The Foreign Exchange market, or Forex, is the largest financial market in the world. It lets banks and other institutions buy and sell currencies, with the purpose of aiding international trade and investment. More than $3.2 trillion changes hands daily -- a number larger than three times the aggregate amount of the U.S. Equity and Treasure markets combined. This daily average volume is growing steadily, thanks to the many Forex investors including central banks, governments, corporations, currency speculators, investment management firms, exchange brokers and you!

Unlike other financial markets, the Forex market has no physical location and no central exchange. It operates through a global network of banks, corporations and individuals trading one currency for another. As such, the Forex operates with real time trading 24 hours a day, five and a half days a week. Although the Forex has no physical home, it's major financial centers include London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney.

Trading currencies involves the fluctuation of one currency in relation to another. Forex trading is done in currency pairs, with the base currency (the first currency listed) being traded for the counter currency (the second currency listed). Each currency trading pair is considered an individual product. Quotes indicate how many units of the counter currency are needed to buy one unit of the base currency. The major trading pairs are EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/AUD, USD/CHF and USD/CAD. Money can be made on the spread.