Hallycon Academy

Curso 11 · Profundización

Currencies and forex

How exchange rates work, why they move, what they do to your money abroad and to your investments, and the plain numbers behind forex trading.

  • 7 lecciones
  • 49 min
  • Gratis
  • Un certificado al terminar

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Para quién es

Para quien viaja, trabaja al otro lado de una frontera o tiene inversiones en el extranjero, y para quien siente la tentación del forex y quiere ver antes las cifras reales.

Las lecciones

Cada lección tiene un vídeo breve, un cuestionario y enlaces para saber más. Las lecciones completas se abren tras un registro gratuito.

  1. Lección 1: Exchange rates in plain words

    7 min

    A currency's price in another currency. How to read EUR/USD and EUR/CHF, and why every rate is a pair.

    Puntos clave

    • An exchange rate tells you how much of one currency buys one unit of another.
    • Rates come in pairs: EUR/USD 1.11 means one euro buys 1.11 US dollars.
    • When one currency in the pair rises, the other falls.

  2. Lección 2: The biggest market in the world

    7 min

    Currency trading is mostly banks, funds and companies, around the clock. About 9.6 trillion US dollars a day in April 2025.

    Puntos clave

    • Currency trading averaged 9.6 trillion US dollars a day in April 2025 (BIS Triennial Survey).
    • Most of it is between banks, other financial firms and companies; private traders are a small slice.
    • The US dollar is on one side of almost nine in ten trades; the euro is second.

  3. Lección 3: Why currencies move

    7 min

    Interest rates, inflation, trade and fear. Why the franc rises in a crisis, and why nobody predicts exchange rates well.

    Puntos clave

    • Higher interest rates tend to attract money and lift a currency, other things equal.
    • Over long periods, lower-inflation currencies have tended to gain: the franc against the euro is the textbook case.
    • In a crisis money runs to safe havens such as the franc; short-term moves are close to unpredictable.

  4. Lección 4: Central banks and currencies: the 2015 franc shock

    7 min

    Central banks can hold a currency down, or let it go. What happened when the Swiss National Bank dropped its euro floor on 15 January 2015.

    Puntos clave

    • From September 2011 to January 2015, the Swiss National Bank kept the franc no stronger than 1.20 per euro.
    • When it stopped on 15 January 2015, the euro fell to its lowest level ever against the franc within minutes.
    • Some currencies are tied to the euro, such as Denmark's krone, but a peg is a policy, and policies can change.

  5. Lección 5: Currencies in daily life: travel, cards and loans

    7 min

    Holidays, online shopping, work across a border and loans in a foreign currency. Where the hidden mark-up sits, and why foreign-currency loans hurt so many families.

    Puntos clave

    • Abroad, pay in the local currency: "pay in euros" at the terminal often hides a worse rate, and EU rules require the mark-up to be shown.
    • Your card's foreign-currency fee and the exchange margin add up; check them before a big trip.
    • A loan in another currency grows when that currency rises, as households with Swiss-franc mortgages learned after 2008.

  6. Lección 6: Currency risk in your investments

    7 min

    A US share bought with euros or francs carries two risks: the company and the dollar. How currency moves add to your result or eat it, and what "hedged" means.

    Puntos clave

    • If the dollar falls against your currency, your US investments lose value in euros or francs, and the reverse.
    • In a world share fund, currency is one more source of swings; in a foreign bond fund, it can be the biggest one.
    • "Hedged" share classes reduce currency swings at a cost; Swiss savers feel currency risk most, because the franc rose over decades.

  7. Lección 7: Forex trading and leverage: the plain numbers

    7 min

    Private forex trading is almost always done with leverage, through CFDs. How leverage multiplies losses, what EU rules require, and what regulators' own numbers show.

    Puntos clave

    • At 30:1, the EU maximum for major currency pairs, a 3.3% move against you equals your whole stake.
    • EU rules cap leverage, close positions at 50% of the required margin, cap losses at your deposit, and make providers show what share of their retail accounts lose money.
    • Studies cited by ESMA in 2018 found 74–89% of retail CFD accounts lost money; read a provider's own figure before anything else.

Qué encontrará

  • Vídeos breves: Unos dos minutos por lección
  • Cuestionarios: Tres preguntas después de cada lección
  • Calculadoras: Inflación, interés compuesto, fondo de emergencia y comisiones
  • Certificado: Por cada curso que complete

Las lecciones completas, los vídeos y los cuestionarios se abren tras un registro gratuito: su nombre, correo electrónico, móvil y un PIN. Sin tarjeta, sin compromiso.

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Educación financiera general. Hallycon Academy no gestiona dinero, no vende productos de inversión ni da asesoramiento personal. Los ejemplos no prometen ninguna rentabilidad.

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