Smart Trading

Ok, so continuing with this set of articles I am posting here a very important piece of information, which I think is key when considering Forex, I am still trading in the practice mode, so far I managed to make like 2,000 dollars, but I also took a beating when the dollar went down, lost aprox. 700, so you can say I have made 1300 dollars so far. I have read a lot and so far I still don´t feel all that confident to do it with real money, as you know I am not a professional, rather I looking to learn and start making some extra income... so with no more things to say for now, here is part 3 of this series of articles, I mention once more that I didn´t right this I am only sharing it with you guys, enjoy!

P.S. If you think the information is repetitive and the same from other articles trust me, It wont hurt you to keep reading and reading and reading... always read, learn and be prepared.

"Hundreds of thousands of individuals have already joined the FOREX market. If you are interested in a way to invest your money with quicker returns, FOREX may be perfect for you. But before you can begin earning money, you should thoroughly understand the FOREX market.

Investing Methods

To better understand the FOREX market, you can compare this investing method to trading stocks. In the stock market, you can buy shares of many different corporations in the hope that stocks will rise, earning you a profit.

Well, the FOREX market works in the same way, except you are not buying shares of a corporation. Rather, you are buying and selling currencies. The aim is the buy a currency and sell it when the currency rises, thus earning a profit when the currency is more valuable.

As with the stock market, the FOREX market consists of those who invest a small amount as well as those with millions to invest. Any individuals with any capital can join in on the action. Because of the wide variety of FOREX brokers available today, you can become a FOREX trader with as little as two or three hundred dollars.

Predicting Results

But like the stock market, the FOREX market is full of risks. When you are investing any money there is always a risk of some loss. To minimize loss, many FOREX traders thoroughly educate themselves through classes, online courses, books, and other materials. There are many kinds of trading methods that will help you analyze current conditions and enable you to predict results.

The FOREX market is constantly changing, with drops and rises in currencies, 24 hours a day. The trick is to predict these trends before they occur, so you can buy currencies low and sell them when it is higher than the original cost. Sometimes, this means buying a dropping currency, and waiting for that currency to take on an upward trend. This forces you to keep up to date on the FOREX market conditions.

Online Trading

To become a FOREX participant, you should at least read a book, if not take a course. Because real money is involved here, you must proceed with utmost caution. Many FOREX investors sign up with FOREX related websites to receive newsletters, advice, and to keep up with currency trends. Some investors even sign up to receive trends on their phones and PDA's to stay in the game.

The good news is that you have the opportunity to practice with play money before you put any of your hard-earned cash through the FOREX market. When you sign up with a brokerage firm that offers the option to trade online, you can use play money to test and understand the software. You can use this valuable opportunity to put your research to the test by trying out different trading methods to see if your predictions and analyses are correct. While the money may not be real, the conditions are, which allow you a stable playground to learn and adapt to the FOREX market.

Stay informed to stay on top of your game; your FOREX profits count on it. By remaining vigilant, you'll be able to pull in great profits through the FOREX market."

FOREX - FAQ

"What is FOREX?

FOREX stands for the FOReign EXchange market, which is an international financial market where currencies are traded. The foreign exchange market began in the 1970s and is now the largest financial market in the world, with an average daily turnover of US$1.9 trillion. That's thirty times the amount of daily activity on all of the US stock exchanges.

Each Forex trade involves simultaneously buying one currency and selling another. For example, if you think that the Euro will rise relative to the dollar, you would place a Euro/Dollar trade. The forex system would then buy the Euro and sell an equivalent amount of the Dollar. Then, when you want to close your position, you would place a Dollar/Euro trade. This would buy the Dollar and sell the Euro. If the Euro had risen against the Dollar, you would make a profit, but if it had fallen relative to the Dollar you would make a loss.

What currencies are traded?

Most of the world's currencies are available to trade, but the majority of market action involves a group of major currencies, including the US Dollar, the Euro, the Yen, the Swiss Franc and Sterling.

Where is the Forex market located?

Unlike most financial markets around the world, Forex is not centralized on an exchange. Instead it operates on a basis known as the interbank market or Over the Counter (OTC). As each Forex trade involves two reciprocal trades (buy one currency and sell another), these are conducted electronically with any broker who is willing to accept the trade.

Who can trade in the Forex market?

Traditionally, access to currency trading was restricted to banking organisations, including central banks, commercial banks and investment banks. That's the reason it operates on a system known as the interbank market.

However, the number of non bank participants in the Forex market, which includes multinational companies, money managers, money brokers and private speculators, is growing rapidly. And thanks to the relatively small amount of capital required to open a trading account (often $500) Forex is opening up to more and more people all the time. If you're over 18, have internet access the enough money to open a trading account, the world of Forex is open to you.

When is the Forex market open for trading?

As Forex doesn't exist within a traditional exchange, it's the only 24 hour financial market in the world. Forex trading begins every day in Sydney and then moves around the globe as the major international financial markets in Tokyo, London and New York open.

In other words, there are always traders somewhere in the world who are actively trading foreign currencies. This means you can make trades and respond to major social, economic and political events day or night. However, there is a short rest period from close of trading on the American financial market on Friday until trading begins in Australia on Monday morning. However, due to the time differences around the globe, this period only lasts for approximately 48 hours.

What is a trading margin?

Forex trades are made in lots of $100,000. If you had to provide that amount of money to cover your position before you could trade, the market would once again be restricted to banks and other institutional investors. So brokers have established the principle of margin trading. In effect they allow people to trade $100,000 blocks of currency if they can provide an element of security against potential losses.

For example, they may allow people to trade on a margin of 1% (in comparison, traditional stock brokers often require a 50% margin). This means that they can trade $100,000 blocks, provided their account contains at least $100,000 x 1% = $1000. One thousand dollars will protect the broker against any potential losses that their client makes (currency values rarely fluctuate by more than 1% in a single day). If a client's account is reduced by losses (i.e. reducing the broker's security below acceptable levels), the broker will close all trades and require an additional deposit before further trades can be made.

Trading margin allows people to control vast amounts of currency wiith relatively small amounts of capital (often 50, 100 or even 200 times the amount of capital that they have invested). This can lead to massive gains, but increases the risk of losing most or all of your investment capital.

How much does it cost?

Thanks to the trading margin offered by most Forex brokers, it's possible to open an account and get started trading with a relatively small amount of capital.

Forex trades are made in lots of $100,000. However, most Forexs brokes will provide you with a leverage ratio of up to 100:1, which means that you have the ability to control a $100,000 trade with as little as $1000 in your account. Some brokers will provide leverage of 200:1 or even 400:1, which allows you to start with as little as $500 or $250 in your account.

However, please remember that although greater leverage allows you to maximize your profit potential, it also increases the risk factor. The higher the leverage ratio, the smaller trading fluctuation that will be required to wipe out your trading capital. So choose the amount of leverage that you use wisely.
For new traders, it may be safer to begin with leverage of 20:1 or 50:1. This will increase the amount that you need to open an account, but it will reduce the risk of seeing all your trading capital disappear due to a small shift in the value of a currency."