Glossary

Variation margin is the cash a broker or clearing house collects to cover adverse mark to market moves on open positions, settled daily or intraday.

Maintenance margin is the minimum equity a broker requires to keep a leveraged position open. Learn how it works, how it differs from initial margin, and why it matters.

Initial margin is the deposit a broker locks to open a leveraged trade. The desk explains how it is calculated, why it matters, and how to size positions.

Margin account explained: how brokers extend leverage, calculate margin requirements, and trigger margin calls on retail forex and CFD positions.

Margin is the deposit a broker requires to open and hold a leveraged forex position. Learn how it works, why it matters, and how to manage it.

Flat or square means a trader holds no open position and has zero directional exposure to the market. The desk explains how and when traders go flat.

Closed position means an exited trade with realised PnL booked to the account balance. The desk explains how closing works, partials, and margin release.

Open position in forex means a live trade still running with unrealised profit or loss. The desk explains mechanics, margin, and risk implications.

Short position explained: how traders sell an asset expecting its price to fall, how it works in forex, and the risks the desk flags for retail accounts.

CHIPS explained: the private USD clearing rail that settles most large-value interbank dollar payments globally, run by The Clearing House in New York.

A long position means buying an asset, currency, or contract with the view that its price will rise. The desk explains how it works in forex and macro.

CHAPS is the UK same-day sterling settlement system for high-value payments. Learn how it works, cut-offs, and why brokers use it for deposits.

SWIFT is the global interbank messaging network banks use to instruct cross-border payments. The desk explains how it works and why broker funding depends on it.

Transaction date is the day a forex trade is executed and booked, distinct from settlement. The desk explains its role in broker mechanics and rollover.

Deal ticket explained: the formal trade record capturing order size, price, time, instrument and IDs. How retail and institutional desks use it.

Deal date is the day an FX trade is agreed between counterparties. The desk explains how it differs from value date and why it matters for settlement.

Value date is when an FX deal settles and funds change hands. The desk explains T+2 conventions, rollover, and why retail traders rarely see it.

Settlement date is when an FX trade is actually delivered. Spot deals use T+2 convention. The desk breaks down the mechanics for traders.

Settlement is the final exchange of funds and instruments after a trade. The desk explains how it works in forex, CFDs, and equities.

Fill in forex trading means the completion of an order at a specific price. The desk explains partial fills, full fills, slippage, and execution quality.

Execution in forex is the process of filling an order at a broker. Learn how market, instant, and STP fills work, and why speed and slippage matter.

Liquidation is the forced closure of a leveraged position when account margin falls below the broker’s maintenance threshold. Full mechanics inside.

Interbank rates are the wholesale FX prices major banks quote each other. Learn how they form, who sees them, and why retail spreads sit above them.

Liquidity provider deep dive: how tier 1 banks and non bank market makers feed broker order books, build spreads, and route retail forex flow.

Jobber was the London Stock Exchange floor principal who quoted bid and offer prices to brokers, profiting on the spread until Big Bang in 1986.

Make a market means posting a firm two-way bid and offer, committing to trade either side. The desk explains how market making works in FX and CFDs.

Dealer explained: a principal counterparty that takes the other side of client orders, warehouses risk, and quotes its own bid and ask prices to traders.

Brokerage is the commission a broker charges per executed trade. Learn how it differs from spreads, how it is priced, and how it affects net returns.

Market rate in forex is the current executable price quoted by liquidity providers. The desk explains how it forms, why it moves, and how to read it.

Indicative Quote: the short answer from the KenMacro desk. Indicative quote meaning in forex: a reference price shown on platforms and terminals that is…

Info quote in forex is an indicative reference price shown for information only, not a firm dealable rate a counterparty must honour on request.

Either way market explained: when an FX dealer quotes the same price on both the bid and the offer, signalling an extremely narrow or locked market.

At Best Order: the short answer from the KenMacro desk. At best order is an instruction to fill an FX trade immediately at the best available price. The…

Day order explained: a pending instruction that expires at the close of the current trading session if it has not been filled by the venue.

Good till cancelled order (GTC) stays active on a broker’s book until executed or manually cancelled, with no automatic expiry at session close.

Take profit order mechanics explained: how limit close orders queue, fill, and interact with broker liquidity in retail forex and CFD markets.

Stop loss order explained: a resting trigger that closes a losing trade at a preset price, capping risk and enforcing discipline across FX and CFD accounts.

Buy limit order explained: a passive instruction to buy at a specified price or better, used by retail and institutional desks to control entry pricing.

Uptick means a trade printed at a higher price than the prior trade. The desk explains how upticks drive tape reading, short sale rules and order flow.

Tick is the smallest allowed price change in a forex pair. The desk explains how ticks work, why they matter for execution, and where they differ.

Big figure in FX is the round number portion of a quote handle. The desk explains how dealers, brokers and traders use it on price tickets.

Point in trading is a single price unit whose size depends on the instrument and quoting convention. The desk explains how points work across FX, indices and equities.

Pip stands for price interest point, the smallest standard price move in a forex pair. The desk explains how pips work, value, and use.

Bid price is the rate at which a broker buys the base currency from you. Learn how it works, why it matters, and how it pairs with the ask.

Ask price is the offer side quote at which a broker sells the base currency to a client. The desk explains how it works, why it matters, and the spread.

Two-way price explained: how dealers quote bid and ask simultaneously, why it matters for FX execution, spreads, and institutional liquidity provision.

Indirect quote explained: the FX convention showing foreign currency per unit of domestic currency, used widely in the UK, eurozone and Australia.

Direct quotation explains how much domestic currency buys one unit of foreign currency. The desk breaks down the convention, examples, and trader use cases.

Cross deal explained: an FX transaction between two non-USD currencies, how dealers price it, and why retail traders see wider spreads on crosses.

Cross rate explained: how non-USD currency pairs like EUR/GBP and AUD/JPY are derived from two USD quotes, and why the spread structure matters.