7 Stock Market Tips You Can't Live Without
0 Comments Published by zul on Saturday, December 09, 2006 at 6:07 PM.
Every day there are a dozen new HOT stock market tips that guarantee your financial success. Every day there are hundreds if not thousands of people that jump on the bandwagon, and every day, each of those people are disappointed.
When it comes to popular stock market tips, there is no golden ticket to striking it rich. So I'm going to show you how to make your own HOT guidelines that will ensure you stay on the right course-the one that leads to success.
Stock Market Tip #1: Play Your Game
Develop a set of rules that you can follow. Whether they include some of the tips in this article or are strategies you've always lived by, STICK WITH THEM. An inconsistent, but more importantly an undisciplined trader will never make a profit. Chasing stock market tips won't make you money. Your rules are your money. Again, there will always be hot stock market tips that ensure success, but if you continue to whole-heartedly practice your own tips, you'll see profits in no time.
Stock Market Tip #2: Control Your Risk
There are many adventurous traders out there…and those are the ones that loose their fortunes. If you always look out to protect your capital base you'll ensure your financial safety. Now one of the most important stock market tips I can give you is to continue to let that capital base grow. That way, even if all of your investments fail, you won't be jeopardizing your previous profits. As a general stock market tip, never risk more than 3% of your portfolio on any one trade.
Stock Market Tip #3: The High Road in Cutting Your Losses
Things happen. People lose money…LOT'S of money. So don't be one of them. Basically this stock market tip means don't be stupid. If one of your investments turns sour don't stick around hoping it will right itself. Have a set target loss percentage where you can cut and run. Again, it's about being disciplined, remember? Set it no higher than 15% of your opt in, and you'll have a save exit with every trade.
Stock Market Tip #4: The Sky's the Limit
In contrast to Stock Market Tip #3, if a stock is rising beyond belief, don't jump out in fear of it suddenly falling back to reality. Instead, ride it out as long as humanly possible. This is how the biggest and most talked about gains are made-this is how FORTUNES are made. This stock market tip will ensure that you give yourself the best chance possible of striking that gold mine. Now if the stock does in fact start to fall, go ahead and opt out. It'll be worth more to you to risk that little loss in the end for that huge gain you'll make.
Stock Market Tip #5: Back to School
You know the saying, “Learn one new thing every day?” Do it. Seriously. Our stock market is ever-changing, diversifying, and adjusting, and YOU need to do your homework. It takes a lot to stay on top of it all. So if you come across something that you're not familiar with just look it up. If you think you know it all…go LOOK for something. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this stock market tip is to know all of the trading vocabulary. That's also the easiest way to ensure you're prepared to take on any obstacle that comes your way.
Stock Market Tip #6: How to Bring Your “A” Game
Stock market trading isn't only about successful financial advancements. Well actually it is, but you're not going to be able to do that every day if you don't have the emotional strength to pull it off. This stuff is supposed to be fun. If you're not at your best psychologically, you're not going to be focused, you'll make poor judgments, and most importantly you won't make money. Just think about the meaning of this stock market tip. If you're enjoying yourself, it's no longer work, so you are free to “work” in a mentality that will, in fact, play to your strengths…and wallet.
Stock Market Tip #7: Staying Above the Curve
You don't have to make a fortune with every trade you make. You don't have to become a millionaire at the end of every trading day. Here's stock market tip #7: You won't. The people that shoot for that glory every day are the ones that are losing fortunes, not making them. What you need to do is play above the curve. Don't be average, but don't be extraordinary. Extraordinary has WAY too many risks to worry about. Fortunes are made gradually. It takes discipline and consistency…something the “average” trader lacks.
When it comes to popular stock market tips, there is no golden ticket to striking it rich. So I'm going to show you how to make your own HOT guidelines that will ensure you stay on the right course-the one that leads to success.
Stock Market Tip #1: Play Your Game
Develop a set of rules that you can follow. Whether they include some of the tips in this article or are strategies you've always lived by, STICK WITH THEM. An inconsistent, but more importantly an undisciplined trader will never make a profit. Chasing stock market tips won't make you money. Your rules are your money. Again, there will always be hot stock market tips that ensure success, but if you continue to whole-heartedly practice your own tips, you'll see profits in no time.
Stock Market Tip #2: Control Your Risk
There are many adventurous traders out there…and those are the ones that loose their fortunes. If you always look out to protect your capital base you'll ensure your financial safety. Now one of the most important stock market tips I can give you is to continue to let that capital base grow. That way, even if all of your investments fail, you won't be jeopardizing your previous profits. As a general stock market tip, never risk more than 3% of your portfolio on any one trade.
Stock Market Tip #3: The High Road in Cutting Your Losses
Things happen. People lose money…LOT'S of money. So don't be one of them. Basically this stock market tip means don't be stupid. If one of your investments turns sour don't stick around hoping it will right itself. Have a set target loss percentage where you can cut and run. Again, it's about being disciplined, remember? Set it no higher than 15% of your opt in, and you'll have a save exit with every trade.
Stock Market Tip #4: The Sky's the Limit
In contrast to Stock Market Tip #3, if a stock is rising beyond belief, don't jump out in fear of it suddenly falling back to reality. Instead, ride it out as long as humanly possible. This is how the biggest and most talked about gains are made-this is how FORTUNES are made. This stock market tip will ensure that you give yourself the best chance possible of striking that gold mine. Now if the stock does in fact start to fall, go ahead and opt out. It'll be worth more to you to risk that little loss in the end for that huge gain you'll make.
Stock Market Tip #5: Back to School
You know the saying, “Learn one new thing every day?” Do it. Seriously. Our stock market is ever-changing, diversifying, and adjusting, and YOU need to do your homework. It takes a lot to stay on top of it all. So if you come across something that you're not familiar with just look it up. If you think you know it all…go LOOK for something. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this stock market tip is to know all of the trading vocabulary. That's also the easiest way to ensure you're prepared to take on any obstacle that comes your way.
Stock Market Tip #6: How to Bring Your “A” Game
Stock market trading isn't only about successful financial advancements. Well actually it is, but you're not going to be able to do that every day if you don't have the emotional strength to pull it off. This stuff is supposed to be fun. If you're not at your best psychologically, you're not going to be focused, you'll make poor judgments, and most importantly you won't make money. Just think about the meaning of this stock market tip. If you're enjoying yourself, it's no longer work, so you are free to “work” in a mentality that will, in fact, play to your strengths…and wallet.
Stock Market Tip #7: Staying Above the Curve
You don't have to make a fortune with every trade you make. You don't have to become a millionaire at the end of every trading day. Here's stock market tip #7: You won't. The people that shoot for that glory every day are the ones that are losing fortunes, not making them. What you need to do is play above the curve. Don't be average, but don't be extraordinary. Extraordinary has WAY too many risks to worry about. Fortunes are made gradually. It takes discipline and consistency…something the “average” trader lacks.
About The Author
Joe Harris provides all the proven stock market investing tools you need to succeed today, including the best tips and strategies. For details visit his site: http://www.myeinevstor.com.
The term stock market, as the name connotes, is a place where you can market or trade a company's stock, which the corporation issues through shares in order to raise capital. Of course, capital is the cost that a company incurs in relation to producing its products and services.
The people who buy these shares are the shareholders, and the term can refer to an individual or an organization.
The term stock market can also apply to all the stocks available for trading (as well as other securities), for example, when used in terms like "the stock market performed well today."
The stock market involves the trading of bonds, which is a debt security that stipulates that the issuer of the bonds holds the holders a debt. It is exactly like a loan, only that it is in the form of a security. These bonds are traded over-the-counter, which means they are traded directly between two parties. Thisis opposed to exchange trading or the trading that occurs on stock exchanges or future exchanges.
The stock market also involves the trading of commodities, which refer to raw commodities such as agricultural products (coffee, sugar, wheat, maize, barley, cocoa, milk products) and other raw materials (pork bellies, oil, metals).
The stock market is different from the stock exchange, which is primarily concerned with bringing togehter buyers and sellers of stock and securities.
You can participate in the stock exchange as an individual stock investor or as major player (large hedge fund trader). Orders at a stock exchange are usually made through a broker.
There are two types of exchanges where stocks can be traded. There is the exchange that has a physical location where verbal trading takes place. This is the more famous type of exchange because it is often depicted on TV showing animated trader shouting at each other, waving and running around frantically. That's exactly how the stock exchange works. What happens is traders enter into verbal agreements on the prices of stocks. The other type of exhcnage is the virtual kind where traders deal electronically through computer terminals.
The people who buy these shares are the shareholders, and the term can refer to an individual or an organization.
The term stock market can also apply to all the stocks available for trading (as well as other securities), for example, when used in terms like "the stock market performed well today."
The stock market involves the trading of bonds, which is a debt security that stipulates that the issuer of the bonds holds the holders a debt. It is exactly like a loan, only that it is in the form of a security. These bonds are traded over-the-counter, which means they are traded directly between two parties. Thisis opposed to exchange trading or the trading that occurs on stock exchanges or future exchanges.
The stock market also involves the trading of commodities, which refer to raw commodities such as agricultural products (coffee, sugar, wheat, maize, barley, cocoa, milk products) and other raw materials (pork bellies, oil, metals).
The stock market is different from the stock exchange, which is primarily concerned with bringing togehter buyers and sellers of stock and securities.
You can participate in the stock exchange as an individual stock investor or as major player (large hedge fund trader). Orders at a stock exchange are usually made through a broker.
There are two types of exchanges where stocks can be traded. There is the exchange that has a physical location where verbal trading takes place. This is the more famous type of exchange because it is often depicted on TV showing animated trader shouting at each other, waving and running around frantically. That's exactly how the stock exchange works. What happens is traders enter into verbal agreements on the prices of stocks. The other type of exhcnage is the virtual kind where traders deal electronically through computer terminals.
About The Author
Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles for http://4investing.net/ - In addition, Jonathon also writes articles for http://1stconsumerinfo.com/ and http://universeofjobs.com/.Stock Market Speculation or Gambling. What is the Difference?
0 Comments Published by zul on at 5:59 PM.
The art of speculating in one form or another has been around forever.
When it comes to speculating, there are always three things that you can be sure of – there will be always people willing to speculate, there will always be people who will love to play the game with the first group. Lastly history can be counted on to repeat itself.
Sure the object of speculation may change, the rules may change and the technology may change. But in the end it is always the same.
However what has happened before is 100 % sure to happen again. You can count on it. Everyone thinks always that they are so original when it always the same story again and again. Whether it is tulip bulbs, precious metals, mutual funds, lottery tickets or penny stocks human nature is human nature.
Ignorance, greed, fear and hope determine how people react and thus how prices move and markets behave. People have speculated on everything at one time or another,
For the last hindered years and certainly into the foreseeable future speculating on stock prices offers liquidity combined with legitimacy and purpose. Stock speculation, trading and investing have become an essential and vital parts of both our economy and our lives.
Trading is just another word for speculating and investing is nothing more than speculating, except that it supposedly encompasses a longer time horizon and for some odd reason implies less risk. Speculators speculate, trader’s trade and investors invest to make money. Traders buy stock or any other object of speculation because they anticipate a price appreciation.
Speculation and gambling are similar, with a few important distinctions. One difference is the perception, sometimes true, that successful speculators profit due to their skill or an unseen advantage, while gamblers prosper due to chance or luck.
Remember though that it may not happen to you but in the end given enough time or chances the odds will always prevail. The casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas were not built with winner’s money.
Another distinction is that gambling in most forms has been illegal (at least until government got involved and changed the rules in their favor) while speculation plays an essential role in our markets and thus our economy.
These important distinctions make speculating which indeed is what our investment industry purveys as an accepted occupation – indeed one with one prestige and gamblers not being accepted in the same light.
Whether a gambler, a trader or a speculator, in all cases the attraction is the same – the chance to make a lot of money in a hurry. It is the immediate gratification of the win that makes these games irresistible - an opiate of sorts.
Indeed problem gamblers have been compared to alcoholics in needing that rush which gives them such pleasure and serves amazingly to release endorphins to relax their troubled minds.
On top of that the unpredictability of the wins serves to even reinforce this addictive behavior.
Not far off of the methods of B.F. Skinner and the rats of operant conditioning fame.
Indeed some people will tell you that “it will almost always end with crying!”
Senior Investment Analyst
Substantial Incomes Com
frxforex@yahoo.com
http://www.forexforexforexforex.com
http://www.substantialincomes.com
When it comes to speculating, there are always three things that you can be sure of – there will be always people willing to speculate, there will always be people who will love to play the game with the first group. Lastly history can be counted on to repeat itself.
Sure the object of speculation may change, the rules may change and the technology may change. But in the end it is always the same.
However what has happened before is 100 % sure to happen again. You can count on it. Everyone thinks always that they are so original when it always the same story again and again. Whether it is tulip bulbs, precious metals, mutual funds, lottery tickets or penny stocks human nature is human nature.
Ignorance, greed, fear and hope determine how people react and thus how prices move and markets behave. People have speculated on everything at one time or another,
For the last hindered years and certainly into the foreseeable future speculating on stock prices offers liquidity combined with legitimacy and purpose. Stock speculation, trading and investing have become an essential and vital parts of both our economy and our lives.
Trading is just another word for speculating and investing is nothing more than speculating, except that it supposedly encompasses a longer time horizon and for some odd reason implies less risk. Speculators speculate, trader’s trade and investors invest to make money. Traders buy stock or any other object of speculation because they anticipate a price appreciation.
Speculation and gambling are similar, with a few important distinctions. One difference is the perception, sometimes true, that successful speculators profit due to their skill or an unseen advantage, while gamblers prosper due to chance or luck.
Remember though that it may not happen to you but in the end given enough time or chances the odds will always prevail. The casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas were not built with winner’s money.
Another distinction is that gambling in most forms has been illegal (at least until government got involved and changed the rules in their favor) while speculation plays an essential role in our markets and thus our economy.
These important distinctions make speculating which indeed is what our investment industry purveys as an accepted occupation – indeed one with one prestige and gamblers not being accepted in the same light.
Whether a gambler, a trader or a speculator, in all cases the attraction is the same – the chance to make a lot of money in a hurry. It is the immediate gratification of the win that makes these games irresistible - an opiate of sorts.
Indeed problem gamblers have been compared to alcoholics in needing that rush which gives them such pleasure and serves amazingly to release endorphins to relax their troubled minds.
On top of that the unpredictability of the wins serves to even reinforce this addictive behavior.
Not far off of the methods of B.F. Skinner and the rats of operant conditioning fame.
Indeed some people will tell you that “it will almost always end with crying!”
About The Author
Amy GoodmannSenior Investment Analyst
Substantial Incomes Com
frxforex@yahoo.com
http://www.forexforexforexforex.com
http://www.substantialincomes.com
Hollywood loves the stock market. The chaos of the stock exchange floor, the tension of boiler room day-trading, devious power brokers making back room deals; it all makes for great drama. Then you have the true-to-life stock market stories in the news: insider trading, big money IPOs, the dot com bust. All of it is enough to make you steer clear of the market for good and travel down a safer investment path. But don’t be frightened, history shows that long-term, there’s no better place to put your money to watch it grow. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Stocks 101
Simply put, when you purchase stock in a company, you become part-owner of that company. Along with other shareholders, you all combine as investors in the business, and therefore reap its rewards, or suffer its losses. Stocks are most commonly divided into separate categories depending on the size and type of the company (e.g., mid-cap, small-cap, energy, tech, etc.).
While speculation can drive stock prices in the short term, it’s long-term company earnings that determine a stocks gains or losses. Speaking of short term, that’s when stocks are extremely volatile. Over a span of just a few months or years, stocks can climb to astronomic heights or drop to pitiful lows. But, since 1926, the average stock has returned over 10 percent per year. That’s better than any other investment vehicle out there, and that’s why stocks are your best bet for long-term investment.
Picking Stocks
Before you dive head-first into the market, there are a few things you should know about picking stocks. First, the market’s performance as a whole is not necessarily a reflection of its individual stocks. Good stocks can keep growing even in a down market, while bad stocks have the frustrating tendency to drop or remain stagnant in a strong market.
Also, remember that history is not indicative of a stock’s future performance. Even solid stocks can slip from time to time. Remember that stock prices are based on a company’s earnings outlook, not its past performance. If the future looks bright for a company, a $100 dollar stock is probably a good buy. If earnings look less than promising, even a $5 stock can be a waste. Finally, investors determine a stock’s value by measuring a handful of primary criteria, most notably cash flow, earnings, and revenue.
“Diversify”
It’s the rallying cry of all smart investors. When compiling an investment portfolio of stocks, it’s smart to own shares in companies from several different industries. Consider it a “hedge bet”. When one part of the economy experiences a downturn, you’ll have other stocks in your portfolio to put your faith in.
When building your portfolio, the safest bet is to pick from financially strong businesses with earnings growth above the average. Surprisingly, that limits the lot to choose from, as only around 200 stocks today fit that bill. A solid portfolio features somewhere in the ballpark of 20 stocks selected from seven or more industries. A general rule of thumb is to invest in stocks with an above-average rate of growth and reasonable valuations.
Buy and Hold
Day trading is a great way to lose your nest egg, but quick. As we noted before, stocks over the short term are highly volatile. Sure, brokers today are offering cheap trades, but beware. There are a ton of hidden fees and taxes involved with day trading, not to mention the amount of attention required by you to monitor the blow-by-blow proceedings of the market. Our recommendation: buy and hold. A ten percent return over the long term is nothing to sneer at.
Visit Today: http://www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk
Stocks 101
Simply put, when you purchase stock in a company, you become part-owner of that company. Along with other shareholders, you all combine as investors in the business, and therefore reap its rewards, or suffer its losses. Stocks are most commonly divided into separate categories depending on the size and type of the company (e.g., mid-cap, small-cap, energy, tech, etc.).
While speculation can drive stock prices in the short term, it’s long-term company earnings that determine a stocks gains or losses. Speaking of short term, that’s when stocks are extremely volatile. Over a span of just a few months or years, stocks can climb to astronomic heights or drop to pitiful lows. But, since 1926, the average stock has returned over 10 percent per year. That’s better than any other investment vehicle out there, and that’s why stocks are your best bet for long-term investment.
Picking Stocks
Before you dive head-first into the market, there are a few things you should know about picking stocks. First, the market’s performance as a whole is not necessarily a reflection of its individual stocks. Good stocks can keep growing even in a down market, while bad stocks have the frustrating tendency to drop or remain stagnant in a strong market.
Also, remember that history is not indicative of a stock’s future performance. Even solid stocks can slip from time to time. Remember that stock prices are based on a company’s earnings outlook, not its past performance. If the future looks bright for a company, a $100 dollar stock is probably a good buy. If earnings look less than promising, even a $5 stock can be a waste. Finally, investors determine a stock’s value by measuring a handful of primary criteria, most notably cash flow, earnings, and revenue.
“Diversify”
It’s the rallying cry of all smart investors. When compiling an investment portfolio of stocks, it’s smart to own shares in companies from several different industries. Consider it a “hedge bet”. When one part of the economy experiences a downturn, you’ll have other stocks in your portfolio to put your faith in.
When building your portfolio, the safest bet is to pick from financially strong businesses with earnings growth above the average. Surprisingly, that limits the lot to choose from, as only around 200 stocks today fit that bill. A solid portfolio features somewhere in the ballpark of 20 stocks selected from seven or more industries. A general rule of thumb is to invest in stocks with an above-average rate of growth and reasonable valuations.
Buy and Hold
Day trading is a great way to lose your nest egg, but quick. As we noted before, stocks over the short term are highly volatile. Sure, brokers today are offering cheap trades, but beware. There are a ton of hidden fees and taxes involved with day trading, not to mention the amount of attention required by you to monitor the blow-by-blow proceedings of the market. Our recommendation: buy and hold. A ten percent return over the long term is nothing to sneer at.
About The Author
Joseph Kenny writes for the Loans Store which offers more information on home loans, secured loans and other loan topics available on site.Visit Today: http://www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk
A Synopsis Of What It Takes To Trade The Forex Amrket With Success!
0 Comments Published by zul on at 5:56 PM.
A synopsis of what it takes to deal with success trading the forex market
This is the first article of a series whose purpose is both educational and practical. And above all they aim to be interactive meaning that any comments suggestions or ideas are more than welcome.
Lets start from the basics. The first thing someone needs is very good education. And this requires a lot of thorough research as there are many sources but not all are worth the money for their services. So in this sense an online forex course could be a good idea along with some books. But here comes the first major problem. Which course and which books, which aspects to cover? The technical analysis issue? The maxim goes with the trend? The candlesticks analysis? And which system to use and follow? There are thousands of them! So before we even begin a trader is confused. And confusion is a very bad enemy but it can be arranged. How it can be arranged? With some simple steps. Such as simplicity. The more you know the better chances you have to succeed trading forex and it all comes down to probabilities.
Education is a must to all trading aspects from stocks to futures to forex. But forex has two unique features. High liquidity and extremely high leverage. And although the liquidity is a very good feature high leverage is not. At least not until you know what you are doing. Here we focus again on education. Besides a participation in a forex course either online or not, an amount that will be put away as an investment for education is the first thing a trader must do. Some ideas are to focus on analyzing the current conditions of the market and to have a bias for a specific currency pair. A system such as following the trend could be the core of a trading strategy. And a demo account with many virtual trades as many as possible for a long period of time is the next step.
Now the most important part of the trading action is to make a plan, stick to it and apply very strict money management rules because if the capital is finished and it very easy this to happen then our trading career will finish within a few days, months or even hours.
Lets face the truth that trading is not easy. It is unfortunately far easier for someone to lose all his account rather than make wild profits beyond each expectation. That is because emotions and psychology are very crucial for success. Some of the most important emotions are fear, uncertainty, euphoria and revenge. Revenge comes into play very often as when someone loses an amount wants desperately to get it back and often the outcome is that more loses come simply because the trader is on the wrong side of the trend!
Discipline and patience are virtues that distinguish a good trader from a mediocre trader. Without specific goals and a written procedure a trader is like a cargo ship that has sailed without any destination. Someday the fuel will be exhausted and many dangers from the weather to the potential physical damages may happen. Risks exist all the time. The point is how to deal with them.
One of the most useful phrases is taken from the movie Forrest Gump.Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you going to get!
It is true. Be as prepared as possible. Do not let the brokers excite you promising very high returns and extremely high leverage? Do some very thorough research before opening an account funded with real money. Compare the bid-ask spreads and technical support to name only a few aspects.
Be very skeptical to previous results as offered from many signal services. The major aim should be to learn to trade and make your own decisions and not blindly follow some others decisions and opinions. Confidence and experience come with the passage of time.
So we mentioned simplicity before. Being realistic and having a controlled life balance is very important. One major goal should be consistency so as to have the ability to make profits each month and keep them.
Fundamental news is another important issue and in essence the technical analysis is the mirror of fundamentals. Expectations change rapidly and emotions also. And if you think about it emotions and expectations mainly move the forex market. Most times like the recent Fed rate hike decision a move is under way but the danger is when it will be finished and certainly not getting in at the wrong time after all the move is completed.
The best approach for a trader would be to set specific goals and if achieved then stop trading. The worst idea is to trade in a choppy market where random noise will make it difficult to get specific profits.
So a tested system with very precise rules such as entering exiting and having stop-loss orders may not be a holly grail but is surely one very good approach to start with and focus on it. Pivot points are such a system. At least it is a good start. They encompass education, discipline, strict criteria, and targets and are a proven system that major players use. They are not foolproof always as nothing is certain but they deal with high probabilities and this is very important.
Also a very practical way is to act as organizes as possible. Meaning that:
1.Develop your own trading journal where you will be writing down your trades and a brief explanation of what made you place a particular trade so as to evaluate performance. Note each day the major economic releases if any because it is often wise to be out of the market before the release of the news and trade only after having a much clearer opinion of what price action may be. Remember it is all about high probabilities.
2.A risk/reward ratio of 1:2 meaning that you risk an amount to get at least the twice if all go well is suggested but sometimes it is best to be conservative and even apply an 1:1 ratio by applying very strict risk management risking no more than 2-3% of total capital per trade. Survival is everything.
3.It would be a good idea from time to time to have breaks from trading. Opportunities exist always so stopping trading when losses of 10-20% maximum of trading capital have accumulated is a good way to revaluate what is going on before a large amount of capital is lost. Trading is not gambling it is a way of investment. The philosophy should be to define realistic goals such as a number of pips per day and if achieved then stop trading. Greed is another bad enemy of traders. On the contrary the notion of compounding profits and retiring a portion of them each month is a good way to build a solid account and keep monitoring its growth.
So in this first article we touched briefly many ideas from education to psychology to a proven trading system etc. Each idea will have more in depth analysis in the very near future. Your comments and suggestions will help us a lot to focus on what you need or want to analyze. Above all interactive communication brings the best results.
That’s all folks!
http://www.forexsynopsis.com
e-mail : admin@forexsynopsis.com
http://forexsynopsis.blogspot.com
MSc in Economics
Level II candidate in the CFA program
This is the first article of a series whose purpose is both educational and practical. And above all they aim to be interactive meaning that any comments suggestions or ideas are more than welcome.
Lets start from the basics. The first thing someone needs is very good education. And this requires a lot of thorough research as there are many sources but not all are worth the money for their services. So in this sense an online forex course could be a good idea along with some books. But here comes the first major problem. Which course and which books, which aspects to cover? The technical analysis issue? The maxim goes with the trend? The candlesticks analysis? And which system to use and follow? There are thousands of them! So before we even begin a trader is confused. And confusion is a very bad enemy but it can be arranged. How it can be arranged? With some simple steps. Such as simplicity. The more you know the better chances you have to succeed trading forex and it all comes down to probabilities.
Education is a must to all trading aspects from stocks to futures to forex. But forex has two unique features. High liquidity and extremely high leverage. And although the liquidity is a very good feature high leverage is not. At least not until you know what you are doing. Here we focus again on education. Besides a participation in a forex course either online or not, an amount that will be put away as an investment for education is the first thing a trader must do. Some ideas are to focus on analyzing the current conditions of the market and to have a bias for a specific currency pair. A system such as following the trend could be the core of a trading strategy. And a demo account with many virtual trades as many as possible for a long period of time is the next step.
Now the most important part of the trading action is to make a plan, stick to it and apply very strict money management rules because if the capital is finished and it very easy this to happen then our trading career will finish within a few days, months or even hours.
Lets face the truth that trading is not easy. It is unfortunately far easier for someone to lose all his account rather than make wild profits beyond each expectation. That is because emotions and psychology are very crucial for success. Some of the most important emotions are fear, uncertainty, euphoria and revenge. Revenge comes into play very often as when someone loses an amount wants desperately to get it back and often the outcome is that more loses come simply because the trader is on the wrong side of the trend!
Discipline and patience are virtues that distinguish a good trader from a mediocre trader. Without specific goals and a written procedure a trader is like a cargo ship that has sailed without any destination. Someday the fuel will be exhausted and many dangers from the weather to the potential physical damages may happen. Risks exist all the time. The point is how to deal with them.
One of the most useful phrases is taken from the movie Forrest Gump.Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you going to get!
It is true. Be as prepared as possible. Do not let the brokers excite you promising very high returns and extremely high leverage? Do some very thorough research before opening an account funded with real money. Compare the bid-ask spreads and technical support to name only a few aspects.
Be very skeptical to previous results as offered from many signal services. The major aim should be to learn to trade and make your own decisions and not blindly follow some others decisions and opinions. Confidence and experience come with the passage of time.
So we mentioned simplicity before. Being realistic and having a controlled life balance is very important. One major goal should be consistency so as to have the ability to make profits each month and keep them.
Fundamental news is another important issue and in essence the technical analysis is the mirror of fundamentals. Expectations change rapidly and emotions also. And if you think about it emotions and expectations mainly move the forex market. Most times like the recent Fed rate hike decision a move is under way but the danger is when it will be finished and certainly not getting in at the wrong time after all the move is completed.
The best approach for a trader would be to set specific goals and if achieved then stop trading. The worst idea is to trade in a choppy market where random noise will make it difficult to get specific profits.
So a tested system with very precise rules such as entering exiting and having stop-loss orders may not be a holly grail but is surely one very good approach to start with and focus on it. Pivot points are such a system. At least it is a good start. They encompass education, discipline, strict criteria, and targets and are a proven system that major players use. They are not foolproof always as nothing is certain but they deal with high probabilities and this is very important.
Also a very practical way is to act as organizes as possible. Meaning that:
1.Develop your own trading journal where you will be writing down your trades and a brief explanation of what made you place a particular trade so as to evaluate performance. Note each day the major economic releases if any because it is often wise to be out of the market before the release of the news and trade only after having a much clearer opinion of what price action may be. Remember it is all about high probabilities.
2.A risk/reward ratio of 1:2 meaning that you risk an amount to get at least the twice if all go well is suggested but sometimes it is best to be conservative and even apply an 1:1 ratio by applying very strict risk management risking no more than 2-3% of total capital per trade. Survival is everything.
3.It would be a good idea from time to time to have breaks from trading. Opportunities exist always so stopping trading when losses of 10-20% maximum of trading capital have accumulated is a good way to revaluate what is going on before a large amount of capital is lost. Trading is not gambling it is a way of investment. The philosophy should be to define realistic goals such as a number of pips per day and if achieved then stop trading. Greed is another bad enemy of traders. On the contrary the notion of compounding profits and retiring a portion of them each month is a good way to build a solid account and keep monitoring its growth.
So in this first article we touched briefly many ideas from education to psychology to a proven trading system etc. Each idea will have more in depth analysis in the very near future. Your comments and suggestions will help us a lot to focus on what you need or want to analyze. Above all interactive communication brings the best results.
That’s all folks!
http://www.forexsynopsis.com
e-mail : admin@forexsynopsis.com
http://forexsynopsis.blogspot.com
About The Author
Stavros GeorgiadisMSc in Economics
Level II candidate in the CFA program
The foreign currency exchange market is available for people from all over the world. More and more people take their first steps in FOREX trading, contributing to its volume and making it viable and easy to use for the ordinary individual, in contrast to only a few years back when only pros, hedge funds, major banks and institutional traders used the FOREX market. The key explanation for this turn of events is the Internet which dramatically increased accessibility. Almost all firms are now offering, free or in return for signing-up, easy to operate software for online FOREX trading.
Traders’ essential goal in FOREX is to estimate which currency will increase in worth against a different currency, and so getting a hold of a method which helps you to foresee future movements can help you in gaining a nice fortune. Realizing the fact that you are always trading by a ratio between two currencies should clarify the cause for seeing these letters arrangements: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, and GBP/USD etc. The five most important and highly popular currencies are the US Dollar, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Euro and Swiss Franc.
The FOREX market is open 24 hours a day; major firms keep brokers working shifts uninterruptedly so people from all over the world can trade always. This is attributable to the fact that nowadays most trades are carried out through company brokers.
Fear not, you can rest well at nights and even enjoy a day off every once and a while without being logged-on the FOREX market 24/7. All you have to do is give your broker your “stop-loss” / “stop-orders” to buy or sell currency once they have reached a certain price, thus preventing major losses.
The FOREX is considered to be a solid market. Nothing like the stock market which is highly unstable, this market is friendly and easy to comprehend. Another plus is that it has high liquidity which grants you the prospects of getting your money in or out at any given time. Be careful though, even when the FOREX seems like a playground to you, please seek your broker or another pro-trader’s counsel before getting involved in this market unless you have a lot of money to spend that you don’t really need. The big boys of FOREX would not care too much about seeing you lose all your life savings.
Traders’ essential goal in FOREX is to estimate which currency will increase in worth against a different currency, and so getting a hold of a method which helps you to foresee future movements can help you in gaining a nice fortune. Realizing the fact that you are always trading by a ratio between two currencies should clarify the cause for seeing these letters arrangements: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, and GBP/USD etc. The five most important and highly popular currencies are the US Dollar, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Euro and Swiss Franc.
The FOREX market is open 24 hours a day; major firms keep brokers working shifts uninterruptedly so people from all over the world can trade always. This is attributable to the fact that nowadays most trades are carried out through company brokers.
Fear not, you can rest well at nights and even enjoy a day off every once and a while without being logged-on the FOREX market 24/7. All you have to do is give your broker your “stop-loss” / “stop-orders” to buy or sell currency once they have reached a certain price, thus preventing major losses.
The FOREX is considered to be a solid market. Nothing like the stock market which is highly unstable, this market is friendly and easy to comprehend. Another plus is that it has high liquidity which grants you the prospects of getting your money in or out at any given time. Be careful though, even when the FOREX seems like a playground to you, please seek your broker or another pro-trader’s counsel before getting involved in this market unless you have a lot of money to spend that you don’t really need. The big boys of FOREX would not care too much about seeing you lose all your life savings.
Today FOREX world is built around large leverage and constant use of margin, in equities, standard margin is set at 2:1, in options, the leverage increases to 10:1, in the futures market, the leverage factor is increased to 20:1, but in the FOREX market the leverage sets the highest bar by increasing to 100:1 ratio and can climb up to 200:1 meaning that you can invest $100 for a $20,000 value control! An experienced trader would limit his leverage to no more than 10:1.
Alongside leverage usage, or as in many FOREX rookies’ cases using too much leverage, comes the opportunity for either extremely profitable or extraordinarily dangerous and huge loses. You can double your account overnight or lose it all in a matter of hours if you make use of the full margin at your disposal. Considering that fact, most FOREX traders use “stops” order / “stop-loss” - they simply do not have the luxury of nursing a losing trade for too long because their positions are highly leveraged, and here you can step in and take advantage of this knowledge.
Stop order in a nutshell is a form of insurance or security measure that is given to buy or sell when a currencies' price surpasses a particular point. Using stop loss is critical for long-term survival. By setting a predetermined entry or exit price, investors usually use this system to minimize their loses when off for the business day or any other situation in which they are unable to monitor their portfolio for an extended period.
The main FOREX strategy which takes advantage of this knowledge is “Stop Hunting” , which attempts to force some foreign currency exchange investors out of their positions by driving the price of a currency pair to a level where many investors have chosen to set their stop-loss orders (aka “weak longs”), by understanding that the human mind naturally seeks order, most stops are clustered around round numbers ending in "00" (i.e. if the EUR/USD pair was trading at 1.1380 and rising in value, most stops would reside within one or two points of the 1.1400 price point rather than, say, 1.1417). Absorbing that fact alone is priceless knowledge (the price of a currency pair can experience sharp moves when many stop losses are triggered); professional traders place their stops at less crowded and more unusual locations. The possibility of profit from these unique dynamics of the foreign currency market is huge and proven.
Alongside leverage usage, or as in many FOREX rookies’ cases using too much leverage, comes the opportunity for either extremely profitable or extraordinarily dangerous and huge loses. You can double your account overnight or lose it all in a matter of hours if you make use of the full margin at your disposal. Considering that fact, most FOREX traders use “stops” order / “stop-loss” - they simply do not have the luxury of nursing a losing trade for too long because their positions are highly leveraged, and here you can step in and take advantage of this knowledge.
Stop order in a nutshell is a form of insurance or security measure that is given to buy or sell when a currencies' price surpasses a particular point. Using stop loss is critical for long-term survival. By setting a predetermined entry or exit price, investors usually use this system to minimize their loses when off for the business day or any other situation in which they are unable to monitor their portfolio for an extended period.
The main FOREX strategy which takes advantage of this knowledge is “Stop Hunting” , which attempts to force some foreign currency exchange investors out of their positions by driving the price of a currency pair to a level where many investors have chosen to set their stop-loss orders (aka “weak longs”), by understanding that the human mind naturally seeks order, most stops are clustered around round numbers ending in "00" (i.e. if the EUR/USD pair was trading at 1.1380 and rising in value, most stops would reside within one or two points of the 1.1400 price point rather than, say, 1.1417). Absorbing that fact alone is priceless knowledge (the price of a currency pair can experience sharp moves when many stop losses are triggered); professional traders place their stops at less crowded and more unusual locations. The possibility of profit from these unique dynamics of the foreign currency market is huge and proven.
About The Author
Mia Milis is an independent trader and provides financial advice regarding foreign exchange to several institutions as well as private individuals. Being an Internet enthusiast, she has taken up to provide advice through her brilliant articles, and in recent years has also founded theforexblogger.com in order to provide a platform online traders worldwide could share experiences through. To learn more about the FOREX market, visit Mia's website at http://www.theforexblogger.com.