Global Financial Markets and Trading Essentials

Overview:

Introduction:

This training program offers comprehensive education on various aspects of international finance and trading. Through expert-led instruction and practical exercises, this program equips professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate and excel in the dynamic world of global finance.

Program Objectives:

At the end of this program, participants will be able to:

• Analyze the short-term money-market holdings on assets and liabilities for any organization.

• Examine the risk exposure of FOREX trades in both cash and futures positions.

• Differentiate between M1, M2, M3, and L balances when constructing central bank monetary policy.

• Describe the procedure for using financial intermediaries to balance daily cash flow transactions.

• Create a scoring system to evaluate any company's immediate "returns on money"

• Analyze the benefits and drawbacks of utilizing put and call options on FOREX futures as a risk management tool.

• Describe the main differences between FOREX cash and futures markets and currency swaps.

• Establish a practical interest-rate swap plan for a company's short-term liabilities.

• Examine all varieties of short-term money market securities in relation to cash holdings and credit conditions.

Targeted Audience:

• Banking professionals.

• Money market participants.

• FOREX traders.

• Derivatives market professionals.

• Financial institutions.

Program Outline:

Unit 1:

The Contemporary Landscape of Global Banking:

• Central Banks and Variations on Monetary Policies.

• SWIFT and Related Electronic Funds Transfers.

• Commercial Banking vs. Private Banking Clienteles and Funds Management Policies.

• The Intentions and Impacts of Quantitative Easing [QE] on Borrowing and Lending Policies.

• Foreign Trade Balances of Payments among Countries and Banking Intermediaries.

• The Impact of LIBOR, U.S. Prime, and other Short-term Benchmark Interest Rates.

• The Effects of Removing the “Gold Standard” in Backing Currency Valuations.

• The Role and Risks Associated with “Offshore Banking” and Non-regulated Transactions.

Unit 2:

Foreign Exchange [FOREX] and Global Currency Valuations:    

• Purchasing Power Parity and FOREX Conversion Pricing.

• Hedging Currency Risk Exposure with Long and Short Currency Futures Contracts.

• The Use of Put and Call Options on Foreign Currency Risk Exposure Mitigation.

• The Pound Sterling and Bank of England vs. Euros and European Central Bank Policies.

• Country GDP, Interest Rates, and Relative Currency Fluctuations. 

• Pegged Currencies vs. Free-Market Supply and Demand Currencies.

• The Role of Speculators, Hedgers, and Ultimate Long Positions in FOREX Markets.

• New “financially engineered” Products and Contractual Cash Flow Structures.

Unit 3:

Global Money Markets: 

• Understanding M1 M2 M3 and L.

• Bankers’ Acceptances [BAs] and Foreign Trade Credit Letters.

• Repurchase Agreements [Repos] and Commercial Paper.

• T-Bills and Deriving the Yield Curve: Implications for Global Interest Rates.

• Certificates of Deposit and other Short-term Bank Instruments.

• Fixed and Variable Bank Lines of Credit.

• Global “Money Centers” for Short-term Financial Intermediation.

• Cash Flow Management Strategies.

Unit 4:

New Banking Frontiers, Functions, and Cryptocurrencies:

• The Design, Development, and Launch of Bitcoin.

• Two-dozen Cryptocurrencies Follow the Bitcoin Lead.

• Direct “peer-to-peer” Financial Transactions.

• Dramatic Changes Coming in Global Banking Fees for Financial Intermediation.

• Geographic Trade Blocs, Trade Pacts, and New Paradigms in “Cash Flow Management”.

• Privacy Laws, Financial Disclosure, Collusion, Cartels, and Currency Innovations.

Unit5:

The Global Swap Markets:  

• History and Development of the Swap Market for Foreign Currency.

• History and Development of the Swap Market for Interest Rate Exchanges.

• Portfolio Approaches to Foreign Currency Management.

• Fixed-for-Fixed, Fixed-for-Floating, and Floating-for-Floating Interest Rate Swaps.

• Nominal Principal and Settlement Valuations.

• Bid-Ask Pricing Spreads and Market Efficiency in the Swap Markets.

• Minimizing Transaction Costs on Global Financial Intermediation.