Saturday, October 3, 2009

Controversy about currency speculators and their effect on currency devaluations and national economies recurs regularly. Nevertheless, economists including Milton Friedman have argued that speculators ultimately are a stabilizing influence on the market and perform the important function of providing a market for hedgers and transferring risk from those people who don't wish to bear it, to those who do.[16] Other economists such as Joseph Stiglitz consider this argument to be based more on politics and a free market philosophy than on economics.[17]

Large hedge funds and other well capitalized "position traders" are the main professional speculators. According to some economists, individual traders could act as "noise traders" and have a more destabilizing role than larger and better informed actors [18].

Currency speculation is considered a highly suspect activity in many countries.[where?] While investment in traditional financial instruments like bonds or stocks often is considered to contribute positively to economic growth by providing capital, currency speculation does not; according to this view, it is simply gambling that often interferes with economic policy. For example, in 1992, currency speculation forced the Central Bank of Sweden to raise interest rates for a few days to 500% per annum, and later to devalue the krona.[19] Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is one well known proponent of this view. He blamed the devaluation of the Malaysian ringgit in 1997 on George Soros and other speculators.

Gregory J. Millman reports on an opposing view, comparing speculators to "vigilantes" who simply help "enforce" international agreements and anticipate the effects of basic economic "laws" in order to profit.[20]

In this view, countries may develop unsustainable financial bubbles or otherwise mishandle their national economies, and foreign exchange speculators allegedly made the inevitable collapse happen sooner. A relatively quick collapse might even be preferable to continued economic mishandling. Mahathir Mohamad and other critics of speculation are viewed as trying to deflect the blame from themselves for having caused the unsustainable economic conditions. Given that Malaysia recovered quickly after imposing currency controls directly against International Monetary Fund advice, this view is open to doubt.

The most common type of forward transaction is the currency swap. In a swap, two parties exchange currencies for a certain length of time and agree to reverse the transaction at a later date. These are not standardized contracts and are not traded through an exchange Option

A foreign exchange option (commonly shortened to just FX option) is a derivative where the owner has the right but not the obligation to exchange money denominated in one currency into another currency at a pre-agreed exchange rate on a specified date. The FX options market is the deepest, largest and most liquid market for options of any kind in the world..

Exchange-Traded Fund

Exchange-traded funds (or ETFs) are open ended investment companies that can be traded at any time throughout the course of the day. Typically, ETFs try to replicate a stock market index such as the S&P 500 (e.g., SPY), but recently they are now replicating investments in the currency markets with the ETF increasing in value when the US Dollar weakens versus a specific currency, such as the Euro. Certain of these funds track the price movements of world currencies versus the US Dollar, and increase in value directly counter to the US Dollar, allowing for speculation in the US Dollar for US and US Dollar denominated investors and speculators.

Learning to trade Forex is not an easy task, but by no means is it difficult either. Learning to trade Forex does not require a great intellect or a college degree. Doctors have failed as traders and construction workers have become millionaires. Trading is all about discipline, determination and perseverance.

The key is to understand who you are as a trader and trade to your strength. Leveraging your strength can be magnified by deploying the appropriate Forex trading strategy. There are hundreds, if not thousands of Forex trading strategies out there. Logic will tell us that there is a currency strategy out there which leverages our strengths. It is not a one-size-fits-all world. To immediately cut to the chase and take away the magic, it all comes down to two basic Forex strategies; trend-following and range-bound. All Forex trading strategies use a variety of indicators and combinations, MACD, Moving Averages, Stochastic, Chart Patterns, Candlesticks, Pivot Points, Fibonacci ratios, Elliott Wave analysis, Bollinger Bands and the list goes on and on. Let¡¯s take away the magic again. These indicators and studies are merely measuring support and resistance and trend in the Forex market.

But which strategy really works? This is the age old question?

First, we must understand who we are as traders. Does our personality fit the pip sniper mode or does our disposition attract us more towards swing trading. Finding your trading personality will mean studying and experiencing the different time frames and associated Forex trading strategies. Over time you will notice a higher level of success and/or comfort trading one style over others. Pay attention! The market is telling you where your skill is more capable of extract consistent profits for the market. This is why journaling is so important to your Forex trading routine.

Secondly, if you are using someone else¡¯s strategy, a most of us are, deploy this strategy without change until you fully and completely understand all aspect of the strategy through back-testing and actual experience. As I was told; dance the dance you have been taught until you learn a dance of your own!

Don¡¯t fall into the trap of jumping from strategy to strategy or combining different strategies when the one you are using doesn¡¯t yield immediate success. This is only a recipe for disaster. Take the time to really understand the trading strategy. Study the components individually so a deeper understanding of the strategic mechanisms is mastered.

Above all, know when and when not to deploy this strategy. You will not find consistent success implementing a trend following system in a range-bound currency market.

So what¡¯s the right strategy for you? It is simple, the one that works. It doesn¡¯t matter if it is complicated or simple, trend-following or range-bound, uses Fibonacci studies, pivot points or both. If you understand the components, internalize its use, and drive consistent profits into your trading account, then you have your Forex trading strategy.

It doesn¡¯t matter what the experts say, your account balance is the ultimate judge and jury for your Forex trading strategy.
There is no hype in this headline. This is the absolute truth. The following 13 secrets generated 992 pips net profits for me in 15 trading days.
1 do not over expose your account .maintain an account exposure of between 10% and 30%.

2 Always trust god to find and join the trend early. Always learn to test the strength of the trend with the ADX.

3 Understand your best entry and exit points using pivot points and/or fibonnacci retracements

4 Understand the key japanese candlesticks Reversal patterns.

5 Know when the market is down or when the trend is weak and trade accordingly or stay away.

6 Only use take profit according to predetermined market potential.

7 Buy in oversold markets: stochastic oscilliator and RSI can be used in determining this

8 sell in overbought market: stochastic oscilliator and RSI can be used in determining this.

9 Never entertain fear even when the market moves against you. If you have a good trading system., it will surely come back in your favour.

10 Do not be greedy: Show contentment in all things and this demon will be far from you.

11 Do not over trade: Learn to draw a line between over trading and fear.

12 Always pray before making a trading decision: There is always a guiding light from god if only you will trust him.

!3 Rely on the holy spirit for guidance. He is very dependable and will never leave noy forsake you if you surrender the battle to him.

Send a blank e mail to wealthklub@yahoo.com to Get a free report on a powerful forex trading system that generates an average of 500 pips($5000 on a standard account) monthly plus how $5100 was turned to $40,000 without lifting a finger
f you are new to Forex trading you understand need to understand that 95% of trades lose. If you want to win you can but you need to follow these essential trading tips.

Here are your ten tips and there in no particular order of importance, there all important!

1. Don't Use a cheap Forex Robot or Expert Advisor

If you think you are going to get rich by paying out two hundred dollars or less for a cheap software package think again you won't, all these systems lose money. If Forex trading were as simple as paying a few hundred dollars for a lifelong income, 95% of traders wouldn't lose money.

2. Accept Responsibility

Leading on from the above point, it should be pretty obvious that you need to accept responsibility for your actions, learn skills and get a decent Forex education.

3. Work Smart Not Hard

You don't need to work hard just get the right Forex information and that should only take you a couple of weeks at most and your all set.

4. Keep Your Strategy Simple

Simple trading strategies work best as they are more robust than complex ones, with fewer elements to break, so keep your system simple.

5. Use Technical analysis

This is simply the most time efficient way to trade and all you need to do is learn the right chart formations, to spot profitable chart set ups and that's a learned skill.

6. Be Patient

Don't trade to often, once or twice a month is enough to make big gains and is the best way to trade, as you will be focusing on the high odds trades which offer the biggest profits.

7. Use tight Money Management

You are going to get losses, so make sure you keep them small and always place a stop before you start to trade, so you are not tempted to run losses and hope they turn around - most times they don't!

8. Use Sensible Leverage

You can get 200: 1 leverage with any Forex broker online but this is far too much and you will eventually destroy your account. 10- 20:1 is plenty for most traders.

9. Learn Discipline

You will here this word a lot and it's the key to Forex trading success. You must follow your system with discipline and keep your losses small. If you can't follow your system with discipline you don't have one!

10. Be Realistic

Don't be afraid to make mistakes or take losses, all traders do and you will too. Forget perfection and focus on making money; if you can make 50 - 100% in your first year of trading you are up there with the best and can be very proud of yourself.

These are 10 very simple tips for novice Forex traders and if you follow them you could be on the road to Forex trading success and a great second or even life changing income.
If you want to get around some real foreign exchange trading for starters, knowing the trade methods themselves is your best bet. Foreign currency trading is not just a mere gesture of giving out currencies as the other party needs it. Methods are necessary to control the success of the business flow. There are different types of transaction processes which you can use according to your level of comfort.


1. Spot Currency Trading - This accounts for most of the exchanges happening in the foreign currency trading business. Spot currency trading usually involves two currency traders. What happens here is that the buyer ends up calling the seller. But at the beginning of the transaction, the buyer will not yet reveal his intention to purchase any currencies offered by the seller. The seller will proceed to entertain the inquiries of the buyer and in the process informs the currency rates. Should the buyer feel comfortable with the said rates, both parties may reach a decision to transact business with each other.


2. Forward Trading - This method involves a more long term investment. The essence of forward trading is that the agreement to make the trade is finalized days or even years before the actual day of exchange. So in here, both parties (the buyer and the seller) would agree to exchange their currencies for a specified date in the future regardless of the rates that their currencies may have by then. This type of trading is often done between big companies. It also has two different types:

* Swap - This is the most common type of forward trading. In here, both the buyer and the seller agree to make currency exchanges for a specified period of time. Then their roles will eventually swap after the said period of initial exchange.
* Future - This is the forward trading used by most big companies. In future trading, a contract is drafted for the exchange with emphasis on the maturity rates.


3. Option Trading - This type of method is perhaps a flexible tool considered in our foreign exchange trading for starters. This is because option trading is the extended version of forward trading. Forward trading sort of binds involved parties to make the specified transaction. But with option trading, the involved parties only obtain the rights to buy the currency at the agreed upon date or during the duration that lapses. In here, the strike price is what's crucial as this is the rate agreed upon in terms of buying and selling.


Although these methods of foreign exchange trading for starters may be promising, it is still important to note that all of them come with their own particular risks. After all, foreign currency trading is a volatile and dynamic type of business. These methods come with their own brand of advantages and disadvantages so it is imperative that when you use them, you fully understand their capacity first. Currency trading is a very fluid business and these methods may also provide different risks for different transactions.
A thorough Forex trading education must include an understanding of the effect market timings can have on trading and liquidity.

One of the most active periods of the day is from the time the London market opens. Often around that time good trading opportunities will appear.

As part of your Forex trading education, learn to analyze market conditions around London open and begin to recognize good setups.

The following questionnaire and checklist will help.

London Open Preparation

About 15 to 30 minutes before London open check the answers to these questions:

- Are the MACD indicators on the 4 hour and 1 hour charts in agreement? If they are not going in the same direction be very careful!

- Is there MACD divergence on the 4 hour, 1 hour, or 15 minute chart? Look for other clues to confirm that price may go in the direction of MACD divergence.

- On the 4 hour chart what is the overall trend?

- Do a Fibonacci calculation on the last swing high and low and see if price is pulling back to an optimum retracement level or whether it is reaching a key extension level.

- Note price in relation to the 200 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) on the 4 hour, 1 hour and 15 minute charts. Is price bucking the trend? In other words, is price above the 200 EMA on the 4 hour and 1 hour chart but below it on the 15 minute? Then be prepared for price to go long at some stage. (Draw the opposite conclusion if price is below the 200 EMA on the 4 hour and 1 hour chart but above it on the 15 minute chart.)

- Are any Economic Reports imminent?

- As the candle closes on the 15 minute chart at London open, do you see any distinctive candle patterns such as tweezers, or doji's or hammers indicating price exhaustion?

- If I entered a trade right now in a particular direction, what would be the risk and where would I place my stop?

Within a few minutes of London open, if you see a number of factors converging from the analysis above, make a decision one way or the other:

- trade

- wait for clearer signals or a better entry point

Carrying out an analysis in this way each day at London open will do much to increase your Forex trading education.

It will make you aware of what is happening on the charts and in the marketplace and help you to arrive at conclusions.

There is no magic formula involved with Forex trading education. Put simply, successful Forex trading is the result of years of hard work, study, practice, and experience often gained through painful trading scenarios.

Eventually the newer trader learns mental discipline, and how to control the emotions - probably the biggest part of a Forex trading education.

Practice a procedure like the one above day after day and begin to see some progress as you get nearer the time you make profits consistently from currency trading.