1# wbmhjmwl
1. Futures are traded on exchange, which has margin requirement thus the counterparty default risk is basically zero. Forwards are traded OTC and has counterparty risk.
2. The question is wrong. It should be about futures, not forwards. As in 1, trading futures needs margin account, therefore, the correlation between underlying asset for the future and the interest rate is important. Please see John Hull's book for detail.