Foreign exchange market

The foreign exchange (currency or forex or FX) market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. It is by far the largest financial market in the world, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. The average daily trade in the global forex markets currently exceeds US$ 2 trillion. Retail traders (individuals) are a small fraction of this market and may only participate indirectly through brokers or banks.

Market size and liquidity

The foreign exchange market is unique because of:

* its trading volume,

* the extreme liquidity of the market,

* the large number of, and variety of, traders in the market,

* its geographical dispersion,

* its long trading hours - 24 hours a day (except on weekends).

* the variety of factors that affect exchange rates,

According to the BIS,[1] average daily turnover in traditional foreign exchange markets was estimated at $1,880 billion. Daily averages in April for different years, in billions of US dollars, are presented on the chart below:

This $1.88 trillion in global foreign exchange market "traditional" turnover was broken down as follows:

* $621 billion in spot transactions

* $208 billion in outright forwards

* $944 billion in forex swaps

* $107 billion estimated gaps in reporting

In addition to "traditional" turnover, $1.26 trillion was traded in derivatives.

Exchange-traded forex futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts. Forex futures volume has grown rapidly in recent years, but only accounts for about 7% of the total foreign exchange market volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe (5/5/06, p. 20).

Average daily global turnover in traditional foreign exchange market transactions totaled $2.7 trillion in April 2006 according to IFSL estimates based on semi-annual London, New York, Tokyo and Singapore Foreign Exchange Committee data. Overall turnover, including non-traditional foreign exchange derivatives and products traded on exchanges, averaged around $2.9 trillion a day. This was more than ten times the size of the combined daily turnover on all the world’s equity markets. Foreign exchange trading increased by 38% between April 2005 and April 2006 and has more than doubled since 2001. This is largely due to the growing importance of foreign exchange as an asset class and an increase in fund management assets, particularly of hedge funds and pension funds. The diverse selection of execution venues such as internet trading platforms has also made it easier for retail traders to trade in the foreign exchange market. [2]

Because foreign exchange is an OTC market where brokers/dealers negotiate directly with one another, there is no central exchange or clearing house. The biggest geographic trading centre is the UK, primarily London, which according to IFSL estimates has increased its share of global turnover in traditional transactions from 31.3% in April 2004 to 32.4% in April 2006.

The ten most active traders account for almost 73% of trading volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe, (2/9/06 p. 20). These large international banks continually provide the market with both bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices. The bid/ask spread is the difference between the price at which a bank or market maker will sell ("ask", or "offer") and the price at which a market-maker will buy ("bid") from a wholesale customer. This spread is minimal for actively traded pairs of currencies, usually only 0-3 pips. For example, the bid/ask quote of EUR/USD might be 1.2200/1.2203. Minimum trading size for most deals is usually $100,000.

These spreads might not apply to retail customers at banks, which will routinely mark up the difference to say 1.2100 / 1.2300 for transfers, or say 1.2000 / 1.2400 for banknotes or travelers' checks. Spot prices at market makers vary, but on EUR/USD are usually no more than 3 pips wide (i.e. 0.0003). Competition has greatly increased with pip spreads shrinking on the major pairs to as little as 1 to 2 pips.

Las Vegas Hilton

The Las Vegas Hilton is a hotel, casino, and convention center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a joint venture between Colony Capital, which owns 60 percent, and New York City-based REIT Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, which owns the remaining 40 percent.[1] With 3,174 hotel rooms, this off-Strip hotel is the largest Hilton Hotel in the world and one of the largest hotel-casinos in Las Vegas. Located on 64 acres (324,000 m²), it has a 100,000 square foot (9,000 m²) casino and is also home to the largest sports book in Las Vegas.

The hotel is located next to the Las Vegas Convention Center and with its own 150,000 square foot convention center.

The hotel also houses Star Trek: The Experience and is a stop on the Las Vegas Monorail.

History

The land that the hotel sits upon, according to local Las Vegans, was owned by a woman descended from a family only known as Ashworth, though not much else is known other than the family moved to Texas in the 1970s.

The hotel, designed by architect Martin Stern, Jr.,[2] was built in 1969 by Kirk Kerkorian and opened as the International Hotel. When it opened, the International was the largest hotel in the world. Barbra Streisand was the opening-night performer, along with Peggy Lee performing afterwards in the hotel's lounge.

In 1969, right after Streisand's engagement, Elvis Presley performed for 58 consecutive sold out shows, breaking all Vegas attendance records, (130,157 paying, and ostensibly gambling customers in the period of one month), with stellar reviews coming from both critics, and the public. He broke his own attendance record in February 1970, and again in August of 1970, and August 1972. When playing Las Vegas, he lived in the penthouse suite, until his last performance there in December 1976.

Liberace headlined in the showroom during the 1970's drawing sold-out crowds twice per night. When he signed his contract at the Hilton in 1972 he earned $300,000 per week, a record amount for individual entertainers in Las Vegas.

The International Hotel was sold to Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1970 and renamed the Las Vegas Hilton in 1971. This hotel was sold by Hilton with the other Hilton casinos to form Park Place Entertainment.

The east tower was added in 1975 and the north tower was added in 1978.

On the night of February 11, 1981, just 90 days after the devastating MGM Grand fire, an arson fire started at the Las Vegas Hilton while it was ironically being retrofitted with modern fire safety equipment. Firefighters, using the knowledge they had learned from the MGM fire, used local television networks to notify people to stay in their rooms and not go out to the halls and stairwells. Because of the lessons learned, only eight people died in this fire compared with the 85 people who died in the MGM Grand fire. In 1982, Philip Cline was sentenced to 8 life sentences for his role in starting the fire[3].

The race and sports book was added in 1986 and at the time was the largest in Las Vegas.

In September 1991, the casino hosted the U.S. Navy's Tailhook Association annual meeting. During this gathering, widespread acts of sexual assault by Naval officers took place in the hotel. The Navy attempted a cover-up of the event, however the initial accusations stood up and fueled a large scandal receiving wide media attention. Responsibility included the entire chain of command, ultimately affecting the careers of over 300 pilots and 14 admirals, including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Frank Kelso.

The hotel had what was the largest free standing sign made mostly of steel in front of the hotel on Paradise Road. The old sign was semi-circular in shape, and had three large steel posts close to each other forming a small circle, while three more posts on each side of the three main ones, this time more spaced out, formed the semi-circle, also holding up a concrete sign. The old sign, which had been built at a cost of $5 million, was blown down during a severe wind storm on July 18, 1994. A new, $9 million, free standing concrete Hilton sign was built in 1997 at the same location and is the largest free standing sign in the world.[4] The sign is narrow, and gets wider as it gets higher, forming a fan-type design at the top.

On September 18, 1995, the Vegas version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express show opened. This involved a massive conversion of the theater, including pouring concrete ramps into the seating area. When the show closed, the theater was used to film The Oak Ridge Boys Live series for one of the county cable Networks before it was gutted and renovated.

In January 1998, Star Trek: The Experience opened. The casino added a space-themed casino, Space Quest, that serves as the gateway to the attraction.

In 1998, 2002 and 2005 Wheel of Fortune was taped on location at the Las Vegas Hilton Theater.

A Hilton Grand Vacations Company timeshare opened on the 59 acre site in 1999.

On March 18, 2004 a new "Borg Invasion 4-D" ride was added.

On June 18, 2004 the property was sold by Caesars Entertainment to Colony Capital for $280 million.

Charlie Parker... sin palabras

Charles "Bird" Parker, Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Early in his career Parker was dubbed "Yardbird" (there are many contradictory stories of the name's origin [1]). It was later shortened to "Bird" and remained Parker's nickname for the rest of his life and inspiration for the titles of his works, such as "Yardbird Suite" and "Bird Feathers".


Place in jazz history

Parker is commonly considered one of the greatest jazz musicians, ranked with such players as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Jazz critic Scott Yanow speaks for many jazz fans and musicians when he states that "Parker was arguably the greatest saxophonist of all time."[2] A founding father of bebop, Parker's innovative approaches to melody, rhythm, and harmony were enormously influential on his contemporaries, and his music remains an inspiration and resource for musicians in jazz as well as in other genres. Several of Parker's songs have become standards, such as "Billie's Bounce," "Anthropology," "Ornithology," and "Confirmation".


Parker also became an icon for the Beat generation, and was a pivotal figure in the evolving conception of the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual, rather than just a popular entertainer. At various times, Parker fused jazz with other musical styles, from classical (seeking to study with Edgard Varèse and Stefan Wolpe) to Latin music (recordings with Machito), blazing paths followed later by others.

Parker's soaring, fast, rhythmically asymmetrical improvisations could amaze the listener. His harmonic ideas were revolutionary, introducing a new tonal vocabulary employing 9ths, 11ths and 13ths of chords, rapidly implied passing chords, and new variants of altered chords and chord substitutions. His tone was clean and penetrating, but sweet and plaintive on ballads. Although many Parker recordings demonstrate dazzling virtuoso technique and complex melodic lines — such as "Koko," "Kim," and "Leap Frog" — he was also one of the great blues players. His themeless blues improvisation "Parker's Mood" represents one of the most deeply affecting recordings in jazz, as fundamental as Armstrong's "West End Blues."

Algo distinto.... otro de mis amores

B. B. King

Riley B. King, better known as B. B. King or "The King of Blues" (born September 16, 1925 in Itta Bena, Mississippi), is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, widely considered one of the best and most respected blues musicians of all time. He was also ranked 3rd on the Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Recording years

In 1947, B.B King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles based RPM Records. Many of King's early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later founded Sun Records. King was also a disc jockey in Memphis, where he gained the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", later shortened to B.B.

In the 1950s, B.B King became one of the most important names in R&B music, collecting an impressive list of hits under his belt that included songs like "You Know I Love You," "Woke Up This Morning," "Please Love Me," "When My Heart Beats like a Hammer," "Whole Lotta Love," "You Upset Me Baby," "Every Day I Have the Blues," "Sneakin' Around," "Ten Long Years," "Bad Luck," "Sweet Little Angel," "On My Word of Honor," and "Please Accept My Love". In 1962, King signed to ABC-Paramount Records.


In November 1964, King recorded the legendary Live at the Regal album at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois.
B.B. King in concert in France (1989)
B.B. King in concert in France (1989)

King first found success outside of the blues market with the 1969 remake of the Roy Hawkins tune, "The Thrill Is Gone", which became a hit on both pop and R&B charts, which was rare for an R&B artist. It also gained the number 193 spot in the Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs Of All Time. He gained further rock visibility as an opening act on The Rolling Stones much-ballyhooed 1969 American Tour. King's mainstream success continued throughout the 1970s with songs like "To Know You Is to Love You" and "I Like to Live the Love." From 1951 to 1985, King appeared on Billboard's R&B charts an amazing 74 times.

Going mainstream

The 1980s, 1990s and 2000s saw King recording less and less, but maintaining a highly visible and active career appearing on numerous television shows, performing 300 nights a year. In 1988, he reached a new generation of fans via the single "When Love Comes To Town", together with the Irish band U2 on their Rattle and Hum album. In 2000, King teamed up with guitarist Eric Clapton to record Riding With the King. In 1998 B.B. King appeared in "The Blues Brothers 2000" playing the part of the lead singer of the Louisiana Gator Boys, along with Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Koko Taylor, and Bo Diddley.

In 2003, King shared the stage with the rock band Phish in New Jersey, performing three of his classics and jamming with the band for over 30 minutes.

In June 2006, King was present at a memorialization of his first radio broadcast at the Three Deuces Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, where an official marker of the Mississippi Blues Trail was erected.

B.B. King also made an appearance at the Crossroads Guitar Festival put on by Eric Clapton. On the DVD he plays "Rock Me Baby" with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and Jimmie Vaughan.

Over the years more than 100 B.B. King concerts have been broadcast on radio and TV in many countries.

In June 2006, a groundbreaking was held for a new B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, Mississippi. The museum is scheduled to open May 1, 2008.