FXCM Research Team

The World Bank Group (WBG) is a product of the Bretton Woods Accords ratified in 1944. With a stated mission of eradicating world poverty, the WBG issues loans, grants, and other aid to developing economies in need of financial or technological assistance.

In live forex trading, having a solid understanding of your profit and loss (P&L) potential at any given time is a must. It is simply not enough to place a trade and hope for positive results. Quantifying the upside of an open position, as well as its downside liability, is a great way to ensure consistent and responsible risk management. Warning: Ad-blockers may prevent calculator from loading. However, completing this…

Fibonacci numbers, also referred to as the Fibonacci sequence, have been observed for hundreds of years by statisticians the world over. First quantified in the early 13th century by mathematician Leonardo Pisano, Fibonacci numbers are utilised in everything from architecture to weather forecasting. They are a mainstay of forex technical analysis as well, and they're readily applied to the markets on a daily basis. Warning: Ad-blockers may prevent calculator from…

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.

In 1973, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) placed an oil embargo on allies of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Until March of 1974, exorbitant energy prices plagued the global economy, prompting the creation of the petrodollar.

The quick ratio is an accounting formula that measures a company's short-term liquidity. Also known as the "acid test" ratio, the quick ratio is a more stringent measurement than the current ratio of a company's ability to meet its most short-term obligations, usually those due within 90 days. The formula for calculating the quick ratio is: Quick Ratio = (Cash + Marketable Securities + Receivables)/Current Liabilities Basically, the quick ratio…

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…

Stop running is the practice of manipulating the price action of a security in order to trigger a bulk execution of stop loss orders at market. A legal trading strategy, it involves driving a market to a desired location and profiting from the ensuing pricing fluctuations.

The Special Drawing Right (SDR) is an international reserve asset. Created by the IMF in 1969, SDRs are used to facilitate transactions and supplement IMF member country reserves. An SDR is a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members.

Layering is an illegal tactic used to manipulate markets as a means of driving the price of an asset up or down, which is followed by a trade in the opposite direction. Learn more about layering at FXCM Insights.

The alpha and beta are important terms within the investing world, whether one is involved with stocks, mutual funds or ETFs. Learn more about these terms at FXCM Insights.