How to Approach the Foreign Exchange Market

By Damian Papworth

The foreign exchange market is mystifying to many people. There is good reason for this, since these financial markets are among the riskiest in which to trade. This article will explore the topic of the foreign exchange market, what makes it so risky and how to understand it a little better.

What exactly does foreign exchange mean? What are the nuts and bolts of this market? Quite simply, it's the money used in different countries around the world. An investor buys money (known as currency) from one country with the sale of money from another. Without this transaction process, the global economy would stop. Whether you know it or not, you have probably engaged in the foreign exchange market already. In fact, it may be an everyday occurrence for you.

Maybe it was in the course of a vacation out of the country, or on a business trip, that you had to use local money for transactions. Whether you were operating with traveler's cheques, hard cash or on credit, during the course of any transaction there was an exchange that took place. Right away you will realize that the FX Market has been a part of your life.

Often, we are involved in the exchange market indirectly, as consumers who purchase goods from another country. Anything imported was either bought or sold with an exchange in currency. Next, a calculation by the importer will set the price for the foreign goods in the country where it will be sold, taking the entire scale of exchange into account. While you might have forgotten that it took this sort of arrangement for foreign goods to make their way to local stores, it happens every day of the year. The FX market has everyone involved, from tourists to exporters, from consumers to importers. The exchange of currencies makes it happen.

Part of the confusion surrounding the FX market is the fluctuation of currency. As with the price of most items on indices, supply versus demand factors heavily in the equation. As a certain currency is wanted and demanded on the market, the price will rise, as sellers realize they have something with which to bargain. Buyers are willing to pay more, supporting the whole transaction. On the other hand, as a currency ends up heavy on the supply end, anyone wishing to dump it will have to accept a lower price. This part of currency exchange makes sense when you stop to consider it.

One of the most difficult concepts to grasp is why certain currencies are so volatile. At times, even the experts are left scratching their heads as well, watching the waves of supply and demand with baffled looks on their faces. To succeed in the FX Markets, traders need to keep many different factors in mind and invest with experience, but answers aren't as simple as "yes" or "no" in this game. Formulas are just as scarce, so the more insight a trader has and the more research they've done, the better their chances.

The currency figures of a particular country represent the economic value of that country, thus compared against that of another country. When you start to consider the endless number of factors which can affect an economy in one direction or another, and how some of them defy all logic, you will see the dilemma of anyone who is trading currency for a living.

Of course, one country's economy is only one part of the overall equation. The strength of the other country's economy is equally important. It doesn't do you a tremendous amount of good to be the master of one country when deciding to trade in the currency exchange markets, if you aren't familiar with the other currency you're trading.

Further, your currency trades against all the currencies in the world. So you need to know exactly how each individual economy is going, to compare it against your economy before making a judgement call about whether you think the exchange rate will go up or down.

And if you manage to get all your analysis correct, you then need to hope everyone else does too. Currencies can move on investors opinions, expectations met or expectations not met, global sentiments of what is likely to happen as much as global opinion of what has happened. There are fundamental traders (who look at information such as the above to make their decisions) and technical traders. (who just follow graphs and don't care why) Both trader groups can impact the price as they impact supply and demand.

Some investors will buy currencies with long-range goals in mind. With a big investment in currencies, they use it to support other ventures, which also has an effect on the currency's value.

Then there are Foreign Exchange Trading Strategies which don't need to predict if a currency is going to go up or down. It doesn't matter which way the traded currencies move, they make small incremental profits in both directions.

I hope this helps take some of the mystery out of the FOREX market. - 23212

About the Author:

If you are tired of your slow mutual fund investment, Damian Papworth recommends FOREX trading. The excitement and potential returns are unparalleled.

Woodstock, GA Has Great Homes For Sale

By Jennifer Giraldi

A 30 minute drive through the Northern part of the Atlanta suburbs takes you to a small city called Woodstock, Georgia. Although it shares the same name as the popular music festival, you will see it is very different. This city has a small town feel, but big town views. Woodstock was once just a small suburban town with a very simple real estate market. The city used to just house first time homebuyers and middle class families. Within the last ten years things began to change. There is now Woodstock homes for sale to satisfy any type of homebuyer.

Recently, Woodstock real estate is divided into three main categories. The first time home buyers, who are either single or newly married. Next would be the middle income families with children, and middle aged couples who live in medium sized four to five bedroom homes. And finally we have the retirees who desire active adult communities.

Within the last ten years Woodstock has become a desirable real estate region for first time home buyers. Native Atlantans who were raised in sister cities such as Marietta, Roswell, and Alpharetta, have relocated to Woodstock and taken advantage of lower Cherokee County taxes and home prices. The lower property, sales, and association dues helped Woodstock grow into the thriving city it is today.

With much affordable middle income housing, first time home buyers have flocked to this city. Communities such as Brookshire, Kingsgate, and The Woodlands, offer a great example of Woodstock homes for sale. The city now has even more appeal to the younger demographic with the Downtown Woodstock project. Complete with condos, town homes, and lofts, downtown living has now traveled to the suburbs.

Families of all shapes and sizes also love Woodstock, Ga real estate. The Woodlands provide many homes priced from the low 200s to the high 300s. Vast green space with wooded nature trails, creeks, and more, make this community one of the most sought after family neighborhoods. The area also has a good amount of luxury homes available. Golf course homes within Bradshaw Farms, and Towne Lake Hills, are also very popular housing destinations.

Retirees from surrounding states and areas are now finding Woodstock to be a special place to settle. Maintence free communities such as Cottages of Woodstock offer great homes for an affordable price. Many of these new communites are modeled after some of the great developments in Florida. Why move to Florida now, when you can have the same type of home and amenities right here in your own back yard? - 23212

About the Author:

Search real estate in Atlanta, GA. Search real estate in the Woodstock real estate market. Woodstock Real Estate Atlanta Real Estate

Tips for Trading Symmetrical Triangles Long with CFDs

By Jeff Cartridge

Symmetrical triangles have been very popular with traders over the years trading the chart pattern when it breaks out in either direction. A symmetrical triangle is defined by two lines, one on the upper boundary of the price movement which slopes down and one on the lower side which slopes up. The lines have almost the same angle, hence the name symmetrical.

Symmetrical Triangles, Breakout Unclear

Symmetrical triangles show no clear breakout direction. Just over half (56%) of the patterns break upwards and this is likely due to the upward bias of the markets. The average gain is 0.85% in 9 days with less than half of the breakouts (44%) being profitable.

Refine Your Entries

Unusually symmetrical triangles do not work well when the market is an up trend, but perform better when the market is consolidating or falling. As would be expected, both the sector and the share should be consolidating or in an up trend.

A breakout from a symmetrical triangle should be after the pattern has travelled at least 30% of the length. If it breaks out early in the pattern it will produce smaller profits. In a similar way longer patterns that have a length of 25 days or more produce smaller returns.

Volume is very important with symmetrical triangles ensure that the volume is highly supportive of the breakout with the volume as the share rises 40% or more than volume as the share falls.

Symmetrical Triangles Deliver Strong Profits

Following a series of simple rules to determine which symmetrical triangle to trade can improve results dramatically. By applying these filters symmetrical triangles are profitable on 55% of the trades and return an average of 1.87% per trade in 11 days. This is a very profitable pattern to trade.

Note: Statistics for this article have been provided by Patterns Trader after analyzing over 60,000 chart patterns on the Australian market from 2000 - 2008. - 23212

About the Author:

Jeff Cartridge has been trading chart patterns since 1998 and created the website LearnCFDs.com A Simple Timeless Method for Huge Gains

Dow Futures Explained (Part II)

By Ahmad Hassam

As a percentage of the total number of futures contracts traded, stock-index futures are by far the largest category of futures contracts traded. That dominance clearly speaks of the major role that stock-index futures play in risk management for the entire stock market. Stock index futures like the Dow Futures are traded for speculation as well as hedging purposes.

There are many advantages of trading stock index futures like the Dow Futures. Stock index futures like the Dow futures are a better option than trading individual stocks. Some of these advantages are gains in the futures markets are taxed at a lower rate than the stock market capital gains.

However, future traders don't have the same amount of time to make decisions as someone who is only trading stocks. Globex is a 24 hour electronic trading system for a wide variety of futures contract. If something happens on the stock market overnight when it is closed and you want to hedge your risk, you can trade Dow Futures or the S&P 500 Futures on Globex. Many futures brokerages offer lower commission rates as compared to stocks.

When you trade stock index futures like the Dow Futures, you are betting on the direction of the contract value, in this case DJIA and not on the individual stocks that make up the index.

When you are trading index futures, you are blocking out a good deal of the noise that is often associated with the daily gyrations in the prices of the individual stocks. In trading stock index futures like the Dow Futures, you focus on the value and the general trend of the 30 blue chip stocks as a group when you trade the Dow Futures. Similarly when you trade S&P 500 futures contract, you are focusing on the 500 stocks included in the S&P 500 index as a group not as individual stocks.

Stock indexes are basically moved by any information that relates to the sector represented by these indexes. Stock index futures like the Dow Futures are guaranteed to move in response to the release of periodical economic indicators. You can simply speculate with the futures contract like the Dow Futures just by using technical and fundamental analysis. You can setup positions with both futures and options as you wait for the news to hit the wire.

Stock indexes move when economic news of fundamental nature is released. For the past many years, the monthly NFP employment report which is issued the first Friday of every month at 8:30 AM EST has been an excellent mover for stock index futures like the Dow Futures.

You just need to find one or two stock index futures with which you're comfortable -the ones that enable you to implement your strategies. You don't need to trade every major index futures contract in the world to be successful.

The better off you are, the more you know about a particular type of a contract. So the best way to trade futures contracts is to become a specialist in one type of the contract like the Dow Futures or the S&P 500 Futures or NASDAQ-100 Futures.

Figure out how many days the Dow Futures contract tends to spend rising or falling along a Bollinger Band. You can get an idea when the Dow Futures contract is likely to turn around. This way you can become a Dow Futures swing trader. Every time profiting from a turn in the DJIA! So by becoming a specialist in trading Dow Futures you can make a lot of profit daily from the daily movements in DJIA. - 23212

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Trade Dow Futures. Learn Swing Trading!

Inflation And Your Money

By Mike Swanson

Inflation is a term that often has a negative connotation for stock market beginners. We hear the word and it makes us shudder. No one wants to pay more today for a product that we bought yesterday for a lower price. However, inflation is not always bad. In real estate, inflation can increase the value of our home while we pay the same mortgage payment.

This example shows how inflation can be helpful.

Bob and Marie bought their first home in 1989 for fifty four thousand dollars. The home payment, which includes the insurance premium and the taxes, were four hundred dollars each month.

In 2005, the value of their home had increased two hundred nine thousand dollars. Their payments have also increased due to an increase in the homes assessed value and insurance rates. Their total payment in 2005 is five hundred and forty dollars.

Bob and Marie have benefited greatly from inflation. There investment has grown by a five hundred percent factor. At the same time, they are paying the same amount of money for the home in 2006 that they were 17 years ago.

Bob and Marie list the property for sale, but it does not immediately sell. The market for real-estate quickly turns sour and they watch the value of their home drop. Eventually it is appraised at one hundred thirty thousand dollars and they decide to wait to sell. Although the payment remains constant, they are no longer seeing the benefits of inflation.

Runaway inflation is hurtful for most people. For those on fixed incomes, it is especially difficult. However, some inflation helps our lives to flow smoothly.

What we really desire is to see balanced inflation. The prices of things grow gradually along with our paycheck as well as the value of our property. - 23212

About the Author:

One good way to start our in gold investing is to subscribe to my free gold stocks newsletter.