Forex Exchange Rate



             


Monday, February 16, 2009

Forex Trading History


In 1967, a Chicago bank refused a loan in pound sterling ? sought by a college professor by the name of Milton Friedman. He had intended to use the funds to short the British currency. Mr. Friedman had perceived sterling to be priced too high against the dollar, and wanted to sell the currency, then later buy it back to repay the bank after the currency declined, thus pocketing a quick profit. This is what's known as 'Selling Short'. The bank's refusal to grant the loan was due to the Bretton Woods Agreement, established twenty years earlier, which fixed national currencies against the dollar, and set the dollar at a rate of $35 per ounce of gold. The Bretton Woods Agreement, set up in 1944, aimed at installing international monetary stability by preventing money from fleeing across national borders, and restricting speculation in the world currencies. Prior to the Agreement, the gold exchange standard--prevailing between 1876 and World War I--dominated the international economic system. Under the gold standard, currencies gained a new phase of stability as they were backed by the price of gold. It abolished the arbitrary practice used by kings and dictators of arbitrarily debasing money and triggering inflation. But the gold standard wasn't without faults. As an economy strengthened, its imports would heavily increase until it ran down the gold reserves required to back its money. This would cause the money supply to shrink, interest rates would rise and economic activity could slow to the extent of recession. Eventually, prices of goods had to hit bottom, and become attractive to other nations, which would rush into buying frenzies that injected the economy with gold until it increased its money supply, thus driving down interest rates and recreating wealth in the economy. Such boom-bust patterns prevailed throughout the gold standard until the outbreak of World War I interrupted trade flows and the free movement of gold. This of course was followed by 'The Great Depression', which arguably was ended by World War II. After the Wars, the Bretton Woods Agreement was established, whereby participating countries agreed to try and maintain the value of their currency with a narrow margin against the dollar and a corresponding rate of gold as needed. Governments were prohibited from devaluing their currencies to their trade advantage and were only allowed to do so for changes of less than 10%. Through the 1950s, the ever-expanding volume of world-wide trade led to massive capital transfers generated by post-war construction. This destabilized foreign exchange rates that had been set up in The Bretton Woods Agreement. The Bretton Woods Agreement was finally abandoned in 1971, and the gold window was closed on the US dollar. By 1973, currencies of major industrialized nations became more freely floating, mainly controlled by forces of supply and demand acting in the foreign exchange market. Prices were floated daily, with volumes, speed and price volatility increasing through the 1970s These fluctuations gave rise to new financial instruments, market deregulation and trade liberalization. Beginning in the 1980s, international capital movements accelerated with the explosion of computer technology and high speed communications. The world wide markets became virtual 'local market' through Asian, European and American time zones. Transactions in FOREX zoomed from about $70 billion a day in the 1980s, to more than $1.5 trillion a day two decades later. THE EUROMARKET A major catalyst to the increase in foreign exchange trading was the rapid development of the Eurodollar market, where US dollars are deposited in banks outside the US. Similarly, Euro markets are those where assets are deposited outside the currency of origin. In the 1950s Russia's oil revenues-- all in dollars -- were deposited outside the US in fear of being frozen by US regulators. This gave rise to a vast offshore pool of dollars outside the control of US authorities with the attendant creation of The Eurodollar market. The US government imposed laws to restrict dollar lending to foreigners. Euro markets were particularly attractive because they had far fewer regulations and offered higher yields. From the late 1980s onwards, US companies began to borrow offshore, finding Euro markets an advantageous center for holding excess liquidity, providing short-term loans and financing imports and exports. London was the principal offshore market, as it remains even now. In the 1980s, it became the key center in the Eurodollar market when British banks began lending dollars as an alternative to pounds. This allowed them to maintain their leading position in global finance. London's convenient geographical (Time Zone) location (operating during Asian, Pacific and American markets) is also instrumental in preserving its dominance in the Euromarket.

Copyright ? C. R. Ellsworth 2006

C. R. Ellsworth is retired and living in the 'Great North Woods'.
He's been involved in Marketing since 2000.
Forex Trading History I Work 4 U

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Thursday, February 5, 2009

Forex Currency Day Trading for beginners.


You sell your money to the bank (or other) and it allocates some interest payments to your savings account from its profits. Have you seen a Bank's profits?

What do Banks do with your money? Well, they accumulate many small savers' money to lend to a borrower. The borrower buys his loan and repays it with added interest. The difference between interest rates is used by the institutions to pay salaries, pensions buy buildings and the usual business expenses.

THE WORLD PRESS occasionally reveals. "INSIDER DEALINGS" where an individual is accused of amassing huge profits from a fast book financial transaction that proves to be illegal.

Sandwiched between "INSIDER TRADING" and interest are a range of products on sale by banks. Mortgages, shares bonds and so on . Very rich individuals and organizations do not leave all their wealth in savings accounts. They trade in art. gold, diamonds, huge properties huge film productions, rare cars and such. Some buy and sell consumer items such as coffee, tea etc.

So can individuals with a few hundreds of their own currency hope to buy and sell something for a smiling profit? There's eBay. Antiques. Some gamble on a wide variety of events such as roulette, horse racing etc. On-line poker (5m PC users play every day)

Now revealed. There is a legal ethical place where you take profits and not interest. You buy and sell without taking delivery. It's far from the bottom layer of the sandwich, situated above shares. It's Foreign Currency.

Forex attracts about 2 trillion dollars a day in transactions. Someone may tell you that this makes dealings in shares small fry. Forex used to be the exclusive realm of the world banks, but computerization replaced old style traders. Banks fund Forex Trading rooms, worldwide.

Immediately, the reader identifies with a PC. Your machine may be capable of earning you a tiny, tiny part of the 2 trillion dollars. You may start with just a few hundred dollars of your own currency, but you essentially need some education, Powerful information to enable you to trade like a professional. You, buy and sell money?

How can there be a risk if you buy something and don't sell it, until there's a higher price? Forex systems eke out patterns of transactions, perhaps following the big loaves, expecting a crumb. Stories of $300 becoming $30,000 within a year: have you heard them? Banks make profits because they trade from especially designed rooms.

You do not need a degree in maths, experience or qualifications to make money 24/7 from anywhere in the world. Forex Day Trading is legal, ethical, exciting and profitable long term. A simple technique at the roulette wheel explains - the pattern is red, black, red, black - what would you choose next? That the pattern continues or is likely to finish? Make a decision and wait for that pattern to appear on any table's display, then act.

Whilst you may take the banks interest in one hand, the staff are elsewhere making huge profits.

A special gift - "Forex Freedom" pdf ebook at Profitable Information

Mike has been employed by financial institutions in the City with experience of mortgages, savings, insurance and reinsurance with a LLoyds of London Syndicate. He is a national IT education prize winner and is qualified with an Advanced Professional Diploma in Business Innovation. Many regard Mike as a blank-page expert. He is the first person in the UK to complete all three parts of the Edward de Bono Thinking Course with WHC College.

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Saturday, January 24, 2009

From Beginner To Forex Trader


When you begin to investigate this business of day trading a plethora of information comes at you. Type in day trading, do a search and you get close to a million choices. That's a lot of info to sieve through. So where do we start?

There are some basic necessities that you must have before you can begin. A fairly good computer is a must. The prices are going down and the power is increasing all the time. So these days you can pick up a new machine for about $800 that will do the job. A high end trading machine with all the bells whistles will set you back about $1500. One thing you must consider is how many monitors are needed. I recommend 2 because you can't go wrong with screen real estate in this business. Believe me it won't go to waste. This will push up the price a little, but it is well worth it. Make sure you get a flat panel LCD which comes standard when you buy a new machine. Remember your eyes. Don't try and save a couple of bucks by purchasing an old fashion flickering monitor. Hours in front of the screen can be a daily occurrence in this business. Computer auctions are a good option.

The second item is a fast internet connection. There are many options available here, but do not go below ADSL. The speed of the information coming to your computer is very important.

Finally, on the hardware side, make sure your setup is comfortable. The desk should be at the right height and a swivel type reclining business chair is really nice.

Now you are all set, so what do we trade? There are 3 basic categories to choose from. These are stocks and options, futures and commodities and foreign currencies.

Let us look at stocks. There are thousands of them. Then there are the exchanges such as The New York Stock Exchange for the big boys then there is the NASDAQ for the internet type younger companies. We also have pink sheets for stocks with low trading volume. How do you decide which stocks to trade. There are various software packages that screen stocks for whatever parameters you input You can screen for gapers, which are stocks that have gone up or down by a fairly large amount when compared with the previous days close. Then there are lows and highs, unusual volume, earnings reports, other reports that affect the stocks price, sector performance and on and on it goes. It can be a daunting task deciding "how" if you want to trade stocks. What about options? They are too specialized for the beginner in my opinion. Learn something simple and then you can graduate to options if you so desire.

Futures and commodities on the other hand offer the trader a much smaller basket of goods to choose from. I would stay out of commodities if you are just learning. Commodities such as grains, orange juice, coffee and pork bellies etc. require the trader to acquire knowledge about the peculiarities of the commodity. For instance, when is the end of the grain harvest? How has the weather affected the harvest, and a host of other variables. There is an easier way!

When we take a close look at foreign currency trading we see some decided advantages compared to the other instruments already mentioned. Foreign currency trading, commonly called forex, involves the buying and selling of one currency against the other. One of the huge advantages of forex is its' liquidity, which is the volume of transactions measured daily, weekly or annually. The liquidity in forex is second to none. This is important because it means when you trade you will almost always get your fills. Can you imagine buying a stock and it starts to dive and you can't get rid of it because of lack of liquidity! This would not happen in forex trading. Another advantage is its high daily range. This means every day the currencies increase and decrease in price enough to allow the trader to have opportunities for trades every day. The forex market also gives you flexible work hours. All around the globe the same currencies are being traded from almost sunrise to sunrise. You can literally choose when you want to trade. It is ideal for learning and practice if you have a current job and want to transition to trading over a period of time, or if you want to just trade on the side. One of the biggest advantages of trading foreign currencies is the leverage it gives the trader. This means you can start with as little as US$2000 or sometimes less and start to trade right away. Another advantage is that you can focus on one or two pairs of currencies and really learn to trade them very well because you will get to know them so well. You do not have to wonder which stock should I going to trade today.

Finally the opportunity exists for you to be trained by experts on all aspects of forex trading for a very reasonable price. You do not need to try and reinvent the wheel. It has all been done for you already. Researched, experimented, tried, tested and proven to work.

Click on the link to find out how!

http://www.allstarforex.com

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Saturday, July 12, 2008

Forex: No psychological limitations


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 account 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.

-Joshua White http://www.consistentforextrading.com

Joshua White is a willing student of anything that makes consistent, moral and ethical money online. Come learn with him at http://www.consistentforextrading.com

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Thursday, June 26, 2008

Forex Advantages including 7 Reasons to Trade


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here's 7 more reasons to trade Forex:

1. It never closes. It's open around the clock, worldwide. Trading positions open at Monday 7am, New Zealand time and close 5pm New York time on Friday. During this time, you can enter or exit the market whenever you like. It's a continuous electronic currency exchange. This is great because you can trade whenever you have spare time. 2. Leverage. Standard $100 000 currency lots can be traded with as little as $1000. This is mainly because of the ease with which you can buy and sell, some brokers will leverage up to 200 times, so with $100 you can control a 200 000 unit currency position. It's the best use of trading capital around, even banks lending on property investments don't come close. 3. Accurately predict the outcomes. Currency prices generally repeat themselves in predictable cycles so you can see what the trends are. 'Technical Analysis' helps to see these trends and profit from them. 4. Low Transaction Cost. In other words, you mistakes won't cost you a fortune. Good brokers won' charge commissions to trade or maintain an account even if you have a mini account and trade small volumes. 5. Unlimited Earning Potential. Forex has a daily trading volume of over 1.5 trillion, the largest financial market in the world. It dwarfs the equities market (50 billion daily) and the futures market (30 billion). 6. You can make money in any market conditions. Each market is one currency against another, so when you buy in one, you're selling in another so there's no biase towards either currency moving up or down. This means it's up to you to choose which currency to buy or sell with. Yu can make money going up or down. 7. Market transparency. This is an advantage in any business or trading environment. It means you can manage risk and execute orders within seconds. It's highly efficient and allows you to avoid unexpected 'surprises'.

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

To continue your journey of Forex Trading success and achieve enormous profits, visit http://www.wealthyforex.com . You'll receive all of the resources you need to positively impact your future.

Born in Lithgow, Australia, completed a Bachelor of Computer Engineering Degree in 2001. Started building a website development business and after 3 years, now focuses on building own websites that make money. Loves people, loves life and loves to help other people prosper. For complete resources for beginners and advanced internet marketers to profit online, visit http://www.internetwealthmentor.com

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Friday, June 20, 2008

Prosper with Forex


If you're like me, you've looked into the best ways of making money without commiting to too much time in the process. Believe me, the Forex is the best way to do that. As any smart person, don't just take my word for it but surely have a go for yourself, or at least look into it a little more.

The good news is that there is a means to continue the inspiration that I hope this article will provide. I spend alot of time with you now, promoting the Forex because that's the credit it deserves. The banks make a lot of money through the Forex and now you can too. IF you're already an experienced Forex trader then here's a way to continue what you've started and move into larger profits. Yes, you can too, even if you are already making millions in each calender year. Banks pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to experienced Forex traders. Remember the guy from the National Australia Bank? Who was caught making illegal trades and misusing the Bank's money, he was on a 400 thousand dollar salary. 400 thousand! That's huge! Which company spends that much money on a person unless they know for sure that they're going to rake in the cash. To be honest, this is the kind of job that I would feel confident to apply for and I haven't even graduated from demo trading yet. I have spent thousands on my education already and realise I could continue to spend thousands to reach that expert level. Let's just say the gut instinct that has resulted from seeing the Forex in has inspired me to write this article.

What's the catch?

You have to be good at it or, know a system that is good at it. 90% of traders pay the 10% that succeed. There is huge amont of emotional strength required and quite honestly, not many people have that. There is some risk, that becomes diddly squat once you know what you're doing and the payouts for sensible trading are huge. You can make from $200 to $3000 in a day with as little as 10 minutes effort.

Once you've trained yourself to see the opportunities, you'll know them when they arrive and be able to capitalise immediately. It's the sort of thing you can be completely confident about that comes with knowing the right mentor and having your own personal successes along the way. How much do you need to get started? Not much, $300 US will get you in the game. You need to have some income to purchase training material and start your trading but you can continue this inspiration with free material available from the link below. It is accessible to anyone! That's the bottom line and the beauty of this is that anyone with the will to make serious money now has a way.

To boost your financial future and look more into this opportunity go to http://www.wealthyforex.com< . Here you will find ALL the information you need to be successful on the Forex. You'll have 'training wheels' from start to finish so you don't have room to get off track. There's over $20 thousand worth of material and you can get started for free. It's arguably the best course available on the Forex and for its comprehensive nature, is definitely the best value by far.

PS. I just thought of another catch, you need to have the patience to spend some time in front of the computer to learn this stuff. But, if you're like me and don't want to grow old in service of Microsoft, you can get in and get out, and make loads in the process.

Born in Lithgow, Australia, completed a Bachelor of Computer Engineering Degree in 2001. Started building a website development business and after 3 years, now focuses on building own websites that make money. Love people, loves life and loves to help other people prosper. For complete resources for beginners and advanced internet marketers to profit online, visit http://www.internetwealthmentor.com

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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Forex Trading - Advantages Over Traditional Investment Methods


Most people are looking for the perfect way to invest their money. No one will argue against the fact that your money is only going to grow by any reasonable amount if you have invested in some type of market. The first piece of advice usually given is that they should take advantage of whatever is offered by their employer's 401k plan, if that is an option for them. This is good, sound and advice and should be followed if at all possible.

However, many people either don't have the option of investing in a 401k, or they have maxed out their 401k contributions and are looking for a good place to invest their additional funds for maximum growth. For obvious reasons (ie - terrible perfomance), traditional savings accounts and CDs are out of the question. These people are usually advised that investing in mutual funds is the only practical, "safe" alternative to a 401k.

Many people hold the belief that a mutual fund is the only "safe" way for an individual to invest beyond the typical savings accounts and CD's offered by their local bank. This belief is no doubt due to the success enjoyed by mutual funds throughout the 1990's, when all of the stock market benefited from the huge bull market that was driven by the tech sector. Ironically, though, just as mutual funds have soared in popularity, they have also peaked in performance, and over the last few years most have seen an astonishing lack of overall success.

So the intrepid investor goes off in search of the perfect mutual fund, only to find that there is a bewildering array of funds to choose from, and an overwhelming number of factors to consider when making that decision. Some people will forge ahead and make a decision on a mutual fund, while others will decide to go to the next level and start looking for investments that give them more control, and hopefully greater returns.

The next level for most investors is usually the stock market, where they hope to achieve phenomenal returns. But most people are not prepared for the reality of investing in stocks, which presents them with an array of choices that is several orders of magnitude greater than that offered by mutual funds. The natural question is: Which is a good stock to invest in? How do you select the one or two rising stars out of all the thousands of stocks there are to choose from?

So just like in the search for a mutual fund, the investor is stuck with the problem of how to pick which investment is the best place for his funds. At this point many people give up, which is a shame, because there are some other options available to them besides mutual funds and stocks.

The most common option considered besides stocks would be commodities. The lure of commodities is that they are able provide tremendous returns for your investment dollars due to leveraging. Leveraging simply means that for every dollar invested you are able to control more than a dollar's worth of commodity. This can lead to tremendous returns, but unfortunately commodities come with a huge downside. One of the disadvantages of commodities are broker's fees, which can be quite high per trade. Another disadvantage is market liquidity...sometimes the markets being traded don't offer enough buyers and sellers to ensure that your order can be executed in a timely manner. This can lead to unexpected losses during times of extreme market volatility.

Another disadvantage endured by commodities traders is the advantage enjoyed by the floor traders in the exchanges. These traders have a huge advantage over the retail trader because they trade with much lower commissions, and also since they have such an intimate knowledge of their market, they know what are the most likely stop and limit targets that have been set by the retail traders through their brokers. This means that they can "flush out" the retail trader by gunning for their stops and taking small incremental profits from the market. Once the small traders have been flushed out of the markets by having their stops hit, the market can continue to move in its original direction. Sadly, many of the retail traders may have been right in their opinion of the direction the market was headed, but they are now out of the market because their stops have been hit.

An alternative to consider to all of the above investment options is to trade the Forex market. The Forex market is the global, electronic, decentralized trading of the world's major currencies. In the past, only major banks government institutions were able to trade on the Forex. But recently the Forex market was opened up to retail traders who are able to trade through retail brokers.

The advantages of trading the Forex are numerous when compared to all the other investment methods. The most obvious advantage is that, unlike stocks, you don't have to search through thousands of different investment types to find a likely candidate. There are a very limited number of currencies that are traded, and most Forex traders only trade in one of the four major currencies: The British Pound, the Euro, the US Dollar, and the Japanese Yen. Each market gives enough volatility to offer plenty of trade opportunities each day. So while the stock trader is busy looking for which stock to trade, the Forex trader is already busy analyzing the market and setting up his trades.

Another advantage of the Forex is that there is no one single "common place" or exchange where the trades are made. The Forex is an electronic market that is traded globally among a network of computers, and is not centralized to any one location. This means that there are no floor traders to compete with, and no one who can "flush out" the retail trader by gunning for his stops.

Yet another advantage of the Forex market is that it is traded 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. This offers the extraordinary opportunity for traders all over the world to trade when it is convenient for them, and not be confined to trading a market that is only open during hours that would impossible or inconvenient.

One thing the Forex offers is identical to what is offered by the futures markets: leverage. Like commodities traders, the individual trading the Forex market can make fantastic returns compared to stocks, mutual funds. But unlike commodities traders the Forex market trades with much lower commissions. Instead of standard commissions, the Forex trader pays a small spread on each trade.

There are a lot of details about the Forex market, and trading the Forex market, that have been left out of this article. This is just a very quick introduction to some of the problems with traditional investing and to the advantages to be had by trading the Forex.

Be sure to check out our free ebook for more info on getting started with the Forex.

Til next time...Success to you!

-Ted

Ted is part of a group of Forex traders that makes its home at:

www.ForexProfitMentor.com

Check it out for the latest ideas on how YOU can trade the Forex for profit!

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Monday, June 9, 2008

Why Forex Is A Better Investment Idea Than Stocks or Commodities


Forex, the Foreign Exchange Market, is a worldwide market for buying and selling foreign currencies. The major currencies that are traded include the U.S. Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), British Pound (GBP), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Australian Dollar (AUD), Japanese Yen (JPY), and the Swiss Franc (CHF). The purpose of this article is not to go into the details of how Forex works, but to compare the benefits of trading in the Forex market versus trading the Equity (American stocks) or Futures markets (Commodities).

The Forex market is the largest market in the world with over 2 trillion dollars traded every day. This compares to the 200 billion dollars traded daily in the Equity and Futures market each. Because of this, the Forex market benefits from fairer prices, price stability, and better trade execution.

Forex has the advantage of being open 24 hours a day. The Forex market opens on Sunday afternoon and remains open until it closes on Friday afternoon. The Equity and Futures markets are only open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. This gives Forex traders the opportunity to trade around their personal schedule. Also, liquidity in the Equity and Futures markets are reduced after regular trading hours.

When trading Forex, you will not incur the commissions or transaction fees that exist in the Equity and Futures markets. You pay a spread on the currency pair you are trading and costs are very low, especially when compared to the other markets.

Investment leverage in the Forex market can be as high as a 200:1 margin. In the Equity and Futures markets your average margin is 4:1. This means that you can control $10,000 worth of currency with only a 50-dollar margin.

In the Equity and Futures markets, investors are expected to fund several thousand dollars to open a trading account. In the Forex market, you can open a mini account for only 300 dollars and begin trading.

In the Equity market, short selling is very risky and comes with limitations. In the Forex market, you are able to buy long or sell short any currency pair with no limitations or difference in risk.

As an investor in the Forex market, you are able to concentrate on only a few major currencies. There are seven major currencies yielding four major currency pairs that most Forex investors concentrate on. Whereas in the Equity market, investors have over 40,000 stocks to choose from when contemplating where to invest their money.

There are many factors to consider when deciding on which market you want to spend your time and money. The Forex market provides many benefits over the other major investment markets that will allow you, the investor, to make larger profits, take less risk, and spend more time with your personal life and less time investing.

If you want to learn more about trading the Forex market, you can find tips, news, analysis and a great FREE ebook, Forex Freedom - How To Turn a $300 Investment Into $30,000 In As Little As 6 Months, visit http://www.tornadoforex.com

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Saturday, May 31, 2008

The Truth about Trading the Forex


I have been trading the Foreign Exchange Currency Market (Forex) live for a few months as of this writing. I have to say it is VERY exciting!

I was beating my brains out trying to trade the Stock Market. Over 40 thousand stocks to watch (way too many). I tried Futures trading. That was just plain wacky. I tried Options Trading. Many more losses than gains. Then I found out about the FOREX!

At first, I was a skeptic. I didn't believe all the hype (having seen the results of my last trading encounters). Now, I have found it is entirely possible to completely replace your income. In a matter of a few minutes, you can make hundreds of dollars and do this multiple times a week!

Here are only some of the advantages I have found trading the Forex:

You only have to watch one major currency pair (EUR/USD) to make money instead of over 40,000 stocks on the stock exchanges. Feel free to trade other pairs, but get good at it first.

The Forex Market trades 24 hours / 6 days a week. The Forex begins trading on Sunday at 2 pm EST and goes straight through until Friday at 4 pm EST. You can trade according to your schedule, unlike the Stock Market that's only trading from 9:30 am to 4 pm EST.

You only need $300 to open a trading account with a Forex broker.

You don't have to pay commissions to the broker. This is HUGH! What a savings! What you see is what you get in your brokerage account. After you close your trade the exact amount goes, instantly, into your account.

You can learn how to trade in a matter of hours. All beginners are welcome.

You don't have to have any special degree to trade. No one is going to ask you what university you attended or what credentials you have. You are completely anonymous!

World's best home-based business. You can have your own business with NO employees! Work from home or ANYWHERE you can get an internet connection! (High Speed Broadband connection preferred) You are in 100% control! In fact, you can sit at your computer and trade without having to talk to anyone.

You are now on a level playing field with the enormous international banks. The Forex used to be only available to the banking institutions until around 1999. Now individual traders can trade the Forex to make a healthy income.

Trading the Forex Market offers an unlimited opportunity! The choice is yours. I know which market I chose!

Wishing you the greatest success, Sue Edwards

Find a new & exciting career trading the Forex! Get a FREE report at:

http://www.realforextrading.com

This report will explain the Forex in-depth! It can change your life!

Sue Edwards is starting a new career online working for herself. After working for someone else for years it is time to take advantage of the internet and all it's possibilities. Sue has a very diverse background in: Banking, Taxi Driving, Auto Mechanics, Industrial Mechanics, Internet Trainer, Nuclear Power, Computer Repair and Law Enforcement. Sue is, also, an active foreign currency trader.

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Friday, May 30, 2008

Advantages of the Forex Market


What are the advantages of the Forex Market over other types of investments?

When thinking about various investments, there is one investment vehicle that comes to mind. The Forex or Foreign Currency Market has many advantages over other types of investments. The Forex market is open 24 hrs a day, unlike the regular stock markets. Most investments require a substantial amount of capital before you can take advantage of an investment opportunity. To trade Forex, you only need a small amount of capital. Anyone can enter the market with as little as $300 USD to trade a "mini account", which allows you to trade lots of 10,000 units. One lot of 10,000 units of currency is equal to 1 contract. Each "pip" or move up or down in the currency pair is worth a $1 gain or loss, depending on which side of the market you are on. A standard account gives you control over 100,000 units of currency and a pip is worth $10.

The Forex market is also very liquid. When trading Forex you have full control of your capital. Many other types of investments require holding your money up for long periods of time. This is a disadvantage because if you need to use the capital it can be difficult to access to it without taking a huge loss. Also, with a small amount of money, you can control Forex traders can be profitable in bullish or bearish market conditions. Stock market traders need stock prices to rise in order to take a profit. Forex traders can make a profit during up trends and downtrends. Forex Trading can be risky, but with having the ability to have a good system to follow, good money management skills, and possessing self discipline, Forex trading can be a relatively low risk investment. The Forex market can be traded anytime, anywhere. As long as you have access to a computer, you have the ability to trade the Forex market. An important thing to remember is before jumping into trading currencies, is it wise to practice with "paper money", or "fake money." Most brokers have demo accounts where you can download their trading station and practice real time with fake money. While this is no guarantee of your performance with real money, practicing can give you a huge advantage to become better prepared when you trade with your real, hard earned money. There are also many Forex courses on the internet, just be careful when choosing which ones to purchase.

Heather has been learning, investing and internet marketing. Visit her site for an amazing Free Ebook at: http://www.myforexfortune.com.

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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

5 Simple Steps to Turn You Into an Elite Forex Trader


These 5 simple steps will help turn you into a confident, disciplined Forex trader. By using the steps outlined below you can be in the top 10% of all Forex traders. That would be the few that actually make money.

There are going to be two things you notice about these steps:.

They are obvious. They are simple.

All aspects of Forex trading should fall into those two categories. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes I see Forex traders make is trying to learn and use too much.

However, that is for a different discussion. Back to the 5 simple steps.

Step 1 - Get Yourself Ready To Trade

In my experience with hundreds of traders I have been amazed with how few of them know how to get their game faces on.

They forget trading is a job. The greatest one in the world, but a job nonetheless. It's difficult for them to be self motivated. Like the majority of the world they need someone over their shoulder telling them what to do.

So, find anything in or around you that can be used to prepare to trade.

Take a shower Drink coffee Stretch Read a book Do Yoga Anything to clear your mind

Once your mind is clear, move on to Step 2.

Step 2 - Look over your last few trades

Your trading success, just like the Forex itself, will have momentum and patterns. As you gain experience you will learn to see YOUR patterns. You might catch yourself making the same mistakes time and time again.

As you will learn later, you should be keeping a journal of all your trades. I don't mean the records that come with your trading software. Your journal should be as specific as it can be.

Why did I enter a trade? Why did I exit a trade? Was I near support? Was I near resistance?

Just to mention a few of the questions that your journal should answer for every trade. Take note of any repeated mistakes you have made over the last few trades.

Once you have recognized any trading trends, move on to Step 3.

Step 3 - Fundamental and Technical Analysis

Fundamental analysis refers to anything other then price action. In our case it means news.

Technical analysis refers to anything that is related to price action. Price itself, formulas, patterns, etc....

There is a reason why I mention both of those in one step. I wouldn't waste an entire step on fundamental analysis. It doesn't take me 3 minutes. I look to see what piece(s) of news are being released today in order to determine what kind of volatility to expect in the upcoming session.

This helps me when determining which support and resistance levels I expect to come into play.

As far as technical analysis goes. I don't care what tools, indicators, charts you look at. However, be consistent. Don't use MACD and CCI one night, and RSI and Stochastics another. Don't keep changing the length of your moving averages, or switch from simple to weighted to exponential.

The fact is, find what makes the most sense to you. I think it's great to understand what these indicators mean, but there is no need to over analyze.

I would like to add one thought here...use Fibonacci Lines.

Once you have finished your analysis, both fundamental and technical, move on to Step 4.

Step 4 - Money Management (Determine your trade size)

You should have a very well defined money management system. For example, never risk more then 4% / 5% / 10% of your account on one trade. Increase your trade size by one mini for every $400 / $800 / $1,200 in profit.

It has always astonished me how randomly some traders make these decisions. They change their approach day after day. This is a sure fire path to failure.

Determine what makes the most sense to you and stick with it.

Again, I'd like to add in a thought here. You shouldn't be trading a live account until you can consistently make money in a demo account. At least 2 straight weeks of profit, and not because you made $10,000 one day while losing money in 9 out of 10 days. So, assuming you are trading a live account, adjust your position size to meet your predetermined formula.

Once you have determined your trade size, move on to Step 5

Step 5 - Make the Trade!!!

You have done all your homework. You have used all your skills and knowledge. The only thing left is to make the trade.

By now, you know exactly what you expect to happen with the currency pair you are watching. You just have to stay patient until your opportunity arises.

However, once it does, pounce on it like a lion on its prey. Do not hesitate when you see exactly what you expected to see.

Be sure, of course, to place a stop order either with your entry order or immediately after. Also, if you have one, be sure to place your profit target.

Once you enter or exit your trade, start writing. Record your trade in a journal, with all reasons for entry and exit. Be as specific as possible. You will be amazed how much valuable information you will gather over time.

Using these 5 steps you should be able to make drastic strides in your Forex trading. If, however, you are not comfortable with any part of your trading it is imperative that you consider a Forex trading course.

Remember, you are only as good as your knowledge and your knowledge is only as good as your education.

Eddie is the Head Instructor at <a target="_new" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.foreignexchangeuniversity.com/Forex-Trading-Course.aspx">Foreign Exchange University<. Learn about their elite <a target="_new" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.foreignexchangeuniversity.com/Forex-Trading-Course.aspx">Forex Trading Course

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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Forex Trading - Active Money Markets


Are you thinking of trading on the Forex money market? If you are new to trading it makes sense to deal in the more popular currencies. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly you do not want to be left with a currency where there is little interest and you may have difficulty selling. Secondly the spread between the bid/ask price is likely to be narrower, making it easier to make a profit.

There are seven major currencies, the US dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), Japanese yen (JPY) British pound (GBP), Swiss Franc (CHF) Canadian dollar (CAD) and Australian dollar (AUD).

The US dollar is the most traded currency followed by the Euro and the Yen. The Euro is the relatively new currency of the European Union although some member states, including the UK, have not changed their currency.

Obviously if you are buying a currency you must also be selling(using) another and therefore prices are always quoted in pairs, the USD/EUR being the most active. The more active a pair the narrower the difference between the bid/ask price is likely to be, with a possible spread of just two pips for the most actively traded. A pip is the smallest unit of price for a currency. Most currencies are traded to four decimal points after the first digit, so that a pip is 0.0001 or 1/100 of a cent. This may seem a minuscule amount until you realise that on a trade of $100,000 that is $10. As each trade involves both selling one currency and buying another, the difference in the spread is the cost of the transaction. If there is a 2 pip spread you must make that profit to break even. The exception to the four decimal points is the Japanese yen which is normally traded to two decimal points.

If you live in a country using one of the major currencies, when you first start trading it makes sense to begin with that currency. Not only are you familiar and comfortable with the currency, but you are in a better position to judge its strength. The internet has a wealth of information on the financial climate of a country, but if you live there you have access to all newspaper content, as well being in the unique position of experiencing first hand changes at the consumer level.

Trading on the Forex market is a high risk investment not suited to everyone. You can lose money as well as make a profit. Never risk more than you can afford to lose.

This article is for information only, any action you may take on the Forex money market is your sole responsibility and the author accepts no liability.

Margaret Tye runs the Forex Trading Articles website. You are welcome to use this article as long as the author is acknowledged and a link to http://www.forex-trading-articles.com< included.

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Saturday, May 24, 2008

10 Good Reasons why YOU should jump into Trading FOREX


Foreign Exchange Market is a market where traders buy and sell currencies with the hope of making a profit when the values of the currencies change in their favor. People are making vast amounts of money from Forex trading. The Forex Market has a big potential for everyone, ranging from large corporate firms to ordinary, everyday people like you and me.

It is a very exciting trade with a huge money-making potential. Just imagine yourself sitting comfortably in your pajamas at your computer... you turn on the internet and make a few quick transactions and by the time that you get up to get a cup of coffee, you are several hundred dollars rich! Would you like that? I would!! I can hear you say, "Wait a minute!! This sounds just like another one of those confusing markets like stocks, options or traditional futures, so what makes this market any different?"

Aaah! Good question! So, in answer to your question, here are 10 good (if not great) reasons to enter the Forex Trade:

1. First and foremost, Forex trading allows for small investments. You do not have to be able to invest thousands of dollars to get started with this trade. You can start trading Forex with as little as $300 to $350 and could be well on your way to earning more than that on your first day. 2. The Forex markets are always open! You are able to trade anytime and from anywhere in the world. No waiting for the stock exchange to open. The market is ongoing, with generally only minor breaks on the weekends.

3. The funds that you invest are liquid; you can cash them anytime you want. No waiting for days to get your stocks converted into hard cash.

4. The value of the Forex Trading market is COLOSSAL: it is 30 times larger than all of the US equity markets combined. It is the largest market in the world with daily reported volume of 1.5 to 2.0 trillion dollars. This massive value makes it a lucrative and desirable trade to invest in.

5. It is a highly stable trade and offers greater strength over other markets. Countries and people are ALWAYS going to need currency. Although the value of different currencies goes up and down, the fluctuations are not as dramatic as stock prices and generally follow a predictable trend.

6. You do not have to worry about commissions, exchange fees nor any hidden charges when you trade Forex. Forex brokers make only a small percentage of the bid and there are very respectable and free brokers available as well. Is that not wonderful for you?

7. You make profits no matter which way the currency is going. You will not worry about a falling currency value if you know what to do with it and make good gains.

8. Forex is a very transparent market. Unlike equity markets, where analysts have an unfair advantage over the layman because of their insider knowledge, the relevant information for Forex is equally available to every one through international news. Therefore, all Forex traders are in a position to make pertinent decisions according to the current market situations.

9. Forex market is extremely quick! It takes not more than 1 to 2 seconds to complete your transactions because it is all done electronically, online and in Real Time.

10. The final good news is that you do not need any formal education, licensing, diploma or degree to trade Forex. All you need is the know-how of how it works, trading strategies and some tips and techniques and you can be on your way to earn big profits.

Forex trading online may be the fastest path to financial freedom and an end to all your financial worries. It truly is an excellent, if not THE best home business opportunity for ordinary people.
You owe it to yourself to give it a try!!!
Prosperity and happiness to all!

Humaira Aslam is a successful internet entrepreneur
For an in-depth FREE report on Forex trading
Please visit:
http://www.4ex4all.com

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Friday, May 23, 2008

Forex the future investment.


There are many many advantages over the various other ways of investing. First of all it is a 24 hr market, except for weekends of course. You have the US market then the European and then the Asian. One of the great times to trade is during the over lapping periods. The USA and European overlap between 5am & 9am eastern and the Euro & Asian between 11pm & 1am eastern. Usually the busiest time and best to trade. The is also the risk factor for the accounts. With futures and options you can get margin calls that can wipe you out. If you get caught in a bad trade not only do you lose the money in the account but you may have to come up with a lot more from your pocket. It can be very risking. But not in Forex. Worst case scenario you could lose whats in you account. But you would have to do something really stupid. Like making a big trade on a Fundamental day and leave it alone. If market takes a bad move and you weren't there. OOOPS. But That wouldn't happen with a smarth trader. Then there are the demo accounts which is an account where you can trade using all the right things, platform, charts, and information. But you are using play money, or what we call paper trading too. Plus with Forex you have a mini account. Instead of needing thousands of dollars to get into it. You can open an account with as little as $300.00. Now of course you will be trading at 1 tenth of a trade. IN other words you controlling 10,000 instead of 100,000.00 These are call lots. Which also means you will only risk 1 tenth too! So if you would love to learn to do investing and not have near the risk you really need to take a closer look at Forex trading.

NoneMike Pachuta Forex trading is exciting Free trading training. http://www.SUCCESSFUL-FOREX.COM/

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Monday, May 19, 2008

Unleash Your Future with FOREX Trading!


FOREX means the foreign currency exchange, and that today alone nearly $2 Trillion will be traded by banks, governments, corporations, trading partners and private and corporate speculators. Speculators trade to make a profit by purchasing one currency and simultaneously selling another. And people like you are making handsome profits everyday from home, after hours, trading without thinking about commissions and margin calls (dreaded word for day-traders)

So is Forex for you? Yes and let me list the benefits that are available to all - including you. As stated Forex Trading is the exchange of currencies for profit, and it offers unmatched potential for profitable trading in any market condition or stage of the business cycle. No other market can make that claim - and I haven't even begun to list the cool things yet.

Here we go: * No commissions. No clearing fees, no exchange fees, no government fees, no brokerage fees. * No middlemen. You can deal directly with the market using an online trading platform. * No fixed lot size. You can start a trading account for as little as $300, because the lot sizes are not pre-determined. * Low transaction cost. True there is no official commission, but there is a spread between the bid and ask price of a currency paid. But that spread is about 0.1% of the actual transaction - making it relatively much cheaper than other markets. * High Liquidity. A trader can enter or exit the market at will in almost any market condition. Your bottleneck is your internet connection speed! You have almost instantaneous transactions. * Low margin, high leverage. These factors increase the potential for higher profits (and losses if you gamble with your money) * 24 hour market. A trader may take advantage of all profitable market conditions at any time - there is no opening bell or 'after hours' trading - its always open! * Online access - you can do this all from home or work... even on the train or plane or coffee stop with WiFi access! * Not related to the stock market! Because you can profit no matter what the stock markets are doing to the world currencies, you don't really care whether the DOW is up or not! * Interbank Market. The backbone of the FOREX market consists of a global network of dealers. They are mainly major commercial banks that communicate and trade with one another. There are no organized exchanges to serve as a central hub, like the New York stock exchange... the FOREX market will never crash because of some major world event. Sure prices may be affected, but your trading opportunities are always present. * No one can corner the market. Due to its sheer size and number of participants, not even a central bank can control the market price for an extended period of time. * No insider trading. Again because of its size and de-centralized nature, there are no significant fraud opportunities compared to other markets.

If you are familiar with either equity (stock) or futures markets - the list above will be very impressive to you. If you are not familiar with this stuff, take my word - its good news and its way cheaper than trading stocks. The profits can be staggering and so can the losses. That's why it's critical that beginners invest in a training program that will give them an understanding and trading system that minimizes losses and emphasises educated trading.

You can turn $200 into $30,000 within 6 months! All you need is a computer with Net access and the free information you can request <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.trademoney.ca">at Trade Money<

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Saturday, May 17, 2008

Investing in Forex


Investing in foreign currencies is a relatively new avenue of investing. There are considerably fewer people are aware of this market than there are people aware of several other avenues of investing. Trading foreign currency, also known as forex, is the most lucrative investment market that exists. There are several factors that make this true among which, successful forex traders earn realistic profits of one hundred plus percent each month. Compared to some of the better known investment markets such as corporate stocks, this is an unheard of return on investment. It's very necessary to mention here that a person who invests in forex must, without exception, make it a point to learn the detailed, but simple strategies and information surrounding the market. This very fact is what makes the difference between successful forex traders and other traders. A few additional points, which create such powerful leverage for investors within the forex market are: The amount of capital required to begin investing in the market is only three hundred dollars. For the most part, any other investment market is going to demand thousands of dollars of the investor in the beginning. Also, the market offers opportunities to profit regardless what the direction of the market may be; In most commonly known markets investors sit and wait for the market to begin an up trend before entering a trade. Even then, investors, as a rule must sit and wait some more to be able to exit the trade with a nice profit. Given that the forex market produces several up, down, and sideways trends in a single day, it can easily be seen that forex stands head and shoulders above other markets. Additionally there are trading strategies, which are taught that provide for compounded profits; these are profits on top of profits. In addition, free demo accounts are available within the industry of forex trading, which facilitate the sharpening of skills without the risk losing any capital. And the advantage regarding the time factor in trading foreign currency is a very attractive point for any investor. Compared to one of the most sought after avenues of investing, which often requires forty or more hours each week, namely in the real-estate market, the forex market requires a much smaller demand on the investor's time. Forex trading requires approximately ten to fifteen hours each week to earn a full time income. It's easy to see that the advantages and great leverage that exist in the forex market, make it among the most lucrative, time liberating, and easy to enter by far.

I hope this information gives you a clear understanding of how you can turn your investing into a true method of making your money work harder for you.

Sincerely, Joe Clinton.

Hi. I'm Joe Clinton. I enjoy helping ohters learn valuable information that I've learned over the years.

To learn more about this incredible market and how you can position yourself among the most successful investors in the world visit www.joeforex.com. Don't forget to sign up for the free report "Forex Freedom" and get a foundation in forex lessons.

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Friday, May 16, 2008

How to Become an Expert in FOREX Market


Step-by-Step Practical Guide

Step One: Choose Your Mentor

If you think carefully about Forex Market, you'll come to the realization that Forex Market is something which is in your head, only. It is your perception for the market and that perception is going to change as you grow trough the process of learning it.

The question here is: How to control something, which is in your head and you have no control of? No matter what you do, the first thing you have to put under control is: manage the mind. The problem #1 in our life is using the mind properly.

What is that has to do with the Forex Market? As you know, already, this is something which exists in your head and you have to use your mental power on its full capacity. No success can be achieved in whatever you do if you cannot control the mind. If you loose your concentration you can loose the money invested there.

How can you prepare yourself for Forex? - Follow the path of the successful players. Choose Your Mentor. Do not try to reinvent the wheel.

How to find Your Mentor? - Do your FOREX research. It is very easy. Use Internet to get very good free content on that topic. Subscribe to several free e-courses. The number of e-courses can run from 3 to 11. Visit as much websites as you can feel comfortable to handle, without being overload.

Read the information carefully and try to soak the new terminology. Do not force your self. If you are really passionate about the Forex you'll find how quickly and easy the information will be learned. Dedicate between 2 to 4 weeks to accomplish this process.

There are many websites offering free ebooks and reports on FOREX. Download as much as you want and study those materials. They usually contain a lot of valuable information. Some of them are even better then the highly overpriced ebooks, seminars and training packages.

Once you follow the above carefully, start to eliminate those sources you do not like. Raise the bar and leave just 2-3 sources of the information you are going to follow. Keep on learning from what they offer for about 2-4 weeks.

When you feel you are ready, make your decision and pick ONE source, only. Choose your Mentor. Now you can buy what is offered by your Mentor. Start serious work study process on the materials. Open DEMO account and test what you learn with fake money.

As you acquire more and more knowledge, you'll need to open another DEMO accounts. Apply the lessons immediately on the market and watch carefully for the results. At this time, your loosing trades are your best gifts. Allow yourself to loose a lot and learn as much as possible from those "bad" trades. Do not skip any lesson the market deliver to you for free.

Remember - your losing trades are going to giver you the knowledge you'll need in order to be successful in the Forex market.

Look for Step Two: Do Your Homework First.

Teo Gee

You want to learn more about that?
Get your FREE course and many other
incredible bonuses from the link below:
http://www.TheSecret4X.com

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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Learn Forex Trading the Right WayLearn Forex Trading the Right Way


Just barely over one year ago I had never heard of the forex markets. Now I am spending a few hours a week and making incredible profits and loving every minute of it. I also spend time getting other people successfully started. Once I starting enjoying making profit on the forex market, the word got out, everyone I know started asking me if I would teach them about the world of forex trading. This is what I tell them: The first thing is get ready for a life-changing adventure! Once you get a taste of making money by sitting in front of your computer monitor, there is no turning back.

Then after getting them all fired up (I am one of these people who get passionate about things I believe in - can' help it), I get them into a free demo account as quickly as possible, usually within minutes. Then, I show them how to use an online trading station (free computer software that allows you to use your demo account to interact with the largest money market in the world - with over $1.5 trillion exchanging hands per day - HUGE market!). The wonderful thing about these free demo accounts is that they are exactly the same as real trading - unlike learning how to invest in the stock market, for example, where you have to pretend that someone will sell to you and that someone will buy from you - and that is not real at all! The forex market is so liquid (instant buyers and sellers) that both the demo and real accounts behave exactly the same! What a great way to learn - when you switch to a real account, you can't even tell.

Then, I get them to practice, using various proven techniques, with their demo account until they feel comfortable that they are consistently making profits. At first, like anything, you need to learn from experts. You need a mentor to teach you. You can't just do what you 'think' will work - you must learn techniques that really work. Trading is both a science and an art, so practice is very valuable before you start to trade for real. I tell them to be patient, the thrills are coming soon!

Then the day arrives, they open a real account and start trading in a mini account (designed for beginners or those who want to do smaller, yet real, trades). Once they see real money being made, they can hardly wait to trade in a regular account - but again I tell them to practice because now the trades are real. Because they did their homework and practiced proven techniques with the demo accounts, the transition to a real account is easy - the hardest part is learning not to shake in your shoes as they enter into this exciting arena along side the wealthiest people in the world. Keeping calm takes awhile and then they come to the realization that they too are on their way to making more money than they ever imagined.

What amazed me when I first looked into forex trading was the amount of available websites offering endless promises about riches to be made forex trading. Yet, at the same time, I quickly learned from real experts that most people who follow this advice lose all of their investment in the first few months! Wow! So, not wanting to make that huge mistake, I followed the advice I now give to my friends. Start with a demo, then a mini-account and finally move to a regular account all the while being mentored by someone who really knows how to make profits in the forex market. By following this advice myself, I survived the first few months and now make wonderful profits! I love it!

Doug Gray is a high school administrator and a forex trader. If you want to learn more about forex market trading, then check out this site and make sure you get the same information, from the same mentor that Doug learned from: http://www.ForexMarketMentor.com

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Monday, May 12, 2008

Forex trading an overlooked but very lucrative market.


One of the most appealing ways to attain wealth is to play the stock market. With the advent of the Internet and on line brokers traders have seemingly unrestricted access to various trading products that just 10 years ago were reserved for big financial institutions. A trading product that has been overlooked by many traders is forex.

Forex is derived from the words FOReign EXchange and involves the trading of currencies. Until relatively recently trading forex has been the preserve of banks and other large financial institutions. In the last 5 years forex trading has literally exploded among ordinary traders. When the advantages of forex trading become apparent this is not surprising. The forex market is the largest financial market in the world with an estimated daily turnover of $1.5 trillion dollars. This is 30 times larger than all the US stock markets combined. Further more the forex market is open 24 hours a day 5 days a week.

The size of the forex market is one of its first benefits. The forex market is very liquid and has high volume. Liquidity is a great asset many traders look for because it means a deal can always be done. Forex is a continuous 24-hour market. This is very desirable if you wish to trade part-time as you can choose what time you trade unlike stock markets that are open only 8 hours a day. This 24-hour market almost removes the problem of gapping. Because most stock markets are only open 8 hours a day often-overnight events can cause stocks to gap up or down. Large gaps can especially cause large losses for people who trade derivative products like futures or options. In the forex market the problem of gapping is very much reduced.

Currencies are always traded in pairs. Usually currencies are traded in pairs against the US dollar. The main pairs are US dollar Vs EURO ( EUR), British Pound (GDP), Swiss Franc (CHF), Japanese yen (JPY), Australian Dollar (AUS), New Zealand Dollar (NZD) and the Canadian dollar(CAD). There are other currencies pairs but most traders prefer to trade the pairs above. These currency pairs are known as the majors. Currency traders have plenty of trading opportunities from these 7 major currency pairs. Compare this against the stock market where more than 8,000 stocks trade on the three primary US stock exchanges and currency traders can focus just on these 7 pairs and still make plenty of money.

Unlike the stock market there is never bullish or bearish market conditions. Currencies go up or down against each other according to how the world financial markets perceive the value of the currencies. You can sell a currency (go short) just as easy as you can buy a currency( go long). Currencies go up and down and you can trade either direction just as easily ensuring there is always plenty of trading opportunities.

Forex brokers don't charge commission or brokerage. This can be quite a large overhead in other financial markets. Forex brokers make their money on the difference between the bid/ask spread of a currency pair. As the forex market is very liquid the spread between the bid/ask is very small. As many stock traders know brokerage can be a significant transaction cost.

You can start trading forex for as little as $300 dollars. There are two types of accounts a mini forex account and regular forex account. Most forex brokers offer 100: 1 leverage which means a in a mini account you can control $10,000 currency position with $100. In a regular account $1000 controls a $100,000 currency position. This provides great leverage and an extremely efficient use of trading capitol.

Trading a mini account is a great way on how to learn to how to trade forex. When you paper trade you are having a comfortable armchair ride. You are trading without the emotions of putting real money on the table. When you trade a 1 mini currency lot you can set your stop loss so the most you lose is $100. This is a great way to learn how to trade effectively without risking much money. In most other trading products even when trading with the smallest trading lot possible you would have to risk much more. Forex provides trading opportunities for people without much trading capitol.

Many traders have overlooked forex trading. It has many benefits that all traders can use to their advantage. It offers the benefit of trading 24 hours a day in any country in the world. The forex market is a very lucrative market no trader can overlook it.

To get more information about the opportunities of forex trading visit

http://www.ultimateforextrading.com

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Friday, May 9, 2008

Why Trade the FOREX?


My purpose for writing this article is to demonstrate to you the advantages of trading on the FOREX market. However, there is one myth that I want to dispel before I go further. The myth is that there is a difference between trading and investing. To dispel that myth I quote from Al Thomas, President of Williamsburg Investment Company, who wrote "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It". He said "Everyone who invests is a trader, only the time period is different." It is a lesson that I took seriously after taking a beating in the stock market in 2000.

So now, let's compare features of currency trading to those of stock and commodity trading.

Liquidity - The FOREX market is the most liquid financial market in the world around 1.9 trillion dollars traded everyday. The commodities market trades around 440 billion dollars a day, and the US stock market trades around 200 billion dollars a day. This ensures better trade execution and prevents market manipulation. It also ensures easily executable trading.

Trading Times - The FOREX market is open 24 hours a day (except weekends) which means that in the US it opens at 3:00 pm Sunday (EST) and closes Friday at 5:00 (EST), allowing active traders to choose the times they want to trade. Commodities trading hours are all over the board depending on which commodity you are trading. Including extended trading times US stocks can be traded from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm (ET) on weekdays.

Leverage - Depending on your FOREX account size, your leverage may be 100:1, although there are FOREX brokers that offer leverage of up to 400:1 (not that I would ever recommend that kind of leverage). Leverage in the stock market can be as high as 4:1, and in the commodities market, leverage varies with the commodity traded but it can be quite high. Because the commodity markets are not as liquid as the FOREX market, its leverage is inherently riskier. Although I was never shut out of a commodity trade by the day limit, the fear was always in the back of my mind.

Trading costs - Transaction costs in the FOREX market is the difference between the buy and sell price of each currency pair. There are no brokerage fees. For both the stock and the commodity markets, there are transaction costs and brokerage fees. Even when you use discount brokers, those fees add up.

Minimum investment - You can open a FOREX trading account for as little as $300.00. It took $5,000 for me to open my futures trading account.

Focus - 85% of all trading transactions are made on 7 major currencies. In the US stock market alone there are 40,000 stocks. There are just over 200 commodity markets, although quite a few are so illiquid that they are not traded except by hedgers. As you can see, the fewer number of instruments allows us to study each one more closely.

Trade execution - In the FOREX market, trade execution is almost instantaneous. In both the equity and commodity markets, you count on a broker to execute your trades and their results are sometimes inconsistent.

While all of these features make trading the FOREX market very attractive, it still requires a lot of education, discipline, commitment and patience. All trading can be risky.

Dr. Susan Walker has been an environmental consultant for more than 20 years and have dabbled in trading in stocks and commodities for longer than she cares to remember. She is new to FOREX trading, and loves it. Please visit her at http://www.creative4xtrader.com for your free copy of "FOREX FREEDOM".

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