Advantages of Currency Derivative Trading by Ebele Kemery

Trading in the Stock Market can be done through various manners. While some choose to buy and sell stock/shares, there are others who choose to trade through derivatives.

Derivatives are basically financial instruments or contracts which base their value on the performance of spot market price, (also known as the underlying variable market conditions such as bond, stock or currency. These underlying market conditions may be interest rates, market indexes, equity prices, currency exchange rates, market securities and credit. These transactions can be of different types such as futures, options, swaps, floors, caps, collars, structured debt obligations and deposits, forwards; or any combination.
Derivative Trading usually takes place on a separate/individual derivative exchange/a separate segment of an existing stock exchange.

There are two types of derivative instruments which are traded;

Futures: This is an agreement between two parties, either to buy or sell a particular asset at a certain time in the future at a certain price. Future contracts are usually settled in cash. These are particularly used in the commodities market. Future contracts are always denominated in a particular currency; where the purchase a speculation for the value of the commodity as well as the currency in which the contract is made.

Options: This is a contract where the investor has the option - not an obligation to buy or sell an underlying at a future stated date at a pre-determined price. They may be of two different types:

- Calls: These give the buyers the right (not an obligation) to buy a particular given quantity of the 'underlying asset' at a particular price; either on or before a pre-decided date.
- Puts: These give the buyers the right (not the obligation) to sell a particular quantity of an underlying asset at a particular price; either on or before a pre-determined date.


All option contracts are settled in cash

There are two categories of derivative contracts:
1) Over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives: These types of derivatives do not trade on formal stock or future exchanges or through a centralized counterparty.
2) Exchange-traded derivatives: These types of derivatives are traded through specialized derivative exchanges or any other exchange.

The foreign currency market, which is the largest trading market in the world, is also known as 'FX' or 'Forex'.
This market is based on trading on currencies. This market trades currency derivatives - financial instruments which are based on foreign currency.

What are Currency Derivatives?
These are types of contracts where currencies are traded in the form of futures or contracts and can be traded as assets in their own right. Investors who choose to buy future contracts in currencies are buying the right to exchange a certain amount of a particular commodity at a future date.
This type of trading usually involves the following parties:
•    Traders-importers/exporters
•    Arbitrageurs
•    Speculators
•    Hedgers
•    Stockists


Advantages of Currency Derivatives Trading
1. Hedging: Hedging basically refers to making an investment where you can reduce the risk of price movements in an asset. You can not only protect your foreign exchange exposure but also hedge potential losses by taking necessary positions for the same. For e.g. you could hedge if you had a feeling that the USDINR was going to depreciate.

2. Speculation: Speculation refers toengaging in risky financial transactions with an attempt to make profits from short or medium term fluctuations in the market value of a tradable good.

3. Leverage: Leverage basically refers to the use of different financial instruments or borrowed capital such as margin so as to increase the potential return of an investment. By trading in currency derivatives by just paying a % value known as the margin amount instead of the full traded value

4. Arbitrage: Arbitrage refers to the process of purchasing and selling the same security; at the same time in different markets. This is done to take advantage of a price difference between the two separate markets.

5. Style of Trading: There is transparent online trading and no insider trading involved in currency trading

Ebele Kemery is a Portfolio manager - Head of Energy Investing at JPMorgan Asset Management. Ebele Kemery has proven track record of robust and consistent profitable returns in commodities.. Ebele provides useful tips and knowledge on wide array of online trading services such as equity, currency derivatives, bonds and debentures, mutual funds and gold investment.
For more info please visit: http://ebelekemery.strikingly.com/

Alternative Energy Advantages - Ebele Kemery

Ebele Kemery: The continued use of fossil fuels has come under a lot of scrutiny in recent times. We keep hearing about alternative energy and how they should be used in lieu of fossil fuels. Have you entertained this thought at all? Do you wonder what the advantages of using alternative energy are and how you can benefit from it?
First, let us be clear about what alternative or renewable energy is. Alternative energy is the term used for energy sources other than fossil fuels. Although not all alternative sources of energy are renewable, for our discussion purposes, we will limit ourselves to renewable energy resources.

Renewable sources of energy are those that cannot be depleted and therefore, will never run out. Examples of these are sun, wind, running water, tide, wave, and still many others. To illustrate this point, imagine using wind power to generate electricity for your home. The wind is always in the atmosphere, blowing in your surroundings. Its strength and speed may not always be the same, but you can be assured that your use of this energy now will not diminish your supply of wind in the future.
In fact, that is one very obvious advantage of using alternative or renewable energy. Unlike fossil fuels where the supply of which is in rapid decline, we will never have to worry about running out of renewable energy. That isn't going to happen.

Another very important advantage of using alternative energy is its contribution to environmental well-being. The burning of fossil fuels, a process required in converting them into a consumable energy, pollutes the environment in a non-repairable manner. Global warming, or the warming up of the earth due to enhanced emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, is a very prevalent problem the whole world is facing. And fossil fuels are a major contributor to this environmental concern.

On the other hand, the use of renewable energy does not bring forth an enhanced emission of greenhouse gases because burning is no longer required for their use. Also, alternative energy sources such as wind power, solar power, hydro energy, tidal power, and wave energy are clean and unpolluted. So, aside from not adding to the pollution caused by enhanced greenhouse gases, these types of alternative energy do not contribute to other forms of environmental degradation. Whatever impact the use of renewable energy entails, it is very minimal compared to the consequences of using fossil fuels.

Moreover, the use of alternative energy will benefit the local economy because we will no longer need to import fossil fuels to generate electricity. Since electricity will now be generated locally, it will also mean more job opportunities for the locals.
Using alternative energy can sometimes require substantial capital investment, but in the long run, it will undoubtedly be more cost-efficient for the economy or the investor, especially since the supply is practically free. And more importantly, it will be of the very least cost to the environment.

Ebele Kemery is a member of the Global Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities (GFICC) Group. Based in New York, Ebele is the head of Energy Investing within the Commodities team and is a Commodities Leader with a track record of consistently profitable trading efforts.
To know more about her please visit: http://ebelekemery.freeblog.site/about

The World Needs Women Entrepreneurs - Ebele Kemery

There is a gradual but steady global shift that will result in women being the inevitable future leaders of our societies. If not, at the very least the current imbalance will be redressed.
On a smaller scale there is also a huge opportunity for any business or organisation that can step out of its limited, "safe" traditions and bring forward a more rounded, holistic and balanced way of doing things. Women and their inherent creativity are uniquely positioned to do this.

But the game of business is a game created by men. That's a procreation thing, governed by genetics. Men regularly used to venture forth and conquer other civilizations, raping and pillaging as they went. They would kill the men and impregnate the women because it was a matter of survival - about fulfillment of their bloodline. That's what they used to do. Now they do it in business.

Men typically do business from a win-lose point of view. From their perspective "For me to win, you have to lose. The 'pie' of business is only so big, and my job is to go and carve out as big a piece of pie as I can."

In contrast the attitude generally taken by women is, "Well here is a pie that's only so big. Why don't we see how we can make that pie go further? Or why not share the pie and enjoy it? Or why don't we work at making another pie - then I can have a pie, and you can have a pie and we'll have more pie." So it's very much about win-win.
Over the last 25 years it's been observed by Ebele Kemery that better business is done by people who are playing win-win.

Men will go to extreme lengths to compete and win while women want a completely different business experience. The critical challenge for women comes when they go out into the world and declare "I want to play win-win in business", and all the men go "Yes, we want to play win-win too!"
But the reality is that the men are still playing win-lose. This will overwhelm every time. This is because if somebody is playing win-lose but telling you that they are playing win-win, as a win-win player you'll trust them. You'll go along with it and be taken advantage of every time.

So what do most women do? Some will play along with the men's rules, but many will start their own businesses. Women can (very slowly) change corporate culture from the inside, or they can change the world by starting their own companies. Becoming an entrepreneur doesn't require any shifts in corporate culture.
For the last century or so, we have been addressing business issues as if they are linear, independent, and containable. Look around the world and you'll find it hard to agree this is true. But if, as Einstein said, the thinking skills that create an issue are not the thinking skills you need to resolve that issue, we need more people with a different perspective on the problem and a new set of skills and abilities.


What is needed in business today is a better grasp of (and comfort with) relationships of all kinds. And this is the kind of thinking and problem solving that is most natural to women as typically:

• Women are intuitively systems/relationship thinkers;
• Women seek balance;
• Women care more about solutions than who gets credit;
• Women are experts on collaboration;
• When they are passionate about something, women never give up.

As a result, women entrepreneurs intuitively create businesses that are better for themselves, their families, their employees, their communities, their customers and the world. Women tend to be more holistic about their understanding of their place in the universe. For example, they will operate from a perspective of abundance rather than scarcity, and they appreciate the energy and vibration of their actions in the business (and broader) world. They more readily bring "soul to business" by being more in touch with their spirit and emotions and able to converse openly about them.

Women's measures of success also tend to be much broader. They are by nature, equipped for the Triple Bottom Line challenge. In fact, they assume that's the goal, although they can get sidetracked by the attempt to play a game the rules of which we have established have essentially been created by men.

It is the tendency to create holistic enterprises that make women so effective at entrepreneurship. This is enabled by being able to see an issue from so many angles at once.
On a deeper level, women are interested in other people. They invariably notice things that are outside the awareness of most men. They do the right thing, they treat people well, and they listen to other people.

Women entrepreneurs are great. But not because they're caricatures or stereotypes of some altruistic awesomeness, but rather because they often bring a different set of experiences that are equally valid to what men bring. The more we have of both, the richer everything gets. How could we do without the action and results orientation of men?
And before we over-glorify women, we should recognise that they are just as diverse and varied as men, coming with their own set of issues and idiosyncrasies. Indeed, many women end up being selfish and obnoxious, just as some men are really sensitive and thoughtful.

Not only do we need women entrepreneurs, we need growth oriented women entrepreneurs. Women are starting businesses twice as fast as men. But they are not all growth oriented, employment producing businesses. Many of them end up employing just one person. A transformative and participative leadership style is not enough. For example, women need to learn all the regular business skills necessary such as raising capital to fund growth. Furthermore they need role models of growth oriented women entrepreneurs that are not behaving like Machiavellian males.





Things are continuing to change in the 21st Century with regards to more opportunities for women. But they are still the underdog, which means they'll continue to work harder - to the benefit of all.

Ms. Ebele Kemery a member of the Global Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities (GFICC) Group and a Portfolio manager is extremely passionate about female education and believes it to be one of the most powerful and effective tools a girl can be given in the fight against poverty, disease and malnutrition. Ebele Kemery hopes that one day she will create a vehicle capable of spreading education to underprivileged girls around the world.
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