Forex History

.In 1967, a Chicago bank refused a college professor by the name of Milton Friedman a loan in pound sterling because he had intended to use the funds to short the British currency. Friedman, ho had perceived sterling to be priced too high against the dollar, wanted to sell the currency, then later buy it back to repay the bank after the currency declined, thus pocketing a quick profit. The bank's refusal to grant the loan was due to the Bretton Woods Agreement, established twenty years earlier, which fixed national currencies against the dollar, and set the dollar at a rate of per ounce of gold.The Bretton Woods Agreement, set up in 1944, aimed at installing international monetary stability by preventing money from fleeing across nations, and restricting speculation in the world currencies Prior to the Agreement, the gold exchange standard--prevailing between 1876 and World War I--dominated the international economic system. Under the gold. exchange, currencies gained a new phase of stability as they were backed by the price of gold. It abolished the age-old practice used by kings and rulers of arbitrarily debasing money and triggering inflation. But the gold exchange standard didn't lack faults. As an economy strengthened, it would import heavily from abroad until it ran down its gold reserves required to back its money. As a result, money supply would shrink, interest rates rose and economic activity slowed to the extent of recession. Ultimately, prices of goods had hit bottom, appearing attractive to other nations, which would rush into buying sprees that injected the economy with gold until it increased its money supply, and drive down interest rates and recreate wealth into the economy. Such boom-bust patterns prevailed throughout the gold standard until the outbreak of World War I interrupted trade flows and the free movement of gold.After the Wars, the Bretton Woods Agreement was founded, where participating countries agreed to try and maintain the value of their currency with a narrow margin against the dollar and a corresponding rate of gold as needed. Countries were prohibited from devaluing their currencies to their trade advantage and were only allowed to do so for devaluations of less than 10%. Into the 1950s, the ever-expanding volume of international trade led to massive movements of capital generated by post-war construction. That destabilized foreign exchange rates as set up in Bretton Woods.The Agreement was finally abandoned in 1971, and the US dollar would no longer be convertible into gold. By 1973, currencies of major industrialized nations became more freely floating, controlled mainly by the forces of supply and demand which acted in the foreign exchange market. Prices were floated daily, with volumes, speed and price volatility all increasing throughout the 1970s, giving rise to new financial instruments, market deregulation and trade liberalization.In the 1980s, cross-border capital movements accelerated with the advent of computers and technology, extending market continuum through Asian, European and American time zones. Transactions in foreign exchange rocketed from about billion a day in the 1980s, to more than .5 trillion a day two decades later.HOW TO EARN MONEY WITH FOREXSince it might be a bit complicated for a beginner to figure out how to make money in Forex, we offer you this example:You believe that the Euro to US Dollar (EURUSD) rate will increase. In your account you have 2000 USD (eGlobal-standard). At a price of 1.2750 you buy 150,000 Euro for 150,000*1.2750 = 191,250 USD.This is possible because of the credit, which allows you to make transactions worth 100 times more than funds you have in your account (in this specific case, the maximum sum available for transactions is 2000*100 = 200,000 USD).After a period of time, the exchange rate increases. You sell 150,000 Euro at the rate of 1.2850 and get 150,000*1.2850 = 192,750 USD.Thus, after buying at a low rate and selling at a high rate, the difference 192,750 - 191,250 = 1500 $ is your gain. You have earned 75% of initial funds in your account, while the rate increased by 0.8%.Another way of making a profit on Forex is based on the decrease of the quotation rate of the EURUSD currency pair:Having created a real account with 200 USD in it (eGlobal-mini), you determine the upper and lower limits on the Euro to Dollar chart and sell 15,000 Euro (0.15 lot) at the upper limit for a price of 1.2850 (bid price) USD for 1 Euro, which equals 19,275 USD (15,000 Euro multiplied by the rate of 1.2850).You have funds in USD in your account, but you can sell Euro using the automatic borrowing system. Hence, the company lends you 15,000 Euro free of charge, which you can sell by sending a selling request. Due to the leverage, the actual deposit is 100 times less than the sum sold: 15,000/100 = 150 euro. At a rate of 1.2850 this equals 192,75 USD. This very sum is going to be a deposit for a credit (marginal) transaction for your account. The maximum possible deposit in this case equals 200 USD.Then during the day the price drops to the lower limit and you decide to buy 15,000 Euro at a price of 1.2750 (ask price) USD for 1 Euro, which equals 19,125 USD. The 15,000 Euro that you have bought are written off your account towards the repayment of the company loan, while the difference is left in your account.Thus, due to the fall in the exchange rate you earn the difference between sold and bought, which is 19,275 - 19,125 = 150 USD. You managed to earn 75% (150 dollars) of your initial sum of 200 USD due to a rate decrease by 0.8% (from 1.2850 to 1.2750) in only one day.The company takes a commission in the form of the difference between the ask and bid prices or spread, which in this example is 3 USD (spread of EuroDollar pair equals 0.0002 or 2 pips). More detailed information on terminology is in the .In these examples, the spread is not taken into consideration while calculating percentages of rate changes because of its non-essential influence on the results. In the case of mircoForex or eGlobal-standard the calculations are similar with a difference only in account currency US cents for micro, USD for mini & standard. The consecutive use of the transactions shown gives the income of 75%+75% = 150%. In actual practice a much greater return may be achieved by using corresponding money management methods. Risk management methods also play an important role in trade.