Naija Forex Solutions

Introduction to Forex Trading

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 21:10:00 +0000

Are you new in the Forex market? This market may sound really complicated and frightening to tackle but it’s not. Just like in any kinds of trade, you make money when you buy low and sell high. Forex trading is simply trading currencies in the Forex market.

Forex is the most extensive financial market in the world. It generates trillions of dollars by exchanging currencies everyday and it operates 24 hours a day and seven days a week therefore, also making it the most liquid market in the world.

In the world of Forex, trading in this very liquid market is very unique compared to other financial market like stocks. Since the Forex market operates 24 hours a day worldwide, starting at Sydney and ending in New York, trading is not centralized in one location. You can trade in Forex whenever you want regardless of the local time.

In the past, Forex trading was only offered to large financial institutions, like banks. And, it was also only offered to large companies, multi-national corporations and large currency dealers. This is due to the large and extremely strict financial requirements imposed by the Forex market. This means that individual traders and small businesses are not able to participate in this liquid market.

However, in the late 90s, Forex was made available to individual traders and small businesses. This is owing to the developments in the communications technology. High speed internet made it possible for people to enter the Forex market and have become one of the best make money at home businesses.

Forex trading is getting more and more popular each day. Moreover, who wouldn’t want to trade in the largest and the most liquid financial market in the world? Trading in Forex will definitively give you the opportunity to earn a lot of money. However, trading in this ever liquid market also has its risk. It is a fact that many people who traded in Forex lost a substantial amount of money and some of these people are seasoned traders.

This is why it is very important for you, as a beginner trader in the Forex market, to have the adequate knowledge and education on how to trade in the Forex market. Firstly, there are hundreds or even thousands of available websites in the internet offering Forex education. Some of these websites offer dummy Forex trading where you can practice trading in the Forex market using dummy money or demo accounts.

These programs will really take you closer to actually trading in Forex. Many experts say that you’ll never fully understand how Forex really works until you traded in the market. So, in order to learn how to trade Forex, you may want to sign up for a dummy account that numerous Forex trading websites offer.

With a dummy account, you can trade Forex without the need to use real money at all. With this program you can practice your knowledge and skills in trading in the Forex market and not waste money.

To prepared for trading in this market, all you need is a computer with a high speed internet connection, a funded Forex account, and a trading system. These three simple things are enough to get you started in the Forex trading.

In order for you to minimize the risk of losing money, you need to get some basic knowledge in charting before you start trading. In most Forex trading systems, Forex charts are there to assist you with your trades. Forex charts are a visual representation of the exchange rates of currencies. This is where you will mostly base your decisions to buy and sell currencies. You need to learn how to read the different Forex charts in order for you to successfully operate in the Forex market.

Each Forex chart is different even though they represent the same variations. For example, in the daily Forex chart, you can evaluate market trends in the past 24 hours to help you make decisions on the next 24 hours of trading. You can use the hourly chart to spot trends within the day. And, in the 15 minute chart, where it can help you recent currency fluctuations in a 15 minute interval to help you decide on which currency to buy and sell. Sometimes, there are 5 minute chart available to better help you get closer to the action.

These are the basics on how to trade in the Forex market. You should never forget that aside from the promising earning potential that you can have in the Forex market, there are also underlying risks that you have to consider. It is therefore wise to trade in this market with a proper investment plan and strategy. If you are just starting out to trade in Forex, consider opening a dummy account to help you practice trading Forex without risking money.

Earn millions trading forex from Nigeria!

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:59:00 +0000

Have you tried to trade forex in Nigeria? You must have met so many barriers. Well, the good news is that i'm going to teach you step by step how to start trading forex from Nigeria FREE! You must have heard of forex seminars around your area, but I GUARANTEE YOU THAT YOU WILL NEVER MAKE A DIME IF YOU DONT LEARN FOREX FOR AT LEAST 3 MONTHS BEFORE YOU START TO TRADE!..........

The problem with most forex seminars is that most of them don't even trade forex themselves!
And most times they tell you only what you want to hear and not what you need to hear,amazing huh?

Killer Secret One: 95% of all forex traders are loosers (fatal loosers) so only 5% make the so much anticipated billions.

Forex is a multi-TRIllion dollar market so the 5% make up to 38million out of over 50 billion traders.

You can make millions with forex, and you can loose millions too, and my sole aim is to make Millonaires out of Naija. It's never about luck, its about your trading skills and if you learn 75% of forex strategies you're ready.
Click here to get daily updates on your pc! or Use the subscription button on the RIGHT SIDE on Top of this site to get updates delivered to your email!

Reverse Head and Shoulders

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:26:00 +0000

The name speaks for itself. It is basically a head and shoulders formation, except this time it’s in reverse. A valley is formed (shoulder), followed by an even lower valley (head), and then another higher valley (shoulder). These formations occur after extended downward movements.

Here you can see that this is just like a head and shoulders pattern, but it’s flipped upside down. With this formation, we would place a long entry order above the neckline. Our target is calculated just like the head and shoulders pattern. Measure the distance between the head and the neckline, and that is approximately the distance that the price will move after it breaks the neckline.

You can see that the price moved up nicely after it broke the neckline. WE know you’re thinking to yourself, “the price kept moving even after it reached the target.”
And my response is, “DON”T BE GREEDY!”
If your target is hit, then be happy with your profits. However, there are strategies where you can lock in some of your profits and still keep your trade open in case the price continues to move your way. You will learn about those later on in the course.

Head and Shoulders

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:22:00 +0000

A head and shoulders pattern is also a trend reversal formation. It is formed by a peak (shoulder), followed by a higher peak (head), and then another lower peak (shoulder). A “neckline” is drawn by connecting the lowest points of the two troughs. The slope of this line can either be up or down. In my experience, when the slope is down, it produces a more reliable signal.

In this example, we can visibly see the head and shoulders pattern. The head is the 2nd peak and is the highest point in the pattern. The two shoulders also form peaks but do not exceed the height of the head.

With this formation, we look to make an entry order below the neckline. We can also calculate a target by measuring the high point of the head to the neckline. This distance is approximately how far the price will move after it breaks the neckline.

You can see that once the price goes below the neckline it makes a move that is about the size of the distance between the head and the neckline.

Double Bottom

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:12:00 +0000

Double bottoms are also trend reversal formations, but this time we are looking to go long instead of short. These formations occur after extended downtrends when two valleys or “bottoms” have been formed.

You can see from the chart above that after the previous downtrend, the price formed two valleys because it wasn’t able to go below a certain level. Notice how the 2nd bottom wasn’t able to significantly break the 1st bottom.
This is a sign that the selling pressure is about finished, and that a reversal is about to occur. In this situation, we would place an entry order above the neckline.

Would you look at that!
The price breaks the neckline and makes a nice move up. Remember, just like double tops, double bottoms are also trend reversal formations. You’ll want to look for these after a strong downtrend

Double Top

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:11:00 +0000

A double top is a reversal pattern that is formed after there is an extended move up. The “tops” are peaks which are formed when the price hits a certain level that can’t be broken. After hitting this level, the price will bounce off it slightly, but then return back to test the level again. If the price bounces off of that level again, then you have a DOUBLE top!

In the chart above you can see that two peaks or “tops” were formed after a strong move up. Notice how the 2nd top was not able to break the high of the 1st top. This is a strong sign that a reversal is going to occur because it is telling us that the buying pressure is just about finished.
With double tops, we would place our entry order below the neckline because we are anticipating a reversal of the uptrend.

Wow! We must be psychic or something because we always seem to be right! Looking at the chart you can see that the price breaks the neckline and makes a nice move down. Remember, double tops are a trend reversal formation. You’ll want to look for these after there is a strong uptrend.

Fibonacci

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:08:00 +0000

Fibonacci is a huge subject and there are many different studies of Fibonacci with weird names but we’re going to stick to two: retracement and extension.
Let me first start by introducing you to Leonard Fibonacci.
Leonard Fibonacci was a famous Italian mathematician, who discovered a simple series of numbers that created ratios describing the natural proportions of things in the universe
The ratios arise from the following number series: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 ……
This series of numbers is derived by starting with 1 followed by 2 and then adding 1 + 2 to get 3, the third number. Then, adding 2 + 3 to get 5, the fourth number, and so on.
After the first few numbers in the sequence, if you measure the ratio of any number to that of the next higher number you get .618. For example, 34 divided by 55 equals 0.618.
If you measure the ratio between alternate numbers you get .382. For example, 34 divided by 89 = 0.382 and that’s as far as into the explanation as we’ll go.
These ratios are called the “golden mean.” As a speculative trader, these are the ratios you have to know:
Fibonacci Retracement Levels
0.236, 0.382, 0.500, 0.618, 0.764
Fibonacci Extension Levels
0, 0.382, 0.618, 1.000, 1.382, 1.618
You won’t really need to know how to calculate all of this. Your charting software will do all the work for you. But it’s always good to be familiar with the basic theory behind the indicator.
Traders use the Fibonacci retracement levels as support and resistance levels. Since so many traders watch these same levels and place buy and sell orders on them to enter trades or place stops, the support and resistance levels become a self-fulfilling expectation.
Traders use the Fibonacci extension levels as profit taking levels. Again, since so many traders are watching these levels and placing buy and sell orders to take profits, this tool usually works due self-fulfilling expectations.
Most charting software includes both Fibonacci retracement levels and extension level tools. In order to apply Fibonacci levels to your charts, you’ll need to identify Swing High and Swing Low points.
A Swing High is a candlestick with at least two lower highs on both the left and right of itself.
A Swing Low is a candlestick with at least two higher lows on both the left and right of itself.
Let's take a closer look at Fibonacci retracement levels...

Fibonacci Retracement
an uptrend, the general idea is to go long the market on a retracement to a Fibonacci support level. In order to find the retracement levels, you would click on a significant Swing Low and drag the cursor to the most recent Swing High. This will display each of the Retracement Levels showing both the ratio and corresponding price level. Let’s take a look at some examples of markets in an uptrend.

This is an hourly chart of USD/JPY. Here we plotted the Fibonacci Retracement Levels by clicking on the Swing Low at 110.78 on 07/12/05 and dragging the cursor to the Swing High at 112.27 on 07/13/05. You can see the levels plotted by the software. The Retracement Levels were 111.92 (0.236), 111.70 (0.382), 111.52 (0.500), and 111.35 (0.618). Now the expectation is that if USD/JPY retraces from this high, it will find support at one of the Fibonacci Levels because traders will be placing buy orders at these levels as the market pulls back.

Now let’s look at what actually happened after the Swing High occurred. The market pulled back right through the 0.236 level and continued the next day piercing the 0.382 level but never actually closing below it. Later on that day, the market resumed its upward move. Clearly buying at the 0.382 level would have been a good short term trade.

Now let’s see how we would use Fibonacci Retracement Levels during a downtrend. This is an hourly chart for EUR/USD. As you can see, we found our Swing High at 1.3278 on 02/28/05 and our Swing Low at 1.3169 a couple hours later. The Retracement Levels were 1.3236 (0.618), 1.3224 (0.500), 1.3211 (0.382), and 1.3195 (.236). The expectation for a downtrend is if it retraces from this high, it will encounter resistance at one of the Fibonacci Levels because traders will be placing sell orders at these levels as the market attempts to rally.

Let’s check out what happened next. Now isn’t that a thing of beauty! The market did try to rally but it barely past the 0.500 level spiking to a high 1.3227 and it actually closed below it. After that bar, you can see that the rally reversed and the downward move continued. You would have made some nice dough selling at the 0.382 level.

Here’s another example. This is an hourly chart for GBP/USD. We had a Swing High of 1.7438 on 07/26/05 and a Swing Low of 1.7336 the next day. So our Retracement Levels are: 1.7399 (0.618), 1.7387 (0.500), 1.7375 (0.382), and 1.7360 (0.236). Looking at the chart, the market looks like it tried to break the 0.500 level on several occasions, but try as it may, it failed. So would putting a sell order at the 0.500 level be a good trade?

If you did, you would have lost some serious cheddar! Take a look at what happened. The Swing Low looked to be the bottom for this downtrend as the market rallied above the Swing High point.

You can see from these examples the market usually finds at least temporary support (during an uptrend) or resistance (during a downtrend) at the Fibonacci Retracements Levels. It’s apparent that there a few problems to deal with here. There’s no way of knowing which level will provide support. The 0.236 seems to provide the weakest support/resistance, while the other levels provide support/resistance at about the same frequency. Even though the charts above show the market usually only retracing to the 0.382 level, it doesn’t mean the price will hit that level every time and reverse. Sometimes it’ll hit the 0.500 and reverse, other times it’ll hit the 0.618 and reverse, and other times the price will totally ignore Mr. Fibonacci and blow past all the levels like similar to the way Allen Iverson blows past his defenders with his nasty first step. Remember, the market will not always resume its uptrend after finding temporary support, but instead continue to decline below the last Swing Low. Same thing for a downtrend. The market may instead decide to continue above the last Swing High.
The placement of stops is a challenge. It’s probably best to place stops below the last Swing Low (on an uptrend) or above the Swing High (on a downtrend), but this requires taking a high level of risk in proportion to the likely profit potential in the trade. This is called reward-to-risk ratio. In a later lesson, you will learn more money management and risk control and how you would only take trades with certain reward-to-risk ratios.
Another problem is determining which Swing Low and Swing High points to start from to create the Fibonacci Retracement Levels. People look at charts differently and so will have their own version of where the Swing High and Swing Low points should be. The point is, there is no one right way to do it, but the bad thing is sometimes it becomes a guessing game.

Fibonacci Extension

The next use of Fibonacci you will be applying is that of targets. Let’s start with an example in an uptrend.
In an uptrend, the general idea is to take profits on a long trade at a Fibonacci Price Extension Level. You determine the Fibonacci extension levels by using three mouse clicks. First, click on a significant Swing Low, then drag your cursor and click on the most recent Swing High. Finally, drag your cursor back down and click on the retracement Swing Low. This will display each of the Price Extension Levels showing both the ratio and corresponding price levels.
On this 1-hour USD/CHF chart, we plotted the Fibonacci extension levels by clicking on the Swing Low at 1.2447 on 08/14/05 and dragged the cursor to the Swing High at 1.2593 on 08/15/05 and then down to the retracement Swing Low of 1.2541 on 08/15/05. The following Fibonacci extension levels created are 1.2597 (0.382), 1.2631 (0.618), 1.2687 (1.000), 1.2743 (1.382), 1.2760 (1.500), and 1.2777 (1.618).

Now let’s look at what actually happened after the retracement Swing Low occurred.

The market rallied to the 0.500 level
fell back to the retracement Swing Low
then rallied back up to the 0.500 level
fell back slightly
rallied to the 0.618 level
fell back to the 0.382 level which acted as support
then rallied all the way to the 1.382 level
consolidated a bit
then rallied to the 1.500 level

You can see from these examples that the market often finds at least temporary resistance at the Fibonacci extension levels - not always, but often. As in the examples of the retracement levels, it should be apparent that there are a few problems to deal with here as well. First, there is no way of knowing which level will provide resistance. The 0.500 level was a good level to cover any long trades in the above example since the market retraced back to its original level, but if you didn’t get back in the trade, you would have left a lot of profits on the table.
Another problem is determining which Swing Low to start from in creating the Fibonacci Extension Levels. One way is from the last Swing Low as we did in the examples; another is from the lowest Swing Low of the past 30 bars. Again, the point is that there is no one right way to do it, and consequently it becomes a guessing game.
Alright, let’s see how Fibonacci extension levels can be used during a downtrend. In a downtrend, the general idea is to take profits on a short trade at a Fibonacci price extension level since the market often finds at least temporary support at these levels.
On this 1-hour EUR/USD chart, we plotted the Fibonacci extension levels by clicking on the Swing High at 1.21377 on 07/15/05 and dragged the cursor to the Swing Low at 1.2021 on 08/15/15 and then down to the retracement High of 1.2085. The following Fibonacci extension levels created are 1.2041 (0.382), 1.2027 (0.500), 1.2013 (0.618), 1.1969 (1.000), 1.1925 (1.382), 1.1911 (1.500), and 1.1897 (1.618).

Now let’s look at what actually happened after the retracement Swing Low occurred.

The market fell down almost to the 0.382 level which for right now is acting as a support level
The market then traded sideways between the retracement Swing High level and 0.382 level
Finally, the market broke through the 0.382 and rested on the 0.500 level
Then it broke the 0.500 level and fell all the way down to the 1.000 level

Alone, Fibonacci levels will not make you rich. However, Fibonacci levels are definitely useful as part of an effective trading method that includes other analysis and techniques. You see, the key to an effective trading system is to integrate a few indicators (not too many) that are applied in a way that is not obvious to most observers.
All successful traders know it’s how you use and integrate the indicators (including Fibonacci) that makes the difference. The lesson learned here is that Fibonacci Levels can be a useful tool, but never enter or exit a trade based on Fibonacci Levels alone.

Descending Triangles

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:54:00 +0000

As you probably guessed, descending triangles are the exact opposite of ascending triangles. In descending triangles, there is a string of lower highs which forms the upper line. The lower line is a support level in which the price cannot seem to break.

In the chart above, you can see that the price is gradually making lower highs which tell us that the sellers are starting to gain some ground against the buyers. Now most of the time, the price will eventually break the support line and continue to fall.
However, in some cases the support line is too strong, and the price will bounce off of it and make a strong move up.
The good news is that we don’t care where the price goes. We just know that it’s about to go somewhere. In this case we would place entry orders above the upper line (the lower highs) and below the support line.

In this case, the price did end up breaking the support line and proceeded to drop rather quickly. (*note- The market tends to fall faster than it rises which means you usually make money faster when you are short).

Parabolic Stop and Reversal {SAR}

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Parabolic SAR

Up until now, we’ve looked at indicators that mainly focus on catching the beginning of new trends. And although it is important to be able to identify new trends, it is equally important to be able to identify where a trend ends. After all, what good is a well-timed entry without a well-timed exit?

One indicator that can help us determine where a trend might be ending is the Parabolic SAR (Stop And Reversal). A Parabolic SAR places dots, or points, on a chart that indicate potential reversals in price movement. From the chart above, you can see that the dots shift from being below the candles during the uptrend, to above the candles when the trend reverses into a downtrend.

Using Parabolic SAR

The nice thing about the Parabolic SAR is that it is really simple to use. Basically, when the dots are below the candles, it is a buy signal; and when the dots are above the candles, it is a sell signal. This is probably the easiest indicator to interpret because it assumes that the price is either going up or down. With that said, this tool is best used in markets that are trending, and that have long rallies and downturns. You DON’T want to use this tool in a choppy market where the price movement is sideways.

Symmetrical triangles

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:26:00 +0000

Symmetrical Triangles

Symmetrical triangles are chart formations where the slope of the price’s highs and the slope of the price’s lows converge together to a point where it looks like a triangle. What is happening during this formation is that the market is making lower highs and higher lows. This means that neither the buyers nor the sellers are pushing the price far enough to make a clear trend. If this was a battle between the buyers and sellers, then this would be a draw.
This type of activity is called consolidation.

In the chart above, we can see that neither the buyers nor the sellers could push the price in their direction. When this happens we get lower highs and higher lows. As these two slopes get closer to each other, it means that a breakout is getting near. We don’t know what direction the breakout will be, but we do know that the market will break out. Eventually, one side of the market will give in.

So how can we take advantage of this? Simple. We can place entry orders above the slope of the lower highs and below the slope of the higher lows. Since we already know that the price is going to break out, we can just hitch a ride in whatever direction the market moves.

In this example, if we placed an entry order above the slope of the lower highs, we would’ve been taken along for a nice ride up. If you had placed another entry order below the slope of the higher lows, then you would cancel it as soon as the first order was hit.

Ascending Triangles

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:22:00 +0000

Ascending Triangles

This type of formation occurs when there is a resistance level and a slope of higher lows. What happens during this time is that there is a certain level that the buyers cannot seem to exceed. However, they are gradually starting to push the price up as evident by the higher lows.

In the chart above, you can see that the buyers are starting to gain strength because they are making higher lows. They keep putting pressure on that resistance level and as a result, a breakout is bound to happen. Now the question is, “Which direction will it go? - Will the buyers be able to break that level or will the resistance be too strong?”
Many charting books will tell you that in most cases, the buyers will win this battle and the price will break out past the resistance. However, it has been my experience that this is not always the case. Sometimes the resistance level is too strong, and there is simply not enough buying power to push it through.

Most of the time the price will in fact go up. The point we are trying to make is that we do not care which direction the price goes, but we want to be ready for a movement in EITHER direction. In this case, we would set an entry order above the resistance line and below the slope of the higher lows.

In this scenario, the buyers won the battle and the price proceeded to skyrocket!

Relative Strength Index {RSI}

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:15:00 +0000

Relative Strength Index

Relative Strength Index, or RSI, is similar to stochastics in that it identifies overbought and oversold conditions in the market. It is also scaled from 0 to 100. Typically, readings below 20 indicate oversold, while readings over 80 indicate overbought.

Using RSI

RSI can be used just like stochastics. From the chart above you can see that when RSI dropped below 20, it correctly identified an oversold market. After the drop, the price quickly shot back up.

RSI is a very popular tool because it can also be used to confirm trend formations. If you think a trend is forming, take a quick look at the RSI and look at whether it is above or below 50. If you are looking at a possible uptrend, then make sure the RSI is above 50. If you are looking at a possible downtrend, then make sure the RSI is below 50.

In the beginning of the chart above, we can see that a possible uptrend was forming. To avoid fakeouts, we can wait for RSI to cross above 50 to confirm our trend. Sure enough, as RSI passes above 50, it is a good confirmation that an uptrend has actually formed.

Stochastics

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:07:00 +0000

Stochastics are another indicator that helps us determine where a trend might be ending. By definition, a stochastic is an oscillator that measures overbought and oversold conditions in the market. The 2 lines are similar to the MACD lines in the sense that one line is faster than the other.

How to Apply Stochastics

Like I said earlier, stochastics tells us when the market is overbought or oversold. Stochastics are scaled from 0 to 100. When the stochastic lines are above 70 (the red dotted line in the chart above), then it means the market is overbought. When the stochastic lines are below 30 (the blue dotted line), then it means that the market is oversold. As a rule of thumb, we buy when the market is oversold, and we sell when the market is overbought.

Looking at the chart above, you can see that the stochastics has been showing overbought conditions for quite some time. Based upon this information, can you guess where the price might go?

If you said the price would drop, then you are absolutely correct! Because the market was overbought for such a long period of time, a reversal was bound to happen.
That is the basics of stochastics. Many traders use stochastics in different ways, but the main purpose of the indicator is to show us where the market is overbought and oversold. Over time, you will learn to use stochastics to fit your own personal trading style.

Problems with Forex

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:21:00 +0000

Although on-line Forex trading is a popular activity, here are many potential problems waiting for the newbie traders. Even more experienced traders can get a strong hit from something they’ve never encountered. Here is the list, compiled by naija-forex.blogspot.com, of the possible problems you can encounter in your Forex trading endeavor:

Scam Forex brokers
A number one problem for a starting trader and some experienced traders that want to move from one broker to another. Be advised that there are many on-line brokers that will just steal your money, or will hunt your stop-losses to bankrupt your account, or will provide no support at all. Just stay with the brokers that are reputable and trustworthy until you learn to detect Forex scams yourself.

Overtrading
sometimes you will start to lose money on trading just because you stay in the market for too long. Don’t overtrade, set daily goals for profit, limit for loss and don’t trade past them. Overtrading is one of the major psychological barriers in Forex trading.

Wide spreads on high volatility — some Forex brokers increase their spreads for all currency pairs during the hours of high volatility (i.e. news releases). That can damage the whole trading strategy, so you must be aware if your broker uses such tactics and avoid losing money because of it.

Lack of knowledge
the lack of required knowledge to trade Forex will dump your trading account very fast. Educate yourself; don’t let your emotions control yourself and trade only when you are sure about its success. There are plenty of free educational materials available on-line, don’t be lazy and learn whenever you have a time for it.

Opening a Live Trading Account

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:10:00 +0000

After you must have chosen a suitable Forex Broker, (see Forex Brokers) your next step is to open a LIVE TRADING ACCOUNT with the broker.

Generally, you must register with your real name and address (home or office). The reason is that you have to provide your National ID before you can withdraw earned funds, and your ID details should match with your registration information. It also improves your security.

I’ll advise you to open a separate email address for your forex activities; this is because your broker sends a daily report of your activities (transactions) and so if someone gains access to your account and performs any transaction, you will receive the details of the transaction and all you have to do is to simply reply to the email stating that you did not perform that transaction. Your account will be reset to the last trade you performed, and then you can also request a change of password and login pin.

You must carefully fill in the following fields:

1. Name (real name on ID.)
2. Address (home or office as seen on ID).
3. Email address
4. Phone number(in format 234-xxx-xxxx)
5. Password (most brokers generate a password automatically for you).
6. Country(Nigeria)
7. State
8. City
After filling and submitting the form, you must go to your mail address and confirm your account through the mail they sent to you. If you broker requires a software download, then download and install the software.
IMPORTANT!
1. To start trading, you must fund your forex account with the minimum deposit value or more. Read “Funding your forex account” to learn how to fund your account and start trading.
2. Try opening and trading with a DEMO ACCOUNT with your broker before opening a live account, it will help you to know more about the broker.

45 Ways to Avoid Losing Money Trading FOREX

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:01:00 +0000

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 ithasn'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 put 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 lives 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 and 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.

7 Rules For Effective Forex Trading

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:51:00 +0000

Effective forex trading is an important skill in the currency markets. Many new traders have failed in forex trading because of many reasons. They failed to see that forex trading needs you to learn the basics first before you try your luck at the market. Others, because of greed and excitement over their luck and winnings they experienced during their early trades, begun to get careless in their trades that resulted to bigger losses for them. Others, who would want to just play it safe and earn little profits, succumbed to their deposits being eaten away little by little until they realized that they already have zero balances. Beginners should be well advised to study first effective forex trading before doing their actual trading.
In as much as many of you would want to know how to trade effectively in forex as beginners, here are some pointers that you can make use of.

1) Believe in your own self that you can do it

Do not waste your money buying sure fire forex money making tutorials. You have to ask yourself before buying them why will they sell it if they have discovered the formula to make them rich in forex trading for a measly sum of 49 dollars? Surely, they are not doing this to make everybody rich. What you should do is study the market in your own and observe the trend. Trade very little at first and do it cautiously. Observe your trading and list them down carefully.

2) Find a system that works

Through your observation, you can develop some systems for your trades for a more effective forex trading. Implement your system and try to adjust if there are some flaws that you can notice. Once it will be working to your advantage, stick with it. Do not try to device some other methods when what you have is perfectly working for your advantage.

3) Do not go overboard with your leverage

This is the usual pitfalls of new traders - they over leverage themselves out. As a beginner, you have to limit your leverage to just enough amounts to cover small trades. You are just in the process of testing the waters, so don't rush it, because you might drown. The usual problems with beginners are that they would want to win big immediately, not realizing that they can also lose big in the process. So, take it slow when it comes to leverage.

4) Use Stops. They were designed for your protection

Don't ever think that stops are not for you because you are winning. Use them according to your strategy. Let logic be your guide and not your emotion. You can push your luck but only to a limit. Trading with stops can make you relax. Using stops is another way of effective forex trading

5) Doing your trading the simple way, is the best way

Effective forex trading is not a complicated thing, as others would think. It is simply a matter of correctly ascertaining a certain combination of currencies to buy or sell. There are traders who think otherwise and end up paying for a number of technical mumbo jumbo reading materials only to end up as losers. Many successful forex traders simply do their trading through currency movement observation and basing their trades on their past experiences.

6) Restrain your excitement in winning and don't be emotional in losing

A trader should not let his excitement over his winning and emotion on his losing get the best of him. To have an effective forex trading, a trader should know how to calm himself. Otherwise, his focus and logical reasoning might not work to his advantage. You can be hurt both ways if you do not restrain yourself. Excitement over your winning might lead you to aspire for a bigger target that could wipe you out if you lose. Being emotional on your loss, might tend to make you crave to go on to recover your losses only to find out that your deposit has been wiped out.

7) Learn the basics, observe, play it simple and be calm

To be successful in forex trading, you have to learn the fundamentals first. Effective forex trading would involve learning the basics like the many terminologies used and methods of trading. You have to immerse yourself thoroughly on this. Observation of movements and its causes from your previous trades will enable you to create your own strategy for your trade. Do not mind or buy others stuff that promises instant success in your trading. And play it simple. Finally, your attitude in trading will make or break your future as a forex trader. If you want to succeed, trade logically. If you want to fail, trade with emotion.

Forex Glossary

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:50:00 +0000

Forex Glossary

Ask (Offer) - price of the offer, the price you buy for.

Aussie - a Forex slang name for the Australian dollar.

Bank Rate - the percentage rate at which central bank of a country lends money to the country's commercial banks.

Bid - price of the demand, the price you sell for.

Broker - the market participating body which serves as the middleman between retail traders and larger commercial institutions.

Cable - a Forex traders slang word GBP/USD currency pair.

Carry Trade - in Forex, holding a position with a positive overnight interest return in hope of gaining profits, without closing the position, just for the central banks interest rates difference.

CFD - a Contract for Difference - special trading instrument that allows financial speculation on stocks, commodities and other instruments without actually buying.

Commission - broker commissions for operation handling.

CPI - consumer price index the statistical measure of inflation based upon changes of prices of a specified set of goods.

EA (Expert Advisor) - an automated script which is used by the trading platform software to manage positions and orders automatically without (or with little) manual control.

ECN Broker - a type of Forex brokerage firm that provide its clients direct access to other Forex market participants. ECN brokers don't discourage scalping, don't trade against the client, don't charge spread (low spread is defined by current market prices) but charge commissions for every order.

ECB (European Central Bank) - the main regulatory body of the European Union financial system.

Fed (Federal Reserve) - the main regulatory body of the United States of America financial system, which division - FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) - regulates, among other things, federal interest rates.

Fibonacci Retracements - the levels with a high probability of trend break or bounce, calculated as the 23.6%, 32.8%, 50% and 61.8% of the trend range.

Flat (Square) - neutral state when all your positions are closed.

Fundamental Analysis - the analysis based only on news, economic indicators and global events.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product) - is a measure of the national income and output for the country's economy; it's one of the most important Forex indicators.

GTC (Good Till Cancelled) - order to buy or sell of a currency with a fixed price or worse. The order is alive (good) until execution or cancellation.

Hedging - maintaining a market position which secures the existing open positions in the opposite direction.

Jobber- a slang word for a trader which is aimed toward fast but small and short-term profit from an intra-day trading. Jobber rarely leaves open positions overnight.

Kiwi - a Forex slang name for the New Zealand currency - New Zealand dollar.

Leading Indicators - a composite index (year 1992 = 100%) of ten most important macroeconomic indicators that predicts future (6-9 months) economic activity.

Limit Order - order for a broker to buy the lot for fixed or lesser price or sell the lot for fixed or better price. Such price is called limit price.

Liquidity - the measure of markets which describes relationship between the trading volume and the price change.

Long - the position which is in a Buy direction. In Forex, the primary currency when bought is long and another is short.

Loss - the loss from closing long position at lower rate than opening or short position with higher rate than opening, or if the profit from a position closing was lower than broker commission on it.

Lot - definite amount of units or amount of money accepted for operations handling (usually it is a multiple of 100).

Margin - money, the investor needs to keep at broker account to execute trades. It supplies the possible losses which may occur in margin trading.

Margin Account - account which is used to hold investor's deposited money for FOREX trading.

Margin Call - demand of a broker to deposit more margin money to the margin account when the amount in it falls below certain minimum.

Market Order - order to buy or sell a lot for a current market price.

Market Price - the current price for which the currency is traded for on the market.

Momentum - the measure of the currency's ability to move in the given direction.

Moving Average (MA) - one of the most basic technical indicators. It shows the average rate calculated over a series of time periods. Exponential Moving Average (EMA), Weighted Moving Average (WMA) etc. are just the ways of weighing the rates and the periods.

Offer (Ask) - price of the offer, the price you buy for.

Open Position (Trade) - position on buying (long) or selling (short) for a currency pair.

Order - order for a broker to buy or sell the currency with a certain rate.

Pivot Point - the primary support/resistance point calculated basing on the previous trend's High, Low and Close prices.

Pip (Point) - the last digit in the rate (e.g. for EUR/USD 1 point = 0.0001).

Profit (Gain) - positive amount of money gained for closing the position.

Principal Value - the initial amount of money of the invested.

Realized Profit/Loss - gain/loss for already closed positions.

Resistance - price level for which the intensive selling can lead to price increasing (up-trend).

Scalping - a style of trading notable by many positions that are opened for extremely small and short-term profits.

Settled (Closed) Position - closed positions for which all needed transactions has been made.

Slippage - execution of order for a price different than expected (ordered), main reasons for slippage are - "fast" market, low liquidity and low broker's ability to execute orders.

Spread - difference between ask and bid prices for a currency pair.

Standard Lot - 100,000 units of the base currency of the currency pair, which you are buying or selling.

Stop-Limit Order - order to sell or buy a lot when the market reaches certain price. Usually is a combination of stop-order and limit-order.

Stop-Loss Order - order to sell or buy a lot for a certain price or worse. It is used to avoid extra losses when market moves in the opposite direction.

Support - price level for which intensive buying can lead to the price decreasing (down-trend).

Swap - overnight payment for holding your position. Since you are not physically receiving the currency you buy, your broker should pay you the interest rate difference between the two currencies of the pair. It can be negative or positive.

Technical Analysis - the analysis based only on the technical market data (quotes) with the help of various technical indicators.

Trend - direction of market which has been established with influence of different factors.

Unrealized (Floating) Profit/Loss - a profit/loss for your non-closed positions.

Useable Margin - amount of money in the account that can be used for trading.

Used Margin - amount of money in the account already used to hold open positions open.

Volatility - a statistical measure of the number of price changes for a given currency pair in a given period of time.

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3 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Trade

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:48:00 +0000

This article is about forex trading for beginners and has 3 questions you need to ask yourself before you trade - if you are confident in the answers then you could enjoy forex trading success on the other hand, get any wrong and you will join the 95% who lose...
Forex trading can give you a great income and with many people it becomes a lives changing income however, this is the few NOT the majority. You can enter this elite group, with desire, the right information and the right mindset in fact anyone can but you must understand why the questions below are so important and answer them honestly.
The first question you need to ask yourself is:

1. Have you learned EXACTLY how and why your system will work?

This may sound obvious but most traders don't even consider it. Most novice traders buy a forex robot from the net and think a few hundred bucks spent will allow them to make profits automatically. Most of these systems are junk and haven't even been traded and come with simulated track records and a lot of hyped copy. If you're in this category, say good bye to your equity. Other traders just want to shoot from the hip and trade whims and news stories well, the bad news is - this isn't a proper forex trading strategy, it's a recipe for a wipeout of equity. Whatever system you use, you MUST have confidence in how and why it will work long term, if you don't have this understanding, you will lack the discipline to take loss after loss and stick with your system until the profits come again. Trading success is built on this: Understanding & Logical Method + Confidence = Discipline and long term success If you don't have understanding and confidence, you simply won't have the discipline to stay on course.

2. Can you take long Periods Losses?

For days, weeks or even months at a time and stick with your trading system? All the best traders know they will face long periods of drawdown and have to stay disciplined. If you think this won't happen to you think again - it will.

3. What's Your Trading Edge?

Think about this - 95% of traders lose only 5% win, so forex trading success is not a walk in the park as many would have you believe. The winners all have a trading edge, that allows them to enter this elite minority and you must to and be able to define it, have confidence in it and apply it with discipline. That's just 3 questions a novice trader should ask themselves and if you can't answer them correctly, then you need to continue your forex education until you can.
Forex trading is not easy - and why would you expect it to be with the rewards on offer. The winning traders know this and you need to as well - but anyone can learn to trade and anyone can succeed, it's just a question of the right education combined with the right mindset. Forex trading for beginners is all about learning the right info and mindset and combing them to make a trading edge for profit and if you do this - currency trading success will be yours.
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Building Your Exit Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:22:00 +0000

It's easy to get into the market, but what about getting out? Most traders don't have an exit plan, whether their positions are turning a profit or going down in flames. The truth is that a good exit will save your neck on a bad entry, and keep you in the game longer than good stock-picking.

Exit planning must deal with the good, the bad and the ugly. In other words, keep a profit protection strategy to exit winning trades, a stop loss strategy to get out of bad ones and a fire drill in case disaster strikes. You'll need all three tactics in every trade, because anything can happen once you hit the order button.

Your holding period guides the profit side of the exit equation. Always seek the reward target that matches your time in the market. In other words, trade the most profitable move from your entry to the target within the time frame that you're long or short the stock. This lets you apply both a time- and a price-based exit strategy to your winners. A time-based exit strategy requires little interpretation. Focus on your holding period's time window rather than the price action. Exit the trade immediately when price hits the reward target at the right time. Exit the trade before price hits the reward target if the window starts to close. The trick with time-based strategies is to look for the best price available within the chosen window.
Most traders should start with a price-based exit strategy. For example, you enter a long position, and it moves into a profit. It rallies at a moderate pace and hits your reward target within the holding period. You exit the trade "blind" at the reward price. This means you take the money and go, without considering the current price action.

You've just taken a nice profit in a perfect world, but how do you protect yourself in the real one? Start by focusing on trends within shorter-term time frames. For example, when trading a daily chart, manage profit and loss using a 60-minute chart whenever possible. The shorter-term pattern will tell you when to move the stop in order to protect profits, or when to exit the trade entirely.

Let's outline common stages for a long position that eventually reaches the reward target:

Price moves into a profit.
Price reaches first resistance, and reverses.
Price finds support and rallies through first resistance.

This action/reaction continues until price reaches the target. In this scenario, trade management requires a breakeven stop as soon as price moves into a profit. This stop should be moved up after the first reversal, but stay below short-term support. When price finally rallies above first resistance, move the stop just below this new level. Continue the process until the position hits the reward target.
Profits are nice, but many trades go haywire right away. The exit strategy is very simple in this situation: get out as soon as price breaks support on a long trade, or resistance on a short sale. This may sound simple, but there are two problems. First, many of us lack the discipline to take losses when they should be taken. Second, many of us don't understand how to place stop losses in the first place.

Take your loss when the market says you're wrong. Every setup has a trigger that violates the pattern you intend to trade. Identify this price in advance, and place your stop just behind it. Remember that this magic number changes dynamically with each new bar, so you need to adjust it often. But don't remove it under any circumstances. Do you get frustrated because your stops get hit frequently on good trades? The fault lies in your analysis and trade management, not in the stops themselves. Many traders believe they can improve their performance by placing stops where they shouldn't go. Every stock will violate support/resistance up to a point before reversing. Your analysis must consider the stock's underlying volatility, so the stop can be placed outside this "market noise."

Finally, you need a way to deal with unexpected bad news. Start with a panic drill, and practice it over and over again in your head. The exit strategy is simple: If you can beat the rest of the crowd out of the door, act immediately. The after-hours market can save you a fortune if you learn to use it wisely. If you can't escape right away, watch price action closely and take your best shot. The market can do anything it wants once bad news hits, and you may need to accept a large loss. Sudden losses are a cost of doing business as a trader. Full disclosure rules and external events will impact your bottom line from time to time. Reduce your risk by choosing lower-volatility stocks to carry over longer time periods. Avoid holding anything through earnings reports or terrorist threats. Remember, it's not hard to rebuild profits after the unexpected takes a bite out of your bottom line.

Types of Trading

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:20:00 +0000

There are 2 basic types of analysis you can take when approaching the forex:

1. Fundamental analysis

2. Technical analysis.

There has always been a constant debate as to which analysis is better, but to tell you the truth, you need to know a little bit of both. So let’s break each one down and then come back and put them together.

Fundamental Analysis

Fundamental analysis is a way of looking at the market through economic, social and political forces that affect supply and demand. In other words, you look at whose economy is doing well, and whose economy sucks. The idea behind this type of analysis is that if a country’s economy is doing well, their currency will also be doing well. This is because the better a country’s economy, the more trust other countries have in that currency.

For example, the U.S. dollar has been gaining strength because the U.S. economy is gaining strength. As the economy gets better, interest rates get higher to control inflation and as a result, the value of the dollar continues to increase. In a nutshell, that is basically what fundamental analysis is.

Later on in the course you will learn which specific news events drive currency prices the most. For now, just know that the fundamental analysis of the Forex is a way of analyzing a currency through the strength of that country’s economy.

Technical Analysis

Technical analysis is the study of price movement. In one word, technical analysis = chart. The idea is that a person can look at historical price movements, and, based on the price action, can determine at some level where the price will go. By looking at charts, you can identify trends and patterns which can help you find good trading opportunities.

The most IMPORTANT thing you will ever learn in technical analysis is the trend! Many, many, many, many, many, many people have a saying that goes, “The trend is your friend”. The reason for this is that you are much more likely to make money when you can find a trend and trade in the same direction. Technical analysis can help you identify these trends in its earliest stages and therefore provide you with very profitable trading opportunities.

which type of analysis is better?

Ahh, the million dollar question. Throughout your journey as an aspiring Forex trader you will find strong advocates for both fundamental and technical trading. You will have those who argue that it is the fundamentals alone that drive the market and that any patterns found on a chart are simply coincidence. On the other hand, there will be those who argue that it is the technicals that traders pay attention to and because traders pay attention to it, common market patterns can be found to help predict future price movements.

Do not be fooled by these one sided extremists! One is not better than the other...

In order to become a true Forex master you will need to know how to effectively use both types of analysis. Don't believe me? Let me give you an example of how focusing on only one type of analysis can turn into a disaster.

• Let’s say that you’re looking at your charts and you find a good trading opportunity. You get all excited thinking about the money that’s going to be raining down from the sky. You say to yourself, “Man, I’ve never seen a more perfect trading opportunity. I love my charts.”

• You then proceed to enter your trade with a big fat smile on your face (the kind where all your teeth are showing).

• But wait! All of a sudden the trade makes a 30 pip move in the OTHER DIRECTION! Little did you know that there was an interest rate decrease for your currency and now everyone is trading in the opposite direction.

• Your big fat smile turns into mush and you start getting angry at your charts. You throw your computer on the ground and begin to pulverize it. You just lost a bunch of money, and now your computer is broken. And it’s all because you completely ignored fundamental analysis.

(Note: This was not based on a real story. This did not happen to me. I was never this naive. I was always a smart trader.... From the overused sarcasm, I think you get the picture)

Ok, ok, so the story was a little over-dramatized, but you get the point.

The Forex is like a big flowing ball of energy, and within that ball is a balance between fundamental and technical factors that play a part in determining where the market will go.

MACD

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:36:00 +0000

MACD is an acronym for Moving Average Convergence Divergence. This tool is used to identify moving averages that are indicating a new trend, whether it’s bullish or bearish. After all, our #1 priority in trading is being able to find a trend, because that is where the most money is made.

With an MACD chart, you will usually see three numbers that are used for its settings.

• The first is the number of periods that is used to calculate the faster moving average.

• The second is the number of periods that are used in the slower moving average.

• And the third is the number of bars that is used to calculate the moving average of the difference between the faster and slower moving averages.

For example, if you were to see “12,26,9” as the MACD parameters (which is usually the default setting for most charting packages), this is how you would interpret it:

• The 12 represents the previous 12 bars of the faster moving average.

• The 26 represents the previous 26 bars of the slower moving average.

• The 9 represents the previous 9 bars of the difference between the two moving averages. This is plotted by vertical lines called a histogram (The blue lines in the chart above).

There is a common misconception when it comes to the lines of the MACD. The two lines that are drawn are NOT moving averages of the price. Instead, they are the moving averages of the DIFFERENCE between two moving averages.

In our example above, the faster moving average is the moving average of the difference between the 12 and 26 period moving averages. The slower moving average plots the average of the previous MACD line. Once again, from our example above, this would be a 9 period moving average.

This means that we are taking the average of the last 9 periods of the faster MACD line, and plotting it as our “slower” moving average. What this does is it smoothes out the original line even more, which gives us a more accurate line.

The histogram simply plots the difference between the fast and slow moving average. If you look at our original chart, you can see that as the two moving averages separate, the histogram gets bigger. This is called divergence, because the faster moving average is “diverging” or moving away from the slower moving average.

As the moving averages get closer to each other, the histogram gets smaller. This is called convergence because the faster moving average is “converging” or getting closer to the slower moving average. And that, my friend, is how you get the name, Moving Average Convergence Divergence! Whew, we need to crack our knuckles after that one!

Ok, so now you know what MACD does. Now I’ll show you what MACD can do for YOU.

MACD Crossover

Because there are two moving averages with different “speeds”, the faster one will obviously be quicker to react to price movement than the slower one. When a new trend occurs, the fast line will react first and eventually cross the slower line. When this “crossover” occurs, and the fast line starts to “diverge” or move away from the slower line, it often indicates that a new trend has formed.

From the chart above, you can see that the fast line crossed under the slow line and correctly identified a new downtrend. Notice that when the lines crossed, the histogram temporarily disappears. This is because the difference between the lines at the time of the cross is 0. As the downtrend begins and the fast line diverges away from the slow line, the histogram gets bigger, which is good indication of a strong trend.

There is one drawback to MACD. Naturally, moving averages tend to lag behind price. After all, it's just an average of historical prices. Since the MACD represents moving averages of other moving averages and is smoothed out by another moving average, you can imagine that there is quite a bit of lag. However, it is still one of the most favored tools by many traders.

Bollinger Bands

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:21:00 +0000

Bollinger bands are used to measure a market’s volatility. Basically, this little tool tells us whether the market is quiet or whether the market is LOUD! When the market is quiet, the bands contract; and when the market is LOUD, the bands expand. Notice on the chart below that when the price was quiet, the bands were close together, but when the price moved up, the bands spread apart.

That’s all there is to it.

The Bollinger Bounce
One thing you should know about Bollinger Bands is that price tends to return to the middle of the bands. That is the whole idea behind the Bollinger bounce. If this is the case, then by looking at the chart below, can you tell us where the price might go next?

If you said down, then you are correct! As you can see, the price settled back down towards the middle area of the bands.

What you just saw was a classic Bollinger bounce. The reason these bounces occur is because Bollinger Bands act like mini support and resistance levels. The longer the time frame you are in, the stronger these bands are. Many traders have developed systems that thrive on these bounces, and this strategy is best used when the market is ranging and there is no clear trend.

Bollinger Squeeze

The Bollinger squeeze is pretty self explanatory. When the bands “squeeze” together, it usually means that a breakout is going to occur. If the candles start to break out above the top band, then the move will usually continue to go up. If the candles start to break out below the lower band, then the move will usually continue to go down.

Looking at the chart above, you can see the bands squeezing together. The price has just started to break out of the top band. Based on this information, where do you think the price will go?

If you said up, you are correct! This is how a typical Bollinger Squeeze works. This strategy is designed for you to catch a move as early as possible. Setups like these don’t occur everyday, but you can probably spot them a few times a week if you are looking at a 15 minute chart.

So now you know what Bollinger Bands are, and you know how to use them. There are many other things you can do with Bollinger Bands, but these are the 2 most common strategies associated with them.

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:35:00 +0000

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The best time(hours) to trade forex

noreply@blogger.com (marcel) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:14:00 +0000

If you want to earn extra cash besides the cash you earn from your regular job or your business, maybe it’s time for you to participate in the financial market. One kind of financial market that made a lot of people earn a lot of money is the Forex market.

Apart from the fact that the Forex market can give you an opportunity to earn a lot of money, you should also know that Forex is the biggest and the most liquid financial market in the world with trade exchanges that reaches up to trillions of dollars each day.

Forex also operates 24 hours a day thus making it the most liquid market in the world.

However, Forex is also a very risky market. Aside from that fact that it generated a lot of people to become rich, it also made a lot of people lose large amounts of money. So, you should consider that you should think twice before entering this financial market. You should have sufficient knowledge and skills before you enter this market. Part of the knowledge that you should know the best time you should enter this very liquid and very large market.

Certainly you know how to trade, you know what currency pairs to trade, and you even know how to read charts. Maybe, you also know one or two strategy when trading in the Forex market. However, you should also take into consideration the fact that because the Forex market operates 24 hours a day, you need to know when you should trade.

Every minute in the Forex market counts. One minute you notice a currency is increasing in value, the next you see that the same kind of currency you noticed a minute ago is decreasing in value. This is the reason why you should consider the fact that Forex market is a very dynamic market with lots of price oscillations.

Minute by minute events are quite important in order for you to be successful. Because of this characteristic that is found in the Forex market, you, as a Forex trader, can enter the market several times a day. This will allow you to earn some profits after every number of trades you do and perhaps maybe even lose one if you made the wrong trading decision.

In the first place, you have to remember that the Forex market beings at Sunday at 5PM EST to Friday at 4PM EST then it beings again at 5PM EST. Trading begins in Forex at New Zealand next at Australia followed by Asia, in the Middle East, Europe and ends in America. The major markets in Forex are London, Tokyo and New York with trading activities the heaviest when major markets overlap.

Basing from the times, you will notice that there will always be someone anywhere around the world who is buying and selling currencies. You will see that when one market closes, another market opens. Trading in the Forex market is 24 hours a day.

Forex market transaction volume is high all the time during the whole day. However, it peaks the highest when the Asian market, the European market and the US market open simultaneously.

These are the trading hours in the Forex market you have to trade in, in order to get the highest possible trades. This are also the most profitable hours.

Here are the open market times that you can use as reference:

New York – 8am to 4pm EST
London – 2am to 12nn EST
Great Britain – 3am to 11am EST
Tokyo – 8pm to 4am EST
Australia – 7pm to 3am EST

If you analyze the schedule, you will notice that there are two instances where two of the major markets overlap on trading hours. These are between 2am and 4am EST with Asian and European markets and 8am to 12pm EST with European and North American.

These are the things you should bear in mind when trading in the Forex market. It is not only important that you know how to trade and know some strategies on Forex trading, But, you should also know when is the best time to trade in this very extensive and very liquid market.

If you apply all these, you can be sure that you can earn a potentially higher profit than on other trading times.

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