FINANCIAL MARKETS AND INSTITUTIONS FUNDAMENTALS (CHAPTER 1) Financial Markets - broadly refers to any market place where trading of securities occurs. Includes stock market, bond market, forex market, and derivatives market. market where buyers and sellers trade commodities, financial securities, foreign exchange, and other freely exchangeable items (fungible items) and derivatives of value at low transaction costs and at prices that are determined by market forces. FOUR CATEGORIES OF TRADE COMMODITIES Metals (gold, silver, platinum, and copper) Energy (crude oil, heating oil, natural gas, and gasoline) Livestock and meat (lean hogs, pork bellies, live cattle, and feeder cattle) Agricultural (corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, cocoa, coffee, cotton and sugar) Primary Markets - Markets in which user of funds (governments and corporations) raise funds by issuing financial instruments (stocks and bonds). - original sale of securities Secondary Markets - markets where financial instruments are traded among investors. Money Markets - markets that trade debt securities with maturities of one year or less (e.g. treasury bills). Capital Markets