Showing posts with label foreign exchange. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foreign exchange. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Forex or Foreign Exchange trading these days has not only become a huge industry for online trade investors, but in fact, it is the largest market in the world. It is a very profitable arena to do trading, and huge companies are not the only ones given the advantage, but many independent individuals can now take on the market through the Internet.

Here are some major reasons why Foreign Exchange is a good market to do trades:

Low Costs For Investments

One very good thing about trading Forex online is that there are very minimal costs that a party has to undertake. Because there are no middlemen involved and one can easily do direct trades with the market responsible for the pricing of currencies, this means that there are no more commissions that you have to pay.

In Forex trading, there are no clearing fees, government fees or brokerage fees that you have to take care of because brokers in this market are compensated for their services through a bid-ask spread.

There are also very low costs for each transaction. And each bid or ask spread is usually only less than 0.1 percent when there are normal market conditions. For larger dealers, the least you can pay is only as low as .07 percent.

The Market Is Open For 24 Hours

Another factor why so many people find the Forex trade very convenient is the fact that it never sleeps. It is open for 24 hours a day from Sunday in the evening to Friday afternoon EST, and therefore people do not have to wait for the opening bell.

This can be very practical especially for those who only trade part-time because they can at least do business whenever they are free in the morning, noon or at night.

High Leverage

In Forex trading, even a small margin deposit can be able to control a larger value for total contract. Through this leverage, the trader can make a lot of profit, while keeping minimal risks.

A good example for this is when brokers in the Foreign Exchange offer a 200 to 1 leverage, because with a 50-dollar margin deposit, a trader could buy or sell 10,000 dollars worth of currencies.

But take note that without proper risk management, there is a huge chance for you to experience significant losses along with gains.

High Liquidity

Due to the fact that the Forex industry is the largest market today and because so many parties have gotten involved in it, liquidity has become quite prevalent in this market.

It is very unlikely that you can ever get stuck in a Forex trade. Under normal market conditions, one can easily do trades at will with just a simple click of the mouse. And in fact, in Forex trading, you can have more freedom to automatically close your position when you have reached your aimed profit level just by setting your online trading platform.

There are many advantages in doing Foreign Exchange trades online. In many ways, it proves to be a very practical arena, but the promises for huge profits are never compromised.

There is no wonder why this market has become so popular and huge. And so, if you are interested in investing, with a little hard work and exposure, then the Forex market can surely be a good place to start investing.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Introduction To Forex Trading

If you are just starting out in the stock trading business or if you are already in it, you may have heard the term Forex trading quite a few times, but you probably might not have a clue on what it may actually mean.

Forex or foreign exchange trading is actually the largest and a fast-rising financial industry in stock trading these days. Here is a quick introduction to trading in foreign exchange.

What Is Forex Trading?

The Foreign Exchange market (Forex) is actually the largest financial market in the world. It actually makes a volume of over 2 trillion U.S. dollars a day, and as compared to its counterpart The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) which usually only trades a volume of 25 billion dollars each day, this industry is so huge that it becomes a profitable playground for many investors including central banks, large banks, multinational companies and even governments.

What is actually traded on the foreign exchange is money. It actually consists of the concurrent buying and selling of currencies, which are traded through brokers and are traded in pairs.

When you are buying currency, it is like you are investing on the economy of a particular country. For example, if you buy U.S. dollars then it is as if you are buying a share of the U.S. economy. Whatever the market thinks about the current health of a country's economy would directly be reflected on the price of its legal tender and this is how currencies go up or down.

Forex Trading For The Masses

Originally the whole concept of trading in the Foreign Exchange was only intended for huge companies and banks, but not for normal citizens. After all, you could only take part in the trade if you have around ten to fifty million dollars minimum.

However, with the rise of globalization through the Internet, trading is now offered to retail traders. And these days, almost anyone can now invest on the foreign trade. All you really need to join is some small amount of money, a computer and a high-speed Internet connection, and you can sign up for an account with online Forex trading firms.

There is no exact physical office for Foreign Exchange unlike its counterpart in New York. However, the three main centers for this trade are United States, United Kingdom and Japan. These countries handle majority of Forex transactions and trades goes on for 24 hours everyday.

Today, the Foreign Exchange, as the largest market in the world, is fast paced and enormous. And it has become a very lucrative arena for many traders who may have had participated in stock trading and in other markets. Many large institutions and even smaller-based individuals have gone out to play in this market.

Although this particular market gives huge promises, remember that there is still too much at stake. It is estimated that around 70 to 90 percent of the Foreign Exchange market is still speculative. And the parties that trade currencies may not always have a plan to actually take delivery of the said currency, and more are still speculating on movement of money.

If you are interested in investing in this particular arena, take time to be familiar with the game and make sure you get the right educational background. Taking the extra mile will all be worth it, and once you have tasted your success in this arena, you will be ready to take on anything in trading.