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Posts Tagged ‘trading’

When I thought about some of the first things I learned before trading the Forex market, fundamental analysis came to mind. Fundamental analysis refers to factors that affect the price of a currency pair. It is important not only to perform technical analysis based on your charts and indicators, but to also be aware of the macroeconomic events that can affect a currency pair. What helped me in my forex education was learning each currency’s characteristics. Whichever pair or pairs you choose to trade, knowing each of their characteristics is extremely valuable because it aids in the accuracy of any trade you perform.

Europe- Euro. This currency is rather new. It began trading in 1999; however the EURO/USD pair is the most traded. Because of this, the EURO/USD is very liquid. The euro is greatly affected by interest rates. If you are trading the EURO/USD pair, you must pay attention to the Euribor (Europe’s three-month interest rate), to watch for any changes in investor reactions when trading the EURO/USD pair since the Usd and Euro rates affect each other. The EURO/USD is my personal favorite pair because of the many opportunities it gives for potential trades.

Japan- Japanese Yen. Japan is the largest economy in East Asia; therefore the yen is used as an alternate for the whole region’s economy. If there is trouble in the surrounding countries, the yen may drop in value. The Bank of Japan is known for intervening in the forex market to defend the yen’s value. Another factor affecting the yen is the overall strength of its banking sector.
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I know a woman in her sixties. She worked for a company for a little more than a decade as an administration and office assistant for a staff of one hundred sales people, who loved her dearly. She always made sure all the faxes got to their desks; the stationery stock was full and each staff member had what he needed.

Beyond her job description, she was like a mother to all of them: making sure the toilets got cleaned, old food was removed from the fridge and decorating the entire floor which the department occupied. She worked hard and never complained. She was always smiling, friendly and polite.

She felt good about being a ‘mother’ to all the people who entered and left that department. She was comfortable with her position. No-one else could do the things she did. And she did them better than anyone else in the building.

One day, she went to work as usual. After doing her morning chores, she was invited to the office, where she was told her services were no longer needed. The company was undergoing certain cost-cutting measures in every department and unfortunately, her role would have to be sacrificed. She was then asked to leave the building as soon as possible. She was assured, however, that before having made the decision, every attempt had been made to find a position for her somewhere within the company.

She has financial obligations to fulfil and she still hasn’t saved enough for her retirement. She still has credit to pay off and she was saving for a trip overseas, something she never got around to doing in her younger years. She wanted to save up to establish a book-selling business. Suddenly, she would have to re-evaluate her plans. Losing a job and nearing retirement age, she will have to relinquish some of the things she had dreamt for herself.

I am sure you have heard hundreds of similar stories like these. Just five months before writing this article, I had already read about companies cutting costs by laying off jobs. Their main reason is to remain competitive, so they would not have to raise the prices they charge to their customers. Companies are outsourcing jobs overseas because the labour costs in other countries are relatively cheap compared to the local currency and sometimes because of significant skills or technological advantages. Other businesses lessen staff when sales drop and they can no longer sustain to pay the same number of people they have on their payroll. No organisation – not even a big, established business – is immune from the need to become leaner in an ever-increasingly competitive market environment.

In the past, most people believed the companies or the governments – whom they work for – could guarantee them a job for life. Nowadays, I think more and more people are becoming increasingly aware that expecting to have a job-for-life is unrealistic. It is a dire predicament to be working everyday, taking care of someone else’s business and realising that at the end of one’s career, years of service do not guarantee one’s well-being. Because of this, I believe that people are now looking to improve their chances of having enough funds to meet their needs and wants after retirement.

I think there is a dawning awareness that the ultimate responsibility for one’s own well-being lies within each individual. People are beginning to understand that their boss or the company they work for does not have an obligation nor the ability to ensure that they are taken care of when they finish working for them.
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With the growing popularity and easy access to the foreign exchange (ForEx) market, more and more people are drawn to it as their financial vehicle of choice. Along with this popularity come all the extras. This includes all kinds of software, trading systems for sale, books, videos, and third party signal party providers. Today I’m going to touch on a few points when seeking out a third party forex signal provider.

Before we get into choosing a provider we need to have a good understanding of what a third party signal provider is. A signal provider is a trader or analyst that generates trades that in turn get placed on your account. You can have several signal providers trading your forex account or just one.

Like anything else, all third party signal providers are not created equal. At first glance a trader may look like a home run. That same trader may well end up completely torpedoing your entire account in one afternoon. To help make sure this doesn’t happen we’ll set down a few guidelines. These guidelines will give us something to look for when choosing our third party signal provider.
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In trading yesterday, only the tech-laden NASDAQ avoided the selling, edging up 3.04 points to hold at above 2300 and its five-year high. As I have said, breadth in the NASDAQ has improved.

The DOW was the big loser on the day giving up 65 points or 0.58% to fall to 11,150.70, which is just below its key short-term 20-day moving average, a warning. The S&P 500 lost 2.64 points. The near-tech technical signals for these two indices are the weakest of the four indices.

Small-cap stocks continue to hold after breaking to a new historical high on Wednesday. The Russell 2000 fell 1.58 points or 0.21%, which is positive given the extreme overbought condition. The barometer of small-cap performance is up a healthy 13.28% this year. While impressive, I question whether the index can maintain this rate of appreciation.

In commodities news, the May light crude futures on the NYMEX broke above $67 a barrel on Thursday. The near-term signals look relatively bullish and the minor trend is positive. The breakout materialized after a Rectangle formation at between $61 and $65.50. Oil could move towards the $70 level, last encountered in February, if it can hold at $65.50-$66. But watch for some selling pressure as the contract is overbought. High oil prices will pressure stocks.

Trading in the NASDAQ has come in at over 2 billion shares in the last three straight sessions. Trading volume on the NASDAQ came in at about 2.22 billion shares yesterday, above its 5-day and 10-day moving averages of 2.11 billion and 2.18 billion shares, respectively. The strong volume in yesterday’s marginal up day is encouraging following a strong volume breakout on Wednesday.

On the NYSE, daily trading picked up yesterday. Trading on Thursday was 1.61 billion shares, above the 5-day and 10-day moving averages of 1.55 billion and 1.55 billion shares, respectively.

The near-term technical picture for the NASDAQ is bullish but is showing some potential weakening. The Relative Strength remains relatively strong, suggesting more gains if it can hold. The index is holding at above its previous pivot point of 2332.95 and its five-year high of 2333, a bullish sign. The index is trading at above its 20-day and 50-day moving averages of 2297 and 22854, respectively.

The MACD continues to flash a moderate buy signal. The MACD trend is negative but has reversed course. The upside break was bullish after largely trading in an intermediate term sideways channel. Now we will see if the NASDAQ can hold and edge higher towards 2366 and 2387. The index is now marginally overbought so watch for some potential selling pressure.

On the blue chip side, the near-term signs for the DOW weakened further and are now moderately bearish. The intermediate trend is bullish but yesterday’s break below its 20-day moving average of 11,156 is a warning and could signal further deterioration if it cannot hold. The Relative Strength also fell to below neutral, showing a potential lost of momentum. The MACD turned bearish yesterday and is flashing a moderate sell.
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A way of winnig huge profits.
Currency exchange is the trading of one currency against another. Professionals refer to this as foreign exchange, but may also use the acronyms Forex or FX.

Currency exchange is necessary in numerous circumstances. Consumers typically come into contact with currency exchange when they travel. They go to a bank or currency exchange bureau to convert their “home currency into , the currency of the country they intend to travel to.
They may also purchase goods in a foreign country or via the Internet with their credit card, in which case they will find that the amount they paid in the foreign currency will have been converted to their home currency on their credit card statement.

Although each such currency exchange is a relatively small transaction, the aggregate of all such transactions is significant. Businesses typically have to convert currencies when they conduct business outside their home country. They exportin goods to another country and receive payment in the currency of that foreign country, then the payment must often be converted back to the home currency.

Similarly, if they have to import goods or services, then businesses will often have to pay in a foreign currency, requiring them to first convert their home currency into the foreign currency. Large companies convert huge amounts of currency each year. The timing of when they convert can have a large affect on their balance sheet and bottom line.Investors and speculators require currency exchange whenever they trade in any foreign investment, be that equities, bonds, bank deposits, or real estate.

Investors and speculators also trade currencies directly in order to benefit from movements in the currency exchange markets. Commercial and Investment Banks trade currencies as a service for their commercial banking, deposit and lending customers. These institutions also generally participate in the currency market for hedging and proprietary trading purposes.
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