exchange brokers did large amounts of business, facilitating interbank trading and matching anonymous counterparts for small fees. Today, however, much of this business has moved on to more efficient electronic systems. The broker squawk box lets traders listen in on ongoing interbank trading and is heard in most trading rooms, but turnover is noticeably smaller than just a few years ago.
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.
Central banks
National central banks play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. They try to control the money supply, inflation, and/or interest rates and often have official or unofficial target rates for their currencies. They can use their often substantial foreign exchange reserves to stabilize the market. Milton Friedman argued that the best stabilization strategy would be for central banks to buy when the exchange rate is too low, and to sell when the rate is too high — that is, to trade for a profit based on their more precise information. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of central bank "stabilizing speculation" is doubtful because central banks do not go bankrupt if they make large losses, like other traders would, and there is no convincing evidence that they do make a profit trading.
The mere expectation or rumor of central bank intervention might be enough to stabilize a currency, but aggressive intervention might be used several times each year in countries with a dirty float currency regime. Central banks do not always achieve their objectives. The combined resources of the market can easily overwhelm any central bank.[5] Several scenarios of this nature were seen in the 1992–93 ERM collapse, and in more recent times in Southeast Asia.
Hedge funds
Hedge funds have gained a reputation for aggressive currency speculation since 1996. They control billions of dollars of equity and may borrow billions more, and thus may overwhelm intervention by central banks to support almost any currency, if the economic fundamentals are in the hedge funds' favor.
Investment management firms
Investment management firms (who typically manage large accounts on behalf of customers such as pension funds and endowments) use the foreign exchange market to facilitate transactions in foreign securities. For example, an investment manager bearing an international equity portfolio needs to purchase and sell several pairs of foreign currencies to pay for foreign securities purchases.
Some investment management firms also have more speculative specialist currency overlay operations, which manage clients' currency exposures with the aim of generating profits as well as limiting risk. Whilst the number of this type of specialist firms is quite small, many have a large value of assets under management (AUM), and hence can generate large trades
Banks
The interbank market caters for both the majority of commercial turnover and large amounts of speculative trading every day. A large bank may trade billions of dollars daily. Some of this trading is undertaken on behalf of customers, but much is conducted by proprietary desks, trading for the bank's own account.
Until recently, foreign exchange brokers did large amounts of business, facilitating interbank trading and matching anonymous counterparts for small fees. Today, however, much of this business has moved on to more efficient electronic systems. The broker squawk box lets traders listen in on ongoing interbank trading and is heard in most trading rooms, but turnover is noticeably smaller than just a few years ago.
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.
Central banks
National central banks play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. They try to control the money supply, inflation, and/or interest rates and often have official or unofficial target rates for their currencies. They can use their often substantial foreign exchange reserves to stabilize the market. Milton Friedman argued that the best stabilization strategy would be for central banks to buy when the exchange rate is too low, and to sell when the rate is too high — that is, to trade for a profit based on their more precise information. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of central bank "stabilizing speculation" is doubtful because central banks do not go bankrupt if they make large losses, like other traders would, and there is no convincing evidence that they do make a profit trading.
The mere expectation or rumor of central bank intervention might be enough to stabilize a currency, but aggressive intervention might be used several times each year in countries with a dirty float currency regime. Central banks do not always achieve their objectives. The combined resources of the market can easily overwhelm any central bank.[5] Several scenarios of this nature were seen in the 1992–93 ERM collapse, and in more recent times in Southeast Asia.
Hedge funds
Hedge funds have gained a reputation for aggressive currency speculation since 1996. They control billions of dollars of equity and may borrow billions more, and thus may overwhelm intervention by central banks to support almost any currency, if the economic fundamentals are in the hedge funds' favor.
Investment management firms
Investment management firms (who typically manage large accounts on behalf of customers such as pension funds and endowments) use the foreign exchange market to facilitate transactions in foreign securities. For example, an investment manager bearing an international equity portfolio needs to purchase and sell several pairs of foreign currencies to pay for foreign securities purchases.
Some investment management firms also have more speculative specialist currency overlay operations, which manage clients' currency exposures with the aim of generating profits as well as limiting risk. Whilst the number of this type of specialist firms is quite small, many have a large value of assets under management (AUM), and hence can generate large trades
Trading characteristics
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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 aspires 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.
Exchange rate fluctuations are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows caused by changes in GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, 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 pair of currencies thus constitutes an individual product and is traditionally noted XXX/YYY, where YYY is the ISO 4217 international three-letter code of the currency into which the price of one unit of XXX is expressed (called base currency). For instance, EUR/USD is the price of the euro expressed in US dollars, as in 1 euro = 1.5465 dollar. Out of convention, the first currency in the pair, the base currency, was the stronger currency at the creation of the pair. The second currency, counter currency, was the weaker currency at the creation of the pair.
The factors affecting XXX will affect both XXX/YYY and XXX/ZZZ. This causes positive currency correlation between XXX/YYY and XXX/ZZZ.
On the spot market, according to the BIS study, the most heavily traded products were:
EUR/USD: 27 %
USD/JPY: 13 %
GBP/USD (also called sterling or cable): 12 %
and the US currency was involved in 86.3% of transactions, followed by the euro (37.0%), the yen (16.5%), and sterling (15.0%) (see table). Note that volume percentages should add up to 200%: 100% for all the sellers and 100% for all the buyers.
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: EUR/USD and USD/ZZZ. The exception to this is EUR/JPY, 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
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.
Exchange rate fluctuations are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows caused by changes in GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, 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 pair of currencies thus constitutes an individual product and is traditionally noted XXX/YYY, where YYY is the ISO 4217 international three-letter code of the currency into which the price of one unit of XXX is expressed (called base currency). For instance, EUR/USD is the price of the euro expressed in US dollars, as in 1 euro = 1.5465 dollar. Out of convention, the first currency in the pair, the base currency, was the stronger currency at the creation of the pair. The second currency, counter currency, was the weaker currency at the creation of the pair.
The factors affecting XXX will affect both XXX/YYY and XXX/ZZZ. This causes positive currency correlation between XXX/YYY and XXX/ZZZ.
On the spot market, according to the BIS study, the most heavily traded products were:
EUR/USD: 27 %
USD/JPY: 13 %
GBP/USD (also called sterling or cable): 12 %
and the US currency was involved in 86.3% of transactions, followed by the euro (37.0%), the yen (16.5%), and sterling (15.0%) (see table). Note that volume percentages should add up to 200%: 100% for all the sellers and 100% for all the buyers.
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: EUR/USD and USD/ZZZ. The exception to this is EUR/JPY, 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
Factors affecting currency trading
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Although exchange rates are affected by many factors, in the end, currency prices are a result of supply and demand forces. The world's currency markets can be viewed as a huge melting pot: in a large and ever-changing mix of current events, supply and demand factors are constantly shifting, and the price of one currency in relation to another shifts accordingly. No other market encompasses (and distills) as much of what is going on in the world at any given time as foreign exchange.
Supply and demand for any given currency, and thus its value, are not influenced by any single element, but rather by several. These elements generally fall into three categories: economic factors, political conditions and market psychology.
Economic factors
These include economic policy, disseminated by government agencies and central banks, economic conditions, generally revealed through economic reports, and other economic indicators.
Economic policy comprises government fiscal policy (budget/spending practices) and monetary policy (the means by which a government's central bank influences the supply and "cost" of money, which is reflected by the level of interest rates).
Economic conditions include:
Government budget deficits or surpluses: The market usually reacts negatively to widening government budget deficits, and positively to narrowing budget deficits. The impact is reflected in the value of a country's currency.
Balance of trade levels and trends: The trade flow between countries illustrates the demand for goods and services, which in turn indicates demand for a country's currency to conduct trade. Surpluses and deficits in trade of goods and services reflect the competitiveness of a nation's economy. For example, trade deficits may have a negative impact on a nation's currency.
Inflation levels and trends: Typically, a currency will lose value if there is a high level of inflation in the country or if inflation levels are perceived to be rising. This is because inflation erodes purchasing power, thus demand, for that particular currency. However, a currency may sometimes strengthen when inflation rises because of expectations that the central bank will raise short-term interest rates to combat rising inflation.
Economic growth and health: Reports such as gross domestic product (GDP), employment levels, retail sales, capacity utilization and others, detail the levels of a country's economic growth and health. Generally, the more healthy and robust a country's economy, the better its currency will perform, and the more demand for it there will be.
Political conditions
Internal, regional, and international political conditions and events can have a profound effect on currency markets.
For instance, political upheaval and instability can have a negative impact on a nation's economy. The rise of a political faction that is perceived to be fiscally responsible can have the opposite effect. Also, events in one country in a region may spur positive or negative interest in a neighboring country and, in the process, affect its currency.
Market psychology
Market psychology and trader perceptions influence the foreign exchange market in a variety of ways:
Flights to quality: Unsettling international events can lead to a "flight to quality," with investors seeking a "safe haven". There will be a greater demand, thus a higher price, for currencies perceived as stronger over their relatively weaker counterparts. The Swiss franc has been a traditional safe haven during times of political or economic uncertainty.[9]
Long-term trends: Currency markets often move in visible long-term trends. Although currencies do not have an annual growing season like physical commodities, business cycles do make themselves felt. Cycle analysis looks at longer-term price trends that may rise from economic or political trends. [10]
"Buy the rumor, sell the fact:" This market truism can apply to many currency situations. It is the tendency for the price of a currency to reflect the impact of a particular action before it occurs and, when the anticipated event comes to pass, react in exactly the opposite direction. This may also be referred to as a market being "oversold" or "overbought".[11] To buy the rumor or sell the fact can also be an example of the cognitive bias known as anchoring, when investors focus too much on the relevance of outside events to currency prices.
Economic numbers: While economic numbers can certainly reflect economic policy, some reports and numbers take on a talisman-like effect: the number itself becomes important to market psychology and may have an immediate impact on short-term market moves. "What to watch" can change over time. In recent years, for example, money supply, employment, trade balance figures and inflation numbers have all taken turns in the spotlight.
Technical trading considerations: As in other markets, the accumulated price movements in a currency pair such as EUR/USD can form apparent patterns that traders may attempt to use. Many traders study price charts in order to identify such patterns
Supply and demand for any given currency, and thus its value, are not influenced by any single element, but rather by several. These elements generally fall into three categories: economic factors, political conditions and market psychology.
Economic factors
These include economic policy, disseminated by government agencies and central banks, economic conditions, generally revealed through economic reports, and other economic indicators.
Economic policy comprises government fiscal policy (budget/spending practices) and monetary policy (the means by which a government's central bank influences the supply and "cost" of money, which is reflected by the level of interest rates).
Economic conditions include:
Government budget deficits or surpluses: The market usually reacts negatively to widening government budget deficits, and positively to narrowing budget deficits. The impact is reflected in the value of a country's currency.
Balance of trade levels and trends: The trade flow between countries illustrates the demand for goods and services, which in turn indicates demand for a country's currency to conduct trade. Surpluses and deficits in trade of goods and services reflect the competitiveness of a nation's economy. For example, trade deficits may have a negative impact on a nation's currency.
Inflation levels and trends: Typically, a currency will lose value if there is a high level of inflation in the country or if inflation levels are perceived to be rising. This is because inflation erodes purchasing power, thus demand, for that particular currency. However, a currency may sometimes strengthen when inflation rises because of expectations that the central bank will raise short-term interest rates to combat rising inflation.
Economic growth and health: Reports such as gross domestic product (GDP), employment levels, retail sales, capacity utilization and others, detail the levels of a country's economic growth and health. Generally, the more healthy and robust a country's economy, the better its currency will perform, and the more demand for it there will be.
Political conditions
Internal, regional, and international political conditions and events can have a profound effect on currency markets.
For instance, political upheaval and instability can have a negative impact on a nation's economy. The rise of a political faction that is perceived to be fiscally responsible can have the opposite effect. Also, events in one country in a region may spur positive or negative interest in a neighboring country and, in the process, affect its currency.
Market psychology
Market psychology and trader perceptions influence the foreign exchange market in a variety of ways:
Flights to quality: Unsettling international events can lead to a "flight to quality," with investors seeking a "safe haven". There will be a greater demand, thus a higher price, for currencies perceived as stronger over their relatively weaker counterparts. The Swiss franc has been a traditional safe haven during times of political or economic uncertainty.[9]
Long-term trends: Currency markets often move in visible long-term trends. Although currencies do not have an annual growing season like physical commodities, business cycles do make themselves felt. Cycle analysis looks at longer-term price trends that may rise from economic or political trends. [10]
"Buy the rumor, sell the fact:" This market truism can apply to many currency situations. It is the tendency for the price of a currency to reflect the impact of a particular action before it occurs and, when the anticipated event comes to pass, react in exactly the opposite direction. This may also be referred to as a market being "oversold" or "overbought".[11] To buy the rumor or sell the fact can also be an example of the cognitive bias known as anchoring, when investors focus too much on the relevance of outside events to currency prices.
Economic numbers: While economic numbers can certainly reflect economic policy, some reports and numbers take on a talisman-like effect: the number itself becomes important to market psychology and may have an immediate impact on short-term market moves. "What to watch" can change over time. In recent years, for example, money supply, employment, trade balance figures and inflation numbers have all taken turns in the spotlight.
Technical trading considerations: As in other markets, the accumulated price movements in a currency pair such as EUR/USD can form apparent patterns that traders may attempt to use. Many traders study price charts in order to identify such patterns
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