Business and the Forex (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

The business world is a complex web of supply and demand. Money and goods, physical or otherwise, pass through the global market every single day. To meet this exchange between one country and another, foreign exchange, or forex, was born. The term forex is used to refer to transactions involving the conversion of money of one country into that of another or to the international transfer of money and credit instruments.

Forex Trading (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Foreign exchange market, or better known as FOREX, is the world's largest and most prolific financial exchange market originated on 1973. Bearing the status of largest and most prolific currency exchange market, FOREX is the center stage where a vast majority of the currency trading or FOREX trading takes place, with a total daily turnover of currency worth more than $1.2 trillion.

Stopping Yourself (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

I read on a bulletin board a traders comment that on his first outing trading the E-Mini S&P 500 he lost on each of his trades. He noted though, that had he had a wider stop each of his trades would have been profitable and that therefore he would be trading with a wider stop in future.

A Fools Game (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

I received an email this week with a question (below) which caused me to think about the wisdom of pursuing trading as a career. Regardless of your trading time span, the skills and concerns of active short-term trading are relevant to all market particpipants.

Disgruntled (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

The following situation happens quite often to many traders. Look it over and see if it has been happening to you:

The Yin and the Yang of Markets (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

I am reading a fantastic book on trading, first published in 1924, by Richard D. Wyckoff, titled "How I Trade and Invest in Stocks & Bonds". Although most of the examples in the book pertain to stocks, the insights into the nature of trading are relevant no matter what instrument you choose to trade.

Experience (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Throughout our course on futures trading, we have tried to point out to you that there is a great difference between having an investor attitude and being a trader. There are also many similarities. In one sense, a trader is someone who invests in his own trading ability. Therefore, in that sense trading is investing. Trading and investing are interrelated. You come to realize this through experience.

The Nature of the Trading Business (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Consider the following: As a trader you are in a business. Your strongest opponent has plenty of capital. He follows a program and he does it without emotion. He is totally aware of the fact that no one knows where the next tick will fall. Whereas he usually has good insights regarding the major forces that drive the market, he does not fool himself into thinking he can explain the vagrancies of price movement intraday or even from day to day. He knows that no one truly can.

Where is the Market Going? (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

If you ask me whether the market will have moved up or down by this time next year, well I may as well flip a coin, because I don't know.

What I Learnt Losing 60,000 My First Year as a Full-time Trader (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

During my first year as a local (independent trader) on the floor of LIFFE, I bought and sold 8804 FTSE futures contracts, about 40 contracts per day on average. The result was a loss of 61,620 or -267 per trading day. I was profitable on 55% of days with an average gain of 1009, my average loosing day was -1780. My biggest one day gain was 7730 and my biggest loss -12,426.

The Secret of Reduced Margin Spreads (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

One of the best kept secrets in trading is that of reduced margin spreads. You cannot name a trading method that provides more safety or a greater return on margin than does a reduced margin spread, while also being one of the least time- consuming ways to trade. Have you ever asked yourself why it is that many of the largest, most powerful traders trade spreads? I'm going to show you why!

Money Management, Part 2 (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

FEARING LOSSES

There is a huge difference between being risk averse and fearing losses. You must hate to lose. In fact, you can program your brain to find ways to not lose. But not losing is a logical thought-out process, rather than an emotion-based reaction.

Money Management, Part 1 (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

There are some common mistakes I've seen traders make in the area of money management. First, let's understand what money management is all about.

Adaptation to the Realities of the Market (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Do you think adaptation to the realities of the market is the most important thing?

Many times in the past I've written about the need to adapt, the need to be able to change your behavior relative to the market because the markets are ever changing.I've stated that mechanical systems may be workable, but for only a short time relative to the life of markets. You must learn to trade what you see and to understand what you see on a chart.

A Beginner's Guide to FOREX (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

FOREX is the abbreviation for the Foreign Exchange market. FOREX is basically an international exchange market where currencies from all over the world are bought and sold for profit. The market today began in the 1970's. FOREX is a very unique market because it is not based in any particular place, and it also has very few qualifications for investing. FOREX is also free of external controls, and the investors (participants in the market) largely determine how much a currency is worth based on demand. Almost anyone can invest in FOREX, and there are strategies for investors who want to have long-term gains, and strategies for investors who desire short-term gains. The vast array of investors makes FOREX quite unique in the financial community.

Forex Options Market Overview (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

The forex options market started as an over-the-counter (OTC) financial vehicle for large banks, financial institutions and large international corporations to hedge against foreign currency exposure. Like the forex spot market, the forex options market is considered an "interbank" market. However, with the plethora of real-time financial data and forex option trading software available to most investors through the internet, today's forex option market now includes an increasingly large number of individuals and corporations who are speculating and/or hedging foreign currency exposure via telephone or online forex trading platforms.

Intrenet Marketing VS Forex Currency Trading (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Have you noticed that when someone's trying to sell you something - such as a system for making money - they always make it look far easier than it is?Let's look at two Internet businesses, almost as diametrically opposed as it's possible to be - Internet Marketing and Forex Currency Trading.

How To Choose Wisely A FOREX Broker (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Most traders use a FOREX broker to handle their transactions. What exactly are brokers? Strictly speaking, brokers are individuals or companies that buy and sell orders according the investor's decisions. Brokers earn money by charging a commission or a fee for their services.

Is The U.S. Dollar About To Reverse Course? (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

For the first time in several years the U.S. dollar has managed to gain value against the world's other major currencies. During the first three months of 2005, the U.S. dollar is up approximately five percent against both the yen and the euro. The gains for the dollar should be considered significant when considering the United States still faces a growing trade imbalance. So far this year, currency traders have shifted their focus from the United States' large trade and current account shortfalls toward the higher rates of returns being offered on U.S. debt. The recent strength shown in the dollar has somewhat shifted sentiment within the financial markets about the future direction of the currency. A Bloomberg survey released earlier this week shows that the major currency traders expect to see dollar weakness resume later in the year, but the sentiment among dollar bears is much weaker than it was at the start of the year.

Why Demo Account Performance Is Often Better Than Real Account Performance (July 23 2007)         - claim this article

Over the past several years, the popularity of online currency trading has grown substantially. Each day, online FX brokerage firms attract new investors - each of them lining up with a glint in their eye, lured in by promises of easy money. Most of these companies allow you to sign up for a free demo account which lets you place mock trades using their trading platform to get a feel for the excitement of currency trading. In the casual world of free demo accounts - many young traders find they are able to garner impressive profits without a significant amount of effort. It almost seems too good to be true. But transferring this success from a demo account to a real account is far less common. Why is this? The actual trading platform behaves the exact same way, the market doesn't care whether you're a demo or real trader - so what is different? It's you who has changed. Not your personality, not even your trading style - but the factors that affect you are different.