Forex and Stock Exchange

Goodman’s Swing Count System - by M. Duane Archer

2008-11-30T11:34:00.000-08:00

Part One (of Three) - Introduction and Overview

"You Can Figure the Markets, but You Can’t Figure the Human Race"

-Charles B. Goodman

Historical Perspective

The Principles of Goodman’s Swing Count System were informally set forth in a series of annotated commodity charts from the late 1940’s to the early 1970’s. These trading studies simply titled ‘My System’ were the work of Charles B. Goodman and were never published.

I met Charles Goodman at the Denver, Colorado offices of Peavey and Company (later, Gelderman) in the fall of 1971. It was the occasion of my maiden voyage in the great sea of commodity trading (later, futures). In 1971 silver prices were finally forging ahead to the $2.00/ounce level. A 10-cent limit move in soybeans elicited a full afternoon of post-mortems by traders and brokers alike.

The Peavey office, managed by the late and great Pete Rednor employed eight brokers (later, account representatives). The broker for both Mr. Goodman and I was the colorful - and patient - Ken Malo. Brokers, resident professional traders - including Mr. Goodman and the Feldman brothers, Stu and Reef - and a regular contingent of retail customers drew inspiration from a Trans-Lux ticker that wormed its way across a long, narrow library table in the back of the office. Most impressive was a large clacker board quote system covering almost the entire front office wall. This electro-mechanical quotation behemoth made loud clacking sounds (thus its name) each time an individual price flipped over to reveal an updated quote. Green and red lights flashed, denoting daily new highs and lows. Pete, apart from being an excellent office manager was also a fine showman using the various stimuli to encourage trading activity!

Almost everyone made frequent reference to Charlie’s huge bar charts posted on 2 ½ by 4-foot sheets of graph paper, mounted on heavy particle board and displayed on large easels. No one ever really knew what the numerous right-hand brackets ( ]) of varying lengths scattered throughout each chart meant. But there was always a great deal of speculation! The present work finally reveals the meaning of those mysterious trading hieroglyphics.

The quiet chatter of the tickertape, the load clacking of the quote board, the constant ringing of the telephones. The news ticker that buzzed once for standing reports, twice for opinions and three times for ‘hot news’, the squawk boxes and Pete Rednor’s authoritative voice booming, ‘Merc!, Merc!". What a spectacular scene it was! No wonder that this author, then a 21-year old trading Newbie would soon make commodity futures and currency trading his life’s work.

But nothing made a greater impression on me than the work of Charles B. Goodman. He instilled first, some very simple ideas: "Avoid volatile markets when at all possible" - "Trade only high percentage short term ‘ducks’ " - "Sit on your hands, Dad, sit on your hands". It didn’t take long for me to adopt the ultra-conservative ‘Belgian Dentist’ style of trading, that is - "Avoiding losing trades is more important than finding winning trades"

The Belgian Dentist approach carried with me when I developed my famous AI trading system in the 1980’s - Jonathan’s Wave. Even though it generated 48% annual returns with a zero expectation of a 50% drawdown (according to Managed Account Reports) it drove the brokers berserk because it could easily go a full month without making a single trade!

Charlie’s trading advice, I am certain, allowed me to survive the financial Baptism of Fire that destroys most commodity and currency trading Newbies in a matter of months, if not weeks.

Mr. Goodman was to be my one and only trading mentor. Over the decade that followed he entrusted to me many, if not most of his trading secrets. To the best of my knowledge he shared this information on his work with no one else in such detail.

Charlie and I spent hundreds of hours together analyzing the trade studies from My System. We also analyzed hundreds of other commodity, currency and securities charts. Charlie was happy with My System being ‘organized’ in his mind. But as a new generation technical analyst, I was anxious to see it formalized on paper and eventually in source code on a computer. (To be honest this created a small amount of friction between the two of us - Charlie was dead set against formalized systems and believed strongly in the psychological and money management elements of trading.) Notwithstanding, by 1979 I was finally ready and able to formally state the principles of My System. Because of its equal concern for price measurements (parameters) and price levels interacting together (matrices) I originally renamed My System ‘ParaMatrix’. My first investment management company in the mid-1970’s was ParaMatrix Investment Management and I acted as both a registered Investment Advisor (SEC) and Commodity Trading Advisor (CFTC).

Contrary to ongoing speculation, only two copies of my original 1979 ‘Principles of ParaMatrix’ ever existed. I possess both of them. Charlie’s original My System trade studies were mistakenly destroyed shortly after his death in 1984. What remains of them are the 200 or so examples I copied into Principles of ParaMatrix.

The present work, Goodman’s Swing Count System (GSCS), is a reorganized re-issue of Principles of ParaMatrix with updated charts and a simplified nomenclature that I am sure Charlie would have appreciated; "Keep it simple, Dad!" he would always advise. I’ve also expanded on Charlie’s ideas by ‘filling in’ some less formed ideas such as his market notation, or calculus as he referred to it, and a method for charting which I have dubbed Goodman Charting.

Two of Charlie’s less well-defined ideas are NOT included in this work: 1) Dependent/Scaled Interfacing and 2) Time-Based (cyclical) measurements. There are also a number of intra-swing formations I have not discussed.

My own direction in futures and currencies turned in the 1980’s to artificial intelligence (Jonathan’s Wave) and in the 1990’s and today, artificial life and cellular automata (The Trend Machine). In spite of, or perhaps because of these complicated ‘cutting edge’ computer efforts I continue to view Goodman’s Swing Count System (GSCS) in a very positive light. To this day, the first thing I do when I see any chart is a quick Goodman analysis!

GSCS is a natural ‘system’ for pursuing the conservative Belgian Dentist approach to trading, even without the aid of a computer. This article, in fact, could be used to make Goodman analysis without a computer at all! But it is in fact intended as an introduction to the CommTools Analytic Suite GSCS software. That software is intended as a supplemental tool only for doing Goodman chart analysis.

GSCS trade opportunities are as frequent today (perhaps more frequent) than they were 40 or 50 years ago. I believe the system’s foundations have well stood the test of time. Patterns today are no different than they were decades ago - nor are the twin human emotions - Fear and Greed - that create them. GSCS is an excellent method for finding support and resistance areas that no other method spots, and for locating potential turning points in any market. One of its best suits - it can easily integrate into other trading techniques and methodologies.

I would never recommend or advise anyone to use a 100% mechanical trading system, GSCS or any other!

Is it really a ‘system’? Depending upon your perspective GSCS is between 70% and 90% mechanical. The program available from CommTools, Inc (www.commtools.com) represents the kernel idea of mechanizing perhaps 80% of the system. I now believe attempting to completely code Charlie’s work would be inadvisable.

Mr. Goodman passed away in 1984. It was always his desire to share with others - although as is usually the case with true genius - few wanted to listen. These days we are ever more bombarded ever more cryptic and computer-dependent software programs and ‘black-boxes’. Perhaps now is the time for the simple yet theoretically well-grounded ideas of GSCS to populate.

The publication of this brief work and the GSCS software, I hope and pray, would meet with Charlie’s wishes. His work in extracting an objective and almost geometrically precise (ala Spinoza) trading system out of a simple trading rule (the ‘50% rule’) is most remarkable. It has certainly earned him the right to be included in the elite group of early scientific traders including Taylor, Elliot, Gann and Pugh.

Conforming to the spirit of the original My System, I’ve attempted to keep theoretical discussions and formulations to a necessary minimum. Trade studies in Part 3 of this article must still be considered the crux of GSCS, even though I am pleased with the formalization of most relevant principles in Part 2. The trader weary of theoretical discussions and intrigue will find all the concepts and principles delineated in the trade study examples. Nevertheless, those who invest time in the theory of GSCS will undoubtedly discover an area for further exploration where many new and fresh ideas are waiting to be mined.

In Mr. Goodman’s worldly absence, the responsibility for this work and its contents is solely mine, for better or for worse.

Theoretical Overview and Definitions

The cornerstone of GSCS is the age-old ‘50 Percent Retracement and Measured Move’ rule. This rule, familiar to most traders goes back almost as far as the organized markets themselves. It has been traced to the times when insiders manipulated railroad stocks in the 19th Century.

DIAGRAM 1-1: The 50 Percent Retracement and Measured Move Rule

The first systematic description of THE RULE was given in Burton Pugh’s The Great Wheat Secret. This book was originally published in 1933. In 1973, Charles L. Lindsay published Trident. This book did much - some say too much! - to quantify and mathematically describe THE RULE. Nevertheless, must reading for anyone interested in this area of market methodology. Edward L. Dobson wrote The Trading Rule That Can Make You Rich in 1978. This is a good work with some nice examples. But none of these, in my humble opinion, even scratch the surface, relative to Goodman’s work.

In 1975 a well-know Chicago grain floor trader, Eugene Nofri, published The Congestion Phase System. This small but power-packed volume detailed a short term trading method using simple but effective ‘congestion phases’. While not precisely a work on THE RULE it touched - from a different perspective - some of Charlie’s ideas.

Diagram 1-2: A Congestion Phase

[I mention Nofri’s work also because Charlie was especially taken by its simplicity and because it can work well in conjunction with GCSC. The idea of melding GCSC with a congestion phase approach ought to produce a method of finding those high percentage ‘ducks’ that the Belgian Dentist so much loves! Charlie also felt that Hadady’s work on Contrary Opinion was a natural ‘fit’ especially since the GCSC support and resistance points seldom lie where anyone else thinks they should.]

Still, in the end, it was left for Charles B. Goodman, the great grain trader from Eads, Colorado to extract all the logical consequences from THE RULE and transform it into a robust, almost geometrically precise system.

The logic of THE RULE is quite simple. At a 50% retracement, both buyers and sellers of the previous trend (Up or Down) are ceteris paribus ‘in balance’. Half of each holds profits and half of each holds losses.

Diagram 1-3: A Market Tug of War

The equilibrium is a tenuous one, indeed. The distribution of buyers and sellers over the initial price trend or swing is obviously not perfectly even: Some buyers hold more contracts than other buyers. They have also different propensities for taking profits or losses. Nor does it account for the buyers and sellers who have entered the market before the initial swing or during the reaction swing. Not all of the buyers and sellers from the original swing may be in the market any longer.

Remarkably, GCSC eventually takes all of this into account - especially they buyers and sellers at other price swing levels, called matrices.

Nevertheless, the 50% retracement point IS often a powerful and very real point of equilibrium and certainly a ‘known and defined hot spot’ of which one should be aware. Remember both the futures markets and the currency markets are very close to a zero-sum game’. It is only commissions, pips and slippage that keep them from being zero-sum. At the 50% point it doesn’t take much to shift the balance of power for that particular swing matrix.

THE RULE also states the final (3rd) swing of the move - back in the direction of the initial swing - will equal the value of the initial swing. The logic of this idea, called the ‘measured move’ is seen in the following diagram. At the ‘D’ point one side (in this case the buyers) have won and the sellers are ‘wiped out.’

Diagram 1-4: The Measured Move and ‘Unwinding’

As we have alluded to examples of THE RULE occur at ALL price levels or matrices and many are being ‘worked’ simultaneously in any given ongoing market. This is a critical point. In modern terminology it would be said that price movements are ‘recursive’. Simply stated this means that without labeling you could not really tell the difference between a 10-minute chart and a daily or weekly chart - they all exhibit the same behavior and operate under the same principles of Parameter and Matrix.

The bar graphs below were taken from actual market data. It is functionally impossible to tell apart the time units, with respect to the chart action.

Diagram 1-5: The Markets are Recursive

Now we can begin to informally define SIX of the SEVEN CONCEPTS in THE RULE that Mr. Goodman used to construct GCSC. What had been neglected by previous theorists, users, writers and purveyors of THE RULE was this:

The 50% point is indeed an equilibrium point. As such, the equilibrium must ‘give way’ BUT EITHER SIDE (buyers or sellers) in either a downtrend or an uptrend may prevail at any given matrix or price level.

Goodman realized both the possibilities for a REVERSAL (as in the case of the completed measured move) and a PRICE SURGE. A price surge would be the equivalent to the sellers (in an uptrend) and the buyers (in a downtrend) winning the tug of war within a matrix. In price action this means prices would fall or rise to at least the beginning point of the initial swing!

Diagram 1-6: Price Surge - The FIRST Concept

In other words - the measured move is not a done deal - the 50% retracement (Diagram 1-1a) could also become a ‘V’ or inverted ‘V’ as in the next diagram. The 50% retracement is not a reversal point (necessarily) but should be considered as a ‘point of interest’ where prices may be more likely than randomly to decide whether to continue or reverse.

It may not sound like much, but it is a major discovery.

Clearly price surges are implicit in THE RULE. But they are not visible on a chart unless you are looking for them and unless you are considering the 50% retracement as a ‘point of interest’ and not necessarily a reversal. In fact, most practitioners perceive a price surge as a failure of THE RULE!

Even more importantly, Goodman discovered the implications of THE RULE occurring simultaneously at all price levels. I remember EXACTLY the day and place when Charlie showed me this one - it hit me as truly a grand revelation on the markets!

Diagram 1-7: THE RULE at Multiple Levels (Matrices) of Operation - The SECOND Concept

Here you are: The initial (primary) trend and secondary (reaction trend) as well as reversals (measured moves) and surges are relative to price matrix context. What is one thing in one price matrix may well be its opposite in a higher (or lower) matrix.

(It’s true - Elliot Wave Theory contains the same concept. But with GCSC you can tell BEFORE (in many instances) which it is. In Elliot you can only tell AFTER. GCSC is a predictive system, while Elliot - grand and elegant as it is - is primarily a descriptive system.)

All Price Matrices (levels) - in theory - are part of a larger price matrix,

All Price Matrices composed of smaller price matrices

Of course there is the practical limitation of the smallest possible fluctuation.

Besides Reversals and Surges GCSC matrix concepts include Domination and Generation.

Clearly prices do not always seem to find any kind of equilibrium at the 50% retracement price area. Or, so it may seem. This leads to the third Grand discovery:

The extent a price swing overshoots or undershoots its ideal 50% retracement that price value will be ‘made up’ on the next price swing within the matrix.

Now THIS is the trading rule that can make you rich!

For example, if prices fall only 40% of the initial trend and reverse, the measured move will actually be either 90% or 110% of the measured move point and value of the primary (initial swing in the matrix. The 10% difference - GCSC holds - MUST be made up eventually. This is the concept of Compensation.

Diagram 1-8: Examples of Compensation within a Matrix - The THIRD Concept

Furthermore: If the difference is not fully made up in the final price swing of a matrix the cumulative ‘miss’ value will carry over through each price subsequent price matrix until it does. This is the concept of Carry Over. A ‘carryover’ table is used to add and subtract cumulative carry over values until they cancel.

Diagram 1-9 Carry Over - The FOURTH Concept

When no Carry Over remains, the price matrix is said to have ‘cleared’ or ‘cancelled’. This is the GCSC concept of Cancellation. Cancellation is critical to finding GCSC support and resistance points and other chart ‘hot spots’ where something much less than random is likely to occur.

Diagram 1-10: Cancellation - The FIFTH Concept

The exact method for these important concepts is more fully described in this article, Part 2.

We can now get an early glimpse of what the strange brackets on Charlie’s charts were all about.

Diagram 1-11: Meaning of the Brackets Revealed

Charlie had even more ideas:

The importance of a ‘hot spot’ in relationship to its likelihood of being an important point of support or resistance, reversal or continuation, increased when two or more price matrices cancel at the same price or same price area. This is the key concept of Intersection. There is no analogous concept in Elliot, the most common ‘competitor’ to GSCS. Intersection makes GSCS much more objective and testable than other swing systems.

Diagram 1-12: Intersections - The SIXTH Concept

This article has covered micro formations. Charlie also had compiled a dozen or so extremely valuable macro formations - combinations of micros.

I encourage the reader to examine some charts and find simple areas of the intersection of two (or three) matrices. You will see at once that these points are GOLDEN to the trader. If I had, after 30 years of studying the markets one idea to impart it would be to show you an example of a GSCS intersection in 2 or 3 matrices.

Remember, Carry Over is to the same or NEXT larger price matrix. The above are examples of Independent Intersections. That is, each price level Carry Over calculation is kept separate from the others and ‘tallied’ at the end of each matrix. Charlie had also developed (much less precisely) a concept of Dependent Intersections but it is quite complex, beyond the scope of this article and worth of further codification into software at a future date.

If you would like more information on Parts II and III, comprising a complete tutorial on GSCS, or if you have questions, I would be happy to hear from you.

M.Duane Archer

14 February 2004

About the Author: Mike Archer is the author of the popular Currency Trader's Companion series, and co-author of a new book entitled "Getting Started in Currency Trading" available in the bookstore now. His new site may be found at http://www.fxpraxis.com

Forex Basics

2008-11-30T11:24:00.000-08:00

Foreign Exchange

The simultaneous transaction of one currency for another.

Foreign Exchange Market

The Foreign exchange market is a large, growing and liquid financial market that operates 24 hours a day. It is not a market in the traditional sense because there is no central trading location or “exchange". Most of the trading is conducted by telephone or through electronic trading networks. The primary market for currencies is the “interbank market” where banks, insurance companies, large corporations and other large financial institutions manage the risks associated with fluctuations in currency rates.

Spot Market

The market for buying and selling currencies at the current market rate.

Rollover

A spot transaction is generally due for settlement within two business days (the value date). The cost of rolling over a transaction is based on the interest rate differential between the two currencies in a transaction. If you are long (bought) the currency with a higher rate of interest you will earn interest. If you are short (sold) the currency with a higher rate of interest you will pay interest. Most brokers will automatically roll over your open positions allowing you to hold your position indefinitely.

Exchange Rate

The value of one currency expressed in terms of another. For example, if EUR/USD is 1.3200, 1 Euro is worth US$1.3200.

Currency Pair

The two currencies that make up an exchange rate. When one is bought, the other is sold, and vice versa.

Base Currency

The first currency in the pair. Also the currency your account is denominated in.

Counter Currency

The second currency in the pair. Also known as the terms currency.

ISO Currency Codes

USD = US Dollar
EUR = Euro
JPY = Japanese Yen
GBP = British Pound
CHF = Swiss Franc
CAD = Canadian Dollar
AUD = Australian Dollar
NZD = New Zealand Dollar

For a full list, see ISO Currency Codes

Currency Pair Terminology

EUR/USD = "Euro"
USD/JPY = "Dollar Yen"
GBP/USD = "Cable" or "Sterling"
USD/CHF = "Swissy"
USD/CAD = "Dollar Canada" (CAD referred to as the "Loonie")
AUD/USD = "Aussie Dollar"
NZD/USD = "Kiwi"

FCM

Futures Commission Merchant. An individual or organisation licensed by the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to deal in futures products and accept monies from clients to trade them.

Market Maker

A market maker provides liquidity for a particular currency pair and stands ready to buy or sell that currency by displaying a bid and offer price. A market maker takes the opposite side of your trade and has the option of holding that position or partially or fully offsetting it with other dealers, managing their aggregate exposure to the market. Market makers earn their commission from the spread between the bid and offer price.

Forex ECN Broker

ECN is an acronym for Electronic Communications Network. A Forex ECN does not operate a dealing desk but instead provides a marketplace where multiple market makers, banks and traders can enter competing bids and offers into the platform either inside or outside the spread, allowing traders to trade against each other and with multiple counterparties. A trader might open a trade with liquidity provider "A" and close it with liquidity provider "B", or have the trade executed against the bid or offer of another trader. Participants of the ECN send in competing bids and offers into the platform and the combined volume is usually displayed to traders at each price. Orders are matched between counterparties, usually for a small fee.

Dealing Desk

A dealing desk provides prices and executes trades.

NDD

An acronym for 'No Dealing Desk'. A no-dealing desk broker uses a matching engine to match up orders between its liquidity providers and their clients. The liquidity providers send in competing bids and offers into the platform, resulting in the best bid and offer being displayed to the trader. A no dealing desk broker may increase the spread instead of charging a commission to their clients.

Counterparty

One of the participants in a transaction.

Sell Quote / Bid Price

The sell quote is displayed on the left and is the price at which you can sell the base currency. It is also referred to as the market maker's bid price. For example, if the EUR/USD quotes 1.3200/03, you can sell 1 Euro at the bid price of US$1.3200.

Buy Quote / Offer Price

The buy quote is displayed on the right and is the price at which you can buy the base currency. It is also referred to as the market maker's ask or offer price. For example, if the EUR/USD quotes 1.3200/03, you can buy 1 Euro at the offer price of US$1.3203.

Spread

The difference between the sell quote and the buy quote or the bid and offer price. For example, if EUR/USD quotes read 1.3200/03, the spread is the difference between 1.3200 and 1.3203, or 3 pips. In order to break even on a trade, a position must move in the direction of the trade by an amount equal to the spread.

Pip

The smallest price increment a currency can make. Also known as points. For example, 1 pip = 0.0001 for EUR/USD, or 0.01 for USD/JPY.

Pip Value

The value of a pip. Pip value can be either fixed or variable depending on the currency pair. e.g. The pip value for EUR/USD is always $10 for standard lots, $1 for mini-lots and $0.10 for micro lots.

Lot

The standard unit size of a transaction. Typically, one standard lot is equal to 100,000 units of the base currency, 10,000 units if it's a mini, or 1,000 units if it's a micro. Some dealers offer the ability to trade in any unit size, down to as little as 1 unit.

Standard Account

Trading with standard lot sizes, generally 100,000 units of the base currency. e.g. The pip value is $10 for EUR/USD.

Mini Account

Trading with mini lot sizes, generally 10,000 units of the base currency. e.g. The pip value is $1 for EUR/USD.

Micro Account

Trading with micro lot sizes, generally 1,000 units of the base currency. e.g. The pip value is $0.10 for EUR/USD.

Margin

The deposit required to open or maintain a position. Margin can be either "free" or "used". Used margin is that amount which is being used to maintain or open a position, whereas free margin is the opposite. With $1,000 in your account and a 1% margin requirement to open a position, you can buy or sell a position worth up to a notional $100,000. This allows a trader to leverage his account by up to 100 times or 100:1. If your account falls to below the minimum amount required to maintain an open position, you will receive a "margin call" requiring you to either add more money into your account or close the open position. Most brokers will automatically close your open positions when the margin balance falls below the minimum level. The amount required to maintain an open position is dependent on the broker and could be 50% of the original margin required to open the trade.

Leverage

Leverage is the ability to gear your account into a position greater than your total account margin. For instance, if a trader has a $1,000 margin balance in his account and he opens a $100,000 position, he leverages his account by 100 times, or 100:1. If he opens a $200,000 position with a $1,000 margin balance in his account, his leverage is 200 times, or 200:1. Increasing your leverage magnifies both gains and losses.

To calculate the leverage used, divide the total value of your open positions by the total margin balance in your account. For example, if you have a $10,000 margin balance in your account and you open one standard lot of USD/JPY (100,000 units of the base currency) for $100,000, your leverage ratio is 10:1 ($100,000 / $10,000). If you open one standard lot of EUR/USD for $150,000 (100,000 x EUR/USD = 1.5000) your leverage ratio is 15:1 ($150,000 / $10,000).

Manual Execution

An order which is executed by dealer intervention.

Automatic Execution

The order is executed automatically without dealer intervention or involvement.

Slippage

The difference between the order price and the executed price, measured in pips. Slippage often occurs in fast moving and volatile markets, or where there is manual execution of trades.

Drawdown

The decline in account balance from peak to valley, until the account surpasses the previous high, usually measured in percentage terms.

Support

Support is a technical price level where buyers outweigh sellers, causing prices to bounce off a temporary price floor.

Resistance

Resistance is a technical price level where sellers outweigh buyers, causing prices to bounce off a temporary price ceiling.

Common Order Types

Market Order

An order to buy or sell at the current market price.

Limit Order

An order to buy or sell at a pre-specified price level.

Stop-Loss Order

An order to restrict losses at a pre-specified price level.

Limit Entry Order

An order to buy below the market or sell above the market at a pre-specified level, believing that the price will reverse direction from that point.

Stop-Entry Order

An order to buy above the market or sell below the market at a pre-specified level, believing that the price will continue in the same direction.

OCO Order

One Cancels Other. An order whereby if one is executed, the other is cancelled.

GTC Order

Good Till Cancelled. An order stays in the market until it is either filled or cancelled.

Common Trade Types

Long Position

A position in which the trader attempts to profit from an increase in price. i.e. Buy low, sell high.

Short Position

A position in which the trader attempts to profit from a decrease in price. i.e. Sell high, buy low.

Common Trading Styles

Technical Analysis

A style of trading that involves analysing price charts for technical patterns of behaviour.

Fundamental Analysis

A style of trading that involves analysing the macroeconomic factors of an economy underpinning the value of a currency and placing trades that support the trader's long or short-term outlook.

Trend Trading

A style of trading that attempts to profit from riding short, medium or long term trends in price.

Range Trading

A style of trading that attempts to profit from buying and selling currencies between a lower level of support and an upper level of resistance. The upper level of resistance and the lower level of support defines the range. The range forms a price channel where the price can be seen to oscillate between the two levels of support and resistance.

News Trading

A style of trading whereby a trader attempts to profit from fundamental news announcements on a country's economy that may affect the value of a currency, usually seeking short term profit immediately after the announcement is released.

Scalping

A style of trading that involves frequent trading seeking small gains over a very short period of time. Trades can last from seconds to minutes.

Day Trading

A style of trading that involves multiple trades on an intra-day basis. Trades can last from minutes to hours.

Swing Trading

A style of trading that involves seeking to profit from short to medium term swings in trend. Trades can last from hours to days.

Carry Trading

A style of trading whereby the trader attempts to profit from holding a currency with a higher rate of interest and selling a currency with a lower rate of interest, profiting from the daily interest rate differential of the position.

Position Trading

A style of trading that involves taking a longer term position that reflects a longer term outlook. Trades can last from weeks to months.

Discretionary Trading

A style of trading that uses human judgement and decision making in every trade.

Automated Trading

A style of trading that involves neither human decision making nor involvement, but uses a pre-programmed strategy based on technical or fundamental analysis to automatically execute trades via an automated software programme.

Example Trade

Assume you have a trading account at a broker that requires a 1% margin deposit for every trade. The current quote for EUR/USD is 1.3225/28 and you want to place a market order to buy 1 standard lot of 100,000 Euros at 1.3228, for a total value of US$132,280 (100,000 * $1.3228). The broker requires you to deposit 1% of the total, or $1322.80 to open the trade. At the same time you place a take-profit order at 1.3278, 50 pips above your order price. In taking this trade you expect the Euro to strengthen against the U.S. dollar.

As you expected, the Euro strengthens against the U.S. dollar and you take your profit at 1.3278, closing out the trade. As each pip is worth US$10, your total profit for this trade is $500, for a total return of 38%.

Forex Broker Guide

2008-11-30T11:19:00.000-08:00

Introduction

The following is a list of questions you may like to consider before opening an account. You can use this checklist to narrow down your selection of companies that fit your requirements. You may also wish to refer to the forex broker ratings page on this site to read about traders unique experiences with particular brokers.

The following links will also give you some background information on U.S. FCM's (Futures Commission Merchants).

Selected Financial Data for FCM's

NFA Background Affiliation Status

1. Word of Mouth

What do other traders say about the broker?

What is their customer service like?

2. Customer Protection

Is the broker regulated?

What regulatory organisation are they registered with and what protections does it afford you?

Are client funds insured against fraud?

Are client funds insured against bankruptcy?

3. Execution

What business model do they operate? i.e. Are they a Market Maker, ECN or no-dealing desk broker?

How fast is their order execution?

Are orders manually or automatically executed?

What is the maximum trade size before you have to request a quote?

Are all clients trades offset?

4. Spread

How tight is the spread?

Is it fixed or variable?

5. Slippage

How much slippage can be expected in normal and fast moving markets?

6. Margin

What is the margin requirement? e.g. 0.25% margin = max 400:1 leverage ), 0.5% margin = max 200:1 leverage, 1% margin = max 100:1 leverage, 2% margin = max 50:1 leverage, etc.

Does the margin requirement change for different currency pairs or days of the week?

At what point will the broker issue a margin call?

Is it the same for standard and mini accounts?

7. Commissions

Do they charge commissions? (Most market makers' commissions are built into the spread)

8. Rollover Policy

Is there a minimum margin requirement in order to earn rollover interest?

What are the swap rates like for going long or short in a particular currency pair?

Are there any other conditions for earning rollover interest?

9. Trading Platform

How intuitive and functional is it to use?

Are there many disconnections during trading hours?

How reliable is it during fast moving markets and news announcements?

How many different currency pairs can you trade?

Do they offer an Application Programming Interface (API) to allow you to automate your trading system?

Does it offer any other special features? (e.g. One click dealing, trading from the chart, trailing stops, mobile trading etc.)

10. Trading Account

What is the minimum balance required to open an account?

What is the minimum trade size?

Can you adjust the standard lot size traded?

Can you earn interest on the unused margin balance in your account?

For details of terms used goto topic Forex Basics

Forex Market Snapshot

2008-11-30T11:15:00.000-08:00

Introduction

The following facts and figures relate to the foreign exchange market. Much of the information is drawn from the 2007 Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity conducted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in April 2007. 54 central banks and monetary authorities participated in the survey, collecting information from approximately 1280 market participants.

Excerpt from the BIS:

"The 2007 survey shows an unprecedented rise in activity in traditional foreign exchange markets compared to 2004. Average daily turnover rose to $3.2 trillion in April 2007, an increase of 71% at current exchange rates and 65% at constant exchange rates...Against the background of low levels of financial market volatility and risk aversion, market participants point to a significant expansion in the activity of investor groups including hedge funds, which was partly facilitated by substantial growth in the use of prime brokerage, and retail investors...A marked increase in the levels of technical trading – most notably algorithmic trading – is also likely to have boosted turnover in the spot market...Transactions between reporting dealers and non-reporting financial institutions, such as hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds and insurance companies, more than doubled between April 2004 and April 2007 and contributed more than half of the increase in aggregate turnover." - BIS

Structure

* Decentralised 'interbank' market
* Main participants: Central Banks, commercial and investment banks, hedge funds, corporations & private speculators
* The free-floating currency system began in the early 1970's and was officially ratified in 1978
* Online trading began in the mid to late 1990's

Source: BIS Triennial Survey 2007

Trading Hours

* 24 hour market
* Sunday 5pm EST through Friday 4pm EST.
* Trading begins in New Zealand, followed by Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and America

Size

* One of the largest financial markets in the world
* $3.2 trillion average daily turnover, equivalent to:

o More than 10 times the average daily turnover of global equity markets1
o More than 35 times the average daily turnover of the NYSE2
o Nearly $500 a day for every man, woman, and child on earth3
o An annual turnover more than 10 times world GDP4

* The spot market accounts for just under one-third of daily turnover

1. About $280 billion - World Federation of Exchanges aggregate 2006
2. About $87 billion - World Federation of Exchanges 2006
3. Based on world population of 6.6 billion - US Census Bureau
4. About $48 trillion - World Bank 2006.

Source: BIS Triennial Survey 2007

Major Markets

* The US & UK markets account for just over 50% of turnover
* Major markets: London, New York, Tokyo
* Trading activity is heaviest when major markets overlap5
* Nearly two-thirds of NY activity occurs in the morning hours while European markets are open6

5. The Foreign Exchange Market in the United States - NY Federal Reserve
6. The Foreign Exchange Market in the United States - NY Federal Reserve

Average Daily Turnover by Geographic Location

Source: BIS Triennial Survey 2007

Concentration in the Banking Industry

* 12 banks account for 75% of turnover in the U.K.
* 10 banks account for 75% of turnover in the U.S.
* 3 banks account for 75% of turnover in Switzerland
* 9 banks account for 75% of turnover in Japan

Source: BIS Triennial Survey 2007
Technical Analysis
Commonly used technical indicators:

* Moving averages
* RSI
* Fibonacci retracements
* Stochastics
* MACD
* Momentum
* Bollinger bands
* Pivot point
* Elliott Wave

Currencies

* The US dollar is involved in over 80% of all foreign exchange transactions, equivalent to over US$2.7 trillion per day

Currency Codes

* USD = US Dollar
* EUR = Euro
* JPY = Japanese Yen
* GBP = British Pound
* CHF = Swiss Franc
* CAD = Canadian Dollar
* AUD = Australian Dollar
* NZD = New Zealand Dollar

Average Daily Turnover by Currency

N.B. Because two currencies are involved in each transaction, the sum of the percentage shares of individual currencies totals 200% instead of 100%.

Source: BIS Triennial Survey 2007

Currency Pairs

* Majors: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF
* Dollar bloc: USD/CAD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD
* Major crosses: EUR/JPY, EUR/GBP, EUR/CHF

Average Daily Turnover by Currency Pair

Source: BIS Triennial Survey 2007

Online Currency Trading Tutorials

2008-11-30T11:14:00.001-08:00

Whether are learning to drive a car or trade in the Forex market you benefit from the experience and knowledge of others. None of us ever really believe that we are an expert at something as soon as we try it for the first time. For this reason, unless you are already maintaining a healthy bank balance trading Forex then you can benefit from a tutorial in Forex trading.

A tutorial in currency trading will help to teach you the basics, and even if you have been trading currencies for a while then you may still learn something new. You see, the Forex market is pretty complex and therefore it can take years to master it. For this reason taking the time to learn as much as possible will save you money in the long run.

Not too long ago it was almost impossible to find anyone offering any kind of training or tutoring in Forex. This was mainly because trading was only open to large corporations and businesses. The situation is completely different nowadays as the Internet boom has opened the doors to individual traders and that has led to a massive increase in the number of courses and tutorials available.

Training can be done online or in a classroom depending on your location and preference. There are so many ¡®learn at home¡¯ courses available now that if you think that is the way to go then all you have to do is pick one. Classroom learning is a little different since you may find yourself having to travel fair distances to get to your nearest course.

Another advantage of an online tutorial is that not only do you get to learn from the comfort of your own home or office but you can also take things at your own pace. The downside however is that there is no teacher for the one to one discussions and explanation (the DVDs or online videos are your teacher) that you may sometime need.

Some online currency trading tutorials come with a money-back guarantee, that is if you do not like their course you can return it for a refund. However, you should look out for those courses which claim to be able to guarantee you a profit. These kind of claims are hard to achieve and should be treated with sketiscm as some courses are no more than scams.

Forex trading requires very quick thinking and decision making. Tutorials cannot teach you that. They can tell you the principles of trading and make you a much better trader for it. However, what it takes is for you to use the knowledge they give you and incorporate it in to your daily trading habits.

Through the help of a course you decision making and speed can definitely be improved but they cannot tell you exactly when to enter or exit a trade. That said, if you take the time to learn everything you can then it will be much easier to call the next market move correctly. You can also look to the help of Forex signal service providers for further security.

Currency trading tutorials can never teach you everything you will ever need to know. No-one can. However, they can help you to make decisions more quickly and with more success, it¡¯s all about how you take the knowledge they give you and what you do with it.
About the Author

Paul Bryan operates Forex Broker Reviews - A site aimed at bringing you the best and most independent Foreign Exchange information and articles.

Currency Trading Training - 7 Favorite Tips

2008-11-30T11:13:00.003-08:00

Currency trading training is not over when a trader finally sees the equity increasing in their account.

The Forex market is a very demanding environment and for a trader to maintain a success level, constant currency trading training is necessary.

The following 7 favorite tips can be used as timely reminders and need to be read and absorbed on a regular basis:

#1 - Take Responsibility

"The buck stops here." Don't blame the markets, or a host of other factors for a losing trade. You entered it for whatever reasons you had at the time. Take responsibility for it.

#2 - Use Each Losing Trade As A Stepping Stone

You lost a trade? Good. It will help you focus on a potential problem in your trading method. If after careful analysis you are satisfied you worked according to your plan, fine. Move on.

#3 - Never Become Impatient With The Market

New traders in the early stages of their currency trading training can be eaten alive by the market. During periods of consolidation with little liquidity the anxious impatient trader will force trading opportunities where there none.

Learn to accept the fact that around 70% of the time price will be in a consolidation channel.

#4 - Focus Daily On Improving Your Trading Skills

Currency trading training is an ongoing process. Day by day, step by step the trader improves. So rather than be preoccupied with profits and losses, concentrate on developing the skills. Your account will start to reflect your focus in time.

#5 - Be Pleased With Well Executed Trades Whatever The Outcome

Is this possible? Yes. You can feel well pleased even with a losing trade if you stuck to your methodology and executed the trade well. It is dangerous to feel good about a winning trade when you went against your trading method to achieve it. Your elation is likely to be short lived. Learn to execute the plan!

#6 - If In Doubt Stay Out

The feeling of regret can drain a person mentally and emotionally from entering a poorly considered trade. Once the trigger has been pulled and the trade starts going wrong, the agony of watching it inch towards your stop should renew in the trader the determination to stay out when in doubt!

#7 - Always Have A Good Reason

Currency trading training involves careful analysis of reasons for entering a trade. Just because price is high is not a reason to go short or long if price is low. Price will do what price wants to do so rather than trading from gut reaction, e.g. "Price can't go any higher (or lower)" learn to detach emotions and use pure technical analysis to establish a number of reasons why you should take a trade.

As currency trading training is a long term commitment, skills and disciplines learned can sometimes be forgotten as bad habits creep in.

It is necessary to constantly renew the thinking processes by repeating over and over the habits of successful traders.

These 7 favorite tips will keep the newer trader out of a lot of trouble!
About the Author

For a free pivot point calculator, Fibonacci calculator and the best free economic calendars click here: http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html For a free candle & chart pattern recognition reference tool click here: http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Candle-Chart-Patterns See how to use trendlines to get an optimum trade entry point: http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/trendline.html

Timing is Everything With Forex Trading

2008-11-30T11:13:00.001-08:00

The most challenging part of getting started with Forex trading is to learn this innovative way of trading. Many potential investors that try to navigate the Forex system unaided end up being frustrated and financially intimidated. There are very simple strategies to becoming successful using the foreign exchange trading system but the first step is gathering all of the necessary information surrounding this type of trading specialty. Securing a reliable Forex trading broker is likely the first and most pivotal step after learning the initial principles.

Unlike many types of trading and futures, foreign exchange trading is not designed to make the client rich quickly. Many people are frightened off by the word that Forex trading is a get rich quick scheme that in large part, doesn't work. This is a financial myth despite all the hype surrounding the foreign exchange trading system. There are steps and gains to be taken in order to secure a future in successful trading. Expect to dedicate a large portion of time to researching and understanding the market in general before setting out with your pocket book ready to invest. Learn all you can about the Forex market in the beginning in order to make the Forex trading path a smooth and triumphant one.

There is no doubt that there are numerous types of orders that can be utilized in order to open and close trades and becoming familiar with them is a must. In the foreign exchange trading business there are charts, graphs and other visuals to help you effectively analyze trends in currency trading. These charts and graphs will assist in making well-informed decisions on what currency to sell. Timing is everything and it goes without saying that when experiencing with the Forex trading system, knowing when to trade can be the pivotal difference between success and failure. Understanding the analysis tools and how to use them efficiently will put any investor on the right track.

As well as proficient trading tools, it is an absolute necessity when using the foreign exchange trading system to understand how to use the software to perform actual trades. The only way to become comfortable with using Forex trading software is to use it and learn how to plot a course through the process. Selecting a good trader is the most imperative tip at this stage because an established trader can help you with the services required as well as giving you in depth tutorials using the foreign exchange trading system.

The most critical tool that will be utilized in the Forex trading system is patience and discipline. As mentioned earlier, foreign exchange trading is not a get rich quick proposal so learning patience and discipline can help you to become profitable in a timely fashion without losing money. Most brokers offer a demo account that can be used to practice and learn the foreign exchange trading system that mimics the real account with the exception of real money being traded. This gives a client insight into the market and its behaviors before actual money is invested. Learn how to make a profit using paper trading on a regular basis before risking your capital with Forex trading.
About the Author

Troy Degarnham is the author and webmaster of http://www.forex-trading-brokers.info an informative website about Forex Trading Brokers. Extensive help and tips on systems, software, signals, forex trading, forex brokers, courses, and other secrets to help you gain financial freedom.

Forex Swing Trading with Elliott Wave

2008-11-30T11:12:00.002-08:00

When evaluating the forex market for swing trade opportunities the focus is placed on predicting directional changes or continuations for a given currency pair. For this we rely on technical analysis.

In technical analysis, just as in fundamental analysis, there are lagging indicators and leading indicators. One of the most reliable tools used to predict forex market swings is Elliott Wave analysis. Elliott Wave analysis can be used to identify trends and countertrends, trend continuation or exhaustion and to evaluate the potential price targets of a trend.

You can apply Elliott Wave analysis to both long and short position swing trade set ups for your currency pairs.

Elliott Wave theory is named after Ralph Nelson Elliott, who concluded that the markets moved in a repetitive pattern of waves. He attributed this action to the mass psychology of the market.

Elliott concluded that the market¡¯s movement was a direct result of the mass psychology of the time and that the stock market is a fractal. A fractal is an object that is similar in shape, but at different scales. A great example of a fractal in nature is a stalk of broccoli. The stalk and the individual branches look exactly the same; just the branches are smaller in scale.

Fractals just happen to form in accordance with Fibonacci ratios. Is this a coincidence?

Elliott attributes this mass psychological move to the human trait of herding. Even though Elliott¡¯s theories were based on stock market price movements, it has been applied to evaluating Presidential approval ratings and fashion trends changes as well.

The conclusion, the market price actions are not the cause of economic growth or slow down, but the reflection of the mass psychology of investors. If the mood of the investing public is upbeat then a bull market ensues. This is counter to what most individual perceive, that because there is a bull market the mood of the investing public is upbeat.

Elliott Wave patterns follow a sequence that the markets move up in a series of 3 waves and down in a series of 2 waves. This 3 wave impulse and 2 wave corrective sequence form the foundation of the 5 Wave impulse pattern (the opposite is true in a downtrend).

The Elliott Wave Counts are as follows;

Wave 1 - Short Covering
Wave 2 - Pullback from Short Covering
Wave 3 - Major Rally Phase
Wave 4 - Institution Pause in the Rally
Wave 5 - Retail Buying

Wave 1 is usually the weakest of the impulse waves. It is a brief rally based on short covering of the bears from a previous move down. When Wave 1 is complete, the currency pair sells off, creating Wave 2.

Wave 2 ends when the market fails to make new lows. You often see dominant reversals patterns form at the end of this wave signaling the being of the rally phase or Wave 3.

Wave 3 is the longest and strongest of the impulse waves. This signals strong currency buying or selling in the direction of the trend. This trend usually starts of slowly, but tends to accelerate as it breaks to new highs above the top of Wave 1.

Like any trend, especially a strong trend a correction will occur. Traders will begin to take profits and the currency pair will retrace. This signals the beginning of Wave 4.

Again the currency pair will rally ushering in the Wave 5 rally. Wave 5 is typically supported by the retail traders and not institutional buyers (the herd) and tends to lack the momentum generated in the Wave 3 rally. This creates divergence that can be easily measured on any technical oscillator. After the currency pair breaks to new highs above the previous Wave 3 high, the rally loses steam and changes trend.

This trend change can result in either a new 5 Wave impulse pattern or a corrective in nature.

Now that we know what the Elliott Wave analysis is, how would a currency trade using this analysis look like, just as an example?

Look to Wave 5 as the most reliably tradable impulse wave. The trade sets up as follows. Look for the Elliott Oscillator to pull back between 90% and 140% of the Wave 3 high on a daily chart. This pullback should correspond to a 38%-62% Fibonacci retracement from the Wave 2 extension. This signal is the strongest when the Fibonacci retracement is between 38% - 50%.

Like any technical analysis tool you never want to employ an indicator as a stand alone analysis tool. A trigger and a confirming indicator are required as well.

Look for a trigger in candle patterns, such as Harami, Tweezers or Harami cross. There are a variety of software packages on the market that perform Elliott Wave counts and have other entry signal indicators as well.

Draw a regression channel on the Wave 4 retracement and look for a break above or below the channel as confirmation to enter the trade.

Place stops at the high of the Wave 1 advance, just below the 38% Fibonacci retracement level or where your individual trading plan dictates. Trail your stops once the currency pair has advanced past the Wave 3 high. Look for reversal candle patterns like doji, hammers, shooting stars or hanging mans for signals that the wave is about to end or stall. A typical price target is 127% retracement of the Wave 4 low.

This is just a glimpse of how Elliott Wave analysis can be deployed to enhance your forex swing trade evaluations. Look more into the Elliott Wave theory and other strategies as tools for increasing your forex swing trade opportunities.
About the Author

Todd Judkins specializes in teaching real people how to trade the Forex market for long term success by focusing on strategic, mind and money skills. He is a currency trader, educator and success coach to traders. Are you now ready to take action? To begin training with Todd for immediate, online Forex trading education visit: http://www.forexjourney.com and sign up for his FREE Forex Webinar.

Why Hedge Foreign Currency Risk

2008-11-30T11:12:00.001-08:00

International commerce has rapidly increased as the internet has provided a new and more transparent marketplace for individuals and entities alike to conduct international business and trading activities. Significant changes in the international economic and political landscape have led to uncertainty regarding the direction of foreign exchange rates. This uncertainty leads to volatility and the need for an effective vehicle to hedge foreign exchange rate risk and/or interest rate changes while, at the same time, effectively ensuring a future financial position.

Each entity and/or individual that has exposure to foreign exchange rate risk will have specific foreign exchange hedging needs and this website can not possibly cover every existing foreign exchange hedging situation. Therefore, we will cover the more common reasons that a foreign exchange hedge is placed and show you how to properly hedge foreign exchange rate risk.

Foreign Exchange Rate Risk Exposure - Foreign exchange rate risk exposure is common to virtually all who conduct international business and/or trading. Buying and/or selling of goods or services denominated in foreign currencies can immediately expose you to foreign exchange rate risk. If a firm price is quoted ahead of time for a contract using a foreign exchange rate that is deemed appropriate at the time the quote is given, the foreign exchange rate quote may not necessarily be appropriate at the time of the actual agreement or performance of the contract. Placing a foreign exchange hedge can help to manage this foreign exchange rate risk.

Interest Rate Risk Exposure - Interest rate exposure refers to the interest rate differential between the two countries' currencies in a foreign exchange contract. The interest rate differential is also roughly equal to the "carry" cost paid to hedge a forward or futures contract. As a side note, arbitragers are investors that take advantage when interest rate differentials between the foreign exchange spot rate and either the forward or futures contract are either to high or too low. In simplest terms, an arbitrager may sell when the carry cost he or she can collect is at a premium to the actual carry cost of the contract sold. Conversely, an arbitrager may buy when the carry cost he or she may pay is less than the actual carry cost of the contract bought. Either way, the arbitrager is looking to profit from a small price discrepancy due to interest rate differentials.

Foreign Investment / Stock Exposure - Foreign investing is considered by many investors as a way to either diversify an investment portfolio or seek a larger return on investment(s) in an economy believed to be growing at a faster pace than investment(s) in the respective domestic economy. Investing in foreign stocks automatically exposes the investor to foreign exchange rate risk and speculative risk. For example, an investor buys a particular amount of foreign currency (in exchange for domestic currency) in order to purchase shares of a foreign stock. The investor is now automatically exposed to two separate risks. First, the stock price may go either up or down and the investor is exposed to the speculative stock price risk. Second, the investor is exposed to foreign exchange rate risk because the foreign exchange rate may either appreciate or depreciate from the time the investor first purchased the foreign stock and the time the investor decides to exit the position and repatriates the currency (exchanges the foreign currency back to domestic currency). Therefore, even if a speculative profit is achieved because the foreign stock price rose, the investor could actually net lose money if devaluation of the foreign currency occurred while the investor was holding the foreign stock (and the devaluation amount was greater than the speculative profit). Placing a foreign exchange hedge can help to manage this foreign exchange rate risk.

Hedging Speculative Positions - Foreign currency traders utilize foreign exchange hedging to protect open positions against adverse moves in foreign exchange rates, and placing a foreign exchange hedge can help to manage foreign exchange rate risk. Speculative positions can be hedged via a number of foreign exchange hedging vehicles that can be used either alone or in combination to create entirely new foreign exchange hedging strategies.
About the Author

John Nobile - Senior Account Executive
CFOS/FX - Online Forex Spot and Options Brokerage

The Forex Market and Understanding Foreign Exchange Rates

2008-11-30T11:11:00.001-08:00

Unlike the stock exchange, the Forex Market (foreign exchange market) is a relatively new player to the investment world. Today's current Forex market model started in the early 1970's, and today it represents the biggest financial market around, even surpassing the stock market. With trading surpassing $2 trillion dollars per day, the Forex market attracts more and more investors all the time. Before an investor starts trading on the Forex market, he should grasp the fundamentals of how exchange rates work.

Exchange rates

Basically, the exchange rate represents the rate of exchange between two currencies. Most currencies are traded, or paired up against the dollar. The five most common currencies traded on the market are the dollar (USD), euro (EUR), the yen (JPY), the British pound (GBP), and the Swiss franc (CHF). Some other currencies that are traded are the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar, and the Hong Kong dollar.

In the exchange rate or ratio, the numerator represents the quote currency and the denominator the base currency, which always equals one.

Let's say that an investor wants to exchange euros for dollars. In this case, the euro currency is the quote currency, or how much currency you have to exchange. The base currency is the dollar. The investor researches the current exchange rate (euros converted into dollars) either on the Internet, through the bank, broker, etc., and then multiplies that amount by the number of euros to exchange. Let's say that the exchange rate is 1.57959. That means that 1.57959 euros must be paid to receive one dollar. If he has 1000 euros to exchange, then he can receive $1,579.59 (1000 x 1.57959).

On the flip side, the exchange rate can also tell the investor how much he'll receive if he converts dollars back into euros. If he has $1000, he can either divide that amount by the same euro to dollar exchange rate ($1000/1.57959 = 633.07 euros), or look up the conversation rate for dollars to euros on the Internet, etc. (i.e. .633072) and multiply it by the amount of dollars to exchange ($1000 x .633072 = 633.07 euros).

Once the exchange rate concept is understood, the investor can feel more confident in investing in the Forex market.

About the Author

This article is provided by FX Auto, the world's most powerful online automated Forex Trading System. http://www.fx-auto.com

Learn Forex Trading

2008-11-30T11:10:00.000-08:00

Gone are the days, when people with small bundles of notes surely would draw your attention at the airports/ international bus terminus/ important office areas, who are ready to exchange your currency to your desired foreign exchange at a commission. The literacy, the spread, the entrants of various professionals, automated software, revolutionary online forex trading companies have been able to put a control over the entire unorganized sector to pave the way for complete professionalism and to offer a much more convenient and systematic way of Forex trading.

At the inception phase, people, mainly the large corporations used to perform their Forex trading through various banks or major financial institutes, who used to operate at the international level. The overwhelming popularity of Forex of today's modern world due to the liberalization and global economic polices is empowered by the telecom boom, the immense reach of Internet and the unimaginable advantage of advanced technology. The instantaneous effect and up-to-date news provided by the Online Forex Software exchange trading platform in the regime of online Forex, have given you the classical opportunity of taking decisions and immediate implementation. Online Forex trading has been standardized over the years after the initial teething problems, and today's Forex participants get an almost secured access through various online Forex trading companies, which is free from all encumbrances. The technology, its application in case of online Forex has been drastically improved with the increasing awareness of people at large. The success lies in bringing a wider gamut of people into Forex trading platform and in turn the entire Forex Software exchange trading platform has become commercially viable.

If we want to look into the current Foreign Exchange market, we can find a reasonable number of stakeholders beyond the predominated traditional Multi National Companies or MNCs, banks, brokers and the final impetus has given by the wide acceptance of a large number of commoners, who get engaged in Forex trading due to various reasons including even as a mere hobby. The latest encryption methodologies and plenty of guide and trend analysis will make you secured and comfortable even if you are a first timer dabbling into online Forex trading.

The concept of margin trading, implying the traded on margin, saves you for a huge amount of deposit in the Forex. The margin deposit varies between banks and it is always in percentile terms of the original amount, which the bank allows you to play. A simple example will show you the actual potential. Suppose a bank has kept the margin deposit as 2%, which implies that you need to deposit only $20000 USD to trade two million dollars and also you may gear up your profit by 200%. As the coin has got two sides, the 2% margin deposit in Forex may also take you to the road of losses by 200%. The rule remains same, when the offline Forex trading changes it face to online Forex trading.

As every investment carries the potential risk of both profit and loss, the luck of an aggressive online Forex trader may sway anywhere between 2 to 25% on a daily basis on an average. Just for the knowledge base, the beginner in Forex trading must be aware of that the interest rates on your deposit varies greatly depending upon the currencies and the prevailing practice is to play in multiple currencies, popularly known as Base currency and variable currency in the world of Forex both in traditional platform and in online Forex platform. Your awareness level, your analytic power, your intuition are the key driven forces to transform you to an informed Forex trader and to optimize your Return on Investment (ROI) in the most prospective financial market of today's economic world.
About the Author

www.eToroNews.com - Easy to use trading platform, allowing you to use real or virtual money to execute real-time trades with a click of a button.

Risks of Trading in Forex Market

2008-11-30T11:09:00.002-08:00

Although every investment involves some risk, the risk of loss in trading off-exchange forex contracts can be substantial. Therefore, if you are considering participating in this market, you should understand some of the risks associated with this product so you can make an informed decision before investing.

As stated in the introduction to this booklet, off-exchange foreign currency trading carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all customers. The only funds that should ever be used to speculate in foreign currency trading, or any type of highly speculative investment, are funds that represent risk capital i.e., funds you can afford to lose without affecting your financial situation. There are other reasons why forex trading may or may not be an appropriate investment for you, and they are highlighted below.

The market could move against you

No one can predict with certainty which way exchange rates will go, and the forex market is volatile. Fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate between the time you place the trade and the time you close it out will affect the price of your forex contract and the potential profit and losses relating to it.

You could lose your entire investment

You will be required to deposit an amount of money (often referred to as a security deposit or margin) with your forex dealer in order to buy or sell an off-exchange forex contract. As discussed earlier, a relatively small amount of money can enable you to hold a forex position worth many times the account value. This is referred to as leverage or gearing. The smaller the deposits in relation to the underlying value of the contract, the greater the leverage. If the price moves in an unfavorable direction, high leverage can produce large losses in relation to your initial deposit. In fact, even a small move against your position may result in a large loss, including the loss of your entire deposit. Depending on your agreement with your dealer, you may also be required to pay additional losses.

Overtrading is another ordinary money management mistake in the forex market. This trading does not have clearly defined trading objectives; the sole reason is to make more money. To avoid this mistake, make sure that every trade is broken into ultimate goals, and that these goals are achieved before other positions are added. Very few traders can successfully manage multiple positions in a variety of currency trading markets.

Overconfidence is a big mistake when it comes to money management and the forex market. This is caused when a trader has or thinks they have particular or inside information. These hot tips are sometimes wrong, and when this happens large amounts of money may be lost because of this. The way to avoid this is to avoid being confident in any rumors or special information you may have. Managing your money means taking measures to preserve it as well.

Preferential bias can exist among forex market traders. This happens when they only see or hear what they want in relative to the favored trade. This can cause a trader to ignore the real activity of the forex market in favorite of what they want to happen. It is important to look at each trade impartially and do not become set in cement with your opinion. Do not ask friends or family for their opinions; just go with what you know.

About the Author

I am Rahul Patel a freelance writer SEO Web Designer with deep interest in forex trading. I have written online forex trading articles and published many of them online. I have designed website on currency trading guide.

Forex Market Scam

2008-11-30T11:09:00.001-08:00

The Forex market is the biggest financial market in the world. But this doesn ' t make it easier; on the contrary. You have a lot of big advantages but Forex is also very challenging. Almost all advantages, when observed carefully, transform not is disadvantages but in challenges. It is the case of the Forex market being open 24 hours a day. When someone begins trading the Forex or reads about this particular market, this characteristic is taken as an advantage. Traders tend to think " Great! Finally I can trade whenever I want! ". Well, this is, in part, true. But, when you start trading the Forex, you ' ll see that volatility only appears during certain times and that if you are day trading, you can ' t be in front of your computer 24 hours a day. This is a challenge for most Forex traders who are looking for day trading the currency pairs. If you want to day trade, you will have to develop a decent strategy in order to concise it to a few hours a day, probably when the volatility is more likely to urge.

Other big advantage that is always quoted related to the Forex market is the brim requirements. Well, smooth tuck away a pygmy invoice coextensive $300 you can advantage 100, 200 or rolled 400x your wad. You may think this is a great advantage but, in my opinion, this is more a challenge than an advantage. If you have a petite balance and pop to practice a steep side, you can avoid your entire balance in a single trade.

Also, Forex is admitted as the scam market. You have trading systems, courses and common brokers that are constantly rated by traders as scams. In the case of the systems and courses in that they promise a lot of profits stash no elbow grease at all, and in the case of the brokers that donate you all the resources but inasmuch as trade lambaste you, don ' t agreement you withdraw your property or neatly disappear salt away it.

When you start trading the Forex market, or if you present are, you demand to avoid the scams.

Here are some tips of how to avoid Forex scams:

1 - Exercise your shipshape sense. This is the primary phenomenon you compulsion to arrange. Evaluate carefully the product or the broker you are election. If you think they are offering you utterly much, be careful. It may be a scam.

2 - When you are looking for a forex trading system or a course, you ' ll probably see things same " make $100, 000 in a epoch ". Forex is a challenging market and not everyone can make long green obscure it. Don ' t dispose fooled by stir gilded fast conspiracies.

3 - One commendable tip when buying a trading system or course is to viewing if they have riches back guarantee or a unpaid trial spell. This journey, if you don ' t relating what you bought, you can always request for a decrease.

4 - If you are looking for a forex trading system, course or broker, scan reviews untrue by others traders. Scrutinize what they think about the product, the abutment party, how they handle their clients and therefrom on. Construe all that you can.

5 - Before buying a product or signing up veil a broker, always read their webpages. Feel costless to needle them your doubts. If they reckon on in their products and services, they will answer your questions.

6 - If you buy a forex trading system or course, test it first on a demo account. Don ' t start with your real account because you don ' t know how it will actually work. It may need some adjustments on your part to make the strategy good for you.

As I said, the Forex market is challenging. Unless you are able to spend some time with it, not only trading but also reading and learning, you won ' t make it. But, without a doubt, it ' s a very profitable market.

Forex Trading Systems Scam

2008-11-30T11:01:00.000-08:00

Have you ever encountered an online promotion for a forex system, strategy or software? If so, I bet that the promoter promises great wealth in no time, something like " this incredible system makes $3, 000 a day " or " I am making money in my sleep using this automated trading software " and so on. Very tempting for some of us. And as this " Forex Systems " hype is relatively new, even veteran traders ask themselves whether these systems are for real.

The exactness is that some of these forex merchandise are indeed total scams. But absolute is again not logical to foresee that ALL of them worth nobody. Luckily, we live in the hot poop ticks, locality a scam cannot hold office close for spun out. So if you encounter a forex system, strategy or software for sale, conclude not carry lazy and search the net for relevant blogs, forex forums and reviews. If the product is a scam, you will familiar conceive physical quite delicate. However, lease ' s spiel that you treasure a decent, reliable Forex System - what rap you assume from sound? Will positive well deliver? Fine, flying start by commercial the following questions:

Am I disciplined?

Most traders purchase a first-rate trading system or software but operate not have the discipline to trade according to the system ' s rules. Some traders achieve not credence the system they have tried bought and endeavor to chicken feed the rules from day one. Others certainty the system prime, but next a few bad trades source losing confidence and contract apprehensiveness and attraction genie their decisions. I itch admit - substantial was very insolvable for me to faith a system that was created by someone too many. Solitary when I tacit the logic late the system I began to fashion confidence, traded stow away discipline and somewhere made profits.

Are my expectations fitting my ration?

The size of your trading invoice will halt your lifelike profit expectations. If you have a mini account ( a keep of between 500 to 10, 000 US dollars ), irrefutable means that for trading the EUR / USD, a 1 pip movement in your favor equals 1 US dollar in profit. So if you are a very rad trader stifle a very superb trading system, a stupendous trading point veil a total of 500 pips hike, equals US$ 500 in profit. I guess you cannot quit your job yet. But if you have a one million dollar account, you can definitely earn US$ 1, 000 per pip. So it takes only 3 pips to make US$3, 000 a day. I hope you get the point.

Do I have enough knowledge?

Even the best system is operated by a real person. And each trader is a unique individual. Consequently, if you ask a group of traders to trade the same system, under the same conditions, you will probably get totally different results. Yes, some traders do make money in their sleep using profitable forex systems, but the human factor will always be there. So get yourself a good trading system, but do not stop there. Be ready to acquire a sound knowledge in forex trading and keep expending your knowledge over time.

Sending Signals For Trading In FOREX

2008-11-25T10:06:00.001-08:00

By: Gary Berg
Forex signals are sent by a forex firm to their subscribers in order to buy and sell currencies. These signals are called entry and exit signals for the forex dealers. The firms, which send this forex signal, do so after tedious and meticulous research and analysis into the currencies that their dealers are trading in. For example a firm may send the entry and exit signals at designated time frames in real time. These will remain valid for a short period only after which they are going to be different.

Let's say that there is a forex trading company say Acme Forex traders who send entry and exit signals to their clients in the following way

The first signal is provided to the trader at 08:30, and this signal is going to remain actual till 12.30

The trader will receive the second signal at 12.30, which would remain actual till 16.30.

The last signal would be sent to the trader at 16.30.

The transactions are given according to GMT. Please adjust for local time changes. The transaction shall be calculated till the signal is actual. The charges would be $300 per month per trader.

Forex dealers and experts provide forex-trading information and data to both institutional clients and individual investors and provide these kind of signals. Investors like to subscribe to credit worthy forex dealers / companies since their information and data would be genuine and more accurate. In fact many forex dealers would kill to get information before the rest of the market gets the same information. As forex dealing is a very competitive business.

These signals or forex indications are given to the forex dealers through the forex trading platform or hub. The signals or forex indicators are the specific entry and exit strategies. Therefore when you enter a currency trade buying currencies at lower price and then selling at higher price, you book a profit. currency pair. For example the forex dealer is trading in GBP/USD. The rate is for GBP/USD is .9800 . If you expect that Euro is likely to go up in the future you would buy the Euros today to sell them off at a later date thereby booking a profit. If you expect the dollars to appreciate, then you would buy the dollars selling them off at a later date to book profits.

Most forex dealers will get the information via email or straight on their computer screens. It is then up to the forex dealers to decide whether they want to sell / buy / hold the currencies till further information is given to them.

Those who contribute in giving the information on currency dealing are hedge managers, foreign exchange dealers located in the major financial markets of the world, professional stock brokers, finance managers and a host of other finance professionals. They make it their business to collect, analyze and disseminate information in such a way, that can be used by forex dealers to buy / sell / hold the forex.

Therefore the companies take extreme care to send the forex signals for the currency dealers.

About The Author

Gary Berg

Real time forex signals sent to your desktop, email or mobile phone. Visit http://www.forex-made-easy.biz.
Copyright Gary Berg - http://www.forex-made-easy.biz

Forex Profits

2008-11-25T10:05:00.000-08:00

By: Anthony Trister
Forex, FX and the Forex market are some common abbreviations for the Foreign Exchange market. Actually it is the largest financial market in the world, where money is sold and bought freely. In its present condition the Forex market was launched in the seventies, when free exchange rates were introduced, and only the participants of the market determine the price of one currency against the other proceeding from demand and supply. As far as the freedom from any external control and free competition are concerned, the Forex market is a perfect market.

With a daily turnover of over trillions of dollars, the Foreign Exchange market conducts more than three times the aggregate amount volume of the United States Equity and Treasury markets combined. The Forex market is an over-the-counter market where buyers and sellers conduct foreign exchange business using different means of communication.

Unlike other financial markets, the Forex market has no physical location or central exchange. Since the Forex market lacks a physical exchange, the market trades continuously on a 24-hour basis, moving from one time zone to the next, across each of the world's major financial centers every day. Trillions of dollars of foreign exchange activity takes place every day. From 1997 to the end of 2000, daily forex trading volume surged approximately from US$5 billion to US$1.5 trillion and more (according to various recent studies it has touched $1.7 trillion per day and dwarfs all other markets for trading in size and volume). It is really difficult, if not impossible; to determine an absolutely exact number because trading is not centralized on an exchange. But one thing is for sure that the Forex market continues to grow at a phenomenal rate.

Before the advent of Internet and ecommerce, only big corporations, multinational banks and wealthy individuals could trade currencies in the Forex market through the use of the proprietary trading systems of banks. These systems required as much as US$1 million to open an account. Thanks to advancements in online technology, today investors with only a few thousand dollars can have access to the Forex market 24 hours a day and around 5 days of a week.

The Forex market is a nonstop cash market where currencies of nations are traded, typically via brokers called forex brokers. Foreign currencies are constantly and simultaneously bought and sold across local and global markets while traders increase or decrease value of an investment upon currency movements. Foreign exchange market conditions can change at any time in response to real-time events so it is also considered to be a highly volatile and fragile market too. Conditions of the Forex market never remain the same they changes every second.

The foreign exchange market dwarfs the combined operations of the New York, London, and Tokyo futures and stock exchanges. According to its size and scope it is many times larger than all other markets. Stats shows that spot transactions and forward outright Forex trading take place in the inter-bank market. 51% of the market is in spot Forex transactions, followed by 32% in currency swap transactions. Forward outright Forex transactions represent another 5% of this daily turnover, with options on interbank' Forex transactions making up another 8%. Therefore the inter-bank market accounts for 96% of the global foreign exchange market, with the remaining 4% being divided among all the global futures exchanges.

For traders, Forex trading provides an alternative to stock market trading. While there are thousands of stocks to choose from, there are only a few major currencies to trade (the Dollar, Yen, British Pound, Swiss Franc, and the Euro are the most popular). Forex trading also provides a lot more leverage than stock trading, and the minimum investment to get started is a lot lower. Add to that the ability to choose flexible trading hours (forex trading goes on 24 hours a day) and you have the reason why so many stock traders have flocked to day trade currencies.

About The Author

Anthony Trister is a currency trader and is an owner of OneDayTrades which offers free, mechanical forex signals and an automated trading program for those wanting to trade forex. Free access available here: http://www.onedaytrades.com.

Copyright Anthony Trister - http://www.onedaytrades.com

Revealed - Million Dollar Forex Investing Mistakes

2008-11-25T10:04:00.002-08:00

By: David Jenyns
Anytime that you are investing in the Forex market, you are going into the Market blind. You don't know what point of the investing trend you are entering in at. You might be investing in a Forex stock just before the trend changes. Smart investing means you need to protect your trading float and set up a stop loss. This needs to be done before you enter a trade, so that there is no room for error, or last minute indecision. A stop loss is simply a predefined point at which you exit the stock.

Effectively, it's like drawing a line in the sand underneath the share price, saying, "If the share price falls below this line, then the stock hasn't done what I thought it was going to do, and I'll exit the position."

This allows you to protect your investing trading plan, because it cuts your losses short, and guards against an all too human tendency to want to believe you must be right.

95% of investing in an entry Forex position means you are expecting to profit from the trade. If, however, the share-investing price goes against you, you might feel the need to justify why you bought the stock by holding onto it until it turns a profit. You might have heard the idea that all big investing losses once started as small losses. Well, while the share price continues to go in the wrong direction, those losses grow in lockstep. This is why you need to have a stop loss in place it's like having an ejector seat that tells you when to abort the mission.

One of the most common question I'm asked when traders are introduced to a stop loss is "How wide should I set my stop?"

In other words, how much room should I give the stock to move? There are no definitive answers to this question because it depends on what time frame you're investing in. If you're a shorter-term investing trader, you're going to have a stop loss that's set closer to the share price. If you're a longer-term investing trader, you'll give the share price a little bit more room to move and set your stop loss lower.

Once you've identified what time frame you're looking at trading, you need to be able to remove the normal market noise (volatility) in that particular time frame. You don't want to have to close out of an investing position just because a share price moved a little bit due to its normal trading volatility.

In fact, there are some serious drawbacks to setting tight stops.

First, you'll decrease the reliability of your system because you get stopped out more often.

Second, and probably a little bit more importantly, you dramatically increase your transaction costs, because you're trading transaction costs make up a major proportion of your business expenses.

To give yourself a fighting chance, you want to trade a system that doesn't chew through excessive brokerage fees. This is one of the major reasons I steer my clients into developing a trading system that runs over a slightly longer time frame. With the correct system in place, and your investing risk minimized, you are well positioned to maximize your trading profits.

About The Author

David Jenyns is recognized as the leading expert when it

comes to designing profitable forex trading systems.

Discover the "secret formula" of trading that anyone can use

to consistently generate BIG profits from the market by

downloading your FREE copy of David's new Ultimate

Stock Trading Systems course.

Click Here To Download ==> Stock Trading Systems

http://www.ultimate-trading-systems.com/forex.html

Copyright David Jenyns - http://www.ultimate-trading-systems.com/forex.html

Reality of Online Forex Trading

2008-11-25T10:04:00.001-08:00

By: David Jones
Foreign exchange trading is the trading of currencies. Most currencies can be traded. Huge amounts of currencies are traded 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. On average $1.9 trillion is traded a day. The most traded are United States Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, Canadian Dollar, British Pound Sterling, Australian Dollar and Swiss Franc.

Many brokers will let you open an account with a starting balance of just $250. Though that may seem small, remember you will be trading on margin. Your $250 investment may let you control $25,000. As with all investments there are risks so make sure you take the time to study the markets and your exposure before making your first trades. I highly recommend that you do some paper trades first to make sure you have understood how the markets work. No risk training, just write down the trades you would have done for real and chart the prices. Buy and sell and see if you have the right strategy before making real trades.

A fast internet connection will allow you to do forex trading online. Your broker will give you many online tools to allow you to study the markets: Real time quotes, news feeds

Visit different broker's websites and compare the services they offer. Some brokers give you the possibility to open demo accounts. Do so, to test their software and find the one you like best.

Before you start trading make sure that you have learnt the terminology: Market Order, Limit Order, Stop Order. You may find the definitions of these terms and more information at http://www.forex.value-guides.com/calc-forex.html Calculating Forex Profits And Losses.

All currencies have standard identifying code used worldwide, some examples are: EUR (European euros), GBP (United Kingdom pounds), AUD (Australian dollars). Of course you don't have to know them all but it may be good to be able to recognize all the major currencies codes so that you will be able to make quick decisions.

To make sound evaluations, you need information. Follow carefully the world's current events, economic and political news. You will be surprised to see how, what may seem to you as insignificant will cause the currencies markets to fluctuate wildly.

About The Author

David Jones writes for http://www.forex.value-guides.com Forex Value Guides a site set up to give users the most updated information, articles, and news related to the Forex Market

Copyright David Jones - http://www.forex.value-guides.com/calc-forex.html

Forex Trade Main Drawbacks of a Forex Trader

2008-11-25T10:03:00.000-08:00

By: Raul Lopez
Why is it that very few traders succeed in the Forex trading environment while the grand majority of traders fail to achieve success? Although 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.

The search for the Holy Grail

Many traders spend years and years trying to find the Holy Grail of trading. That magic indicator or set of indicators, only known by a few traders, that will make them rich in a short period of time.
Fact: Well, there is no magic indicator, nor a set of indicators that will make anyone rich in a short period of time. The main reason of this is because market changes, every single moment is unique. Every Forex trading system will fail from time to time. Our work here is to find a Forex trading system that fits our personality as traders, otherwise the trader will find it hard to follow it.

Looking for Easy Money

Unfortunately most traders are attracted to the Forex market for this reason. Mainly because of the publicity showing or rather trying to show how easy is to trade and make money in the Forex market.
Fact: Yes, it is very easy to trade, anyone can do it. It is as hard as one click. But the second part of it isn't that easy. Making money or achieving consistent profitable results is hard. It requires lots of education, patience, discipline, commitment, and this list could go to infinite. In a few words, it is possible to have consistent profitable results, but definitely it is not easy.

Looking for Excitement

Some other traders are attracted to the Forex market or any other financial market because they think it is exciting to be a trader.
Fact: Yes, it is very exciting to trade the Forex market. But if this is the main reason you are still trading the Forex market, sooner or later you will discover the most expensive adventure you have ever known. Do some thinking on it.

Not Using Money Management.

Most traders forget about this important aspect of trading. They think they shouldn't be using money management until they achieve consistent profitable results. They totally forget about the risk side of trading.
Fact: Money management allows your profits to increase geometrically, but also limits your risk on every single trade. Money management tells you how much to risk on each trade. Using money management is a must if you want to achieve your trading goals. By using money management you make sure you are going to be able to trade tomorrow, the next week, month and the following years.

Not Being Psychology Tuned

This is one of the most underestimated subjects when it comes to trading. One of the main principles of financial markets is that the price of each instrument is based on the perception of each individual participant "the crowd." In other words the price of each instrument is determined by the fear, greed, ego and hope of all traders.
Fact: Being aware of all psychological issues that affect the decisions made by traders will definitely put the odds in your favor.

Lack of Education

Education is the base of knowledge on every discipline. As lawyers and doctors require several years of college until they get their degree, Forex traders also require long years of study. It is better to have someone experienced to guide you through your trading, since some information could take you in the wrong path.
Fact: The market teaches us invaluable lessons on every single trade made. The process of education for a Forex trader could take for ever. That's right, we never stop learning. We should be humble about the markets and our knowledge; otherwise the market will prove us wrong.

These are some of the most important barriers every trader faces when trying to trade successfully.

Trading successfully the Forex markets is no easy task, it requires a lot of hard work to do it right, but with the right education, you will put yourself closer to your trading goals.

Copyright Raul Lopez - http//:www.straightforex.com

Hotlib.com - Huge collection of free articles and free reports at Hotlib.com

Forex Trading: The Perfect Forex Trading System

2008-11-23T18:29:00.000-08:00

by: Raul Lopez

Trading the Forex market has became 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.

Trading decisions based on technical indicators without taking price action into consideration will give us less accurate results. For example, again a long signal generated by a MA crossover as the market approaches an important resistance level. If the price suddenly starts to bounce back off that important level there is no point on taking this signal, price action is telling us the market doesn’t want to go up. Most of the time, under this circumstances, the market will continue to fall down, disregarding the MA crossover.

Don’t get me wrong here, technical indicators are a very important aspect of trading. They help us see certain conditions that are otherwise difficult to see by watching pure price action. But when it comes to pull the trigger, price action incorporation into our Forex trading system will definitely put the odds in our favor, it will generate higher probability trades.

So, how to create a perfect Forex trading system?
First of all, you need to make sure your trading system fits your trading personality; otherwise you will find it hard to follow it. Every trader has different needs and goals, thus there is no system that perfectly fits all traders. You need to make your own research on various trading styles and technical indicators until you find a concept that perfectly works for you. Make sure you know the nature of whatever technical indicator used.

Secondly, incorporate price action into your system. So you only take long signals if the price behavior tells you the market wants to go up, and short signals if the market gives you indication that it will go down.

Third, and most importantly, you need to have the discipline to follow your Forex trading system rigorously. Try it first on a demo account, then move on to a small account and finally when feeling comfortably and being consistent profitable apply your system in a regular account.

About the author:
Raul Lopez is a full time Forex trader and founder of a high quality Forex training company.

The Stock Trading Plan

2008-11-23T18:27:00.000-08:00

by: Mark Crisp

that discipline contributed more to their success than their trading philosophy itself. Remember that the key to any plan is how well it holds over time.

2. There is no "sure thing", and there is no trading system that is 100% accurate. Your goal, as a trader, is to usethe tools available and try to develop an edge. Base your trades on sound fundamental and technical reasoning,
rather than on hunches and long shots. If you can develop an edge, however small, over time you will be successful.

3. A trader must be able to admit they have made a mistake. Do not become emotionally or financially committed to a losing trade. Avoid the pitfall of becoming emotionally involved with any trade.

4. An investing edge is only part of the equation. A trader should diversify sufficiently so that the growth in equity can be consistent and the likelihood of a catastrophic loss can be diminished. The lower the percentage of a traders' account dedicated to any one trade the greater the chance of the trader being successful.

Even if the trader has a perceived investing edge, it is unwise to run the risk of ruin, and bet it all on one trade. The goal is not only to make money, but also to be able to continue to make money consistently for an
extended period of time. A trader must learn the basic concepts and the importance of money management.

5. Lack of experience in the market causes many traders to make the mistake of taking small profits and letting losses run.

Fundamental trading wisdom dictates the exact opposite. When in a winning trade, be patient and fully capitalize on the success. The trading axiom is, "cut your losses short and let your profits run".

6. A trading system does not have to be difficult, time consuming, complicated and stressful in order to be profitable.

In trading systems, as in many other things in life, simple can be better

7. As a trader, be cautious, and never let greed take control of a winning position.

8. Be aware that declining volume usually indicates the market is not accepting higher or lower prices, and this could indicate a market turn.

9. Learn from your trading mistakes. Never make a trading mistake without asking yourself why.

10. Do not make trading decision based solely on margin requirements, and always trade within your capabilities.

Remain true to your trading plan and follow the trading style that works best for you.

11. Do not trade markets that you don't understand. Trade with confidence and conviction. Trade only with risk capital and be aware of the risk of losing. Divide your capital into 6 equal parts and never risk more than one-tenth of your capital on any one trade.

12. After a long period of success or a period of profitable trades, try to avoid the natural tendency toward increasing your trading activity. Conversely, use self-discipline when a trade goes against your position. Take your loss and wait for another opportunity. Never increase your trading after a loss.

13. Avoid getting into the market because you are anxious from waiting and/or out of the market because you have lost your patience. Never over trade and adhere to your risk management rules

14. Do not make a trading decision to buy just because the price of the stock is low or sell just because the price is high. Never change your position in the market without a good reason that is based on a fundamental or technical rule indicating a change in trend.

15. Trade the most active stocks and refrain from trading the slow moving markets. Trade "at the market" whenever possible and try to avoid a fixed buying and selling price.

16. When the market is moving with your position and you are using a stop loss order, then raise your stop loss so as to lock in your profit. Protect yourself against the possibility of turning a profit into a loss.

17. The "trend is your friend," and never buy and sell if you are insecure of the trend according to your fundamentals and technical rules. If you are in doubt, then exit the market. Only trade when you feel confident with your trading strategies.

18. Trade in five or six different stocks at a time, so as to avoid tying up all of your capital in any single stock.

19. A trader should establish a "surplus account" after a series of successful or winning trades. The goal is to retain the "surplus account" for times of emergency or panic 20. It is difficult to try and guess where the top and bottom of the market is, instead let the market prove its top and bottom.

About the author:
Mark Crisp
The Momentum Stock Trader

What’s Fibonacci Forex Trading?

2008-11-23T18:25:00.000-08:00

by: Adrian Pablo

Fibonacci forex trading is the basis of many forex trading systems used by a great number of professional forex brokers around the globe, and many billions of dollars are profitable traded every year based on these trading techniques.

Fibonacci was an Italian mathematician and he is best remembered by his world famous Fibonacci sequence, the definition of this sequence is that it’s formed by a series of numbers where each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers; 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 ...But in the case of currency trading what is more important for the forex trader is the Fibonacci ratios derived from this sequence of numbers, i.e. .236, .50, .382, .618, etc.

These ratios are mathematical proportions prevalent in many places and structures in nature, as well as in many man made creations.

Forex trading can greatly benefit form this mathematical proportions due to the fact that the oscillations observed in forex charts, where prices are visibly changing in an oscillatory pattern, follow Fibonacci ratios very closely as indicators of resistance and support levels; maybe not to the last cent, but so close as to be really amazing.

Fibonacci price points, or levels, for any forex currency pair can be calculated in advance so that the trader will know when to enter or exit the market if the prediction given by the Fibonacci forex day trading system he uses fulfills its predictions.

Many people tries to make this analysis overly complicated scaring away many new forex traders that are just beginning to understand how the forex market works and how to make a profit in it. But this is not how it has to be. I can’t say it’s a simple concept but it is quite understandable for any trader once he or she has grasped the basics and has had some practice trading using Fibonacci levels along with other secondary indicators that will help to improve the accuracy of the entry and exit point for every particular trade.

Free chapters of a forex day trading system can be downloaded at the author's website in case you are interested in learning more about Fibonacci forex trading.

About the author:
Adrian Pablo; Forex trader and freelance writer.

The 10 Golden Rules of Trading

2008-11-23T18:22:00.000-08:00

by: Paul King

1 Introduction

In this article we cover the few important rules that should never be broken in trading. If you can apply these rules consistently, and with discipline, you will be well on the way to being a profitable trader.

The rules we cover are:

• Have specific goals and objectives
• Be consistent and disciplined
• Let profits run
• Cut losses short
• Never add to a losing trade
• Don’t take too much risk
• Only trade positive expectancy systems
• Minimize all trading business costs
• Be well educated
• Don’t trade scared money

Each of the rules will now be discussed.

2 The Golden Rules of Trading

The following sections outline a set of rules that can significantly improve your chances of success if they are understood, practiced, and implemented consistently in your trading. These rules have been learned the hard way, by study, research, trial-and-error, and the inevitable mistakes that everyone makes when they start a trading business.

We hope that you can learn from the work we have done, and benefit from our experience. The rules will now be discussed.

2.1 Have specific goals and objectives

Few things are more important to your trading success than having set (i.e. written) goals and objective for what you are aiming to achieve. It is amazing to me how often we hit our targets, meet our objectives, and reach our goals only when we articulate them and write them down.

For any business to be successful it must have measurable objectives that are actually achievable. In trading (obviously) the primary objective is to make money, but it is important to have other objectives that are not purely cash-related. We must always remember that reward and risk go hand-in-hand in trading and that we cannot expect to achieve high returns without planning for high risk (i.e. draw-downs).

Your objectives and goals will be very specific to you, but they must have the following characteristics to be useful:

• Be measurable (in completion and timeframe)
• Be achievable
• Be worthwhile
• Be positive

As an example, here are some of our current objectives (this is only a partial list):

• Develop 2 new positive-expectancy trading systems each year
• Make fewer errors implementing our trading systems each year
• Achieve a return to maximum draw-down ratio of 1.5:1
• Take 2 weeks vacation each year

Note that only one of them is about making money, and that has a measurable objective that is relative to draw-down, not absolute (i.e. make 100% per year). If you know what you are trying to achieve, and when you are trying to achieve it, the whole business will be focused on meeting
your objectives and help guide you to only pay attention to things you really want to achieve with your limited time and resources. This will also give you a way to measure the success and progress of your trading. Generally traders with well-defined objectives will be much more successful than those that do not have pre-defined goals.

2.2 Be consistent and disciplined

In order to realize the full potential of your trading systems it is critical that you take every trading entry, adjust every stop, and close out every trade as and when your system says you should do. This takes extreme confidence in your trading systems, good robust reliable technology, and the mental discipline to stick to your trading plan whatever happens (assuming it is complete).
An underlying assumption about being consistent and disciplined is that you have a pre-defined plan for every situation you may face in your trading, so that you know how you are defining what being consistent is. Your plan needs to include at least the following items:

• All your trading rules for entering, adding to, and exiting positions
• What you will do if your trading computer, internet connection, broker, power, telephone
etc. fails
• What you will do if you are unable to trade
• What you will do if you lose X% of your account
• What you will do if all the markets are closed and you can’t exit your positions

Unless you write the answers down to all these issues, you cannot be consistent and disciplined in your approach to trading and if you lose money you will not know whether it is because you didn’t follow your plan, because your plan is incomplete, because your systems do not work, or simply because you are going through a losing period.

2.3 Let profits run

This simple rule is the key to being a successful trader. It is three simple words that are very hard to actually implement. When we get a profitable trade our natural fear of losing the unrealized cash kicks in and we truly want to close it out now and take the money. Most trading consists of long periods of small winners and losers followed by a few huge winners that make the difference between overall profitability and simply breaking even or losing due to trading costs(commissions, spread, and slippage).

It is our ability to let the huge winners become just that - huge - that determines how we will perform overall during the year. The key to letting winners run is to have trailing stops that are outside the daily noise of the market so that they are not tight enough to get stopped out during ‘normal’ trading. This means being prepared to give up a significant portion of a winning trade’s open profit and is the thing that makes this so hard to implement. In fact, we should be adding to a winner and widening stops rather than working out how tight our stops can be to capture maximum profit. The trade has already shown you that it intends to be a winner, and the chances are it is a low-risk idea to add to the position now rather than ‘strangle it’ with stops that are too tight.

It is very important that your position management rules allow for large winning trades, and that the rules are pre-defined and understood before you place the trade. This will allow you (if you have confidence in your method and discipline) to stick to your rules when you do get the big
winner.

2.4 Cut losses short

This is the sister rule to the previous one, and is usually just as difficult to implement (although it
is very easy to define). In the same way that profitability comes from a few large winning trades, capital preservation comes from avoiding the few large losers that the market will toss your way each year. Setting a maximum loss point before you enter the trade so you know before-hand approximately how much you are risking on this particular position is relatively straightforward. You simply need to have a exit price that says to you ‘this trade is a loser and I will exit before it gets any bigger’. Due to gaps at the open, or limit moves in futures we can never be 100%
certain that we can get out with our maximum loss, but simply having the rules, and always sticking to it will save us from the nasty trades that just keep on going and going against our position until we have lost more than many winning trades can make back.

If you have a losing position that is at you maximum loss point, just get out. Do not hope that it will turn around. Given that trades are either winners or losers, and this one is shouting ‘Loser’ at you, the chances that it will turn around and become a large winner is tiny. Why risk any more money on this losing trade, when you could simply close it out (accept the loss) and move on. This will leave you in a much better place financially and mentally, than holding the position and hoping it will go back your way. Even if it did do this, the mental energy and negative feelings from holding the losing position are not worth it. Always stick to your rules and exit a position if it hits your stop point.

2.5 Never add to a losing trade

One of the few trade management rules that we can state we never break is ‘Never add to a losing trade’. Trades are split into winners and losers, and if a trade is a loser, the chances of it turning right around and becoming a winner are too small to risk more money on. If indeed it is a winner disguised as a loser, why not wait until it shows it’s true colors (and becomes a winner)before you add to it.
If you do this you will notice that nearly always the trade ends up hitting your stop loss and does not look back. Sometimes the trade turns around before it hits your stop and becomes a winner and you can count yourself very fortunate. Sometimes the trade hits your stop loss and then
turns around and becomes a winner and you can count yourself unlucky. Whatever the result, it is never worth adding to a loser, hoping that it will become a winner. The odds of success are just too low to risk more capital in addition to the initial risk.

2.6 Don’t take too much risk

One of the most devastating mistakes any trader can make is risking too much of their capital on a single trade. One thing is certain in trading and that is if you lose all your capital you are out of the game. Why risk so much you could be prevented from continuing? There is a saying in
poker than going all-in (risking all your chips) works every time but once. This is true of trading.

If you risk all your account on every trade it only takes one loser to wipe you out (and no trading method is 100% accurate), so you will be out of the game at some point – it is only a question of time.

In general, we only risk 1-3% of the available capital allocated to a system on any individual trade. This is calculated using the size and, the difference between our entry price and our maximum stop price, and the amount of capital allocated to the system. With the win probability
and ratio of size of winning trades to losing trades we are almost certain never to lose all of our trading capital. In fact, the chance of us hitting our maximum drawdown for the year is tiny.

All trades should be of a size that almost seems insignificant. If you are worried about the size of a trade then it is too big and you should reduce the size immediately. Remember that longevity is the key to making money by trading – slowly over a long time with minimal risk, is always preferable to rapidly with too much risk.

2.7 Only trade positive expectancy systems

If you have a positive expectancy trading system, the only factors that determine how much money you will make per year are the number of trades the system generates, how much capital you allocate to the system, and how accurately you implement the trading signals. If you do not know whether your trading system is positive expectancy then why are you trading it? Expectancy is calculated using the profit or loss on each trade (net of trading implementation
costs) divided by the initial risk (using your stop loss) and then taking the average of this number of a series of trades. Systems that have positive expectancy will make money on average and those with negative expectancy will lose money.

Successful traders only trade systems where the odds of success are in their favor (i.e. the system is positive expectancy) so they know that making money is the result of accurately implementing the system and not just pure luck.

2.8 Minimize all trading business costs

Some trading systems have only marginal profitability, and trading implementation costs (commission, spread, and slippage) can be the difference between profitability and making a loss. With the easy availability of modern electronic brokers, and fully-automated trade processing and
execution, it is definitely worthwhile looking for a very low cost way to implement your trading system. High commission, wide spreads, and large amount of slippage can be reduced considerably simply by carefully choosing a broker. This can be the difference between a system
(especially a high frequency one) being useable or not. Paying too much for trade implementation is an avoidable way to lose money.

2.9 Be educated

In order to compete at the highest level in the trading business and be one of the few truly successful participants you must be well-educated about what you are doing. This does not mean having a degree from a well-respected university – the market doesn’t care where you were educated.

Being well-educated means that you have thoroughly researched and tested your trading ideas and know why your trading system worked in the past and is continuing to work now. It means understanding all the technology and applications that your system needs to perform accurately.
It means understanding your goal and objectives and how trading will achieve these. It means understanding yourself and how your personality affects your results. It means understanding the markets and instruments you trade.
In order to succeed you really need to become an expert in your own trading business to understand how it all fits together, when it is broken, and how it can be improved. As with all worthwhile endeavors, this takes commitment, hard work, dedication, and more hard work.

2.10 Don’t trade scared money

Lastly, no one ever made any money trading when they had to do it to pay the mortgage at the end of the month. Having a requirement to make X dollars per month or you will be financially in trouble is the best way I know to completely mess up all trading discipline, rules, objectives, and
leads quickly to disaster.

Trading is about taking a reasonable risk in order to achieve a good reward. The markets and how and when they give up their profits is not under your control. Do not trade if you need the money to pay bills. Do not trade if your business and personal expenses are not covered by
another income stream or cash reserve. This will only lead to additional unmanageable stress and be very detrimental to your trading performance.

3 Summary

In this article we have covered the rules that we believe should never be broken in trading. If you work on never breaking them, your trading should improve dramatically.

We sincerely hope this information has helped you to improve your trading performance.

Good luck in yout trading.

About the author:
Paul King is owner and head trader of PMKing Trading LLC, a Vermont-based proprietary trading company founded in May 2002. Paul has published a series of eBooks and articles about what he considers to be the important aspects of trading.

Comments on Forex Trading Account Sizes, Lots and Margin Calls.

2008-11-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

by: Adrian Pablo

Forex trading is one of the best business opportunities you can think of joining these days. No other market in the world allows the “Leverage” that the profitable world of currency-trading does. Leverage is all about margin trading. In the Forex market, it is essentially the ratio of the amount used in a trade to the required security deposit needed, by the particular broker you chose to use, for that trade.

Normally, for most brokerages, a margin deposit of just $1,000 allows you to control a $100,000 position in the Forex market. That's 100:1 leverage, or 1%. Or, said in a different way, a “regular full-sized account”, sometimes referred to as a 100k account, allows you to trade with lot sizes equal to $100,000. Each lot is worth $100,000 in currency. So It would only require $1,000 to trade one lot.

This great feature in Forex trading is what makes this market the hottest market to trade in right now. The Forex broker has given you a loan of $99,000 dollars secured only by your $1,000! This is a huge loan and, as you may know by now, this is what allows traders to make extraordinary incomes in this market. And, as you also are probably used to hearing , "leverage is a two-edged sword" , it is what can cause you to lose a lot of money if you trade without rules or Stop-loss orders.

But just as an example, let's say you were a person that likes to trade with reckless abandon, i.e., with no strategy, no common sense, no money- management principles, etc. That’s never recommended for anyone, but being a Forex trader has such great advantages, that even someone with a trading mind like the one described before, will never lose more than what he has placed into a trade.

Unlike Futures (Commodity Trading), the market that most people associate with High leverage, you can never have a debit balance when trading Forex.

So, despite the greater leverage associated with FX trading, it is still arguably less risky than futures trading. Futures markets are often prone to sudden and dramatic moves, against which you can’t protect yourself, even by trading with protective stops. Your position may be liquidated at a loss, and you’ll be liable for any resulting deficit in the account. But because of the Forex markets great liquidity and 24-hour, continuous trading, dangerous trading gaps and limit moves are very unprobable. Orders are executed quickly, without slippage or partial fills, which is just great.

And as it was not enough, there are no margin calls, for your protection, the forex broker's trading platform will automatically close out some or all of your open positions if your account equity, meaning the total floating value of the account, falls below the level required to hold the positions. Think of this as a final, automatic stop, always working on your behalf to prevent a debit balance.

About the author:
Adrian Pablo; Forex trader and freelance writer.

Forex Training: What to Look for in a Forex Training Program

2008-11-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

by: Raul Lopez

Should new Forex traders take Forex trading courses or join a Forex training program? Definitely yes; by now you have probably heard that only 5% of traders achieve consistent profitable results when trading the Forex market. The main reason for this is the lack of education. Don’t get me wrong here, taking a Forex training program or a Forex trading course won’t guarantee profitable results, nothing can, but choosing the right Forex training program or Forex trading course will definitely put the odds in your favor.

Before spending any amount of money on any Forex trading course or Forex training program there are some important aspects you need to take in consideration. There are many training programs available, but not every one of them suits the needs of every trader.

The first thing you should be looking in a Forex training program is the content of the material. Unfortunately, most courses or training programs focus or spend most of the time on basic concepts. Though these basic concepts are important, spending most of the course on them won’t help the trader to make consistent results.

The following subjects are what I consider the most important aspects of trading and every training program or trading course should address:

Forex trading basics.
Review basic concepts such as: margin, type of orders, a little background, bid/ask, rollover, etc. You need to make sure you understand every single concept to perfection.

Main drawbacks of Forex traders.
Being aware of the common mistakes made by Forex traders and knowing how to handle them will prevent new traders from making those mistakes.

Technical and fundamental analysis.
These are the two main approaches adopted by Forex traders. Knowing how to properly apply each concept will definitely put the odds in your favor.

The three pillars of Forex trading. I consider that these three subjects have the most impact on every trader trading account.

Forex trading system development.
Having the right system is a must if you want to have consistent profitable results. Having a system that doesn’t fit you will cause a series of problems that will make your trading account vanish away (second guessing the system, not following your system, etc.)

Money management.
This is considered by many successful traders to be the most important single aspect of trading. Money management helps to increase your profits geometrically and at the same time limit your losses (i.e. a good risk reward ratio of about 2:1 will make you money in a Forex trading system that is right only 38% of the time.)

Trading psychology.
Being aware and knowing hot to handle the psychological barriers that affect every trader decision will put the odds in your favor.

Other important aspects every training program should include are:
Developing habits for success (such as discipline patience, taking responsibility of every action, commitment, etc.,) understanding and taking our trading as a business, risk and trade management.

Another important aspect you should take into consideration when choosing a Forex training program is the mechanics of it, getting to know how the training program works.

A good course will have the following:

A live conference room, where you can apply everything learned under live market conditions.

One-on-one feedback, every trader has different needs and requires special attention. For instance a trader wanting to improve the system and requires individual feedback from the instructor about it.

Online trading course, a course that could be accessible through internet. A plus is a course where you are able to access the course at the convenient time for you, so you don’t have to change your lifestyle.

A forum, where members can talk just about everything related to the Forex market and the Forex training program.

Trading the Forex market is no easy task. It requires a lot of hard work. Making the right decision will definitely put the odds in your favor. Take your time when doing your diligence because it is a big and important step in a trader’s trading career.

About the author:
Raul Lopez is a full time Forex trader and founder of a high quality Forex training company.

How much investment is enough

2008-11-23T18:12:00.000-08:00

by: Tom

Have you been looking for the best sourced opinion relating to investment.

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A great tip to pursue when you're presented with information and suggestions on a investment article is to verify the ownership of the website. Doing this could reveal the owners investment authorizations The easiest way to reveal who owns the investment web site is to find the sites 'about' page.

All reliable sites providing content on investment, will nearly always have an 'about' or 'contact' page which will provide you with the owner's details. The info should make known a number of key indications about the owner's necessary expertise. You can then decide for yourself about the webmaster's training and understanding, to give recommendations about investment.

About the author:

hugh campbell is the webmaster for http://www.investment-1st.info

Internet Marketing VS Forex Currency Trading

2008-11-23T18:01:00.001-08:00

by: Amin Sadak

Have you ever tried to make money online and failed?
Did you follow your guru's advice and still fail?
Here's an alternative...

Have you noticed that when someone’s trying to sell you something - such as a system for making money - they always make it look far easier than it is?
Let’s look at two Internet businesses, almost as diametrically opposed as it’s possible to be – Internet Marketing and Forex Currency Trading.

You’ve probably heard the old Internet adage – build a better website and they will come. Well it ain’t true!
You could put up a site advertising dollars for a dime and they still wouldn’t come – because they wouldn’t know where to look!

Let’s look at what you need to have in place in order to build a successful Internet marketing business.

First of all, you need a product. If you’ve been reading the recent Internet marketing blurb you’ll know you need a niche product.
Actually, the new thing is sub-niche but whatever they call it, you need a product for which there is high demand but low supply.

Finding a suitable niche is the hardest part of the whole process but let’s say you have a killer product, what else do you need?

The List.
Ask any Internet marketeer and they will say that the most important part of your business is your opt-in list.
For people to join your list you usually have to give them something of value such as a free eBook or report on a subject related to your main product line.
To keep them interested, you need to keep in touch with them offering them additional information, advice and tips.

Website.
To promote your opt-in list you need a website (although there are other ways of promoting your list, too) with features that will encourage people to sign up to your list.
You also need a killer website with killer copy to describe – and sell - your killer product. This may or may not be the same as the one you use for your opt-in list.

Killer copy.
Maybe you’re not a good copywriter. There are many eBooks on the subject that can help you or you can pay someone to write copy for you.

You need a domain name, preferably one with some relation to the product but good domain names are becoming increasing difficult to find.

Ads.
To get people to visit your website in the first place you need to register it with the search engines.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is an art in itself. You can mug up on the subject or pay someone to do the job for you (but be aware that not all experts are!).

You might also want to place ads for your list in newsletters and ezines. The better ones will charge you although you might get a free ad in return for an article.

Autoresponder.
To automate your business you need an autoresponder. These clever devices automatically send emails to everyone on your opt-in list at predetermined intervals, and contain predetermined copy.
For example, you could create a series of emails containing, say, five parts of a free course to be sent one a day over the first five days.
Then emails would be sent once a week advertising a different product each time.
Whenever anyone signs up to your list they automatically start at the beginning so everyone gets the full cycle of marketing material.

We haven’t even looked at affiliate sales and marketing but I’m sure you get the picture.
The basic idea of selling over the Internet sounds good but there’s a lot more to it than most people realise.

Forex Currency Trading

Someone said that trading is the last frontier, the last place where men and women can stand up and pit themselves against the world.

It sounds very Wild Westish but most of it is true! You win or lose entirely by your own efforts and if you win, it’s like having your very own bank.
However, even owning a bank is a business and you still have to work hard to put the money there – and to keep it!

Unlike Internet marketing where all your efforts, in one form or another, are geared towards making people join your list and then selling them stuff,
Currency Trading has no customers. That’s worth repeating – with currency trading, you don’t need customers.

No customers means you don’t need any of the associated accoutrements that go with Internet marketing such as:

Products
Web site
Domain name
Opt-in list
Ads
eBooks and reports
Autoresponder
Any other marketing aids

So far so good, but what do you have to do and what do you need? Well, you need to know what currency prices are doing.

You can get a list of prices at the close of each trading day free from many web sites. If you want to trade during the day – intraday trading,
you can get real-time prices for a nominal fee from several data suppliers.
In the foreign exchange currency market, commonly called forex, you can get this data and charting software free from many web sites.

Okay, that’s the easy bit. In order to trade currencies, you need to analyse the data and determine which way price is heading.
In other words you need a system and this will require study and dedication.

There’s lots of other stuff you have to know, too – trading terminology, margin, leverage, money management, order types, trader psychology and more.
But all of this is available in eBooks and courses and on the Net.

You also need some money upfront to fund your trading account. With forex you can begin with as little as $300-500 although you would be advised to start with more.

So while you don’t have the ongoing quest for new customers, new products and inventive sales techniques,
you do need some sort of education or training before you begin and you need discipline while you’re trading.

For more information on getting started with forex currency trading, go to: www.webkept.com

Making money takes work whether it’s online or off. Make sure you know what’s involved before you start and remember that the more you put into a business, the easier it gets.

About the author:
From the author of the hit Forex Currency Trading book - "Mechanical Discretion", Amin Sadak has created another masterpiece for Business Opportunists.
His new teaching manual "The Affluent Desktop Currency Trader" provides an alternative for people looking for online business opportunities.

Amin teaches the method he uses to download $1000+ every week.

For more information, visit

Trading Currency Through Online Forex Brokers

2008-11-23T17:58:00.000-08:00

by: Jay Moncliff

Access to foreign exchange (forex), the most extensive market on the planet, is generally through an intermediary known as a forex broker. Similar to a stock broker, these agents can also provide advice on forex trading strategies. This advice to clients often extends to technical analysis and research approaches designed to improve client forex trading performance.

Financial institutions are generally the most influential in the forex market through high-volume, large-value forex currency transactions. Historically, banks enjoyed monopolistic access to the forex markets, but through the Internet, any forex speculator can also enjoy 24 hour access to the market via a forex broker.

Secure web connections today allow many forex traders to work from home, where ready access to news and other technical advice informs decisions on what forex positions to take. Similar moves are being made by stock brokers, who are also moving out of banks and other traditional institutions.

Your needs in the market will influence your choice of forex broker. Online forex brokerage firms, known as houses, provide those new to the forex market with detailed research, advice and simulators to learn how to use their forex trading tools. The experienced online forex trader is catered to by other broking houses, with in-depth advice, but less focus on forex trading instruction based on the assumption that you are familiar with the forex market. To make an informed choice, it is advisable to trial several differing online forex broking houses and their trading tools to find the best fit for your needs.

US Dollar pushes on insistent for Risky Assets

2008-11-19T07:40:00.001-08:00

The US dollar pulled back dramatically on Tuesday, particularly in opposition to the high-yielding commodity dollars, amidst a pickup on the go for carry and a development in investor sentiment. Whilst instability stays comparatively high, overnight interest rates have somewhat calmed down, causing the worldwide stock markets to bound higher. With the US dollar being indicated as a “risk free” asset, it is this boost in risk appetite that is directing the currency to low. Is this move going to keep on going? That as well rely on risk tendencies, but one thing we can rely on is unsatisfactory US data on Wednesday.

British Pound dropped almost 3% under 1.50

2008-11-19T07:38:00.002-08:00

The British pound dropped sharply under 1.50 against the US dollar for the 1stt time from 2002 on Wednesday after the Bank of Englands periodical Inflation Report, in which they improved both their escalation and price rises predicts considerably lower. The BOE’s estimates forecast that the UK financial system is going to contract throughout 2009 and CPI is going to fall “well below” the governments two percent goal and could even drop negative, indicating deflation, if not it cuts rates additionally. Consequently, Credit Suisse overnight index swaps have moved to nearly entirely price in a 50bp rate cut by the BOE throughout their next conference on December 4, but this may move even more in imminent weeks as BOE Governor Mervyn King stated that interest rates may drop much lower from present stages, and declined to exclude cutting rates to zero.

Japanese Yen controls as need for carry trades stays dull

2008-11-19T07:38:00.001-08:00

The Japanese yen has traded very sourly recently, but stays under its October 24 highs where the low-yielding currency facing serious resistance against most of the majors. One of the important factors to estimate the steadiness of the trend for the Japanese yen has been the US stock markets, and the opposite connection between the Dow and the yen (and US dollar) has been something we have been seeing regularly. Friday’s price movement was a just right example of this, as the yen finished the day up 1.8 % vs the euro and more than three % against the Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar whilst the Dow forced 3.82 % by the end of the day. Going ahead, we believe this correspondence is going to remain and the odds are for further Japanese yen strength.

European Stock Markets

2008-11-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

European stock markets fell Tuesday following Asian losses amid further gloom about the state of the world economy and the banking systems prospects in particular. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 63.37 points, or 1.5 percent, at 4,069.79, while Germanys DAX was 64.85, or 1.4 percent, lower at 4,492.42. The CAC-40 in France was down 47.79, or 1.5 percent, at 3,134.24. Banks across Europe were particularly badly hit by recession fears after Citigroup announced it would cut thousans of jobs, with Barclays PLC down 6 percent, HBOS PLC another 12 percent, Deutsche Bank AG 5 percent and Commerzbank AG 6 percent. "There is huge uncertainty hanging over the markets head, and banks are really out of favor," said Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Partners. The morning losses in Europe follow similar drops in Asia. Tokyos Nikkei 225 stock average fell 194.17 points, or 2.3 percent to 8,328.41, a day after confirmation Japan, the worlds second largest economy, had slipped into a recession. Hong Kongs Hang Seng Index shed 4.5 percent to 13,131.23. The lurch lower in Europe and Asia followed Wall Street, where traders sold heavily on evidence of more economic weakness and Citigroup Incs announcement Monday that it is to cull 53,000 jobs around the world as it seeks to deal with the impact of the financial crisis. The Dow fell Monday by 223.73 points, or 2.6 percent, to 8,273.58. The Standard Poors 500 index fell 22.54, or 2.6 percent, to 850.75. Wall Street futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday. Dow futures were down 1.1 percent to 8171. Some hopeful signs emerged with the news that inflation in Britain fell in October for the first time in 14 months largely because of cheaper oil prices. Official figures showed that the annual rate of the consumer price index measure of inflation dropped to 4.5 percent in the year to October from 5.2 percent in the year to September. Analysts had expected a more modest decline to 4.7 percent. As a result, the markets are expecting the Bank of England to continue to cut interest rates aggressively over the coming months, with some predicting it to lop off another percentage point of its benchmark rate when it meets again in early December.

Pak Rupee goes up against dollar

2008-11-19T07:35:00.000-08:00

The national currency against dollar appreciated by paisa 40 in the inter-bank trading today, as it was being bought at Rs79.30 and sold at Rs79.50. Forex market dealers said that the stability in the value of rupee since last several days gave confidence to the people and spurred positive sentiments among the business community, which prompted exporters selling more dollars in the market. On the other hand, the financial assistance extended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) further gave impetus to the strengthening rupee in the market. Dollar in open market today was being bought at Rs79.50 and sold at Rs80.

Asian Stock Markets Go Negative

2008-11-19T07:30:00.002-08:00

TOKYO: Asian stock markets also witnessed a negative trend Tuesday in the backdrop of yesterdays crash of stock markets in the US and Europe. US major financial group, Citibank announcement relating to the layoff of its over 50,000 employees had further dampened the sentiments of the investors. Following Japans recession and yesterdays slump, the trading today also opened on a negative note and Tokyos Nikkei 225 index was seen plummeted by 1.26 percent. South Koreas Kospi index plunged by 2.3 percent and Hong Kongs Hang Seng index was seen receded by 1.7 percent. Sanghais index was seen rising up by 0.4 percent due to Chinas strong economy and bailout package. On the other hand, Australia and New Zealand stock markets kicked off negative.

FTAs with China, Malaysia worsen Pak trade imbalance

2008-11-19T07:30:00.001-08:00

Pakistan has so far signed three Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), of which trade balance with two countries is in negative while the remaining one shows marginal growth.

Trade balance with China and Malaysia was not in favour of Pakistan as imports from the two countries surpassed the goods exported to them during the outgoing fiscal, reveals official data compiled by the Ministry of Commerce.

The FTA between Pakistan and Sri Lanka signed in 2005 and with China in November 2006 while the FTA with Malaysia is operational from January 2008.

Trade balance between China and Pakistan is widening ever since the signing of FTA and it swelled from $2.95 billion in 2006-07 to $4.01 billion in 2007-08 while trade figures with Malaysia ballooned from $872 million in 2006-07 to $1.44 billion in 2007-08, it said.

There was a phenomenal growth in import of Chinese machinery and parts, chemical elements and compounds, fertilizer manufactured, yarn and synthetic fibers, construction material and others.

FTA with Malaysia is also in negative and the commodities imported from Malaysia include animal and vegetable oils and fats, chemical elements and compounds, machinery and parts and others.

The FTA between Pakistan and Sri Lanka is in favour of Pakistan as the trade balance is in surplus, however the exports registered only a nominal growth of $15 million when compared with the corresponding period.

The commodities showing surge in exports include rice and vegetables & pulses whereas cotton fabrics’ exports declined.

Sri Lanka would be able to enjoy duty free market access on 206 products in the Pakistani market including tea, rubber and coconut. Pakistan, in return, would gain duty free access on 102 products in the Sri Lankan market. These products include oranges, basmati rice and engineering goods.

LSE volume hits record low

2008-11-19T07:29:00.000-08:00

LAHORE: Trade volume dived to a record low of 1,000 shares on the Lahore stock market on Wednesday with index remaining static for the fourth day in a row.

Active shares totaled 80, but no change was recorded in any one of them. NICL was the volume leader, accounting for all 1,000 shares traded during the day.

Brokers were fuming with anger as there had virtually been no activity in the market for more than two months.

Even some of those, who had supported ‘index floor’ because of fear of huge losses, now want the floor to be removed.

All the three bourses of the country, which in normal trading days had moved in tandem, are now operating independent of each other.

In fact, active companies on LSE are more than double the active shares on the Karachi stock market, the largest bourse of the country.

Investors still fear that the floor may not be removed on November 17. Many brokers, however, believe that pressure from donor agencies would ultimately force regulators to direct bourses to resume normal trading.

T-bill auction signals rise in discount rate

2008-11-19T07:28:00.000-08:00

The central bank raised its three month treasury bill cut-off yield by 97 basis points to 13.53 per cent on Wednesday, which analysts said was an indication of an interest rate rise in coming days.

The cut-off yield on the 3-month treasury bills was 12.56 per cent in an auction on Oct. 22. The weighted average yield on the 3-month paper came at 12.90 per cent at Wednesday’s auction, up from 12.56 per cent on Oct 22, the State Bank of Pakistan said.

“The rise in the T-bill yield clearly manifests a further tightening of monetary stance. We expect the central bank to increase its policy rate by at least 150 to 200 basis points,” said Asif Qureshi, Head of Research at Invisor Securities Ltd.

Qureshi said monetary tightening may be a prerequisite for securing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. Pakistan is facing a balance-of-payments crisis and has a few weeks to raise billions of dollars in foreign loans to meet debt payments and pay for imports. The IMF and Pakistan are discussing terms and conditions of assistance but the government still hopes friendly governments such as Saudi Arabia will come to its financial rescue.

A government official told Reuters last week the IMF had said Pakistan would need to raise its benchmark discount rate, now at 13 per cent, by 3.5 to 4.0 percentage points. Pakistan had asked the IMF to agree to put off any interest rate increase at least until January, the official said.

“Cash-starved Pakistan is likely to embrace an IMF programme where it would be asked to raise the policy rate,” said Muzzamil Aslam, Economist at KASB Securities Ltd.

“We’re eyeing a 150 basis points one-off rate hike, anytime post today’s auction.” Pakistan’s top economic adviser, Shaukat Tarin said last week interest rates would be raised if it was believed necessary to cut inflation, which is close to 25 per cent.

Tarin also gave the example of Iceland which raised its interest rates by 6 per cent after entering an IMF programme. Foreign exchange reserves fell $400 million to $6.92 billion in the week to Oct 25, out of which the central bank accounted for $3.71 billion.

The rupee ended firmer at 80.90/81.10 to the dollar, compared with Tuesday’s closing of 81.35/45.

Benefits of Forex Trading

2008-11-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

by: Cynthia Macy

There are many benefits and advantages to trading Forex. Here are just a few
reasons why so many people are choosing this market as a business
opportunity:

1. LEVERAGE: In Forex trading, a small margin deposit can control a much
larger total contract value. Leverage gives the trader the ability to make
extraordinary profits and at the same time keep risk capital to a minimum. Some
Forex firms offer 200 to 1 leverage, which means that a $50 dollar margin
deposit would enable a trader to buy or sell $10,000 worth of currencies.
Similarly, with $500 dollars, one could trade with $100,000 dollars and so on.

2. LIQUIDITY: Because the Forex Market is so large, it is also extremely liquid.
This means that with a click of a mouse you can instantaneously buy and sell at
will. You are never 'stuck' in a trade. You can even set the online trading
platform to automatically close your position at your desired profit level (limit
order), and/or close a trade if a trade is going against you (stop order).

3. PROFIT IN BOTH 'RISING' AND 'FALLING' MARKETS: On the stock
markets, you can only make money if shares are rising, but in economic
recession and falling 'bear' markets, there is little chance of making big money.
Forex is different. One of the most exciting advantages of FX trading is the ability
to generate profits whether a currency pair is 'up' or 'down'. A trader can profit
by taking a 'long' position, (buying the currency pair at one price and selling it
later at a higher price), or a 'short' position, (selling the currency pair and buying
it back at a lower price). For example, if you think the US dollar will increase in
value vs. the Japanese Yen then you will buy Dollars and sell Yen (go long). If
you think the Yen will increase in value against the Dollar then you will sell
Dollars and buy yen (go short). As long as the trader picks the right direction, a
potential for profit always exists.

4. 24 HRS: From Sunday evening to Friday Afternoon EST the Forex market
never sleeps. This is very desirable for those who want to trade on a part-time
basis, because you can choose when you want to trade--morning, noon or night.

5. FREE 'DEMO' ACCOUNTS, NEWS, CHARTS AND ANALYSIS: Most Online
Forex firms offer free 'Demo' accounts to practice trading, along with breaking
Forex news and charting services. These are very valuable resources for traders
who would like to hone their trading skills with 'virtual' money before opening a
live trading account.

6. 'MINI' TRADING: One might think that getting started as a currency trader
would cost a lot of money. The fact is, it doesn't. Online Forex Firms now offer
'mini' trading accounts with a minimum account deposit of only $200-$500 with
no commission trading. This makes Forex much more accessible to the average
individual, without large, start-up capital.

Please visit the author's other trading sites to learn more about forex trading:

http://www.daytrade-forex.com
http://www.daytradeforex.com
http://www.daytradeforex.com/products.htm
http://www.professionalforextrading.info
http://www.professionalforextradingonline.info
http://www.successtrading2000.com
http://www.successtrading2000.com/forex
http://www.tradecurrency.ca/education.htm
http://www.shortterminvestingsite.com

About the author:
My name is Cynthia Macy and I've been trading various markets for over 12 years. I now concentrate on the forex market, as it has several advantages over trading
other markets. If you'd like to learn more about forex trading, visit:

Request the 'Trade of the Week' to see actual trades using our trading methods and strategies.

Forex: Benefits of Trading the Forex Market

2008-11-19T07:18:00.000-08:00

by: Raul Lopez

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.

24hr Market.

This one is also one of the greatest advantages of trading Forex. It is an around the click market, the market opens on Sunday at 3:00 pm EST when New Zealand begins operations, and closes on Friday at 5:00 pm EST when San Francisco terminates operations. There are transactions in practically every time zone, allowing active traders to choose at what time to trade.

Leverage trading.

Trading the Forex Market offers a greater buying power than many other markets. Some Forex brokers offer leverage up to 400:1, allowing traders to have only 0.25% in margin of the total investment. For instance, a trader using 100:1 means that to have a US$100,000 position, only US$1,000 are needed on margin to be able to open that position.

Low Transaction costs.

Almost all brokers offer commission free trading. The only cost traders incur in any transaction is the spread (difference between the buy and sell price of each currency pair). This spread could be as low as 1 pip (the minimum increment in any currency pair) in some pairs.

Low minimum investment.

The Forex market requires less capital to start trading than any other markets. The initial investment could go as low as $300 USD, depending on leverage offered by the broker. This is a great advantage since Forex traders are able to keep their risk investment to the lowest level.

Specialized trading.

The liquidity of the market allows us to focus on just a few instruments (or currency pairs) as our main investments (85% of all trading transactions are made on the seven major currencies). Allowing us to monitor, and at the end get to know each instrument better.

Trading from anywhere.

If you do a lot of traveling, you can trade from anywhere in the world just having an internet connection.

Some of the most important differences between the Forex market and other markets are explained below.

Forex market vs. Equity markets

Liquidity

FX market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume.

Equity market: Around 200 billion on a daily basis.

Trading hours

FX market: 24hr market, 5.5 days a week.

Equity market: Monday through Friday from 8:30 EST to 5:00 EST.

Profit potential

FX market: In both, rising and falling markets.

Equity market: Most traders/investor profit only from rising markets.

Transaction costs

FX market: Commission free and tight spreads.

Equity market: High Commissions and transaction fees.

Buying power

FX market: Leverage up to 400:1.

Equity market: Leverage from 2:1 to 4:1.

Specialization

FX market: most volume (85%) is made on major currencies (USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CHF, CAD and AUD.)

Equity market: More than 40,000 stocks to choose from.

Forex market vs. Futures market

Liquidity

FX Market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume.

Futures market: Around 400 billion dollars on a daily basis.

Transaction costs

FX market: Commission free and tight spreads.

Futures market: High commissions fees.

Margin

FX market: Fixed rate of margin on every position.

Futures market: Different levels of margin on overnight positions than day time positions.

Trade execution

FX market: Instantaneous execution.

Futures market: Inconsistent execution.

All this makes the Forex market very attractive to investors and traders. But I need to make something clear, although the benefits of trading the Forex market are notorious; it is still difficult to make a successful career trading the Forex market. It requires a lot of education, discipline, commitment and patience, as any other market.

Electronic Currency Exchange

2008-11-19T07:17:00.000-08:00

by: Timothy Rohrer

Copyright 2005 Timothy Rohrer

One of the easiest ways to make money online today is to learn e-currency trading. Many people have spent countless hours looking for the perfect program that will make them a millionaire over night. The truth is, these programs do not exist. Electronic currency exchange allows people to make a long-term investment that can yield substantial profits in years to come.

There are a number of courses available online that can help anyone get started and become successful in the currency exchange market. These courses offer essential resources and techniques that will help even the novice user make the most of their investment.

The first thing one would do if interested in getting started in e-currency trading is to open a portfolio. After the creation of their portfolio an initial investment is then made. The portfolio will receive daily gains of anywhere from 2.% to .4%. Therefore on a $1,000 investment a user can expect to profit very close to $5 per day. Over the course of a year it is not uncommon to turn an initial investment of $1,000 into a $50,000 portfolio where they will realize profits of $200 a day.

The most recent course that I have looked at has been the Mazu course. The course provides one on one phone support, conference calls, chat rooms, forums, and a beginner and advanced course on how to trade in the e-currency exchange market. After having reviewed the Mazu program it turned out to be a very helpful legitimate program.

About the author:
Tim Rohrer is an established e-currency exchange trader. Learn how Tim Rohrer turned $400 into $3,700 in just under 2 months.

Mazu E-currency Exchange

2008-11-19T07:12:00.000-08:00

by: Tim Rohrer

If you are like many of the thousands of people trying to make money online today, then you are probably trying to find a program that works. I have tried Quixstar, Market America and Amway, all of which require you to build a down line and sell a product. The one and only program that I found to work is the e-currency exchange program.

Electronic currency exchange is the fastest growing online business today. Currency exchanging allows users to tap into a global network where they can trade e-currencies such as INTgold, E-gold, Netpay and many more on a daily basis.

Here is how it all works. Initially the user creates a portfolio that is compounded daily, with gains ranging anywhere from .3% to .5% of their portfolio value. If a portfolio has a value of $5,000 then .3% gains per day would come out to roughly $450 a month in net profit. Once a user has reached the $5,000 mark there are other ways to maximize their profits.

At the $5,000 mark, the user can apply for what is called a console. A console allows the user to build float and move funds from and to e-currencies such as from INTgold to Netpay. When a user builds float, he or she is building up capital that they can temporarily lend to an e-currency to complete a transaction. Let me explain in more detail. If you have $400 in float, you can temporarily lend your $400 to an e-currency to process transactions for other traders. In return for lending that $400 to an e-currency to process a transaction they will pay you 6% of the total amount you lent to them, which turns out to be $24. The $400 you initially lent to an e-currency is now $424. Money is constantly flowing in and out of the global e-currency network, therefore is it possible to process multiple transaction just like the one above on a daily basis.

E-currency is a relatively unknown, but lucrative business. The learning curve is extremely slow, however does pay off. I have tried to learn the e-currency exchange network sitting in chat rooms, reading forums and asking questions. This method became tiresome and time consuming. After spending countless hours trying to figure out e-currency on my own, I eventually purchased a guide that showed me how to maximize my trades and work the system in a simplified manner. If you are truly interested in e-currency trading, there are plenty of resources available online to help anyone get started.

About the author:
Tim Rohrer is an established writer and e-currency trader. There is only one program that has proven to pay the bills month to month.

HomebuilderStocks.com Reports “Homebuilder Stocks Finish Up A Record Breaking Year With Strong Projections For 2005”.

2008-11-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

by: dawn van zant

POINT ROBERTS, WA. January 3rd, 2005 - www.HomebuilderStocks.com, (HBS) a global investment news and research portal for the homebuilder sector, reports in an exclusive article, that most major homebuilding companies reported banner year end results, with share prices jumping to record amounts. Companies like Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL: NYSE), KB Home (KBH: NYSE), and Lennar Corporation (LEN: NYSE) released spectacular year end financials that all but dwarfed profits realized in previous years. Both analysts and market participants remain firmly bullish in their forecasts for the coming year.
HBS does not make stock recommendations but offers a unique free information portal for investors to explore news, articles, and recent research. The site is currently compensated by featured company International Barrier Technology Inc. (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSXV).
Homebuilder Stocks Finish Up a Record Breaking Year with Strong Projections For 2005.
Article Excerpt
By Brian Noer
January, 2005
A new report by Banc of America Securities (Homebuilding Update Raising Estimates and Target Prices on Further Margin Expansion) has projected 16% growth for the homebuilder sector in 2005, despite previous industry anticipations of a market slowdown.
While the Banc of America report (By Daniel Oppenheim) expects to see 2005 new home sales dropping by 8% nationally due to rising interest rates, the major companies should continue to capture market share from smaller, private homebuilders. This is particularly good news for manufacturers of building materials, like International Barrier (IBTGF: OTCBB) whose Blazeguard® fire resistant paneling is currently being used by four of the nation’s major homebuilders.
"We had a tremendous year in Fiscal 2004, which ended October 31st," said Fred Cooper, Senior Vice President of Finance with Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL: NYSE). Fiscal 2004 was the company’s 12th consecutive year of record earnings and their 13th of record revenues.
“It has been an amazing 4 to 5 years of housing,” Mike Huddy, President and CEO of International Barrier (IBTGF: OTCBB) concurred. “Not only are housing starts up but there is an increase in the number of starts for multi family housing. Clustered housing developments are a bigger part of what is going on in the United States than what it used to be, for people who are entering retirement age or for first time home buyers. Of course we plan to capitalize on that.”
Full article: http://www.homebuilderstocks.com/Companies/HomebuilderStocks/Articles/Homebuilder_Growth.asp
Our current list of public companies in the sector includes: Toll Brothers(TOL: NYSE), Beazer Homes USA, Inc., Brookfield Homes, Centex, Inc., Home Depot, Homestore, Inc., KB Home (KBH: NYSE), Lennar Corporation (LEN: NYSE), Lowe’s, Monterey Homes, Orleans Homebuilders, Inc., Pulte Homes and numerous others. For the complete list, click here: http://www.homebuilderstocks.com/Companies/HomebuilderStocks/HomebuilderStockList.asp
The Insiders Corner
Read the exclusive InvestorIdeas.com Feature “The Insiders Corner,” a weekly feature by well-known financial writer and author Michael Brush. http://investorideas.com/insiderscorner/
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TO SIGN UP, click here: www.InvestorIdeas.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp
Featured Company: International Barrier Technology Inc. (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSXV) develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary fire resistant building materials branded as Blazeguard®. Barrier’s award-winning Blazeguard® wood panels use a patented, non-toxic, non-combustible coating with an extraordinary capability: it releases water in the heat of fire. The panels exceed “model” building code requirements in every targeted fire test and application, and are unique in combining properties that increase panel strength and minimize environmental and human impact. Blazeguard® provides Barrier’s customers a premium material choice meeting an increasingly challenging combination of requirements in residential and commercial building construction. Blazeguard® customers include four of the five top homebuilders! www.intlbarrier.com
ECON is a privately owned corporate communications company specializing in: media relations, investor relations, and research on public companies and industry sectors, for the investment community. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results, therefore investigate before you invest! Although we attempt to research thoroughly, we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of any information presented. We encourage all investors to use our sites only as a resource to further their own research. The site is compensated by its "Featured Companies,” as outlined in our on-line disclaimer at www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp. HomebuilderStocks.com/ECON is compensated by Featured Company IBH. (ECON is paid a fee of Eight thousand dollars per month, plus stock options of up to one hundred and ten thousand shares exercisable at eighty cents and currently has a remainder of twenty-five thousand dollars in options at twenty-five cents not exercised.)

SOURCE: ECON Investor Relations Inc., which owns the domain www.HomebuilderStocks.com.

For more information contact:
Dawn Van Zant / Trevor Ruehs / Brian Noer
Toll free: 800-665-0411
Email: dvanzant@investorideas.com, truehs@investorideas.com or bnoer@investorideas.com
Web Site: http://www.InvestorIdeas.com

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter please hit reply to this email or email: cbillinkoff@investorideas.com and type in: SUBSCRIBE (HB) or REMOVE (HB) in the subject line.

About the author:
HBS does not make stock recommendations but offers a unique free information portal for investors to explore news, articles, and recent research.

IndiaStockMarket.com Presents “Twenty six blue-chip companies in India” - an exclusive feature by well known market analyst Dr. Udaylal Pai.

2008-11-19T07:10:00.000-08:00

by: dawn van zant

For Immediate Release
Date: November 10, 2004

IndiaStockMarket.com Presents “Twenty six blue-chip companies in India” - an exclusive feature by well known market analyst Dr. Udaylal Pai.

POINT ROBERTS, Wash., November 10, 2004 – www.IndiaStockMarket.com, a global investor portal about the Indian stock and investing sector, is pleased to provide investors an exclusive report on India’s Stock Markets. The article features twenty six Indian blue-chip companies, with a brief overview of each. The report was prepared by Dr.Udaylal Pai, a journalist, market analyst, and author, with twenty years of experience in covering business issues in India for international publications.

As interest in the Indian markets increases, the new portal plans to keep investors informed regularly, with content created at the source but with a North American perspective.
InvestorIdeas and ISM are not affiliated or compensated by the companies mentioned in this article. Companies interested in becoming a featured company on this portal please contact us for a proposal.

Report Excerpt: “Twenty six blue-chip companies in India.”

Hero Honda - Racing Ahead

(HHML), the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world, is a joint venture promoted by Hero Cycles (P) Limited and Honda Motor Company of Japan. The company is the market leader in the motorcycle segment with a 44% market share in FY03 (50% in FY02). The company is also the largest producer of motorcycles among all Honda companies in the world. Splendor is the single largest selling two-wheeler model worldwide. Hero Honda's main characteristics are its four-stroke engine technology; fuel efficiency and low exhaust pollution levels. It exports to around 31 countries including Sri Lanka, Africa, west Asia, Bermuda, Zaire, and Paraguay.

The Indian two wheeler sector is the largest in terms of volumes (70%) among all the segments in the automobile industry. The segment can be further categorized into three main sub-segments - scooters, motorcycles and mopeds. With strong brand equity of its fuel-efficient vehicles, a wide range of motorcycles, and backing of the global leader Honda, HHML is well placed in the sector.

Asian Paints - Painting the world red

Asian Paints are the market leader in India’s paint industry with a commanding market share of about 39% in the organized segment. It is among the top ten players in the decorative segment in the world! Asian Paints has also undertaken overseas acquisitions which has transformed it into India’s premier multi-national paint company.

Apart from the domestic market, the company has expanded its presence in the international arena through acquisitions in the recent past (operates in about 22 countries). On a consolidated basis, 73% of revenues comes from domestic paints markets, 21% comes from international business and remaining 7% from chemicals business.

Asian Paints is positioned to benefit from the housing construction boom in the country. The company has presence in both Decorative and Industrial Coating segment of the Paint business. Both this segment constitutes 92% of the topline of APIL.

BPCL - Leading player in Gas

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) has made rapid strides and emerged as one of India’s leading petroleum majors alongside its public sector units.

(PSU) peers such as HPCL and IOCL. The company’s current refining capacity stands at 8.5 MTPA and is expected to increase to 12 MTPA by FY05. Its two subsidiaries Numaligarh and Kochi Refinery increase the combined capacity to 19 MTPA. BPCL`s network includes 4,850 retail outlets and 1,800 LPG distributors. It plans to enter exploration in next three years and is known for its pro-activeness.

Full article: http://www.indiastockmarket.com/ISM/Article/Blue-Chip.asp

Disclaimer: ECON Investor Relations Inc is the owner of this domain.

ECON is a privately owned corporate communications company specializing in: investor relations, media relations, and research on public companies and industry sectors; for the investment community. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results, therefor investigate before you invest! Although we attempt to research thoroughly, we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of any information presented. We encourage all investors to use our sites only as a resource to further their own research.

The site is compensated by its "Featured Companies, as outlined in our on-line disclaimer at: www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp

Contact:
Dawn Van Zant / Trevor Ruehs
dvanzant@investorideas.com, truehs@investorideas.com

Toll free: 800-665-0411

About the author:
ECON is a privately owned corporate communications company specializing in: investor relations, media relations, and research on public companies and industry sectors; for the investment community. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results, therefor investigate before you invest! Although we attempt to research thoroughly, we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of any information presented. We encourage all investors to use our sites only as a resource to further their own research.

HomebuilderStocks.com - Reports This Week: Record Breaking Fourth Quarter and Year End Results from Toll Brothers Boosts Homebuilder Market

2008-11-19T07:09:00.000-08:00

by: dawn van zant

News Release
December 9th, 2004
HomebuilderStocks.com - Reports This Week: Record Breaking Fourth Quarter and Year End Results from Toll Brothers Boosts Homebuilder Market
POINT ROBERTS, WA. December 9th, 2004 - www.HomebuilderStocks.com, (HBS) a global investment news and research portal for the homebuilder sector, reports that record breaking fourth quarter and year end results from top homebuilding company Toll Brothers resulted in share price gains of two to five percent across the board for top industry participants. With records breaking and future outlook earnings boosted, speculators continue to follow the sector intensely. HomebuilderStocks.com provides investors with news, information, public company profiles, and developing trends in the homebuilder sector.
HBS does not make stock recommendations but offers a unique free information portal for investors to explore news, articles, and recent research. The site is currently compensated by featured company International Barrier Technology Inc. (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSXV).
Toll Brothers, Inc. (www.tollbrothers.com), the nation’s leading builder of luxury homes, on Thursday December 9th, 2004, reported record fourth-quarter and fiscal-year-end results for earnings, revenues, contracts and backlog for the period ended October 31, 2004. The Company reported that their fourth-quarter results were the highest for any quarter in its history. Toll Brothers stock previously set an all time high of $55.20 on Monday, December 5th, 2004.
As of Thursday Morning (December 9th, 2004) other large homebuilders were riding the wave and showed significant share price gains:
DR Horton up $1.29 to $36.94
Centex Corp. up $2.24 to $53.25
KB Home up $2.47 to $94.48
Lennar Corp. up $1.82 to $46.09
Toll Brothers up $5.04 to $59.17
The Dow Jones US Construction Index was also up by 3.4%.
Sector analysts said that earnings growth for Toll Brothers are the result of higher sales for the company, which is a more reliable indicator than if margins were driving the increase.
Our current list of public companies in the sector includes: Beazer Homes USA, Inc., Brookfield Homes, Centex, Inc., Home Depot, Homestore, Inc., KB Home, Lennar Corporation, Lowe’s, Monterey Homes, Orleans Homebuilders, Inc., Pulte Homes and numerous others. For the complete list, click here: http://www.homebuilderstocks.com/Companies/HomebuilderStocks/HomebuilderStockList.asp
Featured Company: International Barrier Technology Inc. (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSXV) develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary fire resistant building materials branded as Blazeguard. Barrier’s award-winning Blazeguard wood panels use a patented, non-toxic, non-combustible coating with an extraordinary capability: it releases water in the heat of fire. The panels exceed “model” building code requirements in every targeted fire test and application, and are unique in combining properties that increase panel strength and minimize environmental and human impact. Blazeguard provides Barrier’s customers a premium material choice meeting an increasingly challenging combination of requirements in residential and commercial building construction. Blazeguard customers include four of the five top homebuilders! www.intlbarrier.com

InvestorIdeas.com free Investor Incite Newsletter consists of: company and industry updates, investment research and developing trends. It's an excellent way to keep updated on news, events and Investor Ideas in key areas such as Homeland Security, Renewable Energy, Nanotechnology and more...
To sign up click here: http://www.HomebuilderStocks.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp

Disclaimer: ECON Corporate Services Inc (ECON) is the owner of this domain. ECON is a privately owned corporate communications company specializing in: media relations, investor relations, and research on public companies and industry sectors, for the investment community. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results, therefore investigate before you invest! Although we attempt to research thoroughly, we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of any information presented. We encourage all investors to use our sites only as a resource to further their own research. The site is compensated by its "Featured Companies,” as outlined in our on-line disclaimer at www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp. HomebuilderStocks.com/ECON is compensated by Featured Company IBH (ECON is paid a fee of Eight thousand five hundred dollars per month, plus stock options of up to one hundred and ten thousand shares exercisable at eighty cents and currently has a remainder of twenty-five thousand dollars in options at twenty-five cents not exercised.
SOURCE: ECON Investor Relations Inc., which owns the domain www.HomebuilderStocks.com.

For more information contact:

Dawn Van Zant 800-665-0411 Brian Noer 866-730-1152
Email: dvanzant@investorideas.com or bnoer@investorideas.com
Web Site: http://www.InvestorIdeas.com

About the author:
HomebuilderStocks.com provides investors with news, information, public company profiles, and developing trends in the homebuilder sector.
HBS does not make stock recommendations but offers a unique free information portal for investors to explore news, articles, and recent research.

HomebuilderStocks.com Reports – Homebuilder Sector Hits Milestone: All Time Construction Spending High

2008-11-19T07:07:00.000-08:00

by: Brian Noer

Commerce Department report states that construction spending was at an all time high in September, and that consumer spending is still strong.

POINT ROBERTS, WA. – November 3, 2005 - www.HomebuilderStocks.com, (HBS) a global investment news and research portal for the homebuilder sector, reports that the month of September saw the homebuilding sector hit another milestone. According to a Commerce Department report, construction spending in September reached an all time high of $1.12 trillion as homebuilders took advantage of low interest rates. While September’s interest rates were still low, analysts predict that the Federal Reserve will be hiking rates up to combat inflation concerns as energy prices rise. Even though rates look set to rise, the homebuilding sector is well positioned as many parts of the country need to be rebuilt following recent hurricane activity.

September’s record breaking construction spending followed gains of .6% in both July and August. In recent weeks homebuilder stocks took a hit due to an uncertain outlook on consumer spending, but the Commerce Department report also stated that consumer spending was still strong, which sent sector stocks on a rally. Also on Monday, Centex Corp. announced a share repurchase plan to buy back up to 5 million shares of its common stock. At market close Centex shares traded at $64.34, down 1% from Friday. The nation’s biggest homebuilder D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) announced earlier in October that orders for new homes rose nearly 26% in the last quarter.

HBS does not make stock recommendations but offers a unique free information portal for investors to explore news, articles, and recent research. The site is currently compensated by featured companies International Barrier Technology Inc. (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSXV) and Cyberlux Corporation (OTCBB: CYBL).

Our current list of public companies in the sector includes: Toll Brothers, Beazer Homes USA, Inc., Ryland Group, Brookfield Homes, Centex, Inc., Home Depot, Homestore, Inc., KB Home, Lennar Corporation, Lowe’s, Monterey Homes, Orleans Homebuilders, Inc., Pulte Homes and numerous others.

For the complete list, click here: http://www.homebuilderstocks.com/Companies/HomebuilderStocks/HomebuilderStockList.asp

Featured Companies:
International Barrier Technology Inc. (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSXV) develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary fire resistant building materials branded as Blazeguard®. Barrier’s award-winning Blazeguard® wood panels use a patented, non-toxic, non-combustible coating with an extraordinary capability: it releases water in the heat of fire. The panels exceed “model” building code requirements in every targeted fire test and application, and are unique in combining properties that increase panel strength and minimize environmental and human impact. Blazeguard® provides Barrier’s customers a premium material choice meeting an increasingly challenging combination of requirements in residential and commercial building construction. Blazeguard® customers include four of the five top homebuilders! www.intlbarrier.com - http://www.homebuilderstocks.com/Companies/IntlBarrier/Default.asp

Cyberlux Corporation (OTCBB: CYBL) has created breakthrough lighting technology that provides the most energy efficient and cost effective lighting solutions available today. Several products are designed to address emergencies such as power outages or critical security lighting needs and others which bring newly developed heatless light into the home for use in closets, cabinet interiors and under cabinet lighting for kitchen counters. Cyberlux uses solid-state semiconductors, trademarked as its diodal(tm) lighting elements, which consume 92 percent less energy than incandescent elements and perform for over 20 years in contrast to 750 hours for traditional bulbs. http://www.cyberlux.com/ - http://www.homebuilderstocks.com/CO/CYBL/Default.asp

The Insiders Corner
Read the exclusive InvestorIdeas.com Feature “The Insiders Corner,” a weekly feature by well-known financial writer and author Michael Brush. http://investorideas.com/insiderscorner/
Investor Incite Newsletter
InvestorIdeas.com free "Investor Incite" Newsletter consists of company and industry updates, investment research and developing trends in key areas such as Homeland Security, Renewable Energy, Nanotechnology and more.
TO SIGN UP, click here: www.InvestorIdeas.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp

ECON is a privately owned corporate communications company specializing in: media relations, investor relations, and research on public companies and industry sectors, for the investment community. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results, therefore investigate before you invest! Although we attempt to research thoroughly, we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of any information presented. We encourage all investors to use our sites only as a resource to further their own research. The site is compensated by its "Featured Companies,” as outlined in our on-line disclaimer at www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp. HomebuilderStocks.com/ECON is compensated by Featured Companies: IBH and CYBL. IBH pays ECON a fee of Eight thousand seven hundred dollars per month, plus 100,000 stock options. Cyberlux Corporation - Four thousand dollars per month. Featured Company on HomelandDefenseStocks.com and HomebuilderStocks.com

SOURCE: www.HomebuilderStocks.com.

For more information contact:
Dawn Van Zant / Brian Noer
Toll free: 800-665-0411
Email: dvanzant@investorideas.com or bnoer@investorideas.com
Web Site: http://www.InvestorIdeas.com

About the author:
HBS does not make stock recommendations but offers a unique free information portal for investors to explore news, articles, and recent research. The site is currently compensated by featured companies International Barrier Technology Inc. (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSXV) and Cyberlux Corporation (OTCBB: CYBL).

HomebuilderStocks.com Reports: Commerce Department Announces Record Levels of Single Family Home Sales in June

2008-11-19T07:06:00.000-08:00

by: Dawn Van Zant

US Department Of Commerce Report States That Single Family Home Sales for June Increased By 1.4% over May

POINT ROBERTS, WA. July 28, 2005 - www.HomebuilderStocks.com, (HBS) a global investment news and research portal for the homebuilder sector, reports upon the release of a Commerce Department report, stating that single family home sales for June increased by 1.4% over the month of May. Both analysts and market participants remain firmly bullish in their forecasts for the coming year.

HBS does not make stock recommendations but offers a unique free information portal for investors to explore news, articles, and recent research. The site is currently compensated by featured companies International Barrier Technology Inc. (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSXV) and Cyberlux Corporation (OTCBB: CYBL).

Commerce Department Reports Record Levels of Home Sales in June
www.HomeBuilderStocks.com, Washington, July 27, 2005 – A report released yesterday by the Commerce Department stated that the sale of single-family homes had hit an all time high as of June 2005. June saw a 4% increase over the month of May, hitting a high of 1.37 million units per annum. The report also stated that orders for big ticket manufactured items rose by 1.4% over May. This news was taken by market analysts as a further sign of an economy that is gaining ground fast, with the Federal Reserve calling the economic expansion “solid”.

To Read Full HS Report Click Here:
http://www.HomebuilderStocks.com/Companies/HomebuilderStocks/Articles/HomeSales.asp

Our current list of public companies in the sector includes: Toll Brothers, Beazer Homes USA, Inc., Ryland Group, Brookfield Homes, Centex, Inc., Home Depot, Homestore, Inc., KB Home, Lennar Corporation, Lowe’s, Monterey Homes, Orleans Homebuilders, Inc., Pulte Homes and numerous others.

For the complete list, click here: http://www.homebuilderstocks.com/Companies/HomebuilderStocks/HomebuilderStockList.asp

Featured Companies:
International Barrier Technology Inc. (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSXV) develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary fire resistant building materials branded as Blazeguard®. Barrier’s award-winning Blazeguard® wood panels use a patented, non-toxic, non-combustible coating with an extraordinary capability: it releases water in the heat of fire. The panels exceed “model” building code requirements in every targeted fire test and application, and are unique in combining properties that increase panel strength and minimize environmental and human impact. Blazeguard® provides Barrier’s customers a premium material choice meeting an increasingly challenging combination of requirements in residential and commercial building construction. Blazeguard® customers include four of the five top homebuilders! www.intlbarrier.com

Cyberlux Corporation (OTCBB: CYBL) has created breakthrough lighting technology that provides the most energy efficient and cost effective lighting solutions available today. Several products are designed to address emergencies such as power outages or critical security lighting needs and others which bring newly developed heatless light into the home for use in closets, cabinet interiors and under cabinet lighting for kitchen counters. Cyberlux uses solid-state semiconductors, trademarked as its diodal(tm) lighting elements, which consume 92 percent less energy than incandescent elements and perform for over 20 years in contrast to 750 hours for traditional bulbs.

The Insiders Corner
Read the exclusive InvestorIdeas.com Feature “The Insiders Corner,” a weekly feature by well-known financial writer and author Michael Brush. http://investorideas.com/insiderscorner/

Investor Incite Newsletter
InvestorIdeas.com free "Investor Incite" Newsletter consists of company and industry updates, investment research and developing trends in key areas such as Homeland Security, Renewable Energy, Nanotechnology and more.
TO SIGN UP, click here: www.InvestorIdeas.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp

ECON is a privately owned corporate communications company specializing in: media relations, investor relations, and research on public companies and industry sectors, for the investment community. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results, therefore investigate before you invest! Although we attempt to research thoroughly, we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of any information presented. We encourage all investors to use our sites only as a resource to further their own research. The site is compensated by its "Featured Companies,” as outlined in our on-line disclaimer at www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp. HomebuilderStocks.com/ECON is compensated by Featured Companies: IBH and CYBL. IBH pays ECON a fee of Eight thousand seven hundred dollars per month, plus 100,000 stock options. Cyberlux Corporation - Three thousand dollars per month. Featured Company on HomelandDefenseStocks.com and HomebuilderStocks.com

SOURCE: ECON Investor Relations Inc., which owns the domain www.HomebuilderStocks.com.

For more information contact:
Dawn Van Zant / Brian Noer
Toll free: 800-665-0411
Email: dvanzant@investorideas.com or bnoer@investorideas.com
Web Site: http://www.InvestorIdeas.com

About the author:
HBS does not make stock recommendations but offers a unique free information portal for investors to explore news, articles, and recent research. The site is currently compensated by featured companies International Barrier Technology Inc. (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSXV) and Cyberlux Corporation (OTCBB: CYBL).

Forex Trading Online - 7 Reasons You Should!

2008-11-19T07:05:00.000-08:00

by: Keith Thompson

Copyright 2005 Keith Thompson

Forex trading online is a fast way to use your investment capital to it's fullest. The Forex markets offer distinct advantages to the small and large traders alike, making Forex currency trading in many ways preferable to other markets such as stocks, options or traditional futures. Here are seven reasons why you'll want to look into Forex Trading online.

1 - Forex is the largest market.
Forex trading volume of more than 1.9 billion, more than 3 times larger than the equities market and more than 5 times bigger than futures, give Forex traders nearly unlimited liquidity and flexibility.

2 - Forex never sleeps!
You can execute forex trading online 24/7, from 7AM New Zealand time on Monday morning, to 5PM New York time on Friday evening. No waiting for markets to open: they're open all night! This makes Forex trading online a very attractive component that fits easily into your day (or night!)

3 - No Bulls or Bears!
Because Forex trading online involves the buying of one currency while simultaneously selling another, you have an equal opportunity for profit no matter which direction the currency is headed. Another advantage is that there are only around 14 pairs of currencies to trade, as opposed to many thousands of stocks, options and futures.

4 - Forex Trading online offers great leverage!
You can make the most of your investment resources with Forex trading online. Some brokers offer 200:1 margin ratios in your trading accounts. Mini-FX accounts, which can typically be opened with only $200-300, offer 0.5% margin, meaning that $50 in trading capital can control a 10,000 unit currency position. This is why people are flocking to Forex trading online as a way to highly leverage their investments.

5 - Forex prices are predictable.
Currency prices, though volatile, tend to create and follow trends, allowing the technically trained Forex trader to spot and take advantage of many entry and exit points.

6 - Forex trading online is commission free!
That's right! No commissions, no exchange fees or any other hidden fees. This is a very transparent market, and you'll find it very easy to research the currencies and the countries involved. Forex brokers make a small percentage of the bid/ask spread, and that's it. No longer any need to compute commissions and fees when executing a trade.

7 - Forex trading online is instant!
The FX market is astoundingly fast! Your orders are executed, filled and confirmed usually within 1-2 seconds. Since this is all done electronically with no humans involved, there is little to slow it down!

Forex trading online can get you where you want to go quicker and more profitably than any other form of trading. Check it out and see what Forex trading online can do for you!

About the author:
Keith Thompson is the webmaster of a site focusing on the latest Forex news and resources.

Forex Trading: Great Opportunity or Scam?

2008-11-19T07:03:00.000-08:00

by: Steve Pickering

A lot of interest has been generated recently in FOREX trading, hailed by some as the great new investment opportunity. There are even companies running TV infomercials, offering sure fire systems that will bring massive profits in an easy fashion.

So what is forex? Is it something new? The exchange of currencies is said by some to be the world's second oldest profession and as long as there have been two sovereign states that have issued their own currencies, there has been foreign exchange as a facilitator for trade.

Forex, as foreign exchange has been abbreviated to, has been conducted for centuries and has become a global market with a daily turnover according to a recent Bank for International Settlements survey of $1.9 trillion (billion, billion) per day. Essentially it is a global market place with no physical exchange building where all claims on foreign currencies are settled - between governments, corporations, investors and speculators among others. Banks have traditionally been the middlemen who provide the liquidity to this gigantic market, which incidentally is traded on an almost continuous 24-hour basis.

Then came the Internet and suddenly it became possible for everyone to get a piece of the speculative action. Brokers sprouted up with their electronic trading platforms and high 'leverage'. Essentially the brokers lend clients funds to speculate with, 100:1 or in some cases up to 400:1 ratio, or leverage. This means that $10,000 can 'control' up to $4,000,000 in the market. This is far higher than is possible in the stock market.

Many people have been attracted to the possibilities of earning fast profits from forex. There are often sharp movements that can turn your $10,000 to $20,000 in a matter of minutes. You can also get wiped out, but the lure of a fast buck has turned would-be speculators into out-and-out gamblers.
The Internet has also made it possible for the individual to obtain so-called 'charts', that allow them to do 'technical analysis' on their own PCs. The theory is that price movement patterns repeat themselves, so if you have a system of analysis, you can predict a future move in the market.

This may well be the case, but it does not address the problems of the psychology of trading - the fear and greed that drives many to irrational behaviour. People are often taken in by the seller of a system, often paying $5,000 for a piece of software that shows a green light to buy and a red light to sell. However, they don't tell you how to manage your money.

So speculators lose. It has been estimated that 90% of new investors in forex lose their capital in the first year - an appalling figure. What can one do to avoid being a victim? Well, forex is a business like any other business and planning is required. It is also a profession and as such, adequate training is necessary so that you understand fully what forex trading is all about.

Many are prepared to invest thousands in forex trading without really knowing what it is all about. Just think if franchises were offered in a major hamburger chain without the franchisees having a clue how to run a restaurant or even make the burgers. The failure rate would also probably be 90%!
As with all investing, it is all a matter of risk and reward. Investing in Government securities is considered low risk, therefore they carry the lowest return. Increase the risk (the probability of loss on the investment), the higher an investor is rewarded in terms of return. An individual trading forex decides his own level of risk, which should dictate the level of reward. However, in the hands of an inexperienced trader, the two factors are impossible to reconcile, meaning in stark terms that traders cannot control the risk or the reward levels.

People attracted to forex trading often have an unrealistic expectation of what can be earned. To start with an investment of $5,000 and expect to be making $100,000 a year after the first year is unrealistic. It is not impossible; then again, neither is winning the lottery.
If the parameters for trading are laid down and adhered to combined with knowledge of forex trading, success is possible. It does not take much in the way of 'enhanced' returns to be able to double an investment. 26% per annum is required to double your investment within 3 years.

Who is going to teach you? There are some very good courses available, but these will only give you the theory, in itself very important. The ideal way is to have a mentor, or guide to show you the way.
Getting mentored is a wise move because it makes it possible to draw on the experience of a veteran expert and avoid making the common mistakes that cause the unwary to suffer catastrophic losses. After a while under guidance, a forex trader will gain the experience

The bottom line is that forex is not in itself a scam. There are for sure scam artists who prey on individuals' greed as there are in any other business. If it is approached in a sensible and realistic manner and the trader is prepared to work hard, forex can provide a good living both financially and materially.

About the author:
Steve Pickering is founder and owner of Forex Trader Mentor and has been engaged in the forex markets since 1971.

Why Your Internet Business Is Like The Stock Market

2008-11-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

by: Patty Gale

As savvy stock market investors know, chasing after the one "hot stock" with the possibility of bringing instant riches is not a wise idea. You know the old saying, "Don't put your eggs in one basket". This type of thinking carries a high risk. If your stock goes up and you are smart enough to sell, then you've made money. However, if your stock falls, you just don't know when (or if) it will ever make a comeback.

With this idea of chasing after the "hot stock of the day", you might as well buy a lottery ticket. Diversifying your investment portfolio for long-term growth and stability is the wiser of the strategy. You invest your money over any number of stocks in different industries, thereby spreading your risk across the group.

The same principle should be applied to your internet business. Many of us first arrived online with the notion of building a really great website to reach the masses in hopes of making a lot of money. We later found out that the "build it and they will come" theory is just that, a theory. Oh sure, there are a few who have managed to create a nice income from just one or perhaps two websites, but even Amazon didn't turn a profit until 2001.

Unfortunately, most of us do not have unlimited financial resources. Many have given up, only to go back to either a corporate job or some other type of work in order to support their family. What they did not realize is that their internet business really should be treated like their investment portfolio.

Why do many of us still try to squeeze every single penny out of one website until it's bone dry? It's like wringing out the washcloth until there's no water left to drip. Why bank all of our risk in just one site?

There is a better way and it's called diversification and leverage. How? Instead of building one website and beating it to death in trying to get every last penny until it screams " no more!"... build more sites. In the past, building websites by hand took days and weeks, if not months. Today, there are tools to make this process much simpler and faster and in some cases, you don't even have to know any code at all.

Why diversify and leverage your business across a variety of websites? To reduce your risk and to leverage your efforts. Individually, they may not make a lot of money, but collectively, you could create a nice little internet empire of your very own. It will be well worth your time in creating a long-term internet "investment" portfolio.

To Your Success!

Patty Gale
© 2005 - all rights reserved

About the author:
Patty Gale is a successful entrepreneur who specializes in personalization and customer care for all her clients. She exchanged her suits, hose and heels for working at home in her "jammies" and is on a mission to empower other women to do the same.
She can be reached at

RenewableEnergyStocks.com Reports: “New Astris Hydrogen Powered Fuel Cell Golf Car Launched at Recent Investment Conference”.

2008-11-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

by: dawn van zant

February 7th, 2005

RenewableEnergyStocks.com Reports: “New Astris Hydrogen Powered Fuel Cell Golf Car Launched at Recent Investment Conference”.

POINT ROBERTS, WA. February 7th, 2005 - www.RenewableEnergyStocks.com, a global investor and industry news portal for the renewable and alternative energy sector, reports that featured company, Astris Energi Inc. (OTCBB: ASRNF) launched their new E7 powered fuel cell golf car January 24th, at the Vancouver Investment Conference, demonstrating that their generator model hydrogen powered fuel cell technology works, and that it works in many different mobile applications.

RenewableEnergyStocks.com, a global investor and industry news portal offers research resources, news, exclusive articles, a directory and links to public companies within the renewable energy sector, as well as featured company sponsors.

Current Featured Company:
Astris Energi Inc. (OTCBB: ASRNF) is a late-stage development company that has recently released two highly efficient Alkaline Fuel Cell (AFC) products. The Company’s new POWERSTACK™ MC250 fuel-cell power module has performed up to 60 percent above the original design specifications, and its E8 Portable Generator has a total efficiency of over 50 percent, a figure unequalled by any other device in its class. Astris’ AFCs also have the advantage of being able to start quickly in very cold, even subzero, weather, unlike some PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cells. AFCs have long been the power source of choice for NASA because of their performance, reliability and durability. Building on these strong fundamentals Astris has achieved a series of technological breakthroughs, including the elimination of platinum as a catalyst. This significantly reduces the cost of materials required for pre-commercial and commercial production.

Astris is commencing pilot production of its POWERSTACK™ MC250 units this year. This pre-commercial production is essential to introduce the technology to end users and potential marketing or strategic partners. Astris is the only publicly traded company in North America focused exclusively on the alkaline fuel cell. Forecast demand for fuel cells is expected to surpass $30 billion annually worldwide by 2011, representing a projected compound average annual growth rate of 62%!

eResearch analyst report on Astris Energi - http://www.astris.ca/IN/IN-pdf/e-research.pdf
Corporate profile, news and info: www.InvestorIdeas.com/CO/ASRNF/Default.asp

(Astris Energi compensates InvestorIdeas as disclosed below)

Our current list of Renewable/Alternative Energy Stocks is available here: www.RenewableEnergyStocks.com/Companies/RenewableEnergy/Stock_List.asp
(Featured companies compensate InvestorIdeas as disclosed below)

Excerpt from report: “New Astris E7-Powered Golf Car Launched at Vancouver Investment Conference”.

By Brian Noer
February 2005

February 7th, 2005 -- At the recent Vancouver Investment Conference (VIC), Astris announced the launch of their E7 fuel cell powered golf car. The E7 fuel cell generator that is based on Astris’ alkaline fuel cell (AFC) technology is a modular fuel cell solution that is designed as a replacement for existing lead-acid battery packs used in applications such as golf cars, forklifts and other specialty mobile applications. The golf car is an excellent platform on with which to demonstrate the function and added utility gained by replacing the battery with a fuel cell system. "Our near term focus is on the backup power generator market and specialty mobile applications," said Anthony Durkacz, vice president of finance with Astris. "Development of a golf car powered by our fuel cell, demonstrates that our unique technology has a wide range of applications and provides better utility than existing technologies."

Three years ago Astris built the world's first alkaline fuel cell golf car fuelled by hydrogen. At the VIC the company launched their second generation product. "We have made considerable improvements in the technology and developed a fuel cell engine, or generator, that more than doubled the power of the original," said Durkacz. Astris' next step will be to secure a strategic commercial partner who has experience in taking an advanced prototype and commercializing that product.

"Our technology is ready," said Durkacz. "We are showcasing a technology that has tremendous advantages; is simple in design, has a low cost of materials, and will be cost effective to purchase and operate. We compare very favorably to other low temperature fuel cells which are typically more complicated and contain considerably more expensive materials."

For the complete story, click here:
http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/Companies/RenewableEnergy/Articles/AstrisE7GolfCar.asp

RenewableEnergyStocks.com offers investors research, news and company links within the renewable energy sector. To complement this site, we also feature www.FuelCellCarNews.com to meet the interest in fuel cell technology and the participating public and private companies. InvestorIdeas.com sites do not give specific recommendations, and encourage investors to complete due diligence.

Investorideas.com free Investor Incite Newsletter consists of: company and industry updates, investment research and developing trends. It's an excellent way to keep updated on news, events and Investor Ideas in key areas such as Homeland Security, Renewable Energy, Nanotechnology and more...
To sign up click here: http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp

Investor Incite Newsletter
InvestorIdeas.com free "Investor Incite" Newsletter consists of company and industry updates, investment research and developing trends in key areas such as Homeland Security, Renewable Energy, Nanotechnology and more.

TO SIGN UP, click here: www.InvestorIdeas.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp

‘The Insiders Corner’ with Michael Brush
Read the exclusive InvestorIdeas.com Feature "The Insiders Corner," a weekly feature by well-known financial writer and author Michael Brush. http://investorideas.com/insiderscorner/

For more information contact:
Dawn Van Zant / Trevor Ruehs / Brian Noer
Toll free: 800-665-0411
Email: dvanzant@investorideas.com, truehs@investorideas.com, or bnoer@investorideas.com

Disclaimer: ECON Investor Relations Inc is the owner of this domain. Our site does not make recommendations, but offers a unique information portal to investors to research news, articles, and recent research. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Although we attempt to research thoroughly, we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of any information presented. We encourage all investors to use our sites only as a resource to further their own research. The site is compensated by its "Featured Companies, as outlined in our on-line disclaimer at www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp and we rely on the publicly disclosed information of our featured companies for accuracy.

Disclaimer: www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp
Compensation Disclosure Specifics: Astris Energi Inc. (OTCBB: ASRNF) - Fifteen hundred dollars per month and fifteen hundred dollars equivalent in shares. Featured Company on www.RenewableEnergyStocks.com

About the author:
RenewableEnergyStocks.com, a global investor and industry news portal offers research resources, news, exclusive articles, a directory and links to public companies within the renewable energy sector, as well as featured company sponsors.

RenewableEnergyStocks.com, Reports on Increasing Demand for Renewable Energy by Government, Military and Individuals as Oil Prices Remain High

2008-11-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

by: dawn van zant

Nov 01, 2004

RenewableEnergyStocks.com, Reports on Increasing Demand for Renewable Energy by Government, Military and Individuals as Oil Prices Remain High

POINT ROBERTS, WA. Nov 01, 2004 - www.RenewableEnergyStocks.com, a global investor news portal, reports in an exclusive feature article “Renewable Energy and Fuel Cells – the drive is on”, how governments, military and civilian users are increasing the demand for renewable energy products. Fuel cells, solar power, and other sources of ‘green energy’ offer advantages to offset the on-going high cost of fossil fuels. RenewableEnergyStocks.com offers investors interested in the sector research resources to initiate due diligence.

The RenewableEnergyStocks.com website does not make recommendations, but offers a unique free information portal to investors to research news, articles, interviews and a growing list of participating public companies in the sector.

Current Featured RES Company:
Astris Energi Inc. (OTCBB: ASRNF) is a late-stage development company committed to becoming the leading provider of affordable fuel cells and fuel cell generators internationally. Over the past 21 years, more than $17 million has been spent on the development of Astris’ AFC. The company is commencing pilot production of its POWERSTACK™ MC 250 technology in 2004. Astris is the only publicly traded company in North America focused exclusively on the alkaline fuel cell. Corporate profile, news and info: www.InvestorIdeas.com/CO/ASRNF/Default.asp
Our current list of Renewable/Alternative Energy Stocks: www.RenewableEnergyStocks.com/Companies/RenewableEnergy/Stock_List.asp
(Featured company compensates InvestorIdeas as disclosed below).

Excerpt from: “Renewable Energy and Fuel Cells – the drive is on”
By Allen R. Gibson
Oct 2004
Slowly, but surely, the infrastructure, research, and the evidence necessary to make alternative energy sources economical and practical is being put in place. Already, many states have discovered that renewable energy initiatives, despite initial fears of being too expensive, have in fact either paid for themselves or even generated savings to the utilities involved.
And the markets are noticing, particularly with the recent surge in oil prices. Suddenly, renewable energy stocks are hot. The new WilderHill Clean Energy Index has already jumped 12 percent since it starting trading on AMEX in August, which officials say is uncommon for a new index.
And while the high oil price has spurred investment in drilling, as Alan Greenspan recently suggested it would, it may also be spurring investment into alternative fuels that have a greater chance now of attracting customers and competing in the marketplace. In this article, we’ll look at several examples of where those customers are coming from, and what technical innovations are beginning to make fuel cells a more viable energy source. Innovations that were fueled by the last big round of investor interest in the sector, which poured over a billion dollars into fuel cell companies in the late ‘90s, which resulted in lowering the price of fuel cells by fifty percent. Much more work, however, remains.

For the complete story, click here: www.RenewableEnergyStocks.com/Companies/RenewableEnergy/Articles/DrivingWorld.asp

RenewableEnergyStocks.com offers investors research, news and company links within the renewable energy sector. To complement this site, we also feature www.FuelCellCarNews.com to meet the interest in fuel cell technology and the participating public and private companies. InvestorIdeas.com sites do not give specific recommendations, and encourage investors to complete due diligence.

Investorideas.com free Investor Incite Newsletter consists of: company and industry updates, investment research and developing trends. It's an excellent way to keep updated on news, events and Investor Ideas in key areas such as Homeland Security, Renewable Energy, Nanotechnology and more...
To sign up click here: http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp

Live industry news feed provided by: www.alternate-energy.net/.

For more information contact:

Dawn Van Zant / Trevor Ruehs
Toll free: 800-665-0411
Email: dvanzant@investorideas.com or truehs@investorideas.com

ECON Investor Relations Inc., (ECON Corporate Services) is a privately owned corporate communications company specializing in investor relations, media relations and research in public companies and industry sectors for the investment community. Nothing on the site should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investigate before you invest. Although we attempt to research thoroughly, there are no guarantees in accuracy.

Disclaimer: www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp
Compensation Disclosure Specifics: Astris Energi Inc. (OTCBB: ASRNF) - $3000 plus $3000 in 144 shares: featured company on www.RenewableEnergyStocks.com and Environmental Stocks - http://investorideas.com/Enviro_Stocks/Default.asp

About the author:
RenewableEnergyStocks.com offers investors research, news and company links within the renewable energy sector. To complement this site, we also feature to meet the interest in fuel cell technology and the participating public and private companies. InvestorIdeas.com sites do not give specific recommendations, and encourage investors to complete due diligence.

HomebuilderStocks.com – Exclusive Industry Interview: John F. Kasprzak, Jr., Managing Director, BB&T Capital Markets

2008-11-19T06:58:00.000-08:00

by: dawn van zant

News Release
October 28, 2004

HomebuilderStocks.com – Exclusive Industry Interview: John F. Kasprzak, Jr., Managing Director, BB&T Capital Markets
POINT ROBERTS, WA. October 28, 2004 - www.HomebuilderStocks.com, a global investment news and research portal covering the homebuilder sector, is pleased to feature an exclusive interview with John F. Kasprzak, Jr., Managing Director, BB&T Capital Markets, who discusses the peril that investors face when basing investing decisions on a forecast of interest rates.
HomebuilderStocks.com provides investors with news, information, public company profiles, and developing trends in the homebuilder sector. The site does not make stock recommendations but offers a unique free information portal for investors to explore news, articles, and recent research. The site is currently compensated by featured company International Barrier Technology Inc. (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSXV).
Our current list of public companies in the sector includes: Beazer Homes USA, Inc., Brookfield Homes, Centex, Inc., Home Depot, Homestore, Inc., KB Home, Lennar Corporation, Lowe’s, Monterey Homes, Orleans Homebuilders, Inc., Pulte Homes and numerous others. For the complete list, click here: http://www.HomebuilderStocks.com/Companies/HomebuilderStocks/HomebuilderStockList.asp

Interview Excerpt:
HomebuilderStocks.com: Do you anticipate rising interest rates to affect the housing sector?
Mr. Kasprzak:
This is an interesting question because the consensus view has been that interest rates would rise this year, perhaps by a lot, and that housing would slow, perhaps by a lot. This has not occurred and underscores the peril that investors face when basing investing decisions, particularly on homebuilding stocks, on a forecast of interest rates. We believe interest rates would have to rise by 200-300 basis points to alter the housing market but the market would adjust. Housing demand is fundamentally driven by population growth and demographic trends, not interest rates, and these trends are unmistakably positive in our view.
HBS:
Is there any grouping within the sector that will outperform the rest?
Mr. Kasprzak:
While we have been generally bullish on the housing sector and homebuilding stocks due to their attractive valuations, we have liked the luxury sector quite a bit. Demographic trends really dovetail nicely with rising demand in the luxury sector. The baby boom generation is getting older and earning more money, and their is a huge intergenerational transfer of wealth occurring that bodes well for demand in the luxury area.
___________________________________________
ABOUT JOHN KASPRZAK:
John F. Kasprzak, Jr., managing director, BB&T Capital Markets, joined Equity Research in 1997. His industry focus includes companies engaged in building materials and home building. Kasprzak was named in the 2000 Wall Street Journal Best on the Street Analyst Survey (including number one in estimate accuracy) as well as the inaugural Street.com All-Star Analyst Survey. He has also been included in the Reuters Survey of Mid to Smaller Company Investment Research on three separate occasions.

Disclaimer:
BB&T Capital Markets has received compensation for investment banking services from WCI Communities, Inc. in the last 12 months.
BB&T Capital Markets expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services from WCI Communities, Inc. in the next three months. An affiliate of BB&T Capital Markets received compensation from WCI Communities, Inc. for products or services other than investment banking services during the past 12 months.
Full Interview: www.HomebuilderStocks.com/Companies/HomebuilderStocks/Articles/BB&T_Capital_Markets.asp
Featured Company: International Barrier Technology Inc. (IBTGF: OTCBB; IBH: TSXV) develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary fire resistant building materials branded as Blazeguard. Barrier’s award-winning Blazeguard wood panels use a patented, non-toxic, non-combustible coating with an extraordinary capability: it releases water in the heat of fire. The panels exceed “model” building code requirements in every targeted fire test and application, and are unique in combining properties that increase panel strength and minimize environmental and human impact. Blazeguard provides Barrier’s customers a premium material choice meeting an increasingly challenging combination of requirements in residential and commercial building construction. Blazeguard customers include four of the five top homebuilders! www.intlbarrier.com
Disclaimer: www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp
Nothing on the site should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investigate before you invest. Although we attempt to research thoroughly, there are no guarantees in accuracy. We encourage all investors to use our research as a resource only, but to further their own research on all featured companies, industry research and articles featured.
HomebuilderStocks.com/ECON is compensated by Featured Company IBH via a fee of $8000 and stock options of up to 110,000 shares exercisable at $0.80 and currently has a remainder of 25,000 options at 0.25 not exercised.

SOURCE: ECON Investor Relations Inc., which owns the domain www.HomebuilderStocks.com.
For more information contact:
Dawn Van Zant / Trevor Ruehs
Toll free: 800-665-0411
Email: dvanzant@investorideas.com or truehs@investorideas.com

About the author:
HomebuilderStocks.com provides investors with news, information, public company profiles, and developing trends in the homebuilder sector. The site does not make stock recommendations but offers a unique free information portal for investors to explore news, articles, and recent research.

E-currency Exchange Trading

2008-11-19T06:57:00.001-08:00

by: Tim Rohrer

I have searched high and low and tried MLM's such as Market America, Quixstar, Trek Alliance and Amway. The business idea works, however people need to sell products and build their downline to be successful. I hated the idea of trying to convince people that Market America, Quixstar and all the other MLM's worked. In fact, that was the hardest thing to do was to convince somebody that these MLM's worked!

I have finally found a system that involves no selling, no downline and and garunteed profits with a little learning involved. I thought this couldn't be true, I actually don't have to sell something and didn't have to build a downline!

Let me explain how it works. There are hundreds of companies on the internet that deal with electronnic funds, such as Netpay, PayPal and INTgold. Currency exchanging is relatively unknown but incredibly lucrative business opportunity. While Currencies are traded all over the world (like with Forex), there are both US-based and offshore trading houses that need your flow of dollars to facilitate their business operations.

This is where you,"The Merchant" comes in. By making funds temporarily avaliable to the Global Exchange Network creates float. The company we work with is able to borrow against this dollar amount and the commissions come back to us. The funds you lend to the network are typically returned in a 24 to 36 hour time frame. For example, by pushing $100 in INTGold to another person in exchange you recieve a fee of $3.50. This process takes about 30 seconds. When the funds come back into your account you make another $1. $4.50 isn't bad for something that takes 15 seconds to do. There are other ways to cycle this money back through the system and reinvest profits to your bottom line. On top of building float, your investment is compounded daily and you easily make gains of .35% off of your investment per day. How much is that? Well if you invested $100 that would be 35 cents per day profits. Now imagine when your investment grows to $1000 and $5000.... even $10,000 your daily profits are easily $35 per day. Remember the best part about this is that is compounded daily!

How much can you start with? You can start with as little as $25.00 I recommend a few hundred dollars until you get to know the system and become more comfortable with the exchange network.

I learned the e-currency exchange network through a group of friends online. It is extremely difficult trying to learn how to do this sitting in chat rooms and reading posts. I finally gave in and purchased a guide that literally enabled me to double my investment in under a month. I am very pleased with my results and I can now kiss those MLM's that require downline building and selling goodbye forever!

About the author:
If you would like to inquire more information about e-currency exchange visit our website at wwww.mazumoney.net

If you have any questions don't hesitate to e-mail us at onlinesupport@mazumoney.net I am very down to earth and would not have any problems speaking to you personally if you request a phone call through our support e-mail.

URL:
E-mail: onlinesupport@mazumoney.net

Please don't hesitate. Take a look at this opportunity, I can garuntee as long as follow the steps to invest properly you will not be sorry!

A Stock Market Investment Plan that never lets you down

2008-11-19T06:55:00.000-08:00

by: James Marriott

The bulls and bears of the stock market are both tempting and scary to the investors. Speculators are enchanted by the stock market’s potential to help them in making quick money with a big M. While those who tread with care and caution, often shy away for fear of losing. However, the stock market is not all about speculative gains or black Tuesdays. It is a place where committed companies look for raising money to fund their activities. Serious investors can actually create wealth not only for themselves, but also for the companies and the nation. A wise way to invest in the stock market is to empower your self with information. You have to know and learn about the company you invest in, from past records and future plans.

Irrespective of what the Wall Street Gurus predict or what the economic indicators like Dow Jones Average say, a simple and foolproof way of knowing that a company is doing well is to keep a track of how much dividend income does it pay to its share holders every year. If the dividend rates have been rising steadily every year, you know you have a safe bet. To benefit from the future prospects of such companies, it is a good idea to rollback the returns into the company. Which means, instead of adding the dividends to your savings, you can invest them in the shares of the same company. That way, you can ensure that the dividends you receive are always higher than what you got last, with a larger number of shares getting added to your investment portfolio every time.

With this kind of an assured investment plan in place, investors with a gambling streak begin to think beyond making a quick gain. While those who were afraid to take risks get wiser.

Let us find out why companies that give ever-increasing cash dividend income are a good choice for investment:

Your Share Holding Goes Up And So does Your Dividend Income.
Your income begins to escalate with your owning more shares every year and the dividend income rising correspondingly.

Your Dividend Income Increases Even If Stock Prices don’t.
You are no more at the mercy of the market. Irrespective of what your shares are worth, you keep earning additional cash dividends. In fact, even if the market price dips, you are still at an advantage, as that allows you to reinvest to purchase more shares.

You are not hit by Inflation.
With the dividend income rising every year, you offset the effects of a rising inflation. This particularly provides relief to people who have retired and depend on a regular cash inflow to help them meet their expenses. At this stage one need not rollback the investment into further shares, instead, the cash dividend can be used as a kind of regular pension money.

Start Young
The ingenuity behind this investment strategy is that it protects you from the fluctuations that generally occur in the market. A lower stock market rate only means you buy more to increase your dividends more. It is advisable to start this strategy early in life while you are still working, so that your wealth builds up gradually and constantly over the years. And you are assured of a regular income, as you grow older.

Remember, the success of this proven investment plan depends significantly on the track record of the company you invest in. It should be one that declares a higher dividend at the end of each financial period. A simple way to find that out would be to calculate the dividend yield. You can do that by dividing the annual dividend per share by the price per share. Of course, no investment can be totally free of risks, neither is this one. Keep an eye on the dividend yield, and if that dips, it’s a signal for you to opt out of the investment.

About the author:
James Marriott is a finance writer with more than 15 years of experience in writing financial content, including those related to credit cards, mortgages, stocks, investments, and funds. He has been with RNCOS, a premier financial writing services company, for 2 years as head of financial writing. He is also a regular financial columnist with renowned business journals. For your comments on the article and further financial assistance, please contact our staff writer at info@rncos.com

All About Stock Market

2008-11-19T06:54:00.002-08:00

A stock market simulation game is a great way to practice your investment skills before actually investing any "real" money in the stock market.

Simulation games are usually played on the internet, where people can experience the thrill of investing in the stock market without any risks, costs or any fear of losing money when and if they make a poor investment decision.

Many teachers and professors of banking and finance are now using stock market simulation games to teach their students about the rudiments of investing in stocks. Most stock market simulation games come with a fee to get started, but there are some that are free of any charge. One does not need have prior knowledge about the stock market to join.

This is how stock market simulation games usually work:

First, players must register. After registration, players are given an initial sum of "virtual" money to invest in companies of their choice. Players build a portfolio of stocks by buying and selling shares in companies. Most stock market simulation games use real-time market data.

The objective of most stock market simulation games is simple:

To increase the value of your portfolio of stocks so that it is greater than that of the other game players.

Below are some tips on choosing a stock market simulation game:

• Choose a stock market simulation game that is used and recommended by reputable colleges, high schools, middle school, investment clubs, brokers in training, corporate education courses and any other group of individuals studying markets in the U.S. and worldwide.

• Choose a stock market simulation game that is comprehensive and easy to implement in any Finance, Economics, or Investments class. A good stock market simulation game should feature trading of stocks, options, futures, mutual funds, bonds from the U.S. and many of the world's major markets.

• Choose a stock market simulation game that provides a valuable, reliable, and realistic trading simulation at a reasonable price to members and other individuals who are interested in learning more about investing and trading. The simulation game should also have some capability for testing a variety for investment strategies.

• Choose a stock market simulation game that has a toll-free customer service phone number and excellent e-mail support for members. The support function should be able to quickly answer any questions that members/players may have.

• Choose a stock market simulation game that is easy to use and easy to teach even to those who have never had any real hands-on investment experience.

Market Failures And Business Cycles (Part 1)

2008-11-19T06:54:00.001-08:00

The following is the most comprehensive ever explanation to the most mysterious phenomenon of Capitalism – the Business Cycles. In order to ensure that the article can be read by any well educated reader, I have minimized the economics jargon and have added a short and simple introduction to the structure of the economy. Each and every one of us would be interested to know as to why we cannot have a paradise on earth. Why is it that we are often besieged by such painful downslides of economic activity such as Great Depression or the nerve wracking periods such as Stagflations? Why can’t we all be always happy with hundred percent employment all the time, with each and every one of us employed? The following article provides simple and complete Business Cycle explanations to Depressions before 1930s, Recessions after 1940s, Stagflations of 70s and Continuous Booms of 80s and 90s.

The income that we earn is normally divided into two portions, Consumption and Savings. We normally consume a large portion of the income we earn for our day to day necessities as well as irregular buys. Regular necessities include food, clothing, toothpastes, soaps and other daily necessities. Irregular buys include bikes, cars, books, movies, music and so on. After we spend most of our incomes on Consumption, we save a small portion of our income and invest it in shares, bonds, fixed deposits and other long term investments.

In direct relation to our above mentioned activity, our economy is divided into two sectors – Consumption sector and Investment sector. If we exclude the government spending, Consumption sector constitutes roughly around 80% of the size of economy. It includes everything that we buy – food, clothing, cars, bikes, TVs and other durable goods, books – every thing. And around 20 percent of the size our economy is constituted by the Investment sector. Investment sector mainly includes activities such as installing new plants and capacities, and housing. A three sector model would also include government spending as well. However free markets have more to do with these sectors and less to do with Government Spending, so let us exclude governemnt spending. The figures given above are only approximate and can vary sizeably from economy to economy.

So how are profits made by the Consumption sector manufacturers? In any economy, Consumption sector always produces in excess of its requirements – it produces surplus. Consumption sector capitalists as well as households also save a certain portion of their income. Investors invest these Savings in the Investment sector. So these Savings turn into the earnings of the Investment sector capitalists and workers. The workers and capitalists of the Investment sector then spend their earnings on the consumption goods. So basically the surplus production of the Consumption sector is consumed by the workers and capitalists of the Investment sector. Therefore in a circular flow monetary economy, the income of the Investment sector becomes the profit or surplus of the Consumption sector firms. There is a small assumption that is made here on which I shall allude to at the end of the article.

So there are two things that we have to note here. First the size of the investment sector decides on the size of the profits of the Consumption sector. If there are huge Investments made, the Consumption sector capitalists make huge surpluses or profits and if the size of the Investment sector is on the lower side, the Consumption sector capitalists would make lower surpluses or profits. Also all of the Savings made should always be invested. If Savings are made but are not invested, then it would lead to a lower size of Investments and lower profits. Insufficient profits would force the producers to cut down on their production levels and this would directly lead to rising unemployment and recession! It is a long recognized economic thought that Savings made should be compulsorily invested fully so that the economy can be in equilibrium. If the Savings made are not invested fully, it can lead to disequilibrium between Supply and Demand and can lead to piling up of unsold stocks of inventories and a subsequent recession.

With the above short introduction to the structure of our economy, we are ready for a small journey into the fascinating world of Business Cycles.

Our economies are rarely ever static. They keep growing in size every year. Now in a growing economy Consumption also grows. Year on year more cars are purchased, more televisions are bought, more computers are installed and so on. It is natural that when Consumption grows by say 6%, the suppliers would expect their surplus also to grow by 6% because surplus, which is called profit in the business parlance, is obviously measured in percentage terms. However the surplus production has to be consumed by the workers of the Investment sector which obviously means that even Investment would have to grow by 6%. However this would mean that Savings, which is the fund for Investment, would also have to grow by 6%. What would happen if Consumption grows by 6% but Investment or Savings do not grow by an equivalent percentage? To the extent of the inequality, producers’ surplus would remain unsold and the economy would be in disequilibrium. So the equilibrium condition of the economy would be –

Periodic Growth percentage of Consumption = Periodic growth percentage of Investment = Periodic growth percentage of Savings.

Suppose during a particular period, there was a perfect equilibrium in which Consumption was C, Investment was I and Savings was S. Suppose during the next financial period C grows by a certain X percentage points. Then S and I would also have to grow by the same X percentage points. Suppose either I or S does not grow by X percentage points, the economy would be in disequilibrium even if Investment is equal to Savings!

Here in lies a blue print for different types of Business Cycles.

A normal characteristic of any recession is the presence of huge un-invested Savings. Investors hoard money without investing it because of lack of investor confidence. At the trough or the lowest point in a business cycle, Consumption is relatively low and Savings are relatively high, especially un-invested Savings. Then as economic activity picks up, all of the Savings are invested and the producers of the Consumption sector would be able to realize their expected surpluses. The size of Investment sector is equal to the surplus of the Consumption sector. Since Savings are high and are fully invested, the producers of the Consumption sector would be able to realize huge surpluses. Economic activity picks up a roaring speed.

As economic activity picks up, there starts a battle amongst the producers for market shares. For example, each car manufacturer wants to sell as many cars as possible. He would not think – let me produce less cars now, let me save and invest more for later. So as the battle for market share picks up, Consumption accelerates at the expense of Savings i.e. Consumption grows at a faster rate than Savings. Our above mentioned condition tells us that for equilibrium to exist, Consumption and Savings have to grow at an equal pace. So if Consumption grows at a faster pace than Savings, would this lead to disequilibrium immediately? This may not immediately lead to disequilibrium because producers would obviously not keep expecting to earn abnormally high profits the way they earned in the initial stages of the boom. Their expectations are also geared towards comparatively lower profits or what is called as normal profits as the boom progresses and therefore lower growth rate in Savings vis-à-vis Consumption would not immediately damage their expectations of surplus. This way the boom progresses from the trough to the peak for a few years.

After a few years of growth of Consumption at a faster rate than Savings, the percentage of Savings in the income would drop so low that Savings are not sufficient to meet the expectations of surplus of the producers of the Consumption sector. Even if Savings are fully invested, this does not generate the surplus as expected by the Consumption sector because of the lower size of investment and would lead to disequilibrium. Producers see their unsold inventory stock piles rise and their profits dwindle. The situation needs correction. Consumption needs to be cut and Savings need to be raised. As they are not able to sell their goods, the producers of Consumption sector would be more than willing to do so. They cut their production and increase their Savings.

However the required correction might not materialize! The very objective of capitalist economies is Consumption. If Consumption is on the decline, we cannot expect Investment to increase. We cannot have fewer bikes sold as compared to previous year and at the same time have much higher Investment in the bike sector as compared to the previous year. A cut in Consumption might increase Savings but would not raise Investment. Investment follows the path of Consumption and it itself starts in the downward trend. As a result the increased Savings are not invested and the disequilibrium takes on a relatively permanent position and we have a recession! There are no automatic forces to ensure immediate correction. What started with a cut in Consumption to increase Savings leads to a fall in Investment. This drop in Investment leads to a further depletion of aggregate demand which then prompts the producers to cut their production levels even further. Consumption declines even further and the spiral continues until the economy settles at a low output with a lot of unemployment. This sort of downward spirals were recognized by the eminent British economist John Maynard Keynes. Eventually, after a few years of low output, some invention or some enthusiastic entrepreneurs who are attracted by prevalent low interest rates might trigger Investment to reverse its downward path and start the process of expansion all over again. I believe that most recessions in US and Europe after 1940s occurred in this way. I would call these cycles – the Consumption led Business Cycles.

Best Stock Market Simulation Games

2008-11-19T06:48:00.000-08:00

Forex And Daytrading

2008-11-19T06:47:00.000-08:00

Online trading is great way for serious investors to make money, but inexperienced traders often wind up with big losses. A good set of instructions can minimize the risks and save months of expensive trial-and-error learning.

Day Trading

Day Trading had its heyday during the bull market of the 1990's. All the amateurs have since dropped out, but day trading is still being practiced by professionals. There are fewer opportunities in the current market, but skilled investors can still find them if they know what to look for.

FOREX Trading

The Foreign Exchange Market (FOREX), the world's largest financial exchange market, originated in 1973. It has a daily turnover of currency worth more than $1.2 trillion dollars.

Unlike many other securities, FOREX does not trade on a fixed exchange rate; instead, currencies are traded primarily between central banks, commercial banks, various non-banking international corporations, hedge funds, personal investors and not to forget, speculators. Previously, smaller investors were excluded from FOREX due to the huge amount of deposit involved. This was changed in 1995, and now smaller investors can trade alongside the multi-nationals. As a result, the number of traders within the FOREX market has grown rapidly, and many FOREX courses are appearing to help individual traders increase their skills.

As a matter of fact, it's advisable to take FOREX training even before opening a trading account.
It is vital to know the market mechanics of FOREX, leveraging in FOREX, rollovers and the analysis of the FOREX market. Due to this fact, potential FOREX traders would do well to either enroll in a FOREX training courses or even purchase some books regarding FOREX trading.

There are pros and cons to enrolling into a FOREX course. For beginners a FOREX course is a rapid method of learning the basics of FOREX trading. Not much time is spent on history of the market or arcane economic theories. Often, on-line or phone support from a skilled FOREX trader is available to answer any questions. Also, the information is condensed and practical, often with graphs and charts.

The disadvantage is the price, as courses are more expensive than a paperback from the bookstore. Also,
the course may just teach the approach of the trader who wrote it, and individuals have different trading strategies. The student may grow accustomed to the logic and focus of the teacher without coming to realise that nothing is predictable in the FOREX market, and many different strategies will bring profits in varying market circumstances. Also, knowledge of practical applications may not be enough, as the FOREX is highly unpredictable and there are many external factors, such as political issues, affecting the flow of finances in the market.

The best advice would be to do some background research on the FOREX market first, and then enroll in a course.

All About Stock Market

2008-11-19T06:44:00.000-08:00

Forex Glossary

2008-11-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

A

Accrual - The apportionment of premiums and discounts on forward exchange transactions that relate directly to deposit swap (Interest Arbitrage) deals , over the period of each deal.

Adjustment - Official action normally by either change in the internal economic policies to correct a payment imbalance or in the official currency rate or. Adjustment - Official action normally by either change in the internal economic policies to correct a payment imbalance or in the official currency rate or.

Appreciation - A currency is said to 'appreciate' when it strengthens in price in response to market demand.

Arbitrage - The purchase or sale of an instrument and simultaneous taking of an equal and opposite position in a related market, in order to take advantage of small price differentials between markets.

Ask (Offer) Price - The price at which the market is prepared to sell a specific Currency in a Foreign Exchange Contract or Cross Currency Contract. At this price, the trader can buy the base currency. In the quotation, it is shown on the right side of the quotation. For example, in the quote USD/CHF 1.4527/32, the ask price is 1.4532; meaning you can buy one US dollar for 1.4532 Swiss francs.

At Best - An instruction given to a dealer to buy or sell at the best rate that can be obtained.

At or Better - An order to deal at a specific rate or better.

B

Balance of Trade - The value of a country's exports minus its imports.

Bar Chart - A type of chart which consists of four significant points: the high and the low prices, which form the vertical bar, the opening price, which is marked with a little horizontal line to the left of the bar, and the closing price, which is marked with a little horizontal line of the right of the bar.

Base Currency - The first currency in a Currency Pair. It shows how much the base currency is worth as measured against the second currency. For example, if the USD/CHF rate equals 1.6215 then one USD is worth CHF 1.6215 In the FX markets, the US Dollar is normally considered the 'base' currency for quotes, meaning that quotes are expressed as a unit of $1 USD per the other currency quoted in the pair. The primary exceptions to this rule are the British Pound, the Euro and the Australian Dollar.

Bear Market - A market distinguished by declining prices.

Bid Price - The bid is the price at which the market is prepared to buy a specific Currency in a Foreign Exchange Contract or Cross Currency Contract. At this price, the trader can sell the base currency. It is shown on the left side of the quotation. For example, in the quote USD/CHF 1.4527/32, the bid price is 1.4527; meaning you can sell one US dollar for 1.4527 Swiss francs.

Bid/Ask Spread - The difference between the bid and offer price.

Big Figure - The first two or three digits of a foreign exchange price or rate. Examples: If the USD/JPY bid/ask is 115.27/32, the big figure is 115. On a EUR/USD price of 1.2855/58 the big figure is 1.28. The big figure is often omitted in dealer quotes. The EUR/USD price of 1.2855/58 would be verbally quoted as "55/58".

Book - In a professional trading environment, a 'book' is the summary of a trader's or desk's total positions.

Broker - An individual or firm that acts as an intermediary, putting together buyers and sellers for a fee or commission. In contrast, a 'dealer' commits capital and takes one side of a position, hoping to earn a spread (profit) by closing out the position in a subsequent trade with another party.

Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 - An agreement that established fixed foreign exchange rates for major currencies, provided for central bank intervention in the currency markets, and pegged the price of gold at US $35 per ounce. The agreement lasted until 1971, when President Nixon overturned the Bretton Woods agreement and established a floating exchange rate for the major currencies.

British Retail Consortium (BRC) Shop Price Index – Measures the rate of inflation at various surveyed retailers. This index only looks at price changes in goods purchased in retail outlets.

Bull Market - A market distinguished by rising prices.

Bundesbank - Germany's Central Bank.

C

Cable - Trader jargon referring to the Sterling/US Dollar exchange rate. So called because the rate was originally transmitted via a transatlantic cable beginning in the mid 1800's.

Canadian Ivey Purchasing Managers (CIPM) Index – A monthly gauge of Canadian business sentiment issued by the Richard Ivey Business School.

Candlestick Chart - A chart that indicates the trading range for the day as well as the opening and closing price. If the open price is higher than the close price, the rectangle between the open and close price is shaded. If the close price is higher than the open price, that area of the chart is not shaded.

Carry Trade – Refers to the simultaneous selling of a currency with a low interest rate, while purchasing currencies with higher interest rates. Examples are the JPY crosses such as GBP/JPY and NZD/JPY.

Cash Market - The market in the actual financial instrument on which a futures or options contract is based.

Central Bank - A government or quasi-governmental organization that manages a country's monetary policy. For example, the US central bank is the Federal Reserve, and the German central bank is the Bundesbank.

Chartist - An individual who uses charts and graphs and interprets historical data to find trends and predict future movements. Also referred to as Technical Trader.

Cleared Funds - Funds that are freely available, sent in to settle a trade.

Closed Position - Exposures in Foreign Currencies that no longer exist. The process to close a position is to sell or buy a certain amount of currency to offset an equal amount of the open position. This will 'square' the postion.

Clearing - The process of settling a trade.

Contagion - The tendency of an economic crisis to spread from one market to another. In 1997, political instability in Indonesia caused high volatility in their domestic currency, the Rupiah. From there, the contagion spread to other Asian emerging currencies, and then to Latin America, and is now referred to as the 'Asian Contagion'.

Collateral - Something given to secure a loan or as a guarantee of performance.

Commission - A transaction fee charged by a broker.

Confirmation - A document exchanged by counterparts to a transaction that states the terms of said transaction.

Construction Spending – Measures the amount of spending towards new construction, released monthly by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Census Bureau.

Contract - The standard unit of trading.

Counter Currency - The second listed Currency in a Currency Pair.

Counterparty - One of the participants in a financial transaction.

Country Risk - Risk associated with a cross-border transaction, including but not limited to legal and political conditions.

Cross Currency Pairs - A pair of currencies that does not include the U.S. dollar. For example: EUR/JPY or GBP/CHF.

Currency symbols
AUD - Australian Dollar
CAD - Canadian Dollar
EUR - Euro
JPY - Japanese Yen
GBP - British Pound
CHF - Swiss Franc

Currency - Any form of money issued by a government or central bank and used as legal tender and a basis for trade.

Currency Pair - The two currencies that make up a foreign exchange rate. For Example, EUR/USD

Currency Risk - the probability of an adverse change in exchange rates.

Current Account – The sum of the balance of trade (exports minus imports of goods and services), net factor income (such as interest and dividends) and net transfer payments (such as foreign aid). The balance of trade is typically is the key component to the current account.

D

Day Trader - Speculators who take positions in commodities which are then liquidated prior to the close of the same trading day.

Dealer - An individual or firm that acts as a principal or counterpart to a transaction. Principals take one side of a position, hoping to earn a spread (profit) by closing out the position in a subsequent trade with another party. In contrast, a broker is an individual or firm that acts as an intermediary, putting together buyers and sellers for a fee or commission.

Deficit - A negative balance of trade or payments.

Delivery - An FX trade where both sides make and take actual delivery of the currencies traded.

Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) UK House Prices – A monthly survey produced by the DCLG that uses a very large sample of all completed house sales to measure the price trends in the UK real estate market.

Depreciation - A fall in the value of a currency due to market forces.

Derivative - A contract that changes in value in relation to the price movements of a related or underlying security, future or other physical instrument. An Option is the most common derivative instrument.

Devaluation - The deliberate downward adjustment of a currency's price, normally by official announcement.

Discount Rate – Interest rate that an eligible depository institution is charged to borrow short-term funds directly from the Federal Reserve Bank.

E

Economic Indicator - A government issued statistic that indicates current economic growth and stability. Common indicators include employment rates, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation, retail sales, etc.

End Of Day Order (EOD) - An order to buy or sell at a specified price. This order remains open until the end of the trading day which is typically 5PM ET.

European Monetary Union (EMU) - The principal goal of the EMU is to establish a single European currency called the Euro, which will officially replace the national currencies of the member EU countries in 2002. On Janaury1, 1999 the transitional phase to introduce the Euro began. The Euro now exists as a banking currency and paper financial transactions and foreign exchange are made in Euros. This transition period will last for three years, at which time Euro notes an coins will enter circulation. On July 1,2002, only Euros will be legal tender for EMU participants, the national currencies of the member countries will cease to exist. The current members of the EMU are Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Portugal.

EURO - the currency of the European Monetary Union (EMU). A replacement for the European Currency Unit (ECU).

European Central Bank (ECB) - the Central Bank for the new European Monetary Union.

Eurozone Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Leading Indicator – A monthly index produced by the OECD. It measures overall economic health by combining ten leading indicators including: average weekly hours, new orders, consumer expectations, housing permits, stock prices, and interest rate spreads.

Eurozone Labor Cost Index – Measures the annualized rate of inflation in the compensation and benefits paid to civilian workers and is seen as a primary driver of overall inflation.

F

Factory Orders – The dollar level of new orders for both durable and nondurable goods. This report is more in depth than the durable goods report which is released earlier in the month.

Federal Reserve (Fed) - The Central Bank for the United States.

First In First Out (FIFO) - Open positions are closed according to the FIFO accounting rule. All positions opened within a particular currency pair are liquidated in the order in which they were originally opened.

Flat/square - Dealer jargon used to describe a position that has been completely reversed, e.g. you bought $500,000 then sold $500,000, thereby creating a neutral (flat) position.

Foreign Exchange - (Forex, FX) - the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another.

Forward - The pre-specified exchange rate for a foreign exchange contract settling at some agreed future date, based upon the interest rate differential between the two currencies involved.

Forward Points - The pips added to or subtracted from the current exchange rate to calculate a forward price.

French Central Government Balance – The difference between the central government's monthly income and spending.

Fundamental Analysis - Analysis of economic and political information with the objective of determining future movements in a financial market.

Futures Contract - An obligation to exchange a good or instrument at a set price on a future date. The primary difference between a Future and a Forward is that Futures are typically traded over an exchange (Exchange- Traded Contacts - ETC), versus forwards, which are considered Over The Counter (OTC) contracts. An OTC is any contract NOT traded on an exchange.

FX - Foreign Exchange.

G

G7 - The seven leading industrial countries, being US , Germany, Japan, France, UK, Canada, Italy.

Going Long - The purchase of a stock, commodity, or currency for investment or speculation.

Going Short - The selling of a currency or instrument not owned by the seller.

Gross Domestic Product - Total value of a country's output, income or expenditure produced within the country's physical borders.

Gross National Product - Gross domestic product plus income earned from investment or work abroad.

Good 'Til Cancelled Order (GTC) - An order to buy or sell at a specified price. This order remains open until filled or until the client cancels.

H

Hedge - A position or combination of positions that reduces the risk of your primary position.

"Hit the bid" - Acceptance of purchasing at the offer or selling at the bid.

I

Industrial Production – Measures the total value of output produced by manufacturers, mines and utilities. This data tends to react quickly to the expansions and contractions of the business cycle and can act as a leading indicator of employment and personal income.

Inflation - An economic condition whereby prices for consumer goods rise, eroding purchasing power.

Initial Margin - The initial deposit of collateral required to enter into a position as a guarantee on future performance.

Interbank Rates - The Foreign Exchange rates at which large international banks quote other large international banks.

Intervention - Action by a central bank to effect the value of its currency by entering the market. Concerted intervention refers to action by a number of central banks to control exchange rates.

Introducing Broker - A person or corporate entity which introduces accounts to FOREX.com for a fee.

ISM Manufacturing Index – An index that assesses the state of US manufacturing sector by surveying executives on expectations for future production, new orders, inventories, employment and deliveries. Values over 50 generally indicate an expansion, while values below 50 indicate contraction.

ISM Non-Manufacturing – An index that survey service sector firms for their outlook, representing the other 80% of the U.S. economy not covered by ISM MANUFACTURING REPORT. Values over 50 generally indicate an expansion, while values below 50 indicate contraction.

J

Japanese Economy Watchers Survey – Measures the mood of businesses that directly service consumers such waiters, drivers, and beauticians. Readings above 50 generally signal improvements in sentiment.

Japanese Machine Tool Orders – Measures the total value of new orders placed with machine tool manufactures. Machine tool orders are a measure of the demand for machines that make machines, a leading indicator of future industrial production. Strong data generally signals that manufacturing is improving and that the economy is in an expansion phase

K

Kiwi - Slang for the New Zealand dollar.

L

Leading Indicators - Statistics that are considered to predict future economic activity.

Leverage - Also called margin. The ratio of the amount used in a transaction to the required security deposit.

LIBOR - The London Inter-Bank Offered Rate. Banks use LIBOR when borrowing from another bank.

Limit order - An order with restrictions on the maximum price to be paid or the minimum price to be received. As an example, if the current price of USD/YEN is 117.00/05, then a limit order to buy USD would be at a price below 102. (ie 116.50)

Liquidation - The closing of an existing position through the execution of an offsetting transaction.

Liquidity - The ability of a market to accept large transaction with minimal to no impact on price stability.

Long position - A position that appreciates in value if market prices increase. When the base currency in the pair is bought, the position is said to be long.

Lot - A unit to measure the amount of the deal. The value of the deal always corresponds to an integer number of lots.

M

Manufacturing Production – Measures the total output of the manufacturing aspect of the Industrial Production figures. This data only measure the 13 sub sectors that relate directly to manufacturing. Manufacturing makes up approximately 80% of total Industrial Production.

Margin - The required equity that an investor must deposit to collateralize a position.

Margin Call - A request from a broker or dealer for additional funds or other collateral to guarantee performance on a position that has moved against the customer.

Market Maker - A dealer who regularly quotes both bid and ask prices and is ready to make a two-sided market for any financial instrument.

Market Risk - Exposure to changes in market prices.

Mark-to-Market - Process of re-evaluating all open positions with the current market prices. These new values then determine margin requirements.

Maturity - The date for settlement or expiry of a financial instrument.

N

Net Position - The amount of currency bought or sold which have not yet been offset by opposite transactions.

O

Offer (ask) - The rate at which a dealer is willing to sell a currency. See Ask (offer) price

Offsetting transaction - A trade with which serves to cancel or offset some or all of the market risk of an open position.

One Cancels the Other Order (OCO) - A designation for two orders whereby one part of the two orders is executed the other is automatically cancelled.

Open order - An order that will be executed when a market moves to its designated price. Normally associated with Good 'til Cancelled Orders.

Open position - An active trade with corresponding unrealized P&L, which has not been offset by an equal and opposite deal.

Over the Counter (OTC) - Used to describe any transaction that is not conducted over an exchange.

Overnight Position - A trade that remains open until the next business day.

Order - An instruction to execute a trade at a specified rate.

P

Personal Income – Measures an individuals' total annual gross earnings from wages, business enterprises and various investments. Personal income is the key to personal spending, which accounts for 2/3 of GDP in the major economies.

Pips - The smallest unit of price for any foreign currency. Digits added to or subtracted from the fourth decimal place, i.e. 0.0001. Also called Points.

Political Risk - Exposure to changes in governmental policy which will have an adverse effect on an investor's position.

Position - The netted total holdings of a given currency.

Premium - In the currency markets, describes the amount by which the forward or futures price exceed the spot price.

Price Transparency - Describes quotes to which every market participant has equal access.

Profit /Loss or "P/L" or Gain/Loss - The actual "realized" gain or loss resulting fromtrading activities on Closed Positions, plus the theoretical "unrealized" gain or loss on Open Positions that have been Mark-to-Market.

Purchasing Managers Index Services (France, Germany, Eurozone, UK) – Measures an outlook of purchasing managers in the service sector. Such managers are surveyed on a number of subjects including employment, production, new orders, supplier deliveries, and inventories. Readings above 50 generally indicate expansion, while reading below 50 suggest economic contraction.

Q

Quote - An indicative market price, normally used for information purposes only.

R

Rally - A recovery in price after a period of decline.

Range - The difference between the highest and lowest price of a future recorded during a given trading session.

Rate - The price of one currency in terms of another, typically used for dealing purposes.

Resistance - A term used in technical analysis indicating a specific price level at which analysis concludes people will sell.

Retail Sales – Measures the monthly retail sales of all goods and services sold by retailers based on a sampling of variety of different types and sizes. This data gives a look into consumer spending behavior, which is a key determinant of growth in all major economies.

Revaluation - An increase in the exchange rate for a currency as a result of central bank intervention. Opposite of Devaluation.

Risk - Exposure to uncertain change, most often used with a negative connotation of adverse change.

Risk Management - the employment of financial analysis and trading techniques to reduce and/or control exposure to various types of risk.

Roll-Over - A rollover is the simultaneous closing of an open position for today's value date and the opening of the same position for the next day's value date at a price reflecting the interest rate differential between the two currencies.

The spot forex market is traded on a two-day value date. For example, for trades executed on Monday, the value date is Wednesday. However, if a position is opened on Monday and held overnight (remains open after 1700 ET), the value date is now Thursday. The exception is a position opened and held overnight on Wednesday. The normal value date would be Saturday; because banks are closed on Saturday the value date is actually the following Monday. Due to the weekend, positions held overnight on Wednesday incur or earn an extra two days of interest. Trades with a value date that falls on a holiday will also incur or earn additional interest.

Round trip - Buying and selling of a specified amount of currency.

S

Settlement - The process by which a trade is entered into the books and records of the counterparts to a transaction. The settlement of currency trades may or may not involve the actual physical exchange of one currency for another.

Short Position - An investment position that benefits from a decline in market price. When the base currency in the pair is sold, the position is said to be short.

Simple Moving Average (SMA) – A simple average of a pre – defined amount of price bars. For example, a 50 period Daily chart SMA is the average closing price of the previous 50 daily closing bars. Any time interval can be applied here.

Spot Price - The current market price. Settlement of spot transactions usually occurs within two business days.

Spread - The difference between the bid and offer prices.

Square - Purchase and sales are in balance and thus the dealer has no open position.

Sterling - slang for British Pound.

Stop Loss Order - Order type whereby an open position is automatically liquidated at a specific price. Often used to minimize exposure to losses if the market moves against an investor's position. As an example, if an investor is long USD at 156.27, they might wish to put in a stop loss order for 155.49, which would limit losses should the dollar depreciate, possibly below 155.49. Refer to Trading Handbook for FOREX.com's Stop Loss Policy.

Support Levels - A technique used in technical analysis that indicates a specific price ceiling and floor at which a given exchange rate will automatically correct itself. Opposite of resistance.

Swap - A currency swap is the simultaneous sale and purchase of the same amount of a given currency at a forward exchange rate.

Swissy - Market slang for Swiss Franc.

T

Technical Analysis - An effort to forecast prices by analyzing market data, i.e. historical price trends and averages, volumes, open interest, etc.

Tick - A minimum change in price, up or down.

Tomorrow Next (Tom/Next) - Simultaneous buying and selling of a currency for delivery the following day.

Trade Balance – Measures the difference in value between imported and exported goods and services. Nations with trade surpluses (exports greater than imports), such as Japan, tend to see their currencies appreciate, while countries with trade deficits (imports greater than exports), such as the US, tend to see their currencies weaken.

Transaction Cost - the cost of buying or selling a financial instrument.

Transaction Date - The date on which a trade occurs.

Turnover - The total money value of all executed transactions in a given time period; volume.

Two-Way Price - When both a bid and offer rate is quoted for a FX transaction.

U

UK HBOS House Price Index – Measures the relative level of UK house prices for an indication of trends in UK real estate sector and their implication for overall economic outlook. This index is the longest monthly data series of any UK housing index, put out by the largest UK mortgage lender (Halifax Building Society/Bank of Scotland).

UK Producers Price Index Input – Measures the rate of inflation experienced by manufacturers when purchasing materials and services. This data is closely scrutinized since it can be a leading indicator of consumer inflation.

UK Producers Price Index Output – Measures the rate of inflation experienced by manufacturers when selling goods and services.

UK Claimant Count Rate – Measures the number of people claiming unemployment benefits. The claimant count figures tend to be lower than the unemployment data since not all unemployed are eligible for benefits.

UK Jobless Claims Change – Measures the change in the number of people claiming benefits over the previous month.

UK Average Earnings Including Bonus/ Excluding bonus – Measures the average wage including/excluding bonuses paid to employees. This is measured QoQ from the previous year.

UK Manual Unit Wage Costs – Measures the change in total labor cost expended in the production of one unit of output.

Unemployment Rate – Measures the total workforce that is unemployed and actively seeking employment, measured as the percentage of the labor force.

University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index – Polls 500 US households each month. The report is issued in a preliminary version mid – month and a final version at the end of the month. Questions revolve around individuals attitudes about the US economy. Consumer sentiment is viewed as a proxy for the strength of consumer spending.

Unrealized Gain/Loss - The theoretical gain or loss on Open Positions valued at current market rates, as determined by the broker in its sole discretion. Unrealized Gains' Losses become Profits/Losses when position is closed.

Uptick - a new price quote at a price higher than the preceding quote.

Uptick Rule - In the U.S., a regulation whereby a security may not be sold short unless the last trade prior to the short sale was at a price lower than the price at which the short sale is executed.

US Prime Rate - The interest rate at which US banks will lend to their prime corporate customers.

V

Value Date - The date on which counterparts to a financial transaction agree to settle their respective obligations, i.e., exchanging payments. For spot currency transactions, the value date is normally two business days forward. Also known as maturity date.

Variation Margin - Funds a broker must request from the client to have the required margin deposited. The term usually refers to additional funds that must be deposited as a result of unfavorable price movements.

The VIX or Volatility Index – Shows the market's expectation of 30 – day volatility. It is constructed using the implied volatilities of a wide range of S&P 500 index options. The VIX is a widely used measure of market risk and is often referred to as the "investor fear gauge".

Volatility (Vol) - A statistical measure of a market's price movements over time.

W

Wedge Chart Pattern – Chart formation that shows a narrowing price range over time, where price highs in an ascending wedge are incrementally less, or in a descending wedge, price declines are incrementally smaller. Ascending wedges typically conclude with a downside breakout, and descending wedges typically terminate with upside breakouts.

Whipsaw - slang for a condition of a highly volatile market where a sharp price movement is quickly followed by a sharp reversal.

Wholesale Prices – Measures the changes in prices paid by retailers for finished goods. Inflationary pressures typically show up here earlier than the headline retail.

Y

Yard - Slang for a billion.

Tailoring Your Technical Approach to Currency "Personalities"

2008-11-18T14:44:00.002-08:00

Every currency pair has qualities unique to it.
Find out what those qualities are.

Much has been written about the suitability of technical analysis for trading in the currency markets. While this is undoubtedly true, it can leave traders, particularly those new to the currency markets, with the impression that all technical tools are equally applicable to all major currency pairs. Perhaps most dangerous from the standpoint of profitability, it can also seduce traders into searching for the proverbial silver bullet: that magic technical tool or study that works for all currency pairs, all the time. However, anyone who has traded forex for any length of time will recognize that, for example, dollar/Yen (USD/JPY) and dollar/Swiss (USD/CHF) trade in distinctly different fashions.

Why, then, should a one-size-fits-all technical approach be expected to produce steady trading results? Instead, traders are more likely to experience improved results if they recognize the differences between the major currency pairs and employ different technical strategies to them. This article will explore some of the differences between the major currency pairs and suggest technical approaches that are best suited to each pair's behavioral tendencies.

The Biggie
By far the most actively traded currency pair is euro/dollar (EUR/USD), accounting for 28 percent of daily global volume in the most recent Bank for International Settlements (BIS) survey of currency market activity. EUR/USD receives further interest from volume generated by the Euro-crosses (e.g. euro/British pound (EUR/GBP), EUR/CHF and EUR/JPY, and this interest tends to be contrary to the underlying U.S. dollar direction. For example, in a U.S. dollar-negative environment, the Euro will have an underlying bid stemming from overall U.S. dollar selling. However, less liquid dollar pairs (e.g. USD/CHF) will be sold through the more liquid Euro crosses, in this case resulting in EUR/CHF selling, which introduces a Euro offer into the EUR/USD market.

This two-way interest tends to slow Euro movements relative to other major dollar pairs and makes it an attractive market for short-term traders, who can exploit "backing and filling." On the other hand, this depth of liquidity also means EUR/USD tends to experience prolonged, seemingly inconclusive tests of technical levels, whether generated by trendline analysis or Fibonacci/Elliott wave calculations. This suggests breakout traders need to allow for a greater margin of error: 20-30 pips. (A pip is the smallest increment in which a foreign currency can trade with respect to identifying breaks of technical levels.) Another way to gauge whether EUR/USD is breaking out is to look to the less liquid USD/CHF and GBP/USD. If these pairs have broken equivalent technical levels, for example recent daily highs, then EUR/USD is likely to do the same after a lag. If "Swissy" and "Cable" (popular name for British pound) are stalling at those levels, then EUR/USD will likely fail as well.

Customize Your Settings
In terms of technical studies, the overwhelming depth of EUR/USD suggests that momentum oscillators are well-suited to trading the euro, but traders should consider adjusting the studies' parameters (increase time periods) to account for the relatively plodding, back-and-fill movements of EUR/USD. See Figure 1. In this sense, reliance on very short-term indicators (less than 30 minutes) exposes traders to an increased likelihood of "whipsaw" movements. Moving average convergence divergence (MACD) as a momentum study is well-suited to EUR/USD, particularly because it utilizes exponential moving averages (greater weight to more recent prices, less to old prices) in conjunction with a third moving average, resulting in fewer false crossovers. Short-term (hourly) momentum divergences routinely occur in EUR/USD, but they need to be confirmed by breaks of price levels identified though trendline analysis to suggest an actionable trade. When larger moves are underway, traders are also likely to find the directional movement indicator (DMI) system useful for confirming whether a trend is in place, in which case momentum readings should be discounted, and might choose to rely on DI+/DI- crossovers for additional trade entry signals.

Second Place
The next most actively traded currency pair is USD/JPY, which accounted for 17 percent of daily global volume in the 2004 BIS survey of currency market turnover. USD/JPY has traditionally been the most politically sensitive currency pair, with successive U.S. governments using the exchange rate as a lever in trade negotiations with Japan. While China has recently replaced Japan as the Asian market evoking U.S. trade tensions, USD/JPY still acts as a regional currency proxy for China and other less-liquid, highly regulated Asian currencies. In this sense, USD/JPY is frequently prone to extended trending periods as trade or regional political themes (e.g. yuan revaluation) play out.

For day-to-day trading, however, the most significant feature of USD/JPY is the heavy influence exerted by Japanese institutional investors and asset managers. Due to a culture of intra-Japanese collegiality, including extensive position and strategy information-sharing, Japanese asset managers frequently act in the same direction on the yen in the currency market. In concrete terms, this frequently manifests itself in clusters of orders at similar price or technical levels, which then reinforce those levels as points of support or resistance. Once these levels are breached, similar clusters of stop loss orders are frequently just behind, which in turn fuel the breakout. Also, as the Japanese investment community moves en masse into a particular trade, they tend to drive the market away from themselves for periods of time, all the while adjusting their orders to the new price levels, for instance raising limit buy orders as the price rises.

An alternate tactic frequently employed by Japanese asset managers is to stagger orders to take advantage of any short-term reversals in the direction of the larger trend. For example, if USD/JPY is at 115.00 and trending higher, USD/JPY buying orders would be placed at arbitrary price points, such as 114.75, 114.50, 114.25 and 114.00, to take advantage of any pullback in the broader trend. This also helps explain why USD/JPY frequently encounters support or resistance at numerically round levels, even though there may be no other corresponding technical significance.

Take A Look at Trendlines
Turning to the technical side of USD/JPY, the foregoing discussion suggests trendline analysis as perhaps the most significant technical tool for trading USD/JPY. Because of the clustering of Japanese institutional orders around technical or price levels, USD/JPY tends to experience fewer false breaks of trendlines. For example, large-scale selling interest at technical resistance will need to be absorbed if the technical level is to be broken. This is likely to happen only if a larger market move is unfolding, and this suggests any break will be sustained. This makes USD/JPY attractive for breakout traders who employ stop-loss entry orders on breaks of trendline support or resistance. Short-term trendlines, such as hourly or 15 minutes, can be used effectively, but traders need to operate on a similarly short-term basis; daily closing levels hold the most meaning in USD/JPY. In terms of chart analysis, Japanese institutional asset managers rely heavily on candlestick charts (which depend heavily on daily close levels) and traders would be well-advised to learn to recognize major candlestick patterns, such as doji, hanging man, tweezer tops/bottoms and the like. See Figure 2. When it comes to significant trend reversals or pauses, daily close (5 p.m. EST), candlesticks can be highly reliable leading indicators.

The yen discussion above also highlighted the factors behind the propensity of USD/JPY to trend over the medium-term (multiweek). This facet suggests traders should look to trend following tools such as moving averages (21- and 55-day perio ds are heavily used), DMI, and Parabolic SAR. (This refers to J. Welles Wilder Jr.'s Parabolic System. SAR stands for stop and reverse.) Momentum oscillators such as the relative strength index (RSI), MACD or stochastics should generally be avoided, especially intraday, due to the trending and institutional nature driving USD/JPY. While a momentum indicator may reverse course, typically suggesting a potential trade, price action often fails to reverse enough to make the trade worthwhile due to underlying institutional interest. Instead of reversing along with momentum, USD/JPY price action will frequently settle into a sideways range, allowing momentum studies to continue to unwind, until the underlying trend resumes. Finally, Ichimoku analysis (roughly translated as one-glance cloud chart) is another largely Japanese-specific trend identification system that highlights trends and major reversals.

A Look At Some Illiquid Currencies
Having looked at the two most heavily traded currency pairs, let's now examine two of the least liquid major currency pairs, USD/CHF and GBP/USD, which pose special challenges to technically oriented traders. The so-called Swissy holds a place among the major currency pairs due to Switzerland's unique status as a global investment haven; estimates are that nearly one-third of the world's private assets are held in Switzerland. The Swiss franc has also acted historically as a so-called "safe-haven" currency alternative to the U.S. dollar in times of geo-political uncertainty, but this dimension has largely faded since the end of the Cold War. Today, USD/CHF trades mostly based on overall U.S. dollar sentiment, as opposed to Swiss-based economic fundamentals. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is primarily concerned with the franc's value relative to the euro, since the vast majority of Swiss trade is with the European Union, and Swiss fundamental developments are primarily reflected in the EUR/CHF cross rate.

Liquidity in USD/CHF is never very good, and this makes it a favorite "whipping horse" for hedge funds and other speculative interests looking to maximize the bang for their buck. The lower liquidity and higher volatility of Swissy also makes it a significant leading indicator for major U.S. dollar movements. Figure 3 illustrates an example of a recent break of major daily trendline support in USD/CHF that took place a full day before EUR/USD and USD/JPY broke equivalent levels. Swissy will also lead the way in shorter-term movements, but the overall volatility and general jitteriness of USD/CHF price action makes false breaks of technical levels common. These false breaks are frequently stop-loss driven and it is not unusual for prices to trade 15-25 points through a support/resistance level before reversing after the stop losses have been triggered. In strong directional moves, USD/CHF price action tends toward extreme one-way traffic, with minimal backing and filling in comparison to EUR/USD.

Cable (GBP/USD), or sterling, also suffers from relatively poor liquidity and this is in part due to its higher pip value (U.S. dollars) and the relatively Euro-centric basis of U.K. trade. Sterling shares many of the same trading characteristics of Swissy outlined just above, but Cable will also react sharply to U.K. fundamental data as well as to U.S. news. Sterling's price action will also display extreme one-way tendencies during larger moves, as traders caught on the wrong side chase the illiquid market to the extremes.

Focus On Risk Management
The volatility and illiquidity of Swissy and sterling suggests traders need to use a more proactive overall approach to trading these pairs, particularly concerning risk management (i.e. position size in relation to stop levels). With regard to technical tools, the tendency for both pairs to make short-term false breaks of chart levels suggests breakout traders need to be particularly disciplined concerning stop entry levels and should consider a greater margin of error on the order of 30-35 points. In this sense, trendline analysis of periods less than an hour tends to generate more noise than tradable break points, so a focus on longer time periods (four hours-daily) is likely to be more successful in identifying meaningful breaks. By the same token, once a breakout occurs, surpassing the margin of error, the ensuing one-way price action favors traders who are quick on the trigger, and this suggests employing resting stop-loss entry orders to reduce slippage. For those positioned with a move, trailing stops with an acceleration factor, such as parabolic SAR, are well suited to riding out directional volatility until a price reversal signals an exit. Of course, placing contigent orders may not necessarily limit your losses.

The volatility inherent in Cable and Swissy makes the use of short-term (hourly and shorter) momentum oscillators problematic, due to both false crossovers and divergences between price/momentum that frequently occur in these time frames. Longer-period oscillators (four hours and more) are best used to highlight potential reversals or divergent price action, but volatility discourages initiating trades based on these alone. Instead, momentum signals need to be confirmed by other indicators, such as breaks of trendlines, Fibonacci retracements or parabolic levels, before a trade is initiated.

Try A Larger Retracement
With regard to Fibonacci retracement levels, the greater volatility of Cable and Swissy frequently sees them exceed 61.8-percent retracements, only to stall later at the 76.4-percent level, by which time most short-term Elliott wave followers have been stopped out. Short-term spike reversals of greater than 30 points also serve as a reliable way to identify when a directional surge, especially intraday, is completed, and these can be used as both profit taking and counter-trend trading signals. For counter-trend, corrective trades based on spike reversals, stops should be placed slightly beyond the extreme of the spike low/high. A final technical study that is well suited to the explosiveness of Swissy and sterling is the Williams %R, an overbought/oversold momentum indicator, which frequently acts as a leading indicator of price reversals. The overbought/oversold bands should be adjusted to -10/-90 to fit the higher volatility of Cable and Swissy. As with all overbought/oversold studies, however, price action needs to reverse course first before trades are initiated.

It's Not One Size Fits All
Traders who seek to apply technical trading approaches to the currency market should be aware of the differences in the trading characteristics of the major currency pairs. Just because the euro and the pound are both traded against the dollar does not mean they will trade identically to each other. A more thorough understanding of the various market traits of currencies suggests that certain technical tools are better suited to some currency pairs than others. A currency-specific approach to applying technical analysis is more likely to produce successful results than a one-size-fits-all application across all currency pairs.

What are Economic Indicators?

2008-11-18T14:44:00.001-08:00

Economic indicators are snippets of financial and economic data published regularly by governmental agencies and the private sector. These statistics help market observers monitor the economy's pulse - so it's no surprise that they're religiously followed by almost everyone in the financial markets.

With so many people poised to react to the same information, economic indicators have tremendous potential to generate volume and to move prices. It might seem like you need an advanced economics degree to parse all this data accurately - but in fact traders need only keep a few simple guidelines in mind to making trading decisions based on this data.

Mark your economic calendars

Know exactly when each economic indicator will be released. You can find these calendars at the New York Federal Reserve Bank's site; FOREX.com clients can simply login to MyAccount and click on Economic Calendars.

Watching the economic calendar not only helps you consider trades around these events, it helps explain otherwise unanticipated price actions during those periods. Consider this scenario: it's Monday morning and the USD has been in a tailspin for 3 weeks, with many traders short USD positions as a result. On Friday, however, U.S. employment data is scheduled to be released. If that report looks promising, traders may start unwinding their short positions before Friday, leading to a short-term rally in USD through the week.

What does this data mean for the economy?

You need not understand every nuance of each data release, but you should try to grasp key, large-scale relationships between reports and what they measure in the economy. For example, you should know which indicators measure the economy's growth (gross domestic product, or GDP) versus those that measure inflation (PPI, CPI) or employment strength (non-farm payrolls).

Not all economic indicators can move markets

The market often pays more attention to certain indicators under certain conditions - and that focus can change over time. For example, if prices (inflation) are not a crucial issue for a given country, but its economic growth is problematic, traders may pay less attention to inflation data and focus on employment data or GDP reports.

Watch for the unexpected

Often the data itself may not be as important as whether or not it falls within market expectations. If a given report differs widely and unexpectedly from what economists and market pundits were anticipating, market volatility and potential trading opportunities may result.

At the same time, be careful of pulling the trigger too quickly when an indicator falls outside expectations. Each new economic indicator release contains revisions to previously released data. Here's an example:

Don't get caught up in details

While your macroeconomics professor may appreciate all the nuances of an economic report, traders need to filter data judiciously for their own purposes: making intelligent trading decisions.

For example, many new traders watch the headlineNew line of the employment report, for example, assuming that new jobs are key to economic growth. That may be true generally, but in trading terms non-farm payrolls is the figure traders watch most closely and therefore has the biggest impact on markets.

Similarly, PPI measures changes in producer prices generally - but traders tend to watch PPI excluding food and energy as a market driver. Food and energy data tend to be much too volatilve and subject to revisions to provide an accurate reading on producer price changes.

There are two sides to every trade

Hopefully this has helped you realize the importance of watching economic indicators - and knowing which data are most likely to move markets and impact currency traders.

Just remember that no trader's knowledge can be complete all the time. You might have a great handle on economic data published in the U.S. - but there are times when data published in Europe or Australia might have surprising impact on your currency market. Doing your homework before trading any currency will help you stay on guard.

Economic indicators: a currency's vital signs

Traders can measure the economic health of a given country (and its currency) through its economic indicators - but, just like a doctor monitoring a patient's vital signs, not all stats count equally. Here's a primer of the key economic indicators that often impact currency traders.

Economic indicators divide into leading and lagging indicators:

Leading indicators are economic factors that change BEFORE the economy starts to follow a particular trend. They're used to predict changes in the economy.
Lagging indicators are economic factors that change AFTER the economy has already begun to follow a particular trend. They're used to confirm changes in the economy.

Major economic indicators

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The sum of all goods and services produced either by domestic or foreign companies. GDP indicates the pace at which a country's economy is growing (or shrinking) and is considered the broadest indicator of economic output and growth.

Industrial Production

A chain-weighted measure of the change in the production of the nation's factories, mines and utilities, industrial production also measures the country's industrial capacity and how fully it's being used (capacity utilization).

The manufacturing sector accounts for one-quarter of the major currencies' economies, so it's critical to watch the health of factories and whether their capacity is being maximized.
Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)

The National Association of Purchasing Managers (NAPM), now called the Institute for Supply Management, releases a monthly composite index of national manufacturing conditions. The index includes data on new orders, production, supplier delivery times, backlogs, inventories, prices, employment, export and import orders. It is divided into manufacturing and non-manufacturing sub-indices.

Producer Price Index (PPI)

Measures average changes in selling prices received by domestic producers in the manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and electric utility industries.

The PPIs most often used for economic analysis are those for finished goods, intermediate goods, and crude goods.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Measures the average price level paid by urban consumers (80% of the population in major currency countries) for a fixed basket of goods and services. It reports price changes in over 200 categories.

The CPI also includes various user fees and taxes directly associated with the prices of specific goods and services.

Durable Goods

Durable Goods Orders measures new orders placed with domestic manufacturers for immediate and future delivery of factory hard goods. A durable good is a product that lasts over three years, during which its services are extended.

Companies and consumers sometimes put off purchases of durable goods during tough economic times - so this figure is a useful measure of certain kinds of customer demand.
Employment Cost Index (ECI)

Payroll employment is a measure of the number of jobs at larger companies in more than 500 industries in all 50 U.S. states and 255 metropolitan areas. ECI counts the number of paid employees working part-time or full-time in the nation's business and government establishments.

Retail Sales

Measures total receipts of retail stores from samples representing all sizes and kinds of business in retail trade throughout the nation. It is the timeliest indicator of broad consumer spending patterns and is adjusted for normal seasonal variation, holidays, and trading-day differences.

Retail sales include durable and nondurable merchandise sold, and services and excise taxes incidental to the sale of merchandise. It doesn't include sales taxes collected directly from the customer.

Housing Starts

Measures the number of residential units on which construction is begun each month. A "start" refers to excavation of the foundation of a residential home.

Housing is usually one of the first sectors to react to interest rate changes. Significant reaction of start/permits to changing interest rates signals interest rates are nearing trough or peak. To analyze, focus on the percentage change in levels from the previous month. Report is released around the middle of the following month.

Forex Market Drivers

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Rising interest rates strength that country's currency

A common way to think about interest rates is how much it's going to cost to borrow money, whether for our mortgages or how much we'll earn on our bond and money market investments. Interest rate policy is a key driver of currency prices and typically a strategy for new currency traders.

Fundamentally, if a country raises its interest rates, its currency prices will strengthen because the higher interest rates attract more foreign investors.

For example, higher rates in the Eurozone may prompt U.S. investors to sell U.S. dollars and buy bonds in Euros. Similarly, if interest rates increase in Switzerland, those investors may decide to sell their Euro-bonds and move into bonds in Swiss francs (CHF), driving Euros down and Swiss francs up.

When gold goes up, the USD goes down (and vice versa)

Historically, gold is a "safe haven", a country-neutral investment and an alternative to the world's other reserve currency, the U.S. dollar. That means gold prices have an inverse relationship to the USD, offering several ways for currency traders to take advantage of that relationship.

For example, if gold breaks an important price level, you'd expect gold to move higher. With this in mind, you might sell dollars and buy Euros, for example, as a proxy for higher gold prices.

Rising gold prices help major gold producers

Australia is the world's third largest exporter of gold, and Canada is the third largest producer worldwide. These two major currencies tend to strengthen as gold prices rise. You might consider going long these currencies when gold is increasing in value, or trade your GBP or JPY for these currencies when gold is on the rise.

Oil-dependent countries weaken as oil prices rise

Just as airlines and other oil-dependent industries are hurt by rising oil prices, so are the currencies of oil-dependent countries like the U.S. or Japan, both of which are massively dependent on foreign oil.

If you believe oil prices will continue to rise, you can consider buying commodity-based economies like Australia or Canada or selling oil-dependent currencies.

Introduction to Fundamental Analysis

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Introduction to Fundamental Analysis

Fundamental analysis studies the core underlying elements that influence the economy of a particular entity, like a stock or currency. It attempts to predict price action and trends by analyzing economic indicators, government policy, societal and other factors within a business cycle framework.

If you think of the markets as a big clock, fundamentals are the gears and springs that move the hands around the face. Anyone can tell you what time it is now, but the fundamentalist knows about the inner workings that move the clock's hands towards times (or prices) in the future.

Are you a technician or fundamentalist?

There's a tendency to pigeonhole traders into two distinct schools: fundamental or technical. In fact, most smart traders favor a blended approach versus being a purist of either type.

Fundamentalists need to keep an eye on signals derived from price charts, while few technicians can afford to completely ignore impending economic data, critical political decisions or pressing societal issues that influence price action.

Forecasting economic conditions using models

Fundamental analysis is very effective at forecasting economic conditions, but not necessarily exact market prices. Studying GDP forecasts or employment reports can give you a fairly clear picture of an economy's health and the forces at work behind it. But you still need a method to translate that into specific trade entry and exit points.

The bridge between fundamental data and a specific trading strategy usually comes from a trader model. These models use current and historical empirical data to estimate future prices and translate those into specific trades.

Beware of "analysis paralysis"

Forecasting models are both art and science, with so many different approaches that traders can get overloaded. It can be tough to decide when you know enough to pull the trigger on a trade with confidence.

Many traders switch to technical analysis at this point to test their hunches and see when price patterns suggest an entry.

Look for fundamental drivers first

The fundamentals include everything that makes a country and its currency tick. From interest rates and central bank policy to natural disasters, the fundamentals are a dynamic mix of distinct plans, erratic behaviors and unforeseen events.

That said, not every development will move a country's currency. Try to start by identifying the most influential contributors to this mix versus following every fundamental out there.

Using Indicators to Identify Trends

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You've probably heard the expression "the trend is your friend" - but what does it mean? If your trend takes a sudden counter-move and your trailing stop activates at a loss, it's natural to ask yourself: how can you be sure the next trend will be more friendly?

Confirm the trend is real

Using technical indicators in combination can help ensure a potential trend has staying power - a good habit for all kinds of technical trading, but especially in forex. Currencies tend to move in trends naturally due to long-term macroeconomic factors and short-term international capital flows. All of this makes it that much harder to see a trade-able trend that will last.

Trendlines

From a trader's perspective, a trend is a predictable price response at levels of support or resistance that change over time. Trendlines mark these levels, with support acting as the "floor" and resistance as the "ceiling". When prices break through either of these levels, that signals a trend for that movement to continue.

It's easy to draw perfect trendlines on historical charts - but harder to be right when the trend is still developing. Still trendlines help focus your attention on finding support and resistance levels, the first step to identifying a new trend.

Start by drawing trendlines over longer timeframes (daily or weekly charts) and then carry them forward into shorter timeframes (hourly or 4-hourly). That way you'll highlight the most important support and resistance levels first and not lose the major trend development by chasing a short-term, minor one.

Directional Movement Indicator (DMI)

Developed by J. Welles Wilder, the DMI minimizes the guesswork in spotting trends and helps confirm trendline analysis.

The DMI system has two parts:

ADX (average directional movement index). If the ADX reading is above 20, that indicates a "real" or sustainable trend. The ADX also measures the trend's strength: the >higher the ADX, the stronger the trend.

The ADX also provides an early indicator of a trend's end. When it drops from its highest level, it may be time to exit the position and wait for a fresh signal from the the DI+/DI-.
DI+ and DI- lines. When DI+ crosses up through DI-, that's considered a buy sign. When the opposite happens, that's usually a sell sign.

Wilder recommends following the "extreme point rule" to confirm the signals. Note the extreme point for that period in the direction of the crossover (the high if DI+ crosses up over DI-; the low if DI- crosses up over DI+). Only if that extreme point is breached in the subsequent period is a trade signal confirmed.

Many traders use the parabolic indicator along with the ADX to identify a trend's end. The parabolic indicator follows the price action but accelerates its own rate of increase over time and in response to the trend. The parabolic continually closes in on the price, and only a steadily accelerating price rise (the essence of a trend) will prevent the price from falling below the parabolic, signaling an end to the trend.

Trading short-term

The methods above can be used for short-term decision making, even in markets that are trading sideways - a "trendless" market.

However, if you're trading short-term, don't ignore the big picture entirely. There's no point in trying to ride a short-term trend that is counter to the larger trend.

Cashing in on Short-Term Currency Trends

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Most of the time, markets don't show a clear trend - they bounce back and forth between support and resistance levels. This sideways movement is called a trading range. Below is a strategy that can help you identify entry points on short-term trends, while protecting your profits with trailing stops.⁺

Trade Set-up

The strategy uses two charts with different time periods (10-minute and hourly), along with two technical indicators: a 200-bar moving average and a 14-bar slow stochastic study.

Step 1: Identify a trend

Compare the moving averages on both charts. A trend may be developing when price is consistently above or below the moving averages on both charts.

Step 2: Pinpoint entry

Once you've identified a trend, look for the following two conditions at the same time on the 10-minute chart:

Price is no more than 20 pips above (to buy) or 20 pips below (to sell) the MA.
The "fast" stochastic (%K) crosses above the "slow" stochastic (%D) below 20 (to buy), or crosses below the "slow" stochastic above 80 (to sell).

Step 3: Ride the trend

Set a trailing stop after the trade entry.

On a LONG position, the stop order should be 10 pips BELOW the 200-period MA on the 10-minute chart. You'll RAISE the stop as the trade goes in your favor.

On a SHORT position, place the stop 10 pips ABOVE the MA. You'll LOWER the stop as the trade goes in your favor.

An example: EUR/USD, June 2002

Step 1: compare the hourly and 10-minute EUR/USD charts. Look for a time when price is above the 200-period moving averages on both charts.

On the hourly chart, price is almost exclusively above the 200-hour moving average, indicating a persistent uptrend.

On the 10-minute chart, price moves (and remains above) the moving average in the last third of the chart.

Step 2: pinpoint the entry zone - when the market is within 20 pips of the moving average on the 10- minute chart, and the stochastic lines cross. As indicated in the chart, conditions are right around 8pm on June 27.

Buy EUR/USD at .9883
Protective t-stop set at .9858 (10 pips below MA)

Sell EUR/USD at .9992
Protective t-stop has moved up to .9967

Profit = 84 pips, or US $840

+ Placing contingent orders may not necessarily limit your losses.