There are things that we poorness to speculate when we poverty to put our safekeeping in the line of Forex trading. It is pretty untold a juicy stake but I must monish you that there are whatever canonical errors that no. instance traders e’er get. The 10 mistakes that you poorness to desist in Forex trading are as follows:
If you know anything about Forex Trading then you know you can’t live without an automated Forex trading system. This type of Forex automated system will protect you from falling into the most common traps of Forex trading.
Those who have chosen to work from home with Forex trading systems have found that having this type of automated system is the only way to ensure success and take the human error factor out of the equation. Such proven profit systems ensures you a no hassle trading experience and virtually eliminates picking losers.
In this industry it’s not enough to rely on your gut feelings, and feelings in general, about the trades you are making. Such decisions based on hunches and emotions, are a recipe for losses. An automated Forex trading platform doesn’t have feelings.
So what should you look for in a trading system? Well, for one the trading software should be a no hassle model. Here are just a few things to look for in an automated Forex trading system:
Let’s talk about those free demo accounts briefly. What is better than being able to play the market with funny money? You can learn the system and see just how much profit you would make as if it were the real deal. This golden nugget teamed with some type of money back guarantee is what you need to look for.
The Forex market operates 24/7/365. It’s a global market, and it’s always business hours somewhere in the world. This little tool is like having your own Forex Autopilot System. It will create and trade Forex signals while you sleep. Oh, I forgot to mention you should look for a system that was built by the pros to mine and cherry pick the best deals for you.
I am all about working smarter not harder! So whether you trade as a hobby or you plan on making this a full time career this is one of those must have tools to add to your arsenal. No one likes to watch their money disappear. If making money is important to you it may be worth your time to look into this type of trading tool.
To discover how to put this Forex Tracer Tool to work for you Click Here
Easy Language
TradeStation gives you the power to right code in Easy Language in order to back test your trading strategies. Now, while the name of the code is Easy Language, it is far from easy. If you have previous coding experience, then Easy Language will remind you a lot of C++, but if you have no previous coding experience, do not waste your time on trying to learn the syntax. Simply look to their third-party programmers for assistance. These developers are backed by TradeStation and they do not charge and obscene amount of money. Better yet, if you have a friend or relative that knows how to write code, they will quickly be able to write basic strategies for you.
TradeStation provides some basic literature on Easy Language, but if you want to really get your feet wet, you will have to purchase their home study course, which will run you a cool $149. Again, if you are here to trade, trade, and leave the developing to the programmers.
Historical Market Data
TradeStation has over 25 years of historical data. When you look a little closer, the amount of data is dependent upon which investment vehicle you are using:
So, the real question is do you need all this data from TradeStation. Well, of course, if you are serious about testing your trading strategies. This amount of market data will allow you to back test your strategies in bull, bear and flat markets. You will quickly see how you would have faired in the bull market of the late 90’s, or the slippery slope down in ‘01 and ‘02. Most importantly, you can see how you would have done since the market recently bottomed in the spring of ‘03.
Automated Trading
I do not endorse mechanical trading, as I feel every trader should be responsible for his or her own trading decisions, but I have to admit, having the option of setting up automatic trading is impressive. In order to activate this feature, you should be certain that your strategy is working properly and has clear stop rules. The last thing you want is to take lunch and come back to realize you just bought a 10 thousand dollar hotdog. TradeStation also has a new feature that allows you to execute orders based on fundamental analysis. TradeStation is the first platform capable of scanning and executing orders based on fundamental factors.
Back testing Strategies
There is one part of back testing that TradeStation does not tell you about and that is slippage. When you write your Easy Language code, you can tell the code to exit a trade on the close of the current bar, or ext at market on the open of the next bar. The problem is you may want to write the code to get out at a specific price. Now, all of you Easy Language experts out there, please relax, I know that you can write code to get out at any particular price, but the average trader will not know how to write such detailed code. So, in summary remember that if you write your own code, the canned functions in Easy Language will not allow you to easily code your exits. Just make sure you verify in your performance report that your results have not been inflated or deflated due to slippage.
TradeStation will display a report of your hypothetical trading results. The TradeStation performance report lists everything from average time in trade, average gain, total commission, annual rate of return to name a few. Only problem, you cannot export the data to excel. So, one is forced to manually type in stats into your friendly worksheet processor. Depending on how much information you want to analyze, this exercise could prove to be time consuming.
Trade Execution
TradeStation has the quick order button execution of every other active brokerage firm. But the cool thing with TradeStation is the Order Cancels Order (OCO) and Order Stages Order (OSO) order types. For Order Cancels Order, you can instruct TradeStation to enter a position if the price breaks up or down. This works well when you have identified two levels on a stock as potential long or short entries depending on how the price breaks. The Order Stage Order allows you to stage multiple orders for an existing position. So, if you are long MSFT and want to exit in 3 increments, you can create an OSO order which will stage the orders and when a certain price is hit, it will exit a part of your position at a specific limit. I often hear traders say that they do not want to put a stop in, because if there limit is hit, they will have to cancel their open stop order, to then put in a limit order to exit the trade. Well, with OSO in you can place both a stop and up to 3 limit orders in TradeStation, so there is no longer any excuse as to why you can not protect your capital, the second you get in the trade.
Shorting
TradeStation does not have the books to short some of the more obscure stocks. So, if you want to short stocks that are not well known, you may encounter some trouble with TradeStation. This does not happen often, but it happens enough that it is noticeable.
Charting
The charts in TradeStation are in real-time and there are over a hundred indicators, show me, paint bars, etc. which can be displayed on the chart. The only negative is that you cannot execute trades by clicking directly on the chart. There are multiple screens in TradeStation that will allow you to close a position; unfortunately, the chart is not one of them.
Ability to Link Accounts
TradeStation has the ability to link all of your accounts. Therefore, you can trade futures, one minute and then put on a trade in your equities account the next. This is extremely convenient, since you do not have to open another application or go through the tedious process of logging into another account.
Commission Structure
If you are an active trader and you trade under 1k shares per lot, TradeStation makes sense. TradeStation has a per share cost up to 500 shares. The first 500 shares are $.01. So you can buy 100 shares for a $1 and up to 500 shares for $5. Over 500 shares, it is $.006 per share. So, if you trade 3k shares, TradeStation can become costly. The first 500 shares will cost 5 bucks and then the last 2.5k shares will run you another 15 bucks. The total cost would be 20 dollars one-way for the trade. In this example, it of course would be much cheaper to trade with a brokerage firm that has a flat charge for all trades. In summary, if you are going to trade in big lots, 1k or more, go with a flat fee brokerage firm, but if you’re going to trade under 1k lots, TradeStation is the place for you.
Support Center
TradeStation has a support and discussions forums, where traders share ideas, stories and Easy Language code. Unlike many forums, where there are only a few users, the TradeStation forum has hundreds of quality posts. I have been able to pickup tons of ideas as well as free Easy Language code for some of my strategies. Each post is grouped in categories and the users are quick to respond to your questions. TradeStation has also recently started a Wiki for both their platform as well as Easy Language. The Wiki is expanded daily. TradeStation also has a dependable phone support staff. I have yet to call and not be able to get someone on the line with in 15 - 30 seconds. The staff is always attentive and willing to help on any issue. There is a sales desk, equities desk, futures desk, and forex desk. Each department specializes in their respective areas, which prevents you, the client, from ever talking to someone who is unknowledgeable on how to address your issue.
Radar Screen
TradeStation is the only trading platform, which has a radar screen that can scan the market based on your own market criteria. Now this is not your standard, scan that can display stocks with an RSI under 30. The scan in Radar Screen can be as simple or as complicated as your Easy Language abilities will permit. So, if you want to look at stocks at 2-day highs, with 25k shares per minute, that are up a minimum of 2%, you can scan the market for this information in real-time. The only negative regarding Radar Screen is TradeStation only allows you to scan the market for 1k stocks. But, who needs to monitor more than 1k stocks?
See You At The Top,
Al Hill
Al Hill is the co-founder of mysmp.com (My Stock Market Power) which provides free trading articles to investors. Please visit http://mysmp.com/trading-articles.html for more free articles.
FINANCES: CREDIT CARDS AND LOANS
1. Create a budget and be realistic about all your incomings and outgoings. Make sure you know exactly what money you have and when you will have it. This will help you plan for events such as birthdays or holidays when you may need a little extra cash saved up.
2. Make sure you are getting the best possible interest rate for your savings, opening an online savings account could receive a higher interest rate than a regular current account.
3. Missing your credit card minimum payment dates will hit you with a big charge, so set up a direct debit payment to make sure you never miss the date by accident.
4. Lots of credit cards now offer cashback or points on your purchases or gift vouchers when you first sign up, so make sure you shop around before choosing your credit card. However don’t just choose a card because of a one off benefit, you have to look at the overall package.
5. Don’t be scared to transfer to another credit card with an interest free promotional period as lots of credit cards offer this now. However make sure you transfer to a different one before the promotional period is over as you could be charged with a higher interest rate once it has ended.
6. Keep your credit history healthy- this will make it easier to transfer to different credit cards when you need to.
7. Don’t sign up to department store credit cards even if they do offer you 10% off your first purchase, they charge you a very high interest rate, high late payment charges and are too tempting to have in your wallet while you are out shopping!
8. Don’t get yourself into a mess with paying your mortgage. If you are struggling to pay your monthly payments, speak to your provider about taking a mortgage payment holiday which is better than simply defaulting on your payments.
9. If you have a little extra money, pay more on your credit cards or loans instead of spending it on a treat. If you can pay your debts off quicker, you will pay less interest.
10. If you have been stung in the past by large bank charges, try to reclaim them by writing to your bank. If you think your bank charges are significantly higher than other banks, think about transferring your account.
11. If you travel a lot, use a credit card which doesn’t charge you for using it abroad. Some credit cards charge 2.5% for using it in a foreign country, however there are some that do not charge this fee if you shop around.
12. If you are worried about your finances, get free help from your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau, they understand what troubles you may be facing and are trained to help you think of solutions.
13. Make sure you are claiming any benefits that you are entitled to such as Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit. The forms can take a while to fill out and it can be confusing about what you are entitled for but you can go to your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau to help with any queries.
SHOPPING
14. Do you shopping online, this will stop you having to pay for buses or parking and you are more likely to buy what you need when you are online.
15. Join Internet Cashback to earn cashback while you shop online and get access to discount codes which aren’t available in the shops. Earn cashback on a variety of products including your food shopping, clothes shopping, credit cards, insurances etc. Download the Cashback Detector and you will never miss out on cashback while shopping online again!
16. Don’t buy everything from the usual high street shops; use a price comparison website before you buy anything to make sure you are getting the best prices, which could point you to an online shop you have never heard of before with the cheapest products.
17. Try not to impulse shop! Don’t buy something as soon as you see it; give yourself time to think about it so you can see if you really need it. This will also give you chance to shop around for the best price.
18. When buying your groceries try the supermarket’s economy range. You’ll find most of it tastes the same but is half the price, so don’t be put off by the packaging. Supermarket economy ranges are also good for toiletries, medicines and cleaning products.
19. Have a spring clean and sell anything you don’t want or use anymore on Ebay- it is really quick and easy to sell on Ebay now.
20. Do your grocery shopping at night if you can, as supermarkets such as ASDA or Tesco often reduce the price of food like bread, milk or cakes at the end of the day to make sure they sell it.
21. Before you go shopping, make a list of what you need and then stick to it, if you don’t know what you need, you’ll be more likely to overspend.
22. Don’t buy your daily cup of coffee from expensive coffee shops because they are too expensive. A £2 cup of coffee every day will cost you approximately £60 over the whole month! Take a flask out instead!
23. Take a packed lunch to work instead of buying it everyday, it will work out much cheaper especially if you’ve managed to get your bread reduced for your sandwiches the night before.
24. Don’t buy ready made meals; they’re expensive and not very healthy. If you get yourself organised you can cook a meal from scratch in about 20 minutes. It’s healthier and much cheaper.
25. Only buy what you need to eat, buying too much food means it’ll go out of date fast and you lose money on it.
26. Use the leftovers from your evening meals for your lunch the next day, as long as you keep in the fridge it will still stay nice and means you won’t need to buy your dinner out.
27. Always look out for special offers, coupons and discounts. Bulk buy if there is a special offer on something you regularly use, for example a BOGOF on toothpaste however don’t just buy something because it is reduced!
28. Don’t feel you have to be the first person to get the latest products, for example a mobile phone could cost £300 when first launched but could drop to only £50 in the next year.
29. Plan your family and friend’s birthday and Christmas presents in advance by buying them during the sales. If you have enough storage, you could buy your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales.
EVENING ENTERTAINMENT AND LEISURE
30. Stop eating out at restaurants at evenings and weekends so often. It’s easy to get lazy and head out for dinner but you’ve got to remember that your meal will cost a lot more in a restaurant than it will cooking for yourself.
31. If you do eat out at a restaurant, try to skip the starter and only have two courses which will save you money without ruining your evening. Also, try to resist the coffee at the end of the meal, you can get one at home for much less.
32. Find a restaurant where you can take your own bottle of wine! These are quite common and will mean you are not paying restaurant prices for your drinks.
33. Take it in turns for you and your friends to throw a dinner party. This is much cheaper than going to a restaurant and is often more fun especially if you have themed evenings.
34. If you are going out for the evening, don’t go too early and have a few drinks before you leave. You will spend much less money but will still have fun!
35. If you have an expensive gym membership and do not use it then cancel it as it is a complete waste of money. Try walking instead or using your local leisure centre which will be much cheaper than a gym membership.
36. If you pay to go to a slimming club, consider starting your own with your family, friends and neighbours instead. You will still get the same motivation but will save on the weekly cost.
37. Don’t pay full price for cinema tickets as most cinemas offer cheap weekend or daytime prices, and if you know someone with an Orange mobile phone you can get 2-for-1 tickets on Wednesday’s with their Orange Wednesday promotion.
38. During summer holidays most council’s have free or cheap events for families and children to take part in, so make sure you hunt around to make the most of what is offered.
39. Libraries are a great place to take the children on a rainy day and are great for adults too as many now stock not only books but CDs , DVDs and magazines.
40. Share the cost of events with your family and friends, for example if you love football then buy a season ticket with your friends and take it in turns to go to the matches. This way you might miss out on some matches but that’s better than missing out on all of them.
41. Try and find a market research group in your area which will pay you very well for telling researches what you think of specific products or ideas. These are enjoyable to do and you are provided with refreshments while you are there.
FASHION
42. Aim to build your wardrobe up with classic pieces that match. This way you will be able to interchange everything, so you won’t have to buy as many new pieces.
43. Go to the factory or clearance shops; they’re much cheaper and give you big brands at low prices and chances are, nobody will know where you bought them from!
44. Try to save your shopping trips until the sales are on. Although make sure you don’t buy things just because they are cheap if you don’t actually need them and take them back if they don’t fit as many shops do not open their fitting rooms during busy sale times.
45. Go to your local charity shop for cheap clothes! Remember, the majority of celebrities shop in charity stores because that’s where all the quirky stuff is so you will be in good company!
46. Don’t splash out on designer clothes for your children. Hand-me-downs and supermarket clothing ranges are a great way to dress your children cheaply and they probably won’t even notice the difference.
47. Learn how to sew and fix your clothes, not only will you be able to sew any holes or rips, you will also be able to customise your own clothes to make one off pieces.
48. Return clothes for a refund that you have bought and then realised you don’t like, don’t just let them sit in your wardrobe with the tags on.
49. Don’t avoid the cheaper shops such as Primark, they are great to stock up on your simple wardrobe necessities such as t-shirts and nightwear.
UTILITIES
50. Only buy home appliances that have been certified as energy efficient, they may cost more to start with but you’ll save more over time on running costs.
51. Replace your old light bulbs with energy efficient light bulbs as they last longer and save you money.
52. Lower your heating thermostat. If there are rooms that you don’t use in your home then turn off the radiator and close the door. If you live in a 2 storey house, you can turn the thermostat down even further upstairs because heat rises. By turning your heating thermostat down 10-20 you will be surprised at how much energy you will save per year.
53. Install more insulation in your attic, replace old curtain liners with new insulating curtain liners and seal any draughts. If you have a big enough budget, install double or even triple glazed windows, these are very efficient means of insulating your home, saving you money on heating costs. They also boost the value of a property significantly.
54. Turn off the lights if you aren’t in the room and make sure everyone in your house does the same. There’s no point in being charged for light that you don’t use. Simple as that!
55. Don’t leave electrical appliances on standby as they still consume electricity. Turn them off at the wall and you could save up to 10% off your electricity bills. According to reports, the UK government is bringing in legislation that will make it compulsory for all new appliances to not have a standby mode because of the huge waste this brings.
56. You can save a lot of money on your water bills very easily, always shower rather than bathing and spend as little time in the shower as possible.
57. If you have a big home with few occupants you could halve your annual water bill by installing a water meter.
58. Turn your washing machine down to 40. Unless your clothes are heavily soiled a wash on 30-40 will still bring them out sparkling clean!
59. Don’t be lazy by sticking with your current utility company, shop around and make sure you are getting the best deal; you can use utility comparison sites to help you see which company will be best for you and use Internet Cashback to earn up to 37.50 pounds for switching utility companies.
TRAVEL
60. Book flights early and save money. While many of the budget airlines will fly to a regional airport, it may actually cost less to fly into an airport closer to a city center (if you are going on a city break) as you won’t have to pay for a taxi to your accommodation.
61. Budget airlines such as Ryanair are now charging per bag checked into the hold in an effort to speed up their turn around times. If you can, pack what you need (minus scissors, liquids etc) into your hold baggage. This also means you don’t have to wait round to pick up your baggage at arrivals.
62. Book hotels online rather than walking in unannounced and being hit with the typically higher walk-in rate.
63. Buy your car rental online rather than arranging for it when you arrive. Car rental is a competitive market and there are plenty of money-saving offers available.
64. If you are planning a journey by train or bus then book early, look for offers and do not travel in peak times. If you buy your ticket on the day of travelling it will be significantly more money than if you book in advance.
65. If you are on a long train or plane journey, buy your refreshments before you board as drinks and snacks are always over priced once you are travelling.
66. There are lots of websites which will send you free samples or money off coupons so find the best one and keep checking it for the samples you want to receive. Shampoo and body lotion samples are great to take on weekends away!
COMMUNICATIONS
67. If you don’t use your landline phone often then change to a pay as you go mobile phone, it is silly paying for line rental if you don’t use it.
68. If you don’t use your internet broadband often then cancel it and make use of free wireless internet in most restaurants, cafes and bars. You simply take your laptop and connect to their wireless for free (although it might cost you a cup of coffee!). You can go to your library and use their computers for free and even have access to their printers and photocopiers for a small cost.
69. If you are on a monthly mobile phone contract, think about going pay as you go instead. You will have much more control over what you spend, and you’ll be surprised at how many people will call you instead of you calling them!
70. Send an email instead of phoning or texting people. Most customer services departments will answer emails now if you have a problem with a service such as your utility bill which means you won’t have to ring their premium rate customer services phone number. You can also send your family and friends emails instead of calling them and even send birthday cards by email to save on postage.
71. There are lots of websites which let you send text messages to mobile phones for free so you won’t use up your credit texting while you can get online and use a messenger service such as MSN Live to talk to your family and friends over the internet for free.
72. Get a Freeview digital box and cancel your SKY or cable TV package. Freeview has lots of free channels and you can now watch the majority of TV programmes on the internet, so you won’t be missing out on your favourite shows.
AROUND THE HOUSE
73. If you have a spare room, advertise for a lodger. There are lots of people who just want a room during the week while they are at work, so you would still get your privacy at weekends. If you live on your own a lodger can provide you with great company and will help pay towards your bills.
74. Don’t be wasteful with products such as toothpaste, body lotion or foundation. When you can’t get anymore out of the tube, cut it open and you will be able to use the bits you couldn’t get to.
75. Re-use old ice-cream tubs or take away packaging, you can use them for freezing food or taking your packed lunch into work.
76. If you have a pet, don’t go out buying expensive bedding from the pet shop, recycle the waste paper from your office or buy your own shredding machine at home and shred up your old newspapers.
77. Only fill the kettle with the amount of water you need, filling it up full wastes energy and takes longer to boil so you’ll have to wait longer for your drink!
78. When you use your washing machine, make sure it’s full every time, if you just have a few items to wash then hand wash them in the sink.
79. Instead of drying your clothes in the tumble dryer, hang them outside or in rainy weather hang them over a clotheshorse. This will also keep your clothes nicer for longer as tumble dryers tend to shrink your clothes!
80. Learn how to make your own cleaning products which are as effective as the products you buy in the shop and you can often use the ingredients you already have in your kitchen cupboards.
81. Grow your own fruit and vegetables in your garden or rent an allotment, especially if you give the vegetables to your pets. Seeds cost virtually nothing compared to the actual products themselves.
MOTORING
82. Downsizing your car could save you 100s of pounds each year in both fuel and road tax so if you are just making journeys to and from work you should seriously consider getting a smaller, more efficient car.
83. Don’t renew your car insurance without shopping around first. Use a price comparison site and you could save £100s every year by changing to a cheaper provider.
For a price comparison service go to CompareTheMarket.com.
84. If you travel to work on your own, try and start a car pool with colleagues who live in your area, not only will this save in petrol costs, it will also keep your car miles low.
85. Don’t jump in your car for all journeys, if you can, walk or cycle and you will save money and get fitter.
86. Start a school run with other parents in your area if you drive your children to school or consider walking them there instead if it is in a walking distance.
87. Don’t drive too fast, the RAC claim most car engines run far more efficiently at 60-70 miles an hour, compared to 80 mph or over.
88. Check your tyre pressure regularly; if your tyres are under inflated by 20% then you’ll use 10% more fuel.
89. Don’t pay to get your car cleaned as it is a waste of money, set aside 30 minutes each week to wash it yourself.
MISC
90. Instead of buying a daily paper, read the news online. Most newspapers have regularly updated websites which have all the news stories for free which could save you approximately 15 pounds per month.
91. If you smoke, try to stop or cut down. The NHS has lots of free services to help you do this and it will save you £100s each year.
92. Monitor how much alcohol you drink. If you are having a few glasses everyday, try to cut back and only have it for special occasions.
93. Don’t spend money you don’t have on gambling sites, especially ones online. It is easy to lose track on how much money you are spending and more often than not, you will lose this money. Try premium bonds instead if you want to try your luck as this way you will not lose your money.
94. It may be cheaper for you to pay for your prescriptions in advance with a pre-payment certificate if you pay for more than five prescription items in four months or 14 items in 12 months.
95. Buy generic medicines when you can, a 16 pack of Anadin costs approximately 2.99 pounds however a Sainsbury branded pack will only cost approximately 33p.
96. Cut and colour your own hair, or get your friends to help you. There are lots of great DIY colour kits out there to give you a new look for under 5 pounds and a pair of clippers won’t set you back much. Be careful though!
97. Pretend it’s your birthday on a night out and you might get a free birthday cake or glass of Champaign.
98. Don’t lose all of your loose pennies, save them up in a jar and at the end of the year you will be surprised at how much money you have collected.
99. Make saving money fun! Saving money doesn’t have to make you miserable! You can still see your friends, buy yourself treats and go on holiday; you just have the added advantage of feeling proud of your finances instead of hiding away from them!
The author of this article is a keen blogger regarding cashback deals for retailers’ such as for ASDA and affiliate marketing programmes.
Water infrastructure must be approved in the largest urban cities in the World, and yet, no one knows where all the money is coming from. Each year the demand gets bigger and the supply gets closer to crisis. Worse in many of the largest urban areas, the governments are losing revenues needed to improve those infrastructures.
Over 40% of the water is lost in Mexico City due to poor infrastructure, unauthorized hook ups and theft. Additionally, undeclared wells are a huge challenge. In Mexico City there are 660 declared wells and perhaps five times that many non-declared. Mexico City is sinking due to the ground water being pumped out faster than it recharges by a factor of 2:1, meanwhile the soil consists of clay and is a dangerous situation during drastic changes in hydrology.
To make it worse, millions of people living in slums without water and many that live on the far side of town where any water coming through is highly polluted. Mexico City is said to have some 20-million inhabitants, but the real number could be as high as 25-million now. The officials have no idea what to do if there is an earthquake, the water system will be severely crippled, perhaps beyond repair, as if it is in a state of repair anyway.
Many of Mexico City’s rivers and streams double as wastewater removal canals, it is quite disgusting and very dangerous for human Health for those who live downstream. It also challenges the quality of the underground aquifers and ground water, and without that or even with that, Mexico City is sunk.
There appears to be deep water aquifers at more than 300-yard below the surface, but it costs a lot to make wells that deep and takes a bit of energy to run the pumps, making such options economically non-viable. Other potential water sources to fill the gaps would require bring water over the mountains into Mexico City which sits in a valley, which was once a lake. And folks this is just one major urban area in the World at a pivotal point, and on the verge of complete chaos.
“Lance Winslow” - Online Blog Content Service. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.
Nothing ever seems to happen without causing some good. For instance, there seems to be a little uptick in analyzing our thinking, as a result of wading through this financial crisis.
Radicals are starting to say that simple cause and effect reasoning could have prevented the current financial crisis. You may remember cause and effect from school, where as a thinking skill it is second in popularity only to the skill of avoiding thinking completely. But could an understanding of cause and effect have made a difference in the financial crisis?
Undeniably, cause and effect has its uses. The neat thing about cause and effect is that it makes you look good without much effort. When you know that something causes a certain effect, you can easily impress your friends. You look up and see a bunch of dark clouds and you casually mention that you think it’s going to rain. Then sure enough, it rains. Clouds then rain: cause and effect. Just don’t tell anybody how you do it and you’ll get a reputation for being really smart.
Unfortunately, cause and effect can get tricky. After you start using cause and effect, you begin to believe that everything has a cause and that you can spot that cause. Not so fast; you’re getting a little ahead of yourself. Sometimes things just happen out of the blue, without warning or reason.
That’s the situation with the financial crisis. No matter what anybody says, the current crisis is just the result of bad luck. There was no cause. It just happened, like all those forest fires, droughts, 100-year floods, and mega-storms that people predicted would be caused by global warming. Get real; predicting something doesn’t actually mean that you know the cause.
Let’s take a closer look at the financial crisis. With something this large, which has created hardships for more than half of the US population, people will probably ask questions: Couldn’t something have been done to prevent it? Cause and effect reasoning might have put us on the right track, if only those government economists could have found cause for alarm.
But nothing was obvious enough to cause concern. You can see that if we look at the major pieces of this crisis.
Cheap, cheap money - The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates, a lot. Who could know that cheap money would create a huge market of unsophisticated buyers and a huge industry of unscrupulous lenders?
Bait-and-switch loans, aka ARMs - Adjustable Rate Mortgage loans (ARMs) expanded the market and lender profits. And there was also something for consumers: low rates upfront and impossible rates to follow.
Inflated property appraisals - Lenders often worked with appraisers to inflate values and stimulate the market, creating what we now call “the housing bubble.” Sure the bubble attracted capital, but just because it was called a bubble, who knew it might burst?
Liar loans - Mortgage brokers from 2000 to 2007 routinely manipulated loan applications to let people get loans. Converting humbug into moolah is alchemy, not fraud.
Risk-free profits - Mortgage brokers quickly dumped new loans to avoid their default risk. Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac happily took on the debt with the backing of their rich uncle. Fannie and Freddie sound like the names of your slow-witted cousins; maybe if we called them Frances and Frederick they’d get a little more respect.
More profits - Weak loans were bundled, given blue-ribbon ratings, and sold to investors. Loan laundering is more important than money laundering because money has intrinsic value, while loans rely on a nice laundered appearance.
Reckless home buyers - People bought briefly affordable homes. Government economists didn’t see any problem at the time, but then they weren’t dealing with their own money. These economists now believe that home buyers should have known better.
This may seem confusing at first, because there were so many moving parts. Clearly, the government economists were perplexed. Were cause and effect signposts warning us of a crisis? Was danger lurking in harmless business activities? The economists wondered.
Once the crisis struck, of course, the wondering didn’t stop, but it changed focus. Now, the economists wondered if the economy was sound; everyone agreed it was. The politicians wondered how to bailout businesses, including Fannie and Freddie, whose lending practices were so outrageously unsound that they were on the verge of collapse.
As the focus shifts to working through the crisis, cause and effect is something of a hot potato in official circles. Politicians are looking for airtime to show us that they’re fully engaged after the fact. This may result in some cause-effect rhetoric, accusing the financial industry of causing the crisis. No doubt it will blow over after the November election.
In the short run, politicians do have a small dilemma. They want to convince us that they were smart enough to see the causes of impending problems, while avoiding the question of why they didn’t work to prevent the bad effects. Here is an example of why people in the know say that politics is a tough business.
You can see now that cause and effect reasoning fails to explain the financial crisis. There was no cause; the crisis was just bad luck. You can’t expect this thinking skill to fit in every situation.
In general, however, cause and effect reasoning could be a great tool for holding people accountable. Instead of telling each other to get over it and “move on,” we might start telling government to “hold on,” as in “we want to check this out.” This could cause unpleasantness in which responsible parties are held responsible, but it might have a cleansing effect.
Michael Durr is a marketer and writer. He publishes a website and blog on applied thinking, http://www.TheBusinessofThinking.biz
Visit the website to read an excerpt from his latest book, My Brain, My Future.
Here I am going to give you a checklist on how to get started in forex trading from home in just 14 days and then be on target to make triple digit profits in under 30 minutes a day.
What inspired me to write this article is the “turtle experiment” where Richard Dennis taught a group of traders to trade in just 14 days and they went on to make hundreds of millions of dollars. You probably won’t make as much money as this group but it shows anyone can learn and anyone can be successful, if they have the right forex education.
Lets get started and the first area to focus on is learning about forex charts and formations and all this information is available free online. You need to focus on long term trend following and base your strategy on breakouts.
We have written about these frequently simply look up our other articles. Once you have this mastered, check some indicators to time you’re trading signals and take your time two great ones to start with are the stochastic and RSI, so look them up.
You will now have a simple robust forex trading strategy you can apply for profit. Don’t think simple systems don’t make money - they do. Simple systems are robust and easy to understand and will enable you to have confidence and discipline which is essential for currency trading success.
Discipline is what separates winners from losers.
You must be able to apply your trading system through losing periods with discipline until you hit a home run and if you cant do it - you don’t have a system.
It’s always good to get some lessons from the pros and some books which are from traders who have walked the walk and don’t just talk the talk.
Here are a few which I think can help any trader.
The Disciplined Trader - Mark Douglas
This is simply one of the best books on trading discipline you will read and for any newbie trader who thinks discipline is easy, read it and you will see why its not and why most traders cant master it.
Another excellent book is.
The Way of the Turtle - Curtis Faith
The most successful of the turtle group we discussed earlier, its essential reading and very inspiring as well.
Finally I simply love the book - Trader Vic Methods of a Wall Street Master by Victor Sperandeo.
This guy is simply consistent decade after decade of huge returns and you get a bit of everything in this book.
The above 3 books will cost you less than a $100.00 but will give you some great insight on the discipline side and what it takes to be a winner and pay for themselves many times over.
When you come to trade your system, make sure that you have enough cash forget trading with $50 d and get a reasonable amount so you have staying power. $500 - 1,000 is a bare minimum and preferably $5,000.
Do not over leverage, take it gently to start, forget about 200:1 leverage and start at 10.
You are in this for the long run and you need to preserve equity and build your base.
Once your system is set you are ready to roll, don’t believe all the people who say you should try and improve their system, or keep journals of your losses its complete waste of time.
You are going to lose, that’s trading and the perfect system doesn’t exist.
I have used the same system for 25 years and never changed it sure it losses but overall it gives me great annual profits for less than 30 minutes work a day and the system enclosed can do the same for you, allowing you to become a profitable forex trader from home.
Follow the above steps and you could be on the road to currency trading success in just 2 weeks and making profits in around 30 minutes day.
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For free 2 x trading Pdf’s, with 50 of pages of essential info on Becoming a Currency Trader From Home visit our website at: http://www.learncurrencytradingonline.com.
I’m going to give you some advice on forex trading by the books. This business can be pretty intimidating, but it really isn’t. You just need to keep it simple and apply the advice daily.
I seem to make more profitable trades than trades that lose, but I noticed I’m losing money, why?
Never look at trades as winners and losers. This is a game where you are hear to make money. Look at things as money. If you made $100 on two trades and end up losing $200 on one trade, you’re down money. You’re losing. You have “won” more trades than you have “lost”, but you’re losing money and that’s all that counts.
You need to understand that profit can be anywhere between one penny to infinite amount of dollars. Losses can be anywhere between one penny and all the money you’ve invested. It’s definitely not smart to think in wins and losses. What you want to do is maximize your profitable trades and minimize the losing trades. Losing trades are easy to limit and that’s simply done by cutting losses. The best thing you can do is decide before you make a trade, how much you’re willing to lose before you sell. Profits are a little harder since that comes with experience. Just don’t too greedy and you should be fine.
Do I need software?
You don’t need it, but I recommend. Think of it like construction. You can do all your work with a hammer, but a nail gun makes you more efficient. You can do two or three times more work in the same amount of time. This makes you more profitable.
Automated software like Forex Killer will actively seek out profitable trends on currencies. This helps keep your job simple and efficient.
For more information on the Forex Killer software, check out Forex Charting Software.
Every trader should test the trading strategy that they’re using. And, while testing your trading strategy, you should keep detailed records of the wins and losses in order to produce a performance report. Many software packages can help you with that, but a simple excel sheet will do the trick just as well.
Below are three things crucial to every performance report.
Net Profit
The first figure to take note of is the total, or net, profit. Obviously you want your system to generate profits, but don’t be frustrated when, during the development stage, your trading system shows a loss; try to reverse your entry signals.
You might have heard that trading is a zero sum game. If you want to buy something (e.g. a certain stock or futures contract), then somebody else needs to sell it to you. And, you can only sell a position if somebody else is willing to buy from you at the price you’re asking.
This means that if you lose money on a trade, then the person who took the other side of the trade is MAKING money. And vice versa: if you’re making money on a trade, then the other trader is losing money. In the markets, money is not “generated.” It just changes hands.
So, if you’re going long at a certain price level, and you lose, then try to go short instead. Many times this is the easiest way to turn a losing system into a winning one.
Average Profit Per Trade
The next figure to look out for is the average profit per trade. Make sure this number is greater than slippage and commissions, and that it makes your trading worthwhile. Trading is all about risk and reward, and you want to make sure you get a decent reward for your risk.
Winning Percentage
Many profitable trading systems achieve a nice net profit with a rather small winning percentage, sometimes even below 30%. These systems follow the principle: “Cut your losses short and let your profits run.” However, YOU need to decide whether you can stand 7 losers and only 3 winners in 10 trades. If you want to be “right” most of the time, then you should pick a system with a high winning percentage.
Conclusion
The above examples provide you with some guidelines, but it’s up to you to decide whether the numbers in the strategy’s performance report work for you or don’t.
Ultimately, YOU’RE the one trading the strategy, and YOU’RE the one who has to feel comfortable with the expected results of your strategy.
Markus Heitkoetter is the CEO of Rockwell Trading, Inc. and the author of “The Complete Guide to Day Trading.” Loaded with easy-to-use information, proven and reliable trading strategies, and clear-cut guidelines to success, the result of this book is a practical hands-on approach to day trading. Check it out at http://www.thecompleteguidetodaytrading.com
Forex price movement is not as simple as it may first appear and traders make several assumptions that are completely wrong base their forex trading strategies on it and lose. Let’s look at how prices really move…
Let’s start first of all, with two fatal errors traders make, when trying to make money in currencies and they are:
You Can Predict What Forex Prices Will Do.
Traders are obsessed with buying bottoms and selling tops. They simply see a level and jump in and hope it holds - but prediction is just hoping or guessing and you don’t get rewarded for that in forex trading.
It always makes me laugh, when you see vendors selling systems, saying they can predict with 90% accuracy! It’s a joke.
If you want to win, you trade the confirmation of price movement and I will return to this in a moment - but first let’s look at an extension of this point.
Markets Move to Science.
You have a school of thought that says that markets move to a scientific law and the most famous are - Elliot, Gann and the disciples of Fibonacci.
Well if they or anyone else knew the law, there would be no market, as we would all know the price in advance!
The far out crowd love these theories, with their mystical connotations but the facts don’t support their argument.
You can trade Breaking News
Not a good idea, as the news is actually unimportant by itself, its how it is perceived that determines the course of events which, leads me into how the markets really move.
How Prices Really Move
The equation for market movement is:
Fundamentals + Human Perception of them = Forex Market Movement
Humans are not logical they are influenced by their emotions and this is why markets are not scientific - true human nature is constant but it’s not science however we do know the following:
- Humans will always push prices to far up or down and these price spikes are temporary and can be traded for profit.
- Always trade the truth never predict and sure you don’t get perfect timing but the odds are in your favour and that’s vital.
An Odds Game You can Win
Forex is simply an odds game sure you cant predict but you can win, not every trade of course but by trading high odds set ups, you can have more winners than losers and pile up big profits overtime.
Greed and fear drive prices and make price spikes which are easy to see on a forex chart and can be traded for profit.
Any trader needs to treat forex as an odds game, trading the reality of price change when the odds are in their favour, with strict forex money management and if you do this - you will win.
Don’t Look For Perfection - Look to Win
In forex markets people having trying to predict and find some secret code of movement that simply isn’t there. While forex price movement looks chaotic, you can win, by simply trading the reality of price movement.
Sure you won’t achieve perfection (that’s impossible) but by trading the odds, you can put a lot of dollars in your pocket and that’s the whole aim of trading.
NEW! 2 X FREE ESSENTIAL TRADER PDFS
ESSENTIAL FOREX TRADING COURSE
For free 2 x trading Pdf’s, with 50 of pages of essential info on Becoming a Currency Trader From Home visit our website at: http://www.learncurrencytradingonline.com.
