Customer Reviews

Currency Strategy: A Practitioner's Guide to Currency Trading, Hedging and Forecasting

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a professional trader who deals with the ups and downs of the FX market from Monday to Friday for years, particularly with the extreme volatility of USD from last October till now, I am obliged to comment that the book is of little practical/predictive use. Unless you really wanna study academic theories about FX like different kinds of exchange rate regime or exchange rate model (which seldom held themselves), or get reasons to hedge your exposure "completely" for your company's or your own investment portfolio, please give this book a pass.

There is a lot of material in this book that traders should know. Some are minor details, but these are the same details that can determine whether a trade will be profitable. It is divided into three parts towards the end to suit three types of investors: (1) corporate, (2) institutional, and (3) speculator. Obviously not all three will suit you, but you can learn some things from all of them. Take a look.

I was looking for a book on foreign currency strategy well suited for readers with MBAs or degrees in economics - people not afraid to delve into the theory, but not necessarily well-versed in this particular topic. The "Wiley Finance" imprint usually does a good job of exactly this - a thorough serious treatment of a subject, but without differential equations. However, this book was too basic. It breezed by the theory at 10,000 feet with few references to academic papers/studies that could take you farther. Also, the book was poorly edited (shame -it is a 2nd edition) with repetition, rambling and grammatical errors. Callum Henderson clearly knows his subject, but demands too little of his readers and was not helped by his editors. That said, there are few alternatives on the subject that aren't trading books replete with technical analysis or thick academic tomes that are aimed at shaping public policy rather than informing market participants. So read the book and get what you can out of it.

This is a good introduction to exchange rate determination in theory and in practice. Useful for someone with a little bit of background into economics or exchange rates who wants to delve a bit more. It is slightly frustrating in that the theories are explained but little is provided in terms of whether the evidence shows it works or not. It also lacks adequate references.

One outstanding feature of this book, and indeed a lot of work by this author, is that it moves beyond just exchange rate forecasting into the realm of exchange rate risk management and other issues pertinent to those who deal in this space.

If you're a hedge fund manager I think might be the right book for you. There is a lot of information for the individual but it doesn't seem to come together in the end. The book makes many good points about the use of fundamental as well as technical analysis. But the fundamental data is mentioned but Sources are not included. I've spent to hours and hours trying to locate the data.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon ended the convertibility of the dollar into gold and thereby scotched the mechanism of international agreements and regulations that had governed the world monetary system since the end of World War II. Over the ensuing decades, the once-stable global monetary environment became an exciting, volatile new source of risk and opportunity. Manufacturers saw their fortunes rise and fall as currency shifts favored them or, alternatively, their competitors overseas. Financial institutions discovered new opportunities and dangers in fast-moving currency markets. We recommend this book for its detailed and generally clear, albeit often tedious, introduction to the tools, techniques and strategies readers may use to manage risk or speculate in the world's biggest financial arena - the unregulated international currency market.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon ended the convertibility of the dollar into gold and thereby scotched the mechanism of international agreements and regulations that had governed the world monetary system since the end of World War II. Over the ensuing decades, the once-stable global monetary environment became an exciting, volatile new source of risk and opportunity. Manufacturers saw their fortunes rise and fall as currency shifts favored them or, alternatively, their competitors overseas. Financial institutions discovered new opportunities and dangers in fast-moving currency markets. We recommend this book for its detailed and generally clear, albeit often tedious, introduction to the tools, techniques and strategies readers may use to manage risk or speculate in the world's biggest financial arena - the unregulated international currency market.