Saturday, December 1, 2007

Forex Capital Markets And Foreign Exchange Transactions

Forex Capital Markets are foreign exchange markets where the currencies are been bought and sold continuously for profits. The capital markets of forex are present globally and transactions are non-stop in this forex cash market. Whether its Sydney or Tokyo, one would find aggressive forex dealers and brokers peering into their computer screens and on the telephone for minor changes that might affect this currency trade.
The forex trade is carried out for profits that can be gained by buying and selling of the currencies. Currencies are always bought and sold in pairs. Let us take an example to clarify the forex deal
A trader trades in Euros/ Us Dollars. (All figures are samples only) He purchases 10,000 Euros on Jan 1 when the EUR/USD rate is .9600. Then he sells these Euros at the market rate of 1.1800. On August 1. Therefore he gets 11,800 USD. Thereby making a cool forex transaction profit of USD 2200.
Since all currencies are bought and sold in pairs, one needs to decide the pair of currency that you would like to do your currency transactions in. In this example EUR is the base currency and the USD is called the quote or the counter currency. If you have bought Euros (simultaneously selling dollars), then you have based your decision on the fact that Euros may appreciate in the future. Therefore by selling Euros back into dollars you would be getting more dollars and thus making a profit.
If your assumption is that the US market is going to appreciate, then you would placing a SELL Euro/USD. Therefore you will sell Euros while (simultaneously buying USD). This USD may be sold at a later stage to book a profit.
Operating in the financial and forex trade, its important to understand that there are many factors, which affect the forex dealing. The business market conditions, the political scenario, threat of climatic disasters or impending farm output increase. All these factors play a crucial role in the forex markets.
Forex dealers trade on forex trading platform or a session. These are sophisticated software's, which provide the forex dealers with real time news and analysis on the currencies that they are dealing in. On this they execute buy and sell orders and well as stop order. Of course these are also linked to the forex margin account. Thus it gives the forex dealers ample leeway to make transactions with a small investment. The forex trade is competitive market where more credit worthy that the institution or the dealer, the better their source of information and quality of data is. Therefore this helps them to make better deals in the currency transactions and make better profits.
Bank Forex Trading - How To Choose The Best Bank For Forex Trading

Bank forex trading is one of the main ways that individuals choose to trade today, although it has been more popular than it is at the moment. Many traders have lost interest in it as a result of the growing popularity of Internet forex trading by various companies. However, bank forex trading can also be done on the Internet and many individuals still trust the banks with their money.

There are various ways and means of choosing the best bank forex trading. However, with thousands to choose from, all of which go through one of roughly three hundred multinational banks, the choices can really make the head spin. Following the tips below though can really give you an insight into the world of bank forex trading with a view to finding the best one for you.

1. Assess the bank forex trading accessibility of you bank – The majority of banks participating in forex trading now give their customers access via a variety of ways and means. However, some bank forex trading systems regulate accessibility. In terms of getting hold of your money, bank forex trading gives access 24 hours a day and five days a week. However, in terms of giving forex trading instruction, some only operate via the Internet or the telephone, whilst others operate via both means. It is up to you to decide what form of bank forex trading suits you best.

2. Look at the bank forex trading scale – Some banks trade millions of dollars every day, and only a small percentage of their bank forex trading is for their customers whilst the rest is for shareholders and the bank in general. It is through this sort of bank you should choose to operate. Although the service may be less personal, you could certainly trust the bank with your money and know that bank forex trading was as safe as could be.

3. Reputation – Some institutions taking part in bank forex trading are well known for it, whilst others are considered to largely be onlookers. The banks that are most active should be considered above those that are not. Active involvement in the bank forex trading system points to knowledge and security rather than opportunism, which could conversely lead to large scale loss.

Of course, there are other factors involved in your choice of bank for forex trading, including personal preferences, visibility to the outside world and word of mouth, but the three above are the most important factors to consider. If you are looking for peace of mind and your research into a bank checks all of the boxes then you have found the right one for you!
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.
A Novice Forex Traders Guide to Fundamental Analysis

If you are new to forex trading you have access to a lot of fundamental analysis as the click of a mouse from banks brokers and news wires you can look at and trade upon it – let’s look at forex fundamental analysis and how to use it.

A forex trader, who makes trades based upon fundamental analysis, will look at the supply and demand situation in relation to the currency studied, and try and predict the impact of the various factors on its movement and they include:

• Economic growth and economic policy

• Interest rate outlook

• Balance of payments

• Employment

• Trade deficit

• Political Factors

To name but a few but there is a problem when trying to use fundamental analysis:

The facts are there for all to see but price is ultimately decided by millions of different opinions such as you and me and we all draw our own conclusions from the facts and numbers. Furthermore all the news is available in seconds anywhere and this means it is discounted.

With human nature involved and the fact that fundamental analysis is quickly discounted it is almost impossible for the novice trader to execute trading signals on.

If you want a graphic example of how forex fundamental analysis won’t help you make money consider this fact:

The ratio of winners to losers is the same today as it was 50 years ago and this is despite better news more of it and faster communications. So if you are thinking of trading it think again.

A far easier way is to study charts and use technical analysis.

A technical approach takes into account both the supply and demand situation, as well as investor psychology. We can see the impact of both at once and reflected in the price.

Many traders don’t believe that technical analysis works, as it can’t take into account the fundamentals but this is not correct:

Technical analysis assumes that all known fundamentals are going to show up instantly in price action. Technical analysis therefore is simply a short cut way of taking into account the fundamentals and more importantly takes into account human psychology.

The equation for market movement is:

Supply and demand factors + Human perception (investor psychology) = Price action

So if you are thinking of trading using forex fundamental analysis, you can save yourself a lot of time and increase your chances of success, by taking a technical approach - that reflects ALL the factors that influence price and increase your odds of success.

With technical analysis you act on the reality of price - not opinions and therefore trade the truth and not what you or anyone else thinks it might be.
10 Golden Trading Rules for Succe10 Golden Trading Rules for Success in Future & Forex Trading

It is a well known fact that 90 percent of investors lose money in futures and forex trading, 5-7 percent break even and only 3-5 percent make money. Given the high casualty rate, it is all the more important for investors to approach futures and forex trading in the correct manner. Below are some of the rules that traders should consider following if he is to make money consistently in the futures and forex market:

RULE 1 : USE MONEY THAT YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE

Trade only with “extra” money, i.e, money that is not earmarked to pay bank loans, car installments, housing loans, telephone and electricity bills, etc. One of the major reasons for investing only with extra funds is that your trading judgment will remain objective.

RULE 2 : DON’T OVERTRADE

Inexperienced traders can easily become overconfident after a number of winning trades. This can lead to overtrading – which is dangerous. One can be right 7 times out of 10 but the three times that you are wrong can wipe you out if you had overgeared yourself because of overconfidence. Success comes from prudence in money management. Never overtrade.

RULE 3 : CUT YOUR LOSSES SHORT, LET YOUR PROFITS RUN

Learn to be very impatient with losing positions. Learn to resist the temptation of taking your profits too early. Success comes from holding on to profitable positions and riding with the trend for maximum gains while keeping losses small by getting out quickly when you are wrong. One way to protect you from suffering catastrophic losses is to place stop loss orders for every trade entered.

RULE 4 : IF YOU GET INTO A LOSING STREAK, TAKE A BREATHER

When things don’t work out right, when your best forecasts fail you – get away from the market and take a trading break. A period away from the market can be refreshing and will recharge you.

RULE 5 : BUILD A PYRAMID WHEN ADDING TO A PROFITABLE TRADE

As the market moves up and you are long much earlier, you must learn not to double up your positions. Instead, reduce your positions each time you add to a position. If at first you had 10 contracts, the second should not be more than 5-6 contracts and the third should be 50% of your second (i.e. 3 contracts). An upside down pyramid will be top heavy and could wipe out all your hard-earned profits should the market reverse.

RULE 6 : NEVER ADD TO A LOSING POSITION

Adding to a losing position by averaging is very dangerous. Remember you are investing with “margin” and did not pick up scrips. The contract is not yours; you merely paid a percentage of the total value. Averaging a losing position is equivalent to not admitting your mistakes, that you were wrong in the first place. Successful traders cut their losses short.

RULE 7 : DON’T RISK YOUR ENTIRE CAPITAL ON ONE TRADE

Divide your trading capital into 10 equal parts and never lose more than 10 percent on one trade. If you lost the first trade, you still have nine more opportunities to be right. Putting all your capital on one trade is suicidal.

RULE 8 : NEVER MEET MARGIN CALLS

When you are wrong about the market, get out. Once you start procrastinating, very often prices will go against your position, further triggering a margin call from your broker. A margin call simply means that you are wrong in the market and your position should be closed out. Margin calls are made because people do not want to admit being wrong and take a loss; they hope the market will eventually go in their direction. To avoid this mistake, you should never meet margin calls. Just cut your losses and “get the hell out”.

RULE 9 : REMOVE PROFITS FROM YOUR ACCOUNT

Probably no more than 1% of traders have a rule to take profits out of their trading account. The few wise investors I know have bought a house, a car or simply put part of their winnings into a fixed deposit account, otherwise the chances are high that they may lose them all back.

RULE 10 : HAVE A GAME PLAN

Lack of a game plan is not knowing what to do when you are wrong – and not knowing what to do even when you are right.

Here are a few guidelines:

1. Know when and at what price you are going to enter the market.
2. Know how much money you are going to risk on each and every trade.
3. Know when and at what price you are going to get out when you are wrong.
4. Know when and at what price you are going to take your profits if you are right.
5. Know how much money you are going to make if you are right.
6. Have a safety stop in case the market does the unexpected.
7. Have an approximate idea of when the market should meet your objectives or when it should begin to make a move; and if it has not done so, get out.

SUMMARY:

You will note that none out of the ten rules of trading mentioned above are on money management. Only Rule 10 describes the importance of having a trading system to determine “when to enter and exit”. This just goes to show that good money management is the key to your success in making money in the stocks, futures and currency markets. A good trading system comes second. Nick Leeson, the rogue trader for Barings in Singapore, got into trouble because he did not respect some of the 10 golden trading rules.
Forex Trading Online - 7 Reasons You Should!!!

Forex trading online is a fast way to use your investment capital to it's fullest. The Forex markets offer distinct advantages to the small and large traders alike, making Forex currency trading in many ways preferable to other markets such as stocks, options or traditional futures. Here are seven reasons why you'll want to look into Forex Trading online.

1 - Forex is the largest market.
Forex trading volume of more than 1.9 billion, more than 3 times larger than the equities market and more than 5 times bigger than futures, give Forex traders nearly unlimited liquidity and flexibility.

2 - Forex never sleeps!
You can execute forex trading online 24/7, from 7AM New Zealand time on Monday morning, to 5PM New York time on Friday evening. No waiting for markets to open: they're open all night! This makes Forex trading online a very attractive component that fits easily into your day (or night!)

3 - No Bulls or Bears!
Because Forex trading online involves the buying of one currency while simultaneously selling another, you have an equal opportunity for profit no matter which direction the currency is headed. Another advantage is that there are only around 14 pairs of currencies to trade, as opposed to many thousands of stocks, options and futures.

4 - Forex Trading online offers great leverage!
You can make the most of your investment resources with Forex trading online. Some brokers offer 200:1 margin ratios in your trading accounts. Mini-FX accounts, which can typically be opened with only $200-300, offer 0.5% margin, meaning that $50 in trading capital can control a 10,000 unit currency position. This is why people are flocking to Forex trading online as a way to highly leverage their investments.

5 - Forex prices are predictable.
Currency prices, though volatile, tend to create and follow trends, allowing the technically trained Forex trader to spot and take advantage of many entry and exit points.

6 - Forex trading online is commission free!
That's right! No commissions, no exchange fees or any other hidden fees. This is a very transparent market, and you'll find it very easy to research the currencies and the countries involved. Forex brokers make a small percentage of the bid/ask spread, and that's it. No longer any need to compute commissions and fees when executing a trade.

7 - Forex trading online is instant!
The FX market is astoundingly fast! Your orders are executed, filled and confirmed usually within 1-2 seconds. Since this is all done electronically with no humans involved, there is little to slow it down!

Forex trading online can get you where you want to go quicker and more profitably than any other form of trading. Check it out and see what Forex trading online can do for you!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Risky Forex

Along with the Profits, which is the main reason for the traders to trade Forex, it is extremely important to be conversant with the Losses as well, which one can encounter while trading. While it can be easily said that all financial investments are capable of offering some risk or another, the risk involved while trading foreign exchange deals and trades can be extensive at times. Forex does have the capacity to make its traders go into tremendous loss or low with their deals, because of it being a highly volatile market.

Hence, if you are taking into consideration, the idea of trading with Foreign Exchange market, it is important for you to think about the risks or at times, the frauds connected to the trading market, to help you in making more sensible and conversant decisions.

It should be made clear to all who are willing to dive into this Forex trading market, that Foreign Exchange is not a place suited for each and everyone who have money to invest. Carrying along with it a substantial amount of risk, trading with Forex should be done rather cautiously. For instance, a specific amount of “Risk Capital” should be kept aside for trading. These should be the only funds to be used while dealing in highly speculative foreign currency trading. “Risk Capital” represents the funds which one can manage to bear a loss with, without upsetting his/her home financial conditions.

There are many reasons due to which a trader might suffer losses in his Forex trade. The most important one being, that in this speculative yet volatile market, no one knows when the markets will turn against you. And while investing huge amounts of money, although everyone is hoping for the market to go in their favor, there are really chances for market to go along favoring all of them together.

Everyone takes the risks, but while some have to bear the loss, others win profits. Not much can be done with the risk percentage involved while trading, but yes, there are some aspects of market trading which if kept in mind, can prepare a trader for worse, as well as alert him to make wiser trading decisions. Some of these aspects are mentioned below.

Your trading platform could crash
If you are trading Forex using an electronic platform like computer, internet or telephone, then there are chances for your system to crash at any hour. This may unable you to get the current and latest of what’s going on the market for a while, till your system gets repaired.

Such a situation may result in making you inaccessible in the market for some while, hence you may not be able to place new orders, carry out existing orders, or close the previously entered orders. Such a situation may result in a loss of orders and the opportunities to close the deals, if any.

Opting for Off exchange
If you plan to opt for trading Forex through Off exchange methods, then you are totally relying on your dealer and his honesty. Off-exchange Forex trades are not backed by any clearing group or firm. So, if your dealer goes bankrupt, there are chances that no organization will be willing to back you up as here, you chose to trade with a dealer, out of the market trading. And since no market norms were followed while fixing the price of the currencies to be exchanged, your money is likely to get no insurance cover too.

Since there is no central place for Off exchange trading, it likely, that the trading you do with your dealer outside the Forex market, is not regulated. This is because the dealer is the one here, who is determining the effecting price, so you are solely banking on his honesty for a correct price and fair deal.

The market could go in opposition to you
Forex is a highly volatile market and predicting its movements can be impossible at times. No one can predict entirely how the market will move? That is the main reason why it has a high speculation rate to it.

Definitely if you go buy studying the past trends and patterns of the market, you can still make out roughly about the market movements, but certainty is not possible. Fluctuations in the currency exchange prices or rates can affect your trade or deals. The market can move in favor or against you any time, resulting in possible profit or loss.

Frauds or Scams
Forex is a highly potential market for frauds and scam artists. Although the market is significantly safer and cleaner to trade now, than it was a few years ago, care should still be taken while dealing with a broker. Always check the documents before signing any contract and read the terms and conditions fully. Being vigilant is the key to safe trading. Also, always prefer to deal with professional brokers who are attached to reputed financial firms and banks. Also, registered brokers such as those listed with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission or the National Futures Association should be preferred.

Also, beware of any brokers or financial firms offering too good schemes or deals, with very low or no risk trading guarantees. The brokers claiming to offer higher returns should also be thoroughly checked before signing up with them and starting to trade.

All the above mentioned risks can be avoided by keeping into consideration that any of this can happen to you while trading. Keeping this in mind will keep you prepared about the consequences that you can face and hence, help you make wiser and informed trading decisions.

Although we know by now that Forex is a risky business, there are a few measures, which have been created to limit, if not completely stop, a trader’s financial risks.

Firstly, every investor should try and develop his/her own trading strategy. Be it technical, fundamental, or both, every trader needs to follow a strategy which logically backs the trading decisions that he is making. All the market trading should be done using the money which you can afford to lose, not affecting your home finances, in case the market decides to go against you. Also clearly mark your entry and exit points with every deal you make.

Along with the entry and exit points, a trader also needs to posses thorough knowledge about the past trends of the market. How to make graphs, how to study the financial graphs and how to read, understand and aptly interpret the indicators and chart movements correctly is very important.

There is a huge amount of information available easily these days on this 24 hour market, but what needs to be taken into consideration is the information which is relevant, to our trade.

Introduction to Foreign Exchange Markets

Being the main force driving the global economic market, currency is no doubt an essential element for a country. However, in order for all the countries with different currencies to trade with one another, a system of exchange rate between their currencies is needed; this system, is formally known as foreign exchange or currency exchange.

In the early days, the system of currency exchange is supported solely by the gold amount held in the vault of a country. However, this system is no longer appropriate now due to inflation and hence, the value of one’s currency nowadays is determined through the market forces alone. In order to determine the value of a currency’s exchange rate, two main types of system is used which is floating currency and pegged currency.

For floating exchange rate, its value is determined by the supply and demand of the global market where the supply and demand is bound by all these factors such as foreign investment, inflation and ratios of import and export. Normally, this system is adopted by most of the advance countries like for example UK, US and Canada. All of these countries have a similarity where their market is well developed and stable in economic terms. These countries choose to practice this system due to the reason where floating exchange rate is proven to be much more efficient compared to the pegged exchange rate. The reason behind this is because for floating exchange rate, the market itself will re-adjust the exchange rate real-time in order to portray the actual inflation and other economic forces. However, every system has its own flaw and so does the floating exchange rate system. For instance, if a country suffers from economic instability due to various reasons such as political issues, a floating exchange rate system will certainly discourage investment due to the high risk of suffering from inflationary disaster or sudden slump in exchange rate.

Another form of exchange rate is known as pegged exchange rate. This is a system where the value of the exchange rate is fixed by the government of a country and not the supply and demand of the market. This system is called pegged exchange rate because the value of a country’s currency is fixed to another country’s currency. As a result, the value of the pegged currency will not fluctuate unlike the floating currency. The working principle behind this system is slightly complicated where the government of a country will fixed the exchange rate of their currency and when there is a demand for a certain currency resulting a rise in the exchange rate, the government will have to release enough of that currency into the market in order to meet that demand. However, there is a fatal flaw in this system where if the pegged exchange rate is not controlled properly, panics may arise within the country and as a result of that, people will be rushing to exchange their money into a more stable currency. When that happens, the sudden overflow of that country’s currency into the market will decrease the value of their exchange rate and in the end, their currency will be worthless. Due to this reason, only those under-developed or developing countries will practice this method as a form to control the inflation rate.

However, the truth is, most of the countries do not fully practice the floating exchange rate or the pegged exchange rate method in reality. Instead, they use a hybrid system known as floating peg. Floating peg is the combination of the two main systems where one country will normally fixed their exchange rate to the US Dollars and after that, they will constantly review their peg rate in order to stay in line with the actual market value.

The Foreign exchange market, or commonly known as FOREX, is the largest and most prolific financial market because each day, more than 1 trillion worth of currency exchange takes place between investors, speculators and countries. From this, we can deduce that the actual mechanism behind the world of foreign exchange is far more complicated than what we may already know, and that, the information mentioned earlier is just the tip of an iceberg.