What are the business cycles and how do they affect economy and our life? Business cycles are the fluctuations in economic activity that occur over time. They are characterised by alternating periods of expansion and contraction, which affect various aspects … Continue reading What are the business cycles?
Financial Options: A Guide to Puts and Calls If you are interested in trading financial options, you need to understand the basics of puts and calls. These are the two types of derivative contracts that give you the right, but … Continue reading What are financial options?
Bias is a disproportionate weight in favour of or against an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. We typically hear about the biases in a social context, however the investing decisions as well … Continue reading Biases and behavioural finance
In the intricate world of financial markets, efficiency and transparency are paramount and the SEC (US regulatory body) has adopted the rule to shorten the settlement cycle and yet another step to improve the financial markets. The new settlement cycle … Continue reading Moving to T+1 Settlement: Streamlining the Financial Markets
Commodities trading refers to the buying and selling of raw materials that are either grown (agricultural commodities) or mined (metallic and non-metallic minerals). These materials are traded on specialized markets called commodities exchanges. Some examples of commodities include metals such … Continue reading Commodities
Futures and forwards are financial derivatives that are used to hedge against or speculate on the price movements of an underlying asset. The forwards gave birth to derivative markets and were initially used for various commodities only. With the development … Continue reading What are futures and forwards?
An ETF, or exchange-traded fund, is a type of investment vehicle that holds a diverse portfolio of assets and trades on a stock exchange, similar to a stock. ETFs can hold a wide range of assets, including stocks, bonds, commodities, … Continue reading What are exchange-traded fund (ETFs)?
The asset management industry is a financial services sector that includes companies and organizations that manage investments on behalf of clients. Asset management firms offer a range of investment products and services, including various funds covering wide range of both … Continue reading What is asset management industry?
Securities lending is a financial transaction in which an investor lends out securities, such as stocks or bonds, to another party in exchange for a fee. Securities lending is typically used to facilitate various types of financial transactions, such as … Continue reading What is securities lending?
Liability-driven investing (LDI) is an investment strategy that aims to align the investments of a pension fund or other institutional investor with the liabilities or obligations it is expected to meet. In other words, LDI seeks to match the assets … Continue reading What is LDI?
Introduction ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. It refers to a set of standards that measure the sustainability and societal impact of an investment in a company or business. Investors and financial institutions use ESG criteria to evaluate the … Continue reading ESG in finance
All financial institutions are subject to various laws and regulations that are designed to protect consumers and ensure that they are treated fairly. If these laws or regulations are violated, an institution could potentially face fines or other penalties. This … Continue reading What is compliance?
We hear this term in the news a lot. The economic downturn supported by the de-globalization triggered by the Russia-Ukrainian war as well as the increase in energy costs caused this term to appear in the news on the daily … Continue reading What is Inflation?
Market updates This week’s market updates will focus on the bond markets and yield curves. Overall the equities markets have rebounded displaying the high level of confidence, but the yield curves and hikes tell us an opposite story with the … Continue reading Weekly Market Update – 01-07 August 2022
Introduction to yield curve The definition of a yield curve states that it is a line that plots interest rates of bonds that have an equal credit quality across differing maturity dates. The slope of the yield curve gives an … Continue reading What is a yield curve?
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