A Reuters guide to Money Market Information
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The money market is a wholesale market for the buying and selling of money. Money markets trade in short-term debt instruments, maturing in one year or less, issued by governments, financial institutions and corporations. They differ from the fixed income or bond markets which trade in longer-term debt instruments. Money forms part of the overall treasury market which includes foreign exchange and fixed income.To operate effectively, money market professionals need access to real-time data and information on short-term debt instruments. The information they require ranges from information on US treasury bills and other government short-term money securities to information on money instruments such as certificates of deposit, commercial paper, bills of exchange, bankers' acceptances and repurchase agreements known as repos. They also look for information on derivative instruments such as interest rate swaps and options.
Money market traders, investors and borrowers need to keep abreast of all the significant factors that move their markets. So in addition to real-time price data and information on rates and yield curves, they require breaking news and in-depth coverage and analysis of key rate, economic and fiscal policy decisions.
Money market professionals also need sophisticated analysis tools to examine a broad range of scenarios and secure, reliable electronic trading systems that provide immediate access to liquidity and enable them to deal easily and with speed.
Retail investors access the market principally through investing in mutual funds which specialise in short-term money instruments. They need information on the performance of these funds as well as price and yield information to help them make investment decisions. Information on mutual funds is available in the print media and on financial information websites.
Reuters has a long history of helping trading communities in the foreign exchange and money markets. In addition to its treasury news and information services, Reuters provides secure trading networks. Today the largest and most established community of foreign exchange and money market traders use Reuters Dealing Direct, an electronic conversational application that allows them to access information, communicate with their counterparties and trade. Reuters also provides an electronic matching service for interest rate derivatives which enables money market traders to match bids and offers anonymously and automatically.
