Thursday, December 10, 2009

Are Traditional Banks Better Than Internet Banking?

With the ubiquitous internet as it is today, you have the convenience of doing a variety of banking transactions online from the comfort of your home, in your office or while traveling. This extraordinary technological creation has so made life easier for a lot of people including professionals, the business community, housewives and scholars even for banking purposes. Notwithstanding, this new communication phenomenon people have not stopped patronizing the usual off line banks . The orthodox banks will always be there for those people who still choose to interact in an real bank in where they see staff and call them by name.The banks that have gone online and their offline counterpart have their advantages and disadvantages. It's up to you to consider and decide whether to transact your financial affairs with either an online bank or an off line one . What really count s is that you should know your financial demands so as to be able to actually be on the look out for the latest tendency in the banking industry and understudy them to see how it favors you. Even if you are loyal to your usual offline bank, you may also have the need to sometimes use the online banking service for an urgent transaction or when you are where the bank is not near by.Accomplished banks continue to use pen and paper for organizing financial transactions off line while in their online virtual offices computer and internet and keyboard are the instruments for banking transactions . The fact is that a lot of people are now online with financial products that are internet-only services meant to compete with the normal off line banks . Though these conservative banks cater mainly to their old customers, people who should know are advising them to also open online offices to serve the internet-savvy young people and by so doing attract more customersSecurity and person to person interactions are the main reasons people maintain the use of traditional banks. A lot of people feel that human contact is a necessity in any bank transaction; they want to hand their hard earned cash over to real teller.Banking online is quite the same as when you do the same thing in an offline bank. The significant dissimilarity is that your computer replaces paper or phone for accessing your account information for payments and statements reconciliations . You don't really have to worry about going to your local bank branch when you can do all the things necessary to effect a bank transaction in the comfort of your home with a desktop computer or laptop and internet connection.A principal advantage that internet banking offers people who go for online banking is cost effectiveness. Certain banks are known to charge their customers lower fees if the bank online banking services.

Headwinds Intensity

Economic activity still appears to be holding up at a pace that is consistent with at least modest economic growth. This week had a relatively light economic release schedule but the reports that were released tended to come in stronger than expected. Major reports include the ICSC chain store sales figures, which came were up 4.3 percent year-to-year. Chain store sales are clearly being bolstered by tax rebates. Most of the impact has been at discount stores and warehouse clubs. Department stores and most specialty apparel chains reported declines for the month. Furniture sales were absolutely awful. The major electronic chains and home improvement centers did not report sales. We suspect spending has held up at electronics chains, which should be one of the largest beneficiaries from rebates. Home improvement stores may also see another strong month for the same reason, with tax rebates trumping the drag from the housing slump.
First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell sharply during early July. Jobless claims probably are not as good as the drop suggests.

Investment management firms

Investment management firms (who typically manage large accounts on behalf of customers such as pension funds and endowments) use the foreign exchange market to facilitate transactions in foreign securities. For example, an investment manager bearing an international equity portfolio needs to purchase and sell several pairs of foreign currencies to pay for foreign securities purchases.Some investment management firms also have more speculative specialist currency overlay operations, which manage clients' currency exposures with the aim of generating profits as well as limiting risk. Whilst the number of this type of specialist firms is quite small, many have a large value of assets under management (AUM), and hence can generate large trades.

The Advantages of Trading Alone

People sometimes experiment with the idea to trade with other people. It might work, but for me, it did not. I trade alone. The advantages of trading alone are:You are free to make your own decisions without having to find a way to explain the rationale of your decisions to anybody else. Your time and effort can be focussed on what the market is doing and how you react to it, instead of worrying about the psychological and emotional dynamics of a trading group.You are free to experiment, based on the knowledge you gain from your experiences and your self-education, without having to asking others to allocate a certain portion of the trading funds to let you conduct your experiments.No one can blame you for their failures. No time is wasted on justifying your actions or feeling guilty about the impact of your trading blunders on someone else's financial situation.You alone are responsible and accountable for your own success or failure. You cannot shift the blame to anybody else. It could be disappointing to some knowing that they cannot blame anyone else if they fail. For others, it is very empowering to know that they, and they alone, are in charge of their own destiny.Personally, I believe that a person should trade alone first before he or she decides to trade with other people. This allows the individual to develop his own philosophy and his own understanding about himself and the market. I understand, however, that not everybody can trade alone because it requires a set of beliefs and values to be part of the trader's character. Not all people are created with the same set of characteristics. Not everyone can operate under the solitude of the journey. For example, there are people who need social contact more than others. Individuals who are social by nature and those who solve problems by talking to other people, may have difficulty undertaking a solitary endeavour.Furthermore, there are people who do not have faith in their abilities and in their capacity to learn to trade successfully. I know of individuals who need constant reassurance before they take any step towards their goals. In similar circumstances, trading in a group may be the only option available for some people to give them the push they need: otherwise, they may never start.by Marquez ComelabMarquez Comelab is a private trader in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of The Part-Time Currency Trader, a book on how to develop trading strategies. He is also the founding editor of The Part-Time Investor Magazine: an online magazine

Safety of Client Funds

Assuring client fund safety is one of the single most important factors in the financial industry. GCI Financial Ltd is regulated by the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC) for trading in financial and commodity-based derivatives and other securities, including foreign exchange. The IFSC's strict requirements include capital adequacy, reporting and record keeping, and proper disclosure and conduct with clients. Furthermore, GCI has years of experience managing risk, a strong balance sheet, and offers additional legal and structural guarantees:Client funds held with GCI Financial Ltd ("GCI") are maintained in separate Customer Funds accounts and may never be utilized for operating expenses or for other purposes or commingled with GCI's operating capital.Funds are withdrawn from these bank accounts only as a direct result of clients' trading activities or clients' request for withdrawal. In the unlikely event of GCI's bankruptcy, client funds are legally protected and returned directly to the customer.Furthermore, GCI maintains a balance sheet with Net Capital in excess of minimum regulatory requirements.

BUYING AND SELLING TIPS IN FOREX

Order Basics :* Sellers are asking for a high price.* Buyers are Bidding at a lower price.* Trading is an auction.* Slippage occurs with most Market Orders.* The diffrence between the ASK and the BID price is the spread.A trader must understand what each order is, what it and what part it plays in capturing profit.A FOREX Trader must use three types of orders: a Market Order, a Limit Order, and a Stop Order.The two primary orders used for entering and exciting the market are a Limit Orders, and a Stop Orders. Once an order is placed your order to enter the market, there are two critical procedures: One-Cancels-the-Other( OCO ) and Cancel-and-Replace. Properly exectuing orders and understanding these procedures are a vital step to profitables trading.IMP : all good carpenters carry a toolbox. The sharper the tools and the more skilled he is at using them, the more effective he is. The sharper you become as a trader the more effcient and lucrative you will be.What orders do : A clear understanding of what each order does is essential before exectuing orders

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Forex Trading Techniques

If you are looking at Forex trading techniques and which are the best to make profits then there are actually quite a few different ways of making money but before we look at some proven Forex techniques, lets look at one technique in terms of making profits, ALL good Forex trading strategies have and that’s sound Forex money management.
Any strategy which doesn’t protect equity and deal with leverage correctly is destined to lose and you need to have through understanding of it to win. Like any great football team, success is built on sound defence first. If you keep your equity intact, you will get opportunities to get into some big profitable trades. Forex trading is first and foremost all about taking your losses with discipline and keeping them small. Now what strategies should you use to make money?
As a general rule, the big profits come from trend following and hitting and holding these big trends. The best Forex trading technique to use for doing this is to trade breakouts; simply buy breaks to new chart highs and sell breaks to new chart lows. It’s a simple, timeless, strategy which works and will continue to work, as long as markets trend.
You can also trade overbought and oversold levels and Forex swing trading can be very profitable. This method is ideal for novices, as it’s exciting, fun, profitable and doesn’t require as much discipline as long term trend following.
There are of course many Forex trading techniques you can use to make profits and the ones outlined are some of the best so get some Forex education and learn them, get confidence and trade with discipline and you could soon be making some great profits in global Forex markets.

Forex Broker with Simple Trading Platform

10Pips is a new Forex broker that was added to the list on my site today. Its main stated advantage is the simplicity of the trading platform and the overall process of starting Forex trading even for the complete newbies. I don’t know why did they give their broker such a name but, in my opinion, 10 pips is too much for a spread and too low for a profit :-). Of course, their spreads are quite below 10 pips (EUR/USD spread is only 2 pips, which is the current industry’s average). It should also be said that they are not a purely Forex broker since they offer CFD, stocks, commodities and index trading as well. Other features of 10Pips include:
  • Multilingual traders’ support
  • Real account bonuses
  • Deposit via WebMoney, wire transfer or credit cards
  • $100 to start trading
  • Leverage — up to 1:200

Forex Trading Training: The Principles To Success!

Currency trading experts understand the power of maximizing every dollar they invest into the forex market. Their approach to investing stems from a heavy set of fundamentals and principles gathered through a solid forex education. This is one of the keys to succeeding in the forex market.

There are plenty of software programs that all claim to yield a high return on the dollar but the safest approach to using software to forecast market trends and swings is to use a proven system. For this reason, it is always good to look for a system that has already been proven by a wide group of investors. Successful traders would not continue to use a particular program if they were losing money.

Automated software bots have been gaining momentum for many years. Savvy investors and traders use these programs to help them track and monitor key pieces of information such as trading start and stop signals. They are an essential tool to an investor.

With many new investors hitting the market, they can attest to the power of using bots to help them look for key market indicators and signals. The biggest advantage of using these bots is that they facilitate the monitoring of signals without the need of the trader?s constant involvement. The signals alerting the trader is in real time and therefore keeps the investor on the edge for making profits and issuing stop loss orders.

Becoming a success in trading does not mean that you have to use bots. There is a human element involved too. While using bots can be a good idea, it cannot replace the intuitive nature of the human experience. Those who reply heavily on bots never sharpen their intuitive investing strategies. As you gain experience in learning to interpret market signals, you will know when to stop or enter a trade.

The trading strategies you use will play a vital part of your success. There are several strategies that you will want to study and learn. They not only serve as entry and exit guides, but they help you stay on course depending on your preference for trading. These strategies can be easily learned online or under the training of a broker.

As an example, many traders use the leverage based strategy. This type of strategy gives you access to more money to make trades above the amount you initially invested. The amount you can use is normally determined by your broker and is subject to specific terms. See a currency exchange broker to get more information.

With the right forex education, you can learn to trade in currency exchange market. If you do not have any experience, this training can be gained by working closely with a broker. Their knowledge, insight and experience will shorten your learning curve and accelerate your success. The key to success is to find a broker with a proven track record for investors.

Discover more information relating to forex broker and stay informed

Forms and Types of Forex Options

In forex trading as in stocks trading, there are two basic forms of options: the call and the put option. A call option gives the holder (buyer) the right to purchase a certain amount of the underlying currency at a specified price (the strike price) and date. A put option gives the holder the right to sell a certain amount of the underlying currency at the strike price. Forex options are divided into two major categories, both available on the Finotec Trading Platform: vanilla and exotic options. The major difference between those categories lies in the variables that they integrate. Each category contains several Options Types:. Vanilla options: these are the simplest types of options. The origin of the name is not clear. They refer to standard CALL and PUT forex options contracts. Please note that "put" and "call" forex options contracts are note the opposite of the same transaction but two separate transactions. This means that for every forex call option buyer there is a call seller and for every forex put option buyer there is a put seller. Under our platform's Vanilla options, you will also find both straddle and strangle options strategies. These last options types are actually defined as options strategies. Exotic options: Unlike plain vanilla options with single strike prices and standard expiration dates, exotic options are based on more complex conditional time and price scenarios. Exotic options include different types if options including "barrier" options (knock-in, knock-out, reverse knock-in, reverse knock out) and "binary" options (one-touch, no-touch, double one touch, double no touch). In general, options can be either American-style or European-style. American-style options may be exercised at any point until the expiration date. European-style options may only be exercised at the time of the expiration date. Options trading with Finotec is facilitated by a complete set of tools designed to help traders make considered trading decisions.

The Seven Most Traded Currencies in forex

Currencies are traded in dollar amounts called “lots”. One lot is equal to $1,000, which controls $100,000 in currency. This is what is known as the "margin". You can control $100,000 worth of currency for only 1,000 dollars. This is what is called “High Leverage”.

Currencies are always traded in pairs in the FOREX. The pairs have a unique notation that expresses what currencies are being traded. The symbol for a currency pair will always be in the form ABC/DEF. ABC/DEF is not a real currency pair, it is an example of a symbol for a currency pair. In this example ABC is the symbol for one countries currency and DEF is the symbol for another countries currency.

Here are some of the common symbols used in the Forex:

USD - The US Dollar EUR - The currency of the European Union "EURO" GBP - The British Pound JPN - The Japanese Yen CHF - The Swiss Franc AUD - The Australian Dollar CAD - The Canadian Dollar

There are symbols for other currencies as well, but these are the most commonly traded ones.

A currency can never be traded by itself. So you can not ever trade a EUR by itself. You always need to compare one currency with another currency to make a trade possible.

Some of the common PAIRS are:

EUR/USD Euro / US Dollar "Euro"

USD/JPY US Dollar / Japanese Yen "Dollar Yen"

GBP/USD British Pound / US Dollar "Cable"

USD/CAD US Dollar / Canadian Dollar "Dollar Canada"

AUD/USD Australian Dollar/US Dollar "Aussie Dollar"

USD/CHF US Dollar / Swiss Franc "Swissy"

EUR/JPY Euro / Japanese Yen "Euro Yen"

The listed currency pairs above look like a fraction. The numerator (top of the fraction or "left" of the / however you want to SEE it) is called the base currency. The denominator (bottom of the fraction or "right" of the /however you want to SEE it) is called the counter currency. When you place an order to buy the EUR/USD, for instance, you are actually buying the EUR and selling the USD. If you were to sell the pair, you would be selling the EUR and buying the USD. So if you buy or sell a currency PAIR, you are buying/selling the base currency. You are always doing the opposite of what you did with to base currency with the counter currency.

If this seems confusing then you’re in luck. You can always get by with just thinking of the entire pair as one item. Then you are just buying or selling that one item. Thinking like this will still enable you to place trades. You only need to be aware of the base/counter concept for Fundamental Analysis issues.

So why is it important to know about the base/counter currency? The base/counter currency concept illustrates what is actually taking place in a Forex transaction. Some of you reading this, know that short-selling was restricted in the stock market *(Short-selling is where you sell a stock/currency/option/commodity first and then try to buy it back at a lower price later). But in the FOREX you are always buying one currency (base) and selling another (counter). If you sell the pair you are simply flipping which one you buy and which one you sell. The transaction is essentially the same. This allows you to short-sell with no restrictions.

You want to be able to short-sell with no restrictions so you can make money when the market drops as well as when it rises. The problem with traditional stock market trading is that the market has to go up for you to make money. With FOREX trading you can make money in all directions.

Great Trading

Provided you decide to start trading it would be a great idea to invest in some software to help you keep up with your investments. The CMS Forex website recommends the VT Trader 2.0 Some of it’s key features are chart based trading, customizable interface, 100+ technical indicators, custom indicators, risk management tools, pattern recognition technology, customer alerts, Forex autopilot, stability and Dow Jones News. They also suggest the VT Trader Mobile device which can be taken wherever you go so you can trade anywhere.

Forex Home Business

The more you understand about any subject, the more interesting it becomes. As you read this article you’ll find that the subject of forex home business is certainly no exception.When running a forex home business, a person quickly gains knowledge of how the business world works. Whether it be selling crafts, doing a home delivery business, or selling real-estate, after investing a lot of time and effort into a home or small business, a person quickly becomes aware of the few basic business truths that govern business.One of those truths is that you have to have time and money to start a small business or any business for that matter. More often than not, the people that have the time dont have the money to invest in a home-based business and the people that have the money dont have the time. With Forex home business, it is quite possible to generate an income with a small time investment per day, after studying FOREX for a few months, and a very small investment as little as $50 in some cases.The second truth, and these are probably quite obvious to most people, is that in order to make money a business has to have some sort of product to sell or perform some type of service. In the FOREX world, nothing is being sold and no service is being performed, but rather money is being exchanged. You are making a profit based on the actual exchange value of one currency against another currency. This eliminates the need for employees, such as customer service personnel and human resource people if your company were to become that big.Is everything making sense so far? If not, I’m sure that with just a little more reading, all the facts will fall into place.Also, because of the huge size of the FOREX market, trading nearly $1.5 trillion dollars a day, such things as social events, bad publicity, and changes in political climate will have no effect on your business. In fact, after studying FOREX, you will be able to see how these things will actually benefit your FOREX home business.The third and last classical business truth is that most people are prevented from starting a home-based business because they dont feel good enough about themselves. They dont feel like theyre educated enough. I read stories all of the time about people that feel passionate about something or they just pick something that they are relatively good at or have done before and start a business. They just take a chance. If you want to do it, step out. Take that first step. Dont drop any huge sums of money, of course, but do a little research, make a small investment and start your adventure down to the road to FOREX trading.You dont need a doctorite degree to get involved with FOREX trading, but after a couple of months of good study, its quite possible to generate a significant source of cash from FOREX trading. Forex traders study the political and economic trends in the economically important countries, including USA, Japan, England or the European Union, and make an assessment of the present or future purchase values of these currencies in comparison with each other. Again, the process of sale and purchase is like any other market activity, except that the time period varies. Blindly trade. Forex home business is not about gambling. Consider a situation where you think that the price of a given commodity, say, silver, gold, or wheat, will increase in the near future.You can’t predict when knowing something extra about forex home business will come in handy. If you learned anything new about forex home business in this article, you should file the article where you can find it again.

Top Forex Brokers of Pakistan

H & H EXCHANGE CO. (PVT) LTD.

(KARACHI)H & H - Pakistan's first Exchange Company. Granted license by the State Bank of Pakistan to carry out foreign exchange business. We also deal in cash currencies, foreign remittance

DOLLAR EAST EXCHANGE COMPANY(LAHORE)Dollar East Exchange Company (Pvt.) Limited is a leading exchange company in Pakistan. The company is one of the pioneers to start currency exchange business in the country. It was

EMIRATES GLOBAL ISLAMIC BANK LIMITED (EGIBL) (KARACHI)

Alhamdolillah, Emirates Global Islamic Bank Limited, a dedicated Islamic Commercial Bank, commenced operations in February 2007. Presently the Bank has ten branches in Pakistan .

GLAXY EXCHANGE (PVT.) LTD (KARACHI)

ZARCO EXCHANGE COMPANY (PVT) LTD(LAHORE)

The ZARCO Exchange Company is a respected financial institution that provides dependable Exchange and Transfer services to satisfied customers throughout Pakistan.

A KHANANI AND KALIA MONEY EXCHANGE(ISLAMABAD)

Since a last decade, Khanani & Kalia International (Pvt) Ltd. has been known by its customers for its best quality services at the national level.

Difference Between Forex and Stock

The Forex market has a lot of advantages compare to stock market: A Forex trader could make profit through the market no matter if it is bearish and bullish which is different from the capital market, Forex has no strict regulation in speculation, no matter whether it is a long-term or a short-term transaction there is still a hidden profit, moreover, Forex market is a double-transaction market which means Forex traders could make profit through both upward and downward trend.2. Forex traders could obtain a much larger transaction compared to the stock market, through the Forex trading, Forex traders could obtain 100 times larger transaction compared to the stock market. According to the present US situation, if a Forex trader invests $1,000 in the stock market, the trader may obtain $2,000 of stock domination property with a proportion of 2:1, but through Forex trading, a Forex trader can do transaction with a proportion up to 100:1.Forex trader may make profit from the ordinary news, like the interest rate change, Forex market is closely related to various countries' politic, economy and culture, Forex traders could also obtain profit from other kinds of news, for example interest rate level change, will influence the interest of the Forex deposit.3. Forex traders could do 24 hours trading. The stock market can only be traded during daytime at a specific time, generally from 9:30a.m. to 4:00p.m.. If you too have your own full time job, then you will face the dilemma - either to give up your full time job or forgo the trading opportunity. But Forex market can be traded 5 days a week and 24 hours a day, Forex traders can trade during their free time which is normally at night after working hour.4. If a trader analyze based on technical analysis, Forex trading would be much more suitable for such traders because the Forex market has a very large trading volume. Currently the Forex market has daily trading volume of 190 billion Dollar, such giant market will completely digest a fore trader's transaction cash, under such situation the accuracy of the technical analysis would be much higher then any financial market, the chances of using technical analysis to make profit would be much more higher.5. In the stock market there are hundred and thousand kinds of stocks, then choosing stock will be a very difficult matter. But in the Forex market, the currency combination is extremely limited, this may enable Forex traders to concentrate on these currencies combination, and could follow the trend quickly.

Benifits of Forex Trading


The only market that is world’s largest and most liquid is forex trading market. This is also recognized as one and only absolute home busiess. But this would confusing for a layman that is new to the market. Many questions that arises – Why do people go for online trading and how do they buck up their bank account? Every day more number of investors and traders are moving in to forex trading market because of several advantages available in the market. It is just that there are few things you need to know and learn appropriately. Most traders keep their trading simple. Just little bit of market information and research helps them. But when looking high and high achievement, you need to work hard and smart.Following are advantage of forex trading.• The margin requirement to trade in forex is just 5% of total value of holding. So you can keep your margin as low as possible to trade risk free. You get the ability to manage large amount with lower margin.• Forex trading market is commission fee. If you act as an individual trader then you do not pay any commission fee. However, if you trade with forex broker he might charge you a low value share from the trade.• Bid and ask rates are very flexible. Most of the online forex trading brokers provide a spread of 4 pips on USD/EUR as it is the most traded currency pair. It may fluctuate between 4 to 9 pips. • Considered the largest and most flexible market in the world. • Trade execution is almost instant, enabling traders and investors to respond to rising or falling situations or trends rapidly.• This market is usually known as a free market even though the dealings of major dealers, such as commercial banks in money centers, are controlled under certain banking laws.• It is a 24 hour seamless market and can trade any time except the weekends. So it becomes comfortable for all types of trader and investors to deal with forex trading.• The standard forex trading volume is huge, and inclinations could be simple to spot. • No various exchange listings to the same currency and no average size to trade.• Forex trading brokers provide very limiting short selling margin needs to trader and investors. That simply means a customer do not have the liquidity to be capable to sell stock before he buys.• Forex trading is done “OTC” (Over the Counter). So there is no clearing house or central exchange to match the orders. Deal takes place on the reputation basis of the participants.• Widen options available of small traders as well. Lately forex trading is becoming increasingly popular among small brokers and traders.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Forms and Types of Forex Options

In forex trading as in stocks trading, there are two basic forms of options: the call and the put option. A call option gives the holder (buyer) the right to purchase a certain amount of the underlying currency at a specified price (the strike price) and date. A put option gives the holder the right to sell a certain amount of the underlying currency at the strike price. Forex options are divided into two major categories, both available on the Finotec Trading Platform: vanilla and exotic options. The major difference between those categories lies in the variables that they integrate. Each category contains several Options Types:. Vanilla options: these are the simplest types of options. The origin of the name is not clear. They refer to standard CALL and PUT forex options contracts. Please note that "put" and "call" forex options contracts are note the opposite of the same transaction but two separate transactions. This means that for every forex call option buyer there is a call seller and for every forex put option buyer there is a put seller. Under our platform's Vanilla options, you will also find both straddle and strangle options strategies. These last options types are actually defined as options strategies. Exotic options: Unlike plain vanilla options with single strike prices and standard expiration dates, exotic options are based on more complex conditional time and price scenarios. Exotic options include different types if options including "barrier" options (knock-in, knock-out, reverse knock-in, reverse knock out) and "binary" options (one-touch, no-touch, double one touch, double no touch). In general, options can be either American-style or European-style. American-style options may be exercised at any point until the expiration date. European-style options may only be exercised at the time of the expiration date. Options trading with Finotec is facilitated by a complete set of tools designed to help traders make considered trading decisions.

W.D. Gann Trading Methods - Genius Trader or Overrated Guru

W.D. Gann is one of the most famous traders of all time, and has a huge devoted following - however the fact is, Gann never made the huge profits many of his disciples claim.

He did not have a success rate of 90%, as is often claimed - the logic his methods are based upon are unsound, and his predictive methods don’t predict - they leave everything to subjective opinion!

Let’s examine his theories of investment in more detail and see.

Let’s look at some common myths about how great a trader Gann actually was:

Many sources quote Gann’s trading profits at $50 million dollars, however this is not true.

An interview that Alexander Elder had with his son tells the truth.

Firstly, his son confirmed that when his father died in the 1950s his estate was valued at just $100,000 - and that included his house.

Secondly, his son confirmed that Gann was unable to make enough money from trading, and therefore supplemented his income by writing and selling courses.

W.D. Gann’s Predictions

Many sources quote he had a success rate in all his trades of over 90% - again not true. We can easily deduce this from the value of his estate.

If he could make money trading and had a 90% success rate, he would have made hundreds of millions in his trading career - and he clearly did not - that’s why he had to sell books and courses.

The only evidence of a 90% success rate came from a small number of trades - and was not representative of them all.

Gann’s Methods are Predictive

Gann came to the conclusion that all natural phenomena are cyclical - including financial markets. This is true, but this is an obvious statement - we all know we’re going to die but when exactly?

A predictive theory is not a predictive theory if it can’t predict.

If Gann’s theory really is predictive, then there would be no market - as we would all know the price in advance!

Gann’s theory is subjective - and he really had no way of predicting the future with accuracy. It’s all subjective analysis and this is NOT a predictive theory.

Gann’s Logic

The basis of Gann’s theory is the principle that price and time must balance.

His methods are based on the squaring of price with time - this occurs when a unit of price equals a unit of time.

Gann for example would take a prominent high in the market, convert that dollar unit into a specified period of time and project it forward. When that time is reached, price and time are squared - and a market turn is due.

What? - How can one unit of price equal one unit of time? If you think about and answer this question for yourself, you will see how absurd the connection is.

This isn’t the only inconsistency used in his analysis - we also have the legendary Fibonacci numbers which are supposed to work with stunning accuracy - but they don’t, and neither do all sorts of astrology and geometry, that appeals to the far out investment crowd.

As we have seen, Gann was a trader who had modest success, and claimed to have discovered a predictive theory - which predicts nothing with accuracy.

Finally, we have so many subjective indicators cobbled together, that the theory can prove anything in hindsight, but if you want a tool to trade the markets look elsewhere.

For those of you still not convinced - I recently saw on the Internet, Gann’s trading methods selling for under $1,000!

Sounds like a bargain to get trades with 90% accuracy - I wonder how many serious money managers have it on their bookshelf.

Forex Fundamental Analysis

The two primary approaches of analyzing Forex markets are technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Fundamental analysis comprises the examination of economic indicators, asset markets and political considerations when evaluating a nation’s currency in terms of another. The focus of fundamental analysis lies on the economic, social and political forces that drive supply and demand. There is no single set of beliefs that guide forex fundamental analysis, yet most fundamental analysts look at various macroeconomic indicators such as economic growth rates, interest rates, inflation, and unemployment.

Here we look at some of the major Forex fundamental factors that play a role in the movement of a currency:

Economic IndicatorsJustify Full

Economic indicators are reports released by the government or a private organization that detail a country’s economic performance. These economic indicators can be released on a weekly basis, but the more common report is monthly. Indicators are based around a number of economical situations, of which the two primary factors are that of International trade and Interest. Subsidiary factors also include Consumer Price Index (CPI), Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), Durable goods orders, retail sales and Producer Price Index (PPI).

Currency’s Interest Rates

One of the major indicator factors, Interest rates, are a key economic function of any nation. Generally, when a country raises its interest rates, the country’s currency will strengthen in relation to other currencies as assets are shifted to gain a higher return. Interest rates hikes, however, are usually not good news for stock markets. This is due to the fact that many investors will withdraw money from a country’s stock market when there is a hike of interest rates.

International Trade

The trade balance portrays the net difference (over a period of time) between the imports and exports of a nation. A trade deficit can be an economic disaster for a government and a currency. A deficit may appear when a country is importing more than it is exporting, meaning that more money is leaving and less is coming in. In some ways, however, a trade deficit in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing. A deficit is only negative if the deficit is greater than market expectations and therefore will trigger a negative price movement.

The Seven Most Traded Currencies in forex

Currencies are traded in dollar amounts called “lots”. One lot is equal to $1,000, which controls $100,000 in currency. This is what is known as the "margin". You can control $100,000 worth of currency for only 1,000 dollars. This is what is called “High Leverage”.

Currencies are always traded in pairs in the FOREX. The pairs have a unique notation that expresses what currencies are being traded. The symbol for a currency pair will always be in the form ABC/DEF. ABC/DEF is not a real currency pair, it is an example of a symbol for a currency pair. In this example ABC is the symbol for one countries currency and DEF is the symbol for another countries currency.

Here are some of the common symbols used in the Forex:

USD - The US Dollar EUR - The currency of the European Union "EURO" GBP - The British Pound JPN - The Japanese Yen CHF - The Swiss Franc AUD - The Australian Dollar CAD - The Canadian Dollar

There are symbols for other currencies as well, but these are the most commonly traded ones.

A currency can never be traded by itself. So you can not ever trade a EUR by itself. You always need to compare one currency with another currency to make a trade possible.

Some of the common PAIRS are:

EUR/USD Euro / US Dollar "Euro"

USD/JPY US Dollar / Japanese Yen "Dollar Yen"

GBP/USD British Pound / US Dollar "Cable"

USD/CAD US Dollar / Canadian Dollar "Dollar Canada"

AUD/USD Australian Dollar/US Dollar "Aussie Dollar"

USD/CHF US Dollar / Swiss Franc "Swissy"

EUR/JPY Euro / Japanese Yen "Euro Yen"

The listed currency pairs above look like a fraction. The numerator (top of the fraction or "left" of the / however you want to SEE it) is called the base currency. The denominator (bottom of the fraction or "right" of the /however you want to SEE it) is called the counter currency. When you place an order to buy the EUR/USD, for instance, you are actually buying the EUR and selling the USD. If you were to sell the pair, you would be selling the EUR and buying the USD. So if you buy or sell a currency PAIR, you are buying/selling the base currency. You are always doing the opposite of what you did with to base currency with the counter currency.

If this seems confusing then you’re in luck. You can always get by with just thinking of the entire pair as one item. Then you are just buying or selling that one item. Thinking like this will still enable you to place trades. You only need to be aware of the base/counter concept for Fundamental Analysis issues.

So why is it important to know about the base/counter currency? The base/counter currency concept illustrates what is actually taking place in a Forex transaction. Some of you reading this, know that short-selling was restricted in the stock market *(Short-selling is where you sell a stock/currency/option/commodity first and then try to buy it back at a lower price later). But in the FOREX you are always buying one currency (base) and selling another (counter). If you sell the pair you are simply flipping which one you buy and which one you sell. The transaction is essentially the same. This allows you to short-sell with no restrictions.

You want to be able to short-sell with no restrictions so you can make money when the market drops as well as when it rises. The problem with traditional stock market trading is that the market has to go up for you to make money. With FOREX trading you can make money in all directions.