Seeking Support As A Stock, Options And Forex Trader

Seeking Support As A Stock, Options And Forex Trader

By: Dean Whittingham

It's been said many a time, trading is a lonely business. The truth to this statement lies in the support you seek. For many, trading will be a lonely business, but it may also be a frustrating one.

Seeking support from others is actually a natural process, and also a reciprocating affair. You should seek others support with the intention of having a mutual friendship, but also to make yourself accountable.

If you know what you're supposed to be doing with your trading but you aren't because you lack discipline, then you may need to find a few people to make you accountable. In other words, you list 10 things you're supposed to do this week, and tell them. If you break any of your rules, or don't do these 10 things, then you must confess. A forum is a great place to find these sorts of people, but do bear in mind, you must know what you want. Those that float aimlessly in trading can also bring other traders down with them.

Floating aimlessly in trading is the same as floating aimlessly through life. If you don't know what you want, where on earth are you going to go? Nowhere, you just float with no direction. This is a terrible curse to have, especially in the field of business.

Trading is a business and as such must be treated like one. If you decide to go into business for yourself, I would assume that you would put a lot of planning into it. You're probably going to try and seek help from professionals such as accountants and so on, but you also should seek support.

If you have family to support you, all good. If you don't then get out there and find people with similar ambitions. It's not hard, every major city throughout the world has groups of people who get together and discuss trading. Meeting with such people on a regular basis can aid you greatly in your planning and execution.

But most of all, have fun. I meet up with several groups and sometimes we don't even discuss trading. We'll start talking about something else, and before we know it, it's late. It's the bonding between a group of people that can have an uplifting effect on each individual....

Dean Thomas Whittingham created A Traders Universe - Trading System Development in 2005 as a resource site for traders of all levels, with eduction, courses, brokers, tips, free videos, newsletters, trading systems, simulations and a free 7 step process for building a profitable stock, futures or forex trading system.

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Gold is a Timeless Investment

Gold is a Timeless Investment

By: Gary Giardina

In 1974 President Gerald Ford lifted a forty year ban where it was illegal to own hoards of gold. This ban was put in place by Franklin D. Rossevelt in 1933.People were able to buy gold and trade gold as a commodity.

This all happened after the great depression. Foreign banks, who were afraid of the failing economy, were turning in their paper money in exchange for gold. The gold supply was being depleted in the US.S. Reserve. Up until then the United States had been on the gold standard. Many dollar bills, like the fifty, were printed with a yellow back which indicated it could be turned in for the gold rate.

The Executive Order 6102 made it illegal for anyone to own more than $100 worth of gold. Citizens had to turn in their gold in exchange for paper money. The gold coins were melted down into bars by the U.S. Treasury department. This was done to keep the U.S. Overseas market avoid panic and keep the dollar afloat. The tactic worked.

However, not everyone turned in their gold coins. Private collections still have a few. Sought after by collectors these coins are considered rare. Certain $20 gold coins can range in value from $500 to over $20,000 depending on the marks and condition of the coin.

Gold is a timeless investment. The value has gone up considerably more and more over the years. Supply and demand law is the reason why. The mines are not producing enough gold to satisfy the demand. The prices were stable because the banks were selling their reserves. Now that they are holding on to the gold and the demand has increased, the prices are climbing. It is expected to peak at about $1,000 per troy ounce by mid summer of 2008.

The U.S. Treasury is producing the gold eagle coin. This 1 troy ounce coin has a face value of $50. This is enabling anyone who wants to invest in gold to do so. The coins are also available in the ½ ounce, ¼ ounce, and 1/10 ounce varieties as well. Being able to invest in the gold market has finally become possible for the middle class. Many people are finding it worth the investment.

Investing in gold is a wise choice. Going up is the direction of the price. The demand is also growing. The ability to have it with you and easily transport it is a benefit. The fact that it is a tangible product that never loses value is the best reason to invest in gold. Now that the U.S. Treasury has made the coins available on the open market, anyone who ever thought of investing in gold can do so.

For more information please visit http://goldinvestingsite.com/ Gary Giardina

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How To Pick The Best Stocks To Buy

How To Pick The Best Stocks To Buy

By: Anna Coulling

Learning how to pick the best stocks to buy can be a daunting process, even for those who have been trading for some time, but this need not be the case, and the first question we need to ask ourselves is 'why we are buying?' For example an investor looking to buy and hold for 5 to 10 years would have a very different selection criteria to a short term day trader, or an equity option writer. So before rushing in to buy our stocks we need to have a very clear idea of our goals and objectives for the stocks we are proposing to buy. For the purposes of this article I am assuming that we are looking for stocks for a medium to longer term buy and hold strategy.

As a full time, mainly technical trader, I have found over the years that the simpler the system for selecting suitable stocks the better, and the good news is that virtually all the information needed to select the best stocks to buy is now freely available on the internet. All that is required is some effort, a bit of hard work and lots of practice. The approach I use to identify good stocks to buy is largely a technical one, but does also include elements of fundamental analysis at the macro level. The process is fully explained on my websites but the principals are as follows:

The first step to consider is the economy of the country where you are investing, as some stocks and sectors perform better in recession, than in expansion, and vice versa. As an example, utility stocks generally perform well in early recession as the professional money is looking for safe stocks with guaranteed income streams. Having done this the next stage is to look at the main indices of the country and to establish a long term view from the charts. In the US this would be the S&P500 or Dow Jones 30, and in the UK the FTSE100, 250 or 350. We then start to drill down into the sectors, looking for stocks that are performing well and in a long term uptrend. The only indicators I use at this stage are volume, and simple moving averages. I am looking for unusual volume patterns, in combination with specific candlestick formations, as well as lines of support and resistance for signs of a breakout.

Having identified some possible prospects I then filter these on a daily basis looking for a 2% increase in price on the day. This 2% movement helps me to identify stocks which are active. The buying process has still not arrived as there are still a number of other factors which need to be investigated. These include earnings and dividend dates, and details of directors' dealings, as these may give clues or warning signals. Once I am satisfied I will then buy the number according to my money management rules (these details too are on my website). The final step is placing a stop loss in case the price trend reverses. In the early days of any stock purchase the number one priority is preseveration of capital.

In essence the whole process can be summed up as starting at the macro level and moving down to the micro in a series of stages, using both technical and fundamental data. It is an uncomplicated system but one which I have found to be extremely successful. For a novice investor or trader an excellent and risk free way to try out this strategy, as well as the quickest way to learn about the stock market, is by using a free online stock market game. These provide an excellent introduction to the world of stock trading, but without risking any real money when you start - it will however teach you how to manage and place trades, both long and short, as well as allowing you to place stop loss orders to manage your trades safely. Signing up is free, and best of all some of the games even offer prizes on a daily or weekly basis for the best performing stock portfolios - so you have nothing to lose (unlike the real markets!!)

Anna Coulling is a full time trader and investor, with a number of websites offering free information on how to trade and invest in a variety of financial markets. http://www.stock-market-games-free.com

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Forex Online Trading Platforms

Forex Online Trading Platforms

By: Andrew Daigle

Unlike the stock market, the Forex market is generally an unregulated market with no central location for trading. Traders use the services of a Forex broker to participate in the market. In the U.S., legitimate Forex brokers are registered with one of the various regulatory agencies. If you are new to Forex trading systems, you must be careful to seek a registered broker and avoid off-exchange currency dealers and the scams that have evolved around the Forex market. Legitimate brokers may be found online and your chosen Forex broker should provide an online platform for you to trade on. Online platforms provide Forex trading systems with less costly trades and better accuracy in the pricing of currency pairs than conventional trading systems.

Technological advances in computers and the Internet are responsible to create a market of online Forex trading opportunities. The Internet has provided for market knowledge to be disseminated to the global Internet community. This information was traditionally limited to banks and other financial institutions. With the advances in online, real-time and near real-time information flows, you have access to market information in line with the banks and financial institutions. Even during periods of market volatility, online platforms are able to provide a consistent flow of quotes. However, many online platforms are disguised as Forex trading platforms when they are really frauds.

Some of the fraudulent online platforms that you should be careful to avoid, particularly if you are a new or inexperienced trader are fraudulent brokers, bookmakers and bucket shops. Fraudulent broker practices may include offering outrageous bid/ask spreads and requiring unreasonable commissions. They may promise profits and never deliver them or claim to be trading your money when, in reality, they have used the money for personal interests. They may also provide you with phony accounting statements that indicate profits they never made or they may attempt to lure you with phony stories of successful business relationships using fake customer names. The onus is on you to invest time and resources in locating a reputable broker.

Bookmakers are platforms established to bet on currencies. While this type of betting is perfectly legitimate in some states, it is not to be confused with Forex trading systems. In many cases, bucket shops are fraudulent platforms designed to cheat you out of money. Though they will claim to engage Forex trading, they have no connection to Forex. Their fraudulent schemes usually involve convincing you to invest in currency futures and options rather than the spot trading market that is Forex. Since the methods of futures and options trading provide for a broker to contractually engage in transactions over a period time, this scheme allows the frauds to collect more of your investment dollars for a longer period of time. The spot Forex market, on the other hand, is designed to provide simplicity and allow investors to enter and exit the market at will. There is no contractual obligation or lengthy time constraints.

Most online platforms are designed to run with Windows and most web browsers. In general, an online platform provides access to an order entry process and should have a method of displaying currently held positions, charts of monitored currency pairs and some itemized form of account data. You should also seek a platform that offers some method of backup and communication in the case of loss of access to the Internet.

Andrew Daigle is the creator and author of many successful websites including ForexBoost at http://www.ForexBoost.com and http://forex-trading-system.typepad.com , Free Forex Training Resource for the Novice and Advanced Forex trader.

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Forex Online Trading – What NOT To Believe

Forex Online Trading – What NOT To Believe

By: Harold Hsu

Learning to trade Forex is not difficult at all. In my experience, it takes the average person about 10 days to learn enough to begin trading.

However, it’s a fact that almost 95% of all Forex traders fail to make any money!

One of the reasons, I believe, why so many retail traders lose money is because they buy into all the hype and unrealistic expectations that some unscrupulous Forex marketers want them to believe. This results in many traders not getting the right education and information in order to trade profitably.

The marketers want you to believe that there’s a "hidden secret" to profitable Forex trading. They want you to believe that there are top-level "underground" traders out there that hold the "holy grail" of Forex trading… and that they’re willing to sell it to you at a low price of under two hundred dollars.

Come on, who are they trying to kid? No one would possibly buy into this hogwash, would they?

Unfortunately, as much as common sense tells them this is probably too good to be true, thousands of people every month buy into these scam trading "systems". It’s sad, but it’s the truth.

In all honesty, there are no hidden secrets to successful Forex trading. Good trading involves logical, rational thinking coupled with hard work and discipline. That’s pretty much all you’ll need – not some super "black hat", mysterious "underground" trading system that will make you an instant millionaire.

But many people don’t like to hear about this truth because it just doesn’t sound sexy or exciting. They like to think that trading is like being in a casino – you just have to strike it rich once, and you’ll be set for life! Yeah, right.

So please, don’t fall into this way of thinking. Just put in the hard work, and be persistent. The rewards will pay off handsomely.

To learn more, download my free 26-page guide here: "Forex Trading Traps!" Harold Hsu is the owner of ForexSystemProfits.com where he provides premium Forex trading information and resources.

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Forex Trading Education - Trading The News

Forex Trading Education - Trading The News

By: Harold Hsu

News trading is a popular tactic that many Forex retail traders will try sometime in their trading careers. However, not many people are aware of what it takes to trade the news successfully. In this short article, I will discuss the implications of news trading for retail traders like you and me.

What is news trading?

News trading (also known as ‘trading the news’) involves the entering into trades just before, or immediately after the release of important economic news announcements. Traders ‘trade the news’ because market prices tend to move up on good news, and move down on bad news. Important economic news announcements typically affect currency prices directly.

Why is news trading so popular?

The biggest reason for the popularity of news trading is the potential for large price movements in a very short period of time. Prices can move up to 100 pips (or more) in under a minute just after certain news is released.

The large profit potential is what lures most traders to take part in news trading. You can make a lot of money in a very short period of time.

But! News trading is dangerous

Indeed, with the large profit potential comes the possibility of a large loss. News trading is dangerous because if you’re caught on the wrong side of a trade, you can lose money so quickly that you won’t even have enough time to manually close your trades. Even stop loss orders are unreliable during news trading because of the high probability of suffering from slippage.

Should you news trade?

Honesty, I wouldn’t recommend anyone to news trade unless they’re absolutely sure about what they’re doing. Successful news trading requires one to first have superior (faster) news feeds and second to have uncanny reaction speeds to quickly enter your trades the moment news is announced.

Any other form of news trading such as placing limit orders on either above or below the market price is simply guessing. And if you’re guessing, you won’t survive very long in the market.

My advice for most retail traders would be to avoid news trading altogether.

To learn more, download my free 26-page guide here: "Forex Trading Traps!" Harold Hsu is the owner of www.ForexSystemProfits.com where he provides premium Forex trading tips and resources.

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Forex Basics - Why Trade Forex?

Forex Basics - Why Trade Forex?

By: Harold Hsu

Many people wonder if they should be interested in the foreign exchange (currency) market. They ask, "Isn’t Forex something that only the big banks and hedge fund managers pay attention to?"

Well, these large market players are definitely interested in the Forex market, but that doesn’t mean that retail traders like you and I should ignore it! In fact, the Forex market gives retail traders significant advantages that many other financial markets can’t.

Diversification

For people who already trade or invest in other financial instruments, the currency market is an obvious choice for diversification purposes. We live in a risky world, and every day we hear about terrorist attacks or the failures of financial markets (such as the sub-prime mortgage crisis). As such, the Forex market provides an excellent alternative asset class to further hedge your overall investment portfolio risk.

High Liquidity

The Forex market is the largest financial market in the world, with an average of 3.2 trillion dollars transacted every single day. Thus, as opposed to stock trading (for example) where a lack of liquidity may pose a problem, the currency market is mostly able to meet your buy and sell orders, no matter the time you are trading at. The high liquidity also enables tighter bid/ask spreads, allowing you to lower your overall cost of trading.

Leverage

Also unlike most other financial markets, the Forex market provides one of the highest levels of leverage for trading. A trader with limited funds may be able to trade tens of thousands of dollars on the market, by staking only a few hundred dollars of his own money. However, it should be noted that leverage is a double-edged sword. While it can provide large winnings using only a small stake, it has the propensity to cause large losses as well.

To learn more, download my free 26-page guide here: "Forex Trading Traps!"

Harold Hsu is the owner of http://ForexSystemProfits.com where he provides premium Forex trading information and resources.

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