Sunday, December 27, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Forex Foresee

Finally, the Euro is something of a wildcard. On the one hand, the EU economy is stagnating, and the ECB has hinted that rate cuts are a possibility. On the other hand, the Euro theoretically stands to inherit a significant amount of risk-averse capital, especially from foreign investors looking for a stable alternative to the Dollar. Accordingly, the Market Oracle forecasts a short-term decline in the value of the Euro but a long-term appreciation.
Forex Capital Markets - Fractional Pip Pricing

Forex transactions
Forex transactions are carried out by Forex brokerage companies, also known as major banks dealers. Forex market is worldwide and your European colleagues may make a transaction with Japanese traders when it's time for you to sleep in the North America. There are 3 shifts for the major institutions to work in due to 24-hours a day activity of the Forex market. It's possible to ask for overnight execution for take-profit and stop-loss orders of the client.
Prices in the Forex market fluctuate without any dramatic changes unlike stock market where considerable gaps are likely to be seen. There isn't any problems entering and exit the market due to its daily turnover of about $1.2 trillion. Forex market can not ever be forced to stop. The transactions were carried out even in 2001, on September, 11th.
Beginners Guide to Forex
Forex trading begins each day in Sydney

Forex Gold Special
Options on stocks and Exchange Traded Funds (ETF's) were discussed in detail in my November 8, 2007 post. The main difference between options on stocks and options on futures is that a futures option gives you the right to buy or sell one futures contract at a set price at a set future date, instead of 100 shares of an underlying stock. Other than that difference, the underlying concept is basically the same. A speculator looking for the maximum leverage would purchase a futures contract on a given commodity, and would consequently assume the risk of greater losses than his or her initial investment if their margined position moved against them far enough before they closed it out. A speculator looking for high leverage, but also looking to avoid margin calls, would instead purchase options on a futures contract.
Let's look specifically at some examples for each method. As of this writing, with gold trading at $787 per troy ounce, a speculator with $10,000 could choose to control two full size 100 troy ounce gold futures contracts (leaving a $1,900 cash cushion), or 10 e-mini 33.2 troy ounce gold futures contracts (leaving a $2,300 cash cushion). The speculator could also choose to buy two call options that would give him or her the right to purchase two full size 100 troy ounce gold futures contracts at a price of $800 per troy ounce on November 20, 2008 (leaving a $180 cash balance). If the price of gold moved from $787 to $887 per troy ounce sometime in that period and the speculator decided to take profits at that point, the respective profits would be $20,000 for the two full size contract choice, $33,200 for the 10 e-mini contract choice, and $12,700 for the two call options.
The $12,700 profit on the call options represents a gain of just under 160%, but was achieved without having to worry about margin calls or getting stopped out of the position at a loss. True to the concept of greater risk taking opening up the possibility of greater gains, the margined futures contract positions were up 247% and 431%, respectively, but if at any time following the opening of the position the price of gold had gone down by just $4 to $783, the futures contract holders would have received margin calls asking them to deposit more money, at which point most futures traders would have closed out their positions. There is also the ongoing mental stress associated with holding heavily margined positions to consider.
Options on futures should only be considered by a speculator who has a very firm view of the future direction of a particular commodities market, as options can expire worthless if they are not rolled over. So the obvious question at this point in time is whether or not gold is certain to move significantly higher in the next few years. Since nothing is certain in this world except for death and taxes, a better question is what it would take for gold NOT to move significantly higher. The only scenario that derails the ongoing gold bull market is one in which: (1) the Fed embarks on an aggresive campaign to raise interest rates to protect the dollar, thereby throwing millions more homeowners out on the street than are headed out on the street already; and (2) the politicians in Washington embark on an aggressive campaign to cut federal spending on defense, Social Security, Medicare, etc. enough to generate huge annual budget surpluses for at least the next generation. Each speculator or investor will have to make up their own mind as to whether or not they see the above scenario coming to fruition anytime soon.
Forex Software Tool That Can Help Prevent Errors

Recently, good news was made public for traders about a new tool that can help with online investing. A company by the name of My Forex Edge, LLC, which develops and distributes various forex software programs and foreign exchange trading techniques, unveiled its new Forex Position Allotment Calculator. This tool gives investors a foreign exchange trading platform that helps avoid over leveraging and does away with the fear and greed that comes with online forex trading.
The Forex Position Allotment Calculator uses a special "set it and forget it" feature, which lets forex traders set the buy and sell prices, the stop price and limits without forcing the investor to constantly manage trades. Foreign exchange daytime traders, position traders, and swing traders are currently making use of the new Forex Position Allotment Calculator. According to Milan Stevanovich, the director of My Forex Edge, LLC, mentions that these traders have boosted forex currency trading profits by twenty five percent.
With this new forex software, traders no longer have to handwrite and enter in risk percentages, which means that there is less potential for error. Stevanovich also mentions that, "using the Forex Position Allotment Calculator could save you ten times the amount of an error."
He also claims that the new calculator has a smaller price tag than other forex trading computer programs, costing traders only 97 dollars for the complete software kit.
U.S. Currency & Euro Face to Face in Forex Market

General predictions are saying that the United States economy will create roughly one hundred thousand new jobs, but many researchers have been improving their predictions upon seeing the major employment components from this week's Institute of Supply Management surveys.
As a result, the U.S. dollar experienced a slight increase overnight, but other currencies have remained the same during early London trade, with all eyes being stuck on the recent activity of U.S. currency.
A trader from TradIndex.com, Mic Mills, mentioned that, "Everything is on hold until non-farm payrolls."
Mills also mentioned that the Forex market is one step ahead in terms of virtually pricing as a result of further interest rate drops from the Federal Reserve, allowing the U.S. dollar to boost in the event of more concrete information.
Even though the basics for the U.S. dollar are not too strong, it is generally viewed as oversold and now will be corrected after recently shooting to an all time low when put next to the euro.
Important Tips For Finding a Forex Broker

Forex News: U.S. Dollar and U.S. Housing Both Drop

Forex Broker Information
1. Spreads - make sure the company is giving tight spreads. A spread is the difference between the buying price and selling price at a certain time, and the lower it is, the easier it is for you to profit.
2. Supported currencies - all forex brokers support "the majors" - the currencies with the highest trading volume: the US Dollar (USD), the Euro (EUR), the British Pound (GBP), the Japanese Yen (JPY), and the Swiss Franc (CHF). Most brokers also support additional currencies, even exotic ones (such as Polish Zloty, PLN, and Israeli Shekel, ILS). However, when trading currencies other than the majors, it's important to check the spreads, since they are often much higher than the spreads on the majors.
3. Required invetment - some brokers, such as easy forex allow you to open an account with as little as $25. It is NOT recommended to start with such small capital, but if you do not have much to invest in a forex account, see what is the minimum deposit before opening an account.
4. Technical support - all forex traders, beginners and experts, run into trouble. It's very important to check whether a forex broker offers a good technical support, especially if you are a beginner.
Forex Special Post
Forex Swap
Forex Swap
In finance, a forex swap (or FX swap) is a simultaneous purchase and sale of identical amounts of one currency for another with two different value dates (normally spot to forward).
Structure
A forex swap consists of two legs: a spot foreign exchange transaction, and a forward foreign exchange transaction. These two legs are executed [...]
Foreign Exchange Option
Foreign Exchange Option
In finance, a foreign exchange option (commonly shortened to just FX option or currency option) is a derivative financial instrument where the owner has the right but not the obligation to exchange money denominated in one currency into another currency at a pre-agreed exchange rate on a specified date.
The FX options market [...]
Retail Forex
Retail Forex
In financial markets, the retail forex (retail off-exchange currency trading or retail FX) market is a subset of the larger foreign exchange market. This “market has long been plagued by swindlers preying on the gullible,” according to The New York Times[1]. Whilst there may be a number of fully regulated, reputable international companies [...]
Forex News : US Dollar Facing 1Q GDP, FOMC, Earnings and G20 forecasts
Forex News : US Dollar Facing 1Q GDP, FOMC, Earnings and G20 forecasts
Fundamental Outlook for US Dollar: Bullish
- First quarter earnings may have been a positive factor so far, but the outlook is still far from encouraging
- Fed says recession ‘substantially reduced’ some banks’ capital though most are still well-capitalized
- Do technicals support a [...]
Forex News : Euro at Critical Crossroads versus US Dollar
Forex News : Euro at Critical Crossroads versus US Dollar
Fundamental Outlook for Euro This Week: Bearish
- Euro gains as PMI shows signs of “Second Derivative” Growth Improvement
- German IFO Business Confidence survey improves – Euro rallies
- Euro Bear Trend may nonetheless be in its infancy
The Euro finished the week marginally higher against the US [...]
Forex News : Japanese Yen Trades Must Gauge Risk and the Currency’s Relation to It
Forex News : Japanese Yen Trades Must Gauge Risk and the Currency’s Relation to It
Fundamental Outlook: Bearish
- G7 forecasts a ‘weak’ rebound later this year; though banks’ toxic assets still a serious problem
- Japanese trade balance marks it worst annualized deficit in 29 years
- Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa tells economists not to [...]
Forex News : British Pound to Follow Stock Prices Lower if Risk Appetite Abates
Forex News : British Pound to Follow Stock Prices Lower if Risk Appetite Abates
Fundamental Forecast for British Pound: Bearish
- UK House Prices Rose for Third Straight Month in April, Says Rightmove
- Retail Prices Turned Negative for the First Time Since 1960 in March
- Unemployment Rate Rises to Highest in Over a Decade
- UK Budget [...]
Forex News : Swiss Franc Recent Strength Puts It At Risk For Verbal Intervention
Forex News : Swiss Franc Recent Strength Puts It At Risk For Verbal Intervention
Fundamental Outlook for Swiss Franc: Bearish
- Swiss ZEW Survey improved from -57.1 from -27.7, as investor confidence rose for a sixth month.
- Swiss Trade Balance surplus shrunk to 0.12 from 0.72 billion, as exports fell by 5.0%
The Swiss Franc rallied nearly [...]
Forex News : Canadian Dollar – Crude Oil Correlation Hits 20+ Year Highs
Forex News : Canadian Dollar – Crude Oil Correlation Hits 20+ Year Highs
Fundamental Outlook for Canadian Dollar: Bearish
- Canadian dollar surges as Bank of Canada fails to announce immediate Quantitative Easing
- Surprise BoC interest rate cut nonetheless forces Loonie sell-off
- Check out our USD/CAD outlook from a technical and fundamental perspective.
The Canadian dollar finished [...]
Forex News : Australian Dollar Outlook Hinges on Trend in Risky Assets
Forex News : Australian Dollar Outlook Hinges on Trend in Risky Assets
Fundamental Forecast for Australian Dollar: Bearish
- Producer Prices Unexpectedly Fell in the First Quarter
- RBA Governor Stevens Says Australia is in Recession
- Inflation Falls to Slowest in 18 Months as Downturn Deepens
The Australian Dollar looks likely to succumb to heavy selling pressure if [...]
Forex Worldwide Markets

Forex Currency Trading Useful Information

Thursday, July 9, 2009
How to Win the Forex Battle
Forex trading - Knowledge Lot Sizes
About Finance
Forex-Killer
Doubling Stocks
I’m running these two upfront and making a lot of money from them.
Generating My Own Signals
Is Trading Price Action Really Difficult to Do?

FOREX for Noobs
MANAGED FOREX ACCOUNTS
The Optimal Engine for Currency Trading
NAWKY
The best Forex Trading Software
Forex Optimizer

Progressive FX
Personal Finance

Forex Trading Systems

Forex Trading Signals.

What Is FOREX and Forex Trading
Another Fap Turbo Review
ABOUT THE ONLINE FOREX TRAINING
It's my goal that my experience be passed on to provide all levels of forex traders the training and the essentials of Forex trading. With the help of my Online Forex Trading Blog, you will soon be ready to start trading Forex and making all the money you deserve. In fact, you can even start today, while beginning with small amounts and gradually obtaining the experience you need.
I wish you success in your forex trading, and hope you find my Online Forex Trading Blog interesting, helpful and enjoyable.
What is Forex Trading?
Jaws Drop

Advantages and disadvantages of a demo account in Forex Trading

There are many advantages of having a demo account in Forex trading. The most important benefit is that it shows conditions of the real market. In most cases, the brokers will open this demo account for their clients for a month, but there are other brokers who are often generous to the clients and keep this account open for as long as they want. This is of course to create an impression that the brokers are not just after money, but in fact they want to offer some genuine services as well to their clients.
Forex TDNG
In recent years, there are many people are involved in forex trading. Do you know what forex trading is ? Have you ever saw trading on the stock mar

The Real Million Dollar Question - Will These Forex Robots Actually Work?
Even if today is your first day looking at the Forex market and you're trying to decide whether or not to get involved, I am certain you've seen dozens of ads for automated trading robots.
Forex trading robots as claimed by their creators and marketers, can monitor the Forex market for fluctuations and act automatically to these changes making trades which make their owners lots of money. Many of these companies claim that their robots can make you money automatically even while you sleep or are on vacation.
What makes these automated robots tick? Exactly how is it they know when to buy, when to sell, or just as important, when to simply do nothing? In a nutshell, Forex robots are designed to monitor fluctuations in currency price and then when certain market conditions are met, they automatically, in many cases, make trades. These "market conditions" are set by the robots owner (you or me) based on several factors including aversion to risk or lack thereof.
Moving forward in the process, once a position has been purchased and established, the robot will then sell that position in an attempt to make it's owner as much profit as possible. The selling point, particularly to newer traders is that the robot can be set up to trade on its own and make a profit with very little downside risk.
Can these robots really make money on auto-pilot as advertised?
My quick answer is no. There are so many factors that drive fluctuations in currency prices that even the most intricate Forex robots can't realistically be expected to make the correct decisions concerning profitability 100% of the time.
Having said that, Forex robots can be and are a very valuable trading tool. They can make turning a profit in the Forex market far easier and can make your learning curve a lot shorter. In my opinion and in my experience, a newer trader will find that achieving profitability is far easier with a robot's guidance than if they try to trade without it. These auto-bots should be monitored and have to be set up correctly to ensure that they make profitable decisions the majority of the time. Follow the instructions carefully and read as much as possible regarding set-up parameters before beginning live trading with real money.
Traders should use Forex robots as tools to simplify their decision making but it is the trader who ultimately should make the decision. Forex robots can be very powerful tools when used in this manner. It is usually when beginner traders take the mindset that they can automatically start making you money without any monitoring or safe guards that problems can arise.
A new trader should research their purchase before buying any tool. As with any product in virtually any market, there are some products that are scams and others which are legitimate and work as advertised, so do your homework.
Whatever Forex trading tool you decide to purchase and use, please keep in mind that it is not the tool but how you use it that will determine your profitability.
Currency Trading in the Forex market is one of the hottest topics online today.
Currency Forex Online Trading product reviews and consumer feedback is a great resource for comparing Forex trading platforms and automated robotic software. Compare features and pricing and read actual consumer reviews. Make an informed buying decision.
How to Invest in a Managed Forex Fund
They may show you all sort of safety precautions and a track record that has lists many years of successfully performance, but there's no such thing as a sure bet - even with managed accounts. You are surrendering the destiny of thousands of dollars to an independent managed Forex fund, who you hope will do a good job at managed your investments. Also, there's an amount of dilution because you are never sure if your account is given the type of attention you need. On the other hand, many managed Forex funds now use PAMM systems to make sure that all of their clients are given precisely the same allocations, which lessens this concern.
Another concern is the level of charges charged to your account. You need to also ensure that the main fee that they are making profits from is the performance fee, which you only pay to them if they make you money. You always must remember that managed Forex funds exist as a way to try to profit for themselves from your investment. If things go well, you both earn cash ; if things go bad, only you loss money. Still, for backers looking to make significant returns, that are typically not correlated to the stock exchanges, managed Forex funds are a cool place to invest some of your capital. Just make efforts to pick a good one, and know that any real fund will have its swings and roundabouts, and that if performance seems to good to be true, it doubtless is.
Forex Trading Software - Forex Robots and Expert Advisors, Why You Shouldn't Use Them
When I look at any Forex Expert Advisor, I always see a track record which is better than the world's best fund managers, has less drawdown and I can buy this life long income for a hundred dollars or so! Of course it looks to good to be true and it is; if you look closely at the track records, you will notice they all have one thing in common:
They never produce an audited or verified track record from an independent source; all you get are, paper back tests or figures from the vendors themselves.
Why would anyone trust a system which can't produce a verified track record?
Well a lot of naïve and greedy do and they all lose money.
Any sensible person can see that if these Expert Advisors worked, all the dealing teams in banks would be sacked. The top fund managers and dealers, are on multi million salaries and bonuses and a hundred dollar robot would offer a great saving, over these highly paid teams but have any banks sacked their dealing teams? Of course not.
If you want to win at Forex trading understand, you don't make money without making an effort and there is no automatic way to big profits, you have to work for them.
Forex Trading Strategies
Fascinating Market Correlations You'll Want to Use
It is important to emphasize that market correlations are never 100% predictable, and that some market correlations can and do make 180-degree turns over a period of time.
U.S. Dollar-Gold: The gold market and the dollar usually trade in an inverse relationship. This has been the case for many years. During times of U.S. economic prosperity and lower inflation, the dollar will usually benefit as money flows into U.S. paper assets (stocks and bonds), while physical assets (gold) are usually less attractive. Conversely, during times of weaker U.S. economic growth, higher inflation or heightened world economic or political uncertainty, traders and investors will tend to flock out of "paper" assets and into "hard" assets such as gold. Inflation is a bullish phenomenon for gold.
U.S. Dollar-U.S. Treasury Bonds: Usually, a stronger dollar means a stronger bond market because of good demand for U.S. dollars (from overseas investors) to buy U.S. T-Bonds. T-Bonds are also seen as a "flight-to-quality" asset during times of economic or political instability. In the past, the U.S. dollar has also benefited from "flight-to-quality" asset moves. However, since the major terrorist attacks on the U.S. and the resulting damage to the U.S. economy, the safe-haven status of the "greenback" has been much less pronounced.
Crude Oil-U.S. Treasury Bonds: If crude oil prices rally strongly, that is a negative for U.S. T-Bond prices, due to notions that inflationary pressures could reignite and become problematic for the economy. Inflation is the arch enemy of the bond market. Rising crude oil prices are also bullish for the gold market.
CRB-U.S. Treasury Bonds: The CRB Index is a basket of commodities melded into one composite price. A rising CRB index means generally rising commodities prices, and increasing inflation. Thus, a rising CRB Index is negative for U.S. Treasury Bond prices.
U.S. Stock Indexes-U.S. Treasury Bonds: Since the bull market in U.S. stocks ended just over two years ago, stock index futures prices and U.S. Treasury bond futures prices have traded in an inverse relationship. When stock prices are up, bond prices are usually down. However, during the long bull market run that preceded the current bear market, stock and bond prices traded in tandem. In fact, years ago, before all the electronic overnight futures trading had begun, the best way to get a good read on how the stock indexes would open was by early trading in the T-bond market. (T-Bond trading opens 70 minutes before the stock indexes).
Silver-Soybeans: This corollary may be more fiction than fact, at least nowadays. But during the "go-go" days of soaring precious metals and soybean prices, it was said that if soybean futures would lock limit-up, bean traders would buy silver futures.
Cattle-Hogs: The point to mention here is that if strong price gains or losses occur in one meat futures complex, there is likely to be somewhat of a spillover effect in the other meat complex. For example, sharp losses in the cattle or feeder cattle futures will likely weigh on the hogs and pork bellies.
Currency Futures-U.S. Dollar Index: Most major IMM currency futures contracts are "crossed" against the U.S. dollar. Thus, when the majority of the currencies are trading higher, it's very likely that the U.S. Dollar Index will be trading lower. It's a good idea for currency traders to keep a watchful eye on the U.S. Dollar Index, as it's the best barometer for the overall health of the U.S. dollar versus major foreign currencies.
U.S. Stock Indexes-Lumber: Lumber is a very important commodity for the U.S. economy. It is literally a building block for the nation. If the stock market is sharply higher, lumber futures prices will be supported. A big sell off in the stock market will likely find selling pressure on lumber futures.
N.Y. Cocoa-British Pound: London cocoa futures trading is as important (or even more important) than New York cocoa futures trading, on a worldwide basis. London cocoa futures trading is conducted in the British pound currency. Thus, big fluctuations in the pound sterling will impact the price of U.S. cocoa futures, due to the cross-currency fluctuations of the British pound versus the U.S. dollar. Keep in mind there is constantly arbitrage taking place between the New York and London cocoa markets, and thus the currency cross-rates between the pound and the dollar are very important.
Grains-U.S. Dollar Index: A weaker U.S. dollar will be an underlying positive for the U.S. grain futures markets because it makes U.S. grain exports more competitive (cheaper prices) on the world market. Larger-degree trends in the U.S. dollar will have a larger-degree impact on the grains.
Forex Breakout System
First, a Few Truths about the Forex Market...
If you trade Forex without a system - you will lose! You need a system and good money management to have an advantage in the market.
The market is always right. When you win it's always because you followed the market. Your trade will not affect the market, so why try and go against the trend. "run with the bulls" and "follow the crowd"
90% of traders will give their money to the 10% who know what they are doing. The Forex market is a zero sum game. The 10% who know what they are doing will happily take your money - nothing personal. They have no emotion! That is why they are successful!
The Forex market is $3-trillion a day market driven by the banks There is a lot of money flowing through the market. The tiniest piece of this pie is enough for your wildest dreams!
Most traders with a system lose because they over trade. When you over trade, you are not following the rules. You think you can time it better, or, you feel lucky and trade larger positions. You will always get burned.
These are the simple truths about the Forex market. Truths are usually gained from experience and always cost you more that you bargained for. Use our tried and tested experience to your advantage and become one of the 10% who make real money.
What is Different About This System..
Most EA's you buy you don't really understand. The mechanics are always a "secret"......yet you buy them.
Many use excessive risk models yet you will put them on your live account immediately because they looked impressive?
Many use complicated indicators which only work in certain market conditions.
Other EA's don't offer you flexibility
Do you watch the news channels?
Here's how we do it...
We design automated trading tools that traders understand!
We teach you the concept and set you free to explore the options for yourself.
We give the trader full control and understanding of the automation capabilities.
We give you the flexibility to change any of the variables to suit your needs.
We give you a custom indicator to do your own highly accurate visual back testing.
We help you take the emotion out of trading!! The system has no emotions. Let it trade for you.
We call the "News" channel the "History Channel"
Posted by Exber at 3:58 AM 0 comments
Labels: forex online trading and currency
Top 10 Mistakes forex Traders Make
Achieving success in futures trading requires avoiding numerous pitfalls as much, or more, than it does seeking out and executing winning trades. In fact, most professional traders will tell you that it's not any specific trading methodologies that make traders successful, but instead it's the overall rules to which those traders strictly adhere that keep them "in the game" long enough to achieve success.
Following are 10 of the more prevalent mistakes I believe traders make in futures trading. This list is in no particular order of importance.
1. Failure to have a trading plan in place before a trade is executed. A trader with no specific plan of action in place upon entry into a futures trade does not know, among other things, when or where he or she will exit the trade, or about how much money may be made or lost. Traders with no pre-determined trading plan are flying by the seat of their pants, and that's usually a recipe for a "crash and burn."
2. Inadequate trading assets or improper money management. It does not take a fortune to trade futures markets with success. Traders with less than $5,000 in their trading accounts can and do trade futures successfully. And, traders with $50,000 or more in their trading accounts can and do lose it all in a heartbeat. Part of trading success boils down to proper money management and not gunning for those highly risky "home-run" type trades that involve too much trading capital at one time.
3. Expectations that are too high, too soon. Beginning futures traders that expect to quit their "day job" and make a good living trading futures in their first few years of trading are usually disappointed. You don't become a successful doctor or lawyer or business owner in the first couple years of the practice. It takes hard work and perseverance to achieve success in any field of endeavor--and trading futures is no different. Futures trading is not the easy, "get-rich-quick" scheme that a few unsavory characters make it out to be.
4. Failure to use protective stops. Using protective buy stops or sell stops upon entering a trade provide a trader with a good idea of about how much money he or she is risking on that particular trade, should it turn out to be a loser. Protective stops are a good money-management tool, but are not perfect. There are no perfect money-management tools in futures trading.
5. Lack of "patience" and "discipline." While these two virtues are over-worked and very often mentioned when determining what unsuccessful traders lack, not many will argue with their merits. Indeed. Don't trade just for the sake of trading or just because you haven't traded for a while. Let those very good trading "set-ups" come to you, and then act upon them in a prudent way. The market will do what the market wants to do--and nobody can force the market's hand.
6. Trading against the trend--or trying to pick tops and bottoms in markets. It's human nature to want to buy low and sell high (or sell high and buy low for short-side traders). Unfortunately, that's not at all a proven means of making profits in futures trading. Top pickers and bottom-pickers usually are trading against the trend, which is a major mistake.
7. Letting losing positions ride too long. Most successful traders will not sit on a losing position very long at all. They'll set a tight protective stop, and if it's hit they'll take their losses (usually minimal) and then move on to the next potential trading set up. Traders who sit on a losing trade, "hoping" that the market will soon turn around in their favor, are usually doomed.
8. "Over-trading." Trading too many markets at one time is a mistake--especially if you are racking up losses. If trading losses are piling up, it's time to cut back on trading, even though there is the temptation to make more trades to recover the recently lost trading assets. It takes keen focus and concentration to be a successful futures trader. Having "too many irons in the fire" at one time is a mistake.
9. Failure to accept complete responsibility for your own actions. When you have a losing trade or are in a losing streak, don't blame your broker or someone else. You are the one who is responsible for your own success or failure in trading. You make the trading decisions. If you feel you are not in firm control of your own trading, then why do you feel that way? You should make immediate changes that put you in firm control of your own trading destiny.
10. Not getting a bigger-picture perspective on a market. One can look at a daily bar chart and get a shorter-term perspective on a market trend. But a look at the longer-term weekly or monthly chart for that same market can reveal a completely different perspective. It is prudent to examine longer-term charts, for that bigger-picture perspective, when contemplating a trade.
Posted by Exber at 3:54 AM 0 comments
Labels: forex online trading and currency
11 Fascinating Market Correlations You'll Want to Use
Experienced futures traders know there are many correlations among futures markets - some of which are valuable guides in helping to determine specific market trends, and some of which are fickle. This educational feature will examine some basic correlations among futures markets, and will likely be most beneficial to the less-experienced traders. However, it just might be a good refresher for the experienced traders who may have forgotten a few of the market correlations.
It is important to emphasize that market correlations are never 100% predictable, and that some market correlations can and do make 180-degree turns over a period of time.
U.S. Dollar-Gold: The gold market and the dollar usually trade in an inverse relationship. This has been the case for many years. During times of U.S. economic prosperity and lower inflation, the dollar will usually benefit as money flows into U.S. paper assets (stocks and bonds), while physical assets (gold) are usually less attractive. Conversely, during times of weaker U.S. economic growth, higher inflation or heightened world economic or political uncertainty, traders and investors will tend to flock out of "paper" assets and into "hard" assets such as gold. Inflation is a bullish phenomenon for gold.
U.S. Dollar-U.S. Treasury Bonds: Usually, a stronger dollar means a stronger bond market because of good demand for U.S. dollars (from overseas investors) to buy U.S. T-Bonds. T-Bonds are also seen as a "flight-to-quality" asset during times of economic or political instability. In the past, the U.S. dollar has also benefited from "flight-to-quality" asset moves. However, since the major terrorist attacks on the U.S. and the resulting damage to the U.S. economy, the safe-haven status of the "greenback" has been much less pronounced.
Crude Oil-U.S. Treasury Bonds: If crude oil prices rally strongly, that is a negative for U.S. T-Bond prices, due to notions that inflationary pressures could reignite and become problematic for the economy. Inflation is the arch enemy of the bond market. Rising crude oil prices are also bullish for the gold market.
CRB-U.S. Treasury Bonds: The CRB Index is a basket of commodities melded into one composite price. A rising CRB index means generally rising commodities prices, and increasing inflation. Thus, a rising CRB Index is negative for U.S. Treasury Bond prices.
U.S. Stock Indexes-U.S. Treasury Bonds: Since the bull market in U.S. stocks ended just over two years ago, stock index futures prices and U.S. Treasury bond futures prices have traded in an inverse relationship. When stock prices are up, bond prices are usually down. However, during the long bull market run that preceded the current bear market, stock and bond prices traded in tandem. In fact, years ago, before all the electronic overnight futures trading had begun, the best way to get a good read on how the stock indexes would open was by early trading in the T-bond market. (T-Bond trading opens 70 minutes before the stock indexes).
Silver-Soybeans: This corollary may be more fiction than fact, at least nowadays. But during the "go-go" days of soaring precious metals and soybean prices, it was said that if soybean futures would lock limit-up, bean traders would buy silver futures.
Cattle-Hogs: The point to mention here is that if strong price gains or losses occur in one meat futures complex, there is likely to be somewhat of a spillover effect in the other meat complex. For example, sharp losses in the cattle or feeder cattle futures will likely weigh on the hogs and pork bellies.
Currency Futures-U.S. Dollar Index: Most major IMM currency futures contracts are "crossed" against the U.S. dollar. Thus, when the majority of the currencies are trading higher, it's very likely that the U.S. Dollar Index will be trading lower. It's a good idea for currency traders to keep a watchful eye on the U.S. Dollar Index, as it's the best barometer for the overall health of the U.S. dollar versus major foreign currencies.
U.S. Stock Indexes-Lumber: Lumber is a very important commodity for the U.S. economy. It is literally a building block for the nation. If the stock market is sharply higher, lumber futures prices will be supported. A big sell off in the stock market will likely find selling pressure on lumber futures.
N.Y. Cocoa-British Pound: London cocoa futures trading is as important (or even more important) than New York cocoa futures trading, on a worldwide basis. London cocoa futures trading is conducted in the British pound currency. Thus, big fluctuations in the pound sterling will impact the price of U.S. cocoa futures, due to the cross-currency fluctuations of the British pound versus the U.S. dollar. Keep in mind there is constantly arbitrage taking place between the New York and London cocoa markets, and thus the currency cross-rates between the pound and the dollar are very important.
Grains-U.S. Dollar Index: A weaker U.S. dollar will be an underlying positive for the U.S. grain futures markets because it makes U.S. grain exports more competitive (cheaper prices) on the world market. Larger-degree trends in the U.S. dollar will have a larger-degree impact on the grains.