Dangers of Forex Trading

November 15th, 2007 Shabu Forex and Risk 0

Appreciate the risk before trading in the Forex Market

Forex trading from the surface looks very lucrative. Many people often ignore the risk involved in this market and plunge in the hopes of a brighter future. The thrill of getting involved in the BUY and SELL market veils the eyes of many, eventually ending up losing all they invest. One has to understand that the Forex market is different from other markets. Overall, the working principles are similar, yet there is a world of difference in the way the forex market movements are structured,and the other markets like stocks and bonds perform. The currencies are more sensitive to external factors and one can lose money at the blink of an eye.

Scam Brokers and Bucket Shops

The Forex industry has seen a lot of scam brokers and small bucket shops in the past. You have to be very careful as to where you put your money. A small mistake can lead to a deadly result. Do your research on the Internet, look for reviews and personal recommendations from trusted authorities. When looking for the right broker, along with your research, stick to instincts too. If you feel fishy about a broker, move forward. Like wise if you feel good about a particular broker, go ahead with them. Ask the right questions and do not hesitate to look into the company background and such. Whatever it is, research, research, research.

One other way to look for a good broker is their experience. Get to the bottom of their history and see how long they have been in the field. The more their age, the better. Experienced companies provide better services, while inexperienced ones have a lot of mistakes to make and grow. Aged companies can also help you in giving better market advises and help you trade better. The best example is FXCM.

The last advise I can give is references. Ask the broker for references from past and current clients. This will give you a good idea of where the company stands in terms of its own success, growth and the satisfaction of customers. If they have a good success curve, you know you have found your choice. If not, scratch them off.

Don’t Be Reckless

One of the biggest risks in Forex is the problem of addiction. People, regardless of their gain or loss, get addicted and empty their pockets into the markets and end up broke or filthy rich. This is dangerous in both the cases. There is no guarantee that one will always win. This characteristics also gives the paint of gambling to the forex market.

To end this article, let me tell you, do not put all your eggs in one basket. If the basket breaks, the eggs break too. In stead make a smart move by investing only that money that you are comfortable losing. This will lead to peace of mind and better trading decisions. In the unfortunate case that you lose money, you still can resume life normally.

 

Automated Forex Trading: The Key to trading flexibility

November 10th, 2007 Shabu Auto Trading 1 Comment

Expert Traders often use the automated trading methodology to execute market orders when they are not able to be in front of their computer. The Forex market, like its counterparts (Stock and Bonds) does not have a central exchange. All trades are conducted online through a trading software 24 hours a day and 5 days a week.

It maybe 3 in the morning, but a trader using the automated technology will not miss a trade. All he has to do is input the currency pair and targeted amount that he wants to buy or sell. To execute the trade, he has to set a deadline, which if hit, executes the trade.

One can limit automated trading sessions according to their needs. It can be a 24 hour period or even longer if required. It depends upon the opportunity and the trading strategy. As a follow up, a trader can setup multiple set of trades, all on automation.

Automated trading kills trading indecisions

In trading, indecision is a common element. A trader may see an opportunity, but maybe weary of executing it, regardless of how good it maybe. Using the right software, the trader can avoid the volatility of the mind. The trader can set the right rules and can also edit any of the trades he manually set. Automated trading at times offers peace of mind.

Online trading is virtual. There is nothing tangible bought or sold. Since a country’s economy can change due to extreme external influences like natural disasters, Geo-political wars, etc, it is not recommended to take part, unless experienced in the market behavior. The initial account opened should be a test account to understand and test automated trading.

Automated trading, while offering peace of mind and emotionless trading, can be disastrous in certain conditions. Since it cannot sense and judge external events, it can, many of the times, lead to heavy capital losses.

Lastly, it is all about experience. Once you have gained enough understanding as well as confidence in your automated strategy, you can take the risk of trading while you sleep, or even if you are out of town celebrating your big wins.

Forex Trading – Beginners Challenge

November 5th, 2007 Shabu For Beginners 0

Trading in the Forex market is different from trading in the stock market. The Forex market, unlike Stocks is not the ideal place for beginners. Yes, I agree that, money changes hands in the Forex market the way it does in other financial sectors, but the volatility in the Forex market is unheard of in other markets. The Foreign exchange market sometimes is purely speculative and can be completely unpredictable. The Forex market is fast moving and can be exasperating.

The currency market, unlike Stocks, Bonds or futures, never closes. It is a round the clock market that runs 5 days a week. At any given time of the day, somewhere in the world, there will be an exchange that opens up while another closes. Sometimes they overlap, like the London and US trading sessions.

The Stock exchange, on an average day changes $25 billion, and when it is tiny when compared to the Forex market that has a turnover of $2 trillion. For a beginner, this can be overwhelming, but once a beginner gains expertise, it can be fun, exciting and very rewarding.

Owning a share of the Foreign Economy

To understand the basics of Forex trading, you should know that the currencies are traded in pairs. For example the EURUSD. When a trader buys EURUSD, he is actually buying the EUR and selling the USD. The value of the currency gives the trader an idea of the country’s economy. If the value of a currency declines, then the economy is not so good, and vice versa. To learn how to predict a country’s economy based on the currency value is a great way to begin the career here.

To start with, an individual requires a good computer and a high speed access to the Internet. Although dial up works, it can be dangerous during volatile markets. In the earlier days, only big institutions had access to the forex market, but today even small players can enter here through retail brokers. Today you can open an account as small as $100. This is actually a great way to test the waters and decide if this game is for you or not.