The Foreign Exchange market (Forex) is truly the largest exchange in the world. The amount of dollars traded on the Forex market on a daily basis is in the trillions. Most of this currency trading takes place between between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. However, individual traders are starting to get in the mix, using internet discount brokers such as Etrade to participate in the currency exchange market.
There is no central exchange or meeting place for the Forex. All trading is done over computer networks between traders in different parts of the world. Also, unlike the stock market, the foreign exchange market is open 24 hours per day, because it is a global market. A trader in Hong Kong may be exchanging currency with a trader in Australia while an American trader is sleeping.
There are several different markets within the Forex exchange system. First, there is the spot market. The spot market deals with trades that are based on the current values of currencies. One person trades a certain amount of currency with another trader in exchange for an equivalent amount of a different foreign currency. Spot trades take two days for settlement.
The other two types of foreign exchange markets are the forward and futures markets. In the forward market, the buyer and seller agree on an exchange rate and a transaction date is set for a specific time in the future, at which point the trade is executed regardless of what the rates are at that time. On the futures market, futures contracts are bought and sold based upon a standard contract size and maturity date. Futures trades take place on public commodities markets.
A currency quote is listed differently from a stock quote. Stocks are quoted in terms of price per share. Currency exchange prices are listed as either a direct quote or an indirect quote. A direct quote uses the domestic currency as the base and the foreign currency as the quote. An indirect quote works the exact opposite way.
So, if you were to view a quote in an American newspaper that said USD/JPY = 75, that would be a direct quote and would mean that $1 of U.S. currency is equal to 75 Japanese yen. If that same quote appeared in that same American newspaper and was listed as JPY/USD = 0.013, that would be an example of an indirect quote.
As with stock prices, currency exchange prices have a bid and ask spread. The current bid is the amount of foreign currency that someone is willing to spend in order to buy $1 U.S. base currency. The ask is the amount of foreign currency that someone is demanding in order to be willing to sell $1 U.S. base currency.
The Forex markets are generally considered to be less volatile than then stock market because within the course of a trading day, it is highly unlikely for the value of a single currency to move all that much. With equities, it is not uncommon for a trader to buy a stock, and then a negative press release causes the stock to lose considerable value within a day or even a couple of hours. Sometimes, however, the Forex can be volatile. If there is a significant economic or political development with a certain country, the currency of that country can lose value quickly.
There is a higher degree of liquidity on the currency exchange then there is on the stock exchange because the currency exchange is open 24 hours per day and because the very nature of currency exchange is to bet on when certain currencies will go up or down; so, it is easy to sell your position in a certain currency even when the value of that money is going down. A plummeting stock is more difficult to unload, but not impossible.
If you want to begin currency tranding, try to set aside some money and open an account with an online broker. Start slowly, then as you get the hang of it, work your way up to larger trades and higher volume. However, do not gamble your nest egg on currency trading because inexperienced traders can lose everything they have rather quickly in spite of the relative safety of the Forex market.
Without doubt, China today is the world's biggest supplier of manufactured consumer goods. From shoes, to toys, to fake Rolex watches, you name it, China manufactures it. Wal-Mart, America's biggest retail giant, has more than half of its inventory comprised of China-produced goods. Like it or not, this ubiquity of 'Made-in-China' products is here to stay.
Consumer goods aside, China is quickly gaining prominence in another, totally unrelated sector. This past decade has witnessed the proliferation of Chinese girls within the vice industries of major cities all around the world. This has had the effect of drastically changing the demographics of the flesh trade in these cities,
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore. In the 'good old days', the commercial sex industry in Singapore was well-contained and neatly confined to the few government-demarcated red light districts around the country. Sex workers hailing from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, were given official approval by the Government to ply their trade, subject to stringent regulations and frequent health checks. Then came the advent of the 'Chinese Sex Revolution', which started when China began to open up to the world. Women from China started arriving in Singapore in droves. Ostensibly, they came for holidays, and were accordingly issued social visit passes of up to 6 months validity.
Then came the shocker. These 'tourists' started soliciting their sexual services in public, particularly in places frequented by older male Singaporean retirees. These lonely men were easy prey for the doe-eyed, nubile Chinese temptresses. Soon, many Singaporean men found themselves parted with their hard-earned retirement savings. It was only then that the Singapore Government was rudely awakened to the fact that these 'supposed tourists' were in fact, prostitutes out to make a quick buck in Singapore. The clampdown then started with the immigration department tightening checks for incoming China females. Social visit passes for first-time China visitors were drastically reduced from 6 months to 1 month or even a few weeks. But, like everywhere else in the world, the Chinese were ingenious at finding ways to beat the system. They started to apply for study visas instead, enrolling themselves in small Singaporean private schools. This enabled them to have an extended stay in Singapore, for up to 2-3 years at a stretch. Of course, once in Singapore, these Chinese nationals went back to doing what they knew best, soliciting.
The result? The turning of the tide within the Singapore Sex Industry. Chinese sex workers were everywhere, outnumbering the 'legal prostitutes' by more than 3 to 1. The traditional red-light districts in Singapore were swamped with Chinese prostitutes, many of them charging lower prices than the legal sex workers. Needless to say, business in the legalized brothels suffered greatly. As a result, the anti-vice police stepped up the regularity of their checks in a bid to nab these illegal Chinese prostitutes and stem their influx into the industry. But once again, the Chinese had a solution to this. They paid some local guys to act as lookouts in and around the prostitution areas. Through doing this, they were able to get notification of an impending anti-vice raid long before the patrol cars were even in the vicinity. As such, they had ample time to take evasive action by scuttling into nearby hotels or cafes to hide, and wait till the coast was clear.
This current situation applies not only to Singapore, but to almost every other city in the world. The amazing resilience of the Chinese sex workers has made them very difficult to eradicate. Their influx into society has ensured that the social paradigm in the cities in which they operate has been irreversibly altered. Perhaps in time to come, the Chinese sex worker will be universally accepted as a cultural import, whose services are readily available in Wal-Mart as well.
Both Jim Pretin & Estevan Mark are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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