Financial Regulation
Essay Preview: Financial Regulation
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Q 1 -Distinct between currency translation and currency conversation.
Defination of Currency Conversation
The price of one currency expressed in terms of another currency. For example, if the U.S. dollar buys 1.40 Canadian dollars, the exchange rate is 1.4 to 1. Changes in exchange rates have significant effects on the profits of multinational corporations. Exchange rate changes also affect the value of foreign investments held by individual investors. For a U.S. investor owning Japanese securities, a strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the yen tends to reduce the value of the Japanese securities because the yen value of the securities is worth fewer dollars. Also called foreign exchange rate.
Currency exchange rates also influence investment values of the company.When the exchange rate between the foreign currency of an international investment and the U.S. dollar changes, it can increase or reduce your investment return. Because foreign companies trade and pay dividends in the currency of their local market, you will need to convert the cash you receive from dividends or the sale of the investment into U.S. dollars. Therefore, if the exchange rate changes significantly between the time you buy and the time you sell, it can sometimes turn a positive return in the investment itself into a loss for the investment in total, or vice versa.
International investment returns increase when the dollar weakens in value against another currency, because each unit of foreign currency translates into more U.S. dollars. On the other hand, if the U.S. dollar strengthens against the foreign currency, it translates each foreign currency unit into fewer U.S. dollars and therefore diminishes your returns.
Defination of currency translation
The expression of amounts denominated in one currency in terms of another currency by using the rate at which two currencies are exchanged. For example, a firm with foreign operations might express sales made in German marks in terms of U.S. dollars.
Q 2 — Discuss methods of currency translation, and one or two problems with these methods.
Look hand out for 3 currency methods
Currency translation risks
Translation Risk
The exchange rate risk associated with companies that deal in foreign currencies or list foreign assets upon their balance sheets.
This poses a serious threat for some companies. Exchange rates usually change between quarterly financial statements, causing significant variances between the figures. Companies attempt to minimize these transaction risks by purchasing currency swaps or hedging through futures contracts.
1- Exchange rate
The price of one currency expressed in terms of another currency. For example, if the U.S. dollar buys 1.40 Canadian dollars, the exchange rate is 1.4 to 1. Changes in exchange rates have significant effects on the profits of multinational corporations. Exchange rate changes also affect the value of foreign investments held by individual investors. For a U.S. investor owning Japanese securities, a strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the yen tends to reduce the value of the Japanese securities because the yen value of the securities is worth fewer dollars.
Currency exchange rates also influence investment values.When the exchange rate between the foreign currency of an international investment and the U.S. dollar changes, it can increase or reduce your investment return. Because foreign companies trade and pay dividends in the currency of their local market, you will need to convert the cash you receive from dividends or the sale of the investment into U.S. dollars. Therefore, if the exchange rate changes significantly between the time you buy and the time you sell, it can sometimes turn a positive return in the investment itself into a loss for the investment in total, or vice versa.
International investment returns increase when the dollar weakens in value against another currency, because each unit of foreign currency translates into more U.S. dollars. On the other hand, if the U.S. dollar strengthens against the foreign currency, it translates each foreign currency unit into fewer U.S. dollars and therefore diminishes your returns.
Exchange rate – Currency risks
Currency risk is a form of risk that arises from the change in price of one currency against another. Whenever investors or companies have assets or business operations across national borders, they face currency risk if their positions are not hedged.
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Transaction risk is the risk that exchange rates will change unfavorably over time. It can be hedged against using forward currency contracts;
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Translation risk is an accounting risk, proportional to the amount of assets held in foreign currencies. Changes in the exchange rate over time will render a report inaccurate, and so assets are usually balanced by borrowings in that currency.
The exchange risk associated with a foreign denominated instrument is a key element in foreign investment. This risk flows from differential monetary policy and growth in real productivity, which results in differential inflation rates.
For example if you are a U.S. investor and you have stocks in Canada, the return that you will realize is affected by both the change in the price of the stocks and the change of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar. Suppose that you realized a return in the stocks of 15% but if the Canadian dollar depreciated 15% against the U.S. dollar, you would realize no gain.
When a firm conducts transactions in different currencies, it exposes itself to risk. The risk arises because currencies may move in relation to each other. If a firm is buying and selling in different currencies, then revenue and costs can move upwards or downwards as exchange rates between currencies change. If a firm has borrowed funds in a different currency, the repayments on the debt could change or, if the firm has invested overseas, the returns on investment may alter with exchange rate movements — this is usually known as foreign currency exposure.
Devaluation
A reduction in