The Right Direction Before Trading

More and more everyday people are deciding to learn Forex trading online as a way to make an income from home. With trading, you can make money if price goes up or if it goes down. As long as you pick the right direction before it moves. You will need discipline to not become emotionally attached to your trades. Often, it is more difficult to know when to sell that it is to know when to buy. In fact, Forex trading is more suitable for people who are thoughtful, wise and less likely to spend money recklessly and impulsively

Any type of trading involves buying and selling. The idea is to sell higher than you bought and capture a profit. Having an understanding of the fundamentals is important regardless of the trading system you end up using. Having a trade strategy will be something you need to make consistent profits

A good trader chooses a Forex training course that is most suitable for his trading style and helps to put him on the right track to earn a profit from the very first day.

A proper forex training course will not only make you knowledgeable, but also ensure your success in the market. There are various types of Forex trading courses that you can attend. You could go to a business school during the day or in the evening, you could take a Forex course online, you could follow a correspondence course;, or you could learn from your broker's own Forex course. The most convenient way of learning trading secrets is through online training program or through a self study at home.

While choosing a course for Forex training, the main thing you should be checking out is the training material. It is to be hoped that you will develop insight into Forex trading so that you notice opportunities and know when to sell too.Basic Forex trading information is only the beginning. Once you have some basics down, you need to focus on your trading strategy.

Source : ezinearticles

Day Trading Strategies For Assured Success

With the continuing proliferation of the Internet, online stock trading has received a big shot in the arm and it is now possible for investors with modest resources to dabble in stock trading. Moreover, the steep reduction in transaction costs and brokers' commissions has also made it possible for small traders to trade as frequently as they wish. This has created a new category of small investors called day traders. The day trading was previously the preserve of institutional and large investors but today any small investor can practice it.

Day trading essentially means that all positions accumulated during the day's trading squared off or closed out by the end of the trading day. Some traders will let profitable positions run overnight but, by and large, profits and losses are taken by the end of the trading day. Brokers will also allow greater leverage to day traders so that bets can be substantially increased. For instance a deposit of $25,000 will allow buying up to a limit of $100,000 provided the position is reduced or squared by the end of trading hours. This leverage also comes without cost because brokers generally charge interest on overnight balances. There is always of course the danger of margin calls if you are in a losing position during the day.

Have no illusions, day trading is a high risk activity especially if you are trading on leverage. The risk is multiplied if you're trading disciplines is poor or your money management is inadequate or you have an inadequate investment in your trading. Apart from risk or money management, you are trading style and the strategy that you adopt is equally important. Here we will take a look at some of the different trading strategies that you can adopt:

Scalping: also called spread trading, the objective is to take advantage of very small bid offer spreads, very often fractions of a cent, and take profit on a continuous basis. This steady accumulation of profit can be profitable over a long term. Each position is however held for a very short period, often seconds, and is closed out either when the stop loss or the take profit price is reached.

Trend following: this technique assumes that rising prices will continue to rise and falling prices will continue to fall, the trader therefore buys in a rising market and short sells in a falling market. The basic expectation is that the trend will continue.

Contrarian investing: this is the opposite of the above and the investor assumes that prices that have been steadily rising will fall and vice versa. The contrary and investor will therefore short sell in a rising market and buy in a falling one.

Range trading: this is the opposite of the trend investing and investors watch where prices have been rising from a support level of falling from a resistance level. The assumption is that the price will fluctuate in the "range" between the support level and the resistance level so that the stock is bought at a low and sold at a high.

News playing: this is a staple for most day traders and involves predicting how the market will move on the strength of news items breaking through the day. They traders will buy on good news and sell on bad news. The danger here is that the market may not always react as expected. Additionally if the news has been anticipated, the market may have already reacted by discounting the price and there is therefore no profit to be made.

Rebate trading: many ECNs charge a commission for customers who want their trades filled immediately at best price but pays commissions to customers who place a limit orders that enables "market-making". These rebates become a source of profit for the trader.

Forex Trading Strategies That Work - Understanding the "Fundamentals"

Foreign exchange ("Forex") trading is a complicated business.  The foreign exchange trader must take into account (amongst other things) what may be called the "fundamental" factors of a country's economy (i.e. the qualitative factors that may have a bearing on its currency's exchange rate).  So, what are these "fundamental" factors?  They include political positions and developments (such as changes to a country's government's economic policy) and relevant decisions made by a country's central bank. They also include any relevant pieces of economic news affecting the country in question.  The Forex trader needs to not only be aware of this information at an early stage, but to effectively "second guess" how the money markets will react to it.  It would probably be unwise for traders (even those with considerable market experience) to ignore these fundamental elements and to just base their market decisions on technical analyses. 
 
Approximately three trillion dollars is traded each day on the foreign exchange market (on those days that it is operating), making it the world's most liquid market.  FX trading is vastly different to stock trading. (For example, in the Forex market, currencies are "paired" in that when one is bought, the other is sold, and vice versa.)  As such, investors may find FX trading to be a useful means of diversifying their investment portfolios. 
 
A number of factors make the Forex market unique (in addition to its liquidity, mentioned above).  These include the fact that the market operates 24 hours a day, 6 days a week, and that traders in the market typically generate low profit margins (when compared with other markets). 
 
The Forex market has changed quite dramatically since participation was opened up in the 1970's;  now, it is not just the banks, but a range of institutions and investors (both large and small) that routinely participate in the market.  If you do choose to operate in this market, you would be well advised to enroll in a reputable course to learn the nitty gritty of the complicated world of currency trading, find out about the various different ways that this could be done and to consistently apply Forex trading strategies that work.
 
The important factors that a Forex trader needs to consider when conducting a fundamental analysis of a country's economy include that country's GDP, employment rate, trade balance and most recent budget.  Much of this information is publicly available on the Internet. 
 
The results of a fundamental analysis could affect a trader's course of action in a number of ways. For example, a trader may use fundamental analysis to determine or predict the direction and extent to which a given country's official interest rate may change. Based on this analysis, the trader may sell the country's currency (if he/she predicts interest rates will fall), or buy the country's currency (if he/she predicts interest rates will rise).  Indeed, large investors may take this process a step further by seeking to effectively influence the value of a country's currency. For example, such investors could fund industrial development in a country (when that country's currency is weak) and subsequently sell back that country's currency at a higher rate (when the currency is strong).
 
In an overall sense, if a Forex trader understands how to conduct a fundamental economic analysis, he or she will be in a much better position to know when to exit an "over inflated" economy before its financial "bubble" bursts.

Source : ezinearticles

Share Trading and the Effects of Inflation

Stock trading is more than just an opportunity to earn big money. Even if your profits are minimal, establishing an active share trading account can help you defeat the negative impact that inflation will continue to have on our economy.

What is Inflation?

To understand why share trading will help you beat inflation, it's important to understand the basics of this economic enemy. Inflation is basically the rise in the average cost of product. This action causes the overall value of the dollar to decrease. Many of us remember when you could fill up your gas tank for $10.00 or less. At the present state of our economy, one is lucky to achieve a measly 25% of that. The rise in gas has made our hard-earned money worth considerably less. The amount it costs to get to work turns out to be a high percentage of the amount we actually earn after Uncle Sam has taken his share.

Time Tells the Tale

If we learn best from the evidence of the past, we now know that the possibility of inflation ceasing to exist is low. It is a rather solid guarantee that the cost of living world wide will continue to increase. Despite the minor fluctuations that take place in the value of shares, any product with sufficient demand is sure to increase with the times.

How Does Stock Trading Help?

Trading Shares helps, because you are not just sitting back and watching the value of your money disintegrate. By investing in share trading, you are making even a small amount of money help you keep pace with the changing times. In share trading, the reality of inflation can cause highly profitable windfalls of extra cash. Even if your piece of the pie never sky rockets, as long as your stock is gaining over the years, you will benefit. Aside from the fact that you will have years worth of dividends that you have either taken as a cash payout or reinvested; you will have something to fall back on in the future if ever you are in a desperate financial position.

Football Trading System

Football Trading System is brought to you by Ian Erskine a betting professional & keen sports enthusiast. His system is all about football trading through the worlds largest sport betting exchange - Betfair.

His system is all about trading certain football matches through Betfair & basically meaning games in which there should be fluctuations in the betting odds, which is excellent for trading. You always aim to back at the highest possible price & lay at the lowest possible price, this enables you to secure a guaranteed profit, regardless of the outcome of the match.

How do I know what games to trade in?

His extensive manual covers all aspects of football & what type of information to look for & what type of scenario creates a trading opportunity & also how to safely navigate the required websites.

What piece of mind do I get?

He offers an email service, which allows you to follow the trades that, he gets involved in & there is also a sixty day money back guarantee.

Why is this system still not classed as gambling?

Mainly because we are trading & therefore we don not wait on the outcome of a match to determine whether or not you have won or lost. We always aim to trade at the highest possible price & lay back at a lower price when ever the opportunity arises. One of the main advantages in trading is that, it takes away the emotional attachment & gambling aspect from betting because, we also trade out a bet for a guaranteed profit or the occasional loss & never wait till the end of a match.

If you ever wanted to get involved in football trading but did not know were to look then, you have come to the right place. Football Trading System gives you all the tools & back up necessary, to become an excellent trader & to gain long term profitability.

Source : ezinearticles

Day Trading Strategies

There are many day trading strategies you can use to trade the forex market with. Strategies like scalping on 5 minute charts, trading breakouts, and relying on indicators are among the various strategies available too day trade forex with. There are literally hundreds of other strategies you can use as well, the hard part is finding one that works effectively and that you can learn without much confusion or frustration. The easiest and fastest way to learn a great day trading strategy is to learn one that has been used by a professional day trader to achieve consistent profits for a significant period of time. There is no sense in spending countless hours banging your head against your keyboard trying to invent a new trading method when there are already numerous ones in use by professional traders and mentors who are willing to teach you their own highly effective trading strategy.

The best way to learn how to effectively profit as a forex day trader is to get direct instruction from a forex trading mentor. If you go about learning how to day trade without the help of an experienced and professional trading mentor you will no doubt lose a lot of money in the process and experience significant amounts of confusion and frustration. A trusted trading mentor brings years of experience in using a consistently profitable trading strategy to profit in the markets. You can skip over almost all of the trial and error that generally goes along with finding or developing a profitable day trading strategy by obtaining instruction from a professional.

A good live trading room will allow access to the head traders trading screen and you will be able to see the trades they are taking in real time, as the trades setup and unfold. This is the most efficient and effective way to spend your time learning to day trade forex. Trading forex in a live forex trading room can be full of frustrating situations that you cannot foresee until you actually start trading. You can avoid most of these unforeseen frustrations, which usually lead to losing money, by learning a high quality strategy from a qualified and trusted professional day trader.

There is absolutely no substitute for being able to virtually look over a professional day trader's shoulder as he or she explains what they are doing and the concepts behind their specific day trading strategies. You are getting a window into the brain of a professional day trader when you learn from a professional day trading mentor in a live forex day trading room. If you wish to set out on the proper path towards fulltime forex day trading success than it is highly advised you learn a profitable trading strategy from a highly qualified professional day trader that shows you their own personal trading screen and explains their strategies in real time trading situations. This is really the only way to ensure that you don't lose thousands of dollars by making all the common trading mistakes that nearly every trader makes when attempting to learn how to day trade on their own.

Source : ezinearticles

Scalp Trading and Its Strategies

When it comes to scalp trading, day traders try to make use of the short term trading opportunities. Traders gave to enter and exit within a minute or so and they can develop confidence gradually and trade without fear when they are at it consistently. During day trading scalpers can make several small profits which can add up to a decent total.

There can be only minimal losses to a few ticks at most. Scalp trading does not tale place overnight. The easiest trade to make is a small profitable scalp. You must have the skill to get in and out of the market quickly which is the secret behind scalp trading success. You can scalp properly and with success only if you have a lot of mental discipline and can make quick decisions.

When scalping strategies come to the point, some scalpers buy on the bid and sell on the offer to profit from the spread or they can work around the bid/offer. Three different trading patterns namely bounce off support and resistance, breakouts from consolidation and retracements in a trend determine long lasting scalp trades.

In the case of scalp trading, profit target can be small. The scalper will generally be happy to benefit from a few points while the breakout occurs unlike the long term trader who may wait until the breakout turns out to be a trend.

Different approaches can be followed with different market conditions and hence scalping can just be one of the instruments in the box of the trader which can be used at the right time.

Until they are over tops may be difficult to call. You can call a top easily by understanding candle stick patterns and candle sticks. The main theory behind scalp trading is that a trader can jump in as a response to an important event or news release and can show a profit before exiting immediately to minimize the risk.

A trader in this way can start making smaller profits little by little and can at the same time avoid losing a lot of pips by staying away from large market swings.

Before entering into a position one must have an exit and stop in mind which is the crucial part of scalping. The position can be closed instantly in this way when the market moves in either direction. The advantage that comes with scalp trading is that it can reduce potential losses.

However on the downside it can also limit potential profits because the transactions take place quickly. Hence you may have to exit quickly before entering into a breakout market. You can benefit from forex trading by using a dependable long term system because scalping is only an extreme version of day trading which requires immense skill to master it.

Source : ezinearticles

Day Trading Rules - Remove Emotion From Your Trading

The extreme complexity of online charting packages and trading tools would have you believe that there has to be a lot of thought taking place in the trading business. The fact is that these tools are used for planning the trade and the whole trading plan, but when the trader places the order there is no more judgment on the markets. It is all down to your day trading rules.

The trader looks at the trading calendar, figures out volatility and the impact of news, then looks at important price levels to see if they are relevant for that day. He then makes up his mind as to whether he should buy dips or sell rallies, after that he will have a clear trading plan for the day.

Specific Day Trading Rules

Wait up to 25 minutes for the trade to prove itself - a lapse of 25 minutes is a kind of stop loss order.

Be out of the market during the first hour on unclear direction days.

Use the first hour high and low as well as yesterday's high and low for possible turning points today. If the trade goes well you should get out near these levels.

Count 30 minute bars, 3 large, consecutive up or down bars often make the first leg of one trend, it is considered as a very likely top or bottom and stops should be tightened.

Don't take trades during the mid session time zone, participation is lower and trends hardly ever develop.

The markets do adhere to these rules more often than not, exceptions to these rules are indeed the exception to the statistical rule and nothing more. These rules help develop an emotionless trading plan that can stay immune to minor price volatility and panic attacks that are reflected in the price.

There are trading mentors that provide premium, advanced training, much more detailed and sophisticated than the above rules. If however you can't afford such efficient, premium trading education, at least stick to the above rules and it will help you somewhat. Of course the premium educators do something unique, they help remove the emotions out of your trading, and that is something no book or articles can ever do!

It's like going to the doctor and getting advanced therapy, one that exactly fixes your health problem and you get your life back.

Emotionless trading with discipline and advanced homework techniques, but always kept separate, that's what day trading rules are all about!

Paul Murphy is a passionate and successful trader. Always in search of the best trading systems, and researching ways to help you be the best trader you can possibly be.

Share Market Trading and Risk Evaluation

oday, the share market trading sector in India stands at par with world economies, inviting foreign investors as well. Pouring in of foreign funds in crores during the last few months well validates the fact. The two major stock exchanges of India - the National Stock Exchange for NSE trading and the Bombay Stock Exchange for BSE trading have facilitated both listed companies and investors to make their mark in the Indian stock market.

The Indian share market is no longer the same as it was witnessed a decade ago. With online share trading gaining grounds, online trading companies and online brokers witnessed nascence. Gone are the days when investors, to open demat accounts, needed to contact brokers in person, submitted documents for getting the necessary paperwork accomplished, and completely relied on them for their stock purchasing decisions. Ever since the online share trading bug hit the market, opening of a trading account or getting in touch with a broker right from the comfort of one's space became feasible. Given the many online brokerage platforms, you can open a free trading account. Only a counted few offers facilities of opening a free trading account. So, if you are interested to invest in the share market, open a free trading account at the chosen brokerage platform and get started.

It is not only evaluation of one factor that you can manage your risks. Company performance consideration is just one aspect of the big story and if it is a low investment, the said aspect can prove successful for you. But if you want to go for bulk investments no matter whether it is via NSE trading or BSE trading, you will have to consider several risk parameters. And as bulk investors, you should be more serious and stay informed as losses can take a toll on your financial health, as the amount is high. Big investors use certain share market trading tools, especially software including statistical and analytical tools to evaluate risks. Using these tools is not everyone's cup of tea. The intricacies involved may not let novice users get familiar with the mechanism soon. Here is a list of all the risk evaluating factors, considering which your share market trading strategies can be achieved to a great extent:

• Paradigm shifts including structural changes in industrial sectors; industry cycles should also be taken into account
• Economic feat (GDP growth rate) of the nation; higher the growth percentage, higher are the NSE trading and BSE trading prospects
• Fluctuations in interest rates; for example RBI's interest rate movements, interest rate cuts owing to FII dominance
• Developments at the international level such as performance of the World Trade Organization, energy prices, etc.
• Wars between countries including insurgency
• Changes in regularity reforms pertaining to taxes, etc.

3 Essential Reasons to Use an Online Trading Strategy Program

With more and more traders beginning to embrace stock programs to guide their trading for them, it's worth it to understand and know why so many traders are increasingly going this route. Here are three essential reasons why you should be using an online trading strategy program to aid you in the stock market.

First, it's cost effective to use an online trading strategy program all of the analytical work is done for you. These programs are adept at sniffing out the beginnings of upswings in well performing stocks and advising you to trade accordingly. Consequently you don't need to pay out commissions and fees to an expensive broker to do all this for you. If you have even just a few minutes each day to devote to acting on the picks which the stock program generates for you, you can easily make a sizable profit without having to pay someone to do it for you while you're investing on your own terms.

Secondly, it levels the playing field so that you don't have to have a great deal of experience or any experience for that matter beyond being able to open an online trading account and setting some orders for the picks which the online trading strategy program generates for you. Stock programs have become massively accessible and popular amongst first-time traders for this reason so if you have ever been wary about the risk, this about this technology because you don't need the time or experience to make good money when you have the information right in front of you.

Finally, these online trading strategy programs are based on the most effective methods of anticipating stock behavior, the same technology in fact which is utilized by professional traders day in and day out. How they work is they compare stock behavior of the past to current stocks in an effort to find profitable overlaps.

Source : ezinearticles

Technical Analysis For the Advanced Options Trader

Technical analysis often plays a large part in the determination to enter or exit stock trades in the short and intermediate term. It can also play a part in determining entry and exit of long option trades (buying calls or puts). What about using technical analysis in determining entries and exits of more complex options strategies such as vertical spreads, calendar spreads, iron condors and diagonal spreads? In this article, I want to specifically address the use of technical analysis in advanced options trading.

The problem with technical analysis

Even the best market technicians can only tell you what is likely to happen. This isn't the fault of technical analysis (TA for short) or in the practitioners of it. It is simply a fact that must be reckoned with. TA is much more like checking the direction of the wind than a predictor of which way it will blow tomorrow.

While TA may be able to tell you what is likely to occur or what is going on at the moment, it can't tell you your probability of success in a trade. There has been some work to quantify the accuracy of different technical indicators, particularly in the area of chart patterns, but that still doesn't help with the analysis of the trade itself.

One other danger of technical analysis is the temptation to pile on a bunch of indicators in the hope that it will somehow give us additional insight or edge in trading. I'm not saying the employment of stochastics, MACD, Bollinger bands and the like aren't important but their use in the overall trading strategy must be understood.

Technical analysis must also be correlated to a timeframe to be effective. In other words, you must know the timeframe you are working in. Is it short term (days), very short term (intra-day), medium term (weeks) or long term (months). To be effective, you must understand the timeframes involved in the options trade and ensure that technical analysis is done for the same timeframes.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against using TA for advanced options trading. In fact I'm a firm believer and practitioner of it. However, it is important to realize the limitations as well the benefits and uses. In fact, let's take a look at some of the benefits.

The benefits of technical analysis

Technical analysis can be used to time an entry or trigger an exit. I often use basic support and resistance levels to do just that. In fact, I believe the combination of TA to time an entry combined with probability analysis for choosing my position actually improves my overall success. Also, when I have a clear support or resistance level that can be used as an indicator that my initial analysis was wrong, I often exit a trade earlier keeping more of my money for another trade.

One other area of TA I find beneficial is in determining overall market outlook. Remembering that timeframe is important, I often use TA to determine what the medium term trend is. This can help me determine what kinds of trade strategies to best employ over the coming weeks.

I'm sure there are other very successful options traders who have found additional uses for TA. In fact, I'm sure there are as many ways to incorporate technical analysis as there are strategies to use them on. That's what makes trading so interesting. In fact, networking with other successful traders can be an important factor in determining your own trading style.

Knowing how and when to use technical analysis

Ultimately, the determination of how and when to use technical analysis is up to the trader and the trading plan(s) they are using. Understanding the limitations as well as the benefits of technical analysis is a great start. From there, experiment with different approaches using some form of paper trading until a clear strategy emerges.

It's best to start with basic support and resistance analysis. Keep it simple. Use only the indicators that you are comfortable with and that help in making basic trading decisions. Ultimately though, you as a trader must make that decision to enter or exit the trade based on your evaluation of all the factors.

Putting it all together

In concluding this article, I wanted to provide 4 key tips in using technical analysis for advanced options trading.

1. Determine what technical analysis tools will be used. It's easy to be distracted by all the indicators that exist. Paper trade and experiment but start simple. Support and resistance should be your first and primary indicators. Everything else should simply be confirming indicators. Don't have so many indicators that they drive you to indecision.
2. Determine timeframes you will use for your technical analysis. Make sure the TA tools used are consistent with the timeframe you are trading. Most advanced options strategies last weeks to months. Make sure the timeframe analyzed is the same.
3. Put your strategy for technical analysis in your trading plan. Once you decide how and when to use TA, make sure that it becomes part of your trading plan for each strategy employed by writing it in. Having a written trading plan you can look at frequently is a great help to being consistent with that strategy and consistently using TA according to your plan.
4. Stay flexible. Remember TA isn't an exact science but more of an art. As you practice, you'll get better. Remember also that the outlook at one point in time can change in a matter of days. Be prepared to change your outlook if the technical indicators warrant it. However, don't let small changes drive you to flip-flop in your trades. Continue to take trades for sound reasons and exit for sound reasons.

Source : ezinearticles

Dealing With Idle Time As a Trader

Trading can be a very exciting career if you are a risk taker, but it will not be the same always. So, to be a successful trader, you need to be patient at certain times which is very important. You may end up waiting for the stock market to enter the uptrend.

The stock market has different trends, which depend on various factors. It may have a down trend or an uptrend or sometimes it can be in the consolidation mode. The method you are going to use will indicate when you should enter and exit the market. You can enter into the market at the time when the market has certain trend if you are trading on the continuation trading patterns. Do not initiate trading in a market that is trendless. Trade in a trendless market if you follow reversal chart patterns.

Allow the stocks to move up and have some patience. Do not over manage your stocks because you may end up shifting from one stock to other which is not good, and this does not give you any profits and you lose your confidence in trading. So, do not micro manage the trades.

It is better not to trade in micro manage positions. You can set some conditional alerts or just have a small holiday. Do something that you enjoy doing. Sit away from your position and just wait for right conditions to have profits. If you have accounts with big number, have patience for the right time to come so that you can make huge profits.

It does not matter if you day trade or swing trade, you will have to go through a period when you have to be idle. Make use of this time in a proper way. Have patience and do not tend to trade in the conditions which are not favorable to you. You have to enter and exit at the right time in order to make profits. So, learn to handle the idle time as a trader.

Source : ezinearticles

Bill Lipschutz - The World's Greatest Currency Trader What You Can Learn From Him

Bill Lipschutz is considered one of the greatest if not the greatest, currency trader of all time and with good reason - during the 1980s, in his eight-year career with Salomon Brothers, he generated over half a billion dollars in profits trading currencies. Let's take a look at his trading strategy in more detail and what you can learn from him.

Bill Lipschutz has had his fair share of losses but like all good traders he learned from them and like all the best traders he plays great defence and focuses on preserving equity first. He does not placing the entire trading capital into one single trade, or even into trades which have a tendancy to move together which are correlated.

He also puts great emphasis on looking at the risk / reward ratio at the time you look at it and not from the point in time when the trade was first taken - events change the risk reward and you need to see you. All the great traders know how to manage risk and many of the greatest traders have been taught by the pain of taking a big loss. If you want to win at Forex trading, strong money management is the foundation any successful strategy is based on.

The Fundamentals  

"I don't trade on dreams or rumours. I'm a fundamental trader. I try to assemble facts and decide what kind of scenario I think will unfold." Bill Lipschutz, Market Wizards

Its the fundamentals which move markets, sure technicals can help you time your trades better and give an idea of historical value but supply and demand facts, generate long term trends. Bill initiates trades only when the fundamentals are favourable; this may sound simple but most traders don't do it and never bother looking at the bigf picture.

The Art of Trend Following

Big trends last a long time and as Lipshutz says:

"It is well acknowledged that the most profitable market environment for FX [foreign exchange] trading is a trend - in particular a trend that unfolds over a medium-to long-term time horizon,"

Lipschutz identifies big trends and then tries to ride them to their conclusion, of course this is not easy but knowing the fundamentals and looking at charts, he can see over and under valuation better than most and when to get out and in. Also he doesn't bother trading short term moves or day trading, most new traders try this but all their doing is trading the noise of the market and lose. If you want to win, trade the big long term trends, its as simple as that.

Final Words

Bill Lipschutz still trades today and still has an outstanding track record of profits. His status in the trading industry was acknowledged by his induction into the Traders Hall of Fame - simply one of the greats and if you read more on his strategy, you will get some great tips on what it takes to win at currency trading.

Source : ezinearticles

Norman Hallett's Disciplined Trader Intensive Program Pros and Cons

You may have heard about The Disciplined Trader Intensive Program by Norman Hallett and wondered exactly what it is and whether it is worth it for you as a trader to take part in it.

In this Disciplined Trader Intensive program review, I wish to go over what I believe are the pros and cons of this online course. I believe that this will help you come to an informed decision about this course and whether or not it is really for you.

Let me start by saying that Norman Hallett has a stellar reputation as someone who has helped traders from various investment fields such as stocks, options, Forex, and bonds to enhance their success in their respected markets. He is known as a true expert in trading discipline and controlled trading.

In addition, I should also state that I believe that trading psychology and emotional control is one of the key factors of trading success in any market. I mainly write about Forex and trading discipline is certainly crucial in that field. However, I believe it is no less important in stocks, bonds, options, or any other financial field.

That being said, you may find that Norman Hallett's course is not right for you. This is why these pros and cons are important.

Pros:

- Norman Hallett and his teachings have many positive testimonials from various traders who have gone through the course and used it to improve their trading ability.

- The course is extensive, lasting for 6 weeks in an interactive manner.

- Trading discipline is a crucial element of your success. Unless you learn how to control your emotions, you will never be able to consistently succeed in any market. There is simply no chance.

- Improving your emotional control will help you reduce your risk, cut your losses, and boost your profit potential.

- This program has a money back guarantee so you can rest assured that it will either work for you or cost you nothing.

Cons:

- This is not a cheap course. Some traders may find it hard to pay for this course. I believe that it is worth it since it can help you reduce your losses by a dramatic margin. However, it it would have been better had it cost less.

- Don't expect for this program to deliver immediate results. Some of the processes you need to learn in this program may take a while to sink in.

Overall, I believe that this course can help you become a better and more consistent trader, cut your losses and boost your profit potential.

Source : ezinearticles

Business Ownership Structure - Sole Trader

If you want to start or purchase a business - or have an existing business - you may want to know the best ownership structure for you to use. We'll talk about the three main business structures in Australia and NZ - sole trader, partnership and company - over the next three articles and please email us if you want to know more.

The first is that you don't have to stick with the same structure - you don't have to form a company to buy a company, for example. A company can buy a partnership, a sole trader can buy a company and so on. Or, if you're currently a sole trader, you can turn it into a company; a company can be wound down and turned into a partnership. There is, of course, cost and hassle in making these changes so let's get it right, now, and have your money and effort directed at productively running a business.

Personal Liability

A sole trader is you, the owner and the person. Therefore a sole trader is a legal entity because the law recognises you - you can sign contracts, sue and be sued, own property, take out loans, have bank accounts and so on. Partnerships are not legal entities and cannot do this - we'll cover that next week.

So, you start or buy your business, paying from your personal bank account or a separate business account and, from whatever account you use, you make business purchases - assets and expenses. This is exactly like making private purchases.

If you don't repay your mortgage, the mortgagor can sell your house and then sue for any shortfall and you can lose other personal assets.

The same with your business: if your business spending is on credit and you don't pay, the creditor, lender, mortgagor or bank can sue you and get the court to take your personal and/or business assets. Because the business is you, the legal system doesn't see any difference between your business and your personal assets. Companies avoid this problem and you can read about that here in two weeks.

Taxation

As you are your business and it is you, legally, so the business income is yours. Whatever profit (or loss) you make from your business, it's added onto your other income. So, if you have interest and other income of $10,000 and your business makes a profit of $30,000, your taxable income is $40,000 (10,000 + 30,000 = 40,000). If your other income was $40,000 and your business made a $25,000 loss, your taxable income would be $15,000 (40,000 - 25,000 = 15,000). Simple maths.

The disadvantage of this is that all the business income (or loss) is yours - you cannot spread it to other members of your family to reduce tax, as you can with a partnership or company.

Your business's Tax File number will be your existing personal tax number.

Any business in Australia has to have an Australian Business Number (ABN) so you'll need to get that [not applicable in NZ]. You have to register for GST if your gross income is going to be over $75,000. You can do this on the ABN form.

You Trade Alone

When you die, the business ends, unless you provide for the assets to be passed on in a will. You can't pass on your shares in the business as you can with a company.

You can only borrow money against your personal assets. A company gives you more access to finance and we'll cover that in two weeks time.

Summary

As with every ownership structure, there are advantages and disadvantages. Above, we explained the three main issues and below is a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of a sole trader ownership structure.

Advantages of Sole Trader

• Low cost of entry - no company set-up costs.
• Easy to set up - it's only you.
• Few legal costs.
• Only one tax return required - cheaper accounting fees.
• No registration of name required (if trading under your own name).

Disadvantages of Sole Trader

• Personally liable for business debts.
• When you die, the business dies.
• Cannot split income out to other family members to reduce tax.
• Limited access to business finance.

Source : ezinearticles

Forex Trading Secrets - Uncover the Secret of the Wealthy Home Trader

Have you been searching for a way to make more money? If you're like me, you've bought product from infomercials, websites, books about making money, etc. There are literally hundreds of thousands of resources for you to review. This article will discuss the Forex trading secrets I've uncovered.

In my search for a way to make money from home, I've done a number of business. I've own a home based sign franchise, sold on eBay, real estate, pay per click campaigns and a few others. I did make money with these however; it was not enough to walk away from my job.

It dawned on me one day. The easiest money I ever made was with my investments. I have a savings account where I invest in mutual funds. I do nothing with it other than add more money to it. It keeps making me money. I thought, I wonder if there's a way to do this but make higher returns. High enough to live off of.

I investigated a number of ways to do this. I bought countless books and courses on stock trading and Forex trading. As a result, I've landed on two ways that work incredibly well. The main one is the Forex trading secret I mentioned.

This has been "coined" as the perfect home based business. I couldn't agree more! Your start-up cost is only a few hundred dollars, a PC and an internet connection. The profit you can make will rival the largest franchises on the market today!

Like everything, there are good ways to run a business and poor ways. I've discovered the easiest way to do Forex trading. This secret is getting out there now. And it should as it's amazingly easy for the average person to make a lot of money on the Forex market.

There are some phenomenal technologies that have been developed to help the average person become a full time successful trader. This is the secret you need to start making money fast. These programs are known as automatic trading systems.

These systems are very inexpensive. They are very accurate. You can literally download one and start trading. Of course, there are some out there that are junk. You need to be sure you are using the best automated systems available or you will be disappointed.

Now that I have the Forex trading secret figured out and working for me, it's your turn to do the same!

Source : ezinearticles

How to Be a Good Stock Trader

If you want to make lots of money trading different stocks each day, then day trading is the perfect strategy for you. It refers to buying and selling stock or commodities on the same trading day, with the day trader watching the computer screen all day long, always ready to place an order when an opportunity comes. There was a time when day trading was reserved for financial companies and professional investors. Today however, with the advancement of technology, some people have made day trading their source of full time income.

Learning to be a day trader while at home is very easy. You can take online day trading courses to educate yourself on how to trade. Day trading courses can teach you the basics of executing trades, can inform you about day trading strategies, and share to you the insights as to how skilled day traders make good money. You will learn about the principles of stock trading and about how a person makes a profit from the daily movements of investments.

If you are an avid reader of online stock trading newsletter, search the pages of the newsletter and you will find that it offers these kinds of courses. Most of these newsletters offer training courses for its readers. The Internet is also a great resource for learning how to trade; also available are home-study courses, books, and instructional videos. About the online courses, some last a few hours, some may take weeks before you complete.

According to expert day traders, before you actually take courses about day trading, you have to evaluate yourself if you are up for trading. Aside from being an expensive course, this requires you to be in front of your screen all day long. It can be stressful and frustrating, but it can also be fulfilling and rewarding.

In addition, do not just enroll in any course that you find online. Research first on the course that you want to enroll. Some instructors may sell you books or automated software to help you out with your learning. It is up to you if you want to enroll in these courses. Make sure that the instructors are objective and do not profit from you.

If you decide to enroll in an Internet day trading course, reinforce your education by reading other related literature and downloading helpful materials. If you are serious about day trading and want to make a living out of it, take also on-site courses. They are quite expensive and time-consuming but you will definitely learn a lot from these courses.

Once you are done with your trading course, it is time to put it into practice. To become a good day trader, you need to constantly monitor the stock market and see what is happening on the floor. You might want to try to day trade using an online site instead of calling a stockbroker. In addition, constantly look for opportunities. You have to be aware on what is happening in the market. Subscribe to an online stock trading newsletter to help you out with the things that you still want to know.

If you want to learn how to day trade and make lots of money in trading, consider taking a day trading course for yourself. Aside from teaching you the fundamentals of stock trading, other helpful resources are available in these courses to help you out with your trading.

Shane is a financial advisor, stock broker, and professional consultant. He enjoys reporting on the latest stock market happenings and offering advice to both fledgling investors and experienced day traders.

Source : ezinearticles

Trading Outside the Box - The Meta Trader 4 Excel Duo

The Meta Trader 4 Excel platform is making a buzz in the online currency trading circle for all good reasons. Forex trade is the business of exchanging one nation's currency for that of another. Unlike most other trades, profit here is completely dependent on the volatility of Forex market.

If the market were static, with no fluctuations in currency values, no money will be made. Yet, this same volatility also creates the element of risk. It can be quite tricky to predict which way a market will go because of the innumerable variables affecting prices. In such a scenario, traders must seek out every piece of information available about the economic forces at play. The lack of insider trading makes it a level playing field, but this means that all your competitors know what you know.

Therefore, the only way to trade sustainably and profitably is to glean all data of market trends. The trend is a trader's best friend. The best way to exploit trend data is to analyze it thoroughly.

But this is precisely where the maximum pieces of Forex software fall short - analytical tools. Every system offers a few tools - some useful, while some not too useful. For the most part, statistical analysis tools provided in Forex systems are either too simplistic to be powerful or too complicated to be practical for daily trading.

Even the popular Metatrader has this drawback. Despite powerful trend analysis features, executing automated trading strategies calls for complicated programming. The average trader, who isn't necessarily a computer geek, will not appreciate this. It can be quite a daunting task to learn an entire programming language just to trade.

This is why the Meta Trader 4 Excel platform is gaining popularity. It allows users conduct their Forex trade from excel, the widely used spreadsheet software. When you think about it, Microsoft Excel actually makes for a great trading program. Consider its features:

• Ease to use: With its simple graphical interface, it's one of the most user-friendly programs of its kind.
• Short learning curve: With the extensive tutorials and help files, mastering the features is easy even for users with no prior experience.
• Simple formula writing: Even the most complex formulas can be created with surprisingly simple syntax.
• Hugely scalable: Allows working with a massive amount of data.
• Powerful conditional formatting: Important patterns that weren't apparent at first can be unearthed. This makes it easy to mine data to discover trends and exceptions.
• Visual chart element pickers: Allows users to quickly modify chart data. Manipulating charts with a few clicks makes data analysis easier, more insightful, and effective.

All these features make Excel an excellent platform for trading. Especially if it were possible to develop Expert Advisors - automated trading strategies that seek to maximize profits and protect you from losses. To your surprise, it is now possible! An ingenious application now allows all Metatrader's functions to be used through Excel, including the development and execution of Expert Advisors. Set up your Meta Trader 4 Excel system now and experience the benefits immediately!

Source : ezinearticles

How to Be a Successful Trader in the Share Market

It is the online share market that the majority of the traders have considered their base. With time, especially after the recession with the Indian Sensex figures showing an upward trend, investors thought it the best time to invest. Moreover, many an investor is driven by the notion that the economy has already witnessed a big downfall and such a downtrend won't be repeated at least during the next few years. And what they feel is more or less true. Both Indian sensex and nifty figures are going up the graphs and in no time they will reach their original highest growth level.

At a counted few online stock market platforms, facilities for opening free trading accounts are offered. So, new investors can avail the benefits of entering the online share market. It is advisable that before you open a trading account do equip yourself with the knowledge about the stock market. It is then only that your venture of trading in stocks can prove lucrative. Secondly, set your goals. Following an adopted framework will enable you to not hold onto particular stocks for long so that you sell them off and use the money in newer stocks. Trading in stocks involves a cautious approach; the more cautious and serious you are, the higher is your win-win situation. Once you witness the price of a particular stock going down, do not wait more or do not expect that the price would go up the next moment or next day. There are chances of the stock witnessing a total slide. So, sell it at the right time, i.e. once you see the price falling so that the amount of loss does not affect your financial stability.

It is a systematic investment plan following which you can maintain a hold in the online share market. And if you are ready to invest in bulk, diversify your investment plans. You can take a dip in every existing investment option at the same time buying a number of stocks for the long term. Availing online assistance is feasible at an online stock market platform. Right from stock technical analysis to stock quote charts including all market statistics, share trading news, share recommendations, chart displaying the most active shares, Sensex figures, nifty performance, and related information can be accessed with a click of the mouse. And getting registered further benefits you, as with a subscription, you can get email alerts, relevant stock information, tips for trading in stocks, etc. right in your mailbox. And if you read all aforementioned information regularly, reaping profits is certain.

Source : ezinearticles

Measuring the Value of Trade Show Exhibits

There's nothing a corporate executive loves more than seeing return on investment, or ROI, spelled out in black and white. Unfortunately, creating that kind of clear cut business case for marketing strategies can sometimes be difficult. Creating and hosting trade show exhibits is no exception. However, it is possible to not only demonstrate ROI for trade show exhibits, but to use that analysis to drive higher returns.

Start With A Plan

Far too often, businesses hosting trade show displays will hand out reams of promotional material and collect a big bowl of business cards, but return to the office unsure of the impact of their efforts. A more effective approach is to develop a specific plan prior to the event. The plan should identify who exactly the business is trying to connect with at the event; this is known as the target audience. It should be clear how information about the target audience will be collected and specifically what information should be collected. The plan should delineate how that information will be managed and followed up on.

Measure And Measure Some More

The next step is to decide how to measure value. One obvious metric is the number of leads that are generated at an event. Some exhibitors collect hourly and daily visitor counts at their trade show displays. However, to really prove ROI, measurement should go one step further. For example, what happens to that lead after the show? What happens after the initial post-show follow up? How about six months after the event or even 12 months? The real ROI is demonstrated when revenue is affected. It takes a coordinated effort to track that kind of information. This kind of information can guide future decisions about what events to participate in, what trade show displays and materials are most effective, and even which staffers are the most productive on the floor.

Plan To Create The Outcomes You Want

With a clear picture of the results that are expected and how they will be measured, it is easier to create a plan to improve outcomes. By identifying the target audience in advance of the event, a company can create an effective pre-event marketing plan. Pre-event mailers, special invitations and contests can actually drive those targeted leads right to your trade show exhibits. Even more valuable than pre-event marketing is post-event follow up. All leads collected at trade show exhibits should be prioritized to reflect how strong the lead is and what their decision making authority is. Fast follow up is important; simply reconnecting as soon as possible after the event sends a strong message. The best strategy is to start with the most promising prospects first and work through the list until all of the customers have been contacted.

Follow up should be as customized as possible. Make the most of information collected at the event to demonstrate understanding of the potential customer's needs without repeating the same pitch used at the event.

A well planned strategy is absolutely necessary to prove the value of any company's trade show exhibits. It will take effort and fastidious follow through to collect the right information to demonstrate value. However, it's worth the effort. The robust knowledge collected will not only prove the value of exhibiting, but can guide future decision-making and can push success even further through targeted efforts before and after the show.

Source : ezinearticles

Unravelling the Fundamentals of Forex Trading Systems

To say that forex trading online is puzzling and complex for newbies is an understatement worthy of a few hundred dollars of loss in currency trading, which would prove to be an expensive learning experience with the recession in full swing. On the other hand, if you get hold of a forex trading system that is fit for you, you'll surely earn large amounts of money.

You must fully understand what a forex trading system is and what it can give you before you decide to purchase one. This write-up will give you a glimpse of the basics:

What It Is

Any forex trading plan needs to fundamentally contain a forex trading system. Because it's a manmade system, it relies on your commands for its response, which in essence means the time and price at which it will open and close all your currency transactions. Lest you think that currency trading systems come ready-to-use right out of the box, these depend on your pre-programmed standards and inputs.

Technical analysis and fundamental analysis are the two methods used to predict the developmet and trend of stocks. These are primarily used by the forex trading systems in determining whether you buy/sell currency pairs or close existing positions. In other words, it shortens the long and complex process related to currency data and it provides you with specific and reliable information.

Having It

For any forex trader, particularly for the new ones, the absence of these mechanical forex trading systems generates greater chances of allowing your all-too-human emotions to influence the objective workings of the forex market. In a market where exact methods are the gods, emotions will certainly bring you financial losses. Therefore, the use of these forex trading systems guarantees that you acquire accurate information without letting your feelings get in the way.

What is Best for You

Of course, it is imperative that you choose the mechanical forex trading system that aptly suits your requirements. As they are designed by currency traders, the system is dependable enough. These traders have the systematic working knowledge of the forex market and they have solid experience on the field.

As a matter of fact, you hit two birds with one stone in this scenario: you learn from their miscalculations and you earn from their knowledge. This doesn't mean however, that you'll stop educating yourself about forex trading. You must read books on the matter, take educational courses, update on forex news and bank reports, and be on top of forex stuff as much as possible. As a result, you'll benefit from having mastered the art of forex trading.

With polished trading skills, you can then move on to making use of a discretionary currency trading system. Here, you are not limited by the fixed technical and fundamental signals; rather, you may be as creative, as aggressive, and as subjective as you can with the signal patterns simply because you now have a solid experience to back you up!

In the end, your chosen forex trading system can only aid you in making the decisions that will make you the next George Soros in its capacity as an analysis system but it won't make all your decisions for you. So, get out and learn as much as you can!

Source : articlebase

Trading Risk Management Secrets

Managing your risk effectively is one of the keys to becoming a regular profitable trader. If you lose half, in other words 50%, of your trading account , just remember that you need to earn 100% on the remainder to get back to where you started from.

Many expert traders consider that you should not risk losing more than 2% on any particular trade, nor put more than 20% of your trading account on one stock. This is based on the reasonable assumption that you could have as many as five losing trades in a row, losing 10% of your account, and you cannot afford for that to happen very often before you are in serious trouble.

Every time you consider a trade, you should have a clear idea of the amount you expect to make if it goes your way, and at what level you will exit quickly if it does not. These two numbers give you your risk/reward ratio, and most traders will not enter a trade unless this is at least 2 to 1 and preferably 3 to 1 (that is, you expect to make three times as much with a winning trade as you would lose if it went the wrong way). Some novice traders have no clear idea or expectation of how far the price may go up, and while you may hope for it to zoom to the skies, you can usually form a judgment of an expected target, perhaps using Fibonacci ratios

There are two important sayings in trading. "Let the trend be your friend" and "Cut your losses and let your profits run." Ignoring these two sayings is bound to lead to disappointment.

"Let the trend be your friend" urges you to trade with the price trend in place. While it is possible to make frequent small profits by trading within a range, which includes trading down (short) as well as up, the novice in particular should pay attention to the prevailing trend, and never trying to second-guess the market running against it. Remember that you are unlikely to spot the exact start or finish of a trend, but that does not matter. As long as you ride part of the trend, you will make your profit, and it is much more likely to succeed if you wait for a trend to start rather than guess at the point when the market will turn.

With a good trading system, you should not have a problem with cutting your losses, or letting your profits run. The fact that so many beginning traders find this difficult can be attributed to the power of emotion when the real money is at risk. If a trade does not start in the desired direction, then you must be ready to get out of it at a small loss. If you think it is hard to take a small loss so quickly, just think how much more difficult it is to leave the trade in place and have to take a much larger loss later.

On the other hand, and particularly after a losing trade, the inexperienced trader will rush to take profits on the next performing trade, rather than letting it fully blossom. Of course, he will have a gain, but it will not be the best he could do. Controlling the emotions is key to successful trading.

Source : articlebase

The Realm of Automated Forex Trading System

ust how important is an automated system to the Forex trading system?

Before we answer that question, let us first determine how large Forex trading market is. From there, we will know the importance of automated systems for the Forex market.

It is true that the Forex market is the largest market around the world not just in terms of average daily turnover and average revenue per trader. It is also the largest market in terms of participants.

You name it, we've got it. Take a look at the following:

BANKS- they are not just for saving money and lending capital to entrepreneurs, but they are one of the major players in Forex market. Banks cater both to large quantity of speculative trading and daily commercial turnover. Well-established banks can trade billions of dollars worth of foreign currencies everyday. Some of the trades are undertaken on behalf of their clients, but most are through proprietary desks.

COMMERCIAL COMPANIES- these commercial companies trade small quantities of foreign currencies compared to larger banks and their trades produce small and short-term impact on the market rates. However, the trade flows from transactions made by commercial companies are essential factors with regards to the long-term direction of the exchange rate of a certain currency.

CENTRAL BANKS- central banks play an important function in the Forex market. They have the control over the supply of different currency, inflation, and interest rate. In addition, they have also official target rates for the currencies that they are handling. They are responsible for stabilizing the Forex market through the use of foreign exchange reserves. Their intervention in the market is enough to stabilize a certain currency.

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FIRMS- these firms commonly manage huge accounts on behalf of their clients such as endowments and pension funds. They are using the Forex market to facilitate transactions, specifically in foreign securities. For example, an investment manager bearing an international equity portfolio needs to purchase and sell several pairs of foreign currencies to pay for foreign securities purchases.

RETAIL FX BROKERS- they handle a fraction of the total volume of Forex market. A single retail forex broker estimates retail volume of between 25 to 50 billion dollars each day, which is estimated to be at 2% of the total market volume.

SPECULATORS- these are individuals who purchase and sell foreign currencies and profit through fluctuations on its price as opposed to popular methods such as interest and dividends. They perform the important role of transferring the risk to individuals who do not wish to bear it.

In Forex market alone, there are already six major players partaking on the $1.8 trillion worth of daily turnover. With a large number of Forex players, there is really a need in switching from manual to automated Forex trading system.

Among the aforementioned major Forex players, the automated trading system is of great advantage to the speculators. Since they focus on the price fluctuations of various foreign currencies in order to profit, the real time data analysis will help them determine trades that will give advantage to them.

There are several automated forex trading system available in the market. There are also automated Forex systems that are offered for free or as part of their trading account acquired from their Forex brokers or agents. Such complimentary system packages are typically elementary trading system. Thus, if you are looking for more features, you can avail of it through additional payments.

There are two types of automated Forex trading system. These are discussed in the following:

Desktop-based system- all Forex-related data are stored on your desktop's hard drive. This system is unpopular to Forex traders because all data are susceptible to computer virus contamination and other security problems. Worse, when the computer malfunctions, all essential information might be lost and cannot be retrieved (unless you have some back-up files of your own). However, it is little expensive compared to the other types of automated trading system.

Web-based system- the security of your Forex account and other data are provided by your web-based provider. These are hosted on secured servers. It is also convenient in the sense that there will be no software required and it is universally compatible with your Internet browser.

You may also try different automated trading system demos first so that you will be able to determine the automated Forex trading system that suits your personal preference and needs.

Even if you are just a small-time Forex player, it will be to your advantage if you will use an automated Forex trading system for your future trades.

Source : articlebase

Forex Trading Education - 3 Essential Facts Traders Need to Know to Win at Forex

Here we will give you 3 essential facts about Forex trading which can lead you to success. Make sure you make them part of your essential Forex education - here they are...

These 3 essential facts will explain why anyone can learn to trade Forex and win yet, 95% of traders still lose. Let's take a look at our Forex trading facts.

1. Forex Trading Requires Effort!

How many traders buy a cheap junk robot, or think they can make money by following a sure fire trading system? Loads and most of the systems sold, because the vendor can't make money trading!

Forex trading is not easy, 95% of traders lose and if you want to win, you need to make an effort, learn the right skills and adopt the right mindset which we will look at next.

2. Building a Forex Trading Strategy for Success is Simple

It's a fact that anyone can build a Forex trading strategy for success in a couple of weeks or even less. Your system only needs to be simple and you can base it on many established successful methodologies.

To make money though, you need much more than just a logical, robust trading system which is the subject of the next point. Pay careful attention to it, as it's the very key to Forex trading success.

3. Discipline is the Key to Success

Most traders underestimate the key trait of discipline, because they believe these myths.

- You can predict tops and bottoms with accuracy

- You will not face a losing period that just happens to others!

These people are either, those who think trading is easy or their following a junk Forex robot. As soon as they start to lose, discipline to execute trading signals goes out the window, they run losses and there accounts get wiped out.

If Forex trading was easy, then 95% of traders wouldn't lose money!

Discipline is hard part of trading, because you have to keep losses small and keep going, when the market is making you doubt your ability, your emotions are getting involved and your losing money.

If you think discipline is easy, you probably haven't traded.

The good news is:

You can acquir

Source : articlebase

Setting Up Your Trading Room

A trading room is an area that is specifically set aside and equipped for your trading.  This article is about how you can setup your own trading room.

One day I went inside a bank's trading room.  They had specially designed desks to hold trading screens.  They had special telephone systems and direct data feeds.  Everything was designed to make it as easy as possible for the traders to work.

You don't need to go to the same extent, but your equipment and working environment shouldn't hold you back either.  It is difficult to trade properly if your computer struggles with the data, or constantly crashes, or your connection keeps dropping out, or if your work area is hot, cold or dusty. 

Ideally you should have an area set aside specifically for trading.  It may be a study or home office.  It shouldn't be a children's play area or in a busy passageway.  It needs to be comfortable and well lit and equipped with power sockets to keep all wires neat and orderly, not all tangled.

You need a comfortable ergonomic chair, and plenty of desk space, with all the equipment you need to hand.  There should be storage areas so that you can put away items that you are not using to keep it uncluttered.

A computer is essential for trading.  You need a system that is as fast and new as possible.  The cut down budget computer won't be enough.  You need a lot of memory, a big hard drive to store historical data, a fast CPU to help with your backtesting, and a large display screen.  You should consider dual monitors to extend your on screen work area.

The current generation of notebook computers are a good option, provided you buy one with enough power.  The benefit is that if you want to travel, you can take your trading platform with you.  You'll need to setup your trading platform, together with other packages you may need such MetaTrader or Excel.

You don't need to buy a windows PC.  A Mac can run all Windows trading software using virtualisation.  Just remember to install plenty of memory.  A Mac can also run any web based or Java based trading platforms.

The computer should ideally be kept for trading.  If you have other people playing games on it, installing and uninstalling software, it will make your trading platform less stable.  If other people are using your trading computer, you will be concerned about your trades, especially if you are relying on automated trading software on the computer.

You'll need a fast Internet connection.  It should be reliable and stable.  If possible, you should have a backup connection, such as wireless broadband, which you can also use if you are traveling.  If you have power issues in your area, you should have a UPS for both your computer and the Internet connection.

Every great trader has a trading library - you can include it in your trading room.


Source : articlebase

A Quick Guide to Learn Forex Trading

To become a successful forex trader, the first thing that you must do is to provide yourself with a good forex education for you to be able keep up with the main idea of forex trading. You have to do it on your own and never rely on mentors that will promise you great success, only you can teach yourself.

One important thing that you need to learn about forex trading is that it is a combination of mental discipline and a good methodology. More often than not, mental discipline is quite hard to achieve. To be successful, you need not to work hard to earn more. It is much preferable to work smart rather than to work hard. Being a smart forex trader means focusing on the information that you need in forex trading for you to be able to win and nothing more than that. You should be able to use the technical analysis system and always base your trading on the long term trend. It doesn't mean that if you work for long hours in forex trading, you get more money. You will get more profit if you deal with forex trading the right way. Be a smart forex trader and you'll surely succeed.

Remember to always keep your trade simple. No need to buy complicated forex trading courses that will only do you nothing. Your success in the business will rely on you. If you do everything properly, without committing crucial mistakes, you will surely win potential profits in the long run.

For you to be successful in forex trading, you need to build your forex trading system as simple as possible. In looking for a forex trading system, you need to first identify what kind of trader you want to be. As you enter the world of forex trading, you will be faced with two choices; the long term trend or the swing trading.

Most forex traders commit the error of being tempted to go for day trading, but then it really doesn't work well for any kind of trader. It is one of the biggest myths in forex trading. Day trading cannot make money for you and you will never see a system that will provide a real time record of profits. The truth is that, the events in short term is random and there is no way for you to get the good odds to come closer to you unless you are lucky enough.

Swing trading gives you a lot of benefits that can help you win more in forex trading. With this, your trade moves in three to five days and you get pretty much an amount of action giving you more chances of getting profits. However, if you don't have the patience, you will lose quickly. On the other hand, the long term trend is quite harder to follow, but the potential it brings is probably the most rewarding above all. This will require you to have a whole lot of mental discipline,and of you can overcome the mental turmoil, you will be able to gain profit potentials.

Source : articlebase

Forex Trading Tips - 6 Golden Rules to Keep Your Sanity When Trading Forex

Many people are trying to make a living from home in the currency trading market. It is an extremely profitable opportunity, but it can also be extremely stressful. This is especially so if you want to become a professional forex trader. As a professional forex trader, here are some my personal advice to all forex traders which can help to lower your stress level and you keep your sanity.

1. Check the economic calendar before you start your trading session

Imagine spending half of your day to find some forex trading signals that are going to turn into nice profit. You jump in and the next thing you know your investment is going into the tank for no apparent reason. Then you found out that there were some announcements that you were not aware of going against your trades. Making this forex strategy a regular part of your routine will help you avoid this pratfall. A website that you can refer to every day is ForexFactory.

2. Get away from your computer

A lot of home traders fall into the trap of all but becoming a hermit. When you are not trading, get an activity by hanging out with your buddies or do something more relaxing. You just know that you need get out of this environment and get your head cleared before deciding on your forex trading strategies.

3. Surf the internet and going to forums

If you are trading at home, you more than likely don't have anyone to bounce idea's off of or to even discuss what is going on. Joining a public forum on currency trading will address both of those issues. When the market slows down, pop in and see what everyone is talking about and you will find it to be a pleasant distraction. You may find some interesting forex indicators in the forum that could fascinate you for a while, or you can even search for some forex reviews for the product people are selling.

4. Trading is not only depending on brain, get healthy!

Although it may sound funny to you, but it is a forex trading tip that has merit all by itself. You have to keep both your mind and body healthy in order to concentrate. The occupation itself is very sedentary. You are sitting at a desk and staring at a computer all day, so give yourself a good sweat every day and you will be much sharper at your trading.

5. Make a great trade, treat yourself to a break

You will soon realize that you are always under the gun when you are trading and you are going to have to ease up at times to keep that intensity level up. If you have a successful trade or possibly avoided what could have been a major loss, give yourself a quick 15 minute break so you can recharge and keep that focus. Nobody can maintain that stressful level all day, never try to be superman.

6. Diversify your money

Diversification is also one of the forex trading techniques that you may want to implement. You may want buy some regular stocks or get some investment properties and put your money to work for you. That is passive income.

The above forex trading tips may help you to distress, but remember that it still depends on whether you have the discipline to follow your very own forex trading system. If you can, you will have the confidence to trade without much worries.

Source : articlebase

Learn to Day Trade

I was thinking about an article I read some time ago that 90% of traders who ever trade lose their account and that 10% actually go bankrupt. If the first number doesn't scare you then the second definitely should.

Why is it then that there is such a large number of traders failing? It is not because they are stupid; in fact most traders have an above average IQ and are above average in most categories such as education and income. So why do they fail?

Lack of trading education!

By education I don't just mean learning how RSI works or drawing lines on a chart. I mean thoroughly educating yourself in all aspects of your chosen profession. Educating yourself on the correct psychological approach to the market! Educating yourself in the correct risk management techniques relative to your account size. Educating yourself in the correct entry and exit
methods for the trading style that suits you.

This, my friend, is where I hope to be of some help. I don't have all the answers nor do I profess to be some kind of guru but I will do my best to point you in the right direction.

Common Misconceptions Of New Traders

They think they can trade consistently with an 80% accuracy.
They think they can turn $1000 into $100,000 in six months.
They think they can predict turning points in their given
markets to within minutes.
They think they can buy a system that is 100% accurate.
They think they will quit their jobs and make a living full
time after a few months of trading.
What's the reason that so many new traders believe that trading is an easy way to make big profits? Propaganda!

We are continually bombarded in magazines, emails and the general media with claims of making astronomical amounts, just by applying the vendor's latest method or system.

Source : tradejuice

Day Trading Tips > Short Term Trading Strategies - Day Trader Picks

Beginner traders often fantasize or wonder about how some people are able to achieve tremendous profits by trading stocks just a few hours on a daily or weekly basis.

So going farther than the hype & the bells and whistles that a lot of the called "trading gurus" like to invoke, the real "secrets" of the stock market game are enclosed within the trading set ups and market signals you rely on to decide how to CHOOSE stocks, as well as WHEN to BUY & when to SELL them, or even when to SHORT SELL those that are poised for a profitable fall.

So the clearer your set ups are, the faster you can spot a potentially profitable trading scenario and ACT ON IT reducing your risk.

Complicated technical systems and information overload can make you slow and confuse you right from the start, making you loose money instead of making your profits grow.

In essence, You can be sure that the trading method you employ to approach the stock market and pick stocks can make a big difference in your results as a trader. In order to succeed you will need to FOCUS on a set of simple trading strategies that you can implement without hesitation.

Fortunately some sites on the web do offer more effective and updated day trading methodologies. One of those sites that can show you how to take advantage of certain stocks on positive and negative momentum as well is http://www.MomentumStockPick.com

They focus on momentum stock trading strategies, that are practical and easier to apply than many other technical systems out there.

Stock trading doesn't have to be complicated as many people perceive. But you do need to follow a well organized set of rules and tactics, that once you master them, you can aspire to replicate profitable trades with consistency.

Read more: articlesbase

Better Trades - a Better Teaching Strategy

Do you really want to learn your stock market trading strategies from someone who has never traded?

One of the problems of the Internet is that there are hundreds of people and countless websites that say they know how to use the stock market when they are simply regurgitating the information available everywhere. If you're trying to build your personal wealth, reading the same information found on virtually every trading website simply won't help. Fortunately, there's a better way.

BetterTrades is a truly unique educational company in the world of trading. We rely on live events that you attend in person to ensure that you are learning trading information unavailable anywhere else. Interactive seminars, live mentoring, online courses and specialized trading information are also used to help you get a maximum return. Our interactive multi-training makes BetterTrades an exceptional resource for any trader either new or experienced.

One of the best things about Better Trades is that all of the instructors are experienced traders who have worked extensively with the stock market in the past. With over 200 years of combined experience, you'll find a team that has written a multitude of books and designed thousands of seminars. You'll also find the only team who can help you meet your personal wealth goals.

Many of the instructors began their stock market experience with virtually no training. For some, trading was a hobby. As they realized that they were able to fulfill their own financial goals, trading became much more. Because our instructors began their trading career as novices, you'll get realistic advice that teaches you the necessary skills to get started. Free of the technical jargon that can confuse many beginners, you'll learn how to make a fortune no matter what the market conditions.

With thousands of satisfied students to date, BetterTrades is an educational company that provides personalized advice. With highly educational classes that will teach you to apply smart trading tactics, you could turn a few hundred dollars into thousands in just a few months. If you're not trading as successfully as you like, it's time to contact BetterTrades.

Better Trades is for those who truly want to learn how to trade in the stock market. After all, why would you use another company whose instructors have never traded when you can work with a faculty that has made its own personal fortune from the techniques offered in each class? Contact BetterTrades today, and start your trading education.

Read more: articlesbase