I’m currently reading a book that you might like.
It’s titled [B]Biography of the Dollar: How the Mighty Buck Conquered the World, and Why It’s Under Siege[/B], by Craig Karmin.
The author is a reporter for the Money and Investing section of [I]The Wall Street Journal[/I], where he covers international markets
and foreign exchange.
The book is two years old, which means that it was written before the current financial crisis became severe. As such, it describes the “baseline” relationship of the dollar to the rest of the world — the baseline that the world economy has veered sharply away from, over the past 24 months.
You may be able to find the book in your local library. That’s where I found it.
While you’re waiting to find (or buy) this book, you might do some reading online, if you haven’t done so already.
Here’s some interesting stuff from Wikipedia and Investopedia:
Foreign exchange market - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Investopedia - Free Report - Five Key Factors that Move the Forex Markets
Exchange rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Common Questions About Currency Trading
The Greatest Currency Trades Ever Made
Money and currencies are not exactly the same thing. For example, all currencies are money, but not all money is currency.
But, understanding currencies involves understanding money. So, here are some resources on the subject of money.
For starters, a short article in Wikipedia: History of money - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) here in the U.S. did an interesting video series on money, called [B]The Ascent of Money[/B]. There is a 2-hour condensed version, and a more detailed series of four 1-hour episodes.
Here is the 2-hour version: Watch the two-hour THE ASCENT OF MONEY | The Ascent of Money | PBS
And here are the four individual episodes:
The Ascent of Money Episode 1: From Bullion to Bubbles | The Ascent of Money | PBS
The Ascent of Money Episode 2: Bonds of War | The Ascent of Money | PBS
The Ascent of Money Episode 3: Risky Business | The Ascent of Money | PBS
The Ascent of Money Episode 4: Planet Finance | The Ascent of Money | PBS
Finally, here is a fun video series about some real-life wheelers-and-dealers on Wall Street. This series of 16 half-hour episodes was begun well before the current financial crisis started, so the early episodes portray the “irrational exuberance” of a bunch of mostly-young hot-shots who had never seen a bear-market.
The series is sequential, so start with Season 1, Episode 1. Hulu - Wall Street Warriors
Clint