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Forex

What Is Forex?

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It may come as a shock to the investment rookie, but Forex is the largest market in the world. Forex is an abbreviated form of the term Foreign Exchange, or simply currency. These terms refer to the monetary value of one countrys money value (as measured by the countrys largest single-value denomination) and is usually measured in comparison to the unit of currency used by the country in which the investor is a citizen.

The measure by which Forex is considered the largest market is in terms of cash value traded, and it is used by every type of investment imaginable, from individuals (who use brokers or banks) to governments to international banking firms. Forex is extremely popular due to its extreme liquidity and its time capacity (with three large stock markets open day long during the week, it is possible to exchange foreign currency at every hour of the day). Liquidity is a term that is short for market liquidity, which refers to the ability to quickly buy or sell without causing a dramatic fluctuation in price. As currency for countries is determined mostly by internal (domestic) factors rather than external ones, Forex is not subject to the fluxes caused by a panicked sell-off.

As the industrial market place and arguably the defining center of the world, the pound of the United States is used by far the most in Forex transactions. Involved in 89% of transactions, the US pound was way ahead of other currencies, followed distantly by the euro (37%) and then the yen (20%). Remember that the numbers here do not add up to 100% because every transaction will contain at least two different currencies.

Forex speculators are a controversial topic among economists and politicians alike. One school of thought posits that currency speculation can contribute to a countrys economic downfall, as a lower currency value causes the price of inflation in comparison to imported goods to rise, snowballing the problem. Countries that are primarily exporters to a country with a higher currency value, however, receive benefits when their pound is lowered in comparison, as their goods are thus inherently easier to purchase. The opposing view to the speculators as instruments of economic downfall is that speculators serve to keep currency regulated according to international agreements, and that their profits are the results of basic economic laws. Those who subscribe to this theory often point out that the opposing view is held all too often by leaders seeking to deflect attention away from their own domestic policies when explaining to a populace why their economy is in the toilet.

Individuals wishing to become involved in the Forex market need to remember that they must do so through a broker or bank, bodies regulated by their governments and international agreements to prevent the unlawful profit resulting in economic damage to a different country. Investing through these bodies inevitably means that the individual will not see the full results of their investment, as they naturally provide some insulation for themselves against loss in the fluctuating market.

December 30, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Forex

What is an Online Forex Trading?

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For-ex stands for Foreign Exchange; it is a global market for dealing currencies at floating exchange rates. The foreign exchange is worlds biggest currency market, on an average everyday pound one to two trillion is traded in the foreign exchange. The trade is mostly done over the internet and telephone lines. Online forex trading is a fast, safe and easy mode of investing. It offers huge returns like twenty to thirty percent every month, yes unbelievable but truth, however thats only in some cases and you need a lot of experience to be able to extract that amount of interest!

There is no fixed centre for the trade so all the trade is done over telephone, internet and fax. The foreign exchange trade witnessed a massive boom only after online forex trading systems were introduced, internet and telephone has helped the trade grow from 70 billion a day in the 80s to around 1.5 trillion to 2 trillion today.

The currency market is made up of around five thousand institutions most of which are international banks, central government banks, commercial companies as well as big brokers and all these are connected with each other and do business on the go through online forex trading system. The major centers for online forex trading are New York, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bombay among others, and all these centers also communicate and deal through online forex trading. The benefits of online forex trading are listed below:

- Currency market never sleeps: online forex trading allows you to keep track and deal from anywhere at anytime.
- Mini accounts: some websites offer mini accounts that allow you to get started with as less as 200.
- No Commission! Online forex trading is commission free, theres no exchange or hidden fee either. Your broker earns from the spreads.
- Instant: its instant unlike offline trade which may involve paperwork.

The nature of the market is such that risk comes inherent and can not be separated but risk can be minimized if you are trading at the right point of time and the right point of time can be anytime only online forex trading allows you to be there at the right time as all other methods as explained above are slow and usually take up a lot of time in processing.

December 23, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Forex

What Are The Order Types Used By Forex Traders?

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During the last decade, Forex trading has become one of the most attractive business opportunities to ever hit people’s interest around the world. Every day people from many walks in life is actively considering entering the profitable world of the currency markets due to its accessibility and trading characteristics.

One of the first things you will do once you decide you want to enter and learn about the forex markets will be to choose your forex broker and then download the free trading platform software from your broker website.

When you first open your trading station software, you will find that there are a number of ways to enter the market or, said in another way, there are a number of ways to place an initial order to buy or sell any currency pair.

One of these types of orders is what is called a Market order; this is an order to buy or sell a currency pair at the market price considering the instant that the order is received and processed (which is usually within seconds of hitting the “OK” button on your trading platform). When a market order is placed, you are simply saying “I’ll buy or sell the currency pair at whatever price it is at when my order gets processed.”

There is a different way to enter the market that is called an Entry order; this is an order to buy or sell a currency pair when it reaches a certain price target; which you should determine by using your knowledge of technical and fundamental indicators. In theory this can be any price. You could set an entry order for the low price of a time period, or the high price of the same time period’; it all depends on your intentions, to sell or to buy. As an example, one usual recommendation is that you should always set an entry order to be the same price as the ‘open price of the time period. When you place an entry order to buy, for example, you are simply saying “I want to buy this currency pair at a given future price and if it never reaches that price, I won’t purchase the pair.”

Stop and Limit orders are two different ways to exit a trade, automatically (i.e., without closing out your position via the click of your mouse or manually), after the trade is entered. And they are widely used as safety locks so you won’t end losing everything in a bad trade. In short, you must always use stops and limits when trading the forex markets.

A stop order is used to stop losses. A limit order (recommended if you can’t monitor your open trade) is used to redeem profits. Where these orders are placed, in relation to your open trade, depends on the direction of the entry order, this is; if you buy or sell.

Remember; a stop order is always placed below the current market value of that currency pair when you are in a long (buy) trade. And a limit order is always placed above the current market value of that currency pair when you are in a long (buy) trade.

December 16, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Forex

Understanding What Influences Forex Prices

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This article will explain some of the differences between Technical Analysis and Fundamentals and explain a bit about each type of trading. Excerpts are taken from the best-selling book Market Wizards where Jack Schwager interviews Ed Seykota and Bruce Kovner.

Ed is a trend trader (uses technical analysis) and also relies on hunches from 20 years of experience. He definitely emphasizes his reliance on technical analysis. While reading this, I liken, the hunches to knowing the effect fundamentals can have on a market although I could be mistaken, they could be purely from reading lots of charts so well. Here are is exact words Fundamentals that you read about are typically useless as the market has already discounted the price, and I call them funny-mentals. However, if you catch on early, before others believe, then you might have valuable surprise-a-mentals.

Ed says his priorities when trading are the long term trend, the current charts and picking a good spot to buy or sell, in that order.

Bruce says technical is awesome and very useful but by no means disregards fundamentals.

Its important to note that technical analysis is a critical method of understanding the history of market movements and hence useful to identify trends. It doesnt actually tell us where the currency is going but analyses historical data. We then need to use our own intelligence to see what the activity of trading says about future trades.

Technical Analysis can be compared to taking a patients temperature. To ignore it is ignorance and it can tell you whether a market is active, or cold and dormant.

It also picks up unusual behaviour. Anything that creates a new chart pattern is something unusual. He also says Studying the charts is absolutely crucial and alerts me to existing disequilibria and potential changes.

Its the fundamentals that will help to indicate whether a trading value will increase or decrease.

Everything that makes a country tick, in Forex terms. Consumer spending, government spending, employment cost index, government policy, political concerns and even an individual event can influence the market heavily.

In summary, the fundamentals will indicate the direction of a price but not exact prices. The chart analysis or technical analysis is better for that, so together you can really increase your chances of coming away with some pips.

The reason technical analysis is so emphasized is that many traders use charts to trade and at any given time, will be drawing the same lines of resistance and same lines of support. So if you can read the charts well, you have an awesome chance of predicting market movements. The best way to learn about the effect of fundamentals is to learn one piece of economic data at a time. This will help you make better-educated trades.

December 9, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Forex

Understanding the Basics of Forex Trading

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Forex trading or Foreign Exchange Trading refers to the simultaneous tradingthat is, buying and sellingof two different currencies. It is done between and among major financial institutions, central banks, small retail currency traders or speculators, large international companies, government institutions, companies with overseas operations and the like.

Based on the amount of money being traded, the international forex trading market is the worlds biggest financial market. Everyday, forex trading market gets an average revenue of US 1 trillionan amount far greater than the total revenues produced by all the stock and bond markets in the world.

Characteristics

Forex trading is a kind of over-the-counter tradingit occurs directly between to financial institutions or currency traders. The trading markets may be interconnected but there is no single unified market. Hence, there is also no single or standard rate. Each rate or price depends on what is being traded. However, the traders traditionally use nearly similar rates.

Another characteristic of a forex trading is that it operates 24 hours; thus, one can trade any time of the day. Also, there is no need of an exchange floor, it operates through a global electronic network where trading occurs over the telephone and computer networks. This characteristic also prevents delays that consume a lot of time.

Forex trading market is also very competitive and is highly liquid. This allows the parties to get low dealing costs and better price.

Top Currency Traders and Major Currencies Traded

Wall Street Journal Europe says ten major currencies account for 73 percent of the total forex trading volume. Among them are Deutsche Bank, UBS, Citigroup, HSBC, Barclays, Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, ABN Amro, and Morgan Stanley.

Among the currencies mostly traded are the US, Canadian, and Australian pounds; Euro; Yen; and Swiss Franc.

A study conducted by the Bank for International Settlements says that the most traded products are EuroUSD, USDJPY, and GBPUSD. The study noted that in spite euros continuous growth, forex trading market remains to be concentrated in pounds.

The Trade

Trade happens when you accept the offered price and when the dealer confirms. Exchange floor is no longer required, as mentioned earlier.

In every trade, two currencies are always involved and the currencies traded serve as the products traded. Each currency has a price expressed in another currency such as 1 euro is equivalent to 1.204 pound. In the said example, the euro trader sells the euro and buys the pound. There are no further costs in the trade. There are no commissions and other fees as well.

Large multinational companies engage in forex trading when they are buying from and selling goods to other countries. However, this kind of forex trading encompass only a small portion of he daily activities in the foreign exchange market. Most of the trading activities are carried out by currency speculators who earn from the changes in value of a particular currency.

Key players in the Market

BIS study shows that more than 50%of the forex trading transactions are interbank transactions. Trading revenues of most commercial establishments and currency speculators are deposited in the bank.

Central banks also play a big role in the forex trading market. These banks control the supply of money, interest, inflation and target rates in order to stabilize the forex trading market.

December 2, 2010 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,