The FOREX market- introduction for the fresh trader [Pt.1]

The Foreign Exchange Market literally grew out of the international financial market because of different countries' need of buying and selling each other's currency. This trading system is identical to the stock market in many ways. As in the stock market, people who trade in the forex influence the currency ratio (aka "price") according to the code of supply and demand. The forex is the most liquid and exceptionally financial market with gigantic sums (up to 1.5 trillion) of US dollars shifting in value per day. Due to its mammoth liquidity and its swift pace, it is improbable for neither an individual trader nor financial foundation to manipulate the market or affect the price of any currency for their own profit.

The forex market has an assortment of world centers: London, Paris, Frankfurt, New York, Sydney, Z?rich, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong create a circle of 24 hours open market- across different time zones. Therefore there is always a demand and there is always a supply in any given time. Nowadays, especially with the Internet, a trader can seal a deal in a matter of seconds.

Unlike the stock market which is familiar with long-term investments, the forex is known for its possibilities to gain huge profits in an issue of minutes or a small movement change in a certain currency. There are long-term investors as well, mainly hedge investors. For every way of trading, there is a selection of tactics that may apply and systems to choose from, each way got its own compensations as well as shortcomings.

About the Author

Andrew Keynes is a long time FOREX trader. A husband and father of two, Keynes has proven himself and built his reputation as an expert to the Foreign Exchange market over many years.
He has successfully served as financial advisor to several large hedge funds and groups and is nowadays busy pushing his latest effort, www.forexblogs.net.

Should You Invest In The Forex Market Or In Stocks?

Stocks, or shares as they are more commonly called in the United Kingdom, have been the backbone of many investments for hundreds of years and often form the underlying investment in many traditional forms of savings plan, such as life insurance policies set up not only to provide life cover but also to produce a return on maturity.

Companies typically issue stock when they wish to raise capital and purchase of this stock represents a partial ownership in the company. In return many companies will often issue a share of their profits to stockholders in the form of an annual, or sometimes biannual, dividend payment. In addition, if the company does well the value of its stock will increase and stockholders may then profit from the sale of their stock.

Stocks are traded on a number of stock exchanges through brokers including the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (NASDAQ). There are also a number of other major stock exchanges around the world. In most cases stocks will be listed with one particular exchange, but larger international companies may well list their stock on several different exchanges.

Traditionally stocks have been seen as long-term investments and purchasers have normally been looking at buying stock to hold for periods of five years or more. Many stocks, often referred to as "blue chip" stocks, are issued by companies with long and proven track records and traditionally form the core of many investment portfolios.

Short-term trading in stocks is a relatively new phenomenon and has been made possible to a large extent with the arrival of Internet trading. Here day traders try to take advantage of often large daily movements in the market by buying and selling many times in a single trading period. This is however a fairly risky business and any profits made can quickly be reduced by broker commissions which are charged on every transaction.

The Forex, or foreign exchange, market is quite different from the stock exchange. The Forex market is principally a short-term market with most traders entering and exiting deals within a single day and, sometimes, within as little as a few minutes. Forex trades are also "commission free" which means that a large number of trades can be made without running up a large brokerage bill. In the Forex market brokers earn their money by setting a spread in the price for buying and selling, known as the asking and selling prices.

The Forex handles transactions worth $1.9 trillion every day is the largest financial market in the world. To really appreciate the size of this market you have only to compare it to all of the American stock exchanges which, combined, handle daily transactions worth about $100 billion. The huge volume Forex trading also means that it is one of the most liquid markets in the world and that there is almost always a buyer and seller for any currency as the world economy is based very largely on the movement of goods from one country to another. The stock market by contrast is far less liquid and many stockholders choose to hold their investments for considerable periods of time.

Unlike the stock markets, The Forex market has no central location and trading markets are located throughout the world. Also, because of differences in time as we move across time-zones, trades can be made 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Trading begins in Sydney, Australia on Monday morning (Sunday afternoon New York time) and continues non-stop until Friday afternoon New York time.

Stock exchanges offer far more limited trading hours and, while it is theoretically possible to trade on stock markets in Japan while the American markets are closed, many stocks are only listed on specific exchanges and cannot be traded elsewhere. Most stock exchanges are open from Monday through Friday, typically for a period of seven hours each day.

The Forex market tends to be more predictable than stock markets and often follows fairly well established trends. It also allows traders to take advantage of leverage which is typically as high as 100 to 1 (against 2 to 1 found on most stock markets) which means that investors can participate in Forex trading with a minimal investment. Indeed many brokerages today offer mini Forex account which can be opened with as little as $250.

For more information about mini forex online trading accounts or to learn forex trading online please visit ForexOnlineTradingSystem.info

Forex Trading: Good Opportunity Or Scam?

Until recently, the forex market or foregn currency exchange market wasn't for the average trader or individual speculator. With the large minimum transaction sizes and often-stringent financial requirements, banks, hedge funds, major currency dealers and the occasional high net-worth individual speculator were the principal participants. These large traders were able to take advantage of the many benefits offered by the forex market vs. other markets, including the fantastic liquidity and strong trending nature of the world's primary currency exchange rates.

Fortunately, thanks to new legislation written in the late 1990?s, forex brokerages have opened up to the general public and offer trading opportunities for anyone who has an interest in trading currencies for profit. In fact, many brokers allow traders to open and trade currency with as little as $250 dollars in an account.

Regrettably, all of these new currency trading opportunities have created a lot of hype around the forex. Some of this hype includes magic trading formulas, ?easy? indicators and expert trend predictors. There are now countless currency brokerages enticing potential traders to open accounts and start trading today. Many people have started to get the feeling that trading currency is more of a scam then anything else. We strongly disagree with this notion and are certain that the forex market has much to offer investors. However, before your take you paycheck and head down to the nearest brokerage to open your forex account, may we make some important suggestions before you enter the currency market?

First, there are thousands of websites with information, terminology, trading strategies and more. We recommend researching several of them as you begin to explore the basics of what the forex is. Brokers often will offer information about the forex, but realize that they are also trying to get you to open an account. Aside from brokerage sites, there are several informational sites and a few forex education companies on the market that offer good information without the pressure of signing up for a ?live? trading account.

Second, read some books. Most of the professional forex traders operate using a combination of Japanese candlestick charts and other complex indicators to determine the direction of a particular currency pair. Find books about technical analysis trading, candlestick charts and other methodological indicators. Remember that when you are buying currency it is like buying a stock in a nation or country. Learn about different countries economic announcements, interest reports, and job indicators. These are highly relevant factors that help indicate a currencies direction.

At this point, it may be time for you to open a demo account with the broker of your choice. This will help you get familiar with trading platforms and basic charts. Practice making some ?demo trades?. Even after doing some basic homework you will find that you fell like you areflying by the seat of your pants? during your trades. At this humbling point in your new forex trading career you realize its time to take a forex training course.

There are many forex training courses on the market today. They come in many forms including seminars, home study courses, interactive online courses, and class room education. Fxcenter.com, one such forex training course has found that the best education courses use all of these methods in their training regime. They feel that a program should include a minimum of 20 hours of home study to teach the basic principles of forex trading. Next a student would need to observe the market in action, without necessarily making trades. To do this, an interactive online class is necessary to help you tie in all the information and begin to apply it to live market conditions. Onsite classes then further reiterate the fundamentals of trading forex and help the student discover a trading strategy that fits his or her personality, financial status and risk tolerance. Finally, working with a highly skilled forex mentor, again during live market sessions, is critical to help the student understand the psychological part of trading. These mentors would also help students create an advanced trading system and analyze the market minute by minute.

Most successful traders have spent years developing good trading habits and learning the hard way how to take advantage of currency volatility. We strongly recommend you follow these steps as you begin to investigate investment opportunities in the forex market.

About the Author:

For more information on forex training and how you can get ahead into todays market please visit our site. Get some forex education and take your skills to the next level!

What Is Online FOREX Currency Trading?

For the past 10 years, currency trading has grown dramatically. This has resulted in many companies setting up online currency trading operations. Forex, also known as the "Foreign Exchange" is used by all these companies. They offer all their customers a secure and safe place to conduct online currency trades.

When you wish to trade in the Forex market, you will have numerous companies to select from. All of them will supply you with various resources and tools. Almost all of them will provide you with real time market prices. They receive this information from the multi-sources inter-bank prices feed of the Forex. As a result, you will be able to make better trading decisions from the timely and accurate information. Unlike other markets, you will not find any re-quotes or time-delays which are frequently apparent in other markets. With these timely information on market prices, you can then use the Internet to trade directly.

Your trades are executed almost immediately when you participate in the Forex online currency trading. In fact, the currency trades are done in a fraction of a second on average. The transactions are executed at a very high speed.

When you are buying or selling in the Forex market, you?ll have 15 unique currencies available for you to trade in. This will provide you with many different options which you can subsequently formulate for many different potential strategies. Since the Forex is accessible to the public since 1995, we are looking at a relatively young market. But as it ages, it is very probable that the number of available currencies will continue to grow. With the available options expanding, you can also expect the number of people trading in this market to expand making it easier for you to execute a trade.

You should make sure that you are well equipped if you want to trade in Forex. It is important to deal with companies that will provide you with the right tools and resources. You should find Forex companies with the ability to provide you with timely news and the latest updates on the currency situation so that you will be properly informed and be aware of what is happening currently. You must research adequately into what online currency trading is all about especially if you are new to online currency trading. Once you are equipped with the right knowledge, you can then enter into the world of online currency trading with confidence, knowing that the Forex market is your number one option to earning a good profit on your investment.

Need more information? Please visit my Forex Trading Guide for more articles.

Understand Fundamental Analysis to Succesfully Trade the Forex Market

Fundamental analysis is considered to be the opposite of technical analysis, and both are used in the Forex market. Fundamental analysis considers the intrinsic value of an investment when making a decision as to its future activity. There are some who feel that this is an excellent method of making decisions in the Stock market as a lot of data can be gathered and studied concerning the value of a Company. But, they ask, how can a Nation have an intrinsic value?

The answer is fairly simple. The economy of a country goes through a basic business cycle, and there are a lot of indicators available to the investor to measure where a particular economy is at any given time. The analysis would involve matching the stage of the cycle with its impact on the value of its currency. The normal economic cycle consists of periods of inflation and deflation with peaks and troughs in between. Certain indicators such as the GDP, CPI, and current prime interest rates can give a good idea of the stage of the economy at any given time.

Each of these indicators would tend to impact currency valuation in different ways, and sometimes would even vary from country to country. In the United States, rising interest rates are normally associated with currency deflation, for example, and it is factors such as this that are the heart of fundamental analysis. This analysis can become quite detailed, but the focus remains on the country and its economy. Every factor that impacts the country and its economy can play a role in the value of the currency, and understanding these factors are the tools the fundamental analyzers uses to guide their investment strategy.

About the Author

John Chen is a professional trader and instructor. He is the creator of the highly acclaimed Profitable Trend Forex System - a unique and original trading system.
For more information visit http://www.trendforexsystem.com

The Best Form Of Forex Training

It would be foolhardy to jump directly into Forex trading without first completing some form of Forex training. While a strictly hands on education is possible, it can be extremely possible during those first few trades. This is especially true of those who have absolutely no knowledge. Knowledge really is power, especially in the case of making a profit from the Forex industry. In order to gain and take advantage of this power it is necessary for traders to learn many aspects of Forex trading.

Because there is such a barrage of information associated with the Forex market, one of the most difficult aspects of learning the Forex market is determining which information is relevant. In the case of Forex trading, relevant data is that which would seem to point towards or against a movement in currency prices.

Armed with just a single piece of useful information, traders already have the beginning of a trading strategy or a trading system. It will usually be necessary to refine information even further through the use of more data and more analysis but eventually students will be left with indicators that point to a particular movement. These indicators will be the basis of any trades initially completed.

When conducting Forex training it is important to remember that even the most successful traders suffer short-term losses. The key is to make a profit over the long term. Using any form of analysis and any available data at their disposal traders will try to find any indicator that gives them a leading edge over the rest of the market.

True profit is only generated if a trader can beat the rest of the market to a particular trade. Once the market cottons on to a movement in prices many more traders inexperienced in this area of data will also try to take advantage by milking out a few more dollars from the trade.

Forex training teaches traders to start a position at the appropriate time but, equally important, to close that trade at the right time. Inexperience can lead some traders to selling too early or holding on to currency for too long. Either of these can eat into the potential hard earned profits already gained.

Practice accounts combined with a Forex training course is the most potent method of learning to trade the Forex. The hands on experience that a real account provides combined with the background knowledge that can be taken from industry experts leaves virtually no stone unturned in the hunt for Forex profits.

For information pertaining to various forms of Forex training visit the http://www.forextradereducation.com website. It contains various tutorials ranging from basic but invaluable information to some of the key fundamentals and charting procedures involved in Forex trading. The Forex Trader Education website also offers traders the analysis software called VantagePoint, among the most powerful software applications available to Forex traders because of its proven 80% accurate forecasts.

About the Author:

www.ForexTraderEducation.com is dedicated to helping traders with Forex Training as well as futures and options about trading and important concepts.