Futures markets (hedging) - types of exchanges

Read the text and answer the questions:

1. What is a futures market?

2. What is a hedging operation?

3. What futures markets existed?

4. What new futures markets appeared?

5. What are the areas of financial hedging?

If just a decade ago there only existed different types of Commodity Exchanges (along with the Stock Exchange), now as the sphere of the application of hedging has broadened, there appeared new kinds of Exchanges, such as the London International Financial Futures Exchange (Liffe) and the Baltic International Freight Futures Exchange (Biffex) whose hedging operations grow from day to day not only in scope but in variety, too.

Existing Financial Hedging

One of the oldest exchanges which has a 184-year history is the London Stock Exchange which had been dealing until recently in stocks, shares and government securities, and to whose trading floor only its members were admitted. Nowadays the whole outlook of the Stock Exchange has altered. It is no longer a market place for insiders only, it opened its trading floor to non-members (outsiders) by launching the market's first foreign currency futures contracts - the dollar/sterling options in 1985. They are similar to options on individual stocks but based on currencies. Options give the right to buy or sell the currency, but not the obligation like futures contracts in the months ahead at a fixed price regardless of exchange rate movements. The Stock Exchange planned three, six, nine and 12-month contracts with a choice of different fixed strike prices or exchange rates.

The world's biggest currency options exchange, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, the USA, was the first to introduce dollar/pound options two- and- a - half years before. The other exchanges offering a dollar/pound option are the European Options Exchange, Amsterdam, The Chicago Exchange.

The London Stock Exchange hopes to establish common option nets with the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, which would allow opened in London to be closed in Philadelphia.

Terms for Hedging Deals

The members of the currency options markets use the futures contracts and options to hedge their cash market positions. Standard terms for new financial instruments traded in the UK, such as options and swaps, were prepared in 1985.

There are three areas of financial hedging:

Interest rate swaps. These are deals in which two parties raise funds in different markets on different terms and essentially swap the benefits. Short-term inter-bank swaps have become a money market activity

Currency options. These convey the right though not the obligation buy or sell a currency at an agreed price at some future date. Options are divided into "calls", which provide the right to buy, and "puts” which give the right to sell the same amount, and are called "call options" and "put options" accordingly. Currency options are a fast growing hedging technique, since they entitle their holders to buy or sell a currency in a specified period at a fixed price which allows users to establish their foreign currency costs in advance of a transaction.

Forward rate agreements. These are agreements, usually between banks, to compensate each other for the effects of changes in interest rates at the end of agreed period.

Notes to the text:

Option – право на продажу или покупку валюты или ценных бумаг в фиксированном объеме к определенной дате по цене использования опциона.

Swap – обменная операция, своп

Call option - Опцион «колл», опцион, предназначенный для покупки

Put option - Опцион «пут», опцион, предназначенный для продажи.

Exercise 1. Translate the text

Фьючерсный контракт ( Futures Contract) – это договор о покупке или продаже фиксированного количества определенного товара, валюты или ценных бумаг для их поставки в оговоренную дату в будущем по согласованной цене. В отличии от опциона Фьючерсный контракт связан с определенной покупкой или продажей, а не просто с возможностью купли и продажи; поэтому он может повлечь убытки. В то же время фьючерсы ( futures) удобны для тех, кто должен регулярно закупать товары, поскольку позволяют обезопасить себя от колебания цен. Условием такого страхования( хеджирования) является готовность биржевых игроков заключать подобные контракты.

Своп – способ позволяющий обменять один тип валюты или других средств на другой, который необходим, как правило, при посредничестве банка. Например, британская компания обнаруживает, что она может легко получить заем в фунтах стерлингов, но в действительности ей нужен заем в немецких марках. Немецкая компания может столкнуться с противоположной проблемой. Своп позволяет этим компаниям обменять валюту.

Exercise 2 . Make your own reports on Futures and Options Markets.

Exercise 3. Read and translate two articles and compare them in writing