Month: October 2010

By Daniel Shaw – Trading on Forex market becomes more and more popular today. There are many new traders who try to obtain the profession of a trader. However as in any other sphere of activity the proficiency in knowledge and skills is possible only with a special education. There is a huge selection of courses and seminars over there that provide the traders with necessary knowledge of online trading. Various Singapore brokers offer a Forex trading training in different forms convenient for the students: demo trading, attending lectures, online courses, webinars, classes or distance learning with the offered material.

Current full-time education in the Forex market usually consists of two parts: a theoretical part and practical exercises. The theoretical part includes lectures on the basics of economics and techniques directly applied to the analysis of financial markets. Students that have the economic education, this course does not seem difficult. It will only deepen their knowledge and get familiar with the specifics of the Forex market. Traders who don’t have any economic knowledge may find this course a little complicated, since in order to work professionally on Forex, you must have skills in market’s analysis. But economic background is not necessary for a successful Forex trading. You need to have a common knowledge, as there are many trading techniques based only on technical analysis that almost don’t involve the economic situation.

To sum it up, the theoretical part of the training course usually includes the basic concepts and principals of Forex market functionality and structure, fundamental techniques of economic analysis of the market and also the basics of the technical analysis of the Forex charts. Some courses also include the lectures about futures, shares, commodities and stocks. During the study of basic concepts of the Forex market, the students are introduced to the history of the currency market, the subjects and objects of trading, see the examples of transaction and learn how to make deals following the rules of a successful trading in Forex market.

Learning of the technical analysis involves working with the trading terminal. A teacher demonstrates the possibility of finding certain patterns in price movements in the currency. Students also become familiar with the principals of the trading terminal and the main technical indicators, also learn to make calculations required for the implementation of technical analysis.

Practical exercises help students learn to apply their knowledge to the trading: open and close of the trading positions, determine a good moment to enter the market and leave it, to use technical indicators, take control over emotions, money management and risks. The teacher monitors the actions of the students and makes necessary recommendations.

Of course taking a Forex trading course doesn’t guarantee you the full success on Forex trading and doesn’t make you a professional trading yet. You need to get a necessary experience to feel confident on the market and make successful trades. But the course gives you the necessary knowledge and the basics that will help you avoid many mistakes on trading Forex.

About the Author

Daniel Shaw is a Forex Trading professional. Visit his site Singapore FX to get more useful information and tips on how to tradeForex in Singapore.

AUDUSD remains in uptrend from 0.8771 and the rise extended to as high as 0.9916 level. Support is at 0.9540, as long as this level holds, uptrend is expected to continue and next target would be at 1.0100 area. Only break below 0.9540 could indicate that the rise from 0.8771 has completed, then the following pullback would bring price back towards the uptrend line on daily chart.

For long term analysis, AUDUSD is in uptrend from 0.8066, further rise to 1.1000 area is still possible in next several weeks.

Weekly Forex Analysis

By James McKee – Now that you have a basic understanding of the words used in the market I will go ahead and share with you some slightly more advanced terms used to convey events in the currency world and specific items or systems associated with forex trading. There are many electronic methods utilized by traders every day to make their activities more efficient and effective that every trader should be aware of. Many of these things are completely free to use but again, you must first understand something before you can utilize it, in this article I aim to do just that!

Candles- One of the very first things a new Forex trader will notice in the market when they begin to get their feet wet is the esoteric data flowing around on various charts. Forex charts can be a bit intimidating because of the colors, units and overall composition being presented to the trader. The real key to understanding this data is the same as any thing else you’ve ever learned, one step at a time. The first step in understanding a candlestick forex chart is the candle, a candle is a block with a line coming out of the top and bottom which represents a period in time which either gains or losses for the currency pair in question. Most often gains will be represented by green candles while losses will be represented by red ones. As you will see looking at just about any chart utilizing candles gains and losses are numerous and go back and forth often, but it is the overall arc you need to watch and follow in order to come out on top. A candlestick chart is just one type of chart used in the Forex community, bar charts are also very widespread.

MT4- One of the most popular automated trading systems currently being utilized by forex traders is MT4 or Meta Trader 4. However where time is money you will notice that traders love to use abbreviations, pseudonyms or whatever else they can to save time when discussing something market related or otherwise. MT4 is a useful tool to have but by no means is it a silver bullet and as with every thing else you should approach this software with caution and an open mind.

EA- This is something that should raise the hairs on your neck and always bring about extreme critical thinking and caution, EA or “expert advisor” is a type of software which advises you on which trades to make and when. While some have proven to have limited success all too often the real case using an EA is that you not only wasted money on bad software but lost some listening to it. Is it possible that an EA out there will work for you? Sure it is, but it is not likely and therefore you should always remain skeptical when you see someone refer to having an EA that will fix all of your problems. Caveat Emptor.

Please feel free to ask me for any clarification regarding the information and above, and do not be afraid to visit forex forums for advice.

About the Author

I am a Forex trader and financial analyst residing in Denver, Colorado with 5 years of experience in trading with an attitude of cooperation through education. Understanding and utilizing forex charts is key to success!

By Daniel Shaw – Online trading is a performance of buy and sale transactions of foreign currencies in the internet. When trading some traders consider the trading as hunting, where the online Forex market is a dangerous beast with horns and teeth that can take all your money and kill your trading positions. Scalping can hardly be called hunting a wild beast, it is more fishing than hunting. This strategy gives a profit from many transactions in forex market that sometimes last no more than a few minutes.

Thus, unlike the traders who operate with large funds and ready to wait for a long time to make profit, scalpers can trade with a small balance and earn large number of minute deals. In scalping every trade may earn you just few pips. For that reason online traders must complete as many transactions as possible to have a big profit. For a successful scalping, traders must learn to trade with minimal losses. Lets discuss some trading approaches that make scalping less risky.

There are few types of scalping trading method: time trading, trading with a trend and trading against the trend. Time trading is a trading strategy where a fifteen minute chart is using. The distinctive feature of this method is that the profit is fixed very quickly, but the deal rarely lasts more than a minute. Seeing a moment of the breakdown, a trader enters the market on the level of few pips above the maximum or few pips below the minimum of the price. Once the price reaches your position, you must close it once you have earned 1 pip including spread. Please notice that if the spread of this position is 3 pips so your total gain must be 4 pips in order to be in profit.

The next type of scalping trading method is called trading against the trend. This online trading is also called gathering cents where the trader is taking one-two pips of profit in each position. Every trend has the moments of so called correction and a small wave against the trend. Study the candlestick chart and look for the bullish and bearish candles in the trend. This strategy is recommended to be applied during the first and last hours of trading in a specific zone.

The next most popular type of scalping is trading with a trend. This method of scalping is applied during the trend’s rolling back. When the market is going up, you need to buy when it rolls back down, if the trend is downward, then you have to sell on a rollback up. It is better to use the 10 minute candlestick chart for this strategy and a moving average with a period of 10. You close the position once it reaches 2 pips of profit.

In this article we have shown some most simple and popular methods of scalping. Online traders who use scalping must act quickly and decisively. But also must be prepared for losses and understand that scalping doesn’t let you earn much at a time. You must collect your profits little by little.

About the Author

Liked this article? Visit our website Singapore Forex to find the answers on most of your Forex trading questions and review the most popular Singapore Brokers.

By CountingPips.com

The U.S. dollar has been mostly weaker in forex trading today against the other major currencies following today’s government employment report. The British pound, Swiss franc, Japanese yen,New Zealand dollar, Australian dollar and Canadian dollar have all gained ground versus the American currency today while the euro has gained slightly since the report but trades mostly unchanged on the day versus the greenback.

The US stock markets, meanwhile, have been trading higher today with the Dow Jones industrial average increasing by over 45 points and the Dow briefly reached the 11,000 point mark for the first time since May. The NASDAQ has also increased by over 10 points and the S&P 500 is higher by over 4 points at time of writing.

Oil has risen by $0.94 to the $82.66 level while gold has continued its upward trajectory with an increase by $10.30 dollars to trade at the $1344.80 level.

The U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls data released today showed that jobs declined by more than expected in September as the private-sector added jobs and government hiring continued to decline. The Department of Labor nonfarm payrolls report showed that U.S. payrolls lost 95,000 jobs in September while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.6 percent. September was the fourth straight month that the nonfarm payroll report has declined although private companies continued to add workers for a ninth straight month with a rise of 64,000 workers.

August’s employment data was revised to a loss of 57,000 jobs after originally showing a decline of 54,000 and follows a revised decline of 66,000 jobs lost in July.

The September report came in worse than the market forecasts that were expecting a loss of approximately 5,000 jobs and beat the expectations that the unemployment rate would reach 9.7 percent.

The decline in jobs was led by the loss of 159,000 workers in government jobs in September as temporary census government workers fell by 77,000 for the month. This follows decreases in government hiring in July by 183,000 workers and in August by 150,000 workers.

The goods producing sector saw a decline of 22,000 workers in September as manufacturing lost 6,000 jobs in construction jobs fell by 21,000 workers.

The service-providing sector created 86,000 total jobs in September with education and health services adding 17,000 workers while professional and business services also added 14,000 jobs. Retail trade added approximately 6,000 jobs for the month while leisure and hospitality jobs increased by 38,000.

EWI’s Wayne Stough adds another Flash opportunity service to the line-up: ETFs

By Elliott Wave International

Every trader or active investor at times wishes they could pick the brain of a pro that has “pulled the trigger” on real-money trades before.

EWI Director of Analysis Wayne Stough is one of these pros. For several years, several times per month, he’s been alerting his Flash service subscribers to opportunities in futures markets.

And now, there is a new addition to the Flash service line-up: ETF Opportunity Flash. We caught up with Wayne in his office and asked him a few questions:

Q: What method do you use when looking for high-probability trade set-ups?

Wayne Stough: My main approach is The Elliott Wave Principle. I look for clean, precise wave counts — usually ones that other analysts can confirm, so there is a general consensus on market direction. Once the market meets my other criteria for a high-confidence trade, I send out a Flash recommendation to my subscribers.

Q: How do you define a “high-confidence” trade?

WS: That’s a good question, because no market forecast is ever guaranteed, whether you use Elliott or some other forecasting method. Having said that, there are definitely moments when probabilities (or odds, if you will) strongly suggest a particular move. For example — and this is just basic Elliott — the Wave Principle says that markets move in a series of five waves in the direction of the larger trend (labeled on a chart 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and three waves against the trend (labeled A, B, C). Also, there are certain proportions between these waves that markets often adhere to. So whether I’m counting a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 pattern in a rally or a decline (i.e., in a bull or bear market), I focus on where the fifth wave should end, according to Elliott wave guidelines.

Once I’ve identified that price termination point, it becomes a matter of waiting for the market to get there. Fifth waves come at the end of the pattern and are usually weaker than third waves. So once I see certain technical indicators diverging (e.g. the RSI), my confidence grows: We are near the end of the pattern, and prices are about to reverse. That’s just one example of a high-confidence situation. But I do suggest a protective stop with every new Flash alert, in case the forecast doesn’t come true.

Q: Are you aiming for a particular percentage gain?

WS: Absolutely. When I send a Flash alert, I’m typically looking for a 3-to-1 ratio, at a minimum.

Q: Does that always work out?

WS: No. I monitor the recommendation for warning signals that let me know when a different scenario is unfolding in the charts. In those cases, I send out another Flash alert suggesting to lower or raise the stop-loss level, or exit the recommendation entirely.

Q: They say you love the S&P Mini as a trading vehicle. Why?

WS: I’d put it differently. I have traded the S&P for a long time, I understand that market’s nuances, and I like the leverage and volatility. But while the S&P comes naturally to me, I’ve also made many Flash recommendations on other markets, like gold and currencies. So, a better way would be to say that I love any market that gives me the desired risk-reward ratio. Now I’m also “looking for love” among various ETFs.

Special Introductory Offer: Get ETF Opportunity Flash now and have 2nd month FREE. Details.

Q: If traders expect a bear market, should they still consider Flash Services?

WS: Absolutely. I think we’re at the cusp of something very big in the stock market. And this is the time to act. Just keep in mind that speculating in severe bear markets (or during extreme volatility) carries additional risks. So be sure you do your research and know how your financial instruments behave under these conditions. And anyone who chooses to trade in this environment must only risk the money they absolutely can afford to lose.

Q: Who do you think should consider subscribing to EWI’s Flash Services — including the newest addition, the ETF Flash?

WS: Anyone who has some risk capital but not enough time or experience to find their own opportunities. Anyone who understands and accepts the fact that when you bet your money, there will be winners and losers. (Sometimes more of one than the other.) Anyone who knows better than to risk all their capital on a single recommendation; the old “all eggs in one basket” situation. I think in terms of quarters: I want all my subscribers smiling at the end of a quarter.

EWI ETF Opportunity Flash service now brings you potential high-probability opportunities in exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Don’t miss this special offer.

By Natalie R. – Today, FOREXYARD’s Chief Market Analyst Greg Holden releases his much anticipated study of this year’s Greek debt crisis. From his unique Forex analyst perspective, Greg has been able to provide stimulating insights into how traders managed to ride the economic wave to secure sizeable profits.

Economic analysis is difficult without an understanding of the bigger picture. As a trader, you want access to the most up-to-date market news you can get your hands on. But even with all that information, you find that you still don’t understand the bigger picture. This in-depth analysis on the “European Debt Crisis of 2010” (PDF) will give you precisely what you are looking for.

What factors gave rise to the Greek crisis, and how did it spread? What sort of risk was the euro zone facing exactly? Has this crisis come to an end, or is it continuing to spread? These are all questions which you’ll be better able to answer after downloading and reading this analysis.

But how does this help you, a forex trader, to make profits through your home trading platform? Not only will you understand the history of this crisis, but you will also have a better understanding about important trading elements such as long-term trends, normal vs. abnormal market trading, risk averse markets, as well as a better feel for how the major currencies trade in times of crisis.

If you have ever looked for that one article to put the past year’s major economic events into perspective, this is it.

Greg Holden, Chief Market Analyst at FOREXYARD, walks readers through the issues and climates that gave rise to this debt crisis and how it spread. Holden said, “I’ve attempted to put before you a chronological description of the events, and the punditry surrounding those events, which helped spread the panic and create an environment where savvy Forex traders were able to make serious profits.”

Included in this analysis is a short description of the other major European economies hit by the debt crisis. These major European nations, which compose the odious acronym PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain), all received their fair share of economic worries following the sudden panic fueled by Greece’s debt crisis, but were affected in different ways. By knowing the risks these countries faced, and continue to deal with in their own way, you will also have a much better grasp of the news coming out of each of these countries today.

Holden continued, “My team and I have laid out interesting trends and explanations to show how the panic made things worse than they should have been. Whilst we at FOREXYARD believe that economic education is the key to success in this market, there’s nothing like the opportunity to analyze previous events from a ‘that could have been me’ perspective.”

This In-Depth Analysis does just that, by understanding how traders made money on the last major economic quake, traders can be better equipped to take advantage of the next.

So download your copy of this in-depth analysis today and learn how to finally trade like the professionals.

About FOREXYARD

Since formation over 4 years ago, FOREXYARD has utilized the experience of professional forex traders, as well as internet and financial sector specialists, in order to successfully establish itself as one of the premier online brokerages operating in today’s market. We offer a secure, dynamic trading platform which provides superior order execution, advanced reporting and analytical tools, yet remains intuitive and user-friendly.

Forex Market Analysis provided by ForexYard.

© 2006 by FxYard Ltd

Disclaimer: Trading Foreign Exchange carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. There is a possibility that you could sustain a loss of all of your investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with Foreign Exchange trading.

By Anton Eljwizat – A bullish move in the EUR/CAD cross hasn’t received much support as of late. Below, I will demonstrate that the EUR/CAD pair has already commenced a downward trend for today, and the cross may tumble another 40-100 pips during the day. Traders are strongly advised to take advantage of the trend at an early stage.

• Below is the 4-hour chart of the EUR/CAD currency pair.

• The technical indicators that are used are the Williams Percent Ranges, Relative Strength Index (RSI), and Stochastic Slow.

• Point 1: The Slow Stochastic indicates a bearish cross, signaling that the next move may be in a downward direction.

• Point 2: The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicates that the price of this cross currently floats in the overbought territory, signaling downward pressure.

• Point 3: The Williams Percent Range shows that this pair was heavily over-bought peaked near the highest mark it could reach, and then turned a corner and now stands in a bearish posture.

EUR/CAD 4-Hour Chart

Forex Market Analysis provided by ForexYard.

© 2006 by FxYard Ltd

Disclaimer: Trading Foreign Exchange carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. There is a possibility that you could sustain a loss of all of your investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with Foreign Exchange trading.

By GCI Forex Research

Fundamental Outlook at 0800 GMT (EDT + 0400)

USD

The dollar started the session significantly weaker before investors pared back positions ahead of Friday’s payrolls report. The ECB and BoE decisions provided no surprises and Fed easing expectations remained a weight on the dollar as EURUSD breached 1.40. But then it sharply dropped back and the dollar made up a lot of lost ground and then some versus most of the G10. Gold set an all-time high around $1365 before settling back to $1334.75 at the time of writing and equities finished flat. EURUSD traded 1.3857-1.4027, USDJPY 82.12-83.03.

Kansas City Fed President Hoenig, the lone FOMC dissenter in 2010, reiterated his opposition to further easing measures as he is concerned on long-term implications of current policy. Dallas Fed President Fisher said investors should not assume the Fed is on the path for further easing and he is doubtful on the effectiveness of additional asset purchases. Fisher will be a FOMC voter in 2011. Comments aside, the upcoming payrolls print will be significant for the Fed outlook. Our analysts expect +100k on private payrolls and -20 on headline with no change in the unemployment rate. If the payroll report comes in broadly in line with consensus, then investors’s pricing in of further Fed easing is unlikely to change dramatically and the dollar will remain under pressure. But a strong positive surprise could boost Treasury yields and benefit the dollar and dollar-bloc currencies, given their correlation with US equities. A negative surprise will further weaken the dollar versus the yen and the Swiss franc via lower Treasury yields.
EUR

ECB President Trichet did not offer any new insights in the press conference following the unchanged policy rate. His comments largely echoed his September remarks and he continued to sound cautious as uncertainty persists. Trichet said improvement in liquidity conditions and Euriobr rates was a sign of normalization, rather than any policy signal, which our economists had anticipated he would say. The only comment Trichet offered on FX was that he opposed excess volatility and disorderly moves. His lack of opinion on current euro levels gave an implicit signal that the ECB is not at the point yet where currency levels are concerning to them.
The IMF’s Strauss-Kahn said that a sluggish European recovery is a concern and their base case does not call for a double-dip in the US.
GBP

The BoE decision was a non-event as expected and investor focus now shifts to the release of the MPC minutes on October 20 to see how the votes panned out. That same day the Chancellor of the Exchequer will provide details of the government spending plans. We remain cautious on sterling ahead of then.
At 0.3% m/m and 6.0% y/y, manufacturing output was better than expected and industrial production was inline with consensus at 0.3% m/m and 4.2% y/y. Our economists note PMI and CBI point to continued growth in manufacturing. Halifax house prices declined more than expected on a monthly basis in September at -3.6%.
CAD

Labour data is due in Canada. The net change in employment is expected to dip to 10.0k from 35.8k and the unemployment rate is forecast to remain at 8.1%. Even though nonfarm payrolls in the US will dictate USDCAD movements, the Canadian data will influence relative value via the non-USD crosses as the disappointing building permits did at -9.2% m/m versus consensus -2.0% m/m.

TECHNICAL OUTLOOK

EURUSD 1.3799 Support.
EURUSD BULLISH Break of 1.3896 favours the extension of bull trend towards 1.4194. Near-term support holds at 1.3799 ahead of 1.3637.
USDJPY BEARISH Bearish trend remains intact; break of 82.88 exposes 79.75. Resistance remains at 83.99 ahead of 85.40.
GBPUSD BULLISH Sustained break of 1.6069 would expose 1.6276. Support at 1.5670 ahead of 1.5503.
USDCHF BEARISH Next support below 0.9500 lies at 0.9078. Resistance at 0.9739 ahead of 0.9918 breakout low.
AUDUSD BULLISH Sharp rise through 0.9850 and 0.9905 exposes 1.000 psychological resistance. Support comes in at 0.9773.
USDCAD BEARISH Recovery has resistance at 1.0380. Violation of 1.0108 shifts focus to 0.9931 with scope for 0.9820 next.
EURCHF NEUTRAL Pressure on 1.3482 Fibonacci resistance, with scope for 1.3697 measured objective. Support at 1.3265.
EURGBP BULLISH Pressure on 0.8808 with next resistance at 0.8894. Support holds at 0.8689 ahead of 0.8563.
EURJPY BULLISH Expect gains to extend towards 116.68 and 119.33 next. Near-term support comes in at 113.89 ahead of 111.47.

Forex Daily Market Commentary provided by GCI Financial Ltd.

GCI Financial Ltd (”GCI”) is a regulated securities and commodities trading firm, specializing in online Foreign Exchange (”Forex”) brokerage. GCI executes billions of dollars per month in foreign exchange transactions alone. In addition to Forex, GCI is a primary market maker in Contracts for Difference (”CFDs”) on shares, indices and futures, and offers one of the fastest growing online CFD trading services. GCI has over 10,000 clients worldwide, including individual traders, institutions, and money managers. GCI provides an advanced, secure, and comprehensive online trading system. Client funds are insured and held in a separate customer account. In addition, GCI Financial Ltd maintains Net Capital in excess of minimum regulatory requirements.

DISCLAIMER: GCI’s Daily Market Commentary is provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in these reports is gathered from reputable news sources and is not intended to be U.S.ed as investment advice. GCI assumes no responsibility or liability from gains or losses incurred by the information herein contained.

GBP/USD

Daily graph: http://www.real-forex.com/charts-daily/081010/GBP_DAILY_081010.JPG

One – Hour graph: http://www.real-forex.com/charts-daily/081010/GBP_1H_081010.JPG

The pair finally crossed the resistance 1.5896 upward after 4 days of anemic candles. However the resistance was crossed back downwards a few hours later. Such a behavior can indicate a very strong reversal trend. Now we suggest you to look for a descending configuration on the one-hour graph in order to start a “Short” Transaction.

Potential Trade

According to our opinion, the descending configuration will happen when the pair will cross the support level of 1.5817. Once this level crossed, we suggest you to enter the following orders for the potential trade:

• “Limit” order on “short” position in case of 10pips breach downward of the support: 1.5817
• “Stop Loss” on the last high occurred: 1.5882.
• We suggest you not to enter a “Take Profit” order, but rather follow the movement of the pair on a one-hour graph.

AUD/USD

Daily graph: http://www.real-forex.com/charts-daily/081010/AUD_WEEKLY_081010.JPG

Please pay attention to these two points:

• During the last session, the pair crossed a critical weekly resistance, and crossed it back downward.
• The pair moved several hundred pips during the last months.

This may indicate a reversal trend. The period of correction resulting from this reversal, can create an opportunity of “Short “transaction. We suggest you to follow the movement of the pair on a one-hour graph and look for the descending configuration which will indicate the opportunity to “Short”.

We wish you a profitable day and a great week end

Real-Forex team: