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International Finance & Trade

Global trade, capital flows, and emerging markets. 6 indexed terms, 9 additional definitions.

Key Concepts

BIS

The Bank for International Settlements is an international financial institution that serves central banks, fostering international monetary and financial cooperation and acting as a bank for central banks.

Currency Board

A currency board is a strict monetary arrangement that fixes a country's exchange rate by law and requires the central bank to hold foreign reserves equal to 100% or more of the domestic monetary base.

Dollarization

Dollarization is the adoption of the U.S. dollar (or another foreign currency) as a country's official currency or its widespread unofficial use alongside the domestic currency.

Frontier Markets

Frontier markets are smaller, less accessible economies at earlier stages of development than emerging markets, offering potentially high returns but with significant liquidity, political, and operational risks.

IMF

The International Monetary Fund is a global organization of 190 countries that promotes financial stability, provides emergency lending to countries in crisis, and conducts economic surveillance and policy advice.

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to developing countries for development projects aimed at reducing poverty and promoting sustainable growth.

Show 9 additional definitions ▾
Balance of Payments
The balance of payments is a comprehensive record of all economic transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world, including trade, investment, and financial flows.
BRICS
BRICS is an economic and geopolitical grouping originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which has expanded to include additional emerging economies seeking alternatives to Western-led global financial institutions.
Capital Controls
Capital controls are government-imposed restrictions on the flow of money in and out of a country, used to stabilize currencies, prevent financial crises, or protect domestic economies from volatile capital flows.
Currency Peg
A currency peg is a monetary policy in which a country fixes its exchange rate to another currency (typically the U.S. dollar or euro), maintaining the rate through central bank intervention.
Emerging Markets
Emerging markets are countries with developing economies that offer high growth potential but carry elevated political, currency, and liquidity risks compared to developed markets.
Foreign Direct Investment
Foreign direct investment is a cross-border investment where a resident of one country establishes a lasting interest and significant influence (typically 10%+ ownership) in an enterprise in another country.
Portfolio Investment
Portfolio investment is cross-border purchases of stocks, bonds, and other financial assets without the intent to control or manage the foreign enterprise, representing the most liquid and volatile form of international capital flow.
Special Drawing Rights
Special Drawing Rights are an international reserve asset created by the IMF to supplement member countries' official reserves, with their value based on a basket of five major currencies.
Trade War
A trade war is an escalating conflict between countries using tariffs, quotas, and other trade barriers to restrict each other's imports, typically raising costs for businesses and consumers in both countries.

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