Posts Tagged ‘stock trading’

The Essentials of technical Analysis: Part II

by Jack Haddad

Charting:

The time frame used for forming a chart depends on the compression of the data: intraday, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual data. Traders usually concentrate on charts made up of daily and intraday data to forecast shorterm price movements.

The shorter the time frame and the less compressed data is, the more detail that is available. While long on detail, short term charts can be volatile and contain a lot of noise. Large sudden price movements, wide high-low ranges and price gaps can effect volatility, which can distort the overall picture. Long term charts care good for analyzing the large picture to get a broad perspective of the historical price action. Once the general picture is analyzed, a daily chart can be used to zoom in on the last few months. Four of the most popular methods of displaying price data are by the following charts: line bar, candlestick, and point & figure. The line chart is one of the simplest charts. It is formed by plotting one price point, usually the close. For that matter, I don’t favor them because I personally consider the open, low, and high to be as important as the close in technical analysis. However, at times, only closing data are available for certain indices, thinly traded stocks and intraday prices. Bar charts are perhaps the most popular charting method. The high, low, and close are required to form the price plot for each period of a bar chart. The high and low are represented by the top and bottom of the vertical bar and the close is the short horizontal line crossing the vertical bar. On a daily chart, each bar represents the high, low, and close for a particular day. Weekly charts would have a bar for each week based on Friday’s close and the high and low for that week. Bar charts can be effective for displaying a large amount of data.

Using candlesticks, 200 data points can take up a lot of room and look cluttered. Line charts show less clutter, but do not offer as much detail (no high-low range). The individual bars that make up the bar chart are relatively skinny, which allows users the ability to fit more bars before the chart gets cluttered. If you’re not interested in the opening price, bar charts are an ideal method for analyzing the close relative to the high and low. In addition, bar charts that include the open will tend to get cluttered quicker. If you’re interested in the opening price, candlestick charts probably offer a better alternative. The beauty of Point & Figure charts is their simplicity. Little or no price movement is deemed irrelevant and therefore not duplicated on the chart. Only price movements that exceed specified levels are recorded. This focus on price movement makes it easier to identify support and resistance levels, bullish breakouts and bearish breakdowns. Contrary to this methodology, Point & Figure charts are based solely on price movement and do not take time into consideration. The topic on candlestick charting is broad and beyond the scope of this article. This method of charting originated in Japan over 300 years ago, and have become quite popular in recent years. For a candlestick chart, the open, high, low, and close are all required. A daily candlestick is based on the open price, the intraday high and low, and the close. A weekly candlestick is based on Monday’s open, the weekly high-low range, and Friday’s close.

Trendlines:

Trendlines are an important tool in technical analysis for both trend identification and confirmation. The general rule in technical analysis is that it takes two points to draw a trendline and the third point confirms the validity. An up trendline is formed by connecting two of more low points. The second low must be higher than the first for the line to have a positive slope.

Up trendlines act as support and indicate that net-demand (demand less supply) is increasing even as the price rises. A downtrend is formed by connecting two or more high points. The second high must be lower than the first for the line to have a negative slope. Down trendlines act as a resistance and indicate that net-supply is increasing even as the price declines.

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Here’s The Way Real People Are Making Good Money Trading Forex

by Steve Halladay

For many people, making money with a small business has become much easier due to the advent of the Internet. There are quite a lot of things you can do to make money from home, and it doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to set it up. Sell items on eBay, or set up your own online store. In some cases, though, you don’t even have set up a store to get started. One of the best ways to make money online for many people is something called Forex trading, also known as “foreign exchange trading.”

Forex trading, also known as “foreign exchange trading” or “currency trading,” means that you buy and sell currency pairs so as to profit. If you want to make money, you have to be able to tell what currencies are going to do in each pair you work with. Forex trading isn’t easy to do if you’re new at it, but it can be easy to learn.

Truth is, you can waste a lot of time reading up on currency trading. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t try to learn what you can! You just need to make sure you spend your time wisely. Let’s quickly go over two examples of why currencies might fluctuate in value.

First, changes in the interest rates in a country will affect that country’s currency. As an example, suppose that the USA raises interest rates. This makes US bonds more attractive to investors all over the world. This causes extra demand for US dollars which results in the dollar rising in value.

Another example of a reason for a currency’s change in value is that a country’s key exports can rise or fall in value. One example of that is Canada. Canada is a major oil exporter. When oil prices go up, the Canadian dollar rises in value because of Canada’s oil exporting capabilities. This was true recently as oil prices rose markedly. Now, oil prices are going down, so that the Canadian dollar, too, is also going down in value when compared to some other currencies.

These are just two of many reasons why currencies will change in value – as I’m sure you can imagine it can be quite a complex topic!

Thankfully, you don’t actually need to know all the intracacies of the market before you can make money at it. There are forex trading software programs that have been developed by professional traders that will spot out trends and signals in order to find profitable trades for you. You just need to install the software on your computer (with an internet connection) and the program will use realtime market data in order to generate trades.

These programs are perfect for beginners because it allows them to make money while they also learn more about currency trading. As you become more knowledgable, you will begin to make trades based both on what the software spots and as well your own intuition.

When you go shopping for one of these programs, don’t fall for the high-priced ones. There are some programs that ask for thousands of dollars – you do not need to fork out that kind of cash for a quality piece of software! For around $100 you can get a proven and reliable program that will make you money.

The program you choose should also be backed by a moneyback guarantee from the company. If the program is successful, the company should have no problem backing it up with a guarantee. This also gives you some added security.

Even if Forex trading has seemed unapproachable to you in the past, take a look at it. It can be easy to get started in and you can begin to make some pretty decent money with it. It’s also a lot of fun! Best of luck to you!

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Day Trading Robot Review

by Mark Daytr

Hey there and welcome to this article on the day trading robot. I’m sure you already know that the robot is priced at 100k which none of us can afford but it is likely that most of us can afford the day trading robot newsletter that is far cheaper.

When you checkout the day trading robot website you can see straight away that the newsletter is worth the money.

It may interest you to know that this day trading robot thing is all about and what you will get. When you subscribe you will be told via email whenever the robot makes a new pick, you will then know what to buy and will also be told when to sell.

The fantastic thing about the day trading robot sales page is that you can see that from the video the robots pick went up over three hundred percent over night.

So after seeing that amazing question it begs the question can the robot ever lose? Well from what I have seen with it the success rate is roughly 90% which is amazing.

The great thing about the day trading robot is that it is different from all anything else out there. With this thing on our side all we need to do is to buy and sell when the robot tells us to.

In the past we have become accustomed to just seeing some sort of ebook with rehashed strategies that may or may not work on any given day.

Having the day trading robot on your side will get rid of all the previos work you had to do, now we can let the robot do the work and follow it’s instructions.

To be honest this sounds quite hypey and you will have to do somethings to make this work.

So what work wil we have to do with the robot? Firstly you will need to open the email and read the recommendation, secondly you will need to buy the stock and thirdly you will need to sell the stock when it tells you to and lastly collect the profits.

When you buy the day trading robot you will learn how to control your bankroll and to multiply it many times over very quickly by only trading with your profits.

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A Forex Demo is a Wise Choice

by Steve Blalock

Before airplane pilots actually fly on their own, they usually practice in simulators that re-create what flying will be like without any actual risk. Since currency trading is as dangerous financially as flying is physically, it makes sense that there would be a forex demo available, too.

A forex demo is the best way for a new investor to start. Reading books and taking online courses can teach you the basics, but the best way to learn anything is to get some hands-on experience. However, with forex, hands-on experience could mean losing your shirt. So a demo gives you real-world training with no actual money being involved.

Usually, the demonstration comes courtesy of a brokerage or other financial Web site that has an interest in currying your favor. The plan is that once youve tested your skills in the demo, youll get into the real thing and take advantage of the paid services the demo provider has to offer — forex signals, managed accounts, automated trading, etc. The demo is like a free sample, offered in the hopes that youll enjoy it so much that you buy something, too.

For that reason, you should be highly suspicious of any Web site that wants to charge for a demo. Considering there are literally dozens of sites that offer free demonstrations, there is absolutely no reason that you should pay for it.

When you sign up for a forex demo, youre given a username and password and shown how to use the demo system. Sometimes it involves downloading a piece of software unique to the company; other times its simply done over the Internet. (Some demos require Macromedia Flash, which most browsers have installed, but which youll need the latest version of.) You determine how much imaginary money you want to start with, and off you go!

When you are in the forex demo, you do all the things you would do if it were a real-world situation: reading the charts, following the trends, visiting online forums to get other traders opinions, and making trades. The trades are recorded in the forex demo only and dont go anywhere into the actual market since theres no real money involved. When the market changes, the program determines how much youd have gained or lost based on the decisions you made. Youre able to say, Whew! Good thing this was only for practice! or Too bad this wasnt real! And once youve gained some expertise using the forex demo, you can move on to the real thing and start making some money for real.

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Here’s How Anyone Can Make Money Trading Forex Online

by Grant Dougan

If you are somebody who has just heard about forex trading, you are in all probability stimulated about the potential to make some additional money. As more everyday people find out about the sizeable money making potential of trading forex, the currency markets grow and grow.

Just like transacting in stocks, in the currency markets you need to buy low and dump high. Here, naturally, you’re trading in currencies and not stocks. Similar to shares, the value of a type of money rises and drops. If you purchase a cheap foreign currency – let’s assume at 65 cents for every currency unit – and later get rid of it when the prices increases, you’ll earn profits. That’s how forex trading operates.

When you first hear this, this does not seem awfully complex. And it’s not, in principle. But there are a number of things to think about if you wish to earn cash with forex trading. One of the first things you’ll notice is that there are several currencies – it’s impossible to follow each currency. Professional traders will focus on just a few. Now the biggest question is, how can you know when is the right time to purchase or sell?

This is where a good currency analyzing computer program can make you increase your earnings. These computer programs the guessing game out of forex trading since they use a specifically programmed algorithm to monitor the currency markets.. The softwares will notice when it’s time to purchase and sell, and also which currencies to deal in.

And don’t worry about these softwares being challenging to use – they are very easy to utilize. These programs almost always have a “demo” mode that guides you through the process as you are learning the software. This is a useful feature and one that I promote you to search for.

Typically you can test out the program with no risk, since the better programs will offer a moneyback promise. This lets you get a feel for the program and see if it is as strong as it promises. This moneyback promise allows you to use the program to make sure you are pleased with how it works for you.

For lots of individuals that don’t have prior exposure to the markets, jumping into forex trading can be extremely intimidating. That’s exactly why a forex trading program can be so useful. The software helps you earn some money as you discover more about the currency markets.

As your knowledge of the currency markets develops, you will most likely make trades based on your own intuitions and also on what the software tells you. A forex trading software is the smartest way to begin currency trading. Utilizing a trading program will generate for you extra money, but it will also help in educating you on the currency markets.

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The Key Players In The World Of Penny Stock Trading

by Malcolm Torren

Penny stock trading is very appealing to new investors for two reasons: One is because it is cheap. The price range is between one to three dollars and not exceeding five dollars. This is defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the SEC. In actual practice, shares can even go lower than a dollar each. The second magnet for new investors is its high potential for fast profit at a short period of time.

How does penny stock trading work? Where does all the money come from and where does it go? In penny stock trading, there are key players that make a dynamic exchange of shares. The common goal is to make money and reinvest. Here are the role players in the business:

- Investor. If you are an investor, you are playing a key role in the stock market trading floor. The investment money comes from you. Of course an investment cannot be an investment if there is no intended profit to make. Some investors would trade on to many shares. This is because if one of your stock investments is losing, you can balance your profitability from another source. You also make decisions of your trading. Why and how?

- The Broker. You as the investor cannot make transactions if there are no stock brokers to help you. They can influence the market stocks. They have a high degree of intelligence in the penny stock trading business. For every profit you make, they earn by commission. They also have other client investors to attend to. In some cases, penny stock brokers charge for investment consultations to their clients. But what exactly are they doing with your money?

- The Small Cap Companies – There won’t be any investment made if there are no entities needing it. In the penny stock trading market, they are call small cap companies. These are companies that can either be newly established, wanting to expand their business resources for business growth, or going bankrupt and hoping to revitalize their financial resources. Whatever the reasons may be, these entities are responsible for the dynamics of your money.

- The Stock Exchange – This is the venue where the buying and selling of shares take place. The trading is done every business day. All of the penny stock brokers meet at a huge spacious room they call the trading floor. This is even shown in movies that involve stock exchange scenarios.

- SEC – Of course, to keep the entire procedure in penny stock trading orderly and discipline, the SEC holds authority. They set the regulations and guidelines, the requirements needed for companies to bid their shares, and sometimes initiate the jailing of fraudsters who conduct anomalous business here.

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How Anyone Can Make Money Trading Forex Online

by Grant Dougan

You have probably heard tons of hype about forex trading, and even though the economy is jumping all over the map, there are still plenty of individuals checking into forex markets as a way to rake in moneyright from home.

Part of the hoopla forex trading has been a result of just how many people are using it as a money-making opportunity. Obviously as more individuals begin to trade forex, it’s only natural that plenty of people want to find out the tips behind cashing in from currency trading. We’re gonna look at how forex trading works.

Earning cash with forex trading is identical to trading stocks: You want to buy low and sell high. To illustrate, the Canadian dollar is valued at around seventy-five cents US right now. If you believe that the Canadian dollar is about to jump in value, then you want to buy it now and then trade it when the value increase.

Currency Traders will observe currencies and search for trends or points that point out that there is a potential for profits.

Traders also use forex trading programs that let them see profit oppotunities. Every professional will use this type of software as it will cause an increase in the money they can make.

As you might guess, forex software can make all the difference between a succesful trader and somebody who doesn’t make money. Nobody wants to admit that a computer is smarter than them, however many of the traders that are earning money can thank a forex software.

There’s a chance that this might seem a touch perplexing or technical – especially if you’re new to forex trading. It’s nice to know that these programs have been fully programmed – usually by a team of professional traders and mathematicians – in order to analyze the markets and spot juicy trades that anyone with the program can make.

If you are looking to get into currency trading, it’s in your best interest to buy a currency trading software like this so it can allow you to start profitting. These can quickly generate profits for you on it’s own. This allows the software generate cash for you as you grow your knowledge of the forex markets. Sooner than later you can use both the program and your independant research to make profitable trades.

Currency traders all have something in common – they are ok with taking risks and can deal with the the ups and downs. Actually, tons of traders live off this part of trading! It requires a particular mindset, however if you find that you’re someone who can take carethe occasional swings, it is a great method to make cash.

Something that makes currency trading attractive to many people is that even if a currency drops in value, it’s extremely unlikely to go down to zero. As you know, this isn’t the situation with trading stocks or the futures markets.

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Are Penny Stocks Too Risky?

by R. Branson

Penny stocks can be a great investment if done wisely. You have to keep in mind at all times that investing in them is very risky and you can loose a substantial amount of money if you loose too often. When you are prepared a head of time and have your strategy ready, you can make a good income from them.

Why is there no information about certain penny stocks?

Due to the nature of penny stocks and the fact that most of them are not listed on any major index, information is scarce. However, you can still find information on some stocks when you take the time to look for them.

Can I loose a lot investing in pennies?

You can only loose as much as you are willing to invest. This goes true no matter what types of stocks you are investing in. If you are willing to invest a thousand dollars, then you should be willing to loose it all should the trade go bad.

What is a penny?

When you see stocks that are selling for less then $5 per share, these are penny stocks. While some may be found on the major indexes like NYSE, most of them are not and many are worth even less per share.

Where are pennies traded?

Your broker is able to give you access to trading in penny stocks if you ask. If you are using an online broker, then chances are this is already an option.

Can I expect to become a millionaire from pennies?

Due to their low value, there will be a point in time in which you will have more money to invest then there will be shares available. While you can make great money from penny stocks, at some point you will level out and making more will become much harder.

As long as you are able to set your emotions aside and make decisions based on the facts, you can make some great money from penny stocks. It is important to remember that you should also diversify so that you are covered incase you find yourself in a bad run. Know how much you are willing to loose and when you get there, stop investing in them or you may just loose your shirt too.

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Understanding What Penny Stocks Are.

by R. Branson

If you are thinking about getting into stock market investing for some extra cash, then penny stocks may be able to help you. While they are very risky, their profit potential is none the less amazing with a share being able to double or triple its value in a relatively short period of time. However because of this fact they are also risky and you can lose money just as fast

What are penny stocks?

In all simplicity, a penny stock is a share of company stock whose value is extremely low and usually falls well under the $5 per share mark. In only a matter of minutes, these shares can easily double or triple in value.

Why trade Penny Stocks?

If you had a hundred dollars to invest in the stock market, would you purchase one share of stock at $100 or purchase 100 shares of stock at $1 each? For the quickest return you would get the lower valued shares because they can double or triple their value in a few minutes time.

Does everyone trade them?

Just as pennies can increase in value quickly, they can also decrease in value. If you bought a hundred dollars in them at a dollar a piece and they suddenly fell to $0.25 per share, you would have lost 75% of your initial investment.

How to pick a good penny stock?

Finding information and resources on pennies is no easy task. Most of them do not belong to a major index and therefore are susceptible to incorrect and also tainted numbers to make them seem more appealing.

Are pennies worth the risk?

This depends, some people stand by investing in pennies while others will steer clear of them. If you are willing to accept the risks, then the profit potential can easily outweigh them.

You need to remember that you have to take precautions when choosing penny stocks. Stay away from gut instincts as these are emotions which can cause you to loose big. When in doubt about a particular stock because there is little or no information about them; simply stay away from that particular stock and invest elsewhere. Maintain an expansive portfolio when investing in pennies to help you recuperate should you loose a lot.

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Global Macro Traders and Trend Following

by Anthony David

Global macro trading can be lumped into two main camps. Relative value and directional. Relative value trades asset classes against each other when their historical relationships are out of whack. Directional trading is when you place a trade because you feel the underlying asset is going to make a big move and you already think you know the direction.

Directional trading comes in several different styles. Some traders do their fundamental work and then buy or short based solely upon what they think the asset will do. Others trade purely on gut feel. And yet others trade technically looking at charts. Another large class of so-called global macro traders use automatic trading systems. And then finally we have the people that try and incorporate all the different types into one.

Traders that only use fundamental analysis typically hold positions for long periods of time and feel that their edge is in their valuation skills. When they are right they can do very well but at times they are worng and have large drawdowns.

Trading from the seat of your pants is typically a bad way to go about trading. That being said if you are good at risk management it can be one way to trade. If you like watching fed announcements and trading off of them then good luck. It doesn’t work for most that try it.

Some people call it voodoo and others call it the road to riches. Technical analysis is the art of the chart. Technicians focus on price action and other fully quantifiable factors. Based on this they are able to make decisions as to where they feel that things are going.

CTA trend followers are the largest group of automatic traders. They are 90% of the managed futures industry and like technicians they use price action. As opposed to most however their system is truly automatic and along with a risk management algorithm they trade in futures markets across the globe.

Traders who use the best of all these forms of trading typically will have better long term results and lower drawdowns. If you use good risk management along with a measure of what the market is telling you, and then couple that with the fundamentals of the actual market you are bound to have better long term results.

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Here’s How People Make Money With Forex

by Sam Lockwood

The Forex market has expanded into the private sector and that means that everyday investors can take advantage of the income stream that can be made with one of the fastest growing home business opportunities in the US. All you need is a willingness to take the leap into the market.

The Forex market relies on the fluctuations of currency in regards to their purchasing power. This means that there are a great number and variety of factors has an effect on the fluctuations. Things like the rates of bonds, the political bills even the action of buying and selling currency can affect its value.

Consider this example, if the Euro is worth $1.50 when you buy it and you then sell it for $1.52 that means that you make $0.02 per unit on the transaction. This works out to only a small percentage of the overall transaction, but don’t think that this means there’s no money to be made!

This may not seem like much but doing this over a number of transactions adds up and can end up providing you with a significant source of income. Even if you are only getting between 3-5% in gains on your transactions you can still make a good living.

Knowing how to play the fluctuations in the currency market and knowing when to buy and sell different currencies is the driving force of the market.

How Traders Know What to Trade

There are a number of things that traders need to know in order to make the determinations on what to purchase and what to sell and when to do it. The first thing is to look into what drives the particular currency. For the US, it is the interest rate and the price of the bonds. When these fluctuate so does the value of the US Dollar. A trader looks at the main driving forces of the currency to know when and what to trade.

The Internet as well as other media provides unlimited resources when it comes to research and information about how to make investments in the Forex market. When making investments, knowledge is power and it can provide a welcome relief when the market declines. The more you know, the easier it is to maximize your gains and minimizes your losses when things start to go south.

Traders usually restrict themselves to a few pairs of currency and pay special attenton to them. They try to become specialists in these currencies in order to increase their profit potential.

There are also research services available however, while these may provide you with a wealth of information it is information that is determined to be important by a third party.

Most people who trade on the Forex market are going to make use of things called robots. These robots are programs, which are designed to pull market information for the trader and signal that trader when opportunities present themselves as potentially profitable.

For those considering the options that Forex gives when it comes to creating additional income, looking into these types of programs can be a great asset especially when just starting out in the market.

There are a few things to consider when you are looking into these types of programs.

The initial step is to make sure that the application being looked at has some kind of demo program or account which allows you to test the program prior to making an actual investment. This period should last between 1-2 weeks in order to provide you with a good idea of the functions of the program and to see if it creates profitable trades.

Money back guarantee is the second thing to look for. A company that trusts its products will back it.

The perfect way to pick the best robot program for you is to purchase, test and make your decision. If it does not work simply return the program during the return period.

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10 Candlestick atterns You Can Count On

by Mark Deaton

There is candlestick pattern for just about every high probability price action. The wise investors and traders use these to their advantage. Here are 10 of the most popular candlestick patterns you should probably get to know.

* Dark Cloud Cover: This is a two-day formation which arises when the candlestick formed on the first day has a long white body followed by an opposite colored candlestick, which opened at a new high only to close below is the midpoint of the previous day’s trading. This pattern is considered a bearish reversal signal.

* Doji: Sometimes called a Doji star because the candlestick resembles a star. The doji star forms when the buyers and sellers are equal and price remains relatively static. There can be variances in the high and low a little, but the open and close are very close.

* The engulfing pattern: The classic engulfing pattern consists of two candlesticks. The first candlestick open then closes, then the second has an open and close outside the open and close of the previous candlestick, thereby engulfing the previous session.

* Evening star candlestick: This is a 3 bar bearish candlestick pattern. The first candlestick will be a rather strong white candlestick the second is a gap up short bodied candlestick indicating a weakness in bullish strength, then the final is a gap down bearish black candlestick where typically the low reaches beyond the 50% mark of candlestick #1.

* The Hammer: This is a single candlestick. The hammer is always bullish It will indicate a continuation in a bull trend and a reversal in a bearish one. It just a small body and a long tail. The tail is imply the bears trying their best to push price down and failing by end of day to keep it there.

* Hanging Man: Identical to the Hammer, this candlestick pattern occurs during an uptrend, and signals a continuation of the price movement.

* The Harami: The is like a mirror image of the engulfing pattern. With the harami the first candlestick engulfs the second. So the second and last candlesticks open and close are within the real body of the first. Depending on the color of the candlestick it can be bullish or bearish but the bottom line is that it’s telling you the short term trend is reaching exhaustion.

* Morning star: This is a 3 bar candlestick pattern. Its a bullish reversal pattern and a very high probability one at that. The first candlestick will continue the bearish trend by closing well below the open. Next the second candlestick will gap down and close a bit higher than the open, but not much. Last the third and final candlestick in the pattern will gap up and rally to close well within the body of the first candlestick.

* The piercing line: This pattern is just two candlesticks. It is a bullish reversal pattern. What happens here is the first candlestick will continue the bearish trend down and the next will appear to be following suite on the open but will surprise you as it closes much higher and exceed the 50% level of the first candlestick.

* Shooting star: This is a single candlestick pattern. It looks like an upside down hammer and signals a bearish reversal. As such it’s best when found on a bullish uptrend. Look to the long upper witch for the intuitiveness in this candlestick. The bulls pushed hard like they did in the prevailing trend but the bears won the race by days end closing near the low / open.

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Investing in a Bear market

by Jordan Weir

Every day, the stock market seems to continue its precipitous drop towards worthlessness, crushing hopes, dreams, and investors in a flurry of dizzying price movements. Yet there is an answer; a light in the darkness, used by the masters of investment to generate excess returns even ” no, scratch that, – especially in falling markets like this one.

Masters of short term stock speculation have long known about an ill-understood trading technique shunned by the masses. This technique makes money as stock prices fall, rather then profiting as they rise. This technique is known as shorting stock. Unlike purchasing a stock, where you buy it, and then hope that it goes up in value, or that you can collect the dividends from the stock far into the future, shorting a stock is a simple technique the masters use when they believe the stock will go DOWN. A risky play under normal conditions, but in a market like this, where most everything is dropping like a rock, its much safer then buying stocks.

To short a stock is essentially to sell it, and then buy it at a later date. Counter-intuitive, no? In the shorting process, you borrow the stock from your broker, sell it on the open market, and when the price has fallen sufficiently, you buy it back again, and return it to your broker.

An example… In late September 2008, Bank of America was trading for around $35.00. Shorting the stock at that point in time wouldve been extremely lucrative, as by late November, it was trading for around 15.00$. Shorting even 100 shares of bank of America, you would have made 2000$ (100 shares * $20 price drop). The process is something like the following. 100 shares of the stock, in this case, bank of America are borrowed from your broker, and then sold. You pocket the $3500. 2 months later, you buy back the shares for $1500, and return them to your broker, keeping the $2000 difference between what you bought them for, and what you sold them for.

A more abstract, but ultimately easier way to think of shorting is a way of owning a negative number of shares. If when you own 10 shares, and a stock goes down by $100 , you lose $1000. If you own negative 10 shares, and a stock goes down by $100, you gain $1000. Simple as that. Naturally, an increase in price works the same way ” a price increase means owning a negative number of shares leads to a loss, but in a bear market, thats a rare thing.

Of course, when playing the markets, there is always potential for losses. When shorting during a bear market, you should keep an eye on recent developments. A bailout such as the one received by financial stocks could easily send some once floundering stocks into a new uptrend, and when such things occur, you must be quick to cut your losses. Perhaps the biggest risk to a short play is the end of the bear market. The end of bear markets are typically highlighted by a powerful upwards move, regardless of the bad news going on at the time. When in doubt, get out.

One standard practice among investment professionals is the 5% rule. This rule is used when deciding how many shares of a company to buy/short, and is an invaluable tool when shorting stocks. Lets say you want to short a $15 stock, but your not sure how many shares to short. First take the amount of money in your portfolio, say, $10000. Then, take 5% of that. $500. That is the amount you can risk on this transaction. Next determine the most logical stop loss. Lets say you decide if the stock goes above $17.50, youll sell your shares using a stop loss. If you can lose 2.50 per share, and your willing to risk $500, then you would short 200 shares of the stock, maximum. Many risk adverse investors choose only 2 or 3%, but 5% serves as a good maximum for even most risk-tolerant investors.

When it comes to stock picking, some people would call this a challenging market. And traditionally, we have been taught that buying low and selling high is the idea scenario, so looked at from that sense, perhaps it is a challenging market. Or is it? With everything covered already in this short document, you have already learned that a so called “challenging market” can be a bonanza for those who have learned how to short a stock or etf.

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How To Be Successful at Forex Trading

by Dan Murphy

The forex market is the largest and most liquid financial market in the world. Don’t expect to be successful at forex trading just by knowing how to place trades. There are many different things invloved that go into being a successful forex trader besides the skill of executing trades and knowing that you can make money in with forex.

Yes, the basic knowledge of how to trade Forex and of the major currencies, such as the British Pound or the US dollar is important. But, you must also master the skills of when to trade and what to trade.

This brings us to trading strategies. When trading in the Forex market, it is a good plan to have a good trading strategy versus just taking a gamble. There are many forex trading strategies out there for a forex trader to master.

A trader can make huge amounts of money if they correctly use trading strategies. Be sure you realize that Forex trading strategies are different from stock trading strategies so do not liken forex trading to stock trading.

The leverage Forex trading strategy is one that can earn you a lot of money. To apply the leverage Forex trading strategy, an investor in the Forex market would increase their potential to earn trading profits by borrowing money.

By utilizing leverage, your money can quickly turn $1 into $100. There is risk involved and a successful trader will minimize the risk. This is done by utilizing stop loss orders. The leverage trading strategy is one of the most commonly used to make large amounts of money using “other people’s money.”

Another forex trading strategy is the stop loss order strategy. This entails establishing a point in the trade where the Forex trader will not trade. A stop loss is used to minimize loss, as mentioned above. Keep in mind, though, that your stop loss can also hurt you if the trade goes your way but your stop loss triggers and you take profits too early.

A benefit of Forex trading is that a trade can easily be placed anywhere since it can be done completely online. The Forex Market is open 24 hours so at any specific time, if you believe it is right, forex trades can be placed.

Also, the Forex market is the most liquid market in the world. This means that you can enter or exit the market anytime you wish to. This is to minimize the risk and there is also no daily trading limit.

Here are some other tips to help you make a killing and be successful in the Forex market:

1. For the most part, get into the market late and get out early since the first and the last ticks are usually the most expensive.

2. Don’t let your self-talk and rationalizations prevent you from minimizing losses.

3. Select trades that move along with the trend. This can minimize the risk of losing money and maximize your chances of profits.

There are quite a few tools you can use when trading in the Forex market. One is the Forex charts. For the speculator, the chart is the most important tool that you can use to determine market trends and accurately predict the future value of the currency. Although it isn’t actually 100% accurate, you can use the Forex charts as a guide to what’s happening in the market.

You should learn to decipher and read all the different Forex market charts. Some to keep in mind are daily, hourly or even 5 minute charts. Also learn to spot potential money trends by comparing current activity with what has taken place historically.

By learning how to read charts you will not only increase you profit potential, but you are also minimizing risks.

I’ve only covered a few trading strategies and trading advice in this article. There are many out there that will help a forex trader to maximize profits and minimize risk. It is also important to be realistic when trading and accept that you will have losing trades. Your winning one just need to outweigh your losing ones overall. Learn from your losing trades and try not to be discouraged. Don’t lose sight of your dreams and remember that there is a lot of money to be made in the Forex Market.

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Principles of investments in the stock market – Part 4 of 4

by Zigfred Diaz

This is the final part of the series on principles of investment in the stock market. The last seven principles was discussed in the past articles. We will be discussing the last three principles in this article. Visit my blog if you want to see the whole article.

8.) Take time to study- Investing in the stock market requires that you should take time to study what it’s all about. You can’t expect to succeed if think that you can just place in your money and hope that it will somehow grow by itself. Studying a lot of books and materials on the stock market will certainly help. When I first started investing I searched for materials in the internet regarding the stock market especially the Philippine stock market. I bought the “investor’s primer” from the Philippine stock exchange. This is a great material for those who are new to the Philippine stock market.

Attending seminars on how to trade in the stock market can further add to your knowledge. Some brokerage firms conduct free seminars for those who are new investors. Last year I attended a 2 day seminar by CITISEC Online. They are one of the most active, most innovative and well managed brokerage firms in the Philippines. The information that you learn in the seminar will certainly help you in your quest to suceed in the stock market. Continous study is required if you want to be succesful in investing in the stock market. Do not not stop learning.

You should read all the materials and attend all the seminars you can to further expand your knowledge You should not give up when there are terms you could not understand. For example reading this article alone may give you a headache since there are words that you can’t relate to. Words such as “points, “Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi), “Blue Chips” or “Bull run” may sound foreign to you. What is worse is that you don’t even understand what a stock is. It does not matter. I started out not knowing what some of these things are.

You can never learn these things in school. However I learned these things by reading a lot about the subject and through experience. In order that you might be inspired, I suggest you watch the movie “Pursuit of Happyness.” This inspired-by-a-true-story movie is about a man who overcame all odds to learn the stock market letting him make millions later on through stock market trading.For sure, you will be inspired by watching the film.

9.) You must know your current events – A lot of factors can affect the stock market. You should read the news paper as this may give you a clue on what direction the market may take. More importantly you should read the business news as this may give you an idea as to which stock you should buy. I read the Philippine Daily Inquirer everyday in order to have an idea where the market is headed.

10.) Don’t delay today is the best day to start – Experience is the best way to learn. You may start small but the most important thing is that you start right away. Put off procrastination. Study how to go about it without rushing, but don’t delay. If you already know the basics about investments start buying your first stock. Making your first profit from your first sale is truly rewarding.

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Here’s The Way Real People Are Making Good Money Trading Forex

by Steve Halladay

For many people, making money with a small business has become much easier due to the advent of the Internet. There are quite a lot of things you can do to make money from home, and it doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to set it up. Sell items on eBay, or set up your own online store. In some cases, though, you don’t even have set up a store to get started. One of the best ways to make money online for many people is something called Forex trading, also known as “foreign exchange trading.”

Forex trading, also known as “foreign exchange trading” or “currency trading,” means that you buy and sell currency pairs so as to profit. If you want to make money, you have to be able to tell what currencies are going to do in each pair you work with. Forex trading isn’t easy to do if you’re new at it, but it can be easy to learn.

Truth is, you can waste a lot of time reading up on currency trading. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t try to learn what you can! You just need to make sure you spend your time wisely. Let’s quickly go over two examples of why currencies might fluctuate in value.

One of the things that helps predict a particular currency’s value is what that country’s interest rate is and how it has changed. For example, if the US raises interest rates, this can make US bonds more attractive to investors globally. This means that the US dollar is more in demand, which in turn means that the dollar goes up in value.

Another classic example of what causes a currency to change in value is when one of the country’s key exports rises or falls in value. Take Canada for instance – it is a huge exporter of oil. When the price of oil goes up, the Canadian dollar rises in value. This was the case just recently as oil prices spiked up drastically. Now that oil prices are dropping, the Canadian dollar is also declining in value in comparison to other currencies.

These are just two examples as to why currencies can change in value. This is a topic that can be quite complex.

It’s fortunate that you don’t have to know all of the markets intricacies before you can make money doing so. Many Forex trading software programs can help you do just this. Professional traders have developed these, and they can help you spot trends and signals so that you can find profitable trades. Install the software on a computer and if you have an Internet connection, the program can use real-time market data to help you generate trades.

These programs can be very helpful for beginners because beginners, too, can make money even as they learn about Forex trading. If you are a beginner, you are going to learn as you go. And as you become more knowledgeable, you can begin to make trades based both on your own experience and on what the software tells you.

When you begin to scope out these programs, be cautious about the high-priced ones. Many of these programs ask for literally thousands of dollars. You don’t need to pay that kind of money for good quality software. Instead, look for software that you can get for about $100. This will give you a reliable, proven program that will help you make money in Forex trading.

Also, make sure the company offers a moneyback guarantee. If the program works, there’s no reason why they won’t back it up with a guarantee. It’s some added piece of security for you.

Even if you haven’t considered forex trading in the past, it’s a worthwhile business to look into. It’s easy to start and you can quickly start generating good money with it. And at the risk of sounding like a geek – I also think it’s a lot of fun! All the best!

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Day Trading With Double Bottom Chart Pattern

by George Kissi

What is a Double Bottom Chart Pattern?

A Double Bottom is a reversal pattern that happens at the height of a downward slope and can indicate the commencing of an up trend.

How To Recognize a Double Bottom Chart Pattern

A double bottom chart pattern takes place in four steps: 1. A new low for price is reached 2. The price finds support and rises to a new high, creating a new resistance point 3. The price commences to move back down to support, but then rises again towards resistance 4. The price breaks through resistance, building an upward trend

What Does a Double Bottom Chart Pattern Mean?

A double bottom chart pattern can signify a tug of war between buyers and sellers. As sellers attempt to push the contract, buyers resist the down trend. When once again the bottom of the pattern isn’t broken, the sellers begin to back off, leading the buyers to dominate and send the price up.

Watch the new up trend, as it may drop back down to the breakout point to test the new support.

Big W

Note that a similar chart pattern is the Big W, which has all the principles of a Double Bottom, but with much steeper moves.

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Stock Market Volatility Compresses Time

by D. R. Barton

With the stock market daily range still at all time highs an interesting phenomenon is taking place-time compression. What used to take days to play out in the markets is now taking hours or less.

The S&P 500 Average True Range (ATR) is running 80% higher than it was during the previous volatility heights of 2000. And more amazingly, as a percentage of price, volatility (as measured by ATR) has been as high as 8.4% of price in the past week!! The highest it ever reached in 2000 was 3.0% of price, and that was only for a day or two.

This volatility has literally compressed time. If we look at the S&P hourly chart, we see AVERAGE moves that are as big as daily bars were just a few short weeks ago. These are truly historic times.

Last week we talked about the importance of keeping history in perspective as we looked back at 25 year long trading ranges. See this article at www.smarttradepro.wordpress.com

But with this time compression that is taking place, it makes sense to keep an eye on shorter time frames, even if you are a longer term trader. With that in mind, let’s look at a 60 minute chart of the S&P 500. Chart located at www.smarttradepro.wordpress.com

For the upside, the area around 986 will be a key resistance/breakout area. An hourly close above this area should give the market all the reason it needs to take another look at the 1045 high from early last week.

The downside is a bit more ominous, as we see no real support until we get down to 865 and then 840.

The overriding theme on this chart for me is the range containment. Currently, the market prices have been contained for the past week by the huge move up from Friday, October 10th and Monday, October 13th and the almost as impressive from Tuesday, October 14th to early on Thursday, October 16th. This is giving us a multi-bar range compression that shows us a descending triangle. A break of the triangle’s edges on a closing basis for an hourly bar should give us some additional near-term clues to market direction.

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FOREX Investing

by Gary

Online currency trading is the fastest growing market. A currency trader may take advantage of all market conditions at any time. Online Forex trading is when you buy and sell the foreign currencies of different countries online. Through online forex trading, you can put your money to work for you like millionaires and billionaires do, instead of you working for your money.

Investing in foreign exchange is different from most financial markets. If you buy or sell a stock, a bond or another type of investment, you are hoping that, investment and that investment only will gain or fall in value.

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.

Forex trading opportunities are a reality for more and more people everyday people just like you and me. Forex market participants are active 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The free forex (currency) trading forums provide a high level of support to foreign exchange traders of all experience levels. Forex market is open 24 hours a day. It provides a great opportunity for traders to trade any time of the day or at night.

Forex traders are generating incredible wealth day after day from the comfort of their home and you could be one of them. In fact there is $1.5 Trillion traded on forex each day. Forex scalping is not accepted, all other strategies are. Traders can react to news when it breaks, rather than waiting for the market to open, as is the case with most other markets. This enables traders to take positions anticipating the impact on the exchange rate of important news items. Traders looking for quick intraday moves need to keep their finger on the trigger at all times – especially when they are already in a trade. The game changes quickly, so be ready for action at a moment’s notice. Trade dealing is done with careful observation of confidentiality and is absolutely safe. If required, you always have the history of completed trade deals.

Futures and options trading have large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the futures and options markets. Futures and Forex trading contain substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment.Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing ones financial security or life style.Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading.

Political stability also influences the exchange rate at Forex. Political stability also influences the exchange rate. Policy of the Central Bank has a special role, as concentrated interventions or refusal from them greatly influence the exchange rate.