THE PRIVATE BANKERS’ CLUB HAS NOW TURNED PUBLIC

THE PRIVATE BANKERS’ CLUB
HAS NOW TURNED PUBLIC
In the past, currency trading was exclusively accessible for individual speculators
through the futures industry, whereas the spot marketplace in the
banking arena was for the private bankers’ club, the privileged few. This
has all changed now, and the competition is fierce. The industry has expanded
from what was an exclusive club of proprietary hedge fund traders,
corporations, banks, and large institutions. Just to give you an idea of who
the competition is that takes part in the forex arena, here is the list of the
top five banks in the United States as of July 4, 2006, according to Fortune
magazine. This is in order of capitalization: Bank of America, JP Morgan,
Citigroup, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo. This does not include foreign banks
or pension funds who participate in trading. Forex is no longer exclusive to
the major trading firms, such as Goldman Sachs, Mitsubishi, Merrill Lynch,
and Morgan Stanley. Now it is available to any and all individual traders
who want to participate. You have 24-hour access in this market from your
home or office right off your desktop or laptop computer.
Forex trading is considered the behemoth of the investment world,
with more than $3.5 trillion in currency trading taking place per day, according
to the Bank for International Settlements. There is more daily volume
in the forex market than in all of the U.S. stock markets combined.
There is no doubt that that is one reason why foreign currency has become
so popular. Also, the market has liquidity; has favorable trading applications,
such as the ability to go long or short a position; and has a tendency
to trend well. Chart watchers love the currency market because it trades
well based off technical analysis studies.