by Gerald Mason

People go to work everyday to earn money in order to finance all their expenses. Some even stay in the office for extra hours to do overtime, just so they could earn extra money. If you’re one of the many people still looking for ways to earn, forex trading is a very good place to start your search.

Forex trading is no longer concentrated in the actual FX market. You can actually do it globally. You might wonder how, well it is quite simple. You are most probably aware that the Internet is widely used nowadays; and many businesses are finding it very useful in almost all areas of their work. And now, you can even trade currencies through the net.

New traders can find the net as a helpful tool in doing their trades online. There are many different forex trading programs available in different websites. All you have to do is to choose one website that would suit your trading needs.

Many forex traders believe that the FX market is the best place to earn money. If you know how the market works and with a little start up capital as investment, you can actually make big profits. And you don’t have to worry about your investment’s safety. Online forex trading is quite safe, and besides, the fact remains that the FX market cannot be manipulated even by powerful individuals because it is the biggest financial market in the whole world.

It doesn’t matter whether you have an office job, or if you’re staying at home. With the Internet, you can actually do the trade at home, in the office, or any time you choose. The FX market is open twenty-four hours each day, and you can take part in the trade six days a week. The opportunities in forex trading are immense.

Almost any business venture requires you to do some marketing, promotion, and/or selling. And not only that, you would need a huge amount of capital. But with forex trading, you will need only a reasonable amount to open an account. As you go through the course of currency trading, you won’t be spending a lot of money as well.

The price ranges from three hundred dollars to over two thousand dollars in order to open an account. Instructions are usually provided to help you in doing your trade. You don’t have to keep an eye on your computer monitor all the time. You can log off after you’ve done your trade for the day. And you’re free to check what happened during the trading day in the FX market. You need to check every now and then though, but you can do it during your free time, or after office hours.

Global forex trading allows you to enter buy trades with specified prices. Once the selling price of the currency rises to your desired price, it will be sold automatically for you. Even when you’re not watching, you are actually making money.

Having a permanent job is not enough, especially to most people who have a lot of daily expenses. Forex trading allows you to earn extra money, even big money, during your free time.

The system of forex trading is not that difficult to understand. But it would not be a wise move to put your hard earned money in the forex trade without proper knowledge. Practice first; you can take advantage of free trials offered by various websites. This will help you a lot in learning the trade processes and to learn the skills needed in forex trading.

You’re free to choose your investment amount. The computer acts like an ATM machine; you don’t have any superiors, you are completely responsible for all your actions. So if you want to make money the easiest and fastest way, the FX market is the best place to explore.

Try to educate yourself about the trade, and who knows, you might discover the secret to forex trading and earn thousands of money. The Internet has brought about global forex trading, and not all people are aware of this. You’re quite lucky to enter the FX market, so take advantage of all the opportunities that will come your way. Learn, and learn even more; that is probably the most effective way to do forex trading. Learn from past mistakes, and make profitable decisions.

About the Author

Free Forex Software For You To Use: Download Free Forex Software

More free Forex and Trading courses can be found in the Financial Education Centre.

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Three Principles of Technical Analysis:

Market action discounts everything!
This means that the actual price has already been determined by every bit of information that is known to the market. Hence, fundamental issues such as inflation, interest rates, public sentiment, market supply and demand, political factors will not affect the market prices.

Prices move in trends
Technical analysts believe that prices have to follow a trend, whether upwards, downwards or sideways. The Dow Theory of market price action states that the market cannot be manipulated. Once a pattern is created, there is a high probability of it producing an expected result. There are also recognized patterns that repeat themselves on a consistent basis.

History repeats itself
Technical analysts believe that investors collectively repeat the patterns of investors before them. That is to say, human psychology changes little over time. Since patterns have worked well in the past, it is assumed that they will continue to work well into the future. Because investor behavior repeats itself so often, it is possible to chart recognizable market patterns for analysis.

Disadvantages of Technical Analysis

• Critics of technical analysis include many well know fundamental analysts. Warren Buffet once said, "If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians."
• The critics also claim that signals about the changing of a trend appear too late, often after the change had already taken place. Therefore, traders who rely on technical analysis will react too late.
• Technical analysis made in short time intervals may be exposed to noise, and this can result in erroneous reading of market trending.
• The use of most patterns has been widely publicized in the last several years. Many retail traders are quite familiar with these patterns and often act on them like a herd mentality. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy, as waves of buying or selling are created in response to bullish or bearish patterns.

Advantages of Technical Analysis

• Many traders say that trading in the direction of the trend is the most effective means to be profitable in financial or commodities markets. Many famous traders have each amassed massive fortunes via the use of technical analysis and its concepts. George Lane, a technical analyst, coined one of the most popular phrases on Wall Street, "The trend is your friend!"
• Technical analysis can be used to project movements of any asset (which is priced under demand/supply forces) available for trade in the capital market.
• The technical approach concentrates on prices, which neutralizes external factors. Pure technical analysis is based on objective tools (charts, tables) while disregarding emotions and other factors.
• Signaling indicators can sometimes indicate the imminent end of a trend, before it shows in the actual market. With this, the trader can choose to take profit or cut losses.

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Anyway, check out the new Financial Education Center, an astonishning free education resource for traders and investors.

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Some new traders open a mini-account and immediately throw $5,000 at it, jump in and get their feet wet. Within 3 months or less the account is finished.

What happened?

There is a lot of hype surrounding the Forex! The internet is full of claims that you can turn a few hundred dollars into tens of thousands within months or 1 or 2 years.

With the most rudimentary information, new traders are sometimes encouraged to begin trading long before they are qualified.

Regretfully, some get-rich-quick merchants merely teach a little technical analysis and basic concepts in the Forex education they offer and miss what amounts to the most crucial part of Forex education: Mental and emotional discipline.

Aspects Of Forex Education

So in brief, here is how the various aspects of a thorough Forex education could be prioritized in increasing order of importance:

1. Forex terminology and trading mechanics

2. Learning how to read charts

3. Learning how to use the online trading software

4. Learning a variety of technical indicators

5. Learning a handful of proven strategies employing those technical indicators

6. Practicing in a demo account

7. Opening a mini account (still viewed as a practice account)

8. Strict risk management

9. Developing mental discipline and control of emotions through experience

Let’s take a look at this list a little more closely.

Notice the items of lesser importance have to do with the mechanics of trading. Most Forex education packages spend ample time on the mechanics.

But the most crucial aspects, the factors that can make or break a Forex trader are the last two, items 8 and 9.

Risk Management

Forex education must include a detailed explanation of risk management rules to be of any value.

You need to know how to calculate risk reward ratios and which trades your equity will allow and which ones you need to avoid.

Estimates vary as to what is the optimal risk percentage on any one trade. Some very conservative traders may suggest no more than 1%. As a general rule, 2% seems to be a reasonable figure allowing for a series of losing trades without putting the account in jeopardy.

More liberal traders even suggest 5% but in my view that is dangerous. Image the hit on your mental energies if you get 5 or 6 losing trades in a row if you trade with that kind of risk.

An effective Forex education will devote a serious amount of time to discussing risk management.

Mental Discipline

There is a reason why this is the most crucial factor of all. Most traders fail, not because they don’t have a good trading strategy, but because they lack the mental discipline to follow it.

The Forex can take an undisciplined trader on an emotional merry-go-round and empty the account at the same time.

That is why any Forex educational package of value will spend considerable time offering strategies and guidelines on how to keep mental focus and emotions in check.

Some Forex education package are put together by individuals associated with online brokers who don’t actually trade themselves. Avoid them.

Go With Professionals

If you are going to invest in Forex education, go to the professionals. Do a little research and make sure the people teaching you are seasoned traders themselves, preferably with years of experience.

So when contemplating the Forex, don’t be in a rush. Take your time, research, identify a good mentor, and be thorough in your Forex education. Eventually, you may be in the small percentage of traders who make a substantial income from currency trading.

About the Author

If you are looking for a comprehensive Forex education with mentoring from professionals check this:
http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/forex-education.html
http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Candle-Chart-Patterns

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Most of us are probably familiar with the Consumer Price Index, Consumer Confidence Index and Retail Sales Index. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures how much a standard basket of goods costs to consumers. A rise in the CPI is associated with increased inflation. The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) measures how confident consumers are in the US economy. A higher CCI is associated with an improving economy and hence a stronger US dollar. Finally, Retail Sales Index broadly measure consumer spending in goods and services. Higher retail sales would indicate confidence in the US economy as well.

I’ve listed a number of websites below where you can get a calendar listing the release of economic data for the weeks and months ahead.

1. http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/ecalendar/index.html

2. http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/ecalendar/index.html

3. http://www.gftforex.com/resources/calendar/calendar.asp

Continued in Part II ..

Then, check the amount of leverage offerred. Most brokers offer between 50:1 to 100:1 leverage. This means that by putting up a margin of US$500 allows you to trade up to US$50,000 worth of currency. High leverage allows you to maximise your profits against your own capital invested. Of course, the opposite is also true, so manage your risk and expectations prudently.

Next, check on the types of accounts available. If you are a newbie, look for a demo or game account when you can learn to trade with virtual money. Then upgrade to a mini account which requires about US$250 - 300 to open. Every broker will have a standard account which need about UD$2000 to open. These usually offer more leverage options and powerful trading and research tools.

Some other factors to consider in choosing an FX broker would be having a stable and reliable trading platform, technical analysis tools, real time charting capability and quality news information.

Some recommended brokers:

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