Scalping The Forex Market For Profits Every Day

Scalping the forex market is something that all new traders aspire to do. It is however not easy and requires allot of concentration and discipline.

Once you decide on a set you are going to use you will need to spend a few months religiously for a couple of hours a day trading on demo until you get to know your setup and a feel for scalping it.

A popular way to scalp the forex on M1 charts is to use hull moving averages. Plot the following WMA's (Weighted Moving Averages) on your chart: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220, 240. Now set price to a line on Average or, if you don't have that, set it to line on Close. Set all the WMA's to one color that is different to price.

This will create a pretty chart. Using these WMA's you can easily see the strength of a trend, you will notice that price tends to retrace back and forth from the moving averages.

What we are looking for is resistance in a up trend or support in a down trend in the form of double top or something similar. Once you find this area wait for a convincing break of it following the trend and then enter to scalp part of the move.

This method takes practice, don't expect to be able to pull it off straight away, open a demo account with a broker that offers spreads of a pip or less and trade every day at the same time for at least two months. I guarantee you will see great improvements as you become familiar with the setup and the flow of the market.

by Dean Saunders

Choosing A Forex Strategy

Technical analysis and fundamental analysis are the two basic areas of strategy in the FOREX market which is the exact same as in the equity markets. However, technical analysis is by far the most common strategy that is used by individual FOREX traders. Here is a brief overview of both forms of analysis and how they directly apply to forex trading:

Fundamental Analysis

If you think it's hard enough to value one company, you should try valuing a whole country instead. Fundamental analysis in the forex market is often an extremely difficult one, and it's usually used only as a means to predict long-term trends. However it is important to mention that some traders do trade short term strictly on news releases. There are a lot of different fundamental indicators of the currency values released at many different times. Here are a few of them to get you started:

* Non-farm Payrolls

* Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)

* Consumer Price Index (CPI)

* Retail Sales

* Durable Goods

You need to know that these reports are not the only fundamental factors that you have to watch. There are also quite a variety of meetings where you can get some quotes and commentary that can affect markets just as much as any report. These meetings are often brought out to discuss any interest rates, inflation, and other issues that have the ability to affect currency values.

Even changes in how things are worded when addressing certain issues such as the Federal Reserve chairman's comments on interest rates; can cause a volatile market. Two important meetings that you have to watch out for are the Federal Open Market Committee and Humphrey Hawkins Hearings.

Just by reading the reports and examining the commentary, it can help FOREX fundamental analysts to get a better understanding of any and all long-term market trends and also to allow short-term traders to be able to profit from extraordinary happenings. If you do decide to follow a fundamental strategy, you will want to be sure to keep an economic calendar handy at all times so you know when these reports are released. Your broker may also be able to provide you with real-time access to this kind of information.

Technical Analysis

Just like their counterparts in the equity markets, technical analysts of the FOREX trading market analyze price trends. The only real difference between technical analysis in FOREX and technical analysis in equities is the time frame that is involved in that FOREX markets are open 24 hours a day.

Because of this, some forms of technical analysis that factor in time have to be modified so that they can work with the 24 hour FOREX market. Some of the most common forms of technical analysis used in FOREX are:

* The Elliott Waves

* Fibonacci studies

* Parabolic SAR

* Pivot points

A lot of technical analysts have a tendency to combine technical studies to make more accurate predictions on your behalf. (The most common method for them is combining the Fibonacci studies with Elliott Waves.) Others prefer to create trading systems in an effort to repeatedly locate similar buying and selling conditions.

Choosing Your Strategy

Most successful traders will develop a strategy and perfect it over a specific period of time. Some people will focus on one particular study or calculation, while still some others use broad spectrum analysis as a means of determining their trades. Most experts would likely suggest that you try using a combination of both fundamental and technical analysis, with which you can make long-term projections and also determine entry and exit points. Of course, in the end, it is the individual trader who has to decide what works best for him.

When you are ready to get started in the FOREX market, you should open a demo account and paper trade so that you can practice until you can make a consistent profit. Many people who fail have a tendency to jump into the FOREX market and quickly lose a lot of money because of a lack of experience. It is important to take your time and learn to trade properly before you start committing capital.

You also need to be ale to trade without emotion. You can't keep track of all stop-loss points if you don't have the ability to execute them on time. You must always set your stop-loss and take-profit points to execute automatically, and don't change them unless you absolutely have to. Make your decisions and stick to them. Otherwise you will drive yourself and your brokers crazy.

You should also realize that you need to follow the trends. If you go against the trend, you are just messing with your money because the FOREX market tends to trend more often than anything else and you will have a higher chance of success in trading with the trend.

The FOREX market is the largest market in the world, and every day people are becoming increasingly interested in it. But before you begin trading, make sure your broker meets certain criteria, and take the time to find a trading strategy that works for you.

by Giles Windholm

Where to Get Forex Training

For those of you who are interested in forex trading, you may want to start off by getting some good forex training. Forex training is a necessity for anyone with this interest. This is because a lot of money is involved in forex trading. If you don't get some forex training, you are bound to lose a lot of money.

Some of you may not even know what forex trading is. If you don't know this, you defiantly need some forex training. Forex stands for foreign exchange. Forex trading is basically the exchange of one countries currency for another countries currency. This is done simultaneously in hopes of gaining a profit.

You can get forex training from several different places. The first place you should get forex training from is online. There are many websites that offer free forex training. The forex training these websites offer is both reliable and accurate. The forex training on these websites often offers a free demo account to teach you how to trade without actually using any real money.

A second place to get Forex training is at your local college campus. Forex training courses at college are usually inexpensive and very thorough. The forex training courses offered should also include hands on experience with trading, to help you get the edge. You can also get some books on forex training or research forex training at your local library. The best place to get forex training is from someone who is already involved in forex trading. The forex training these individuals provide will be more realistic for you and give you different aspects of the forex trading game.

The forex training you get should first start with learning how the foreign trade market works. The trade market is always changing, so you need to understand it first. The second part of your forex training should be about risk control. You never want to invest more than you can afford. The right forex training should teach you how to cut your losses and have less risks of failure. Next, your forex training should teach you how to open and manage a forex trading account. But this should be done with a demo account. All forex training should be done this way first, before you try the real thing.

With all of this in mind, you should be able to find some good forex training. Learn the ropes of forex trading and take the time to learn it well. Be sure to try a demo forex trading account before you start a real account. With the right forex training, you will soon be on your way to a profitable way to supplement your income.

by Jay Moncilff

FOREX Education — Thinking Of Buying FOREX Advice? Read This First

There is a huge amount of FOREX Education you can buy but before you buy it read this, as in excess of 90% of it will ensure you lose.

So you ensure you get the right FOREX Education follow the guidelines below.

1. Never buy a day trading system!

Most novice traders are enticed by the theory of making money everyday, with low risk and high rewards, but this is not the reality of day trading.

The reality of day trading is:

A quick wipe out of equity — why?

Quite simply, all short term moves are random and using support and resistance as day traders do is destined to failure.

If you don't believe me try this simple test when buying any FOREX Education from a vendor:

Ask for the real time track record of profits and you won't get one from a day trader.

At best you will get a hypothetical track record, but that's done in hindsight, knowing the closing prices and if we know the closing prices its not hard to make money.

If you want to make money don't day trade!

2. Real time profits

A real time track record is an essential requirement on ANY FOREX education you buy, not just day trading systems.

The fact however is, most FOREX education is sold by failed brokers, or people who have never traded in their lives.

If these people have not had the confidence to trade their own money on their own system why should you?

3. Understand the FOREX Education

Even if you are lucky enough to find a system that does have a track record of real FX Profits you need to be mindful of the following:

You need to fully understand the method and not follow it blindly.

If you don't understand why a method works you won't have confidence to follow it through inevitable periods of losses.

Not only must you understand it to follow it with discipline, you must also check it fits your trading personality.

Some traders can take big drawdowns or losses, other traders find them hard to take, so pick a system with a risk to reward you can handle emotionally.

4. The best FOREX education

There is a huge amount of FOREX education and FOREX advice free on the web, so use it.

In other articles we have shown how to build a system that makes profits from free info and it's a lot easier to learn FOREX Trading this way than many people think.

You can also get some great FOREX education at nominal cost from your local bookstore this FOREX advice is from:

Traders who don't just talk the talk — they have walked the walk and made money.

Great books to look at are Jack Schwager's excellent Market Wizards and New Market Wizards — which interview some of the best traders of all time.

Trader Vic — Victor Sperandeo a great all round book and there are many more.

Rather than buying a e-book from someone without a track record, get your FOREX Education free on the net and get some classics from legendary traders.

Most of the courses and systems on the web are over priced, don't work and you can frankly, do better on your own with the above advice.

by Sacha Tarkovsky

Emotions And Forex Trading Don't Mix

The key to making money in the currency exchange market is to avoid emotional decisions and to follow a carefully thought out strategy that takes the current market and history into account. Going with your gut is not the way to go in the Forex market. Going with your gut could cost you money. Forex trading is a highly volatile market where emotions tend to run high. Emotions can influence your trading decisions, unless you have a strategy planned in advance, and stick to it, no matter what you think you're seeing at the moment. The keys to success in Forex are system, analysis and perseverance.

Most experienced traders tell novice traders that they need to develop a system — and stick to it no matter what. Letting your emotions rule your decisions can hurt your trading in a number of ways. The system tells you when to buy, what to buy, when to trade and what to trade for. By sticking to your system you'll maximize your profits. A system based on technical analysis of historical market trends is one of the most potent tools that you can utilize if you're just getting started in Forex trading. Many traders, with years of experience, continue to use this system to keep the profits rolling in. Many traders will tell you that when their gut instinct and their system collide, the system is almost always right.

Using a mechanical system takes the emotion out of your trading, eliminating one of the reasons people fail. Your system doesn't sway with emotions. It sticks to a tried and true course. To be effective, your system — whether you develop your own or adopt one created by someone else — should identify the entry and exit point of your trade, mitigating factors, and an exit strategy. In general terms this is as follows:

Under what conditions should I acquire a currency?

For instance, you may have a buy order for when a particular currency drops more than 5 pips because your analysis tells you that that's likely to be as low as it goes.

When should I trade one currency for another and for which one?

There are two reasons to exit — to maximize your profit, or minimize your loss. That means you have a set stop-loss order and a set take-profit order at which point you cash out your trade.

What factors will I allow to change that decision?

While the money market moves in predictable patterns, there are always individual variations of a trend within those patterns. If you've taken those variations into account, it will be far easier to decide when a factor really does make a difference, and when it's just wishful thinking. If you're not careful however this is where emotion could come into play and sour deals for you.

How will I trade out of a currency?

Your exit strategy may be as simple as a stop-loss order when my loss hits 5% or a take-profit order when I make 40% profit'.

Another key is perseverance. Analysis of trends in the market will show you that the market moves in dips and spurts within overall patterns that are predictable. No trend moves smoothly in an up or down line — there are inevitable periods of time when values suddenly spiral up or down based on some outside factor. These are the times when emotion can hurt your portfolio. When a currency that you're holding takes a sudden dip south, it's tempting to succumb to panic trading, cut your losses and run even if your system tells you to hold on. On the other hand, it's easy to catch the rising excitement as a trade starts increasing in value and scramble to buy more of the same. These are exactly the times to rely most heavily on your trading system. It will tell you exactly when to trade for maximum profit.

If you control your emotions and stick to the system you'll maximize your profits andall should be smooth sailing.

by David Mclauchlan

Accept Losses in Forex Trading

The lack of a proper trading plan which includes precise rules for entering and exiting a trade will most certainly guarantee failure over the long term. Beginners usually suffer from the same common ailments. They abandon trading plans purely on impulse because things are not going exactly as how they had envisioned. Repeatedly they use unreliable methods that fail to produce a profit. Many traders hold on to losing positions telling themselves "it is going to turn" when every indicator says otherwise because they cannot bear the thought of a loss.

Why do they torture themselves? Why don't they just identify what's going wrong and make a change? For some people recognizing that a trade or even a trading method is not working and making a change is easy, but for others it's very difficult. They have to look at their limitations admit that they have made a mistake and that's hard because it hurts our ego. Psychologically it's risky, it's often easier to fool ourselves.

Just keep going, living in a state of denial until your account is depleted. If you recognize any of these traits in yourself you must stop trading immediately.

Take a good look at what has been happening, try and identify the problem. If you look close enough you may see a pattern. This is why it is vital to record every trade and as much information about it as possible. You have to break out of old patterns and see things in a new light.

You will never be a successful trader if you continue to live in a state of denial. What can be done to return to reality? There is a lot you can do. First of all make sure you are not trading under stress. When stressed out you can't see clearly, you become rigid and unable to see alternative views. One of the easiest solutions is to trade smaller. The smaller the trade the less the stress, especially for the beginner. If you are experienced and in a loosing streak reduce your contracts until you get your confidence returns. Some people need to take a break altogether. Get away from it all. Take your mind off the trading.

The second thing you can do is to make sure you have a life. Trading can be addictive especially when you are winning. Do not put all your emotional eggs in the trading basket. You need to have other roles that give your life meaning and purpose. By defining your identity in a variety of ways, you will not place un-natural importance on trading events. Therefore, you will be able to take losses in stride and look at your trading more objectively.

Finally, radical acceptance is a key mental strategy for coping with market uncertainty. Many traders make the mistake of thinking they can control the markets. Nobody can control the markets. We must learn to accept anything that comes our way and to trade accordingly. Adopt the attitude that trading is a journey and that all we can do is go where the markets take us.

To succeed on this journey you cannot afford to lose too much. Manage risk and just accept what you get and enjoy the ride. This way you will trade more freely and creatively. Don't live your life in denial.

Accept your limitations, work around them, and become a winning trader. Write out your trading plan with precise entry and exit points. Most important set your stops and mentally decide you will not break them. Test your system on paper and when confident test in real time with the minimum contract size. You will have losing trades, accept them with grace and go on to the next trade.

by Lily Alley

Currency Correlation and How to Use It?

Currencies are priced in pairs, no single pair trades completely independently of the others. This makes the understanding of correlation very important.

For example, currency pair "A" moves in the same direction as pair "B" and we have been following up pair A's move very closely. We expect it to go up and we buy. We have not been following up pair "B" so closely and suddenly we look into that and the fundamentals or technical analysis suggests us that this pair may go down. We short sell. What eventually would happen that we would end up having profit on one pair and loss on the other as they moved in same direction. Similar case would happen if we simultaneously go long or short on two pairs which move in opposite directions.

Once we know about these correlations and their changes with time, we can take advantage of them to control our portfolio's exposure.

The correlation coefficient ranges between -1 and +1.

A correlation of +1 implies that the two currency pairs will move in the same direction 100% of the time. A correlation of -1 implies the two currency pairs will move in the opposite direction 100% of the time. A correlation of zero implies that the relationship between the currency pairs is completely random.

Positive Correlation:

A positive figure but less than +1 means that the currency pairs generally move in same direction but not always. A value closer to +1 means that most of the time they move in the same direction.

Negative Correlation:

A negative figure but more than -1 means that the currency pairs generally move in opposite direction but not always. A value closer to -1 means that most of the time they move in opposite directions.

How to use currency correlation when you are trading Forex? Well, your slow speed because of an occasional traffic jam on the expressway does not really indicate that the average speed you would end up on the road will be same. The correlation are dynamic and change every moment. Take a note of the correlation of the past few days and compare it with the correlation value in the long term, say past one year. If the short term value is far different from the long term value, may be it's offering you a chance to place a trade... but how? Let's say that currency pairs A and B has a correlation value of 0.98 during past one year. It means that they both move in almost the same direction. When currency pair A moves up, currency pair B also moves up with the same speed. Suddenly you notice that during the past one month or one week the correlation value of the currency pairs A and B is 0.10 i.e. moving in the same direction but with a different speed. To clarify as an example let's say two cars are moving towards the same destination, one is moving at 100 miles/hr and another at 10 miles/hour. But we can assume that ultimately both may have to catch up on the speed (similar speeds). So what do we do? Well, we find out which one is slow and ride that.

When we convert this car example to currency trading, suppose two currency pairs move in the same direction and have been moving up with a correlation over 0.60 in the long-term and we find that suddenly the correlation value in during the past few days has become 0.20, we just see which currency pair's movement (increase is slow) and we could buy that. On the other hand we could short-see another currency pair.

by Himanshu Jain

Fibonacci And The Forex Market

First what is the Forex market: The FOREX or Foreign Exchange market is the largest financial market in the world, with an volume of more than $1.5 trillion daily, dealing in currencies. Unlike other financial markets, the Forex market has no physical location, no central exchange. It operates through an electronic network of banks, corporations and individuals trading one currency for another.

The Forex, or foreign currency exchange, is all about money. Money from all over the world is bought, sold and traded. On the Forex, anyone can buy and sell currency and with possibly come out ahead in the end. When dealing with the foreign currency exchange, it is possible to buy the currency of one country, sell it and make a profit. For example, a broker might buy a Japanese yen when the yen to dollar ratio increases, then sell the yens and buy back American dollars for a profit.

Strategies for anticipating and capturing significant turns in stocks, stock indices and exchange-traded funds in Forex trading are known as Fibonacci strategies. Classic principles and applications of Fibonacci numbers and a trading system known as the Elliott Wave are used. Basically the idea is to calculate and predict key turning points in the markets, analyze business and economic cycles and identify profitable turning points in interest rate movement. Forex traders also benefit from the system and from Fibonacci.

Fibonacci was the name used by the Italian mathematician Leonardo Pisano from 1170 to 1250. The son of Guilielmo and a member of the Bonacci family, Fibonacci sometimes used the name Bigollo, which may mean good-for-nothing traveller. Fibonacci was a genius ahead of his day. He was a brilliant mathematician who wrote several books. He is most well known today for the sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, etc, which figures prominently in what is today known as Fibonaccian mathematics, and has a quarterly scholarly journal devoted to it. Until that time the Western world had used the Roman numeral system, Fibonacci introduced the West to the modern decimal system, imported from Babylonia. The Fibonacci number sequence is studied as part of number theory and hase applications in the counting of mathematical objects such as sets, permutations and sequences, as well as in computer science.

It was Fibonacci's belief that Arabic numerals were simpler and more efficient than Roman numerals. He traveled throughout the Mediterranean world and studied under the major Arab mathematicians returning to Pisa around 1200. In the year 1202, at the age of 32,Fibonacci published his findings in The Book of Calculation. In it he showed the practical importance of this new number system by applying it to commercial accounting and to conversion of weights and measures. He also showed how to apply it to the calculation of interest, money changing, and many other applications. The book was well received and had a profound impact on European thought. Despite this, the use of decimal numbers did not become widespread until the invention of printing almost three hundred years later. Fibonacci was honored to be a guest of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II who was a fan of mathematics and science. In the year 1240 his city, the Republic of Pisa honored him by paying him a salary from the city.

Fibonacci's numbers are used in the run time analysis of Euclid's algorithm determining he greatest common divisor of two integers. It was also used by Yuri Matiyasevich to solve Hilbert's tenth problem. The numbers are also used in a formula about diagonals Pascal's triangle. He said that every positive integer can be written uniquely in a way as the sum of one or more distinct Fibonacci numbers and in that way the sum does not include any two consecutive numbers, which is called Zeckendorf's theorem. A sum of Fibonacci numbers that satisfies these ideas is a Zeckendorf representation

The numbers are also commonly found in nature. They have been found in the patterns of leaves, grass and flowers, and branches in bushes and trees. Fibonacci numbers can also be found in the arrangement of tines on a pine cone, in raspberry seeds and other natural sources. Genes too and enzymes often show Fibonacci patterns.

Fibonacci, known in his day and recognized as a genius, was able to see patterns that escaped others. It is only with the modern age of computers that his numbers and patterns can be utilized anywhere near what he envisioned. Fibonacci's translation of Arabic numerals, replacing the limited and bulky Roman system of numerals, is a debt the entire modern world owes to him. Serious Forex traders also owe a debt to the man from Pisa.

The genius of continues today in the Fibonacci strategy and its use on the Forex market.

by David Mclauchlan

Do Interest Rates Drive The Foreign Exchange Markets?

Interest Rates defined: Interest rates are LIBOR-based for currencies of disbursement plus a spread which is dependent on the complexity of the transaction and the risk profile of the applicant.

The Forex, or foreign currency exchange, is all about money. Money from all over the world is bought, sold and traded. On the Forex, anyone can buy and sell currency and with possibly come out ahead in the end. When dealing with the foreign currency exchange, it is possible to buy the currency of one country, sell it and make a profit. For example, a broker might buy a Japanese yen when the yen to dollar ratio increases, then sell the yens and buy back American dollars for a profit.

The foreign exchange market, sometimes known as the Forex market, is one that is affected by several things. The market itself is becoming one of the most popular forms of trading today. It once was reserved for the richest of the rich, however today with lower minimums; this is a market that draws people from all financial levels. The attractive thing about this market is both its leverage and it liquidity. Many people with a grand background in the Forex system can take very little money and turn it into a lot using the foreign exchange market. However, when you have expertise in the foreign exchange market, you must also be aware of things that affect it. Being aware of these things is part of making logical and rational decisions of trading.

Interest rates are something that drives the foreign exchange market. While currency prices are what the market is all about, interest rates have a direct affect on those prices. Therefore, to be able to understand the current foreign exchange market, one must understand the current conditions of each individual interest rate. While economic and political conditions are also among the things that greatly affect the Forex, there is nothing that affects it more than interest rates. Something to remember is that money often follows interest rates. When the interest rates raise, investors will want to capitalize high returns and you will see money flowing into the country. When one country's interest rates rise, their currency is seen as being stronger than other currencies. This happens because investors seek more of that currency to profit more. Otherwise, it is seen as a good thing when interest rates rise and a bad thing when they fall.

Government participation in the Forex is not an uncommon action. Sometimes governments will flood the foreign exchange market with their own domestic currency. This action may seem foolish to someone who knows nothing about the foreign exchange market, however to those who know it well, it makes perfect sense. When governments flood the Forex with their own domestic currency, they are attempting to lower the price. When they buy their own domestic currency, they are attempting to raise the price. One might know this strategy as Central Bank intervention. Governments do this to help their overall economy. This is a type of action that keeps the foreign exchange market strong and steady. When you have extremely large players making appearances to keep everything as fair as possible, you create an attractive market.

While interest rates can drive the market for a short time, the nature of the foreign exchange market makes it difficult for them to drive it for a long period of time. The design of the market, with it being large in size and volume, restricts interest rates from having complete control over the system. Many times however, experts try to figure out when interest rates will rise or fall. The most common thing they do in order to keep up with rates is to pay attention to economic inflation indicators. Sometimes investors and experts will also listen to speeches from politicians and other influential people. They can pick apart clues in order to make a guess before the announcements are made. Most of the time, there is a little advance notice before interest rates move.

As you can see, the influences of interest rates on the foreign exchange market are strong. They can help determine which countries' currencies are the strongest. This of course is relative to all other currencies in the market at the time. When you think about the rise and fall of interest rates, you can remember that when interest rates fall, it is typically a good thing for investors and for domestic currency. When rates fall, it is not such a great thing. When rates stay low for an extended period of time, the market may seem a little dull, however the great thing about the foreign exchange market is that when government gets involved, which it usually does at these down times, there is hope for improvement. So, if you are beginning to learn about the foreign exchange market, don't forget to pay attention to the rise and fall of interest rates around you in order to make the best investment decisions possible.

by David Mclauchlan

Forex Broker Involvement Optional

To trade on the forex market, the largest financial market on the planet, one must use a forex broker. Not unlike a stock broker, a forex broker can also makes suggestions about which moves to make when exchanging foreign currency. Some forex brokers even supply technical analysis to some of their clients and offer tips on research to improve their success as forex traders.

Typically in the forex market a forex broker is a banking institution who may buy up large amounts of a certain currency. For years, banks were the only ones who had access to the forex markets. But today with the Internet, any forex trader, who subscribes with a forex broker, can access the market 24 hours a day.

Today, as with stock brokers, the brick and mortar institutions, such as banks, are less of an option for the individual forex trader who works from home, monitoring the news and gaining insight into certain technical information to help with his or her trading decisions.

Choosing a forex broker may depend on your needs. If you are new to the field, there are houses, or online forex brokers who may cater to your needs, providing in-depth research, ample time to demo their product and so on. Other forex brokers are geared toward the experienced online forex trader. They too offer advice, but may be less likely to offer instructional help with the information, assuming that you may already know how it may or may not benefit you when you read it. It is advisable to read about and even run a demo on several different online forex brokers before going with one.

by Jay Moncliff

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 alot more from your pocket. It can be very risking. But not in Forex. Worst case senerio 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 controling 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.

by Mike Pachuta

Forex Trading

So what is is Forex trading you may ask? Forex is the exchange you can buy and sell currencies. For example, you might buy British pounds (by exchanging them to the dollars you had), then, after pounds / dollar ratio goes up, you sell pounds and buy dollars again. At the end of this operation you are going to have more dollars, then you had at the beginning.

The Forex market has much higher liquidity, then the stock market, as much more money is being exchanged. Forex is spread between banks all over the planet and as a result it means 24 hour trading.

Unlike stocks, Forex trades are performed with high leverage, usually it is 100. It means that by investing $1000 you can control $100,000, and increase potential profits accordingly. Some brokers provide also so called mini-Forex, where the size of minimum deposit equals $100. It makes possible for individuals to enter this market easily.

The name convention. In Forex, the name of a "symbol" is composed of two parts — one for first currency, and another for the second currency. For example, the symbol usdjpy stands for US dollars (usd) to Japanese yen (jpy).

As with stocks, you can apply tools of the technical analysis to Forex charts. Trader's indexes can be optimized for Forex "symbols", allowing you to find winning strategy.

Example Forex transaction

Assume you have a trading account of $25,000 and you are trading with a 1% margin requirement. The current quote for EUR/USD is 1.3225/28 and you place a market order to buy 1 lot of 100,000 Euros at 1.3228, expecting the euro to rise against the dollar. At the same time you place a stop-loss order at 1.3178 representing a maximum loss of 2% of your account equity if the trade goes against you, 50 pips below your order price, and a limit order at 1.3378, 150 pips above your order price. For this trade, you are risking 50 pips to gain 150 pips, giving you a risk/reward ratio of 1 part risk to 3 parts reward. This means that you only need to be right one third of the time to remain profitable.

The notional value of this trade is $132,280 (100,000 * 1.3228). Your required margin deposit is 1% of the total, which is equal to $1322.80 ($132,280 * 0.01).

As you expected, the Euro strengthens against the dollar and your limit order is reached at 1.3378. The position is closed. Your total profit for this trade is $1500, each pip being worth $10.

by Richard Goldie

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.

by Joe Clinton

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.

by Heather Redmond