Foreign Exchange (FOREX) is the arena where a nation's currency is exchanged for that of another. The foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world, with the equivalent of over $1.9 trillion changing hands daily; more than three times the aggregate amount of the US Equity and Treasury markets combined. Unlike other financial markets, the Forex market has no physical location and no central exchange (off-exchange). It operates through a global network of banks, corporations and individuals trading one currency for another. The lack of a physical exchange enables the Forex market to operate on a 24-hour basis, spanning from one zone to another in all the major financial centers.
Traditionally, retail investors' only means of gaining access to the foreign exchange market was through banks that transacted large amounts of currencies for commercial and investment purposes. Trading volume has increased rapidly over time, especially after exchange rates were allowed to float freely in 1971. Today, importers and exporters, international portfolio managers, multinational corporations, speculators, day traders, long-term holders and hedge funds all use the FOREX market to pay for goods and services, transact in financial assets or to reduce the risk of currency movements by hedging their exposure in other markets.
MG Financial, now operating in over 100 countries, serves all manner of clients, comprising speculators and strategic traders. Whether it’s day-traders looking for short-term gains, or fund managers wanting to hedge their non-US assets, MG's DealStation™ allows them to participate in FOREX trading by providing a combination of live quotes, Real-Time charts, and news and analysis that attracts traders with an orientation towards fundamental and/or technical analysis.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Foreign Exchange Basics The 6 Main Influences
To be successful in the forex market is is necessary to understand foreign exchange basics. Technical analysis with charts and trends is one thing but it's equally important to understand the fundamental reasons why the various currencies around the world are constantly moving relative to each other. Being able to understand what influences a currency movement and correctly predict a movement in one direction or another is what makes a successful forex trader. Let's look at the 6 main influences
1. Current Affairs and the News.
Be aware of what is happening around the world especially within the major world economies. Monitor national and international news channels for such events as political unrest, social disorder and in particular financial news.
2. Unpredictable Events
A major natural disaster or significant terrorist activity can influence a sudden currency movement. You should always protect your trades from unpredictable events by using stop losses to minimize the affect of a sudden adverse currency movement.
3. Predictable Events
A political event such as a general election is predictable. A major international sporting event such the Olympic Games is predictable. The important thing here is to be able to understand which currencies are likely to be affected and in which direction they will move. It's not just the events themselves which may influence a currency movement but also the announcement of such an event. So be aware of the timing of such announcements.
4. Financial Reports
Be familiar with the timing of financial reporting from countries of influence. Announcements concerning GDP, interest rates, inflation etc., will often influence currency movements. Monitor the financial results for the major international companies, particularly the banks and other major international financial institutions.
5. Rumors
It's difficult to avoid rumors but you should be very careful if making a trade based on a rumor because very often a rumor is simply no more than just a rumor and often a rumor is spread to fool traders into thinking the market will move one way when in fact the opposite happens.
6. Currency Pairs
You should pay particular attention to applying foreign exchange basics in the two countries concerned with your currency pairs. It is fact that the US dollar has the strongest influence on other currencies particularly if one of the pair is a minor currency.
The problem for the beginner in forex trading is how to apply all this fundamental analysis to successful trading. The best advice I can give is to gain experience with fundamental analysis and how each type of influence effects currency movement before you use it to make real trades. After a while you will develop a feel which will give you more confidence as you become familiar with the foreign exchange basics.
Read more about foreign exchange basics in my new eBook - Quick And Easy Forex Trading is aimed at understanding the fundamentals of forex trading...it's on a special launch offer now Forex Trading eBook
1. Current Affairs and the News.
Be aware of what is happening around the world especially within the major world economies. Monitor national and international news channels for such events as political unrest, social disorder and in particular financial news.
2. Unpredictable Events
A major natural disaster or significant terrorist activity can influence a sudden currency movement. You should always protect your trades from unpredictable events by using stop losses to minimize the affect of a sudden adverse currency movement.
3. Predictable Events
A political event such as a general election is predictable. A major international sporting event such the Olympic Games is predictable. The important thing here is to be able to understand which currencies are likely to be affected and in which direction they will move. It's not just the events themselves which may influence a currency movement but also the announcement of such an event. So be aware of the timing of such announcements.
4. Financial Reports
Be familiar with the timing of financial reporting from countries of influence. Announcements concerning GDP, interest rates, inflation etc., will often influence currency movements. Monitor the financial results for the major international companies, particularly the banks and other major international financial institutions.
5. Rumors
It's difficult to avoid rumors but you should be very careful if making a trade based on a rumor because very often a rumor is simply no more than just a rumor and often a rumor is spread to fool traders into thinking the market will move one way when in fact the opposite happens.
6. Currency Pairs
You should pay particular attention to applying foreign exchange basics in the two countries concerned with your currency pairs. It is fact that the US dollar has the strongest influence on other currencies particularly if one of the pair is a minor currency.
The problem for the beginner in forex trading is how to apply all this fundamental analysis to successful trading. The best advice I can give is to gain experience with fundamental analysis and how each type of influence effects currency movement before you use it to make real trades. After a while you will develop a feel which will give you more confidence as you become familiar with the foreign exchange basics.
Read more about foreign exchange basics in my new eBook - Quick And Easy Forex Trading is aimed at understanding the fundamentals of forex trading...it's on a special launch offer now Forex Trading eBook
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Forex Trading Software Do You Need that
Forex trading software programs include the automated systems or robots that help you to trade online from the comfort of your own home. They are very popular but are they necessary? What do they really do?
Many people are unwilling to trust their trading decisions to a computer program, especially at first. It is true that it is wise to be cautious in the beginning, because there is always the chance that you will misunderstand something. But you can almost always use the software in demo mode until you are familiar with all of its settings and features.
The main point to remember is that you are controlling the software, not the other way around. You tell it what to do by setting it up in a way that follows your preferred system.
An automated forex trading system can do many things that you cannot. For example, it can trade 24 hours a day. As the currency markets are international and operate in almost every time zone, they are never closed for business from Monday morning in Australia to Friday afternoon in New York. FX trading software can exploit these very long hours and watch the markets all day and all night, never missing a possible trade.
If you join a retail forex trading company online, you will almost certainly be offered software so that you can operate your account from your own computer. This takes the pressure off the company's website. You can use this type of software to check the currency values and operate your account. This is different than a robot, because you are making the trading decisions and simply using the software to put them into effect.
Automated forex robots, by contrast, are not linked in to one particular broker or company. They run on a trading platform and offer historical market analysis and trend data as well as real time currency values. This data can be extremely valuable for identifying patterns. You can look back to see how currency values fluctuated around the time of certain major events such as an epidemic or an election. Even something like an international sports event can affect national confidence and so cause a change in currency values.
As you become more skilled in interpreting the market trends, you will use all of this data to help improve the success of your trades. Of course there is no guarantee that the currency markets will always behave as they did in the past but any expert will tell you that you cannot ignore the historical data. To put it simply, getting information like this from your forex trading software can help you to make more money from your forex trading.
Many people are unwilling to trust their trading decisions to a computer program, especially at first. It is true that it is wise to be cautious in the beginning, because there is always the chance that you will misunderstand something. But you can almost always use the software in demo mode until you are familiar with all of its settings and features.
The main point to remember is that you are controlling the software, not the other way around. You tell it what to do by setting it up in a way that follows your preferred system.
An automated forex trading system can do many things that you cannot. For example, it can trade 24 hours a day. As the currency markets are international and operate in almost every time zone, they are never closed for business from Monday morning in Australia to Friday afternoon in New York. FX trading software can exploit these very long hours and watch the markets all day and all night, never missing a possible trade.
If you join a retail forex trading company online, you will almost certainly be offered software so that you can operate your account from your own computer. This takes the pressure off the company's website. You can use this type of software to check the currency values and operate your account. This is different than a robot, because you are making the trading decisions and simply using the software to put them into effect.
Automated forex robots, by contrast, are not linked in to one particular broker or company. They run on a trading platform and offer historical market analysis and trend data as well as real time currency values. This data can be extremely valuable for identifying patterns. You can look back to see how currency values fluctuated around the time of certain major events such as an epidemic or an election. Even something like an international sports event can affect national confidence and so cause a change in currency values.
As you become more skilled in interpreting the market trends, you will use all of this data to help improve the success of your trades. Of course there is no guarantee that the currency markets will always behave as they did in the past but any expert will tell you that you cannot ignore the historical data. To put it simply, getting information like this from your forex trading software can help you to make more money from your forex trading.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Forex Trade For Profit how to do that
To be successful and trade forex for profit is like any other profitable business. You must have a trading plan. You need a goal and a strategy for achieving that goal. This is particularly important in the forex investment market which is fast moving with many twists and turns which, for the unprepared can lead to financial disaster. The advertising you see, particularly on the internet, gives the impression of rich pickings and dreams being fulfilled overnight. OK, some people can be lucky but the same applies to gambling. If you liken forex trading to gambling then you will lose money. So how do we establish our goal and develop a strategy to achieve it?
First you need to establish the correct mindset. You must be devoid of emotions such as euphoria, greed, fear and above all panic. By creating a trading plan in advance and being determined to stick to it you are less likely to be tempted to make emotional decisions.
Be realistic with your goal. Don't set out to make a fortune overnight or even over a few days, weeks or months. The higher the goal, the bigger the risks you will take to try and achieve it. Like any business, plan for a slow level of increasing profits over time.
Establish your boundaries. The most basic being how much money will you set aside for trading. Do not expect to win on every trade. To be successful and trade forex for profit it is simply a matter of winning more often than losing. Do not trade with money you cannot afford to lose. Your position size for each trade must be calculated within this boundary.
Your strategy or trading plan needs to be based around a tried and tested system and your position size will relate to your system. Some systems go for a high number of winning trades but the losses when they inevitably occur are big. At the other end of the extreme, some systems allow for a high number of losing trades where the losses are small but can expect several losses in a row. Most traders will settle for something between those extremes.
Finally, choose your indicators. This is the information and advice you will use with your system. Always use at least 2 or 3 different indicators and only trade when they all point in the same direction.
Ok, so how do we develop our strategy? My advice is to paper trade using a demo account for as long as it is necessary to establish a system, trading style or preference which will achieve your goal. Once you are trading profitably with your demo account, you will move into real money trading with a lot more confidence and a lot less likely to be influenced by emotion.
Be prepared to modify or fine tune your strategy over time to increase your level of profitability as you gain more experience and acquire more knowledge but NEVER EVER change anything during an open trade. You must open and close a trade on the same strategy.
I sometimes liken forex trading to playing poker. Poker is one of the few 'gambling' games which can be profitable if the player has a rigid game plan. A successful player will expect to lose sometimes and knows what his potential gains and potential losses are at every stage of the game and will bet accordingly. A good poker player with be calm and play without emotion and the same goes for a good forex trader.
This is a very brief overview of the need to develop a trading plan in order to trade forex for profit and hopefully will make you feel more comfortable about proceeding further.
First you need to establish the correct mindset. You must be devoid of emotions such as euphoria, greed, fear and above all panic. By creating a trading plan in advance and being determined to stick to it you are less likely to be tempted to make emotional decisions.
Be realistic with your goal. Don't set out to make a fortune overnight or even over a few days, weeks or months. The higher the goal, the bigger the risks you will take to try and achieve it. Like any business, plan for a slow level of increasing profits over time.
Establish your boundaries. The most basic being how much money will you set aside for trading. Do not expect to win on every trade. To be successful and trade forex for profit it is simply a matter of winning more often than losing. Do not trade with money you cannot afford to lose. Your position size for each trade must be calculated within this boundary.
Your strategy or trading plan needs to be based around a tried and tested system and your position size will relate to your system. Some systems go for a high number of winning trades but the losses when they inevitably occur are big. At the other end of the extreme, some systems allow for a high number of losing trades where the losses are small but can expect several losses in a row. Most traders will settle for something between those extremes.
Finally, choose your indicators. This is the information and advice you will use with your system. Always use at least 2 or 3 different indicators and only trade when they all point in the same direction.
Ok, so how do we develop our strategy? My advice is to paper trade using a demo account for as long as it is necessary to establish a system, trading style or preference which will achieve your goal. Once you are trading profitably with your demo account, you will move into real money trading with a lot more confidence and a lot less likely to be influenced by emotion.
Be prepared to modify or fine tune your strategy over time to increase your level of profitability as you gain more experience and acquire more knowledge but NEVER EVER change anything during an open trade. You must open and close a trade on the same strategy.
I sometimes liken forex trading to playing poker. Poker is one of the few 'gambling' games which can be profitable if the player has a rigid game plan. A successful player will expect to lose sometimes and knows what his potential gains and potential losses are at every stage of the game and will bet accordingly. A good poker player with be calm and play without emotion and the same goes for a good forex trader.
This is a very brief overview of the need to develop a trading plan in order to trade forex for profit and hopefully will make you feel more comfortable about proceeding further.
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