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Posts Tagged ‘Currency’

Forex Trading: The Perfect Forex Trading System

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Trading the Forex market has became very popular in the last few years. But how difficult is it to achieve success in the Forex trading arena? Or let me rephrase this question, how many traders achieve consistent profitable results trading the Forex market? Unfortunately very few, only 5% of traders achieve this goal. One of the main reasons of this is because Forex traders focus in the wrong information to make their trading decisions and totally forget about the most important factor: Price behavior.

Most Forex trading systems are made off technical indicators (a moving average (MA) crossover, overboughtoversold conditions in an oscillator, etc.) But what are technical indicators? They are just a series of data points plotted in a chart; these points are derived from a mathematical formula applied to the price of any given currency pair. In other words, it is a chart of price plotted in a different way that helps us see other aspects of price.

There is an important implication on this definition of technical indicators. The fact that the readings obtained from them are based on price action. Take for instance a long MA crossover signal, the price has gone up enough to make the short period MA crossover the long period MA generating a long signal. Most traders see it as the MA crossover made the price go up, but it happened the other way around, the MA crossover signal occurred because the price went up. Where Im trying to get here is that at the end, price behavior dictates how an indicator will act, and this should be taken into consideration on any trading decision made.

Trading decisions based on technical indicators without taking price action into consideration will give us less accurate results. For example, again a long signal generated by a MA crossover as the market approaches an important resistance level. If the price suddenly starts to bounce back off that important level there is no point on taking this signal, price action is telling us the market doesnt want to go up. Most of the time, under this circumstances, the market will continue to fall down, disregarding the MA crossover.

Dont get me wrong here, technical indicators are a very important aspect of trading. They help us see certain conditions that are otherwise difficult to see by watching pure price action. But when it comes to pull the trigger, price action incorporation into our Forex trading system will definitely put the odds in our favor, it will generate higher probability trades.

So, how to create a perfect Forex trading system?
First of all, you need to make sure your trading system fits your trading personality; otherwise you will find it hard to follow it. Every trader has different needs and goals, thus there is no system that perfectly fits all traders. You need to make your own research on various trading styles and technical indicators until you find a concept that perfectly works for you. Make sure you know the nature of whatever technical indicator used.

Secondly, incorporate price action into your system. So you only take long signals if the price behavior tells you the market wants to go up, and short signals if the market gives you indication that it will go down.

Third, and most importantly, you need to have the discipline to follow your Forex trading system rigorously. Try it first on a demo account, then move on to a small account and finally when feeling comfortably and being consistent profitable apply your system in a regular account.

Forex Trading – The Next Hottest Home Based Business?

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

When running a home-based business, a person quickly gains knowledge of how the business world works. Whether it be selling crafts, doing a home delivery business, or selling real-estate, after investing a lot of time and effort into a home or small business, a person quickly becomes aware of the few basic business truths that govern business.

One of those truths is that you have to have time and money to start a small business or any business for that matter. More often than not, the people that have the time don’t have the money to invest in a home-based business and the people that have the money don’t have the time. With Forex Trading, it is quite possible to generate an income with a small time investment per day, after studying FOREX for a few months, and a very small investment as little as 50 in some cases.

The second truth, and these are probably quite obvious to most people, is that in order to make money a business has to have some sort of product to sell or perform some type of service. In the FOREX world, nothing is being sold and no service is being performed, but rather money is being exchanged. You are making a profit based on the actual exchange value of one currency against another currency. This eliminates the need for employees, such as customer service personnel and human resource people if your company were to become that big.

Also, because of the huge size of the FOREX market, trading nearly 1.5 trillion pounds a day, such things as social events, bad publicity, and changes in political climate will have no effect on your business. In fact, after studying FOREX, you will be able to see how these things will actually benefit your FOREX business.

The third and last classical business truth is that most people are prevented from starting a home-based business because they don’t feel good enough about themselves. They don’t feel like they’re educated enough. I read stories all of the time about people that feel passionate about something or they just pick something that they are relatively good at or have done before and start a business. They just take a chance. If you want to do it, step out. Take that first step. Don’t drop any huge sums of money, of course, but do a little research, make a small investment and start your adventure down to the road to FOREX trading. You don’t need a doctorite degree to get involved with FOREX trading, but after a couple of months of good study, it’s quite possible to generate a significant source of cash from FOREX trading.

Forex: Benefits of Trading the Forex Market.

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

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 pounds 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 US100,000 position, only US1,000 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 pounds 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 tradersinvestor 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 pounds of daily volume.
Futures market: Around 400 billion pounds 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 Snappy Way To Make Serious Bucks

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Forex A Snappy Way To Make Serious Bucks

1.3 Trillion; Safe estimates peg it as the amount of currency thats 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 pounds 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. Its the open market where the worlds 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 thats why one of the strongest bits of advice youll hear from most experienced forex traders is Keep your eye on the margin or even more strongly, Dont ever trade on the margin.

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

* Buy low, sell high. Yes, its 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. Dont hang on in case it turns around.

*Understand the situation in the country whose currency youre 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 its 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 stopsell or buy orders based on those figures. Pick a system, live your system, and dont second-guess your system.

* Focus on the bottom line. Especially if youre day trading, youll 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, youll 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 cant make money without knowledge, skills and a good attitude. Study, take notes and practice then go out there and make some serious money.