The U.S. dollar index (/DX) is strong. Since early May, the /DX has climbed 5.30%. Potential catalysts for this rally include Brexit and the ensuing global uncertainty, and demand for safe-haven investments. Additionally, last week’s June labor report renewed talk that the Federal Reserve might sneak in a rate hike in 2016 after all.  “Uncertainty […]

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The Republican sweep of the White House and Congress in November unleashed a wave of U.S. dollar bullish sentiment as expectations of infrastructure spending and tighter monetary policy set up a perfect storm for U.S. dollar bulls. In just 12 trading sessions—from November 9 to November 24—the U.S. dollar index stormed a whopping 6.4% higher. […]

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Here’s a riddle: What asset class averages about $5.1 trillion in trading each day, is available virtually 24 hours a day, 6 days a week, affects each of us pretty much whenever we open the wallet or purse and swipe that card, yet most retail investors don’t participate directly? If you answered “foreign exchange,” congratulations. […]

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Suppose you’ve decided to venture into retail forex investing. You buy a foreign currency and hold the position for about a week. After a few days, you begin to notice something: your “open” position seems to be accruing credits (or debits) at the end of each business day. Later in the week, on a Wednesday, […]

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Once more of a niche experiment, cryptocurrencies have recently been thrust into the spotlight as the demand is driving up prices and many of them are growing at an astonishing pace. The next chapter in this story appears to be the recent launch of bitcoin futures on the Cboe Futures Exchange and CME, which provide […]

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The rapid rise in the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has attracted the attention of investors, financial companies, regulators, and the media alike. While many have had their interest piqued, it can be challenging to understand the basics of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.    There are a few reasons for that. First, there is […]

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To buy Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, or to sell (or to avoid them altogether)? As digital currencies and the blockchain technology underpinning them move into the mainstream, it’s a natural question many individual investors and traders are surely asking themselves these days. But learning how to buy Bitcoin is just the tip of the due […]

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Bitcoin typically commands much of the spotlight on the world’s cryptocurrency stage, and for good reason: for one, it’s by far the most actively traded cryptocurrency. But there are many other crypto fish in the sea. Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, and Zcash are just a few of the other crypto tokens and coins (often referred to as […]

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Key Takeaways A currency pair is the rate of exchange of one nation’s currency for that of another’s Trading venues for foreign exchange include the futures market and the spot forex market Forex trading involves leverage, which means you can control a large investment with a relatively small amount of money Around the globe, and […]

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Key Takeaways There’s more to volatility than the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), which measures the volatility of the S&P 500 Index (SPX) Learn about foreign exchange volatility, why it might matter to investors, and how to measure it Despite what you may read in the papers and see on the business reports, there’s a lot […]

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