Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
CURRENCY DERIVATIVES
Subtitles
Currency futures
Currency options
Foreign Currency Derivatives and
Swaps
Financial management of the MNE in the 21st
century involves financial derivatives.
These derivatives, so named because their values
are derived from underlying assets, are a powerful
tool used in business today.
These instruments can be used for two very distinct
management objectives:
Speculation: use of derivative instruments to take a
position in the expectation of a profit
Hedging: use of derivative instruments to reduce the risks
associated with the everyday management of corporate
cash flow
Foreign Currency Derivatives
If the current spot rate falls on the side of the options strike
pricewhich would induce the option holder to exercise the
option upon expirationthe option also has an intrinsic value.
The sensitivity of the option premium to a small change in the
spot exchange rate is called the delta.
Delta varies between +1 and 0 for a call option and -1 and 0
for a put option.
As an option moves further in-the-money, delta rises toward
1.0. As an option moves further out-of-the-money, delta falls
toward zero.
Rule of Thumb: The higher the delta (deltas of .7, or .8 and
up are considered high) the greater the probability of the
option expiring in-the-money.
Time to Maturity: Value and
Deterioration (theta)
Option values increase with the length of time to maturity.
The expected change in the option premium from a small
change in the time to expiration is termed theta.
Theta is calculated as the change in the option premium over
the change in time. Theta is based not on a linear relationship
with time, but rather the square root of time.
Option premiums deteriorate at an increasing rate as they
approach expiration.
Rule of Thumb: A trader will normally find longer-maturity
options better values, giving the trader the ability to alter an
option position without suffering significant time value
deterioration.
Sensitivity to Volatility (lambda)