Caractéristiques des instruments financiers dérivés

Les options et les futures sont des instruments financiers dérivés ; cela signifie que leur prix s’établit en fonction de celui de la valeur sous-jacente. Ces instruments dérivés doivent leur succès à la forte volatilité des marchés des devises, des actions, des obligations, des matières premières. Or, la volatilité est synonyme de risque et constitue à la fois une source de chances et de dangers. L’investisseur peut réaliser des gains en exploitant les flictuations de cours, mais risque également de perdre tout ou partie de sa mise, comme lors du krach d’octobre 1987. Dans le domaine des placements, la maîtrise du risque constitue un aspect primordial. Les options et les futures permettent de gérer le risque d’une manière efficace et peu coûteuse. C’est pourquoi une place financière moderne ne saurait se passer des ces instruments.Transfert du risque et amélioration du rendementLe principal avantage des instruments dérivés réside dans le fait qu’ils permettent de transférer les risques. En effet, les risques inhérants aux marchés financiers ne sont généralement pas répartis conformément aux anticipations des participants. Tel investisseur souhaitera par exemple protéger son portefeuille contre une baisse des cours, tandis qu’un autre investisseur n’hésitera pas à prendre des risques supplémentaires afin d’augmenter ses chances de gain si le marché évolue selon ses prévisions. Grâce aux options et aux futures, chaque investisseur à la possibilité de transférer à d’autres participants plus audacieux les risques qu’il ne souhaite pas assumer.2. L’effet de levierL’une des caractéristiques des options et des futures réside dans le faible niveau de l’investissement par rapport aux montants impliqués dans la transaction. Cela signifie qu’il est possible de contrôler des montants importants avec une mise de fonds relativement modeste. Les fluctuations relatives du prix des options et des futures sont donc nettement plus importantes que les variations du cours du sous-jacent. Cette relation est appellé effet de levier. Le négoce d’instruments dérivés offre donc des chances de gain considérables, mais recèle également des risques des pertes correspondants.3. La flexibilitéLes options standardisées et les futures peuvent être négociés à une bourse centralisée telle que l’EUREX, ce qui garantit une flexibilité optimale à l’investisseur. Celui-ci a en effet la possibilité de constituer à tout moment une position correspondant à son appréciation du marché et à sa propension à prendre des risques. Il peut réagir rapidement et avec souplesse aux fluctuations du marché en clôturant par exemple sa position.4. Transparence et liquiditéEu égard à leur excellente négociabilité, ces instruments suscitent l’intérêt d’un grand nombre d’investisseurs, ce qui contribue à améliorer la liquidité du marché. Sur un marché très liquide, il est en effet possible d’échanger en tout temps des quantités importantes de titres sans qu’il en résulte des variations de cours exagérées.Le négoce éléctronique au Globex garantit une grande transparence au niveu des prix, des volumes et des transactions conclues, ce qui augmente considérablement l’attrait du marché. Le négoce des options à la criée existe toujours aux US pour les matières premières par exemple.Introduction aux optionsDéfinition – qu’est-ce qu’une option ?Une option est un contrat conclu entre deux parties qui confère à l’acheteur le droit, contre paiement de la prime,

حمى الذهب - Gold fever

بعد أشهر من التزايد المستمر في اسعار المعدن الأصفر بسبب عمليات الشراء التي قامت بها البنوك المركزيه و الطلب في الأسواق الاسيويه، بدأ الذهب بمسار تصحيحي كبير يقود اسعاره للانخفاض. كما يتوقع المحللون للذهب ان يستمر في سلوكه التصحيحي باتجله انخفاض سعره حتى كانون الثاني – يناير او شباط-فبراير من السنه القادمه 2010 قبل توجهه من جديد الى الصعود باتجاه ارقام قصوى جديده، باعتبار ان الذهب يعامل افضل من النقود و يضل الأستثمار الأكثر امانا.
مؤخرا، التجار و المضاربون يقودون الذهب الى مناطق تذبذب في اسعاره، في حين ان توقعات بقرب قرار رفع الفائده من المركزي الأمريكي تدفع باسواق السيوله و الذهب للأسفل، و اذا اتخذ المركزي الأمريكي مثل هذه الخطوه خلال الشهرين المقبلين فمن الممكن ملاحظه هبوط حاد في اسعار الذهب، ولكن، من الممكن رؤية السابق كفرصه للشراء لأن رفع معدلات الفائده ستكون مجرد محاوله لدفع الدولار للأستقرار. ولكنها لتأثر على جميع انواع العجز المالي و طباعة النقود بالنسبه للعشر سنوات القادمه حيث لا يمكن ادامة تأثير رفع الفائده. و بذلك، سيستمر الذهب بالصعود على المدى البعيد بالرغم من احتمال وجوده في مناطق اسعار 1100 دولا للأونصه في الأيم القادمه.

Fundamental Factors behind Major Currencies

Every currency traded in Forex is influenced by the conditions in its country of origin, and the external relations that affect its value. Economic Indicators (GDP growth, import/export trade accounts), social factors (unemployment rate, real estate market conditions) and the country’s central bank policy are the factors that determine the currency value in the Forex market. Each one of the six major currencies has its particularities, and we are going to analyze the fundamentals that drive the currencies individually.
The U.S. dollar (USD) is the most traded currency in the Forex market. It is also used as a measure to evaluate other currencies and commodities. The reserves in USD are by far the largest being held by different nations, and they compose 64% of the world reserves. Globally speaking, the fundamentals that drive the U. S. Dollar are several. Since the largest amount of metallic commodities and the oil are mostly traded with prices in USD, significant demand variations in these markets will reflect directly on the currency value, as it happened in 2008 with the EUR/USD reaching 1.60, being the oil price a big contributor for this event. In the domestic market, the biggest factor that has been moving the dollar are the industry indicators and the real estate boom, and both were caused by an unsustainable credit system which could not be paid, causing a domino effect in the United States economy, and consequently, worldwide. During the last few years, the USD has been losing ground for other currencies, thanks to the credit bubble, and erroneous social policies, but it will still remain as one of the most powerful currencies for an undetermined period of time.
The euro (EUR) is by far the newest currency traded among the major pairs traded on Forex markets. It is used by 16 European Union member countries and it tends to enlarge during the next few years. The fundamental factors that move the Euro are often based on the strongest economies using the new common currency, such as: France, Italy and mainly Germany. The countries’ indicators regarding export trade, inflation and unemployment rate tend to have a high impact on the EUR movements, considering that countries such as Germany are larger exporters of manufactures and technology. Europe still remains an energy dependant from the Russian gas and the Middle Eastern Oil, making higher demands for these commodities to have a negative reflect on the European Union common currency.
The pound sterling (GBP) is the national currency of the United Kingdom, and the fundamental factors that move it are as complex and variable as the British economy and its global influence. The London commodity market plays a fundamental role in the GBP trends, being a reference for oil and gold trading. Nevertheless, as a powerful and globally dynamic economy, the United Kingdom indicators, social situation and the housing sector are perhaps the main determinant factors for the GBP price. Lately, the British economy has faced inflation issues, which led the interest rates to be cut, industrial recession, and other domestic factors that made the trading movements to naturally flow from the GBP towards other strong economically backed currencies, such as the EUR.
The Japanese yen (JPY) is the strongest and by far the most traded currency in the Asian market. Japan’s economy is mainly orientated to the industrial production exportation, and the economic situation of its main commercial partner, the USA, tends to have a direct influence on the JPY market. The JPY is a low-yield currency, being the GBP/JPY the most volatile pair traded on Forex, usually the scalper’s favorite one.
Switzerland is a small country located in the European Alps, yet, its strong international trade and money influx, made the Swiss franc (CHF), one of the main currencies traded on Forex. The CHF is often preferred by low yield investors. In times of financial instability, such as for the last years with the USD, many traders choose the CHF as a safe investment. The CHF trends can be often compared to those of the gold, increasing their value while other markets’ tends to depreciate during economic downturns.
The Canadian Dollar (CAD) faces a similar situation with the other commodity currencies, being majorly an export-dependable. Most of the Canadian production is exported to the USA. Facing the very same credit bubble problem that dragged America into recession, Canada has to deal also with a decreasing demand for all commodities. The CAD usually correlates positively with the prices for the all commodities.

New Zealand Dollar Rebouns Slightly on Favorable Trade Balance

The New Zealand dollar has been impacted by a decline in risk appetite globally on growth concerns in Europe and North America, but today, after the country’s trade balance showed a smaller trade deficit, the currency rebounded.
The kiwi, as the South Pacific currency is often referred to, rebounded from the lowest rates in almost a month as a decline in the nation’s imports allowed the negative trade balance gap to tighten, being that a favorable reason to allow the New Zealand currency to make a correction and pare its losses partially.
NZD/USD traded at 61.98 from as low as 60.88 prior to the trade balance data publication.
If you want to comment on the New Zealand dollar’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

Dollar to Gain on Grim Global Outlook

The U.S. dollar profited last week from a wave of uncertainty that brought investors to opt for safer bets in foreign-exchange markets, and this trend might last for a longer period mainly versus European currencies as the economic outlook in the region is far from optimistic.
The dollar started February touching new record highs in 2010 versus the euro and gaining sharply versus the pound, as the U.S. economic is providing better figures than other economic regions around the world, and traders might witness a longer rally for the U.S. dollar as China new bank loans restrictions is likely to show reports impacted by the these measures in the following months. The euro is one of the currencies which is losing the most versus the greenback as its already well known budget deficit issue among some Eurozone member countries is making investors to avoid the region for the moment, making the dollar to touch the highest level in 6 months versus the European single currency.
Reports in the U.S. have been considerably better than in countries like the U.K., Australia and emerging markets, and this, combined with lack of confidence regarding the global economic recovery so expected in 2009 for the current year is making the dollar to rank among the best bets in forex markets this month.
EUR/USD is at 1.3639 as of 04:39 GMT from an opening rate of 1.3655. GBP/USD traded at 1.5602 from 1.5590.
If you want to comment on the U.S. dollar’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

Pound to Trade Below $1.60 on Weak Resilience, Fed Rate Hikes

The U.K. economy is being one of the slowest to recover from the global slump that started in the second semester last year, and as economies recover globally faster than in the British Isles, the pound may decline further versus the euro and the dollar.

After posting the fourth consecutive weekly decline versus the greenback, the outlook for the British currency remains rather unattractive, as forecasts suggest a higher than previously expected budget deficit for the following years in the U.K., forcing the currency down versus most of the 6 majors traded in foreign-exchange markets. The Federal Reserve is likely to increase borrowing costs in the world’s wealthiest nation as several reports coming from different sectors of the economy indicate a rebound that would make possible earlier than expected increases in interest rates, affecting positively the dollar in currency markets, which is likely to climb further versus the pound.

Even if the Moody’s Investors Service affirmed last week that it will not downgrade the U.K.’s top credit rating, investors are not confident that the British economy will provide better data which could stop a losing streak set for the sterling for the upcoming weeks.

GBP/USD closed the week at 1.6251 from an opening rate of 1.6484 in the beginning of the week.

If you want to comment on the Great Britain pound’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

Euro to Plunge Deeper on Fiscal Crisis Consequences

The outlook for the European currency is perhaps the worst since its introduction in 1999, as disparities among Eurozone members’ financial structure is likely to decline the appeal for the currency even further, since measures to bring budget deficits to the ECB’s target are likely to set several countries into a longer recession.
After the Greek crisis affected markets in the Eurozone raising concerns regarding massive budget deficits in several bloc’s members, traders became more skeptical towards interest rate hikes in the region, as a series of financial measures to be taken by Greece, Portugal, Spain and others, are likely to force the European Central Bank to maintain its benchmark interest rate at the lowest level since the Euro was introduced, considering that these measures to control the nations’ budget deficits will certainly require stimulus to avoid a new wave of recession in the region.
The euro has already lost 5 percent against the dollar this year, and despite European officials efforts to ensure the profitability of investments in the region, an exodus of capital towards other economic regions is evident since last year’s third quarter and so far this trend has a extremely high possibility of continuing to cause the euro’s depreciation.
EUR/USD traded at 1.3588 as of 16:02 GMT from an opening rate of 1.3626 yesterday.
If you want to comment on the Euro’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.