INTERVIEW
Check Out The Foreign Exchange
Trading The Currency Markets With Cornelius Luca
by Technical Analysis, Inc.
Cornelius Luca is an author and international consultant in foreign exchange and technical analysis. Luca has spent his entire professional life in international finance, and since 1983, he has been a foreign currency trader in the major currencies. What's the currency market look like right now, considering the unrest in the other markets? To find out what Luca had to say, STOCKS & COMMODITIES Editor Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan called him on May 24, 2002.
Forex generally is the fastest shock absorber when it comes to international pressures among economies. -- Cornelius Luca
What got you interested in the currency markets?
I have always been interested in international trade; it is one of the most significant factors behind international affairs. Foreign exchange pretty much goes right in the middle of international trade, because it's what makes things move faster or slower. Once I was exposed to foreign exchange, I also realized I liked the markets, and by and large, felt the two were a pretty good combination.
Can you give us an idea of how the currency markets operate?
In terms of scope, foreign exchange generally is the fastest shock absorber when it comes to international pressures among economies. On a day-to-day basis, you have a 24-hour market, which makes it difficult to trade. Because of this you have a variety of large players, primarily banks, and also corporations and hedge funds, that get involved. But central banks don't get involved except on rare occasions.
Which and why?
Currently, you have the Bank of Japan being very aggressive in the currency markets, trying to weaken its yen. This is actually a good example of why there is so much interest in the foreign exchange markets: The central banks get involved in the currency markets to help their economies. The Japanese economy is, by and large, based on exports, and nothing helps exports more than a weak currency. Rather than looking for a fundamental deflation of their currency, they're looking for a weak currency to bolster their exports, and thus their economy.
...Continued in the August 2002 issue of Technical Analysis of STOCKS & COMMODITIES
Excerpted from an article originally published in the August 2002 issue of Technical Analysis of STOCKS & COMMODITIES magazine. All rights reserved. © Copyright 2002, Technical Analysis, Inc.