Oct
29
Sending Money Abroad
Filed Under Finance | Leave a Comment
David Gabbitas wrote:
Looking for the best and most reliable online currency exchange converter? If the answer is yes, then you have spotted the right page. The internet has now become an indispensable element of every business and anyone looking for any services or product simply relies on Internet. This can also be said for a person who is looking for online currency exchange converter and as a result many websites have now started offering free online currency exchange converter.
This offered online currency exchange converter helps in knowing the exact amount you will be getting if you want a type of currency exchange. Prior to going for online currency exchange it is wise to know what foreign exchange is. Foreign exchange is the encashment of the currency of different country. It is also important that one is aware of the exact rates they will be getting so that there aren’t any problems in the future.
Foreign exchange usually takes place in the foreign exchange market which exists in every country. This foreign exchange market is by far the biggest market in the world. This is in terms of cash value traded which also includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions.
Earlier people were dependent on banks and other financial institutions whilst undergoing currency exchange. But after the emergence of the Internet, people now prefer to go for an online currency exchange converter. The biggest advantage of selecting online currency exchange converter over traidiotnal institutions is that it not only saves time but also money. Moreover, you can do that for various countries’ currencies. Isn’t it a convenient way of doing currency exchange?
Afex is the leading UK based financial company offering free online currency exchange converter on its website. Its online currency exchange converter helps you in knowing the exact amount you will be getting when you undergo a foreign currency exchange. Afex understands that every individual has got different needs and requirements and to cater those diverse needs Afex has taken every possible step. Being the UK’s leading and largest financial company, Afex provides every service one looks for.
Afex understands that talking to newstaff members every time is very annoying and can lead to frustration. To avoid this situation Afex assigns a personal account manager to you. This assigned account manager will be there with you from start to finish of your transaction. Afex’s online currency exchange converter is the most reliable tool which gives accurate currency exchange rates. And for your satisfaction you can even compare them with other tools or websites.
For more information on online currency exchange converter, associated foreign exchange, currency converter UK and online currency converter simply visit www.afex-uk.com.
Search Engine Placement
Looking for the best and most reliable online currency exchange converter? If the answer is yes, then you have spotted the right page. The internet has now become an indispensable element of every business and anyone looking for any services or product simply relies on Internet. This can also be said for a person who is looking for online currency exchange converter and as a result many websites have now started offering free online currency exchange converter.
This offered online currency exchange converter helps in knowing the exact amount you will be getting if you want a type of currency exchange. Prior to going for online currency exchange it is wise to know what foreign exchange is. Foreign exchange is the encashment of the currency of different country. It is also important that one is aware of the exact rates they will be getting so that there aren’t any problems in the future.
Foreign exchange usually takes place in the foreign exchange market which exists in every country. This foreign exchange market is by far the biggest market in the world. This is in terms of cash value traded which also includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions.
Earlier people were dependent on banks and other financial institutions whilst undergoing currency exchange. But after the emergence of the Internet, people now prefer to go for an online currency exchange converter. The biggest advantage of selecting online currency exchange converter over traidiotnal institutions is that it not only saves time but also money. Moreover, you can do that for various countries’ currencies. Isn’t it a convenient way of doing currency exchange?
Afex is the leading UK based financial company offering free online currency exchange converter on its website. Its online currency exchange converter helps you in knowing the exact amount you will be getting when you undergo a foreign currency exchange. Afex understands that every individual has got different needs and requirements and to cater those diverse needs Afex has taken every possible step. Being the UK’s leading and largest financial company, Afex provides every service one looks for.
Afex understands that talking to newstaff members every time is very annoying and can lead to frustration. To avoid this situation Afex assigns a personal account manager to you. This assigned account manager will be there with you from start to finish of your transaction. Afex’s online currency exchange converter is the most reliable tool which gives accurate currency exchange rates. And for your satisfaction you can even compare them with other tools or websites.
For more information on online currency exchange converter, associated foreign exchange, currency converter UK and online currency converter simply visit www.afex-uk.com.
Search Engine Placement
Oct
25
Mike P. Kulej wrote:
Back in 1997 major financial slump rocked number of countries in Asia, an event that became known as “Asian currency crisis”. Effected countries included Taiwan, Thailand South Korea and others. One of the memorable comments of the time came from one of leading Thai politicians. He blamed this whole mess on speculators, with George Soros being the main culprit. The remarks went so far as to public statement of “not being able to guarantee his safety if he visited Thailand”. Quite ominous.
The fallout in South Korea was brutal. The US Dollar has about doubled in value against the Won, with USD-KRW moving from just above 800 in early 1997, to 1600 by the year’s end. Local stock market suffered similar fate, as did all areas of economy. Perhaps most telling was an enormous spike in unemployment, as the jobless rate soared to almost double digits, with about 9 million people out of work.
This author observed the aftermath first hand, during one of his business trips to South Korea at that time. Collapse of once high flying conglomerate Daewoo under burden of debt. The sight of many construction projects suspended or stopped all over Seoul and Pusan. Daily failure of scores of small business. It was good time to visit South Korea, due to low prices, but very difficult period for residents.
The country has rebounded nicely since then and became one of Asia’s most dynamic economies. KRW strengthen considerably reaching level 900 against USD in 2007. The stock market has recorded double digit gains in four of the last five years, gaining 32% in last year alone. Korean companies like Samsung Electronics Co, and Hyundai Motors Co, have established themselves as some of the world’s leading corporations.
Things have changed in 2008. Challenges like high oil prices, inflation, external debt and account deficit have shaken investors confidence. While many countries have seen outflow of funds into the dollar, this process became especially painful in South Korea. The Won has become the Asia’s worst performing currency, loosing 20% to date. Stock market was no better, falling 25%, with farther sell off of equities expected.
These developments created widely spread comparisons to situation from 1997 and were quick to be picked by the press. International Monetary Fund disagrees with this assessment and expressed confidence by saying that South Korea is a mature and resilient economy with country’s fundamentals much stronger than a decade ago. Korean financial authorities, however, felt obligated to act by intervention on Wons behalf in the open market. This seemed to stop the bleeding for now.
What can be expected next? In all reality, 1997 type sell off is extremely unlikely. As South Korean economy is cooling down together with the rest of the world, Seoul might not be able to stop bleeding of the stock market but there is one thing they can do- keep intervening on behalf of its currency. Unlike before, there are huge foreign reserves, about 250 billion dollars worth of, and they can be used to support Won.
Very likely scenario, as of this writing, is continued fall of Korean equities, in tune with broader stock declines. The Won should also keep dropping, but in much more measured and steady pace. Central Bank has not mentioned what the comfortable level for USD-KRW is, but as we noticed over last few years, major trends are very powerful and can go through any “line in the sand’ drawn by anybody.
Current rate is around 1150. Even with expected interventions, Won can easily weaken to 1300 and maybe 1400, but far short of the previous low of 1600. Also, one shouldn’t look for a fast move, but rather steady depreciation, lasting a year or two. This is not a situation for active traders, but for those who prefer longer term positions current development might present good opportunity for farther selling of KRW.
Fat Loss Secret
Back in 1997 major financial slump rocked number of countries in Asia, an event that became known as “Asian currency crisis”. Effected countries included Taiwan, Thailand South Korea and others. One of the memorable comments of the time came from one of leading Thai politicians. He blamed this whole mess on speculators, with George Soros being the main culprit. The remarks went so far as to public statement of “not being able to guarantee his safety if he visited Thailand”. Quite ominous.
The fallout in South Korea was brutal. The US Dollar has about doubled in value against the Won, with USD-KRW moving from just above 800 in early 1997, to 1600 by the year’s end. Local stock market suffered similar fate, as did all areas of economy. Perhaps most telling was an enormous spike in unemployment, as the jobless rate soared to almost double digits, with about 9 million people out of work.
This author observed the aftermath first hand, during one of his business trips to South Korea at that time. Collapse of once high flying conglomerate Daewoo under burden of debt. The sight of many construction projects suspended or stopped all over Seoul and Pusan. Daily failure of scores of small business. It was good time to visit South Korea, due to low prices, but very difficult period for residents.
The country has rebounded nicely since then and became one of Asia’s most dynamic economies. KRW strengthen considerably reaching level 900 against USD in 2007. The stock market has recorded double digit gains in four of the last five years, gaining 32% in last year alone. Korean companies like Samsung Electronics Co, and Hyundai Motors Co, have established themselves as some of the world’s leading corporations.
Things have changed in 2008. Challenges like high oil prices, inflation, external debt and account deficit have shaken investors confidence. While many countries have seen outflow of funds into the dollar, this process became especially painful in South Korea. The Won has become the Asia’s worst performing currency, loosing 20% to date. Stock market was no better, falling 25%, with farther sell off of equities expected.
These developments created widely spread comparisons to situation from 1997 and were quick to be picked by the press. International Monetary Fund disagrees with this assessment and expressed confidence by saying that South Korea is a mature and resilient economy with country’s fundamentals much stronger than a decade ago. Korean financial authorities, however, felt obligated to act by intervention on Wons behalf in the open market. This seemed to stop the bleeding for now.
What can be expected next? In all reality, 1997 type sell off is extremely unlikely. As South Korean economy is cooling down together with the rest of the world, Seoul might not be able to stop bleeding of the stock market but there is one thing they can do- keep intervening on behalf of its currency. Unlike before, there are huge foreign reserves, about 250 billion dollars worth of, and they can be used to support Won.
Very likely scenario, as of this writing, is continued fall of Korean equities, in tune with broader stock declines. The Won should also keep dropping, but in much more measured and steady pace. Central Bank has not mentioned what the comfortable level for USD-KRW is, but as we noticed over last few years, major trends are very powerful and can go through any “line in the sand’ drawn by anybody.
Current rate is around 1150. Even with expected interventions, Won can easily weaken to 1300 and maybe 1400, but far short of the previous low of 1600. Also, one shouldn’t look for a fast move, but rather steady depreciation, lasting a year or two. This is not a situation for active traders, but for those who prefer longer term positions current development might present good opportunity for farther selling of KRW.
Fat Loss Secret
Oct
20
Jay Moncliff wrote:
Access to foreign exchange (forex), the most extensive market on the planet, is generally through an intermediary known as a forex broker. Similar to a stock broker, these agents can also provide advice on forex trading strategies. This advice to clients often extends to technical analysis and research approaches designed to improve client forex trading performance.
Financial institutions are generally the most influential in the forex market through high-volume, large-value forex currency transactions. Historically, banks enjoyed monopolistic access to the forex markets, but through the Internet, any forex speculator can also enjoy 24 hour access to the market via a forex broker.
Secure web connections today allow many forex traders to work from home, where ready access to news and other technical advice informs decisions on what forex positions to take. Similar moves are being made by stock brokers, who are also moving out of banks and other traditional institutions.
Your needs in the market will influence your choice of forex broker. Online forex brokerage firms, known as houses, provide those new to the forex market with detailed research, advice and simulators to learn how to use their forex trading tools. The experienced online forex trader is catered to by other broking houses, with in-depth advice, but less focus on forex trading instruction based on the assumption that you are familiar with the forex market. To make an informed choice, it is advisable to trial several differing online forex broking houses and their trading tools to find the best fit for your needs.
Online Business
Access to foreign exchange (forex), the most extensive market on the planet, is generally through an intermediary known as a forex broker. Similar to a stock broker, these agents can also provide advice on forex trading strategies. This advice to clients often extends to technical analysis and research approaches designed to improve client forex trading performance.
Financial institutions are generally the most influential in the forex market through high-volume, large-value forex currency transactions. Historically, banks enjoyed monopolistic access to the forex markets, but through the Internet, any forex speculator can also enjoy 24 hour access to the market via a forex broker.
Secure web connections today allow many forex traders to work from home, where ready access to news and other technical advice informs decisions on what forex positions to take. Similar moves are being made by stock brokers, who are also moving out of banks and other traditional institutions.
Your needs in the market will influence your choice of forex broker. Online forex brokerage firms, known as houses, provide those new to the forex market with detailed research, advice and simulators to learn how to use their forex trading tools. The experienced online forex trader is catered to by other broking houses, with in-depth advice, but less focus on forex trading instruction based on the assumption that you are familiar with the forex market. To make an informed choice, it is advisable to trial several differing online forex broking houses and their trading tools to find the best fit for your needs.
Online Business
Oct
19
The Flaw In Our Emotions
Filed Under Finance | Leave a Comment
Martin Chandra wrote:
As humans we have a natural tendency to try and influence our surroundings and events we take part in. This is one reason as a species we have succeeded but it is also one of the fundamental flaws we all have when trying to achieve success as a trader. As traders we have to realize we have no control over the market and if we accept that then we have to accept that we can not influence the direction of the market.
The problem of course is we have a tendency to try and succeed and when inevitable losses come it is easy to let those losses effect us emotionally. Becoming euphoric when you hit a winning streak is almost as detrimental as becoming depressed when you have a string of losses.
We traders have to try to achieve a state of impartiality. We have to accept that we will have losses as readily as we will gains. Reaching a stage where you can comfortably accept losses, in the knowledge that your method of trading will produce profits in the longer term, is the state we have to aspire to. Trading is not an exact science.
No matter what anyone tells you, trading is not, nor has it ever been, an exact science.
Trading is an art. To date there has never been an institution or individual who can guarantee you will beat the market every time you trade.
Just think about it, if anyone one had an exact method that always won, they would have all the money in the world, given enough time.
Big institutions with all their expertise still only chug out 10% a year in a good year. Am I saying that you can’t make money in the markets? Absolutely not. You can make money in the markets and quite often a lot more than the institutions.
The point is, be wary of anyone telling you how great they are and how their method will make you rich. Would you sell something that made you rich?
If someone is trying to sell you a system or method ask him or her for their audited accounts. Any trader with a half-decent track record will be more than happy to show you his records.
One other reason some people don’t make it in the trading game and probably the hardest for some people to own up to is, some people are just not meant to be traders. Just like we are all not meant to be doctors or priests some people are not cut out for trading.
Once you finish this book take some time to ask yourself if this is really what you want to do. It might be a decision that could save you thousands of dollars.
Here’s the good news! Once mastered trading can be a rewarding profession both financially and emotionally. It can give the financial independence to never work for a boss again and you will learn a lot about yourself as a person on they way to becoming a trader.
Even though you think you want to learn how to trade it is a good exercise to ask yourself if you are really an investor or speculator.
An investor is someone who buys something in the belief that over the long term the security (any investment vehicle that can be traded) what ever it may be will go up in value.
Their period of time may be months, years or even decades. They will be quite happy to own a security for a longer time period because they believe in what they have just bought or have researched the security and are happy that it will increase in value in the long term.
An example of an investor is Warren Buffet, one of the most successful investors of all time.
Commonly Referred To Sayings of Warren Buffett
- Never invest in a business you cannot understand.
- Risk can be greatly reduced by concentrating on only a few holdings.
- Buy companies with strong histories of profitability and with a dominant business franchise.
- You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right.
- Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.
- Unless you can watch your stock holding decline by 50% without becoming panic-stricken, you should not be in the stock market.
- It is optimism that is the enemy of the rational buyer.
- The ability to say “no” is a tremendous advantage for an investor.
- Much success can be attributed to inactivity. Most investors cannot resist the temptation to constantly buy and sell.
- Lethargy, bordering on sloth should remain the cornerstone of an investment style.
- An investor should act as though he had a lifetime decision card with just twenty punches on it.
- Wild swings in share prices have more to do with the “lemming- like” behavior of institutional investors than with the aggregate returns of the company they own.
- As a group, lemmings have a rotten image, but no individual lemming has ever received bad press.
- An investor needs to do very few things right as long as he or she avoids big mistakes.
- Is management candid with the shareholders?
- Do not take yearly results too seriously. Instead, focus on four or five-year averages.
- Focus on return on equity, not earnings per share.
- Look for companies with high profit margins.
- Growth and value investing are joined at the hip.
- It is more important to say “no” to an opportunity, than to say “yes”.
- Always invest for the long term.
- Does the business have favorable long-term prospects?
- It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.
- Remember that the stock market is manic-depressive.
- Buy a business, don’t rent stocks.
- Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.
- An investor should ordinarily hold a small piece of an outstanding business with the same tenacity that an owner would exhibit if he owned all of that business.
A speculator is someone who buys or sells something with no directional bias.
He has no loyalty to the thing he is buying or selling and will typically own something from 1 minute to a few days or even weeks.
An intraday trader may buy and sell a security a hundred times in both directions in the same day. An example of a speculator might be someone like George Soros.
As a well-respected currency speculator, he once shorted the British Pound for one day and gained in excess of $1 billion. Although not totally responsible, Soros’ comments on the Russian economy contributed to their stocks plunging 12% in the first hour of trading. Five days later the currency had devalued 25%.
Its not whether you’re right or wrong that’s important, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong.
Now that you know the difference between Speculator and Investor only you can decide which one you are.
If you intend to day trade the markets then you are a speculator. The question of whether you are an investor or speculator is a personal question of your own psychology.
The good news is that our technical approach works for both types of character. Personally consider myself a speculator.
Credit Repair
As humans we have a natural tendency to try and influence our surroundings and events we take part in. This is one reason as a species we have succeeded but it is also one of the fundamental flaws we all have when trying to achieve success as a trader. As traders we have to realize we have no control over the market and if we accept that then we have to accept that we can not influence the direction of the market.
The problem of course is we have a tendency to try and succeed and when inevitable losses come it is easy to let those losses effect us emotionally. Becoming euphoric when you hit a winning streak is almost as detrimental as becoming depressed when you have a string of losses.
We traders have to try to achieve a state of impartiality. We have to accept that we will have losses as readily as we will gains. Reaching a stage where you can comfortably accept losses, in the knowledge that your method of trading will produce profits in the longer term, is the state we have to aspire to. Trading is not an exact science.
No matter what anyone tells you, trading is not, nor has it ever been, an exact science.
Trading is an art. To date there has never been an institution or individual who can guarantee you will beat the market every time you trade.
Just think about it, if anyone one had an exact method that always won, they would have all the money in the world, given enough time.
Big institutions with all their expertise still only chug out 10% a year in a good year. Am I saying that you can’t make money in the markets? Absolutely not. You can make money in the markets and quite often a lot more than the institutions.
The point is, be wary of anyone telling you how great they are and how their method will make you rich. Would you sell something that made you rich?
If someone is trying to sell you a system or method ask him or her for their audited accounts. Any trader with a half-decent track record will be more than happy to show you his records.
One other reason some people don’t make it in the trading game and probably the hardest for some people to own up to is, some people are just not meant to be traders. Just like we are all not meant to be doctors or priests some people are not cut out for trading.
Once you finish this book take some time to ask yourself if this is really what you want to do. It might be a decision that could save you thousands of dollars.
Here’s the good news! Once mastered trading can be a rewarding profession both financially and emotionally. It can give the financial independence to never work for a boss again and you will learn a lot about yourself as a person on they way to becoming a trader.
Even though you think you want to learn how to trade it is a good exercise to ask yourself if you are really an investor or speculator.
An investor is someone who buys something in the belief that over the long term the security (any investment vehicle that can be traded) what ever it may be will go up in value.
Their period of time may be months, years or even decades. They will be quite happy to own a security for a longer time period because they believe in what they have just bought or have researched the security and are happy that it will increase in value in the long term.
An example of an investor is Warren Buffet, one of the most successful investors of all time.
Commonly Referred To Sayings of Warren Buffett
- Never invest in a business you cannot understand.
- Risk can be greatly reduced by concentrating on only a few holdings.
- Buy companies with strong histories of profitability and with a dominant business franchise.
- You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right.
- Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.
- Unless you can watch your stock holding decline by 50% without becoming panic-stricken, you should not be in the stock market.
- It is optimism that is the enemy of the rational buyer.
- The ability to say “no” is a tremendous advantage for an investor.
- Much success can be attributed to inactivity. Most investors cannot resist the temptation to constantly buy and sell.
- Lethargy, bordering on sloth should remain the cornerstone of an investment style.
- An investor should act as though he had a lifetime decision card with just twenty punches on it.
- Wild swings in share prices have more to do with the “lemming- like” behavior of institutional investors than with the aggregate returns of the company they own.
- As a group, lemmings have a rotten image, but no individual lemming has ever received bad press.
- An investor needs to do very few things right as long as he or she avoids big mistakes.
- Is management candid with the shareholders?
- Do not take yearly results too seriously. Instead, focus on four or five-year averages.
- Focus on return on equity, not earnings per share.
- Look for companies with high profit margins.
- Growth and value investing are joined at the hip.
- It is more important to say “no” to an opportunity, than to say “yes”.
- Always invest for the long term.
- Does the business have favorable long-term prospects?
- It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.
- Remember that the stock market is manic-depressive.
- Buy a business, don’t rent stocks.
- Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.
- An investor should ordinarily hold a small piece of an outstanding business with the same tenacity that an owner would exhibit if he owned all of that business.
A speculator is someone who buys or sells something with no directional bias.
He has no loyalty to the thing he is buying or selling and will typically own something from 1 minute to a few days or even weeks.
An intraday trader may buy and sell a security a hundred times in both directions in the same day. An example of a speculator might be someone like George Soros.
As a well-respected currency speculator, he once shorted the British Pound for one day and gained in excess of $1 billion. Although not totally responsible, Soros’ comments on the Russian economy contributed to their stocks plunging 12% in the first hour of trading. Five days later the currency had devalued 25%.
Its not whether you’re right or wrong that’s important, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong.
Now that you know the difference between Speculator and Investor only you can decide which one you are.
If you intend to day trade the markets then you are a speculator. The question of whether you are an investor or speculator is a personal question of your own psychology.
The good news is that our technical approach works for both types of character. Personally consider myself a speculator.
Credit Repair
Oct
10
Jim Pretin wrote:
The Foreign Exchange market (Forex) is truly the largest exchange in the world. The amount of dollars traded on the Forex market on a daily basis is in the trillions. Most of this currency trading takes place between between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. However, individual traders are starting to get in the mix, using internet discount brokers such as Etrade to participate in the currency exchange market.
There is no central exchange or meeting place for the Forex. All trading is done over computer networks between traders in different parts of the world. Also, unlike the stock market, the foreign exchange market is open 24 hours per day, because it is a global market. A trader in Hong Kong may be exchanging currency with a trader in Australia while an American trader is sleeping.
There are several different markets within the Forex exchange system. First, there is the spot market. The spot market deals with trades that are based on the current values of currencies. One person trades a certain amount of currency with another trader in exchange for an equivalent amount of a different foreign currency. Spot trades take two days for settlement.
The other two types of foreign exchange markets are the forward and futures markets. In the forward market, the buyer and seller agree on an exchange rate and a transaction date is set for a specific time in the future, at which point the trade is executed regardless of what the rates are at that time. On the futures market, futures contracts are bought and sold based upon a standard contract size and maturity date. Futures trades take place on public commodities markets.
A currency quote is listed differently from a stock quote. Stocks are quoted in terms of price per share. Currency exchange prices are listed as either a direct quote or an indirect quote. A direct quote uses the domestic currency as the base and the foreign currency as the quote. An indirect quote works the exact opposite way.
So, if you were to view a quote in an American newspaper that said USD/JPY = 75, that would be a direct quote and would mean that $1 of U.S. currency is equal to 75 Japanese yen. If that same quote appeared in that same American newspaper and was listed as JPY/USD = 0.013, that would be an example of an indirect quote.
As with stock prices, currency exchange prices have a bid and ask spread. The current bid is the amount of foreign currency that someone is willing to spend in order to buy $1 U.S. base currency. The ask is the amount of foreign currency that someone is demanding in order to be willing to sell $1 U.S. base currency.
The Forex markets are generally considered to be less volatile than then stock market because within the course of a trading day, it is highly unlikely for the value of a single currency to move all that much. With equities, it is not uncommon for a trader to buy a stock, and then a negative press release causes the stock to lose considerable value within a day or even a couple of hours. Sometimes, however, the Forex can be volatile. If there is a significant economic or political development with a certain country, the currency of that country can lose value quickly.
There is a higher degree of liquidity on the currency exchange then there is on the stock exchange because the currency exchange is open 24 hours per day and because the very nature of currency exchange is to bet on when certain currencies will go up or down; so, it is easy to sell your position in a certain currency even when the value of that money is going down. A plummeting stock is more difficult to unload, but not impossible.
If you want to begin currency tranding, try to set aside some money and open an account with an online broker. Start slowly, then as you get the hang of it, work your way up to larger trades and higher volume. However, do not gamble your nest egg on currency trading because inexperienced traders can lose everything they have rather quickly in spite of the relative safety of the Forex market.
The Foreign Exchange market (Forex) is truly the largest exchange in the world. The amount of dollars traded on the Forex market on a daily basis is in the trillions. Most of this currency trading takes place between between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. However, individual traders are starting to get in the mix, using internet discount brokers such as Etrade to participate in the currency exchange market.
There is no central exchange or meeting place for the Forex. All trading is done over computer networks between traders in different parts of the world. Also, unlike the stock market, the foreign exchange market is open 24 hours per day, because it is a global market. A trader in Hong Kong may be exchanging currency with a trader in Australia while an American trader is sleeping.
There are several different markets within the Forex exchange system. First, there is the spot market. The spot market deals with trades that are based on the current values of currencies. One person trades a certain amount of currency with another trader in exchange for an equivalent amount of a different foreign currency. Spot trades take two days for settlement.
The other two types of foreign exchange markets are the forward and futures markets. In the forward market, the buyer and seller agree on an exchange rate and a transaction date is set for a specific time in the future, at which point the trade is executed regardless of what the rates are at that time. On the futures market, futures contracts are bought and sold based upon a standard contract size and maturity date. Futures trades take place on public commodities markets.
A currency quote is listed differently from a stock quote. Stocks are quoted in terms of price per share. Currency exchange prices are listed as either a direct quote or an indirect quote. A direct quote uses the domestic currency as the base and the foreign currency as the quote. An indirect quote works the exact opposite way.
So, if you were to view a quote in an American newspaper that said USD/JPY = 75, that would be a direct quote and would mean that $1 of U.S. currency is equal to 75 Japanese yen. If that same quote appeared in that same American newspaper and was listed as JPY/USD = 0.013, that would be an example of an indirect quote.
As with stock prices, currency exchange prices have a bid and ask spread. The current bid is the amount of foreign currency that someone is willing to spend in order to buy $1 U.S. base currency. The ask is the amount of foreign currency that someone is demanding in order to be willing to sell $1 U.S. base currency.
The Forex markets are generally considered to be less volatile than then stock market because within the course of a trading day, it is highly unlikely for the value of a single currency to move all that much. With equities, it is not uncommon for a trader to buy a stock, and then a negative press release causes the stock to lose considerable value within a day or even a couple of hours. Sometimes, however, the Forex can be volatile. If there is a significant economic or political development with a certain country, the currency of that country can lose value quickly.
There is a higher degree of liquidity on the currency exchange then there is on the stock exchange because the currency exchange is open 24 hours per day and because the very nature of currency exchange is to bet on when certain currencies will go up or down; so, it is easy to sell your position in a certain currency even when the value of that money is going down. A plummeting stock is more difficult to unload, but not impossible.
If you want to begin currency tranding, try to set aside some money and open an account with an online broker. Start slowly, then as you get the hang of it, work your way up to larger trades and higher volume. However, do not gamble your nest egg on currency trading because inexperienced traders can lose everything they have rather quickly in spite of the relative safety of the Forex market.
Oct
7
Forex Scalping – Day Trading for Regular Gains With Low Risk
Filed Under Currency Trading | Leave a Comment
Sacha Tarkovsky wrote:
The rise of the online FOREX trading has seen a huge rise in day trading and traders who want to scalp the market, with the aim of trading for small regular profits.
The aim is to keep risk low and aim to take small profits on a daily basis and earn a living by FOREX Scalping.
Let’s look at it in more detail and the potential of this form of trading.
The Opportunity
Global currency markets are the biggest investment market in the world.
Every day trillions of dollars are traded, by countless millions of people.
The currency markets are traded by 4 broad groups of investors.
Central Banks
Their activity varies, but when they do trade its big numbers!
They will normally step in individually or as a group, to stabilize currency volatility.
Large Speculators
Well capitalized and can be rich individuals or funds.
Hedgers
Not looking to make money from currency speculation - they are simply in the market to hedge the value of their holdings.
Small Speculators
Everyone else, including the vast majority of FOREX day traders.
The challenge
FOREX Scalping involves deciding and predicting what all these groups together will do, with all their different investment aims and strategies, in under a few hours or less.
FOREX Scalping
Can it be done?
Of course it can’t - it’s ridiculous to think that you can predict in such a short time what will happen.
Day traders don’t make money.
Sure, there are plenty of vendors telling you how great their systems are, but if they were that great they wouldn’t be selling them!
If you really want proof that it doesn’t work, simply ask for a real track record of profits from any vendor and you won’t get one.
Trading the odds
The problem with FOREX scalping is the odds are against you.
You have no meaningful data to work with and if you trade technically without it you will lose.
All volatility in the short term is random, which is obvious to most traders.
This of course means that if you use any technical tool it won’t work when traders try FOREX scalping.
Pivot points, support and resistance etc are great technical indicators in longer time frames, where you can trade the odds, but in short term trading they will fail miserably.
The illusion
In hindsight of course there appear to be normal technical formations, but this is in hindsight.
Day traders can prove everything in hindsight ( and they love producing hypothetical track records by looking at past data ) but ask them to do it in real time and they can’t.
Volatility can and does take prices anywhere in short time frames and it doesn’t take long for FOREX scalpers to wipe themselves out.
Don’t fall for the hype!
A great theory, but FOREX scalping doesn’t work in practice.
Vendors know this and never trade themselves.
They get great marketing copy together and a track record (done in hindsight of course) and sell it to novice or greedy investors.
They get the fee, while these investors go on to trade and get wiped out.
Don’t day trade, pick a longer term method of trading where the odds are in your favor.
How to Lose Weight
The rise of the online FOREX trading has seen a huge rise in day trading and traders who want to scalp the market, with the aim of trading for small regular profits.
The aim is to keep risk low and aim to take small profits on a daily basis and earn a living by FOREX Scalping.
Let’s look at it in more detail and the potential of this form of trading.
The Opportunity
Global currency markets are the biggest investment market in the world.
Every day trillions of dollars are traded, by countless millions of people.
The currency markets are traded by 4 broad groups of investors.
Central Banks
Their activity varies, but when they do trade its big numbers!
They will normally step in individually or as a group, to stabilize currency volatility.
Large Speculators
Well capitalized and can be rich individuals or funds.
Hedgers
Not looking to make money from currency speculation - they are simply in the market to hedge the value of their holdings.
Small Speculators
Everyone else, including the vast majority of FOREX day traders.
The challenge
FOREX Scalping involves deciding and predicting what all these groups together will do, with all their different investment aims and strategies, in under a few hours or less.
FOREX Scalping
Can it be done?
Of course it can’t - it’s ridiculous to think that you can predict in such a short time what will happen.
Day traders don’t make money.
Sure, there are plenty of vendors telling you how great their systems are, but if they were that great they wouldn’t be selling them!
If you really want proof that it doesn’t work, simply ask for a real track record of profits from any vendor and you won’t get one.
Trading the odds
The problem with FOREX scalping is the odds are against you.
You have no meaningful data to work with and if you trade technically without it you will lose.
All volatility in the short term is random, which is obvious to most traders.
This of course means that if you use any technical tool it won’t work when traders try FOREX scalping.
Pivot points, support and resistance etc are great technical indicators in longer time frames, where you can trade the odds, but in short term trading they will fail miserably.
The illusion
In hindsight of course there appear to be normal technical formations, but this is in hindsight.
Day traders can prove everything in hindsight ( and they love producing hypothetical track records by looking at past data ) but ask them to do it in real time and they can’t.
Volatility can and does take prices anywhere in short time frames and it doesn’t take long for FOREX scalpers to wipe themselves out.
Don’t fall for the hype!
A great theory, but FOREX scalping doesn’t work in practice.
Vendors know this and never trade themselves.
They get great marketing copy together and a track record (done in hindsight of course) and sell it to novice or greedy investors.
They get the fee, while these investors go on to trade and get wiped out.
Don’t day trade, pick a longer term method of trading where the odds are in your favor.
How to Lose Weight
Oct
6
j polins wrote:
Wouldn’t it be nice if those recent oil spikes were entirely due to speculators/investors, and these greedy hedge and pension funds are simply creating an “oil bubble” that will burst sooner or later?
According to Iraq’s Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani :
“There is more oil in the market than consumers want. What is driving up prices is an increase in speculative funds. An increase in production by OPEC countries would not really change the scenario – it would not affect the price.”
(http://groups.msn.com/CNBCBoard/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=147298&LastModified=4675673990919292694&all_topics=1) All bubbles ultimately end up the same way - They burst sooner or later.
If thats the case, oil prices would fall below $100 and we can all enjoy cheap oil, filling our cars for less than $4 per gallon.
Unfortunately, this scenario does not depict reality. In fact, it sounds more like a fairy tail ending. And of course, if speculators are indeed responsible for the spikes, those Arab nations would be freed from the burden of increasing oil production. In my opinion, oil prices are going to spike higher, at least in the long run. Heres why :
1) Stagnant supply
There is a something called Hubbert’s peak theory, which predicts that oil production will increase, peak and stay stagnant for some time, and then decrease at almost the same rate it went up.
Dr. Hubbert predicted in 1956 that US oil production would peak around 1965-1970. Just like Arjun Murti (Goldman Sach’s analyst who predicted oil will hit $100 a few years ago), he was snobbed by other “experts” who seemed to be extremely optimistic about oil supplies. Unfortunately, both Hubbert and Murti were proven correct.
Take a look at this graph :
The ASPO (Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas) has predicted that the peak in global oil production would occur in 2010. Some analysts even believe that the peak had occured in 2005.
The evidence proving that peak oil is coming soon is irrefutable.
Oil companies are finding it harder and harder to replace every barrel of oil consumed with another barrel from oil fields. Even Saudi Arabia’s vast oil fields are drying up soon. The mighty Ghawar oil field probably peaked in 2005 , and other fields such as Shayba might soon follow Ghawar’s footsteps. (Saudi Arabia still has LOTS of oil, but it is running out soon)
Its no surprise why oil companies are not investing money into oil exploration when theres not much oil left. As one analyst said, “Drilling more wells doesnt mean more oil. It simply means more holes.”
Meanwhile, British Petroleum (BP) recently announced that global oil production fell for the first time, by 130 000 barrels/day. Supply was at 81.53 million, while demand climbed to 85.22 million/day, which leads me to my next point.
2) Rising Demand
As we all know, China and India are rapidly growing economies with a huge appetite for oil. Although China is still almost entirely dependent on coal for energy, this trend looks to change very soon as more and more affluent Chinese are snapping up cars. In 2002,General Motors enjoyed a 300% increase in Chinese sales.
Take a look at 2 graphs :
(Doesnt the population graph resemble the graph of the prices of oil, food and metals?)
As you can see, it is fairly obvious that our world is experiencing an unprecedented population growth since the industrial revolution. Indeed, even Ken Lay and other Enron executives would probably be envious of such a high growth rate!
If you think oil is only needed for transportation, you are very wrong.
In agriculture, for example, most commercial fertilizers and pesticides come from oil. The tractor or combined harvester runs on oil. And of course oil is needed to transport food from the farm to the restaurants and supermarkets.
Petrochemicals (from which many plastics and gels are made), come from oil. A growth in population simply leads to a grow in the demand for oil, there is no doubt about this.
Currently, demand is growing at about 1-2% annually. This might not be a lot, but it does means that demand will double from about 85 million currently to 170 million in a few decades. (That is, assuming growth in demand remains constant, when it should in fact increase)
3) A weaker US Dollar
The last, and perhaps weakest factor which leads to the oil spikes, is due to the weakening US dollar. Since oil traded on the NYMEX is bought in US currency, the price of oil must therefore increase, as simple as that.
————————————————————————————————-
In my opinion, oil will go up even higher. In the short term, it might fluctuate, probably due for a correction some time next month.
Nevertheless, Im still extremely bullish about oil prices. Even Goldman Sach’s $200 prediction looks to cheap for me.
Disclosure : I own some DBO shares, which tracks the price of oil, and Im very certain it will make even more profits in the future
http://investing-advice.blogspot.com/
Online Dating
Wouldn’t it be nice if those recent oil spikes were entirely due to speculators/investors, and these greedy hedge and pension funds are simply creating an “oil bubble” that will burst sooner or later?
According to Iraq’s Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani :
“There is more oil in the market than consumers want. What is driving up prices is an increase in speculative funds. An increase in production by OPEC countries would not really change the scenario – it would not affect the price.”
(http://groups.msn.com/CNBCBoard/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=147298&LastModified=4675673990919292694&all_topics=1) All bubbles ultimately end up the same way - They burst sooner or later.
If thats the case, oil prices would fall below $100 and we can all enjoy cheap oil, filling our cars for less than $4 per gallon.
Unfortunately, this scenario does not depict reality. In fact, it sounds more like a fairy tail ending. And of course, if speculators are indeed responsible for the spikes, those Arab nations would be freed from the burden of increasing oil production. In my opinion, oil prices are going to spike higher, at least in the long run. Heres why :
1) Stagnant supply
There is a something called Hubbert’s peak theory, which predicts that oil production will increase, peak and stay stagnant for some time, and then decrease at almost the same rate it went up.
Dr. Hubbert predicted in 1956 that US oil production would peak around 1965-1970. Just like Arjun Murti (Goldman Sach’s analyst who predicted oil will hit $100 a few years ago), he was snobbed by other “experts” who seemed to be extremely optimistic about oil supplies. Unfortunately, both Hubbert and Murti were proven correct.
Take a look at this graph :
The ASPO (Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas) has predicted that the peak in global oil production would occur in 2010. Some analysts even believe that the peak had occured in 2005.
The evidence proving that peak oil is coming soon is irrefutable.
Oil companies are finding it harder and harder to replace every barrel of oil consumed with another barrel from oil fields. Even Saudi Arabia’s vast oil fields are drying up soon. The mighty Ghawar oil field probably peaked in 2005 , and other fields such as Shayba might soon follow Ghawar’s footsteps. (Saudi Arabia still has LOTS of oil, but it is running out soon)
Its no surprise why oil companies are not investing money into oil exploration when theres not much oil left. As one analyst said, “Drilling more wells doesnt mean more oil. It simply means more holes.”
Meanwhile, British Petroleum (BP) recently announced that global oil production fell for the first time, by 130 000 barrels/day. Supply was at 81.53 million, while demand climbed to 85.22 million/day, which leads me to my next point.
2) Rising Demand
As we all know, China and India are rapidly growing economies with a huge appetite for oil. Although China is still almost entirely dependent on coal for energy, this trend looks to change very soon as more and more affluent Chinese are snapping up cars. In 2002,General Motors enjoyed a 300% increase in Chinese sales.
Take a look at 2 graphs :
(Doesnt the population graph resemble the graph of the prices of oil, food and metals?)
As you can see, it is fairly obvious that our world is experiencing an unprecedented population growth since the industrial revolution. Indeed, even Ken Lay and other Enron executives would probably be envious of such a high growth rate!
If you think oil is only needed for transportation, you are very wrong.
In agriculture, for example, most commercial fertilizers and pesticides come from oil. The tractor or combined harvester runs on oil. And of course oil is needed to transport food from the farm to the restaurants and supermarkets.
Petrochemicals (from which many plastics and gels are made), come from oil. A growth in population simply leads to a grow in the demand for oil, there is no doubt about this.
Currently, demand is growing at about 1-2% annually. This might not be a lot, but it does means that demand will double from about 85 million currently to 170 million in a few decades. (That is, assuming growth in demand remains constant, when it should in fact increase)
3) A weaker US Dollar
The last, and perhaps weakest factor which leads to the oil spikes, is due to the weakening US dollar. Since oil traded on the NYMEX is bought in US currency, the price of oil must therefore increase, as simple as that.
————————————————————————————————-
In my opinion, oil will go up even higher. In the short term, it might fluctuate, probably due for a correction some time next month.
Nevertheless, Im still extremely bullish about oil prices. Even Goldman Sach’s $200 prediction looks to cheap for me.
Disclosure : I own some DBO shares, which tracks the price of oil, and Im very certain it will make even more profits in the future
http://investing-advice.blogspot.com/
Online Dating