Globalisation and growth of derivative markets and securitisation

Global markets are markets in which the law of one price applies, in the sense that it would be possible to buy or sell products for the same price irrespective of geographical location and local circumstances. When products are purchased and sold outside national boundaries, price differentials may remain as long as there are costs specifically associated with cross-border exchange as opposed to exchange within national boundaries. Hence, the process of internationalisation of financial markets is only a step towards global financial markets. This distinction between globalisation and internationalisation seems to apply to financial markets as well as to markets for goods and non- financial services. Over recent decades, financial markets have gained a clear cross-border orientation but, overall, it can be argued that they are still not truly global.