Emerging Facts on the Latin finance world

Some time in September 2008, Brazil’s president, Luiz Ignácio Lula da Silva was asked by journalists what he thought about the global economic crises we are going through. He replied by saying, “When people ask me about an economic crisis in the world, I tell them, go ask George Bush. After all, it is his crisis and not mine.” Such has been more or less the attitude of the Latin finance world to contemporary issues and developments. Whether described as indifference or whatever else, Latin finance has had a hands-off policy of administrating growth and development for a long time now.

It is easy to understand why this delusion has been perpetrated in the region about the non-volatile status of their financial institutions. Policymakers and key economists on the world stage have been full of praise for Latin America’s increasing financial independence and industrial maturity. Of repute has been the fiscal discipline, sustained economic growth, reducing external debt and aid levels, high commodity prices, growing international and national reserves, strengthened governance, and the national and corporate balance sheets health. These developments are amiable and deserving of praise indeed. They are indeed very promising in the race to place Latin America on a firm economic footing by and by. The only problem is that without a change of approach and policy, Latin markets might find themselves irrelevant, and very soon at that, in the face of new developments in the world finance circles.

An instance of this myopic indifference was experienced immediately the credit crisis hit the U.S. financial markets. Most experts and public officials expressed confidence that Continue reading →

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Contextualizing the Risks of Money Markets

Over the years, money market funds have been the safest means of investing some cash for a long term portfolio entry or for those who want a safe place to hold their money. But recent global developments, with the world economy sagging on its knees, experts have started to point out that there are risks in money markets too. This has shed the previous thoughtline that money markets are a risk-free investment avenue. You can no longer hold it for granted that your investment is safe, just because you are in the money markets. In fact, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decrees that while investor losses entrusted to money market funds are rare, they are very possible.

However, just as they have become risky to an extent, they have also gained on the rate of interests and profits over the last one decade. Contemporary money markets can triple your initial capital within a few years, and give an impetus to real wealth. Similarly though, just as they are profitable, they can wreck you financially in just a few hours of mishap. It is wise therefore, that before you load your cash into money markets you ensure that you know not only what they are but also how they work. This will facilitate you to know which money market risks to take and which ones are too dear or foolish to take.

Let us begin by understanding what money markets refer to, as a concept. Simply said, money market funds are Continue reading →

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Introduction to The International Monetary Fund

In a way, the IMF has been successful since it was established back in July, 1944. From its genesis, it has consistently worked to foster optimal global monetary cooperation for the general good of member states. The aim has been to secure the financial stability of world nations and facilitate a mutually benefiting international trade among these nations. This in return could boost both poverty reduction measures and promote high employment. With criticism to the institution considered, the International Monetary Fund has helped instigate a sustainable economic growth in most member states, apart from the third world countries which continue to trade in complete dependence of the international market.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was a Bretton-Woods brainchild as an international organization that regulated economic policies in member countries that impact on both the exchange rates in the global market and the balance of payments. In playing this role, the International Monetary Fund was charged with the responsibility of stabilizing international exchange rates in a way that could facilitate development in the world economy. Besides that, the IMF became a facility that offered highly leveraged loans to third world countries to aid them in establishing economic independence.

From the original 44 member states, the monetary fund has grown in membership to subscribe 186 nations to date. Kosovo was the last state to gain membership. Most of the nations under the United Nations Charter have Continue reading →

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Critical Advice for Beginners in Forex Trading

Globalization has resulted in the ease of conducting business across national boundaries. Whether you are seated somewhere in New York or Sidney, you can engage in forex trading on an international platform and build your portfolio by capitalizing on any currency pair of your choice.

Foreign currency trading is also referred to as forex trading. The only commodity that is exchanged in this market is money. This has become the biggest financial market today. Every day, 3 trillion USD is traded. Majority of the participants in the markets are individual traders and corporate investors who are quick in identifying opportunities in this trade.

Forex trade operates for 24 hours a day so as to give traders all over the world an opportunity of taking advantage of opportunities immediately they arise. Traders use the internet in order to learn about and respond to all the opportunities that arise on an international platform. The trade goes on regardless of the barriers of time zones, country boundaries and market hours. Continue reading →

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GBP / USD Optimization Trends Using Various Parameters

Any discussion of a currency pair ought to highlight those parameters that have the ability to stop further losses from accumulating. The question of which parameter to use in the case of the GBP/USD pair, for instance, varies depending on the trading time scale. One may either make use of price differences or the pip expression approach.

Any stop-loss parameter that one uses results in a profound effect on trading returns. Let us compare the entry ranges involved when one is trading in the GBP/USD pair. You will realize that when the entry level becomes more conservative, the maximum gains from the resulting return fail to move to the left. The greatest challenge in forex trading lies in forecasting. Every forecast signal comes with its own challenges since there are so many thresholds to be applied within such a short time.

The volatility of the foreign exchange markets is responsible for difficulties that arise when one tries to analyze the GBP/USD currency pair. Every new quantity that is introduced comes with its own specific effect. One such effect is the tight placement that results in a rather bumpy ride when it comes to returns. The long-term effect of this scenario is a change in the threshold of entering and quitting trade. Continue reading →

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