Forex Broker List , Micro And Mini forex account

Alpari Forex Broker

2008-09-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

Alpari (UK) Limited was established in 2004. It is registered in the United Kingdom with head office in the City of London. The company is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA Register number 448002). Alpari (UK) welcomes clients from all over the world although due to regulatory restrictions we cannot accept as clients, US citizens or persons located in British Columbia (Canada).

Tight spreads (2 pips in EURUSD and EURGBP, 3 pips in USDJPY, GBPUSD, EURJPY, EURJPY and AUDUSD)^*
High leverage (up to 1:100)
Minimum deposit of $200 or equivalent in GBP, CHF or EUR and the possibility to open accounts in USD, GBP, EUR and CHF
Micro lots (minimum transaction size is 0.01 of a lot, i.e. 1,000 units of base currency)
Free MetaTrader for PDAs and for mobile phones (for our clients only)
Free MetaTrader 4 MultiTerminal for money managers
Free demo accounts

Deposit/Withdrawal Method:
Wire Transfer, Cheque

Software Trading Platform :
Meta Trader 4

FXopen Forex Broker

2008-08-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

FXOpen is a financial services company specialized in providing traders with high quality online trading services. FXOpen provide opportunity for individuals and private companies to trade on financial markets under equal conditions like traders operating in traditionally closed financial centers and institutions. Fxopen.com - Offers you FXOpen currency trading service that includes professional services in free streaming forex, forex broker, online forex trading, forex exchange, mini forex, mini forex trading platform

As FXOpen customer, you can select from a full menu of professional services that have been specifically designed to meet your trading needs, including:

Spread from 2 pips
Credit leverage from 1:1 to 1:500
Micro accounts from 1$
Standard accounts from 25$
A wide range of financial tools
Trading terminal MetaTrader 4
Islamic accounts
Instant Execution — Quotation system
100$ bonus for standard accounts
Online support 24/5
Account opening within 5 minutes from any part of the world!

Deposit/Withdrawal Method:
E-gold, Wire Transfer, Cash U, WebMoney, E-bullion, Liberty Reserve, C-gold, Altergold

Software Trading Platform :
Meta Trader 4

FxOpen Bonuses:

Get 100$ after making 10 lots accumulative trades.

To get this bonus you need to open a Real Money account and make 10 lots accumulative trades.

Example:
You have opened 0.5 lot sell EUR/USD, than 0.3 lot buy USD/JPY, than 1.2 lot buy GBP/USD. Total accumulative size is 0.5+0.3+1.2=2 lots. When you will make 10 lots 100$ bonus will be added to your account.

Open new Standard account and receive 25$ as a bonus.

Standard account minimum trading volume is 0.1 lot (10000 points of base currency) and maximum trading volume is 1000 lot per 1 trade. 1 pip with 1 standard lot trade is equal to 10USD approximately.

Open new Micro account and receive 1$ as a bonus.

Micro account minimum trading volume is 0.1 micro lot (100 points of base currency) and maximum trading volume is 1000 micro lots per 1 trade. 1 pip with 1 micro lot trade is equal to 10 cents approximately. Balance on Micro accounts is indicated in cents.

InstaForex Broker

2008-08-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

InstaForex.com belongs to the InstaTrade Corporation, which has been providing online-trading services to customers all over the world since 2007. Today our clients are citizens of more than 50 countries most of which are in Europe and Asia. Hundreds of traders, who invest funds in currency and stock markets, open accounts at InstaForex.com daily.

Insta.Standard Trading Accounts
These types of accounts are relevant for standard trading terms on the Forex market, and work without a fee. Once the trader accesses all trading tools, he pays a fixed spread, when settling each deal.
Insta.Standard accounts work for all types of traders and allows a deal to be settled with a classical spread and no fee. The main advantage of this type of account is its universality. Since a trader can, at any moment, change trading leverage and work with any deposit rate with which he/she is comfortable. The capabilities of the account allow trading with Micro Forex (minimum deposit 1-10 USD), Mini Forex (minimum deposit 100 USD), and Standard Forex (minimum deposit 1000 USD).

Insta.Eurica Trading Accounts
This account type requires no spread to be paid when opening a deal. All currency tools for Insta.Eurica accounts have zero spreads; that’s why the cost of a BID always equals the cost of an ASK. To open a deal, a trader pays a fixed fee, which equals 0.02 – 0.07% of the contract trading volume.
This type of account is recommended for new traders, because when deferred order, no account spread is necessary. With a total absence of spreads, all deferred orders are carried out the moment their cost reaches the chart value. Before installing GTC orders and going into the market, you don’t need to calculate the spread’s influence on the position result, and this makes using technical analysis highly effective.
Insta.Eurica accounts allow new traders to quickly get the hang of the market, using a clearer deal- processing system. This type of account can be actively used by professional traders as well, since its trading characteristics are the same as the Insta.Standard account type.

Deposit/Withdrawal Method:
Visa/Mastercard, Wire Transfer, Paypal, Moneybooker, Liberty Reserve, Webmoney, E-bullion, RBK transfer

Software Trading Platform :
Meta Trader 4

FXDD Forex Broker

2008-08-02T01:02:00.000-07:00

FXDD offers the retail trader/investor, corporation, money manager and hedge fund a complete e-commerce solution for trading margined foreign currency in the interbank market.

FXDD provides real-time margin monitoring capability in our unique, easy-to-read format. We believe that our clients need to know exactly where they stand in real time so that educated trading decisions and expert trade selection can be accomplished.

FXDD can be privately labeled via our White Label Program. Whether you source our liquidity or use our state-of-the-art-technology, FXDD can customize a program that is right for you.

Join the rapidly growing list of traders and money managers who have discovered the advantages of foreign exchange trading for their clients and individual trading portfolios. We are certain that after you learn more about our products, our services, and try our full-featured demo, you will decide that FXDD is the foreign exchange execution platform for you.

	Tight dealing spreads* - 2 pips in EUR/USD
	Instant one-click execution
	Free trading tools & top-rated news
	Liquidity from leading global banks

Deposit/Withdrawal Method:
Wire Transfer, Paypal

Software Trading Platform :
Meta Trader 4

TrendFx Forex Broker

2008-07-21T01:19:00.000-07:00

Univell Ltd ("TrendFX") was registered on July 31, 2007 on the British Virgin Islands (BVI), whose legislation is based on the English common law, which guarantees legal remedy to the investor. The registration of the Company in the offshore jurisdiction has a number of important advantages and allows it to be more dynamic when meeting the needs of its clients

• Instant account opening;
• New! Public Quotations;
• MetaTrader 4 forex trading Platform;
• Instant Account Deposit;
• Various deposit / withdrawal methods;
• No fees on Forex;
• No initial deposit requirements;
• Fixed spread from 2 points;
• 41 currency pairs + gold and silver contracts;
• Minimal lot 0.01 with step 0.01;
• Forex market Watch technology;
• No requotes;
• Highly safe information exchange;
• Virtual currency trading;

TrendFx Promotions:
Get $5 free after completing survey

Deposit/Withdrawal Method:
E-gold, Wire Transfer, WebMoney,Liberty Reserve

Software Trading Platform :
Meta Trader 4

AVAFx Forex Broker

2008-06-27T21:49:00.000-07:00

Ava FX is dedicated to providing the FX trader with an online FX platform with no compromise on integrity and fairness. Our state-of-the-art FX trading platform AvaTrader, is easy enough to be used by novice traders and yet it provides even the most sophisticated trader with all the necessary tools.

We offer all our traders personal service, ensuring that their trading experience is efficient and hassle free. We know what you need and are ready to serve you. You can begin by trying our free demo with a $100,000 practice account. Look at our resources, read our daily commentaries, sign up for a real account and then start trading.

Ava FX is backed by a large financial institution, which manages over $16 billion in assets. We value your trust and spare no efforts in assuring that your funds are safe and secure with us.

Fixed spreads
FREE advanced trading tools
Dozens of currency pairs and Metals
Daily Exclusive Institutional analysis
24-Hour trading and support
Trade immediately by Credit Card,
PayPal, WebMoney or Money Gram
Start trading with as little as $100
200:1 leverage*
No commissions or fees**
Euro or US Dollar account

AVAFx Promotions:

Account Type Initial Deposit Minimum FREE Cash Amount
Silver $/€100 $/€50
Gold $/€1,000 $/€100-$/€1000*
Platinum $/€10,000 $/€1200

Deposit/Withdrawal Method:
Wire Transfer, WebMoney, Paypal, Moneybookers, Neteller, Visa Credit Cards, MoneyGrams

Software Trading Platform :
AVAFx Trading Platform

U.S. Stocks Down, Pushing Dow Average to Brink of Bear Market

2008-06-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

June 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell a second day, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to the brink of a bear market, on concern subprime-related writedowns at banks will worsen and record oil and a slowing economy will prolong the worst profit decline since 2002.

The Dow extended its retreat from an all-time high in October to almost 20 percent, the threshold for a so-called bear market. American International Group Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. sent the Standard & Poor's 500 Financials Index to a five-year low on speculation of mounting losses. Hasbro Inc. and KB Home helped lead consumer stocks in the S&P 500 to the lowest level since 2003 as oil topped $142 a barrel.

The Dow average lost 106.91 points, or 0.9 percent, to 11,346.51, leaving it within 0.1 percent of a bear market. The 30-stock measure fell 10 percent this month for the worst June since 1930. The S&P 500 slid 4.77, or 0.4 percent, to 1,278.38 today. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 5.74, or 0.3 percent, to 2,315.63. Eight stocks declined for every five that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.

``The news on earnings is that the second quarter is probably going to be worse than we thought,'' said Ron Sweet, vice president of equity investments at USAA Investment Management Co., which oversees $100 billion in San Antonio. ``The old news keeps sticking around: it's energy prices, it's writeoffs at banks, it's the slow economy.''

The S&P 500 slumped 3 percent this week, the Dow slid 4.2 percent and the Nasdaq tumbled 3.8 percent. The S&P 500's 8.7 percent decline in June is the worst monthly performance since the 11 percent plunge in September 2002.

Earnings Slump

Analysts forecast earnings for companies in the S&P 500 will slump 11 percent on average, according to a Bloomberg survey today, compared with a projected decline of 8.9 percent a week ago. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategist David Kostin said in a report today that expectations for 2008 and 2009 profits are ``too optimistic'' and are likely to be reduced.

AIG decreased 34 cents to an 11-year low of $27.75. The world's biggest insurer plans to absorb losses for a dozen insurance units after their securities-lending accounts suffered $13 billion of writedowns tied to the subprime-mortgage collapse.

Merrill fell 35 cents to $32.70, the lowest price since March 2003. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. analyst Roger Freeman increased his second-quarter loss estimate on expectations subprime-related writedowns will be more than twice as big as previously projected.

`Tenuous Situation'

MBIA Inc. lost 22 cents to a 20-year low of $4.17. The world's largest bond insurer faces a ``tenuous situation'' as it seeks to cover payments and collateral calls on $7.4 billion of securities triggered by a credit-rating downgrade, Fitch Ratings analyst Thomas Abruzzo said.

MBIA may need to tap assets pledged to back other commitments as it comes up with the money, potentially opening the company up for further downgrades, said Abruzzo, who yesterday withdrew his rating on MBIA and Ambac Financial Group Inc. after the companies refused to give him information.

Ambac slid 19 cents to $1.61, a record low.

The S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary Index lost 0.7 percent, falling to the lowest since October 2003, after crude oil gained as much as 2.4 percent to $142.99 a barrel. Hasbro, the world's second-largest toymaker, lost $1.60 to $35.14.

KB Home, the homebuilder founded by Eli Broad, slumped 41 cents to $17.72. The company reported its fifth straight quarterly loss as rising mortgage rates and falling prices reduced demand for homes.

Worst Ahead?

Homebuilders in S&P indexes lost 1 percent as a group. Lennar Corp. fell 72 cents to $12.62, the lowest price since September 2000. The second-largest builder said yesterday that the housing market has yet to see the worst of the slump.

Micron Technology Inc. retreated the most since October 2006, falling 89 cents, or 13 percent, to $6.10. The largest U.S. producer of memory chips reported a wider third-quarter loss on weaker pricing for semiconductors used to store pictures and music in portable devices.

``June has been difficult,'' Matthieu Bordeaux-Groult, who helps oversee about $6.2 billion as fund manager at Richelieu Finance in Paris, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``There are a lot of negative elements in the market such as high raw materials prices, but valuations are low and offer buying opportunities.''

The S&P 500 gained as much as 0.5 percent earlier after U.S. consumer spending rose 0.8 percent in May, exceeding forecasts. Tax rebates drove the biggest gain in incomes in almost three years, enabling households to at least temporarily overcome soaring fuel bills.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. climbed the most since May 1, rising 63 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $20.30. The drugmaker selling a unit for $4.1 billion to finance acquisitions may itself be a takeover target, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Timothy Anderson said.

FX Direct Forex broker

2008-06-09T00:42:00.000-07:00

FX direct S.A. has been the leading on-line broker since 2003 which provides high-class services and a whole complex of solutions to corporate and private customers for successful trading on the FOREX market.

Up-to-date operations used by FX direct S.A. allow the investors to get immediate access to the foreign exchange market with the help of the trading platforms at any time and in any part of the world.

FX direct S.A. offers 24-hour on-line trade on the FOREX market through Internet or through a phone desk.

Minimum deposit from 1 USD
Leverage up to 1:400
No commission in all transactions
Spread from 2 pip
Spread from 0 pip (Institutional customers)
Automated dealing

Deposit/Withdrawal Method:
E-gold, Wire Transfer, WebMoney, e-Bullion, Liberty Reserve, CG pay

Software Trading Platform :
Meta Trader 4

Dollar weaken after Nonfarms Report

2008-06-06T11:29:00.000-07:00

The U.S. dollar was trending lower against majors as the country's unemployment report revealed another decrease in payrolls for May.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls declined for the fifth straight month, falling by a total of 49k jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. The real story was that the unemployment rate soared up five-tenths to 5.5% in the month, the highest rate since 2004 and the biggest monthly jump since 1986.

"Bonds rallied and the [U.S.] dollar sold off on the release of a 49,000 decline in May payroll employment," confirmed Handelsbanken FX strategist Steven Ricchiuto in an e-mail to clients. "These data points imply a weak May personal income report and a modest set back in industrial production. These data points imply a weak May personal income report and a modest set back in industrial production."

The U.S. dollar was up 0.01 to 105.95 against the yen and up 0.0019 to 1.0198 against the Canadian dollar, but off session highs in both cases. The euro was up 0.0066 to 1.5659 while the pound sterling was up 0.0014 to 1.9598, both against the U.S. dollar. The Australian dollar was up 0.0008 to 0.9595 against the greenback.

The USD and Canadian dollar were experiencing a session of choppy trading as the Canadian employment report came out on Friday as well, reporting a jump in part-time employment, which provided Canada with a net gain of 8,400 jobs in May. Canada's unemployment rate stayed steady at 6.1%

"USD/CAD generated an overnight pullback to 1.0163 before market reaction to the Canadian employment data caused a return above 1.0200," wrote RBC Capital Markets chief technical analyst George Davis. "With the hourly studies finally moving from overbought to more neutral levels, support at 1.0177 and 1.0126 is expected to attract short-term buying interest for a test of initial resistance at 1.0238".

USD/JPY 0.01 to 105.95.
EUR/USD up 0.0066 to 1.5659.
GBP/USD up 0.0014 to 1.9598.
USD/CAD up 0.0019 to 1.0198.
AUD/USD up 0.0008 to 0.9595.

Forex Signal, Is it Good?

2008-06-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

What are Forex signals? Forex signals are paid services offered by some brokers and independent Forex annalists. Companies that offer forex signals monitor and analyze the market for you, providing you with their data via desktop alerts, email or even SMS and pager alerts.

Forex signal services analyze several factors when preparing their data. They do a technical analysis of market conditions and use a combination of indicators to identify trends and isolate profitable entry and exit points. They then send you the results via the venue of your choice and you can choose to use the signal in your own trading, or pass on it.

Most forex signal services offer signals for only a handful of the most popular currency pairs, such as EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF. Occasionally, you can find specialty services that offer signals for other lesser traded pairs. Forex signals can be costly, even upwards of $100 / mth. The benefit of subscribing to such a service is that they analyze and crunch the data for you, saving you time. It should be noted, however that using a signal service is no substitute for a proper education in the Forex markets. Signal services give you data, you still need to know what to do with it.

When shopping for a signal service, make sure that they provide you with historical data so that you can see their track record for yourself. Remember, that like any trader, Forex signal services also have loosing trades. You shouldn't expect a signal service to be a sure ticket to instant Forex wealth, but rather look at them as another tool in your trading toolbox.

Heiken Ashi System On Forex

2008-05-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

Heiken Ashi Is A type of candlestick chart that shares many characteristics with standard candlestick charts, but differs because of the values used to create each bar. Instead of using the open-high-low-close (OHLC) bars like standard candlestick charts, the Heikin-Ashi technique uses a modified formula:

Close = (Open+High+Low+Close)/4
Open = [Open (previous bar) + Close (previous bar)]/2
High = Max (High,Open,Close)
Low = Min (Low,Open, Close)

The Heikin-Ashi technique is used by technical traders to identify a given trend more easily. Hollow candles with no lower shadows are used to signal a strong uptrend, while filled candles with no higher shadow are used to identify a strong downtrend.

This technique should be used in combination with standard candlestick charts or other indicators to provide a technical trader the information needed to make a profitable trade.

U.S. Economy: Consumer Spending Gains Slowed in April

2008-05-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

May 30 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. personal spending slowed in April after record fuel costs, a slump in home values and a deteriorating job market eroded consumer confidence.

The 0.2 percent gain in spending followed a 0.4 percent increase in March, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Incomes grew 0.2 percent, bolstered in part by the government's tax rebates. Separate reports showed business activity dropped for a fourth month in May and consumer sentiment decreased to the lowest level since 1980.

Retailing stocks slumped after the figures reinforced forecasts for spending growth to slow this quarter to the weakest pace since 1991. J.Crew Group Inc., the casual-clothing retailer, reduced its earnings forecast late yesterday, citing a nationwide drop in the number of shoppers visiting its stores.

``Consumers are spending cautiously,'' said Michael Moran, chief economist at Daiwa Securities America Inc. in New York, who correctly forecast the gain in spending. ``The economy is in a grey area between recession and slow growth.''

Treasuries rallied, sending benchmark 10-year note yields down to 4.03 percent at 11:28 a.m. in New York, from 4.08 percent late yesterday. The Standard & Poor's 500 retailing index dropped 0.6 percent to 402.05.

The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, which excludes food and fuel costs, slowed in April, today's Commerce report showed. The gauge rose 0.1 percent, compared with a 0.2 percent increase the previous month.

Fed Policy

Investors are convinced central bankers will keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2 percent when they meet next month. The odds of no change rose to 100 percent today from 98 percent yesterday and 90 percent a week ago.

The Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment decreased to 59.8, the lowest level since June 1980, from 62.6 in April. The measure averaged 85.6 in 2007.

Deteriorating confidence indicates that government tax rebates may only provide a temporary boost to economic growth in coming months. Economists forecast consumer spending gains will slow to a 0.5 percent annual pace this quarter, the weakest since 1991, from a 1 percent pace in the first three months of the year.

``Consumers are really very downbeat,'' Richard Iley, senior economist at BNP Paribas SA in New York, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Economists forecast spending would rise 0.2 percent, according to the median of 73 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.

Incomes were forecast to rise 0.1 percent, according to the survey. The increase masked the first drop in employee compensation since April 2007.

Inflation Eases

The central bankers' preferred gauge of prices was up 2.1 percent from April 2007, matching the 12-month increase in March.

Adjusted for inflation, the figures used in calculated gross domestic product, spending was unchanged after a 0.1 percent gain the prior month, the report showed.

Disposable income, or the money left over after taxes, increased 0.2 percent, after increasing 0.3 percent the previous month.

The economy grew at a 0.9 percent annual rate in the first quarter, more than previously estimated, as the trade deficit shrank to a five-year low, revised Commerce figures showed yesterday. Consumer spending rose at a 1 percent pace last quarter, the smallest gain since the 2001 recession.

Trimming Budget

The surge in food and fuel expenses is causing Americans to become more budget conscious.

``People are probably wary of the economy, wary of food and gas prices being higher, and looking to economize,'' Stephen Holmes, chief executive officer of Wyndham Worldwide Corp., the franchiser of Ramada and Super 8 hotels, said in a Bloomberg Television interview last week.

Inflation-adjusted spending on durable goods, such as autos, furniture and other long-lasting items, dropped 0.2 percent after decreasing 1.3 percent. Purchases of non-durable goods fell 0.2 percent after increasing 0.5 percent.

Spending on services, which account for almost 60 percent of all outlays, increased 0.1 percent for the second month.

The government is counting on its economic stimulus initiative to revive growth. The Treasury last week said it sent $4.9 billion in tax rebates in the fourth week of the program, raising the total distributed so far to $45.7 billion.

Rebates Effect

The extra money may not bring much relief. Households will spend about $90 billion more this year on gasoline if fuel prices remain at current levels, according to a forecast by economists at Credit Suisse Holdings in New York. That will consume about 80 percent of the more than $110 billion in rebate checks being sent.

Tiffany & Co., the world's second-largest luxury-jewelry retailer, today forecast full-year earnings that may beat analysts' estimates on a surge in jewelry sales abroad and foreign-tourist spending in the U.S.

First-quarter sales at U.S. stores open at least 12 months were unchanged from a year earlier, with a 4 percent decline at its locations outside the main store in New York. Chief Executive Officer Michael Kowalski said in a statement that conditions were ``challenging'' in the U.S. and that he didn't expect an improvement until later this year.

Other companies, while seeing no indication of a rebound in spending, are also not seeing any further deterioration.

Estee Lauder Cos., the maker of Clinique and Bobbi Brown cosmetics, said its full-year earnings will be higher than it estimated in February.

``We see no indication at the moment that consumer spending is improving, but we don't see anything that it's getting worse,'' Chief Executive Officer William Lauder said in a May 6 phone interview.

Why Consumer Confidence Index Important?

2008-05-28T02:45:00.000-07:00

The US Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) is defined as the degree of optimism on the state of the economy that consumers are expressing through their activities of savings and spending. Global Consumer Confidence is not measured. Country by country analysis indicates huge variance around the globe. In an interconnected global economy, tracking international consumer confidence is a lead indicator of economic trends.

A month-on-month decreasing trend suggests consumers have a negative outlook on their ability to secure and retain good jobs. Thus, manufacturers may expect consumers to avoid retail purchases, particularly large-ticket items that require financing. Manufacturers may pare down inventories to reduce overhead and/or delay investing in new projects and facilities. Likewise, banks can anticipate a decrease in lending activity, mortgage applications and credit card use. When faced with a down-trending index, the government has a variety of options, such as issuing a tax rebate or taking other fiscal or monetary action to stimulate the economy.

Conversely, a rising trend in consumer confidence indicates improvements in consumer buying patterns. Manufacturers can increase production and hiring. Banks can expect increased demand for credit. Builders can prepare for a rise in home construction and government can anticipate improved tax revenues based on the increase in consumer spending

The Consumer Confidence Index and the Consumer Sentiment Index are two of the most important economic predictors you can watch. Just remember to watch the trend over several months and don’t get caught up in month-to-month hysteria. Understanding the importance of consumer spending and it implications for the stock market will help you become a better investor.

The Consumer Confidence Index measures Americans’ attitudes about current and future economic conditions. It is based on a monthly survey of 5,000 households conducted for The Conference Board. The Board develops a report based on the survey that gives details about consumer attitudes and buying intentions, with data available by age, income, and region. This is compiled into three numbers:

The overall Consumer Confidence Index
The Present Situation Index
The Expectations Index.

If the Consumer Confidence Index is trending upwards, this means that stocks will probably go higher, as well. If Confidence is too high, then the excessive demand it is measuring could trigger inflation, which could lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. Higher interest rates could also increase the value of the dollar, which could reduce exports and make imports cheaper.

LiteForex Broker

2008-05-28T02:27:00.000-07:00

LiteForex offers revolutionary trading technology for beginner traders, and lets you start trading in the Forex market depositing just ONE DOLLAR! Your deposit appears in US cents on the Lite group accounts, so you feel like you are trading the same amount in US Dollars. This new technology allows Forex beginners to learn Forex in a REAL life situation with minimal investment!

LiteForex also offers competitive trading conditions for Forex professionals all around the world, and provides a dedicated Forex trading server and experienced customer support as well as analysis of Forex market and a professional affiliate program.

* Start trading with $1.
* Commission free trading.
* Leverage from 1:100 to 1:200.
* Receive monthly interest on your balance.
* Competitive fixed bid/ask spreads.
* Really fast order execution.
* Account deposits via wire transfer, WebMoney, e-Bullion and Liberty Reserve.
* Many different account types available.
* 33 currency pairs, 8 currency indexes, 32 CFDs and 2 metals to trade.
* One of the best trading platforms - MetaTrader 4.
* Reliable dedicated trading servers.
* 24 hours a day, 5 days a week trading support.

Deposit/Withdrawal Method:
Wire Transder, WebMoney, e-Bullion, Liberty Reserve, CashU

Software Trading Platform :
Meta Trader 4

FxPro Forex Broker

2008-05-28T01:36:00.000-07:00

FxPro.com is owned by EuroOrient Securities and Financial Services Ltd, an investment firm regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (license number 078/07). Our company is a member of various professional bodies like CIFSA (Cyprus International Financial Services Association, http://www.cifsa.org/), CCCI (Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, http://www.ccci.org.cy/), CFSFA (Cyprus Financial Services Firms Association, http://www.cfsfa.org.cy/) and our corporate character defines the values and principles inherent in all our everyday dealings

# Low spreads starting from 1.8 pips
# Flexible leverage options from 1:1 up to 1:500
# Low minimum initial deposit of $100
# Get exclusive market commentary from
# No hidden fees and no extra charges
# More that 70 currency pairs - 40 CFDs - Futures and Stocks – Precious Metals
# You can trade in all instruments live within our MetaTrader 4 platform
# 1 account – 3 trading platforms
# Deposits and Withdrawals through wire transfers and credit and debit cards

Deposit/Withdrawal Method:
Wire Transder, Visa/Mastercard, Paypal

Software Trading Platform :
Meta Trader 4

U.S. Durable Goods Probably Fell as Spending Slowed

2008-05-28T00:50:00.000-07:00

May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Orders for U.S. durable goods probably fell last month as companies trimmed investment plans and consumers bought fewer cars and televisions, economists said before a report today.

Bookings for goods meant to last several years fell 1.5 percent, according to a Bloomberg survey of 72 economists before the Commerce Department report. Orders excluding transportation equipment, which tend to be volatile, fell 0.5 percent, the economists said.

Businesses are reacting to slower sales and record fuel prices by scaling back on hiring and spending. A slowdown in purchases of equipment, combined with a worsening housing slump and weakening consumer spending on expensive items like autos, may bring an end to the six-year economic expansion.

``There is more weakness to come,'' said Lena Komileva, chief economist at Tullett Prebon Plc in London. ``Manufacturers remain under pressure from a recession in housing, high commodity costs and soft labor markets which are spreading housing weakness to the rest of the economy.''

Economists' forecasts ranged from a decline of 5 percent to a gain of 0.6 percent. The report from Commerce is due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington.

So far, manufacturing has done better than in past economic downturns. While the Institute for Supply Management's factory index fell to a five-year low of 48.3 in February and moved up to 48.6 in the following two months, it was still well above the 42.1 reading reached in February 2001, a month before the start of the 2001 recession. A figure of 50 is the dividing line between growth and contraction.

Auto Cutbacks

In addition to weakness in housing-related industries, automakers have led the factory downturn as consumers retrench.

Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. carmaker, last week said its U.S. sales fell 9.8 percent this year through April as gasoline prices approached $4 a gallon. Ford said it would pare North American production 15 percent from a year earlier this quarter, and would cut third-quarter output as much as 20 percent.

``There is no doubt the slowing economy here in the United States presents a challenge for us,'' Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said at the company's annual shareholders meeting earlier this month. ``We are taking further cost-reduction actions.''

Increases in fuel costs are among the biggest concerns. Oil rose to more than $135 a barrel last week, the highest ever.

Companies that export have fared better, continuing to grow during the slowdown. A shrinking trade gap added 0.2 percentage point to first-quarter economic growth, according to Commerce Department figures.

Still, Federal Reserve officials, in minutes of their April 30 policy meeting released last week, lowered their 2008 economic growth projection by about a full percentage point to 0.3 percent to 1.2 percent.

``The outlook for business spending remained decidedly downbeat,'' the minutes said.

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2008-05-26T18:53:00.000-07:00

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MT4 Expert Advisors (EA), Automated Trading. How to Install

2008-05-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

An Expert Advisor is an automated trading system (ATS) written in the MetaQuotes Language II (MQL II) and linked to a particular chart. That Expert Advisor is not only able to notify you of trading opportunities, but can also execute trades on your trading account, sending them through to the trading server. Expert Advisors will also let you test your strategies on historical data, and will plot entry/exit points on the chart

Metatrader Expert advisor should has ex4 or mq4 file extenshion. mq4- sourse code, ex4- compiled code. First of all it is necessary to copy this file to the folder experts of working directory. Under a working directory we understand a root directory, in which we installed MetaTrader 4 terminalThe second step is to restart MetaTrader . After the restart the expert should be added to the list of experts in the window Navigator . It necessary to stress that the colored icon corresponds to mq4 file. If you have an ex4 file only, an icon in the window Navigator will be grey. The same grey color may mean that the errors in a source code appeared.

In order to check expert errors, you may press F4, the editor of language MQL4 , and then it is necessary to load the source code of expert into the editor. Press F5 in order to compile the expert advisor. In case of success, the sentence '0 errors' will appear in conclusion window. Warnings are not errors and their presence does not hinder the successful compiling.

Now MetaTrader identifies our metatrader expert advisor and the source code of forex expert does not contain errors. Next logical step will be to specify working pair and timeframe for the expert. The easiest way to do it is to apply the technology Drag-and-Drop . For this purpose it is necessary to select metatrader expert, press the left mouse button and drag it on the required chart, then release the button. There is another way. After the selection of metatrader expert advisor, press the right mouse button for context menu, then choose from the menu Attach to and chart .

If you made the steps mentioned above correctly, you should see the window of expert settings, where you should let the expert trade.
Do not forget about the button Expert Advisors , which is located on one of standard tool bars of the terminal. The button must be pressed.

Dollar sinks against major currencies,Oil rises

2008-05-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (AP) - The dollar sank against most major currencies on Friday after oil prices rebounded from a brief decline and a private realty group reported that existing home sales dropped for the eighth time in nine months.

The 15-nation euro rose to $1.5775 in late New York trading from $1.5699 late Thursday.

Oil prices rose again Friday after tumbling around $4 overnight from a record above $135 a barrel set Thursday.

The euro-dollar trade has tracked the rise and fall of oil prices. Surging oil has weighed on the global economy, compounding inflation worries and fears that consumers will spend less as fuel takes up a larger part of their income. But the euro zone's economy is seen as more resilient to sky-high oil than the U.S. economy.

The British pound edged higher to $1.9794 from $1.9782 after the U.K. reported its gross domestic product rose 0.4 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with the last quarter of 2007.

The dollar slumped to 104.17 Japanese yen from 105.26 yen as U.S. stocks fell amid surging oil fears and steadily dropping home sales.

The dollar-yen trade tends to correlate with the stock market as slumping equities drive currency investors from risky 'carry trades.'

Carry trades involve borrowing currencies from countries with low interest rates, such as Japan, and investing them in higher-yielding assets. When the market slides, traders tend to sell off those trades and pay back the yen loan.

Sales of existing U.S. homes fell by 1 percent in April to 4.89 million units, matching a record low set in January. It is the eighth drop in nine months. The National Association of Realtors, which tracks the data, starting collecting it in 1999. The median price for an existing home dropped 8 percent to $202,300 compared with the same time last year ,and further price declines are seen.

In other New York trading, the dollar fell to 1.0241 Swiss francs from 1.0339 francs, but edged higher to 98.86 Canadian cents from 98.56 Canadian cents.

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2008-05-21T09:10:00.000-07:00

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BoE MPC voted 8-1 to keep rates at 5 pct on May 8

2008-05-21T04:14:00.000-07:00

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The Bank of England's rate-setting body voted 8-1 in favour of keeping its benchmark interest rate on hold at 5.00 percent at its last meeting on May 8, with only Danny Blanchflower opting for a quarter point reduction.

The minutes to the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, published today, show that the majority, including governor Mervyn King, worried about the second-round effects of above-target inflation, even though the UK economy was beginning to slow in the wake of the crisis in credit markets.

'Although economic activity was likely to slow, the Committee had judged that some slowing in the growth rate of output was likely to be necessary for inflation to settle close to the target around two years ahead,' the eight members said.

'A further reduction in Bank Rate this month could create the impression that the Committee was trying to stabilise output growth rather than maintaining its focus on the inflation target,' they added.

At the meeting, the nine members of the panel were armed with the central bank's latest economic forecasts, which showed a high probability of the annual CPI inflation rate rising toward the 4.00 percent mark this year.

In the year to April, inflation rose to 3.00 percent, just shy of the level at which King would have to write to Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling explaining why inflation is more than 1 percentage point above the 2.00 percent target and what rate-setters plan to do about it.

The majority said the upside risk to the inflation outlook over the next two years was that the period of above-target inflation in the near-term would, by affecting inflation expectations, have 'a greater tendency' to persist than assumed in the central projection.

They also noted that reducing inflation from persistently high levels had in the past needed prolonged periods of sub-par growth.

The Committee had, the majority said, to make clear to those setting prices and wages that the period of above-target inflation would be 'temporary' and that it was 'committed' to returning inflation towards the target.

The BoE's central projection is for inflation to return towards the target by the end of this year and be around target after two years, subject to oil and commodity prices stabilising.

For arch-dove Blanchflower, the majority's focus on inflation expectations is largely misplaced, because the bulk of the price rises, such as oil and commodities, are beyond the MPC's control.

'With pay growth remaining subdued, this period of above-target inflation would have little tendency to persist,' he said.

'The current and prospective weakness of demand meant that there was a clear risk of missing the target on the downside looking further ahead,' he added.

Blanchflower doesn't look like he's the only one on the Committee worried about the extent of the slowdown in the economy though. The minutes showed that there is a range of views among the members about the extent to which tighter credit conditions and weaker income growth will weigh down on inflation.

'For some members, the economy had shown considerable resilience in the face of variation in credit conditions,' the minutes showed.

'For some other members, there was a significant risk that the impact of weakening property markets on the rest of the economy could be more substantial than implied by the central projection,' it added.

Treasuries Decline Before Fed Minutes That May Stress Inflation

2008-05-21T04:12:00.000-07:00

May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Treasuries fell, snapping a two-day gain, before the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting, which may show it is done cutting interest rates on concern inflation may accelerate.

The 10-year note yield rose from the lowest level in more than a week as oil at a record prompted speculation U.S. price growth will quicken, eroding bonds' fixed payments. The difference between yields on 10-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities and conventional notes of the same maturity was near the widest in more than two months.

``We've already had the Fed indicating they're not willing to drop rates further and that's keeping the market in a precarious position,'' said Marius Daheim, a senior bond strategist in Munich at Bayerische Landesbank, Germany's second- biggest state-owned bank. The minutes may show ``the Fed's starting to get worried about inflation expectations getting out of control.''

The U.S. 10-year yield climbed 1 basis point to 3.79 percent as of 6:56 a.m. in New York, after dropping to as low as 3.76 percent, according to bond broker BGCantor Market Data. The 3 7/8 percent security due May 2018 declined 3/32, or 94 U.S. cents per $1,000 face amount, to 100 23/32. The 10-year note yield may hold around 3.8 percent for the rest of the quarter, Daheim predicted.

Two-year yields rose 1 basis point to 2.33 percent. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Business Confidence

Treasuries pared a decline as stocks in Europe faltered, while the cost of protecting the region's corporate bonds from default fell. European bonds dropped as German business confidence unexpectedly increased, reducing the likelihood the region's central bank will lower borrowing costs.

U.S. government notes have returned 2.7 percent so far this year, according to a Treasury master index compiled by Merrill Lynch & Co. That's more than similar-maturity European debt, which has earned 1.7 percent, the company's German Federal Governments index showed.

Europe's Stoxx 600 added as much as 0.3 percent and futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index expiring in June increased as much as 0.3 percent.

Banks are becoming more confident about lending after the Fed eased access to funding. The difference between three-month bill yields and the three-month London interbank offered rate, the so-called TED spread, narrowed to 77 basis points from this year's high of 2.03 percentage points on March 19. The spread averaged 39 basis points in the seven months through July last year, before the global credit squeeze began.

Futures Bets

Futures on the Chicago Board of Trade show there's an 88 percent chance the Fed will keep the target rate for overnight lending between banks at 2 percent on June 25. The odds of an increase to 2.25 percent by the end of the year are 57 percent.

``Monetary policy appears to be appropriately calibrated for now to promote both rising employment and moderating inflation over the medium term,'' Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said yesterday in New Orleans. The economy should gradually strengthen as the interest-rate reductions take effect, he said.

The Fed will release the minutes of its April 30 meeting at 2 p.m. in Washington. Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is due to speak on the benchmark federal funds rate at 1 p.m. in Washington.

``We are going to see some movement out of Treasuries,'' said Robert Sinche, head of global currency strategy at Bank of America Corp. ``We favor inflation-protected securities,'' he said yesterday in an interview in San Francisco.

Inflation Expectations

The difference between yields on 10-year TIPS and 10-year notes was 2.5 percent today, near the highest since March 13. The gap, which represents the rate of inflation that investors expect for the next decade, has widened from 2.28 percentage points on April 30 when the Fed last met.

``The Federal Reserve will start raising rates at the end of this year and into next year,'' Markus Schomer, New York-based global economic strategist at AIG Global Investment Group, said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Hong Kong.

Declines by Treasuries may be limited as some investors bet the financial-market crisis isn't over and that the Fed may still cut interest rates this year. They rose in Asian trading with Japanese bonds as stocks declined. Japan's 10-year bond yield fell 3 basis points to 1.615 percent.

``It's a bit misguided to think the pause will continue for a considerable time and that the next move will be up not down,'' Andre de Silva, global deputy head of fixed-income strategy in London at HSBC Holdings Plc, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``The scope is still for further weakness in the U.S. We still think a cut is coming by the end of the year.''

Concern that credit losses will swell increased after American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer by assets, said yesterday it will raise a total of $20 billion, 60 percent more than the New York-based insurer originally said it needed to protect against further writedowns.

Using Hedging Strategy

2008-05-10T18:10:00.001-07:00

Have you ever use hedgin strategy in forex?

Hedging is defined as holding two or more positions at the same time, where the purpose is to offset the losses in the first position by the gains received from the other position.

Usual hedging is to open a position for a currency A, then opening a reverse for this position on the same currency A. This type of hedging protects the trader from getting a margin call, as the second position will gain if the first loses, and vice versa.

However, traders developed more hedging techniques in order to try to benefit form hedging and make profits instead of just to offset losses.

In this page, we will discuss, some of the hedging techniques.

100% Hedging.

This technique is the safest ever, and the most profitable of all hedging techniques while keeping minimal risks. This technique uses the arbitrage of interest rates (roll over rates) between brokers. In this type of hedging you will need to use two brokers. One broker which pays or charges interest at end of day, and the other should not charge or pay interest. However, in such cases the trader should try to maximize your profits, or in other words to benefit the utmost of this type of hedging.

The main idea about this type of hedging is to open a position of currency X at a broker which will pay you a high interest for every night the position is carried, and to open a reverse of that position for the same currency X with the broker that does not charge interest for carrying the trade. This way you will gain the interest or rollover that is credited to your account.

However there are many factors that you should take into consideration.

a. The currency to use. The best pair to use is the GBPJPY, because at the time of writing this article, the interest credited to your account will be 24 usd for every 1 regular long lot you have. However you should check with your broker because each broker credits a different amount. The range can be from $10 to $26.

b. The interest free broker. This is the hardest part. Before you open your account with such a broker, you should check the following: i. Does the broker allow opening the position for an unlimited time? ii. Does the broker charge commissions?

Some brokers charge $5 flat every night for each lot held, this is a good thing, although it seems not. Because, when the broker charges you money for keeping your position, the your broker will likely let you hold your position indefinitely.

c. Equity of your account. Hedging requires lots of money. For example, if you want to use the GBPJPY, you will need 20,000USD in each account. This is very necessary because the max monthly range for GBPJPY in the last few years was 2000 pips. You do not want one of your accounts to get a margin call. Do not forget that when you open your 2 positions at the 2 brokers, you will pay the spread, which is around 16 pips together. If you are using 1 regular lot, then this is around 145 usd. So you will enter the trades, losing 145 usd. So you will need the first 6 days just to cover the spread cost. Thus if you get a margin call again, you will need to close your other position, and then transfer money to your other account, and then re-open the positions. Every time this happens, you will lose 145 usd!

It is very important not to get a margin call. This can be maintained by a large equity, or a fast efficient way to transfer money between brokers.

d. Money management. One of the best ways to manage such an account is to monthly withdraw profits and balancing your positions. This can be done by withdrawing the excess from one account, take out the profits, and depositing the excess into the losing account to balance them. However, this can be costly. You should also check with your broker if he allows withdrawals while your position is still open. One efficient way of doing this is using the brokerage service withdrawals which is provided by third party companies.

Carry Trade On Forex (Currency Echange)

2008-05-10T17:41:00.001-07:00

What is a currency carry trade? The currency carry trade, known simply as carry trading is a strategy where the investor sells a currency with a relatively low borrowing rate and uses the borrowed funds to purchase another currency with a higher interest rate differential. An investor using this strategy attempts to take advantage of the interest rate differential.

A good example of a currency susceptible to carry trades is the Japanese Yen,whose borrowing rate is at 0.5 percent.

Eg. A trader borrows 2,000 Yen from a Japanese Bank the converts it to Australian Dollars then buys a bond for the equivalent amount. Assuming that the bond pays 5 percent and the Japanese interest rate is 0.5 percent, the trader expects a 4.5 percent profit under the condition that that the exchange rate between the two nations don't change.

Carry trading is risky due to volatile movements of the exchange rates. Using the above example, if the Australian Dollar depreciates against the Japanese Yen, the trader is set to make a loss. Carry trade transactions are usually done with leverage, therefore a small movement in exchange rates would result in massive losses of funds.

The Japanese Yen in recent years had been susceptible to carry trade due to its relatively low borrowing rates.

Swap (interest) On Forex?

2008-05-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

In the spot forex market, all trades must be settled in two business days. A rollover refers to the process of closing open position for today's value date and the opening of the same position for the next day's value date at a price reflecting the difference in interest rates between the two currencies.

In accordance with international banking practices, Forex brokers automatically rolls over all open positions to the next date at 5 PM EST for settlement.

Rollover involves exchanging the position being held for a position expiring the following settlement date. For example, for trades executed on Monday, the value date is Wednesday.

However, if a position is opened on Monday and held overnight, the value date is now Thursday. The exception is a position opened and held overnight on Wednesday. The normal value date would be Saturday; because banks are closed on Saturday the value date is actually the following Monday. Due to the weekend, positions held overnight on Wednesday incur or earn an extra two days of interest.

Trades with a value date that falls on a holiday will also incur or earn additional interest. Forex Traders can earn interest on rollovers, depending on the direction of their positions and interest rate differential between the two currencies involved.

For instance, the primary interest rates in Great Britain are much higher than in Japan, so if a trader buys GBP, he/she will earn interest at 5 PM EST time. on the other hand, if he/she sells GBP in this currency pair, he/she will pay interest at 5 PM EST time.

Overnight Interest/Rollover is automatically paid to a client's account after buying a currency with greater Interest Rate in its country, and charged to a client's account if the country issuing this currency has smaller Primary Interest Rates.

NonFarm Payroll Today

2008-05-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

How Will Non-Farm Payrolls Impact the US Dollar?
The US dollar has strengthened across the board today ahead of Friday’s non-farm payrolls release. This may befuddle some traders as the greenback’s price action conflicts with the higher jobless claims report and the deterioration in the employment component of manufacturing ISM. According to our non-farm payrolls preview, job growth should decline for the fourth consecutive month. The market is currently expecting non-farm payrolls to fall by 78k and for the US unemployment rate to rise to highest level in 3 years. There is even a possibility that job losses could hit -100k. Over the past month, consumer confidence hit a record low and planned layoffs as reported by Challenger Gray and Christmas increased 27.4 percent. Continuing claims are also on the rise as the problems in the US economy escalate. Many people including Warren Buffet will agree that the US economy is already in a recession. During the last 3 recessions, there was a string of job losses that lasted for a minimum of 10 months. If this is true, we could see far more than 4 consecutive months of job losses ahead of us. In each of the past 3 recessions, the largest single month job loss was more than 300k. In this context, a 100k drop in April or May is not only realistic but nearly guaranteed. However, weak non-farm payrolls may not be enough to halt the recent rally in the US dollar. After the hawkish minutes from the FOMC yesterday, traders have rallied the greenback on the expectation that the Federal Reserve will not be raising interest rates again in June. Even if the drop in non-farm payrolls in the month of April is greater than the -80k decline in March, the Federal Reserve has the benefit of seeing the non-farm payrolls report for the month of May before making their next monetary policy decision. Therefore the market’s reaction to a bad number may be tempered for the time being and a good number of course would add fuel to the current rally in the US dollar. Sentiment and technicals also point to further gains for the US dollar and weakness in the Euro, which is discussed further in our Euro commentary. Meanwhile the manufacturing ISM number was stronger than expected along with core PCE. Although the 48.6 reading is still reflective of contractionary conditions, the performance of the manufacturing sector would have probably been worse had it not been for the benefits of a weaker dollar.

European Retail Sales Slumped in April, PMI Shows

2008-04-29T05:07:00.000-07:00

April 29 (Bloomberg) -- European retail sales dropped the most in more than four years in April as rising fuel and food prices squeezed shoppers' budgets, the Bloomberg purchasing managers index showed.

The measure of sales growth in the euro region declined for a second month to a seasonally adjusted 41.8 from 48.2 in March. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. The index, which is based on a survey of more than 1,000 executives compiled for Bloomberg News by NTC Economics Ltd., is at the lowest level since its introduction in January 2004. Sales also fell from a year earlier.

The fastest inflation in 16 years is squeezing retailers' margins and weighing on consumer spending while at the same time discouraging the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates. The European Commission yesterday cut its forecasts for economic growth this year and next in the 15-nation euro region.

``Rising inflation is hitting households' purchasing power and is undoing some of the positive stimulus, such as strong employment growth and rising wages,'' said Nick Kounis, an economist at Fortis Bank in Amsterdam. ``The dilemma facing the ECB just gets worse.''

The euro fell almost half a cent after the retail sales report before recovering to trade at $1.5576 at 1:10 p.m. in Frankfurt.

Carrefour, Ikea Warning

Carrefour SA, the world's second-biggest retailer, and Ikea, the largest home-furnishings seller, said the industry is likely to suffer as global economic growth slows and commodity prices soar. Consumer companies have ``never before faced so many challenges,'' Carrefour chief Jose Luis Duran said earlier this month at the World Retail Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

Sales fell across all three of the largest economies in the euro zone, led by Italy, where retail spending dropped at the fastest rate in the survey's history. In Germany, sales fell the most in three months, while in France they declined the most since January 2006.

``Italian indicators have been on a predictable and steady downward trend for the past year,'' said Morgan Stanley economist Vladimir Pillonca, who predicts Italy may be the first and only country in the euro region to enter into a recession this year.

Praktiker AG, Germany's second-largest home-improvement retailer, said April 23 that its first-quarter loss widened on weaker demand. Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Werner said ``the first three months were very bad in domestic sales.''

Sarkozy's Plan

Metro AG, Germany's largest retailer, today reported first- quarter operating profit increased about 14 percent as growth in Eastern Europe offset slowing sales at home.

While ``rising real wages and rising employment will have a positive impact on Metro's German business,'' the dynamic in Western Europe ``leaves something to be desired,'' Chief Executive Officer Eckhard Cordes said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

In France, ``inflation and the end of the rise in real-estate prices, and of the ability to take on loans, are weighing on consumption,'' said Yann Lepape, an economist at Oddo & Cie. in Paris. ``The trend is starting to go downward.''

French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday outlined measures to spur growth, including a push for price rebates at retailers, as accelerating inflation hurts consumer spending in the euro region's second-largest economy.

``Prices in supermarkets have increased more in France than in almost all other European countries,'' Sarkozy said last week in a nationally televised interview from the presidential palace. ``That's not normal.''

Margins Shrink

Gross margins fell in April at the fastest rate in the survey's history as purchasing prices in Germany and Italy rose and sales missed targets to the second-largest extent on record, NTC said.

European consumer confidence fell to the lowest in more than two years in March, according to the European Commission. The commission yesterday forecast the euro-region economy will expand 1.7 percent this year and 1.5 percent in 2009, which would be the slowest since 2003. Last year it grew 2.6 percent.

By contrast, the International Monetary Fund predicts the U.S. economy will expand just 0.5 percent this year and 0.6 percent in 2009 amid a housing recession.

Defaults on U.S. subprime mortgages have caused about $309 billion in writedowns and losses at the world's biggest banks and financial institutions so far and pushed up borrowing costs globally.

ECB's Inflation Fight

While the Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates to bolster its economy, the ECB has left its benchmark rate at a six- year high of 4 percent to fight inflation.

NTC said a gauge of expected sales for the coming month increased to 59.1 from 53.3 in March, partly because food and drink retailers plan to raise prices.

Nestle SA, the world's largest food company, last week said first-quarter sales rose 6 percent after increasing prices by the most in a decade for products from Nescafe coffee to KitKat chocolate bars.

For the Bloomberg retail indicator, NTC recruited a panel of companies in Germany, France and Italy, which together make up around 75 percent of total euro-area retail sales by value. The panel includes large chain retailers as well as smaller stores.

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2008-04-28T01:06:00.000-07:00

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Japan Consumer Prices Rise at Fastest Pace in Decade

2008-04-25T01:14:00.000-07:00

April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in a decade in March as companies passed on higher costs of gasoline and food to protect profits.

Core prices, which exclude fresh fruit, fish and vegetables, climbed 1.2 percent from a year earlier after gaining 1 percent in February, the statistics bureau said in Tokyo today.

Bonds fell as traders increased bets that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates from 0.5 percent later this year to quell inflation. Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his colleagues will probably stick to their policy of gradually increasing borrowing costs in their twice-yearly outlook next week, former central bank official Masaaki Kanno said.

``Core prices will continue to gain, spurred by crude oil and food,'' said Kanno, now chief economist at JPMorgan Securities Japan Co. in Tokyo. ``The Bank of Japan will probably suggest it maintains the basic stance of normalizing monetary policy and will raise interest rates eventually unless the external environment deteriorates.''

The yield on Japan's five-year bond rose 15.5 basis points, the most in more than four years, to 1.2 percent as of 11:30 a.m. in Tokyo. The yen traded at 104.22 per dollar from 104.34 before the report. The gain in core prices matched the median estimate of economists surveyed.

Expectations Evaporated

Expectations that the bank will cut the key rate, the lowest among major economies, evaporated in the past month.

Investors see a 66 percent chance of a rate increase by December compared with 38 percent before today's report, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. calculations. As recently as March 20, traders priced in a 71 percent likelihood of a cut.

The central bank will probably increase its projection for core-price increases from 0.4 percent in the outlook report on April 30, economists say.

``The Bank of Japan will probably warn that costlier commodities and food may accelerate price increases more than expected,'' said Junko Nishioka, a senior economist at ABN Amro Securities in Tokyo. ``The bank's message will be, `we'd like to resume normalizing interest-rate levels eventually.'''

Still, economists also predict policy makers will lower their growth forecast from 2.1 percent for the year ending March 2009. Costlier oil and commodities are squeezing companies and households, smothering growth just as a U.S. slowdown cools Japan's export-led expansion.

Bad Inflation

Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Hiroko Ota said Japan's inflation ``isn't at all a good thing'' because it's being driven by higher energy prices rather than demand. The country is still struggling to stamp out deflation, she said today.

Core consumer prices resumed rising in October after declining for eight months. They either hovered near zero or fell since March 1998, when an increase in the country's sales tax pushed gains to 1.8 percent.

Food accounted for a third of the increase in core prices last month, and energy contributed more than half. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 0.1 percent, the first increase since August 1998.

Kagome Co. said this week it will raise prices of vegetable and fruit drinks to reflect higher costs of ingredients and packaging materials.

Bank of Japan board members ``are unlikely to underestimate a rising trend in inflation,'' said Jan Lambregts, head of Asia research at Rabobank International in Hong Kong. Should financial markets stabilize and the U.S. recession remain contained, ``we do expect the BOJ to try and squeeze in one more rate hike before year-end and resume monetary tightening more forcefully next year.''

Stagnant Wages

Inflation may be contained because stagnant wages have made households reluctant to pay more for goods and services. Wages fell at the fastest pace in three years in 2007.

The Bank of Japan ``seems reasonably relaxed about the inflation numbers because there's no sign it's feeding into wages demand and creating an inflationary spiral,'' said Richard Jerram, chief Japan economist at Macquarie Securities Ltd. in Tokyo. The bank ``isn't going to be doing anything for the remainder of this year.''

Core prices climbed 0.3 percent in the year ended March 31, the government said, the quickest rate in a decade. Bank of Japan policy makers consider consumer prices to be stable in a range between zero and 2 percent.

Tokyo's core prices, a harbinger of the nationwide index, rose 0.7 percent in April from a year earlier, following a 0.6 percent gain in March. Inflation in the capital accelerated even after the expiry of a gasoline tax made the fuel cheaper.

The government will reinstate the tax on May 1, the Yomiuri newspaper reported today, citing a government official it didn't identify by name.

Stochastic Oscillator

2008-04-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

What is Stochastic? And what is Oscillators? A technical momentum indicator that compares a security's closing price to its price range over a given time period. The oscillator's sensitivity to market movements can be reduced by adjusting the time period or by taking a moving average of the result. This indicator is calculated with the following formula:

%K = 100[(C - L14)/(H14 - L14)]

C = the most recent closing price
L14 = the low of the 14 previous trading sessions
H14 = the highest price traded during the same 14-day period.

%D = 3-period moving average of %K

Fixed minimum and maximum do not change. You can apply into 1 mins to weekly as well. Of course that is certain analyst will used different period for the different chart time period. Here I strongly suggest you as a beginner try not apply different %K and D% for different chart time period unless you are fully understood the theory of Stochastic Oscilators.
See chart:

Now, as you can the chart(GBPUSD 15mins), after apply the Stochastic Oscillators; its appear below the chart. Different from Moving Average and Parabolic SAR is on the chart. When market has been reached to A(as well as C, and E) and Stochastic K% and D% at the same time above level 80(A1, C1 and E1)). Mean the market has been overbought. By this time K% start Cross below the D%. It is a confirmation Crossing Signal.
When market has been fall to B(as well as D, F and H) mean the market has been oversold. At the same time the Stochastic Oscillators K% and D% has fall to level 20 or below B1( as well as D1,F1 and H1). And the K% start cross above D% mean this is Crossing Signal.
Now the questions is how many pips we can really make? And how long to take? Example on C(C1) and D(D1) and F(F1). Simple, what we need to do is combine together with either Pivot Point or Trendline or Parabolic SAR. So next topic: Pivot Point Trading.

Using Fibonacci On Forex

2008-04-24T09:28:00.000-07:00

Leonardo Pisano, better known by his nickname, Fibonacci, was an Italian mathematician born in Pisa in the 12th century. He is known to have discovered the Fibonacci numbers, said to be based upon observations of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh in Egypt. Fibonacci Numbers are a sequence of numbers where each successive number is the sum of the two previous numbers.

e.g. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, etc.

It is the ratio of the Fibonacci sequence that is significant, rather than the actual numbers in the sequence. The quotient of the adjacent terms in the series possesses an amazing proportion, roughly 1.618, or its inverse 0.618. This proportion is known by many names: the golden ratio, the golden mean, PHI, and the divine proportion. The dimensional properties that adhere to the ratio of 1.618 occur repeatedly in nature. Examples are as various as mollusk shells and the shapes of gallaxies containing billions of stars.

When used in technical analysis, the golden ratio is most often translated into three percentages: – 38.2%, 50%, and 61.8%. However, other multiples can be used, such as 23.6%, 161.8%, 423%, and so on. The Fibonacci sequence is applied to finance in several ways: retracements, extensions, arcs, fans, and time zones

Forex Managed Account

2008-04-24T03:24:00.000-07:00

Managed account is An investment account that is owned by an individual investor and looked after by a hired professional money manager. In contrast to Mutual funds (which are professionally managed on behalf of many mutual-fund holders), managed accounts are personalized investment portfolios tailored to the specific needs of the account holder.

A managed account is where you deposit monies with a limited power of attorney into a managed forex account and they do the forex trading. It's how you can participate in annual yields from 40% to 300% without being able to successfully trade your personal account. There are several account management companies to choose from.

Forex Trading Time Zone

2008-04-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

At any given time; somebody, somewhere in the world is buying and selling currencies. As one market closes, another market opens. Business hours overlap, and the exchange continues as day becomes night and night becomes day. Giving you 5.5 entire potential trading days.

Forex Trading begins in New Zealand at Sunday 5pm EST, and then is followed by Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and America in this order and through out the day and through out the week until Friday 4pm EST when the American market closes.

Other important facts every Forex trader should know are: the US & UK markets account for more than 50% of the forex market transactions; Forex major markets are: London, New York and Tokyo. Nearly two-thirds of NY activity occurs in the morning hours while European markets are open. And maybe one of the most important characteristics; Forex Trading activity is heaviest when major markets overlap.

So, the answer to the question; "What hours should I be trading?" is dictated by this last characteristic, you should trade when the major markets overlap. Now, when do they overlap?.

Considering the different time zones of the world and open and close times for Australian, New Zealand, Japan, America and Europe markets. We can arrive to the conclusion that there are two major time gaps when two of the major markets overlap during trading hours.

These hours are between 2 am and 4 am EST (Asian/European) and between 8 am to 12 pm EST(European/N. American).

So if you want to catch the best trading opportunities of the day and you are in the American continent you must be ready to wake up early or go to sleep late some times. Of course things change around the world. What's the best region where to trade from if you can't wake up early?... Maybe the Ukraine

Forex Trader Type

2008-04-16T05:51:00.000-07:00

There are 3 types of forex trader out there, trading and control the market :D. they are Position trader, swing trader, day trader.

Position trader is A type of forex trader who holds a position for the long term (from months to years). Long-term traders are not concerned with short-term fluctuations because they believe that their long-term investment horizons will smooth these out. Many position traders will take a look at weekly or monthly charts to get a sense of where the asset is in a given trend. Position trading is the polar opposite of day trading because the goal is to profit from the move in the primary trend rather than the short-term fluctuations that occur day to day.

Swing Trader is A forex trader who hold a particular positiom for a period of time, generally between a few days and two or three weeks, and trade the forex on the basis of its intra-week or intra-month oscillations between optimism and pessimism

Day trader is A forex trader who holds positions for a very short time (from minutes to hours) and makes numerous trades each day. Most trades are entered and closed out within the same day. This is a highly speculative practice. The reality is that most day traders lose money.

Money Management on Forex

2008-04-16T04:48:00.000-07:00

Money management is one of the most important things you can learn before you actually begin making live trades on forex market.
The money management principles discussed here will teach you how to avoid the costly mistakes many new traders make, often to the degree that they lose their entire investment on the first handful of trades.
Psychology is really the most important factor to money management in forex. You have to be able to separate yourself from any emotional attachment you may have to your money. This is not very easy to do, but it works and it can be done.
If you allow yourself to become emotional on a trade, you will not exit the trade properly, and this could mean holding on to a trade when you should have let it go, or letting go before the trade had a chance to turn profitable.
First and foremost, you should consider leverage and risk. It is advisable that you never risk more than two percent of your account balance on any trade. However, some go further and allow for as much as ten percent, but never more than that. This gives you the ability to withstand market fluctuations, and if the trade goes bad, you still have money to try again. You should never operate under the assumption that you will profit from every trade. You should also plan for losses. Therefore, most traders will tell you that the best thing to do is to keep your gains large and your losses small. Develop your trading strategy around this idea.

Keep track of your gains and losses. Keeping accurate and detailed records of your account activity will allow you to see whether or not the strategy is working, or if it needs to be re-built.

Never go blindly into trading without a way to keep track of results. You will lose all of your funds and never understand why it happened.

Finally, it is highly advisable that you first practice a strategy on a demo account. Nearly all brokers offer a virtual account whereupon you make trades in real-time, but with imaginary money, so nothing is risked. This is the best way to test a strategy before you put your real money on the line.

However, be careful, once again, of the psychology of trading. When you play with fake money, nothing is risked. When real money is on the line, you must not get emotional. If you do, you will find yourself with very different results, most likely losses, than you had with the demo account.

UK March annual CPI inflation unchanged at 2.5 percent

2008-04-15T04:40:00.000-07:00

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Annual UK CPI inflation was unchanged in March at 2.5 percent as rises in air travel and energy prices were offset by falls in furniture prices, official figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.

However, inflation remained stubbornly above the Bank of England's (BoE) 2.0 percent target for the sixth month running.

The annual inflation rate was last higher in April 2007.

On a month-on-month basis, March CPI inflation slowed to 0.4 percent after rising 0.7 pct in February.

Both the monthly and annual rates missed expectations for gains of 0.6 pct and 2.6 percent respectively.

The fact that inflation has not risen further will come as a relief to the Bank of England rate-setters, who had the headline figures to hand at its meeting last week, and may have been a factor in their decision to cut the key Bank Rate by a quarter point to 5.00 percent.

The rise in inflation during March was driven by rises in transport costs, particularly air travel, as well as increases in the prices of heating oil and gas. Transport prices rose by an annual 7 percent, the highest since records began in January 1997.

These were offset by falls in furniture and furnishing prices, as well as in games, toys and hobbies.

Meanwhile, the BoE's concerns over rising inflationary pressures may have been tempered by continued subdued prices excluding volatile elements such as energy and food.

The underlying, or 'core' measure of CPI -- which excludes energy, food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco -- rose at an annual rate of 1.2 percent, unchanged from February.

On a month-on-month basis, core CPI was up 0.4 percent after rising 0.3 percent in February.

Elsewhere in today's release, the statistics office said the annual rate of RPI inflation -- which includes housing costs and is used in pensions payments and pay negotiations -- fell to 3.8 percent from 4.1 in February. This is the lowest rise since July 2007, and misses expectations for a smaller drop to 3.9 percent.

The decrease in the RPI rate was driven by falls in mortgage interest payments as lenders passed on the Bank of England's interest rate cut in February.

On a monthly basis, RPI inflation rose 0.3 percent after rising 0.8 percent in February, well below forecasts for 0.6 percent rise.

Meanwhile, the annual RPIX measure, which excludes mortgage payments, was 3.5 percent, against 3.7 percent in February, again missing forecasts for 3.6 percent.

However, the annual RPIX measure remains well above the 2.5 pct annual rate that the BoE was previously charged with targeting and has been above that level since May 2006.

Month-on-month, RPIX was up 0.5 percent after increasing 0.8 percent the previous month, below expectations for a rise of 0.7 percent.

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

Margin Vs Margin Call

2008-04-15T03:10:00.000-07:00

What is margin in forex?

Margin is the amount of equity that must be maintained in a forex trading account to keep a position open. It acts as a good faith deposit by the trader to ensure against trading losses. A margin account allows customers to open positions with higher value than the amount of funds they have deposited in their account. The margin available will limit the size of your position. You can not open a position with a size bigger than the available margin. The margin requirements depend from broker to broker. Most popular brokers require 2% to .5% margin, which of course is relevant to their leverage. If you’re broker offers a leverage of 100:1, you’re margin will be 1%; if a broker requires a margin of 2%, you’re leverage will be 50:1 (100:2).

Margin call in forex is called the action that your broker takes by closing some or all of your open positions at the market price when your margin is no longer sufficient to cover your losses. In other words when you’re equity is equal to your used margin, which means you are out of available margin then you’re broker takes actions to prevent further losses, therefore closing your positions.

How to Avoid margin call?
There are some several way to avoid margin call
1. Good money management, manage how you trade
2. Use stop loss for every position if you don't have enough margin
3. Do not over trade :)

Mini Forex Account

2008-04-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

A mini forex account is designed for those new to online trading and those with limited investment capital. Those with less than US$5,000 often favour mini accounts although regular accounts may be opened with a minimum of $2000-$5,000. The amount varies from broker to broker.

A mini forex account can be opened with a minimum of US$25-500 and this figure varies between brokers.

A mini forex account is intended to introduce traders to the excitement of forex trading while minimising risk.

A mini forex account can be opened at anytime but many traders practice on a demo account first to test their trading strategies and techniques.

Trading size is normally 1/10th the size of a regular account. Some brokers have smaller lot sizes. This reduces the risk associated with forex trading.

Margin requirements differ depending on the broker. The NFA states the margin should be no less than 1% of the base currency traded. However not all brokers follow these guidelines. Some brokers offer margins as low as US$50 per lot on their minis.

Some brokers have software in their Trade Stations that automatically calculates the required margin while others manually set the margin and vary it accordingly.

The CFTC is enforcing a 1% margin requirement for registered FCMs and their affiliates that only offer trading in the Forex Market.

The new NFA rule requires a minimum 1% margin at all time to maintain an open trade. (Note this may change from time to time so although we use 1% as the example at some stage in the future the margin maybe different. However using similar calculations one can easily calculate the new margins)Some deal stations automatically calculate this according to the formula and hence the margin requirements are continually varying.

Based on a 1% margin requirement

Example 1:

GBP/USD rate: 1.7442/1.7447

Account type: $10 000/lot

1% leverage: 10 000x0.01 (1%) =100units

With the GBP/USD, the margin required is:

1.7447 (GBP/USD) x100 (units of base currency GBP) = USD174 for each lot.

Example 2:

EUR/USD rate: 1.2326/1.2331

Account type: $10 000/lot

1% leverage: 10 000x0.01 (1%) =1000units

With the EUR/USD, the margin required is:

1.2331 (EUR/USD) x100 (units of base currency EUR) = US$123 for each lot.

On a mini forex account where the margin is only US$50 per lot, a trader with $500 can withstand a larger market swing than a trader with a regular account with higher margins but if they have a margin call will lose more capital. A margin call occurs when the balance of the trading account falls below the required minimum balance required. The broker then closes all open trades.

Mini forex accounts have become very popular as many stock investors are taking positions in the forex market to spread their risk.

It pays to compare mini forex accounts at different brokers to find the best rates on overnight positions and the most competitive spreads.

Pip values vary between the different currency pairs. Based on a US$ 10K account, a 25 pip profit on a mini account Euro trade is $25 and since this is a small amount, a mini account allows traders to focus on technical analysis instead of the profit and exit at the right point rather than take profits early. On a regular account (100K), 25 pips would give US$250 profit.

Forex Trading Online Benefit

2008-04-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

Do you know what Forex trading is? Some people have heard of this type of trading, others have not. If you haven't, it might be something you are interested in trying. Forex trading stands for foreign exchange trading. What it consists of is the buying and selling of different currencies. This is done simultaneously, and there are people who make a lot of money with this kind of trading. This is apparent by the 1.9 million dollar turnover in this market that happens every day. Also a lot of it is done online. Online Forex trading is very popular.

The most common currencies to trade are the Euro and the U.S. dollar, and the U.S. dollar and the Japanese Yen. However, nearly all of the Forex trading done involves the major currencies of the world. These include the Euro, Japanese Yen, U.S. dollar, Canadian dollar, British Pound, Australian dollar, and the Swiss franc. The Forex exchange is different from other exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange, in that it does not have a physical location or central exchange. The exchange day begins in Sydney, then moves to Tokyo, on to London, and finally ends in New York. Each country takes the responsibility of regulating the Forex exchange activities in their own country. So there is no overall regulatory agency. However, this does not seem to be a problem and most countries do very well at overseeing Forex exchange activities.

There are a lot of things that influence the Forex rate. For instance, economic things, like interest rates and inflation, and also political things, such as political unrest in other countries and major changes in government cause up and down changes in the Forex rate. However, these things tend to be short-term, and don't affect it for long.

Online Forex trading sites are easy to find by surfing the Internet. Most of them provide a wealth of information for the first time trader. You can find out about the history of Forex trading, how to co it, tips on being successful, etc. You can also start trading with as little as $250 in your account on some sites. For anyone who is interested in currency or trading, it is something you should check out.

As with any type of trading, there are no guarantees that you will make money or that you won't make money. It is a smart choice to learn as much as you can about online Forex trading before investing any money and doing any trading. It is a fact that informed investors do better than those who don't know much about what they are trading. So get the fact before you dive in. You might just make a little money in a very interesting currency exchange.

by Bob Hett

http://www.forexinformation.info

Technical Anlaysis in Forex Market

2008-04-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

Technical Analysis is A method of evaluating securities by analyzing statistics generated by market activity, such as past prices and volume. Technical analysts do not attempt to measure a security's intrinsic value, but instead use charts and other tools to identify patterns that can suggest future activity.
Technical analysts believe that the historical performance of stocks and markets are indications of future performance.
n a shopping mall, a fundamental analyst would go to each store, study the product that was being sold, and then decide whether to buy it or not. By contrast, a technical analyst would sit on a bench in the mall and watch people go into the stores. Disregarding the intrinsic value of the products in the store, his or her decision would be based on the patterns or activity of people going into each store.

UK March house price balance most negative since survey began in 1978 - RICS

2008-04-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The crisis in the UK's lending markets has pushed the number of chartered surveyors reporting house price falls in March to its highest level since records began, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said today.

In its monthly survey of the sector which began in 1978, RICS said 78.5 percent more of its members reported a fall in prices rather than a rise in the three months to March.

That was even worse than the -65.7 percent recorded in February and the historical low of -64.5 percent recorded in June 1990, just ahead of the last recession in the UK, which prompted the last house price crash.

The scale of the decline, the eighth in a row, was unexpected. The consensus of analysts polled by Thomson Financial News saw the house price balance worsening to -67.0.

The prospects for the housing market don't look particularly healthy either, at least not until the liquidity crisis eases, RICS said. Price expectations fell to their lowest level since this series was included in the survey in October 1998.

'Sentiment is at a very low ebb and will continue to remain depressed while the economy suffers from this unique liquidity blight,' said RICS spokesman Jeremy Leaf.

However, Leaf said a significant crash 'remains unlikely' so long as the supply of new housing remains low.

RICS said there were wide disparities around the country, with the East Midlands suffering badly, with 89 percent more surveyors reporting a fall rather than a rise there. A net 86 percent reported falls in East Anglia too.

Scotland remains the only UK region with the net balance of surveyors reporting rises.

RICS also found that demand continued to weaken, with 49 percent more chartered surveyors reporting a fall than a rise in new buyer enquiries, up from 39 percent in February. March's rate matches last September's low, which had been dragged down by the fallout from the run on Northern Rock.

Sharp declines in enquiries were matched by an equally sharp fall in newly agreed sales. Completed sales per surveyor also fell 20 percent year-on-year, further underlining the deteriorating activity picture.

RICS said many would-be-buyers are either struggling to raise the necessary finance to precipitate a move or are exercising caution in the light of current economic uncertainty.

With the official interest rate cuts not being passed on to the high street there is little expectation that demand will improve in the near term, it added.

In normal circumstances, the RICS figures, together with this morning's bad news from the British Retail Consortium, may well have cemented market expectations that the Bank of England will cut borrowing costs in May for the second month running.

However, with inflation running high, the BoE may well keep its benchmark Bank Rate at 5.00 percent.

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

Online Pivot Point Calculator

2008-04-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

Just found this cool online pivot calculator from fx-bar.com. you can try it out. it's nice :)

Why Forex Broker Hate Scalper

2008-04-11T22:54:00.000-07:00

According to investopedia.com Scalping is a trading style specializing in taking profits on small price changes, generally soon after a trade has been entered and has become profitable. It requires a trader to have a strict Exit strategy because one large loss could eliminate the many small gains that the trader has worked to obtain. Having the right tools such as a live feed, a direct-access broker and the stamina to place many trades is required for this strategy to be successful, Scalping is based on an assumption that most stocks will complete the first stage of a movement (a stock will move in the desired direction for a brief time but where it goes from there is uncertain); some of the stocks will cease to advance and others will continue. A scalper intends to take as many small profits as possible, not allowing them to evaporate. Such an approach is the opposite of the "let your profits run" mindset, which attempts to optimize positive trading results by increasing the size of winning trades while letting others reverse. Scalping achieves results by increasing the number of winners and sacrificing the size of the wins. It's not uncommon for a trader of a longer time frame to achieve positive results by winning only half or even less of his or her trades - it's just that the wins are much bigger than the losses. A successful scalper, however, will have a much higher ratio of winning trades versus losing ones while keeping profits roughly equal or slightly bigger than losses.

Best Brokers for scalping

U.S. Consumer Sentiment Falls Further in April, Says Rtrs/ U of Michigan Report

2008-04-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

10:01 04/11 (CEP News) – According to preliminary data from Reuters and the University of Michigan, U.S. consumer sentiment fell sharply from March's final 69.5 to a score of 63.2, the lowest level since March 1982 when the index stood at 62.2.

Economists had been expecting a deterioration to 69.0.

The current conditions index fell from 84.2 in March to 78.4 in April while the economic outlook index fell from 60.1 to 53.4.

The one-year inflation expectation jumped to 4.8% after rising to 4.3% in March.

Prior to the release, many economists had been calling for a downside surprise to the indicator based on poor data from earlier in March.

"The consensus forecast was always way too optimistic given the huge drop in the Conference Board's index, and this survey has gone some way to closing the gap," said Ian Shepherdson of HFE.

"Bearing in mind that more than half of all consumption is non-discretionary (food, energy, housing, etc.) this means discretionary spending will fall at a 1% rate or more, something we haven't seen since 1991," he added. "And there's no sign confidence has hit bottom yet."

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index unexpectedly declined to a reading of 64.5 in March despite forecasts for a reading of 73.5.
http://economicnews.ca/login.php?page=reportsDetails&newsid=70636&prevview=&view=details&country=&plimit=0&category=All%20Economic%20Reports

Are Demo Account Important?

2008-04-10T23:25:00.001-07:00

Free Forex practice accounts are a service that are loved by some yet hated by others, why is this so? Surely a free practice account can be nothing but a good thing?

Not exactly so, it does have its benefits but also has it's pitfalls, in this article we will examine the pros and cons of such an account.

Lets start off by looking at the practice account. For those who may not be aware, the free practice account does exactly what it says on the tin, it lets you practice Forex trading for free, sounds great for a newbie trader and in many ways it is.

The brokers who offer a free forex practice account do so to help get people interested in Forex, nothing wrong with that since they exist to expand the number of traders in the market and on their platform. It's also a great way for the new trader to begin to learn Forex trading.

Currency trading is no simple click and go experience, several brokers have introduced no frills platforms with low minimum deposits to get the virgin trader started and one or two have taken it a step further and allowed people to open a free practice account where you can begin trading with make-believe money until you have the confidence and knowledge to risk your own hard-earned cash.

That's were the main pro of the practice account lies, in being able to learn the Forex market and key functions of trade without risking a penny! However, this is not always good news.

When trading with 'virtual' money suddenly the risk becomes less, in fact risk is non-existent as you have an endless stream of make-believe money this means you may be more likely to risk on trades you know you shouldn't and wouldn't make in the real world. This can lull you in to a false sense of security.

Lets say you make en extravagant risk with practice money and it comes off, so you make another big risk and that comes off too, all of a sudden your confidence is up and you feel you can start playing with your own money and taking uncalculated risks.

The Forex market has suddenly become very very appealing, if you can make this much money in the practice area imagine how well off you would be if you were using real money? This is where things go wrong, you then go ahead and open a real Forex account and deposit your own cash.

Your confidence is up and you feel like you know what you are doing. You make a risky trade with your own cash and it fails, suddenly your Forex career is over and you are sat looking at a significant loss, it seems when its your own 'real' money the practice you got with virtual cash counted for nothing.

Of course if you take things slowly and carefully you can avoid this and become a successful trader, but you have to have that self control. Practice accounts are very useful, but only if you carry out trades exactly as you would if it was real money. Never make a trade in a practice account that you wouldn't make with your own cash!

To help get around this several brokers now offer mini-accounts with deposits as low as $25. This is virtually a practice account anyway with such low deposits, however, its still your own cash so you are more likely to make realistic trades and not risk big time trades.

At Investawise we feel this is the best option, sure use a free practice account for a week or two while you learn the basics of Forex trading, but then open an account and start with low funds, never jump both feet first into currency trading, success comes from patience, awareness, and discipline.

by Paul Bryan

China March trade surplus 13.41 bln usd

2008-04-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - China posted a trade surplus of 13.41 bln usd in March, rebounding from 8.56 bln in February, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs.

The surplus for the first quarter was 41.42 bln usd.

Exports in March totaled 108.96 bln usd, up 30.6 pct year-on-year, while exports in the first three months totaled 305.90 bln usd, up 21.4 pct.

March imports totaled 95.56 bln usd, up 24.6 pct year-on-year, while imports in the first quarter totaled 264.48 bln usd, up 28.6 pct.

China exported 10.20 mln tons of coal in the first three months, down 10.7 pct year-on-year, while exports in March totaled 1.45 mln tons.

Coke exports declined by 19.6 pct to 2.93 mln tons during the quarter, with exports in March at 1.24 mln tons.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products totaled 181.37 bln usd in the January-March period, up 23.1 pct year-on-year, while high-tech product exports were 92.74 bln usd, up 17.4 pct.

Copper imports fell 8.9 pct to 706,994 tons in the quarter, with March imports at 240,634 tons.

China imported 102,772 vehicles in the first three months, up 74.7 pct from a year earlier.

China also imported 74 aircraft in the quarter, up 51.0 pct year-on-year.

(1 usd = 7.0 yuan)

http://www.afxnews.com/

Good Forex Broker

2008-04-10T23:08:00.000-07:00

Before you decide to trade forex, you will have to choose which broker or dealer is the most compatible with your trading style and requirements. Here are answers for very important questions

1. How Much I pay?

Costs include the pip spread (the difference between the bid and ask prices), overnight interest and any other applicable transaction fees.

For example, a broker offering a two-pip spread with a $20 commission per trade is more expensive than a three-pip spread broker, though the smaller spread may appear more attractive at first glance.

"Flashy" tight spreads in one or two majors can be deceiving, as they don’t call attention to inconsistent or wider spreads throughout the majors and crosses spread, so traders don’t get an accurate overall view of the broker’s procedures. Furthermore, brokers offering tight spreads may re-quote (offer a new quote, different from the original one) a price, increasing the costs per transaction and thus widening the spread "invisibly."

2. What is the maximum lot size?

Traders who trade larger lots will want to know the answer to this question. Traders whose buying power could exceed $10 million at any one time will need to look for a firm that has enough liquidity to guarantee a fill for their orders in most trading situations.

3. Is the trading platform "user-friendly"?

In trading terms, user-friendly means that placing an order or closing a trade can be done immediately. One-click trading and management of stop-loss, limit and other order types are advantages that a trader may want to take into account.

In addition, it is helpful for the overall navigation of a platform to be user-friendly. If a platform offers additional charts and tools, they should be fairly simple to access and apply.

This is a critical point for an aggressive trader (intraday/scalp) whose dependence on the trading platform is far greater than a moderate or conservative trader.

4. Is the broker or dealer regulated?

Not all countries regulate the same way, nor do they have the same regulatory environment and requirements when it comes to financial registration. Therefore, it is important for any investor/trader to choose a foreign exchange broker that is based in a country where their activities are monitored by a regulatory agency. It is also important to know if the broker or dealer is regulated in an on- or off-shore country, as the latter can be more liberal with registration requirements.All types of traders need to be aware of their broker or dealer’s regulatory status and have a clear understanding of the regulatory body that governs forex activity where the selected broker or dealer does business.

5. How reliable is the broker’s trading platform?

Depending on an individual’s hardware and software, one might prefer a desktop application or a web-based (java) application. Understanding which type of platform suits you best is critical for trading.

It is also important to make sure that the trading platform does not crash or freeze often, especially during times of global economic news or events, when traders needs stability. The reliability of a platform should be more of a concern than its look and feel.

An aggressive trader, or one who likes to make large, frequent trades, will always have to look for a stable platform that never or very rarely crashes. On the other hand, a passive and conservative trader who does not watch the market round-the-clock could be more flexible.

6. Is the broker offering any other services?

Easy access to real-time charts, news and economic data is a must for any trader. However, a trader must think of these and any other added-value service as part of the broker’s package rather than as the most important feature on which to base a decision.

This is a point a trader of any nature should address correctly to make sure the firm complies with the basic standards of providing real-time charts, news and economic events.

7. Does broker allow live support?

Having someone always available to help answer questions and fix problems quickly are points a trader should look for when deciding which broker to open an account with. Customer service should not only be able to fix a trader’s occasional problem, but also be able to help prevent problems related with trading.

8. Leverage and margin call

Foreign exchange traders tend to like higher leverages and sometimes choose a broker based only on this feature. However, traders should remember that although higher leverage can lead to higher profits, it also increases the level of risk. Also, take into account that there are brokers that offer fixed leverage levels, but some others adjust their leverage based on the currency that is being traded and may also have special policies for carrying a trade over the weekend.

Traders should also take into account their broker’s margin call policy. Some companies follow the FIFO (first in first out) method to close trades when margin requirements are not met by current equity, others follow the LIFO (last in first out) procedure, and some simply close all the trades. Depending on one’s preferences, this is an issue that should be clearly identified before opening an account.

Leverage levels are more of a concern for aggressive traders who like to use the highest possible leverage, whereas a moderate or conservative trader would be happy with the average leverage levels

Using Martingale In Forex

2008-04-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Most ttrader in forex are looking for a system to help them get the edge. Many of them stumble upon or hear about a surefire system that involves doubling their bets after each loss. They figure that sooner or later they have to win. This system that is called the Martingale system and it has been around for years. It has also been the ruin of many players. Here is how it works. You make a bet and if you lose you double your bet. If you lose again you double your bet. You keep doing this until you win and then go back to your original bet.

Let’s look at an example of the Martingale. For this example we will assume you are playing on a five-dollar table. First of all most casinos have a maximum bet. Many five-dollar tables have a maximum bet of $500. If you bet using the martingale where you double after every loss the progression would look like this:

You bet $5 and you lose.
Your next bet is $10. If you lose:
Your next bet is $20. If you lose:
Your next bet is $40. If you lose:
Your next bet is $80. If you lose:
Your next bet is $160. If you lose:
Your next bet is $320. If you lose:
Your next bet is $640, which exceeds the maximum bet for the table.

It would only take eight losses to exceed the table maximum bet. It doesn't matter how many times you double up your bet. You will up you will only win five dollars if you eventually hit. This takes into account all your progressions up to that point. Even if you could exceed the $500 maximum bet, on the eighth bet you are risking $640 to win $5. You have already invested $635 for your previous seven bets. If you lose that one you are out $1,275. Can you imagine risking over a thousand dollars for a chance to win five dollars? The casinos know that if someone had unlimited resources they would eventually win. That is why the set maximum bets at the table.

Some people who try the Martingale system have an initial success with it. They might win consistently for many sessions and swear the system is fool proof. Sooner or later reality will kick in and they will discover the flaw in the system. I know because years ago when I was naive about the casino world, I was one of those persons who tried the Martingale.

To use the Martingale system you have to place even money bets. One of the most popular bets for players using this system is to bet black or red on the roulette wheel. (This is also one of the best games for showing you the flaws in the Martingale system.) Shortly after I started playing table games, I read about the Martingale and decided to give it a try on my next visit to Atlantic City. I started with a bankroll of $200 and I won $145 on my first trip using the system. I won on three trips after that building a bankroll of $500. This was too easy. I wondered how the casinos could stay in business if everyone used this system?

On my next trip I took my bankroll to the table and placed my $5 on red. I lost and started the progression. I placed my next bet and lost again and again and again. I lost six bets in a row. When I lost the bet for $160 I was down $315 and only had $185 left of my five hundred dollars. I did not have enough money to bet the $320, which was the next step in the progression. I was nervous and down hearted. I couldn't believe this could happen to me. I was all ready to throw down my remaining money when I came to my senses and decided to take break.

I thought about what I had just done and realized that this system was not fool proof. Anything can happen in a forex using martingale system including losing several bets in a row.

If you believe that you can't lose seven bets in a row take a walk through the casino and look at the display board that is connected to most roulette wheels showing you the twenty previous spins. How many times do you see one color come up more than seven times in a row? I once saw black appear 17 times in a row! If you started with a five dollar bet and used the Martingale system, your 17th bet would be $327,680.

Midday News Recap: U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Moderate, U.S. Trade Gap Widens

2008-04-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

11:50 04/10 (CEP News) – The key releases in the U.S. Thursday morning included jobless claims, which moderated from a previous spike, and the U.S. trade deficit, which unexpectedly grew in February. Overseas, the Bank of England cut its benchmark rate by 25 bps to 5.00% while the European Central Bank held its rate at 4.00%, both as expected.

While U.S. initial jobless claims pulled back in the week ending April 5 to 357k from its 2.5-year high reached the week before of an upwardly revised 410k, economists say the overall trend is still creeping up into recession territory. Forecasts were looking for a total of 383k claims. The four-week moving average of initial claims increased to 378,250 from 375,750.

"As far as we can tell, companies are increasingly taking the view that the slowdown will be longer, deeper and broader than they have been expecting, and layoffs are the only way to cut costs rapidly enough to support earnings growth," noted Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at HFE. "The next couple of weeks' numbers could be very erratic but the trend is clear."

Full Article available @ http://economicnews.ca/login.php?page=reportsDetails&goback=no&newsid=70297

Easy-Forex Forex Broker

2008-04-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

Easy-Forex™ Trading Platform, founded by a group of bankers, Forex and Internet experts, offers Forex traders direct access to the global currency markets. Easy-Forex™ revolutionary Online FX trading platform is the first online FX trading system allowing clients to deal Forex as a consumer product. Easy-Forex™ Online FX trading platform is one of the only platforms enabling users to start deals immediately. Unlike other Online FX trading platforms, Easy-Forex™ eliminates the need to download proprietary software, fill out tedious forms, open a bank account or deposit money in advance.

Easy-Forex™ technology breaks not only the administrative barriers, but also the minimum monetary entry level. With our system the user can open a FX deal for as little as 100 USD (the margin at risk). Furthermore, although we propose very complex financial products, we take the user step by step, in the easiest and most transparent manner, through the route to complete the transaction.
Unlike other Forex Online FX trading platforms, Easy-Forex's™ full range of Forex tools enables importers, exporters, and others with Forex exposures, to easily hedge their funds.
Easy-Forex™ develops and supports its own Online FX trading platform; we enjoy a unique ability to continually develop the trading platform to meet the changing needs of our users.
Easy-Forex™ is an international network with offices in Europe, USA, Asia and Australia.

Start trading with as little as US$100

Credit Card use for instant Deposit
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Freeze the Rate you see (Freeze&Trade)
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Live Quotes, real-time

Deposit/Withdrawal Method :
Credit Card, Wire Transfer, Paypal

Software Trading Platform :
Easy-Forex Trading Platform

Etoro Forex Broker

2008-04-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

eToro is an innovative and creative approach to online foreign exchange trading. With eToro’s winning combination of financial know how and user friendly interface you can monitor, share, and discuss your trading activity while enjoying the latest financial updates. This easy to use platform allows you to use real or virtual money to execute real-time trades with a click of a button, making the complex world of international finance simple and interactive.

Watch your trades go: Trades are visually displayed, enabling you to literally watch your trades as they make their way in the international markets.
Practice: Sharpen your trading abilities by trading virtual money with real market rates.
Get the competitive edge: Compete with other traders in free-to-enter championships for valuable prizes and the chance to impress.
Chat: Discuss your progress with fellow traders in private or public chats.
Trade: Carry out real money trades instantly, all in real-time.

These and more innovative features make eToro the perfect solution to experience the exciting world of foreign exchange trading, enabling you to take part in the world’s largest financial market.

Deposit/Withdrawal Method :
Credit Card, Wire Transfer, Paypal, Western Union, MoneyGram

Software Trading Platform :
eToro Trading Platform

Etoro Bonuses :

Get a 50% bonus, up to $200, on Your First Deposit:
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Make your first deposit and receive a 50% bonus up to $200 instantly! It's easy, just deposit as little or as much as you want and your automatic bonus will show in your trading balance.

For example:
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To deposit funds into your account log into eToro platform and click on the account balance icon.

Bonus is applied to your FIRST successful deposit only. This bonus will be given only once per account, person, household and/or any environment where computers are shared.

ECB rate remain unchanged

2008-04-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

10 April 2008 - Monetary policy decisions

At today’s meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 4.00%, 5.00% and 3.00% respectively.

The President of the ECB will comment on the considerations underlying these decisions at a press conference starting at 2.30 p.m. (CEST) today.

http://www.ecb.int/press/pr/date/2008/html/pr080410.en.html

News Release Bank of England Reduces Bank Rate by 0.25 Percentage Points to 5.0%

2008-04-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today voted to reduce the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves by 0.25 percentage points to 5.0%.

CPI inflation rose to 2.5% in February. The Committee expects inflation to rise further this year, reflecting the continuing impact of higher energy and food prices, as well as the recent depreciation of sterling on import costs. Such pressures are already evident in producer input costs and pricing intentions.

Even if commodity prices remain at their current high levels, inflation should fall back. But to ensure that inflation meets the 2% target in the medium term, the Committee needs to balance two risks. On the upside, above-target inflation this year could raise inflation expectations so that, in the absence of some margin of spare capacity, inflation would remain above the target. On the downside, the disruption in financial markets could lead to a slowdown in the economy that was sufficiently sharp to pull inflation below the target.

In the Committee’s judgement, the balance of these risks to the inflation outlook in the medium term justifies a cut in Bank Rate this month. Credit conditions have tightened and the availability of credit appears to be worsening. While the recent depreciation in sterling will support net exports, the prospects for output growth abroad have deteriorated. In the United Kingdom, business surveys suggest that growth has begun to moderate and that a margin of spare capacity will emerge during this year. This should help to keep domestic inflationary pressures in check in the medium term.

Against that background, the Committee judged that a reduction in Bank Rate of 0.25 percentage points to 5.0% was necessary to meet the 2% target for CPI inflation in the medium term.

The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 23 April.

Note to Editors

The previous change in Bank Rate was a reduction of 0.25 percentage points to 5.25% on 7 February 2008.
Source
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/news/2008/026.htm

BOE Interest Rate Announcement - 4/10/2008 7:00am EST

2008-04-10T04:33:00.000-07:00

Analysis

The Bank of England is expected to lower interest rates 25 basis points to 5.00%. Of 61 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, 51 forecast the 25 bp rate reduction. The other 10 predict no change in rates. Additionally, the majority of forecasts are now calling for a quarter point this meeting plus an additional quarter point in May.

The International Monetary Fund revised forecasts in GDP for 2008 predicting a 1.6% rate which would mark the slowest economic growth in the U.K. since its last recession in 1992. A deteriorating housing market and tighter credit conditions are strong arguments for a rate cut.

While CPI has been rising steadily it is forecasted to continue to rise in the short term. A rate cut would clearly signal that the BOE is more concerned with economic growth rather than price stability.

Rising inflation, stable retail sales growth, and rather strong employment data are considerable arguments in favor of a delay in a rate cut. It remains however, that a rate reduction is inevitably the next move by the BOE, the only question is whether it will happen sooner rather than later. Therefore, any announcement to keep interest rates on hold may lead to a short term rally in the pound followed by considerable selling pressure. Conversely, a surprise rate cut of 50 basis points would cause heavy selling pressure in the pound. While many speculate that Blanchflower will be in favor of a .50% cut, he will likely be in the minority.

Trade Analysis

While it is not totally out of the picture that the BOE will keep rates on hold, the more likely scenario is an interest rate cut of 25 basis points. In this case, the profit potential would be in a weakening pound after the announcement. Caution is advised as the rate reduction has mostly been priced into the market. Follow through on any sell off in the U.K. currency may rely on a 50 basis point rate cut.

Forex Calendar

2008-04-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

Bank of Japan Holds Rate Unchanged as Expected

2008-04-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

11:47 04/09 (CEP News) – As expected, the Bank of Japan left its target for the overnight rate at 0.50%, citing slowing economic growth from cautious corporate and capital spending, and moderate increases in inflation.

The BOJ also failed to mention previous statements highlighting expectations for the economy to experience moderate growth in the near-term, saying rather that GDP will temporarily slow before resuming moderate expansion later in 2008.

"The difference is mainly in the word 'growth' versus 'expansion' - a difference that would presumably reflect the Bank's expectation for the economy to grow roughly in line with potential rather than to exceed potential," explains a research note from Barclays Capital.

Full Article available @ http://economicnews.ca/login.php?page=reportsDetails&newsid=69647&prevview=&view=details&country=&plimit=0&category=All%20Economic%20Reports

Bank of Japan On Hold at 0.5%. Eur/Jpy Review

2008-04-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

The BOJ have held rates at 0.5%. The move to hold was as expected, but does bring into focus the question of how the Japanese economy will cope with the slow-down of a huge part of its export market; the US.

The valuations on the Yen are not helping those exporters, and a move higher by the cross-pairs is something that the Finance Ministry will be glad to see. If global equity markets can find a base it may lead to appreciation in the Eur/Jpy, and may offer a test of the 166.00 area over the coming sessions. The next BoJ meeting is on the 30th April.

Forex Technicals; The Eur/Jpy is lower since the start of the new trading day and has seen some downwards pressure since the announcement. Movement in the pair may be muted until the BOJ releases the monthly statement this morning. The Daily Chart analysis shows the 161.20 area is acting as Resistance and Trade Desks may now be looking at that area.

Daily Trend; Long
The RSI indicator is in Long mode, and the pair has held the 100 SMA as Support around 159.50. The 200 SMA as Resistance will be a harder adversary at 161.20.

4 Hour Trend; Long
The pair is in Long mode, and now looking to consolidate the moves higher. This is now all about positive equity days; if global markets move higher the break-out through the trend-line from Monday could easily hold.

1 Hour Trend; Long
Some explosive moves higher in recent trade have fizzled out at the 200 Day SMA area at 161.20. This one looks as though it could hold even though the trend-line is now moving sideways; it held today even with a wobbly Wall Street.

Trade Desk Thoughts; There had been recent rumblings that the Bank of Japan is close to lowering rates in order to stave off a recession. The BOJ however, really had no choice but to keep rates on hold this time. There is not much wiggle room since the rate is only at 0.50% and providing too much stimulus to the economy could jeopardize long term growth

"The Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold at the 1st meeting chaired by Masaaki Shirakawa amid concern the economy may slip into a recession. Shirakawa, who the opposition controlled upper-house today approved as governor, and his 6 member team left the key overnight lending rate at 0.50%. The decision was unanimous. Recent economic data has been mixed, with export growth and inflation accelerating as corporate sentiment fell to a 4 year low and production slowed. Shirakawa reiterated yesterday that the bank is ready to act flexibly if needed."

Tony
TheLFB Team
http://forexfactory.com/news.php?do=news&id=80194
__________________

How To Get Started In Forex Trading

2008-04-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

You may have been hearing about the foreign exchange market (Forex) and the investment advantages it offers. You would like to try it out, but don't know where to start. This short guide will give you the basics in Forex and tell you what you need to participate in this fast growing field.

Foreign exchange used to be limited to large players such as national banks and multi-national corporations. In the 1980's the rules were revised to allow smaller investors to participate using margin accounts. Margin accounts are the reason why Forex trading has become so popular. With a 100:1 margin account, you can control $100,000 with a $1,000 investment.

Forex is not simple, however, and education is needed to make wise investment decisions. Although it is relatively easy to start trading on the Forex, there are risks involved, so finding out as much as possible about the market is a good move for any beginner.

Forex traders usually require a broker to handle transactions. Most brokers are reputable and are associated with large financial institutions such as banks. A reputable broker will be registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as protection against fraud and abusive trade practices.

Opening a Forex account is as simple as filling out a form and providing the necessary ID. The form will include a margin agreement that states that the broker can interfere with any trade it deems to be too risky. This is to protect the interests of the broker — most trades, after all, are done using the broker's money. Once your account has been established, you can fund it and begin trading.

Many brokers have different types of accounts to suit the needs of individual investors. Mini accounts allow you to get involved in Forex trading for as little as $250, while standard accounts may have a minimum deposit of $1000 to $2500 depending on the broker. The amount of leverage — using borrowed money — varies with accounts. High leverage gives you more money to trade for a given investment.

HOWEVER — beginner traders are advised get accustomed to Forex by doing paper trades for a period of time. Paper trades are practice transactions that don't involve real capital. They allow you to see how the system works while learning how to use the various software tools that are at provided by most Forex brokers.

Most online brokers have demo accounts that allow you to make free paper trades for up to 30 days. Every new Forex investor is strongly advised to use these demo accounts at least until they are showing consistently steady profits.

Each broker has their own set of software tools to aid in making transactions, but there are a few tools that are common to all Forex brokers. Real time quotes, news feeds, technical analyses and charts, and profit and loss analyses are some of the features you should expect to see on most online brokers' web sites.

Almost every broker operates on the Internet. To access their online services you should have a reasonably modern computer, a fast Internet connection, and an up-to-date operating system such as Windows XP. Once your account is set up, you can access it from any computer — just enter your account name and password. If for some reason you are not able get access to a computer, most brokers will allow you to make trades over the phone.

Trades are commission free, meaning that you can make many trades in one day without worrying about incurring high brokerage fees. Brokers make their money on the 'spread' — the difference between bid and ask prices.

by Hana Lee

Why Trading On forex market?

2008-04-09T15:43:00.000-07:00

What are the advantages of the Forex Market over other types of investments?

When thinking about various investments, there is one investment vehicle that comes to mind. The Forex or Foreign Currency Market has many advantages over other types of investments. The Forex market is open 24 hrs a day, unlike the regular stock markets. Most investments require a substantial amount of capital before you can take advantage of an investment opportunity. To trade Forex, you only need a small amount of capital. Anyone can enter the market with as little as $300 USD to trade a "mini account", which allows you to trade lots of 10,000 units. One lot of 10,000 units of currency is equal to 1 contract. Each "pip" or move up or down in the currency pair is worth a $1 gain or loss, depending on which side of the market you are on. A standard account gives you control over 100,000 units of currency and a pip is worth $10.

The Forex market is also very liquid. When trading Forex you have full control of your capital.

Many other types of investments require holding your money up for long periods of time. This is a disadvantage because if you need to use the capital it can be difficult to access to it without taking a huge loss. Also, with a small amount of money, you can control

Forex traders can be profitable in bullish or bearish market conditions. Stock market traders need stock prices to rise in order to take a profit. Forex traders can make a profit during up trends and downtrends. Forex Trading can be risky, but with having the ability to have a good system to follow, good money management skills, and possessing self discipline, Forex trading can be a relatively low risk investment.

The Forex market can be traded anytime, anywhere. As long as you have access to a computer, you have the ability to trade the Forex market. An important thing to remember is before jumping into trading currencies, is it wise to practice with "paper money", or "fake money." Most brokers have demo accounts where you can download their trading station and practice real time with fake money. While this is no guarantee of your performance with real money, practicing can give you a huge advantage to become better prepared when you trade with your real, hard earned money. There are also many Forex courses on the internet, just be careful when choosing which ones to purchase.

by Heather Redmond

The Day Ahead Europe & UK: UK Industrial Production, German Trade Balance

2008-04-09T13:42:00.000-07:00

16:53 04/08 (CEP News) – European markets will receive important data with the release of the UK industrial and manufacturing production report and German trade balance data.

In the UK, industrial production for February is expected to rise 0.1% following January's 0.1% decline. Economists expect manufacturing production to come in flat following January's 0.4% rise.

Howard Archer, chief UK & European economist from Global Insight, said looking ahead he is expecting the manufacturing sector to remain weak.

Full Story available @ http://economicnews.ca/login.php?page=reportsDetails&newsid=69345&prevview=&view=details&country=&plimit=0&category=All%20Economic%20Reports

Bernanke Calls For Improved Financial Literacy

2008-04-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

09:44 04/09 (CEP News) – In a speech where he made no comment about the economy or monetary policy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said more U.S. states should teach financial literacy.

Bernanke said the problems in the mortgage market highlight the importance of financial literacy.

"In light of the problems that have arisen in the subprime mortgage market, we are reminded of how critically important it is for individuals to become financially literate at an early age," Bernanke said in a prepared text।
Full Article @ http://economicnews.ca/login.php?page=reportsDetails&newsid=69539&prevview=&view=details&country=&plimit=0&category=All%20Economic%20Reports

Holy Grail Forex System

2008-04-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

The Holy Grail is often referred to in trading circles as the perfect trading system; the perfect conditions or indicator that will guarantee success in every trade you enter. All traders at some stage undertake the search for the Holy Grail whether it is consciously or subconsciously.

The reality of trading is that there is no such trading system in existence. It never has existed and never will. The fact that some software packages label an indicator the ‘Holy Grail’ only serves to whet the appetite of some people further and arouse their suspicion of what it could be and how they will find it.

It is also widely accepted that your own psychology or mindset is the largest single determinant of your trading success followed by your ability to manage risk. The small remainder of the ingredients to your trading success is your system which includes your entry signal.

When most traders start trading, they spend most of their time on developing their entry conditions. They will learn about various technical indicators, trends and chart patterns, and how they can be interpreted and applied to their trading.

In his book ‘Market Wizards’, Jack Schwager interviews numerous profitable traders in the United States. There is an interesting observation to be made about most of them. Often Schwager asked if they were to start trading again, what would they do differently.

Many answered that they would not have wasted as much time initially on their entry signals and they would have rather spent that time concentrating and developing their risk management rules and working on their own mindset or psychology.

When trading does not go well for most traders though, they begin to wonder what part of their entry conditions is failing them. Thoughts like is it the data they are using, the software, should they use different moving averages like weighted or exponential, or look at hourly data.

It is obvious that entry conditions are a necessary part of any trading plan but their importance is often overrated. Numerous texts have been written about various entry signals yet not enough focus on what is really important to trading.

This may not help the beginner who naturally assumes that their entry signal is the most important part of their trading plan and therefore they shall spend most of their time developing that.

Unfortunately some traders who have looked for the Holy Grail try to lay the blame for their lack of success on external factors. It might be the software they are using or the new entry signal they acquired from reading a book, but at the end of the day they should look no further than themselves.

Successful traders have numerous personal traits in common. They are focussed, disciplined, passionate, and are totally committed to their trading. They are humble and always prepared to learn from their mistakes. The Holy Grail of trading has never existed and never will.

Thomas Demark Indicator calculation

2008-04-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

The DeMarker indicator is an attempt to overcome the shortcomings of classical overbought / oversold indicators. In Forex The DeMarker Indicator identifies potential price bottoms and tops. It accomplishes this by making price comparisons from one bar to the next and measuring the level of price demand

here is the formula

highm = IIF( H > Ref( H, -1 ), H - Ref( H, - 1), 0 );
lowm = IIF( L < Ref( L, -1 ), Ref( L, - 1 ) - L, 0 );

Tom D = 100 * Sum( highm, 13 )/( Sum( lowm, 13 ) + Sum( highm, 13 ) );

FxCast Forex Broker

2008-04-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

FXcast is a worldwide operating financial services corporation specializing on supporting currency traders of each status of knowledge and experience with high quality online trading services. With a team of dedicated financial specialists and technical support personnel, FXcast operates globally as a market maker and principal counterparty to retail customers and corporate customers and institutional traders. Providing currency conversion services is the main concern of FXcast. FXcast has established itself as an industry leader by offering unique trading software which is highly secured and reliable. The range and capabilities of FXcast software fits to everyone's needs and can be operated manually or fully automatic with auto-trade capabilities

There are 2 type of account in Fxcast

FXcast PRO

1 Pip spread on EURUSD with FXcast Swing
Leverage 1:100 fix
35 Currency pairs tradable
Accounts starting with 1 USD deposit
Multiple accounts possible
All in one platform
No personal documents needed with deposit smaller then 100USD
No strategy needed
Real Time Charts
One click-trading
Fixed Spread on all conditions
What-you-see-is-what-you-get trading

FXcast Swing

1 Pip spread on EURUSD with FXcast Swing
Leverage 1:100 fix
35 Currency pairs tradable
Accounts starting with 1 USD deposit
Multiple accounts possible
All in one platform
No personal documents needed with deposit smaller then 100USD
No strategy needed
Real Time Charts
One click-trading
Fixed Spread on all conditions
What-you-see-is-what-you-get trading

Deposit/Withdrawal Method:
Credit card, E-gold, Wire Transfer, Cash U, WebMoney, E-bullion, Liberty Reserve, C-gold, E-dinar

Software Trading Platform :
Meta Trader 4

PoltekFx forex Broker

2008-04-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

PoltekFX LTd company invites you to the Forex market and offers beneficial conditions.

Possibility of opening the real account – every client can try himself/herself in the trade operations; using real numbers, you can think of your own bargaining strategy of and try it, get used to the trading system without investing and risking any money;
Technical support – technical specialists are ready to answer all your questions 24 hours a day; we use the latest technological achievements and offer Metatrader 4.0 system, a high-quality, safe and fast basis for internet trading; as a result, you get risk reduction peculiar to traditional trade methods;
Simplicity in operating – convenient and fast credit transactions; possibility to open cent and dollar accounts; system of tools helping in trade operations;

Counting on serious interest from the direction of professionals we offer the best conditions:

Spreads starting from 2 points
Leverage from 1:1 to 1:500
Minimal deposit is $5
More than 30 currency pairs
Metatrader 4 Platform
24 hours support
Account opening less than 5 minutes beforehand
Up to 20% bonus to every trader

Deposit/Withdrawal Method:
Credit card, E-gold, Wire Transfer, Cash U, WebMoney, E-bullion, Liberty Reserve

Software Trading Platform :
Meta Trader 4

Poltekfx Promotion

Open real account and get bonus Upto 20 % or your deposit!
Bonus is added in percentage to deposit paid in during 7 days after opening account.

Deposit volume Bonus

from 100$ to 999$ 10%

from 1000$ to 4999$ 15%

from 5000$ and more 20%

* Bonuses are added during 7 days after opening real account regardless of deposit volume. If no deposit is made in mentioned term(7 days) bonus is added to the first deposit.

* If after several deposits its volume exceeds 1000$ and 5000$ bonus recalculation takes place. This recalculation bases on total deposit amount.

* Bonus is added to one customer's account and only one time.
Get 100$ after making 10 lots accumulative trades.
To get this bonus you need to open a Real Money account and make 10 lots accumulative trades.

Example:
You have opened 0.5 lot sell EUR/USD, than 0.3 lot buy USD/JPY, than 1.2 lot buy GBP/USD. Total accumulative size is 0.5+0.3+1.2=2 lots. When you will make 10 lots 100$ bonus will be added to your account.

* 1 time offer
* Available for standard accounts only

Valas

2008-04-09T08:41:00.000-07:00

Foreign Exchange (forex) atau dikenal sebagai valuta asing (valas) merupakan salah satu pilihan investasi yang berkembang di Indonesia saat ini. Forex Trading adalah transaksi perdagangan nilai tukar mata uang asing di pasar uang internasional. Pasar forex merupakan pasar uang terbesar di dunia.

Yang melakukan transaksi di pasar forex adalah: pemerintah-pemerintah di dunia, bank-bank utama dunia, perusahaan bertaraf internasional, hedge fund, spekulan valas maupun individu. Sehingga dengan banyaknya pemain di pasar forex ini menyebabkan perputaran uang menjadi sangat cepat. Transaksi yang terjadi lebih dari 1,9 triliun US dollar setiap hari sehingga membuat uang dapat berpindah tangan dari satu tempat ke tempat lain hanya dalam beberapa detik.

Seperti halnya bursa saham para pemain forex dapat melakukan trading dengan menggunakan jasa perusahaan pialang (commision house) atau melakukannya sendiri secara online melalui internet.

Perdagangan forex memiliki beberapa kelebihan dibandingkan dengan perdagangan produk-produk keuangan lain seperti perdagangan saham, yaitu:

24 Hours Trading

Dapat dilakukan 24 jam sehari, 5 hari seminggu, kapan dan dimanapun kita berada.

Likuiditas

Sangat likuid dengan banyaknya broker/dealer yang bermain dalam pasar forex.

Rendahnya biaya transaksi

Komisi broker relatif kecil, bahkan untuk trading online melalui internet tidak ada biaya transaksi namun hanya dikenakan biaya yang jumlahnya beragam. Selain itu spreadnya juga kecil.

Potensi keuntungan 2 arah (naik maupun turun)

Memiliki potensi keuntungan baik pada mata uang yang menguat maupun pada mata uang yang melemah.

Margin Trading

Perdagangan dengan margin membuat daya beli investor melebihi jumlah modal yang dimiliki.

Daftar buku bacaan:

1.Panduan Trading Forex, Lucius Sitanggang/Yulika Indrawati. ANDI Yogyakarta.
2.Mengenal Bisnis Valuta Asing untuk Pemula, M. Daud Darmawan. Pinus Book Publisher.
3.Forex Trading, Ivan Susanto. ANDI Publisher.
4.Learn to Trading Valas Via Internet, Taufik Hidayat,SE,MSi. ANDI Publisher.
5.Belajar Trading - Pahami Trading Sebelum Anda Memulai, Kusumarsono Hendarto. ANDI Yogyakarta.
6.Forex Online Trading - Tren Investasi Masa Kini, Sarwiji Widoatmodjo/Lie Ricky Ferlianto/Joni Rizal. Elex Media Komputindo.
7.When to Buy and Sell, Candlestick can Tell, Santo Vibby. Penerbit Vibby Printing.
8.Solusi Investasi di Bursa Saham Indonesia (pendekatan analisis teknikal), Hendra Syamsir. Elex Media Komputindo.

Indicator In forex Trading

2008-04-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

There are hundreds forex indicator in Forex. these indicator basically is a script or program writen using program language here are some good forex indicator :

Simple Moving Average (SMA) - The average price of a given time period, (5 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 day, etc.) where each of the chosen periods carries the same weight for the average. Example using the closing prices of the USD/JPY currency pair: Day 1 close = 124.00, Day 2 close = 126.00, Day 3 close = 124.00, Day 4 close = 126.00; The 4-day SMA is 125.00 (the average of the prior four closes).

Exponential Moving Average (EMA) - Here, the averages are calculated with the recent forex rates carrying more weight in the overall average; for example: In a 10-day exponential moving average, the last 5 days will have more effect on the average than the first 5 days. The idea is to use the most recent data as a better indication of trend direction.

Bollinger Bands - The basic interpretation of Bollinger Bands is that prices tend to stay within the upper and lower bands. The distinctive characteristic of Bollinger Bands is that the spacing between the bands varies based on the volatility of the prices. During periods of extreme currency price changes (i.e., high volatility), the bands widen to become more forgiving. During periods of low volatility, the bands narrow to contain currency prices. The bands are plotted two standard deviations above and below a simple moving average. They indicate a "sell" when above the moving average (or close to the upper band) and a "buy" when below it (or close to the lower band). The bands are used by some forex traders in conjunction with other analyses, including RSI, MACD, CCI, and Rate of Change.

Parabolic SAR - The Parabolic SAR (stop-and-reversal) is a time/price trend following system used to set trailing price stops. The Parabolic SAR provides excellent exit points. Forex traders using this technical indicator should close long positions when the price falls below the SAR and close short positions when the price rises above the SAR. If you are long (i.e., the price is above the SAR), the SAR will move up every day, regardless of the direction the price is moving. The amount the SAR moves up depends on the amount that currency rates move.

Rate of Change - The oldest closing price divided into the most recent one.

RSI (Relative Strength Index) - The RSI is a price-following oscillator that ranges between 0 and 100. A popular method of analyzing the RSI is to look for a divergence in which the currency price is making a new high, but the RSI is failing to surpass its previous high. This divergence is an indication of an impending reversal. When the RSI then turns down and falls below its most recent trough, it is said to have completed a "failure swing." The failure swing is considered a confirmation of the impending reversal in the price of the currency.

Stochastics - Stochastic studies are based on the premise that as prices rise, closing prices tend to be near the high value. Conversely, as prices fall, closing prices are near the low for the period. Stochastic studies are made of two lines, %D and %K, that move between a scale of 0 and 100. The %D line is the moving average over a specified period of time of the %K line. The %K line measures where the closing price of a currency is compared to the price range for a given number of periods.

Momentum - Designed to measure the rate of price change, not the actual price level. Consists of the net difference between the current closing price and the oldest closing price from a predetermined period. The Momentum indicator can be used as either a trend-following oscillator similar to the MACD or as a leading indicator.

MACD - Moving Average Convergence/Divergence - Consists of two exponential moving averages that are plotted against the zero line. The zero line represents the times the values of the two moving averages are identical. The MACD is calculated by subtracting a 26-day moving average of a currency's price from a 12-day moving average of its price. The result is an indicator that oscillates above and below zero. When the MACD is above zero, it means the 12-day moving average is higher than the 26-day moving average. This is bullish as it shows that current expectations (i.e., the 12-day moving average) are more bullish than previous expectations (i.e., the 26-day average). This implies a bullish, or upward, shift in the forex rate. When the MACD falls below zero, it means that the 12-day moving average is less than the 26-day moving average, implying a bearish shift in the currency.

ADX - Measures the strength of a prevailing currency trend and whether or not there is direction in the currency market. Plotted from zero on up, usually a reading above 25 can be considered directional.

William's %R - A momentum indicator that measures overbought/oversold levels in the price of a currency. The interpretation of Williams' %R is very similar to that of the Stochastic Oscillator, except that %R is plotted upside-down and the Stochastic Oscillator has internal smoothing. Readings in the range of 80 to 100% indicate oversold, while readings in the 0 to 20% range suggest overbought.

Volatility - Measures the overall volatility of a currency in a given time period.

Forex Introduction

2008-04-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

Foreign Exchange (FOREX) is the arena where a nation's currency is exchanged for that of another. The foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world, with the equivalent of over $1.9 trillion changing hands daily; more than three times the aggregate amount of the US Equity and Treasury markets combined. Unlike other financial markets, the Forex market has no physical location and no central exchange (off-exchange). It operates through a global network of banks, corporations and individuals trading one currency for another. The lack of a physical exchange enables the Forex market to operate on a 24-hour basis, spanning from one zone to another in all the major financial centers.

Traditionally, retail investors' only means of gaining access to the foreign exchange market was through banks that transacted large amounts of currencies for commercial and investment purposes. Trading volume has increased rapidly over time, especially after exchange rates were allowed to float freely in 1971. Today, importers and exporters, international portfolio managers, multinational corporations, speculators, day traders, long-term holders and hedge funds all use the FOREX market to pay for goods and services, transact in financial assets or to reduce the risk of currency movements by hedging their exposure in other markets.

Deposit volume	Bonus
from 100$ to 999$	10%
from 1000$ to 4999$	15%
from 5000$ and more	20%