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15.11.09

Stock Market and Options for best currency Trading

There is much misunderstanding on Covered Calls. Most 'pundits' feel that it is a very conservative way of eking a little more out of your existing stock holdings; Well, it is certainly that - but it is much, much more - if approached diligently and intelligently.
This is not a 'Home Run' Strategy - We will never hit it out of the ball park - those are dollars for another segment of your portfolio.
This strategy strives for successive, non-dramatic hits. Have you ever noticed that baseball teams - that win consistently - consist of lots of base hits - and only rarely has a huge home run hit. Well, that is what covered calls consist of - but a steady stream of them!
This is the kind of record that pays for the cars, sail boats, and European vacations - without tossing and turning in bed at night - wondering if that 'tip' will pay off.
It is a well known fact that investors who have a plan - and work the plan - are immeasurably better off than those who rely on news tidbits, and buy whenever there is a well known personage who is recommending a particular stock.
Covered Calls consist of very simple basic components: You have a stock - and you sell the right to have someone buy the stock from you - at a specific price - within a specified time.
Pretty simple, isn't it? You own XYZ stock - and it is selling at $7.50 - and you sell the right for someone to buy it from you if it reaches $10.00. The right to buy it from you costs the person a premium - and that is money that will go to you. Let's say the price to reserve that right to buy it from you is $1.50.
Now, let's look at this. You have a $7.50 stock; Someone is willing to pay a premium because he/she thinks that it is an explosive stock - and he/she thinks it is a bargain to pay $1.50 for the right to buy it from you.
If the stock stays at $7.50 - $8.00 (or somewhere around there) you have made the difference between your $7.50 and $8.00 (if that is where the stock is at the expiration date) - PLUS - the $1.50 you took in. That would be.50 + $1.50 = $2.00. A nice percentage return - 26%! Not boring anymore, is it?
The holdings are usually 3-5 weeks.
Now, suppose your $7.50 stock drops to $6.50: That would be a 13% loss!
But, remember, you have sold the right to buy it from you at $1.50 - (If the stock increased to $10.00 - which obviously it hasn't in this case) you have now brought in $1.50 - added to the diminished stock of $6.50 - You now have $8.00 total - a gain of 6.7% - instead of the 13% loss - as described above!
There are many scenarios one may look at - but, remember this, the strategy of Covered Calls is not a boring, 'eking a little more out of the stock', but, rather is a dynamic strategy which can give you - a very handsome return!
If, it is done intelligently, diligently, and boldly!
R. Parker has been trading for 10 years - and has grown weary reading 'Investment Letters' which devote a substantial time regaling us about their vacations, or their belief on the state of the world - or telling us little homey stories about their pets, children, or their latest visit to Singapore, visiting with the president of this, or that company - and getting great 'inside information', which may be interesting, but almost always - of no immediate use by us - as investors.
What we will do is say: Buy this - and here are your likely parameters of returns.

Stock Market Chart and precious trading Software

Stock chart software: Created and programmed to gather technical data to produce predictions based on how the stock market fluctuates. That is what a stock market chart software can do for you. Although some stock software's are directly connected to online data bases of brokers, there others that run independently.
Before even purchasing stock software's, you should learn all the in's and out's of the stock market and how the entire process is run. This all includes from researching, graphing, charting, and being able to identify how and when the stock market can or will fluctuate based on the current situation of the market. Once you get your feet wet a little on that, only then will does it make sense to purchase a nice piece of software to help assist your investing knowledge and goals!
If you are looking to use a charting software for your stock research and investments, there should be a couple of options that you should look for before actually going out and purchasing one. Most stock software's usually come equipped with a few abilities that I personally believe all investing software's should have, but the absolute necessary functions would include: Research capabilities, allocating the history, identifying the stock patterns and being able to accurately display the potential future of a stock. Oh and let's not forget... "User friendly"
Being able to run efficiently and effectively in a timely manner all connects to your future earnings. The main thing here is to be able to cut out much of the work that require you to spend time on, while still being able to invest in stocks with success! If you find a solid program that can use it's data collected correctly and apply it, your stock market chart software should be able to find you solid predictions on what it believes to be the right investment!

Stocks Based on Company Size - Large, Medium and Small Caps

In the investment world, stocks are grouped depending on some given factors. These include company size and the category of the caps. The caps are either large, medium or small. This categorization is known as market capitalization. It is normally used as a measurement of the corporate size and power and it plays a great part in stock valuation during sale.
In order for investors to be able to make the right decision about stocks based on company size or the size of the caps, it is crucial for them to first carry out a market survey. The size plays a crucial role in determining the risk factor your investment will be predisposed to, as well as the amount of return it will have potential for attracting. Small and large companies, large or small or medium caps react differently to different factors in the market.
In determination of the size of the caps, different indices are used, depending on the prevailing market conditions at the given time. The factor that mostly affects the figures is inflation. When deciding on which stocks to go for, based on caps, it is advisable to put a few factors on note. The first thing to remember is that most experts agree that small caps are more risky, especially if they are worth below $500 million. The one great knowledge you should never let go is that, it is always advisable to invest in what you know, and not what every one else is investing in.

How to Dominate Today's Market With a Stock Picker of Cheap Stocks

Many new and inexperienced traders are beginning to use a stock picker of analytical background to trade in the market. These are programs which do all of the analytical work for you and deliver profitable trades to you so that you don't have to do any work beyond investing money in the picks accordingly.
If you've been interested in investing in the stock market for some time now but don't have the experience to devote to it, here is what to know about a stock picker of cheap stocks especially to realize the kind of profits that you have only dreamed of.
These programs are only as good as the picks which they generate. These programs detect how exactly certain stocks will perform in the short term by taking the full scope of the market into consideration. Stocks perform similarly to each other over time along with the market which progresses in one massive loop.
By looking at the origins of profitable performing stocks of the past, finding origins which are similar in real time market data gives you a very exact idea of what that stock is going to do in the immediate future.
I especially recommend a stock picker of cheap stocks, or one which target penny stocks exclusively as this makes for a powerful combo. Penny stocks are much easier to influence, so you'll commonly view a cheap stock blow up over the course of a few hours.
For example, the first pick which I received from a stock picker of only penny stocks was first priced around just $.18. Just of the course that first day it reached up to $.38 a share. By the end of the second day only it had muscled its way up to $.57 a share. This is evidence to show how these stocks perform and how quickly they can make those jumps, you've just got to be able to identify and differentiate them from the rest.

Stock Warrants - What They Entail

A stock warrant refers to a right given by an issuing company to an investor to buy stocks at a given price during a certain period of time up to a given date. Many people do not differentiate between warrants and options but, the easiest way to tell them apart is to remember that warrants are only issued by the issuing company. Options on the other hand are freely given in the stock market by investors.
Another way in which the two differ is on the fact that, warrants are issued at the point of transaction, directly by the company that is issuing the securities. On the other hand, when options are issued, they can be transferred from one investor to another, which does not apply for their counterparts.
Third, warrants are a means of raising money for many companies because they receive money at the point of issuing the warrant. The fact that they are issued at very low prices makes them very affordable and attractive to many investors and hence the company is able to make a lot of money in the process. Their life is also longer than that of an option; they can last up to 15 years and many investors who seek long term investments prefer them to options.
In as much as the stock warrants come with the advantage of low prices and are long term investment, they are also faced with their own limitations. One disadvantage is that, the holder does not have any voting, share holding or dividends rights. As such, the investor has no say on how affairs are run in the company. The value can also drop to zero and this would leave the investor with no redemption right if this were to happen.

What Are Stock Warrants?

Warrants are options that give you the opportunity to decide on when to buy a given security, the price, quantity and time. Stock warrants are often given by companies, unlike options which are used freely in the stock market. This means that the security held in the warrant can only be issued by the issuing company, but not by the investor holding the shares.
Companies normally issue stock warrants as a method of attracting investors to buy new securities. Not only does it attract investors, but it also gives them confidence in that new stock, the reason being that, the investor can choose to wait until prices have gone down and will still be assured of getting his share. He can also choose to redeem his shares when their value has increased and this is just a good thing to his confidence in the stock.
Stock warrants come in two different types. These are, the call warrants and a put warrant. The first category represents a specific number of shares that can be acquired from the issuer at a given time, either on or before a specified date. The other category specifies the amount of equity that can be sold back to an investor on or before a specified date. This gives an advantage to the investor because he can then decide what to do with his shares or stocks.
When being issued with a warrant, an investor should be able to notice whether they carry some particular characteristics. One of them is that they should have a specified expiry date, which is the last day on which the warrant could be executed. The certificate should also have particulars regarding the investment tool they represent. The style of execution also differs because there are those that have the American style and others the European style. One should be able to know the difference.

Ways of Reducing Tax on Stocks

Investors will always want to go for those types of stocks and securities that give them attractive returns and which do not charge them much tax, or if possible, those that are tax free. Tax efficiency is a very crucial aspect to look at when putting your money in any type of investment. A tax efficient mutual fund seeks to reduce the amount of tax chargeable on the returns by structuring its operations around tax-reduction activities.
One of the ways in which tax can be reduced is by investing in a low-taxed or no-tax security like municipal bonds. A fund can also keep the overall turnover low especially if it deals with stocks. This is simply to say that the stocks should be held for longer periods of time because long-term stocks are subject to low or no tax charges, unlike short term transactions.
The third way to keep taxes low is to do away with income generating securities like dividend paying stocks. These are likely to attract a tax liability whenever the dividends are being issued. Thus, making sure that the securities that you investment trades in are not taxable because this leaves you lower returns.
The government is really doing a great job in encouraging people to invest in tax-efficient investments. This, as it has been proved, is a good way of saving for retirement and other future plans. Putting money in tax-relief pensions is one way of increasing your pension fund, which is just another type of a mutual fund.
Peter Gitundu Creates Interesting And Thought Provoking Content on Mutual Funds. For More Information, Read More Of His Articles Here REDUCING TAX ON STOCKS If You Enjoyed This Article, Make Sure You Read My Most Recent Posts Here MUTUAL FUNDS

3 Basic Steps to Find Your Best Short Term Investment

Many investors want to find the best short term investment. Unfortunately it is easier said than done. Short term investing can be very lucrative, but also risky. It can last for as little as a few minutes to as long as several months. To succeed in this strategy investors must understand the risks and rewards of each investment. They must know how to spot good short-term opportunities and also be able to pr0tect themselves from unforeseen events. In this article I will give you 3 basic steps to find short term opportunities through stock trading.
There are several basic concepts that must be understood to become a successful short term trader. We will concentrate on one which is recognizing potential candidates. Recognizing the right possible trade means you know the difference between a good situation and one to avoid. Many times investors think if they watch the evening news and read the financial times they will be on top of what is happening in the market. Truthfully speaking, by the time we hear about it, the markets are already reacting. So, here are some basic tips to find the right trades at the right time.
Step 1: Watch the moving averages - a moving average is the average price a stock over a specific period of time. The overall idea is to show whether a stock is trending upward or downward
Step 2: Understand overall cycles or patterns - the market trades in cycles, which make it important to watch the calendar at a particular time.
Step 3: Get a sense of market trends - If the trend is negative, you may consider shorting (selling) and doing very little buying. If the trend is positive you want to go long (buy) and do very little selling.
Following these basic steps will give you an understanding on how and when to spot some opportunities for short term investing.

Here's How Ordinary People Can Make Money With Penny Stocks!

Penny stocks are an exciting investment types. Some investors don't consider these sorts of stocks because they think they are too risky. Don't let yourself be nervous though - there's incredible money to be made if you know what to search for.
For the most part, I define any share prices under $2.00 to be a penny share and invest in up and coming businesses instead of established companies. There are many businesses whose share is priced under $2 because the organization has had certain difficulties. I tend to find companies that are up and coming rather than established ones whose stock is cheap based on problems the company has faced. By concentrating on these organizations I can make remarkable money later on when they start earning profits..
We should now take a look at how you can pick out quality penny stocks. When you recognize what to look for, you can start earning fabulous cash.
Examining the industry that the organization is in is an important first step. Is the competition too stiff for a new entrant? This involves a top-down analysis of the industry to make sure that the business is involved in an industry that gives them the opportunity to be a profitable business.
Second, how about the company? How do you feel about the management team? You also have to analyze what the business offers and determine if their product differs from what other businesses are providing. Maybe they offer a specialized product, or perhaps they are differentiating themselves by charging cheaper prices than the rest. It's a wise idea to find a company that provides something unique and sticks out from the rest in some way.
Now it's time take a peek at the financial statements of the company, but don't panic if you see that they have no earnings. Very frequently this is the case with newer businesses. But I do want to determine that the company has funds available to them or financing so that the business can keep growing.
As a final note, it's always a good idea to have the ability to locate new information on the business. By having the ability to get periodic updates from the organization, either on a internet site or some type of newsletter, you can understand exactly what is going on within the organization.
When you begin researching penny stocks and buying some stocks, it's easy to find yourself earning some enormous profits. There's fabulous cash to be earned when you understand what to look for.

Take Advantage of the Economy's Recession and Make Some Huge Stock Profits

This recession which we are currently experiencing and going through is nearing the end. One good thing about a recession is that once the recovery period comes, many stocks have hit their all time low, bottomed out prices. The worse the recession the better it is to begin investing as it nears its end, and experts are hailing this as one of the best times to invest in the history of our economy.
The trick is to differentiate between which stocks have bottomed out from those which are still falling, so many traders turn to using a stock trading system to do all of the analytical work for you so all you've got to do is invest accordingly in the recommended trades. This is what you need to know about a stock trading system and how you can use one of the better ones to realize your financial independence in today's ripe market.
A stock trading system bases its picks and anticipates market behavior based on looking at where the market has been, or rather it takes the full scale of the market into account. It looks at profitable trends of the past and specifically the market behavior and origins of that profitable trend, then compares it to current, real time stocks.
If it finds a current stock which is exhibiting similar behavior to that subsequently well performing stock of the past, it is almost guaranteed that that stock of today will behave very similarly. This is how a stock trading system detects market behavior and is incidentally the same way that analysis experts predict behavior, as well.
The stock trading system and systems which target penny stocks are especially powerful because penny stocks are known for their greater volatility and go on greater bursts than normal stocks. Their cheaper prices enable them to be more open to outside influence, so it takes relatively little trading influence to send them soaring. A penny stock specific stock trading system to differentiate between the well and poor performing stocks is an extremely powerful tool as a result

10.11.09

Online- Stock- Trading - Being in Control of Your_ Investment

Trading can loosely be described as the buying and selling of bonds, stocks or other financial assets by a stock investor or trader. This has been usually done on a trading floor of the stock exchange.
Traders - which are representatives of the different firms will buy and sell bidding against other traders. The trading floor is the "war zone" of stock exchange as literal yelling happens when the numbers on screen move either way.
Trading on "the floor" is only one way of buying and selling stocks. However, the internet created the possibility of trading online. No more actual brokers are needed on the trading floor of stock exchange.
Online stock trading as it is now called is now more popular than conventional stock trading because of the indispensable computer use. Because of the technology, online stock trading became possible. This is also preferable because firms do not need to hire stock traders and give them high commissions because of their bids.
Control of the investments is very much easy and at hand because of online share trading. All the firms need to have is a software that depends on the type of trading they are into. Then come the little configuration and technical set-up. The trader then will create his or her own account. Within minutes, these firms are now on the "cyber floor" of the online stock trading.
Online share trading simply is the buying and selling of commodities through a computer and accessing the "trading floor" through cyberspace. In addition, confirmation is easily received through e-mail.

Finding Good -Penny -Stocks to- Invest In

Three things are important when you want to discover a great penny stock to invest your money in. First, if you only have enough money then you should invest in business stocks. Second, it to keep a hold of those stocks, and third is pure luck of the draw.
If your investment opportunities have all of those things, then it won't be that hard to invest in great penny stocks. For instance, a great stock to consider for purchase is one from a business that is new and struggling.
Investing in such a business when it is still new can pay major dividends some time in the future. So, remember to have a price range in mind of what you would pay for a stock you want and how much it could possibly be sold for later by investors.
This is due to the fact that so called penny stock has no set price that it can be purchased or latter sold at. Instead, it has multiple prices. The U.S. Financial Market defines a penny stock is as any kind of stock traded in a different manner than in a major exchange such as NYSE, NASDAQ, or AMEX.
There are a lot of major issues to know when looking to buy great small-cap stocks. First, investors really should watch out for stocks advertised as being in a pump and dump scheme, because those kind are scams.
These can be identified as operators using incorrect, but positive-sounding words to make the stock's price higher than it should be. This is considered stock fraud.

Stock- Trade - Software - Automate- Stock -Analysis

Keeping track of all the information, spread sheets, and charts for your stocks can be a time consuming, frustrating, tedious task! Gathering all data necessary to conquer the stock market is quite challenging with in itself and if you had the tools to automate A LOT of the process when handling your investments you can focus much better.
So how can stock trade software help your investments? Let's just say... In more ways than one! If you haven't thought about EFFICIENCY as one of the key elements to investing then you're a little behind the game and that is a no no. Speeding up the process for your research efficiently keeps you ahead of the game. You become much more organized and the attention to detail becomes greater. That is exactly what is needed to see growth in your profit margins!
Let me start here by saying that while most can see significant increases in their returns by using a stock trade software, others will see marginal results to begin with. It's about getting used to what you're NOT used to. Get what I mean? It may sound odd but it's true, once you begin getting accustomed to a particular method or routine you will have to lean out of your comfort zone. But once you do, you start to see the real meaning of speed and automation. The true combination of a real stock investor!
If you feel like you're going to go out of your mind collecting data, researching and watching the charts then you definitely should look into the right tools to help ease the stress off your shoulders. Stock trading is all about data and predictions. If you're unable to compile the necessary pieces of information needed to profit from your investments then putting your research on autopilot and having the detailed reports put together for you is the smart "efficient" thing to do!

3.11.09

Trading Stock For Beginners

Over the last year the current bear market that is taking place in stocks has left many stock traders facing relentless selling. For the beginner this experience has been made worse by not having the knowledge as to how the markets work and what they can do to protect themselves during the challenging economic times. While many are discouraged by this, the fact of the matter is that you can be able to protect yourself from the volatile market conditions and at the same time take advantage of the price irregularities that the markets will present the prudent stock trader with during the bear markets. This means using tactics that many beginning traders simply don't know about or don't understand such as:
Always use a sell stop: A sell stop is a sell order that is placed in advance, what happens is if the price of the stock hits a particular price which you determine in advance then it becomes a market order and you are out of the stock. The idea is to use this to protect you against buying something at high and then ridding it all the way down to the low. The biggest advantage that this has is you can set the sell stop at a particular point which could be a sign that the stock could be getting ready to go lower such as right below support (which is a major point that the stock stopped dropping previously and then reversed going higher). You can also adjust the sell stop upward to protect your profits and then when the stock does start to top out and go lower the sell stop will sell the stock leaving you in cash while it is going down, something that will help improve trading stock for beginners.
Buy after you see the follow through of a trend: A trend is when you see three consecutive points confirmed. What happens is many investors try to guess when the economy is going to turn around or if a company is going to beat their earnings based on what is happening in one quarter often leading to losses as they were just a little to early to get into the stock. What you want to do is see three consecutive quarters of better than expected numbers from a stock to confirm that they are in an earnings growth trend. When you are looking at any economic numbers you want to see three consecutive numbers in the same direction to confirm that a particular sector of the economy is expanding or contracting.
Clearly trading the markets during these challenging times can be very confusing for the beginning trader. To be able to successfully trade the volatile markets means that you must use tactics that will protect you as well as let you enter the stock at the right time such as: always use a sell stop and buy after you see the follow through of a trend will help you avoid the falling knifes, increasing your overall profits, helping you to be more successful at trading stock for beginners.

A Way You Can Triple Your Investments in the Short Term

Penny stocks are some of the most volatile acting investments to be made. They can jump in value or drop just as quickly over the course of a few hours. There is a huge profit to be made from penny stocks alone if you can differentiate between them, which is why many traders decide to use a stock picking program which differentiates between which penny stocks will go on these profitable trends in the short term.
If you don't have the time or experience to devote to analytics but are looking to supplement and diversify from your existing income, this is what to know about these programs which find which penny stocks will jump, and how you can triple your investments on them in the short term.
The first thing to know about a penny stock specific analytics program is how it works to decide which penny stocks will perform the best. These programs rely heavily on where the market has already gone to anticipate where is heading. This is effective and how the major trading houses also anticipate market behavior because the market travels in cyclical, repetitive patterns.
These programs look at the origins of well performing stocks from the past and look for overlaps in that behavior and current real time stocks. When it finds a stock which exhibit similar behavior, the program can get a very good idea of how that stock is set to act in the short-term and notify you so that you can trade accordingly.
I've been mentioning penny or cheaper stocks throughout this whole article because of their volatility. These stocks are much more prone to go on these huge leaps because it takes relatively little trading activity on the outside to send them flying because their cheaper values leave them more open to it.
Therefore, using a program which only targets these stocks to determine which penny stocks will jump and which will drop, you can make a huge profit in the short term.
The very first pick which I received from a penny stock specific analytics program is the perfect example to go along with this. The program did its part and identified a stock valued at 18 cents which it believed was set to go on a positive trend. I bought 1000 shares using my trading account online and didn't check back in on it until the end of the day when I found that it had already exceeded my expectations and sure enough had jumped to 38 cents.
I continued to check on that stock the next morning and through the afternoon regularly on the hour as it continued to climb, finally leveling off at 57 cents. That's more than triple my initial investment and this came in the span of just over about 24 hours.
The point is if you have just a few minutes a day to do the actual investing, you can profit from the best of these systems as all of the analytic work is again done for you already.

Why Chinese Penny Stocks Are Gaining Popularity

While you are deciding to invest in the Asian market, Chinese penny stocks is the best choice. If you can spare some time before you start the trading, you can understand that they are real eye opener.
It is definitely one of the most excellent short range investment opportunities available nowadays.
Search the internet and you will find the sites that enlist the Chinese penny stocks that are available for the American publics.
Such compilation charts of China stock indexing are really helpful for many interested investors.
It would be wrong to think that the stock valuation will triple within very short time span but still the level of exposure that the China stack market is offering is really overwhelming.
Market analysts and research trends are showing that the present condition in China's market is really opportune.
To prove this fact they are putting up the wireless technology sector in China which is really growing at a rapid speed. And since the telecommunication is ever growing field profitability is always high.
In this sector three companies which can be considered for trade are China TechFaith Wireless, Orsus Xelent Technologies and Qiao Xing Mobile Communication.
Now to mention another booming sector in China is that of healthcare industry. Experts have studied the possibilities in Chinese healthcare sector and have given the positive nod.
Special mention that can be given is that of the joint venture to make the project of developing 100 hospitals in China successful.
But still one thing that must be warned is that they are full of risk and uncertainty for which you must be well prepared of any kind of outcome.
The rise in Chinese penny stocks can crash down at any moment also.

Discover the Insider's Secrets to Making Money With Penny Stocks

One of the investments I enjoy most are penny stocks. Since some individuals view these shares to be risky, I see a lot of people avoid them altogether The good news is that there is tremendous opportunity to earn massive money with these shares once you recognize what you need to look for.
For the most part, I define any stock under $2.00 to be a penny share and invest in newer companies rather than established organizations. Some shares of established companies are inexpensive based on struggles that the company has experienced. I always look for organizations that are growing instead of organizations that are simply cheap because of difficulties the business has faced. This gives me me a chance to earn some tremendous profits down the road.
We should now have a look at the way you can pick out money making penny stocks. When you know what to look for, you can start earning great profits.
Your first step is to do is to examine the industry that the business is in. Is it a growing industry or a dying one?. Think about whether a new business into the industry has a chance of success based on the existing competition. This involves a top-down view of the industry to ensure that the business is in an area that gives them the opportunity to be a success.
Next, of course you want to examine the organization. What about the management? You should also look at what the business offers its customers and determine if their service or product differs from what other businesses in the industry are offering. Make an effort to locate companies that either make a unique product or differentiate themselves on some different factor such as price. If the business provides a product that isn't identical to what the competitors have then the business is much more likely to capture strong sales.
Now it's time have a look at the financials of the company, although don't be scared if you see that they have no net income. This is often the situation with newer organizations. Nevertheless I want to determine that the business has access to funds or loans so that the business can continue to push forward.
Finally, it's a wise idea to be able to locate news on the organization. By having the ability to get news from the business, either on a internet site or some sort of newsletter, you are able to stay informed about what's happening with the organization.
Once you begin to explore penny shares and making investments, you can end up earning some massive gains. By understanding how you can choose a winning penny share, you can generate some unbelievable profit.

A Look at American Sierra Gold Corp

After the American Sierra Gold Corp. announced the cancellation of 23% of its current outstanding stock which amounts to 19,000,000 shares in total, existing shareholders and the public have been asking questions. Since then the question, Is American Sierra Gold Corp. Looking Good, had been foremost on the minds of not only its current shareholders but its prospective investors as well. With its headquarters in Reno, Nevada, the corporation is an autonomous organization that deals in exploration of gold and the investors are actually wondering about the solvency of the company itself.
But another recent announcement about American Sierra Gold Corp. would surely have put to rest the anxiety of its shareholders and prospective investors. It would also have assured them that the organization is not only looking good it, but is also is growing at a good pace. It was made publicly known that the organization and Trinity Alps Resources, Inc. had entered into a joint venture agreement, which enabled the former organization to get hold of 75% share in the well ranked Discovery Day Gold Project.
However, before American Sierra Gold Corp. is able to lay claim on the 75% share in the Discovery project, the organization has agreed to put in US$2 million in the Discovery project for a period of 24 months, besides which it will also be issuing 2 million shares as well as 2 million 5-year warrants from the stock of AMNP to Discovery project's vendor over the same period of 24 months.
This is not the only news that can erase the question of Is American Sierra Gold Corp. Looking Good, from the minds of millions of people associated with the organization in any manner. The organization has earlier also signed an agreement related to equity financing worth $6,000,000, with an institutional investor based in Europe. This agreement will help American Sierra Gold Corp. to finance the execution of their business and possession policies.
Keeping the above things in mind, there is no need for either shareholders or prospective clients to worry about the well being of the American Sierra Gold Corp. The new agreements and new deals all indicate that the organization is quite confident about its future projects and is taking the necessary measures to ensure that the organization keeps on growing constantly. The new agreements will definitely ensure greater profit for the organization and its present shareholders, while providing better investment opportunities to prospective investors.

Stock Investment Strategies Bottom Up Versus the Top Down

Stock market investing is a science that takes time to be perfected and that it is precisely for this reason that there are a variety of strategies that have been developed by various analysts which help them pick up stocks and make lots of money using these stocks. That said there have been various long term stock picking strategies that have been employed by the stock market traders.
These stock market traders who invest in the long term look out for two main things. These two main things which drive the investing philosophy are fundamental research and the economic outlook. The fundamental research is a generally viewed as one which will give you the ability to spot some undervalued stocks in which you can invest and in a period spanning the next 10 years these stocks should be able to give you a good amount of returns. That said the fundamental research has two principles namely the bottom up approach and the top down approach.
The top down approach as the name suggests looks at the top level first. This essentially means that the analysts will look at the economy first and see if the economy is doing good or not. Then the analyst will look at industries which will do well in the given economy and then the analyst will look at the company's which will do well in the given sectors. It is these companies that the analysts will recommend you to buy.
The bottom up approach is exactly the opposite of the top down approach and the analysts using this approach generally pick a company and then see how that company is performing. They are generally not concerned about the state of the economy. This style is more suited for more aggressive investors as opposed to the more conservative investors who will generally go for the top down approach.
That said there is generally nothing wrong with both the approaches and the only difference lies in the way the people approach investing. It also depends on the risk appetite of the investor. For the beginners investing in the market you should always look at the middle path and gradually gravitate towards one or the other approach. For seasoned investors it is always better to stick to one approach.
Again a lot of research is also sometimes harmful so it is better at times to use your own gut feel for picking out a few stocks. Sometimes it can be better than research and can pay big dividends.

How to Buy Stocks Online and Invest Sitting at Home

In today's world investing in stocks is easy. You just need an internet connection and you can access the websites of either the discount stock brokers or the full service brokers and start making the trades. Read on to find out more about how you can buy the stocks online.
Before even selecting the best broker it is warranted that you know the kind of brokers that are available online. There are two kinds of brokers and these are the discount stock brokers and the full service brokers. The discount brokers are those which charge less than the regular full service brokers. Now these discount brokerages do not have any advisors on their rolls to advise you. The only thing that they provide to you is the platform from where you can log in and then just order the amount of shares that you want.
On the contrary the full service brokers in effect make sure that you get the full service from them and that includes the advice from the special stock advisors that they have. It is precisely for this reason that these folks charge more. The price of the advice is built into the brokerage that these companies charge. The benefit is that these advisors take full care of your portfolio and will tell you when to sell and when to buy. This is very good for people who do not have the time to follow the market and in turn want to leave the stock market decision in the hands of the professionals.
For buying the stocks online your brokerage account should be connected to the banks so that electronically fund the account. It is a must else you will lose important time while doing the transactions. It usually takes some time initially to set up the electronic funding but later it is a breeze and generally you will feel that it is a very good way to send money back and forth from your account to the brokerage account and vice versa.
Before signing make sure that you compare the brokers so as to make sure that you do not sign up with a broker which has pathetic service. The other method which is now becoming popular is to have a systematic investment plan in a particular share and that will generally mean that you buy shares worth a set amount each week. This helps to average amount the cost of buying and makes more money.

28.10.09

fundamentals of Commodity Futures Trading

If we carefully look at the present business scenario then we could easily see that in recent time futures trading are gaining its world-wide popularity. In fact it is the most common trading found on many markets these days. As per the latest definitions- it is more like a trading of contracts called futures contracts, which facilitates the owner with power to trade the basic commodity at somewhere in the future for a fixed rate. Moreover, like stocks and options trading, futures trades are done in precise centralized futures commodity trading markets. However, depending upon the type of futures contracts, it can be broadly classified as commodity futures contracts and financial futures contracts.

In commodity futures contracts, trading of contracts end with a physical delivery. They may include agricultural commodity futures like sugar, oats, wheat, rice etc OR energy commodity futures such as crude oil, natural gas, etc; metals & stones like gold, silver, diamond etc. This means that if a trader is holding a futures contract and the time come when it expires, the appropriate payment will be made by the buyer, and the basic commodity (agricultural or energy) will be delivered by the seller. Whereas in financial futures contracts, trading of contracts end with a cash settlement and it include futures for treasury notes, bonds, mutual funds etc.

The futures contract trading can be executed electronically on electronic trading platforms linked to the major commodity exchanges or by the traditional open outcry method on the floor of the exchange. However, the basic form of futures contract is that it must state a location and date for physical delivery of the particular commodity. There are times when delivery arrangements are also specified by the exchange. This is particularly important for commodities that require high transportation costs, which in turn may affect the delivery place.

All those who are involved in commodity future trading must understand that for most commodity futures contracts, daily price movement limits are specified by the exchange. A limit movement is nothing but a move of price that can shift in either direction equal to the daily price limit. If the price moves down by an amount equal to the daily price limit, the contract is said to be limit down. And if the price moves up by the limit then it is said to be limit up. Price limits and positions limits generally aim to avoid large price movements deriving from excessive speculation. However, at times they act as an artificial barrier to trading when the price of the underlying commodity increases or decreases swiftly.

Overall, trading with commodity futures is definitely a good way to make handsome money but there are some essential factors that one has to take care. It is highly volatile in nature and more likely to remain unpredictable mainly because of several factors like geopolitical concerns, contracted demand-supply fundamentals, growth and inflation pressures that put pressure on the global commodity market. It is a most interesting market environment but also a dangerous one as many wars have been fought and many nations & leading companies compete for scarce natural resources and food supplies.

Short Term Options Trading

There are many traders who still consider options and warrants to be long term trading markets, but options can even be traded short term. It is important to understand that trading options short terms is not dramatically different from trading any other market but there are a couple of options specifics that need to be taken into account. In short term trading, the aptitude to steer the short term market is a key component for continued success. As an equity trader one has to learn to trade with the short trend of the markets to reduce market risk.

An option trading is a strategy that does not depend on the market direction; in fact it does well in volatile markets. With options trading there are two methods through which you can enter a long trade and short terms trade. While a long fundamental trade can be entered either by buying a call or by selling a put, a short underlying trade can be entered either by buying a put or by selling a call.

In short term options trading calculating risk reward is yet another important point that trader need to well aware of. Calculating the risk reward can be defined as the amount trader would risk if he or she were wrong and the amount trader would make if he or she were right. If we don't figure out this number, the chances are more where we may find the stock that may go in favor but the option goes against.

If we compare long term and short term options trading, then both have their own advantages. However, buying short term options can be very beneficial as it gives more control. It very general that no one can exactly make prediction very clearly when it comes to stock trading. It's really hard to predict what will happen to a stock 3 months down the road. Though sometimes it is easier to predict which way the stock will be heading in just a few weeks as opposed to a few months. Thus, selling short term options allow capture more premiums over a longer time frame.

Apart from this, it even works well and provides an excellent way for novice traders to trade. This is because as the price movement is so fast and dynamic that when things happen, beginners may not know what to do and be able to do it quickly. Moreover, it is an enormously lively options trading method where options are bought and sold very quickly in order to gain profit from the least intraday price swing or change in volatility.

Today certainly short term option trading has gained its world-wide popularity. It has become extremely money-making method in the hands of options trading veterans and new comers in current extremely volatile market conditions.

Forex Options Market Overview

The forex options market started as an over-the-counter (OTC) financial vehicle for large banks, financial institutions and large international corporations to hedge against foreign currency exposure. Like the forex spot market, the forex options market is considered an "interbank" market. However, with the plethora of real-time financial data and forex option trading software available to most investors through the internet, today's forex option market now includes an increasingly large number of individuals and corporations who are speculating and/or hedging foreign currency exposure via telephone or online forex trading platforms.

Forex option trading has emerged as an alternative investment vehicle for many traders and investors. As an investment tool, forex option trading provides both large and small investors with greater flexibility when determining the appropriate forex trading and hedging strategies to implement.

Most forex options trading is conducted via telephone as there are only a few forex brokers offering online forex option trading platforms.

Forex Option Defined - A forex option is a financial currency contract giving the forex option buyer the right, but not the obligation, to purchase or sell a specific forex spot contract (the underlying) at a specific price (the strike price) on or before a specific date (the expiration date). The amount the forex option buyer pays to the forex option seller for the forex option contract rights is called the forex option "premium."

The Forex Option Buyer - The buyer, or holder, of a foreign currency option has the choice to either sell the foreign currency option contract prior to expiration, or he or she can choose to hold the foreign currency options contract until expiration and exercise his or her right to take a position in the underlying spot foreign currency. The act of exercising the foreign currency option and taking the subsequent underlying position in the foreign currency spot market is known as "assignment" or being "assigned" a spot position.

The only initial financial obligation of the foreign currency option buyer is to pay the premium to the seller up front when the foreign currency option is initially purchased. Once the premium is paid, the foreign currency option holder has no other financial obligation (no margin is required) until the foreign currency option is either offset or expires.

On the expiration date, the call buyer can exercise his or her right to buy the underlying foreign currency spot position at the foreign currency option's strike price, and a put holder can exercise his or her right to sell the underlying foreign currency spot position at the foreign currency option's strike price. Most foreign currency options are not exercised by the buyer, but instead are offset in the market before expiration.

Foreign currency options expires worthless if, at the time the foreign currency option expires, the strike price is "out-of-the-money." In simplest terms, a foreign currency option is "out-of-the-money" if the underlying foreign currency spot price is lower than a foreign currency call option's strike price, or the underlying foreign currency spot price is higher than a put option's strike price. Once a foreign currency option has expired worthless, the foreign currency option contract itself expires and neither the buyer nor the seller have any further obligation to the other party.

The Forex Option Seller - The foreign currency option seller may also be called the "writer" or "grantor" of a foreign currency option contract. The seller of a foreign currency option is contractually obligated to take the opposite underlying foreign currency spot position if the buyer exercises his right. In return for the premium paid by the buyer, the seller assumes the risk of taking a possible adverse position at a later point in time in the foreign currency spot market.

Initially, the foreign currency option seller collects the premium paid by the foreign currency option buyer (the buyer's funds will immediately be transferred into the seller's foreign currency trading account). The foreign currency option seller must have the funds in his or her account to cover the initial margin requirement. If the markets move in a favorable direction for the seller, the seller will not have to post any more funds for his foreign currency options other than the initial margin requirement. However, if the markets move in an unfavorable direction for the foreign currency options seller, the seller may have to post additional funds to his or her foreign currency trading account to keep the balance in the foreign currency trading account above the maintenance margin requirement.

Just like the buyer, the foreign currency option seller has the choice to either offset (buy back) the foreign currency option contract in the options market prior to expiration, or the seller can choose to hold the foreign currency option contract until expiration. If the foreign currency options seller holds the contract until expiration, one of two scenarios will occur: (1) the seller will take the opposite underlying foreign currency spot position if the buyer exercises the option or (2) the seller will simply let the foreign currency option expire worthless (keeping the entire premium) if the strike price is out-of-the-money.

Please note that "puts" and "calls" are separate foreign currency options contracts and are NOT the opposite side of the same transaction. For every put buyer there is a put seller, and for every call buyer there is a call seller. The foreign currency options buyer pays a premium to the foreign currency options seller in every option transaction.

Forex Call Option - A foreign exchange call option gives the foreign exchange options buyer the right, but not the obligation, to purchase a specific foreign exchange spot contract (the underlying) at a specific price (the strike price) on or before a specific date (the expiration date). The amount the foreign exchange option buyer pays to the foreign exchange option seller for the foreign exchange option contract rights is called the option "premium."

Please note that "puts" and "calls" are separate foreign exchange options contracts and are NOT the opposite side of the same transaction. For every foreign exchange put buyer there is a foreign exchange put seller, and for every foreign exchange call buyer there is a foreign exchange call seller. The foreign exchange options buyer pays a premium to the foreign exchange options seller in every option transaction.

The Forex Put Option - A foreign exchange put option gives the foreign exchange options buyer the right, but not the obligation, to sell a specific foreign exchange spot contract (the underlying) at a specific price (the strike price) on or before a specific date (the expiration date). The amount the foreign exchange option buyer pays to the foreign exchange option seller for the foreign exchange option contract rights is called the option "premium."

Please note that "puts" and "calls" are separate foreign exchange options contracts and are NOT the opposite side of the same transaction. For every foreign exchange put buyer there is a foreign exchange put seller, and for every foreign exchange call buyer there is a foreign exchange call seller. The foreign exchange options buyer pays a premium to the foreign exchange options seller in every option transaction.

Plain Vanilla Forex Options - Plain vanilla options generally refer to standard put and call option contracts traded through an exchange (however, in the case of forex option trading, plain vanilla options would refer to the standard, generic forex option contracts that are traded through an over-the-counter (OTC) forex options dealer or clearinghouse). In simplest terms, vanilla forex options would be defined as the buying or selling of a standard forex call option contract or a forex put option contract.

Exotic Forex Options - To understand what makes an exotic forex option "exotic," you must first understand what makes a forex option "non-vanilla." Plain vanilla forex options have a definitive expiration structure, payout structure and payout amount. Exotic forex option contracts may have a change in one or all of the above features of a vanilla forex option. It is important to note that exotic options, since they are often tailored to a specific's investor's needs by an exotic forex options broker, are generally not very liquid, if at all.

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Value - The price of an FX option is calculated into two separate parts, the intrinsic value and the extrinsic (time) value.

The intrinsic value of an FX option is defined as the difference between the strike price and the underlying FX spot contract rate (American Style Options) or the FX forward rate (European Style Options). The intrinsic value represents the actual value of the FX option if exercised. Please note that the intrinsic value must be zero (0) or above - if an FX option has no intrinsic value, then the FX option is simply referred to as having no (or zero) intrinsic value (the intrinsic value is never represented as a negative number). An FX option with no intrinsic value is considered "out-of-the-money," an FX option having intrinsic value is considered "in-the-money," and an FX option with a strike price at, or very close to, the underlying FX spot rate is considered "at-the-money."

The extrinsic value of an FX option is commonly referred to as the "time" value and is defined as the value of an FX option beyond the intrinsic value. A number of factors contribute to the calculation of the extrinsic value including, but not limited to, the volatility of the two spot currencies involved, the time left until expiration, the riskless interest rate of both currencies, the spot price of both currencies and the strike price of the FX option. It is important to note that the extrinsic value of FX options erodes as its expiration nears. An FX option with 60 days left to expiration will be worth more than the same FX option that has only 30 days left to expiration. Because there is more time for the underlying FX spot price to possibly move in a favorable direction, FX options sellers demand (and FX options buyers are willing to pay) a larger premium for the extra amount of time.

Volatility - Volatility is considered the most important factor when pricing forex options and it measures movements in the price of the underlying. High volatility increases the probability that the forex option could expire in-the-money and increases the risk to the forex option seller who, in turn, can demand a larger premium. An increase in volatility causes an increase in the price of both call and put options.

Delta - The delta of a forex option is defined as the change in price of a forex option relative to a change in the underlying forex spot rate. A change in a forex option's delta can be influenced by a change in the underlying forex spot rate, a change in volatility, a change in the riskless interest rate of the underlying spot currencies or simply by the passage of time (nearing of the expiration date).

The delta must always be calculated in a range of zero to one (0-1.0). Generally, the delta of a deep out-of-the-money forex option will be closer to zero, the delta of an at-the-money forex option will be near .5 (the probability of exercise is near 50%) and the delta of deep in-the-money forex options will be closer to 1.0. In simplest terms, the closer a forex option's strike price is relative to the underlying spot forex rate, the higher the delta because it is more sensitive to a change in the underlying rate.

Successful Options Trading Strategies

When it comes to giving people the hope of becoming a millionaire overnight, the stock market excels. Every day we see evidence of stocks that have flown upwards as if they had wings, providing investors with a windfall of profits. It's inevitable that catching one of those stocks just before it takes off is an exciting possibility, inspiring the beginning trader to take the plunge. When you trade options, the stakes are raised, making those massive profits even more attainable, but the basics that underlie successful trading in the stock market are the same as those for trading options.

Once you start to look at trading stocks, you find yourself plunged into a confusing nightmare where hundreds if not thousands of people are pushing "their" system that is supposedly infallible. For a beginner, it's easy to get drawn into the complex net, believing that there must be a simple solution that will hand you the keys to stock market success. These keys will see you finding winner after winner, and making your fortune.

The reality, however, is that there are no keys that will find a winner every time. After all, if that was possible, how could anyone ever lose any money in the market? And if nobody loses, then how can someone else gain? The whole stock market would collapse.

Having said that, there are a number of very successful trading systems that work well over the long term. It's important to realize that a winning system is one that consistently delivers profit over a longer time frame - and part of the equation is that a percentage of trades will be losers. Once you learn to look at the bigger picture, rather than focusing on the individual trades, you'll be a lot more successful in the market.

There are a couple of approaches to the market that are popular across many systems. One is to take small losses when they happen, and let your winners run. So you might take six little losses, which are more than compensated for by one huge gain. This type of approach takes a lot of confidence and self-discipline, as it's very easy to give up if those six little losses all happen in a row, without a winner in sight.

Another approach is to take your profits after a certain percentage of gain, and occasionally put up with a medium sized loss. This system is nice if you like to see profits, because you don't run the risk of a stock that's risen suddenly dropping again and wiping out your profit - you took your profit early. However you also run the risk that the stock will continue to fly upwards and you miss out on that profit. This system can be risky, because you need a number of small profitable trades to cover one of the losses.

If you can't make up your mind which approach suits you, why not try more than one? You can always split your capital over a couple of portfolios, and use a different strategy for each portfolio. This can be time consuming, but at least you can then make a logical comparison of the choices and decide which one has worked best for you.

It's also important not to abandon your system the second you see a trade making a loss. Far too many traders think that they're only successful if every trade is a winner, which is ridiculous. Then the trader switches to another system, messes around with that for a while, sees a loss, and switches again. You need to find a system that gives you a good overall return, and stick to it. The more you chop and change, the higher your chances of losing more.

Most of the success that comes with trading comes from one source - and it's not the perfect trading system. It's all about you. Trading is more about psychology than watching the charts. You need to have the right character to be a successful trader. Self discipline, confidence, the ability to see the bigger picture, accepting losses as part of the game, controlling your fear and greed - all of these elements work together to make you a successful trader.

If you can identify a system that delivers a consistent profit, and have the discipline to stick with it even when an individual trade loses, then your chances of success are high. And remember - it's always good to start with pretend trades to get the hang on things, before you commit your life savings to the market.

23.10.09

Successful Forex Trading Is All About Probabilities

When you first start to trade forex, it's very easy to test out a technical indicator or two and then apply it to your first few trades, or even just trade based on your gut feelings, but if you are serious about becoming a long-term successful trader then you need a well-thought out strategy.
A good forex trading strategy is one where the probabilities are in your favour for every single trade you make.
For example, I don't believe in entering a position where one single technical indicator provides a good signal, but instead rely on several indicators to all indicate either a buy signal or a sell signal in order to enter a trade with confidence.
I also use different time frames as well to show the overall trend. For example, if I'm analyzing a 5-minute chart and all my indicators indicate a buy signal, then I will check the 30-minute chart as well to make sure that we're not in an overbought position or that we are in a strong downwards trend.
To demonstrate with a real-life example, the GBP/USD signalled an outstanding sell signal at around 11.45 this morning (UK time) where all of the signals I use were signalling that a downward move was imminent.
The 10, 50 and 100 EMA's were all trending downwards, the supertrend was currently red, and the MACD was crossing over on both charts. Now I was just waiting to see if the support level on the 5 minute chart of 2.0747, indicated by the parabolic SAR, was going to break before entering.
As it turned out, it did break downwards and I immediately entered my position to go short, and it subsequently dropped 150 points (although I banked a lot less than that  )
As you can see in this instance all my signals were indicating a downwards breakout, and therefore providing it breached this support level, this was a classic example of a high probability trade.
So always try and create a trading system that will provide you with high probability trading positions as this is the key to making long-term profits from forex trading.

Forex Markets Move

If you want to successfully trade the various forex currencies, you need to have a basic understanding of how forex markets move because they all follow similar patterns.
The best way of demonstrating this is by looking at long-term charts of various currency pairs. Let's take the GBP/USD as an example.
If you look at the 30 year weekly chart and draw an EMA (100) to show the trend, you will notice that apart from a few periods of sideways movement, the pair is nearly always trending upwards or downwards, and often for long periods of time.
For example, between 1981 and 1985 there was a long sustained downward trend where the price went from about 2.4500 to around 1.0400.
Similarly it then rebounded and trended upwards reaching it's peak in 1992, and if we look closer towards the present time we can see that the GBP/USD has been trending upwards since 2002.
So the point I want to make is that the forex markets generally move in trends (short-term and long-term), so by identifying these trends you know you should only be trading with the trend and not fighting against it. Your decision therefore is when to enter, and not which direction you should be trading.
Also, although there are clearly defined trends, prices do not move in a straight line. You will notice that price patterns move in waves and there are always retracements along the way. You ideally want to long pairs at the bottom of a wave and sell at the top, and vice versa, but it's obviously easier said than done.
However, the best way is to use technical analysis for confirmation of a new wave upwards or downwards.
For example if there's a strong uptrend, and you see a sharp sell-off, and then a new move upwards, a good entry point would be when the price starts moving upwards again after the sell-off and technical analysis confirms the uptrend is still intact.
An example of this would be in 2005 when the GBP/USD was heavily sold off going from around 1.9500 to just over 1.7000. We can see that after crossing below the EMA (100), it crossed back above it at just under 1.8000 in 2006 and continued to rise, so this would have been a good entry point (and as it turns out a highly profitable one as well as it's continued upwards ever since).
So to sum up, the simplest way of trading is simply to identify the trend and trade in the direction of this trend because forex markets are nearly always trending upwards or downwards. This way your only decision is when to enter, and you can use technical analysis to determine this.

To Avoid Blowouts When Trading Forex

There are some people who say that you need to suffer a few blowouts (wiping out your trading account) before you can become successful.
I don't buy into this at all, simply because what this doesn't teach you is discipline, and if you want to become a successful forex trader, then discipline is one of the key attributes you will need.
When starting out you shouldn't just throw some money into a trading account, and say to yourself “well it's money I can afford to lose, so what the hell, let's go for it”. Instead you should protect that money as if it's your life savings and losing it all and being blown out is simply not an option.
This will teach you to be disciplined both in your mind and in your trading where you should therefore be placing stop losses with every single trade to protect your capital in case you do incur any losses.
The key to becoming a successful profitable trader is to keep your losses small and contained and let your winners run, so your trading pot grows over time.
Unfortunately this is a lesson that even seemingly successful traders fail to learn. They may have built up large profits over a number of years, but if they don't use stop losses then eventually they can potentially be wiped out.
Indeed I know several traders who have sadly suffered this fate (mainly due to their ego and overconfidence) so please don't let this happen to you. Accepting a small loss when your stop loss is triggered is easy to swallow, but suffering a blowout and being completely wiped out due to not having controlled stop losses in place is not.

A Successful Forex Trader Trading

In a quiet moment last weekend I was wondering if you could trade forex full-time just using one technical indicator.
My conclusion was that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to make consistent profits, but then I remembered back to when I first started trading forex a few years ago, and realizing that back then I pretty much only used one indicator - the Exponential Moving Average / EMA (15), and did make consistent profits.
Technically speaking I didn't use only one indicator as I also displayed the EMA (50) and EMA (100) on the same chart to help me decide on exit strategies, and nowadays I use a lot more indicators to confirm my positions, but nevertheless I still think this basic approach of using an EMA (15) on a 30-minute chart could still generate regular profits.
The trick is to look for currencies that have been trending strongly in one direction for a few days with a rising or falling EMA (15), and wait until this EMA changes direction and signals a reversal.
Furthermore when this EMA does change direction you ideally want to enter into a position when the price is close to or touching this EMA for maximum value. Place stops about 20 or 25 points below this EMA in the rare instances where you get a false reversal, but in most cases the reversal will happen and you can potentially make 30-200 pips depending on the strength and momentum of the reversal.
Also, you ideally want to trade in the direction of the long-term trend, so let's take a real-life example – the GBP/USD.
The long-term yearly trend has been upwards so we ideally want to find positions where the EMA (15) has been heading downwards for a few days and watch for a change in direction, so we're trading in the direction of the long-term trend.
If you look at a 30 minute chart of this pair for this month (October), you can see three obvious instances of this happening.
The first instance was between 3/10 and 4/10 when the price fell from 2.0440 to 2.0280 before bouncing back and heading upwards again. The EMA (15) started heading upwards as well between 2.0310 and 2.0320 and there were plenty of opportunities to trade close to this EMA to get maximum value (sometimes the price blasts through the EMA without retracing, making it hard to get any value from the trade).
As you can see, this upwards trend continued until the price reached a peak of 2.4030 so you could potentially have made a profit of 100+ pips, but even if you'd held out until the EMA (15) started heading downwards which was confirmed around about the 2.3080 mark on 5/10, you could still have netted about 70 pips profit.
Similar set-ups occurred on 9/10 when there was another 100+ point reversal, and on 12/10 when there was a slightly smaller move, so as you can see there are always good opportunities to trade this one indicator alone and make pretty good profits.
Therefore to answer my original question yes I believe you can make regular profits trading just one indicator, because I myself have done so in the past, but it makes far more sense to use additional indicators as well to confirm your positions, and to find additional positions to take.

Best Currencies To Trade When Trading Forex

When you first become interested in forex trading it can be difficult deciding which currency pairs you should be trading. Is it best to keep your eye on all of them or focus on just a few pairs?
Well there isn't really a right and wrong answer. A major factor is your own particular trading style. For example, if you have a very solid trading system based on technical analysis criteria, then you could watch all the currency pairs and wait for the right set-up to occur in any one of them in order to enter a trade.
Most pairs conform very well to technical analysis so this can be a very profitable method if you have a solid reliable trading system in place.
Another approach used by myself, and I would guess the majority of traders, is to only focus on the major currency pairs – GBP/USD, EUR/USD, USD/JPY and USD/CHF.
These are the most actively traded currencies so it makes sense to only trade these as they conform extremely well to technical analysis. This is because charts are essentially displaying human behaviour and with so many people across the world all looking at the same charts, you can start to understand where people are likely to enter and exit positions.
The major advantage of this method is that these pairs generally have the tightest spreads which is important because over the longer term these wider spreads can really make a dent in your profits.
Another benefit of only watching these pairs is that by concentrating on a fewer number of pairs you can learn the personality of each one and learn how they move, making it easier to identify trends and take a position.
Finally, one other factor is your location and the time of the day when you are available to trade. For example, if you can trade the forex markets between 7.00 GMT and 17.00 GMT, then the GBP/USD or EUR/USD would be a good volatile pair to trade as this is when the London and European markets are open and at their most busiest.
So to sum up, there are not really any best currencies to trade, all can be very profitable. However you should take the tightness of the spreads into consideration and the behaviour of each currency pair, which is why I generally recommend trading just one or more of the four major currency pairs - GBP/USD, EUR/USD, USD/JPY and USD/CHF.

Trading Forex Using A Breakout System

Trading forex breakouts is one of the more basic trading strategies, but nevertheless it can deliver excellent profits. Just because a system is easy to follow does not mean it cannot produce consistent profits as breakout trading is a method used by some of the most successful forex traders around.
It's based around the whole premise that if a currency pair is trading in a very tight range for a sustained period of time, then eventually it will break out of that range and more often than not it will continue moving in the direction of the breakout.
This means that to make consistent profits you need to firstly identify instances where a currency pair is trading in a narrow range, and then place buy and sell orders at or slightly outside the current range to catch the breakout when it happens.
Furthermore if you want to look for the optimum set-up then you can use technical indicators to help you. My own method is to use a weekly 30 minute chart displaying 15, 50 and 100 period exponential moving averages.
When the price starts trading in a narrow range and all three of these EMA's have flattened out and also currently lie within this range, then this to me is the perfect breakout set-up. Why?
Well because with all three EMA's flat, something's got to give. It's like a volcano waiting to erupt. Once the breakout occurs, you could get a very big movement because the longer term EMA (100) can trend for a very long time so you could get a big points haul if this EMA follows the price and moves outside of the current trading range.
As regards targets and stop losses, I personally use the current trading range to determine where I place my stops so if I go long at the top of the range, then my stop loss will be at the bottom of the range. This is only really an emergency stop as most of the time the breakout will follow through and not go anywhere near this stop loss. My target price is usually the same number of points away as the stop at the very least.
The best thing about this system is that it works pretty well across many different time frames, plus not only does it work well for trading forex markets but it's also an equally good system for trading other financial instruments as well.
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Different Types Of Technical Indicators

If you open up any charting package and attempt to put some form of technical indicator alongside the price, you will usually be presented with endless different technical indicators to assist you with your trading.
This can be slightly overwhelming when you first start using technical analysis, because you don't know which indicators are best, what information they are conveying, or how to interpret the data. So in today's article I'm going to briefly discuss the different types of technical indicators available to you.
There are basically four different types of technical indicators:
1. Trend indicators.
These indicators are used to indicate the direction of a trend. These are very useful because the basic rule is that you should always trade with a trend and not against it. Some examples of trend following indicators include Parabolic SAR, MACD and Moving Averages.
2. Momentum indicators.
Momentum or strength indicators are used to indicate the speed or strength of a move in price and are best used to determine a change in direction. They tend to be oscillating indicators showing overbought and oversold positions. Examples include CCI, RSI and Stochastics.
3. Volatility indicators.
These indicators, as the name suggests, show a change in volatility, which often leads to a change in price. Examples include ATR, Bollinger Bands and Envelopes.
4. Volume indicators.
Volume indicators are used to show the volume of trading in a particular currency. These are useful to confirm the direction of a trend or to signal a breakout. For example, if the pair trades in a narrow range and then breaks out on high volume, then this is a very bullish signal. Examples of volume indicators include Chaikin Money Flow, Demand Index and OBV.
The ideal charting set-up should have at least one indicator of each kind, but it's also important to remember that technical analysis is not foolproof. It's there to help you make trading decisions, but no indicator or set of indicators will give you a 100% success rate.
I've only touched on some of the technical indicators in this article and will discuss each one in more depth at a later date.
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Forex Trading Really For You

The trouble with being a full-time forex trader is that it can be a very lonely profession if you're trading your own account at home.
Everyone thinks it's an exciting, exhilarating profession sitting at your computer in your underwear watching the markets, going long, going short, raking in huge profits, but the reality is somewhat different.
You can sit staring at your computer screen for hours on end waiting for a good set-up to enter a trade, and sometimes you can sit there for the whole day and not enter a trade. And even if you do find a trade, when it goes against you and you have to close out at a loss, then it's a gut-wrenching feeling. You've wasted a whole day, and not only have you not earned any money, but you've actually lost money. You could have made more money working a menial job for the minimum wage that day.
Also in most cases you're all alone and therefore have no work colleagues. You have no social interaction at all during the day except to maybe exchange pleasantries with the postman or to go down to the newsagents for a paper. Over many months and years this lack of social interaction can be quite depressing, especially if you are a naturally social person. Talking to traders on a forum or a load of pretend friends on Facebook is no substitute for real human interaction.
There will also be lean times for even the most profitable traders, which can be extremely stressful, particularly if you have mortgage payments to make, bills to pay, and a family to support.
Yes the potential profits you can make are almost limitless thanks to leverage and compounding, but it's a very tough, and often very stressful way of making a living.
Saying all that though, I've been working for myself since 2001, with forex trading contributing greatly to my overall income and I absolutely love it. Admittedly the lack of social interaction isn't really an issue as I don't really like people generally. 
In all seriousness though, if you can learn to trade successfully then you will be very well rewarded financially, which will allow you to have a great social life away from your computer screen and you can enjoy the benefits of being your own boss and the maker of your own destiny.
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6.10.09

Investment Guide in a Crisis-Laden Business Environment

Possibly by now everyone is already aware that the business world has been hit by a global financial crisis which affected adversely many companies in terms of their operation. As a consequence big investment and lending companies have either reduced or totally cut-off their investment as the market is no longer receptive to any business venture whether new or expansion.
Thus, this phenomenon has created a ripple effect which gives fears among the general public and resulted to holding-on of purchases on personal needs and deferring of personal investment. People in general are now skeptical about business and investment especially in countries that are badly affected by this crisis for fear that they will just end up losing their money. Although this crisis is global in nature there are still countries that provides a good investment climate, hence this would be the task now of an investor to identify.
And one of the best ways is to know and understand the macro-economic performance of a country through their economic indicators. With the breakthrough in information technology this is not difficult to obtain these economic indicators and from this data one can set up criteria to be a guide for investment.
If in the stock market one should look at the performance of the particular company, so as with the investment in the country one should look at the macro-economic performance through its economic indicators as follows:
a) Gross domestic products (GDP) - refers to the economic growth or shrinkage and is normally presented in percentage. A negative GDP or barely above zero will show you that the country is in economic troubles.
b) Gross International Reserve (GIR) - refers to amount of the country's wealth and this is shown mainly in terms of its capacity to pay for its imports. Normally this is measured in terms of the number of months to cover for imports. A month's import cover is critical; hence, it is not a good move to invest.
c) Currency- refers to the value of the country's money with respect to the generally accepted monetary standard value (US Dollars & Euros). A lower value of money compared with its historical record is not good as it makes investment becoming expensive.
d) Inflation - refers to the rate of change of prices of basic goods and services. A high inflation is not good for the people as their expenses on basic needs tend to go up; thus, reducing their savings for purchases of other goods and may not be good for the business in general.
e) Interest rate - refers to the cost of using or borrowing money. A high interest rate is not ideal for the country's investment and business as it becomes more expensive to operate.
f) Industry sector growth - this refers to the different areas of operation such as: Agriculture, Automotive & Machinery, Power, Real Estate, Telecommunication & Information Technology, etc. This is quite important to look because your investment success is determined by the performance of your chosen industry.
These are but a few of the macro-economic indicators to evaluate aside from the specific project description and business details that a potential investor should evaluate in order to assure him that his investment will achieve a higher degree of success.

Your Investment Options

Understanding your investment options may be simpler than you think. All investment opportunities can be placed into one of four categories. Where you should invest money to make money depends on your financial objectives. Do you want to save money or do you want to invest it? Here are your four choices, starting with the safest.
SAVE MONEY: If you are not in a position to invest money and accept even a moderate level of risk stick with cash equivalents and savings plans. Examples include T-bills, money market accounts, money market funds, Savings Bonds, CDs, and the fixed or stable account in 401k and similar retirement plans. All of these investment options pay interest and your principal (the money you invested) is safe.
BONDS: The financial objective when you invest money here is to earn more interest than you normally do in savings plans or in cash equivalents. Risk is at least moderate since bond values are not fixed and the price of bonds fluctuates. Examples include T-bonds, corporate bonds, municipals, and bond funds.
STOCKS: Investment opportunities in stocks involve more risk than the two general investment options above. Stocks are the primary growth investment for most investors, and stock prices can be volatile at times. But if you want to make money over the long term and stay ahead of inflation and income taxes, you should invest money here. Examples include domestic (U.S.) equities (stocks), foreign equities, growth stocks and value stocks.
ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS: If you are looking for growth investment opportunities outside of the stock market and/or want to offset the risk of owning equities consider other (alternative) investments. Examples include real estate, precious metals, foreign investments, and natural resources like oil. When you invest money here risk can be significant and so can the profit potential.
That's it. Those are your four basic choices if you want to save money or make money investing. Don't expect to make big profits in savings plans or in bonds under normal circumstances. And don't expect to get safety if you pursue bigger profits in stocks or alternative investments.
Smart investors take advantage of investment opportunities and are willing to accept a moderate level of risk. They invest in all four of the above investment options.

10 Reasons Why the Gold Price Will Rise Rapidly

There have been some incredibly interesting and provocative statements on the subject of Gold in the last few weeks. But the message is simple. Gold will continue to rise. The question is how far and how fast.
The manager of the USAA Precious Metals and Minerals Fund - the number one precious metals mutual fund over the last 10 years - believes gold stocks will gain 2% to 3% for every 1% move in gold. As our target for gold is at least 100% from here - in excess of $2000 an ounce - this would mean gold stocks could rise 200-300%. And the more speculative stocks are likely to far exceed these targets.
To feel comfortable with investing in precious metals, investors need to be aware of the reasons for the expected rise in the gold price. In no particular order, these are the primary reasons why the stage is set for making your fortune.
1. Selling of Gold by the Gold Cartel - the Gold cartel is made up of the US Government and a collection of bullion and central banks. Central banks have long been sources of gold bullion used to manipulate the market and suppress the price of gold - but they are running out. Gold has been sold in such large quantities to control the price, there is not sufficient production to reverse, or even slow down the depletion of gold bullion stocks. The only way of slowing down demand is to let the price rise. However hard they try to manipulate the market, classic supply and demand will win.
2. Shortage of Supply - the current economic conditions combined with the increase in production costs have slowed down gold exploration and production. In addition, the infrastructural problems of South Africa have significantly effected their output.
3. Transfer of Gold Depositories - Hong Kong has recently completed a high tech security vault at the city Airport. The Hong Kong Authorities are, as we speak, transferring its gold holdings from London to its new secure depository. A move like this sends a message - we will be accumulating gold, and we want it safely stored where we can see and control it, where we can access it instantly, and where its out of harms way.
4. Increasing war and social unrest - war and social insurrection can escalate rapidly. The world is already engaged in more conflict than at any time since the second world war. The Chinese are long term thinkers and are undoubtedly taking this in to account as they accumulate gold and silver to store it close to home.
5. China is adding to its gold reserves - China is making no secret of the fact that it intends to increase its gold reserves, and now holds in excess of 1050 metric tons.
6. China is encouraging its citizens to buy gold - with the world's largest population, and one of the fastest growing economies China has made it legal for their citizens to buy gold and silver, and are actively encouraging them to invest in these precious metals.
7. India, which has been the largest buyer of gold until now, is expected to continue purchasing for jewelery, and increasingly for investment. India already eats up the bulk of the annual mine output, leaving limited quantity for ever competing and ever larger demand.
8. GLD, the SPDR Gold Trust buys gold to back its shares. - They are currently supposed to hold over 1000 tons of gold (almost the same quantity.as China). If this is indeed the case, Their demand on gold output is a major push on the gold price. There is more on this subject in our Gold Report
9. Inflation vs. deflation - the argument persists. After a deflationary period, the billions of dollars being pumped in to the markets will become inflationary. Inflation causes gold to rise. When gold last peaked at $887 in 1980, inflation was averaging 14% and peaked at over 20%. Mortgages had risen in excess of 17%. This could happen again.
10. Paper currency devaluation - the steep decline of the dollar has effected the rise in the gold price, but currencies will at some stage be competing against each other for devaluation. All currencies become unreliable, they no longer provide security, and gold becomes the new money. When this stage is reached we've gone full circle, the bulk of assets will be owned by Asian interests and the new world order will prevail.
Anna P. Best was based in Singapore for many years where she developed her interest in precious metals. Until recently Gold has not been an area the average investor would consider, but that has changed and suddenly there are so many opportunities out there to profit from gold and silver. She has prepared a complimentary report packed with facts which you can download at Gold Report
Anna enjoys sharing her knowledge with other enthusiasts. If you join our web site community you will have free access to a valuable regularly updated collection of articles, comments and conversations on gold and silver. Click the Gold Report link above.

Select the Investment Options and Reaching Your Investment Goals

Often times when a little bit of money has been put aside successfully, we end up trying to find a way that we can put this money to work for us. Selecting the right investment options is important when we have investment goals that we want to meet. Allowing the money to sit around within a savings account or hiding it in between two mattresses is not going to allow us to grow our investment or to fortify it.
At this moment, we should be looking into all of the best investment options that are available to us. Select the right investment options and you will be able to reach the investment goals that you have set for yourself. If you are new to the world of investing, and if this is your first time investing, or if you are used to investing and have been in the market for a while, there are still always going to be risks involved that you need to consider. Because there are always risks that are involved in investing, it can be relatively difficult for you to be able to forecast and to establish which the best investment options to make are with absolute certainty.
Traditionally, there used to be a number of institutions that were responsible for grading different available investment options. Based on a number of different criteria, they would factor in an incredible amount of different scientific and economical measures and they would come up with a recommendation to let you know which potential investment would be the best for you.
The problem here is that recently, at least throughout the latest economic crisis, many of these companies have been closing their doors. What they considered to be the best possible investment option actually wasn't that great an investment option after all. Once it was established that even the most highly qualified experts are not always capable of looking into the future and telling us which investment options are the most ideal, it has become necessary for us to return to the basics in order for us to establish a brand new investing action plan.
When it comes to selecting the right investment options for your own investing needs, there are a number of things that you should be factoring into the decision. For example, what are your financial goals, and how well do you know yourself? Are you interested in a short term investment strategy or a long term investment strategy? Are you looking for a low risk investment, knowing that it will come with low returns, or a high risk and high return investment that could go either way just as easily?
Solid options for investment opportunities include gold, state bonds, stocks, shorts and puts, futures, and a plethora of other opportunities and options as well. Make sure that you weigh your options to make sure that the investment options you choose are actually going to get you to your financial goals.
Whether you're dealing with Trinidad and Tobago money, Jamaica Finance, or Bahamas money, merchant banking operations offers a variety of finance services for both personal and business purposes.

Investing in Real Estate For Beginners

There are several primary ways to invest in Real Estate. Some are more popular than others and each has it's own risk/reward factor. In this article we'll discuss some of the more popular investment methods.
House Flipping
Flipping usually means purchasing a property, doing some repairs/upgrades on it and selling it for a profit. In a flipping situation, you're trying to get in and out as quickly as possible. A house flipper has typically taken a mortgage out on the property and has to make monthly payments until the property has been sold. This tends to be the a risky investment, especially for beginning flippers.
Rental Properties
Rental properties is exactly what it sounds like. You purchase a property with the intent of holding on to it and renting it out to make an income. In many cases this kind of investment won't provide you with much in the way of monthly cash flow, but you'll benefit by having your tenant pay your mortgage off. Of course the downside with this type of investment is either not finding a tenant or overestimating the monthly rental value.
Wholesaling
Finally, there is real estate wholesaling. This is my personal favorite investment strategy. With wholesaling, the investor is taking control of a property (often for as little as ten dollars) than markets the property to prospective buyers. When the property is sold, the investor pays the original owner and keeps the extra as profit. Wholesaling transactions tend to be a very quick, usually the entire process takes place within weeks (and sometimes even days).
Well that's the big three in real estate investing. Regardless of which option you choose, the key is always in the planning and understanding of the risks that will be involved. In real estate, the devil really is in the details.