Spot and Forward Foreign Exchange Rates

There are two types of foreign exchange rates, namely the spot rate and forward rates ruling in the foreign exchange market. The spot rate of exchange refers to the rate or price in terms of home currency payable for spot delivery of a specified type of foreign exchange. The forward rate of exchange refers to the price at which a transaction will be consummated at some specified time in future.

In modern times the system of forward rate of foreign exchange has assumed great importance in affecting the international capital movements and foreign exchange banks play an important role in this respect by matching the purchases and sales of forward exchange on the part of would be importers and would be exporters respectively.… Read the rest

Features of Currency Swap Market

The currency swap market is the oldest and most creative sector of the swap market. This is not distinguished in market terms between the fixed rate currency swap and the currency coupon swap. There is no distinction in market terms between these two types of currency swaps because the only difference is whether the counter currency receipt/payment is on a fixed or floating basis – in structure and result, the two types of swaps are identical and it is a matter of taste (or preference) for one or both counter-parties to choose a fixed or floating payment. When the dollar is involved on one side of a given transaction, the possibility to convert a fixed rate preference on one side to a floating rate preference on the other side through interest rate swap market makes any distinction even more irrelevant.… Read the rest

Swaps Risk and Exposure

The great bulk of swap activity of date has concentrated on currencies and interest rates, yet these do not exhaust the swap concept’s applicability. As one moves out the yield curve, the primary interest rate swap market becomes dominated by securities transactions and in particular the Eurodollar bond market. The advent of the swap market has meant that the Eurodollar bond market now never closes due to interest rate levels: issuers who would not come to market because of high interest rates now do so to the extent that a swap is available. Indeed, the Eurodollar bond market owes much of its spectacular growth to the parallel growth of its swap market.… Read the rest

Basis Rate Swaps

A fast developing area in the international swap markets is the basis rate swap. The structure of the basis rate swaps is the same as the straight interest rate swaps, with the exception that floating interest calculated on one basis is exchanged for floating interest calculated on a different basis. The forerunner of this type of swap was the US Dollar Prime Rate LIBOR swap. However, an even larger market has developed for the exchange of 1 month US Dollar LIBOR for 6 month US Dollar LIBOR and more recently US Dollar LIBOR for US Dollar commercial paper at much finer rates than those available on the foreign exchange market.… Read the rest

Fixed-Rate Currency Swaps and Currency Coupon Swaps

Fixed-Rate Currency Swaps

A fixed rate currency swap consists of the exchange between two counter-parties of fixed rate interest in one currency in return for fixed rate interest in another currency. Following are the main steps to all currency swaps:

  1. Initial Exchange for the Principal: The counter-parties exchange the principal amounts on the commencement of the swap at an agreed rate of exchange. Although this rate is usually based on the spot exchange rate, a forward rate set in advance of the swap commencement date can also be used. This initial exchange may be on a notional basis of alternatively a physical exchange.
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Business Analysis – Role of Business Analyst in Modern Organizations

What is Business Analysis?

Business Analysis can be defined as the regulation of classifying business needs and shaping results to the business problems. The solutions frequently consist of a system improvement factor, and may also include process development, directorial change or tactical scheduling and procedure development. Someone who brings out this job or task is known as a business analyst (BA). The Business Analyst who labor exclusively on increasing system software can be called Information Technology Business Analysts, Technical Business Analysts, Online Business or System Analysts.

Business analysis can also be defined as the position of assignment and techniques which are used to operate as a connection among stakeholders so as to understand the constitution, rules, and operations of a society and to suggest solutions that make possible the society to accomplish its aims.… Read the rest