Foreign exchange - Topics

Why the Swiss franc and the yen behave like safe havens Borrowing in a currency you do not earn in adds exchange risk to an already heavy burden Futures and forwards do the same job — where do they genuinely diverge? Why exchange rates move most in the first hour of Asian trading What full convertibility means and why so few currencies have it Travel cards vs cash: the cheapest way to spend abroad Why a card payment abroad costs more than the exchange rate suggests What a 7 percent transfer fee takes out of a family's food budget Forward contracts and how importers hedge currency risk Why the Philippines corridor costs less than the Mexico corridor The mid-market rate is the only honest benchmark for a conversion What the spread really costs on a currency conversion Why do emerging market crises almost always begin with a currency peg breaking? Why banks mark up the rate on small transfers How did the 1997 Asian currency crisis jump from Thailand to Korea in months? How does a selloff in one country's bond market become a crisis everywhere within a week? Why merchants abroad charge you in your home currency Why sending 200 dollars home costs more than sending 2000 Why the airport kiosk rate is so much worse than the interbank rate How exchange rates are actually formed in the interbank market When to convert money before a trip and when to wait The dollar still dominates reserves even as its share keeps slipping Why do foreign buyers pay a premium and still call it a bargain? Reading a currency quote: base and quote currency explained Sending money into a country with capital controls changes the rate you get