Forex: 2009

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Why Most Forex Traders Use Technical Analysis

For many years Forex traders based their trading decisions on fundamental analysis which examines both past and current political and economic events in order to predict movements in currencies.
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However fundamental analysis is a difficult art requiring considerable knowledge and experience and the ability to handle and analyze enormous amounts of data. As if this were not enough, there is also considerable disagreement in many quarters about just what data is and is not important when it comes to fundamental analysis and, even when it is agreed that certain data is relevant, there is often further argument about just how much weight should be attributed to each factor in the equation.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Pivot Points Calculator

he presented pivot points calculator will generate pivot points in four different systems for you in seconds! Just fill the form below with the data for a previous period and press the "Calculate" button:

Things You Should Know About Forex Trading

How difficult is it to make money trading the Forex market? How much time does it take to actually be able to make a living trading the Forex market? These and other important aspects of trading are to be discussed in this article.

Trading the Forex market has many benefits over other financial markets, among the most important are: superior liquidity, 24hrs market, better execution, and others. Traders and investor see the Forex market as a new speculation or diversifying opportunity because of these benefits. Does this mean that it is easy to make money trading the Forex Market? Not at all.

Forex brokers agree that 90% of traders end up losing money, 5% of traders end up at break even and only 5% of them achieve consistent profitable results. With these statistics shown, I don’t consider trading to be an easy task. But, is it harder to master any other endeavor? I don’t think so, consider musicians, writers, or even other businesses, the success rates are about the same, there are a whole bunch of them who never got to the top.

Things You Should Know About Forex Trading

Forex Newsletter

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Price Action: The Perfect Forex Trading System

Trading the Forex market has become 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, overbought/oversold 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 I’m 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.

The Power of Small Consistent Returns

For most of us, 'safe investments' are limited to the rate of return that we can earn on our savings accounts or long-term deposits. The return would depend on the interest rate applicable in each country. At the time of writing, November 2007, the interest rate earned on a savings account in Australia is around 7% a year. That is a return of 0.57% a month. Despite this fact, many have preconceptions regarding the type of returns they can make from trading the financial markets.

A novice trader puts on a winning trade and gains between ten to fifty percent of his trading account. He forms a belief that, by trading, he can quickly become a millionaire. Indeed, if we assume a 20% return per month on a $10,000 trading account, we can expect $89,161 by the end of our first twelve months of trading. What if we assume an estimate of 50% return per month? We would have $1,297,463 by the end of the year. Of course, the problem with expectations like these is that they are unrealistic. Even most of those who claim to have made these types of returns have only done so in simulated environments, in trading competitions using game accounts, for example, where real money was not at risk.

It is possible to make these types of returns for a short while but I have not heard of anybody achieving such steep returns consistently year after year. After testing hundreds of trading systems and ideas I have come to believe that systems, which seem to promise exorbitant returns, turn out to be over-optimized for the period they have been tested on. Or even worse, they have flaws in their logic or assumptions.

Lately, I have been looking at the performance reports of trading firms in the USA. What would you say if I told you that the top trading firm over the last ten years only made an average return of 25% a year and the median trading firm made somewhere around 15% a year? Well, this is in fact what I am telling you.

A 20% and a 15% return a year is 'only' 1.877% and 1.171% return a month, respectively. I am sure that many novice traders and investors reading this article will have a mix of reactions towards these figures. Some might laugh and scoff at such 'paltry' returns, secretly believing that they can do a lot better than just 1.877% a month. Others may be surprised or even disappointed because their dreams of living rich will not come as quickly as they hoped.

Setting aside your initial reaction to these figures however, let us refocus on what these numbers actually mean in the real world. I would like to show you that these types of returns are very powerful. With time, these seemingly small, but consistent, gains will give you enormous profits in the future.

15% A YEAR RETURN ON A $10,000 ACCOUNT

Let us start with the assumption of having a $10,000 account, making at least 1.171% return a month, or 15% a year, trading the market. Based on these, the projections are:

$11,500 (15% growth) after 1 year.
$13,223 (32% growth) after 2 years.
$20,108 (101% growth) after 5 years.
$40,432 (304% growth) after 10 years.
$163,475 (1535% growth) after 20 years.
$660,960 (6510% growth) after 30 years.

25% A YEAR RETURN ON A $10,000 ACCOUNT

Let us now assume having a $10,000 account, making at least 1.877% a month, or 25% a year, trading the market Based on these, the projections are:

$12,500 (25% growth) after 1 year.
$15,625 (56% growth) after 2 years.
$30,519 (205% growth) after 5 years.
$93,140 (831% growth) after 10 years.
$867,512 (8575% growth) after 20 years.
$8,080,034 (80700% growth) after 30 years.

It is very important to note that not all fund managers make money. Returns of 15% or 25% a year belong only to those money managers who were consistently profitable. Furthermore, these types of returns are out-of-bounds for most investors. To invest in such schemes, most of the fund managers I have been looking into will deal with you only if you are a 'sophisticated' investor with a spare $500,000 minimum to invest. In fact, the highest earner only took on investors with a minimum of $25,000,000 US dollars to invest. (I will not mention any names here, however, you can do your own research by typing "commodity trading advisors" in your favourite search engine.)

I do not know about you but I certainly do not have 25 million dollars lying around, to hand over for someone else to manage. The dilemma, however, is that life is way too short for me to be satisfied with a 7% annual return either. I guess this is why you and I have taken the decision to trade and invest in the financial markets ourselves. At least there, we have full control and responsibility over the returns we get. It has its risks, but we can all avoid being reckless if we keep realistic expectations.

(This article was first published in The Part-Time Investor Magazine, Issue 3.)

by Marquez Comelab

Marquez Comelab is a private trader in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author ofThe Part-Time Currency Trader, a book on how to develop trading strategies. He is also the founding editor of The Part-Time Investor Magazine: an online magazine for traders and investors. See http://www.marquezcomelab.com.

Main Drawbacks of Forex Traders

Why is it that very few traders succeed in the Forex trading environment while the grand majority of traders fail to achieve success? There is no hard answer to this question, there are a few things that will put you one step ahead and will definitely put the odds in your favor.

The main purpose of this article is to guide you through some important aspects of Forex trading. But in a different way, instead of telling you what to do or the best way to do it, it will tell you what to avoid. Sometimes it is better to identify the main drawbacks on a discipline and then isolate them so we have the best results at a certain level of development.

Forex: Benefits of Trading the Forex Market

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

Some of the benefits of trading the Forex market are:

Superior liquidity.

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

Deadly Forex Mistakes That Assure Failure

Before venturing into your trading journey there are some things you need to be aware of, otherwise you could succeed on your trading adventure, and we don't want that to happen, do we? This Forex training guide will help you track the most costly mistakes Forex traders do.

First of all, make sure you don't have a trading system. Having a trading system might increase the odds of your success. If you have a system, you will have an objective way to get in and out the market. When traders create their trading systems they think objectively since there is no position to be taken at the moment. If there is no position to be taken, there is also no money at risk, if there is no money at risk, we do think objectively and are open to every possibility, thus we are able to find low risk trading opportunities. So make sure you don't have a system and trade based on a randomly approach.

If you have already created your system, then don't follow it, be undisciplined. If you follow your system, there is a possibility that you can profit from the Forex market based on the trading opportunities you have found. If you want to fail on your trading, be sure to be undisciplined.

Don't get educated. Most successful traders are very well educated in the market they trade (stocks, Forex, futures, etc.) If you get educated, you might acquire the knowledge and experience you require to master the Forex market. Don't read about the Forex market, don't enroll into Forex training programs and don't even look at historical charts.

Don't use any money management technique. The purpose of money management is to avoid the risk of ruin, but at the same time it helps you boost your profits, allowing them to grow geometrically. For instance, by using no money management techniques, there is a possibility that in loosing 10 trades in a row you could empty your trading account. On the other hand, by applying simple money management techniques you can avoid it. So make sure, if you want to fail, don't even consider money management.

FOREX: What Is It And How Does It Work?

he Foreign Exchange market, also referred to as the "Forex" is the biggest and largest financial market in the world. It has a daily average turnover of US$1.9 trillion- just imagine that amount of money! Don't you want to join this trillion-dollar industry?

Forex is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. Currencies are traded in pairs, for example Euro/US Dollar (EUR/USD) or US Dollar/Japanese Yen (USD/JPY). So basically, Forex is trading.

There are two reasons to buy and sell currencies. About 5% of daily turnover is from companies and governments that buy or sell products and services in a foreign country or must convert profits made in foreign currencies into their domestic currency.

The other 95% is trading for profit, or what you call speculation. Investors frequently trade on information they believe to be superior and relevant, when in fact it is not and is fully discounted by the market.

On one side of each speculative stock trade is a participant who believes he has superior information and on the other side is another participant who believes his information is superior.

For speculators, the best trading opportunities are with the most commonly traded (and therefore most liquid- meaning its in cash or convertible to cash) currencies, called "the Majors." Today, more than 85% of all daily transactions involve trading of the Majors.

A true 24-hour market, Forex trading begins each day in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins in each financial center, first to Tokyo, London, and New York. Unlike any other financial market, investors can respond to currency fluctuations caused by economic, social and political events at the time they occur — real time- day or night.

The Forex market is considered an Over The Counter (OTC) or 'interbank' market. This is because the transactions are conducted between two counterparts over the telephone or via an electronic network. Trading is not centralized on an exchange compared to stocks and futures markets.

WebMoney

WebMoney is an electronic currency system operated by WM Transfer Ltd. There are several e-currencies circulating in this system, with the most popular being - WMZ (equals to $1 U.S.), WME (equals 1 euro) and WMR (equals 1 Russian ruble).

WebMoney utilizes several methods for their customers to access system accounts - WebMoney Keeper Classic (the most secure and fully functional access with highly sophisticated software), WebMoney Keep Lite (less secure, but still protected access - via Internet browser). Other methods are available but are rarely used. WebMoney can boast more than 100 million dollars daily turnaround funds and millions customers around the world. Though, WebMoney started as a Russian payment system, it is now became an internationally popular e-currency system with a large number of representatives in all over the world and the developed deposit/withdrawal system.

FXOpen Forex Broker

FXOpen is a major Forex trading service providers for the Islamic traders, but it doesn't limit itself to Muslim traders only. Anyone can benefit their "no overnight interest" system which is rare for MetaTrader 4 platform broker. They also offer trading courses which might be useful to the beginning traders. Regular contests and deposit bonuses with e-gold and WebMoney payment options make FXOpen a reasonable player on the Forex brokers market.

Spreads — as low as 2 pips on EUR/USD.
Minimum deposit for micro account — only $1.
Minimum deposit for standard account — only $25.
Instant order executions and quote handling.
Margin leverage from 1:1 up to 1:500.
Free unlimited demo accounts available.
Regular technical research and market news available.
Experienced and helpful support.
100$ bonus on new standard accounts.
Trading contests.
Trading courses for new traders.
MetaTrader 4 platform.
Muslim friendly trading system.
Serious company for serious traders.
e-gold and WebMoney billing options.

To open account with FXOpen — complete a registration process on their site and download a free MetaTrader 4 trading platform. Then you will be able to deposit money into your trading account and enjoy your Forex trading process.

You can also read an interview with the manager from the FXOpen about their company strategy and plans: Interview with FXOpen.

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 Signal Trading Gives the Traders One More Analytical Tool

orex signal trading has emerged as an important support service for forex traders. This service is run either by forex brokers or by independent analysts who monitor and analyze the forex market. These analysts identify forex trends using several indicators. Based on this analysis, they suggest profitable entry and exit points to forex traders for a fee.

Most analysts offer signals for only the most popular currency pairs, such as EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD and USD/CHF. However, there are some specialty services also that offer signals for the lesser-traded pairs.

The charges for these services vary from analyst to analyst, and depend upon the range of services bought by the trader. For instance, a basic subscription service offers email alerts of entry/exit opportunities to traders while a more comprehensive service provides this information through SMS, cell phone or pager alerts also.

Some signal trading services also provide live charts for the traders to make their judgment. Irrespective of the level of service, a trader should be prepared to pay a minimum subscription fee of $100 a month.

Educate yourself before trading in Forex market

As in any trading markets, building up your trading skills and knowledge is the very first step that you must take. To further your learning in Forex trading, seminars, workshops, video tutorials, online learning, or even books are handful to help us learn from the professional.

Learn How to Trade in Forex Market from the Basics

Forex trading is well known as a lucrative way to make money online. It has become an essential part for investor’s portfolio as you can gain thousands in minutes by trading currencies. For those who are new to the forex trading, Forex means Foreign Exchange Market where it involves buying and selling the different currencies of the world. Profits are made through the difference of selling and buying price - you earn when you buy-low and sell-high.

Forex market is a 24-hour market. The trade begins each day in Sydney, and moves around the globe to Tokyo, London, and then New York. Unlike any other financial market, investors can respond to money-value fluctuations caused by economic, social and political events at the time they occur - day or night. Major currencies traded nowadays are U.S. dollars, Australian Dollars, Japanese Yens, British Pounds, Swiss Francs, Canadian Dollars, and the Euro Dollars.

Forex Software - Choosing the Best

When it comes to forex trading the forex software you choose is essential. There are so many forex trading companies all competing for your business that choosing the right forex software can be quite a difficult task. Most of the forex software products available offers live online forex trading platforms but what other components are vital when it comes to your forex software.

Key Elements For Your Forex Software

Before purchasing any forex software there are a few essential items that should be included. The most important is security and your online forex trading software should include a 128 bit SSL encryption which will prevent hackers from accessing any of your personal details and information such as your account balance, transaction history, etc.

W.D. Gann Trading Methods - Genius Trader or Overrated Guru

W.D. Gann is one of the most famous traders of all time, and has a huge devoted following - however the fact is, Gann never made the huge profits many of his disciples claim.

He did not have a success rate of 90%, as is often claimed - the logic his methods are based upon are unsound, and his predictive methods don’t predict - they leave everything to subjective opinion!

Let’s examine his theories of investment in more detail and see.

Let’s look at some common myths about how great a trader Gann actually was:

Many sources quote Gann’s trading profits at $50 million dollars, however this is not true.

An interview that Alexander Elder had with his son tells the truth.

Firstly, his son confirmed that when his father died in the 1950s his estate was valued at just $100,000 - and that included his house.

Secondly, his son confirmed that Gann was unable to make enough money from trading, and therefore supplemented his income by writing and selling courses.

W.D. Gann’s Predictions

Many sources quote he had a success rate in all his trades of over 90% - again not true. We can easily deduce this from the value of his estate.

If he could make money trading and had a 90% success rate, he would have made hundreds of millions in his trading career - and he clearly did not - that’s why he had to sell books and courses.

The only evidence of a 90% success rate came from a small number of trades - and was not representative of them all.

Gann’s Methods are Predictive

Gann came to the conclusion that all natural phenomena are cyclical - including financial markets. This is true, but this is an obvious statement - we all know we’re going to die but when exactly?

A predictive theory is not a predictive theory if it can’t predict.

If Gann’s theory really is predictive, then there would be no market - as we would all know the price in advance!

Gann’s theory is subjective - and he really had no way of predicting the future with accuracy. It’s all subjective analysis and this is NOT a predictive theory.

Gann’s Logic

The basis of Gann’s theory is the principle that price and time must balance.

His methods are based on the squaring of price with time - this occurs when a unit of price equals a unit of time.

Gann for example would take a prominent high in the market, convert that dollar unit into a specified period of time and project it forward. When that time is reached, price and time are squared - and a market turn is due.

What? - How can one unit of price equal one unit of time? If you think about and answer this question for yourself, you will see how absurd the connection is.

This isn’t the only inconsistency used in his analysis - we also have the legendary Fibonacci numbers which are supposed to work with stunning accuracy - but they don’t, and neither do all sorts of astrology and geometry, that appeals to the far out investment crowd.

As we have seen, Gann was a trader who had modest success, and claimed to have discovered a predictive theory - which predicts nothing with accuracy.

Finally, we have so many subjective indicators cobbled together, that the theory can prove anything in hindsight, but if you want a tool to trade the markets look elsewhere.

For those of you still not convinced - I recently saw on the Internet, Gann’s trading methods selling for under $1,000!

Sounds like a bargain to get trades with 90% accuracy - I wonder how many serious money managers have it on their bookshelf.

Enough said.

New! A valuable FREE Currency Trader CD containing 9 critical trading reports, tips, strategies and trading systemsinfo. Visit our web site now and grab your CD http://www.tradercurrencies.com.

Successful Options Trading Strategies

When it comes to giving people the hope of becoming a millionaire overnight, the stock market excels. Every day we see evidence of stocks that have flown upwards as if they had wings, providing investors with a windfall of profits. It's inevitable that catching one of those stocks just before it takes off is an exciting possibility, inspiring the beginning trader to take the plunge.

The Seven Most Traded Currencies in FOREX

currencies are traded in dollar amounts called 'lots'. one is equal to 1,000$, whcih control 100,000.$ in currency.
currencies are always traded in pairs in FOREX.
some of common pairs are
EUR/USD EURO /US DOLLAR "EURO"
USD / JPY US DOLLAR / JAPANESSE YEN "DOLLAR YEN"
GBD / USD BRITISH POUND / US DOLLAR "CABLE"
USD / CAD US DOLLAR / CANADIAN DOLLAR "DOLLAR CANADA"
AUD / USD AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR / US DOLLAR "AUSSIE DOLLAR"
USD / CHF US DOLLAR / SWISS FRANC "SWISSY"
EUR /JPY EURO / JAPANESSE "EURO YEN"

Monday, June 29, 2009

CFD Broker - Make the Choice - Not A Mistake

Today, this article will discuss about the CFD market, and how you can find a great online CFD broker when you do decide to jump on the wagon and become a CFD Trader. Most of the CFD Brokers today offer the ability to be able to trade online, CFD trade over the phone, or CFD trade from you mobile phone.
source: http://www.forexarticlecollection.com/forex-broker/

Forex Scalping Strategy

Forex scalping is the art of using high leverage and a large number of short term trades to steadily increase an account. Usually, only 1 to 5 pips are targeted for each trade. This type of trading appeals greatly to day traders and those looking to minimize the risk involved in trading currencies. Next to money management, "risk control" is the single most important trait to a surviving (and thriving) currency trader. The small amount of time that is spent in the market limits much of the risk in exposure in comparison to a longer term system. Also, the freedom involved in a speedy Forex scalping system in such a liquid market is a "magnet" that drives many traders from other markets to try their hand in currency. A disciplined and steady scalper could seamlessly double or triple an account, and spend only a fraction of the time in the market as a common day trader.
source: http://www.forexarticlecollection.com/trading-strategy/

Forex Money Management by FX Master

Money management is a critical point that shows difference between winners and losers. It was proved that if 100 traders start trading using a system with 60% winning odds, only 5 traders will be in profit at the end of the year. In spite of the 60% winning odds 95% of traders will lose because of their poor money management. Money management is the most significant part of any trading system. Most of traders don't understand how important it is.
source : http://www.forexarticlecollection.com/money-management/

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

How To Quickly Analyze Forex Pairs Using Marketclub's Trading Service

Today I want to share with you a short trading video from the team at Marketclub that shows you how you can use their trade triangle technology to quickly analyze the various currency pairs, and tells you whether you should be in or out of the markets.
To go into a little more detail, this video looks at 13 different forex pairs as well as the Dollar Index and will show you just one of the ways you can take advantage of Marketclub's signals using both short and long-term trade triangles in conjunction with short-term trends and moving average indicators.
If you would like to watch this video, you can do so by clicking here.

courtesy http://theforexarticles.com

Forex Exit Strategies: The Two Part Exit Strategy

In forex trading the exit strategy really is very important. Many people spend all of their time developing a winning system, and then once they've done so they will employ a strict stop loss policy to minimize their losses. However they will then neglect the exit strategy because they are just happy to be making some money, but in the long run you really do need to develop an exit strategy that will maximize your gains.
courtesy http://theforexarticles.com/

Forex Income Engine 2.0 Review

Forex Income Engine 2.0 is a day trading course from Bill Poulos that provides you with 3 separate intraday trading methods. These methods can be used in any time frame so are therefore ideal for day traders, or people who only have a limited amount of time to trade every day.
I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of the Forex Income Engine 2.0 course prior to it's official launch so let me give you my full review of this product:
More on Forex Income Engine 2.0 Review

courtesy http://theforexarticles.com/

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

What Influences Price?

Forex markets and prices are mainly influenced by international trade and investment flows. The Forex market is also influenced, but to a lesser extent, by the same factors that influence the equity and bond markets: economic and political conditions, especially interest rates, inflation, and political stability, or as if often the case, political instability. Though economic factors do have long term affects, it is often the immediate reaction that causes daily price volatility, which makes Forex trading very attractive to intra-day traders. Currency trading can offer investors another layer of diversification. Trading currencies can be viewed as a means to protect against adverse movements in the equity and bond markets, movements that of course also impact mutual funds. You should bear in mind that trading in the off-exchange foreign currency market is one of the riskiest forms of trading and you should only invest a small portion of your risk capital in this market.

What is Forex?

The off-exchange retail foreign currency market ("forex") describes the purchase of a particular currency from an individual or institution and the simultaneous sale of another currency at the equivalent value or current exchange rate. Essentially, the process of exchanging one currency for another is a simple trade based on the current rates of the two currencies involved.
At the core level of the world's need for money exchange is the international traveler. When traveling from the US to England, for example, you will of course need the local currency to pay for transportation, food, and so on. Upon arrival at the airport you will surrender (sell) your US Dollars in order to receive (buy) the equivalent in British Pounds. In this example, you sold the USD and bought the GBP, conversely the forex counter bought the USD and sold the GBP. The prices at which you buy and sell currencies are known as exchange rates. This rate or price fluctuates based on demand and on political and economic events surrounding each country's currency.

A Global Market

The example above illustrates foreign currency trading in basic terms as it relates to world travelers. However, the market is also utilized globally by each country's central bank (i.e., America's Federal Reserve), investment and commercial banks, fund management firms (mutual funds and hedge funds), major corporations, and individual investors or speculators. Depending on the timing of such transactions, purchasing a currency with the intent of later selling it at a better exchange rate (and vice versa) can potentially yield profits for investors, of course there is a strong potential for loss trading currencies as well.
Utilization by so many parties is why the Forex market is the world's largest financial market. This mind boggling volume is probably what led you to research the topic.

How do you access the market?

It is important to note that retail traders, such as yourself, will most likely be accessing the off-exchange foreign currency market (or Forex market) via an FCM (Futures Commissions Merchant) or broker. You will not be trading in the actual Interbank market itself. Your access to the total market will be determined by your chosen broker's limitations.
FCMs or brokers act as a bridge between you and their liquidity partner (sometimes larger global banks) that you would otherwise not have sufficient capital to do business with. ( view figure 1 ) The large majority of off-exchange retail foreign currency brokers act as market makers, meaning that by keeping many trades in house they create their own liquidity. Some retail brokers clear trades directly through to the larger banks that provide their liquidity. If you are new to the Forex market it would wise to research and understand your broker's particular business model and method of clearing trades.

Forex Market Hours

Unlike other financial markets, the Forex market operates 24 hours a day, 5.5 days a week (6:00 PM EST on Sunday until 4:00 PM EST on Friday). Through an electronic network of banks, corporations and individual traders exchange currencies, though as the market is primarily used as a means for speculative investing, actual physical delivery of currencies is almost never intended. Forex trading begins every day in Sydney, moves to Tokyo, followed by Europe and finally the Americas.

Forex Market

Technical Analysis

Technical analysis” is an industry term that more often than not sounds much more complicated than the actual process is. Really, it ought to be referred to as “price analysis”, as this would be a more accurate description. Through the use of charted data traders around the world analyze their market of choice. The objective: attempt to determine future price movement. The means: understanding price movement patterns of the past.

Fundamental Analysis

Fundamental analysis is the study of the core underlying elements that influence the economy of a particular currency. This method of study attempts to predict price action and market trends by analyzing economic indicators, government policy and societal factors. Imagine financial markets as a large clock, the gears inside this clock that move the hands, or drive the clock would be these "fundamentals".

Trading Strategies

Learning your own style, or in other words trading method(s) that work for you, is an essential part of Forex trading. There is no correct approach that everyone should learn. However, every trader needs to assess how much risk they can comfortably handle. It is the single most important investment issue for a Forex trader to consider.

Programming

This is not intended to be a full fledge introduction to programming, but we will cover a lot useful information that you will need for the more specific classes. Please make sure you spend more time trying to understand and follow the logic than try to get the right answer. The truth is, in programming, there is not just one right solution.

Taxes

Taxation of forex is confusing and uncertain in the tax code and that makes tax filings difficult for forex traders. The tax-problem is that some types of forex are treated as IRC 1256 contracts with lower 60/40 tax treatment and other types of forex are treated as IRC 988 foreign currency transactions with ordinary gain or loss treatment. Plus IRC 1256 and IRC 988 are dueling and conflicting tax code sections.

Market Analysis

MA Video Archive | Market Analysis with Todd Crosland

Trading Support Hours

We offer trading support via the Internet or over the phone.
Sunday at 5:00pm EST to Friday at 5:00pm EST.

Toll Free:
US and Canada: 866.468.3739
Australia 1.800.884.912
Indonesia 001.803.017.9112
Malaysia 1.800.813.776
New Zealand 0800.445647
Singapore 800.101.2097
United Kingdom 0.808.120.1966

International: +1.801.930.6800
Fax: 212.884.0609

Reasons to Call

The easiest way for customers to execute a trade is to log in to the IBFX Trader and place a trade. However there are some times when you will need to call our trading support team, such as:
- When access to the Internet is not available
- If you fail to receive a confirmation on an online order
- When you experience internet failure or failure to connect to the IBFX server

When Calling Trading Support

When calling for dealing support we ask that you conduct the business briefly and factually to make the process as quick and easy for you as possible.

Please have the following information ready prior to placing your call:

1. Your account number. Your User ID number is not valid identification.

Indicate whether you are placing a Market Order or a Limit Orde

ncluding both the number of units and the currency pair you are interested in. For instance... you will say, "I would like a price on 10 lots of USD/CHF." You will receive a 2-way price quote consisting of the spread between the Bid and the Ask. For instance, "1.4570 - 73". Please note that we provide you with a true, dynamic quote stream. These prices can change up to 4 times per second. Therefore, Market Orders will be executed at the current, available price when the order is placed. To execute at a specific price we suggest placing a limit order instead.

State your trade

Example, "I would like to buy 10 lots of USD/CHF at the Market." Or for a limit order, "At 1.4573 buy 10 lots of USD/CHF with a stop loss of 1.4553 and a take profit of 1.4593."

Remember: The price given is the trading price at that time; haggling is not allowed nor are Traders allowed to remain on the phone until the price changes. If you do not wish to trade at the quoted levels, simply say "Nothing Done" and hang up.

Note : All phone calls are recorded to ensure the integrity of the transaction.

Platinum Debit Card

Now it's even easier to access your account.

In our last customer survey you asked for more ways to access your margin account....we listened. We have partnered with one of the nation's premier financial services companies to bring you our new Platinum Debit Program.

Now you can transfer money from your margin account into your companion account and use your Platinum Debit card wherever Visa is accepted.

Platinum Rewards Card

Earn points simply for trading your IBFX account!

IBFX Platinum Rewards Card We have partnered with one of the nation's premier financial services companies to bring you our new Platinum Rewards Program.

The IBFX Platinum Rewards card not only gives you Rewards Points for your purchase, but you will also earn up to 50 Rewards Points for every standard lot round turn trade.

You can use these points to redeem for airline tickets, hotels, merchandise, event tickets and much more.

Apply for a Card

Follow the 3 steps below to apply for an IBFX Platinum Rewards Card.

1. Read Credit Card Disclosure: Click to Read

2. Download Application

I have read and agree with the above Credit Card Disclosure.

Deposit Funds to Live Account

Deposit Time
1-2 business days

Fees
$20 convenience fee

Withdrawal Eligibility
30 days from last credit card deposit

Restrictions
$2,000 max per deposit

$10,000 max over 30 day period per customer

* A debit card can be used to fund your IBFX Trading Account, however the transaction is subject to the same eligibility and restrictions as any credi

Learn To Trade Forex

FOREX (the Foreign Exchange market) is an international market where participants speculate on the value of different currencies, buying and selling dollars, pounds, euros, and other currencies.

There are only a few major currencies to follow, compared to hundreds of stocks in the equities market. In order to get started understanding Forex, sign up for a free practice account today and learn as you trade!

Trading risk free with a practice account is the best way to get familiar with this ever-growing market. And once you are signed up, CMS Forex will provide you with thorough educational resources to guide you along the way.

So don't wait, take this opportunity to get started trading Forex!

High price:
Low price:
Close price:
Current Open price:^*

^* For DeMark's pivot points.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Friday, July 3, 2009

Monday, June 29, 2009

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

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