Definition of Currency future

Currency future

A financial future contract for the delivery of a specified foreign currency.

Asian currency units (ACUs)

Dollar deposits held in Singapore or other Asian centers.

Blocked currency

A currency that is not freely convertible to other currencies due to exchange controls.

Currency

Money.

Currency arbitrage

Taking advantage of divergences in exchange rates in different money markets by
buying a currency in one market and selling it in another market.

Currency basket

The value of a portfolio of specific amounts of individual currencies, used as the basis for
setting the market value of another currency. It is also referred to as a currency cocktail.

Currency option

An option to buy or sell a foreign currency.

Currency risk

Related: Exchange rate risk

Currency risk sharing

An agreement by the parties to a transaction to share the currency risk associated with
the transaction. The arrangement involves a customized hedge contract embedded in the underlying
transaction.

Currency selection

Asset allocation in which the investor chooses among investments denominated in
different currencies.

Currency swap

An agreement to swap a series of specified payment obligations denominated in one currency
for a series of specified payment obligations denominated in a different currency.

Deferred futures

The most distant months of a futures contract. A bond that sells at a discount and does not
pay interest for an initial period, typically from three to seven years. Compare step-up bond and payment-inkind
bond.

Devaluation A decrease in the spot price of the currency

Dual-currency issues

Eurobonds that pay coupon interest in one currency but pay the principal in a different
currency.

Eurocurrency deposit

A short-term fixed rate time deposit denominated in a currency other than the local
currency (i.e. US$ deposited in a London bank).

Eurocurrency market

The money market for borrowing and lending currencies that are held in the form of
deposits in banks located outside the countries of the currencies issued as legal tender.

European Currency Unit (ECU)

An index of foreign exchange consisting of about 10 European currencies,
originally devised in 1979.

Expected future cash flows

Projected future cash flows associated with an asset of decision.

Expected future return

The return that is expected to be earned on an asset in the future. Also called the
expected return.

Financial future

A contract entered into now that provides for the delivery of a specified asset in exchange
for the selling price at some specified future date.

Foreign currency

Foreign money.

Foreign currency option

An option that conveys the right to buy or sell a specified amount of foreign
currency at a specified price within a specified time period.

Foreign currency translation

The process of restating foreign currency accounts of subsidiaries into the
reporting currency of the parent company in order to prepare consolidated financial statements.

Future

A term used to designate all contracts covering the sale of financial instruments or physical
commodities for future delivery on a commodity exchange.

Future investment opportunities

The options to identify additional, more valuable investment opportunities
in the future that result from a current opportunity or operation.

Future value

The amount of cash at a specified date in the future that is equivalent in value to a specified
sum today.

Futures

A term used to designate all contracts covering the sale of financial instruments or physical
commodities for future delivery on a commodity exchange.

Futures commission merchant

A firm or person engaged in soliciting or accepting and handling orders for
the purchase or sale of futures contracts, subject to the rules of a futures exchange and, who, in connection
with such solicitation or acceptance of orders, accepts any money or securities to margin any resulting trades
or contracts. The FCM must be licensed by the CFTC. Related: commission house , omnibus account

Futures contract

Agreement to buy or sell a set number of shares of a specific stock in a designated future
month at a price agreed upon by the buyer and seller. The contracts themselves are often traded on the futures
market. A futures contract differs from an option because an option is the right to buy or sell, whereas a
futures contract is the promise to actually make a transaction. A future is part of a class of securities called
derivatives, so named because such securities derive their value from the worth of an underlying investment.

Futures contract multiple

A constant, set by an exchange, which when multiplied by the futures price gives
the dollar value of a stock index futures contract.

Futures market

A market in which contracts for future delivery of a commodity or a security are bought or sold.

Futures option

An option on a futures contract. Related: options on physicals.

Futures price

The price at which the parties to a futures contract agree to transact on the settlement date.

Hard currency

A freely convertible currency that is not expected to depreciate in value in the foreseeable future.

London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE)

A London exchange where Eurodollar futures
as well as futures-style options are traded.

London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE)

London exchange where Eurodollar futures as well as futures-style options are traded.

Most distant futures contract

When several futures contracts are considered, the contract settling last.
Related: nearby futures contract

Multicurrency clause

Such a clause on a Euro loan permits the borrower to switch from one currency to
another currency on a rollover date.

Multicurrency loans

Give the borrower the possibility of drawing a loan in different currencies.

National Futures Association (NFA)

The futures industry self regulatory organization established in 1982.

Nearby futures contract

When several futures contracts are considered, the contract with the closest
settlement date is called the nearby futures contract. The next futures contract is the one that settles just after
the nearby futures contract. The contract farthest away in time from settlement is called the most distant
futures contract.

Net present value of future investments

The present value of the total sum of NPVs expected to result from
all of the firm's future investments.

Next futures contract

The contract settling immediately after the nearby futures contract.

Reporting currency

The currency in which the parent firm prepares its own financial statements; that is, U.S.
dollars for a U.S. company.

Reserve currency

A foreign currency held by a central bank or monetary authority for the purposes of
exchange intervention and the settlement of inter-governmental claims.

Soft currency

A currency that is expected to drop in value relative to other currencies.

Spot futures parity theorem

Describes the theoretically correct relationship between spot and futures prices.
Violation of the parity relationship gives rise to arbitrage opportunities.

Theoretical futures price

Also called the fair price, the equilibrium futures price.

Virtual currency option

A new option contract introduced by the PHLX in 1994 that is settled in US$ rather
than in the underlying currency. These options are also called 3-Ds (dollar denominated delivery).

Future Value

The amount a given payment, or series of payments, will be worth
at the end of a specified time period, if invested at a given rate

future value

the amount to which one or more sums of
money invested at a specified interest rate will grow over
a specified number of time periods

Future value

The value that a sum of money (the present value) earning
compound interest will have in the future.

future value

Amount to which an investment will grow after earning interest.

futures contract

Exchange-traded promise to buy or sell an asset in the future at a prespecified price.

Futures Contract

A contract in which the seller agrees to provide something to a buyer at a specified future date at an agreed price.

Reserve Currency

A currency, frequently the U.S. dollar, that is used by other countries to denominate the assets they hold as international reserves.

Future-Oriented Financial Information

Information about prospective results of operations, financial position and/or changes in financial position, based on assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action. future-oriented financial information is presented as either a forecast or a projection.

Future Value

The amount to which a payment or series of payments will grow by a given future date when compounded by a given interest rate. FVIF future value interest factor.

Foreign exchange swap

An agreement to exchange stipulated amounts of one currency for another currency
at one or more future dates.

Forward cover

Purchase or sale of forward foreign currency in order to offset a known future cash flow.

Forward exchange rate

Exchange rate fixed today for exchanging currency at some future date.

Transaction exposure

Risk to a firm with known future cash flows in a foreign currency that arises from
possible changes in the exchange rate. Related:translation exposure.

Hedging

Reducing one's exposure to risk by buying and selling contracts for future delivery (of foreign currency, for example) at a price that is determined now.

Related to : financial, finance, business, accounting, payroll, inventory, investment, money, inventory control, stock trading, financial advisor, tax advisor, credit.