Posts tagged: market

Mar 03 2010

A Beginner’s Guide to Forex Currency Trading – Try Before You Buy!

Forex currency trading (or Foreign Exchange trading) is one of the most lucrative forms of stock trading today. The Forex market was once limited to lending institutions and government banks, but is now open to all investors. If you are currently a stock investor or are interested in stocks, then you don’t want to miss the amazing opportunity the Forex market offers. More than $2 trillion dollars in currencies are being traded daily with Forex currency trading!

This brief beginner’s guide will explain what Forex currency trading is and how it can benefit you. Also, the guide will show you how to avoid the pitfalls of Forex currency trading.

Explanation of Forex Currency Trading

If you’re familiar with the stock market, then you already know how much research it takes to keep up with the thousands of companies in the market. You could spend hours per day trying to find stocks with the most profit potential and the least amount of risk. With Forex currency trading, this element of trading is almost non-existent. Why? Because Forex currency trading focuses on one type of stock – foreign currency exchange rates.

Buying and Selling in the Forex Currency Trading Market

With Forex currency trading, you are actually buying or selling a “pair” of foreign currencies online, by phone or other methods. “Pair” means two currencies that are being compared by pip, or a common denominator between the two currency values. Bids are placed for the pair based on what buyers are willing to pay. An asking price is what sellers are willing to take at any given time.

For example, you might buy Euro dollars with your US dollars, so you are actually buying the EUR/USD pair. The pair will either increase or decrease, depending on what buyers are willing to bid, giving you a gain or loss for your investment.

The rise and fall of pips in Forex currency trading will depend on each country’s foreign exchange rate. The exchange rates can be affected by interest rates, unemployment rates, inflation, national events or disasters. If you have ever traveled to a foreign land, then you understand that your own currency could either be worth more or less than the currency of that nation.

Forex Currency Trading Leverage

Many Forex currency trading firms will allow you a leverage of 100:1 for your trading. Some will offer even more. If you have a 100:1 leverage, you can invest $1,000 of your own money, but trade $100,000! You can actually double your money with an increase of only one pip. However, you can also lose your entire investment with a decrease. This could equal big profits or losses, so be sure to consider the risks before jumping in with both feet.

Major Benefits of Forex Currency Trading

There are several major benefits of Forex currency trading. The Forex market is non-stop. You can trade 24 hours a day easily online from your own home computer. Though the risk is high, the profits can be tremendous. There is also a very high leverage with Forex currency trading, giving you more trading freedom than ever. There are no brokerage or commission fees to pay, and no restrictions on short selling.

Avoid Pitfalls in Forex Currency Trading

There are a few things to watch out for as a new investor. Be sure to choose a dependable registered broker. Be sure to research the company before you commit. Avoid trading mishaps by trying out a Forex currency trading demo first. There are some great demos available on the Web to help you become familiar with the Forex market and how it works. Most Forex currency trading brokers will allow you to have a free 30 day trial of their software making “paper” transactions to see what you can do. Beware of those companies or websites that promise “untold riches” with the Forex market. As with any investment, there is always risk no matter what their claims.

Forex currency trading is a fabulous business opportunity, but without the usual headaches of running a company. Understand your risks, start small with your investments, and watch your portfolio grow with Forex currency trading!

Author: Gust Lenglet
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Beading Necklace

Feb 17 2010

Forex Secret – Forex Literature As A 90-95% Of The Traders Lose Their Deposit (Part II)

(See beginning of this article under name Forex Secret. Forex Literature As A 90-95% Of The Traders Loose Their Deposit. (Part I)

B. Williams quotes 5 bullets killing a trend, whereas I exemplify their insufficiency and I add up 11 more thereto, not denying the above 5 of them.

B. Williams idealizes the Elliott wave theory, whereas I show that the combination of fives and threes is none the idealizable, otherwise a mankind 100-year development project could have long been elaborated on the basis of Elliott waves pattern, leading to exasperation at the fact that humanity progress does not follow Elliott and Williams. The other thing is that nowadays brokers have mastered the job of manufacturing more waves out of the 5 initially.

The aforesaid is applicable to each of the 20 problems of Forex.

A portion of my live Forex trading methods are to be found in this book, while the other portion thereof is forwarded upon request. Those eager to continue training under my supervision as well as to trade live, please, feel free to contact me on my e-mail address below.
It all could be funny unless it were sad. But IT IS sad, because the above examples are scaring in number. Bearing it in mind, do, go again through excerpts from distinguished scholars books:

- Awesome Oscillator (AO) serves us keys from the Wonderland;

- Accelerator Oscillator (AC) gives us with significant superiority over other traders;

- using AO is similar to reading tomorrow’s “Wall Street Journal”, while using AC is reading of the day-after-tomorrow’s issue thereof;

- by using AO solely, one may attain profits even without any knowledge of current rate; should the oscillator turn down, one may merely ring one’s broker and say: “Sell at the market price!”.

As You have guessed, these are extracts from B. Williams’s “New aspects of Exchange Trade”. Have You read the thing? And now, please, give a glance to the a foregoing figure, depicting the way, the vaunted Williams’s indicators may entail an abyss of losses.

But what truly makes my blood boil is as follows. B. Williams is a professional psycho therapist and his narrative style is none of an incidental one. This is a suggestive method by virtue whereof he attempts to demonstrate the exclusive, correct and faultless nature of his trading technique. The “faultlessness” is to be discussed in an individual chapter, and my only claim here is that I can easily draw hundreds of examples, where one can bump into loss by way of following Williams’s indicators.

By myself, I am an advocate of theory of chaos. But this theory is disclosed by Williams in a very primitive and a superficial manner, which fact results in his blind follower losses. As to the author, he resorts to propaganda methods instead of providing a clearcut distinction between the cases, where the above theory is 100% effective and those, where it is not.
Williams could have explained to his admirers directly, that in these certain instances the theory is to be relied upon, while in these instances it is not to. The difference is in this, this and this. In the former instances one should necessarily enter, whereas in the latter instances one should abstain from entry. But the guy haven’t done the job (due to either not being desirous or to not having sufficient knowledge).

I was a success in finding out distinct operability criteria of the Williams’s technique. To achieve this, I had to improve the Alligator, by virtue whereof I enabled my students to easily pinpoint the difference between the Williams No.1 option (a trend, encouraging profits) and No.2 option (a flat, inflictive of losses).

By the by, it is supportive of the chaos theory methodological correctness and of imperfect Williams’s method structure, plotted on the basis thereof. Instead of acting upon the trader’s consciousness Williams resorts to forbidden subconscious programming procedures, thus stimulating man’s inherent and acquired instincts as if saying: “If You wanna get rich, follow me! My method empowers one to trade without a single glance at a price! The Awesome Oscillator constitutes a key from a Kingdom!” Etc., etc., etc…

Hence, only 1 of 20 Williams’s followers exhibits Forex-earning capabilities in a most favorable environment. Thus, under this statistics, B. Williams is better not to be idolized, the way he has been by the crowd of his admirers. On the other hand, other Forex maestros’ trading techniques are far worse than that of B. Williams. So, let’s continue illustrating Forex truisms being erroneous in live trading.

- The “Theory of Chaos” of B. Williams. The author has not advised what should be added up thereto. A separate chapter here is dedicated to the issue.

- Trader’s psychological problems. I haven’t found any revelations pertaining to THE WAYS OF ELIMINATING THESE PROBLEMS.

- The issue of a stop-loss order is certainly important: even under trend hedging is an indispensable protective shield against market surprise. But is the problem too far complicated to require a dozen pages’ elucidation? Has the author beheld any secret? Wah! He hasn’t noticed anything but he still has repeated all that wanders from book to book on Forex.

Once I was stunned by a question put forward by one of my students after having read B. Williams’s “Trading Chaos”: what’s the use of giving so much attention to the stop-loss problem and above all what’s the good of chewing over the role of safety cushions in the automobile industry as though readers are down with minority?

Doubtlessly, it’s funny reading that Williams has never violated traffic regulations, priding himself on the occasion. Any psychiatrist could tell a hell lot about such a personality type, although, I should admit that Williams is American, not Russian.

Drawing picturesque, memorizing examples, each scholar is right to insist on protective barrier placement as a loss killer. But there is hardly anyone to introduce certain novelty into the issue and to disclose the secret as to what there should be in the trader’s store besides a stop-loss to insure against his deposit melting and extra losses. A separate chapter here is targeted at the issue.

I have shortly come across an aphorism: “Genius is not to the effect, that nothing can be added thereto, but it is to the effect that nothing can be deleted there from”.

If You go through numerous books on Forex at this aspect angle, You are sure to surprisingly find out that 90-100% of their contents may be subject to withdrawal. WHY?
BECAUSE nothing new and 100% correct is offered therein. Instead, reiteration is going on of what is familiar to any professional, since everyone is itching to exhibit one’s originality by way of retelling: a paramount authority of FA over Forex exchange rates; continuation and reversal patterns; a stop-loss importance; a divergence being a component of a trend reversal, etc., i.e. book-to-book travelers.

“An outstanding Forex trading techniques” and “a genius scholar”, etc., making their appearance in books’ abstracts and annotations are off springs of 1% originality added up by an author to 99% of common knowledge.

Sale is publisher’s primary target, giving birth to “genius” mediocrities and plagiarism. Standing separately among these books are opuses by B. Williams, being admired and scrutinized regularly by the majority of scholars and by myself. But EVEN HE cannot be qualified as “genius” with account to the above formula. He is rather “eccentric” than “genius”.

The thing is not, that his technique is addenda-allowing (this fact backs the correct Williams’s choice of the chaos theory to be applied to Forex) and I easily managed to add 11 trend-assassinating bullets to the 5 of Williams. The thing is that a number of Williams’s postulates ARE WRONG and thus loss- inflictive. These can be and should be subject to removal.

CONCLUSION: I guess, it’s understandable by now, that script-writing has turned to be business for scholars, incorporating additional advertising and additional charges for their students. However, the above is not worth millions Forex losers sacrifice.

Much more respect-triggering is Warren Buffet, having made a minimum of USD40 bn at the stock market without writing any books on his trading tactics. W. Buffet is the world’s second-rich man after Bill Gates, although this fact being thoroughly doubtable. B. Gates is supposed to declare the whole of his income obtainable from the Microsoft Corporation, whereas W. Buffet, being a trader, is sure to deem himself entitled to show the Inland Revenue what he really wants to.

The difference is fairly evident. The profit obtained from US companies, constituting the Gates official fortune major portion, may be kept track of, as well as the offshore profits may sometimes be properly checked. But Buffet’s profits attractable at all. Do You expect a man, lending his own daughter a sum of USD20 against a receipt, to allow ALL of his profits to be taxable by state? Or a moderate portion of profits is sufficient, yeah? It is entirely his job, whereas we are to learn to gain at least a spoonful of what he has acquired during 40 years of his activity at the stock exchange.

Thus, to cut it short: a classical Forex literature exhibits but an anti-scientific unsystematic nature, constituting a “crise de genre” and triggering losses among 90% of beginners, abandoning Forex market.

In what does science differ from a philistine and amateur effort? In a systematic and objective nature, in a methodology perspective. In there any of the above to be found with scholar literature on Forex? No, but instead there is in abundance:

A. Tautology and absence of new approaches. From book to book world-distinguished scholars feed traders (as if the latter were silly little chaps) with stories about R&S levels importance, technical indicators, continuation and reversal patterns, etc., which is as interesting and instructive for a professional trader as ABC reading is for a professor of philology.

B. Absence of integrity. Individually, it is all clear: Elliot waves, Fibonacci levels, resistance levels, reversal patterns, etc. But what’s the way it all is interconnected and integrated? In what way it is influential over each other? What is primary and what is secondary? Imagine a doctor diagnoses and cures patients without a slightest idea of interaction of digestive, cardio-vascular and other systems.

This is what exactly happens to Forex beginners. They are sure to have learnt something, but they are being muddleheaded instead of having a systematic knowledge. Medical students undergo a course of anatomy. Geologists and military men make use of topographic maps. And what do Forex beginners have to this end? You are free to interrogate any scientist if he has knowledge of parts of science without having knowledge of the whole. Guess, what he’s gonna answer? And now give consideration to what is being currently published on Forex and being accessible to anyone. Thereafter You will easily “evaluate” the “outstanding contribution” made by each of Forex scholars.

4. Methodology and techniques subjectivism and absence of objectivity. See live scholar, Th. Demark’s “Technical Analysis As An Emerging Science” recommending to manually draw R&S lines from the right to the left instead of so previously doing from the left to the right. The book’s preface qualifies it to be “refined techniques built during a quarter of a century of a laborious scrutiny of market tendencies and projecting methods”. And thereinafter: “Demark’s empiric-data strictly scientific approaches are in striking difference from an artistic intuitive one thus constituting a rational basis for dynamic systems, mechanically outputting market signals.” But, with having not disclosed his system’s essence, is Demark aware that his subjective Forex trading suggestions may happen to entail severe mistakes. Yeah, he substantiates his viewpoint in chapter “Why price projections may not go into effect”: “…due to no technique being perfect”. Good a science with “no technique being perfect”!

Demark is looking rather a philosopher, than a trader with his tirade being nothing but a sophism, made use of as back as in ancient Greece to provide grounds and protection for any kind of absurd.

In accordance to Demark, “a mistake becomes obvious the next day as soon, as the first deal price is registered”. I am itching to ask the scholar: “How many points may a currency travel in a wrong direction during an earth day?” I am answering myself: 100 pts or 200 pts or more. Demark diagnoses: “This instance evidences a breach, indicative of a new opposite tendency”. Well, I’ve got it.

Once there is loss, one should loss-close and enter oppositely.

Take a look at the picture below:

Fig.10. EURUSD H1 chart as of March, 22 – April, 18, 2005 manifesting a month-long flat. (See Note below)

How many days should one per-Demark loss-close with the rate repeatedly swiveling as though to Demark’s ill luck? The scholar has to be asked, how large should a trader’s deposit be to survive Demark’s experiments, being ranked “refined techniques” and “strictly scientific approaches”, “cardinally different from others’ “, less scientific ones, as I can guess.

The opus author will again fall soothing upon You: “One oughtn’t to expect herein outlined technical methods and indicators to offer profits and not to entail losses. Forex trading involves both: a profit opportunity and a loss risk. Preceding results are in no way guarantor of perspective success”. Further on, with greater cynicism and hypocrisy: “Should You be seeking a trading panacea, put this book aside: it’s in no way helpful to You”. Well, what’s the use of buying the book at such price?

Demark, by the way, gives the interpretation of his book’s objective to be “fuelling readers with methodology, encouraging one to systematize various TA techniques”. Great! I thought, it were a new discovery of Forex regularities to be delivered to traders. But it looks, like the scholar has plunged himself into systematizing earlier 50%-correct discoveries without taking any pertinent responsibility.

Hence, no avail to purchase the book and to litter one’s brain therewith, since Forex rates enjoy 50/50 up-down travel chance, even under the probability theory.

Thus, not too much understandable, where Demark’s scientific approach manifestation is to be searched, whereas the essence of things is incomprehensible once the reversal results come evident after an earth day only with no reference to his book.

John G. Murphy, another Forex scholar, outlines in the preface, that the “less art – more science” slogan is specially topical now that greater entities begin taking interest in this area.

As to myself, I have truly appreciated the preface writer Murphy joke as being filled with subtleness and tristesse.

Now, pertaining to science-to-practice correlation and theoretical conclusions implementation… How many scholars of those hundreds referred hereto resort to live examples while teaching long and short entries and close ups thereof? Very few of them:

- B. Williams “Trading Chaos”, “New aspects of Exchange Trading”;

- J. Murphy “TA of Futures Markets”

- S. Nisson “Japanese candlesticks. Financial markets graphic analysis”

- A. Elder “Basics of Exchange Trading”

- L. Williams. “Long-Term Secrets of Short Term Trade”

- Ch. Lebo, D. Lukas “Computer Analysis of Futures Markets”

- D. Swagger “TA, Comprehensive Course”
… and hardly few more.

Disappointing enough, but it is fairly lucid why 90% of beginners mutate into failures and abandon Forex.

By way of getting familiar with the SYSTEM, one will suddenly realize how smooth are Forex artifacts to get apparent one from another, e.g.: M5 Elliott waves constituting M15 wave I, this wave being but H1 and H4 corrective within certain Fibonacci levels.

One gets clear vision of what all the Forex-traded currencies are doing now and what they are going to in half a day. Williams did have grounds to claim, he needs several tens of minutes to analyze tens of charts. He DID have understood Forex as a system, though he has offered but the system components portrayal in his books. Depending on where utilized, the Alligator may appear to be responsible either for a profit or for a loss. But Williams has not even taken pains to present a differentiation between the Alligator being a profit assistant and the Alligator being a loss bringer.

The above is conditioned by the Williams Alligator being a great TA tool, but pertaining to a certain AREA OF Forex only. Other areas require other TA facilities. I will do my best to teach You to effect proper estimation of long-term and super short-term entries being appropriate for the moment.

I will also dwell on why it is not difficult to add extra 11 trend-killing bullets to the 5 of Williams’s; why it is easy to build up a currency travel vector daily projection. The whole thing is minimized to several criteria, being constantly effective irrespective of currency intentions. As a result, You will not have to monthly pay quacking mountebanks’ impotent daily forecasts.

But now let’s move on with Forex scientific criteria. Stagnation and dogmatism are alternative attributes of Forex folios’ anti-scientific substance. Have You ever come across a criticism of any Forex-oriented theory? I mean a weighed objective criticism, assigning credits to the author for elaborating a revolutionary theory, which has by now got obsolete due to a number of objective reasons and thus requires improvement, i.e. replacement.

For instance, I have found nothing of the kind in relation to the 100-year old Dow theory, originally incorporative of benign principles. But life goes on, and there seems no reason to head-hammer life-rectified Dow’s postulates:

- a long-term trend (primary, basic as per Dow) being several years long. Curious enough to spot a currency pair to stand open for so a long period;

- a medium-term trend (intermediate tendency) being several months long. As per Dow, the MTT is opposite (corrective) to the basic trend;

- a short-term trend, not exceeding 3 weeks and incarnating minor fluctuations within the intermediate tendency;

- intraday trend being per-Dow midget ripples, not worth paying attention to.

You are now welcome to take a close look at the figures below, as of October, 2004 through March, 2005.

Fig.11. EURUSD D1 chart. (See Note below)

Fig.12. GBPUSD D1 chart. (See Note below)

CONCLUSION: This theory of Dow’s might be deemed effective rather till late 80s, than presently.

Nowadays, with 3 pips spread, 50-200 pips pullbacks and trends not exceeding a week, the Dow theory

MUST BE recognized as being despairingly obsolete and trader-hostile, since, under a 3-pip spread, it is, certainly, top of recklessness and stupidity to stand open for months or years. A different trend classification is to be called for, meeting updated Forex environment standards.

I guess there’s no need to continue being proponent of the fact that presently Forex theories are obsolete in their majority, with this sort of methodology being requisite for analysts rather than for traders. As opposed, I hold it more appropriate to forward my entry and exit technique to traders willing to conduct successful and loss-safe trading.

By way of prompting: please, attempt to view Forex as a system inclusive of components being familiar to You: Elliott waves, reversal patterns, Fibonacci levels, MAs, ally currencies, etc. All the above staff is integrally intercommunicative rather than existing individually, the way, each organ is in the human body.

I DID have understood it, and I realized the way B. Williams is able to analyze tens of currencies within tens of minutes in order to execute correct long and short entries.

It may look surprising to someone, but a qualified doctor is capable to diagnose Your body hazards after a short examination and talking to You. The doctor has actually examined but several organs, but his knowledge system has empowered him to jump at wider conclusions, as Williams at Forex.

GROSS TOTAL. Steady and regular Forex profits are real opportunity. There is hardly another area which enables one to knock up a fortune without having rich aged relatives abroad, without having to join one’s native country’s throughout corruptible authorities or else. If You have discovered THAT ANOTHER area, You are free to get engaged therein. Then, Forex is not likely to be requisite.

Note:

Full text of this article and pictures of examples http://www.masterforex-v.su/

If you wish to be trained on Trading System Masterforex-V – one of new and most effective techniques of trade on Forex in the world visit http://www.masterforex-v.su/

Author: Vyacheslav Vasilevich
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Beading Necklace

Feb 17 2010

Making A Living From Anywhere In The World Currency Trading

Make money trading currencies on-line. Currencies are the most actively, heavily traded financial instruments in the world. The liquidity of the forex market directly translates into several critical benefits for traders that can gain an understanding. There are companies and trading schools that you can find on the Internet that will train you for a fee or others that you can sign up with and become a member and many will try and show you the ropes. Some companies offer free demo’s to help train you. Its like using play money until you get the hang of it. All anyone really needs is a computer. So you should be able to operate with a very low overhead. With excess to a phone line or an internet wireless computer card you should be all set. And you can start with very little cash. I know people who have started in this game with as little as $300.00. And I’m sure there is still others who have started with even less. The public has just in the last few years been able to participate in this trade. It wasn’t very long ago this turf was exclusively for governments and large international and prime bankers.

Forex trading generates around $1.9 trillion per day in volume, making it by far the world’s largest, most liquid market. Serious traders know that the futures and equities markets provide only limited liquidity when compared with the spot currency market.

In addition, though there are obviously many currencies around the globe, roughly 80% of all daily trading is concentrated in the major G-7 currencies. By contrast, the futures market is fragmented among hundreds of types of commodities listed at dozens of exchanges, and equities market volume is spread across some tens of thousands of listed stocks.

Order Execution

The deep liquidity of the forex market ensures that bid/ask spreads are typically very tight, and the market can absorb large trades quickly and easily. Learn More…
24-Hour Trading no matter where you are located
You get consistently tight bid/ask spreads, day or night, because the currency market offers around-the-clock liquidity. As a trader, this allows you to react to economic and political events immediately. Learn More…

Risk Management

The forex market’s size and nearly non-stop activity means that it tends to trade in a more orderly fashion than futures markets. Dangerous trading gaps and limit moves are all but eliminated. You’ll ordinarily be able to get in and out of positions with ease.

No Market Manipulation

Thin stock and futures markets can be pushed up or down by specialists, market makers, commercials, and locals. Given the sheer size and depth of the spot FX market, however, real buying/selling by banks and institutions is required to move prices. Any attempt to manipulate the forex market usually is futile.

Trade FX and Lower Your Transaction Costs

Every trader should know that transaction costs can reduce profits or exaggerate losses. Due to the decentralized, electronic nature of the FX market, transaction costs are far less than the costs associated with trading either stocks or futures.

No Exchange Fees

The absence of any centralized exchange, such as the NYSE or the CME, means that there are no exchange fees with FX. Whereas equity and futures markets take small pieces of each transaction, FX is an over-the-counter market, which means that participants deal directly with one another, typically via the Internet.

No Commissions

FX costs are further reduced by the efficiencies created by a purely electronic marketplace that allows clients to deal directly with other traders or a dealer, thereby eliminating middlemen, brokers, commissions, and ticket charges. There are no commissions charged when you trade FX.

High Transparency

Every financial market has a spread between the bid price and the offer price. In futures and option markets, current bids and offers often aren’t displayed, so the real cost of the trade is hidden. By contrast, in the FX market, you can always see current bids and offers, so you’ll always know the true cost of the trade.

Tight Bid/Ask Spreads

Because the FX market is global, continuous, and always liquid, traders benefit from tight, competitive pricing both day and night, making this an excellent market choice for aggressive short-term traders and longer-term position traders alike.

Free Streaming Quotes

Because FX is a decentralized marketplace, real-time, streaming prices are absolutely free. Real-time, streaming futures data, in particular, has always been exorbitantly priced, and as more futures exchanges convert from membership organizations to for-profit public enterprises, it is reasonable to assume that such costs may increase. This trend is likely to make the FX market’s cost advantage even more pronounced.

24-Hour Currency Trading

Currency trading essentially follows the sun around the world, so you can buy and sell currencies 24 hours per day. If there’s a market-moving event, day or night, you can take advantage of it.

- Somewhere around the world, there’s always a major financial center open where banks, hedge funds, international corporations, and individual speculators are trading currencies. If you’re an event-driven trader, the 24-hour nature of the currency market allows you to react to virtually any important development, regardless of when it occurs.

- By contrast, the centralized exchanges in the stock and futures markets effectively close at the end of each business day, and after-hours market liquidity can be thin and occasionally treacherous.

- Nearly continuous trading and deep liquidity mean there are fewer dangerous gaps in the currency market, so you won’t have to endure the unfortunate surprise of a market that closes one day and reopens the next at a drastically different price.

- Stock and futures traders who carry positions overnight are exposed to the very real risk that positions may not be able to be immediately liquidated, should that become necessary or desirable. When trading resumes the following day, prices may have moved substantially from the previous afternoon’s close.

Major Financial Center Chicago Time GMT

Tokyo Open 6:00 PM 00:00

Tokyo Close 3:00 AM 09:00

London Open 2:00 AM 08:00

London Close 11:00 AM 17:00

New York Open 7:00 AM 13:00

New York Close 4:00 PM 22:00

Forex Market Overview

Many active traders have come to love forex because of its strong advantages and exciting opportunities. Not sure how the forex market works? Here’s a quick overview to help you get started.

Factors Effecting the Market

Currency prices are affected by a variety of economic and political conditions, such as interest rates, inflation, and political stability. Moreover, the central banks of various governments occasionally intervene in the forex market to influence the value of their currencies, either by flooding the market with their domestic currency in an attempt to lower the price, or conversely, by buying in order to raise the price. Any of these factors, as well as large market orders, can cause high volatility in currency prices. However, the size and depth of the forex market makes it practically impossible for any single market participant to “drive” the market in one direction for any length of time.

Economic Growth

Investors want to be sure that they are investing in a solid economy that is achieving steady growth. Currency traders looking to assess the economic growth of a country will look at unemployment, trade, and GDP data.

Interest Rates

Money tends to follow interest rates. If interest rates go up, money will flow into the country from all over the world as investors seek to capitalize on higher returns. To determine whether interest rates will rise or fall, investors pay attention to economic inflation indicators, as well as speeches by influential figures. Generally, the timing of interest rate moves is known in advance. They take place after regularly scheduled meetings by the Bank of England, The U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, and other central banks.

Political Stability

Election turmoil, changes of government, high unemployment and international conflict all make investors cautious to put their money in a given country. Investors will watch for major news that comes out of a country.

Forex is a Decentralized, OTC Market

The forex market, unlike other financial markets, has no physical location or central exchange. Rather, it’s an over-the-counter (OTC) or “Interbank” market, due to the fact that participants deal directly with one another via the telephone or an electronic network. The forex market is unique in that there’s live, active, continuous trading 24 hours per day for most of the week. Somewhere around the world, there’s always a major financial center open where banks, hedge funds, international corporations, and individual speculators are trading currencies. Essentially, foreign exchange trading follows the sun around the world, allowing traders to buy and sell currencies whenever it’s convenient, or whenever the need arises. The world’s currencies are on a floating exchange rate and are always traded in pairs, such as Euro/Dollar or Dollar/Yen. Forex transactions always involve the simultaneous purchase of one currency and sale of another – in other words, in every open position, an investor is long one currency and short the other.
FX traders express a market position in terms of the first currency in the pair. For example, a trader who has bought Dollars and sold Yen (USD/JPY) at 103.99 is considered to be “long” the USD/JPY (pronounced “Dollar/Yen”). Quoting convention is to display one unit of the first currency in the pair expressed in terms of the second currency in the pair. By way of example, if the USD/JPY pair is quoted as 1.6433, this means that $1 is the equivalent of 1.6433 Japanese Yen.

Regulation of the Forex Market

The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA) placed responsibility for overseeing and regulating the foreign exchange market with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Generally, if a brokerage company offers over-the-counter (OTC) foreign exchange trading to retail customers, it must be registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) is subject to strict capital requirements.

So good luck and have fun and hopefully make some money.

Author: Michael Webster
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty rates

Feb 16 2010

Forex Currency Trading Systems

The forex currency trading system is the system, which lets the forex traders buy one currency and sell the other simultaneously. This is a platform where you can also participate in the currency trading game and make lucrative profits by buying and selling currency pairs.

According to the basics of forex currency trading system, when the value of a currency falls the currency should be bought and when it rises, the currency should be sold off. However, you must know the basics of forex trading before you start using forex currency trading systems. The forex currency trading system is the relatively new venture into the financial world; over three trillion dollars worth of transactions are taking place everyday in the forex market with forex currency trading system.

The Forex currency trading system works like this. For example, you anticipate that the value of Euro will increase relative to Dollar, and you buy Euros with Dollars. So, if the Euro rate increases relative to the Dollar, you sell the Euros and make your profit. The first currency of each currency pair is referred as the base currency, and the second is as the ‘counter’ or ‘quote currency’. Each currency pair is expressed in units of the counter currency needed to get one unit of the base currency. If the price or quote of the EUR/USD is 1.2545, it means that 1.2545 US dollars are needed to get one EUR.

These currency pairs used in the forex currency trading system are usually traded and quoted with a ‘bid’ and ‘ask’ price. The ‘bid’ is the price at which the broker is willing to buy and the ‘ask’ is the price at which he is willing to sell.

Fibonacci currency trading system is based on the world famous Fibonacci sequence – which is formed by a series of numbers where each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers, such as 1,1,2,3,5,8,……and so on. The forex currency trading system benefits a lot from this mathematical system; if you closely monitor the forex rate charts you will see Fibonacci series type oscillations in prices.

When applied to the field of currency trading, the ratio derived from this sequence of numbers, i.e. .236, .50, .382, .618, etc., it has been found that the oscillations observed in forex charts, follow Fibonacci ratios very closely. Since the Fibonacci system calculates the points, levels or currency pair in advance, you, as a trader, easily come to know when to enter into the market for trading and when to exit.

There are over 60 currency pairs available in a forex currency trading system to trade on. However, there are four currency pairs that dominate the forex currency trading system. These are:

EUR/USD: Euro vs. USD (U.S. Dollar)

GBP/USD: British Pound vs. USD

USD/JPY: USD vs. Japanese YEN

USD/CHF: USD vs. Swiss franc

These currency pairs generate up to 85% of the overall volume generated in the Forex market.

The base/counter currency concept illustrates what is actually happening in a Forex transaction. This allows you to short-sell with no restrictions. In forex currency trading system, short-selling is when you sell a stock or currency first and then try to buy it back at a lower price later.

As there are no restrictions, you can make money when the market drops as well as when it rises. So unlike stock market, in the forex currency trading system lets you make money in all directions.

Author: Paul Bryan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: US Dollar credit card

Feb 11 2010

Benefits Of Currency Trading Training

Currency trading or foreign exchange has grown to be the biggest financial market in existence today. People have seen the potential for profit in currency trading and have shown increased interest in joining the foreign exchange bandwagon.

However, most experts would agree that the currency exchange market is not really the place for an inexperienced person to get experience. One could really make a killing on the foreign currency exchange market. However, a beginners financial life could also be killed on the same market.

That’s why many currency trading training programs are available out there: people really can’t just jump into currency trading and expect to make a whole lot of money at once.

The erratic nature of the market just simply does not allow people to do that. There are too many factors to consider in making decisions in the currency market.

In order to make those decisions properly; one needs to be properly equipped. A good currency trading training can help you with that.

But how do you tell which is a good currency trading training?

Well, there are a few indications of what a good currency trading training ought to be like and you should definitely expect these things.

*The basics- don’t trust a currency trading training program which jumps to the complexities and the advanced problems without explaining to you the basics of the game.

Remember that all of the advanced and complex decisions are based on the premises offered by the basics. Good currency training should equip you with the basics so that even if you forget the complex parts of currency trading, you’ll be able to figure them out on your own.

The basics of currency trading also give you the rationalization for the complex decisions. This leaves you with a protocol but without any flexibility.

This kind of currency trading training will leave you with protocols, not reactions. Let’s say you encounter a case which you havn’t studied, how will you react? Would you just get down on your knees and pray that you don’t lose all of your money?

2. Complexities- a good currency trading training will not, of course, just stop with teaching you the basics of the game. Although you may be able to deal with the basic issues and, in time, figure out how to handle the complex matters of currency trading, a good currency trading training will not stop at just that.

A good currency trading training will equip you to handle the complex issues. With good currency trading training you can become a master of handling all types of decisions regarding your money in the currency trading game.

3. Connections and how to get them- a currency trading training program will not only equip you with the knowledge on how to make it in the world of foreign exchange. It will give you the tools with which to accomplish that gargantuan task.

This means a good currency trading training program will help you make connections with people who can help you succeed in the currency trading game.

Remember that, in this world, who you know often counts more than what you know.

But remember that above all, a good currency trading training program should equip you with the confidence to lay your money on the line for a gut feeling. For that is what foreign exchange is all about.

Author: Chet Holcomb
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Excise Tax

Feb 09 2010

Forex Trading 101: Learning Guide for FX Beginners

Being new to FOREX trading? Dont worry, getting started in FOREX trading is easy and you can always test your skills first in a demo account before you go live with real money. To get started in FOREX trading, we have to get to know what FOREX is. For the inexperienced, FOREX trading involves buying and selling the different currencies of the world. A FOREX deal is made when one buys one currency and sells another at the same time. It is always traded in pairs, Euro/USD, CHF/USD, USD/JPYyou get short in a currency every time to buy another and the profit is made when you buy-low and sell-high.

Facts on FOREX market

FOREX market is the largest trading market in the world. It yields an average turnover of $1.9 trillion daily and the figure is nearly 30 times larger than the total volume of equity trades in United States. FOREX trading is very unique as the trades are done between two counterparts via electronic network or telephone connections. There is no centralized location as stocks or futures markets and trades are done around the clock. Everyday FOREX trade begins when the financial centers in Sydney start their day, and moves around the globe to Tokyo, London, and then New York. Traders can always response to the market regardless of the local time.

Although FOREX trading involves such a big volume of trades nowadays, it is not made available for the publics until year 1998. In the past, the FOREX market was not offered to small speculators or individual traders due to the large minimum business sizes and extremely strict financial requirements. At that time, only banks, big multi-national cooperation and major currency dealers were able to take advantage of the currency exchange market’s extraordinary liquidity and strong trending nature of world’s main currency exchange rates. Only until the late 90s, FOREX brokers are allowed to break huge sized inter-bank units into smaller units and offer these units to individual traders like you and me. Nowadays with the rapid growth of Internet and communications technology, FOREX trading has become one of the hottest make-money-at-home-businesses for those who wish to avoid conventional 9-5 day job.

As a fact in FOREX trading, FOREX is mainly traded in large international bank. According to Wall Street Journal Europe, 73% of the trade volume is covered by the major ten. Deutsche Bank, topping the table, had covered 17% of the total currency trades; followed by UBS in the second and Citi Group in third; taking 12.5% and 7.5% of the market. Other large financial cooperation in the list is HSBC, Barclays, Merril Lynch, J. P. Morgan Chase, Coldman Sachs, ABN Amro, and Morgan Stanley. For market participants segment, approximately half of the transactions done were strictly between dealers (i.e. Bank, or large currency dealer); others are mainly between dealer and non financial institutions.

Why FOREX is popular?

There are several reasons why FOREX had became such a popular investment among world wide speculators.

In FOREX trading, you can always use technology for your own advantage. The FOREX market has made an amazing transformation since the advent of the internet. Technology has now made it possible for smaller investors to play on the same level as larger corporations and banks. Anyone with a computer and a will to succeed can start trading currencies from the privacy of their home or office. Online FOREX trading has changed the way that investors do business. With access to your portfolio 24-hours a day, it is really very simple to get started. You can choose whether to hire a professional to handle your transactions, or you could choose to do them yourself.

Also, FOREX trading provides relative large leverage rates to individual traders. FOREX traders can do business with up to 200 to 1 leverage rates. With this advantage, ROI is escalated dramatically and traders can always start up small with capital as little as $1,000.

Getting started in FOREX trading

You dont need much to get started with FOREX trading. A computer with Internet access, a funded FOREX account with foreign currency exchange broker, and a trading system should be sufficient to get things started.

To reduce the risks of losing money, some basic charting knowledge is as well recommended before you start trading FOREX. FOREX charts assist the investor by providing a visual representation of exchange rate fluctuations. Many variables affect currency exchange rates, such as interest rates, bank policies, geopolitics, and even the time of day may affect exchange rates. As stated by expert FOREX trader Peter Bain, charting is an essential tool in FOREX trading. In his newsletter, he reveals that daily charts, hourly charts, and 15-minute charts are used while trading in FOREX. As quoted from his informative newsletter — Daily chart will help you define the overall trend from a position trading point-of-view, and the hourly (one hour) chart will give you a feel for the intraday trend. The 15-minute chart is used for entry and exit with assistance from the five-minute chart, where price is moving quickly, and you need to be closer to the action.

Being one of the technical method, FOREX charting is based on the principal history repeats itself. FOREX traders who study charts predict the market future by evaluating past market performance. The time frame used for charting might differs for different traders, some analyze the past one week, some prefer six months analysis, and there are also traders who analyze the market for the past five to ten years before getting involved in a FOREX trade. A huge variety of FOREX charts are available in the market. Some charting methods are very simple, using a few FOREX indicators to show trading direction; other charts may include up to forty indicators and those are mainly for advance traders that are more skillful. MACD Divergence, RSI, RSI range, and price are some of the well known indicators in charting.

Choosing the right FX dealer is a way to avoid unnecessary risks. FOREX dealers are not all regulated the same way. Although FOREX dealers must be regulated by law, firms and individuals can solicit retail accounts for FOREX dealers and manage those accounts without being regulated. As a trader you should take up the responsibility of finding out if your FOREX dealers are regulated. If they are not, you may be exposed to additional risks.
Also, beware of dealers with investment schemes that sounds too good to be true. Pay extra cautions to dealers that you first knew and always look into the investment offers. If you are from United States, you can always refer to CFTF (at http://www.cftc.gov) or NFA (at http://www.nfa.org) for further information.

Conclusions

You come to this article probably because of you are new to FOREX and were looking for some readings on the Internet. To be frank, FOREX can be very profitable but the risk lie beneath is equally great. Remember to always trade with proper investment plan and strategy. Read books, attend courses, watch video seminars, read papers, or even practice first with a dealers demo account to get yourself ready. Trade smartly, and gain the maximum out of FOREX good luck!

Author: Teddy Low
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Import duty tariff

Feb 06 2010

Currency Trading – The Future Of Investment

Forex Trading, meaning Currency Trading, is a world wide, little known market, which will become the most popular source of income for investors in the very near future. It is open for banks, rich investors and small ones alike and, depending on the sum of money they are willing to risk, the earnings demonstrate this is the best way to start getting rich.

Why choose currency trading over stock, real estate or futures trading?

The currency trading advantages are speed, liquidity, commission-free transactions, increased safety, short-term trading and great earnings. Lets study each of these advantages in other trading systems:

- Speed: Currency trading is instant due to a large amount of transactions while future trading implies a longer time to trade certain commodities, agricultural products, financial instruments and goods (contracts need to be written and signed)

- Stock traders must pay brokers a certain fee for each transaction made. The brokerage fee is available for all futures transactions, but not in the case of currency trading. In currency trading brokers earn money by studying and profiting from the difference of price between sold and bought currencies.

- Liquidity: The currency market is opened non-stop, anywhere in the world giving currency traders the chance to trade whenever they find the opportune moment and prices. This is a characteristic attributed only to currency trading.

- Safety: while other trading systems are based on speculation, on the fluctuation of price, on slippage and market gaps, currency trading is controlled with the help of built in safeguards that limit slip-ups.

- Short term trading, like currency trading, is more efficient for profit making than long term trading. Day trading does not increase speculation, risk and does not imply that the brokers commission will reduce any profit made.

Anyone can start trading currencies. This means Currency Trading is easy therefore making money is easy! The potential profit that can be made by buying and selling currencies and with a minimum capital for investment is amazing. Currency trading techniques are available online for learning for those interested in doing so, but the best choice would be to let a broker do business for you.

Tricks and traps are everywhere for inexperienced and the best way to avoid loosing money and time is to hire a broker who knows how the currency market works and how to increase your venues. Let someone else do the trading for you!

The Currency market is very vast and it involves traders all over the world.

Therefore the market can not be monopolized, cornered in any way for a single beneficiary. There are many participants, many banks involved and currency trading is a global phenomenon. The amount of business done during a particular period of time by the Currency market is 30 times bigger than that done by the US Equity markets.

The average sum of money exchanged during one day of transactions with many currencies goes over 1.6 trillion US$. The impressive numbers dont stop here. The Currency market predictions of growth in the futures are over 2.0 trillion US$. These facts together with others (like the lack of physical location or centralization of any kind) offer the Currency trader safety.

Trading currencies allows investors to make money quick and efficient, with little risk and in a big way! So whats keeping you from becoming a Currency trader?

Author: Gamit Ana
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Make PCB Assembly

Feb 03 2010

Learning to Trade Forex in Seven Steps

If you are interested in learning to trade forex successfully, then the most common path for an aspiring trader these days is to search the Internet for information to apply immediately to their live forex trading account. The problem is that their search often leads them to destinations where there are plenty of false promises, bad ideas, negativity and an obsession with indicators. Many of the EBooks on sale today are filled with recycled concepts or incomplete strategies which the authors themselves do not use. Many authors do not earn money from forex trading but they earn their living by selling these EBooks to the novice forex trader.

This easy access to forex guru’s who fuel the idea that forex trading is the holy grail of easy money, then financially feed off those same people they have sold this idea to. At the end of the day what many of these forex guru’s sell is a gross misrepresentation of what it takes to trade forex for a living.

Forex Trading is not easy. You can become a good forex trader though dedication and by treating forex trading as you would any other skill. The reality is that it is hard work and must be treated with the same amount of seriousness as you would any other career.

The effect of all these gurus is that many forex traders start off overly optimistic with unrealistic goals. Whilst there is nothing wrong with a positive mental attitude but this positivity must be built on strong foundations and realistic expectations.

New forex traders normally start their career by purchasing some secret set of indicators and they are quickly punished for their naivety. Many of these forex traders then purchase a different set of secret indicators until they become disillusioned and then quit trading.

In fact, many forex traders that are now successful went through this learning process, including myself. This is only a problem if you refuse to learn from your mistakes. You need to break from this cycle of reliance on secret indicators and guru methods to be successful.

You help yourself in the beginning; by learning to think for yourself and understanding that whilst anyone can trade forex, to be successful, you must learn to BE a forex trader.

To BE A Forex Trader

To trade forex is easy, all you need is a forex trading account with money in it and then you enter the foreign exchange market and start trading.

To be a forex trader is more work. You need to grow from the starting point of having very little knowledge to the stage where you have a trading plan, understand the concepts and behaviour of the forex market and be able to trade with a cool head and understand that wins and losses are all part of being a Forex Trader.

Learning How to Trade Forex by thinking like a Forex Trader in Seven Steps.

1. Understand your place in the Forex Market

This is very important you must understand that you are very small fish in a big ocean.

In the Foreign Exchange Market the majority of the liquidity is coming from big banks and experienced institutional traders. These are the big fish. The big fish will happily enjoy you as a little snack.

You are only fooling yourself if you think it will be easy to take money off these big forex traders.

You have to learn to swim alongside these big fish and catch the same currents they do. Swimming against them just marks you as prey and sooner or later you will be eaten.

2. Learn to read the Forex Charts and Understand the Foreign Exchange Market.

Many novice forex traders believe that these big forex traders have access to some secret forex trading strategy or use a secret set of indicators, but the truth is this is just not the case.

These major forex players are using simple, but proven technical analysis techniques – most commonly horizontal support/resistance, identification of trading ranges, Fibonacci these are then coupled with fundamental themes.

Begin by accepting that the other major participants are highly experienced in the market and they make money because of experience and by a complete understanding of the core skills and not because they hold a holy grail of secret indicators.

3. Money Management

It is crucial that you understand as a novice forex trader the emphasis is not on how much you can make from forex trading but on how you manage what you have.

This is the most common downfall of all novice traders. It is common place to see a starting trader risk the majority of their account on one or two positions.

This style of trading is not sustainable and professional traders do not trade in this manner. Everyone sometime in their career will have a string of bad trades. A typical number might be 10 losing trades in a row. The question is do you have a money management plan in place that enables you to survive this?

4. Focus on the Market

Many novice forex traders open their forex charting software and activate their latest hot indicator or tool and proceed to place their trades as per the tools recommendations. This style of forex trading is unlikely to have much long term success.

When these indicators fail to generate the required profits then these traders then move rapidly on to another set of indicators.

You must focus on the forex market and understand what the indicators are telling you so that you can pick the forex trades which have the best probability of being winners.

Successful forex traders use indicators and tools as Fibonacci, Pivot points, price channels, MACD, RSI etc. These tools by themselves do not make a successful trader. There are many successful traders and unsuccessful traders who use the exact same indicators.

The key is that successful traders understands how the market behaves around the indicators and understands what the signals actually mean.

The best way to achieve this is to stop swapping between tools and select those that compliment your trading plan, understand how they work, and then spend time in the market experiencing them.

5. Plan your trade and trade your plan.

This is a common saying that seems to get lost on novice traders. It should be every trader’s goal to make pips on each forex trade as per their trading plan. Forex Traders must treat each trade as a business decision by calculating their risk and defining their entries and exits points, those that do not open themselves to big losses when a trade goes bad.

Many novice traders seem to lack the discipline to follow a plan for each trade. So what happens is typically the following; a novice trader will see a potential set-up, they decide on some arbitrary sum to buy or sell with a quick guesstimate, then place the trade without analyzing any risk and having an exit strategy.

Of course this way of trading can be profitable over the short term, more down to luck than skill. But eventually the luck runs out and the trader is caught napping and a common result is a wiped out account.

The first question novice traders tend to ask themselves how much will I make on this forex trade?
The first question experience traders tend to ask themselves is how much is my potential loss / risk?

6. Your mind is your strongest asset and weakest link.

Entire books have been dedicated to the subject of psychology and its role in trading. That doesn’t mean they are all going to help you, but you should take this as a sign that the subject is not to be ignored.

First you must understand the role psychology plays in trading. You must learn to understand your personality traits and how they might affect your trading style.

A trader I know is a bad loser and when he has a bad trade, he had a habit of going straight back and trying to win those pips back with even worse results. But he understands this as a weakness and when he has a bad trade, he takes a break of 20 minutes before he goes back to trading so that his emotions do not affect his trading decisions.

Second you must make it your aim to never stop learning. You cannot get yourself to a certain level and then become complacent. Every day is a learning experience in some way or other and you must be prepared to learn lessons and invest time in improving your skills and experience. The day you stop learning is the day you should stop trading.

7. Understand The Forex Market is always right or Expect the Unexpected.

The forex market is an interesting place, but there is one thing every trader needs to learn. Always expect the unexpected and do not get wrapped up in past successes. No matter what your charts or indicators tell you; sometimes the forex market will just do the opposite.

Whatever happens in the market you must maintain an objective outlook on your strategy and the forex market and ensure that bubbles and crashes do not derail you in the long term.

By following these steps and learning to become a forex trader rather than just trading the forex market, you will put you on the path to ultimate success as a profitable forex trader. This is something that 90% of all novice traders fail to achieve.

Author: Adrian Faiers
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Jan 31 2010

Forex Currency Trading – How to Harness Today’s Trading Technology

Self control and discipline can be nurtured and strengthened over time and are extremely valuable qualities to develop. In this article we’ll talk about how these qualities relate to current and projected future developments in the Forex industry.

Manual Forex trading is a time-tested and market proven method for trading Forex. There is no doubt that manual Forex trading is here to stay. Many of the most skilled full-time Forex traders prefer this method. The key words here are skilled full-time traders.

You see, manual Forex trading can be time consuming. While the process of Forex technical analysis gets a bit easier and more efficient with practice in manual Forex trading it can never be completely eliminated. Manual Forex traders will always need to complete their technical and perhaps even fundamental analysis prior to executing their Forex trades.

As you know, fundamental Forex analysis has to do with looking at economic indicators within and between nations. Fundamental Forex indicators such as Consumer Price Index, Non-Farm Payroll, Gross National Product, Industrial Production, Producer Price Index, Retail Sales, Balance of Payments and Interest Rates are many of the most common fundamental Forex indicators traders seek to incorporate in their analysis.

Needless to say using both fundamental and technical analysis is quite complex and can be a very time consuming challenge. Except for “news” traders many Forex traders default to primarily using Forex technical analysis.

A prime example of “news” is the Non Farm Payroll announcement. This announcement normally takes place on the first Friday of each month at 8:30am Eastern Time. Forex traders who trade the news position themselves in the market to capture as many PIP’s as possible during the market corrections that take place just after a “news” release. Forex traders who trade the news rely quite a bit on fundamental indicators in making their trade decisions.

New Forex software programs that gather and interpret Forex fundamental indicators have been around for a while and they will continue to improve their accuracy with time.

Speaking of Forex software programs, one of the most rapidly developing forms of Forex software are “Expert Advisors”. Forex Expert Advisors (EA’s for short) are software programs that operate within your Forex trading platform. So far, the industry leading Forex trading platform for EA’s is the Metatrader 4 Trading Platform designed by ODL Securities.

There are several advantages to using an EA. Perhaps chief among these advantages is the fact that the “on-board” programming of the EA eliminates the need for the Forex trader to spend a lot of time doing technical analysis. Once an EA is properly initiated, it will automatically trade a specified Forex pair, or pairs, using a predetermined strategy or Forex trading approach.

This can be a huge time-saver.

With an EA the Forex technical analysis is handled by the Forex trading logic programmed into the EA. The EA functions off of a set of predetermined “rules” which guide its operation. The EA enters the Forex trade when the entry conditions are met and exits the Forex trade when the exit conditions are met. Each EA has a different set of predetermined rules. Each rule is typically controlled by one or more user adjustable “switches”. These switches are optimized at the time the EA is delivered to the user and can be saved as a switch settings profile. Once the default switch settings are saved, the user can make changes to the switch settings if they wish. It is important to remember that the best way to determine EA switch settings is through the back testing process.

Back testing is a process by which each switch or set of switches are methodically tested using actual past market data from your Forex trading platform. While back testing takes much less time than forward testing it is still a painstaking and time consuming process but the results can be very revealing and informative. This process will tell you such things as, for example, which time frame(s) and currency pair(s) are the most profitable to trade.

Back testing is absolutely necessary in order to optimize the settings for an EA and as such it is very valuable process but the process is not perfect. Data mismatches can occur during the back test process which can degrade the results somewhat. The source of these data mismatches is not known at this time but it is an industry wide problem and the solution to the mismatch problem is being vigorously pursued.

Even with its flaws the back test process remains of utmost importance when it comes to optimizing the performance of any EA.

The time saving nature of using an EA coupled with the stress reducing effect that it has on the Forex trader has boosted the popularity of this kind of Forex trade automation.

It is just this kind of Forex trade automation that is helping to fuel the explosive growth of the retail Forex market. It is no longer necessary to stay glued to your computer monitor and “baby sit” your Forex trades. Not only that but a properly designed EA can perform functions that even the most skilled and experienced Forex traders find difficult. For example, there are EA’s on the market today that can trade multiple currency pairs simultaneously. Other EA’s can trade multiple Forex hedge trades at the same time!

We are in the midst of a quiet revolution toward increased Forex trade automation. It is safe to say that the trend toward Forex trade atomization is likely to continue and strengthen over the next several years. Because the advantages of using an EA outweigh the disadvantages, the popularity of using EA’s is at an all time high and likely to set new records in the near future.

Even though EA’s are reducing the need for Forex technical analysis they are not reducing the importance of self-control and discipline. It is common for Forex traders who are new to EA trading to have an urge to “manual” trade using the EA. This is a mistake, first of all it defeats the purpose of the EA and second it can result in preventable loses.

With EA trading the EA is your Forex trading method. The EA trader is well advised to allow the EA to do its work without trying to manually over-ride it (Plan your trade – trade your plan).

If possible, examine the back testing and forward testing results of an EA before you purchase it. Always demo trade with a new EA to confirm its operation before using it in a live account.

EA trading is gaining in popularity by leaps and bounds. EA trading is part of a major trend toward increased automation in the world of Forex. This trend is expected to expand and strengthen in the years ahead.

Being skilled in Forex technical analysis is always an asset but EA trading relies more on the Forex trading logic of the EA than it does the technical skill of the trader.

Self control and discipline are equally important whether you are Forex manual trading or EA
trading. Combine the personal qualities self control and discipline with using a well designed EA and you are on your way to profiting in Forex – the world’s largest market.

Disclaimer – This article is for educational purposes only. It is not offered as investment or legal advice. The reader assumes all responsibility for any and all profits or losses incurred by his or her trading activities.

Author: David R Jaymes
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Programmable Multi-cooker

Jan 27 2010

The Importance of Currency Trading Research

Here we are going to look at the importance of currency research and how to implement in a trading plan for big gains over the long term.

Currency trading research falls in to specific categories – currency research before you trade, research for traders executing a vendors signals and research for traders who want confirmation for their own trading.

Getting the right currency research will have a big influence on your trading success, so lets look at each area in more detail.

Currency Trading Research – Before you start

All traders need to know the basics, you wouldnt try to drive a car without lessons, and neither should you try to trade currencies without a bit of study.

There are plenty of good books on trading and here we are going to give you some books that you may like to consider.

Good books to read include any by Larry Williams, Jake Bernstein and Ken Roberts while not specific to currency trading their easy to read and digest and give you an idea of what trading is all about.

You also need to read some good books on trading psychology and there is no better place to start than Jack Shwagers Market Wizards and New Market Wizards that complies some stories of some of the great traders of all time including: Ed sekoyta, Richard Dennis and the famous turtletraders. These books are essential reading for any trader.

Other good books on psychology include ones by Alexander Elder and Dr Van Tharpe

And the classic reminiscences of a stock operator by Edwin Le feuvre

Good overall reference books to have are fundamental market analysis and technical both again by Jack Shwager.

Currency Trading Research – Following Mechanical Signals

Many traders like to follow currency research in the form of newsletters and currency trading systems from vendors and then act upon the signals they provide.

If you are doing this make sure you:

1. Have full confidence in the method they are using to generate the signals and know as much about the logic as you can.

2. You also should study trading history to see how successful trades have been and make sure you are happy with the risk reward.

3. Keep in mind if you are following signals or trades you need to follow them EXACTLY and this means having full confidence in the method used.

Currency Trading Research – To help you with Entry and Exit Levels

If you dont want to follow someone else and you wish to make your own trades then there is plenty of currency trading research services on the net.

There are services that you can pay for, but much of it is available free and in many instances, this information is the best.

Many of the larger brokers and banks have great research and cover both technical and fundamental factors affecting currency movements.

Do a search, and you will be able to find good daily, weekly and monthly currency research reports.

A Word of Warning on Currency Trading Research!

The amount of currency trading research on the net is vast and many traders feel that the more research they have the better and try to use 5, 10 or even more different services to help them with their trading.

The result? – They end up with to much information, much of it conflicting and get confused and unsure what to do.

The best way to use currency trading research if you are trading for yourself is follow a few services only, that reflect your trading style and use them as a filter for your own trades.

Currency Research – Helping to Make your Trading Profitable

If you are simply following signals or trades of someone else, you need to spend time doing your homework, so you have full confidence to execute trades with discipline.

Research is needed regardless of whether the method is totally mechanical or reasons are given for the trades.

To get the most from this type of research you need to follow ALL the trades, not just a few! Otherwise, you may miss the best opportunities and your track record will not reflect that of the service, which you bought.

The real problem for traders who want currency research to just help them confirm their own trading material, is the sheer volume of research available.

You need to be SELECTIVE and just have a couple – too many will confuse you and give you conflicting information.

As stated there is no need to pay, many banks and brokers offer great research and its totally free and in many instances better than the paid for services.

Author: Stephen Todd
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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