StephanFX - Forex Trading

Friday, November 10, 2006

Forex Trading Best Practices

FOREX, the term for the FOReign EXchange market, is an international exchange market where currencies from many different countries are bought and sold. Both long-term hedge investors and short-term investors that seek quick profits use FOREX. Trade reaches between 1 and 1.5 trillion US dollars per day. Needless to say, FOREX is a very lucrative market. Many wonder how to gain the most profits by trading with FOREX. There are a few simple trade practices that can help any trader, either an amateur or a professional make significant profit from FOREX.

The best traders firstly understand the intricacies of FOREX trading. In order to be successful, one must understand how FOREX works. FOREX transactions are not centered in an exchange, unlike the stock market. Many transactions can take place at different times all over the world. This is important to note if one is going to invest in FOREX. In order to trade, one must simply find a trader (there are many around the world, some can even be found online), decide the currency to purchase, sell currency, and make profit. However, if FOREX was this simple, everyone would do it. In reality, most people have to gamble with FOREX because no currency is completely stable, and there is always the risk for losing money.

One of the best FOREX practices, but also the most potential hazardous is marginal trading. Marginal trading is when an investor speculates on currency prices by getting a credit line. This can lead to a vast gain, as well as a potential loss. Because FOREX can be traded without real money, trading with borrowed capital (marginal trading) can be very appealing. Using this techniques, an investor can invest more money without having to deal with as many money transfer costs. Marginal trading also allows bigger positions to be opened with a smaller amount of actual capital. This trading practice is certainly for the short-term investor.

The best long-term practices with FOREX are Technical Analysis and Fundamental Analysis. It is a good idea for small and medium sized investors to invest in technical analysis. Technical Analysis assumes that all information about the market and future fluctuations of a currency can be found in the price chain. In other words, technical analysis involves looking at the past events in the market and assuming that these trends will continue. This is a very good strategy because, quite simply, history has a habit of repeating itself. This is also safer because it entails less guesswork than marginal trading, since the investor assumes that history will continue and therefore makes a safe investment in a strong currency that seems likely to continue a positive trend.Fundamental Analysis is the process of considering the current situation of the country of the currency. Elements such as a countries economy, political situation, and future must all be taken into account in Fundamental Analysis. Investors then make investments based upon this knowledge. The best investors not only analysis a countries current situation, but the rest of the world’s interpretation of that country. Like any stock market, the value of the commodity is not merely based on exact numbers, but on perceptions of that commodity. If a country is believed to be on a positive path economically, than it’s currency will do well in FOREX.

FOREX can be a potentially lucrative investment. However, the success of FOREX trading depends on the practices and knowledge of the investor. It is important for any investor to analyze the market and determine what exactly he or she wants to achieve in investing. Long-term gains and short-term gains require different strategies. The best investors are always well informed about the market, the world economy and have the best traders available. If one follows these practices, FOREX will certainly prove to be a very rewarding investment.

About the Author:Diane McDee is a knowledgeable investor and contributes to the Forex Blog ( http://www.forexblog.org ).

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Six Forex Trading Tips for Newbies

by: Gerald Njuguna
You have decided to be a trader in the forex market, and you have no idea on how to begin. Let's first start by defining what the forex market is and what it does.

The term "forex", also known as the foreign exchange is a market for the sale and purchase of all kinds of currencies. It originated in the early 1970's when floating currencies and free exchange rates were first introduced. At this time, the forex market traders were the ones who set the value of one type of currency against another.

Nowadays, the market forces determine the value of a currency against another. One unique aspect of the Forex market is that very little trading qualifications are required of anyone intending to trade therein. Independence from external control ensures that only the market forces influence the currency prices.

As the largest financial market, with trades reaching up to 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars, or USD, the money moves so fast, it’s impossible for a single investor to substantially affect the price of any major foreign currency. In addition, unlike any stock that is rarely traded, forex traders are able to open and close any positions within seconds, because there are always a number of willing buyers and sellers.

1. The first thing you need to do is open a forex account. You will have to fill an application form which includes a margin agreement stating if the broker will be allowed to intervene with any trade when it appears too risky. Since most trades are done using the broker's money, it is only logical that he protect his interests. However, once you have established an account, you can fund it and begin trading in the forex market.

2. Adopt a trading strategy, that has proven to be successful for you. Remember that strategies will work differently for different traders, so don't try to adopt a strategy that works well for another trader. It might backfire on you. The two available approaches are either technical analysis or fundamental analysis. A combination of the two is a more preferred choice for experienced traders.

3.Understand that prices move by trends. Forex has a popular saying, “The trend is your friend.” There are certain movements that have been studied over many years in order to identify a pattern in the trend. These trends need to be understood in order to understand a good trading strategy. For small accounts that are $25,000 and under, trading with a trend may help improving your odds when compared to bi-directional trading. Most newbie’s will look to trade in any direction, when they should be trading with a trend.

4. Ensure you know which are the top five currencies pairs in the foreign exchange. These are USD/Yen, Swiss franc/USD, Euro/Yen, Euro/USD and Pound/USD.

5. For newbies, it is advisable to maintain two accounts to ensure you learn to play the trading game. Keep one real account, one that you will actually use to trade real money; and the second account should be a demo, one that you can use to test alternative moves in the trading game. You can easily use your demo account to shadow the trades in your real account so you can widen your stops to see if you are being too conservative or not.

6. Always examine the one hour, four hour and daily charts that concern your trades. Although you can trade at 15 and 30 minute time intervals, doing so requires a handful of dexterity.

About The Author
Gerald Njuguna is the owner of
http://www.diamondringscare.com, a site where you can read more articles on diamonds. Visit the site to read more information on how to clean diamonds here: http://www.diamondringscare.com/clean-diamond-rings.htm