A gauge of broad activity in the manufacturing sector located in the Fifth Federal Reserve District, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The index is a composite index that represents a weighted average of the shipments, new orders and employment indexes. Each index is a diffusion index, i.e. it is equal to the percentage of responding firms reporting increases minus the percentage reporting decreases, with results based on responses from 80 out of 110 firms surveyed. |||Traders consider the Richmond Manufacturing Index of some importance because it is released close to month-end and may offer some clues on what the influential Institute for Supply Management (ISM) national manufacturing report - released at the beginning of the month - may hold. The price trends data in the index is also watched to get an early read on potential inflation.
A sovereign wealth fund established on the Pacific island of Kiribati. The fund was created in order to manage earnings stemming from the county's phosphate mining industry, which at the time of establishment accounted for over half of Kiribati's government revenue, and was the country's largest export. |||The Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund was established in 1956. By the late 1970s the country had exhausted its phosphate deposits, and the per capita GDP was cut in half between 1979 and 1981. Since that time, Kiribati has been largely dependent on foreign aid, tourism and the sale of fishing rights.
A calculated adjustment to a country's official exchange rate relative to a chosen baseline. The baseline can be anything from wage rates to the price of gold to a foreign currency. In a fixed exchange rate regime, only a decision by a country's government (i.e. central bank) can alter the official value of the currency. Contrast to "devaluation". |||For example, suppose a government has set 10 units of its currency equal to one U.S. dollar. To revalue, the government might change the rate to five units per dollar. This would result in that currency being twice as expensive to people buying that currency with U.S. dollars than previously and the U.S. dollar costing half as much to those buying it with foreign currency. Before the Chinese government revalued the yuan, it was pegged to the U.S. dollar. It is now pegged to a basket of world currencies.
The net interest return on a currency position held by a trader. The rollover rate converts net currency interest rates, which are given as a percentage, into a cash return for the position. Since a trader is long one currency and short another, the net effect of both interest rates has to be calculated. In forex, a rollover means that a position is extended at the end of the trading day without settling. |||For example, an investor has a long 100,000 EUR/USD at a rate of 1.3000. The EUR interest rate is 2%, or a daily rate of 0.0054%, and the USD is 3% or a daily rate of 0.0081%. The interest on the EUR is (100,000 * 0.0054%) 5.40 EUR; the USD costs (130,000 * 0.0081%) 10.53 USD. Converting the EUR to USD, 5.40 * 1.3000 = USD 7.02. The net USD amount is 7.02 - 10.53 = - 3.51, which is divided by the 100,000 position. On a long EUR/USD position, the rollover costs 0.00003562, or 0.3562 pips.
Market currency rates from a specific point in time that are used as a base value by currency traders to assess whether a profit or a loss has been realized for the day. In most cases, the revaluation rate is the closing rate for the previous trading day. |||For example, in order to assess how much profit a currency trader made today, he or she would use yesterday's closing rate (today's revaluation rate) of 1.15 USD/CAD as a baseline for comparing today's closing rate of 1.145 USD/CAD. If the trader shorts the U.S. dollar in early trading and then buys it back at the end of the day, he or she will make $0.005 for every U.S. dollar traded.
In foreign exchange trading, a loss caused by an unfavorable difference in daily interest rates between the currencies being traded. Essentially, a trader earns interest on the currency that has been loaned out, and pays interest on the currency that has been borrowed. If the interest earned on the loaned currency is lower than the interest paid on the borrowed currency, the trader will have a rollover debit. |||Suppose a trader has borrowed 100,000 euros and loaned U.S. dollars (100,000 EUR/USD). Suppose also that the short term interest rate on euros is 3% and the rate on U.S. dollars is 2%. In this case, our trader is paying interest at 3% per annum on the borrowed euros, and only earning 2% per annum on the loaned U.S. dollars.
Interest paid to a forex trader who holds a position overnight. An overnight position is one that is not closed on the same day, and is still open as of 5pm EST. If the interest rate on the currency that the trader purchased is higher than the interest rate on the currency that the trader is selling, she will receive a rollover credit based on the full value of the trade for the difference in interest rates. |||If the trader is buying a currency that has a lower interest rate than the currency the trader is selling and the trader holds the position overnight, she will have to pay interest. This is known as a rollover debit. Brokers automatically apply rollover credits or debits to traders’ accounts. Some investors take advantage of this aspect of forex trading and try to increase their returns by earning interest with rollover credits.
The study of the underlying uncertainty of a given course of action. Risk analysis refers to the uncertainty of forecasted future cash flows streams, variance of portfolio/stock returns, statistical analysis to determine the probability of a project's success or failure, and possible future economic states. Risk analysts often work in tandem with forecasting professionals to minimize future negative unforseen effects. |||Almost all sorts of large businesses require a minimum sort of risk analysis. For example, commercial banks need to properly hedge foreign exchange exposure of oversees loans while large department stores must factor in the possibility of reduced revenues due to a global recession. Risk analysis allows professionals to identify and mitigate risks, but not avoid them completely. Proper risk analysis often includes mathematical and statistical software programs.