Forex Case Study: The Canadian Dollar

Forex Case Study: The Canadian Dollar

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546

Summary:
Foregin Exchange is one of the most popular investing markets, and with a proper understanding of the markets and factors influencing it it is possible to enjoy great success in terms of returns. A case study which highlights all of the areas and considerations when it comes to Forex investments is not hard to come by- in fact, recent years have shown that even countries which may be overlooked by traditional investors may provide the greatest opportunities when it comes to i...

Keywords:
forex

Article Body:
Foregin Exchange is one of the most popular investing markets, and with a proper understanding of the markets and factors influencing it it is possible to enjoy great success in terms of returns. A case study which highlights all of the areas and considerations when it comes to Forex investments is not hard to come by- in fact, recent years have shown that even countries which may be overlooked by traditional investors may provide the greatest opportunities when it comes to investment.

A good example of the success that can be had in the foreign currency exchange is that set by the Canadian dollar. Most Americans pay little mind to Canada- it is the big country up North, most of the time it creates no problems and can be a compliant ally. Taking a nation and its economy for granted can be a huge mistake when it comes to foreign exchange, however.

Six years ago, the Canadian dollar was worth sixty cents when compared to the American greenback. This fact was intrinsically noted by many Americans, who began buying Canadian products cheaply; everything from cars to medication. This observation was not, for the most part, carried forward into the foreign exchange market. Canada, as a developed and established democracy, was not foreseen to provide any real change in the dollar amount, at least not when compared to potential through the roof opportunities such as China, India, or even countries with great development potential such as the Czech Republic.

Presently, the Canadian loonie sits at just over ninety cents compared to the American dollar- an increase of thirty-two cents in just six years. The growth continues to be surprising; the currency has gained a further four cents in the past week. Potential investors coming even late into the game were therefore assured of some profit, although not nearly equal to those they would have enjoyed if they had realized the potential a few years earlier.

The study of the loonie provides a good case for forex speculators. A country should not be eliminated from consideration when it comes to currency speculation just because it seems to be static developmentally in terms of market of commodities, government, and expansion. The Canadian economic boom has come about as a reulst of a combination of many factors.

The first and possibly the most important factor is the change in focus of the Canadian government. A new Liberal government was elected in 1994, and one of the key ideas on the election platform was the elimination of the government spending deficit. They achieved this goal against all expectations, and the end of deficit spending provided the basic groundwork when it came to an improved economy.

Even with sound fiscal policies, a country's economy can only be as strong as its export and import abilities. Canada possesses one of the most valuable resources in the world today- oil reserves in the province of Alberta are equal to those of the United States, and thus rising prices have contributed to an economic booster that is currently driving a lot of the Canadian GDP.

When it comes to forex investing, there are many factors which can determine profit margins. Make sure to take these all into account before talking to your broker or bank.

 

FOREX Beats the Stock Market

FOREX Beats the Stock Market

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585

Summary:
A comparison of investing in the FOREX exchange or the stock market.

Keywords:
forex, forex trading, learn forex, forex online

Article Body:
Companies issue stocks to raise capital for expansion, equipment and other projects. Stocks have been a very popular form of investment for years. Each share of a stock a person owns represents a small ownership of the company.

Stock values fluctuate based on the fortunes of the company. When the company is doing well the stock price will increase, at this time the investor can sell their stock to capture the profit or they can continue to hold it in hopes of greater profits in the future. Some companies will pay dividends on stocks; dividends are a small share of the profit per each share of stock.

To buy and sell stocks you must use a broker and go through one of the stock exchanges. In the US there are two exchanges, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (NASDAQ). Some very large companies may have stocks on multiple exchanges but most companies will sell their stocks on one or the other.

Until recently the stock market was seen as a long-term investment strategy. Most portfolios would have a large number of "Blue Chip" stocks. These are stocks that have proven their value over a long period of time. With the addition of internet trading we are seeing what is typically known as day trading. Day traders attempt to take advantage of the daily fluctuations in the market by making multiple trades during the day. This is a fairly high-risk method of investment and is further hindered by the large number of commissions charged for each transaction.

In some cases stocks can be bought on margin. In the stock exchange your margin rates are usually about 50%, which means you need half the cost of the stock to be able to buy it.

FOREX

The FOREX exchange is significantly different than the stock exchange. On the FOREX exchange almost all trades are short-term trades, in fact a trader may only hold a currency for a few minutes before moving it again. Since there are no brokers fees in the FOREX exchange you can make numerous trades in one day without racking up large commission fees.

With over $1.5 trillion in trades every day the FOREX exchange is the largest financial market in the world. To put this in perspective all of the American stock markets combined only handle about $100 billion worth of trades a day. This huge volume causes the FOREX exchange to be the most fluid market in the world. Because so much of the world economy is dependent on moving currency from country to country there is always a buyer and a seller for every currency combination. The stock market on the other hand is not nearly as liquid, you may not always find a buyer for the stock you want to sell or a seller for the stock you want to buy.

The FOREX market is not located in a single place but is worldwide. Due to time zone changes the FOREX market is open 24 hours a day 5 days a week.

Stock exchanges are normally only open for 7 hours a day, you can not buy or sell a stock if the exchange that it is listed on is closed at the time.

FOREX is more predictable than the stock market as well. It follows well-defined patterns, you can also leverage better in FOREX than the stock market. Margin accounts in FOREX run as high as 100:1 which means you only need $1 to buy $100 worth of currency.

 

Forex Basics Part 1.

Forex Basics Part 1.

Word Count:
426

Summary:
This is the first in a series of articles that are intending to introduce beginning traders to all the essential aspects of foreign exchange. I will start by identifying and defining the essential aspects of foreign exchange trading, and key components that you will be exposed to as a forex trader.

Keywords:

 

Article Body:
This is the first in a series of articles that are intending to introduce beginning traders to all the essential aspects of foreign exchange. I will start by identifying and defining the essential aspects of foreign exchange trading, and key components that you will be exposed to as a forex trader.

Forex is an acronym for Foreign Exchange. The foreign exchange is a currency market where currencies are traded.  Traders are trading one currency against another. There are very large players in this game such as, large banks, corporations, and countries. There is also the speculative trader. Most individual traders would fit into the speculative category. Speculative trading focuses on the value of one currency with regard to another. As a speculative trader you focus on or bet on which currencies will go up in value and which ones will go down. Fundamental economic news and political situations play an important roll in the fluctuation in value of a currency for any given country.

Forex is the largest financial market in the world. Daily trading volume exceeds $1.5 trillion. Comparing this to other financial markets such as equities at $50 billion daily trading volume, and the futures market at $30 billion in daily volume you can begin to realize the flexibility and infinite trading liquidity the FOREX has to offer. The FOREX is a 24 hour market. This means flexibility for you as a trader. This market never closes. You can always find good trading opportunities at your convenience. This is a 24 hour electronic online currency exchange.

Currencies are traded in pairs. Meaning when you buy one currency you are selling the cross currency. The position that you take long or short is indicative to how you think that pair will perform. For example, if you were to buy long USD/GBP, you are betting that the USD (US Dollar) will increase in value against the GBP (Great Britain Pound). You are actually buying the USD and simultaneously selling the GBP. If you were to go short on this pair you would be betting that the USD is going to decrease in value against the GBP.  It can get confusing but fortunately the services that provide the trading platforms from which you will be placing trades will keep track of this for you. Everything is electronic and online, trading is done in real time. You can watch immediate results of all your trades.  These are highly sophisticated programs tracking every movement in the currency market in real time.

Part 2 will focus more on currency pairs, trading platforms and charting software.

 

Forex and Some Important Facts about Bollinger Bands.

Forex and Some Important Facts about Bollinger Bands.

Word Count:
394

Summary:
One of the most important abilities a Forex trader must acquire is the ability to predict with accuracy what the market will do next. For this purpose Bollinger Bands are of great help for the new and experienced trader.

Keywords:
forex,forex trader,forex trading,forex trade,forex broker,moving averages,forex education,forex articles,

Article Body:
Forex trading is nowadays one of the most looked after occupation for many persons of all ages around the world. This is due to its great advantages over other capital markets and its high profitability potential; among these advantages you will find that is extremely easy to access a trading platform from the best forex broker firms thanks to the internet; and also you will notice that Forex has a high liquidity along with a high leverage.

But having a good broker firm and great trading platform is only one part of what you need in order to make your forex trading career a winning and profitable one. You need to have the right knowledge and techniques in order to forecast with the best accuracy what the market will do next. One of the techniques used to predict the Forex market behavior is that based on Bollinger Bands.

These Bollinger Bands are what is called a  technical trading tool and they are widely used in the capital markets (including Forex) and were created by John Bollinger in the early 1980s. These bands technique was formulated based on the need for adaptive trading bands and the discovery that the volatility of the markets was a dynamic phenomena, not a static one as was widely believed at the time.

Bollinger Bands consist of a chart of three curves drawn in relation to currency pairs prices. The band situated in the middle is a measure of the intermediate-term trend and is usually a simple moving average, that serves as the base for the upper and lower bands. The interval between the upper, lower and the middle bands is determined by the volatility of the market, typically the standard deviation of the same data that were used for the moving average. The default parameter is 20 periods and two standard deviations above and below the middle band; of course this may be adjusted to suit your needs.

In short, the purpose of Bollinger Bands is to provide a relative definition of high and low price. By definition prices are considered high when touching the upper band and low when they touch the lower band. This relative definition can be used by the Forex trader to compare price actions and as a very useful indicator when the purpose of the trader is to arrive at rigorous buy and sell decisions.

 

Forex and its strategies

Forex and its strategies

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507

Summary:
Forex or FX, no matter how you may call it, it all refers to foreign exchange. Forex basically deals with buying and selling of currencies, or in other words currency trading that is made available at the ongoing price in market. For more information about forex trading strategy, forex, forex alerts, forex signal, currency trading, forex trading signals,

Keywords:
forex, forex signal, forex strategy system, forex trading signal, forex trading strategy, forex alerts, currency trading

Article Body:
Forex or FX, no matter how you may call it, it all refers to foreign exchange. Forex basically deals with buying and selling of currencies, or in other words currency trading that is made available at the ongoing price in market. It involves investing money in the foreign currencies and earning profit by selling them at the higher price. That is to say, that you are extending the one you are holding, only to buy the other one for a lower price.

Forex trading market can also be termed as the largest financial market of the world and thereby also makes available the most lucrative options as well. Also, with technological advancements, forex trading signals can be accessed online. It is the introduction of these forex signals that have increased its popularity considerably, as it is readily accessible at the comfort of the home of various investors. There are various companies that provide forex trading signals over the Internet. For this, a person first has to sign himself up with the website of that company and submit a yearly or monthly fee as these services are made available on paid basis only. Most websites that offer a trading platform makes available the forex signal trading system. This involves sending of newsletters about the daily market trends by a professional broker, trader or a market analyst to its members. These are very helpful as the basic purpose of every trader is to provide profitable deals in forex by utilizing all the information that is made available to him. There are different prices that are charged for these forex signals services and the services are also made available accordingly. While some of them will send the email, others will keep you updated by its forex alerts via cell phones. Live charts are another feature that is made available in some higher subscription services.  Generally the minimum amount of subscription is a minimum of $100.   

Though forex is a highly lucrative market, still it has equal risk involved, so it is important to have forex strategy system to ensure that you are not losing more than earning. Optimization of risk in accordance to your reward is important to make sure that you into successful trading. Every forex trading strategy must follow a disciplined approach along with taking risks. That is to say, limiting the risk, while making the best and the most constructive market moves possible is essential to become a successful trader.

Another technical analysis or forex trading strategy is the one that involves deriving "resistance" and "support" levels. The base for this is that forex market will generally trade below its level of resistance and also above its levels of support. In case the resistance or support level is wrecked, the market is also anticipated to follow the same direction at that time. These levels can be decided by assessing the resistance in previous years, unbroken support in the market and by analyzing its chart. Hence, to become a successful trader it is better to follow forex strategy system.

 

Forex And Daytrading

Forex And Daytrading

Word Count:
468

Summary:
Online trading is great way for serious investors to make money, but inexperienced traders often wind up with big losses. A good set of instructions can minimize the risks and save months of expensive trial-and-error learning.

Keywords:
Forex, DayTrading

Article Body:
Online trading is great way for serious investors to make money, but inexperienced traders often wind up with big losses. A good set of instructions can minimize the risks and save months of expensive trial-and-error learning.

Day Trading

Day Trading had its heyday during the bull market of the 1990's. All the amateurs have since dropped out, but day trading is still being practiced by professionals. There are fewer opportunities in the current market, but skilled investors can still find them if they know what to look for.

FOREX Trading

The Foreign Exchange Market (FOREX), the world's largest financial exchange market, originated in 1973. It has a daily turnover of currency worth more than $1.2 trillion dollars.

Unlike many other securities, FOREX does not trade on a fixed exchange rate; instead, currencies are traded primarily between central banks, commercial banks, various non-banking international corporations, hedge funds, personal investors and not to forget, speculators. Previously, smaller investors were excluded from FOREX due to the huge amount of deposit involved. This was changed in 1995, and now smaller investors can trade alongside the multi-nationals. As a result, the number of traders within the FOREX market has grown rapidly, and many FOREX courses are appearing to help individual traders increase their skills.

As a matter of fact, it's advisable to take FOREX training even before opening a trading account.
It is vital to know the market mechanics of FOREX, leveraging in FOREX, rollovers and the analysis of the FOREX market. Due to this fact, potential FOREX traders would do well to either enroll in a FOREX training courses or even purchase some books regarding FOREX trading.

There are pros and cons to enrolling into a FOREX course. For beginners a FOREX course is a rapid method of learning the basics of FOREX trading. Not much time is spent on history of the market or arcane economic theories. Often, on-line or phone support from a skilled FOREX trader is available to answer any questions. Also, the information is condensed and practical, often with graphs and charts.

The disadvantage is the price, as courses are more expensive than a paperback from the bookstore. Also,
the course may just teach the approach of the trader who wrote it, and individuals have different trading strategies. The student may grow accustomed to the logic and focus of the teacher without coming to realise that nothing is predictable in the FOREX market, and many different strategies will bring profits in varying market circumstances. Also, knowledge of practical applications may not be enough, as the FOREX is highly unpredictable and there are many external factors, such as political issues, affecting the flow of finances in the market.

The best advice would be to do some background research on the FOREX market first, and then enroll in a course.

 

Forex: Why Psychiatrists Make Better Traders Than Expert Economists?

Forex: Why Psychiatrists Make Better Traders Than Expert Economists?

Word Count:
524

Summary:
It should be noted that millionaire traders, Elder, Williams and some others are in fact professional psychiatrists. And it is not accidental that not the economists are the leaders and most successful traders, but professional psychiatrists and psychotherapists. Think about it. You will become a successful trader when you understand why it happens with Forex. You will understand what your Forex mistakes are, and why you are making them. And when you correct these mistakes yo...

Keywords:
forex trading

Article Body:
It should be noted that millionaire traders, Elder, Williams and some others are in fact professional psychiatrists. And it is not accidental that not the economists are the leaders and most successful traders, but professional psychiatrists and psychotherapists. Think about it. You will become a successful trader when you understand why it happens with Forex. You will understand what your Forex mistakes are, and why you are making them. And when you correct these mistakes you will become a trader who has no psychological barriers and obstacles on his way to better earnings in the Forex market.

So, why do the psychiatrists make better traders than economists who, as one would think, have the Forex market at their finger tips?

The economists are confused by:

- the fact that exchange rates are not always related directly to the economic circumstances in the countries. Well, do you know any economist who would be bidding for low fx rates when the economic situation is getting better and better? Or the one who admits that technical analysis of currency pairs is more important for Forex trading than the fundamental one? Any economist is confident that this can never happen because he knows all the economic dogmas. But it happens in the Forex. After all, how can a trader lose with the currencies moving up and down by the economic rules? The currency will surely react to the economic changes in the country, but who knows when and how? Here is a tip: there is the Elliott fifth way to teach a lesson to the ones who believe that fundamental knowledge is enough (before the trend turns, the currency spurts absurdly by the old trend), to confuse and draw the newbies into the game, while the experts wait for the trend to turn back.

- the lack of psychological knowledge that helps to understand the behavior of the crowd. And that is self-evident.

Are there any methods to overcome this fear?

It seems that every Forex book, every article offers efficient solutions for psychological difficulties experienced by the traders.

IN FACT NEITHER OF THESE BOOKS CONTAINS METHODS TO OVERCOME THE FEAR EXPERIENCED BY A FOREX TRADER!

But what do these books offer instead?

Almost every book of this kind consists of two unequal parts:

- the bigger part of the book narrates about traders' problem that interfere with their Forex work and make it unsuccessful (nervousness, doubts, worries, fear, sleep deprivation, etc.). As if the traders do not know their own problems.

- the considerably lesser part contains conclusions and recommendations to the traders who are to solve their problems and overcome their fears to become successful.

The conclusions are disappointing:

Many psychiatrists realize that the new field opens before their eyes – now they may treat traders whose number amounts to millions all over the world and is growing with every day. And since most traders have a dream to become as successful as George Soros and other famous traders, this new field promises to be rather lucrative.

One thing is bad though: the overwhelming majority of these new-sprung trader brain specialists do not even know what the Forex is all about.

 

FOREX: The Other Investment Vehicle

FOREX: The Other Investment Vehicle

Word Count:
606

Summary:
Before you begin shouting that the FOREX Currency Exchange is anything but a bona fide investment vehicle, it is necessary to step back and re-examine the current state of affairs within the more traditional choices for investing your money.

Keywords:

 

Article Body:
An investment, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is "the commitment of funds with a view to minimizing risk and safeguarding capital while earning a return". Generally speaking, investments are made for the "long haul", with the belief that the value of the investment vehicle of choice will increase in value. When you say investment to most people in the United States, the first "vehicle" of choice in their minds is the Stock Market, with Mutual Funds in second place, followed more recently by property in third place, and Bonds in a distant fourth. Commodities and currency trading are rarely considered investments because of the speculative nature of those markets. Speculation, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is the "assumption of unusual business risk in hopes of obtaining commensurate gain".

 A quick review of the definitions of "investment" and "speculation" immediately highlights the "inherent amount of risk" as the major difference between both practices. If you were to survey all those people who "invested" their life savings in the Stock Market and Mutual Funds just prior to the market crash of September 2000, do you think that they would agree that the Stock Market and Mutual Funds still fit the definition of a safe investment? Bonds in reality are extremely low risk trading vehicles and are therefore considered "investments". While bonds were also affected in the market correction, they are still primarily an institutional trading vehicle and did not affect individual investors as broadly. While the ownership of private property seems to have escaped the dark shadow of a high risk investment, recent market forces and speculation in private property have eroded the quality of this investment. As of today, the housing boom in the United States has apparently run its' course due to rising interest rates and increased inventory of discounted properties due to default and foreclosure. Many of the "paper millionaires" which this market has created will soon feel the pinch of paying off properties mortgaged much higher than their present values. And to all those owners of property which has long been paid for, you are in possession of a wasting asset against the forces of inflation and the intentional devaluation of the dollar.

 It would seem that the "safest" investments would be in the purchase of hard assets. Gold immediately comes to mind, but its' greatest value is as a universal currency standard. A man with a silo filled with corn will not starve in the near future. A home will keep a family safe from the elements no matter what it is worth. The only problem is that these assets will only earn you money when they are sold, assuming that their value has increased. These investments are not typically made for the purpose of earning a suitable return on one's capital. Speculation, on the other hand, is synonymous with large and fast gains on your capital with the higher risk of loss.

 The additional risk introduced into traditional investments by current market forces has made the FOREX Currency Exchange an attractive option to investors by blurring the lines between investment and speculation. The FOREX is the most liquid of all the exchanges, trading in excess of 1.5 trillion dollars daily, 24 hours per day. Trading practices include everything from intra-day to trend following. Paper trading is highly recommended to sharpen your skill, and an account balance of as little as $300.00 will get you started.

 

 

FOREX: Starting your own trading

FOREX: Starting your own trading

Word Count:
622

Summary:
The presented article is intended for those who just turned their eyes toward FOREX. Beginning traders who are still learning the basics of the foreign exchange market may also find something of interest here. While experienced traders won't gain anything worth their time reading this article.

Keywords:
forex, trading, starting, basics, strategy

Article Body:
The presented article is intended for those who just turned their eyes toward FOREX. Beginning traders who are still learning the basics of the foreign exchange market may also find something of interest here. While experienced traders won't gain anything worth their time reading this article.

Basically there are 4 steps which can be defined as "must do" for those who wish to start trading FOREX. Though, their order is not particularly important, the more important part is their content, to which the great attention and responsibility must be paid.

 First step is finding a right FOREX broker which will be your main tool in trading. You can have a great strategy, good technical analysis skills or an outstanding intuition but you will eventually fail if you choose a bad broker. A good FOREX broker is one that will not still your money, will be doing real trading with your positions, supports your preferred deposit/withdraw methods and has fast and helpful user support service. It is nice if a broker is registered with some sort of governmental financial commission. One of the most important aspects of the broker is it's trading platform – but for a new trader this part is not so important as for expert traders. Still you'll probably want to trade with some powerful and informative platform as a MetaTrader or its analogs. For new traders the more important is a demo account which can be used to trade virtual money while you are training your FOREX skills. If you are new trader, start only with the demo account! Don't lose your money on your first mistakes!

 Second step is learning the basics of FOREX trading. If you already found your FOREX broker, you will easily get all information from its website or user support. There are many articles and websites dedicated to FOREX basics in the World Wide Web. All you need to do is just google for "forex trading basics" and you'll find everything you wanted and even more. This step shouldn't be underestimated, because trying to trade without even understanding how the market works is not only very risky, it will also become boring very soon.

 Third step is about education. FOREX trading education is not similar to any other education you probably have got in your life. FOREX market is very chaotic, so is the education – there are no fixed rules and all time laws, it is unstable and dynamical. So, to be on the top you must learn new things about FOREX regularly and constantly. Try to read as many books, articles other traders' opinions as you can. The more you learn, the more educated you will be. And with good FOREX education you will be able to create very sophisticated and effective trading strategies.

 Fourth step is a final one; at least I consider it to be a final one. To achieve the successful results in the FOREX market you need to develop your own strategies. While you are learning you'll be satisfied with known strategies and probably even FOREX signals. But true goal which leads to successful FOREX trading is to develop your own strategies. Not one strategy, but to follow the market day by day, developing new strategies and improving those which began to fail. And this comes not only to the trading strategy (this part is obvious), but also to the money management strategy (this part is often underestimated). While you gain experience in trading you'll inevitably build such strategies that will fit your trading style, you character and your life as best as they can. And after that, trading will become a real pleasure, which will eventually lead to your financial freedom.

 

Forex: No psychological limitations

Forex: No psychological limitations

Word Count:
690

Summary:
There are many reasons to trade forex, but the best may be one you haven't heard.

Keywords:
forex, forex trading, forex vs stocks, forex vs. stocks, forex returns, realistic forex returns, forex liquidity

Article Body:
Back when I first started learning about investing, I decided to start from the beginning and read basic books on personal finance as well as "guides" for understanding all of the investment world in a nut shell. Most of these authors were very knowledgeable and informative, but their investment advice was far too conservative for my taste. They would literally write chapter after chapter talking about the differences between conservative investing, which according to them generally yields somewhere around 5% PA, as opposed to "risky" investing which usually meant a diversified stock/mutual fund portfolio yielding (in my mind) only slightly higher averages. What kind of returns can you expect in the stock market? Well they say the market has gone up an average of 10% a year since Adam and Eve. Popular indexes like the DOW and the now more popular S&P500 have always, like real estate, "gone up over time."

Now, these market averages are almost worshiped like golden calves. Repeatedly drilled into my brain was the concept that there were hundreds (if not thousands) of fund managers and other "professionals" out there with Harvard degrees, decades of experience, millions of dollars under management, and they were all spending 15 hours a day consuming every single bit of market information in the hopes of beating these golden calves by a few points.

What chance did I have? If Dr. Fund Guru Jr. who eats, sleeps, breathes the markets and has more credentials than I have individual hairs on my body can't consistently make 20% a year...well...forget it kid...your chances are slim to none. I guess I'll buy some shares of XYZ fund and accept the scraps off the table from the stock gurus.

NOT!

The foreign exchange market offers many benefits that the stock market does not have. Most of these have been beaten to death on various forums, blogs, articles, e-books, etc. However, it's always good to reiterate the positive (my own personal reason is last):
- Forex offers unprecedented liquidity. With over two trillion dollars transacted per day on the market, it makes filling any buy/sell order virtually instant. That equates to less slippage and more profitability. "Paper trading" stocks vs actually trading stocks is very different, because orders may not be filled in a timely manner. The difference between trading a forex demo accout and an actual account is virtually nill.
- Forex is available 24 hours a day 5.5 days a week, as opposed to the daylight trading hours of the stock exchanges.
- Forex is uncontrollable by large entities. Large net worth individuals, banks and fund managers who throw their weight around in the stock market can often have huge effects on price action. Because of the immense volume of foreign currency traded per day, the market is unmoved by "heavy hitters." Not even central banks can control the Forex market.
- Forex offers up to 200:1 leverage as opposed to 2:1 stock leverage.
- Forex has no restrictions for selling short, as opposed to the stock market's "uptick" rule
- Forex can actually be traded INSIDE of an IRA or Roth IRA account.
- Forex gains are taxed at the preferred 60/40 rate, no matter what trading style you use (intra-day, swing, position) as opposed to the tax penalties for holding stocks for short periods of time.

The list does go on, but for me the biggest advantage is a psychological one. I know it probably sounds silly, but fear and intimidation can sometimes subconsciously defeat us before we even begin. I don't like the idea of having to live up to, and in a way, compete with "professional managers" who have more knowledge of the fundamentals of the markets than I ever will. It's almost as if Forex, in some way, levels the playing field. I don't have to psychologically compete against anyone's idea of what kind of returns are "acceptable and realistic" and what kind of returns are "pure fantasy." I only have to trade until I can find an acceptable reward to risk ratio, and consistent profitability thereof. The only one I compete against is myself.

 

 

FOREX! Find Out If It’s the Right Market For You!

FOREX! Find Out If It's the Right Market For You!

Word Count:
623

Summary:
If you're reading this article, probably one of your endeavors is or will be some type of activity in the financial markets.  Now which of the markets are "right" for you, meaning the best fit for your circumstances and your goals?  Addressing this question will be far more profitable then trading the first market you happen to come into contact with.  I'll  help in this process by discussing some of the relevant features of the Forex or  cash Foreign Exchange market.

Keywords:
make money online, home business, small business

Article Body:
Being successful!  Does that have anything to do with choosing a market to trade?  I would maintain that it does.  One of the "Secrets To Success" is to choose something that fits…You.  After all, if one of your goals is to achieve a certain income level or net worth figure there are a multitude of ways that someone has been successful with, but probably only a few, that might be "right" for you.  This applies just as much to the financial markets as it does elsewhere.

 If you're reading this article, probably one of your endeavors is or will be some type of activity in the financial markets.  Now which of the markets are "right" for you, meaning the best fit for your circumstances and your goals?  Addressing this question will be far more profitable then trading the first market you happen to come into contact with.  I'll  help in this process by discussing some of the relevant features of the Forex or  cash Foreign Exchange market.

 One of the first Forex concepts to note is that the currency you are trading is a representation of a nation's economy.  Why is this important?  Because it's notable that national economies don't  perceptibly change in a day or even a month.  Contrast this with individual stocks, commodities or futures that are easily affected by daily news or even weather events.  Thus the price moves of the major currencies take place against a broader backdrop than the before mentioned markets.  This is expressed in the tendency of currencies to show strongly trending behavior in contrast to staying in tight trading ranges.  Many will realize that tight trading ranges are some of the most difficult trading conditions while the "trend is your friend" because it is easier to  profitably trade by hitching a ride.  Trending markets also lend themselves to rules based technical trading systems.  Do you prefer to have your trading choices laid out in advance, or do you "shoot from the hip"?   

 Are you planning to trade as a business or significant avocation?  Do you plan to be active on a full or part time basis?  If part time, are you otherwise occupied during regular business or market hours?  Did you know that Forex trades 24 hours a day, six days a week?  This makes sense if you realize that the Forex markets are serving the needs of nations and traders in every time zone.  To facilitate this, most trading is done with online trading platforms that are considered to make an Over The Counter (OTC) market.  Do your plans call for flexible or outside of regular hours scheduling?
How much capital would you like to allocate to your chosen trading activity?  Someone whose trading is part time and viewed as a hobby may have a different amount of trading capital available than someone whose plan is to structure their trading as a business activity.  Regarding capital requirements, the Forex market can accommodate almost any trading plan.  This is possible because there are two trading unit sizes available.  The full size lot is 100,000 currency units and may be controlled by  a 1% or 1,000 unit margin.   There is also a "mini" size lot of 10,000 currency units that may be controlled by a .5% or 50 unit margin.  Dollar based traders can put the dollar sign ahead of the above figures for illustration.  To translate this to trading account requirements; a "mini" account can be started for as little as $300.00 US.

 The above discussion of just a few facets of the Forex market is hoped to stimulate thoughtful consideration of the best trading situation for…You,  and will continue as a series of articles to consider relevant features of the Forex markets.

To Be Continued…

 

FOREX: Exiting positions at a right time

FOREX: Exiting positions at a right time

Word Count:
612

Summary:
The presented article covers one of the most important (in author's opinion) aspects of trading in general and FOREX trading in particular – managing of orders and positions. This includes choosing entry points, making decisions about exit points, stop-loss and take-profit of the trader. I hope this article will help new traders, who just began to work with FOREX, and also to experienced traders who trade regularly and regularly make or loose their money to the market.

Keywords:
forex, trading, money, management, strategy

Article Body:
The presented article covers one of the most important (in author's opinion) aspects of trading in general and FOREX trading in particular – managing of orders and positions. This includes choosing entry points, making decisions about exit points, stop-loss and take-profit of the trader. I hope this article will help new traders, who just began to work with FOREX, and also to experienced traders who trade regularly and regularly make or loose their money to the market.

When I started to trade FOREX and made my first big losses and profits I began to notice when very important thing about the whole trading process. While the right time to enter a position was rarely a problem for myself (nearly 80% of all my open positions had gone into the "green" profit zone), the problem was hidden in the determining the right exit point for that position. Not only was it important to cut my risk on the potential losses with stop-loss orders, but to limit my greediness and take profit when I can take it and make it as high as I can. There are many known guidelines and ways to enter a right position at a right time – like major economic news releases, global world events, technical indicators combinations, etc. But while the entering into a position is optional and trade can decide to miss as many good/bad entry point moments as they wish, this is untrue if we talk about exiting a position. Margin trading makes it impossible to wait too long with an open position. More than that, every open position in a certain way limits trader's ability to trade.

Choosing the good exit points for positions could be an easy task if only the FOREX market wasn't so chaotic and volatile. In my opinion (backed by my trading experience) exit orders for every position should be toggled constantly with time and as the new market data (technical and fundamental) appear.

Let's say, you took a short position on EUR/USD at 1.2563, at the time you are taking this position the support/resistance level is 1.2500/1.2620. You set your stop-loss order to 1.2625 and your take-profit order to 1.2505. So now, this position can be considered as an intraday or 2-3 days term position. This means that you must close it before it's "term" is over, or it will become a very unpredictable position (because market will differ greatly from what it was at the time you have entered this position). After the position is taken and initial exit orders are set, you need to follow the market events and technical indicators to adjust your exit orders. The most important rule is to tighten the loss/profit limit as time goes by. Usually if I take a middle term position (2-4 days) I try to lower the stop and target order by 10-25 pips every day. I also monitor global events, trying to lower my stop-losses when very important news can hurt my position. If the profit is already quite high, I try to move my stop-loss the entry point, making a sure-win position. The main idea here is to find an equilibrium point between greed and caution. But as your position gets older the profit should be more limited and losses cut. Also, trader should always remember that if the market began to act unexpectedly, they need to be even more cautious with exit order, even if the position is still showing profits.

Every trader has their own trading strategy and habits. I hope this article will make its readers think about such an important aspect of trading as the exit orders and this will only improve their trading results.

 

Forex: Benefits of Trading the Forex Market.

Forex: Benefits of Trading the Forex Market.

Word Count:
684

Summary:
Trading the Forex market has become very popular in the last years. Why is it that traders around the world see the Forex market as an investment opportunity? We will try to answer this question in this article. Also we will discuss come differences between the Forex market, the stocks market and the futures market.

Keywords:
Forex, forex trading, forex benefits, forex market

Article Body:
Trading the Forex market has become very popular in the last years. Why is it that traders around the world see the Forex market as an investment opportunity? We will try to answer this question in this article. Also we will discuss come differences between the Forex market, the stocks market and the futures market.

Some of the benefits of trading the Forex market are:

Superior liquidity
Liquidity is what really makes the Forex market different from other markets. The Forex market is by far the most liquid financial market in the world with nearly 2 trillion dollars traded everyday. This ensures price stability and better trade execution. Allowing traders to open and close transactions with ease. Also such a tremendous volume makes it hard to manipulate the market in an extended manner.

24hr Market
This one is also one of the greatest advantages of trading Forex. It is an around the click market, the market opens on Sunday at 3:00 pm EST when New Zealand begins operations, and closes on Friday at 5:00 pm EST when San Francisco terminates operations. There are transactions in practically every time zone, allowing active traders to choose at what time to trade.
Leverage trading

Trading the Forex Market offers a greater buying power than many other markets. Some Forex brokers offer leverage up to 400:1, allowing traders to have only 0.25% in margin of the total investment. For instance, a trader using 100:1 means that to have a US$100,000 position, only US$1,000 are needed on margin to be able to open that position.

Low Transaction costs
Almost all brokers offer commission free trading. The only cost traders incur in any transaction is the spread (difference between the buy and sell price of each currency pair). This spread could be as low as 1 pip (the minimum increment in any currency pair) in some pairs.

Low minimum investment
The Forex market requires less capital to start trading than any other markets. The initial investment could go as low as $300 USD, depending on leverage offered by the broker. This is a great advantage since Forex traders are able to keep their risk investment to the lowest level.

Specialized trading
The liquidity of the market allows us to focus on just a few instruments (or currency pairs) as our main investments (85% of all trading transactions are made on the seven major currencies). Allowing us to monitor, and at the end get to know each instrument better.

Trading from anywhere
If you do a lot of traveling, you can trade from anywhere in the world just having an internet connection.

Some of the most important differences between the Forex market and other markets are explained below.

Forex market vs. Equity markets

Liquidity
FX market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume.
Equity market: Around 200 billion on a daily basis.

Trading hours
FX market: 24hr market, 5.5 days a week
Equity market: Monday through Friday from 8:30 EST to 5:00 EST

Profit potential
FX market: In both, rising and falling markets.
Equity market: Most traders/investor profit only from rising markets.

Transaction costs
FX market: Commission free and tight spreads.
Equity market: High Commissions and transaction fees.

Buying power
FX market: Leverage up to 400:1
Equity market: Leverage from 2:1 to 4:1

Specialization
FX market: most volume (85%) is made on major currencies (USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CHF, CAD and AUD)
Equity market: More than 40,000 stocks to choose from

Forex market vs. Futures market

Liquidity
FX Market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume.
Futures market: Around 400 billion dollars on a daily basis.

Transaction costs
FX market: Commission free and tight spreads.
Futures market: High commissions fees.

Margin
FX market: Fixed rate of margin on every position.
Futures market: Different levels of margin on overnight positions than day time positions.

Trade execution
FX market: Instantaneous execution.
Futures market: Inconsistent execution.

All this makes the Forex market very attractive to investors and traders. But I need to make something clear, although the benefits of trading the Forex market are notorious; it is still difficult to make a successful career trading the Forex market. It requires a lot of education, discipline, commitment and patience, as any other market.

 

FOREX, A Trending Market.

FOREX, A Trending Market.

Word Count:
444

Summary:
There is one type of market which will become very important for you to identify and understand in order to become a profitable forex trader. This is a trending market.

Keywords:
forex,forex trader,forex trading,forex trade,forex broker,moving averages,forex education,forex articles,

Article Body:
The Forex market is widely known by its high liquidity and high volume of transactions occurring during most of its long trading week. These characteristics highly contribute to make the Forex market a very trendy market with few trend-less periods during the whole trading period.

But what does this mean to the Forex trader? Mainly this trendy characteristic of the currency markets means that there will be plenty of opportunities for the trader to find profitable trades during the day.

As you start analyzing forex charts you will realize that the market often display's some very familiar patterns of price movement, this is; trends; and you will notice that once a pattern is established, it becomes the most probable course of future price action until the market changes. Giving you a good forecast of what comes next with the currency prices.

There are two types of markets which will become very important for you to identify and understand; these are: trending and, the less frequent, trend-less markets. Each market type has two specific patterns which you will also notice over time.

A Trending market is defined as a steady, elongated price movements with less than a 45 degree angle with occasional pauses, profit taking, or resting periods.

In a Trending market, you will notice two main and quite evident patterns:

  Uptrends - A pattern of higher highs and higher lows.

Downtrends - A pattern of lower lows and lower highs.

There is also the less frequent kind of market, this is a Trend-less market  with erratic price movements  which are often steep (greater than 45 -degree angle) and cannot sustain and therefore must reverse. Although the movements can move many points in a short period of time, they are constantly and rapidly oscillating with the consequence that they often result in very little net price movement over time.

In a Trend-less market,  you will find these main patterns:

Choppy - An erratic pattern of higher highs and lower lows.

Sideways - A narrow pattern of lower highs and higher lows.

While up-trend and down-trend periods will offer excellent trading results most of the time, choppy markets often create stop outs, this is they activate your stops by constantly overshooting your projected resistance level but without never really crossing too far from this level; while sideways markets produce for little in either direction making them hard to trade and to make any profit during these periods.

As always in Forex, your main trading objective is to get into profitable trades most of the time and a trending market is the perfect situation to find this profitable trades by riding the trends until you make your target profit objective of the day.

 

forex | forex signal | forex strategy system | currency trading

forex | forex signal | forex strategy system | currency trading

Word Count:
565

Summary:
Exchange of a nation's currency for that of another is Foreign Exchange (FOREX). The foreign exchange market is a largest non-stop financial market in the world where currencies of different nations are traded. This Forex market is bigger than three times the aggregate amount of the US Equity and Treasury markets combined. This is not the traditional market as there is no physical location or central trading location.

Keywords:
Forex, forex signal, forex strategy system, forex trading signal, forex trading strategy, forex alerts, currency trading

Article Body:
Exchange of a nation's currency for that of another is Foreign Exchange (FOREX). The foreign exchange market is a largest non-stop financial market in the world where currencies of different nations are traded. This Forex market is bigger than three times the aggregate amount of the US Equity and Treasury markets combined. This is not the traditional market as there is no physical location or central trading location. It is operated on a global network of banks, corporations and individuals trading one currency for another. Foreign exchange market conditions can change at any time in response to real-time events.
The purpose of investing in Forex trading is to earn profits from foreign currency movements. Forex trading is always done in currency pairs. Two currencies that make up an exchange rate are called currency pair. Investors who trade currency pairs need very fast buy and sell Forex signals. Without these Forex trading signals, it is difficult to decide market conditions in terms of entry or exit in the market. These Forex signals and trade alerts will indicate you for going out or coming into the market. Many Forex companies, who have been involved in this kind of business, have developed forex sms signal services. Several Forex signal providers got a "free test" also that is really beneficial. 
Initial investors don't go for in details; they often rely upon one or two technical signals to decide when to buy and when to sell a currency pair. When they get a good understanding of Forex market, they start to use Forex signal software to decide when to pick up a forex entry point and forex exit point. It is not very difficult to find a automatic Forex signal indicating when to buy and when to sell a currency. An investor should compare his investment to alternative options. It is wise to buy currency you expect an increase in value relative to the currency you are selling. In an open trade, a trader has bought or sold a particular currency pair and has not yet sold or bought back the equivalent amount to close the position
To gain high profits in a Forex trading, you should use a Multi-Target Exit Strategy. This strategy is based on providing the customers with multiple acquiring profit and stopping losses.  This Forex trading strategy allows you to enter multiple Take Profit and Stop Loss levels.  This Forex strategy also requires that the trader follows the trade in real time.  A Forex trading strategy with a high profit percentage rewards you mentally also as it will boost you up for further trade and will make it enjoyable. A string of profits will increase your morale.
In Forex trading system, it's not obligatory to buy some currency to sell it later. There are situations for buying and selling any currency without actually having it. Usually Internet-brokers establish the minimum deposit such as $ 2000, for working in the FOREX market, and grant a leverage of 1:100. The major currencies traded in FOREX, are Euro (EUR), Japanese yen (JPY), British Pound (GBP), and Swiss Franc (CHF). All of them are traded against the US dollar (USD). A technical analysis is also made that presumes all the information about the market and further fluctuations in prices. They too consider factors, economic, political or psychological.  For more information on forex trading logon to-:

 

FOREX: Foreign Currency Exchange Market at your fingertips

FOREX:  Foreign Currency Exchange Market at your fingertips

Word Count:
542

Summary:
This article discusses the foreign currency exchange market.

Keywords:

 

Article Body:
Dear Friend,

Have you ever heard of FOREX?  FOREX stands for Foreign Currency Exchange Market.  This is a fascinating new way of making money in the trading market.  With FOREX you can learn powerful techniques that will let you turn $200 to $3,000.  You will learn to focus on what trades are the good ones and the most profitable.  FOREX is an amazing tool to learn to use.  Not only will you profit big, you will also have more confidence when deciding what to trade or not to trade.
 The beauty of FOREX is that it's not only for expert traders, but also for beginners.  As a beginner, FOREX teaches the basic terminology used, concepts, and knowledge that will allow you to join the FOREX trading market.  FOREX literally points you in the right direction of where to start your trading.  It's as if you're being held by your hand and being taken to where the money is.  FOREX is great, because if you sign up you'll receive a FREE ebook with training materials that will teach you everything about trading FOREX and how to get started.  This is a great course that will really teach you step-by-step in how to make intelligent trades in the trading market.  One of the best features about FOREX is it doesn't cost thousands of dollars like most competitors and you'll probably end up making much more money with FOREX than these competitors.
 FOREX is also beneficial for expert traders.  So for you experts out there, you'll just fall in love with this from the start.  You already know the basics and now you'll become perfectionist in basically making money.  Who wouldn't love this talent?  FOREX is a great tool that basically let's you know when the major market moves will happen and in what direction.  It's as if you're waiting for someone to give you the go ahead of trading and knowing that it will be profitable.  This is just too good to be true.  Well with FOREX it's just that good!  Learning these precision techniques will surely help you in achieving HUGE PROFITS.
 There are always risks with trading.  However, with FOREX the techniques that you will learn will teach you to trade with the smallest risk possible (between 10 to 20 pips).  The purpose of FOREX is for you to be amazingly profitable.  Like mentioned above, this is not only for experts but for beginners as well.  This new powerful tool is feasible that even a child can learn.  You'll see dramatic changes in your income and feel more confident in knowing when and how to trade.  You'll enjoy this new way of living!  Just think, you wake up start your day and do a little trade here and there and then that's it!  You basically did your work for the day and then you're free to enjoy the rest of your carefree day.  This type of lifestyle is waiting for you!  Just remember FOREX is the place to be.

 

Forex – A Snappy Way To Make Serious Bucks

Forex – A Snappy Way To Make Serious  Bucks

Word Count:
718

Summary:
$1.3 Trillion; Safe estimates peg it as the amount of currency that's traded on the Forex every single day.

Trading on the Forex is one of the fastest growing income generating opportunities in the world. All it takes to start is a small investment (many dealers will start you off with as little as $250), and some knowledge of the world markets and of trading. Oh. And, according to those that do it every day and live off changing dollars to pounds to francs and back, some ...

Keywords:
forex, forex trading,online forex trading,forex online,forex trading system,online forex,forex trading  strategies,forex training

Article Body:
$1.3 Trillion; Safe estimates peg it as the amount of currency that's traded on the Forex every single day.

Trading on the Forex is one of the fastest growing income generating opportunities in the world. All it takes to start is a small investment (many dealers will start you off with as little as $250), and some knowledge of the world markets and of trading. Oh. And, according to those that do it every day and live off changing dollars to pounds to francs and back, some common sense, some practicality and a lot of faith are a big help.

Some background:

1. The market began in the 1970s with the introduction of free exchange rates and floating currencies. It's the open market where the world's currencies are exchanged and traded with few regulations. Because of the open nature of the market nearly anyone can trade and make money. The volume of trading and the enormous number of players make it almost impossible for any one trader to manipulate the market.

2. The market is open 24 hours a day, from Sunday evening to Friday evening, and there are always trades to be had. This makes it one of the most liquid and constantly moving markets in the world

3. While most transactions are made in lots of 100,000, marginal trading allows traders to start trading with an investment of as little as $250-500.

Marginal Trading- The Blockbuster Earner

Marginal trading simultaneously makes trading on the foreign exchange market so possibly profitable – a great risk. Trading on the margin is simply trading with borrowed capital. Depending on your dealer, you can purchase $100,000 worth of currency for as little as $500. If your trades are on target, you make a profit on the entire $100,000 lot – minus dealer commission, of course. If, on the other hand, your trade ends up losing you money, you could end up being liable for far more than the $500 you originally invested.

So that's why one of the strongest bits of advice you'll hear from most experienced forex traders is 'Keep your eye on the margin' – or even more strongly, 'Don't ever trade on the margin'.

Observe a few important tips to make quick money on the forex.

* Buy low, sell high. Yes, it's a roadkill cliche, but there are many people who forget that the market runs in patterns of dips and rises. Keep your eye on the pattern and buy when the exchange rate dips, then sell when it peaks.

* Remember to cut your losses. No one, no matter what they tell you, runs a 100% profitable system. What they do have is the knowledge to get out of a trade before it goes further south. If you make a trade that decreases in value, decide ahead of time how much you can afford to lose. When you reach that low, sell. Don't hang on 'in case it turns around'.

*Understand the situation in the country whose currency you're trading. The economy and politics of a country have a profound effect on the exchange rate of its currency. Keep your ear to the ground and be prepared to move based on what you hear – because everyone else will.

* Select a system that fits your lifestyle. System is what it's all about, according to traders who make money in the market. A system helps you decide in advance exactly how much you can afford to lose, and set stop/sell or buy orders based on those figures. Pick a system, live your system, and don't second-guess your system.

* Focus on the bottom line. Especially if you're day trading, you'll find that you lose at least as often as you win – but you can still come out ahead if you plan your strategy and system out in advance. By deciding in advance how much you can afford to lose in a trade, and when you should take your profits and cut them loose, you'll make a profit even when most of your trades are losers.

* And remember remember remember to upgrade your knowledge before taking the forex leap.

Treat forex trading like a regular business. You can't make money without knowledge, skills and a good attitude. Study, take notes and practice – then go out there and make some serious money.

 

Forex : How To Handle A String Of Investment Losses

Forex :  How To Handle A String Of Investment  Losses

Word Count:
912

Summary:
Everybody hates to lose and unfortunately no one is blessed with the ability of foresight, therefore losses are an unavoidable part of trading. When we enter a trade we will either be right, or wrong, and even if we broke-even we'd still be classed as being wrong - as nobody enters into a trade just to break-even! When unsuccessful traders encounter a string of losses they begin to engage in self-destructive patterns that help them escape the pain they are experiencing.

     Hopefully this article has made you ponder over some of your behaviors during drawdown periods, be sure to keep an eye on yourself and as always take care of your body, because there's no use in making all the money in the world when you don't have the physical capacity to enjoy it

Keywords:
forex , invest , investment , profit , loss , securities , interest , cash , money , wealth

Article Body:
Everybody hates to lose and unfortunately no one is blessed with the ability of foresight, therefore losses are an unavoidable part of trading. When we enter a trade we will either be right, or wrong, and even if we broke-even we'd still be classed as being wrong - as nobody enters into a trade just to break-even! When unsuccessful traders encounter a string of losses they begin to engage in self-destructive patterns that help them escape the pain they are experiencing.

           Bring to light these self-destructive actions that can help you realize what you are doing before it takes hold of your physical health. If you find yourself already engaged in these patterns hopefully this article can help you to get you back on track as quickly as possible.

           What are the destructive patterns?

           If you find yourself caught in a string of losses or a bad performing week/month be sure to monitor your behavior. It is during this time that you will be at your most vulnerable. You will begin to indulge in activities that at first seem harmless, but upon excessive use (or in time), begin to cause physical damage to your health.

       Ask yourself the following question: during drawdown periods do I find myself over-indulging in these activities:

               Food (especially junk food - e.g. chocolate, ice-cream, chips)?

               Sex (includes viewing pornography)?

               Alcohol?

                Drugs (includes excessive smoking)?

                Laziness (find it difficult to wake up in the morning)?

                 Entertainment?

      All of the above taken in excessive doses can be detrimental to your own physical health (some even in small doses!).

     These activities above during your losing period are only covering up the pain of confronting the true issue, and your body tries to rid the emotional pain by trying to "fix" it with physical pleasures. Unfortunately it is going about it in the wrong way, so what should you do?

    Firstly... REALIZE WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND STOP IT!

    You need to realize what you're doing and you need to STOP doing it immediately! You can either decide to stop, or you'll be forced to stop when your body eventually breaks down and prevents you from any form of movement. It will be much more beneficial to you in the long-term if you can decide to stop *NOW*.

    Once you have stopped you now need to figure out a way to solve the pain - not by cutting out or neglecting it, but by staring it in the face. Bring your problems out into the light, be honest with yourself. There can be no growth without pain; you are experiencing the emotional pain, now it is time to find the error and therefore your growth.

   Begin Your Review

    The review process begins in two separate areas: You & Your System. Here are some checklists for you to go through to find out where the problem could lie:

     "YOUR SYSTEM" CHECKLIST

         Was your system thoroughly tested prior to trading it (or paper traded if you do not have the capacity to program your system into back testing software)?

         Did you test with out-of-sample data?

        Do you even have a system???? If you do not, how do you even know if the method that you are trading is even profitable??

        Is your system's code correct?

        Did you over-optimize your system? (What have we discussed about over-indulging?)

        Did you paper trade your system prior to placing capital on it?

       Did you trade with a small amount of capital prior to placing the rest of your funds on it?

       Do you know the system's limitations?

       Did you properly drill your system? (See our blog article on why I am the system designer from hell)

   "YOU" CHECKLIST

       Is the current drawdown you are exhibiting with your system normal?

       Are you comfortable with your system's historical drawdown performance?

       Are you fully aware of the risks involved with your system and the instrument(s) you are trading?

        Are you trading with funds that you are comfortable risking?

        Are you relying too heavily on your performance?

        Have you set realistic goals?

    As you can see there are generally two areas that you need to explore: the mechanical aspect - your system - and the emotional aspect - you. Both can be responsible for making the way you feel the way you do. It will either be an error on the system's side with how the system was tested and/or programmed, or it can be your own psychological profile not being comfortable with the system's performance.

   Your Answers = Change = Your Growth

    What steps should we now take? Now that we have begun a corrective process where we have stopped the evil nature of our over-indulging ways to take control we should continue our "corrective nature" by invoking our findings and taking ACTION in correcting our errors.

    If the problem was mechanical - fix it, if the problem was emotional either go about setting up new thought patterns, or change your current system. The answers lie in whether you need to expand your knowledge in system development, or whether you need to grow emotionally as a person.

      Unfortunately there is no easy road, and even if there was everybody would be doing it. Hopefully this article has made you ponder over some of your behaviors during drawdown periods, be sure to keep an eye on yourself and as always take care of your body, because there's no use in making all the money in the world when you don't have the physical capacity to enjoy it

 

Forex

Forex

Word Count:
805

Summary:
Money. We all need it. We all want it. Trillions and trillions of dollars, pesos, euros, pounds, levs, francs, and more change hands every day for goods and services around the world. Most of us are only familiar with the money that is exchanged for goods and services in our own country and are only concerned with getting more of that.

But there is a lot more to money than that. What is the relationship between the currency in your country and the currency of some other co...

Keywords:
Forex, Currency, Trading

Article Body:
Money. We all need it. We all want it. Trillions and trillions of dollars, pesos, euros, pounds, levs, francs, and more change hands every day for goods and services around the world. Most of us are only familiar with the money that is exchanged for goods and services in our own country and are only concerned with getting more of that.

But there is a lot more to money than that. What is the relationship between the currency in your country and the currency of some other country and why should it matter to me? I'm glad you asked. In this article we will explore some of the currencies around the world and answer some questions you may not even know you had.

First, if we are going to discuss currency and it's relationship to other currency, we have to talk about Forex. That's short for foreign exchange or the exchange of currency for a different type of currency.

There is no market in the world, including Wallstreet that can compare to Forex in volume of cash traded daily. Retailers, Governments, Currency Speculators, Banks, Corporations, and other financial institutions engage in forex or foreign currency exchange to the tune of trillions of dollars and other currency each day.

It is a truly amazing thing to see. People making money just by trading one country's currency for another. Keeping up with the latest news in each country, economic trends and indicators, real-time monitoring of current currency values in comparison to another currency are all things required if you are going to speculate in this arena.

More than that, some forex speculators will tell you is, you have to have a good feel for it. You have to understand economies and be able to recognize the events and conditions that will cause people to lose confidence in one currency or another. You have to know when to hold em and when to fold em, as the Kenny Rogers song goes.

If you would like to check the exchange rates for each of these currencies against other currencies, you can open a new browser window and put this url into your address bar. It's a Forex Calculator.

The following is a list of world currencies. It may not be every currency in the world, but it will give you an idea of the complexity of forex.

Albanian Lek, Algerian Dinar, Aluminium Ounces, Argentine Peso, Aruba Florin, Australian Dollar.

Bahamian Dollar, Bahraini Dinar, Bangladesh Taka, Barbados Dollar, Belarus Ruble, Belize Dollar, Bermuda Dollar, Bhutan Ngultrum, Bolivian Boliviano, Brazilian Real, British Pound, Brunei Dollar, Bulgarian Lev, Burundi Franc.

Cambodia Riel, Canadian Dollar, Cayman Islands Dollar, CFA Franc, Chilean Peso, Chinese Yuan, Colombian Peso, Comoros Franc, Copper Ounces, Costa Rica Colon, Croatian Kuna, Cuban Peso, Cyprus Pound, Czech Koruna.

Danish Krone, Dijibouti Franc, Dominican Peso. East Caribbean Dollar, Ecuador Sucre, Egyptian Pound, El Salvador Colon, Eritrea Nakfa, Estonian Kroon, Ethiopian Birr, Euro.

Falkland Islands Pound, Gambian Dalasi, Ghanian Cedi, Gibraltar Pound, Gold Ounces, Guatemala Quetzal, Guinea Franc, Haiti Gourde, Honduras Lempira, Hong Kong Dollar, Hungarian Forint, Iceland Krona, Indian Rupee, Indonesian Rupiah, Iran Rial, Israeli Shekel,

Jamaican Dollar, Japanese Yen, Jordanian Dinar, Kazakhstan Tenge, Kenyan Shilling, Korean Won, Kuwaiti Dinar, Lao Kip, Latvian Lat, Lebanese Pound, Lesotho Loti, Libyan Dinar, Lithuanian Lita.

Macau Pataca, Macedonian Denar, Malagasy Franc, Malawi Kwacha, Malaysian Ringgit, Maldives Rufiyaa, Maltese Lira, Mauritania Ougulya, Mauritius Rupee, Mexican Peso, Moldovan Leu, Mongolian Tugrik, Moroccan Dirham, Mozambique Metical.

Namibian Dollar, Nepalese Rupee, Neth Antilles Guilder, New Turkish Lira, New Zealand Dollar, Nicaragua Cordoba, Nigerian Naira, Norwegian Krone, Omani Rial.

Pacific Franc, Pakistani Rupee, Palladium Ounces, Panama Balboa, Papua New Guinea Kina, Paraguayan Guarani, Peruvian Nuevo Sol, Philippine Peso, Platinum Ounces, Polish Zloty, Qatar Rial, Romanian Leu, Romanian New Leu, Russian Rouble, Rwanda Franc.

Samoa Tala, Sao Tome Dobra, Saudi Arabian Riyal, Seychelles Rupee, Sierra Leone Leone, Silver Ounces, Singapore Dollar, Slovak Koruna, Slovenian Tolar, Somali Shilling, South African Rand, Sri Lanka Rupee, St Helena Pound, Sudanese Dinar, Surinam Guilder, Swaziland Lilageni, Swedish Krona, Swiss Franc, Syrian Pound.

Taiwan Dollar, Tanzanian Shilling, Thai Baht, Tonga Pa'anga, Trinidad&Tobago Dollar, Tunisian Dinar, U.S. Dollar, UAE Dirham, Ugandan Shilling, Ukraine Hryvnia, Uruguayan New Peso, Vanuatu Vatu, Venezuelan Bolivar, Vietnam Dong, Yemen Riyal, Zambian Kwacha, Zimbabwe Dollar.

Can you imagine sorting out all of the relationships between each of those currencies and precious metals. Forex is not for the faint of heart it would seem, but it does make a facinating topic. In some of the currency names you can see how it relates to world history.

I hope you find this article has helped you with at least an explanation of what Forex is and how it works. There is a lot more out there about Forex. Learn more!