What is Forex?

FOREX - the foreign exchange market or currency market or Forex is the market where one currency is traded for another. It is one of the largest markets in the world.

Some of the participants in this market are simply seeking to exchange a foreign currency for their own, like multinational corporations which must pay wages and other expenses in different nations than they sell products in. However, a large part of the market is made up of currency traders, who speculate on movements in exchange rates, much like others would speculate on movements of stock prices. Currency traders try to take advantage of even small fluctuations in exchange rates.
In the foreign exchange market there is little or no 'inside information'. Exchange rate fluctuations are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as anticipations on global macroeconomic conditions. Significant news is released publicly so, at least in theory, everyone in the world receives the same news at the same time.
Currencies are traded against one another. Each pair of currencies thus constitutes an individual product and is traditionally noted XXX/YYY, where YYY is the ISO 4217 international three-letter code of the currency into which the price of one unit of XXX currency is expressed. For instance, EUR/USD is the price of the euro expressed in US dollars, as in 1 euro = 1.2045 dollar.
Unlike stocks and futures exchange, foreign exchange is indeed an interbank, over-the-counter (OTC) market which means there is no single universal exchange for specific currency pair. The foreign exchange market operates 24 hours per day throughout the week between individuals with forex brokers, brokers with banks, and banks with banks. If the European session is ended the Asian session or US session will start, so all world currencies can be continually in trade. Traders can react to news when it breaks, rather than waiting for the market to open, as is the case with most other markets.
Average daily international foreign exchange trading volume was $1.9 trillion in April 2004 according to the BIS study.
Like any market there is a bid/offer spread (difference between buying price and selling price). On major currency crosses, the difference between the price at which a market maker will sell ("ask", or "offer") to a wholesale customer and the price at which the same market-maker will buy ("bid") from the same wholesale customer is minimal, usually only 1 or 2 pips. In the EUR/USD price of 1.4238 a pip would be the '8' at the end. So the bid/ask quote of EUR/USD might be 1.4238/1.4239.
This, of course, does not apply to retail customers. Most individual currency speculators will trade using a broker which will typically have a spread marked up to say 3-20 pips (so in our example 1.4237/1.4239 or 1.423/1.425). The broker will give their clients often huge amounts of margin, thereby facilitating clients spending more money on the bid/ask spread. The brokers are not regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission since they do not sell securities), so they are not bound by the same margin limits as stock brokerages. They do not typically charge margin interest, however since currency trades must be settled in 2 days, they will "resettle" open positions (again collecting the bid/ask spread).
Individual currency speculators can work during the day and trade in the evenings, taking advantage of the market's 24 hours long trading day.

Forex History - The Evolution OF FX Markets

The Gold Exchange and the Bretton Woods Agreement

In 1967, a Chicago bank refused a college professor by the name of Milton Friedman a loan in pound sterling because he had intended to use the funds to short the British currency. Friedman, who had perceived sterling to be priced too high against the dollar, wanted to sell the currency, then later buy it back to repay the bank after the currency declined, thus pocketing a quick profit. The bank’s refusal to grant the loan was due to the Bretton Woods Agreement, established twenty years earlier, which fixed national currencies against the dollar, and set the dollar at a rate of $35 per ounce of gold. The Bretton Woods Agreement, set up in 1944, aimed at installing international monetary stability by preventing money from fleeing across nations, and restricting speculation in the world currencies. Prior to the Agreement, the gold exchange standard--prevailing between 1876 and World War I--dominated the international economic system. Under the gold exchange, currencies gained a new phase of stability as they were backed by the price of gold. It abolished the age-old practice used by kings and rulers of arbitrarily debasing money and triggering inflation. But the gold exchange standard didn’t lack faults. As an economy strengthened, it would import heavily from abroad until it ran down its gold reserves required to back its money; consequently, the money supply would shrink, interest rates rose and economic activity slowed to the extent of recession. Ultimately, prices of goods had hit bottom, appearing attractive to other nations, who would rush into buying sprees that injected the economy with gold until it increased its money supply, and drive down interest rates and recreate wealth into the economy. Such boom-bust patterns prevailed throughout the gold standard until the outbreak of World War I interrupted trade flows and the free movement of gold. After the Wars, the Bretton Woods Agreement was founded, where participating countries agreed to try and maintain the value of their currency with a narrow margin against the dollar and a corresponding rate of gold as needed. Countries were prohibited from devaluing their currencies to their trade advantage and were only allowed to do so for devaluations of less than 10%. Into the 1950s, the ever-expanding volume of international trade led to massive movements of capital generated by post-war construction. That destabilized foreign exchange rates as setup in Bretton Woods. The Agreement was finally abandoned in 1971, and the US dollar would no longer be convertible into gold. By 1973, currencies of major industrialized nations floated more freely, as they were controlled mainly by the forces of supply and demand. Prices were floated daily, with volumes, speed and price volatility all increasing throughout the 1970s, giving rise to new financial instruments, market deregulation and trade liberalization. In the 1980s, cross-border capital movements accelerated with the advent of computers and technology, extending market continuum through Asian, European and American time zones. Transactions in foreign exchange rocketed from about $70 billion a day in the 1980s, to more than $1.5 trillion a day two decades later.

ston carving
Stone Sculptures Statues Carving Art Of Nepal

Stone Sculptures Statues Carving Art Of Nepal

Nepal is famous for ites stone sculpture statues carving art. Stone sculpture Statues carving art in Nepal dates to centuries back. Most of the stone sculpture art and architecture in the Kathmandu Valley, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur was created by the Newars, one of the many ethnic groups in Nepal. Predominantly Newari artists were renowned throughout Asia for the high quality of their stone sculpture statues carving art. Now a days Tamangs and even the Brahmins and Chettris are working as stone carvers in Patan. Both China and Tibet imported art and artists from Nepal to adorn their temples, monasteries, and homes, spreading Nepalese style far beyond the country's borders.
History of stone sculpture art work in N

epal were long way bac k, hundred of years ago The survival of the oldest stone sculpture art in the Nepal indicates that stone sculpting was among the first art forms to have developed in the Nepal. The history of Nepal is told by stone sculpture. Few manuscripts have survived, the oral tradition fails to identify the nation's ancient culture, wooden images beyond the seventeenth century have mostly rotted away and metal work barely reaches the tenth century. So for scholars and for those seeking an insight into Nepalese minds, stone tells the clearest stories. There was time when stone art was waning. Particularly after the fall of the Mallas, there was no real demand, but now stone carvers are busy again

Stone sculpture is seen everywhere in Kathmandu vallery. If one visits the historical sites of the Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, one can see and appreciate the many stone sculptures of deities, animals, serpents, people, bells, water fountains, vessels, dwarfs, and Garudas (mythical half-bird half-human creatures) that were made during the Malla era. It is the Nepalese people themselves who have fueled the growth of this form stone sculpture art. Stone Carvers are used to working with traditional themes and images. Deities, serpents, yogis, oxen, lions, and the Buddha are some of the images that they work mostly Now a days. Nearly all-Nepalese stone sculptures are of a religious character. It seems that the artists themselves were greatly imbued with a feeling of religious devotion.
The stone Buddhas from Nepal are sculpted from a harder grey stone found in the Kathmandu valley. Many of these Nepalese Buddhas statues are Sakyamuni Buddha , sage of the Shakya clan. These are often very detailed carvings with intricate robes, auspicious symbols, dragons, & inscribed at the base with the prayer mantra of Chenzrig . It is said that one who recites this mantra will be saved from all dangers.
Himalayan Mart is an only online shop for stone statues in Nepal who is trying to preserve the long tradition of stone carving and expose these extreme cultural heritage of Nepal. Our collection of stone statues are hand made by local craftsmen in Patan and sculpted from a harder grey stone found in the Kathmandu Vallery. All the stone statue in our collectionThese statues are hand carved, and hand finished with the same tools and techniques used for hundreds of years by generations of craftsmen

Stone Crafts

The Himalayan kingdom of Nepal has a very old stone carved history. Highly skilled and capable artisans in Nepal today continue to use techniques and tools unchanged over the centuries. Most of the stone carving that have survived throughout Nepal around temples and other heritage sites are from the thirteenth to eighteenth century Malla’s period. Clans of Newars, the “old people” of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, have been passing their stone carving skills from generations to generations. A surge in the involvement of youth, particularly the Tamangs and the Newars has assured that the art of traditional stone and wood carving will survive and even grow better over time. At this time stone workers enjoy increased interest among Nepalese buyers as well as foreigners and turns out to be most exportable products from Himalayan kingdom of Nepal.
Our stone carved statues and souvenirs are carved by master artisans in Nepal. In this section we have wide collection of best quality of stone, wooden statue and souvenirs. The stone statues shown below are selected from our collection. We also accept special requests and order.