Financial derivatives: instruments, applications, and market mechanisms
Financial derivatives are essentially a financial contract between two people or two entities that depends on something that occurs in the future such as the performance of an asset, such as a stock, a bond, commodity, or a currency Hence the term ‘derivative' , i.e. denoting that their value ‘derives' from underlying assets like stocks, bonds and commodities.). These financial derivatives can range from something as simple as an unregulated private agreement to something that is hedged in by rules and restrictions as well as control.