Learn Forex Trading to Expand Opportunities
Capitalize on the opportunity to learn forex trading so you can begin the process of branching your portfolio out of domestic stocks and into the global market. Any financial advisor worth his weight will tell you that it is important to diversify your investment portfolio and this is by far the largest volume market in the world. Daily, it does nearly four times the volume of trading than the New York Stock Exchange does. Anyone who holds a basic understanding of how money is converted and exchange rates work can learn forex trading. The sale or trading of currency is at the heart of what forex is. Using one currency to buy another means that your counterpart is using their currency to buy yours. As exchange rates fluctuate and the economies of nations surge and recede, these investments in cash behave in value very much like a traditional stock. As with any new venture, you will need to master the vocabulary that is an inherent part of forex. When you begin to learn forex trading you will be introduced to terms like pip, spread, cross, base currency and trade currency. Foreign exchange trading does have some unique terminologies. While they may be new to you, you will learn them quickly because they describe certain parts of forex quotes that you will need to understand in order to trade. There are quite a few resources available to those who wish to learn forex trading. The reliability of internet access has opened the door to online forex trading, which means that more investors have the ability to participate in trading activity. Since the foreign exchange trade is considered a spot market, the ready availability of internet access is crucial. Business is done on the "spot," thus the name. You can capitalize on many benefits when you learn forex trading. The availability of a 24-hour a day market is one. Since forex involves the trade of currency at banks across the globe, the market never closes. The market is also remarkably liquid, meaning that you will never have trouble finding trading partners. Since most of your trading partners are banks and the medium is cash, you will never be at a loss for customers. Another benefit is the lack of commissions. Since you make the trades on your own, you don't have to spend part of your profit on brokerage commission fees. Taking the time to learn forex trading opens one more investment door for you. As you continue to realize the importance of diversifying your investment portfolio, it may be a good idea to begin looking at what kinds of opportunities are available to you in foreign exchange trading. You may be surprised to see who else is capitalizing on this market and just how easy it is.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
How to Find a Broker for the FOREX Trading Market
It's not always easy to know what to look for in a broker in any market, much less a market as complex as the FOREX. But, if you want to trade in FOREX you need a broker. While it might be tempting to simply ask the brokers what they can do for you, you can't always depend on them to give you a straight answer. Here are a few things to consider when choosing your broker. You will want a broker that has low spreads. Since FOREX brokers don't charge a commission, this difference is how they make money. Low spreads will save you money. Along with this, you should be looking for a broker attached to a reputable institution. Unlike equity brokers, FOREX brokers are usually attached to large banks or lending institutions. The broker should also be registered with the Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) as well as regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Once you've narrowed your choices down to brokers that won't cost you too much, and that are reputable, consider the trading tools that they are offering you. FOREX brokers have many different trading platforms for their clients, just like brokers in other markets. These often show real-time charts, technical analysis tools, real-time news and data, and may even offer support for the various trading systems. Before you commit to any one broker, request free trials of their tools. Brokers generally provide technical as well as fundamental commentaries, economic calendars, and other research to help you make good trades. Shop around until you find a broker who will give you what you need to succeed. The next item that you will need to evaluate carefully is the number of leverage options your potential broker has. Leverage is a necessity in FOREX trading because the price deviations in the currencies are set at fractions of a cent. Leverage is expressed as a ratio between the total capital that is available to be traded and your actual capital. For example, when you have a ratio of 100:1, your broker will lend you $100 for every $1 of actual capital you have. Many brokerage firms will offer you as much as 250:1. If you have low levels of capital you will need a brokerage with high levels of leverage to make reasonable profits. If capital is not a problem, any broker that has a wide variety of leverage options would be a good choice for you. A variety of options will let you vary the amount of risk you choose to take. For example, less leverage (and therefore less risk) may be preferable if you are dealing with highly volatile (exotic) currency pairs. Along with different levels of leverage, look for brokers that offer different types of accounts. Many brokers will offer you two or more types. The smallest account is known as a mini account and it requires you to trade with a minimum of around $300. The mini account also generally offers a high amount of leverage. The standard account allows you to trade at a variety of different leverages, but it requires minimum initial capital of $2,000. And finally, there are premium accounts, which often require significant amounts of capital. They also generally have different levels of leverage available to the traders who use them, and often offer additional tools and services. You will need to make sure that the broker you choose has the right leverage, tools, and services for the amount of capital that you are able to work with.
Forex Trading
Forex trading, or foreign exchange current exchange trading, is a global phenomenon. This is the single largest market in the world. There are many different market sectors that are involved with Forex trading. These include, but are not limited to; " Banks" Corporations" Governments" IndividualsWhat is Forex trading you ask? At its simplest, Forex trading is currency being traded for another currency. However, Forex trading is anything but simple. The market has massive trade volume and is very fluid. Not to mention the hundreds of different currencies being traded and their ever changing value.Forex trading is a very focused area of trading, but the amount of time andenergy most people and companies spend getting trained and educated on Forex trading and its inner workings and pitfalls, is at least as much time as it takes to learn the stock market.Because of the complexity, Forex Trading is not your typical overnight success operation. There are many large corporations, such as GCI Financial which is a market leader in this space.Forex trading is unique in that everyone does not have access to all of the same information and prices at the same time, as they do with the stock market. I won't get into specifics here, but basically there is a tiered level whereby different levels of access are given to the Forex traders and Forex firms.The other main thing to remember about Forex trading is, until such time that the world adopts a single currency, Forex Trading will be around for a very long time.
A Look at Online Forex Brokers
An online forex broker is a firm that facilitates retail trading using Internet technologies. Global Forex Trading (GFT), one of the popular online forex brokers. It provides retail traders with a free demo trading account, allows users to open a live account, gives live help, provides software called DealBook FX 2, and allows viewing of account documents. (DealBook FX 2 can be downloaded for the demo trading account).Gain Capital Group's Online Forex offers 200:1 leverage. In some cases, the total return on investment is higher due to leverage. For example, with $1000 cash in a margin account, the investor can control up to $200,000 in notional value. Of course, trading on leverage magnifies both the investor's profits and losses. GCI Financial Ltd. offers commission-free online trading in forex. GCI offers Internet trading software, fast and efficient execution, and 0.5% margin requirements. This broker offers USD or Euro denominated trading accounts. The spreads are 3 pips in EUR/USD and USD/JPY, and are 4 to 5 pips for other major commissions. Clients can hedge by opening positions in the same currency in opposite directions. Risk to the investor is limited to the deposited funds. Market analysis and research, real-time charts, and forex trading signals are available at no charge.ACM, part of the REFCO group, offers 3 pip spreads on all major currencies, which works out to between 0.02% and 0.03% on the dollar value. They also offer commission-free trading, and forex trading with a 1% margin, which means that a trader can control $1,000,000 with $10,000 in his account.There are many online forex brokers that offer free demo accounts for potential forex traders to practice trading. It is only a matter of registering and starting demo trading to get a feel for forex trading. In addition, at most sites, traders can find free forex news to assist them with their trade strategies.
Why Trade the Forex Market
Trading the Forex market has become very popular in the last years. Technology advances like the internet have spawned this new trading craze, where anyone with a secure internet connection prepared to undertake a small amount of training can engage in trading foreign exchange on the forex market. Before the Internet, only corporations and wealthy individuals could trade currencies in the Forex market through the use of proprietary trading systems of banks, often through private banking. The foreign exchange market is one of the largest in the world if not the largest. It is more than 3 times larger than the stock/equities market and more than 5 times bigger than futures, give Forex traders nearly unlimited liquidity and flexibility. It has been estimated that approximately $2 trillion USD of currency exchanges hands each and every day. The foreign currency markets are very liquid because worldwide, the most powerful international banks provide a market around the clock. The Global foreign exchange market daily averages of the Bank for International Settlements in 1998 were $660 billion and now have increased to $2.3 trillion (2006). There is really no insider information in the forex markets. Since exchange rates are calculated by actual money flow as well as by the outlook of financial flowage, which takes into consideration such things as inflation, GDP changes, trade and budget deficits and surpluses, as well as interest rates, it would be difficult to come across so-called 'insider information'. All of these factors are self-evident, though different projected outlooks may prove more accurate than others. There is less room for market manipulation is there may be for thinly traded stocks. A equally important property of forex market is the fact that trends in forex market last longer and are more clearly defined than in any other trading instrument. Analysis of forex market charts also often displays identifiable chart patterns of price movement and once a pattern is established, the trend or pattern becomes the most probable course of future price action until the market changes. Because the FOREX market is so huge, there is no possibility of someone controlling the market price for a long time. When there are a lot of buyers and a lot of sellers, you can expect to buy or sell at a price that is very close to the last market price. The market maker in the forex market is usually a bank or brokerage company that provides during the trading day a bid and ask price. Example of forex market makers include CMS Forex, GFS, Forex, Forex Capital Markets (FXCM), and Global Forex Trading, all of which are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) of the USA. Brokers offer clients access to online FX trading system, platform or software that can make it easy and fun to trade the market and usually there are usually no commission charges. With these trading systems and platforms you can trade the forex markets for free using the same state-of-the-art software packages that professional Forex traders use to help them make real-time, live currency trades. So individuals with a few hundreds of their own currency hope to buy and sell something for a smiling profit. Speculators trade to make a profit by purchasing one currency and simultaneously selling another. In conclusion I think the FOREX mar
Unique Commodity Trading Strategies To Survive And Prosper During Tough Markets
Unique Commodity Trading Strategies To Survive And Prosper During Tough Markets
Surviving the rough times to be present for the big moves is the name of the game in commodity trading. With some luck we can even break even while the other participants are getting chopped to pieces. It requires giving up something to get something else. Learn how a few of the big hits can be avoided for a small price. Read about ways to participate in the long haul moves while still sleeping well at night.Let's say our forecast makes us bullish on the market. We want to check out the possibility of buying a future contract and hedging it by buying a put option. There will always be a choice here - either buying an option spread (as in the previous example) or buying a future with an option hedge. One method will always be better than the other. We need to determine this to get our strategy edge on the market. Much depends on the option premiums. Again, this is where it's handy to have an automated option evaluation program.Now we can get creative and more flexible. Let's say you have faith in your forecast that the market is going to rally within 2 - 3 weeks. If it doesn't happen by then, then the trade is suspect. Let's buy a futures contract and also buy a put option as close to the current market price as possible. Hopefully we pay a reasonable price for the put option. The closer you buy it, the less loss and risk if the futures contract declines sharply against you. However, the option premium will be higher too.The put option becomes a synthetic stop loss order for the futures contract. You will lose until the market hits that option strike price and then no matter how far the market drops, the futures contract loss is fixed and limited. Now here's the trick and edge...Select an option with only a small amount of time, like 30 days or so. The option will cost less because of having a short time remaining. If your future contract moves up within 2-3 weeks as you expect, the put option will lose its value quickly and expire within 30 days anyway. The option is the sacrificial lamb that has done its job for a few weeks and then dies. It has protected you against the big potential hit. We dodged the ball. Now it's up to the futures contract. That's where the profit will come from, if the trade is destined to work out.Once the futures contract gets far away from your entry point under the initial protection of the option, you can then move up the future's stop loss order to break-even. A new option could always be bought later if desired to synthetically lock in some profits. However, this is option overuse and the premiums start to catch up with you. We must take on risk or the market will not pay us. We become parasites if we hedge too much, add no liquidity or load risk onto others. In this example we economically used an option to lay off large risk at a critical time. After that brief, partially-hedged window, we again assumed the risk. There are other ways to do this, but beyond the scope of this article. More later.So far we have discussed entry techniques and ways to lower our risk at critical times when our exposure is the greatest. Remember that we are trying NOT to get hit by the dodge-ball and are happy making singles and doubles. Let the newbies swing for the fences and strike out 90% of the time. The idea here is survival until we identify a big market forecast and the move starts. That's the only time to swing for the fences. You want to play it conservative 90% of the time and swing hard 10% at most. To do otherwise is the road to consistent losses. Trade like a guerrilla warfare fighter. Survival first, shoot at our own time and place...sparingly. Let the others line themselves up and face off to their heart's desire. In another article we will discuss methods of using futures and options for synthetic exit strategies. This will include option granting, and futures hedging of options. Good Trading!
Surviving the rough times to be present for the big moves is the name of the game in commodity trading. With some luck we can even break even while the other participants are getting chopped to pieces. It requires giving up something to get something else. Learn how a few of the big hits can be avoided for a small price. Read about ways to participate in the long haul moves while still sleeping well at night.Let's say our forecast makes us bullish on the market. We want to check out the possibility of buying a future contract and hedging it by buying a put option. There will always be a choice here - either buying an option spread (as in the previous example) or buying a future with an option hedge. One method will always be better than the other. We need to determine this to get our strategy edge on the market. Much depends on the option premiums. Again, this is where it's handy to have an automated option evaluation program.Now we can get creative and more flexible. Let's say you have faith in your forecast that the market is going to rally within 2 - 3 weeks. If it doesn't happen by then, then the trade is suspect. Let's buy a futures contract and also buy a put option as close to the current market price as possible. Hopefully we pay a reasonable price for the put option. The closer you buy it, the less loss and risk if the futures contract declines sharply against you. However, the option premium will be higher too.The put option becomes a synthetic stop loss order for the futures contract. You will lose until the market hits that option strike price and then no matter how far the market drops, the futures contract loss is fixed and limited. Now here's the trick and edge...Select an option with only a small amount of time, like 30 days or so. The option will cost less because of having a short time remaining. If your future contract moves up within 2-3 weeks as you expect, the put option will lose its value quickly and expire within 30 days anyway. The option is the sacrificial lamb that has done its job for a few weeks and then dies. It has protected you against the big potential hit. We dodged the ball. Now it's up to the futures contract. That's where the profit will come from, if the trade is destined to work out.Once the futures contract gets far away from your entry point under the initial protection of the option, you can then move up the future's stop loss order to break-even. A new option could always be bought later if desired to synthetically lock in some profits. However, this is option overuse and the premiums start to catch up with you. We must take on risk or the market will not pay us. We become parasites if we hedge too much, add no liquidity or load risk onto others. In this example we economically used an option to lay off large risk at a critical time. After that brief, partially-hedged window, we again assumed the risk. There are other ways to do this, but beyond the scope of this article. More later.So far we have discussed entry techniques and ways to lower our risk at critical times when our exposure is the greatest. Remember that we are trying NOT to get hit by the dodge-ball and are happy making singles and doubles. Let the newbies swing for the fences and strike out 90% of the time. The idea here is survival until we identify a big market forecast and the move starts. That's the only time to swing for the fences. You want to play it conservative 90% of the time and swing hard 10% at most. To do otherwise is the road to consistent losses. Trade like a guerrilla warfare fighter. Survival first, shoot at our own time and place...sparingly. Let the others line themselves up and face off to their heart's desire. In another article we will discuss methods of using futures and options for synthetic exit strategies. This will include option granting, and futures hedging of options. Good Trading!
Friday, September 7, 2007
Learn Forex Trading In An Innovative And Easy Way
Learn Forex Trading In An Innovative And Easy Way
Why Learn Forex trading?The forex market is by far the largest market in the world. It is estimated that around $1.5 TRILLION is traded every single day. By far more then all the stock, bond and futures markets of the entire world combined! Forex or currency exchange is the term used to describe the trading of world currencies. A trade occurs when a trader simultaneously buy of one currency and sell of another one. E.g., to buy British pounds with US dollars. The currency combination used in a trade is called a pair.What does a forex trader do? Simple, buy a currency at a low value and sell it at a higher value, and in the process profit from it! For example, buy Great British Pounds with US Dollars, wait for the Pound rate to go up and make money! This can be done several times a day if the forex trader is a day trader or several times a week or month if the trader is a forex swing trader.What are the main benefits of trading in the forex market?Many currency pairs are very volatile. Volatility means that they move a lot during the day, from side to side, allowing traders to capture sometimes 5-6 price swings per day, each one potentially allowing the trader to make impressive profits.5-7 currency pairs to monitor (instead of over 10,000 stocks!), no commission trading, guaranteed fills for stop losses and limit orders, impressive leverage. The forex market is a 24 hour market. Never stops. This means that as a forex trader you can chose exactly when to trade. Some traders have day jobs and do not have the necessary time to trade during the day so they can trade at night. People who make their living as forex traders can chose to trade any time of the day or night. The point being, a 24 hour market allows the trader a lot of flexibility.What are the Exclusive benefits offered by forex trading?An incredible benefit of the forex industry is that today all forex brokers allow traders to open free demo accounts. This demo account has the full capabilities of a "real" account including live market rates, access to real-time market analysis, and the ability to execute trades off streaming prices. This means that the trader can test his or her strategies without risking a single dollar! No other business opportunity allows you to see if it works before you spend money!Making a living as a forex trader allows you to be truly free! No office, no workers, no inventory, no marketing worries, no advertising, no selling. Learning the right forex trading system allows the forex trader to trade by just following simple rules. If A happens and B happens then do C. This is called mechanical trading. It requires absolutely no discretion, interpretation or thinking from the trader.In conclusion, Learning forex trading provides all level of investors with a lot of opportunities that many markets and industries do not provide. The reason many people have not heard of this opportunity until recently is that until not long ago trading currencies was reserved to the big dogs (banks, institutions, companies etc). Today with the help of the internet anyone can take advantage of on-line currency trading that was once reserved to an exclusive group.
Why Learn Forex trading?The forex market is by far the largest market in the world. It is estimated that around $1.5 TRILLION is traded every single day. By far more then all the stock, bond and futures markets of the entire world combined! Forex or currency exchange is the term used to describe the trading of world currencies. A trade occurs when a trader simultaneously buy of one currency and sell of another one. E.g., to buy British pounds with US dollars. The currency combination used in a trade is called a pair.What does a forex trader do? Simple, buy a currency at a low value and sell it at a higher value, and in the process profit from it! For example, buy Great British Pounds with US Dollars, wait for the Pound rate to go up and make money! This can be done several times a day if the forex trader is a day trader or several times a week or month if the trader is a forex swing trader.What are the main benefits of trading in the forex market?Many currency pairs are very volatile. Volatility means that they move a lot during the day, from side to side, allowing traders to capture sometimes 5-6 price swings per day, each one potentially allowing the trader to make impressive profits.5-7 currency pairs to monitor (instead of over 10,000 stocks!), no commission trading, guaranteed fills for stop losses and limit orders, impressive leverage. The forex market is a 24 hour market. Never stops. This means that as a forex trader you can chose exactly when to trade. Some traders have day jobs and do not have the necessary time to trade during the day so they can trade at night. People who make their living as forex traders can chose to trade any time of the day or night. The point being, a 24 hour market allows the trader a lot of flexibility.What are the Exclusive benefits offered by forex trading?An incredible benefit of the forex industry is that today all forex brokers allow traders to open free demo accounts. This demo account has the full capabilities of a "real" account including live market rates, access to real-time market analysis, and the ability to execute trades off streaming prices. This means that the trader can test his or her strategies without risking a single dollar! No other business opportunity allows you to see if it works before you spend money!Making a living as a forex trader allows you to be truly free! No office, no workers, no inventory, no marketing worries, no advertising, no selling. Learning the right forex trading system allows the forex trader to trade by just following simple rules. If A happens and B happens then do C. This is called mechanical trading. It requires absolutely no discretion, interpretation or thinking from the trader.In conclusion, Learning forex trading provides all level of investors with a lot of opportunities that many markets and industries do not provide. The reason many people have not heard of this opportunity until recently is that until not long ago trading currencies was reserved to the big dogs (banks, institutions, companies etc). Today with the help of the internet anyone can take advantage of on-line currency trading that was once reserved to an exclusive group.
Choose Your Online Forex Broker
Online Forex brokers are known to be a required evil if you are going to trade in currency. There are also those people who are eligible to trade without outside assistance, but for the normal trader, enforcing to trade on the Online Forex market with no broker is like trying to chase a grizzly bear with a soup spoon. Your chances of achievement are actually very low, and there is a distinct option you would get hurt quite badly. Of course choosing the incorrect forex broker might return results same as to the sick fated bear hunt. That is why it is significant that you select a broker in the right way.First thing to be considered is to be sure that the broker you choose has the proper qualifications. When you look at the brokerage firms in the United States, immediately exclude those that are not registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This is again important as this designation means that you are confined against scam and any possible abusive forex trading practices. Covering your personal security before a forex trade has been made is a high-quality way to wade gradually into the forex currency market.
Once you have removed the ones who do not have the required qualifications, and now have a short list of potential, the internet comes into picture. Just don't go with the brokerage firm, which has the best profitable, or gets the most excellent "Law and Order" individuality to assist in the following advertising, research your choices. A superior idea is to send some effective emails to your customer service people. Estimate how long it takes them to get in touch to you. This is, after all, a customer examine ambitious profession.
Once you are pleased with a firm's experience and customer service practices, its time to get down to your self-assurance tacks. Online forex trading speed is forever an issue, so find out how fast it takes your own potential online forex broker to carry out an order. Also, you would desire to know how much slippage could be expected. This needs information, which could be discovered in a phone call, or any email to customer service. You would desire these answers not only for regular markets, but for fast moving ones as well.
Once you have removed the ones who do not have the required qualifications, and now have a short list of potential, the internet comes into picture. Just don't go with the brokerage firm, which has the best profitable, or gets the most excellent "Law and Order" individuality to assist in the following advertising, research your choices. A superior idea is to send some effective emails to your customer service people. Estimate how long it takes them to get in touch to you. This is, after all, a customer examine ambitious profession.
Once you are pleased with a firm's experience and customer service practices, its time to get down to your self-assurance tacks. Online forex trading speed is forever an issue, so find out how fast it takes your own potential online forex broker to carry out an order. Also, you would desire to know how much slippage could be expected. This needs information, which could be discovered in a phone call, or any email to customer service. You would desire these answers not only for regular markets, but for fast moving ones as well.
Swing Trading For Profit a Live Example
Swing Trading For Profit a Live Example
Swing trading is one of the best ways to make money in forex trading, it's also a lot easier psychologically than trend following.It's therefore a great way to trade for novice traders. Over the last few weeks we have looked at some live examples:Banked 4 profits, scratched one trade at break even and have one open. Let's look at it and another potential opportunity.First why is swing trading an easy way to trade?When we say is easy, we mean psychologically.You get in quick with low pre defined risk and you're normally out in 2 - 5 days with a good profit.This is much easier than long term trend following, in that you do not have to wait for months and see dips eat into your open profit.Long term trend following is highly profitable but requires a lot more discipline.We personally mix the two ways of trading to gain some diversification of style and smooth the equity curve.Swing trading basicsWe normally look for important chart support and resistance and trade contrary to it.We wait for prices to test these areas and watch for stochastic momentum to fall against resistance or rise against support.Then we know the level has held and trade off it.We also use RSI and Bollinger bands to define targets and that's it.Nice ands simple, but can be very profitable you can read more about this method in our other articles.British PoundWe are short at recent nearby highs and would look for a pop to the downside to Fridays low or near the middle of the Bollinger band.Stochastic is weak at present and odds favor a bit more to the downside.With swing trading you don't want to hang around to long, get out on specific target and that's very close now.Another opportunityLets look at another potential opportunity that's could be shaping up. The euro is trading near its highs and the spike high on the chart is resistance. Stochastic momentum is waning and a cross with bearish divergence will put the odds in favor of the bears.The important point is to wait for confirmation of the crossover - the target is then Fridays low just above the middle of the center of the Bollinger band.FinallyThe tools used swing trade are simple and easy to use, but that doesn't mean they can't make profits as we have shown.Importantly, for novice traders the discipline needed to trade this way is a lot easier.If you practice a bit and learn to spot the set ups you will soon be able to spot some great low risk high reward trades - Good Luck
Swing trading is one of the best ways to make money in forex trading, it's also a lot easier psychologically than trend following.It's therefore a great way to trade for novice traders. Over the last few weeks we have looked at some live examples:Banked 4 profits, scratched one trade at break even and have one open. Let's look at it and another potential opportunity.First why is swing trading an easy way to trade?When we say is easy, we mean psychologically.You get in quick with low pre defined risk and you're normally out in 2 - 5 days with a good profit.This is much easier than long term trend following, in that you do not have to wait for months and see dips eat into your open profit.Long term trend following is highly profitable but requires a lot more discipline.We personally mix the two ways of trading to gain some diversification of style and smooth the equity curve.Swing trading basicsWe normally look for important chart support and resistance and trade contrary to it.We wait for prices to test these areas and watch for stochastic momentum to fall against resistance or rise against support.Then we know the level has held and trade off it.We also use RSI and Bollinger bands to define targets and that's it.Nice ands simple, but can be very profitable you can read more about this method in our other articles.British PoundWe are short at recent nearby highs and would look for a pop to the downside to Fridays low or near the middle of the Bollinger band.Stochastic is weak at present and odds favor a bit more to the downside.With swing trading you don't want to hang around to long, get out on specific target and that's very close now.Another opportunityLets look at another potential opportunity that's could be shaping up. The euro is trading near its highs and the spike high on the chart is resistance. Stochastic momentum is waning and a cross with bearish divergence will put the odds in favor of the bears.The important point is to wait for confirmation of the crossover - the target is then Fridays low just above the middle of the center of the Bollinger band.FinallyThe tools used swing trade are simple and easy to use, but that doesn't mean they can't make profits as we have shown.Importantly, for novice traders the discipline needed to trade this way is a lot easier.If you practice a bit and learn to spot the set ups you will soon be able to spot some great low risk high reward trades - Good Luck
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Forex Trading
Forex trading, or foreign exchange current exchange trading, is a global phenomenon. This is the single largest market in the world. There are many different market sectors that are involved with Forex trading. These include, but are not limited to;" Banks" Corporations" Governments" IndividualsWhat is Forex trading you ask? At its simplest, Forex trading is currency being traded for another currency. However, Forex trading is anything but simple. The market has massive trade volume and is very fluid. Not to mention the hundreds of different currencies being traded and their ever changing value.Forex trading is a very focused area of trading, but the amount of time andenergy most people and companies spend getting trained and educated on Forex trading and its inner workings and pitfalls, is at least as much time as it takes to learn the stock market.Because of the complexity, Forex Trading is not your typical overnight success operation. There are many large corporations, such as GCI Financial which is a market leader in this space.Forex trading is unique in that everyone does not have access to all of the same information and prices at the same time, as they do with the stock market. I won't get into specifics here, but basically there is a tiered level whereby different levels of access are given to the Forex traders and Forex firms.The other main thing to remember about Forex trading is, until such time that the world adopts a single currency, Forex Trading will be around for a very long time
Forex - You Need A Real System!
Although it has been some years since I was actively involved in trading, I have just returned to the markets and have begun to trade a small account on my own behalf. This has perhaps given me a slightly skewed perspective of the markets, almost like a new entrant, but one with a lot of experience.There have been some big changes whilst I have been inactive, not least in the number of online brokerages fighting for every dollar.But many things stay the same, at the heart of which is one, I guess, unbreakable truth. Trading is basically a very simple business, with any trading stocks, options, FOREX, whatever only really involving three steps:1. Find several possible trades evaluate them and decide which to go for,2. Calculate how much to trade, and decide at what points to enter and exit the market3. Keeping an eye on, or monitoring, open market positionsNow, these three steps were basically all there was to it a few years ago, and they still And, guess what, people are still getting totally bogged down right here, at this early stage of the trading process, generally, for one of two reasons.The first possible reason is that they simply are not aware that these are the steps involved in the trading process, or (the second reason) they have no clearly defined rules for actioning these steps. Thus, less experienced, more nervous, traders can often take hours to evaluate a small number of potential trades.Experienced day traders, on the other hand, are fully aware that, with little time available to execute their trading, they must have a process plan and they must stick to it.A day trader will set out his (or her) plan of action something like this:1. Recognize the opportunity, enter the market2. Stay in the trade for as long as possible if it is going for him or3. Get the heck out of there with minimum losses, as soon as it is clear it is going to go the wrong wayThat s it! That s essentially what a day trader in any market was doing years ago, and that is what a day trader is still doing today, with little or no change to their working practices brought about by the vastly more advanced technology of today.Savvy day traders learn very quickly that they must plan ahead of time, so that they are in prime position to take full advantages of the opportunities that occur in real time.Thus, day trading, which on paper at least is a pretty dangerous and risky manner of working markets is, in fact, one of the most disciplined trading schools! By the nature of market movements and the way they operate, day traders simply cannot afford to run their trading business on a wing and a prayer!
Learn Forex Trading to Expand Opportunities
Capitalize on the opportunity to learn forex trading so you can begin the process of branching your portfolio out of domestic stocks and into the global market. Any financial advisor worth his weight will tell you that it is important to diversify your investment portfolio and this is by far the largest volume market in the world. Daily, it does nearly four times the volume of trading than the New York Stock Exchange does.Anyone who holds a basic understanding of how money is converted and exchange rates work can learn forex trading. The sale or trading of currency is at the heart of what forex is. Using one currency to buy another means that your counterpart is using their currency to buy yours. As exchange rates fluctuate and the economies of nations surge and recede, these investments in cash behave in value very much like a traditional stock.As with any new venture, you will need to master the vocabulary that is an inherent part of forex. When you begin to learn forex trading you will be introduced to terms like pip, spread, cross, base currency and trade currency. Foreign exchange trading does have some unique terminologies. While they may be new to you, you will learn them quickly because they describe certain parts of forex quotes that you will need to understand in order to trade.There are quite a few resources available to those who wish to learn forex trading. The reliability of internet access has opened the door to online forex trading, which means that more investors have the ability to participate in trading activity. Since the foreign exchange trade is considered a spot market, the ready availability of internet access is crucial. Business is done on the "spot," thus the name.You can capitalize on many benefits when you learn forex trading. The availability of a 24-hour a day market is one. Since forex involves the trade of currency at banks across the globe, the market never closes. The market is also remarkably liquid, meaning that you will never have trouble finding trading partners. Since most of your trading partners are banks and the medium is cash, you will never be at a loss for customers. Another benefit is the lack of commissions. Since you make the trades on your own, you don't have to spend part of your profit on brokerage commission fees.Taking the time to learn forex trading opens one more investment door for you. As you continue to realize the importance of diversifying your investment portfolio, it may be a good idea to begin looking at what kinds of opportunities are available to you in foreign exchange trading. You may be surprised to see who else is capitalizing on this market and just how easy it is.
Forex Market
If you want to keep your hand on the pulse of financial markets and to assess trading opportunities on the Forex market, Forex Club is the right place for you. We offer a powerful Forex trading platform to engage on Forex market and online trading. Forex market quotations, Forex market order placement and confirmations are available online 24 hours a day and 5 days a week! At Forex Club you have the opportunity to take advantage of mini Forex trading with flexible lot sizes and trade in any fractions of a low in base currency.Do you think it’s too hard to open your account and start Forex market trading? Here are Forex Club Financial Company you will find various useful aspects, such as around-the-clock trading, up to 1:100 leverage (please note that high leverage is associated with high risks make sure to read Risk Warning on this website), no margin call policy, mini Forex accounts and transactions in a fraction of a lot – and many other tools to engage the Forex market. Forex Club allows our clients to trade 14 currency pairs which represent over 90% of Forex market transactions are made in these currencies. If you are looking for flexible FX online trading platform, Forex Club offers you all new Rumus 2 platform loaded with FX tools essential for trading, analysis. Beside the traditional functionality of "stop" and "loss", our FX currency trading system accepts orders to close, reverse, increase or decrease size of your position.Whether you are the beginner, who wants to start with mini Forex trading or advanced trader; whether you prefers fundamental or technical Forex market analysis, our Forex online trading platform may meet the needs of different investors' groups. Internet dealing FX currency trading system gives you real-time market quotes, fast order executions, integrated streaming Dow Jones News, generated reports and much more. RUMUS2 analytical Forex market platform allows you to keep track the real time data feed, historical quotes database, variety of tools and indicators. With Forex Club Financial Company you have a chance to create your own indicators and trade the full value of your account with no margin call.Irregardless of your investment size (standard or mini Forex trading), we at Forex Club will make everything possible to provide you with superb service, while delivering a true FX online trading experience. Please note, before you start trading you should read about terms and conditions as well as Risk Warning displayed on this website.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Learn Forex Trading And Investing
Learn Forex Trading And InvestingWhat Is FOREX? Well, FOREX stangs for FOReign EXchange, it is an exchange market, where investors buy and sell foreign currencies in hopes of making a profit. Indeed, FOREX can yield big profits. But to earn those big profits, you'll need to know what you're doing. That's where we come in. We're here to provide you with useful articles and information on FOREX trading, so that you can be informed before you start. So, read through our library of articles, learn what to do and what not to do in FOREX trading, and you may be on your way to some decent profits.What is a Forex Broker?By: Eddie Tobey The Currency / Foreign Exchange market is the worlds largest and most dynamic market. Nearly $1.8 trillion is traded every day. The word Forex is derived from the words Foreign Exchange. A Broker is an individual or firm that acts as an intermediary between buyer and seller. Forex brokers are firms that deal in foreign exchange. The foreign exchange market is quite similar to the equity markets, except that typical forex brokers do not charge a commission. However, forex brokers are required to have a license.Forex brokers earn money from the spread (also called "pip"). The spread is the difference between the prices at which a currency is bought and sold. A pip is the smallest price increment in a currency. For example, in Euro/US Dollar (EUR/USD), a move from 0.9008 to 0.9009 is one pip. In US Dollar/Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), a move from 127.41 to 127.42 is one pip. Forex brokers can be compared on the basis of the spread they charge. Most forex brokers publish live or delayed prices on their websites so that the investor can compare the spreads. It is, however, necessary to check if the spread is fixed or variable. Variable spreads appear small and attractive when the market is quiet, but when the market gets busy the forex broker widens the spread, meaning that the investor will gain only if the market is favorable.Forex brokers are usually tied to large banks or lending institutions. This is because of the huge sums of money traded in the foreign exchange markets. Forex brokers are required to register with the Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), and are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).A new trend among forex brokers is the emergence of online forex brokers, who offer trading facilities to "retail traders" using advanced technology. With these facilities, anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can trade in the forex markets.How To" Start Trading The Forex Market? ( Part 2)By: Martin Maier Why is FOREX trading so popular? Because you can trade from anywhere. From your kitchen table, bedroom, garage or from the nearest Starbucks coffeehouse ( most of them have wireless Internet connection). If you have or like to travel, take your laptop with you and you can trade the FOREX anywhere in the world where you have an Internet connection. When you want to start trading the Forex Market nobody is asking you for a diploma, a formal license or a proof of how many hours you have spent studying the Foreign Exchange Market and/or Banking Industry. FOREX Trading is Economical and Start-up Costs are Low! You can open an account to trade Forex with as little as US$ 200 at he most brokerage firms. I personally do recommend Fenix Capital Management, LLC, which offers a state of art Trading platform, that allows you to place orders directly by clicking on the chart. The Main Benefits of Trading the FX Spot Market are: YOU dont pay commissions or fees! YOU can trade 24-hours a day ! YOU can trade up to 400:1 Leverage ! YOU can have FREE Streaming executable Price quotes and live charts! It is impo@@@nt to know the differences between cash FOREX (SPOT FX) and currency futures. In currency futures, the contract size is predetermined. With FOREX (SPOT FX), you may trade electronically any desired amount, up to $10 Million USD. The futures market closes at the end of the business day (similar to the stock market).If impo@@@nt data is released overseas while the U.S. futures markets is closed, the next days opening might sustain large gaps with potential for large losses if thedirection of the move is against your position. The Spot FOREX market runs continuously on a 24-hour basis from 7:00 am New Zealand time Monday morning to 5:00 pm New York Time Friday evening. Dealers in every major FX trading center (Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong/Singapore, London, Geneva and New York/Toronto) ensure a smooth transaction as liquidity migrates from one time zone to the next. Furthermore, currency futures trade in non-USD denominated currency amounts only, whereas in spot FOREX, an investor can trade in almost any currency denomination, or in the more conventionally quoted USD amounts. The currency futures pit, even during Regular IMM (International Money Market) hours suffers from sporadic lulls in liquidity and constant price gaps. The spot FOREX market offers constant liquidity and market depth much more consistently than Futures. With IMM futures one is limited in the currency pairs he can trade. Most currency futures are traded only versus the USD. With spot FOREX, you may trade foreign currencies vs. USD or vs. each other on a cross basis, for example: EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY, CHF/JPY, EUR/GBP and AUD/NZD More and more well informed investor and entrepreneurs are diversifying their traditional investments like stocks, bonds & commodities with foreign currency because of the following reasons: (will be continued) RISK WARNING: Risks of currency trading: Margined currency trading is an extremely risky form of investment and is only suitable for individuals and institutions capable of handling the potential losses it entails. An account with an broker allows you to trade foreign currencies on a highly leveraged basis (up to about 400 times your account equity). The funds in an account that is trading at maximum leverage may be completely lost if the position(s) held in the account experiences even a one percent swing in value, given the possibility of losing ones entire investment. Speculation in the foreign exchange market should only be conducted with risk capital funds that, if lost, will not significantly affect the investors financial well-being.FOREX Trading StrategiesBy: Terrence Tully FOREX Trading Strategies To be a successful FOREX trader you need to develop and adhere to a trading strategy. There are many different strategys available and no particular one is good for all traders; rather, each trader needs to develop his or her individual approach to the FOREX. We each have special skills that separate us from others and the FOREX trader needs to find what works best for him/her. Some traders rely solely on technical analysis while others prefer fundamental analysis, but many successful FOREX traders use a combination of both to get a broad overview of the market and for plotting entry and exit points. Technical analysis, or charting, relies on one key concept: Prices move by trends. The common saying in FOREX and stock trading is The trend is your friend. If prices are moving in one direction, the strength of the move can be observed by looking at the chart. Market movements have identifiable patterns that have been studied for many years and a thorough understanding of these trends and how to use the trends to make FOREX trading decisions form the basis of a good trading strategy. There are many analytical tools available to study market movements. FOREX traders can use computer software or even pen and paper to perform their own analysis. Books abound describing many of these strategies. The beginner FOREX trader should study each one well and acquire a working knowledge of the concepts. Study each method until it is mastered, then use itthe strategy to fully learn it. Once mastered, move on to the next strategy and repeat. It is a simple practice to "trade" FOREX simply on paper, without entering any actual trades. In fact, this method is highly recommended until the beginning FOREX trader builds some confidence. Support and resistance levels are used in many FOREX trading strategies. Support refers to the price level that is repeatedly seen as the bottom - when the price reaches this level it tends to rise. Prices will seldom fall below the "support" line. At the opposite spectrum is the Resistance levels. Resistance appears to be the peak that a price will reach when buyers and sellers seem to agree. At this apex prices will move up no further. The space in between "resistance" and "support" is known as the "trading range". Prices can move back and forth within this range for some time. The longer the time frame spent in this range, the more impo@@@nt the signal triggered when prices move outside of the range. When currency prices break through either support or resistance levels, the prices are expected to continue in that same direction. As mentioned, the longer prices stayed in a trading range, the more significant the "breakout", if prices move above "resistance" or "breakdown", if prices fall below "support" For example, if the price rises above the previous resistance level, it is seen as bullish - the price should continue to rise. This signifys that more buyers have entered the market and this increased "buy" pressure will move prices higher. Conversely, when sellers are too many and buyers few, a "breakdown" could signify prices moving lower again until buyers and sellers once again reach equqlibrium. To find support and resistance levels, price charts need to be analyzed for unbroken support and resistance levels. Charts can be analyzed in any time frame; short term traders will study daily or even hourly charts while the long term trader will use weekly or monthly charts to easily see the long term trend. Traders can use support/resistance levels to determine when to enter or exit a transaction. Moving averages are another common tool in FOREX trading strategies. If a trader only uses the closing price of a currency at the end of the day as a guide, it is hard to establish the true direction of the move. Moving averages "smooth" out the large moves and give us a much clearer look at the currency price. One average used is the simple moving average (SMA) shows the average price in a given period of time over a specified period of time. A 10 day SMA simply takes the past 10 day closing price of a currency and averages out the 10 day data. Another popular moving average is a weighted moving average. While similiar to the SMA, the WMA puts more emphasis on the last several days trading. So while still showing a 10 day average, more weight is added to the last couple of trading days to better reflect the true trend. When prices are above the MA, they will tend to stay above the MA line. When the MA is below the line, price decline can be expected as well. These are examples of trading strategies that can be used individually or in combination. In practice, the FOREX trader should have a repertoire of trading tools to examine market conditions and to support the findings of one trading method or another. Experienced traders will rely on several, rather than one, key indicators to base their trading decisions on. Similarly, fundamental analysis can be used to reinforce technical findings, or vice versa. The FOREX trader will study currency valuations, inflation rates, and other key financial indicators to decide whether a currency is "cheap" or "expensive" Ideally, the FOREX trader will use several indicators into account when plotting a trading strategy. Every trading strategy should provide clear guidelines about when to enter a trade, what to expect in terms of market movement, when to exit a trade, and how much loss can be accepted in case the deal moves against the trader. Following these simple guidelines and learning about technical analysis can help you become a successful FOREX trader. Regards
Cash Forex versus Currency Futures
As a potential new trader, it is important for you to understand the differences between cash Forex and currency futures. In currency futures, the contract size is predetermined. Futures traders exercise leverage by utilizing a performance bond or margin to control a futures contract. “Margin” is money deposited by both the buyer and the seller to assure the integrity of the contract.
With liquidity in mind, the futures market may seem limiting because the data flow comes to a stop at the end of the business day (just as it does with the stock market), thus disrupting your perception of the market. For some traders this could lead to a certain level of anxiety. For example, if important data comes in from England or Japan while the U.S. futures market is closed, the next day’s openingcould be a wild ride.
In contrast to the futures market, the spot Forex market is a 24-hour, continuous currency exchange that never closes. There are dealers in every major time zone, in every major dealing center (i.e., London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, etc.) willing to quote two-way markets. The size of this market, a $1.5 to $3.5 trillion dollar per day market gives you near perfect liquidity. Because of theadvantages of sheer volume and daily volatility, the excitement of this market is unparalleled.
With liquidity in mind, the futures market may seem limiting because the data flow comes to a stop at the end of the business day (just as it does with the stock market), thus disrupting your perception of the market. For some traders this could lead to a certain level of anxiety. For example, if important data comes in from England or Japan while the U.S. futures market is closed, the next day’s openingcould be a wild ride.
In contrast to the futures market, the spot Forex market is a 24-hour, continuous currency exchange that never closes. There are dealers in every major time zone, in every major dealing center (i.e., London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, etc.) willing to quote two-way markets. The size of this market, a $1.5 to $3.5 trillion dollar per day market gives you near perfect liquidity. Because of theadvantages of sheer volume and daily volatility, the excitement of this market is unparalleled.
What moves the Market?
The primary factors influencing exchange rates include the balance of payments, the state of the economy, implications drawn from chart analysis and political and psychological factors.
Ebb and flow of capital between nations, otherwise known as Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), is the central factor that determines market momentum. In addition, fundamental economic forces such as inflation and interest rates are constantly influencing currency prices. Faith in a government’s ability to stand behind its currency will also impact currency price. This is done in two ways: controls and intervention. Controls restrict citizens from doing things, which have a negative effect on the exchange rate (such as sending money abroad). Intervention takes two forms: changing the interest rate on the currency to make it more or less attractive to foreigners, or buying/selling the currency to raise or lower its market value.
Any of these broad-based economic conditions can cause sudden and dramatic currency price swings if such conditions are seen to be changing. This is a key concept, because what drives the currency market in many cases is the anticipation of an economic condition rather than the condition itself.
Activities by professional currency managers, generally on behalf of a pool of funds, have also become a factor moving the market. While professional managers may behave independently and view the market from a unique perspective, most, if not all, are at least aware of important technical chart points in each major currency. As major support or resistance levels approach, the behavior of the market becomes more technically oriented and the reactions of many managers are often predictable and similar. These market periods may result in sudden and dramatic price swings as substantial amounts of capital are invested in similar positions.
Ebb and flow of capital between nations, otherwise known as Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), is the central factor that determines market momentum. In addition, fundamental economic forces such as inflation and interest rates are constantly influencing currency prices. Faith in a government’s ability to stand behind its currency will also impact currency price. This is done in two ways: controls and intervention. Controls restrict citizens from doing things, which have a negative effect on the exchange rate (such as sending money abroad). Intervention takes two forms: changing the interest rate on the currency to make it more or less attractive to foreigners, or buying/selling the currency to raise or lower its market value.
Any of these broad-based economic conditions can cause sudden and dramatic currency price swings if such conditions are seen to be changing. This is a key concept, because what drives the currency market in many cases is the anticipation of an economic condition rather than the condition itself.
Activities by professional currency managers, generally on behalf of a pool of funds, have also become a factor moving the market. While professional managers may behave independently and view the market from a unique perspective, most, if not all, are at least aware of important technical chart points in each major currency. As major support or resistance levels approach, the behavior of the market becomes more technically oriented and the reactions of many managers are often predictable and similar. These market periods may result in sudden and dramatic price swings as substantial amounts of capital are invested in similar positions.
About Forex
The Forex market is a cash inter-bank or inter-dealer market established in 1971 when floating exchange rates began tomaterialize. Today, the exchange of currency has expanded from trading floors to home computers. The simplest definition of foreign exchange is the changing of one currency to another, and, unlike the stock market, one may earn profits whether buying or selling within the currency exchange. In comparison to the daily trading volume averages of $300 billion in the U.S. Treasury Bond market and the lessthan $10 billion exchanged in the U.S. stock markets, the Forex market is huge. Currently there is often an average of 3.5 trillion levels exchanged daily.
The most important foreign exchange activity is the spot business between the dollar and the four major currencies (Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc and Japanese Yen). Activity within the market is created by six main groups: central banks, commercial banks, other financial institutions, corporate customers, brokers and independent currency traders who have established home-based businesses.
Forex is not a "market" in the traditional sense. There is no centralized location for trading activity as there is in currency futures. Trading occurs over the telephone and through computer terminals at thousands of established locations, as well as within home-based trading businesses worldwide.
The most important foreign exchange activity is the spot business between the dollar and the four major currencies (Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc and Japanese Yen). Activity within the market is created by six main groups: central banks, commercial banks, other financial institutions, corporate customers, brokers and independent currency traders who have established home-based businesses.
Forex is not a "market" in the traditional sense. There is no centralized location for trading activity as there is in currency futures. Trading occurs over the telephone and through computer terminals at thousands of established locations, as well as within home-based trading businesses worldwide.
What is the Forex?
What is the Forex? The Forex refers to the Foreign Currency Exchange Market in which more than 4,600 International Banks and thousands of small and large speculators participate. Every day this worldwide market exchanges more than $3.5 trillion in dozens of different currencies. With the current growth rate, the market is projected to grow to more than $6.5 trillion per day by the year 2005. This exciting and rapidly growing financial market provides the entrepreneur an opportunity to generate profits in the largest market in the world.
Introduction to the Forex Market
The Foreign Exchange market, also referred to as the "Forex" or "FX" market is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average turnover of US$1.9 trillion.
"Foreign Exchange" is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. Currencies are traded in pairs, for example Euro/US Dollar (EUR/USD) or US Dollar/Japanese Yen (USD/JPY).
There are two reasons to buy and sell currencies. About 5% of daily turnover is from companies and governments that buy or sell products and services in a foreign country or must convert profits made in foreign currencies into their domestic currency. The other 95% is trading for profit, or speculation.
For speculators, we believe the best trading opportunities are with the most commonly traded (and therefore most liquid) currencies, called "the Majors." Today, more than 85% of all daily transactions involve trading of the Majors, which include the US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar.
A true 24-hour market from Sunday 5:00 PM ET to Friday 5:00PM ET, Forex trading begins each day in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins in each financial center, first to Tokyo, London, and New York. Unlike any other financial market, investors can respond to currency fluctuations caused by economic, social and political events at the time they occur - day or night.
The FX market is considered an Over The Counter (OTC) or 'interbank/interdealer' market, due to the fact that transactions are conducted between two counterparts over the telephone or via an electronic network. Trading is not centralized on an exchange, as with the stock and futures markets.
More informationFor more background about the Foreign Exchange market, review the Federal Reserve Banks' "All About the Foreign Exchange Markets in the United States".
"Foreign Exchange" is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. Currencies are traded in pairs, for example Euro/US Dollar (EUR/USD) or US Dollar/Japanese Yen (USD/JPY).
There are two reasons to buy and sell currencies. About 5% of daily turnover is from companies and governments that buy or sell products and services in a foreign country or must convert profits made in foreign currencies into their domestic currency. The other 95% is trading for profit, or speculation.
For speculators, we believe the best trading opportunities are with the most commonly traded (and therefore most liquid) currencies, called "the Majors." Today, more than 85% of all daily transactions involve trading of the Majors, which include the US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar.
A true 24-hour market from Sunday 5:00 PM ET to Friday 5:00PM ET, Forex trading begins each day in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins in each financial center, first to Tokyo, London, and New York. Unlike any other financial market, investors can respond to currency fluctuations caused by economic, social and political events at the time they occur - day or night.
The FX market is considered an Over The Counter (OTC) or 'interbank/interdealer' market, due to the fact that transactions are conducted between two counterparts over the telephone or via an electronic network. Trading is not centralized on an exchange, as with the stock and futures markets.
More informationFor more background about the Foreign Exchange market, review the Federal Reserve Banks' "All About the Foreign Exchange Markets in the United States".
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