Forex Today

While some countries have still not accepted the currency as
their own (such as Britain, who still uses the sterling pound),
the process of currency conversion has been simplified
without the large number of various currencies that were
previously dealt with. Instead of dozens of currencies, the
main countries trade in five – U.S. dollars, Australian dollars,
British pounds sterling, the Euro, and the Japanese Yen.
Today, the Foreign Exchange Market is international and
worldwide. The market is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a
week, to accommodate all of the time zones for all of the
major players. These now include most of Europe, the
United States, and Asian markets, especially Japan. Even
Australia has joined the international trading markets, and
since such nations are halfway around the world from some
of the other top players, time zones obviously must be taken
into consideration.
Another completely separate but perhaps more important
concern with trading in Forex is understanding how trade
works in multiple currencies. How can you compare the
value of a stock across international lines if the values are
expressed in two separate, non-equivalent currencies? And
how do you measure gains and losses when conversion rate
is constantly changing?