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In finance, the term market capitalisation is used to reference the aggregate value of a specific security, sector, exchange, or trading venue. Frequently shortened to "market cap," it may be calculated in a variety of ways and is especially useful when comparing the relative size of tradable securities or marketplaces. Stocks One of the most common applications of market capitalisation is to corporate stock offerings. According to the U.S. Securities…

Influencing interest rates is one of the most important things central banks do, because interest rates have a profound effect on economic growth, job creation and inflation. But how does it happen? Learn more in this FXCM Insights article.

What Is A Central Bank? A central bank manages a nation's currency, money supply and interest rates and acts as a lender of last resort to the country's banks. Many are also responsible for regulating and supervising their country's banks. Many are set up to be independent from their government, although their directors are usually appointed by that country's chief executive or leader of government. Most countries have their own…

An important part of measuring various items in investing, a weighted average is a mathematical formula that takes into account the relative size or importance of each item in a list of financial data rather than a simple average.

A repurchase agreement is a short-term loan structured as the sale of securities. As part of the repo, the seller agrees to buy the securities back at a later date. Learn more about a repo works at FXCM Insights.

A Ponzi scheme is a type of financial fraud that occurs when the perpetrator promises consistent, guaranteed returns on an investment. In reality, however, it simply involves paying early investors by using payments from new investors.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a statistic derived and used around the globe to identify prevailing inflationary or deflationary pressures. It is calculated by averaging the prices of a basket of select goods and services commonly consumed by households.

In the standardised trade of futures, participants buy and sell contracts in an attempt to secure marketshare. The phenomenon of contango is a prime example of how the process of price discovery works and how the expectations of market participants influence asset value. Contango Defined Pricing derivative products, such as futures and options, is dependent on three factors: asset class, quantity and time. In the case of futures, a contract's…

What Are The Basel Accords? The Basel Accords are a set of standards created by the Basel Committee to establish uniform banking regulation among the world's financial systems. The Basel Committee was originally called the Committee on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices, and it was headquartered at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland. It was created in 1974 by the central bank governors of the Group of Ten…

An order book is a real-time and continuously updated list of buy and sell orders on an exchange. It is used for specific financial assets, such as a stock or currency, and can be used to determine the price support for the asset in question.

Successful traders approach trading with a clearly defined and thoroughly tested strategy. Most traders evaluate the hypothetical future performance of their strategy by measuring the profit or loss of the strategy run on historical data. But is measuring historical profitability enough? Historical profitability provides only a small piece of information about a trading strategy, while another factor that may be important to a trader is the riskiness of their strategy. The…