Trade Forex or Invest in Real Estate?

Most people who want to establish a financially-secure future choose to invest or trade in real estate. Indeed, if you take a look at the list of names of the wealthiest people in any category, most of them have allocated major portions of their assets in real estate. Donald Trump, who made his fortune in real estate is very popular and his success story is an inspiration to all of us.

Books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad , by Robert Kiyosaki and other property investing books written in the last fifteen years, introduced the average person to real estate investing. Thanks to these books, many people have opened their minds to new possibilities which they can now envision for themselves.

This article will not dispute the validity and the wisdom of investing in real estate. However, it might not be the best option for everybody. Each of us has different limitations and our circumstances vary. At the start -- for most of us -- we have to choose which area to specialise in since there is only so much money to go around. What I can do, is to at least highlight a few aspects of trading and investing in both areas. I then leave it to you to decide what you would like to focus on.

I should let you know that I have not yet invested in real estate myself, but I have considered it and I have asked myself the same questions you might be asking yourself now. I have read a lot on the subject matter and my assessment is purely based from my readings. Individuals using real-estate as their vehicle to create wealth may have different perspectives and I strongly advise you to seek their counsel to gain a more balanced outlook on this issue.

PASSIVE INCOME OR CAPITAL GAINS

If you like the idea of buying property to receive rent revenue, then the real estate market maybe better for you. You can structure your properties and contractual agreements to maximise the passive income you get from your tenants.

However, if you prefer to buy a property mainly because you think you can resell it at a higher price later, then you want to make money mainly from capital gains. If this is your philosophy, then forex could be a better trading vehicle for you than real estate because exchange rates fluctuate faster than real estate prices. Furthermore, transactions are easier and they are instantaneous to complete.

CAPITAL

To buy real estate, you need have at least 10% of the acquisition cost of the property, if your bank is willing to lend you the other 90%. If the house costs $350,000, you will need to cough up $35,000. That is a year's gross income for many people.

If you want to start trading forex, most brokers allow you to open a trading account for just $200. With $50, you can trade 10,000 units of a currency, if you have a margin ratio of 200:1.

LIQUIDITY

Whenever you want to buy or sell currencies, there is always someone willing to buy from - or sell to - you at the most competitive price. The forex market is the biggest market in the world and if you have hundreds of thousands of dollars you want to exchange for another currency, you can do so within a couple of seconds. To buy or sell a house or an apartment, you expect to wait for weeks, if not months.

PRODUCT HOMOGENEITY

In the real estate market, one house is not the same as another. Each property is unique. One might have a better foundation, a worse design or a prettier garden than another. Knowledge of these strengths and weaknesses become a significant factor if you are to make money from a transaction. Therefore, if you enjoy or if you are good at selling, promoting, negotiating and bargaining based on these differences, the real estate market is for you. Further, your lawyers, accountants, advisers, real estate agents and consultants play a significant role in your success.

If you want to trade currencies, there is no need to negotiate the price with the other party. If you are a seller, there is no need to educate potential buyers as to the benefits of your product. If you are buying, you have piece of mind that you are getting the best possible price for the currency from your broker at that particular point in time.

TRANSACTION COSTS

Buying and selling real estate is much more expensive than buying and selling currencies.

'SHORTING' MARKETS

When you have a property and you suspect that its price will go down in the future, your options are limited: hang on to the property or sell it now. In forex, if you suspect that a particular currency will depreciate in value, then you can exchange it for another currency. You buy it back again after it has already reduced in value to realise your gain.

MEDIATED TRANSACTIONS

In real estate you are dealing directly with the other party, taking on the other side of the transaction. This is why you need to go through a lot of paperwork and consult your lawyers to ensure that you know about the options available to you when the other party fails to fulfil his or her end of the bargain.

In forex, you do not have to worry about whether a buyer or a seller is going to fulfil his or her end of the bargain for whatever reason, because you are not directly dealing with that particular person. You are dealing with the broker who ensures that somebody will always take the other side of your trade.

CONVENIENCE

The forex market is open 24 hours a day. You do not have to meet the buyers or sellers in person. You do not have to conduct meetings with lawyers, accountant, bank representatives and so on. You can buy and sell currencies in your pyjamas at midnight if you like and the transaction will be complete before you go back to bed.

CONCLUSION

All in all, if you are an investor looking to make money from a combination of rent revenue and capital gains, you may want to invest in real estate for the long-term. If you are a trader wanting to profit purely on capital gains, then trading forex is probably better for you than trading real estate because you can start with a small fund and your rate of return is limited only by your ability to trade well. The transactions are mediated, it is more convenient and transaction costs are a lot smaller. The market is also more efficient due to product homogeneity and liquidity. Lastly, there are opportunities to profit regardless if the prices are going up or down.

I believe that if done right, neither venture is more or less riskier than the other. The risks are up to you to manage. With this article, I hope I helped you make a decision appropriate to your circumstances.

How to Make Forex Give the Lifestyle You Want

In order to be rich and make loads of money with forex, it is a must for anyone who is serious to have accurate knowledge with the trade. Sure there is no need for any diploma in trading Forex, but in order to succeed, investing time and effort to learn profitably is a dogma.

Lately people have been buzzing about how a great income potential is forex. Getting tired of a monotonous life in the corporate world, there will come a time that people want to be free from all and have a rich lifestyle, to work from home and enjoy the greater things in life. Indeed Forex is a serious consideration and worth inveting on.

Before Forex was not accesible to anybody. But thanks to the modernization and internet, everybody has the fighting chance to get rich and be merry.

Yes Forex has low cost to operate, lower cost to start, very abundant information resources, flexible trading hours and very high income potential, everybody can get started in Forex in one way or another.

It is one thing to start trading and being profitable Forex trader is different. In order to become profitable in every trade, you will find it imperative to invest some time in learning courses and practicing in a demo account rather than saving all the pain of losses. Concepts such as Moving Averages, Fibonacci levels, Bollinger Bands, etc; are the basic knowledge every trader must have.

But having a good knowledge of these concepts is not everything you need. Fear is your worst enemy. To become a profitable trader, one thing that can free you of this fear is education. As you learn in the ways of the trade, you will find yourself more confident to what trading plans you have. You have to understand that there will be losses and it has happend to the richest traders today. If you truly understand that, there is no way that you can get poor in Forex.

You want to change the way you live for the better? A profitable forex trader must be ready with education and psychological preparation. This is the only way to make the market work in your favor.

Invest in learning Forex. You'll be glad you did.

Methods or Techniques for Trading the Forex Market

The Forex market offers the trader numerous opportunities and can be very profitable to trade and also very exciting. The most important Forex market is the spot market as it has very large volume. The market is called the spot market because trades are settled immediately, or "on the spot".

With Forex trading there are also considerable risk factors. It is seriously crucial that you fully understand the implications of margin trading and the particular pitfalls and opportunities that foreign exchange trading offers. There are unique benefits to trading the Forex market, but you need to understand exactly how each trade you enter works. In other words, why you are entering into a trade, and being able to keep a calm easy mind. Fear and greed are, without a doubt, the enemies of the successful Forex trader.

There are two common methods or techniques of trading the Forex market. Firstly, technical analysis focuses on price patterns and uses charting to distinguish them. Technical analysis focuses on price action and market behavior. With the use of various indicators, you will be able to recognize and combine pattern recognision with your favorite indicator for confirmation to take a trade. It is not necessary to use a large variety of indicators, usually 2-3 are quite adequate, especially if you are combining indicators with price patterns.

The indicators are available on most trading software, and all calculations are done automatically within the software. The problem with trading indicators only is that, firstly they are lagging price, and then you are only looking at the right side of your chart, waiting to see what will happen. What about the left side, or the side of your chart that is telling you what has already happened? This is a very important aspect of trading, I call this the bigger picture. A good chart is priceless if it helps to identify a great opportunity.

Momentum analysis is a measure of the change in Forex trading trends over a certain period of time. Certain momentum indicators will show if a currency is overbought or oversold, and these are common and very useful tools for technical analysis.

The second - fundamental analysis - regards price behavior as a product of economic and political events. Fundamental analysis involves the use of economic data, critical political decisions or the different social issues that influence prices. Interst and employment are major economic data that could move the market substantially.

Fundamental trading is a very effective way to forecast economic conditions, but not necessarily exact market prices.

Don't fill your mind with too much information, the best way to trade is the simple way. However, it is very important to understand fundamental and technical analysis in order to use them for your forex trading.

FOREX: Starting your own trading

The presented article is intended for those who just turned their eyes toward Forex. Beginning traders who are still learning the basics of the foreign exchange market may also find something of interest here. While experienced traders won't gain anything worth their time reading this article.

Basically there are 4 steps which can be defined as "must do" for those who wish to start trading Forex. Though, their order is not particularly important, the more important part is their content, to which the great attention and responsibility must be paid.

First step is finding a right Forex broker which will be your main tool in trading. You can have a great strategy, good technical analysis skills or an outstanding intuition but you will eventually fail if you choose a bad broker. A good Forex broker is one that will not still your money, will be doing real trading with your positions, supports your preferred deposit/withdraw methods and has fast and helpful user support service. It is nice if a broker is registered with some sort of governmental financial commission. One of the most important aspects of the broker is it's trading platform — but for a new trader this part is not so important as for expert traders. Still you'll probably want to trade with some powerful and informative platform as a MetaTrader or its analogs. For new traders the more important is a demo account which can be used to trade virtual money while you are training your Forex skills. If you are new trader, start only with the demo account! Don't lose your money on your first mistakes!

Second step is learning the basics of Forex trading. If you already found your Forex broker, you will easily get all information from its website or user support. There are many articles and websites dedicated to Forex basics in the World Wide Web. All you need to do is just google for "forex trading basics" and you'll find everything you wanted and even more. This step shouldn't be underestimated, because trying to trade without even understanding how the market works is not only very risky, it will also become boring very soon.

Third step is about education. Forex trading education is not similar to any other education you probably have got in your life. Forex market is very chaotic, so is the education — there are no fixed rules and all time laws, it is unstable and dynamical. So, to be on the top you must learn new things about Forex regularly and constantly. Try to read as many books, articles other traders' opinions as you can. The more you learn, the more educated you will be. And with good Forex education you will be able to create very sophisticated and effective trading strategies.

Fourth step is a final one; at least I consider it to be a final one. To achieve the successful results in the Forex market you need to develop your own strategies. While you are learning you'll be satisfied with known strategies and probably even Forex signals. But true goal which leads to successful Forex trading is to develop your own strategies. Not one strategy, but to follow the market day by day, developing new strategies and improving those which began to fail. And this comes not only to the trading strategy (this part is obvious), but also to the money management strategy (this part is often underestimated). While you gain experience in trading you'll inevitably build such strategies that will fit your trading style, you character and your life as best as they can. And after that, trading will become a real pleasure, which will eventually lead to your financial freedom.

Currency Trading Is Not The Monopoly Of The Nerds And The Geeks

The general perception is that any and every person who is involved in the business of trading of currency or foreign exchange is a person who has a super high IQ. To hear words and phrases like liquidity ratio, central bank intervention and inflationary demand makes us feel as if we are back in the boring and inherently avoidable lecture on economics that we were forced to attend in our college.

However, all these preconceived notions apart, forex or currency trading is not the domain for the super intelligent alone.

There is no doubt that you need brains to get involved in forex trading. Then, I bet you cannot name a single sphere of human activity that does not need the application of one's mind. A bit of brains and lot of research can help you make a tidy sum in currency trading.

Till recently, the forex trading market was not open to individual investors. To take part in the process of buying and selling of currency, you either had to be a big bank with lots of deposits and assets under your belt or you had to be a big financial institution that carried out the business of trading in forex as its primary activity. Today you do not need a lot of capital to earn money in currency trading. A few thousand dollars as the initial capital is sufficient to get you started.

The advantages of trading in currency are manifold. The biggest advantage is that the currency trading market is a market that remains open round the clock. No other financial market stays open and operation twenty-four hours a day. This round the clock functioning results in constant and immediate reflection of economic, political and social events. A smart investor can take advantage of the fluctuation to make huge profits.

Further, the forex market works without any centralized exchange. There is direct interaction between the persons involved in currency trading over the telephone or electronic network.

However, just because it is easy to enter the currency trading market does not mean it is easy to make profit in the currency trading market. It is very important to possess knowledge of the forex market. You will have to grasp and establish your command over basic concepts. You will have to understand the significance of the technical indicators of the functioning of the forex market. Trying to gain complete knowledge of the currency market without actually entering into the field is like trying to learn swimming without entering the water.

By arriving at a judicious combination of knowledge, instincts and risk, one can make a lot of money in the currency trading market, or the forex market as it is known as, with very little initial investment.

FOREX 101: Make Money with Currency Trading

For those unfamiliar with the term, Forex (FOReign EXchange market), refers to an international exchange market where currencies are bought and sold. The Foreign Exchange Market that we see today began in the 1970's, when free exchange rates and floating currencies were introduced. In such an environment only participants in the market determine the price of one currency against another, based upon supply and demand for that currency.

Forex is a somewhat unique market for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is one of the few markets in which it can be said with very few qualifications that it is free of external controls and that it cannot be manipulated. It is also the largest liquid financial market, with trade reaching between 1 and 1.5 trillion US dollars a day. With this much money moving this fast, it is clear why a single investor would find it near impossible to significantly affect the price of a major currency. Furthermore, the liquidity of the market means that unlike some rarely traded stock, traders are able to open and close positions within a few seconds as there are always willing buyers and sellers.

Another somewhat unique characteristic of the Forex money market is the variance of its participants. Investors find a number of reasons for entering the market, some as longer term hedge investors, while others utilize massive credit lines to seek large short term gains. Interestingly, unlike blue-chip stocks, which are usually most attractive only to the long term investor, the combination of rather constant but small daily fluctuations in currency prices, create an environment which attracts investors with a broad range of strategies.

How Forex Works

Transactions in foreign currencies are not centralized on an exchange, unlike say the NYSE, and thus take place all over the world via telecommunications. Trade is open 24 hours a day from Sunday afternoon until Friday afternoon (00:00 GMT on Monday to 10:00 pm GMT on Friday). In almost every time zone around the world, there are dealers who will quote all major currencies. After deciding what currency the investor would like to purchase, he or she does so via one of these dealers (some of which can be found online). It is quite common practice for investors to speculate on currency prices by getting a credit line (which are available to those with capital as small as $500), and vastly increase their potential gains and losses. This is called marginal trading.

Marginal Trading

Marginal trading is simply the term used for trading with borrowed capital. It is appealing because of the fact that in Forex investments can be made without a real money supply. This allows investors to invest much more money with fewer money transfer costs, and open bigger positions with a much smaller amount of actual capital. Thus, one can conduct relatively large transactions, very quickly and cheaply, with a small amount of initial capital. Marginal trading in an exchange market is quantified in lots. The term "lot" refers to approximately $100,000, an amount which can be obtained by putting up as little as 0.5% or $500.

EXAMPLE: You believe that signals in the market are indicating that the British Pound will go up against the US Dollar. You open 1 lot for buying the Pound with a 1% margin at the price of 1.49889 and wait for the exchange rate to climb. At some point in the future, your predictions come true and you decide to sell. You close the position at 1.5050 and earn 61 pips or about $405. Thus, on an initial capital investment of $1,000, you have made over 40% in profits. (Just as an example of how exchange rates change in the course of a day, an average daily change of the Euro (in Dollars) is about 70 to 100 pips.)

When you decide to close a position, the deposit sum that you originally made is returned to you and a calculation of your profits or losses is done. This profit or loss is then credited to your account.

Investment Strategies: Technical Analysis and Fundamental Analysis

The two fundamental strategies in investing in Forex are Technical Analysis or Fundamental Analysis. Most small and medium sized investors in financial markets use Technical Analysis. This technique stems from the assumption that all information about the market and a particular currency's future fluctuations is found in the price chain. That is to say, that all factors which have an effect on the price have already been considered by the market and are thus reflected in the price. Essentially then, what this type of investor does is base his/her investments upon three fundamental suppositions. These are: that the movement of the market considers all factors, that the movement of prices is purposeful and directly tied to these events, and that history repeats itself. Someone utilizing technical analysis looks at the highest and lowest prices of a currency, the prices of opening and closing, and the volume of transactions. This investor does not try to outsmart the market, or even predict major long term trends, but simply looks at what has happened to that currency in the recent past, and predicts that the small fluctuations will generally continue just as they have before.

A Fundamental Analysis is one which analyzes the current situations in the country of the currency, including such things as its economy, its political situation, and other related rumors. By the numbers, a country's economy depends on a number of quantifiable measurements such as its Central Bank's interest rate, the national unemployment level, tax policy and the rate of inflation. An investor can also anticipate that less quantifiable occurrences, such as political unrest or transition will also have an effect on the market. Before basing all predictions on the factors alone, however, it is important to remember that investors must also keep in mind the expectations and anticipations of market participants. For just as in any stock market, the value of a currency is also based in large part on perceptions of and anticipations about that currency, not solely on its reality.

Make Money with Currency Trading on Forex

Forex investing is one of the most potentially rewarding types of investments available. While certainly the risk is great, the ability to conduct marginal trading on Forex means that potential profits are enormous relative to initial capital investments. Another benefit of Forex is that its size prevents almost all attempts by others to influence the market for their own gain. So that when investing in foreign currency markets one can feel quite confident that the investment he or she is making has the same opportunity for profit as other investors throughout the world. While investing in Forex short term requires a certain degree of diligence, investors who utilize a technical analysis can feel relatively confident that their own ability to read the daily fluctuations of the currency market are sufficiently adequate to give them the knowledge necessary to make informed investments.

Interested in FOREX Trading?

The Foreign Exchange Market (Forex) has no central exchange location yet it is the largest financial market in the world. It is over 3x's the size of the stock and futures markets combined and operates via an electronic network of a banks, corporations and investors.

Foreign exchange consists of a simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. Currency is traded in pairs, in other words, one currency is traded for another. The major currencies are:

USD — United States Dollar
EUR — Euro members Euro
JPY — Japan Yen
GBP — Great Britian pound
CHF — Switzerland franc
CAD — Canadian dollar
AUD — Australia dollar

There are 2 types of investors involved in the Forex market.The first type of investor is the hedger. The hedger is involved in International trades and utilizes Forex trading to protect their interest in a transaction from adverse currency fluctuations. The 2nd type of investor is the speculator who invests in currency solely for profit.

Currency prices fluctuate due to a variety of economic and political factors. The major factors are:

Interest rates
International trade
Inflation
Political stability

There are many reasons investors take a great interest in FX trading Some of the major reasons are:

No fees
No middlemen
No fixed trade sizes
Low transaction cost
High liquidity
Instant transactions
Low margin / High leverage
24 hour market
Online access via online trading platforms
Always good opportunities to trade, unlike the stock market the market is never bullish or bearish.
No one entity can control the market
No insider trading can occur

To begin trading in the Forex market, an investor only needs a computer, a high-speed internet connection and an online trading currency account. A mini account can be opened for as little as $100.

These are some of the reasons why Forex trading has become quite popular in recent years.

Online Forex

Q1: When you consider that the foreign exchange market has become the world's largest financial market, with over $1.5 trillion USD traded daily, where does it go from here?

A1:The FX market is unique, in the UK there is no central exchange, we trade via the inter bank market. With more and more private individuals taking up margin trading and new forex brokers setting up, I can only see the market grow in the near future.

Q2: Other than great liquidity, what are the principal benefits attached to the forex market?

A2: There is less to consider when trading the forex markets, there are only a number of variables that affect the pricing.

Main advantages include

Forex Market allows 24 hour trading

Greater leverage — with most brokers offering 100 — 1,

Less starting capital required,

More Liquidity — day trading has to have enough volume to make it worth our while. The currency market is more liquid than all the world stock markets put together. Currencies are always in action,

Free trading systems

Better for shorting — There are artificial controls built into the market to prevent it from going down too fast. The reason is that we live in a biased world that likes to see things go up instead of down. One of these artificial contraptions is the "uptick rule," which comes into play when shorting stocks, making it more difficult to sell a stock short than to buy it. This is unheard of in the currency market. Selling currencies short while day trading is just as easy as buying them.

Ideal for Short Term Traders —

Q3: Limited market access, liquidity issues-after market hours, commission fees, capital requirements and short selling/stop restrictions are just some of the issues investors face when considering other markets. Given that the forex market removes many of these traditional barriers and therefore does not restrict the forex traders' ability to make a trade at the right time, are we likely to see an increase in trading volumes this year?

A3: With all these advantages, traders are finding it hard not to trade currencies, online trading volumes across all products is increasing at a substantial rate, however FX trading, predominantly amongst retail investors is becoming very popular.

Q4: There is stiff competition amongst online forex service providers for retail forex traders with some claiming to offer the same degree of technical analysis enjoyed by the world's largest banks and institutional traders. Is this possible?

A4: Technical Analysis has come a long way, more and more forex provides now have partnerships with firms who provide analysis. However the banks still have an advantage, the markets are still not under perfectly competitive economic model. The banks will always have access to information that is not readily available, ISX FX currently sources its information from a number of banks to fill this gap.

Q5: Do you subscribe to the theory that forex is less volatile than stocks because the market is much deeper?

A5: As a bet on the direction of a national economy, no currency has ever dropped 25 percent in a day, or imploded as rapidly and completely as an Enron or a Parmalat. In the wake of those scandals, many companies are meting out information more cautiously, making it harder to get the real "scoop" on stocks one problem of trading with too-high leverage is that one piece of surprise news can wipe out one's capital. If you treat forex trading like a business, including proper money management, you have a better chance of success."

Q6: U.S. interest rates-decade lows; global trade wars and terrorism fears have dominated the headlines recently. What impact has this had on retail volumes?

A6: The above factors have all led to a decline in the dollar. This coupled with tighter regulation of brokers has given investors more confidence in brokers. Also the stock market crash has driven individuals to look at the profit opportunities offered by forex.

Q7: Stateside the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has brought 58 actions against firms, since its new powers were awarded in 2000. Given that certain brokers continue to abuse the system, with investor money sometimes not being traded in the markets promised. What can investors do protect themselves?

A7: The retail forex market is in essence betting, as with any bookmaker there is always a risk that you will not get your winnings, or the odds will be highly stacked against you. With tighter regulation and increased competition, this risk of default has largely disappeared. The risk of price manipulation still exists and this will never really go away. Investors need to ensure that they have an independent price source and trade with a broker who offers true one click dealing. Most brokers work on the basis of the law of large numbers, acting like the bucket shops of 50 years ago, they do not hedge any positions and are directly competing against there clients. This will always lead to price manipulation and further actions by authorities will inevitably be taken.

Q8: What is this best way for "currency rookies" to get involved in the market?

A8: Like with any new form of trading you need to know what you are doing, especially as there is margin involved. Take all the time you need to learn this new trading skill well -- practice everything you learn with a demo account before you consider going 'live' with your own money. Investors should read books, attend seminars and paper trade until they are comfortable with there strategy.

The History of FOREX Trading

The origin of Forex trading traces its history to centuries ago. Different currencies and the need to exchange them had existed since the Babylonians. They are credited with the first use of paper notes and receipts. Speculation hardly ever happened, and certainly the enormous speculative activity in the market today would have been frowned upon.

In those days, the value of goods were expressed in terms of other goods(also called as the Barter System). The obvious limitations of such a system encouraged establishing more generally accepted mediums of exchange. It was important that a common base of value could be established. In some economies, items such as teeth, feathers even stones served this purpose, but soon various metals, in particular gold and silver, established themselves as an accepted means of payment as well as a reliable storage of value. Trade was carried among people of Africa, Asia etc through this system.

Coins were initially minted from the preferred metal and in stable political regimes, the introduction of a paper form of governmental I.O.U. during the Middle Ages also gained acceptance. This type of I.O.U. was introduced more successfully through force than through persuasion and is now the basis of today's modern currencies.

Before the First World war, most Central banks supported their currencies with convertibility to gold. However, the gold exchange standard had its weaknesses of boom-bust patterns. As an economy strengthened, it would import a great deal from out of the country until it ran down its gold reserves required to support its money; as a result, the money supply would diminish, interest rates escalate and economic activity slowed to the point of recession. Ultimately, prices of commodities had hit bottom, appearing attractive to other nations, who would sprint into buying fury that injected the economy with gold until it increased its money supply, drive down interest rates and restore wealth into the economy.. However, for this type of gold exchange, there was not necessarily a Centrals bank need for full coverage of the government's currency reserves. This did not occur very often, however when a group mindset fostered this disastrous notion of converting back to gold in mass, panic resulted in so-called "Run on banks " The combination of a greater supply of paper money without the gold to cover led to devastating inflation and resulting political instability. The Great Depression and the removal of the gold standard in 1931 created a serious lull in Forex market activity. From 1931 until 1973, the Forex market went through a series of changes. These changes greatly affected the global economies at the time and speculation in the Forex markets during these times was little.

In order to protect local national interests, increased foreign exchange controls were introduced to prevent market forces from punishing monetary irresponsibility.

Near the end of World War II, the Bretton Woods agreement was reached on the initiative of the USA in July 1944. The conference held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire rejected John Maynard Keynes suggestion for a new world reserve currency in favor of a system built on the US Dollar. International institutions such as the IMF, The World Bank and GATT were created in the same period as the emerging victors of WWII searched for a way to avoid the destabilizing monetary crises leading to the war. The Bretton Woods agreement resulted in a system of fixed exchange rates that reinstated The Gold Standard partly, fixing the USD at $35.00 per ounce of Gold and fixing the other main currencies to the dollar, initially intended to be on a permanent basis.

The Bretton Woods system came under increasing pressure as national economies moved in different directions during the 1960's. A number of realignments held the system alive for a long time but eventually Bretton Woods collapsed in the early 1970's following president Nixon's suspension of the gold convertibility in August 1971. The dollar was not any longer suited as the sole international currency at a time when it was under severe pressure from increasing US budget and trade deficits.

The last few decades have seen foreign exchange trading develop into the world's largest global market. Restrictions on capital flows have been removed in most countries, leaving the market forces free to adjust foreign exchange rates according to their perceived values.

The European Economic Community introduced a new system of fixed exchange rates in 1979, the European Monetary System. The quest continued in Europe for currency stability with the 1991 signing of The Maastricht treaty. This was to not only fix exchange rates but also actually replace many of them with the Euro in 2002. London was, and remains the principal offshore market. In the 1980s, it became the key center in the Eurodollar market when British banks began lending dollars as an alternative to pounds in order to maintain their leading position in global finance.

In Asia, the lack of sustainability of fixed foreign exchange rates has gained new relevance with the events in South East Asia in the latter part of 1997, where currency after currency was devalued against the US dollar, leaving other fixed exchange rates in particular in South America also looking very vulnerable.

While commercial companies have had to face a much more volatile currency environment in recent years, investors and financial institutions have discovered a new playground. The Forex exchange market initially worked under the central banks and the governmental institutions but later on it accommodated the various institutions, at present it also includes the dot com booms and the world wide web. The size of the Forex market now dwarfs any other investment market. The foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world. Approximately 1.9 trillion dollars are traded daily in the foreign exchange market. It is estimated that more than USD 1,200 Billion are traded every day. It can be said easily that Forex market is a lucrative opportunity for the modern day savvy investor.

Internet Marketing VS Forex Currency Trading

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 Trading

Someone 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:

Products
Web site
Domain name
Opt-in list
Ads
eBooks and reports
Autoresponder
Any other marketing aids

So 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.com

Making 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.

How To Get Started In FOREX Trading

The foreign exchange market (Forex) offers many advantages to investors. But you need to know where to begin.

This short guide will give you the Forex basics, so you can quickly start participating in this fast growing market.

In the past, foreign exchange trading was limited to large players such as national banks and multi-national corporations. In the 1980's the rules were changed to allow smaller investors to participate using margin accounts. Margin accounts are the reason why Forex trading has become so popular. With a 100:1 margin account, you can control $100,000 with a $1,000 investment.

A Learning Curve

Forex is not simple, though, so you'll need some knowledge to make wise investment decisions. Although it is relatively easy to start trading on the Forex, there are risks involved.

Your first move as a beginner should be to find out as much as possible about the market before risking a dime.

Find A Broker

Forex traders usually require a broker to handle transactions. Most brokers are reputable and are associated with large financial institutions such as banks. A reputable broker will be registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as protection against fraud and abusive trade practices.

Open an Account

Opening a Forex account is as simple as filling out a form and providing the necessary identification. The form includes a margin agreement which states that the broker may interfere with any trade deemed to be too risky. This is to protect the interests of the broker, since most trades are done using the broker's money.

Once your account has been established, you can fund it and begin trading.

Many brokers offer a variety of accounts to suit the needs of individual investors. Mini accounts allow you to get involved in Forex trading for as little as $250. Standard accounts may have a minimum deposit of $1000 to $2500, depending on the broker. The amount of leverage (how much borrowed money you can use) varies with account type. High leverage accounts give you more money to trade for a given investment.

Trades are commission-free, meaning that you can make many trades in one day without worrying about incurring high brokerage fees. Brokers make their money on the 'spread': the difference between bid and ask prices.

Paper Trading

Beginning traders are strongly advised get accustomed to Forex by doing "paper trades" for a period of time. Paper trades are practice transactions that don't involve real capital. They allow you to see how the system works while learning how to use the various software tools provided by most Forex brokers.

Most online brokers have demo accounts that allow you to make free paper trades for up to 30 days. Every new Forex investor should use these demo accounts at least until they are consistently showing profits.

Forex Software

Each broker has its own set of software tools for making transactions, but there are a few tools that are common to all Forex brokers. Real-time quotes, news feeds, technical analyses and charts, and profit-and-loss analyses are some of the features you can expect to see on most online brokers' web sites.

Almost every broker operates on the Internet. To access a broker's online services you'll need a reasonably modern computer, a fast Internet connection, and an up-to-date operating system. Once your account is set up, you can access it from any computer just by entering your account name and password. If for some reason you are unable get to a computer, most brokers will allow you to make trades over the phone.

There are lots of ways to make money. Forex trading is just one more potential stream of income -- if you are prepared to learn and practice.

Forex Trade: Main Drawbacks of a Forex Trader

Why is it that very few traders succeed in the Forex trading environment while the grand majority of traders fail to achieve success? Although there is no hard answer to this question, there are a few things that will put you one step ahead and will definitely put the odds in your favor.

The main purpose of this article is to guide you through some important aspects of Forex trading. But in a different way, instead of telling you what to do or the best way to do it, it will tell you what to avoid. Sometimes it is better to identify the main drawbacks on a discipline and then isolate them so we have the best results at a certain level of development.

The search for the Holy Grail

Many traders spend years and years trying to find the Holy Grail of trading. That magic indicator or set of indicators, only known by a few traders, that will make them rich in a short period of time.

Fact: Well, there is no magic indicator, nor a set of indicators that will make anyone rich in a short period of time. The main reason of this is because market changes, every single moment is unique. Every Forex trading system will fail from time to time. Our work here is to find a Forex trading system that fits our personality as traders, otherwise the trader will find it hard to follow it.

Looking for Easy Money

Unfortunately most traders are attracted to the Forex market for this reason. Mainly because of the publicity showing or rather trying to show how easy is to trade and make money in the Forex market.

Fact: Yes, it is very easy to trade, anyone can do it. It is as hard as one click. But the second part of it isn't that easy. Making money or achieving consistent profitable results is hard. It requires lots of education, patience, discipline, commitment, and this list could go to infinite. In a few words, it is possible to have consistent profitable results, but definitely it is not easy.

Looking for Excitement

Some other traders are attracted to the Forex market or any other financial market because they think it is exciting to be a trader.

Fact: Yes, it is very exciting to trade the Forex market. But if this is the main reason you are still trading the Forex market, sooner or later you will discover the most expensive adventure you have ever known. Do some thinking on it.

Not Using Money Management.

Most traders forget about this important aspect of trading. They think they shouldn't be using money management until they achieve consistent profitable results. They totally forget about the risk side of trading.

Fact: Money management allows your profits to increase geometrically, but also limits your risk on every single trade. Money management tells you how much to risk on each trade. Using money management is a must if you want to achieve your trading goals. By using money management you make sure you are going to be able to trade tomorrow, the next week, month and the following years.

Not Being Psychology Tuned

This is one of the most underestimated subjects when it comes to trading. One of the main principles of financial markets is that the price of each instrument is based on the perception of each individual participant "the crowd." In other words the price of each instrument is determined by the fear, greed, ego and hope of all traders.

Fact: Being aware of all psychological issues that affect the decisions made by traders will definitely put the odds in your favor.

Lack of Education

Education is the base of knowledge on every discipline. As lawyers and doctors require several years of college until they get their degree, Forex traders also require long years of study. It is better to have someone experienced to guide you through your trading, since some information could take you in the wrong path.

Fact: The market teaches us invaluable lessons on every single trade made. The process of education for a Forex trader could take for ever. That's right, we never stop learning. We should be humble about the markets and our knowledge; otherwise the market will prove us wrong.

These are some of the most important barriers every trader faces when trying to trade successfully.

Trading successfully the Forex markets is no easy task, it requires a lot of hard work to do it right, but with the right education, you will put yourself closer to your trading goals.

Forex Avenue: The Road to Riches

In my continuing quest to provide visitors of my site with a large amount of options to chose from when considering working from home I have done some research on Forex trading. I first learned of Forex trading while pursuing my MBA program. For those of you who have never heard of this, Forex trading is the exchange of foreign currency.

I know I would have never even know this was an option for making money had I not found out in class. Most of the really big corporations have departments of people that do this for a living because it can be very lucrative if done correctly. The best news I have learned about this process of exchanging currencies is that many of the websites that you can sign up with to do this offer free trial accounts to help you learn before you invest your money into trying it. You won't make any money in the trial accounts if you do well, it is just pretend money essentially but with the real market conditions. If you do well in the trial account you will know if this is something you want to try on your own.

Benefits to Forex trading are that is can be done 24/7 whereas the stock market is a business hours only exchange. It is 24/7 because it is done with countries around the world so clearly there are countries that are awake and working while we sleep. Another benefit is you are in control of the trading on your account. You do not need to hire a licensed broker to make your trades and charge you fees. Along those same lines, anyone who does any investing most likely knows that some funds require you to own then for a certain period of time or pay early withdrawal fees. You do not need to concern yourself with this either. One last benefit that I would like to point out is the fact that Forex is not really subject to the same kinds of swings in the market that stocks are subject to. Of course if you always buy and sell the same currencies then there will be market swings. But, because there are hundreds of currencies out there, there is always going to be something for you to make money on because while one currency is up in value another one is down and vice versa.

There are many resources available to someone interested in becoming involved in this type of training. The Federal Reserve Bank's website is just one example of the information available — http://www.ny.frb.org/markets/foreignex.html. Here is another article that you will find helpful in starting out in this field. http://www.forex.com/pdf/pro2.pdf . I have also included one of the sites that does offer a free lesson.

While there are many benefits to this type of training, as I mentioned above, there are certainly risks involved as well. There are risks with exchange rates, central banks in foreign countries, and risks involving interest rates and credit. Forex is quickly becoming a popular way to help diversify your investment portfolio. If you are good with understanding investing concepts and enjoy doing it this may be the home business opportunity for you. Just do your research and try to find one of the sites offering the free trial account to practice with and you are well on your way down the Road to Riches.

Explosive Profits: 7 Reasons to Trade Forex

There are many money-making opportunities out there and we've been involved with quite a few, namely property marketing, web development, residential construction security, multi-level marketing businesses etc.

We've come to a few conclusions with the help of some well-known properity coaches.

Often people with the income they desire don't have the time to enjoy it. Those that have time don't often have money. You don't have to sacrifice your life-style to earn an above-average income. If you focus on the for a few months you can make that dream a reality and create time and money to do what you REALLY want.

To earn a living money is given in exchange for a product or service rendered. It needs to be sold continuously otherwise your income stops abruptly unless it's a repeat type of product or service.

Money is a medium of exchange. There's no magical formula to possess it, you need to exchange something of value for it.

What if, you could have access to thousands of customers who are ready, willing and able to buy from you whenever you wanted? Wouldn't it be great to avoid any hassles like money collection problems (just had a delayed payment from my web business), keeping difficult customers happy (we all know what that's like), competition stealing your business without providing the same value etc.

All that is possible with . You can also trade from anywhere. Take your laptop with you, find an internet connection and away you go.

Another advantage is that you don't need experience to get started. Get a traditionally job involves accumulating specialized experience, having a well-polished resume and having the right contacts. With the right training course, you can get started straight away.

Here's 7 more reasons to trade :

1. It never closes. It's open around the clock, worldwide. Trading positions open at Monday 7am, New Zealand time and close 5pm New York time on Friday. During this time, you can enter or exit the market whenever you like. It's a continuous electronic currency exchange. This is great because you can trade whenever you have spare time.

2. Leverage. Standard $100 000 currency lots can be traded with as little as $1000. This is mainly because of the ease with which you can buy and sell, some brokers will leverage up to 200 times, so with $100 you can control a 200 000 unit currency position. It's the best use of trading capital around, even banks lending on property investments don't come close.

3. Accurately predict the outcomes. Currency prices generally repeat themselves in predictable cycles so you can see what the trends are. 'Technical Analysis' helps to see these trends and profit from them.

4. Low Transaction Cost. In other words, you mistakes won't cost you a fortune. Good brokers won' charge commissions to trade or maintain an account even if you have a mini account and trade small volumes.

5. Unlimited Earning Potential. has a daily trading volume of over 1.5 trillion, the largest financial market in the world. It dwarfs the equities market (50 billion daily) and the futures market (30 billion).

6. You can make money in any market conditions. Each market is one currency against another, so when you buy in one, you're selling in another so there's no biase towards either currency moving up or down. This means it's up to you to choose which currency to buy or sell with. Yu can make money going up or down.

7. Market transparency. This is an advantage in any business or trading environment. It means you can manage risk and execute orders within seconds. It's highly efficient and allows you to avoid unexpected 'surprises'.

I hope you're now convinced that is the best investment and income opportunity around.

Advantages of the Forex Market

What are the advantages of the Forex Market over other types of investments?

When thinking about various investments, there is one investment vehicle that comes to mind. The Forex or Foreign Currency Market has many advantages over other types of investments. The Forex market is open 24 hrs a day, unlike the regular stock markets. Most investments require a substantial amount of capital before you can take advantage of an investment opportunity. To trade Forex, you only need a small amount of capital. Anyone can enter the market with as little as $300 USD to trade a "mini account", which allows you to trade lots of 10,000 units. One lot of 10,000 units of currency is equal to 1 contract. Each "pip" or move up or down in the currency pair is worth a $1 gain or loss, depending on which side of the market you are on. A standard account gives you control over 100,000 units of currency and a pip is worth $10.

The Forex market is also very liquid. When trading Forex you have full control of your capital.

Many other types of investments require holding your money up for long periods of time. This is a disadvantage because if you need to use the capital it can be difficult to access to it without taking a huge loss. Also, with a small amount of money, you can control

Forex traders can be profitable in bullish or bearish market conditions. Stock market traders need stock prices to rise in order to take a profit. Forex traders can make a profit during up trends and downtrends. Forex Trading can be risky, but with having the ability to have a good system to follow, good money management skills, and possessing self discipline, Forex trading can be a relatively low risk investment.

The Forex market can be traded anytime, anywhere. As long as you have access to a computer, you have the ability to trade the Forex market. An important thing to remember is before jumping into trading currencies, is it wise to practice with "paper money", or "fake money." Most brokers have demo accounts where you can download their trading station and practice real time with fake money. While this is no guarantee of your performance with real money, practicing can give you a huge advantage to become better prepared when you trade with your real, hard earned money. There are also many Forex courses on the internet, just be careful when choosing which ones to purchase.

Forex Fundamental Analysis

The two primary approaches of analyzing Forex markets are technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Fundamental analysis comprises the examination of economic indicators, asset markets and political considerations when evaluating a nation’s currency in terms of another. The focus of fundamental analysis lies on the economic, social and political forces that drive supply and demand. There is no single set of beliefs that guide forex fundamental analysis, yet most fundamental analysts look at various macroeconomic indicators such as economic growth rates, interest rates, inflation, and unemployment.

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Here we look at some of the major Forex fundamental factors that play a role in the movement of a currency:

Economic Indicators

Economic indicators are reports released by the government or a private organization that detail a country’s economic performance. These economic indicators can be released on a weekly basis, but the more common report is monthly. Indicators are based around a number of economical situations, of which the two primary factors are that of International trade and Interest. Subsidiary factors also include Consumer Price Index (CPI), Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), Durable goods orders, retail sales and Producer Price Index (PPI).

Currency’s Interest Rates

One of the major indicator factors, Interest rates, are a key economic function of any nation. Generally, when a country raises its interest rates, the country’s currency will strengthen in relation to other currencies as assets are shifted to gain a higher return. Interest rates hikes, however, are usually not good news for stock markets. This is due to the fact that many investors will withdraw money from a country’s stock market when there is a hike of interest rates.

International Trade

The trade balance portrays the net difference (over a period of time) between the imports and exports of a nation. A trade deficit can be an economic disaster for a government and a currency. A deficit may appear when a country is importing more than it is exporting, meaning that more money is leaving and less is coming in. In some ways, however, a trade deficit in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing. A deficit is only negative if the deficit is greater than market expectations and therefore will trigger a negative price movement.

The Seven Most Traded Currencies in FOREX

Currencies are traded in dollar amounts called “lots”. One lot is equal to $1,000, which controls $100,000 in currency. This is what is known as the "margin". You can control $100,000 worth of currency for only 1,000 dollars. This is what is called “High Leverage”.

Currencies are always traded in pairs in the FOREX. The pairs have a unique notation that expresses what currencies are being traded. The symbol for a currency pair will always be in the form ABC/DEF. ABC/DEF is not a real currency pair, it is an example of a symbol for a currency pair. In this example ABC is the symbol for one countries currency and DEF is the symbol for another countries currency.

Here are some of the common symbols used in the Forex:

USD - The US Dollar EUR - The currency of the European Union "EURO" GBP - The British Pound JPN - The Japanese Yen CHF - The Swiss Franc AUD - The Australian Dollar CAD - The Canadian Dollar

There are symbols for other currencies as well, but these are the most commonly traded ones.

A currency can never be traded by itself. So you can not ever trade a EUR by itself. You always need to compare one currency with another currency to make a trade possible.

Some of the common PAIRS are:

EUR/USD Euro / US Dollar "Euro"

USD/JPY US Dollar / Japanese Yen "Dollar Yen"

GBP/USD British Pound / US Dollar "Cable"

USD/CAD US Dollar / Canadian Dollar "Dollar Canada"

AUD/USD Australian Dollar/US Dollar "Aussie Dollar"

USD/CHF US Dollar / Swiss Franc "Swissy"

EUR/JPY Euro / Japanese Yen "Euro Yen"

The listed currency pairs above look like a fraction. The numerator (top of the fraction or "left" of the / however you want to SEE it) is called the base currency. The denominator (bottom of the fraction or "right" of the /however you want to SEE it) is called the counter currency. When you place an order to buy the EUR/USD, for instance, you are actually buying the EUR and selling the USD. If you were to sell the pair, you would be selling the EUR and buying the USD. So if you buy or sell a currency PAIR, you are buying/selling the base currency. You are always doing the opposite of what you did with to base currency with the counter currency.

If this seems confusing then you’re in luck. You can always get by with just thinking of the entire pair as one item. Then you are just buying or selling that one item. Thinking like this will still enable you to place trades. You only need to be aware of the base/counter concept for Fundamental Analysis issues.

So why is it important to know about the base/counter currency? The base/counter currency concept illustrates what is actually taking place in a Forex transaction. Some of you reading this, know that short-selling was restricted in the stock market *(Short-selling is where you sell a stock/currency/option/commodity first and then try to buy it back at a lower price later). But in the FOREX you are always buying one currency (base) and selling another (counter). If you sell the pair you are simply flipping which one you buy and which one you sell. The transaction is essentially the same. This allows you to short-sell with no restrictions.

You want to be able to short-sell with no restrictions so you can make money when the market drops as well as when it rises. The problem with traditional stock market trading is that the market has to go up for you to make money. With FOREX trading you can make money in all directions.

What is forex Trading

Foreign Exchange Market, or Forex as it is commonly called, is an international exchange market to buy and sell different currencies from around the world. An investor has the ability to buy and sell these currencies in order to create gains from small movements in the value of one currency over another. The forex market is open from Monday at 0:00 GMT until Friday at 10:00 GMT. For this reason Forex traders are not limited to the general time constraints of the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ.

This versatility attracts many investors to become Forex traders. The liquidity of the Foreign Exchange Market is also very attractive for the Forex investor as trades range from 1 to 1.5 trillion dollars on a daily basis. These massive amounts of trades make it extremely difficult for any one trader to affect the market.

Foreign Exchange Trading is simply the purchase and sales of currency based on the strength of the currency and the fluctuation in the value of that currency. For example, if one were to invest $1,000 against the British pound at 1.7999 with a 1% margin and anticipate the exchange rate to climb. If that occurs and you close the exchange rate at 1.8050 you would earn roughly $400. Forex is giving you a 40% return on your investment.

Forex offers the possibility of huge profits in relatively short periods of time. The stock exchange is very different in that positions are generally maintained over a longer period of time. Although there are day traders, Forex traders have much shorter hold times on positions. Similar to the stock market marginal accounts can be obtained in the Foreign Exchange Market as well.

Forex marginal accounts are very engaging as they allow Forex traders to take large positions without having to make a large deposit. In many circumstances one can fund a marginal account with .05% the necessary funds. In other words, $500 would allow a $100,000 position. In order to trade Forex effectively and profitably, one must have some type of method to follow. There are two methods used in determining what Foreign Exchange trades one should make. There are two methods, fundamental Forex analysis, and technical Forex analysis.

Technical analysis is the most commonly used practice and uses the assumption that the changes that occur in the Foreign Exchange Market happened for a reason and are accurate. The belief is that if a currency has been trading towards a high then that currency will mostly continue towards that high with the adverse being true as well. The technical Forex view does not try to make long term predictions about the market but instead simply tries to take advantage of what has already been seen in the past.

The fundamental Forex method takes into account all aspects of the country in which the currency is traded. Things such as the economy, the countries prime interest rates, war, poverty level, and other factors are taken into account. If there is a sharp rise in the prime interest rate a Forex trader may take a position based on that information.

Online Forex trading has the potential of being extremely lucrative. One can learn to trade by creating an online Forex Account and begin by using a learning account without real funds. This will help you to understand the Forex trading process and how currencies are affected by different things that are happening on a global scale.

Corelation in The Forex Market

Statistically speaking, correlation is the measured relationship between two units over a series of time. Correlation is measured on a range of -1 (perfect negative correlation) to 1 (perfect positive correlation). A positive correlation implies that the two units move in similar directions, the higher the correlation the closer and more accurately these moves are. Conversely, a negative correlation represents opposite movements with a smaller (more negative) number representing a stronger relationship between the opposite movements.

Traders are at a stage in the market cycle that is one of the most frustrating to deal with, and where the most money gets squandered trying to work things out. This stage is when we go through a phase of consolidation, moving sideways consolidating the recent moves made, while anticipating a continuation of the previous trend. Consolidation can extend itself so far, and for so long, that it actually turns naturally into distribution, (where the asset starts to get sold as the realization that the original trend has expired), when there is no more forward momentum. Add in low volume levels, as we have right now, and volatility starts to decrease a little. As market participants get comfortable with the status quo.

Trading the OTC (over the counter) currency markets offers an opportunity to hedge stock and bond investing, but really is more of a traded market following the ebbs and flows of global commerce than it is an investment arena to plan retirement from. Getting to know six major currency pairs would seem an easy task when compared to the tens of thousands of stock and bond options available for analysis. But it seems that it is not necessarily how each currency will move against the Usd; more importantly it seems is knowing when the market will have momentum is key to not getting caught in reversals and snap-backs whilst leveraged at 100:1.

How to Search for The Ideal Metatrader EA

With thousands of Metatrader EAs out there, it can be tough to cut through the noise and find one suitable for your trading style and risk tolerance. To help you in this search, I've compiled the statistics that many traders find to be very beneficial when analyzing any Metatrader EA.

Keep in mind that many of these backtesting statistics look solely at past performance. It's important to mention here that past performance is not indicative of future results.

With that said, the very first thing many traders look for, and this is rather intuitive, is: How well has this EA performed in the past? Obviously it's important to look for one that has shown profitable results, but stopping there could lead to some detrimental results.
These returns need to be adjusted for risk. If the Metatrader EA has shown some eye opening profits, but took on a ton of risk, these returns may not have been worth your while. To quantify profitability while also considering the risk taken on by the EA, many traders look at a statistic known as the “Profit Factor.”

Profit Factor:

This ratio essentially shows you how much you can expect to gain for each dollar put into the account, over how much you're at risk of losing. The profit factor is calculated as:

A Metatrader EA with a profit factor less than 1 is a historically poor performing EA. The returns that it has produced do not justify the amount of risk taken on. Take a look at the table below for statistics of three hypothetical Metatrader EAs.

As you can see from this table, EA 3 has a profit factor less than one, and can be immediately eliminated from your decision. If you look closely, EA 3 actually was profitable (Total Gain - Total Loss = $890), however this return does not justify the amount of risk (drawdown) taken on.

The risk measurement that many traders tend to focus on are the drawdowns that the Metatrader expert advisor has produced.

Important Risk Factors to Consider When Choosing a Metetrader Expert Advisor.

When first analyzing the drawdowns of an EA, a good place to start is simply by looking at the equity curve. An EA with a choppy and sporadic equity curve shows a historically volatile EA (see the chart below to the left); whereas a smoother equity curve shows a historically more stable EA (see the chart to the right).

Now, to further quantify the drawdown analysis; there are three measures that many traders look at.

1. Max Drawdown:
   • This is the largest drawdown (in percentage terms) that the EA has realized over its trading life
   • This is the best indicator of a worst case scenario
   • A good way to think about this is: If this drawdown occurred immediately after opening your account, could you stomach this type of risk?
2. Average Drawdown:
   • The average drawdown size (in percentage terms) realized by the EA over its historical performance.
   • Calculated by summing up all the losses (%) and dividing by the actual number of losses.
     • In most cases this statistic can be provided by your EA vendor
   • The average drawdown will give you an idea of what you might typically see (on average) in a peak-to-trough cycle.
3. Drawdown Recovery:
   • Shows the time frame the trading robot has taken, on average, to recover from a drawdown back to a positive balance.
   • A less volatile Metatrader expert advisor will often take longer to recover.
     • Keep this in mind before deciding that a fast recovery is a good attribute.
     • More volatile EAs often recover quicker, but this is due to large fluctuations and swings in performance.

These risk measurements will certainly be helpful when selecting the right EA for you. Keep each of these risk statistics in mind when analyzing any Metartrader EA, and always evaluate how they fit your personal risk tolerance. There are many more statistics and factors to consider when choosing an EA, and I will explain these in later articles.