Sunday, September 23, 2007

Forex Trading Three Great Reasons to Start Currency Trading

Most people shudder at the thought of Forex Trading because they think that it is very high risk trading because of the great amount of leverage involved. However the money making potential in Forex Trading is huge when compared to other financial instruments worldwide.

This article will highlight three great reasons why you should consider Forex Trading or at least a managed Forex Trading Account when considering between the multitude of investment instruments available on the market today.

Firstly, the forex market is the most liquid financial market in the world today. This means practically that even in a falling or rising market, there will always be a ready buyer or seller on the market. Most of us have been caught in situations where we want to sell a stock but there are no ready buyers in a falling market.

The great amount of liquidity in the forex market today, means that not only can you sell your currency fast but you can also acquire it fast as well and in rapid succession. Thats one reason why George Soros managed to funnel large amounts of money through the several South East Asian currencies during the currency crisis and made huge amounts of money in the process.

Secondly, the forex market is a true global market meaning that it operates 24/7 during the weekdays. This means that if you really wanted to, you could trade through the night and the day. Thankfully there is forex trading software now that helps you monitor trades and hunt for good trading opportunities and when you just enter your trading strategy, and the robot takes over and closes your position for you. The trading platforms now are so robust that you can set your downside indicators to close your position when it falls below a pre-set number so that you do not lost money even while you are sleeping.

Thirdly, the Forex Market is controlled by macro economic factors. Currencies are representations of how strong the economies are and how global trade affects them. The US Dollar rises and falls against the Euro in response to how strong the US economy is. Central bank intervention also plays a large role in this matter and such details are readily known to anyone today with internet access. You would want to contrast this to stock markets where the fund managers are usually the first to know about a scandal or bad quarter as opposed to the main retail investors. Another aspect of marco economics is that currency trends take a long time to play out. This means practically that we will not be caught off guard so fast when there is a turn in the market which takes a few years to play out.

In conclusion, we have highlighted three reasons why you should consider Forex Trading as a possible way to make money online. Take some time this weekend and go to the library and read all you can on the subject and then practice as much as you can with the free simulated accounts that most forex trading brokers provide and only spend money when you have accumulated enough profitable paper trading. Remember with great risk comes great reward in the Forex Trading Market. Carpe Diem!

Copyright 2006 Joel Teo. All rights reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety with the following author's information with live links only.)

Joel Teo is the successful Webmaster of http://www.RealEstateInvestment101.info

Learn how you can make more money today from Property Investment today and start generating a positive monthly cashflow from your property investments.

The Big Business Of Forex Online Trading

The daily transactions on the Forex, or foreign exchange markets, are so vast that they dwarf the total amount of money invested in stock markets across the globe. With over two trillion dollars in daily volume, the Forex is the most significant of the global monetary marketplaces

Since the introduction of the Euro to the world currency mix, the Forex has seen exponential growth. Add the rise of the Internet, and what had been the exclusive domain of the worlds great banks, financial institutions and super wealthy with at least a million dollars to invest became available to small investors who had PCs, Internet connections, and a few thousands of dollars in risk capital.

There is a very wide mix of entities, from individual brokers to corporations to governments, engaged in currency dealing through Forex online trading. And the currency market, because it does not operate form a single physical exchange like the NYSE, is ideal for Forex online trading. There are, of course, cites around the globe with large numbers of Forex brokers, and the advent of Forex online trading has connected all of them electronically. Forex online trading is now conducted around the clock every day of the year.

Forex Pre-Internet
In pre-Internet days, Forex business was conducted over the telephone and the only way in which individual investors could participate was to go to their bank and have a banker place their currency trade, or phone the bank to request that it be placed. For most of its history, the currency market saw very little individual involvement.

But Forex online trading has changed all that. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of individual investors have taken advantage of their around-the-clock online access and, just like larger institutions, are now engaging in Forex online trading twenty-four hours a day. Geography no longer matters, because business hours are always ongoing somewhere in the world.

Forex Trading Today
Forex traders can now have a hands-on role in their investments by continually observing market trends so that they can close their Forex online trading positions when the market turns against them. Forex online trading has also benefited from improvements in encryption technology, making investors feel more secure about having money online.

Forex online trading, in short, has become big business. And every big business will eventually spawn cottage business; Forex online trading is not different. There are now hundreds of websites offering advice and software designed to improve an investors chance of success in the Forex online trading game.

But you should make sure, before you decide to give your money to any Forex online trading site, that its software is compatible with your PCs operating system. And take the time to comparison shop for commission fees. Youd be surprised to know how widely they can vary among brokers. And above all else, find out how the broker intends to let withdraw your Forex online trading earnings.

You can also find more info on Online Forex and Trading Forex. e-forextradingsystem.com is a comprehensive resource to know about e-Forex Trading System.

Annuity Basics

Annuities can be very good things for some of us and a disaster for those of us who have not been made aware of the pitfalls and traps that in turn can easily befall them.

Since most people have or are going to look into annuities as a retirement or and an investment vehicle, make sure it fits into todays needs and parameters. It has to be right for the times we are in and it needs to be periodically revaluated for tomorrows world.

Precautions to be taken when buying annuities:

1.One should not Buy Annuities With Long Surrender Periods:

People are talked into buying an annuity that locks up their money for an excessive period of time with a surrender period that is longer than another comparable annuity with similar interest rates.

2.Do not fall for First Year Bonus Interest Rates:

Some annuity companies offer you a bonus or bonus interest rate on your first year deposit into an annuity.

3.Understand exclusion rations and the value of a partial 1035 exchange.

This is a rather complicated subject because there are enormous variables in determining how to properly structure your annuity contract from day one so as to maximize the taxable exclusion ratios when and if you decide to take an annuitization income from your annuities in the future.

4.Do not use small companies with questionable financial ratings

An annuity by definition is a contract guaranteed by an insurance company. Annuity consumers sometimes forget this and buy and annuity without factoring the claims paying ability of the insuring company. This does not only apply to the questions of solvency or bankruptcy but to the more subtle effect it might have ones contract. If an annuity company has financial trouble it most likely will not go bankrupt (even though it is a possibility) because of the various government regulatory groups that monitor annuity companies. But what can happen is the annuity company will lower the rates at which it credits interest to your account in order to make up its losses in other areas of its business.

5.Know the guaranteed cover per person per insurance company

One needs to know if an insurance company goes broke what is the guaranteed cover per person per insurance company is available .One should not invest more than that in the fixed or guaranteed annuities and the variable annuities are not covered. Because if they broke then one may get stuck or spread the amount between different insurance companies.

6.Consider the shortest penalty free surrender date

The next thing you have to consider is getting the shortest possible penalty free surrender date term as possible so long as the interest rate is better than any CD.

Lastly and most importantly get the best professional help, one who will always tell you "like it is" even if its sometimes hard to listen too and even harder sometimes to act upon.

Mansi aggarwal writes about annuity basics Learn more at http://www.annuitiesforlife.com

Invest or be Pink Slipped

Firing an employee seems to be easier and easier for corporations. Up until now you allowed them to set your clocks. Now its time to fight back! Beat them at their own game. They had your future pegged. Now your certainty is in your own hands.

Corporations attempt to make the best use of their resources so they claim. You must do the same! And when the corporation is no longer the best use of your resource give them their pink slip. You must begin to look for ways to capitalize on your time and increase your earning potential. Think like a corporation about how you can increase your earnings quarter by quarter.

This is exactly what I did and I am so grateful for it. I had started six years prior diversifying my income. I accomplished this by investing in commodities. I still remember the thrill of my first trade in commodities. I managed to turn $1,500 into $18,000 in about 4 months. That was almost equal to my $20,000/ yr salary at that time. Up to that point nothing I attempted to do to earn a real income, you know the type of income that would allow me to splurge and enjoy life, actually worked.

I immediately stopped buying all the other so-called moneymaking material. I began focusing all my efforts on investing in commodities. A funny thing happened to me. I noticed I actually performed my job better because I was happier knowing I had my investments working for me. I was able to handle stress much better. I started setting goals and taking vacations away from home instead of using my vacation time simply as time off from work.

I even started solving problems that were a challenge for others but the solutions seemed to come to me with ease. I gradually moved up in the company through promotions. I started viewing the company as an investment for me. This view allowed me to start taking full advantage of their tuition reimbursement program and their interest free loans for computer purchases.

My experience of investing in commodities allowed me to change my perspective on life. When I was given the news that I would be out of a job due to reorganization, I felt no pressure. I had planned for this moment six years in advance. Of course, everyone was quite shocked when I kept my composure and said the company was the best company I had ever worked for.

I continued to work diligently and happily right up to the very last day. You see the company had paid for my college education, gave me two interest free loans for my computers and gave me a lifetime of experience. Well, the truth is I knew I had my investments in commodities and the company had allowed me to earn the money to invest.

Diversify your income now!

Copyright David Wells. This Newsletter and all contents are proprietary products. All rights reserved. You are welcome to forward the entire Newsletter to anyone interested.

Often referred to as The Money Motivator, David Wells is passionate about helping people crack the wealth code to become money magnets. Let him teach you the techniques Hillary Clinton used to turn $1,000 into $100,000 in the course of a year.

To put The Money Motivator to work for you, visit his website at http://www.themoneymotivator.com and sign up for his FREE newsletter, Money Moments. In it youll receive creative ways for getting the money you need and how to invest like a millionaire.

12 Basic Stock Investing Rules Every Successful Investor Should Follow

There are many important things you need to know to trade and invest successfully in the stock market or any other market. 12 of the most important things that I can share with you based on many years of trading experience are enumerated below.

1. Buy low-sell high. As simple as this concept appears to be, the vast majority of investors do the exact opposite. Your ability to consistently buy low and sell high, will determine the success, or failure, of your investments. Your rate of return is determined 100% by when you enter the stock market.

2. The stock market is always right and price is the only reality in trading. If you want to make money in any market, you need to mirror what the market is doing. If the market is going down and you are long, the market is right and you are wrong. If the stock market is going up and you are short, the market is right and you are wrong.

Other things being equal, the longer you stay right with the stock market, the more money you will make. The longer you stay wrong with the stock market, the more money you will lose.

3. Every market or stock that goes up will go down and most markets or stocks that have gone down, will go up. The more extreme the move up or down, the more extreme the movement in the opposite direction once the trend changes. This is also known as "the trend always changes rule."

4. If you are looking for "reasons" that stocks or markets make large directional moves, you will probably never know for certain. Since we are dealing with perception of markets-not necessarily reality, you are wasting your time looking for the many reasons markets move.

A huge mistake most investors make is assuming that stock markets are rational or that they are capable of ascertaining why markets do anything. To make a profit trading, it is only necessary to know that markets are moving - not why they are moving. Stock market winners only care about direction and duration, while market losers are obsessed with the whys.

5. Stock markets generally move in advance of news or supportive fundamentals - sometimes months in advance. If you wait to invest until it is totally clear to you why a stock or a market is moving, you have to assume that others have done the same thing and you may be too late.

You need to get positioned before the largest directional trend move takes place. The market reaction to good or bad news in a bull market will be positive more often than not. The market reaction to good or bad news in a bear market will be negative more often than not.

6. The trend is your friend. Since the trend is the basis of all profit, we need long term trends to make sizeable money. The key is to know when to get aboard a trend and stick with it for a long period of time to maximize profits. Contrary to the short term perspective of most investors today, all the big money is made by catching large market moves - not by day trading or short term stock investing.

7. You must let your profits run and cut your losses quickly if you are to have any chance of being successful. Trading discipline is not a sufficient condition to make money in the markets, but it is a necessary condition. If you do not practice highly disciplined trading, you will not make money over the long term. This is a stock trading system in itself.

8. The Efficient Market Hypothesis is fallacious and is actually a derivative of the perfect competition model of capitalism. The Efficient Market Hypothesis at root shares many of the same false premises as the perfect competition paradigm as described by a well known economist.

The perfect competition model is not based on anything that exists on this earth. Consistently profitable professional traders simply have better information - and they act on it. Most non-professionals trade strictly on emotion, and lose much more money than they earn.

The combination of superior information for some investors and the usual panic as losses mount caused by buying high and selling low for others, creates inefficient markets.

9. Traditional technical and fundamental analysis alone may not enable you to consistently make money in the markets. Successful market timing is possible but not with the tools of analysis that most people employ.

If you eliminate optimization, data mining, subjectivism, and other such statistical tricks and data manipulation, most trading ideas are losers.

10. Never trust the advice and/or ideas of trading software vendors, stock trading system sellers, market commentators, financial analysts, brokers, newsletter publishers, trading authors, etc., unless they trade their own money and have traded successfully for years.

Note those that have traded successfully over very long periods of time are very few in number. Keep in mind that Wall Street and other financial firms make money by selling you something - not instilling wisdom in you. You should make your own trading decisions based on a rational analysis of all the facts.

11. The worst thing an investor can do is take a large loss on their position or portfolio. Market timing can help avert this much too common experience.

You can avoid making that huge mistake by avoiding buying things when they are high. It should be obvious that you should only buy when stocks are low and only sell when stocks are high.

Since your starting point is critical in determining your total return, if you buy low, your long term investment results are irrefutably better than someone that bought high.

12. The most successful investing methods should take most individuals no more than four or five hours per week and, for the majority of us, only one or two hours per week with little to no stress involved.

C.C. Collins is a Financial Planning Advisor and Author of Scientific Wealth Strategies at http://www.wealthscientist.com Find more information at http://www.stockinfo4u.com