Glossary

The world's largest futures exchange, which includes the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), and New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

Electronic Funds Transfer.

Central Bank of the European Monetary Union.

US regulatory agency charged with regulating US banks. The FDIC provides insurance up to $100,000 per account.

Interest rate at which private depository institutions (mostly banks) lend balances (federal funds) at the Federal Reserve to other depository institutions, usually overnight. The FFR is guided (but not determined outright) by the Federal Open Market Committee.

Committee made up of Federal Reserve members, which meets eight times a year to discuss/ implement monetary policy.

Senior members of the Federal Reserve, each of whom is appointed by the US President. The chairman of the Fed Reserve Board serves a 4-year term, while the other members serve 14-year terms.

Agency designated by the UK Treasury to regulate the UK financial industry.

Basic measure of an economy's economic performance, equal to the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a nation in one year.

International organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments.

An international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations.

Daily reference rate based on the interest rates at which banks borrow unsecured funds from other banks in the London interbank market. It is roughly comparable to the US federal funds rate.

Association composed of the three largest future exchanges in the UK.

Bank of England subcommittee that meets every month to decide the official interest rate in the UK.

Method commonly used with time series data to smooth out short-term fluctuations and highlight longer-term trends or cycles.

Technical analysis indicator that shows the difference between a fast and slow exponential moving average of closing prices.

In a forex trading account, equal to the balance of deposits, realized and unrealized profit/loss, and interest - minus withdrawals.

Economic indicator that measures the change in the number of employed people during the last month of all non-farming businesses.

The central bank for China, whose actions directly influences the value of the Chinese Renminbi (CNY).

A technical indicator that measures the velocity and magnitude of directional price movement by comparing upward and downward close-to-close movement. Referred to as a momentum oscillator.

Central Bank for Australia, whose actions bear directly on the Australian Dollar.

Central bank for New Zealand, whose action directly influence the value of the New Zealand dollar (NZD)

Measures inflation based upon the price of a selection of family goods.

Technical analysis indicator commonly used with time series data to smooth out short-term fluctuations and highlight longer-term trends or cycles, that gives equal weight to all data points.

Global electronic network for forex settlement, known for a code that uniquely identifies financial institutions for the purpose of transfers and settlement.

Provides the buyer with the economic performance of the reference obligation – i.e. the coupon or interest from the reference obligation together with any capital gains – in return for a predetermined funding cost. The buyer will be required to pay any capital losses.

Provides the buyer with the economic performance of the reference obligation – i.e. the coupon or interest from the reference obligation together with any capital gains – in return for a predetermined funding cost. The buyer will be required to pay any capital losses.

An order specifying the exact rate or number of pips from the current price point at which point a current position should be closed, and gains will be locked in.

Ticker symbol for the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a popular measure of the implied volatility of S&P 500 index options. A high value corresponds to a more volatile market and therefore more costly options, which can be used to defray risk from volatility.

International organization designed by its founders to supervise and liberalize international trade.