[Avodah] Currency Trading and Ribis

[Harvey Benton]

RMBerger wrote:

>>Is it exchange traded or OTC? If the exchange isn't
Jewishly owned, there wouldn't be an issur ribbis. So I think we can limit the discussion to OTC (over the counter) trades.

Stocks are pretty much what a heter iska is trying to imitate.
Dividends are profit share, not ribbis.

OTC Bonds are only an issue if you own the company making the coupon 
payments, and again you're selling to a given counterparty who is Jewish.
Structured products that have interest coupons (rather than profit-linked
cash flows) are more often OTC, and since you're grouping any incoming
interest and making a new interest payment, I can see them also posing
halachic issues. But assuming you owned the investment bank repackaging
the product.

I think Israeli bonds are the only real example, as RPTeitz
noted…. (snip).

HB:  What about currency trading?  From my understanding,
currencies can be  sold as commodities, at a fixed payment now, for delivery in the future.  Profit is not made in the form interest coupon payments but rather on the speculation (by both parties) as to the
eventual price of the currency at the settlement date.  

While the countries issuing the traded currencies (save for Israel) are not
primarily Jewish owned; individual traders may be Jewish, 
as well as the trading companies themselves.  To the best of my knowledge, 
these trading companies, take upon themselves the responsibility and financial obligation to deliver currencies at a future date in time. Do these obligations, (which can be accompanied by wild fluctuations in currency prices), attach themselves to ribis potentialities?  

If currencies CAN be considered as commodities, are there restrictions
as to how much one can earn, buying or selling commodities?  If currencies CANNOT be considered commodities, are trades allowed in
Jewish law, as someone is making money, at times from Jewish co-partners in a trade involving money?
KT, HB