make money today

How To Make Money With Facebook

2011-10-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

If you always wanted to earn online income but didn’t know where to start, why not jump on the most popular social network site and take advantage of their ad serving platform?

Believe it or not, tens of thousand of people are using Facebook every day to chat with their friends and have fun… while others are making money at the same time.

Would you like to know how to cash-it on this social phenomenon?

Would $5… $50… or $150 in additional income make you happier? What would you do with the “new found” money?

Let’s make it happen, here are three quick steps:

Step #1

Once you have signed up to Facebook your first step should be to think about how you want to present yourself. You don’t want to fake it, just be yourself and showcase your skill, your hobby or knowledge – that is what makes money from Facebook.

Don’t forget that you want to attract the attention of a specific group of people here, so that you become known as someone who is something of an expert on one particular subject. So choose wisely!

Step #2

Go for a popular niche that you personally like and have an interest in. Develop your persona in that area. If you already have something of a web presence in a particular area then you’ll use that in your advantage because — it will help you as more and more people become aware of who you, your skill/knowledge and how this can help them.

Step #3

Your first port of call, if you have anything second hand to sell which is related to your niche, is the Marketplace. It’s free to place ads in the Marketplace and there is no limit on how many you can place.

EXAMPLE: you come across a bargain lot of books on your subject on eBay or at a yard sale you can list them all individually on Facebook and sell them on for a profit.

If you have a budget to spend on advertising and you have some external websites you want to promote, you can try out the Social Ads to see what benefits you get from them. It is well worth reading through the relevant help section to see what is involved though, as it is quite in depth.

FACEBOOK BEST ADVANTAGE:

The main benefit of becoming a Facebook member is that you can build and use any number of applications to perform certain tasks on your profile page.

The GREAT NEWS is that Facebook doesn’t frown at users making money from their Facebook page, and indeed many people link in to other websites outside of Facebook itself.

People are constantly building new applications and often they are used by many other users to create pages that appeal to their own particular needs.

This is partly why you will succeed in making more money from Facebook if you brand yourself carefully before you get started on the site.

BRANDING YOURSELF?

Figure out what it is you want to do and what you want to achieve. If you already have a website up and running then you will be able to link into that, so keep the look and feel of your Facebook page in the same vein as your site.

But while you can link to other sites outside of Facebook, some people also sprinkle some affiliate links on their actual Facebook page itself. For example, some quick research revealed one person who links into a range of ClickBank products on their page and does well from doing so.

So long as you start from a strong position with a particular focus and brand in mind, you can do well by experimenting with all the benefits that Facebook offers (and they’re growing).

Take time to build up a network of friends and make sure you become known for being an expert in your particular sphere of interest/niche.

Exposure is what you should aim for. The more people you make friends with and add to your network, the more money you should be generating. However, don’t make the mistake to go after “friends” for money.

Put people first, money will follow. It’s like in the real life, just a different medium, the same communication skills and principles apply though.

You should always sound, look and act real, don’t pretend to be someone else. People feel it nowadays more than ever.

How to Make Money with a Website

2011-10-07T04:57:00.000-07:00

Making money with a website not only requires very little initial investment, but depending on what you want to focus on, it can be an extremely profitable venture as well. From affiliate marketing to blogging to actually selling your own products or even just running advertising on your site, even beginners with little to no experience can make money with a website if they just follow a few simple guidelines.

Building a website is also a lot easier than most people think. Gone are the days when you needed to understand html code, or be a design guru. There are now simple push button scripts available that let you get up and running with a professional looking website or blog in just minutes. There are also hundreds of great tutorials available online that will show you step by step how to make a website.

Affiliate marketing can be a great way to get started with making money online. With your own website, you can see where your audience is coming from and directly test new strategies to encourage new potential customers to come and buy a product that you’re marketing.

Affiliate marketing is when you market someone else’s product and receive a percentage of commissions in return for directing customers to another’s site. Depending on your niche, this can be quite lucrative. It will require some research to determine the best topics to work on, but regardless, it can be easy to leave links in your articles or even go so far as to have your own online store of goods you are affiliated with.

Blogging is another easy way to make money with a website, because once you’re established, that opens up many more opportunities to dip into other income streams. Given the propensity of other blogs out there today, it’s imperative to create a unique angle that will attract readers and eventually, advertisers. Top bloggers earn thousands per month from advertisers paying them to leave ads on their blogs for their millions of readers to potentially click on. Advertisers like this because they have a targeted audience already assembled for them; they just need a mechanism to get the traffic to their site.

You Can also build simple content based sites that offer visitors information about a particular subject they are search for. Then once you get the traffic coming to your site, you can monetize it by either promoting affiliate programs or by placing ads on your site. (just like the ads on this site) Then every time someone clicks on one of the ads on your site, you get a paid for it. Then you just have to work on producing good quality content which will attract more and more traffic. More Traffic = More Clicks = More Money.

Selling products through a website can also make you a healthy profit, because this gives you access to an entire network of internet users all over the world, not just customers who live in your area. Info-products are still making money, albeit not as much as they used to. But these are easy because they cost very little to make and it doesn’t take much effort to market them if your audience is there and possibly willing to purchase them.

Selling info-products means you are providing specialized information to a privileged group of people willing to pay for access to this information. This can be in the form of e-books, newsletters, or reports. All you need is a website, a quality product, and great advertising copy that will have customers lining up to buy.

Having your own website can be extremely helpful in boosting your other business ventures, such as freelance writing or consulting.

This is great in many ways because:

This means you are (hopefully) very knowledgeable about the services you provide and can offer great insight on them to your readers and
Writing articles on this subject matter can reel in not only loyal readers but potential clients as well. For example, if you are a small business consultant writing about marketing tactics, this could interest a business owner looking for further help with their own practice and encourage them to contact you in regards to further services. Offering free reading material is more valuable than most people realize, because it usually leads to actual paying customers.

How To Make Money Blogging

2011-10-07T04:54:00.000-07:00

More and more people are realising that blogging is one of the best ways to start your own online business. It requires minimal start up costs, you can build an impressive and loyal readership over time and once you know how to monetize your blog it can also bring in a decent income that will keep on coming even on the days when you don’t update your blog.
There are several ways to set up a blog online. You could use WordPress, Blogger, or another free site that hosts your blog for you; or alternatively you can set up your own blog under your own domain name.

If you want to make serious money from blogging, you must have complete control over your blog – and that’s something the free blogging accounts won’t give you. You’ll be bound by their terms and conditions and that usually includes not being able to actively promote anything. There are plenty of people who have established a blog only to have it removed without notice some weeks or months later.

It will cost you a few dollars to buy your domain name and set up a web server that will host your blog, but the benefits will far outweigh the cost involved. It can literally be as little as $20 a year we’re talking about here – and that buys you total freedom.
Once you’re ready to set your blog up you’ll need to choose a good theme and layout for it. You might find one that relates to your choice of subject (more on that in a moment) or else there might be one you just like the look of. But there are thousands of templates available for you to use – a simple search on Google will reveal the ones that will be best suited to your topic.
But perhaps the most important question is what you are going to blog about. The whole world is your oyster here – some people blog about their lives in general; some blog about their jobs; some blog about their hobbies; some tell the world about their kids and what it’s like to be a parent, and still others blog about the weird world of celebrities. But whatever you choose to blog about it needs to be something you are passionate about. Don’t forget, you are going to be writing about this topic several times a week, and if you don’t have the enthusiasm for it, that will show in your posts – and no one else will have the enthusiasm to read them.
Okay – so you’ve got your subject. Now you have to start writing your blog posts. If you take a look at just a few of the blogs already online, you’ll notice that the length of the posts varies a lot. Some people only write a paragraph or two each time, but you’ll get better results if you go for something a little longer than this. Around 400 to 500 words makes for a good post with a lot of information in it; some people write hugely long posts that are thousands of words long and could be called an e-book by another name.
But you can also take the format of this blog, by posting a short blog entry which leads into a longer article. This has the benefit of highlighting a lot of blog posts on the home page of the site, and people can then click through and read the ones they like the most.
You should remember however that there are no real rules when it comes to blogging. Over time you will naturally find what works for you, and your blog will settle down into a nice pattern that both you and your readers will enjoy. You’ll find your character and personality will start to come through in your writing too; don’t fight against this as it is one of the hallmarks of blogging. It is, after all, a personal account of an individual’s life and experiences, so show people what you’re made of! You’ll get a more loyal – and bigger – audience like this.
So you’ve got your blog up and running and you’re posting to it on a regular basis. The next step is to get it in front of as many interested eyeballs as possible.
One great way to do this is to submit it to as many of the social bookmarking sites as possible. You can also join social networking sites and build a profile which contains a link to your blog. Other no cost ways to generate traffic include writing free articles for article directories with a link to your blog at the end, and creating signatures at the end of any posts you make to internet forums, and also in all the emails you send out. When you really start thinking about it, you don’t actually need to spend anything to generate plenty of traffic.
All we need to do now is monetize the blog itself. You’ll want to generate some money from all the visitors you’ll start getting, and there are plenty of ways to do this easily. Google Adsense is probably the most well known method – you can join the program for free and display contextual ads that your visitors will be interested in to maximise your click through rate.
There are also a handful of websites which give you the opportunity to get paid for each blog post you make on a specific subject. Pay Per Post and Review Me are two such examples, and they will pay you a certain amount of money to review a product or website for the owner. In a similar vein you can also review and recommend other people’s products through affiliate links inserted into your blog posts, and earn money on commissions earned through any purchases people make.
And once you’re more established you can offer ad space on your blog too, and charge a fee for both classified and display ads if you wish. What could be better than setting your own price?
But there is one final step you can take with your blog if you enjoy a change of scene every now and again. You can sell your blog! Once it is established and has plenty of revenue and traffic, you can usually sell it for ten times its monthly revenue.
And then, you can start all over again with a whole new subject!
So that’s it – profitable blogging in a nutshell. If you have any questions feel free to leave your comments in the form below. And once you’ve done that, get out there and get started building your first blog today.

How To Make Money On EBay

2011-10-07T04:53:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of money to be made as a seller on eBay. Thousands and thousands of sales are made each day, resulting in a lot of income for a lot of sellers. And there is still room for you if you want to get involved – whether you want to earn some part time cash or set up a whole new full time business on the side.

But where do you get your stock from? How do you get started? And how can you build a business that gives you PowerSeller status? Relax – you’re about to find out.

It’s easy work to get started earning money on eBay. Once you’ve signed up for your free account the best way to get a feel for what selling is like is to auction off some of your personal items that you no longer want. If you are going to start buying stock to resell, you’ll do better by getting some basic selling experience first.

While we are on the subject of stock, you’ll need to decide what kind of business you are going to set up. Of course you can sell anything you like, but if you want to make a name for yourself it helps to become known for selling a specific type of product.

Now that doesn’t necessarily mean your product area needs to be a small one; on the contrary it could be quite large. You could sell toys for example – there’s plenty there to keep any seller going for months on end without selling the same thing twice. You do need to pick a popular product though, and it’s worth doing some research using eBay’s advanced search feature to find out what is selling and how much it’s selling for.

So let’s say you want to sell computer games, for example. There are hundreds of games you could buy to sell here, but if you don’t know which ones will sell you could lose a lot of money buying the wrong stock. By searching the ended listings you can see which titles consistently sell well, and which ones will produce the best profit for you.

Okay – so you know how to figure out what to buy. Now you need to know where to get it from. It stands to reason that no seller is going to tell you where they get their stock; that would be like giving away the keys to their business. In order to find the best sources for stock you need to do a bit of legwork.

We should mention here that there are two main sources for stock – wholesalers and dropshippers. Both have their pros and cons; it just depends on which method you personally prefer.

Dropshippers hold all the stock for you, so you only actually pay for an item once you’ve received payment from the customer. You may have to pay a fee to join the scheme in the first place though. If you choose to go with one or more wholesalers you will need to have the room to buy the stock, and the money to buy it in advance. This comes with more risk since you could buy stock that doesn’t sell, but with the tactic we’ve already covered for checking completed listings before you order anything, the risk here should be kept to a minimum.

So – back to where to find these sources. If you have a particular product in mind that you want to sell, the simple act of looking at the packaging can often reveal the name of the supplier. You can then check out their website to see what else they do.

Another method is to search for what you want on Google. This sounds deceptively simple and in fact many people don’t think of doing this. It can be a bit hit or miss, but it’s possible to find some excellent wholesalers through this method. Over time you will go from having one wholesaler to a handful of sources to get your stock from, and you can build up your product range as you start to grow.

Building your feedback is an important part of being a good seller and the higher you can get your score the better. It sets you apart as being a dedicated seller. And the faster your score climbs, the closer you get to attaining PowerSeller status.

The PowerSeller symbol is highly prized among serious eBay sellers, and there are five levels to strive for. The first is Bronze, and it’s a lot easier to reach than you might think. While you might set a goal for yourself to reach PowerSeller, you will find that if you build up your product range and gradually increase your sales, you will reach it in no time. And if you get off to a great start you might just do it in three months – the minimum time you can actually do it in.

Many sellers have their own shop on eBay, but it’s not necessary when you first get started. In fact you are often better off waiting until you have a good range of stock before opening a shop, since it can look rather empty if you only have a handful of items.

The final thing to think about is the price of the items you are selling. It stands to reason that if you sell a hundred different products in the $5 to $10 price range, you won’t make as much cash as you would selling a hundred in the $50 to $100 price range.

But you need to work out what you enjoy selling and what you can sell lots of to experience real success on eBay. Don’t go for expensive products just because they might bring a bigger profit. Go for your calling – that’s where you will experience the biggest success.

Above all, remember that it can take time to build a successful business – but if you’re determined to achieve real success on eBay you should be enjoying the journey.

3. The importance of the stop loss.

2011-10-07T02:44:00.001-07:00

The stop loss acts as a price at which you will exit the trade, this price is usually determined before the trade is entered. The stop loss is the point at which you will exit the trade "no questions asked".
A stop loss will help preserve your capital to make sure you can trade another day.
If the trade stop is hit by the current price, exit the trade "no questions asked".
A stop loss is usually calculated before a trade is opened. Various trading systems will employ the use of a trailing stop loss to signal an exit on the trade.
Trailing stop losses ratchet up as the share price moves up, this has the effect of locking in profits once the trade has moved in your favor.
Remember, a stop loss is simply a mechanism which signals the exit of a trade.
A basic example of employing a stop loss is provided below.
John has decided to buy $20,000 worth of "XYZ" shares with his $50,000, he has decided that he does not want to risk more than 1.5% of his capital on the trade. The current share price of "XYZ" is $2.00.
John calculates that he is going to risk $750 on this trade (1.5% x $50,000). John then buys 10,000 shares of "XYZ" at $2.00.
John sets his stop for this trade to equal a loss of $750 (i.e. the price which will realize John a loss of only $750). John's stop for this trade is $1.925 (($20,000 - $750) / 10,000), if the share price where to drop to $1.925, John would immediately sell his holding in "XYZ".
The trailing stop loss is a stop loss which moves in accordance to the share price and provides an exit point for the trade.
If you can imagine the share price constantly rising, you would want to preserve some of the unrealised profit. You can do this with the use of a trailing stop loss, the same concept of a stop loss still applies. That is, the trade is immediately exited when the current price reaches the trailing stop loss price.
The most important thing to remember about the stop loss is its importance in signaling an exit point for any trade. Many believe the exit is far more important than the entry, whichever way you look at the stop loss it will:

Determine when you should exit the trade
Lock in profit or fixed loss for each trade
Preserve your capital to ensure you can trade another day!

Position Sizing

2011-10-07T02:44:00.000-07:00

The concept of position sizing is to determine the optimal amount of units to purchase for the trade.

Correct position sizing is a little known concept amongst the majority of traders/investors. It has been statistically proven that a random entry with correct position sizing will generate profits. From these statistical results the entry into a trade is clearly not the most important factor to success.

After you have determined an acceptable amount of risk for a trade you can calculate the optimal number of shares you wish to purchase based upon various money management models which employ the use of risk in their position sizing calculations.

An example of a position sizing calculation involving risk is shown below.

John has $50,000 to invest in total, he is willing to risk only 1.5% of this amount in every trade. He is looking to buy some "XYG" shares at their current share price of $3.45. He has also set his stop price at $3.10. How many shares should John buy?

First let's calculate the amount of risk in dollar terms (1.5% x $50,000 = $750). This $750 will equate to the amount of dollars lost if the share price drops from $3.45 to $3.10. Applying simple mathematics we can calculate the number of shares to purchase ($3.45 - $3.10 = 35c), $750 / 35c = 2,143.

John has to buy 2,143 shares of "XYG" at $3.45 to satisfy the position sizing equation.

There are many different methods available to calculate position sizes. Stator includes an Advanced Position Sizing calculator which contains many of the most popular money management models. Using this calculator makes it easy to employ successful position sizing techniques directly into your trading.

You can download your very own FREE Money Management Position Size calculator by following this link. [Take me to the FREE Calculator]

Example position sizing models:

The following position sizing models are some of the more popular models used by many traders and investors, you may even find that you have used various models when determining the optimal number of units to purchase.

Risk Management

2011-10-07T02:42:00.000-07:00

When you enter a trade, you accept a certain amount of risk . A simple definition of this risk is the maximum amount of money you could potentially lose should the trade not move in your favor.

Having an understanding of your own tolerance for risk will play a large part in determining the success you will enjoy in the market.

Do you know the exact amount of risk you accept for each trade?

Sounds like a simple question. Without knowing the answer to this question before you enter a trade means you could potentially lose your whole investment.

Risk management is a process by which the trader acknowledges the potential risk being adopted for the trade.

The importance of setting an acceptable amount of risk for each trade will help to protect your capital, allow you to calculate the most optimal position sizes and above all provide motivation to exit the trade should your risk setting be reached.

This motivation is important when trying to combat the negative effects of trading psychology.

Do you know when to exit a trade?

If you don't know when to exit a trade, your potential loss is undefined. Would you make an investment without knowing the amount of money you could potentially lose?

I didn't think so....

For this reason alone it's important to understand and accept an agreed amount of risk with each trade you take.

The peace of mind you will gain by knowing the exact amount of loss before you even enter the trade will be worth the effort of understanding money management.

Defining your risk can be as simple as a fixed percentage of your capital or a percentage of the entry price to a fixed dollar amount.

The way you define risk is totally up to you. Let's have a look at an example.

John has $50,000 in total to invest in the share market.

He decides that on any one trade he does no want to risk more than 1.5% of his total capital. He has settled on 1.5% as he is most comfortable living with this amount of risk.

John identifies a share and purchases 10,000 at $2.50. John has spent a total of $25,000 on this trade and has accepted a total of $750 risk for this trade.

John sets a stop loss at $2.42, this means he will sell all 10,000 shares should the price drop to $2.42.

Selling at this price would equate to a loss of $750.

In the above example, John pre-determined the amount of money he was willing to risk on any trade, before he entered it.

This is the basis of trade risk management. The first important step in this process is to understand you are taking a risk when entering the market and to pre-determine the amount of risk you are willing to accept.

1. Introduction to money management.

2011-10-07T02:41:00.000-07:00

The following money management articles explain the concepts of money management which are not too often utilised by retail investors and traders. In the field of trading, money management helps to answer the question "when I trade, how much do I trade".

Take a moment and ask yourself that very question......

The last time you made a trade how did you know how much to purchase? Money management enables you to apply mathematical formula to determine the right amount to purchase for each trade, all whilst taking into account your tolerance for risk and your account size.

Correct money management is a highly effective concept, yet it still remains relatively unknown by many traders and investors around the world. This topic will expand further on the concept of money management in trading and various position sizing formula's are shown with examples.

Basic Concepts VII: Margin

2011-10-07T02:08:00.000-07:00

What is Margin?

Margin is the amount of equity that must be maintained in a trading account to keep a position open. It acts as a good faith deposit by the trader to ensure against trading losses. A margin account allows customers to open positions with higher value than the amount of funds they have deposited in their account.

Trading a margin account is also described as trading on a leveraged basis. Most online forex firms offer up to 200 times leverage on a mini contract account. The mini contract size is usually 10,000 currency unit, 1/200th of 10,000 equals to 50 currency unit, meaning only 0.5% margin is required for open positions. Compare to future contracts, which require 10% margin for most contracts, and equities require 50% margin to the average investor and 10% margin to the professional equity traders, foreign exchange market offers the highest leverage among the other trading instruments.

The equity in excess of the margin requirement in a trading account acts as a cushion for the trader. If the trader loses on a position to the point that equity is below the minimum margin requirement, meaning the cushion has completely worn out, then a margin call will result. Generally, in online forex trading, the trader must deposit more funds before the margin call or the position will be closed. Since no calls are issued before the liquidation, the margin call is better known as ‘margin out' in this case. The account will be margined out, meaning all the positions will be closed, once the equity falls below the margin requirement.

Example:

Account	A
Account Equity	500USD
Contract Size	10,000
Currency	EUR/USD
Spread	3 pips
Margin Requirement	50USD
Leverage	1,000:50 = 200:1
Pips to margin out (1 lot)	447

Consider Account A, the margin requirement for 1 lot of position is 50USD. The free usable margin is Account Equity - (Margin Requirement + Spread) = 500 - (50 + 3) = 447. The account will be margined out if EUR/USD moves 447 pips against the position.

Why Margin Requirement Matters?

Leverage is a double-edged sword. With proper usage, it can enhance customers' funds to generate quick returns and increase the potential return of an investment. However, without proper risk management, it can lead to quick and large losses. Consider the following example:

Account	A	B
Account Equity	500USD	500USD
Contract Size	10,000	10,000
Currency	EUR/USD	EUR/USD
Spread	3 pips	3 pips
Margin Requirement	50USD	200USD
Leverage	1,000:50 = 200:1	1,000:200 = 50:1
Pips to margin out (1 lot)	447	297
Max no. of lots at one time	9	2
Pips to margin out (max lots)	3	47

The initial conditions of the accounts are the same, except for account A, the margin requirement per lot is 50USD and account B is 200USD.

Free usable margin = Account Equity - (Margin Requirement + Spread)*no. of lots

Maximum number of lots open at one time = Account Equity / (margin requirement + spread)

In account A, for 1 lot of position, the free usable margin is 500 - (50+3) = 447, which means the account will be margined out if EUR/USD moves 447 pips against the position. The max number of lots open at one time = (500/(50+3)) = 9 lots, with 500 - (50+3)*9 = 23USD free usable margin left for 9 lots. Once EUR/USD moves 23/9 = 3 pips against the positions, there would be not enough usable margin and account A will be margined out.

In account B, the free usable margin for 1 lot is 500 - (200+3) = 297, which means the account will be margined out if EUR/USD moves 297 pips against the position. The max number of lots open at one time = (500/(200+3)) =2 lots, with 500 - (200+3)*2 = 94USD free usable margin for 2 lots. If EUR/USD moves 94/2 = 47 pips against the positions, account B would be margined out.

With 1 lot of open position, account A has 447USD usable margin as cushion before being margined out, while account B only as 297USD. However, with more usable margin, account A has higher probability of being over traded. As shown in the above example, the more open positions, the easier is the account to get margin out.

Most forex trading firms offer customizable leverage; traders can choose the leverage ratio they feel most comfortable with. Customers should be aware of how to guard against over trading an account and managing overall risk.

Basic Concepts VI: Types of Orders

2011-10-07T02:05:00.000-07:00

The forex market provides different kinds of orders for trading. The following are some major types of orders that can be found on forex trading stations.

Market orders - A buy or sell order in which the forex firm is to execute the order at the best available current price. It is also called at the market.

Entry orders - A request from a client to a forex firm to buy or sell a specified amount of a particular currency pair at a specific price. The order will be filled once the requested price is hit.

Stop Loss orders - An order placed to close a position when it reaches a specified price. It is designed to limit a trader's loss on a position. If the position is opened with buying a currency pair, the stop loss order would be a request to sell the position when the price fall to the specified level. And vice versa. Traders are strongly recommended to use stop loss orders to limit their losses. It is also important to use stop loss orders when investors may enter a situation where they are unable to monitor their portfolio for an extended period.

Take Profit Orders - An order placed to close a position when it reaches a predetermined profit exit price. It is designed to lock in a position's profit. Once the price surpasses the predefined profit-taking price, the take profit order becomes market order and closes the position.

Good Until Cancelled (GTC) - In online forex trading, most of the orders are GTC, meaning an order will be valid until it is cancelled, regardless of the trading session. The trader must specify that they wish a GTC order to be cancelled before it expires. Generally, the entry orders, stop loss orders and take profit orders in online forex trading are all GTC orders.

The above are the basic orders types available in most of them trading systems. Some trading systems may offer more sophisticated orders. Traders should be familiar with the different orders and make the most of them during trading.

Basic Concepts V: Spreads

2011-10-07T02:04:00.000-07:00

What is a spread?

In margin forex trading, there are two prices for each currency pair, a "bid" (or sell) price and an "ask" (or buy) price. The bid price is the rate at which traders can sell to the executing firm, while the ask price is the rate at which traders can buy from the executing firm.

Bid/Ask

For example, when you see the price quote of EUR/USD is 1.2881/1.2884 as in the above picture, the bid is 1.2881 whereas the ask is 1.2884. That means traders looking to sell must do so at 1.2881, those looking to buy must do so at 1.2884.

The difference between the bid and ask price is the spread, which constitutes the cost of the trade. In fact, all traded instruments - stocks, futures, currencies, bonds, etc. - have spread. If a trader buys at 1.2884 and then sells immediately, there is a 3-point loss incurred. The trader will need to wait for the market to move 3 points in favour of his/her position in order to break even. If the market moves 4 points in your favour, he/she starts to profit.

Many online trading firms like to promote margin forex trading as an almost cost-free instrument - commission free, no service charge, no hidden cost, etc. Traders should know that spread is the cost of trading, and in fact, it also represents the main source of revenue for the market maker, i.e. the forex trading company. The spread may appear to be a minuscule expense, but once you add up the cost of all of the trades, you will find it can eat away quite a portion of your account or your profit. If you check the price tag of a T-shirt before you buy it, do the same thing when you trade forex, look into the spread before you decide to trade. Your trade needs to surmount the spread (the cost) before it profits.

Know your expense: the spread

Spread is the cost to a trader. On the other hand, it is a revenue source of the firm who executes the trade. In the foreign exchange market, the spread can vary a lot depending on the executing firm and the parties involve. Inter-bank foreign exchange can have spread as tight as 1-2 pips, while the bank can widen the spread to 30-40 pips when dealing with individual customers. If you check out the spread of those small exchange shops nearby the tourists' sights, you may find the spread can go up to 400 to 600 pips.

Thanks to keen market competition, the spread of online forex trading is getting tighter in the past few years. For major online forex companies, their spreads are essentially the same. The table shows the typical spread of four major currencies of online forex trading at the time being:

Currency pairs	Spread
EUR/USD	2-3 pips
USD/JPY	3-4 pips
USD/CHF	5 pips
GBP/USD	5 pips

It is important for a trader to find the tightest spread as possible, but anything that is far lower than the typical spread is skeptical. The spread is the main source of revenue of a forex trading firm, if the firm cannot earn enough from the spread, there maybe some other hidden cost in the transaction.

Another point to note is that many market makers often widen the spread when market conditions become more volatile, thus increasing the cost of trading. For instance, if an economic number comes out that is off expectations, thereby creating a flood of buyers or sellers, the market maker may often widen the spread to restore the balance between buyers and sellers. As a result, traders should inquire about the execution practices of their clearing firm; firms with poor execution of orders and a tendency to widen spreads will ultimately result in higher trading costs for the end user.

Basic Concepts III: History and Recent Trend of Online FX Market

2011-10-07T02:01:00.000-07:00

The recently technology advancement has broken down the barriers that used to stand between retail clients of FX market and the inter-bank market. The online forex trading revolution was originated in the late 90's, which opened its doors to retail clients by connecting the market makers to the end users. With the high-speed Internet access and powerful central processing unit, the online trading platform at home user's personal computer now serves as a gateway to the liquid FX market. Retail clients can now trade together with the biggest banks in the world, with similar pricing and execution. What used to be a game dominated and controlled by major inter-banks is becoming a common field where individuals can take the same opportunities as big banks do.

Technology breakthroughs not only changed the accessibility of the FX market, they also changed the way of how trading decisions were made. Research showed that, as opposed to unable to find profitable trading methodologies, the primary reason for failure as a speculator is a lack of discipline devoted to successful trading and risk management. The development of iron discipline is among the most challenging endeavors to which a trader can aspire. With the help of modern trading or charting softwares, traders can now develop trading systems that are comprehensive, with detailed trading plans including rules of entry, exit, and risk management model. Furthermore, traders can do backtesting and forward testing of a particular strategy on a demo account before commitment of capital.

When the system trading softwares were first introduced into the store of trading tools, traders would need programming skills and a strong background in mathematical technical analysis. With the effort of system trading software companies making their products more adaptable to mass market, the system trading softwares are now more user-friendly and simpler to use. At this point, non-programmers with basic understanding of mathematical technical analysis can enjoy the amusement of system trading.

While system trading might not provide the 'holy grails' of trading, it offers as prototypes or guidelines for beginners to starting trading with sound mathematical model and risk management. Over time, traders can develop trading systems that match their individual personality.

Basic Concepts II: Nature of the Foreign Exchange Market

2011-10-07T01:59:00.000-07:00

The Foreign Exchange Market is an over-the-counter (OTC) market, which means that there is no central exchange and clearing house where orders are matched. With different levels of access, currencies are traded in different market makers:

The Inter-bank Market - Large commercial banks trade with each other through the Electronic Brokerage System (EBS). Banks will make their quotes available in this market only to those banks with which they trade. This market is not directly accessible to retail traders.

The Online Market Maker - Retail traders can access the FX market through online market makers that trade primarily out of the US and the UK. These market makers typically have a relationship with several banks on EBS; the larger the trading volume of the market maker, the more relationships it likely has.

Market Hours

Forex is a market that trades actively as long as there are banks open in one of the major financial centers of the world. This is effectively from the beginning of Monday morning in Tokyo until the afternoon of Friday in New York. In terms of GMT, the trading week occurs from Sunday night until Friday night, or roughly 5 days, 24 hours per day.

Price Reporting Trading Volume

Unlike many other markets, there is no consolidated tape in Forex, and trading prices and volume are not reported. It is, indeed, possible for trades to occur simultaneously at different prices between different parties in the market. Good pricing through a market maker depends on that market maker being closely tied to the larger market. Pricing is usually relatively close between market makers, however, and the main difference between Forex and other markets is that there is no data on the volume that has been traded in any given time frame or at any given price. Open interest and even volume on currency futures can be used as a proxy, but they are by no means perfect.

Basic Concepts I: Introduction

2011-10-07T01:57:00.000-07:00

The Foreign Exchange (often abbreviated as Forex or FX) market is the largest market in the world with daily trading volume of over 1.9 $trillion in September 2004*. With its high liquidity, low transaction cost and low entry barrier, the 24-hour market has attracted investors around the world.

The following articles aim to introduce the key concepts in forex trading, the terminologies and the characteristics of the FX market.

The articles first introduced the concept 'spread', which is the most important transaction cost in forex trading, how the spread is presented in the price quotes, what is the significance of it and what is the trick behind it. As most of the retail customers choose to trade forex with margin account, the articles then introduced what is margin trading, what is the significance of margin, how to trade a margin account and how to choose the correct leverage ratio.

In trading online forex, there are many types of orders that you can make to facilitate your trades. The articles then explained the rationale behind each type of orders, when and how to use each of them.

Being one of the most actively trading markets, the forex market is yet, may not be the most well known market. The articles then gave a little historical background and explained the nature of the forex market, and made an overall comparison of various trading markets. It also discussed the pros and cons of trading forex market and what are the recent trends.

Like any other trading instruments, traders should understand the terminologies and the basis of the market before he/she starts real trading. The above articles serve as an essential beginners' guide to the world of forex trading.

*According to the Triennial Central Bank Survey of the foreign exchange market conducted by the Bank for International Settlements and published in Sept 2004

Trading Forex Event Risk

2011-10-07T01:50:00.000-07:00

Event risk will affect every Forex trader no matter what trading strategy they employ.

Fundamental factors such as Central Bank Decisions and employment data have the power to determine both short and long term trend directions in currencies. It is therefore important to have an awareness of these releases and an approach that factors this risk into trading decisions.

Economic Releases

The timing of economic releases can be found easily by referencing a Forex Economic Calendar. This will list all the key upcoming events for the major currencies. Events will be categorized with an indication as to the effect that they are likely to have on a market upon release. A simple colour scheme is often used to highlight the likely impact on the market. The highest risk events will be shown in red, moderate risk events in orange and those with the lowest perceived risk are shown in green.

Once you have identified upcoming risks the next step is to determine how you will shape your trading around them. Here we cover three quite different approaches to trading event risk.

1. De-risk Your Trades

The first approach is to build in a suitable margin of safety to accommodate for any fundamental data due for release in our trading timeframe. A simple approach here could be to continue trading but with a smaller amount of capital risked. This could be achieved by either reducing the lot size used or the number of lots placed. In this way you can continue following a strategy but with a reduced level of risk to your overall portfolio.

If you follow this approach it makes sense to re evaluate both your profit targets and stop loss levels. It may be prudent to reduce your profit targets or ‘tighten’ your stop loss. Reducing your profit target might reduce the return from a trade but it will increase the probability of you booking a profit.

Reducing your stop level is a more contentious issue however. Markets can often become volatile after economic releases, only to resume the previous direction later in the day. By following this route you may find that you quickly get stopped out, only to find that the trade would have gone onto profit it you had stuck with your original stop loss levels.

An alternative approach would be to actually widen your stop level. The idea here is that you give the market greater room to move to accommodate any volatility. You should however treat this approach with caution, as you are in effect actually increasing your risk and market exposure if things don’t go according to plan. There is less chance of getting stopped out with such an approach but a greater percentage of your capital to lose if your stop is triggered.

2. Take advantage of volatility

The second approach is to actually try to ride any volatility which occurs from the event risk. This could involve jumping on short term trends or market moves and getting out of the trade before the market settles. This approach is high risk but can be profitable if executed correctly.

Scalping strategies, whereby trades are opened in some instances for only a matter of minutes might actually welcome the additional volatility that event risk creates. The key to succeeding with this approach is to keep your stops tight and not to get caught up in the trade.

This is of course a particular trading approach and should only be undertaken by those with an understanding of the strategies employed.

3. Avoid Scheduled Risk

The third method is to simply avoid event risk. With a constant stream of releases to the markets this may seem easier said than done. However there are times when news gaps do appear in the economic calendar. These times can be used as a lower risk window for your trading.

A particular example of note here is the release of the US Non Farm Payroll figures. This occurs on the third Friday of each month. Many traders will close out of open positions the day prior to the release as the contents of this report often causes high levels of market volatility and can also set the tone for markets globally. Certain trading strategies will also recommend that you don’t trade on these days.

Having patience and waiting for news to be released can be frustrating at times but it is far less so than losing a trade simply for the sake of jumping in and ignoring risk. This is one of the key attributes that every trader needs to learn in order to consistently beat the markets.

The Moving Average Crossover

2011-10-07T01:49:00.000-07:00

The Moving Average is probably one of the most common technical indicators used by Forex Traders.

Plotting the moving average on a chart helps to smooth out the day to day noise of the market and gives us the ‘average price’ of the market over a specified time period. Principally it is used by traders to help identify market trends over time.

The Moving Average Crossover makes use of two moving averages from different time periods to generate trade entry signals.

A Long (buy) trade entry is signaled when a short term moving average crosses a longer term moving average. A Short (sell) trade entry is signaled when the fast moving average crosses below the longer term moving average.

The Moving Average

The basic premise of the Moving Average is that it displays the average price of the market calculated over a specified time period. For example, to calculate a 20 Day moving average, you would simply add the last 20 market closing prices and divide the figure by 20. This would then give you the ‘average’ price of the market over 20 days. This figure is known as the 20 Day Simple Moving Average (SMA).

Common time frames are 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 days. The actual number of days you use for your moving average will depend on the timeframe of your trades. High timeframe moving averages tend to suit longer term trading time frames such as daily and weekly charts. The significance of long term moving averages as points of support and resistance in shorter time frames should however still be noted.

If the moving average value is rising over time, then the market is considered to be trending up. Similarly if the moving average value is falling, then the average price of the market is falling and therefore the market is considered to be trending down. For this reason the moving average is a good indicator for identifying trends in markets. The longer the timeframe for which the moving average is set, then the stronger the trend is over the given time.

There are other more complex calculations that provide variations on the Simple moving average. Of note is the Exponential Moving Average where the calculation gives a greater weight to more recent market prices.

Whichever moving average you use the principals behind the Moving Average Crossover remain the same.

Using the Moving Average Crossover to Trade

Moving average crossovers are used as a signal that the momentum in the market is changing and a new trend may be developing. This is because the basic principle here is that the near term price is rising or falling in relation to the historic average. While moving averages do not predict where the market is going, they can provide an indication of where it is most likely to go.

Trading the moving average crossover is straightforward. The strategy uses two moving averages of different periods. The shorter time period moving average is referred to as the fast moving average. The longer term moving average is referred to as the slow moving average. A crossover occurs when a faster moving average rise above or falls below a slower one indicating a likely change from the longer term trend.

Golden Cross - Trade Entry For a Long Trade

The entry point for a long trade is when the fast MA crosses the slow MA. This is seen as a bullish signal and a potential buying opportunity. This is occurrence is sometimes referred to as a ‘Golden Cross.’

The example above shows a GBPUSD entry into a long trade generated on the daily chart. Here the 20 Day fast MA has risen above the slow 50 Day SMA. Note the firm continuation of the trend over the following weeks.

Also of note is that pullbacks in the market are first contained by the 50 Day SMA and then as the trend gets stronger, by the 20 Day SMA. Placing a rising stop loss beyond the 50 Day SMA would have been a good approach for this trade.

Death Cross – Trade Entry for a Short Trade

The entry Point for a short (sell) trade is when the fast MA crosses the Slow MA. This is seen as a bearish signal and a potential selling opportunity. This is sometimes referred to as a 'Death Cross.'

Here we have used an example on the 4 hour USDJPY chart using a 10 Day SMA and 20 Day SMA. Note how the 10 Day SMA contains the limits of the price action for a number of hours..

Again with this trade using the SMA levels as a location for a stop loss would have managed risk while providing a good run on the trade until the eventual stop out on the 2nd March.

Considerations

The number of trade entries generated by this strategy will depend upon the number of days used in the calculation of the moving average. Implementing a strategy using say 20 and 50 day moving averages, you will generate more entry signals than by using a 50 and 200 day moving average. However you are also likely to generate more false signals and lower returns per trade.

On lower timeframe charts particularly, moving average crossovers are quite common and therefore using them as the only indicator for trade entry may prove of limited success.

Moving average crossovers can be used in both ranging and trending markets. While they will occur less in trending markets, the quality of the signal generated is likely to be be better.

In ranging or volatile markets, more signals will be generated. However more crossovers does not necessarily translate into more trading opportunities as there will be a tendency for many of these crossovers to provide 'false' signals.

While Moving average crossovers will tend to provide more profitable entry points in trending markets they can still be used in ranging or volatile markets. The key to the success of using them though will rely on using the crossover as a starting point for your analysis. Try using the signals generated as the basis for your analysis. Validating the signals by means of another indicator, such as an Oscillator (RSI, MACD, Stochastic) can help to add greater validity to a trade entry and help to filter out any false signals.

Using Fibonacci Retracement Levels

2011-10-07T01:48:00.001-07:00

A popular tool used by many students of technical analysis are Fibonacci retracement levels. These are commonly used to find trade entry points. Unlike pivot points which seek simply to anticipate points of support and resistance, Fibonacci retracement levels calculate where a market is likely to bounce back to (retrace) after a preceding move. After this retracement the market is then expected to resume its original direction.

Fibonacci number Sequence

The Fibonacci sequence is an additive numerical sequence named after Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa, an Italian mathematician of the late twelfth century. Leonardo analyzed a number of repeatable number formations found within nature to form the Fibonacci number sequence. Fibonacci numbers are formed by adding together the preceding two numbers in a sequence to find the next. For example 1+1=2, 2+1=3, 3+2=5, 5+3=8 etc.

Fibonacci Forex retracement ratios are derived from this numerical sequence. By dividing any number in the sequence by the following number we end up with 61.8. This is referred to as the 'Golden Number.' For example we divide the 3rd number (5) in the above sequence by the 4th number (8) we end up with a ratio of 61.8. This is true of the entire sequence. This is one of the retracement levels that we use in calculating Fibonacci retracement's.

Fibonacci Retracement Levels in Forex

The key to using Fibonacci is in identifying the start and end of major market moves. These two points represent the high and low of the move. In Fibonacci terms, think of these levels as representing 0.0% (the start) and 100.0% (the end) of the move. To confirm the end of a move you can use you use any of your preferred technical indicators or candlestick patterns.

Fibonacci retracement levels occur at defined points of this move: 23.2%, 38.2%, 50.0 % and 61.8% are the most commonly used retracement levels. These levels can easily be calculated by using a Fibonacci calculator. Simply input the high and low of the move into the Fibonacci calculator and click ‘calculate.’

Once the levels are calculated they can then be plotted on your chart and used to find trade entries in one of two ways.

The first way is to trade the retrace or pullback after the initial move. Effectively this is trading a temporary reversal or counter trend move. The second method is to wait for the market to retrace the levels and use this as an entry point to rejoin the original trend.

Below we look at examples of both trading approaches.

Using a Fibonacci Retracement Level To Trade a Pullback

Using Fibonacci to identify and trade pullback scenarios is a common tactic among Fibonacci technical analysis traders.

When trading in this way it is important to locate your stops properly and set realistic targets for taking profit. The 50.0% retracement level is often used as an attainable 'take profit' target and one that works well on the 4 hour chart.

On the EURGBP chart above our initial entry following the high would target the 50.0% Fibonacci retracement level with a stop placed at the limit of the initial move. If the 50.0% retracement target is reached we could then move our stops to break even for a free run at the 61.8% retracement.

In this example, our target at the 50.0% retracement was met although our free run at the 61.8% level was taken out by a market bounce.

A few sessions later we can see that despite efforts to move higher, the pair ends up retracing back to the 61.8% level and subsequently falls to complete a full 100% retracement. It is a common feature of Fibonacci that markets that retrace beyond the 61.8% level, will often tend to retrace the whole of the preceding move.

Using Fibonacci Retracements to re enter a trend

As well as using Fibonacci retracement levels to trade trend consolidations, our next example shows how we can apply a Fibonacci retracement level as a point to re enter prior trends.

We have marked out a move of the 4 hour charts which took the USDCHF from just over 1.06 to 1.0840. The first sign we get of an impending retrace is the long wicked candle on the next four hour bar following the moves high.

In the following hours the market falls back through each of the retracement levels. These limit any additional gains for the duration of the retracement. As we can see from the above example the full 61.8% retracement is just shy of being met.

Failure to break support at the 61.8% level acts provides an entry point to rejoin the prior trend. Here our target would be the previous high recorded by the initial move. This was a particularly profitable move as the market then went on to break the previous high.

Fibonacci technical analysis is like any other technical trading approach in that it provides approximations of market levels rather than absolute targets. Quite why the numbers work is difficult to say. It may well be that the number of traders who watch these levels help to make Fibonacci retracement levels a self fulfilling prophecy. Whatever the reason, Fibonacci retracement levels prove a useful tool addition for every Forex traders toolbox.

Forex Money Management

2011-10-07T01:48:00.000-07:00

Money management is perhaps the the most overlooked aspect of any Forex trading approach and yet arguably is the most important in determining long term success.

Otherwise profitable strategies often fail because of a lack of a successfully implemented money management strategy. Money management plays a very important role in profiting from Forex: take time to understand it!

What Does Money Management Mean?

Money management in Forex is a set of predefined rules which you need to develop to fit in with your own trading style. The aim of a money management strategy is to maximize your profits and minimize your looses when things go wrong.

"Rule number one of investing is never lose money. Rule number two is to never forget rule number one” Warren Buffet There is no hard and fast rule to a money management strategy. We outline some guidelines below but ultimately any strategy should be based on the following criteria as a minimum:

The type of Forex trading you are intending to follow
The Trading Strategies employed (and the profit return from these)
The amount of trading capital you have available.
Your personal attitude to risk

Common Mistakes

There are several common mistakes that those new to Forex make. The most obvious is to place too high a percentage of their capital on a single trade. This can be for any number of reasons; inexperience, an impatience for profits or maybe overconfidence from an initial run of winning trades.

It is perhaps somewhat ironic that a good initial run can actually be the undoing of a trader because they are not forced to address the issue of money management until they hit a loss and by this time it is very often by, too late.

Losses too can lead to Money ms-management. Often there is a temptation is often to trade again too quickly after a loss in an attempt to repair both capital and pride. Invariably what happens is that losses are unnecessarily compounded leading to even greater risk being taken on the next and subsequent trades simply to get back to square one.

Dealing with a loss

Losing trades should be an expected part of every Forex Trading Strategy. Try as we might, we have never yet found a system that will never encounter a loss. However If you apply sensible money management to your Forex account, a loss or series of losses should be no more than a temporary setback to your Forex career.

What Is Good Money Management?

Let us start with the basics. The golden rule for any form of trading is to only trade with money that you can comfortably afford to lose… period! By this we mean, do not trade with money you need for to pay the mortgage, rent, utility bills, shopping bills etc.

Ok. So you have set aside your capital for trading and are ready to go. So how much of this capital should you risk on each trade?

Some long term studies into money management have shown that far from the perception of mavericks playing for ‘double or quits’ high payout wins, most successful traders were found to be quite risk averse. Many would restrict themselves to placing 1-2% of their available trading capital on an individual trade.

The reason they had been successful was due to their ability to compound small profits and ride out the inevitable difficult times. While Gains may come less quickly with such an approach but the flip side is that you will never be in danger of ending your career.

A simple way of implementing this is to start trading with only 1-5% of your available trading capital per trade. At the end of each month, reassess your trading capital on all closed positions and then proportion the same 1-5% per trade for the following month. What you will find is that as your account grows, so too does the amount you are staking in real terms, although the percentage stake of your available capital will always remain the same. If you repeat this on a monthly basis this will also help to exponentially increase your returns over time while at the same time managing risk in your account!

Trading With Pivot Points In Forex

2011-10-07T01:47:00.000-07:00

Pivot points have long been used by Forex traders as a means of determining directional changes in the markets.

Pivot points are calculated levels within the market that provide both potential support and resistance levels and also a leading indication as to which way the market might be heading.

The generally held view is that if the market trades above the pivot point, it is seen as having bullish sentiment. Conversely if the market trades below the pivot point it is seen as having bearish sentiment.

As well as providing the actual pivot point, the calculations also provide immediate support and resistance levels in the market known as ‘pivot levels’. These are projections of points where the market may slow up or reverse. Three levels of resistance are calculated above the pivot point as well as three levels of support below the pivot point. These are commonly referred to as R1, R2, R3 and S1, S2, S3.

Calculations for pivot levels are made from the open, high, low and close prices of a currency pair over a selected time period. These calculations can be made for daily, weekly or even monthly charts.

Pivot points are popular among traders as unlike many technical indicators they are considered a leading rather than a lagging indicator. This is because they signal potential levels of support and resistance in advance of the market reaching these levels.

With many traders using and reacting to pivot points there is a natural tendency for markets to respond to these levels. It is therefore beneficial to maintain an awareness of these pivot levels even if your current strategy relies on separate indicators for defining trade entry and exit points.

Calculating Pivot Points

The calculation of the levels is fairly straightforward. We include the calculation below for those who are interested in calculating their own levels.

To calculate the pivot point on a chosen timeframe you will need the open, high, low and close prices for the currency pair over the selected timeframe. The calculation is as follows:

Resistance level 3 (R3) = HIGH + 2 * (Pivot - Low)
Resistance 2 (R2) = PIVOT + (R1 - S1)
Resistance 1 (R1) = 2 * PIVOT - Low
Pivot Point (PP) = ( HIGH + CLOSE + LOW ) / 3
Support 1 (S1) = 2 * PIVOT - HIGH
Support 2 (S2) = PIVOT - (R1 - S1)
Support 3 (S3) = LOW - 2*(High - Pivot)

The three most important pivot points are R1, S1 and the actual pivot point.

Alternatively many sites provide pre-calculated pivots for the major Forex pairs. You can of course generate your own levels by using a pivot point calculator.

Trading with Pivot Points

The basic idea behind pivot point trading is to use a move towards or break of R1 or S1 as an entry point. As the market reaches R2, R3 or S2, S3 it is likely to become increasingly overbought or oversold. These levels are then used as the exit points for the trade.

For example the market is just above the pivot point. Here your initial profit target would be set as R1 with a stop loss placed just below the pivot point. A break of this level would see R2 set up as the next profit target with the stop moved up to just below R1. If R2 is broke then so R3 becomes the new target and the stop is moved to below R2.

The same is true in reverse for short trades, remembering to move the stop loss behind the previous price target as each level is breached.

This approach is particularly suitable for breakouts type trades but it is also possible to successfully trade market pullbacks that occur between the levels.

For example if you identify the trend as ‘long’ and the market pulls back towards S1, you could then enter a trade with a stop just below S1 and an initial profit target of the PP.

While pivot points do not always work as precisely as we have seen here they are useful tool to add to your toolbox. They help to highlight areas of possible support and resistance in the market and can be successfully combined with other technical indicators to help validate trading setups.

Start Trading - Forex For Beginners

2011-10-07T01:46:00.000-07:00

While the Forex markets can be exhilarating and profitable once you understand them, for beginners to Forex trading they can prove complicated and unforgiving. While experience from other forms of trading will help you with the basics, you will still need to take time to educate yourself about the specifics of the Forex markets.

Here we have provided answers to the top five questions that potential newcomers to Forex trading ask.

What do I need in order to start Forex trading?

There are no major requirements for trading Forex. You will of course need an account with a Forex broker but this can be quickly and easily opened online in a matter of minutes.

Most Forex brokers will allow you to open a demo account prior to committing your actual funds. These can be opened for free and will allow you to explore and try out the trading platform. You can even test out trades in the live market using the supplied virtual capital.

This will allow you to build confidence both in your Forex skills and any trading strategies that you employ.

What does it cost to trade currencies?

There is no specific cost involved in trading currencies. Brokers are re numerated by set commission levels called 'spreads'. The spread is essentially the commission paid to the broker for executing each deal.

The spread is an inbuilt cost of the trade and varies depending upon the currency pair traded. More 'liquid' currencies such as the EUR/USD will have a lower spread than those that are less frequently traded (illiquid). This is because they are easier for a broker to buy and sell on the markets.

Aside from the spread the only other cost is the level of capital you intend to trade with. Smaller sized mini and micro accounts are now frequently offered by brokers. These allow you to trade a balanced risk profile with low opening account deposits.

Is it Easy to Open an Account With a Forex Broker?

Opening a Forex trading account with a broker is a simple process. This can be done online via a simple registration form. Deposits to the account can be made from the range of deposit options that the broker offers.

You will generally also need to supply some identification to the broker in order for your account to be made live. You can upload or email this information to your broker in order to get your account approved.

Is it Possible to Practice My Trading?

Yes it is. By using a demo account you have access to the live markets and a virtual trading deposit. By trading with the virtual capital you will be able to track both your profit and loss.

This is the safest way to trade initially. it will allow you to get accustomed to the markets and test some trading approaches.

Are There Any Other Requirements For Forex Trading?

In order to become successful at Forex trading you will need to gain some proper Forex education and keep abreast of the major market trends.

Many website's and publications exist that will be able to help you out. Often your Forex broker will be able to provide market roundup emails and access to trading education articles. You can also find many other free resources that will assist you on the Internet.

While Forex trading can prove highly profitable, it can take both time and experience to master. Therefore don't be too keen to jump in too soon.

Take time to build up your understanding. Use a demo account to practice. Read and learn. Only once you have a degree of confidence in your ability to tackle the markets should you start trading them for real.

The Benefits Of Using Automated Forex Software

2011-10-07T01:45:00.000-07:00

Lets be honest, most manual Forex trading systems can be incredibly time consuming. Often they will require intense periods of ‘screen watching’ while looking for trading setups and invariably will provide a signal the moment you look away. Furthermore it is also common for manual systems to miss out on big market moves, particularly those systems that trade at set times.

Even when a signal is acted upon, many traders will fail to trade the system correctly. Entering trades late and exiting them early are two common trader errors. The rules of manual systems are open to manipulation by the trader. Often traders will hold onto positions, waiting for turn round in their favour. Or even worse they will lack the nerve to hold onto profitable positions.

These are difficult aspects to address and in most cases would actually benefit from less involvement from the trader themselves.

Automated Forex Software can provide a solution to some of these issues. It does not require the trader to be present or even to make any trading decisions. Instead the software is able to automatically make trading decisions in the markets on behalf of the trader. Once the system is installed it can be left to trade on the account with no further intervention by the human trader.

Automated software is designed to handle all the required trading strategy transactions via its internal calculations.This will allow it to automatically open positions within the market when the specific criteria of the underlying strategy are met. Similarly when the predefined exit criteria of the strategy are met, the system will be able to instantly exit any open positions.

Due to the way in which they trade, automated Forex software is sometimes referred to as ‘Droids’ or ‘Robot’ trading. This reflects the lack of emotion that this approach brings to the trading process. Automated trading software simply trades in line with the preset trading strategy criteria.

A further benefit of this approach is that it allows trading to take place 24 hours a day. This not only extends the trading period allowing more opportunities to taken, it also means that any big moves outside of your usual trading time frame can be capitalized on. By increasing the time frame for trading you are also increasing the potential to generate profits.

The requirements for using automated software are low and will already be met by most trading setups. All that is needed is the software itself and an online connection to your Forex broker to enable the automated system make transactions in the market.

While automated Forex software will vary in its objectives and trading strategy , it is designed to be easy to implement and understand. So for most, adding one or more automated trading systems to your strategy is a quick and easy way of opening up your Forex trading to another avenue of profits.

Crystal Umbrella | the UK market leader

2011-09-21T17:46:00.000-07:00

Crystal Umbrella was founded in 2008 to dominate the pioneering and industry leading work started by its forerunner "No Longer Limited". Since its foundation Crystal Umbrella has gone from strength to strength. So far, Crystal Umbrella has become a renowned umbrella company and has appeared to be the UK market leader in PAYE payroll services for UK contractors. Crystal Umbrella offers simple, effective and crystal-clear payment solutions for contractors, giving the best amount of return possible on your gross income. They are striving to constantly maintain complete conformity with HMRC by continuously evaluating your individual circumstances and IR35 contract status. At present, Crystall Umbrella processes over 3000 timesheets per week and having looked after over 10,000 contractor’s financial needs and tax efficiency since 2001.

Benefits crystal umbrella

2011-09-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

We at Crystal understand that, especially when you are just starting out, contracting can seem like a minefield, with the dark shadow of legislation hanging over everything you do. Even for a seasoned contractor, keeping up to date with all the paperwork is a time consuming, but essential chore that has to be completed at the end of each working day. That’s why we’re here to help ensure you make the right choices, by giving you the best advice possible based on your individual circumstances.

Currently, over 1.4 million people in the UK enjoy the flexibility, strategic career progression and financial rewards contracting and freelancing offer. Our extensive range of benefits are designed to allow you to concentrate on keeping your contract successful, yet still give you the freedom to enjoy your hard earned leisure time. We think you should be able to concentrate on enjoying your favourite sporting activity or hobby, or just simply relaxing with the family, rather than having to spend your evenings working through seemingly endless piles of paperwork, sorting out expenses and trying to keep up with your accounts. Looking on the brighter side, imagine sitting back and relaxing in front of the TV while our dedicated team of friendly and experienced contractor management personnel take care of everything for you.
The frontline team here at crystal umbrella are supported by a range of specialist departments, each staffed by professionals with years of experience in all the relevant areas including; Tax, Payroll, Credit Control, Finance, Sales, Administration, Compliance, Management and HR, to name but a few. The sole aim of all these experts is to ensure you are paid accurately and on time, while keeping you within the strict guidelines set by HM Revenue & Customs.

fresh approach as No Longer Limited rebrands as Crystal Umbrella

2011-09-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

Crystal Umbrella

The forward thinking payment solutions company No Longer Limited has re-branded as Crystal Umbrella.

Having traded for 7 years as No Longer Limited, Directors Colin Howell and Alan Little have decided that, along with forthcoming new solutions and services to contractors and recruitment agencies, Crystal Umbrella will spearhead the company into leading the way in new generation payment solutions.

Crystal Clear

The company re-brand will achieve several key objectives, explains Howell, joint Director of Crystal Umbrella.

“The change from No Longer Limited to Crystal Umbrella will enable our audience to have a clearer understanding of what services we offer, as an umbrella service to contractors.

“The new brand name, along with supporting sales and marketing collateral, will also continue where the No Longer Limited brand left off, in promoting and encouraging compliancy, security and transparency in the payment solutions market.”

Brand Perception

Colin Howell is also a director of the recently launched Association for Employment Management Companies (AEMC) and this only betters their brand perception and position.

Howell goes on to explain that, “this only further enhances and strengthens our place in the market, being associated to the AEMC as fully compliant and risk free payment solutions provider.”

Howell and Little also believe that the new Crystal Umbrella identity will create a greater sense of belonging amongst their staff, both in the head office in Hertford, and the new business centre in Manchester.

Cohesive Unit

“It encourages our workforce to ensure that we continue to work as a cohesive unit that promotes and supports clarity, integrity and professionalism. Crystal Umbrella will continue to evolve into the industry standard for equality and awareness, both internally and externally,” adds Little.

Armed with a new strap line; crystal clear solutions, that has already seen its way into the market place, Crystal Umbrella’s payment solutions will expand to offer even better services to both contractor and agency.

Market Leadership

The new strap line, therefore, paved the way for the name ‘Crystal Umbrella’ to be chosen as the identity that continues to lead the company towards market leadership and sustained competitive advantage.

Howell adds that all those associated with the company need not to have any concerns as Crystal Umbrella will continue to offer first class services to their already well penetrated market place.

How to Make Money With make money Check Online

2011-07-01T04:11:00.000-07:00

1
Schedule time in your day for taking online background surveys. Surveys may take between 5 to 45 minutes to complete. The surveys that pay the most usually run the longest.
2

Create an email account. You need an email account to register with the background survey website of your choice. Once you register, you will instantly receive eligible surveys based upon your demographics.
3

Choose which websites you want to sign up with. Some good ones include Opinion Outpost, Pinecone Research, Dollar Survey Net and Survey Console. Sign up with more than one to maximize your chances of receiving surveys and earning cash.
4

Research each of the background survey websites. Read the fine print to see whether they give your information to third parties or whether you'll receive any junk email. Find out whether they pay you by check, direct deposit or PayPal.
5

Register with the website of your choice. Include all of your information, such as your name, address, age and employment background. They need this information to send you the appropriate surveys based on your demographic information.
6

Check your email daily. Some of the surveys you receive may have an expiration date. Make sure to do them in a timely find out more at
make money

auto insurance quote check

2011-06-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for cheap auto insurance in your state? It's understandable, as car insurance has notoriously been known to be quite expensive. Seeing as how, at least in most states, it's required by law, you'll need to make that you're getting the most amount of auto insurance coverage without spending too much for it. Luckily, we’re a service that can help you out in that respect. Using our Cheap Auto Insurance Finder, you’ll be able to find the best policy for your money.
Auto insurance prices vary greatly depending on your age, the auto you drive and your driving record, but there are a number of ways to find cheap auto insurance no matter what your situation is.
Dozens of auto insurance companies promise low rates and special deals and it can be overwhelming to know where to start. It’s easy to take steps to make your premium lower no matter which company you chose. A number of tactics like getting longer policies with more vehicles and paying online will make sure you get the cheapest auto insurance.