Each country issued their own banknotes as currency. Different names were given to them such as Franc, Dinar, Krone, Lira, Peso, Mark, Rial, Pound, Rupee and Ruble. Some countries gave their currencies the same name as, for example, dollar by Canada, the United States, Malaysia, Australia, Zimbabwe and Singapore. A common currency has been adopted by some as Euro for the European Union. International trade in goods and services required the trade to be transacted with their respective currencies. The exchange rates between the currencies of the trading countries required …

Investment is an important activity in business management, finance and economics. Investment is the allocation of resources to creating future benefits instead of being consumed today. Investment is made on assets that will earn a profit or income in the future. Investment may be made by individuals or organizations. Investment is made on an instrument that offers a possibility of future income or profit with a lower risk. But if the investment is made on an instrument that is either not properly analyzed or which has a very high risk …

Saving and investment are indeed closely related. Normally people invest what they have saved. Saving is what is left of the disposable income or money after spending on consumption. This saving is invested to ensure future income. The choice of what to invest on is a matter to be decided by the investor who also decides how much to invest and when to invest. The understanding of investment opportunities will decide what investments are made. The investor will need to understand what are the risks involved in the investment opportunities …

Investments can also be speculative investments. It becomes speculation when the investment is made without adequate analysis. Or the investor is only interested in short-term investments. This type of investment carries a higher risk as they depend on fluctuation in the prices of the assets where the price does not directly reflect the real value of the asset.

The value of money is what value we give to it at any point of time. The value given to money is determined in relation to the value given to goods and services. Before money was conceived, the exchange of goods and services were carried out as direct exchanges. You looked out for someone who had goods that you need and who also want the goods that you have. This system, called barter, was unwieldy. In order to make trade easier, money was invented. You could simply find someone who …

Currency is the most important form of money in the present world. But it was not always like this. Earlier, coins usually made of gold or silver was used as a form of money. Coins have a natural or inherent value. Gold coins were used for large purchases while silver or copper coins were used for smaller purchases during the medieval period. However, this has been replaced with banknotes. Banknotes are worthless otherwise in terms of natural or inherent value unlike gold coins. These banknotes get the value by decree …

You will be able to invest only when you have money to invest. You will have money to invest only if you have saved some. You will be able to save some money only if you have avoided spending it or deferred the spending for the time being. You invest because you want to earn some money by investing. You invest on what you think will earn you money. You need to make an analysis of what opportunities are available to you. There are a whole lot of economic activities …

Investors may also indulge in speculative investment. It is not as though that all investments are speculative. When an investor makes an investment on financial assets or financial vehicles, the investor expects to make an earning in the future when these are sold. What makes the investment speculative is when the investor invests without having made an assessment of the financial assets in which the investor is investing. It may be that the asset carries with it a high risk and yet the investor invests. The risk could be so …

The foreign exchange market with a daily business of UD$4 million has many players. They include Non-bank Foreign Exchange Companies, Central banks, Investment management firms, Banks, Retail foreign exchange brokers, Commercial companies, Hedge funds as speculators and Money Transfer or Remittance Companies. Various economic factors will decide the value of money which in turn influences the rate at which that currency is traded with another currency. The economic policy of the government as well as its central bank will influence the value of its currency. The budget of the government …