Forex Trading Is A Business

Today’s lesson is the ultimate guide for setting up your Forex trading business. I am going to give you some solid insight and information on why you need to treat your Forex trading like a business and how to get started. If you’ve been trading like a drunken gambler in the casino, consider today’s article your official wake up call for getting your crap together once and for all…

Setting up your trading room

The first step to getting started treating your Forex trading like a business is creating the optimal work environment. Yes, you can work from anywhere when trading, but this doesn’t mean you should trade from your lazy-boy chair while eating potato chips and watching your favorite TV show. Just as with any other business, you need to separate your trading business from your personal life as much as possible. You need a clear mind when trading, and this starts with a clean trading environment and a work atmosphere that allows you to cultivate the proper trading mindset.

What do you need to get started? You can trade from only a laptop, but if you choose to do this I suggest getting a dedicated laptop that you use only for trading. Laptops are relatively cheap now and there’s no harm in investing in a good machine so that you can keep all your trading activities separate from your kids’ computer games or whatever else you have clogging up your computer now. Remember, developing the proper trading mindset begins with creating a clean and clear trading environment. This does not mean that you need to charge up your credit card and buy three new flat-screen monitors and two high-powered desktop computers. You can obviously go all-out if you want, but you can also trade effectively from just a quiet room with a simple desk and a good laptop or iPad.

One other note about getting started with the proper hardware and software; there’s no need for expensive trading software or news-feed subscriptions. All you need is the free MT4 charting package provided by most reputable brokers and a good working computer. You don’t need to confuse yourself by watching CNBC or reading tons of Forex news every day; this will only cloud up your thinking and cause you to second-guess yourself.

Choosing your trading strategy and developing your Forex trading business plan

After you get your trading room all setup and sorted out, you need to figure out what strategy you are going use to trade the markets. You then need to learn everything about your chosen trading strategy so that you truly become a master of it. You should have no doubt what you are looking for every time you step into your trading room or open up your charting platform.

After you master your trading strategy it’s time to develop your Forex trading business plan. Every business starts with a business plan, so to think you are going to figure out how to trade successfully with no plan in place is just silly, yet most traders ignore Forex trading plans or think they don’t need them…and most traders lose money.

I am not going to go into too much more detail about this topic, but you can check out my article on forex trading plans for more. For now, you need to understand that treating your trading as a business revolves around mastering a trading strategy and developing a comprehensive yet concise trading plan around the strategy you’ve mastered, and then following your plan with unyielding discipline.

Set aside time to analyze and trade the market

After creating the optimal trading environment, mastering an effective trading strategy, and creating your Forex trading business plan, you need to dedicate time each day JUST for market analysis. You should not place any trades at this time, instead you need to dedicate a certain block of time each day to analyze the charts with a clear and calm mind. Spend at least 15 minutes to one hour a day on nothing but analyzing the markets with a calm and clear mind.

I really want to stress that it’s important to take time for market analysis and separate yourself from your life’s daily distractions. This might mean you have to lock yourself in your trading room with your favorite music on to mute whatever is going on around you. You’ll have plenty of time to spend with your family and for your other hobbies after you launch your Forex trading business, but for now you’ll need to set aside a certain amount of time each day to get your trading business up and running.

Now, AFTER your dedicated daily market analysis time, you can place your trades if there are any setups that meet the pre-defined conditions in your Forex business trading plan. Keep in mind, placing a trade is a BUSINESS transaction, not a random gamble at the casino. So, just like any business transaction you should be sure any trade you take is worth the money you have at risk, and realize that if you enter too many stupid trades (trades that don’t meet the conditions in your trading plan), you will eventually go out of business, meaning you’ll blow out your trading account. So, if after your market analysis you find no obvious trade setups that meet your trading plan conditions, you simply don’t trade that day; don’t force a trade if there isn’t one there.

Emotion management is an on-going part of your Forex trading business

Just as you do not want to be emotional when participating in a business meeting or discussing a business deal, you do not want to be emotional when analyzing or trading the market. Essentially, emotion is the number 1 enemy of forex trading success, and the more impulsive and emotional you are the worse you are going to do in the markets.

Remember, you are running a trading business here, so you’ve taken risk to make a reward, just like any other business. There is no reason to mess around with your trades all day or over-analyze the market. Part of trading successfully involves giving the market room to breathe, you are going to be the LEAST emotional BEFORE you enter the market, and so it only makes sense to do all your “thinking” and analysis BEFORE you risk your money, not WHILE your money is on the line. Once you decide to enter into a business deal you usually cannot back out of it unless you want to pay a hefty fine or break the law, in Forex trading it’s usually better to just let the pre-defined decisions you’ve made play out instead of breaking your trading rules by interfering with your trades.

Manage your trading money like a business

I personally don’t know many people who compound their trading accounts by never taking any profits out. You don’t want to just leave your money in your account; you need to take your profits out periodically so that you “earn” the money. You’ll have to pay taxes on your profits when you withdrawal them, just like any other business, this is something you’ll have to explore more on your own time and according to the laws in the country you live in. In Australia…

Of course, you can’t take any money out of your Forex trading business if you are not making any money. If you want to make money you will have to do everything we’ve already discussed in this article as well as practice effective forex money management on EVERY single trade you take. Most traders mess up big time here because they say to themselves, “I’ll just risk a little more on this trade…”, and then it kicks off a wave emotional trading that is very difficult to stop. Just like any other habit in life, it’s best to develop positive habits early on and then stick with them, rather than trying to “fix” years of negative habits. Get in the habit right now of managing your risk effectively on every trade if you want to seriously run a profitable Forex trading business.

Choosing a Forex Broker

As you may already know, foreign exchange (Forex/FX) is an unregulated market that is not traded on an exchange, which means that prices you see and get from one broker could vary from those of another broker. There are mainly two types of brokers. One type is an ECN (Electronic Communications Network) and another a Market-Maker.

Market-makers "make" or set the prices on their systems based on what they think is best for themselves as the counter-party. This is because every time you sell, they must buy, and when you buy, they must sell to you. This is why they can give you a fixed spread since they are setting both the bid and the ask price. Many of them will then try to "hedge" or "cover" your order by passing it on to someone else; however, some may decide to hold your order, and thus trade against you. This can result in a conflict of interest between the retail trader (you) and the market-maker.

ECNs, on the other hand, pass on prices from several banks and market-makers, as well as from the other traders in the ECN, and display the best bid/ask prices based on these input. This is why sometimes you can get no spread on ECNs, especially in very liquid currency pairs. How do ECNs make money then? They do so by charging you a fixed commission for each transaction.

Here are some of the pros and cons of ECNs and market-makers:

Market-Makers

Pros:

• Usually give free charting software and news feed
• Prices can be "smoother" and less volatile than ECN prices (this can be a con if you are scalping or trading very short term)
• Often have a more user-friendly trading and analysis interface

Cons:

• They may trade against you. In that case, there will be a conflict of interest between you and them
• The price they offer you may be worse than what you could get on an ECN
• It is possible that they may trigger stops or not let your trade reach your profit target levels by manipulating prices
• During news, there will usually be a large amount of slippage; their systems may also lock up or not allow order placing during times of high volatility
• Many of them discourage scalping and put scalpers on "manual execution" which means their orders may not get filled at the price they want

Examples of some market-makers:

http://www.goforex.net/forex-broker-list.htm#MM

ECNs

Pros:
• You can usually get better bid/ask prices since they come from several sources
• Variable spreads between bid and ask may give no spread or tiny spreads at times
• If they are a true ECN, they will not be trading against you but will pass on your orders to a bank or another customer on the other end of the transaction.
• You will be able to offer a price between the bid and ask with a chance of it getting filled
• If they support Stop-Limit orders, you can prevent slippage during news by making sure that your order either gets filled at the price you want or not at all
• Prices may be more volatile which will be better for scalping

Cons:

• Many do not offer integrated charting
• Many do not offer integrated news
• Many of the trading platforms are less user-friendly
• Because of variable spreads (between bid and ask,) it may be more difficult to calculate stop loss and profit target in pips beforehand.

Forex Market Overview

Introduction

The following facts and figures relate to the foreign exchange market. Much of the information is drawn from the 2010 Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity conducted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in April 2010. 53 central banks and monetary authorities participated in the survey, collecting information from 1,309 market participants.

Excerpt from the BIS:

"The 2010 triennial survey shows another significant increase in global foreign exchange market activity since the last survey in 2007, following the unprecedented rise in activity between 2004 and 2007. Global foreign exchange market turnover was 20% higher in April 2010 than in April 2007. This increase brought average daily turnover to $4.0 trillion (from $3.3 trillion) at current exchange rates...The higher global foreign exchange market turnover in 2010 is largely due to the increased trading activity of “other financial institutions” – a category that includes nonreporting banks, hedge funds, pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies and central banks, among others. Turnover by this category grew by 42%, increasing to $1.9 trillion in April 2010 from $1.3 trillion in April 2007." - BIS

Structure

• Decentralised 'interbank' market
• Main participants: Central Banks, commercial and investment banks, hedge funds, corporations & private speculators
• The free-floating currency system arose from the collapse of the Bretton Woods agreement in 1971
• Online trading began in the mid to late 1990's

Source: BIS Triennial Survey 2010

Trading Hours

• 24 hour market
• Sunday 5pm EST through Friday 4pm EST.
• Trading begins in the Asia-Pacific region followed by the Middle East, Europe, and America

Size

• One of the largest financial markets in the world
• $4.0 trillion average daily turnover, equivalent to:
  
• More than 12 times the average daily turnover of global equity markets¹
• More than 50 times the average daily turnover of the NYSE²
• More than $500 a day for every man, woman, and child on earth³
• An annual turnover more than 10 times world GDP⁴
  
  
• The spot market accounts for over one-third of daily turnover

1. About $320 billion - World Federation of Exchanges aggregate 2009
2. About $70 billion - World Federation of Exchanges 2009
3. Based on world population of 6.9 billion - US Census Bureau

TRADING: A MIND GAME

You must change your mental attitude first from a normal person to that of a speculator. Almost all traders I have met, except a few successful ones who really made millions and billions trading in the market, simply waste all their time trying to learn the easiest part in perfection, like about how to read data and charts, and trying to perfect entry and exit skills, etc. Trading is a mind game and without having a right frame of mind, it is a losing game even before it starts. Training a trader�s mind is the first step for any successful trader but almost all new traders neglect that part and that explains why more than 95% of traders are a failure in the long run.

Acquiring the knowledge of the market is not difficult for anyone with average intelligence after a few years of hard study in the market. But it is neither the level of intelligence nor the knowledge that decides the outcome of the market operations of a trader. It is the decision making process that is so hard for most traders to overcome and that is the main reason for a success or a failure for all the traders. Some find it easy to make decisions and stick to it and most find it so hard to make decisions and stick to it. Unfortunately, any decision making process in trading is a pain-taking process and humans tend to avoid pains and go for pleasures even if for temporary ones. Assuming one has acquired enough market knowledge and acquired one�s proven trading system (this is the second most important element of success in trading, in fact. An edge in any system is based on the quality of info one has, charts being only an info of secondary quality not the best one)

Through studies and research, a trader faces the task of making decisions to put this knowledge and system into practice. Then, how many traders can honestly say they can commit their ranch when the trade is suggested by their own system (given that trading is just a chance game) and let the profit run for weeks and months when their system tells them, and how many can manage to cut the loss as a routine process when the situation arise. It all sounds so easy when saying it but so difficult when doing it affecting real money in the market. I still do not sleep well when I am running position because even if the profits are running into a few hundred dollars and the system is telling you to carry on, there is no guarantee that the profit will turn into a yard or two in a month time, and it may even turn into a loss in a day or two when something unexpected happens. A painstaking process in real sense. The pain is not knowing what will happen in the future and in fear of losing. So at the end of the day, assuming one has decent trading system and market knowledge and decent info, it is ultimately how disciplined and how well that trader can take the pain of making right decisions at the right time that decides the outcome of the trades. Hence I call trading a mind game. When I interview prospective young traders, I always look for disciplined and strong-willed person as my first priority as long as one has decent education, but strangely in many cases, it is some kind of genius or half-genius with lots of brains with no disciplines who turn up for an interview thinking only bright people can make good traders.

In fact, I always try to pyramid while position trading medium-term once I am convinced of a new medium-term trend emerging. Like in USD/JPY position trading 135-132 as an initial position, adding in 132 and 129 areas. Same for AUD/USD and EUR/USD with similar strategies. But sitting on positions and watching the counter-rallies costing truck load of money is not easy job to do and causes lots of pain all the time. Most traders even among experienced ones cannot bear that pain and give up too early. But there is no other way to make a big money and we have to bite the bullet and "sit and accumulate" as long as the medium-term trend is intact. That is why I always believe psychological aspects of trading is far more important than anything else in successful trading. A mind game like those bluffing game of poker.

Entries and exits can never be "irrelevant" for any trader for any purpose. It is just that psychological aspects of trading are much more important than entries and exits, and decisive for the success or failure of a trader in the long run. Perhaps exits are more important than entries because any perfect or near-perfect entries are possible only in hindsight.

Essential Elements of a Successful Trader

Courage Under Stressful Conditions When the Outcome is Uncertain

All the foreign exchange trading knowledge in the world is not going to help, unless you have the nerve to buy and sell currencies and put your money at risk. As with the lottery “You gotta be in it to win it”. Trust me when I say that the simple task of hitting the buy or sell key is extremely difficult to do when your own real money is put at risk.

You will feel anxiety, even fear. Here lies the moment of truth. Do you have the courage to be afraid and act anyway? When a fireman runs into a burning building I assume he is afraid but he does it anyway and achieves the desired result. Unless you can overcome or accept your fear and do it anyway, you will not be a successful trader.

However, once you learn to control your fear, it gets easier and easier and in time there is no fear. The opposite reaction can become an issue – you’re overconfident and not focused enough on the risk you're taking.

Both the inability to initiate a trade, or close a losing trade can create serious psychological issues for a trader going forward. By calling attention to these potential stumbling blocks beforehand, you can properly prepare prior to your first real trade and develop good trading habits from day one.

Start by analyzing yourself. Are you the type of person that can control their emotions and flawlessly execute trades, oftentimes under extremely stressful conditions? Are you the type of person who’s overconfident and prone to take more risk than they should? Before your first real trade you need to look inside yourself and get the answers. We can correct any deficiencies before they result in paralysis (not pulling the trigger) or a huge loss (overconfidence). A huge loss can prematurely end your trading career, or prolong your success until you can raise additional capital.

The difficulty doesn’t end with “pulling the trigger”. In fact what comes next is equally or perhaps more difficult. Once you are in the trade the next hurdle is staying in the trade. When trading foreign exchange you exit the trade as soon as possible after entry when it is not working. Most people who have been successful in non-trading ventures find this concept difficult to implement.

For example, real estate tycoons make their fortune riding out the bad times and selling during the boom periods. The problem with trying to adapt a 'hold on until it comes back' strategy in foreign exchange is that most of the time the currencies are in long-term persistent, directional trends and your equity will be wiped out before the currency comes back.

The other side of the coin is staying in a trade that is working. The most common pitfall is closing out a winning position without a valid reason. Once again, fear is the culprit. Your subconscious demons will be scaring you non-stop with questions like “what if news comes out and you wind up with a loss”. The reality is if news comes out in a currency that is going up, the news has a higher probability of being positive than negative (more on why that is so in a later article).

So your fear is just a baseless annoyance. Don’t try and fight the fear. Accept it. Have a laugh about it and then move on to the task at hand, which is determining an exit strategy based on actual price movement. As Garth says in Waynesworld “Live in the now man”. Worrying about what could be is irrational. Studying your chart and determining an objective exit point is reality based and rational.

Another common pitfall is closing a winning position because you are bored with it; its not moving. In Football, after a star running back breaks free for a 50-yard gain, he comes out of the game temporarily for a breather. When he reenters the game he is a serious threat to gain more yards – this is indisputable. So when your position takes a breather after a winning move, the next likely event is further gains – so why close it?

If you can be courageous under fire and strategically patient, foreign exchange trading may be for you. If you’re a natural gunslinger and reckless you will need to tone your act down a notch or two and we can help you make the necessary adjustments. If putting your money at risk makes you a nervous wreck its because you lack the knowledge base to be confident in your decision making.

Patience to Gain Knowledge through Study and Focus

Many new traders believe all you need to profitably trade foreign currencies are charts, technical indicators and a small bankroll. Most of them blow up (lose all their money) within a few weeks or months; some are initially successful and it takes as long as a year before they blow up. A tiny minority with good money management skills, patience, and a market niche go on to be successful traders. Armed with charts, technical indicators, and a small bankroll, the chance of succeeding is probably 500 to 1.

To increase your chances of success to near certainty requires knowledge; acquiring knowledge takes hard work, study, dedication and focus. Compile your knowledge base without taking any shortcuts, thereby assuring a solid foundation to build upon.

Foreign Exchange Market

The foreign exchange (currency or forex or FX) market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. It is by far the largest market in the world, in terms of cash value traded, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. Retail traders (small speculators) are a small part of this market. They may only participate indirectly through brokers or banks and may be targets of forex scams.

Contents Market size and liquidity Trading characteristics Market participants Banks Commercial Companies Central Banks Investment Management Firms Hedge Funds Retail Forex Brokers Market size and liquidity The foreign exchange market is unique because of: its trading volume, the extreme liquidity of the market, the large number of, and variety of, traders in the market, its geographical dispersion, its long trading hours - 24 hours a day (except on weekends). the variety of factors that affect exchange rates, Average daily international foreign exchange trading volume was $1.9 trillion in April 2004 according to the BIS study Triennial Central Bank Survey 2004 $600 billion spot $1,300 billion in derivatives, ie $200 billion in outright forwards $1,000 billion in forex swaps $100 billion in FX options. Exchange-traded forex futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts. Forex futures volume has grown rapidly in recent years, but only accounts for about 7% of the total foreign exchange market volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe (5/5/06, p. 20). Top 10 Currency Traders % of overall volume, May 2005 Rank Name % of volume 1 Deutsche Bank 17.0 2 UBS 12.5 3 Citigroup 7.5 4 HSBC 6.4 5 Barclays 5.9 6 Merrill Lynch 5.7 7 J.P. Morgan Chase 5.3 8 Goldman Sachs 4.4 9 ABN AMRO 4.2 10 Morgan Stanley 3.9 The ten most active traders account for almost 73% of trading volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe, (2/9/06 p. 20). These large international banks continually provide the market with both bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices. The bid/ask spread is the difference between the price at which a bank or market maker will sell ("ask", or "offer") and the price at which a market-maker will buy ("bid") from a wholesale customer. This spread is minimal for actively traded pairs of currencies, usually only 1-3 pips. For example, the bid/ask quote of EUR/USD might be 1.2200/1.2203. Minimum trading size for most deals is usually $1,000,000. These spreads might not apply to retail customers at banks, which will routinely mark up the difference to say 1.2100 / 1.2300 for transfers, or say 1.2000 / 1.2400 for banknotes or travelers' cheques. Spot prices at market makers vary, but on EUR/USD are usually no more than 5 pips wide (i.e. 0.0005). Competition has greatly increased with pip spreads shrinking on the majors to as little as 1 to 1.5 pips. Trading characteristics There is no single unified foreign exchange market. Due to the over-the-counter (OTC) nature of currency markets, there are rather a number of interconnected marketplaces, where different currency instruments are traded. This implies that there is no such thing as a single dollar rate - but rather a number of different rates (prices), depending on what bank or market maker is trading. In practice the rates are often very close, otherwise they could be exploited by arbitrageurs. Top 6 Most Traded Currencies Rank Currency ISO 4217 Code Symbol 1 United States dollar USD $ 2 Eurozone euro EUR € 3 Japanese yen JPY ¥ 4 British pound sterling GBP £ 5-6 Swiss franc CHF - 5-6 Australian dollar AUD $ The main trading centers are in London, New York, and Tokyo, but banks throughout the world participate. As the Asian trading session ends, the European session begins, then the US session, and then the Asian begin in their turns. Traders can react to news when it breaks, rather than waiting for the market to open. There is little or no 'inside information' in the foreign exchange markets. Exchange rate fluctuations are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows caused by changes in GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, budget and trade deficits or surpluses, and other macroeconomic conditions. Major news is released publicly, often on scheduled dates, so many people have access to the same news at the same time. However, the large banks have an important advantage; they can see their customers order flow. Trading legend Richard Dennis has accused central bankers of leaking information to hedge funds. [1] Currencies are traded against one another. Each pair of currencies thus constitutes an individual product and is traditionally noted XXX/YYY, where YYY is the ISO 4217 international three-letter code of the currency into which the price of one unit of XXX currency is expressed. For instance, EUR/USD is the price of the euro expressed in US dollars, as in 1 euro = 1.2045 dollar. On the spot market, according to the BIS study, the most heavily traded products were: EUR/USD - 28 % USD/JPY - 17 % GBP/USD (also called cable) - 14 % and the US currency was involved in 89% of transactions, followed by the euro (37%), the yen (20%) and sterling (17%). (Note that volume percentages should add up to 200% - 100% for all the sellers, and 100% for all the buyers). Although trading in the euro has grown considerably since the currency's creation in January 1999, the foreign exchange market is thus still largely dollar-centered. For instance, trading the euro versus a non-European currency ZZZ will usually involve two trades: EUR/USD and USD/ZZZ. The only exception to this is EUR/JPY, which is an established traded currency pair in the interbank spot market. Market participants According to the BIS study Triennial Central Bank Survey 2004 53% of transactions were strictly interdealer (ie interbank); 33% involved a dealer (ie a bank) and a fund manager or some other non-bank financial institution; and only 14% were between a dealer and a non-financial company. Banks The interbank market caters for both the majority of commercial turnover and large amounts of speculative trading every day. A large bank may trade billions of dollars daily. Some of this trading is undertaken on behalf of customers, but much is conducted by proprietary desks, trading for the bank's own account. Until recently, foreign exchange brokers did large amounts of business, facilitating interbank trading and matching anonymous counterparts for small fees. Today, however, much of this business has moved on to more efficient electronic systems, such as EBS, Reuters Dealing 3000 Matching (D2), the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg and TradeBook(R). The broker squawk box lets traders listen in on ongoing interbank trading and is heard in most trading rooms, but turnover is noticeably smaller than just a few years ago. Commercial Companies An important part of this market comes from the financial activities of companies seeking foreign exchange to pay for goods or services. Commercial companies often trade fairly small amounts compared to those of banks or speculators, and their trades often have little short term impact on market rates. Nevertheless, trade flows are an important factor in the long-term direction of a currency's exchange rate. Some multinational companies can have an unpredictable impact when very large positions are covered due to exposures that are not widely known by other market participants. Central Banks National central banks play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. They try to control the money supply, inflation, and/or interest rates and often have official or unofficial target rates for their currencies. They can use their often substantial foreign exchange reserves, to stabilize the market. Milton Friedman argued that the best stabilization strategy would be for central banks to buy when the exchange rate is too low, and to sell when the rate is too high - that is, to trade for a profit. Nevertheless, central banks do not go bankrupt if they make large losses, like other traders would, and there is no convincing evidence that they do make a profit trading. The mere expectation or rumor of central bank intervention might be enough to stabilize a currency, but aggressive intervention might be used several times each year in countries with a dirty float currency regime. Central banks do not always achieve their objectives, however. The combined resources of the market can easily overwhelm any central bank. Several scenarios of this nature were seen in the 1992-93 ERM collapse, and in more recent times in South East Asia. Investment Management Firms Investment Management firms (who typically manage large accounts on behalf of customers such as pension funds, endowments etc.) use the Foreign exchange market to facilitate transactions in foreign securities. For example, an investment manager with an international equity portfolio will need to buy and sell foreign currencies in the spot market in order to pay for purchases of foreign equities. Since the forex transactions are secondary to the actual investment decision, they are not seen as speculative or aimed at profit-maximisation. Some investment management firms also have more speculative specialist currency overlay units, which manage clients' currency exposures with the aim of generating profits as well as limiting risk. The number of this type of specialist is quite small, their large assets under management (AUM) can lead to large trades. Hedge Funds Hedge funds, such as George Soros's Quantum fund have gained a reputation for aggressive currency speculation since 1990. They control billions of dollars of equity and may borrow billions more, and thus may overwhelm intervention by central banks to support almost any currency, if the economic fundamentals are in the hedge funds' favor. Retail Forex Brokers Retail forex brokers or market makers handle a minute fraction of the total volume of the foreign exchange market. According to CNN, one retail broker estimates retail volume at $25-50 billion daily, [2]which is about 2% of the whole market. CNN also quotes an official of the National Futures Association "Retail forex trading has increased dramatically over the past few years. Unfortunately, the amount of forex fraud has also increased dramatically." All firms offering foreign exchange trading online are either market makers or facilitate the placing of trades with market makers. In the retail forex industry market makers often have two separate trading desks- one that actually trades foreign exchange (which determines the firm's own net position in the market, serving as both a proprietary trading desk and a means of offsetting client trades on the interbank market) and one used for off-exchange trading with retail customers (called the "dealing desk" or "trading desk"). Many retail FX market makers claim to "offset" clients' trades on the interbank market (that is, with other larger market makers), e.g. after buying from the client, they sell to a bank. Nevertheless, the large majority of retail currency speculators are novices and who lose money [3], so that the market makers would be giving up large profits by offsetting. Offsetting does occur, but only when the market maker judges its clients' net position as being very risky. The dealing desk operates much like the currency exchange counter at a bank. Interbank exchange rates, which are displayed at the dealing desk, are adjusted to incorporate spreads (so that the market maker will make a profit) before they are displayed to retail customers. Prices shown by the market maker do not neccesarily reflect interbank market rates. Arbitrage opportunities may exist, but retail market makers are efficient at removing arbitrageurs from their systems or limiting their trades. A limited number of retail forex brokers offer consumers direct access to the interbank forex market. But most do not because of the limited number of clearing banks willing to process small orders. More importantly, the dealing desk model can be far more profitable, as a large portion of retail traders' losses are directly turned into market maker profits. While the income of a marketmaker that offsets trades or a broker that facilitates transactions is limited to transaction fees (commissions), dealing desk brokers can generate income in a variety of ways because they not only control the trading process, they also control pricing which they can skew at any time to maximize profits. The rules of the game in trading FX are highly disadvantageous for retail speculators. Most retail speculators in FX lack trading experience and and capital (account minimums at some firms are as low as 250-500 USD). Large minimum position sizes, which on most retail platforms ranges from $10,000 to $100,000, force small traders to take imprudently large positions using extremely high leverage. Professional forex traders rarely use more than 10:1 leverage, yet many retail Forex firms default client accounts to 100:1 or even 200:1, without disclosing that this is highly unusual for currency traders. This drastically increases the risk of a margin call (which, if the speculator's trade is not offset, is pure profit for the market maker). According to the Wall Street Journal (Currency Markets Draw Speculation, Fraud July 26, 2005) "Even people running the trading shops warn clients against trying to time the market. 'If 15% of day traders are profitable,' says Drew Niv, chief executive of FXCM, 'I'd be surprised.' " [4] In the US, "it is unlawful to offer foreign currency futures and option contracts to retail customers unless the offeror is a regulated financial entity" according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission [5]. Legitimate retail brokers serving traders in the U.S. are most often registered with the CFTC as "futures commission merchants" (FCMs) and are members of the National Futures Association (NFA). Potential clients can check the broker's FCM status at the NFA. Retail forex brokers are much less regulated than stock brokers and there is no protection similar to that from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. The CFTC has noted an increase in forex scams [6].

Forex Broke

One of the hardest decisions you face when starting out as a forex trader is which forex broker to go with. If you do a search online you will find hundreds of different forex brokers to choose from. The trouble is that some are better than others, and furthermore there are some that you should avoid like the plague.

So let me give you a list of things you should look out for when choosing a forex broker:

1. Regulation

This is arguably the most important factor because whichever broker you decide to go with, you must make sure that they are fully regulated with the relevant authority. So if they are based in the US, for example, then you should ensure that they are regulated by the NFA (National Futures Association) or the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). Similarly if they are a UK-based company, then they should be regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority).

If you go with an offshore forex broker that is completely unregulated, for example, then you are taking a huge risk because you may never see your money again.

2. Spreads

If you are a relatively long-term trader and mainly use the 4 hour or daily charts, for instance, then the spreads offered by your chosen forex broker is not so much of an issue. However if you intend to trade the shorter time frames then your points gains per trade will obviously be a lot less, and therefore the spreads will start to eat into your profits. So as a general guide you ideally want to choose a broker that offers spreads of around 2 or 3 pips for the EUR/USD and GBP/USD pairs, and certainly no more than 4.

3. Leverage

The amount of leverage offered by different forex brokers varies greatly. Some may only offer 100:1 leverage while some may offer as much as 400:1. My own personal view is that 100:1 is more than enough, but if you are more of a risk taker then you may want to look for brokers that offer higher leverage.

4. Demo Accounts

If you are relatively inexperienced or if you want to test out a broker's trading platform before deciding whether or not you wish to open a live trading account, then you should choose a broker that provides a free demo account. Most reputable brokers offer demo accounts nowadays so I would always recommend you take advantage of this facility.

5. Account Types

Although all forex brokers cater for the well capitalized traders, not all of them cater for those traders who wish to trade smaller positions. Therefore if you yourself fall into this category, then you should look out for brokers that allow you to trade mini-lots (equivalent to around $1 per pip) or micro-lots ($0.1 per pip).

6. Minimum Deposit

If money is tight or you want to start off small (which is always a good idea), then you will want to choose a forex broker that requires a relatively low minimum deposit when opening a live trading account.

7. Charting Software

Nearly all forex brokers provide some kind of charting software free of charge when you open an account with them. It may be the highly popular Metatrader 4 platform or it may simply be a no-frills charting package. So therefore if you do want to use some of the more advanced charts, then I suggest you go with a broker that provides the Metatrader 4 or ProRealTime platform, for instance, otherwise you will have to fork out some money to access some decent charts elsewhere.

8. Additional Services

As well as charting software, you may also want your broker to provide a range of additional services such as daily commentaries, market analysis, educational materials and the option to deal through your mobile phone.

9. Customer Service

If you are just starting out as a forex trader you will probably have several questions and queries when you first open an account with a broker. So therefore you should try and join a broker that offers a high level of customer service. One way of testing this out is to contact the help desk of the brokers you are considering joining, ask them a particular question, and see how long they take to get back to

Forex Trading Strategies And Systems

I've been trading the forex markets for several years now so I've developed quite a few different systems in my time. However there are some that are more profitable than others, so let me share you with you some of my most profitable forex trading strategies.

4 Hour Trading Strategy

I created this trading strategy myself and have been using it for several years now. This one system has generated more profits that any other system I have ever used, and yet it's surprisingly simple.

I simply look at the daily trend for a particular currency pair (usually the GBP/USD, EUR/USD or USD/JPY pair) using a very simple but effective technical indicator, then I wait for two EMAs (exponential moving averages) to cross over in the same direction on the 4 hour chart.

I will then enter a position (usually after a slight pull-back) and will employ a two-part exit strategy to maximise my profits. One half of the position will be closed out early for a safe profit, and the other half will be left to run for as long as possible in order to capture those really big price moves.

As I say, this particular forex trading strategy is highly effective, as regular readers of my blog will know because I share my trading results every week in my 'Weekly Trading Updates'.

Anyway if you would like to read all about my 4 hour trading method, you can access it (for free) by filling in the short form to the right and subscribing to my newsletter.

The only problem with trading this strategy is that there will always be quiet periods and particular days where you know you are not going to get any set-ups on any of the major currency pairs. Therefore at times like these I will often employ some of the other trading methods that I keep in reserve:

CCI Divergence Trading System

This is a forex system that I've recently created and it basically uses the popular CCI indicator with two different settings. The key here is to wait until there is divergence between both of the CCI indicators at the same time because this will give you a set-up with a very high success rate.

You don't get that many good set-ups per day using this trading strategy, but when you do, you are likely to make some decent profits because it is a very high probability set-up.

I have discussed this particular strategy elsewhere on this blog so please click here if you want to find out more about this CCI Divergence Trading System.

Forex Income Engine 2.0 Methods

At the time of writing (20 June 2009) I've just started using the three day trading methods included in the Forex Income Engine 2.0 course as well. I've always been quite sceptical about many of the short-term forex methods that I come across, but I've been very impressed with these three methods so far because they do actually produce some very good returns.

Anyway if you would like more details about each of these methods you can read all about them on my Forex Income Engine 2.0 review page.

Forex Nitty Gritty Method

This trading method was included in the Forex Nitty Gritty course and although it is a very basic method, it is actually surprisingly effective. The goal is to look for pairs that are in strong upward or downward trends, wait for a pull-back, and then enter a trade if the trend continues.

I've been using this method on the 15 minute charts for quite a while now and it has always performed well for me because these continuation trends occur all the time.

Again if you would like to find out more about this particular trading method, you may like to read my full review of Forex Nitty Gritty.

Long-Term Trading Strategy

I'm not really a long-term trader but I do occasionally open a position if a good trading opportunity arises. I will usually use the daily charts for these trades and will look at a variety of indicators such as the 200 day moving average, the supertrend indicator, established support and resistance levels, fibonacci levels if applicable, and Marketclub's excellent trading signals.

I will regularly post my long-term analysis of the various currency pairs on this blog, but I will only follow this up with an actual trade if I'm really confident about my predictions.

Other Forex Trading Strategies

Finally as well as all of the trading systems and strategies listed on this page, I also have a few breakout strategies that I like to use when a good opportunity presents itself. I'm also constantly testing out new ideas and reviewing the various trading systems that I get sent regularly by product owners who want me to promote their product.

However for the most part it's my 4 hour trading strategy that I spend most time on because this is my core system which generates the most consistent and reliable profits. All of the other forex trading systems are used to boost my trading pot during the quieter periods of the week.

Show that your business is ready for all occasions by offering clients special delivery options

With so many people now making a living out of trading over the internet, it is becoming ever more difficult to distinguish between so many of these enterprises. But the core of outstanding customer service is, by and large, the same as it always has been – the ability to respond to clients' needs, and being able to offer them excellent value for their money in doing so.

These objectives should be central to any business's ethos. But when a business is making its living by trading purely online, it is easy to be lulled into thinking that customer service is a secondary part of it – and of course, if that business wants to enjoy any sort of long life, that is far from the truth. When customers of an online business experience good service from that company, they are inclined to tell their friends and family about it. These people might then also become customers, and if they are likewise impressed with the delivery service they receive, the word will be spread still further, and so it continues.

That is how a business becomes truly successful. Many firms might be able to plough fortunes into advertising themselves and their products or services, but in nearly all of these cases, they will have started out small, and been encouraged by the feedback they received from clients who were impressed by their experience of dealing with them.

For an enterprise which exists purely on the internet, this is a situation to aspire to. But as that business becomes more successful, picks up more customers, and demand for what it offers starts to grow, it will find it increasingly important to be able to rely on the delivery company or companies which it uses to fulfil their remit, and get the goods to the customers punctually.

A business which is dealing in high-value goods, for example, might find it appropriate to offer premium-level services on delivery. While these can cost a little extra, the added security which they can offer, along with an assurance of a timed delivery, and the facility to track a consignment along every step of its journey, will be parts of the service which a customer will expect in the knowledge that they are entitled to higher expectations, given that they are spending more money. Tailoring delivery services in this way is another good way in which any business can stand out from the competition.

Many people will not be worried about spending a little extra on postage costs, especially when that price includes a facility such as TNT tracking, which will keep them posted on when to expect their delivery

Hi-tech Items that Cannot Be Imagined Years Ago Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-ideas-articles/hi-tech-items-that-cannot-be-imagined-

People lived hundreds years ago cannot imagine we would use gadgets that contains enough hi-tech. Anyway, nowadays we do have been using them for years. How many of them can you count? Now let's see some of those hi-tech gadgets which bring much convenience to us.

Flash drive is also known as pen drive. This little gizmo is basically a modern replacement for floppy disk. Its portable design makes itself become very popular all of a sudden. You can now replicate your desktop environment, encrypt files on the fly, and even rescue your PC with one of these formerly modest devices. Here are some of the most interesting and useful things you can do today with the innocuous-looking pen drive on your desk, some if which are never imagined about.

1. Install a Linux Distro
Pen Drive Linux guides you through procedures on loading your USB Drive with a Linux Distro. If you're a geek, you'll love this setup. If you're just a normal user, this may come to your use in a variety of situations – you go to a friend's computer, which is infected with pesky viruses. You need not worry, boot with your Linux-loaded pen drive and do your job, safe and secure.
2. Install MojoPac
I usually don't recommend software that you'll have to pay for using, but this one is something I can't resist myself from recommending to you dear readers. Yes, this is a wonderful app that'll install itself into a pen drive, and run on top of Windows. You can run your favorite Windows apps, most of them run perfect on this MojoPac layer. The advantage is that none of the modified settings affect the original Windows over which your MojoPac is running on. Quite cool, isn't it?

Battery is widely used in our daily life. It can be found in a walkman, mp3 player, or a remote control car. Apart from this, we have rechargeable batteries in the market, which grow up quickly as a result of its environment-friendliness. But there is at least one thing you have to consider when choosing rechargeable batteries. That is you need to find an accommodating battery charger. Battery chargers for rechargeable batteries come in a variety of shapes, similar as batteries do. Some battery chargers only charge one size of battery while others charge multiple sizes. If only uses AA and AAA batteries then choose a charger that fits that battery size. If you use a variety of sizes, you'll need a more versatile battery charger.

Speakers with stereo system give you authentic sound effect. The stereo system consists of 2 main full-range speakers providing simple stereo sound; the quality of the sound will vary greatly between different models and manufacturers. Don't expect quality low-frequency sound from the lower priced models, they are often "tinny" and may be unsuitable for some music, especially music with low-frequencies, such as R&B, as they simply cannot reproduce the frequencies accurately. However, some people do pay much attention on the look of speakers regardless of the sound effect. So it depends on you purpose when determining which one to buy.

Business Telephone Systems Keep Everyone in Touch

If you have a business with more than a few people, it makes sense to implement a business telephone system. This is because there are numerous benefits that come from using this sort of system and in the modern business world, anything which offers an advantage for customers has to be considered.

One of the most important things of using this style of system comes with the fact that telephone calls should always be answered. Even if the person who was phoned is not at their desk or is out of the office, someone else on the system will be able to pick up the call and answer it. When dealing with customers, it is important to provide a great level of customer service and this will ensure that each call is answered.

A good telephone network can also be set up so calls are automatically transferred to certain people at set times. This can be done for periods of annual leave or illness for a person but can also be built around working business practises. If a sub-set team has a meeting every Wednesday morning at 10am, any telephone calls that are received by the department at this time should be transferred to another department.

Similarly, other departments can have this benefit reciprocated to them when they are in meetings, which should that no call is missed. Alternatively, a special answer machine message may be set up for these periods allowing the customer or client to leave a message and their contact details, allowing them to be contacted as soon as the meeting is over. Informing clients of these instances provides them with a good level of information and should ensure they do not feel frustrated in their dealings with the company.

A good business telephone system will enable people to transfer the call to other members of staff. It may be that a person is speaking to one staff member but another staff member may be better equipped to answer the question. Rather than asking the customer to hang up and redial that person's number, the call should be directed to that person, reducing the inconvenience felt by the customer. The whole point of the telephony system is to provide a higher level of service to the customer and passing them directly to a staff member that will be able to help them will be of great benefit to the customer.

With a number of business telephone systems available, pick the best one for your company by going online where you will also find the right business desktop PC as well