Economies

Ralph Nelson Elliott developed Wave Theory in the early 20th century through a study of stock data sets. Elliott Wave Theory alludes to price being fractal waves, each a product of investor psychology.

The evolution of the financial markets has created an assortment of new questions and challenges for participants. While the core business of an active trader is to buy and sell securities, in recent years the issue of systemic risk has come to the forefront. Whether in the trade of currencies, futures or equities, dramatic volatilities often appear out of nowhere. In the world's capital markets, volatility plays an ever-present role…

The United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) is the long-awaited revision of NAFTA promised by the Trump administration. Officially signed by member nations at the 2018 G20 Summit, USMCA aims to restructure North American trade and commerce.

The Volcker rule was implemented in the U.S. in 2013, and was designed as a way to avoid another financial crisis. The rule restricts American banks and foreign banks doing business in the U.S. from specific financial activity. Learn how it works at FXCM.

The Taylor rule was developed to provide guidance to central banks, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, for setting short-term interest rates based on economic conditions, including inflation and the unemployment rate. Learn more about the rule at FXCM.

Black Monday occurred on 19 October 1987. It represents the largest one day sell off in the history of the U.S. equities markets, led by losses in the DJIA and the S&P 500.

Japan's snap election on 22 October 2017 has the potential to greatly impact the yen. If a surprise occurs, an upheaval in exchange rate valuations may become a reality.

The impact of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate increase is far-reaching, and has both direct and indirect implications. Find out who and what is impacted by these changes.

The Efficient Market Hypothesis (or EMH, as it's known) suggests that investors cannot make returns above the average of the market on a consistent basis. This is because under normal circumstances all available information about asset values and prices is rapidly disseminated throughout the market, bringing prices quickly to an equilibrium value. The hypothesis was developed in the 1960s by University of Chicago economics professors Harry Roberts and Eugene Fama.…

Random walk theory is the belief that a security's current market price is the product of chance rather than the sum of past events or human behavior.