Wednesday 1 January 2014

Secrets to Forex Success

When trading on the forex market it is important to have an understanding of the week ahead. Make a rough expectations list of the currency pairs that you wish to trade and what you think they might do. Most professional traders will know where they are going to get into trades before the week has even begun. The price they want to enter might not happen until the middle of the week, but they are already waiting for that price to hit a few day before. It is this meticulous planning that has the secrets to forex success.

AUD/USD

Still in a downward trend the currency pair did eventually peak through the 0.9000 level during the Non Farm Payroll announcement. It quickly retraced but found resistance again at 0.9100 so this should see 0.9000 again this week and beyond.

EUR/USD

The Euro has struggled this week with the ECB trying to talk it down and traders pushing it back up; it has been stuck in a consolidating pattern. However a new high forced by the Non Farm payroll should see the continuation of the bullish trend to 1.3820 at the next major resistance. New highs are not without their pull backs and the Euro is of no exception. Expect pull backs to 1.3620

GBP/USD

The GBP/USD has been pulled about for the last couple of weeks and despite good economic figures it is failing to make new ground. Currently 100 pips below its recent high It should post a further up move in the coming week with new highs around the 1.7000 mark, but not before pull backs to 1.6260.

USD/CAD

The weakening Canadian Dollar against the US Dollar has driven this currency pair bullish for the last couple of weeks. Finding a pullback entry point is probably the best scenario in this case with entry prices in the region of 1.0625 and 1.0594. However on the monthly charts the price is hitting a strong resistance level which could cause problems for the long term bullish trend.

USD/CHF

The price is now touching on the long term support of 0.8900. If this support level is broken then expect this bearish trend to continue to 0.7365. If the price bounces off this support level then expect pullbacks to 0.9100.

USD/JPY

The USD/JPY has been on the bullish trend since it broke out of the symmetrical triangle at the start of November. Expect to see new highs next week with immediate targets of 104.00 then 105.00. This could see 107.00 early in the new year.



Future of Forex Trading

Automated Forex trading has been around for many years and is available to the retail trader through the MT4 platform. Most brokers now offer MT4 as a means of trading the currency market through them as a dealer. The MT4 (Meta Trader 4) platform enables traders to install Expert Advisors which consist of a series of code that tells the dealer to trade on the market when certain conditions are met. There are so many indicators available to the programmers that almost any rule can be programmable. So, is automation the future of Forex trading? The answer is simple; it is going to play a major part in any successful Forex traders' tool box.

There are many things to be aware of when it comes to Forex trading software and these so called robots. Since the growth of the retail Forex industry there has been an explosion in people selling automated software that stakes claims of people making hundreds of thousands of dollars in short periods of time. What one needs to remember is the money made is relative to the investment and one should expect no more than 30% profit in any one month.

Beware of the huge sales pages that you read with the buy now button at the bottom and results tables showing trades carried out by the robot. Anybody can go through the forex charts and right a results table showing outstanding results. The only thing you should except as results is either an investors password to the account, with this you can log into the account with read only privlages and see the account details first hand for yourself. The other method is the vendor uses a third party verification service such as; Mt4i or MyFXbooks. These are both very respected and trusted companies that publish in depth statements to linked MT4 accounts and most importantly the vendor cannot tamper with the results.

So many people are being burned purchasing automated forex software that simply doesn't work. A big clue is in the price. Ask yourself; would you sell an automated Forex trading system that could generate 100% profit month on month for $147 or even $250? I doubt it very much as a vendor you would want to be selling for at least $1000+. There is no point purchasing anything for $147 that doesn't work or is going to empty your account, which is a very real possibility.



A Good Forex Trader

It is often said that being a trader requires a lot of special skills, but the truth is that these can be narrowed down into three main characteristics. In fact, one does not need to be an economic expert or a master chart analyst to make profits in forex trading. These skills can be attained and honed through constant practice.

First, a forex trader must be able to understand how the currency market behaves. This is where economics and market analysis can come in handy, as traders must be able to assess whether a particular report can drive up demand for a currency or drag its value down.

To be specific, a forex trader must be able to take a look at a particular economic report and figure out if it will encourage other traders to park their money in that country's currency. More advanced market knowledge can be helpful but it really just boils down to knowing which factors increase or decrease demand for a currency.

Secondly, every forex trader should possess discipline. It's easier said than done but discipline plays an important role in practicing good risk management or following one's trade rules. The lack of proper discipline to stick to one's trading rules can have damaging results either to one's account or trading psychology or even both.

For instance, a trader should determine his or her risk management rules by setting an amount or percentage of his or her account he or she will risk in each trade. By doing so, he or she will be able to set a limit on potential losses in case the trade doesn't go his or her way. This can keep majority of the account intact and keep it from getting completely erased in just a few trades. However, if a trader is unable to follow this rule, he might wind up risking larger and larger amounts each time, and could eventually put his entire account at risk.

Third, forex traders should also develop good trading psychology. Of all the three necessary characteristics, this takes the most time to develop since experience is usually responsible for teaching most of the psychology lessons. The truth is that not all forex trading psychology articles are able to elaborate on trading psychology and that it's best for the trader to learn through constant practice and remember his experiences.

Trading psychology is important because it can keep the trader level-headed even in the middle of consecutively profitable trades. At the same time, it can give him enough encouragement to keep trying even in the midst of losing streaks or a negative account balance. Trading psychology enables a trader to properly manage human emotions while trader. Oftentimes, greed or the fear of losses can be damaging when traders try to make trading decisions.



Day Trading Tips

Make Perfect Strategy for intraday trading:-

Day trading is perhaps one of the most difficult strategies to successfully employ. However, for those that have the perseverance to dedicate themselves to the practice, contain the natural ability to eliminate emotions and have enough experience under their belt. Day trading may also be one of the most potentially lucrative forms of market speculation. It is all about intraday tips for day trading and we can adjust the things because there will be lots of new things we can consider which will be the main part of investment and we will continue the good things for earning in the high range. Find better ways of investment by means of new trading plans issued in favor of investors, as we can adjust the time on the setting up of the new methods of earning with the intraday tips in a short period of time. Intraday tips will be great to follow for day trading and we don't need any sort of support from the community that will lead from the front in earning but we also get the best of the knowledge through the easy to get profits by these intraday tips. Day trading strategies will be the only thing we can look on so as to complete our task of making the well-organized strategy to enhance the profits and get the best returns from the invested money.

The Hardest Thing about Day Trading:-

Without a doubt, the hardest thing about Day Trading is just getting through the personal learning curve before crashing and burning. A "learning curve" is defined as the time and effort required by an individual to acquire and become proficient in a new skill. Day trading is definitely a complex skill and it is not easy. It requires a lot of work, dedication and continuous exposure to the market before you can develop the self-control necessary to be profitable on a regular basis. Remember, most day traders go broke or quit within the first year.

Intraday trading will be the essential part of earning when we need instant returns; it is about the new developed techniques and intraday tips for earning more money which will mainly decide the path followed in the future. We can look on the different aspects of day trading which will return the big amounts in the next deal and we don't have to wait for the anything, it is about the new things considered by the options trading investors as we can look towards the newest method of earning which will decide the best earning method in quick time and we can make the final choice on the aspects which will return as the big begs for the keeping.

Find Reliable Intraday tips to get huge profit:-

Day Trading in Stock Markets is a highly profitable Business if you have definite plans, reliable intraday tips and pre-determined strategies. As a Day trader you can earn profits regularly on every day in both rising and falling markets. This is possible because almost all actively traded stocks registers four price levels every day i.e., the opening price, intraday high price, intraday low price and the closing price. The difference within these price levels in any market whether rising or falling will be around 2 % to 12 % giving lot of opportunity for day traders to earn profits daily by entering into both long trades and short trades. While trading doing a technical analysis is also very important so that you can estimate your gains and loss, doing technical analysis is not possible for normal trader until and unless he is not a professional analyst. So trader should go for a technical analysis which provides him Intraday tips and do all calculations so that to maximize the profit.



Royal Currencies

US Dollar and Euro, the most traded currency pair in the world, seems to be in battle to retain their value from past one year. The constant positive and negative economic movements in these two giant economies has made the battle interesting. Due to this, once again the debate is on for these currencies to prove their superiority. The United States of America has faced the challenges related to tapering, similarly, Europe has been under constant pressure to get positives out of its economic contributors to sustain above bankruptcy level.

Important Levels; (USD per EUR)

16 th December 2012 - 1.3159
52 Week High - 1.2763
52 Week Low - 1.3816
15 th December 2013 - 1.3739

In the past one year, the exchange rate movement between these two currencies has kept the currency market on toes. The dollar has been successful to close above USD 1.3159/EUR for 134 times whereas EUR has outperformed USD on 222 occasions. The dollar has hit 52 week high with the premium of approximate 3 % whereas the discount was approximately 5 % for hitting 52 week low from the close price of 16th December 2012. In simpler words, the United States has shown better economic strength to get better value for its currency on 37.5 occasions out of hundred whereas 62 occasions went in pocket of Europe. The major reason of Euro outperforming the US dollar is its positive economic data since October 2013. EZ Purchasing Manager Index Manufacturing, German IFO Current Assessment Survey and German IFO Expectations Survey have shown positive output which has supported Euro to gain heavily against the US dollar. But, the dollar is again gaining strength with better US jobs data, increase in non-farm payrolls and positive expectations from December 2013 fed taper. USD which is hanging around the 52 week low is expected to turn back soon with positive flow of US economy. Also, the dark clouds on European economy which have risen due to shocking ECB rate cut and French S&P downgrade is playing important role in the uplift of US currency.

This high uncertainty in the currency prices has brought in several pros and cons to the global economy. One side it has increase the Forex risk, volatility, undue price change of commodities, etc. whereas on other hand it has increase the liquidity, multi currency trade, better settlement, etc. Individuals are also getting attracted to such currency movements which is resulting in investment opportunity for individuals facilitated by Forex brokers. Forex brokers are providing services like trading account, research reports, competitive commission on trading, etc. increasing their business across borders and again increasing currency flow round the globe. USD and EUR the most concentrated currencies by these individual investor to have short-term gains bring in more speculation and making the fight of superiority tougher.



Forex Edge Model Review

The recently developed Forex Edge Model is soon to be released in the currency trading industry and has so far shown to work for the beta testing traders, many of whom have had little experience in trading the markets. This model is not for those who are intending to hold onto currencies for at least a few years however, as the software trades with high frequency. On average, it has shown to make about ten to twenty trades each day, with most of the days generating a profit for the account it trades in.

1. What Did I Have to Do to Start Profiting from Forex Edge Model?

Generally, he or she should be able to set up his or her own account to activate this software to trade within that account. All the step-by-step instructions are shipped physically to the end users. Before executing its trades, the software scans the currency rates of all currencies in the Forex market through multiple sources. It does all this work automatically and purchases the lowest cost available rate of currencies when there is an opportunity to resell it at a higher price. It is certainly a very new method of generating profits from the Forex market, and one that would need more time to prove itself in the long term.

2. How Much Money Did I Need to Invest Before I Could Start Making Money with Forex Edge Model?

Within the training manuals of this system, it is clear that the owners of this product understand the different needs of its end-users, particularly how much money they can invest and how much fluctuations they can manage in their accounts. As a result, they have created different sets of money management rules for clients to pick. Even though they are different, they all serve to protect the trading accounts of its users against prolonged periods of losing trades. I would also recommend new traders using this software to understand the concepts behind the money management rules, otherwise it would be too easy to want to increase the size of the trades without knowing the rationale behind the money management strategies.

3. What Are Some of the Drawbacks of the Forex Edge Model?

Overall, while usage of this software requires little technical experience, I would say that as compared to other Forex trading tools on the market, it does require a little more technical knowledge. It is necessary to learn how to enter and exit trades when following the strategies in order to successfully achieve the trading success rate. In order to ensure that all members get up and running with the software, the team thus provides regular product updates with the latest information, and these can come in the form of training videos and online seminars.

4. How Does Forex Edge Model Make Money from the Markets?

In summary, this product is more of a guiding tool for traders to find trades according the rules of the system. These rules help me look at the currency rates and know when to get in and out to take advantage of the trends. As such, it gives me full control over my account but does not actually do the trades for me automatically. The main reason why, as explained by its owner Daniel Walker, is that having full control of an account is much more secure than letting a robot take control of an account as the downsides of things going wrong are just more too high compared to the advantages of automation.



Real Gold From Fool's Gold

Many people become forex traders because it seems like a pot of gold that promises untold wealth as well as freedom from all their problems. But the reality most people encounter is that it is fool's gold since most of them end up losing all their capital in the first few months. But if traded carefully, forex still has the potential to deliver very positive results. The problem with most people is that they do not know what they are required to know in order to be successful in this business. Most of them come into the forex market with the mentality that they know enough to pick up.

If you start second guessing on the forex market, you will be doing nothing short of gambling. You need to get forex training that will educate you on what really matters on the forex market. If you join the forex market with vague ideas, you will end up doing things such as over-trading, revenge trading or living in the hope that losing trades may somehow turn around and become winning trades. This is a common illusion that may make your money disappear into a bottomless pit that is usually awaiting you at the end of every negative trade.

To attain success in forex trading, you need to approach it in the right way. The right way involves understanding what forex trading is exactly as well as what you would like to ultimately achieve in your foray in this business. You approach should not be simply making more money or getting rich. That will not be realistic. Before you start live trading, first of all take time to think about what you would like to achieve from it. You need to have a real money management plan that is allied to a real business plan which is going to give you clarity of purpose in your trading.

It is very important know what you expect to achieve daily or weekly during forex trading. This will help you set achievable trading goals which will be able to leave you satisfied every day or every week of trading. Unlike the belief that many of us have that we have to work many hours in order to be more successful in whatever we are trying to achieve, in forex you have to work based on your targets. If you reach your target and then take an invariable chance to continue trading on, you might end up losing it. You will therefore spend the rest of your day trying to catch up, over-trading or even getting severely negative results.

Among the attributes you need to have to be a successful forex trader are discipline and patience. You cannot gain success by chance. These two attributes as well as good management and a good business plan are what will give you the success you need. Though it can be a bit difficult to have these attributes, the benefits you will get by having them are many.



Limit Your Forex Trading

In the Forex trading market, many people focus mostly on the trend study that helps them to know which way to position their trades as well as obtaining signals that have technical indicators that will help know the right time to enter a position in the direction of the trend. But these elements are not enough for someone who aspires to trade forex successfully. You must also learn how to limit your forex orders to be able to secure your wins and also prevent losses.

Limiting your forex trading orders is of great importance because it helps you fix your profit before losing it. It also helps you to limit as well as control your greed. During forex trading, it is better to maintain a trade as long as it is headed in a favorable direction and there are no chances of it reversing, but you can still set a limit that will help you control the profit. It should not worry you if the price keeps on heading in the same direction even for a couple pips after reaching your limit. That will imply that you are already out of the game.

If you set a rule to control your trading, determining the limit can be a very easy thing. For instance, you can make a decision that you will be happy with twenty pips, and you would be okay if your position is closed after reaching that limit. But if you want to first of all determine the final destination of your price so that you can set your limit based on it, it can be really hard. Chances are the price may not move according to your predictions and in that case it will change its direction before it hits your limit. You therefore need to do it with great care.

If you want to earn maximum profit from forex trading, you will need to determine the final destination of the trend. This can be challenging though. You should first of all understand all the supports as well as resistances you will be facing in the process. Be sure to utilize the Fibonacci levels in the best way you can. In the event that you have a long position, you can use any of the Fibonacci levels to reverse the price, and therefore you can make them your limit.

Fibonacci trading simply involves understanding when and where the market reverses so that you can keep on moving, and the Fibonacci levels act as support as well as resistance. When the price goes up, the levels act as support, and when it goes down, they act as resistance.

The only time when determining when a limit is trading a channel is the case when the price is moving inside a channel and it rises and falls between the support and resistance line. But even in such a case, the price may at times change its direction when it reaches the limit.



Introduction to Day Trading

Perhaps, the most frequent question concerning Contracts for Difference is when is the ideal time for trading CFDs. Following, we will consider the 3 most significant factors needing consideration for knowing the most ideal time for trading of CFDs.

1. What kind of wins, compared to losses, you are trying to seek?
2. For trading safely, always have 3 different time frames
3. Share CFDs Vs. Forex or indexed CFDs

What kind of wins, compared to losses you are trying to seek?

For successful day trading, the often neglected, but vital component, is defining your ratio of win: loss, also known as ratio of risk to reward. Mentally, the trader has to firmly decide daily the importance of finding opportunities of day trading that would have a minimum yield of 1.5-2 times the size of the risk size.

Once you have firmed up your mind on that ratio, you need to look for highly likely opportunities, rather that just trading just for the heck of it. Simply trading for the heck of it causes you to lose your time and cash, and can lower your confidence to such a level that you become hesitant to try another trade. That's what makes it imperative to choose a time frame offering you sufficient opportunities for making profit after you have established your setup.

For trading safely, always have 3 different time frames

Day traders should essentially have a likelihood of winning by more than sixty percent. This is the outcome of trading during short periods of time, thus minimizing the possibilities of allowing the winners run. When looking for chances of winning by over sixty percent, your best option would be to classify long-term, midterm and short-term time frames to enhance the chances of winning.

When you trade with a chart of thirty minutes, your best trading would be onto the way of the trend and having the 5 minute chart and 60 minutes chart trending in the same track as your thirty minute chart. The 5 minute chart will classify the early on set up, the hourly chart ensures that you are trading with the foremost trend and you can employ the thirty minute chart to point your entry.

Share CFDs Vs. Forex or indexed CFDs

Varying with the kind of CFD broker you patronize and the charts given by them for you to access, you'll realize that the ideal time frame for day trading share CFDs is to employ the one minute chart during the initial thirty-five to forty minutes and then go over to the 2 minute chart during the next 2 hours and go to closing with a five-minute one. While trading index CFDs or Forex, you'll get ample opportunity and liquidity by anything from a 1 minute chart up to the sixty minute one.



Trading for Beginners

Equity Building Strategy Benefits

The benefit of this currency trading strategy is to potentially make full use of all of your available capital while only exposing a percentage of it to risk of loss at any one time.

This strategy only works in a bull or bear market and is most effective with high leverage. 50:1 is adequate for success with a lesser degree of risk than higher leverage as the percentage of capital exposed to risk of loss increases with leverage.

Equity Building Example

The following example does not account for broker spread or exchange rate of your currency pair. Exchange rate and broker spread of your currency pair will change the cost of purchasing your orders. If using a lower leverage like 50:1 as in the example and a currency pair that is close to par like USDCAD then the actual values will not be far off, but EURUSD at 500:1 will have significantly different values and need to include exchange rate and broker spread in any calculations. The parameters used for the example are as follows:

$1000 starting equity
50:1 leverage
1 mini lot (10,000 units) orders @ $200 each plus a 20 PIP buffer at $1 each equaling $220 each for purposes of calculating lot size
$1 PIP value
Order separation of 5 pips

Place the first order for a lot size that will allow for a total of four with some free margin left as a buffer. Set stop loss at the purchase price when the order is clear of market fluctuations.

Look for good opportunity to place second order. When the second is clear of market fluctuations, set stop loss for both at the second order purchase price. Your first order is now guaranteed to profit and your second is protected. Do not open a new order before the preceding are protected with a stop loss.

Place your third order. As before, when your third is clear of market fluctuations, set stop loss for all orders to the purchase price of the third. You now have two orders guaranteed to profit and a third protected from loss.

Time to place a fourth order. When the fourth is clear of market fluctuations, set stop loss on all four to the purchase price of the fourth order. You now have three orders guaranteed to profit and one protected from loss.

Place a fifth order if your equity has gained enough to allow for it remembering to leave some free margin as a buffer. When the fifth is clear of fluctuations, set stop loss for all to the purchase price of order five. You are now using all of your available margin to full potential while only having risked a fraction of it at any one time.

First Order (0 pips/0 profit)
$200 Cost
$1000 - $200 = $800 remaining equity

Second Order (+5 pips/$5 profit)
$200 Cost
$5 equity gain from the first
$800 - $200 + $5 = $605 remaining equity

Third Order (+10 pips/$15 profit)
$200 cost
$5 equity gain from the first for a total of $10
$5 equity gain from the second
$605 - $200 + $5 + $5 = $415 remaining equity

Fourth Order (+15 pips/$30 profit)
$200 cost
$5 equity gain from the first for a total of $15
$5 equity gain from the second for a total of $10
$5 equity gain from the third
$415 - $200 + $5 + $5 + $5 = $230 remaining equity

Fifth Order (+20 pips/$50 profit)
$200 cost
$5 equity gain from the first for a total of $20
$5 equity gain from the second for a total of $15
$5 equity gain from the third for a total of $10
$5 equity gain from the fourth
$230 - $200 + $5 + $5 + $5 + $5 = $50 remaining equity

Continued Equity Gains

If the market should continue in a profitable direction enough to reach +40 pips from the purchase price of order five for a total of +60 pips adding another $200 equity to your account then you will be able to place a sixth order, but this is not a good idea as doing so would give you a total pip value of $6 with enough margin left for only 8.3 pips with the $50 equity remaining after purchasing order six. The benefit of this strategy is to maximize your entire capital while only risking a percentage of it at any time. This depends heavily on each new order not being placed so far from the one before it that losses from the most recent unprotected order do not negate profits from the previous stop loss protected orders. Placing order six would compromise this strategy as it would be 40 pips away from the previous order while all others are only 5 pips apart. It would be a better idea to place a trailing stop loss on all orders to guarantee some good profit as opposed to risking most, if not all, of it to make a small amount more.

Greatest Risk

Obviously, the time of greatest risk is after a new order has been placed but before it clears market fluctuations and is protected with a stop loss. If at any time your market turns and triggers the stop loss orders you should also close your newest order if it was not yet protected with a stop loss. Any losses sustained on a new unprotected order will be subtracted from profits guaranteed by stop loss orders. This strategy requires a strong bull or bear market and a watchful eye while new orders clear market fluctuations. It is very unlikely that you will be able to get any kind of exact spacing between your orders. It is also very possible that the market will move to trigger your stop loss positions before five orders are placed. Given a spacing of exactly 5 pips per order, a market turn after purchasing, but before protecting the third order triggering the stop loss for the first two will result in a total loss/profit of $0 if the third is closed at the exact same time as the stop loss is triggered. Stop loss for order one will give a $5 profit, stop loss for the second will give a $0 profit, and closing the third will give a $5 loss resulting in a net $0 profit/loss. If the same events take place after purchasing, but before protecting the fourth order, the result will be a net $10 profit.

Automated Equity Protection

The new order is the source of risk until it has cleared market fluctuations and stop loss for all have been changed to the purchase price of the new order. As previously stated, any losses sustained on a new unprotected order will be subtracted from profits guaranteed by stop loss orders. For an extra level of automated protection, a stop loss value could be entered into the new order while initially making it. Set the stop loss value on your new order to the same value as the previous order while being aware that the number of pips between the new and previous order represent loss and a stop loss value closer to the new order may be needed. In the event of a market turn triggering your stop loss, manually closing the new order would not be necessary.

Equity Building vs Single Order

At this point, your fifth order has cleared market fluctuations and you have set the stop loss on all five orders to the purchase price of the fifth. You are now guaranteed $50 profit and protected from any loss. You now have 5 mini lot orders open with a total pip value of $5 and are using your capital to full potential. Not only that, but if you look at making $50 profit in 20 pips and calculate the single order necessary for the same profit you will get an original order of $50 divided by 20 pips which equals $2.50 per pip or 2.5 mini lots. The cost to place an order for 2.5 mini lots in this case would have been $500 or 50% of your capital. Using the equity building strategy, you have only ever needed $200 or 20% of your capital at any one time. Also, any gains made past protecting your fifth order are at $5 per pip while gains from the 2.5 mini lot order are still only at $2.50 per pip. So with this strategy, you are minimizing the amount of capital at risk at any one time and maximizing gains after the fifth order is protected in exchange for smaller gains in the beginning. If used with 500:1 leverage, this strategy will actually increase equity by more than the cost of placing a new order after the fifth, making the duration of the bull or bear market run the only limitation to the amount of orders you can place!

Increased leverage means increased risk. Never invest money that you cannot afford to lose!

Basic training in currency trading for beginners.