How the Trading Floor Really Works

Other Asset Classes

Having provided the basis of the financial markets in the form of the two asset classes, equity and fixed income, we can now easily expand into other asset classes, such as currencies, commodities and emerging markets. The currency market (also called the foreign exchange market or the FX market) is simply where different currencies are exchanged. The drivers of the currency market are numerous, although the main ones are global entities with operations in different locations, investors who have cash in one currency but want to invest in a financial product in another currency, governments who are managing their exchange rate and speculators who have a view on one currency vs. another. Like other asset classes, banks play ...