USD Forex Trading Analysis for Forex Traders

The USD is trading firmer to start New York this morning after a slow start in Asia; traders have been waiting for the return of US trading before large volumes were seen. Cross-spreaders and option defense started the overnight session as EURO/JPY sales initially rallied the majors to highs overnight before the USD began to gain in Europe.

Disappointing UK economic data and poor German industrial production numbers pressured both GBP and EURO through the European session knocking both pairs into lows ahead of New York. Cable traded to a low print at 1.9666 as stops fired off under the 1.9700 handle again; traders note that the GBP appears to be trading in a very large triangle/wedge pattern suggesting a lot of potential two-way action over several handles may result.

Now that we are in the “summer doldrums” it is possible that the technical picture will remain more viable for short-term traders and it is my view that the GBP will cover a lot of the same ground twice. EURO sold off briefly into stops under the 1.5700 handle for a low print at 1.5610 before solid bids were seen. Traders report that model accounts were on the offer with large orders at the 1.5630/40 area; also of note the 50 bar MA comes in today at 1.5582 which may offer support on further weakness.

EURO has a strong exponential sell signal from Thursday last week and the rate is likely going to correct into solid support a bit further down in my view. Good quality buys may be seen in the next 24-48 hours. USD/JPY rallied to our limit entry point overnight and aggressive traders should be short at the 107.50 area; high prints so far overnight 107.72 in line with the 200 bar MA.

Traders note that the rate has seen quality buys last week from Asian sovereigns who were seen briefly offering the rate above the 107.50 area overnight suggesting that possibly the rate is capped at the 200 bar MA near-term. USD/CHF and USD/CAD also rallied into near-term resistance but failed to trigger quality sell signals just yet.

Look for Swissy to be a sell above the 1.0350 area and the Loonie to be a short above the 1.0230/40 area; CAD data due out today may be of help there. In my view, the USD is off to a firm start into resistance; we need to look at the short side of any strength near-term.

Avalon Capital Holdings Awards Prizes for Trading Contest Winners

Avalon Capital Holdings Corporation (OTC:AVAL) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Traders Development LLC, announced today that it has awarded prizes to the top 3 traders in its first contest. Faisel Freihat, the 1st place winner, finished with a profit of 6200% and received a Sony Vaio Laptop Computer. Ruben Meghavoryan, the 2nd prize winner, finished with a profit of 3700% was awarded a $250.00 gift certificate, and Mark Kolodziej, the 3rd prize winner, finished with a profit of 1700% was awarded an iPod nano.

In making the announcement, Sean Jui, Chief Technical Officer of Avalon Capital Holdings Corporation, stated, "The success of our demo trading contest has once again proven the global popularity of Avalon FX Pro 4.1. It is evident that the demands from the global Forex trading community are strong for Avalon FX Pro. We are confident that the prevailing technology of our system will bring great value to anyone that offers Avalon FX Pro 4.1 to their trading clients."

About Avalon Capital Holdings Corporation

Avalon Capital Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, develops, markets and distributes high-performance trading software for financial companies that engage in online trading. The Company offers products related to the Foreign Exchange ("Forex"), the world's largest capital market according to The Bank of International Settlements. For additional information please visit http://www.avalonch.com/ or email info@avaloncapitalholdings.com.

About Traders Development, LLC

Traders Development, LLC is a financial software company based in Irvine, California. Traders Development plans to be a leading technology provider of foreign exchange trading and data solutions to trading professionals and qualified organizations. Traders Development also provides turn-key or customized solutions to qualified organizations including dealing interface (or graphic user interface-GUI), application program interface (API), back-office processing, database, servers, technical support and upgrades. Traders Development has developed and owns its proprietary Forex trading platform, Avalon FX Pro(TM). For additional information contact info@tradersdevelopment.com.

A number of statements referenced in this Press Release are forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21B of the Exchange Act of 1934. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, and goals, assumption of future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those presently anticipated. Forward-looking statements in this Release may be identified through the use of words such as "expects," "will," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," or statements indicating certain actions "may," "could," or "might" occur. Such statements reflect the current views of Avalon Capital Holdings Corporation with respect to future events and are subject to certain assumptions, including those described in this release. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the timely development and market acceptance of products, services, and technologies, competitive market conditions, successful integration of acquisitions, the ability to secure additional sources of financing, the ability to reduce operating expenses, and other factors. The actual results that the Company achieves may differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties.

Avalon Capital Holdings Corporation does not undertake any responsibility to update the "forward-looking" statements contained in this news release. Any communications received by fax or e-mail concerning Avalon Capital Holdings Corporation which have not been authorized by the Company or its investor relations/media advisory firm are specifically disavowed by the Company.

Easy-Forex™ Launches Online Forex Trading Platform in U.S.

Easy-Forex™ today announced the U.S. launch of its new online foreign exchange platform. Already a strong presence in the global forex marketplace, Easy-Forex’s U.S. online platform provides an exciting, easy and transparent option that helps users make educated, clear decisions in an otherwise complicated market.

The realities of globalization are bringing more people to understand the draw and relevancy of forex trading. Europe has maintained a mainstream online forex trading marketplace for more than a decade and forex is recognizable there as a common consumer / retail-based product. More than three trillion U.S. dollars daily or 29 million U.S. dollars every second are traded on the foreign exchange market, validating the high liquidity and opportunity the market presents. Furthermore, this fast moving online environment allows live trading to occur 24 hours a day / 5 ½ days a week.

“Our Easy-Forex online trading platform opens up the playing field to forex trading by removing the unnecessary complexity and mystery that is so often associated with online foreign exchange trading,” states Peter Economides, Easy-Forex Group Global Brand Director. “We are pleased to be entering the U.S. market, and offer our revolutionary approach to online forex trading as a solution for any trader who has experienced frustration with their existing investment opportunities.”

The proprietary innovative technology of the Easy-Forex platform enables its simplicity and ease of use for traders. The platform was built with state of the art technologies and algorithms to support the special needs of Easy-Forex users and helps to provide a transparent and exciting trading experience for all. Additionally, by having its own fully dedicated technology company, Easy-Forex Technologies, the company is able to offer users unique platform elements that are not available on any other online trading platform.

Distinctive features of the Easy-Forex platform include:

* The Visual Trading Machine provides a quick display of the most current market information. Each element of the machine is designed to empower the user to make educated decisions about their portfolio of trades, optimizing their trading experience.
* Inside Viewer™ allows traders to see through the market with ease and informs them what others on the Easy-Forex platform are trading in real time (popularity of a currency pair, a deal direction and structure of an open deal). This feature brings Easy-Forex to a new standard of ethics in transparency.
* The unique Trade Controller™ tool provides a clear and complete picture of all profit/loss scenarios for precision measurement and adjustment. Users are encouraged to interact with the controls to set their desired values visually and simply.
* The Freeze Rate capability enables traders to freeze an existing Buy or Sell rate for a few seconds at a time, allowing traders to briefly lock in a rate regardless of market movement with no commitment to trade.

Also launching this week is Easy-Forex’s integrated national advertising campaign which brings to life its distinctive “trade naked” concept. A tongue-in-cheek approach, the “trade naked” slogan is used to describe the transparency, simplicity and ease of using the Easy-Forex trading platform. Television, radio, online and print advertisements humorously demonstrate the benefits of “trading naked” while highlighting how the online platform differentiates itself in an environment otherwise littered with complicated tools and interfaces.

The Easy-Forex U.S. headquarters is located in Chicago, Ill. and the company’s online trading platform is immediately available for U.S. registrants. Traders who sign up with Easy-Forex will gain a hassle-free trading experience with no downloads necessary, low initial deposits and personal account managers assigned for every account.

Forex: a fast, exciting ride

Perhaps you have heard about the booming foreign exchange market. Maybe the rising dollar has made you wonder how you can benefit from our stronger currency. Either way, if you're considering investigating foreign exchange trading at the moment, you're in good company.

The global Forex market has a daily turnover of around $US3.7 trillion and it's no longer just the wealthy individuals who are getting in on the action. The number of smaller DIY traders has also grown. Why? Because now you can open an account with just $350 and make money from volatile markets and currencies. Of course, you've also got to be prepared to lose it.

Forex trading can be fast and exciting, allowing you to benefit from volatile markets in ways that stocks and shares do not. But, just as you can enjoy fat returns, so too can you open yourself up to heftier risks.

Both the advantage and disadvantage to Forex trading is the leverage you can get on your cash. Put simply, this means you can control about 100 to 400 times the amount of money in your account, so whatever you make - or lose - will be multiplied by 100 or 400.

So there's quite a bit of research to do before you jump in. First, you've got to understand that exchange rates change by the hour - sometimes the minute - so Forex trades can last minutes, hours, days or even weeks. It's an unpredictable science and there are few or no guarantees.

TRADING BASICS
Trading Forex means you're buying one currency and selling another in exchange. So you're always trading in pairs. For example, an exchange rate of one Australian dollar to the United States dollar means that $1 is worth the same as $US1.

Forex is quoted on a "bid" and "offer" price system. This means you can buy a currency from a dealer for their "offer" price. If you want to sell a currency the dealer will give you a "bid" price, which is what he is willing to pay for the currency you are selling.

Many Forex providers, or market-makers as they are called in market jargon, will quote you a "spread". This is the difference between the "bid" and "offer" prices quoted by your market-maker.

It's really just like going and getting your currency changed before going on holiday. Your bank quotes you a price and you get your money changed. Then you notice there's a commission on the deal, which is effectively the same as the spread.

GETTING STARTED
The first thing you've got to do is open an account with a broker. Picking which one to go for will probably be determined by how much you want to trade and how frequently. The table above, compiled by research house Infochoice, should give you an idea of what the different brokers offer.

For example, if you don't want to risk too much too early, you might want to go for Easy Forex, which offers "mini accounts" where you can make trades as low as $25, rather than the usual $5000. You can open an account with many brokers with $100,000, $25,000, or as little as $350.

You just have to make sure you have enough in your account to satisfy the margin requirements of your broker or dealer: usually more than 25 per cent above the amount you want to trade.

Once you've signed and had a go at the demo accounts (and, by the way, Easy Forex doesn't offer a demo) all you have to do is log on to the internet and you can buy or sell currencies in different markets 24 hours a day (5 1/2 days a week).

WHAT IF IT GOES BAD?
Check what sort of safeguards your dealer offers. Most have systems that will warn you when things are starting to go wrong as your balance falls to your buffer, or margin, requirement.

You can put "stop orders" or "limit orders" on your accounts to limit your losses or to protect your profits. But without "guaranteed" stop orders you can be in serious trouble. Let's say you get an email warning you that you're account balance is close to your margin requirement. You call your broker (or he acts without having to wait for your call) but your position can't be closed quickly enough.

If this happens you could lose all your money and even end up owing money to your dealer.

FURTHER RESEARCH
Before you commit any money, consider signing with a few online firms to get access to their demo accounts. These allow you to make hypothetical trades, so you get an idea of how Forex trading works and what software package you like.

Some firms also have online training packages and training courses. The ASX website has helpful hints on options trading and there are books that can help, including The Complete Idiot's Guide To Foreign Currency Trading.

You should do some homework on currency trading, such as what global factors affect prices.

WHAT ROLLOVER?
Rollover comes from the idea that spot Forex is traded, based on a value date of two days after your trade is placed. So theoretically, physical delivery of the currency would be expected in two days. To avoid this, your position is automatically rolled over each day at 3pm. This means that it is closed at the predetermined closing date and reopened at a new opening rate. You can then hold the position overnight, or longer. This is also where interest takes effect: based on the currency pair bought or sold, interest will be automatically added or subtracted from your account.

Guide To Forex Trading

Thousands of traders and investors trade forex daily. Here are tips from experts to help you start making money in forex trading.

* Do A Lot Of Research: Knowledge is power. Before you start trading, you need to under the basics of the market. Forex market is influenced by global news and events.

* Learn The Relationship Of Currencies: If you want to be a successful trader, you need to know how one currency will impact another, not just one.

* Trade For Long Term: Many new traders tend to take very small profit in the short run. If you are aiming to make less than 20 points profit, don’t undertake your trade.

Long Term Forex Trading

Many traders trade the markets several times a week, or even several times every day, but it's important to note that long term forex trading can be just as profitable, if not more so. Just one long term position can potentially yield a lot more profit that hundreds of smaller positions.

If you've ever tried short term forex trading or scalping, you will know that it can be very stressful at the best of times. You have to think on your feet and react quickly to the movements of the market. You also have to contend with requotes and being monitored by your forex broker if you are doing a lot of very short term trading. There's also the possibility of the platform going down temporarily which can destroy a short-term position, whereas for longer trades it's not really an issue.

This is why it's generally a good idea to trade 1 hour or 4 hour charts at the very least, because you have more time to analyse your entries and exits, and you can relax a lot more than if you were constantly entering and exiting positions all day long. If you really want to adopt a hands-off approach and leave your trading positions to unwind gradually you can adopt a really long term approach.

This involves trading daily, weekly or even monthly charts and is ideal for those people who maybe have a full-time job but still want to trade and make money from the forex markets. You simply wait for the right set-up and hold on to a position until it reaches it's conclusion, depending on your own particular trading criteria.

For example, if you were interested in just trading the monthly charts you could decide to adopt an Exponential Moving Average crossover system to enter and exit your trades. So for instance you could wait until the EMA (5) crosses the EMA (20) or you could only enter a position when the EMA (5) and/or the EMA (20) crosses the EMA (50). If you make the right call, you can potentially yield thousands of points profit trading this way.

Take a look at the monthly charts of some of the major currency pairs for example. You will see after the EMA (5) crossed upwards through the EMA (20) on the GBP/USD pair in 2006, the price subsequently rose nearly 3000 points over the next 2 years, which is nearly $30,000 profit if you were trading 1 lot.

It's a similar story on the USD/JPY currency pair. You will see by looking at the monthly chart that the EMA (5) crossed downwards through the EMA (20) last year and the price subsequently fell another 2000 points over the next 6 months.

So don't think that you have to be constantly trading the markets all day long in order to make decent profits from forex trading because long term trading can be just as lucrative, and is certainly a lot less stressful.

Forex Trading with the MACD

The MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) is a trend-following momentum indicator that shows the relationship between two moving averages of prices. The MACD is calculated by subtracting the 26-day exponential moving average (EMA) from the 12-day EMA. A nine-day EMA of the MACD, called the “signal line”, is then plotted on top of the MACD, functioning as a trigger for buy and sell signals when trading the forex market.

First Some History

Developed by Gerald Appel, Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) is one of the simplest and most reliable indicators available.

MACD uses moving averages, which are lagging indicators, to include some trend-following characteristics.


These lagging indicators are turned into a momentum oscillator by subtracting the longer moving average from the shorter moving average. The resulting plot forms a line that oscillates above and below zero, without any upper or lower limits.

Benefits of the MACD

One of the primary benefits of MACD is that it incorporates aspects of both momentum and trend in one indicator. As a trend-following indicator, it will not be wrong for very long.

The use of moving averages ensures that the indicator will eventually follow the movements of the underlying security. By using exponential moving averages, as opposed to simple moving averages, some of the lag has been taken out.

MACD Setup

The default settings for the MACD which we will use are:

Slow moving average - 26 days
Fast moving average - 12 days
Signal line - 9 day moving average of the difference between fast and slow.
All moving averages are exponential.

Although there are three moving averages mentioned you will only see two lines. The simplest method of use is when the two lines cross. If the faster signal line crosses above the MACD line ( The MACD line is calculated by the difference between the 26-day exponential moving average and the 12-day exponential moving average) then a buy signal is generated and vice versa.

The higher above the zero both lines are the more overbought it becomes and the lower below the zero line both lines are the more oversold it becomes.

It may also lead to a stronger signal if the signal line crosses down when it is overbought and crosses up when it is oversold.

The last common use of MACD is that of divergence.

If the MACD is making new lows and the price of the security is not making new lows that is one form of divergence (bullish divergence).

Also, if the MACD has made a high and starts to head down but price continues up that is another type of divergence (bearish divergence) and may lead to an indication of a change in direction.

There are many ways to trade the MACD but one of our favourites are too use two different time frames. All we do is establish a trend in a higher time period than the one we intend to trade. For our higher time frame welike to use the 30 min chart and then drop down to the 5 min chart when conditions have been met on the 30 min chart.

On the 30 min forex trading chart below there was a typical buy signal. The chart below (red arrow) shows the fast 9-day signal EMA (grey line) crossing over the MACD line EMA (green line).

After confirming the signal on the 30 min chart we then dropped to the 5min chart and bought the rallies wherever the MACD crossed up, confident to stay long (to buy) as long as our higher time period MACD trend in the 30 min stayed intact. If the 30 min MACD signal line were to cross down we would have closed all long positions.

Dubai Quality Group adopts a Forex educational campaign in the UAE

ACM Advanced Currency Markets - the Swiss leader in foreign exchange, in cooperation with Dubai Quality Group, will hold a special seminar to introduce local investors to Forex services, on Monday, June 23rd 2008, from 6 p.m. at the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai.

Through the seminar, ACM hopes to share its knowledge about profitable opportunities, while also highlighting the trading trends in global markets within the system of margin. The seminar will focus on ways of handling market volatilities and methods for managing risks and increasing profits through the use of sound financial analysis, economic data and news releases from central banks around the world.

"With the current phenomenal increase in crude oil prices and the ensuing liquidity it has brought to the Arabian Gulf economy, local investors are avid for new investment opportunities. This trend, coupled with the rapid development of information technologies has made possible the introduction of innovative investment services through the internet. ACM, aware of this trend has made Forex and precious metals trading available to the general public through the development of user friendly platforms and flexible trading terms in conjunction with unequalled professional skills and expertise,” said Iskandar Al-Najjar, Director of Advanced Currency Markets –ACM.

"The Forex market is not as well known as the stock market in the region, for several reasons. The most important of which are the inherited misconceptions about currency markets in the Arab World, created by the limited use of international currencies in local financing. Currency markets are relatively new and until recently traditionally limited to specialized investors. This is why ACM decided to cooperate with Dubai Quality Group in order to inform potential investors on Forex trading. This seminar is part of the series of awareness events by Dubai Quality Group and ACM in line with our continuous efforts in the field," explained Al-Najjar.

"Dubai Quality Group's interest in Forex trading arises from our endeavours to provide the best trading techniques, available opportunities and advanced technologies to the local community in partnership with ACM, one of the best global companies in this sector. ACM has extensive experience in the currencies market and a long track record in the Middle East. Their familiarity with Middle Eastern investors has provided them with insight to the possible challenges they face, their interests and the reasons that encourage them to invest in stock and discourage them from investing in Foreign exchange. That is why we believe they are in the perfect position to clear such misconceptions and lack of awareness concerning the Foreign exchange market,” said. Samia Al-Yousef, General Manager of Dubai Quality Group.

"The seminar aims mainly to educate people about global and local brokers, and the nature of unprofessional market makers who pose threats to new investors, and even experienced investors. Such unprofessional companies attempt to absorb as much investment as possible through artificially creating small profits to attract further investment and later create technical failures to ensure loss of profits and capital. The seminar also aims to educate interested people about the sources of information and how to investigate the companies with which they wish to deal, in order to be able to choose the most transparent company and the company that is most able to support its clients technically. Moreover, the seminar will provide an overview of the technological methods and systems that are used in the Forex field; such as the main online trading platform, whether through JAVA or the Web Trader, or by the Mobile or Flash," concluded Al Yousef.

Top 10 Currency Trading Tips From Deutsche Bank

Top 10 currency trading tips from Deutsche Bank dbFX

1. Know what moves currency markets. Like any asset class, there are a number of factors that drive a currency's performance. A country’s macroeconomic situation can have a major influence--economic data releases, policy decisions, and political events can change an economist’s outlook on the country, and therefore its currency. There are also technical factors such as interest rates, equity markets, and international trade, which may also have an impact. Spend time getting to know these.

2. Understand the strategies. Yes, there is a method to the madness. As a trader, you need to be aware of three crucial trading strategies, which are often used by currency traders: the carry, momentum, and value trade. Momentum tracks the direction of currency markets; the carry strategy sees investors selling currencies with low interest rates and buying those with high rates; and the valuation strategy takes a position based on the investor’s view of a currency’s value. However, the strategies that you use are up to you.

3. Decide on your trading strategy. Are you macro-driven or a technician? In currency trading, as in any form of active investment, it is important to understand how you arrive at your investment decisions. Are you someone who looks at the big picture (fundamental economic data such as inflation, or central bank decisions) and makes a call on how that may affect a currency pair? If so, then you’re macro-driven. If you are someone who looks at the changes to a currency pair and then tries to understand what this may mean from a macro-perspective over the long term, then you are a technical investor.

4. Manage risk. As with any investment decision, you must decide how much risk you’re willing to accept. Ask yourself, “how much am I prepared to lose on this position?” If you don’t have a convincing or comfortable answer then you should rethink the trade. Do not risk more than you can afford to lose. Think about how you can mitigate your downside risk; make use of trading strategies such as stop losses or limit orders.

5. Stick to what you know. There are 34 currency pairs that can be traded on dbFX, each of which have their own characteristics and considerations to understand and analyze. If you’re participating in the market on a part-time and non-professional basis, it is probably better to concentrate on just a few pairs and commit to thorough and robust research on those, rather than superficial research on the many. Some key things to consider when analyzing a currency pair are its liquidity, transaction costs (the spread), and volatility. As a general rule, major currencies usually have better liquidity, tighter spreads, and lower volatility, versus emerging-market currencies, which have poor liquidity, wide spreads, and volatile movements.

6. Plan your trade, and trade your plan. It’s one thing to have a plan, it’s quite another to execute it. When trading currency, it's important not to get caught up in the moment--the markets are fast moving and in the short-term can be unpredictable. Rather than trying to make a quick profit, stick to your long-term plan based on your research. Good currency traders make money in the long term by being disciplined, not necessarily by making short-term bets.

7. Research, research, research. It’s important to stay current. All currencies move quickly, so checking the price once a week is not going to help you make strong, long-term returns. It is helpful to use an online provider that provides you with up-to-the-minute data and statistics. Traders use data to constantly assess their trading positions

8. Keep your emotions in check. Like many important decisions, it is vital to keep emotion out of any trading decision you make. If you’re upset about missing out on an opportunity and want to trade yourself into a better position, or want to stray from your trading strategy to make up for a loss earlier in the day-- reconsider, because you’ve got the warning signs of someone about to make an impetuous, irrational decision. If you do feel yourself getting emotionally involved in a particular trade, take a deep breath, review your strategy, and establish how such a decision will affect your overall approach before going anywhere near the "execute" button.

9. Don’t expect to win on every trade. That may not sound like much of a sales pitch, but even the most successful of traders don’t win on every trade. What they do have is a robust plan and long-term strategy, which carefully considers the risks. So don’t necessarily be disheartened if a trade doesn’t go your way; review why it went wrong and see if there is anything to learn from the experience. But don’t think that currency trading is an option for those seeking quick money, because like any investment, it only should be played by those with a long-term goal in mind.

10. Don’t put all your (nest) eggs in the currency basket. Foreign exchange is only one of the many asset classes you should be considering as part of a balanced investment portfolio. Forex trading is not suitable for every investor, so if you are committing all of your financial resources to forex trading, be sure you are fully aware of the risks and rewards of doing so, because commitment to one asset-class is not recommended. The same applies for currency trading itself. Risk diversification allows you to mitigate your risk by spreading it out, that is, not placing all your faith in a single trade. Diversification is key, no matter what asset class you’re investing with.

Dangers Of Forex Trading

When you get into forex trading, you will end up investing quite a lot of money and there is always the possibility that you might lose this investment. However, there are many tools available these days that minimize the risks and dangers of forex trading.

Just a few years ago, the forex market was steeped in scams. However, the industry has made an effort to clean up its act but you should still exercise caution when signing up with a broker. Make sure you do some background check on your broker. Most reliable forex brokers are associated with large banks and / or insurance companies. In addition, the broker should be registered with the required government agencies.

In the US, forex brokers are usually registered with the Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC) or they are members of the National Futures Association (NFA). In case you have any misgivings about your broker, you can check with the local Consumer Protection Bureau or Better Business Bureau.

Besides the broker, there are other dangers of forex trading. Some of them are listed below:

Dangers of Forex Trading:
* Exchange Rate Risk -- Some times during the trading period, the currency prices fluctuate. If the prices fall very fast, the loss can be substantial unless you use stop loss orders. These orders allow your broker to close open position if the currency prices pass a predetermined level.
* Interest Rate Risk -- This can happen with there is a discrepancy between the interest rates in the two countries whose currencies you are trading. This discrepancy can result in either profit or loss on a transaction.
* Credit Risk -- There is constantly a risk or danger that the party who buys your currency might not honor his debt when the deal is closed. You can reduce the dangers associated with credit risk by dealing just with regulated exchanges where members are constantly monitored for their credit worthiness.

Risks And Dangers of FOREX Trading

If you use the wrong tools or knowledge, you will be exposing yourself to the dangers of FOREX trading. The best way to overcome these dangers is to open a mini-account with just $50 to see whether you can take on the FOREX market profitably. If you feel you are not suited, you can just leave suffering a loss of just $50.

The FOREX market can be very volatile and risky and you need the right tools and strategies to combat the pitfalls of trading currency. Online FOREX trading is beneficial but it is full of risks too.

The first and foremost advantage of FOREX trading is that it is accessible 24 hours a day and you can handle transactions seamlessly through websites specialized in offering this service. In addition, you do not pay a transaction or commission fee to the broker or deal and this substantially cuts down the expenses connected to trading currencies.

When you are choosing an online FOREX trading platform, look for one that has the most competitive spreads. Currencies in the FOREX market are always traded in pairs based on ask/bid price. For example, if you are trading in Australian dollars and US dollars, the platform might show it as AUD/USD 1.3345/1.3350, which means that you can purchase 1 Australian dollar for 1.3350 US dollar, and the spread is 1.3550-1.3345 which is equivalent to 5 pips. The FOREX platforms do not charge commission because they make their money from the spreads and that is why it is better to use one that offers the most competitive spreads on different currency pairs.

Another danger of FOREX trading is using a trading platform that has high spreads or hidden charges. This will increase your trading expenses. Make sure you check the trading platform fee structure well before investing your money otherwise you might end up holding the short end of the stick

The Internet And It's Impact On The Forex Trading Industry

Before the internet was invented, forex trading was mainly carried out by large banks and institutions because they were the only people who had computerised access to the forex markets. Nowadays, however, forex trading is available to everyone across the world thanks to the internet.

There are now a multitude of forex brokers offering real-time instant access to the forex markets which means that you can go long or short of a particular currency pair, just like the big boys. No longer do you need to be extremely wealthy in order to trade forex, which traditionally involved handing responsibility over to the large banks to trade your money for you. Now you can trade your own money yourself, and start with just a few hundred dollars if you so wish. You just sign up to a forex broker, deposit some cash and start trading.
Free Stock market Data

Of course the reality is that forex trading is extremely difficult and there is quite a steep learning curve. You need to watch how markets move, learn the different terminology, learn the mechanics of forex trading including what margin is and how to place a trade, and learn about fundamental and technical analysis. Only when you understand how forex markets move, and can therefore start to detect patterns and recurring price movements, will you start to make profits from forex trading.

One of the major tools used to detect these recurring patterns is charts and the use of technical analysis. Charting software is generally available from your forex broker but you can also use a standalone package if you so choose. These real-time price charts are invaluable because by applying certain combinations of technical indicators to these charts, you can learn to successfully read the markets.

Also thanks to the internet you can now interact and share ideas with other forex traders, in real- time, through forex forums and chat rooms. In fact forex forums are one of the best ways to pick up ideas about successful trading systems so you can develop your own profitable system.

So overall it's easy to see just why so many people are being drawn to forex trading as an occupation. The earning potential is unlimited and the fact that you can use leverage means you can make a lot of money very quickly. Of course this also means you can potentially lose a lot of money very quickly as well, but with the right education and strategy, it can be a rewarding profession, particularly as the internet has now enabled everyone to trade the markets.

Intraday Trading - Forex v Shares

With the current financial markets being so volatile, a lot of traders have switched from long-term investing to short-term trading, as there's potentially a lot more money to be made. However which is more profitable - forex or shares?

Many people are able to make short-term profits from both forex and shares. I myself do alright from both forex and share trading but in my opinion forex trading is the more profitable. This is mainly because the chart movements are more predictable and the major currency pairs conform extremely well to technical analysis.
Free Stock market Data

When you trade forex you know pretty much when all the market-moving news announcements and economic data releases are scheduled, so you can plan in advance to be out of the market when these announcements are made. Therefore you can concentrate solely on technical analysis knowing that the price of the currency pair you are trading is not going to be distorted by any unforeseen announcements. There are very occasional exceptions to this rule such as major news stories or unscheduled interest rate announcements, for example, that can move the markets but these are rare.

Unfortunately this is not the case when you are trading shares. Although most trading statements are scheduled and known in advance, you can still get company-specific news releases, which may be positive or negative. For example, you might get an announced news release mentioning a new contract win which could dramatically lift the share price, or conversely you could get a profit warning completely out of the blue which could cause the share price to plunge in a matter of seconds or minutes.

So you can never entirely relax when you are trading shares because there is always the chance of a market-moving announcement being made about the company. Furthermore although a lot of share price graphs do conform fairly well to technical analysis, this certainly isn't always the case, and sometimes the price will be more affected by the wider market. So a top FTSE 100 share could be majorly oversold on a technical basis, but if the FTSE 100 index takes a dive, then the share price of the company in question could well continue to fall even further.

So overall my personal preference when it comes to short-term trading is to trade forex because you can focus entirely on technical analysis, and can base your trading around the scheduled economic data releases. Plus of course the forex pairs, in my experience, conform slightly better to technical analysis than individual shares.