Forex European Preview 08.27.2009

The preliminary estimate of Germany’s EU-harmonized Consumer Price Index is expected to show that inflation fell at an annual pace of -0.4% in August, a slight improvement over the -0.7% result registered in the previous month. Still, the bottom line is that prices are set to decline for the second consecutive month; if this continues to be the case, it will contribute to building expectations of lower prices in the future, threatening to unleash a deflationary spiral wherein consumers and businesses perpetually hold off on spending and investment as they wait for the best possible bargain, bringing economic growth to a virtual standstill. At the moment, a survey of economists polled by Bloomberg suggests the market sees CPI shrinking through the third quarter and returning to a path of positive growth by the end of the year. If this proves to be too rosy, traders may punish the Euro as it becomes clear that the Euro Zone’s largest economy and by extension the currency bloc as a whole are heading for a long-term period of low interest rates and sub-par economic growth. A disappointing outcome seems likely considering the European Central Bank’s apparent inability to offer effective monetary easing as well as well-founded reservations about the sustainability of the second-quarter uptick in German GDP. Indeed, the expected improvements in GfK Consumer Confidence and Bloomberg Retail PMI are all but certainly a product of fiscal stimulus both domestically and abroad, with the big question for Germany as well as most anywhere at this stage being whether growth will continue after the flow of government cash dries up.

In the UK, the Nationwide House Prices report is set to show that property values fell -3.9% in the year to August, the smallest decline in 16 months and a significant improvement over the -6.2% result noted in the previous month. The improvement follows yesterday’s surprisingly strong rise in approved loans for house purchases. Still, it must be kept in mind that any boost to consumer confidence that can be expected from rising real estate values (via a positive wealth effect) is likely to be had from changes in the actual monetary value of Britons’ homes rather than an improvement in the growth rate. Indeed, it is not difficult to produce better results in the percent-change reading considering the very low base form which prices must recovery. If expectations are to be validated, home prices will stand near October 2005 levels, putting everyone that bought real estate between then and the peak in October 2007 firmly under water. Home prices grew five-fold during this period, hinting that the number of homes sold was more than formidable and suggesting that a good portion of UK homeowners are far from seeing any income boost from their real-estate portfolio.

Asia Session Highlights

New Zealand’s Trade Balance deficit narrowed to –NZ$2.5 billion in July from –NZ$3.1 billion in the preceding month as imports fell by a whopping -20.9% from a year before, easily overwhelming a -7.3% decline in exports. The reading is likely a reflection of the impact of rising unemployment on domestic demand: the jobless rate has risen to a nine-year high of 6%, trimming incomes and discouraging consumption. The outcome is all the more ominous considering the local currency has gained 20.1% since the beginning of the year, which would be expected to have helped imports higher by boosting New Zealanders’ purchasing power of foreign goods. More of the same is likely ahead, with economists calling for the unemployment rate to continue higher to hit 7.45% next year.

In Australia, Private Capital Expenditure (a measure of business investment) surprised sharply to the upside, adding 3.3% in the second quarter to trump expectations of a -5.0% decline. The improvement likely came as the government spent 4% of GDP in stimulus to boost the sagging economy amid the global downturn. Similar developments have been readily identified across the world as governments stepped in to replace shrinking private demand, with the real question now being whether the recovery has any staying power once fiscal stimulus reaches its inherent limits.

The Euro drifted slightly lower ahead of the opening bell in Europe, shedding 0.1%. The British Pound also trended lower, giving up 0.2% to the greenback. Technical positioning suggests the US Dollar is carving out a bottom against most major currencies.

Best Online Stock Trading

What is the best online stock trading ?

If want to be able to trade easily and cheaply, and have good, clear records for taxes you wil need to know what is the best online stock trading companys.


I give you two online alternatives, along with my recommendation.

Stock trading is very enjoyable. I believe that between the two following choices, you will find the best trading company for your needs. I give you best two options because each works for
different trading techniques. Best online stock trading companys:

Zecco gives you the option of free stock trades, along with a forum and a Web 2.0 platform if you are into that type of thing.

Scottrade is established, inexpensive (a flat $7 a trade) and has best online customer service. I have personally used them and they have been great. If you live in any type of suburban or
urban area, there should be a Scottrade office nearby with a broker you can personally contact if you have any questions or needs.

Stock markets are rising? Look at the Big Picture

With many of the primary stock markets reaching yearly highs, it would appear that optimism about the prospects for a global recovery is high. The increase in overall risk appetite in the Forex and the jump in stocks have been incredibly impressive.

According to the news reports, these shifts in sentiment have been driven higher by better than expected corporate earnings out of the US along with good economic data. But something is just not adding up for me, and I am not quite sure where to place my disbelief.

It is odd that just as the markets are flying, bond yields for the major economic countries, the US, Japan, England etc, are going higher. Now obviously this is due in part to trader speculation that once the recovery takes hold, these countries will have no choice but to start raising their low rates.

But what concerns me is the effect of quantitative easing that many of these countries employed. Funnelling money into the system at such a large rate as many of these countries had, will no doubt cause mild to moderate inflation – which would require lower rates. So what is going on?

Last week gave us a clue that all is not so rosy though. England reported a weaker-than-expected GDP figures for the second quarter – much weaker than expected to be specific.

Perhaps the Brits are not fudging their numbers like the Americans are – not that I know anything for a fact, but it wont surprise me to find that out in a few months.

This week's vast amount of economic data coming out of Europe and the US should help paint a better picture. I fully expect sugar-coating, but I know that the Forex traders will be keen to pick up on that.

Among the core numbers to look for this week are the US GDP and the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index. Consumer Confidence and Housing Prices along with New Home Sales numbers are important, but this is where my scepticism is most pronounced as we have seen anomalies in these numbers in recent months and they are easier to manipulate – so keep a sharp eye out there.

I expect the general tone of this week's data to support the recent signs of improvement. It remains to be seen, however, whether the outturns will be sufficient to maintain the bullish momentum as we head into August. Short of very strong numbers, I doubt it will happen.

Look for a weaker week in the Dollar and look for the Aussie and Kiwi to be the beneficiaries of that.

FOREX NEWS

Global Recession - Is it really Over?

The Central Bankers of the world met this past weekend in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Known for hoards of Deer, Elk, hunters and hamburgers, this relatively small frontier town became the center of the financial world for a few days – and will be widely remembered from this day forth as the place in which the global recession was officially declared over.

Just don’t tell those 14% of industrialized workers who are without work, don’t tell those farmers who are selling items at 2/3rds less than what they were last year because of trade restrictions, and don’t tell the Central Bankers themselves, because in the end – the meeting and declaration was more politically motivated than factually motivated.

Jean-Claude Trichet, the EU Central Bank President, gave a speech that can be defined as optimistic, or if you are one of those protagonists, you could have derived a negative message from him.

Ben Bernanke who heads up the US federal reserve was chipper and growth focused in his remarks – notwithstanding the actual numbers, he used words like “I feel” and “in my opinion” to describe the economic recovery – terms usually reserved for politicians and not numbers oriented Central Bankers. Good for him though as President Obama rewarded him with another term as Fed chairman for his efforts.

The Forex marketplace this week has been slow and light, most everyone is off in some vacation spot, perhaps hunting Deer and Elk or eating burgers. Forex traders have not been moving the markets these past few days – and neither has any news for the most part.

The summer is winding down, quarter 4 is around the corner and the world is anxiously awaiting something to happen. In Europe, Germany’s growth and true recession exit is marred by the other EU countries that are still suffering double digit unemployment and negative growth.

In the US everyone, including the politicians and policy makers are on vacation, trying to regroup and figure out how to spend another Trillion Dollars that they don’t have on a healthcare package. And in China, they are selling their Dollars (shhhhhh).

In a world in which the lines between fact and political fiction, it is difficult to pin just where this economy is going. Yes there is some signs that things are getting better, but there also so many signs that there is bad news on the horizon.

In the past 3 months alone, 650 banks have closed in the EU and US – the pains are still there from last year. Unemployment numbers are still rising – and the politicians warn us this is going to happen for a while longer.

But something is happening, we are reaching a critical point in which something will happen. My belief is that it will not be good, but it can turn out to be positive – the haze of summer is upon us and Forex traders and online Forex bloggers like me are looking for a break in the air – a little clarity – and we are not getting it from those who are charged with honesty and truthfulness.

Keep your eyes open – next week will be a good one for numbers. For this week, enjoy the quiet, it is usually like this before the storm.

Read more...

Banks score big on the Economy

I have been so perplexed over the past week, hearing US Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke give a rally cry to the bulls, watching the positive data (or so it was interpreted as) come out and give hope, and seeing the Dollar hold steady.

I really believed that the Dollar would begin a more dramatic cave. But as it seems this was not to be, not just yet. You have bad data still, you have China unloading their Dollars, you have 10% unemployment and the number is growing and yet it was the reports from the banks scoring record profits that kept the Dollar on its feet.

But I have a different outlook, as I have read over the balance sheets over and again of the banks and their multi-Billion Dollar profits.

When an economy is bad, more people live check-to-check, and even tend to extend themselves more than at any time. When an economy is healthy, Banks derive profits from investments and to a lesser degree, fees and customer charges.

Now, in a time where home, car and personal loans have been dry, the fact that the economic growth is negative, and that the questionable securities have not recovered as an investment tool, leaves it hard to believe that banks are able to grow so much last quarter.

Looking at their reports, I can tell you that it is obvious where they are making their money from, and it is not a good sign for the economy.

In the US, when a bank customer goes beyond their account balance, they enter an overdraft territory in which they are charged obscene fees for having the bank cover their charges.

Now, in the past it had been a standard that the customer needed to apply and request this overdraft, and this is not to be mistaken for a typical loan or credit line which are different animals.

The customer would agree that if they charged using their bank car, or wrote a check, and there was no money in the account, they would pay a per-transaction fee and an interest fee calculated and prorated on a month to month basis. The interest is anywhere between 8-18% and the fees can be as high as $10 per transaction.

Now, according to Citigroup, Goldman and Bank of America, it seems as if 60% of their revenue was derived from “customer fees” and increase of 36% from the average between 2002 and 2008. So I dug a little further and here is the fact.

The average bank customer is paying, with fees and interest on overdraft, about 35% per month. Keep in mind that with the high fees, if a customer goes to a pharmacy and charges 1n $8 box of band-aids, he can be charged $18 plus interest on the full $18 as it is calculated at the end of the month.

Think about it, you have no money in your account and you make three charges for $100 in total, with $30 in fees plus interest on the $130 in total, you owe the bank $138. You took $100 and owe more than 1/3rd of that on top of your principle.

What the key is here is banks no longer ask customers if they want overdraft, they automatically approve every customer for it up to a set limit – like $5000. So even if you have no credit, if you have a bank account you do – and this is how the banks are making their money – 60% of it for that matter.

How does this affect the Forex online trader? It is just evidence that some Online Forex blogger has presented to you that the picture is not black and white showing recovery, there are problems and it is growing – growing enough that people en masses are borrowing and the banks are raping them on it, it is making a bad situation worse and the repercussions will come back to haunt everyone involved. Just watch retail sales and consumer prices – these will be telling numbers in the next few weeks.

Forex Club Live Charts

Register for the dbFX webinar, “Focus on the Trade and Not the Money”, on 18 August.

“Focus on the Trade and Not the Money”
Tuesday, August 18th 2009
7:30am New York, 12:30pm London, 7.30pm Hong Kong

During this webinar, Dr. Doug will introduce the idea of how traders should think in terms of probabilities and measure their success by the quality of their trades, rather than by their profits and losses.

* Master the “one trade at a time” mentality.
* Explore how to figure out if you have “edge” in a trade.
* Learn how to measure your success based on your trading process.

August 12, 2009

Interbank FX Brings Private Label Forex Platform to Korea Technology Gives Investment Firms Forex Services; Increased Revenue Stream

Ia provider of online off exchange foreign currency (Forex/FX) trading technology and services, today launched a private label version of its proprietary MT4 online Forex trading platform in Korea.
There are no startup costs, provides all needed trading tools, and no management/licensing fees. For support and education, partners have access to Interbank FX’s IBFXU.
All investment vehicles, Forex included, carry risk. An Interbank FX private label partnership brings incremental revenue, and a complete branded solution on an award-winning Forex platform.

August 11, 2009

M I G EXPOS & CONFERENCES

7th Seoul International Dervatives & Securities Conference
Venue: Westin Chosun Hotel, Seoul, Korea
Date: August 26th - 27th

Alpari (UK) introduces flexible spreads – minimums on average 25% lower than current fixed levels – Tuesday 18th August 2009 (23:00 GMT)

From market opening 18th August 2009 (23:00 GMT), Alpari (UK) will be tightening minimum spreads across all currency pairs and precious metals on Demo and Live accounts. Flexible spread minimums will be reduced, on average, by 25% and up to 60% for some currency pairs compared with current fixed spreads. Refer to the table below. With the introduction of additional price feeds, clients will be able to access significantly tighter spreads as we pass on the benefit of the tighter spreads available to us from the Interbank

FX Solutions Opens FX Solutions UK

FX Solutions (www.fxsolutions.com), a leading online foreign exchange market maker, announced today the opening of FX Solutions UK (www.fxsol.co.uk). Continuing its planned global expansion, FX Solutions is now regulated in three international jurisdictions. FX Solutions UK will complement our existing entities in the US and Australia. It gives us the advantage of expanding our global reach through a presence in the UK and Europe where the potential for growth is extremely promising.” said Michael R. Cairns, CEO of FX Solutions.

FX Solutions UK will offer Foreign Exchange, CFD (Contract for Difference) and spot metal trading for retail customers in Europe and most other countries. For US and Canadian customers, an FX and spot metal only platform is offered, as those countries’ regulatory agencies prohibit CFD trading. FX Solutions UK, a trading name of UK based parent company City Index Limited, is registered in England and Authorized and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

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Special department for customer service has been established within Masterforex company

Dear clients of MasterForex! We are glad to inform you on the innovations connected with improvement of quality of services represented by the company. For your convenience was created the united service on work with clients which urged to solve operatively all existing questions of clients, including consultation on the financial, technical, organizational moments.

«For us, such a specialized and well-prepared division in structure of the company, is one of the first steps in basic improvements of represented service quality which we plan to undertake. We understand how the time factor is important in our business, therefore the purpose of new service is first of all the professional and operative decision of all existing questions of the client 24 hours per day» — has commented Igor Volkov, the executive of MasterForex company.

LatitudeFX Limited and GAIN Capital Launch Award-Winning Forex Trading Platform

Local foreign exchange (forex) trading services provider, LatitudeFX Limited, has partnered with global forex giant GAIN Capital to launch GAIN’s award-winning forex trading platform in New Zealand and Australia.

In announcing the partnership and launch of LFX Trader, GAIN Capital CEO, Glenn Stevens, said he was pleased that LatitudeFX had chosen GAIN Capital as its forex provider and believed the arrangement would be a mutually beneficial one.

“The deal struck between the two firms will leverage LatitudeFX’s strong presence in both New Zealand and Australia with GAIN Capital’s proven forex trading technology, execution, clearing and custody services,” said Mr. Stevens.

FXOpen New Design!

Dear Friends, We are glad to inform you that we have almost finished the upgrades on our website. As you can see, we have redesigned our website and we hope that it is more user friendly and useful to you now.

We have opened a poll on our forum to judge your reaction to the changes at our forum. Please visit the thread and vote. Your opinion is very important to us!

Regards,
FXOpen team.

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Alpari Group announces advanced trading platforms: Alpari Direct Pro and Alpari Direct

Straight Through Processing (STP) and Non Dealing Desk (NDD

Higher execution speeds, larger liquidity pool and increased market depth

Alpari, one of the world’s fastest growing providers of online foreign exchange (FOREX) services, will launch two advanced trading platforms by the end of August, offering high-speed and direct access to the international currency market for Alpari clients and other institutional and retail customers. Powered by trading technology provider Currenex®, Alpari Direct Pro will be offered to institutional clients while Alpari Direct will be offered to retail customers.

True to Alpari’s commitment to providing clients with institutional-level services, both platforms will feature Straight Through Processing (STP), Non Dealing Desk execution (NDD), 1 click Executable Streaming Prices (ESP), accurate pricing with fractional pips and integrated algorithmic models that enable enhanced levels of execution. These features will ensure high speed and low latency execution and will empower traders to optimize market impact and reduce execution costs. An integrated Dow Jones feed will keep users up-to-date with current news.

Further to this, Alpari Direct Pro, the execution interface for institutional clients, will provide traders with access to a deep liquidity pool, which aggregates feeds from over 60 global banks and multiple Electronic Communications Networks (ECNs). Alpari Direct Pro shows traders the full market depth and also features 24 order types (including advanced orders such as pegged orders), which empower traders to take control of order timing and execution. In addition, this institutional platform offers intuitive and fast keypad trading capabilities, pre- and post-trade allocation solutions, trade averaging capabilities and sophisticated order management, allocation and advanced reporting tools.

Alpari’s platforms are created using Currenex technology. Currenex is a recognized and award-winning leader in providing trading solutions to the active-trading segment of the FX market.

Commenting on the new platforms, Andrey Vedikhin, Co-Founder of the Alpari Group, said: “Alpari Direct Pro and Alpari Direct represent another step towards Alpari’s goal of providing an institutional level trading experience for all. Alpari now provides its clients with one of the most comprehensive selections of advanced trading tools, expert educational resources and responsive customer services available from any online FX trading provider.”

FX Strategy Secrets

Taking Profit

Posted by Jed & kirk Norwood on May 18, 2009 · Leave a Comment

There are several approaches to taking profit in forex trading. For example some traders will put on several lots
on a trade then when the market reaches a predetermined level they will close a small portion of
the trade. They leave on the remainder lots so they can continue to be in the market and gain
profits. Then there are the traders that put on a small number of lots, add to the trade when they
get additional entry signals and when the market tells them that the current trend is coming to an
end then they close all of the positions.

If a trader is making money we can’t say the way they take the profit is bad. As long as we are
trying to make money on a trade why not maximize the profits on that trade. We have been thinking,
when the market reaches the point that a trader wants to take some profit and the market is still
moving why not put a stop loss at the predetermined exit point and let all of the lots continue to
run. There are a couple of ways the trade could be ended with a maximum amount of profit and a
minimum amount of loss.

The stop loss could be moved up as the market moves up to protect even larger amounts of profit.
When the market gives a strong exit signal then close all of the lots on the trade. If the market
retraces then continues in the original direction of the trade, at that point the trade can be
reentered and make profits all over again. We know there is no wrong or right way to make money.
Pick the way that fits your emotional ability, and trading style. In any event continue to make
money and have fun trading.

The Number One Reason For Washing Out As A Trader

The time a trader usually blows up his account comes when he has had a series of good forex trades
over the course of a day, week, or month. He starts to be confident and does not put his stop
on. It is late in the week he is a little tired makes one more trade leaves off the stop and
then the whole market turns and goes against him. He loses all he made and more. He did not
take time to use good risk management.

He is feeling low emotionally and his account is a wreck.

He should not dwell on the big mistake but go back to the basics of his trading plan. Review
the risk management and get back to the discipline that made him money the first part of the week.

When you over look risk management you have a greater risk of washing out of trading than any
other single thing. When you pay close attention to risk management you have the greatest
potential to make it as a trader.

A few small losses will not hurt the big wins that come along on a regular basis. This will
cause your account to grow on a steady basis.

TAKING THE NEWS TO SERIOUSLY

Reading the financial news papers, listening to all the financial television stations,
studying the economic reports, and visiting all of the chat rooms can be a big challenge.
You can lose prospective of why you are trading in the first place if you get caught up in
to much news. It is a good forex strategy to know some of the major things that are going on but to be a
good trader you do not need an over dose of news.

You need a combination of fundamental and technical. I lean more to the technicals.
Some of the things that I see happen to the traders that over dose on news are: Trying
to pick which way the market will go. Getting hooked on an opinion of what is going
to happen and lose all objectiveness as to what might happen. The market moves in
trends and the news will cause little bumps in the direction of the trend. When the
news dust settles the market returns to the major trend it was on. You can get spike
fever, chase the market movement and get caught from both directions in the market.
Even with all the news research one will not be the first to know what the market will
do based on the news alone. So by the time the trade comes along you are trading
discounted news that has already been factored into the price of the market. So By
using news to trade forex you are taking a gamble on which way the market will go.

The Market can make a positive move with bad news and a negative move with good news.
It is all tied to the sentiment of the market the way people react to the news not what
the news is.

Set Yourself Low Forex Goals

One of the common misconceptions that I have run across is that people think that if
you’re not hitting big home runs in your trading that you can’t make much money.
Nothing could be further from the truth. If you continually re-invest your money,
and you risk only a small percentage of the total on every trade, huge returns can
be realized. The following examples are only for illustration, and obviously they
are just hypothetical. I simply want you to understand that the returns can be
exponential without exposing yourself to a dangerous level of risk.

Example 1

Starting equity: $10,000
Monthly return: 6%
Compounded return after 1 year: 100%

At this rate of 6% per month, you would have about $1.2 Million after 7 years.

To break it down further, suppose you needed a 25 pip stop loss and you were only
risking 2% of your total equity. That’s $200 on a starting account of size of
$10,000, which means you could trade 8 minis. If you only made 20 pips net all
week that would be $160 per week, or $640/month, which is more than 6%! You see,
you don’t need to trade a lot, just be patient.

Example 2

Starting equity: $10,000
Monthly return: 10%
Compounded return after 1 year: 300%

At this rate of 10% per month, you would have about $1 Million after 4 years

Remember, have a realistic plan and think longer term. This isn’t a race, and as
you can see, the power of compounding can be very effective, so be patient and set
reasonable goals. All you really need to do is be consistent in the execution of
your trades, realize that there will be losses, but stick to the game plan. As
always, controlling risk is of paramount importance! Above all, do not trade with
money that is not truly risk capital. This means that if you lost it, it would not
change your life!

Places To Get a Great Forex Trading System

’s very important that if you’re exploring forex trading or already trading that you have a trading system. One aspect of that trading system are the actual setup rules which usually contain entry and exit techniques. Traders put a lot of time and effort in developing these setup rules too often neglecting other aspects such as position sizing or relative size of your profits compared to losses. Therefore it’s important to find a comprehensive forex trading system.

Where can you find a comprehensive forex trading system? Throughout the last three years, I’ve been through many trading systems obtained mostly from books, forums, or other websites. I’ve found that almost every time, I’ll mold that system into something totally different than the original incarnation, something that fits my personality and style of trading. Many times, the original system will also need to be expanded to include things that were neglected or forgotten. Those of you searching for the perfect system may find this method of modifying existing forex trading systems desirable. There are places where you can find the whole package without any need for modification.

This brings me to the question, "where did you get your forex trading system?" I think there are four main ways of getting a trading system.

1. Buy it. There are tons for sale out there on the net but heed caution. Many were just copied from forums, books, or other websites. Sometimes when you buy forex education, part of the package will include a trading system. For instance, Rob Booker provides his Arizona rules as part of his mentoring program.
2. Get a free one. There are many free systems that can be found in books, forums, or other websites. I guess one can question whether a system found is a book is free since you paid for the book.
3. Create an original system yourself. My main trading system is an original creation. There may be other systems out there that are similar to it since it’s a culmination of years of exposure to other systems and experiences.
4. Modify someone else’s system and make it your own. As I stated above, I have done this many times.

Rich is Trading Forex Again

So after yet another hiatus from trading forex, I just recently had my first trade in months. It was a successful one also. But the question I want to answer is, “Is this blog dead?” The answer is no. I’ve made a living over the past 3 years ducking in and out of here depending on what’s going on in my life. Sometimes I’m just too swamped at my real job, other times I just don’t feel like writing, but I always come back. The great thing is I’ve built up a lot of content over the years so a lot of it applies to the type of forex trader you’re trying to become.

So where do I go from here? I’m in the mood to start trading forex again so that’s what I’m going to do. I’m also going to talk a little about stocks. I’ve had a lot of success, believe it or not, trading the stock market in the last couple of months and I think I’ve learned some things that I could apply to trading forex. So you’ll hear me talk about some of these things also.

Stay tuned….

Currency trading

Information About Margin In Forex Trade

Several forex traders are doubtful while applying the margin. But after that, they have small option and the majority of them have to employ the margin to do foreign trade.

One single lot includes 100,000 units of a currency in a normal account. One lot in Mini account may possibly include 10,000 units of a particular currency. This, as most of you would optimistically have the same opinion, is important cash to keep in an account. As well, the majority of people have been look to trade above one lot at a time.

And nearly all Forex trading firms need traders to have admission to margin funds. All in all there is just no options which will aid us turn clear of applying the margin in currency trading.

Significant aspect for a forex trader to bear in mind is that there are reasonable ways to employ the margin gainfully in addition to sensibly.

Margin is customizable: Margin is bendable and can be applied till the level at which the trader is comfy and thinks the requirement to exercise it. If the trader desires to play it protected, 5% to 10% of margin is measured comfy. For a trader who is start to taking a few risks, 40% to 50% percent of margin is measured standard or strong.

Therefore, the margin sum for every trade can be customized opening from zero to 100 percent. A person has to think every trade independently and has to create it a division of his long term forex currency trading strategy and create a well-versed verdict about how lot the margin is most appropriate for him.

Simplicity Is The Main Thing To Attain Currency Trading Success

The basis for why several of the traders lose and do not attain currency trading success is regularly attributed to a lack of discipline, though this is not the main cause, it’s just a small part of the trouble.

The main cause is a short of “strong concentration”, this indeed should be looked in to as the majority of traders are ignorant of it.

If you desire to attain currency trading success you require “strong concentration” and this denotes concentrating on how and why forex markets actually function and what you have to do to eventually succeed. The majority of traders just will not follow this and they will lose.

Do your work smartly; don’t make things harder for yourself:

In several industries to attain success the more you place in the more you get out in terms of returns; this is not right in currency trading.

What you require to study is that to attain real good success in currency trading you will have to be working real smart, you must not be playing tough rather you must be applying an easy system that should have you spend less time and better profit.

You can make a better currency trading process in just an hour a day and create triple digit annual gains! Simplicity is the main thing to attain currency trading success.

Trade with likelihood:

These days, there is a massive industry that informs us of analytical theories and functions and you can choose market bottoms and tops with technical correctness.

The other huge fairy tale is day trading.

You can attempt to trade pretty harder as you desire, but the odds are not in your goodwill in day trading, as you will not have sufficient profits to wrap your predictable losses.

You require to trade better in the longer run and this is where the likelihood of success is more and this is one of the single method with which you will land up with success in currency trading.

Some Important Tips For Foreign Currency Exchange

The Foreign Currency Exchange is a stable industry that experiences alterations because of the deviations in the foreign currency conversion rates. You should learn forex from the experience of others. While you aim to study everything out of your forex trading you will not actually recognize how others are creating profits.

To achieve something, you have to continually deal with trade in the forex market. You got to begin and end your trade with respect to the market information and the existing trends at the time of your decision making. Do not stay long expecting the value of the currency to increase to your expectation. It might not work out always. It is better to fix yourself with the market trends.

· Get an idea of the stop loss decision based on the existing situation while you trade. Do not initiate trading while there is a deficiency in liquidity.

· Get an idea of the separate trading systems for the high markets and the low markets. Don’t simply work with just a single trading strategy. Bring out your strategy with a focus and navigate per the market situation.

· Considering the market trend and other factors work in accordance with what your mind states. Decide accordingly on when things are likely bad and which they are right for the trade.

· Differentiate between rumors and real facts in the market. Make your buy and sell decisions accordingly.

· Begin trading after the market has gotten hot in for the day and end your trade before the end of the trading day.

· When it is an over buying of currencies you got to consider ending your trade. Do not do what others are doing all the time. When it is a bull market and the hike is too much it will for sure come down. With changeable foreign currency exchange rates, nothing is going to be steady.

Mediatory Services in Forex Currency Trading

Foreign exchange market (Forex) is the prime financial market in the globe. The overall funds in trade comprise of nearly trillions of US dollars in trade, which is a lot more than the entire amount of stock options and duties of the United States of America.

Forex is a non-stock exchange market that has no physical place. Forex is a banking network consisting of companies, forex brokers, private investors, integrated by one organization of information exchange.

As the Forex exchange trading does not rely on physical place, they trade internationally, all around the clock, with the exception of weekends for the time zone of the country dealing with it.

Foreign exchange covers up markets of most nations with universal platforms for foreign currency exchange trading functions in London, Tokyo and New York.

Major groups of Forex currency trading are:

Insurers – The major group is exporting and importing companies and some of the companies which consist of the few functions in foreign currency. For these partakers in forex, the main objective is to ensure loss minimization in a way keeping away from risks.

Speculators – Personal traders and corporations who are intended to trade foreign currency making profit from foreign currency exchange rates and short-term functions go to this category.

Arbiters – Investors of online forex trading who trade with big amounts of cash to invest and function on two or more markets at the similar time and generally they tend to make profit on the basis of foreign exchange rates.

Forex broker – These are brokers, banking establishments, currency dealers and companies who provide with electronic access to trading platforms and giving mediatory services in currency exchange deals.

Exploit Profit With Forex Trading Tactics

By using a particular set of FOREX trading tactics, you will be able to exploit the profit of trading. With forex trading, you can work in so far for as high as hundred times the total in your deposit account into the trade. So, with a $100 deposit, you will be able to leverage $10,000 into your transaction. With this type of cash backing in a deal, it is easier to finance the transactions that will manipulate healthier results.

Forex trading strategies, like leverage, are employed most of the time to get benefit of short upward turns in currency values. Inspecting closely on how the U.S. dollar balances with the Euro for more than 3 months’ duration might possibly not swank dollar to euro conversion results.

Though, within a particular day or week there could be massive upswings or downswings in value. Applying leveraged funds permit investors to get benefit of these temporary rises and falls.

One more important tactic for forex trading is the stop loss order. This defends the investor by determining and putting a point at which one you will not trade. It allows the investor put a check point for losses. You run the threat of ending a trade that could probably move yet higher, but you as well wrap yourself from a trade that falls far lower the existing value.

Opening up an automatic access order is as well one of the forex trading approaches that will make sure the investor can go into a trade while the price is right. A prearranged price for the foreign currency exchange is set so that the investor automatically goes into the trade at that point.\

CURRENCY TRADING

Forex is also known as foreign currency trading or even just Foreign exchange. In a simpler way it means that a country’s currency is exchanged for another country’s currency. The most common foreign currencies that are traded in the forex are Japanese Yen, Euro, US Dollar, Swiss Franc and British Pound. But among these the US Dollar is the most popularly used currency in the world for almost all the third world countries in their commercial transactions. The above five currencies makes up North American trading of more than 70%. Foreign currency trading is greater than other stock markets and also has a greater liquidity since it has a volume of trading around 50 to 100 times more than the New York Exchange that undergoes the trading of stocks and this New York Stock Exchange has the highest trade volume when compared to other stock markets. The liquidity is mainly because of the nature of currencies and other factors like economical stability that control the currency’s value. Due to this high liquidity and high volatility in the forex market, the forex traders can make profits at least more than five times that a trader does in trading liquid shares in the stock market. There is a great volatility of 500 generated by the foreign currency trading whereas the liquid stocks generate only a volatility of only 60 to 100 and there are no transaction fees and other miscellaneous fees for doing currency trading with iforex.
The Currency Trading has gone up to $3.2 trillion every day in the present trend in the world and the technology advancement like internet also has been its key to development. The other reason is that it is recession resistant and has greater benefits than other financial investments such as stocks and bonds.

Online forex brokers

Main Tools Of Trade In Forex

In the forex market, the forex traders do their trading in online forex trading if they use Technical Analysis for finding trades. In the online trading forex there are a lot of technical analysis strategies that helps a forex trader in to forex trade to become a profitable trader. The Technical analysis monitors many indicators and also important price activity. If the forex trader needs some information the Technical analysis gets together large amounts of the data that the trader wants to include in his analysis and there by engineer some plans to go for good investments
There are advantages of being a long term trader, it is mainly because a trader can isolate himself from the huge up and downs in the markets.
It is also a golden rule, (unwritten rule in forex) that a forex trader stops its losses and there by protect the capital. A forex trader is recommended to sell a little by little because if he sells the whole he might miss a huge profit when the currency value rises again as soon as he sells. But at the same time if he waits and then at the end of the day it comes down then the trader will feel guilty of not selling it at the right time.
With the development of technology, like the introduction of internet, mobile phones- it has become a possible to trade from anywhere in the world. A forex trader should select a good forex broker to perform well. To know more about the online forex brokers, the CFD Report is the one that forex traders should go for good selection.

PROLOGUE TO FOREX

Forex rates is the most important aspect that a trader should know. It is better to know the basics of forex before jumping into the trading. Forex has the biggest market world wide when compared to others generating about US$4 trillion trade every day.

Forex is operating worldwide round the clock with governments, national and central banks, hedge funds, corporate companies, various financial institutions, brokers, and currency speculators all participate in the forex trading to make money and upheld their economy. The forex market is closed only during the weekends and opened in all the weekdays. Forex plays an important role in foreign trade and foreign exchange rates.

Forex is also referred as Forex exchange trading or as FX and this involves only the buying and selling of one currency, according to its established value against another currency. Example, a trader buys the US dollars with the euro currency when the US dollar value is weak and sells the US dollars when its value is high against the euro currency. By this a trader can make profits.

Knowing the foreign exchange rate forms the cornerstone factor to predict forex trends and online forex brokers should essentially know this to efficiently practice their skill.

The established value of one currency to another is called exchange rate, which can rise or fall anytime owing to many factors like the stability of the government, stability of the economy, security of the country, etc. However market is also affected by market psychology, political factors, and economic factors like house prices and employment figures etc.

A forex trader will be able to benefit in this forex trading only when he does it in high volumes because the profit margin is always small and when high volumes of forex trading is done in the forex markets, then only the forex trader will be able to amass huge profits

Online forex trading

FOREX Is Tough But Potential Money-Making Opportunity

Trading foreign currencies is a tough task; however, it is potentially a money-making opportunity for those who are educated and are knowledgeable about their investments.

Nevertheless, prior to choosing to participate in trading in the Forex market, you should:

• Cautiously judge the purpose of investment
• Your familiarity with risk factors

Forex is meant for the money you put aside and are prepared to loose. It might not be a wise idea to Forex trade to pay your regular bills.

Forex (Foreign Exchange market) is an inter-bank market that got a form in 1971; this was the period when the international trade transited from fixed exchange rates to floating rates. This transition paved way for the set of transactions between forex market brokers relating to the exchange of specific sums of money in a currency unit for the currency of some other country at an approved rate for any specified date.

During any trade day, the exchange rate of one currency to another currency is decided basically by supply and demand – to which both parties will be in agreement. The price of a currency is mentioned in terms of one more currency.

The possibility of transactions in the international currency market is frequently increasing, which is due to growth of global trade and eradication of currency limits in many countries.

Online Forex is the one of the most innovative forex trading method of Foreign Exchange trading over the Internet. You can start trading with a basic account. Beware of margin trading because unless you are a careful market watcher trading with borrowed money can be risky.

The online forex trading method gives fast implementation of foreign exchange (Forex) trading through the Internet, with cutting edge software and well-organized trustworthy service guarantying an excellent trading experience.

Mediatory Services in Forex Currency Trading

Foreign exchange market (Forex) is the prime financial market in the globe. The overall funds in trade comprise of nearly trillions of US dollars in trade, which is a lot more than the entire amount of stock options and duties of the United States of America.

Forex is a non-stock exchange market that has no physical place. Forex is a banking network consisting of companies, forex brokers, private investors, integrated by one organization of information exchange.

As the Forex exchange trading does not rely on physical place, they trade internationally, all around the clock, with the exception of weekends for the time zone of the country dealing with it.

Foreign exchange covers up markets of most nations with universal platforms for foreign currency exchange trading functions in London, Tokyo and New York.

Major groups of Forex currency trading are:

Insurers – The major group is exporting and importing companies and some of the companies which consist of the few functions in foreign currency. For these partakers in forex, the main objective is to ensure loss minimization in a way keeping away from risks.

Speculators – Personal traders and corporations who are intended to trade foreign currency making profit from foreign currency exchange rates and short-term functions go to this category.

Arbiters – Investors of online forex trading who trade with big amounts of cash to invest and function on two or more markets at the similar time and generally they tend to make profit on the basis of foreign exchange rates.

Forex broker – These are brokers, banking establishments, currency dealers and companies who provide with electronic access to trading platforms and giving mediatory services in currency exchange deals.

Advantages Of Forex Trading System Software

Discovering trends is not a simple job and just the once going in to a trend nearly all forex trading software will want to get the highest profit from this point. They want to be carried trends booking profits as long as to attain the system aim.

Some forex trading indicators have revealed a winner correctness higher than 65% which is really high for this type of systems. Stop loss placed immediately after entering a trade will bring extra confidence, mostly when you realize that our stop loss level is rarely hit. Swing trading forex trading system software have the advantage that you do not pay extreme spreads or charges as those you should pay when trading every day or intraday signals.

Risk Capital In Trading

Regardless of how best a system seems, how best a system works or how much cash it creates. Just “Risk Capital” or “Risk Funds” should be applied in trading. A person who does not contain “Risk Capital” or “Risk Funds” (funds they can have enough money to lose) should not trade in the Forex market.

System Neutrality

Forex trading system software applies the similar criterion and considerations to make signals each day, there is no prejudiced criterion concerned in the procedure. It is 100% mechanical; you can drive your commands beforehand with their Stop Loss, Profit goal, and no requirement to estimate or get prejudiced choices of where/when to exit foreign trade.

Nearly all system provides signals for 4 main pairs: Pair explanation identified as (EUR/USD) Euro to Dollar “Euro” GBP/USD British Pound / US Dollar “Cable” USD/CHF US Dollar / Swiss Franc “Swissy” GBP/JPY British Pound / Japanese Yen.

Carry Trade Still Popular, but Doubt is Growing

It’s safe to say that the inverse correlation observed between the Dollar (and also the Yen) and global equities is largely a product of the carry trade. “The U.S. stock market bottomed and the U.S. Dollar Index peaked almost simultaneously in March. While U.S. stocks are up more than 50% in that time, the Dollar Index (which measures the greenback’s value against the euro, the yen, the British pound, the Canadian dollar, the Swedish kroner and the Swiss franc) is down nearly 12%,” observed one analyst.

On one level, this represents a return to 2008, prior to the explosion of the credit crisis, when carry trading was THE dominant theme in forex markets. However, there is one important difference. While the Dollar and Yen were the funding currencies then and now (due to their low interest rates), there has been a slight shift in the currencies selected for the opposing/long end of the trade.

Traditionally, the most popular long currencies were those of industrialized countries, rich in commodities and backed by high interest rates and often rich in commodities. To be sure, these currencies have shined in recent months, certainly due in part to speculative (carry) trading. “Strategists at Wells Fargo Bank in New York ‘believe that the gains in the dollar-bloc currencies (Australia, New Zealand, Canada) have run ahead of the gains in commodity prices.’ ” The Bank of Canada also noticed that “At the time of its last statement, oil prices were about $75 a barrel, but now they are in the $60-to-$65 range. That suggests the currency’s appreciation has outpaced the demand for its commodity exports.”

But the run-ups in the Kiwi, Aussie, and Loonie have been overshadowed by even more rapid appreciation in emerging market currencies. This shift is largely a product of changes in interest rate differentials, which are now gapingly large between developed countries and developing countries. Compare the 2.75%+ spread between the US and Australia, with the 8.5% spread between the US and Brazil or 12.75% between the US and Russia. For investors once again becoming complacent about risk, the choice is a no-brainer.

Still, some analysts are nervous about this change in dynamic: “While the new carry trade may be less leveraged, it’s an inherently riskier bet. As such, it’s more vulnerable to the kind of swift unraveling of risk appetite observed across all nations and sectors in 2008, but which occurs with far more frequency in emerging markets.” Meanwhile, emerging market stocks have behaved volatilely over the last few weeks (with Chinese stocks even entering bear market territory), and some investors are concerned that they may be temporarily peaking. There are also signs that bubbles may be forming in carry trade currencies, with bullish sentiment at high levels. Accordingly, one strategist suggests waiting out a 5% pullback in the Australian dollar, and a 10% pullback in the New Zealand dollar before going back in.

There is also the outside possibility that the Fed will raise interest rates, which would crimp the viability of the US Dollar as a funding currency. Granted, it seems unlikely that the Fed will tighten within the next six months, but investors with a longer time horizon could begin to adjust their positions now, rather than wait until the 11th hour, at which point everyone will be rushing for the exits.

August 24th 2009

Australian Dollar Rises, Remains Closely Correlated with Stocks

The performance of the Australian Dollar over the last six months has been nothing short of incredible: “Since the end of February, the Australian dollar has risen 29% against the U.S. currency,” and a still-impressive 18% if you backtrack to January, when the Aussie was still in free-fall.

As has been the trend in forex markets of late, the currency’s rise cannot be attributed to an improvement in fundamentals. The economic picture remains nuanced (that is putting a positive spin on it), and definitive proof of recovery has yet to emerge. “We really are trawling pretty deep to try and get any snippet of information that might have some backhanded relevance as far as Australia goes,” said one analyst.

As a result, fundamental analysts have been forced to wait for a “more precise picture about the timing [of] any Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate hike.” On this front, investors are ratcheting down their expectations of a rate hike anytime soon, as “The RBA has signaled that there’s a danger of raising rates too soon.” Futures prices reflect the expectation that rates will rise by only 37 basis points from current levels before 2010, and by 161 basis points 12 months from now.

With such economic uncertainty, investors have turned their attention elsewhere. “Nomura Chief economist Stephen Roberts said in the absence of any clues about the fundamental drivers of the currency, nearly all the cues in foreign exchange markets are being taken from equities.” Some analysts have posited a close relationship with the US stock market: “The correlation between the Aussie dollar and U.S. equity market in particular has been very strong over the past few weeks, with our analysis showing a correlation as high as 95 percent.”

For other analysts, the relationship is with the Chinese stock market. This correlation makes more sense logically, since the Australian economic recovery is largely contingent on continued growth in China and the concomitant purchases of Australian commodities. “Currency markets will be watching the Shanghai share market, which has been a pretty big influence on the Aussie recently,” summarized one analyst. A reporter for the WSJ tried to spell it out even more clearly in an article entitled, “Australian Dollar Up Late, Closely Tied To Chinese Stocks.”

Unfortunately, the correlation with (Chinese) stocks runs both ways. When the Chinese stock market tanks - often for inexplicable reasons - as it has for the last three weeks, the Australian Dollar follows suit. Another analyst is more blunt: “The story for the Australian dollar and other risk- and growth-oriented currencies is similar to the share markets. They’ve had a great run and are probably due a bit of a pullback.”

August 22nd 2009

Dollar Reverts Back to Former Self

Only two weeks ago, analysts were singing about a new day for the Dollar, which had risen on the basis of good news for the first time in months. In hindsight, it looks like such talk was premature, as the Dollar has returned to its old ways. Good news once again causes the Greenback to fall, while bad news causes it to rise.

This development (or lack thereof) suggests that investors may have gotten ahead of themselves, when they sent the Dollar surging after the employment picture brightened slightly. At the time, the news was interpreted as a sign that rate hikes were imminent. On a broader level, it was a sign that investors had dumped the paradigm of risk aversion, in favor of a model based on comparing economic fundamentals. Since then, investors have slowly moved to distance themselves from the notion that the Fed will soon hike rates, and in the process have moved back towards trading based on risk dynamics.

As a result, positive news developments over the last couple weeks have coincided both with a rise in equity prices and a decline in the Dollar. When the Chinese stock market collapsed one day last week, investors responded by dumping high-yield assets, and moving temporarily back into “safe haven” currencies. “Diving Shanghai Helps Dollar” read one headline. “Worries over the continued fragility of the world economy outweighed a firmer tone in overseas equity markets to underpin the U.S. dollar versus major counterparts,” explained another report.

Meanwhile, a divide is forming among fundamental analysts. There is one school of thought which argues that the US will be the first industrialized economy to recover, and hence the first to raise rates. Based on this line of reasoning, then, positive economic news provides a foundation upon which to buy the Dollar. A competing school of thought, meanwhile, has suggested that regardless of if/when a US recovery materializes, it will be overshadowed by out-of-control inflation. In this regard, then, the Dollar is not such an attractive buy.

No less than the venerable Warren Buff has insisted that the Fed’s quantitative easing program and the US economic stimulus plan - while necessary - threaten to create even bigger problems than the ones they purport to solve. “But enormous dosages of monetary medicine continue to be administered and, before long, we will need to deal with their side effects. For now, most of those effects are invisible and could indeed remain latent for a long time. Still, their threat may be as ominous as that posed by the financial crisis itself,” he said.

If this true, then the Dollar is damned either way. Damned in the short-term as a result of a pickup in risk appetite, and damned in the long-term due to inflation.

Top 100 Forex Resources

The average daily forex trading volume currently exceeds $1.9 trillion. With so much on the line, we’ve put together a list of our favorite 100 forex resources to help you become a knowledgeable forex trader. The following resources were chosen for the quality of information and training tools offered. Although some of these tools are located on commercial sites, you’ll find value in materials produced by professionals. Other sites were chosen for the resources that they offered for a price (like books), but they’re all geared specifically toward the forex trader. The chosen sites are written in the English language, but some individuals, businesses, and organizations are located in areas other than the United States. All sites are listed in alphabetical order within the following categories:

Beginner’s Paradise

If you’re a forex newbie, the following sites will help you get a grip on the similarities and differences between forex trading and stock exchange trading. Take advantage of free resources before you dedicate any serious cha-ching to training.

1. Tip’d: Investing and Finance Social Media / News — Get the latest forex, commodities, and market news from the largest investing social media site.
2. Currency College
   — Currency College delivers a variety of course offerings with classes that are held at the student’s convenience. Each class is followed by homework and tests; each course lasts about six weeks; and each class contains about ten students. Emphasis is given to risk management. This is not free education, but if you bring referrals to Currency College you could earn a scholarship toward your tuition. This site has plenty of free resources, however, like a comparative chart for various trading platforms so you can make an educated choice about trading platforms.
3. CyberTrading University — This site offers free forex training through a two-hour video that includes a brief history, PIP spreads, majors and crosses, economic indicators, fundamental analysis, technical analysis, short-term long-term fundamentals, trading rules, leverage and margin, trading psychology, Fibonacci Retracement Levels, moving averages, oscillators, Candlestick Charts, Bollinger Bands, and more.
4. Forex Charting 101 — A brief and basic overview of forex charts from Pip Trader. You’ll discover that the charts are very similar to those that you might use for securities trading. But, some of the charts may seem more complicated if you’re not a seasoned trader.
5. Forex Realm —
   Possibly the most comprehensive and thorough forex education online. Learn about everything from currency codes to exotic trading strategies through articles, graphics, and concise examples.
6. Forex-Training.com
   — Fairly comprehensive training with a free demo account. The highlight to this site is their explanations about various charts.
7. FX Home Trader
   — Focus on the information about technical analysis, where you can learn more about Fibonacci Trading, Pivot Points, and more. Their Forex Facts also contain some valuable information.
8. FX Power Trading Course — Offered by FXCM, this paid course is one step up from free at the current price. Learn how to time the market, recognize trends, and basics in fundamental and technical analysis through this eight-day course.
9. Investopedia on Forex — An extensive 10-part article on forex investing, from an introduction to a recap that covers everything from benefits and risks to technical analysis. If you can’t get enough of Investopedia’s information, head to a list of their Forex articles, where you can learn more and download their free e-Book entitled, "High Probability Trading Setups for the Currency Market."
10. Law of Charts
    — Joe Ross offers advice for traders across the board, but the information contained in his "Law of Charts" offer speaks to forex as well as any other trading strategy. He identifies chart patterns that result from human behaviors and points to entry and exit targets on those charts. You can take advantage of Ross’s other tools as well, including the forum.
11. Learn4X — This is an interesting site simply because it contains several tests that help you determine if you have the ‘guts’ and knowledge to be a trader. They also offer a free online seminar.
12. Market Traders Institute (MTI) — You don’t need to spend a lot of money to train in forex markets. MTI offers many free resources such as videos and lesson plans that will help you get off the ground. If you like what you hear and see, you can invest in materials for the advanced trader down the road.
13. My Forex Trading Tools — A site that contains overviews on everything from fundamentals to options.
14. Online Training Academy — Free basics on FX trading via video, offered by Mike McMahon. You need to register, but you can opt out of contact lists with a click of a box.
15. School of Pipsology
    — A lighthearted forex education from Kindergarten to College so the beginner knows exactly where he stands in an attempt to grasp the forex market.

Blogs & News

The following list provides a variety of news from both professional and single-investor resources.

16. A Forex Loser
    — The name of the blog ought to warn you. This blog contains a different perspective on trading, with an emphasis on trading psychology. Some great trading tips.
17. Currency Secrets
    — Not updated daily, but plenty of resources in historical entries. The focus is on currency, but you can find plenty of reviews and tips here as well.
18. DailyFX — Sponsored by Forex Capital Markets (FXCM), this site offers a free weekly trading lesson, a forum, economic calendar, and free quarterly outlook reports.
19. Forex News — At-a-glance links to news and analyses.
20. Forex Project — A fascinating blog written by a forex beginner who logs his experiences in a journal, through established goals, and with a full trade history. This blogger currently is under pressure from a fulltime job, and he’s considering a transition from day trading to going long on his investments. Should be an interesting read. Be sure to check out this blogger’s list of references, including a nice beta risk calculator.
21. FX Boot Camp — Wayne McDonell offers his boot camp theories for free at his blog on FXStreet (see next).
22. FXStreet — Breaking news, commentary. Sponsored by Global Forex Trading (GFT).
23. Peter Bain Forex Trading Commentary — Peter Bain’s commentary needs to be good, as it’s a tool to push his training course. You can take advantage of his free podcasts as well.
24. Piptopia —
    This is Rob Booker’s blog on forex. He’s a currency trader and trainer and he’s been at this blog for two years, so you’ll find some interesting history here.
25. Grace Cheng’s Forex Blog — "Not long after my graduation, I was introduced to forex trading, and since then, have never looked back." Outside of her blog, Cheng writes for a number of trading and investment magazines.
26. Quantitative Trading — Dr. Ernest Chan’s take on automated, statistical trading strategies.
27. Trader Mike — Michael is a trader, and this blog is a trading journal of sorts. Although he considers himself a swing/position trader, he switched to day trading in 2005. Although this blog doesn’t focus on forex per se, you can learn plenty about trading strategies here.

Charts

You can’t trade without charts, but the chart that you use is a matter of personal preference. The list below provides a nice pool to pick from:

29. DailyFX Chart — You can manipulate this chart by type, time scale, view, and much more. Java based.
30. Free Forex Charts
    — From simple to Premium to System Trading, simply the best choice of charts around.
31. Forex-Market
    — This site offers two free, real-time charting applications, one Web-based and the other a stand-alone Java applet.
32. Live Currency Chart — This chart, offered by FXStreet (see Blogs & News above), is also Java based. A nice feature is the Drag&Drop that allows traders to pull indicators out of the Studies window and up into the Chart window.

Currency & Converters

Currencies can be confusing, especially when you learn that many lots are purchased in pairs. You can learn about specific currencies when you type the names of that currency into a search engine. For instance, you can learn more about the Euro at that currency’s official site. But, if you don’t know what to look for, the information found in the following sites will help you out:

33. ADVFN Forex Symbol Table — Comprehensive list of currencies. When you click on the currency symbol you’ll reach a page where that currency is represented through currency exchange rate tables and historical exchange rate charts.
34. ExchangeRate.com
    — Try out the "hot" and "currency info" links that provide information about everything you’d want to know about worldwide currencies for 170 countries. Includes calculators, fun facts, serious facts, and more.
35. Go Currency — Reliable currency converter and money conversion service.
36. List of Currencies — This is an extensive list provided by Wikipedia that covers everything from ancient coinage to the current Yen. As with most Wikipedia lists, you might run across a link or two that doesn’t contain information. But, you can use that information to search elsewhere if needed.
37. Oanda
    — Excellent set of currency converter tools from historical currency exchange rates for over 164 currencies to traveler’s cheat sheets to customizable products. Visit their detailed currency converter FAQ page if you have questions.
38. X-Rates — More than a currency list or a converter, this site will bring you up-to-date on every bit of information you’d need to know as a forex trader.
39. XE.com — A basic currency converter backed up by other tools on this site, such as current and historic rate tables and a free email currency update service.

Directories & Portals

The following resources offer choices beyond the ones listed here. Since forex is a booming individual trader industry, expect to find new sites popping up weekly.

40. Forex Central
    — You want it? They have most of it (blogs are missing). Resources aren’t rated.
41. Forex Directory
    — This site is a little difficult to slug through, but worth it for the resources provided.
42. Pip Trader — This site contains a forum, live quotes and charts, news, reports, and a "mini-game" that has nothing to do with forex, but that might help you lighten up a bit.
43. Top 100 Forex Sites
    — Although these sites are rated by popularity and, therefore, subject to rating scams, you can learn much from the sites that are listed simply from the variety of information that’s offered here. Many sites are brokerage firms, but as I mentioned previously you can find free information on many of these sites such as news, calculators, techniques, and more.

Economic Calendars & Indicators

Economic calendars and indicators are vital tools for fundamental research. The sites below will give you simple and detailed options.

46. Economic Indicators
    — A government site brought to you by the Economics and Statistics Administration at the US Department of Commerce. Their mission is to provide timely access to the daily releases of key economic indicators from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the US Census Bureau.
47. Forex Economic Calendar
    — What better place to find an excellent economic calendar than a site that focuses on this tool?
48. Global Forex Trading (GFT) — A detailed look into the next month’s international monetary future based on GMT.
49. InfoForex
    — Brief overviews on various sectors from Auto and Truck Sales to a Monthly Wholesale Trade report based upon the US Census.

Fibonacci & Candlesticks

Fibonacci and Japanese Candlestick charts may seem difficult, but with the right training you can master both technical strategies.

50. Fibonacci
    — This is the home page for Dr. Ron Knott’s multimedia Web site on the Fibonacci numbers, the Golden section and the Golden string hosted by the Mathematics
    Department of the University of Surrey, UK. Simple to use, easy to understand, and filled with illustrations to help you learn why some numbers are so important
    to nature. These numbers are also of vast interest to many forex investors.
51. Fibonacci Forex Indicators — Forex Planet will begin to show you how to apply Fibs to forex in this easy-to-understand lesson. But, the lesson is short, so you might try the next resource as well.
52. Fibonacci Method in Forex charts — This lesson also applies to forex, and it offers a short tutorial on applications along with a downloadable Fib calculator.
53. Japanese Candlesticks — FX Words offers a simple and succinct explanation for candlesticks, including bullish and bearish patterns.
54. Japanese Candlesticks (Elliott Gann) — A comprehensive tutorial that covers all the basic terminology and explains each term with appropriate graphics, offered by the ElliottGann site.
55. Japanese Candlestick Trading Forum — It costs to become a member, but you can access all the candlestick basics for free on this site.

Forecasts and Signals

The following resources use a mix of fundamental and technical analyses to formulate their prognoses:

56. AceTrader
    — True 24 hours real-time analysis for up-to-the-minute recommendations and analysis.
57. e-Forex — Free trading signals. Dig into their historical records to understand their precision.
58. Forex Predictions
    — Currently free daily and weekly high-low signals through the Web site and by email. This site is a division of RDC Bancorp, Inc., a foreign exchange services company.
59. Forex Signals — FinoTek provides signals and trends with charts. Check out their archived signals to determine credibility.
60. Investica Ltd.
    — Online information and free e-newsletters filled with signals and forecasts.
61. Open Forex — Daily forecasts in real trade and analytical articles on forex basic currency pairs.

Forums and Communities

62. Forex Factory
    — You’ll find a Forex Beginner Q&A section as well as topics that focus on specific strategies and techniques.
63. Forex TSD — Go ahead and lurk in this forum until you feel comfortable. Then register for free to access the forum and a calendar. The paid "elite" subscription offers detailed statements of currently more than 20 trading systems.
64. Global View Forums
    — Another free forum that’s been around since 1996.
65. MoneyTec — With over 33,000 members, this traders’ forum offers a format to discuss trading ideas, share, learn, and build new trading techniques and strategies.

Fundamental Research

The following list contains comprehensive information about economic fundamentals for your research:

66. Bureau of Economic Analysis
    (BEA) — Get the straight stuff from the US Department of Commerce like the pros. Everyone from the White House staff to US Trade Commission employees to trade policy officials who want to negotiate international trade agreements use the measurements contained on the BEA Web site.
67. Consumer Price Index
    (CPI) — The US Department of Labor offers a ton of information just on this page alone through their links.
68. Forex Daily Fundamentals — XpressTrade offers a daily focus on forex fundamentals.
69. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) - An international organization which fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks. As such, this organization offers valuable information through their publications and research as well as through many other resources offered on this site. They also maintain a list of Central Bank Web sites.
70. The Fundamentals of Forex — Forex TV brings you the lowdown on what type of news would affect forex from a fundamental standpoint. You can use the information on this list to conduct further research.

Glossaries

71. Forex Glossary
    — The only drawback to this glossary is that the "A-Z" tab doesn’t include a total listing of all the terms under the single-letter tabs. Comprehensive.
72. Forex.com Glossary
    — An at-a-glance glossary contained on one page.
73. Glossary of Forex Terms [PDF] — This printable file, offered by FX International Group, contains all the basics.

Government Regulation

74. Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) — The ASIC’s regulatory coverage includes the forex market. Use their search box to learn more about their reach and responsibility.
75. Commodities Futures Trading Commission
    (CFTC) — The CFTC operates along the same lines as the SEC
    (Securities and Exchange Commission), except this government organization focuses on protecting market users and the public from fraud in the futures and option markets. So keep this site handy to stay on top of any forex scams through their Consumer Advisory on Forex Fraud. You can learn quickly what to avoid in your learning curve through a detailed forex advisory that offers information about other resources as well.
76. Financial Services Authority
    (FSA) — An independent non-governmental body located in the UK, given statutory powers by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Use their search box to locate information about the UK forex market and regulations.
77. National Futures Association
    (NFA) — The NFA is "the premier independent provider of efficient and innovative regulatory programs that safeguard the integrity of the derivatives markets," which basically means that this organization regulates any market that depends upon future cash flows. The "investor information" section contains materials about how to find a broker and basic lessons in forex trading. Plus, they publish forex warnings, news, and they offer a place for investor disputes and complaints.

Market Reports

78. KBC
    [PDF] — A Comprehensive "Morning Report" from this Belgian foreign exchange bank (in English).
79. Mellon
    — FX Daily report from Mellon Financial Corporation, with links to American and European editions and past issues.
80. SaxoBank
    — Daily market update from this foreign exchange service in London.
81. Scotia Capital [PDF] — Daily report with corresponding links for further reading from this Canadian foreign exchange bank.
82. UBS
    — Daily summary for forex markets sponsored by this Swiss foreign exchange bank.

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Nonprofit Associations

83. Australian Technical Analysts Association (ATAA) — A non-profit association of both professional technical analysts and anyone who uses technical analysis for private investing, trading or advising.
84. International Compliance Association
    (ICA) — The ICA is a professional organization dedicated to the furtherance of best compliance and anti money laundering practice in the financial services sector.
85. The Financial Markets Association (ACI) — ACI has the largest membership of any of the international associations in the wholesale financial markets. The Head Office is based in Pari

Practice

Some of the best demonstration tools are owned by forex brokerages. The following were chosen for their reliability and popularity. Be aware that some brokerages will request your permission to be contacted by mail, phone, or email. In some cases you might want this contact, as they will provide support for your training. In all cases you can walk away if their training and trading platforms don’t turn you on.

86. CMS Forex — Customize your practice with unlimited funds on CMS Forex’s VT Trader 1.8.5.1, a program that includes an API so that you can customize your solution. This software offers a point-and-click open and close positions directly on the chart. Access over 100 indicators, Reuters Forex related news and market analytics, and an "autopilot" feature. You can reach their customer support team by phone, live chat, or e-mail.
87. Forex Trading USA — Free 30-day demo with a Mini ($2,000 virtual cash, 200:1 leverage, 10k lot size) or Standard ($25,000 virtual cash, 100:1 leverage, 100k lot size). Their free education is a nice plus.
88. FXSolutions
    — Use $10,000 in practice funds with full access to FXSol’s new charting solution, FX AccuCharts. Backed by 24/7 customer service.
89. Global Forex Trading
    — Download their DealBook 360 to practice forex trading with live, dealable prices, real-time data, and free real-time breaking world and financial news. The software features forex charts, more than 85 technical indicators (for standard size GFT trading accounts) and the ability to build your own indicators. You have a choice about the amount of beginning funds, from $2,500 to $50,000.

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Real-Time Quotes

90. ACM
    — Pick pairs and watch the quotes. ACM includes a manual [PDF] that explains in detail how to manipulate the chart to your liking. Must have Java plugin.
91. Forex Trading Charts
    — Real-time forex quotes. This site also contains real-time forex charting tools with editable indicators.
92. FXQuote
    — Scroll down the page, as the real-time quotes are located at bottom left. Based upon ET.
93. Live Forex Quotes — You might recognize the GFT logo behind the rates, but don’t let that distract you from the constantly changing figures. If you’re addicted to live feeds, you’ll be mesmerized by the constantly changing currency rates on this chart.
94. SaxoBank
    — Scroll down the page a bit, as the quotes are located at the bottom left on this page, based upon GMT.

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Technical Indicators

The following three resources offer the most succinct information about technical overlays and indicators. You can find many more resources at some of the sites previously listed under the Beginner’s section, under many of the Blogs & News resources, and at various brokerages.

95. Forex-Business Technical Indicators — Where the other two sites offer great technical indicator explanations, this site offers 10 charts that illustrate some of those terms.
96. IQ Chart
    — This company offers a list of technical overlays and indicators with short and easy-to-understand explanations. Take a look at their chart patterns while at this site, as this company is a provider of stock charting software to individual investors and technical analysts.
97. Technical Indicators — Definitions provided by MetaQuotes Software.

X-Tras

98. IFXTAG — The International Forex Traders Affinity Group provides individual investors access to products and services that are evaluated by top professionals and their members. IFXTAG is committed to harnessing the potential to make electronic trading work for their global community of subscribers. Membership is free, but the resources are not. Members, however, do receive free trials and discounts to various services.
99. Traders Press, Inc.
    — An online bookstore specifically for traders.