Forex Peak

Signal: EUR\USD

2009-07-21T01:38:00.000-07:00

Short at market price [1.42148]
stop loss 1.42310

Signal: GBP\JPY Short

2009-07-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

entering price : 155.58
stop loss: 156.60
Target 1: 154.00
Target 2: 154.90

08:15 21/07/09 Update: Hits Target 1, close half an order. Move stop to entering price and countinue to target 2.

Forex Live Blogging

2009-07-20T04:04:00.001-07:00

Hi guys,
today it's my first day of live blogging trading.
Hope i can help you and we all make some money.

as soon as i see any optional trade i will publish it here.
Good luck.

Basic Trading Concepts Tutorial

2008-05-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

If you decide to become a trader, it's difficult to just jump into a market and be one. Before you can even move into the nuts and bolts of trading, there are some basic concepts you need to understand – the idea of trading itself, your perception of trading, your resources, the use of money, the role you play in the trading process and a number of other items that deal mainly with the trader and not the trading.

The trading issues – trading instruments available, how markets work and other trading basics – are covered in the next tutorial. You may think you can just breeze through these first two tutorials, but they are the foundation of your trading education.

Knowing What You Don't Know

That headline may sound like a strange way to start a tutorial, but when it comes to something as complex as trading, it is important to acknowledge the preconceived notions you may have about trading and to understand that you probably have much to learn about this complex subject, especially if you intend to master what could be the most difficult undertaking you will ever attempt.

First and foremost, despite what you may have heard or read about trading being an easy, get-rich-quick scheme, the truth is that there are no trading secrets and no easy paths to quick success in trading markets. Beware of anyone who tries to tell (or sell) you such. It's no coincidence that trading markets is similar to most other human endeavors: Hard work and experience are required to achieve notable success. By the same token, understanding the process of trading can be achieved with perseverance and a willingness to continue to learn.

Ironically, a major advantage of being an experienced trader is knowing what you don't know about markets and trading. There are certain elements of trading that you may never know nor understand, like knowing for sure what a market is going to do in the future. Market analysis and trading is not a business of bold predictions but one of exploring market probabilities based upon market knowledge, price history, human behavior and trading experience.

Knowing that you don't know exactly what a market will do actually gives you a trading edge because it means you probably will exercise more caution and think about and plan for what could happen if a trade turns against you. Successful traders know that some trades will turn against them and that they need to take steps to preserve capital to trade another day.

Anyone who plans to trade for a while absolutely must respect the markets. Most people do not like to be "wrong," but only the market is 100 percent right. Traders who think they "know" exactly what a market will do are not showing the markets respect.

Why do you want to trade?

You may be comfortable accepting the fact that you don't know everything there is to know about trading yet, but you definitely should have a good idea about several things when you get into trading. The first is why you want to trade in the first place. People have a number of motives for trading, all of which have merit, but you should be clear what it is that is driving you into trading. Your reasons for trading may go a long way in determining your trading style.

Profits

Probably every trader's goal is to make money. But if that is your main reason for trading, are you willing to do what it takes to achieve this goal? It will mean you have to provide the seed money and other resources you need to be successful, and it will involve a commitment to learning to gain trading experience.

If trading is going to be your business, you obviously have to put making money high on your list of goals. That requires consistent, strong discipline and the ability to control your emotions as none of the experience or success you have gained in other areas will guarantee that you will be a success in trading. Your trading approach may even be boring, but if your real goal is making money, you will have to have the discipline to stick with a trading plan.

Being ‘right'

Are you a person whose greatest satisfaction comes from being right about things? Traders generally love to compete and be better than everyone else in whatever they do. Just having the opportunity to crow a little about their prowess is their biggest reward.

However, trading may be one of the worst places to look to feed an ego. Whatever success you have had in other aspects of your life may not transfer very well to the trading arena, which has been known to humble even the strongest ego. Of course, traders have to have a strong sense of ego to have enough confidence to trade, but you'll have to keep that ego in check whenever you enter a market position if you want to survive as a trader.

Excitement

Trading certainly can provide plenty of excitement, both highs and lows, and that may be reason enough for trading. But expect to pay an entertainment tax. Just being in a market position can be exhilarating and can inspire you to keep up with what's happening in the market and in the world's news events.

However, to be successful over a longer term – unless you have deep pockets – you usually will have to forego the excitement and emotion generated by trading, just as you have to keep a lid on your ego trip. You naturally will experience some excitement whenever you are trading, but it is a factor you must control. If excitement is an objective of trading for you, perhaps the solution is to have one account you trade conservatively and another account where you get a little wilder.

What Are Your Resources?

In addition to your goals for trading, you also should be well aware of the resources you bring to the trading table. They will play a big part in the markets you can trade and in the way you trade them. If you think you can be a big-time bond trader with a $5,000 account or a day-trader while working a full-time job, you'll soon get a dose of reality when it comes to trading.

Here are some resources you have to consider as you ponder what and how to trade:

Money

There's that word again, but the fact of the matter is that you can't trade without sufficient capital – your trading stake that you need to guard carefully. You may be able to begin trading without having enough time or knowledge, but you won't be able to begin trading without money. You have to have money to make money.

Your trading account will have to meet minimum requirements set forth by the trading industry. How much money you need depends on what you intend to trade. If you are buying stocks, you have to have at least half of the purchase amount in your account. If you are trading futures, you usually have to have a minimum of about 3 percent to 7 percent of the value of the contract in your account.

Those are the regulatory requirements, and there is no negotiating the amount. If you plan to trade the full-size S&P 500 Index futures contract, for example, you have to have about $20,000 in your account for each contract. If you are trading the e-mini version of the S&P 500, the requirement is about $4,000. The key point is that the amount of money required to trade limits what you can trade and the number of contracts you can hold.

In addition to the minimum regulatory requirements, you should also have a cushion above that to withstand the fluctuations of the marketplace. That suggests you should always have enough extra cash in your account to cover possible worst-case scenarios. At any one time, you may not want to have more than 50 percent of your account tied up in active positions.

If you are not adequately capitalized and the market makes even a slight adverse price move, you may either be forced to put up more money to hold your position or you may be forced out of the market. Having extra money in the account also relieves the pressure of having to be right about your position from the start, pressure that is not conducive to making wise trading decisions.

You also do not want to have the pressure of having the funds for trading come from money you need to pay the rent or buy groceries or from funding the account with your credit card. Your trading money should come from discretionary funds that you can afford to lose without affecting your lifestyle.

Time

Everyone has 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours a day, but how much of your time can you devote to market analysis and trading? If you have a full-time job, it will be difficult to be a day-trader, no matter how well you think you might do with that style of trading.

The priority you place on the use of your time will play a big role in selecting the type of trading resources you need and the style of trading you can do. Time may be an important trading constraint for you.

Trading Help

To perform the market analysis you need to make a trading decision, you will need information and educational resources. Typically, that includes expenditures for the following:

Electronic connection

Today's active trader almost needs to have a connection to the internet, both to have access to information resources quickly and easily and to enter orders.

Data/price quotes

Today's active traders also need real-time quotes as well as access to historical market data for their analysis. Brokers may provide sufficient data, but many traders want to subscribe to a source that will provide the most accurate, reliable data possible.

Analytical software

Another requirement for many active traders is software that can turn data into charts and technical indicators deemed necessary to analyze markets. All you need to do is specify the type of software you want, and some vendor is likely to have it.

Advisory services

In general, it's probably advisable to do your own research, but your lack of time or knowledge may limit what you can do, causing you to turn to other more expert sources for information, analysis and perhaps trading recommendations.

Developing a Trading Mentality

Much has been written about what type of personality it takes to be a successful trader. What makes this question particularly difficult is that there is no definitive answer about the characteristics a trader should have to be successful. If you assess your personal traits honestly and realistically, you can probably develop a trading program that fits your personality more easily than you can adapt your personality to a particular trading program.

But what provides a common thread among many successful traders is that they all have a trading mentality. That doesn't mean just shifting from the traditional buy-and-hold mindset of the past to jumping into and out of positions readily, however. That is part of it, but a trading mentality includes several other factors related to attitude that may be somewhat different from what you have heard and believed in the past.

Speculation is okay

You may have heard complaints about how speculators are to blame for all kinds of price distortions and how they manipulate prices, even when they are responding to perceptions of supply and demand. None of today's economic developments or technological advances would have been possible without speculation. No one would have started a company without speculation. Speculation is simply a part of growth.

"Speculating" is not the same as "gambling." Speculating can turn into a crapshoot, but successful speculating means two things: You always limit your risk, and you always try to have favorable probabilities.

Gambling creates risk. A bet in a casino or at a racetrack creates a risk to your money that did not exist before.

In trading (speculating), the risk already exists. Someone is carrying that risk, and a trader/speculator is willing to assume the risk that someone else wants to pass along because they do not want it. Trading is all about transferring risk from those who want to insulate themselves from adverse price moves to those who are willing to take on the risk in exchange for the possibility of profiting from a price move that would be favorable to them.

Speculators play a vital role in this process by always being available to take the other side of these trades and providing liquidity to the marketplace to make prices flow efficiently. Without speculators, prices for many stocks and products would be much more erratic and uncertain and potentially much more detrimental to the development of a sound economy. Trading allows both producers/consumers and speculators and to achieve their goals. As a trader, you are "speculating" on what will happen, not "gambling."

Losing is okay

Nobody likes a "loser," especially if it means money, but in trading you can be a winner by liking to take losses. You expect all of your trades to work or you wouldn't have taken them. But because of the uncertainties of the marketplace, the reality is that many successful traders have built outstanding track records with only 40% or fewer winning trades.

One of the most important market adages is, "Cut your losses short." When the market tells you that you are wrong, get out of your losing position quickly so the loss doesn't grow and wipe out your trading stake, the key to staying in the trading game. If your analysis was wrong, the sooner you find out, the better off you usually are.

The market is not ‘against' you

You may not believe this when the market seems to be gunning for your stops or reaching a certain price level just to take your money. The market does try to confuse most participants most of the time, but don't take it personally if you are the victim of an adverse price move. The market is not out to "get" you but is just flowing along, and your position just happens to be carried along with it.

It's okay to sell what you don't own

Many newcomers to trading have a difficult time comprehending this fact. That's understandable if your experience has been limited to buying stocks, but with trading instruments such as futures or options, it is as easy to sell as it is to buy. In fact, selling means no difference in the amount of money required or in the trading procedure other than saying "Sell" instead of "Buy." So you can "Sell high, buy low," even if you have never bought the instrument in the first place.

It's okay to be a ‘bear'

Generally, a market that is going up or is "bullish" is perceived as "good," and a market that is going down or is "bearish" is called "bad." But, as the previous item about going short suggests, being a bear and watching prices decline may be a good thing for your account. In reality, you should always have a two-sided view, neither bullish nor bearish but reacting to what you see the market doing. When you see an opportunity arise, being a bear or shorting the market works no differently than being long or bullish.

It's okay to be emotional about trading

Most advice about trading suggests taking the emotion out of trading, and it is true that you should not let emotions rule your trading decisions. But if you want to be a successful trader, you have to have a passion for trading – a passion that will push you to learn about the markets and trading, force you to study price action to become a well-versed expert in whatever method you choose and give you the desire to stick with trading when things may not be going so well. Passion drives people in many successful endeavors, and trading is no exception.

he Language of Trading: Lingo You May Hear

As with many other fields, traders have their own arcane terms and phrases to describe various conditions. Trading newcomers may be frustrated by a lingo they do not understand and which seems to make no sense at all.

A glossary of terms on this site provides the meaning of many words used by traders, but here are some of the more widely used trading terms and their explanations so you won't be confused when you see or hear them used to describe some basic trading concepts.

"Dead-cat bounce."

Many times a market will experience a modest rally (a bounce) from depressed price levels. But most of this price rise is due to short-covering or weak long positions getting back into a market that very likely will exert little or no upside power.

"The trend is your friend."

This simple sentence is a very powerful one and is important for most traders. If you trade with the market's trend, your odds for success are higher than if you trade against the trend. Most successful traders employ some type of trend-following trading strategy.

"Buy the rumor, sell the fact."

This is a frequently occurring phenomenon whereby a market makes a price move in anticipation of an expected result of a fundamental event. Then, when the event does actually occur and the result was as expected by traders, the market price will move in the opposite direction. For example, if grain traders expect a bullish report, the market will rally in the days before the report's release but then actually sell off once the actual bullish figures are released.

"Bulls make money, bears make money, but pigs get slaughtered."

In other words, don't be a greedy trader. Don't try to take too much profit out of a market too fast. The two biggest and potentially most damaging human emotions in trading are "fear" and "greed."

"Cut your losses short."

This trading maxim is even more important than "The trend is your friend." Traders must limit their losses on their more numerous losing trades by using strict money management and by employing buy and sell stops.

"Markets ‘discount' events."

This phrase is similar to the "buy the rumor, sell the fact" phrase. Markets many times "factor in" or discount events before they occur. For example, forecasters may predict a U.S. Corn Belt drought. Although the growing season for soybeans and corn does not end until early fall, corn and soybean futures prices may top out in June. Traders factor in the damage to crops well before most of the damage had actually occurred.

"Never meet a margin call."

In other words, traders should never let a trade become so much "under water" that a margin call from the broker is initiated. "Cut your losses short."

"Short-covering."

This phenomenon occurs when traders who have established short positions decide to exit the market, either to take profits or because their trading positions have moved too far "under water." Many times short-covering will occur after a market has been in a sustained downtrend without much upside movement recently.

"Long liquidation."

Traders decide to "ring the cash register" and take profits from long positions or weaker longs exit the market when it appears to be showing weakness. Long liquidation usually occurs when a market has been in a sustained uptrend and many bulls decide to bail out, knowing the market is vulnerable to a downside correction.

Consolidation, also known as "sideways trading."

Many times a market that has undergone a sustained trend will "pause" to catch its breath or move into a consolidation phase. This means price action on the charts turns more sideways and choppy.

A price "breakout."

This occurs when prices move solidly above or below a "congestion area" (or a sideways trading area) on a price chart. Many trend traders like to trade price breakouts.

"Basing" action.

This is extended sideways trading at recent historic lower price levels. Prices are forming a "base" at lower levels, from which prices will eventually make an upside "breakout." Keep in mind that markets can also see a downside price breakout at what was perceived to be a basing area at lower levels.

A market "correction."

When a market has made a sustained price trend, it will make a shorter counter move in the opposite direction. After this correction, odds favor the eventual resumption of the trending move.

"Locals."

These individuals trade in the futures trading pits in open-outcry markets at the exchanges. They trade for their own accounts and are a needed function of pit trading because they provide the important market liquidity for better trade execution (fills).

An introduction to spread betting, by Chris Tate

2008-05-31T05:56:00.000-07:00

The Australian market has always been fertile ground for those who have wanted to experiment with the launch of new derivative products. However, many of these have been less than stellar in there penetration of the market, few have found acceptance among traders. The overcrowded derivatives market has seen the coming and going of share ratio’s, the limpness of single share futures and the failure currency and index warrants to grab either the hearts or wallets of traders. Recent times have seen the introduction into the domestic market of spread betting on financial instruments. A distinctly English phenomenon spread betting had its origins in sport betting and has quickly spread to cover most financial instruments. Within the context of the domestic market spread betting is offered by IG Index (www.igindex.com.au) Groups such as IG Index offer spread betting over currencies, indices, commodities and interest rate instruments. It is even possible to bet on a downturn in the housing market via the UK National House Price Survey. You can even bet on the change in house prices across varying regional areas. Trade Example The structure of a spread bet is quite simple and can best be explained with reference to an example. Assume that we have a positive view on BHP and believe that in the coming months it will move higher. We have a choice of instruments that will allow you to trade this view and we choose to use a spread-betting tool. The price quotations for spread bets are similar in theme to the quotes for other derivatives. You have a series of expiry months, which have different bid/offer quotes. As you would expect the quotes with the shortest time to expiry have the lowest bid/offer spread. The difference in spreads across the various time frames is a reflection of interest costs or holding costs. In this respect a spread bet is somewhat similar to an option or futures contract where the cost of carrying a position is reflected in the pricing. If the share were to pay a dividend during this period then the prices would also reflect this cash based transaction. It is important to note that the prices do not reflect any bias by the quotation provider, they are calculated mechanically in much the same way forward futures prices are calculated. In this example let’s assume that we wanted to take a longer-term position so we opt for the June bet. The next point we need to decide is the amount of our bet, unlike other derivatives which have a fixed dollar value for each tick a spread bet allows you to set your own dollar weighting. And as we will see this decision is crucial to the management of the trade.

Imagine that we decide to risk $50 per point. So we have decide to buy June BHP at $50.00 per point, this means that for every point BHP moves we either make or lose $50.00. Based upon these prices we control $63,656 worth of BHP ($50.00 per point x $1273.12).

Like other derivatives when we engage this position we are charged a margin. This margin reflects our bet size multiplied by a deposit factor that it set by IG Index. The deposit factors for all instruments are available in their Product Disclosure documents.

Assume that our view proved to be correct and in the coming month BHP moves up and we opt to sell our BHP at the prevailing bid price of 1452.26. Our sale proceeds are $72,613 ($50.00 per point x 1452.26), this gives us a total profit on the trade of $8,957.

However it is always important to consider the worse case scenario of BHP suffering a strong reversal. If BHP had fell to 1150.00 and we opted to cut our losses we would have lost $6,156 on the trade.

This highlights the need for caution when dealing with any leverage instrument. The tendency of traders when they enter a leverage market is to take on as much risk as they can possibly fund. In most situations this is far too much risk and doesn’t reflect prudent trade management.

Position Sizing

Consider our earlier example of BHP, this example showed how quickly losses could accumulate with a large bet size. As mentioned earlier there is a tendency among traders to use all the available leverage and as a result suffer from a catastrophic loss. Since we can determine the size of our bet as being anywhere from $5 to $100 per point we need a mechanism of determining the appropriate bet size for our risk profile.

This is quite a simple endevour and is based upon our risk amount and the distance to our initial stop. For example assume that our initial risk is $1,000 and that we are using a 2 ATR stop valued at $0.45 or 45 points, you need to remember that bets are defined as points.

Based upon these figures our appropriate bet size is $1,000/45 = $22.22, Since we can only bet in round numbers we round this down to $22.00. Thus, if our position was to drop 45 points and we had bet $22.00 then our maximum loss would be $990 ($22 x 45 points = $990), slightly lower than our anticipated $1,000 because of our rounding down.

If we had a wider stop we would have had a lower bet size. If for example we were setting our bet size based upon a technical feature that was 65 points away our bet size would be $15.38 or $15.00 rounded down ($1,000/65 = $15.38)

Setting a smaller bet size gives the position room to move and allows the trade to develop. You can see that the size of the bet and the level of your initial risk are intertwined. If in our original BHP example we had an initial risk of $1,000 and a bet size of $50 then BHP would only have needed to move 20 points or $0.20 to trigger our stop. When you consider that at the time of writing the ATR(15) of BHP was 20.10, unless we were extraordinarily gifted in our timing of our entry or more likely very lucky our chances of surviving more than one day are extremely low. As you can see ego based bet sizing is very expensive, it much more prudent to base the bet sizing on some form of risk assessment rather than what you think you can tolerate.

We can back up this initial form of risk management by using a controlled risk stop. The controlled risk guarantees that irrespective of the market action on the day your stop is triggered the only loss you will suffer is that defined by your stop. For example if we had a position in AMP at 700 and a controlled risk stop set at 600 and the market opened at 500. Our stopped would be triggered and honoured at 600, so our loss is limited to our predetermined figure.

The capacity to set a guaranteed stop is one of the major advantages that the new firms providing spread betting and CFD trading have introduced in Australia. Overnight we have gone from a situation where brokers are reluctant to manage stops and traders are even more reluctant to take stops when they occur; to a situation where positions cannot be opened without a stop in place. This stop is then honoured by the provider irrespective of the prevailing market price.

Naturally the spread betting firm charges a margin for this facility but when compared to the slippage that can be encountered in highly leverage positions the cost is quite small.

Comparison

The question needs to be asked under what circumstances would you use a spread betting tool instead of simply going long the underlying or using an exchange traded option.

To answer this question you first need to be aware of both your motivations for trading and your experience. Often traders try and answer this question by simply asking which one will make me the most money. This unfortunately in one of those nebulous how long is a piece of string questions.

My feeling is that traders should not dabble in derivatives until they have had some experience at trading the underlying instrument. Trading the underlying will enable you to fine-tune both your methodology and your psychology in an environment that lacks much of the sudden death nature of derivative trading.

If you are at a time in your trading career where you feel confident with derivative’s then we need to break down the pro’s and con’s of spread betting versus other derivatives. The main competitor to spread betting are exchange-traded options, we can ignore single share futures because they are simply a non-event.

ETO Advantages

Can trade both time and volatility, you can also set in play strategies that allow you to trade range bound stocks. You are not limited to directional plays.
Well accepted, ETO’s have a long history in Australia.
Strong standardisation.
Can deal with a variety of providers, you can also exit a position by dealing with another trader as opposed to dealing with the same market maker.

ETO Disadvantages

Liquidity in individual positions can be an issue.
On-line platforms immature, this means you may have to talk to a broker. Whilst this might not seem terribly onerous it does introduce problems for those who have brokers who are keen to give advice.
The setting of stops is extremely problematic with most brokers unwilling to handle stops. This can lead to an open ended liability with written positions.
Dealing with market makers can be an interesting experience.
To the retail client it can seem as if the spreads are made up on the spot by the market maker.
Whilst there are some 50+ stocks which have ETO’s in reality trading is confined to around 10 stocks, 4 of which are banks so the range of stocks is very poor.

Spread Betting Advantages

Available on a wide range of markets covering equities, indices, commodities and interest rate vehicles.
Can set level of gearing, there is no fixed tick weighting which may preclude traders from trading derivatives such as futures contracts.
Stops are mandatory in controlled risk accounts and are guaranteed.
Strong liquidity; transparent quotes so you are able to deal at the price you see on the screen. There is no need to chase the market maker around trying to get filled.
Mature on-line platform allowing the dealing in a variety of instruments from a single platform.

Spread Betting Disadvantages

New to the Australian market.
The possibility to set your own level of gearing will cause problems for undisciplined traders.
You do have to deal with one party. You cannot open a trade with one provider and then arrange to close it with another.

I feel the most interesting feature of spread betting is that it is a derivative that appears to be gaining wide acceptance. If the experience in the UK is a guide then products such as spread betting and CFD’s are likely to gain a foothold in the local market. In the UK turnover from spread betting is approximately ₤230 million per annum, this is a sizeable figure when you consider that turnover is measured in commission or spread not the actually dollar value of trades

A New Trader's Journey to Success, by James Lee

2008-05-31T05:53:00.000-07:00

The six stages of a developing trader are looked at below.

Stage One: The Clueless Trader

This is the first stage when you enter trading. You may have picked up a book on technical analysis somewhere, heard of a day trader making millions, or got lucky in an earlier stock investment. After all, how hard can it be? The money sounds appealing and the freedom to be independent sounds attractive.

I don't mean to shatter anybody's dream but those who succeed in trading are the minority! Approximately 90-95% traders lose money. This is the cold hard facts. In the first stage, every trader is optimistic. You open a direct access brokerage account and the sound of Level II, ask/bid, and market makers make trading sound like hi-tech video game. In reality you have no clue. You will buy just to see the market reverse and you will short just as the market starts to rally. Most of your trades are done emotionally. You buy just because the markets feel strong without any logical reason. You are in the unconscious incompetence stage. You have no clue how the mechanics and psychology of trading works. What's worse? You are not aware that you don't know. Most traders will blow their entire account at this stage.

Stage Two: The Rookie Trader

In this stage you have lost enough money to realize what you are doing is completely wrong. In other words, you start to realize that you don't know. You will then devour every trading book available. You will study and purchase Technical Analysis of Stock Trends by Edwards and Magee believing price patterns are the Holy Grail. You will memorize every technical pattern known to man. You will read about the ADX, moving averages, Fibonacci lines, pivot points, MACD, Bollinger Bands, channels, etc... You will go through the "help" tab on your data vendor to read about every single technical indicator available. You will plot them on your charts and spend hours looking for an indicator that works. You will be extra confident now because think you have found the magical technical indicator.

Yet, you still continue to lose money everyday. You realize that your indicators are lagging and that every other new trader is probably looking at the same thing. You realize that you are the sucker.

Stage Three: The Developing Trader

You start to realize the amount of work required and the immense learning curve that you must overcome to understand the markets. At this point, traders may find it overwhelming and quit. Stronger minded traders will push their motivation harder to start their second spurt for knowledge. Hunger and passion is needed to clear this stage. You will look for reference online, join mentor programs, chat rooms, and seminars. You realize the necessary elements needed to develop as a trader. You will ask a thousand questions and bug every professional trader you meet. You will read a thousand day trading articles. You will start paper trading, develop strategies and setups, and define risk parameters for every trade. You will go on a hunt for self-understanding to master your psychological game. You will visualize every possibility on a trade before you take it. This is the true learning phase. You are trying hard to develop your edge in trading.

Stage Four: The Determined Trader

This is the stage in which you learn to specialize in certain markets and trading methods. Without realizing it, you have finally found your style of trading after hours of hard work and research. You stick to your method and you improve it. You realize that you need an edge whether its tape reading or being a Fibonacci expert. The important thing is you are slowly transforming yourself into a specialized trader. You test your methods and they seem to work. You gain tremendous market knowledge. You reflect back on yourself and you can't help but laugh at your foolishness. Although you have not made enough money to call yourself successful you are proud of your journey and accomplishments. You realize that the Holy Grail is not about technical indicators or price patterns. You calculate risk before profits and place strict money management on all your trades. You cut losses short and learn to scale out on your winners. You start accept losing as a natural part of the game. You take high probability trades that you have tested and feel confident about your setups because you understand that trading is a game of probabilities. Your psychological makeup has changed from an amateur mindset to a professional one.

Step Five: The Consistent Trader

You rely on your trading method and start taking trades systematically. You try to aim for consistency and are meeting your daily goals often. You have reached the conscious competence stage. You are fully aware of your strengths and weaknesses as a trader. At times you feel euphoric and at times you feel pain. But you are able to understand your own psychological makeup to control your emotional swings. You are now able to trade for a living.

Step Six: The Expert Trader

In this final stage, you completely understand the markets you are trading. Being involved in it everyday you are aware of every key price level. You understand market concept and are able to predict the direction of the markets a fairly good amount of time. You pat yourself on your back and take profits as soon as you feel euphoric. You do this because you understand euphoria is the same as emotional trading. You talk to other traders and realize the development stage they are in. People start asking you for trading advice, you publish a book, and you have a specific trading methodology that represents you!

Taking trades come naturally and you are able to get in and out at the precise price levels based on tape. Instead of having the markets take your stop out, you exit when you know you are wrong. You keep your head high but remain humble on the inside. You have now officially graduated the school of the hard knocks.

Entering the trading profession can be a tough journey for many people. Trading is one of the toughest careers that you can choose. If you enjoy the challenge, you will definitely enjoy the feeling of accomplishment. Trading is 30% mechanical and 170% psychological. 200% is required to become a successful trader. Good luck and best of trading.

A Good Trader Is Not Born That Way

2008-05-31T05:52:00.000-07:00

Our Analysis Team have traded International Commodities all over the world; Russia, Asia, Europe, Middle East. They have International Bank and Bond Market experience, have a strong understanding of Global Economics and a good knowledge of what moves the Markets. All that aside there was a day, a long time ago, that they knew nothing about Trading. Here are their comments on what helps creates a consistent Trader:

A good Trader was not born that way; a good Trader is only ever somebody that has been taught well. A good Trader has been willing to expand their thought process, and to willingly move outside of their own comfort zone
Most Traders expect an instant reward, which is something that is completely unrealistic. Positive results will not just come because a Trader expended energy, the Markets do not really care how much time and effort is put in. There is no ‘Time=Reward ‘ equation in any trading Market
Work Smart, NOT Hard. Concentrating on a Trading Plan and learning what has already proven to be reliable will not always guarantee results (see above note Time=Reward). It will however ensure that a Trader stacks the odds of success in their favor. Create a way to approach the Market each day that remains constant
Knowledge is NOT Power, the proper use of Knowledge is Power. Get focused on the system at hand, learn things one at a time and trust in common sense when decision making
Research the Euro when trading the Forex, it is the largest $ denominated trading Pair and therefore will serve as a guide to overall $ strength or weakness. Do not trade Long the $ when the Major Pairs are running Short the $
Do not expect instant results, but DO expect a feeling of calm, security and clarity in what you are doing each day once you have a Plan to follow, and a path to walk
Do not be a SNIOP (Susceptible to the Negative Influence Of Other People). Most Plans will work out given time if they are well prepared and executed, all well thought out systems tend to
Over 25 Years of Commodity Trading experience teaches people things; Profits & Losses are an equal part of Daily Trading Life, do not let a Loss discourage you, they happen to the best Traders more than most realize. Successful Traders look at results over the Quarter and Year; looking at Weekly and especially Daily, in-depth, analysis can be discouraging. Always understand the losses, but do not dwell on them, instead make the adjustment, learn from it and move on

Common sense is key, if it does not look right, or feel right, it probably is not right. Trust your instincts and look for the reasons not to take a potential trade. If there is any doubt, stay out.

Surround yourself with like minded people, those who exude confidence and stick to basic common sense reasoning that you can easily understand.

Be aware of Trumpet Blowers, those who inform because they can't perform. Accept that Trumpet Blowing is not to be encouraged.

To Learn, Read; To Share, Write; To Master, Teach.

TheLFB.com

A Beginners Guide to Spread Betting, by David Thorpe

2008-05-31T05:46:00.000-07:00

Introduction

This article refers to financial spread betting. This means that we are talking about stock, index, future, forex, treasury, commodity and market sector spread bets. If you are looking for information about sporting spread bets then unfortunately this article will be of no use to you.

Depending on your geographical location and the legal jurisdiction you fall under, spread betting may or may not be available to you. For example, gambling laws in the US may prohibit spread betting as it is classified in the same bracket as visiting a casino.

Spread betting has evolved in, and is dominated by, specialist UK firms. The concept was first introduced over 30 years ago when a bookmaker devised a way of betting on futures indices. The evolution has continued to the present day with greater competition for business creating an increase in financial products on offer and tighter spreads (the difference between the bid and the ask/ offer price). So why has spread betting taken off in the UK while it has remained relatively unheard of in other parts of the World? It is because UK tax laws class gambling (spread betting is classified as gambling, hence the name ‘bet’) as being free from capital gains tax. And as you never take physical ownership of any contacts or shares there is no stamp duty payable. This financial niche has been the major contributing factor to the growth in the spread betting market.

What is Financial Spread Betting?

In the simplest of terms, placing a spread bet means to put a ‘bet’ on a financial instrument moving higher or lower in value. Obviously the idea is to bet in the direction you think that the price will move. This method of speculation differs from the open market, as you will never physically own any security. Spread betting is becoming increasingly popular with investors and traders alike for a number of reasons. In this tutorial we will do our best to show you how spread betting works, the similarities and differences with open market trading and the associated advantages and disadvantages.

Overview

Those with any experience of the financial markets will know the process of opening and closing a position on the open market. For example, if you were to purchase (or borrow in the case of shorting) shares your broker would quote you a price. Once you complete the transaction either by phone or electronically you would then take physical ownership of the shares (however share certificates are now held in street name). This process of opening a position is the same should you wish to place a spread bet. You can open bets by telephone or use the on-line 'trading' platforms provided to you when you open an account. The difference is that opening a spread bet position means that you trade or invest in any of the instruments offered to you without ever taking physical ownership of them. This is because, as we have already mentioned, you are merely putting a bet on the direction that you think they will move. The fact that you never own a single share means that you forfeit any voting rights attached to the stock. It does not mean that you forfeit your right to a dividend payment however. Spread bet firms will adjust you position higher for a dividend payment (and mark it lower if a company goes ex dividend). At the time of writing it is not clear if this is an industry wide standard so it is worth checking with your chosen spread bet firm.

Shares vs. £ per Point

A fundamental difference in the way you place a spread bet as apposed to an open market order is the quantity you deal in. Rather than buying and selling no. of shares, you will be operating in GBP (£) per point. The definition of one ‘point’ depends on the spread bet firm in question but it is usually one pip in forex and one penny (UK) or one cent (US) for shares. We will go into detail in our examples section about how you can convert your position size from £/ point to the equivalent of number of shares or contract size.

Shorting

If you have ever traded during a bear market or an IPO you will know that restrictions are placed on short positions. This is either because brokers have no shares left available for shorts (am many of their clients are already short) or the exchange has prohibited shorting. There are no such restrictions when it comes to spread betting. You are free to short (place a bet on price/ value falling) as often as you like and during any market conditions.

Available Markets

Although you will not find restrictions on your shorting activity there is a strong possibility of restrictions on the number of instruments available to bet on. If you specialise in penny shares, junk bonds or less liquid stocks you will more than likely find yourself frustrated. Most spread betting firms will offer you the opportunity to bet on mainstream indices (the DJIA, S&P 500, NASDAQ 100 and FTSE for example) and their member stocks. However, lower valued stocks are likely not to be offered. For example you will find yourself able to bet on the constituents of the NASDAQ 100 but members of the NASDAQ Composite are less frequently available.

Financial Incentives

We have already mentioned the tax benefits associated with spread betting but there are also other financial incentives. Spread betting firms charge no commission, there are no ECN fess and exchange fees do not apply. Spread bet firms make their money from the spread they charge. Therefore, the larger the spread the greater your cost to trade. If we take these firms at their word then they are constantly hedged in the market against their clients ‘overall’ positions. This means that they have no vested interest in seeing you make a loss because they are not on the other side of the bet. In fact they want to be profitable as it guarantees more bets (and the cost of spread) for them. A less optimistic view is that spread bet companies are no more than bookmakers and make their profit based on the fact that the majority of traders (and gamblers) lose money. This point will be discussed more in depth later on.

Trading Platforms

In order to make the spread betting experience as much like open market trading as possible, spread bet firms have invested heavily in their online trading platforms. These programs include live streaming quotes, free live charts (including technical indicators suitable for all but the most advanced technical traders), news wires and order tickets featuring stop, limit, OCO, market and CRB (controlled risk bets that act as a guaranteed stop loss) orders. These platforms are provided at no extra cost when you open your account, however features will vary depending on your provider.

Live Prices

The live streaming quotes are not fixed in order to catch you out while betting. All quotes are based on the current market price. The only difference is the spread as the spread bet firms are free to set this themselves. As we have mentioned this is their primary source of income and you may find spreads are a little wider than you will find in the open market. However, competition for your custom has been increasing rapidly and you will find that the spreads on offer are very competitive.

Margin Requirements

Spread betting affords traders a much lower margin requirement than typical share dealing accounts. For example, SEC rules stipulate that brokers inside the US may only provide leverage of 4:1 (25% margin) on accounts over $25 000. This means that in order to command positions worth $100 000 you must have a minimum of $25 000 in your account. With spread betting firms the margin requirement is much lower. One leading spread bet firm requires you to provide 5% margin for US share bets. Using the same example a $100 000 position would only require $5 000 account balance. Of course this position would be calculated in £ per point and not dollars. The relaxed margin requirements allow traders to command much larger positions with their available account balance. In theory this means a trader can achieve a much higher return on capital but must do so by accepting much higher risk.

How Does it Work? – Examples

As we have already mentioned, spread bets are denominated in £ and points rather than number of shares. This difference may be confusing but with a simple equation you can convert the £ per point trades size to the equivalent number of shares. For this example we will be using Vodafone (UK), VOD. It is currently trading at 116.00 / 25 pence. The spread, as quoted by your spread bet firm is currently 0.25 pence, or a quarter of one point. You wish to buy the equivalent of 100 shares of VOD. You have a target of 146 pence. If you were to buy 100 shares on the open market it would cost you 116.25 multiplied by 100 = 11625 pence or £116.25. Every penny the share moves will alter the value of your position by £1 (1penny * 100 shares = £1). Therefore £1 per point will give you the equivalent of 100 shares. This is the same for all share bets, including US shares because spread bet firms denominate US shares in points and the number of pounds you bet per point move.

Gambling vs Trading

The name spread betting automatically conjures up thoughts of gambling due to the word ‘bet’. This is confirmed by the UK government who have classed any profits made in a spread betting account as being free from capital gains tax. However, no trading or investing decision ever includes thoughts of gambling. This should also be true for any one hoping to venture into spread betting. In truth we should refer to 'spread betting' as 'spread trading'. The system has been set up to mimic open market trading as closely as possible and therefore lends itself to the same profitable strategies used in the open market. Strict risk reward and discipline are key. The same price movements, technical criteria or fundamentals exist; you are simply acting on your strategy through a different medium.

Without venturing too far into strategy building and implementation, it must be remembered that the smaller margin requirements, especially for stocks, must be incorporated into the risk factor of each trade.

Summary

For any trader looking to investigate the possibilities of spread betting there are certainly benefits and detriments to consider. Indeed it may not even be possible for many as gambling laws prohibit the use of spread betting accounts.

The potential for increased risk is one such consideration. The spread bet firms are keen to illustrate the fact that a smaller margin requirement can lead to massive return on your account balance through superior leverage. However, in truth this extra leverage may not be needed, as a successful strategy will not increase the risk placed on a trade just because it is possible. This makes the benefit of increased leverage almost obsolete unless you wish to be able to maintain your positions with a smaller account balance, thus freeing up funds for other investments.

On the other hand, any profits made through spread betting are currently classed as tax free (tax laws can change). The profit saved thanks to this lack of tax is a heavy consideration for most, although it must be noted that any losses incurred cannot be claimed back against your tax bill for the year.

There is slight resistance to the spread bet movement; those who disapprove claim that it robs the market of liquidity as more and more traders choose spread betting over open market trading. However, if spread bet firms hedge their clients’ positions in the open market, as many of them claim to do, this liquidity would find its way back into the market. Therefore it must be the case that spread bet firms do not hedge or there is no loss, or at least very little, of liquidity.

45 Ways to Avoid Losing Money Trading FOREX, by Jimmy Young

2008-05-31T05:02:00.000-07:00

1) Knowledge Deficiency – Most new FOREX traders don’t take the time to learn what drives currency rates (primarily fundamentals). When news or a statement is due out they must close out their positions and sit out the best trading opportunities. They are taught to only trade after the market calms down. So essentially they miss the whole move and then trade the random noise that follows a fundamental price move. Just think for a moment about technically trading the aftermath of a price move; there is no potential.

2) Overtrading - Trading often with tight stops and tiny profit targets will only make the broker rich. The desire to “just” make a few hundred dollars a day by locking in tiny profits whenever possible is a losing strategy.

3) Over leveraged - Leverage is a two way street. The brokers want you to use high leverage because that means more spread income because your position size determines the amount of spread income; the bigger the position the more spread income the broker earns.

4) Relying on Others – Real traders play a lone hand; they make their own decisions and don’t rely on others to make their trading decisions for them; there is no halfway; either trade for yourself or have someone else trade for you.

5) Stop Losses – Putting tight stop losses with retail brokers is a recipe for disaster. When you put on a trade commit to a reasonable stop loss limit that allows your trade a fair chance to develop.

6) Demo Accounts – Broker demo accounts are a shill game of sorts; they’re not as time sensitive as real accounts and therefore give the impression that time sensitive trading systems, such as short-term moving average crossovers can be consistently profitably traded; once you start dealing with real money reality is quick to set in.

7) Trading During Off Hours – Bank FX traders, option traders, and hedge funds have a huge advantage during off hours; they can push the currencies around when no volume is going through and the end game is new traders get fleeced trying to trade signals. There is only one signal during off hours – stay out.

8) Trading a Currency, Not a Pair – Being right about a currency is half a trade; success or failure depends upon being right about the second currency that makes up the pair.

9) No Trading Plan - Make money is not a trading plan. A trading plan is a blueprint for trading success; it spells out what you see your edge as being; if you don’t have an edge, you don’t have a plan, and likely you’ll wind up a statistic (part of the 95% of new traders that lose and quit).

10) Trading Against Prevailing Trend – There is a huge difference between buying cheaply on the way down and buying cheaply. What was a low price quickly becomes a high price when you’re trading against the trend.

11) Exiting Trades Poorly – If you put on a trade and it’s not working make sure you exit properly; don’t compound the damage. If you’re in a winning trade don’t talk yourself out of the position because you’re bored or want to relieve stress; stress is a natural part of trading; get use to it.

12) Trading Too Short-term – If you’re profit target is less than 20 points don’t do the trade; the spread you pay to enter the trade makes the odds way against you when you go for these tiny profits.

13) Picking Tops and Bottoms - Looking for bargains works well at the supermarket but not trading foreign exchange; try to trade in the direction the price is going and you’re results will improve.

14) Being Too Smart – The most successful traders I know are high school graduates. They keep it simple and don’t look beyond the obvious; their results are excellent.

15) Not Trading Around News Time – Most of the big moves occur around news time. The volume is high and the moves are real; there is no better time to trade fundamentally or technically than when news is released; this is when the real money adjusts their positions and as a result the prices changes reflect serious currency flow (compared to quiet times when Bank traders rule the market with their customer order flow.

16) Ignore Technical Condition – Determining whether the market is over-extended long or over-extended short is a key determinant of near time price action. Spike moves often occur when the market is all one way.

17) Emotional Trading – When you don’t pre-plan you’re trades essentially it’s a thought and not an idea; thoughts are emotions and a very poor basis for doing trades. Do people generally say intelligent things when they are upset and emotional; I don’t think so.

18) Lack of Confidence – Confidence only comes from successful trading. If you lose money early in your trading career it’s very difficult to gain true confidence; the trick is don’t go off half-cocked; learn the business before you trade.

19) Lack of Courage to Take a Loss – There is nothing macho or gutsy about riding a loss, just stupidity and cowardice. It takes guts to accept your loss and wait for tomorrow to try again. Getting married to a bad position ruins lots of traders. The thing to remember is the market does crazy things often so don’t get married to any one trade; it’s just a trade. One good trade will not make you a trading success; rather it’s monthly and annual performance that defines a good trader.

20) Not Focusing on the Trade at Hand – There is no room for fantasizing in successful trading. Counting up and mentally spending profits you haven’t made yet is mental masturbation and does you no good. Same with worrying about a loss that hasn’t happened yet. Focus on your position and have a reasonable stop loss in place at the time you do the trade. Then be like an astronaut – sit back and enjoy the ride; no sense worrying because you have no real control; the market will do what it wants to do.

21) Interpreting FOREX News Incorrectly – Fact is the press only has a very superficial understanding of the news they are reporting and tend to focus on one element and miss the point. Learn to read the source documents and understand it for real.

22) Lucky or Good – Your account balance changes don’t tell you the whole story about your trading; fact is if your taking a lot of risk and making money you will eventually crash and burn. Look at the individual trade details; focus on your big loses and losing streaks. Ask yourself this; if I had a couple of consecutive losing streaks or a couple of consecutive big loses, how would my account balance look. Generally, traders making money without big daily loses have the best chance of sustaining positive performance. The others are accidents waiting to happen.

23) Too Many Charity Trades – When you make money on a well thought out trade don’t give back half on a whim; invest your profits from good trades on the next good trade.

24) Courage Under Fire – When a policeman breaks down the door to a drug dealers apartment he is scared but he does it anyway. When a fireman climbs onto the roof of a burning building he is scared but does it anyway; and gets the job done. Same with trading; it’s ok to be scared but you have to pull the trigger; no trigger – no trades – no profits – no trader.

25) Quality Trading Time – I suggest 3 hours a day of quality, focused trading time; that’s about all your brain allows. When your trading being 100% focused; half way is bullshit’ it doesn’t work. Don’t even think that time spent in front of the computer watching the rates has any correlation to profitability; it doesn’t. Spend less time but when your trading be 100% focused on trading.

26) Rationalizing – Killer. Absolute Killer. Put your trade on and let it run. If it hits your reasonable pre-determined stop your out. Think of yourself as a prizefighter; you just got knocked out. Moving your stop is like getting up after being crushed with a knockout blow; it’s pointless; things will only get worse. Don’t ignore the obvious; your wrong – get out. Come back the next day and try again. A small loss will not hurt you; a catastrophic loss will.

27) Mixing Apples and Oranges – Have you ever done this; you see the EURUSD trading higher so you buy GBPUSD because it “hasn’t moved yet”. That’s a mistake. Most of the time the reason the GBPUSD hasn’t moved yet is because its already overbought or some 4:30am UK news was bearish. Don’t mix apples and oranges; if EURUSD looks bid buy EURUSD.

28) Avoiding the Hard Trades – Bank FX traders have an axiom; the harder the trade is to do the better the trade. This I learned from experience; when I needed to buy EURUSD and it was hard to get them that’s when it’s necessary to pay up and get the business done. When it’s easy to get them then sit back and wait for better levels. So if your trying to get into a trade or more importantly get out of a trade don’t putz around for a few points; get your business done.

29) Too Much Detail – If your trading more than 2 indicators then you need to clean house. Having many indicators stifles trading and finds reasons not to trade. A setup and a trigger is all you need.

30) Giving Up Too Easy – Your first trade of the day may not be your best but certainly it’s no reason to quit. I have a preset daily trading limit and I use it; you can’t make money by making excuses; getting trades wrong is natural and should be expected.

31) Jumping the Gun – Don’t be penny wise and dollar foolish; wait for your trade signal to be clear; put on your trade and give it a decent size stop loss so that you don’t get knocked out by random noise. Do trades don’t’ buy lottery tickets (extremely tight stops).

32) Afraid to Take a Loss - trading is not personal; it’s business. Don’t think that a poor trade is a reflection on you. It could be your just ahead of your time or a commercial order hits the market and temporarily creates a small unexpected move. Again, place your stop beforehand and NEVER increase your pre-determined risk; if it’s going bad it will probably get worse; I think that’s Einstein “in motion stays in motion…”

33) Over-Relying on Risk Reward – There is zero advantage in risk reward; if you put a 20 point stop and a 60 point profit your chances are probably 3-1 that you will lose; actually with the spread its more like 4 to 1 (from entry point if it goes down 17 points you lose or up 63 you win; 17/63 is close to 4-1).

34) Trading for Wrong Reasons – Because the EURUSD is going up is not in itself a reason to buy. Buying EURUSD because its not moving so little risk is even worse; you’re paying the toll (spread) without even a hint that you will get a directional move. If your bored don’t trade; the reason your bored is there is no trade to do in the first place.

35) Rumors – Rumors are rumors almost 100% of the time; think about where in the motion you heard the rumor; if EURUSD is up 50 points in last 15 minutes and the rumor is dollar negative, well then you missed it. Whenever you trades determine where in the motion you are entering.

36) Trading Short-term Moving Average Crossovers – This is the money sucker of the century. When the shorter term moving average cross the longer term moving average it only means that the average price in the short run is equal to the average price in the longer run. For the life of me I cannot understand why this is bullish or bearish. Easy to set up on software, complete with lights, bells and whistles, and good for the seller getting thousands for the software but in terms of creating profit it’s a zero.

37) Stochastic – Another money sucker. Personally I think this indicator is used backwards; when it first signals an overdone condition that’s when I think the big spike in the “overdone” currency pair occurs. To be overbought means strong and oversold means weak. Try buying on the first sign of overbought and selling on the first sign of oversold; you’ll be with the trend and likely have identified a move with plenty of juice left. So if %k and %d are both crossing 80; buy! (Same on sell side; sell at 20)

38) Wrong Broker – A lot of FOREX brokers are horrible; get a good one. Read forums and chats in several different places to get an unbiased opinion.

39) Simulated Results – Watch out for “black box” systems; these are trading systems that don’t divulge how the trade signals are generated. Great majority of them are absolute garbage. They show you a track record of extraordinary results but think about it; if you could build a trading system with half a dozen filters using the benefit of hindsight, couldn’t you too come up with a great system. Of course going forward is an entirely different story. High-speed number crunching capabilities allows for building great hindsight trading systems; BEWARE.

40) Inconsistency – Every business (FOREX trading included) requires a business plan (trading plan). Unless you have taken the time to write down a set of rules that you can and will follow, it’s likely your trading will remain unfocused and directionless. Make a plan, have rules, follow them set goals that are realistic and you will achieve them.

41) Master of None – Focus on one currency for technical trading; each currency has a unique way of trading and unless you get intimate with it you will never truly understand its underlying idiosyncrasies. Don’t spread yourself too thin – focus – master one currency at a time.

42) Thinking Long Term – Don’t do it. Stay in the moment. Especially if you’re a day trader. It doesn’t matter what happens next week or next month, if your trading with 30 to 50 point stops restrict your thought process to what’s happening right now. That is not to stay the long-term trend is not important; it is to say the long-term trend will not always help you when your trading a significantly shorter time frame.

43) Overconfidence – Trading is not easy; statistics show 95% failure rate. If your doing well don’t take your success for granted; always be on the lookout for ways to improve what you’re doing.

44) Getting Pumped Up – The trick is to maintain an even keel; when you are in a trade you want to think exactly as you would if you didn’t have a trade on. To do this requires a relaxed disposition; this is not a football game; don’t get psyched up; relax and try to enjoy it.

45) Staying in the Game – I don’t recommend demo trading because traders learn bad habits when trading with play money. I also don’t think “letting it all hang out” right away is wise either. Start off doing trades and taking risk that is relatively small but still makes a difference to you if you win or lose; about a quarter to a third of what you expect to reach as your trading matures is reasonable.

Retired proven professional Bank FOREX trader with over 20 years of hands-on FOREX trading experience.

Articles

2008-05-31T04:31:00.000-07:00

Signals archive

2008-05-31T04:27:00.000-07:00

Friday , May 30 , 2008 - EUR/USD .......... Signal status : open

Disclaimer:

2008-05-31T03:17:00.000-07:00

FOREX PEAK PRIVACY POLICY

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FOREX PEAK DISCLAIMER

Trading foreign currencies is a challenging and potentially profitable opportunity for educated and experienced investors. However, before deciding to participate in the Forex market, you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience and risk appetite. Most importantly, do not invest money you cannot afford to lose. There is considerable exposure to risk in any foreign exchange transaction. Any transaction involving currencies involves risks including, but not limited to, the potential for changing political and/or economic conditions that may substantially affect the price or liquidity of a currency.

Moreover, the leveraged nature of FX trading means that any market movement will have an equally proportional effect on your deposited funds. This may work against you as well as for you. The possibility exists that you could sustain a total loss of initial margin funds and be required to deposit additional funds to maintain your position. If you fail to meet any margin call within the time prescribed, your position will be liquidated and you will be responsible for any resulting losses. Investors may lower their exposure to risk by employing risk-reducing strategies such as 'stop-loss' or 'limit' orders. Forex Peak, and any of its affiliates, will not be held responsible for the reliability or accuracy of the information available on this site. The content provided is put forward in good faith and believed to be accurate, however, there are no explicit or implicit warranties of accuracy or timeliness made by Forex Peak or its affiliates.

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Download MetaTrader 4

2008-05-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

Download MetaTrader

Download the installation file (mt4setup.exe, 3.0Mb) to your PC, launch it and install the program, checking for instructions appearing on your monitor. When launching the program for the first time, you will see a window with the registration form; after you have filled it in, you will automatically get a demo account.