What Is Forex?

Forex is short for foreign exchange. When one speaks of a forex profit or loss, he is talking about the increased or decreased value of an investment caused solely by currency movements. For example, if an investor thought that the dollar was weak, he might purchase German money markets. The investor's account might earn 3% annualized, but the real profit or loss could be in how the DM (German mark) moves against the US$ (United States dollar.

What is FOREX?

FOREX (FOReign EXchange market) is an international foreign exchange market, where money is sold and bought freely. In its present condition FOREX was launched in the 1970s, when free exchange rates were introduced, and only the participants of the market determine the price of one currency against the other proceeding from supply and demand.
As far as the freedom from any external control and free competition are concerned, FOREX is a perfect market. It is also the biggest liquid financial market. According to various assessments, money masses in the market constitute from 1 to 1.5 trillion US dollars a day. (It is impossible to determine an absolutely exact number because trading is not centralized on an exchange.) Transactions are conducted all over the world via telecommunications 24 hours a day from 00:00 GMT on Monday to 10:00 pm GMT on Friday. Practically in every time zone (that is, in Frankfurt-on-Main, London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc.) there are dealers who will quote currencies.

The Start Line Of The FOREX Tradeology

The foreign currency exchange market is available for people from all over the world. More and more people take their first steps in FOREX trading, contributing to its volume and making it viable and easy to use for the ordinary individual, in contrast to only a few years back when only pros, hedge funds, major banks and institutional traders used the FOREX market. The key explanation for this turn of events is the Internet which dramatically increased accessibility. Almost all firms are now offering, free or in return for signing-up, easy to operate software for online FOREX trading.

Traders’ essential goal in FOREX is to estimate which currency will increase in worth against a different currency, and so getting a hold of a method which helps you to foresee future movements can help you in gaining a nice fortune. Realizing the fact that you are always trading by a ratio between two currencies should clarify the cause for seeing these letters arrangements: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, and GBP/USD etc. The five most important and highly popular currencies are the US Dollar, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Euro and Swiss Franc.

The FOREX market is open 24 hours a day; major firms keep brokers working shifts uninterruptedly so people from all over the world can trade always. This is attributable to the fact that nowadays most trades are carried out through company brokers.

Fear not, you can rest well at nights and even enjoy a day off every once and a while without being logged-on the FOREX market 24/7. All you have to do is give your broker your “stop-loss” / “stop-orders” to buy or sell currency once they have reached a certain price, thus preventing major losses.

The Dangers Of Highly Leveraged Trading In Forex

If you are a forex trader considering one of these '400-1 leverage' offers, you should first know:
1. The rules of the game you are about to play.
2. About leverage in Forex and how it works, not for you, but for the broker.
Here is how it works:
Leverage can be beneficial but it can be your worst enemy. 400-1 means that US$1000 can control a $400,000 position say against the Yen. This is great but it also means that even a small move against your position can wipe your account clean. This is obviously very bad news for you but great news for the broker!
Why Is It Great News For Them?
Well, the first thing that traders must realise is that Forex firms make their own markets - they make the bid-offer price to clients. They use the assumption that as most highly leveraged speculators lose then it's good business to take the opposite position to them.
This is done automatically, so when a client buys Dollars against the Yen, the broker sells short the Dollar. When the client covers the position (either for a profit or loss) the broker is taken out also. If the client wins the broker loses and vice-versa. This is how the leverage game is played.
So, who do you think usually wins in this game? No, not you. It’s the broker. It’s a statistics game and the statistics say highly leveraged speculators lose.
Ok then. If the brokers stand to gain when a client loses, what is the best way to make sure that the clients lose Bigtime?
Easy, let them trade huge positions on a limited amount of capital so that the odds even for the best and most talented traders are pretty much - ZERO.
Why do you think that the ads of '400-1 leverage' are splashed all over the brokers websites? They are selling you the supposed ‘benefit’ when in turn, the reality is that the only ‘benefit’ is to them.
Conclusion:
If you want to play the leverage game in forex, understand how the game works. The game basically works this way: The broker is the shark. The retail trader is shark food. If you are serious in your quest to make money currency trading – educate yourself on the risks involved

FOREX Trading News

Forex Trading as commonly called stands for Foreign Exchange Trading. It is biggest financial trading market in the world having a daily turnover in excess of US$1 Trillion. The figure signifies a volume amounting to about 28 times the combined volume of all US equity trading markets.
Forex Trading means buying of one foreign currency by paying in another. Each transaction involves a purchase and a sale of currency at the same time, since currency trading is always done in pairs for example USD/EUR or USD/GBP etc.
Foreign Currency trading or Forex Trading is undertaken for two purposes. About 5-7% of the transactions are undertaken by institutions that do business in foreign lands or companies that have to convert their foreign currency earnings into domestic currency. The rest of the Forex Trading is done purely on speculative basis with profit objectives.
For trading by speculation purposes, the best profit making opportunity lies in most traded currencies (obviously the currencies of most economically advanced countries) also called the "majors" in Forex Trading parlance. They consist of US Dollar, GB Pounds, Japanese Yen, European Unions EURO, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar etc

Internet Marketing VS Forex Currency Trading

Have you ever tried to make money online and failed?Did you follow your guru's advice and still fail?Here's an alternative...Have you noticed that when someone’s trying to sell you something - such as a system for making money - they always make it look far easier than it is? Let’s look at two Internet businesses, almost as diametrically opposed as it’s possible to be – Internet Marketing and Forex Currency Trading. You’ve probably heard the old Internet adage – build a better website and they will come. Well it ain’t true! You could put up a site advertising dollars for a dime and they still wouldn’t come – because they wouldn’t know where to look!Let’s look at what you need to have in place in order to build a successful Internet marketing business.First of all, you need a product. If you’ve been reading the recent Internet marketing blurb you’ll know you need a niche product. Actually, the new thing is sub-niche but whatever they call it, you need a product for which there is high demand but low supply.Finding a suitable niche is the hardest part of the whole process but let’s say you have a killer product, what else do you need?The List. Ask any Internet marketeer and they will say that the most important part of your business is your opt-in list. For people to join your list you usually have to give them something of value such as a free eBook or report on a subject related to your main product line. To keep them interested, you need to keep in touch with them offering them additional information, advice and tips.Website. To promote your opt-in list you need a website (although there are other ways of promoting your list, too) with features that will encourage people to sign up to your list. You also need a killer website with killer copy to describe – and sell - your killer product. This may or may not be the same as the one you use for your opt-in list.Killer copy. Maybe you’re not a good copywriter. There are many eBooks on the subject that can help you or you can pay someone to write copy for you.You need a domain name, preferably one with some relation to the product but good domain names are becoming increasing difficult to find.Ads. To get people to visit your website in the first place you need to register it with the search engines. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is an art in itself. You can mug up on the subject or pay someone to do the job for you (but be aware that not all experts are!).You might also want to place ads for your list in newsletters and ezines. The better ones will charge you although you might get a free ad in return for an article.Autoresponder. To automate your business you need an autoresponder. These clever devices automatically send emails to everyone on your opt-in list at predetermined intervals, and contain predetermined copy. For example, you could create a series of emails containing, say, five parts of a free course to be sent one a day over the first five days. Then emails would be sent once a week advertising a different product each time. Whenever anyone signs up to your list they automatically start at the beginning so everyone gets the full cycle of marketing material.We haven’t even looked at affiliate sales and marketing but I’m sure you get the picture. The basic idea of selling over the Internet sounds good but there’s a lot more to it than most people realise.Forex Currency TradingSomeone said that trading is the last frontier, the last place where men and women can stand up and pit themselves against the world.It sounds very Wild Westish but most of it is true! You win or lose entirely by your own efforts and if you win, it’s like having your very own bank. However, even owning a bank is a business and you still have to work hard to put the money there – and to keep it!Unlike Internet marketing where all your efforts, in one form or another, are geared towards making people join your list and then selling them stuff, Currency Trading has no customers. That’s worth repeating – with currency trading, you don’t need customers.No customers means you don’t need any of the associated accoutrements that go with Internet marketing such as:ProductsWeb siteDomain nameOpt-in listAdseBooks and reportsAutoresponderAny other marketing aidsSo far so good, but what do you have to do and what do you need? Well, you need to know what currency prices are doing.You can get a list of prices at the close of each trading day free from many web sites. If you want to trade during the day – intraday trading, you can get real-time prices for a nominal fee from several data suppliers. In the foreign exchange currency market, commonly called forex, you can get this data and charting software free from many web sites.Okay, that’s the easy bit. In order to trade currencies, you need to analyse the data and determine which way price is heading. In other words you need a system and this will require study and dedication.There’s lots of other stuff you have to know, too – trading terminology, margin, leverage, money management, order types, trader psychology and more. But all of this is available in eBooks and courses and on the Net.You also need some money upfront to fund your trading account. With forex you can begin with as little as $300-500 although you would be advised to start with more.So while you don’t have the ongoing quest for new customers, new products and inventive sales techniques, you do need some sort of education or training before you begin and you need discipline while you’re trading.For more information on getting started with forex currency trading, go to: www.webkept.comMaking money takes work whether it’s online or off. Make sure you know what’s involved before you start and remember that the more you put into a business, the easier it gets. About the author:From the author of the hit Forex Currency Trading book - "Mechanical Discretion", Amin Sadak has created another masterpiece for Business Opportunists. His new teaching manual "The Affluent Desktop Currency Trader" provides an alternative for people looking for online business opportunities. Amin teaches the

How To Choose a Forex Trading System That Works and Suits You

There are so many different trading systems you could use to trade the forex market, some better suited to certain people than others. For example some people may find it easier to comprehend and take into account fundamental factors as opposed to looking at a screen covered in technical indicators, and vice-versa.
The first logical step in determining what type of trading system would best suit you is actually being aware and understand the widely known methods of analysis used in trading the currency market. Once you are aware of the tools that are available, you can generally tell what type of analysis suits you. For example some of the main technical analysis methods which are popular include:
Pivot points
Chart patterns
Fibonacci retracements
Candlestick patterns
And some fundamental factors which are widely used include analyzing:
Interest rates
Trade balances
Unemployment rates
Gross domestic product (GDP)
You may now actually be able to develop your own system by combining certain methods of analysis together, giving you a method which you are comfortable with. On the other hand you may decide that you would like to trade someone else’s system, either way, that brings us to the next step which is determining the profitability of a trading system.
Determining Profitability
Most people would think that back testing is the best way to determine a systems profitability. However back testing doesn’t always give you a true idea of how profitable a system is. The reason for this is because when you’re back testing your system on historical charts, you are only seeing the obvious setups which have occurred, and not always seeing the ones that are less obvious. These less obvious ones sometimes can produce losses, which is why back testing isn’t always the best method to implement.
A better method of determining profitability is by trading your system in real-time with a demo account. This would give you a true understanding of what your system is capable of. This would also allow you to familiarize yourself with your trading platform at the same time. When determining profitability you must look at it in terms of expectancy and opportunity.
Expectancy & Opportunity
These two factors together will be able to tell you what you could expect to make over a period of time. Expectancy is calculated with the following formula:
(Probability of winning × average win) – (Probability of losing × average loss)
This will give you a figure which is the average amount you can expect to make per trade. This shouldn’t be a negative amount, if it is you should look at some other method of trading since you cannot make money on a system that produces a negative expectancy. Obviously the higher this figure is the better. Now to the opportunity factor.
The opportunity factor is how often you are able to trade using your system. By multiplying your expectancy figure with your opportunity factor it will tell you how much you could expect to make over a period of time. The more opportunity you have to trade, the more money you should expect to make. This now brings us to the last component of a trading system, money management.
Money Management
Without proper money management you will end up as a statistic. In other words one of those 90%+ of traders who loose their money. Money management tells you how much of your account balance to risk per trade. The whole point of money management is to ensure your survival over the long term, and to preserve your capital.
The most common form of money management is the percent risk model which tells you not to risk more than x percent of your account balance on any one trade. A range between 1-3% is generally an accepted amount which has been a reliable percentage to use in order to make money in the long term.
Conclusion
By taking into consideration the above factors you will be able to determine if a trading system best suits you, and with some simple mathematical calculations you will be able to determine its profitability