Money Management & Trading habits

Maximum 2% risk per pair. What that means is when you calculate your stop losses your stop loss amount has to be within 2% of your account .If the trade goes against you, the maximum you will loose is 2% of your account. This way it also prevents you from getting panic attacks when the trade retrace against you resulting you close the trade pre maturely. If your desired stop losses do not come within 2% of your account don’t take that trade. As I always say, you may miss one trade but there are millions more to come.
You always have to calculate your risk every time before you enter your trades.
Your risk to profit ratio has to be minimum 1:1. That means if you are taking a 2% risk on a trade make sure your profit target would be at least 2%.
Always have realistic targets. My aim is 300 % capital growth per year. The lesser your target is lesser the risk of losing your own money. Even if you have 50% capital growth per year you are doing better than 90% of the worlds biggest hedge funds.
More trades you take the more you expose your account for losses. No trader in this world can profit from every single market move.
Patience plays a big part in trading. Take the trades only if you are at least 90% sure of profiting from it. If you are not sure stay away from the trade. Staying on the sideline is as good as winning.
Never trade against the trend. Specially with a high volatile pair like GBP/JPY. It may give you couple of winning trades. But it’s going to get you in the long run.
Always have a trading strategy ... make a habit to stick to it doesn’t matter how desperate you are. Always trust your strategy but not bloomberg or some statement from citibank. Don’t go with your gut feeling because 95% of the time your gut feeling is wrong.
Your charts are your forex bible. Everything what you need to know about forex is on your charts. You will learn something new everyday from you charts.
Specialize in one or two pairs. Every single pair has it’s own characteristics. No two pairs are the same. Don’t trade all the pairs your broker can offer. If you specialize in one or two pairs very soon you will be able to read the pair like a road map .
Stay away from the ranging markets. There will be enough of trend break outs on this pair than you ever want. Why take any extra risks trying to chase 20 pips on a ranging markets when you can grab 200 pips on a break out.
As Monarc mentioned traders are a greedy bunch. Less greedy once are the most successful once.
Don’t try to chase every single pip or market movement. Have a realistic weekly or monthly target as a percentage of your account . Not the number of pips. If you have already achieved that target stay away from the market. As I mentioned before.. the more you trade there is more risk of losing your money.
The losses are part of the game. Do not try to cover all your previous losses from your next trade. First your trading plan has to include at least 50% of losing trades. Then you can cut down on the number of losing trades while you gain experience and confidence.
When you start you must demo trade at least for the first 3 months to build a trading strategy. Then for the next 3 months trade on a demo account or a micro account and test your strategy coupled with a good money management strategy. When you are fully confident then trade with your real account.
Use minimum account leverage. Don’t abuse it. My recommendation for new traders is maximum one mini lot for every $2500 or one full lot for every $25000.
At last ... remember there is no easy way to become a good consistently profitable trader. No one can become a profitable trader overnight. As everything else in life it takes time, patience lots of sacrifices and learning. Don’t be afraid of mistakes.
It took me 8 months to make my first consistent $100 per week. Since then making money is like a walk in the park.

From : http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?s=0f472...

Forex Trading - Four Live Trades Given 4 Right and a Forex Lesson For Bigger Profits

By Kelly Price

At the start of this week we gave you four trades and made four profits. Were not going to tell you how clever we are or were gurus were not - were simple traders with 25 years experience and will share an important forex lesson with you that you can use for big profit potential to:

Trade of the odds and act on momentum changes and you can do it to.

Lesson 1 - Don't Predict!

You will read a lot about how you need to predict markets - this will simply mean you will lose.

You need to wait for confirmation and then trade.

You can see how logical and profitable it was, if you followed the trades.

The background

Speculator positions were at an extreme, with speculators to long:

British Pound, Euro and Canada Dollar

and to short yen / dollar.

The market flushed them out - but this does not mean the primary trends were over - we just needed a correction.

Support and Resistance

We simply looked for momentum to wane into significant support and resistance and then looked for price momentum to turn up in line with our view above or below these levels.

For this we used:

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and stochastic indicator - if you don't know how they work learn how to use them.

The key when entering a trade - is not to hope levels of support or resistance hold but to have proof - that way you are not hoping or guessing, you are acting on the reality of price.

The change in momentum below resistance in the yen and above support in the others, was the trigger to enter.

The number 1 Rule for executing trading signals is:

Have price momentum on your side - never trade without it.

There are other momentum indicators, but the two we used above are:

Simple to learn, simple to apply and can make great profits - as you have seen in a live trading scenario.

Use These Tools There FREE!

Unlike many people who write on the net, we are traders, NOT selling junk systems that don't work that tell you to predict.

We know that forex trading is an odds game - not a game of Prediction and this is a lesson you need to learn to.

We just proved how effective it is and you can use it to and best of all:

These Tools are FREE!

You don't have to pay anyone to use them - every good chart service has them so make use of them and as you have seen they can and do make big profits as we have shown you.

About the Author

GRAB 3 X FREE TRADER & FREE TRADER PROFITS NEWSLETTER

More on becoming a profitable trader some critical FREE Trader PDF's and more FREE Forex Education visit our website at http://www.net-planet.org/index.html

Forex Trading - These Traders Made Millions after Just 14 Days Studying The Markets!

By Monica Hendrix

The turtle story is perhaps one of the most inspiring trading stories ever and if you want to learn forex trading, then you should study how they did it.

Let's look at it in more detail.

The Experiment

Legendary trader Richard Dennis set out to prove over 20 years ago, that successful trading could be learned by anyone and set out to prove his point.

He took 23 people all with no trading experience:

Male, female, young, old and from a variety of jobs - many of them blue collar and set out to teach these people a method they could use to make big profits.

The result?

These traders went on to be some of the most successful and famous traders of all time and made him over $100 million dollars.

How did they do it and how did he teach them so quickly?

Let's take a look.

Dennis set out to teach them a simple method; they could have confidence in and apply it with discipline and then added a set of money management rules to preserve equity.

There was no filler - he just taught them the knowledge they needed to win.

It's a fact that trading is relatively simple, yet few succeed - and they fail for two main reasons:

- They do not have sufficient confidence in their method to follow it with discipline And:

- They cannot run profits and cut losses.

Dennis focused on these two areas taught them how to overcome these obstacles and the group succeeded.

Is it really that easy to learn forex trading?

The answer is yes and no.

It's a fact that forex trading can be learned by anyone, yet most traders don't succeed but this is down to them - the opportunity is there for everyone.

Trading is hard (as any venture is in life where there is big money to be made) but there is a big difference between something being hard and not being achievable.

You can succeed but just like the turtles, you must get the RIGHT forex education and learn the right mindset for success.

Trading success in forex is a combination of the right mindset and the right knowledge.

Most traders simply learn the wrong information or are lazy and expect some guru or mentor, to give them success and lose.

Unfortunately most of the systems and e-books sold on the net are not from traders but from marketing companies who never trade the system!

They make their money making claims that have no substantiation and the gullible novice traders fall for it.

The challenge

If you have a burning desire to succeed and are prepared to apply yourself to trading in the right way, by learn the right knowledge, then you can enjoy currency trading success. The question is:

Are you up for the challenge?

If you are, forex trading can offer you the opportunity to make big consistent gains and brighten your financial future - the opportunity is there now, are you have to take it?

Good luck!

About the Author

NEW! 5 X Critical Trader PDF's & Much More

Claim your FREE PDF's and demo account and learn Forex Trading and also get: Breaking financial news, tight pip spreads, guaranteed stops $100.00 minimum investment and 400:1 leverage at http://www.freeforexguidesonline.com

Forex Education - The 4 Major Mistakes That Cause 90% of Traders to Lose

By Monica Hendrix

If you want to trade Forex and win the odds are against you - 95% of traders lose and only 5% succeed. If you want to win at forex trading (and the rewards are huge) then don't make these 4 trading mistakes.

If you make any of these mistakes you will never achieve long term profitability in forex trading.

1. Predicting Market Movement

This is the one major error almost all new forex traders make and it's a critical one.

If you try and predict then you are simply hoping or guessing and the market will destroy your equity.

Hoping or guessing is not a way to make money in any business - forex trading included!

For example, traders spot a support level and think it will hold so they buy - what they should do is:

Wait for proof that the level will hold by looking for a change in price momentum that shows prices are moving back up - this is the proof.

Check out and start using momentum indicators in your trading.

2. Using Logic That Does Not Work

Trader's very often use methods or systems which can never work.

Here are some examples:

Day trading

Is popular but you will NEVER win.

All short term volatility is random - therefore you can't get the odds in your favour and lose.

The Appliance of Science

Many traders think markets move with scientific accuracy and use cycles or Fibonacci numbers - they don't work and never will, yet traders still use them.

Obviously they can't work:

If markets moved to a scientific formula, we could all work out the price in advance and there would be no market.

Two Many Inputs

Many traders try to be too clever and have systems with huge amounts of indicators.

After all, 12 indicators must be better than 2 or 3 - Wrong!

Too many indicators, simply means the system simply breaks in real time trading and are not as robust as simple systems.

The above are just a few examples and there are many more - look them up in our other articles. 3. Poor Money Management

Most novice traders are paranoid about losing - they place stops so close their guaranteed to get stopped out.

On the other hand, when they have a profit they get so excited, they bank it early by moving their stop too quickly!

If you want to make money you have to take meaningful risks to make big rewards.

To do this you must keep your stops outside of normal volatility - if you want to hang onto the big trends, that make the big profits.

4. Lack of Confidence and Discipline

The reason most traders lack this is because they try and buy success.

They think someone can give them success for a few hundred dollars and buy an e-book or system from a vendor.

When the system starts to lose, they have no confidence in it and throw in the towel.

An important vital part of your forex education is:

Only you can give yourself success.

Most systems sold on the net are junk if they were that good the vendor would trade them himself and not bother you for small amounts of money!

You need to build your own system and know how and why it makes profits, have confidence in it and this will give you the discipline to follow it through inevitable losses in the short term and hold on for long term profitability.

About the Author

NEW! 5 X Critical Trader PDF's & Much More

Claim your FREE PDF's and demo account and learn Forex Trading and also get: Breaking financial news, tight pip spreads, guaranteed stops $100.00 minimum investment and 400:1 leverage at http://www.freeforexguidesonline.com

Trading Timeframes

Long Term

Long term traders will work from end of day data and look to hold trades for a few weeks up to many months. Usually trend trading.

Advantages

No need to watch the markets intraday.

Fewer transactions means lower commission costs.

Cost of equipment and data is minimal.

Disadvantages

Large equity swings on single positions with large stops.

Usually only 1 or 2 exceptional trades a year so patience is essential.

Bigger capitalization required to ride longer term swings.

Frequent losing months.

Short Term

Working from intraday data and looking to hold for a day up to a week. Usually swing trading.

Advantages

More opportunities for trades.

Less chance of losing months.

Less reliance on one or two trades a year to make money.

Disadvantages

Transaction costs will be higher.

Intraday data adds to costs.

Overnight risk becomes a factor.

Day Trading

Working from intraday data the day trader will attempt to take small profits from intraday swings. All positions will be exited at the market close.

Advantages

Many trading opportunities in a day.

Much lower chance of losing months.

No overnight risk.

Reduced margin requirements due to no overnight risk.

Disadvantages

Transaction costs will be high.

Psychologically more difficult due to frequency of trading.

Profits are limited by needing to exit at the end of the day.

Data costs are high as real time data is essential.

Tim Wreford runs Online Futures Trading, a website that provides information and resources for traders. Tim also provides a free day trading system, the results of which are updated daily on the site.

How To Handle A String Of Losses

Everybody hates to lose and unfortunately no one is blessed with the ability of foresight, therefore losses are an unavoidable part of trading. When we enter a trade we will either be right, or wrong, and even if we broke-even we'd still be classed as being wrong - as nobody enters into a trade just to break-even! When unsuccessful traders encounter a string of losses they begin to engage in self-destructive patterns that help them escape the pain they are experiencing.

In this article we bring to light these self-destructive actions that can help you realize what you are doing before it takes hold of your physical health. If you find yourself already engaged in these patterns hopefully this article can help you to get you back on track as quickly as possible.

The Destructive Patterns

If you find yourself caught in a string of losses or a bad performing week/month be sure to monitor your behavior. It is during this time that you will be at your most vulnerable. You will begin to indulge in activities that at first seem harmless, but upon excessive use (or in time), begin to cause physical damage to your health.

Ask yourself the following question: during during drawdown periods do I find myself over-indulging in these activities:

> Food (especially junk food - eg. chocolate, ice-cream, chips)?

> Sex (includes viewing pornography)?

> Alcohol?

> Drugs (includes excessive smoking)?

> Laziness (find it difficult to wake up in the morning)?

> Entertainment?

All of the above taken in excessive doses can be detrimental to your own physical health (some even in small doses!).

These activities above during your losing period are only covering up the pain of confronting the true issue, and your body tries to rid the emotional pain by trying to "fix" it with physical pleasures. Unfortunately it is going about it in the wrong way, so what should you do?

Firstly... REALIZE WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND STOP IT!

You need to realize what you're doing and you need to STOP doing it immediately! You can either decide to stop, or you'll be forced to stop when your body eventually breaks down and prevents you from any form of movement. It will be much more beneficial to you in the long-term if you can decide to stop *NOW*.

Once you have stopped you now need to figure out a way to solve the pain - not by cutting out or neglecting it, but by staring it in the face. Bring your problems out into the light, be honest with yourself. There can be no growth without pain, you are experiencing the emotional pain, now it is time to find the error and therefore your growth.

Begin Your Review

The review process begins in two separate areas: You & Your System. Here are some checklists for you to go through to find out where the problem could lie:

"YOUR SYSTEM" CHECKLIST

> Was your system thoroughly tested prior to trading it (or paper traded if you do not have the capacity to programme your system into backtesting software)?

> Did you test with out-of-sample data?

> Do you even have a system???? If you do not, how do you even know if the method that you are trading is even profitable??

> Is your system's code correct?

> Did you over-optimize your system? (what have we discussed about over-indulging?)

> Did you paper trade your system prior to placing capital on it?

> Did you trade with a small amount of capital prior to placing the rest of your funds on it?

> Do you know the system's limitations?

> Did you properly drill your system? (see our blog article on why I am the system designer from hell)

"YOU" CHECKLIST

> Is the current drawdown you are exhibiting with your system normal?

> Are you comfortable with your system's historical drawdown performance?

> Are you fully aware of the risks involved with your system and the instrument(s) you are trading?

> Are you trading with funds that you are comfortable risking?

> Are you relying too heavily on your performance?

> Have you set realistic goals?

As you can see there are generally two areas that you need to explore: the mechanical aspect - your system - and the emotional aspect - you. Both can be responsible for making the way you feel the way you do. It will either be an error on the system's side with how the system was tested and/or programmed, or it can be your own psychological profile not being comfortable with the system's performance.

Your Answers = Change = Your Growth

What steps should we now take? Now that we have begun a corrective process where we have stopped the evil nature of our over-indulging ways to take control we should continue our "corrective nature" by invoking our findings and taking ACTION in correcting our errors.

If the problem was mechanical - fix it, if the problem was emotional either go about setting up new thought patterns, or change your current system. The answers lie in whether you need to expand your knowledge in system development, or whether you need to grow emotionally as a person.

Unfortunately there is no easy road, and even if there was everybody would be doing it. Hopefully this article has made you ponder over some of your behaviors during drawdown periods, be sure to keep an eye on yourself and as always take care of your body, because there's no use in making all the money in the world when you don't have the physical capacity to enjoy it.

Ryan Sheehy is the author of http://www.currencysecrets.com where you will find more free articles and resources on forex trading. You can also subscribe for free to their monthly newsletter.

FOREX 101: Make Money with Currency Trading

For those unfamiliar with the term, FOREX (FOReign EXchange market), refers to an international exchange market where currencies are bought and sold. The Foreign Exchange Market that we see today began in the 1970's, when free exchange rates and floating currencies were introduced. In such an environment only participants in the market determine the price of one currency against another, based upon supply and demand for that currency.

FOREX is a somewhat unique market for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is one of the few markets in which it can be said with very few qualifications that it is free of external controls and that it cannot be manipulated. It is also the largest liquid financial market, with trade reaching between 1 and 1.5 trillion US dollars a day. With this much money moving this fast, it is clear why a single investor would find it near impossible to significantly affect the price of a major currency. Furthermore, the liquidity of the market means that unlike some rarely traded stock, traders are able to open and close positions within a few seconds as there are always willing buyers and sellers.

Another somewhat unique characteristic of the FOREX money market is the variance of its participants. Investors find a number of reasons for entering the market, some as longer term hedge investors, while others utilize massive credit lines to seek large short term gains. Interestingly, unlike blue-chip stocks, which are usually most attractive only to the long term investor, the combination of rather constant but small daily fluctuations in currency prices, create an environment which attracts investors with a broad range of strategies.

How FOREX Works

Transactions in foreign currencies are not centralized on an exchange, unlike say the NYSE, and thus take place all over the world via telecommunications. Trade is open 24 hours a day from Sunday afternoon until Friday afternoon (00:00 GMT on Monday to 10:00 pm GMT on Friday). In almost every time zone around the world, there are dealers who will quote all major currencies. After deciding what currency the investor would like to purchase, he or she does so via one of these dealers (some of which can be found online). It is quite common practice for investors to speculate on currency prices by getting a credit line (which are available to those with capital as small as $500), and vastly increase their potential gains and losses. This is called marginal trading.

Marginal Trading

Marginal trading is simply the term used for trading with borrowed capital. It is appealing because of the fact that in FOREX investments can be made without a real money supply. This allows investors to invest much more money with fewer money transfer costs, and open bigger positions with a much smaller amount of actual capital. Thus, one can conduct relatively large transactions, very quickly and cheaply, with a small amount of initial capital. Marginal trading in an exchange market is quantified in lots. The term "lot" refers to approximately $100,000, an amount which can be obtained by putting up as little as 0.5% or $500.

EXAMPLE: You believe that signals in the market are indicating that the British Pound will go up against the US Dollar. You open 1 lot for buying the Pound with a 1% margin at the price of 1.49889 and wait for the exchange rate to climb. At some point in the future, your predictions come true and you decide to sell. You close the position at 1.5050 and earn 61 pips or about $405. Thus, on an initial capital investment of $1,000, you have made over 40% in profits. (Just as an example of how exchange rates change in the course of a day, an average daily change of the Euro (in Dollars) is about 70 to 100 pips.)

When you decide to close a position, the deposit sum that you originally made is returned to you and a calculation of your profits or losses is done. This profit or loss is then credited to your account.

Investment Strategies: Technical Analysis and Fundamental Analysis

The two fundamental strategies in investing in FOREX are Technical Analysis or Fundamental Analysis. Most small and medium sized investors in financial markets use Technical Analysis. This technique stems from the assumption that all information about the market and a particular currency's future fluctuations is found in the price chain. That is to say, that all factors which have an effect on the price have already been considered by the market and are thus reflected in the price. Essentially then, what this type of investor does is base his/her investments upon three fundamental suppositions. These are: that the movement of the market considers all factors, that the movement of prices is purposeful and directly tied to these events, and that history repeats itself. Someone utilizing technical analysis looks at the highest and lowest prices of a currency, the prices of opening and closing, and the volume of transactions. This investor does not try to outsmart the market, or even predict major long term trends, but simply looks at what has happened to that currency in the recent past, and predicts that the small fluctuations will generally continue just as they have before.

A Fundamental Analysis is one which analyzes the current situations in the country of the currency, including such things as its economy, its political situation, and other related rumors. By the numbers, a country's economy depends on a number of quantifiable measurements such as its Central Bank's interest rate, the national unemployment level, tax policy and the rate of inflation. An investor can also anticipate that less quantifiable occurrences, such as political unrest or transition will also have an effect on the market. Before basing all predictions on the factors alone, however, it is important to remember that investors must also keep in mind the expectations and anticipations of market participants. For just as in any stock market, the value of a currency is also based in large part on perceptions of and anticipations about that currency, not solely on its reality.

Make Money with Currency Trading on FOREX

FOREX investing is one of the most potentially rewarding types of investments available. While certainly the risk is great, the ability to conduct marginal trading on FOREX means that potential profits are enormous relative to initial capital investments. Another benefit of FOREX is that its size prevents almost all attempts by others to influence the market for their own gain. So that when investing in foreign currency markets one can feel quite confident that the investment he or she is making has the same opportunity for profit as other investors throughout the world. While investing in FOREX short term requires a certain degree of diligence, investors who utilize a technical analysis can feel relatively confident that their own ability to read the daily fluctuations of the currency market are sufficiently adequate to give them the knowledge necessary to make informed investments.

Rich McIver is a contributing writer for The Forex Blog: Currency Trading News ( http://www.forexblog.org ).

Example of a Profitable Transaction in FOREX

To make a profit, in the FOREX, a trader can enter the market as a *buy position* (known as going "long") or a *sell position*(known as going "short").

For discussion, let's assume you've been studying the EURO.

Your trading methods, rules, strategies, etc., tell you that prices will rise during a particular timeframe. So you buy the EUR/USD pair (or, technically, you will simultaneously buy euros, the base currency, and sell dollars).

You open up your handy trading station software (provided to you for free by the online broker), which resides on your desktop, and you see that the EUR/USD pair is trading at:

>

REMEMBER: the quote to the left of the / (1.3242) refers to the bid or "sell" price (what you obtain in USD when you sell EUR). The quote to the right of the / (1.3245) is used to obtain the ask or "buy" price (what you have to pay in USD if you buy EUR).

So, since you believe that the market price for the EUR/USD pair will go higher, you will enter a *buy position* in the market. For simplicities sake, let's say you bought one lot at 1.3245. As long as you sell back the pair at a higher price, then you make money.

But, no worries. This seemingly elaborate process is handled, and even calculated for you, via the broker's software mentioned above. The chart software and the quote board are in agreement with all sides of the currencies.

To illustrate a typical FX SELL trade, consider this scenario involving the USD/JPY currency pair:

REMEMBER ~ Selling ("going short") the currency pair implies selling the first, base currency, and buying the second, quote currency. You sell the currency pair if you believe the base currency (USD) will go down relative to the quote currency (JPY), or equivalently, that the quote currency (JPY) will go up relative to the base currency (USD).

NOTE: while the Profit Calculations, on the Short-sell trade scenario below, may seem somewhat complicated if you've never been in the FOREX market before, trust us when we say, "this process is nearly seamless through your broker trade station (software). We're just showing you this thought-process below so you can SEE how a PROFIT occurs even when

SELLING a currency pair.

The current bid/ask price for USD/JPY is 105.26/105.30, meaning you can buy $1 US for 105.30 Japanese YEN or sell $1 US for 105.26 YEN.

Suppose you decide that the US Dollar (USD) is overvalued against the YEN (JPY). To execute this strategy, you would sell Dollars (simultaneously buying YEN), and then wait for the exchange rate to rise.

So you make the trade: selling US $100,000 and purchasing 10,526,000 YEN. (Remember, at 1% margin, your initial margin deposit would be $1,000.)

As you expected, USD/JPY falls to 104.26/104.30, meaning you can now buy $1 US for $104.30 Japanese YEN or sell $1 US for 104.26

Since you're short dollars (and are long YEN), you must now buy dollars and sell back the YEN to realize any profit.

You buy US $100,000 at the current USD/JPY rate of 104.30, and receive 10,430,000 YEN. Since you originally bought(paid for) 10,526,000 YEN, your profit is 96,000 YEN.

To calculate your P&L in terms of US dollars, simply divide 96,000 by the current USD/JPY rate of 104.30.

Total profit = US $920.42

Omar Vargas is a freelance writer with articles published in a number of places. You can learn more about Forex trading and its great advantages over other kind of business at this useful website: http://www.1-forex.com

Is The U.S. Dollar About To Reverse Course?

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.

The strength shown in the U.S. currency thus far in 2005 should prove to be short-lived. The strong Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth during the past eighteen months will begin to show signs of moving closer to more normal levels over the next couple months. The signs of a slower economic growth will likely cause a shift in sentiment among currency traders toward the more fundamental problems facing the U.S. economy. The United States trade and current account deficits show no signs of retreating anytime soon. In fact, we expect the coming trade figures to show further deterioration in the balance of trade over the next few months. The major industrialized nations outside of the United States continue to experience anemic economic growth. This continues to place further pressure on the U.S. dollar as the United States consumer continues to buy goods produced in Europe, Japan, and China.

While we expect the dollar to resume its gradual fall against most major currencies, the major wildcard in our forecast is of course China. Recent information coming from China's top decision makers indicates the Chinese are in no hurry to adjust the current value of the Yuan-Dollar relationship. Should any talks of a possible revaluation emerge later in the year, the downward pressure on the U.S. dollar would quicken as currency traders would buy the Japanese yen, and other freely traded Asian currencies, that would likely benefit from a revaluation.

Mike Fitzpatrick writes for http://www.financial-watch.com

The Margin Advantages of Trading FOREX

There is one aspect that is considered as one of the best advantages of FOREX Trading. This is related to the amount of money you need to place a trade, this is known as "margin", and in short, this is all that can be lost in a the case you had a bad trade.

I state it like this because, even though I know with proper self-taught education you're NOT going to lose as much as you win anyway, I want you to know that despite the super-high leverage associated with FOREX trading (200:1 is possible; meaning that if you put up $1 the trading vendor will allow you to trade like you really have $200), it's still arguably less risky than futures (commodities) trading. And, forget stocks, you'll never get this type of LEVERAGE in the equities market.

Futures markets are often prone to sudden and dramatic moves, against which you can not protect yourself, even by trading with protective stops. Your position may be liquidated at a loss, and you'll be liable for any resulting deficit in the account. But because of the FX markets deep liquidity and 24-hour, continuous trading, dangerous trading gaps and limit moves are eliminated. Orders are executed quickly, without slippage or partial fills. And finally, there are no margin calls -- for your protection, ALL our recommended brokers will automatically close out some or all of your open positions if your account equity falls below the level required to hold the positions. Think of this as a final, automatic stop, always working on your behalf to prevent a debit balance. In fact, if you pick from our list of recommended brokers, we guarantee that you will never lose more than you have in your FOREX account.

http://www.1-forex.com

Omar Vargas; Forex trader and freelance writer. http://www.1-forex.com

Trade Exit - How To Cut Losses And Let Profits Run

Cut your losses short and let your profits run. This is the essence of your trade exit rules.

Cutting losses short

A protective stop protects your trading capital, it is your initial trade risk. Before a trade is even entered your should know where your protective stop will be - this is your maximum loss (barring any slippage on the exit). There are many different ways to determine a protective stop on a trade:

Set dollar amount - Say $500 on every trade

Percentage retracement - Say 10% from the entry price

Volatility - A percentage of the average true range of the previous x bars

Moving Averages - the opposite of the moving average entry

Channel breakouts - the opposite of the channel breakout entry

Based on areas of support and resistance stops

Time - If a position is not in profit after a certain length of time then it is exited.

Letting profits run

An effective exit technique is also required to allow a successful trade to make the most profit possible and give back the least amount of it.

Usually a trailing stop is employed to achieve this objective. A trailing stop moves to lock in profits as the trade moves in the traders favour, it should never be moved backwards. There are many different ways to calculate a trailing stop:

Volatility - the stop is calculated as a percentage of the average true range of x periods.

Dollar - A set amount determined before the trade is entered.

channel breakout - exit a long position at the low of the last x bars.

moving average

chart patterns - ie move the trailing stop behind each consolidation as it forms.

Other forms of exit are:

Time Stops - A trade is exited after a certain length of time no mater what. A day trader, for example, will always exit at the market close.

Targets - A limit order is placed to exit a position at a pre-defined profit objective. However this tends to break the rule of letting profits run and usually reduces the profitability of a system by cutting short the best trades.

Tim Wreford runs Online Futures Trading, a website that provides information and resources for traders. Tim also provides a free day trading system, the results of which are updated daily on the site.

The Seven Most Traded Currencies in FOREX

Currencies are traded in dollar amounts called "lots". One lot is equal to $1,000, which controls $100,000 in currency. This is what is known as the "margin". You can control $100,000 worth of currency for only 1,000 dollars. This is what is called "High Leverage".

Currencies are always traded in pairs in the FOREX. The pairs have a unique notation that expresses what currencies are being traded. The symbol for a currency pair will always be in the form ABC/DEF. ABC/DEF is not a real currency pair, it is an example of a symbol for a currency pair. In this example ABC is the symbol for one countries currency and DEF is the symbol for another countries currency.

Here are some of the common symbols used in the Forex:

USD - The US Dollar
EUR - The currency of the European Union "EURO"
GBP - The British Pound
JPN - The Japanese Yen
CHF - The Swiss Franc
AUD - The Australian Dollar
CAD - The Canadian Dollar

There are symbols for other currencies as well, but these are the most commonly traded ones.

A currency can never be traded by itself. So you can not ever trade a EUR by itself. You always need to compare one currency with another currency to make a trade possible.

Some of the common PAIRS are:

EUR/USD Euro / US Dollar
"Euro"

USD/JPY US Dollar / Japanese Yen
"Dollar Yen"

GBP/USD British Pound / US Dollar
"Cable"

USD/CAD US Dollar / Canadian Dollar
"Dollar Canada"

AUD/USD Australian Dollar/US Dollar
"Aussie Dollar"

USD/CHF US Dollar / Swiss Franc
"Swissy"

EUR/JPY Euro / Japanese Yen
"Euro Yen"

The listed currency pairs above look like a fraction. The numerator (top of the fraction or "left" of the / however you want to SEE it) is called the base currency. The denominator (bottom of the fraction or "right" of the /however you want to SEE it) is called the counter currency. When you place an order to buy the EUR/USD, for instance, you are actually buying the EUR and selling the USD. If you were to sell the pair, you would be selling the EUR and buying the USD. So if you buy or sell a currency PAIR, you are buying/selling the base currency. You are always doing the opposite of what you did with to base currency with the counter currency.

If this seems confusing then you're in luck. You can always get by with just thinking of the entire pair as one item. Then you are just buying or selling that one item. Thinking like this will still enable you to place trades. You only need to be aware of the base/counter concept for Fundamental Analysis issues.

So why is it important to know about the base/counter currency? The base/counter currency concept illustrates what is actually taking place in a Forex transaction. Some of you reading this, know that short-selling was restricted in the stock market *(Short-selling is where you sell a stock/currency/option/commodity first and then try to buy it back at a lower price later). But in the FOREX you are always buying one currency (base) and selling another (counter). If you sell the pair you are simply flipping which one you buy and which one you sell. The transaction is essentially the same. This allows you to short-sell with no restrictions.

You want to be able to short-sell with no restrictions so you can make money when the market drops as well as when it rises. The problem with traditional stock market trading is that the market has to go up for you to make money. With FOREX trading you can make money in all directions.

http://www.1-forex.com

Omar Vargas; FOREX Trader and Freelance writer.
http://www.1-forex.com

Writing A Trading Plan

All professional traders have a trading plan. Trading futures is a zero sum game and those with a plan (and the discipline to apply it) will succeed over those that have no plan. A plan details the particular market anomaly that you intend to exploit - your edge. Human emotion creates anomalies - essentially, the fear and the greed of those that have no trading plan.

Creating a trading plan and rigidly applying that plan allows the professional trader to eliminate emotional responses from his trading.

Let's look at what your written trading plan should cover:

Trading concept - What anomaly is your trading strategy intending to exploit?

Timeframe - The shorter the timeframe the more trades that can be made. However short term trading leads to lower reward:risk ratio's and higher commission costs.

Instrument - There are many different ways to trade essentially the same idea - options, futures, exchange traded funds etc. Which offers the most reward for your trading concept?

Entry - How will you open your trade?

Exit - How will you close your trade - A stop loss should be placed at a point where the trading concept become invalid, this could be a specific price or a certain length of time. A profit exit must also be established - again either a certain target price or a timed exit.

Money Management - How much capital is required to trade the strategy and how much should be risked on each trade to maximise returns whilst minimising the risk of blowing the account?

End of Day Routine - At the end of each day every trade should be compared to the trading plan and any variances should be addressed. Remember the plan is their for a reason and you must trade it exactly. If a change is required then it should be properly tested before being added to the plan. No decisions should be made whilst a trade is live.

Brokers - Which broker will you use and how will you trade? Automating a trading plan through the broker's API will help to eliminate any emotional responses.

Your plan will require constant revision as the market dynamics change. If you have noticed a market anomaly then it's very like that many of your competitors have as well.

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there." Lewis Carroll

Tim Wreford runs Online Futures Trading, a website that provides information and resources for traders. Tim also provides a free day trading system, the results of which are updated daily on the site.

The Secrets of the Super-Traders

The first and perhaps most important "secret" is to realize that your methodology or approach (no matter how good) is only part of being a highly successful trader. This applies to any trading style including, day trading, swing trading or position trading.

The simple fact is that a bad trader can screw up a fantastic trading system. Conversely a talented trader can take a mediocre strategy and make money with it.

Why? Please read on and I will explain.

Many traders/investors that I have talked with think that to be a "Super-Trader" that they must possess some type of highly advanced trading techniques or software along with nerves of steel and a highly developed intuitive feel for the markets. In addition they think that these elite group, have some "inside information" that they don't.

You will be relieved to know that the above is not necessary. There are actually only a few things that separate traders who consistently make money and those who don't.

And here they are?

* Skilled traders find a strategy or market pattern that offers a high probability for success. They make money by exploiting this edge over and over again.

* Skilled traders never deviate from their methodology or "wing it".

* Skilled traders never enter a trade without a entry and exit strategy. They know exactly when and where to cut their losses as well as taking profits.

* Skilled traders never ever let a winning trade turn into a losing one. The easiest way to ensure that this doesn't happen is to place a protective stop at or a few ticks in the money once your position is up several points.

* Skilled traders never hope, pray or wish that their stock would go up. They understand that when they are wrong they are wrong and the best thing to do is cut their losses short.

* Skilled traders never trade with their emotions. They don't allow themselves to get caught up in the latest and greatest investment hype.

* Skilled traders always have one goal in mind: To preserve their capital at all costs. They do this by never taking on too large of a position. A good rule of thumb to adhere to is never use more than 5% of your funds on any one trade. This way in the worst-case scenario the stock could drop to zero and your account would not be severely affected.

* Skilled traders never get too greedy. There is an old saying that "Pigs gets fed and hogs get slaughtered". These traders don't try to make one big trade that will turn them into instant millionaires. They don't try to hit home runs, instead they understand that it is better to keep hitting singles and making smaller consistent profits.

* Skilled traders enter and exit trades swiftly and decisively.

* Skilled traders listen to no one else's opinion concerning the market or particular trade they are in.

* Skilled traders are often contrarians. They will be buying when others are too scared to and sell when the crowd starts buying.

That's it, the secrets to making big money in the markets. Perhaps that is a bit of a let down as you were hoping for something a bit more esoteric and complicated.

Let me assure you that if you follow the above principles that you will take your trading skills and profits to a level that you never thought possible!

This article is courtesy of Dr. Jeffrey Wilde, a trading veteran with 15 years of experience in all major markets. He is a trading coach to over 1400 traders in 38 countries.

For additional info: http://www.win-at-trading.com

Be a Smarter FOREX Currency Trader: Three Basic Principles

Below I will describe three basic principles that may come in handy for currency traders. They are very easy to implement and potentially take advantage of as you will see.

Principle 1

Some currency traders find that it is useful to always trade a given currency pair at the very same time every day. The reasoning for this is that most of the other traders buying or selling that currency pair may also trade at the same time. Major trading pits may also be working the exact same shift every day. This technique may be especially useful for currency traders who exploit technical analysis. Again, the reasoning for this is that it may be possible to standardize the trading conditions if one trades during the same time frame every day, if only for a very little bit. However, that small bit of standardization may yield several pips worth of profit. Nevertheless, it is readily obvious that the foreign exchange market can be very volatile and random.

Principle 2

Certain currencies trade with a certain volatility at a certain time. Once you've finished practicing your trading skills on a demo account and you decide to test the waters using your own investment capital, you may want to minimize the amount of liquidity and volatility to hedge your risk. Alternatively, you may want to increase the risk involved, and potentially increase your profit potential. (It should be noted that very heavy risk is involved under any circumstances.)

The foreign exchange market follows the sun around the world moving from the United States to Australia and New Zealand to the Far East, to Europe and finally back to the United States. Overall foreign currency trading volume is determined by which markets are open and the overlap in the times that these markets are open. Currency trading volume is relatively high 24 hours a day, but there are considerable peaks in activity when the British, European, and US markets are open simultaneously, which is from 1 pm GMT to 4 pm GMT. Pacific Rim markets, such as Japan and Hong Kong, show a dip in their trading volume while there is extensive volume in the US market at the very same time. Nevertheless, it is still possible to perform technical analysis on Pacific Rim currencies. By trading during a certain time frame, one may be able to either minimize or maximize the level of volatility (and risk) for a given currency pair.

Principle 3

Although the above is a general statement about the activity volume for certain currencies, it may be a good idea to attempt to capture the level of volatility for given currency pairs. You can potentially use Bollinger bands, a tool used by technical analysts, to quantify volatility. Bollinger bands compare volatility and relative price levels over time. Some currency traders cannot trade a day in their life without using Bollinger bands, while others may not find any use for them; it is really up to you to decide whether Bollinger bands are of any use to your specific situation.

I have described three basic principles that may potentially come in handy for currency traders in the foreign exchange market. They are very easy to implement and may reap rewards (or lack thereof) depending on market conditions. Hopefully these principles will help you come up with your own successful strategies for trading currencies in the foreign exchange market.

Joshua M. Kunken is Currency Analyst for ForeignMarketWatch.com. His articles may also be found at ForexTrack.com.

Facts of Day Trading

Are you thinking of entering the fast-paced world of day trading? Arm yourselves with the information from this fact sheet on day trading.

What is day trading?

Day trading is an investment tactic that does online daily stock trading with a relatively short investment. Those who do day trading usually buy and sell securities during the same market day and, as a general rule, do not hold stocks overnight. Many day traders make dozens of trades every market day hoping to capture profits that arise from small intraday price fluctuations.

How is day trading different from swing trading?

Day trading relatively holds the stock for only the day. After the stock market closes, a day trader has no stock in his hands. Swing trading holds a stock for at least a few days, waiting out for the best price before dumping it back to the market. Day trading is much more stressful and requires guts and a keen business sense. Once you get good at day trading, you can earn up to $50,000 from your initial investment.

How much capital would you need for day trading?

You need an investment equivalent to buy 1000 stocks. That is roughly around $20,000. Because the chances are small that you will find a marketable stock with a price of under $20, this is enough to get your day trading underway. However, you must remember that this is a 100% risk capital so do not worry too much if you lose this amount very early.

What are the general rules for day trading?

- Always trade with the trend.
- Cut losses short
- Never get emotionally involved in your trades.

What are the most suitable stocks to trade for day trading? It is advisable to trade high volume stocks. Go with the trend with the popular stocks available. It'll be easier for you to sell those stocks at the end of the day trading.

How does a usual day trading transaction occur?

For example, at 10:00 AM a day trader might buy 1000 shares of stock XYZ just as the price begins to rise on good news, then sell it at 10:04 AM when it's up by 1/2 ($0.50). The day trader makes $500, minus commission. With today's cheap commissions of $29.95 or less per trade, that's a quick $440.10 or better, excluding taxes.

Most people who deal with day trading spend all of their time in front of the computer, watching the slightest change in the stock price. As the prices go up and down, the day trader must be alert as to when to sell his stock or wait for the moment to hold on it. This can be a very stressful lifestyle as a mere second could mean an increase of half the stock price and missing that moment for any person engaging in day trading could mean a loss on his investment.

Day trading is not a get rich scheme. It is serious business where you could lose everything within minutes because of wrong information. Before jumping into day trading, remember to do your homework first. Go to seminars on day trading, use simulations if possible and practice reading market indicators. To be a successful day trader, don't just need luck. Knowledge and experience counts. Welcome to the world of stock markets and investments!

For More Information and articles about day trading check out the forex trading center.

E-currency Exchange Trading

If you are reading this article you are probably one of the many people who have spent countless hours searching for unique ways to make money on the internet. Very few people have gone on to succeed and most have failed miserably time and time again.

So how are some people succeeding? The answer is quite simple; they are finding a business that works with their specific strengths and needs. The majority of people today trying to get into the home-based business industry are not salesmen and genius marketers. People fiddle around looking in all the wrong places wasting loads of money on advertising that isn't working and E-books that promise wealth.

It took me five years to find a business that did not involving selling, building a down-line or that required me to recruit more people. That is when I stumbled across e-currency exchange trading.

So what is it then? E-currency exchange allows users to build a financial portfolio through a complex system of thousands of people exchanging funds from dollars to electronic currency. There are two sides to the trading system, the portfolio side and the console side.

Initially users can create a portfolio that receives 1.5% to 4.0% gains per day on the amount of money in the portfolio. For example, if you put in $1,000 and received gains at a rate of 3.5%, your profits for one day would be $3.50. This money is compounded daily and grows continuously over time. It is not uncommon for people who initially invest $100 to grow their portfolio value to $1000 in 1 month. It is easy to see that over time there is money to be made here.

Once you have been in the e-currency exchange program for 90 days and your portfolio has grown to a value of $5000, you are able to apply for a console. With a console you can now process requests from people that wish to take their money from e-currency and convert it back to the dollar or from the dollar back to e-currency. Console holders receive a percentage of the total amount exchanged as profit. Usually people take that profit and reinvest back into their portfolio.

The only down-side is learning how to navigate through the e-currency network which is extremely difficult without assistance. Most people try it out for a few days, become frustrated and quit because they simply do not know what they are doing. There are plenty of resources available if one just takes the time to look for them.

Copyright 2005 Timothy Rohrer

Learn how Tim Rohrer turned $100 into $1,500 in 32 days trading e-currencies. http://www.mazumoney.net E-mail: onlinesupport@mazumoney.net Feel free to contact us at anytime via phone or e-mail.

Forex Signal, Forex Signals Advice

There are lot's of Forex signals providers out there. New Forex traders might be thinking of looking for a reliable Forex signals provider. Is there any reliable Forex signals providers available?

Personally, I will say do not pay for Forex signals. Think about it - if a Forex signals provider sells Forex signals for living, you can doubt their Forex trading skills? Or else if they are pretty good in Forex trading and making lot's of profit, I am wondering why do they still bother to sell Forex signals for money. Thus, what would be the value of such Forex signals providers? The answer is ZERO.

There are Forex traders who have been relying on Forex signals arguing those Forex signals providers really help them making money in Forex trading. These Forex traders can even show their Forex trading logs as evidence. After some though, I came out with the assumption that assuming I am the owner of a Forex signals provider, in order for my business to be in black, obviously I need some satisfying customers......

Full article available at: http://www.forex.labuan.net/forex-signal.html

Alvin Han is the editor of http://www.forex.labuan.net

Forex2u Forex Strategy On Successful Forex Trading

The essence of the FX2u Forex strategy is that it does not have any Forex trading system but could forecast the market trend accurately.

Every set of Forex trading system available has its disadvantages. The market trend could not be forecasted. If the market could be forecasted, by depending on the RSI, PAR, MOM analysis techniques and some other theories, Forex traders could easily make a fortune.

Many Forex traders could not obtain the anticipated outcome by using these analysis tools, and suffer huge losses. The main reason is relying on some imperfect tools to forecast the unpredictable market trend is just a waste of effort. Therefore the FX2u Forex strategy spirit is to abolish the entire subjective analysis tool.

To survive in the market is to follow the market trend, following the market trend is the essence of the FX2u Forex strategy. By using the opposite theory to enter the market, will only lead to lost. The reason is that if the market rises, it may continue to rise. If the market drops, it may continue to drop. No one is able to forecast when the market trend will stop.

By following the market trend, the market risk could be reduce to the lowest, the FX2u Forex strategy will advance the following the ten principles:

fully understand the how market function and the market trend, else don't trade

After entering the market, the Forex trader MUST immediately put a market stop.

If the stop order has been hit it MUST be executed immediately, NEVER make changes by lowering the stop order price.

If the forecast is wrong, Forex traders should leave the market immediately, then analyze again.

If the forecast is wrong, Forex traders should stop loss and should not increase trading.

Forex traders should admit mistakes, do not continuously make mistakes.

All analysis tools are imperfect, mistakes could always occur.

If the market rises Forex traders should buy, if the market drops Forex traders should sell, always follow the market trend.

Forex traders should not forecast the market price because such forecast will not be as easy as forecasting the market trend.

If the forecast is wrong, once the loss reach 10%, Forex traders must stop loss immediately, do not let it surpasses 10%, otherwise it would be difficult to recoup the capital again.

Alvin Han is the editor of http://www.forex2u.com; http://www.forex2u.com/fx2u-forex-strategy.html

5 Questions You Need To Have Answered Before You Back-Test Your Forex System

As 90-95% of new forex traders lose money within the first 3-6 months this article helps to guide new forex traders by asking 5 questions that the forex trader needs to know prior to back-testing their forex system.

Let us jump right in...

1. What data type are you using (or going to use)?

I know this sounds strange, especially if you have experience from another market such as stocks as their generally is only one type of data source available. However, in the forex market you can have up to 4 different data types: bid, ask, mid and indicative. Each have their own little nuances.

If you would like to know more about the data types then visit the article written about the perils of indicative prices. As this will save me from having to repeat the information again and boring those who've already read it.

So, if you know you have indicative prices then you know you're in for some good results! However, if you have any of the other three you need to be careful on how stop and limit orders are placed.

As an example: If we had bid price history and we were looking to place a buy entry stop at 0830 EST according to the day's high, then we know that the bid price will not accurately reflect what the actual price of our order should be. You would have noticed that if you placed a buy entry stop at the exact same price as that of the day's high you would have entered prematurely - you would have entered 4 or 5 pips before the high or the low of the day was touched (the exact same amount as the spread your broker offers!).

This leads me into the next most important question...

2. What spread is your broker offering on the currencies you are bask-testing?

You need to know this as this can help you set your slippage settings on each currency.

As our example in question 1 pointed out. We found that our buy at the day's high method did not exactly work because we bought at the BID PRICE high, not the ASK PRICE high - the price that we need when we place our order TO BUY.

Therefore, we enter in a slippage setting representing the spread that would be exhibited by this trade on this currency.

But knowing at what price to buy is only half the problem... how do we know what quantity to buy?

3. What margin does your broker offer?

If we know at what price to buy our currency at we need to inform our broker on what quantity to buy to fulfill the order. We only know what quantity to buy by the margin that the brokerage firm offers.

Most brokerage firms offer 100:1 leverage, however, some firms offer mini accounts with 200:1 leverage, others only 50:1 leverage.

Find out the margin required.

4. What restrictions does your broker impose?

Now, I don't just mean margin and spread restrictions as I have mentioned above. These are important in their own right, what you need to find out are the details.

This is probably the most important question of all as the fine line between success and failure can be found in the details. Now you can have this questioned by one of two ways: 1. You can find out through experience (generally the most expensive way unless done through the demo account!); or 2. You ask your broker (the cheapest and best way).

Why is this so important? I hear you ask. Well let's say you have a system that trades any gaps that might form on Sunday at 1700 EST, but your broker does not open until 1730 EST. You either need to factor this restriction in to your system, or move onto another system completely. Or, you may have a system that has 10 pip stops, but you find out that your broker will only let you place 15 pip stops from your initial entry price. Once again you will need to change your system to see whether it still performs well, or throw out your system (or change your broker)!

In fact one of the most devastating restrictions imposed by FXCM is that they do not accept stop entry orders if price never happens to trade at your entry stop price! FXCM will honor and "take the loss" of your OPEN stop positions, but if the liquidity is not there and price has shot straight through your stop price then you will miss out. This can have disastrous effects on your system results as you are left wondering on trades where you made good returns - "Would FXCM have got me in?". You may want to read of some of the quirks I use when placing entry stop orders on FXCM that could be of huge benefit to you to help you possibly get around this problem.

The restrictions by your broker are only half your systems' success, you also need to find out about another more important restriction... yourself. This leads me to the final point...

5. What restrictions do you have?

This is a vitally important question. Most people test their systems and fall in love with the results but find when they trade their system they have lost their account and that most of the best signals occurred while they were sound asleep!

As the forex market is a 24 hour market, you need to put into place restrictions in your system that will be realisticly conducted by you during the course of a normal trading day. There is no use operating a trailing stop method that changes your stop points during times when you are asleep and cannot possibly do so.

I hope this article has made you aware of some of the important things that need to be known prior to testing your system.

Article written by Ryan Sheehy from Currency Secrets.com. Where you will find reviews on forex data vendors, signal providers, brokers, and popular forex resources, along with more quality articles... all for f*ree!