Forex | Forex Trading

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Your FOREX Trading Philosophy

By: Ron King

"Easy money" is the allure that captivates many beginning FOREX traders. FOREX websites offer "risk-free" trading, "high returns", "low investment." These claims have a grain of truth in them, but the reality of FOREX is a bit more complex.

Mistakes Of The Beginning Trader

There are 2 common mistakes that many beginner traders make: trading without a strategy and letting emotions rule their decisions. After opening a FOREX account it may be tempting to dive right in and start trading. Watching the movements of EUR/USD for example, you may feel that you are letting an opportunity pass you by if you don't enter the market immediately. You buy and watch the market move against you. You panic and sell, only to see the market recover.

This kind of undisciplined approach to FOREX is guaranteed to lose money. FOREX traders must have a rational trading strategy and not make trading decisions in the heat of the moment.

Understanding Market Movements

To make rational trading decisions, the FOREX trader must be well educated in market movements. He must be able to apply technical studies to charts and plot out entry and exit points. He must take advantage of the various types of orders to minimize his risk and maximize his profit.

The first step in becoming a successful FOREX trader is to understand the market and the forces behind it. Who trades FOREX and why? This will allow you to identify successful trading strategies and use them.

Accountability

There are 5 major groups of investors who participate in FOREX: governments, banks, corporations, investment funds, and traders. Each group has its own objectives, but 1 thing all groups except traders have in common is external control. Every organization has rules and guidelines for trading currencies and can be held accountable for their trading decisions. Individual traders, on the other hand, are accountable only to themselves.

Large organizations and educated traders approach the FOREX with strategies, and if you hope to succeed as a FOREX trader you must follow suit.

Money Management

Money management is an integral part of any trading strategy. Besides knowing which currencies to trade and how to recognize entry and exit signals, the successful trader has to manage his resources and integrate money management into his trading plan.

There are various strategies for money management. Many rely on the calculation of core equity -- your starting balance minus the money used in open positions.

Core Equity And Limited Risk

When entering a position try to limit your risk to 1% to 3% of each trade. This means that if you are trading a standard FOREX lot of $100,000 you should limit your risk to $1,000 to $3,000. You do this with a stop loss order 100 pips (1 pip = $10) above or below your entry position.

As your core equity rises or falls, adjust the dollar amount of your risk. With a starting balance of $10,000 and 1 open position, your core equity is $9000. If you wish to add a second open position, your core equity would fall to $8000 and you should limit your risk to $900. Risk in a third position should be limited to $800.

Greater Profit, Greater Risk

You should also raise your risk level as your core equity rises. After $5,000 profit, your core equity is now $15,000. You could raise your risk to $1,500 per transaction. Alternatively, you could risk more from the profit than from the original starting balance. Some traders may risk up to 5% against their realized profits ($5,000 on a $100,000 lot) for greater profit potential.

These are the kinds of strategic tactics that allow a beginner to get a foothold on profitable trading in FOREX.

Forex Trading: Investment Secret Of The Rich And Powerful

By: Ikey Benney

If you search on the internet you'll find millions of investment programs such as real estate, stock trading, bond trading, mutual funds, CDs, auction programs and various internet programs.

I have not done many internet income opportunities or programs or affiliate programs because I had been lucky to discover a very easy way to make money through forex trading, (Foreign currency trading) safely on the internet.

Perhaps you know about only stock trading or bond trading which are common, but not forex trading.

Forex trading is the most profitable and attractive internet income opportunity because you can do it from home or office and from any country in the world.

In forex trading, you don't need to do any marketing or selling or internet promotion to succeed.

In currency forex trading, you don't need to spend thousands of dollars to do any internet promotion.

In forex online trading, you don't need any stocks or warehousing.

In forex online trading , all that you've to do is open an account with one of the brokers with as little as $300 or $2000.

Then follow simple instructions to buy and sell the currencies.

When the price of the currency is low, you buy.

In a few seconds or minutes, the price will go up, and you sell it and make a profit.

By so doing , in a day, you can easily make $500-$1000 by just buying, selling and trading these foreign currencies for about 3 or 4 hrs!

And get this:

You don't even have to be stuck sitting behind your computer buying and selling these foreign currencies.

You can enter all your buy trades and specify the sell prices you desire and then log off.

Whenever the values of these foreign currencies rise and your selling prices reach, the currencies will be automatically sold for you and you make money!

You can do currency forex trading and at the same time keep your day job, because in forex online trading, there is no work to do.

In the future when you have made hundreds of thousands of dollars, you may then quit your job and just keep doing currency forex trading forever and go on permanent vacation!

To understand the beauty of forex online trading Picture this:

In the morning, you get up from sleep at 6 am.

You go to your bathroom and have your shower.

At 7am, you hurry and eat your breakfast.

At 7.20 am, you login into your day forex trading account on the internet and spend 10 minutes to buy about 3 or 4 different currencies, [for example British Pound, Euro, CHF (Swiss Currency) and Yen (Japanese currency).]

You can specify the price at which you wish to sell each currency.

Then you can log off.

By 9 am, you're at work in your office or business place.

You do your job as usual and by 5 pm, you're finished and heading home.

When you get back home around 6.30 pm, you login into your day forex trading account to see how much money you've made.

Holy Molly, there in your account it says you have made $750!

'Is this for real'', you wonder'

Yes, it is. (Your eyes are not deceiving you')

$750 in a day for just clicking your mouse twice and doing no work'

(Whereas at your job, you work 8 hrs, but make only probably $150..)

This is how easy it is to make money from day forex trading.

But before you use real money to open a live forex system trading account, you have to open a free trial (demo) account (forex simulation trading) and practice first, to understand how it works and to acquire the right skills.

This free demo (trial) forex system trading account (forex simulation trading) will help you to reduce a lot of risks that can lead to loss.

In forex system trading, you can choose how much money to invest, how much money to make and when to make it.

You can make money daily, 365 days all year from forex trading.

Your computer can be transformed into an 'ATM' machine that cranks out cash for you daily (without large investment or hassles) from forex trading.

In day forex trading, you can choose what type of risk you can manage, when to invest and when not to invest.

In Currency forex trading, you're the boss. You may do as you please.

When day forex trading is compared to other investment programs such as stock trading, bond trading, mutual funds, real estate and regular business, it is evident that forex online trading is the fastest and greatest way to make money in the world.

Forex system trading is a 2.5 trillion dollars daily business and it is larger than all the stock trading in the world combined.

These are some of the reasons why I believe that forex system trading is the best internet income opportunity.

Perhaps from reading this article you'll now come to know why currency forex trading is the secret behind the greatest wealth on earth and why it has been kept hidden from the average people of the world and therefore little known to the masses.

May these forex trading insights open your eyes to the possibility of infinite wealth and success that can be yours from day forex trading.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Trading In The Forex Requires Some Caution

By: Sara Jenkins

Whether it is in the millions or thousands, trading in the Forex is a bit risky. There are a lot of players involved and if you don't arm yourself properly with knowledge about the Forex you may just get swamped.

The Forex is the largest most vibrant market in the whole wide world. The financial world has never had a market that involves so much transaction. Over a trillion dollars worth of different currencies exchange hands everyday. Some losing in the trade, while some hit the jackpot and make tons of money. The Forex is characterized by its unpredictability and the liquidity because it deals with foreign currencies and each one's value influenced by their own country. That's why anyone who is greatly considering joining the Forex trade should think twice, thrice and maybe even ten times before doing so. This is not an arena for the weak and nervous.

The Forex is a very complex financial arena and only those with enough knowledge, experience and financial capability can join the foray. Managing the risk factors is a priority task for those professionals who do this everyday. They direct and manage accounts from their investors, full confidence is placed on them and their client's success is also their success. Some professional Forex brokers have placed high-value on their credibility. The more clients they have the more they earn as well. They make a profit by eating a slice of their client's profit. If they have made a name for themselves in the Forex trade, they don't need to go look for clients; the clients will look for them and invest.

There are those however who wants to manage their own portfolios. A word of caution though, educate yourself first about the trade. Learn the ropes and tricks of the game before throwing your hat in the ring. Try to gain access to many self learn and self study websites that can impart their knowledge with you. Try out the website of the federal Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), there they offer consumer reports as well as articles about applicable laws in Forex trading. Many Forex management firms maintain a website that offers free online tutorials and brochures. You may need all the educational information about the Forex that you can get your hands on.

They may not outright say it, but the best and the finest and most skilled Forex traders have learned all the secrets of the game. From trading signals technical indicators, and theories that could explain about the market behavior. When you have mastered these skills, you can have a more accurate prediction of the direction of the market resulting to lower risks and higher profits. Even when dealing with money managers they have to be knowledgeable about the trade so they can be on top of their investments. Have a constant conversation with your broker and be updated about your account.

For the self-traders, some of them are very admirable to have the courage to act as their own money managers. As with any business, success will come only after hard work and diligent research. With Forex trading you should always be on your toes for developments. A wise Forex trader knows that that learning and educating about Forex trading never ceases.

Introduction To Fundamental Analysis: Forex

By: John Sanderson

FOREX traders almost always rely on analysis to make plan their trading strategies. There are two basic types of FOREX analysis — technical and fundamental. This article will look at fundamental analysis and how it used in FOREX trading.

Fundamental analysis refers to political and economic conditions that may affect currency prices. FOREX traders using fundamental analysis rely on news reports to gather information about unemployment rates, economic policies, inflation, and growth rates.

Fundamental analysis is often used to get an overview of currency movements and to provide a broad picture of economic conditions affecting a specific currency. Most traders rely on technical analysis for plotting entry and exit points into the market and supplement their findings with fundamental analysis.

Currency prices on the FOREX are affected by the forces of supply and demand, which in turn are affected by economic conditions. The two most important economic factors affecting supply and demand are interest rates and the strength of the economy. The strength of the economy is affected by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), foreign investment and trade balance.

Indicators

Various indicators are released by government and academic sources. They are reliable measures of economic health and are followed by all sectors of the investment market. Indicators are usually released on a monthly basis but some are released weekly.

Two of the most important fundamental indicators are interest rates and international trade. Other indicators include the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Durable Goods Orders, Producer Price Index (PPI), Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI), and retail sales.

Interest Rates - can have either a strengthening or weakening effect on a particular currency. On the one hand, high interest rates attract foreign investment which will strengthen the local currency. On the other hand, stock market investors often react to interest rate increases by selling off their holdings in the belief that higher borrowing costs will adversely affect many companies. Stock investors may sell off their holdings causing a downturn in the stock market and the national economy.

Determining which of these two effects will predominate depends on many complex factors, but there is usually a consensus amongst economic observers of how particular interest rate changes will affect the economy and the price of a currency.

International Trade ' Trade balance which shows a deficit (more imports than exports) is usually an unfavourable indicator. Deficit trade balances means that money is flowing out of the country to purchase foreign-made goods and this may have a devaluing effect on the currency. Usually, however, market expectations dictate whether a deficit trade balance is unfavourable or not. If a county habitually operates with a deficit trade balance this has already been factored into the price of its currency. Trade deficits will only affect currency prices when they are more than market expectations.

Other indicators include the CPI ' a measurement of the cost of living, and the PPI ' a measurement of the cost of producing goods. The GDP measures the value of all goods and services within a country, while the M2 Money Supply measures the total amount of all currency.

There are 28 major indicators used in the United States. Indicators have strong effects on financial markets so FOREX traders should be aware of them when preparing strategies. Up-to-date information is available on many websites and many FOREX brokers supply this information as part of their trading service.

Forex Trading - Understanding Commissions, Spreads and Trading Costs

By: Rich Cochrane

The forex market is quickly becoming one of the most popular markets for trading.

Not only are the experienced traders looking to this market to maximize their trading returns, but many new, individual investors are now able to trade the Forex market - just as they do stocks and futures.

More and more individuals are seeing Forex not only as a new way to diversify their portfolio, but are also finding that it is becoming the most profitable component of their investments.

And that's because of the many advantages Forex offers over other markets like stocks or commodities. Here's what you will typically see advertized about Forex:

- Unparallelled liquidity. It is the largest financial market in the world by far. Almost $2 trillion being traded daily!

- Excellent leverage potential. Individual investors have access to leverage of 100:1 and even 200:1

- No Commissions (more on this later on)

- Low trading costs.

And yes, the Forex market really does offer all these advantages.

But the last two points above talk about costs, and that's what we'd like to focus on in this article.

Like any trading, there are costs involved, and, while these may be much lower than they used to be, it is important to understand what those are.

Let's start by looking at stock trading, something that most of us investors are pretty familiar with.

When trading stocks, most investors will have a trading account with a broker somewhere and will have investment funds deposited in that account.

The broker will then execute the trades on behalf of the account holder, and of course, in return for providing that service, the broker will want to be compensated.

With stocks, typically, the broker will earn a commission for executing the trade. They will charge either a fixed dollar amount per trade, or a dollar amount per share, or (most commonly) a scaled commission based on how big your trade is.

And, they will charge it on both sides of the transaction. That is to say, when you buy the stock you get charged commission, AND then when you sell that same stock you get charged another commission.

With Forex trading, the brokers constantly advertise "no commission". And, of course that's true - except for a few brokers, who do charge a commission similar to stocks.

But also, of course, the brokers aren't performing their trading services for free. They too make money.

The way they do that is by charging the investor a "spread". Simply put, the spread is the difference between the bid price and the ask price for the currency being traded.

The broker will add this spread onto the price of the trade and keep it as their fee for trading.

So, while it isn't a commission per se, it behaves in practically the same way. It is just a little more hidden.

The good news though is that typically this spread is only charged on one side of the transaction. In other words, you don't pay the spread when you buy AND then again when you sell. It is usually only charged on the "buy" side of the trades.

So the spread really is your primary cost of trading the Forex and you should pay attention to the details of what the different brokers offer.

The spreads offered can vary pretty dramatically from broker to broker. And while it may not seem like much of a difference to be trading with a 5 pip spread vs a 4 pip spread, it actually can add up very quickly when you multiply it out by how many trades you make and how much money you're trading. Think about it, 4 pips vs 5 pips is a difference of 25% on your trading costs.

The other thing to recognize is that spreads can vary based on what currencies you're trading and what type of account you open.

Most brokers will give you different spreads for different currencies. The most popular currency pairs like the EURUSD or GBPUSD will typically have the lowest spreads, while currencies that have less demand will likely be traded with higher spreads.

Be sure to think about what currencies you are most likely to be trading and find out what your spreads will be for those currencies.

Also, some brokers will offer different spreads for different types of accounts. A mini account, for example may be subject to higher spreads than a full contract account.

And finally, because the spreads really are the difference between bid prices and ask prices as determined by the free market, it is important to recognize that they are not "guaranteed". Most brokers will tell you that there may be times during periods of low demand, or very active trading when the spreads widen and you will be charged that wider spread.

These do tend to be rarer situations because the Forex market really is so large and demand and supply are generally quite predictable, but they do occur, especially with some of the lesser traded currencies. So it's important to be aware of that.

In summary then, when trading Forex, understand that the "spread" is truly your most important consideration for trading costs.

Spreads can vary significantly between brokers, account types and currencies traded. And small differences in the spread can really add up to thousands of dollars in trading costs over even just a few months.

So be sure to understand what currencies you are going to be trading, how frequently, and in what type of account and use those factors to help decide which broker can offer you the best trading costs.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Explosive Profits: 7 Reasons to Trade Forex

by: Sorna Devadas

There are many money-making opportunities out there and we’ve been involved with quite a few, namely property marketing, web development, residential construction security, multi-level marketing businesses etc.

We’ve come to a few conclusions with the help of some well-known properity coaches.

Often people with the income they desire don’t have the time to enjoy it. Those that have time don’t often have money. You don’t have to sacrifice your life-style to earn an above-average income. If you focus on the Forex for a few months you can make that dream a reality and create time and money to do what you REALLY want.

To earn a living money is given in exchange for a product or service rendered. It needs to be sold continuously otherwise your income stops abruptly unless it’s a repeat type of product or service.

Money is a medium of exchange. There’s no magical formula to possess it, you need to exchange something of value for it.

What if, you could have access to thousands of customers who are ready, willing and able to buy from you whenever you wanted? Wouldn’t it be great to avoid any hassles like money collection problems (just had a delayed payment from my web business), keeping difficult customers happy (we all know what that’s like), competition stealing your business without providing the same value etc.

All that is possible with Forex. You can also trade from anywhere. Take your laptop with you, find an internet connection and away you go.

Another advantage is that you don’t need experience to get started. Get a traditionally job involves accumulating specialized experience, having a well-polished resume and having the right contacts. With the right training course, you can get started straight away.

Here’s 7 more reasons to trade Forex:

1. It never closes. It’s open around the clock, worldwide. Trading positions open at Monday 7am, New Zealand time and close 5pm New York time on Friday. During this time, you can enter or exit the market whenever you like. It’s a continuous electronic currency exchange. This is great because you can trade whenever you have spare time.

2. Leverage. Standard $100 000 currency lots can be traded with as little as $1000. This is mainly because of the ease with which you can buy and sell, some brokers will leverage up to 200 times, so with $100 you can control a 200 000 unit currency position. It’s the best use of trading capital around, even banks lending on property investments don’t come close.

3. Accurately predict the outcomes. Currency prices generally repeat themselves in predictable cycles so you can see what the trends are. ‘Technical Analysis’ helps to see these trends and profit from them.

4. Low Transaction Cost. In other words, you mistakes won’t cost you a fortune. Good brokers won’ charge commissions to trade or maintain an account even if you have a mini account and trade small volumes.

5. Unlimited Earning Potential. Forex has a daily trading volume of over 1.5 trillion, the largest financial market in the world. It dwarfs the equities market (50 billion daily) and the futures market (30 billion).

6. You can make money in any market conditions. Each market is one currency against another, so when you buy in one, you’re selling in another so there’s no biase towards either currency moving up or down. This means it’s up to you to choose which currency to buy or sell with. Yu can make money going up or down.

7. Market transparency. This is an advantage in any business or trading environment. It means you can manage risk and execute orders within seconds. It’s highly efficient and allows you to avoid unexpected ‘surprises’.

I hope you’re now convinced that Forex is the best investment and income opportunity around.

Forex Currency Trading, A Great Work At Home Opportunity.

Everyday more and more people looking for a work at home opportunity and the possibility of braking free from the corporate world without losing their current lifestyle and even improving it, realize that the world of forex currency trading could be the answer to what they have been looking for.

Some of the great reasons why FOREX trading is such a great way of entering the capital markets are; it's easy accessibility thanks to the widespread use of the internet, the fact that currency trading is all commission-free and also the low transaction costs involved. All the best forex brokers will facilitate you a trading account with these characteristics and even Mini Forex traders (i.e., traders starting with accounts having a capital as low as $250), who are just starting in this field, can buy and sell currencies online always commission-free.

When trading the forex markets you don't have to worry everyday about fees you may have to pay your broker; there are also none of the usual fees to which futures and equity traders are used to pay every day the enter a trade; no exchange or clearing fees, no NFA or SEC fees.

You may be asking how forex brokers make money if they don't charge you fees for placing trades. They make money thanks to one characteristic of currency markets, this is, they are over-the-counter markets and trading them involves a bid/ask spread and that's how the brokers make money. Thankfully the currency markets are capable of offering you a round-the-clock liquidity and this way you will receive tight, competitive spreads both in intra-day and night trades, without worrying about having big spreads in prices.

Once you have decided to enter and learn how to trade forex, always remember that practice and more practice makes the master and one of the best ways to get a feel for the market is to paper trade. No one wants to experiment with their own hard earned money; this is why many brokers came up with an innovative idea that would take all the risk from trying out forex trading. This way of trading is called simulation trading or paper trading as mentioned above, and the premise is simple. The program is an exact copy of the broker or trading systems real-time trading program. The main difference is that they allow you to “play” the market just as you would if you were actually investing, but obviously without the persistent worry of losing your money. You can do a simulation trade with a set amount of money, usually around $50,000 dollars. You can practice setting bid and ask prices, and using their various analysis tools provided by the broker software, which is the same you would have in a real account.

From all these facts you can see there are many advantages, and lots of money to be made, if you decide to enter the world of forex currency trading and learn the basics of the markets behavior.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Forex Trading Strategies

The world of trading and investment can be as frustrating as it can be rewarding! And FOREX (Foreign Exchange) is no exception - often described as risky, profitable and complicated.

Forex is the largest trading market in the world.

Forex is the worldwide market for buying and selling currencies. These markets were developed to cater for the supply and demand of different currencies by governments, companies and individuals - for international trade and assisting importers and exporters.

Therefore those who trade in this market include consumers, businesses, investors, speculators and the banking industry.

Different countries use different currencies - which vary in their values against each other. Forex trading invovles the buying and selling of two currencies - trading pairs - you are selling one and buying another eg you may use the US dollar to purchase British pounds - if the supply of the pound lessens - it will cost more dollars to buy pounds - the Forex trader hopes to sell their pounds at a higher price than the purchase price.

A speculator in Forex is someone who accepts the possibility of adverse exchange-rate movements in the hope of making a profit from favourable movements in currency.

As a speculator you should always start trading with a small amount and have a trading system - which tells you when to get in and out of the market. It is a favourite option for currency traders as you can trade the Forex market 24 hours per day and the transaction costs are minimal.

This market - because of its sheer size - is hard to be manipulated - which stocks can be - it is more likely to be influenced by global news or events. Hence, the opportunity for 'insider trading' is eliminated.

However - beware -Forex brokers estimate that 90% of traders lose their money; 5% break even and only 5% achieve profitable results!

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Forex Trading Guide

Like many people I am sure you are interested to know more about Forex trading. To put it bluntly Forex trading can be either one the best ways to make or lose LOTS of money. Only those who take the Forex market seriously will be able to make money with it in the long term.

The Forex trading market is beyond a doubt the world’s largest market where all exchanges happen instantaneously. Thus, trades are a key challenge for even the most knowledgeable Forex bankers and traders. They have to learn and consider many factors before performing even a single trade.

At first when currencies began to be traded openly, only large banks were allowed to perform trades. These days, due to the advent of internet trading and margin accounts almost anybody can begin Forex trading. This in turn, has added to the liquidity of the Forex market, and has resulted in a huge increase in the number of individuals who are now active in the market.

So, does this mean it is easy to earn money through Forex trading? To answer this we must consider a few things.

Some data by Forex brokers seems to suggest that 90 percent of traders end up of losing their capital, 5 percent of traders have been able to break even and only 5 percent of them attain steady beneficial results. Thus, it seems that trading successfully is no simple task.

However, if you can learn to be among the 5 percent who make consistent money you can do extremely well by using Forex trading. To help you in this end I have listed five key ways to improve your odds dramatically of making money in the Forex market.

1. Education

Successful traders are knowledgeable about the Forex market. They have chosen to educate themselves about every single vital detail of Forex trading. The best traders know that every trade that they perform is an opportunity to learn something new.

2. Forex Trading System

All of the profitable traders have a Forex trading system or strategy. Furthermore, they have the will power to stick strictly to that system, because the best traders know that by sticking with their system they stand a far greater chance of earning money.

3. Price Behavior

Knowledgeable and successful traders also include price behavior in their systems. They have learned that prices can change quickly and suddenly but are prepared to deal with those situations when they arrive.

4. Trading Psychology

First-rate traders are aware of psychological issues that affect the choices of other traders make when Forex trading. They know that people do not always act rationally, and as a result this can alter the expected outcome of a trade. This can help them both when deciding to enter into a trade or when to exit.

5. Money Management

This is far and away the most important factor that will determine whether or not you become a successful trader. Averting the hazard of financial ruin is the main concern of all top traders. This means both adequately funding your trading account (only with money you can afford to live without of course) and never entering into trades that can potentially wipe out all of your assets. Better to start trading small and always use stop-loss orders to guarantee that your first trades are not also your last.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of everything you need to know but it outlines some of the areas you need to consider before making even that first trade. Now you know that it is not easy to earn money in the Forex market, however it is achievable.

However, success does not happen overnight and anyone promising you that it can is trying to sell you snake oil. It is an ongoing processes not something you pick up in a weekend. Trading success depends on the trader, and how hard you are willing to work to achieve your Forex trading goals.

Also, remember to try to have some fun. The clearest sign that Forex trading is not for you is if you find the prospect of learning about how the Forex market works boring or dull. If this is the case you won’t stick with it long enough to make money and you will be among the 90 percent who fail. Just remember these three important things: be disciplined in your trading habits, manager your money wisely and enjoy the experience of Forex trading.