FOREX TRADERS STILL NERVOUS ABOUT IRISH BAILOUT contagion effect

Investors also feared the aid, which an EU source said could total 80 billion to 90 billion euros, may not be enough to backstop Irish banks or stop similar runs on assets in heavily indebted Portugal or Spain. [ID:nLDE68T0MG]

"The question is, 'What's next?'," said Matthew Strauss, an RBC Capital Markets strategist in Toronto. "It's hard to see how Ireland will get the economic growth needed to repay its debts, especially given the political uncertainty it faces. And given Portugal's finances, people wonder, 'Will it be next?'."

Portugal's debt burden is rooted in slow growth and an increasingly uncompetitive economy. [ID:nLDE6AL04W]

Overnight the euro rose as high as $1.3786 but analysts said a cluster of important technical levels between $1.3100 and $1.3350 could pull it into that range in the coming weeks

Manage you're Risk and put probablity in you're favour

I often hear beginning traders speak as if they know what the markets will do next. In reality, experienced traders usually speak in probabilities and typically have some form of analysis to back up their opinion. No one can say that a particular currency pair (or other financial instrument) will move to an exact point with absolute certainty. In fact, I feel it is naive to think that anyone can predict the direction of a currency pair with absolute certainty over a given period of time. Sure, sometimes you could be correct if you boldly predict that a pair will move to X level with absolute certainty. However, there will be other times when the market doesn't go your way. That is why we must deal with probabilities, because no one knows for sure what will happen next in a given currency pair.

The reason we can never know where a currency pair with absolutely certainty is that the markets move based on the will of every market participant. Let's suppose that someone stated "the EUR/USD will definitely rise to point X, before falling down to point Y". They are saying that know exactly what every market participant (or trader) is thinking, how each of these participants plans to act, and how each participant will respond to the actions of every other participant. Needless to say, no one could ever have that information.

However, it isn't uncommon to see bold predictions that definitively state which direction a currency will pair and exactly where the move will begin and end. No one can know these types of moves for certain. Even worse, it isn't hard to find predictions that say something like "buy the USD/JPY at X or you'll be sorry." This baseless claim gives virtually no useful information because we don't have any idea how long of a trade this would be or where the exits (stop and limit(s)) are. Without being too harsh, just beware of anyone who claims they know for certain where a currency pair is headed. Of course everyone can be entitled to their opinion, but that doesn't mean they "know" what will happen next.

Even if an insider were to know about an interest rate change ahead of its release, that doesn't mean they can predict exactly how the market can act. What if the interest rate briefly rises the pair into massive stop-sell orders that actually moves the market down for the day? What if enough market participants felt the rate would move higher, so the pair moves lower? There are endless scenarios, but it is virtually impossible to predict how every market participant will act within a constantly changing market.

Therefore, we must think in probabilities. No matter how sensational your analysis is, sometimes you will simply be on the wrong side of the market. Whether you are looking at fundamental news announcements, a combination of of technical tools, or a simple moving average, what traders are looking for are patterns that put the probabilities in their favor so they will profit in the long run. In other words, they are looking for how the market has reacted in the past to certain conditions, and speculating how likely the market will react in the future to similar conditions.

Regardless of the tools you use to analyze the market, you are still working with probabilities. If you find a system that is profitable over a long period of time, that system is likely putting the probabilities on your side. These systems come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some traders (like the famous Turtles), lost far more trades than they won. However, when they won, they usually won big. Some traders try to win the vast majority of their trades while risking a lot, but gaining little. Of course there are all sorts of variations and methods besides those two examples.

We will use the profit target system I use on FX360.com for the purpose of providing an example with easy math. This system requires 40% of trades to reach the profit target in order to break even. The reason for this is because the risk:reward ratio is generally 1:1.5. Therefore, if I win only 50% of my trades, I would be extremely profitable over time. Even winning 45% of my trades would lead to great returns. Anything above 50% wins would be outstanding. Therefore, it is plain to see that it is not necessary to know where the market will go on each individual trade. Instead, it is important to have a system that puts the odds in your favor over a large sample size of trades.

Based on these simple statistics, it is pretty easy to see why it makes little sense to get very excited when a trade wins or very upset when a trade loses. As long as the probabilities continue to hold over a long period of time, the individual results for each trade are almost meaningless. I lose trades all the time and so does every other trader. The key is to manage those losses correctly so that the long term track record is profitable. The bottom line is that thinking of trading in terms of probabilities is a key step to becoming a successful trader.
By Brad Graeiss

EURUSD Possiable HOOK PUNCH LONG @ B 1.3560/1.3535

Ireland denis 60B bailout , They have not filed for an application
USD retail sales increased buy 1.2% along with increased auto sales. Euro trader balance with the rest of the world rose in surplus. RTW news
Elwave postive 57% postion is Up T1 1.4372 T2 1.5550
Plan A :
1.Retracement of the 4hrs Confirmed buy signal
2.Waiting for 1hr Retracement
3.TwoTime frames should be going in our direction 1hrly and 30min
4.Entry 1.3560/1.3535
5.Target 1.3853/1.3950 1.618 of AB = then CD

Mental Fitness for Traders

You've got a great trading system. So why are
you losing?

You've done your homework. Countless hours of
seeking out the right guru (or piecing together
your own system). Weeks of monitoring your
guru's daily trade picks (or paper-trading and
back-testing your homemade system). You've done
it by the book.  No seat of the pants trading
for you!

OK, now you're confident. It's time to put your
money where your homework is.

You've had your coffee and your first trade
signal is before you. Confidence high. Trade made.
First loss. Not a problem. You understood before
you started that successful traders both win and
lose and “losing is part of the overall winning”.

You've also heard more then once that “successful
traders don't win on every trade.” Moving on,
still confident. Next trade made. Another loss,
but this one hurt your pride a little because
you got stopped out early in the trade, and then
the market rebounded and would have hit your
profit target if you weren't stopped out.

You double check. Yep, you placed the stop where your
trading system told you to place it.  You kind of
had a feeling that the early weakness in the market
was just profit-taking from the previous day's
trading, but you're trading a system and you must
stick to it. Wounded, but resilient.

After a good night's sleep and a few mouse clicks,
your new daily trades are in front of you. Hey,
this one looks good! It's a little bit more risk
than yesterday's trades had, but look at that profit
potential! With a smiling face, the trade is executed.

With a nice start to the trade, you're feeling good
and you've moved your stop to breakeven, just like
your system said. Surprise piece of news - market
reverses - blows through your stop - an “unexpected”
loss. Is something wrong with the system? Has the
overall market “personality” changed, affecting your
system to the Core, rendering all your back-testing
irrelevant? Your confidence turns to doubt.

You decide to “watch” the next trade… I mean, isn't
it wise to make sure the system gets back on track
before you “throw good money after bad?”  Isn't that
what a conservative trader does? Trade watched.
It wins!

In your head, you beat yourself up a little because
you know that when you started your “live” trading,
you made an agreement with yourself to take the
first 10 trades “no matter what”… and here you
wimped-out and missed a big winner that would have
gotten you even.

What's happening?!!

What's happening is that you are out of control.
Your emotions are ruling your trading. The above
scenario plays out in every trader from time to
time.. newbee and veteran alike.

The winning trader senses what is happening and
nips it in the bud. The winning trader spend time
EVERY DAY, working on “the discipline of trading”.
Reads a chapter in his favorite psychological
trading book, scans the “ten commandments of
trading” that hangs on the wall over his/her desk,
listens to his/her mental training software for
futures traders… Something… Every Day… before
trading begins.

There are many more losing traders than winning
traders… and it's seldom about the trading system.
In my career, I've come across at least 50 systems
that I consider A+, yet I know for a fact that MOST
traders that have traded on these systems have lost.
Why? They were not in control of their emotions.

Are you?

RECOMMENDED: Mental Training For Traders:
TradingMind Software
http://www.directyourmind.com/scripts/tradingmind.php?10162

My best,
Norman Hallett

The Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate increase this month was "finely balanced,"

- The Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate increase this month was "finely balanced," according to minutes of the central bank meeting released Tuesday.

The minutes indicate a gradual improvement in economic activity and moderate inflation were among the decisive factors.

At the November 2 meeting, the bank's policy committee raised the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent, effective November 3.

The minutes showed the bank's staff projected GDP growth to be "broadly similar to that at the time of the August Statement on Monetary Policy."  GDP was expected to expand 3.5 percent over 2010, with growth picking up to the 3.75 to 4.0 percent range over 2011 and 2012.  CPI increased 0.7 percent in the September quarter to 2.8 percent year over year.

"This was a slightly smaller rise than had been expected three months earlier, partly reflecting a surprising fall in food prices and lower fuel prices," the RBA minutes said.

The policy makers also said interest rates charged by banks for loans might increase by more than the cash rate.

"With only a relative amount of spare capacity in the economy, a gradual upward trend in inflation remained likely over the medium term," the RBA said.

On a global scale, the RBA board noted that downside risks had not materialized "in any significant way," and that the uncertain outlook for China's economy had lessened, commodity prices strengthened and the outlook for investment had firmed.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Copyright(c) 2010 RTTNews.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Awaiting RBA Minutes

AUD: HOLDING STEADY AHEAD OF RBA MINUTES
Of all the major currencies, the commodity currencies held up the best against the dollar. The Australian and New Zealand dollars ended the day unchanged while the CAD recovered a small part of Friday’s losses. After a sharp sell-off in gold and oil at the end of last week, commodity prices stabilized. Having risen sharply over the past year thanks to strong demand from Asia and a weaker dollar, increases in commodity prices have boosted Australia’s terms of trade to historical highs. Unfortunately, the latest news that China is facing the strongest price increases in years has officials looking to curb inflation and possibly limit China’s growth. This has many Australians worried because China is Australia’s primary export partner and the Australian mining giant is heavily dependent on China to support the purchases of basic and precious metals. As investors are well aware, RBA surprisingly raised rates to 4.75 percent recently amidst fears that the Australian economy is expanding faster than anticipated. Immediately following the decision, Australia was faced with a number of economic reports that made many second-guess the RBA’s decision. Just last week we saw disappointing employment figures coming out of the region and a 0.4% rise in the Unemployment Rate. Nevertheless, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens remains hopeful for Australia’s future. Tonight investors can expect to see the minutes from the last monetary policy meeting which should give the RBA a better idea of where the central bank stands on future monetary policy.

Commentary by Kathy Lien

AUD: HOLDING STEADY AHEAD OF RBA MINUTES

International Economic Conditions from the Previous Mintues 5th October 2010

Minutes of the Monetary Policy Meeting of the Reserve Bank Board

Sydney - 5 October 2010

On balance, recent data on the global economy had been broadly in line with expectations. The central scenario remained for the world economy to continue to grow at around trend pace over the next year or so, with growth expected to remain relatively strong in the emerging economies but subdued in most of the large advanced economies.

In Asia, growth had eased from the very rapid pace recorded in the second half of 2009 and the early part of this year. While export growth across much of the region had been weak over recent months, indicators of domestic demand had remained firm.

In China, the data for August had mostly been stronger than for June and July. Household spending remained strong; members noted the significant increase in passenger vehicle sales, which had continued to rise even following the partial unwinding of the incentives that had been in place in 2009. Members noted there were signs that the cooling of the Chinese residential property market may have run its course, with turnover increasing after the earlier sharp falls, though prices had remained broadly flat. Members observed that the authorities had recently announced a number of new measures to reduce the flow of lending for housing, especially for investment properties.

Growth appeared to be slowing in Japan. Activity was continuing to expand in the other higher-income economies in Asia; retail sales were growing strongly and employment was expanding. Property markets had also been strong in a number of these economies, most notably Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan; this reflected real interest rates that were very low, and in some cases negative, despite the strong economic growth in the region. Policy-makers in these economies had also responded by tightening credit for housing.

source: http://www.rba.gov.au/monetary-policy/rba-board-minutes/2010/05102010.html

Timeless Trading: Timeless Trading: Trading Discipline.

http://www.thedisciplinedtrader.com/4reports.php?10162

Timeless Trading: Trading Discipline.

http://timelesstrading.blogspot.com/2010/11/trading-discipline.html
Timeless Trading: Trading Discipline.: "Check of this Link http://www.thedisciplinedtrader.com/4reports.php?10162 Very Very Good Read in becoming a well rounded Trader"

Trading Discipline.

Check of this Link http://www.thedisciplinedtrader.com/4reports.php?10162
Very Very Good Read in becoming a well rounded Trader

Aussie Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes

Actual - Forecast        Previous

The Reserve Bank of Australia publishes a detailed record of its board's most recent monetary policy meeting two weeks after it takes place, providing in-depth insights into the economic conditions that influenced the central bank's decision on where to set interest rates. The Reserve Bank Board normally meets eleven times each year, on the first Tuesday of each month, except January. A dovish statement could push AUD down against its rivals, while hawkish statement could boost the currency.

Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
The Reserve Bank of Australia publishes a detailed record of its board's most recent monetary policy meeting two weeks after it takes place, providing in-depth insights into the economic conditions that influenced the central bank's decision on where to set interest rates.
The Reserve Bank Board normally meets eleven times each year, on the first Tuesday of each month, except January.
A dovish statement could push AUD down against its rivals, while hawkish statement could boost the currency.

ECONOMIC EVENTS

·        http://www.fx360.com/calendar/Index.aspx

The Retail Sales report measures the degree of consumer spending, one of the most important indicators of a country’s overall economic health. Consumer spending constitutes 70 percent of GDP and is therefore one of the most market moving reports for the currency market.

USD - Business Inventories - Sep.

The total value of goods held in inventory by manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, compared to the previous month.

why we care

Inventories usually provide an early indicator of consumer/business spending. Consistently low inventories usually have a positive effect on the market, although this is varied.

Bullish 4rh Butterfly AUDUSD

Watching this Bullish  4hr Butterfly on AUSUSD with a possable elwave count  123... 4th wave up
mirroring a ABC= D Buy at 0.9830
113% ABC expansion from the high A=1.02 to B= 0.9978  C- 1.005 procetion D to 0.9830 0
.618% retracement from the pervious wing low 0.9800 to high of 1.01811
now looking for news events to support our long bias 
Price are presemt @ 0.9856

Being able to deal with losing trades separates successful trader from ex-traders

Being able to handle you’re loss in a vital skill that can be learned, however this learning requires the trader to be brutally honest with one ’s self.  In my opinion we live in a blame society, where it is everybody else’s fault apart from the accuser. But may be it could be you not being able to maintain the proper mental discipline and psychological strength to follow the system and methodology that you have tied you’re self to by all cost otherwise it can lead to you being slain by the Song of the Siren 

Sirens and death

According to Ovid (Metamorphoses V, 551), the Sirens were the companions of young Persephone and were given wings by Demeter to search for Persephone when she was abducted. Their song is continually calling on Persephone. The term "siren song" refers to an appeal that is hard to resist but that, if heeded, will lead to a bad result.

Odysseus and the Sirens.

Odysseus was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the  Odyssey

He is most famous for the Ten eventful years he took to return home after the ten-year Trojan War and his famous Trojan Horse trick. 

Odysseus was curious as to what the Sirens sounded like, so, on Circe's advice, he had all his sailors plug their ears with Beeswax and tie him to the mast. He ordered his men to leave him tied tightly to the mast, no matter how much he would beg. When he heard their beautiful song, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they refused. When they had passed out of earshot, Odysseus demonstrated with his frowns to be released.#

The principle behind trading is to have more wining trades than losing one’s where you’re losing trades are kept very small and you’re winners larger than you’re loser there fore resulting on accumulative profits over time. FACT!!! The successful trader realises that in this game we are trying to stack probability in our favour over and above 65% risking an advisable 2% to 3% of one’s account stops should reflect this. And only moved to protect gains. If you’re about to get stopped out then so be it. Take the hit and move on it's just part of the game.

FAQ No 10: Can i get rich over night

FLAT ANSWER NO!
But in time it can be very rewarding.

FAQ No 9: How much can I Lose

“Have a maximum loss limit per trade.”
Discipline

Every consistent trader I know has a maximum risk allowance per trade. This is a fundamental tool in the process of controlling loss and if you are trading actively I would highly suggest never risking more than 1-2% of your starting account on any given market opportunity. This way, if you lose, you lose small. I have heard of people risking sometimes 10-15% of their account on a day trade! Just think, after less than ten losers, the account is blown and goodbye trading career. Remember that the math of the market is stacked against you from the very start: If you lose 10% of your account on 1 trade, you then need to make 11.1% on the remaining balance to get back to where you started. If you lose 50% of your account then you need a 100% return on what’s left to get you square. Sobering numbers I know…Keep your losses small and you are giving yourself a genuine fighting chance of a far longer career in the world of trading.

FAQ No8: How do i manage my fear

 Very good question: We are human beings and we can not live without emotion, unfortunately having emotions in the Market arena can be disastrous  to you’re trading account. i.e. Revenge trading, holding onto losers, tell the market what to do instead of letting  the market tell you what it wants to do next effectively not waiting for confirmation of what you think may happen. Price is King and the market is always right.


Therefore, I have to self analyse my self which is one of the most diffuciult things to do. What goes on in my head while I’m trading and being honest about it, confessing it to my self . Then I review this self talk later so I can become familiar with the negative and positive ones. so i cance; out the negative thoughts with the postive ones. You will find that you spend 80% of you're time self analysing you're self and planning a trade,  this must be documented and reviewed daily.

Negative Thoughts                                                                Positive Thoughts

I’m not good enough                                                 I am the best
You must be kidding you’re self you

can’t do this                                                                I can do all things through the holy trinity who tells me to Plan a trade and trade the plan. 

I fcuked this one up real good                                 I smacked it that trade Up and down sticking to my plan

Shit                                                                             Brilliantly executed

Fcuk am I wrong on this one                                    Excellent head shot  

Where am I in the trade                                            I am in total and complete control

I’ve forgotten the price                                         I know all the prices for each pair that I am trading

Why haven’t you got Know patience                       I Am cool calm and collected

Stupid dumb Idiot                              You have a genius understanding of the markets You are an inspiring young black man Who undoubtedly have a natural flow in my  trading style. 

I am not sure if I should make this trade                I have worked hard and have proven myself. I can do this and be successful

What if this trade turn’s out to be a loser              winning and losing is a natural and necessary part of this game so I keep my loss small and  my winning big.

FAQ No7: Do I need a Mission Statement

Yes!! very important for those dark days when the Sun is not shinning and you tell you're self you are not good enough. it nice to have a reminder to keep you on track.


here's mine for you to start you off

Mission Statement

I am patient, determined, focused and confident I have a disciplined well thought out trading plan and I follow it diligently. I treat every trade like I am performing brain surgery, with strict money management techniques which is my life’s blood and I recognizes this. I am never satisfied with what I do as i know it can be done better. My main aim is  to plan a trade a trade a plan and enjoy being  better than myself in my online trading career.

Goals

To become financially free,

Continious skill learning 

Develop Patience’s

FAQ NO 6: Is Trading Gambling

If I had a Pound for every time somebody has told me trading is gambling then I could give up all my work right now! Trading and gambling are two completely different things Professional traders look only for high probability, low risk opportunities in the market: nothing more, nothing less.
Each and every trade should be thoroughly planned in advance, with the risk defined and the profit targets objectively identified. Trading is a crossword, chess, psychology, science all rolled into one. A trader should never just jump into the market on a reflex action or emotion based impluse. Emotions are a killer for any novice. If you want to make your trading more like gambling then I suggest trying to trade the major news releases or not using stop losses to protect your capital…but do so at your own peril. Gamblers are hopeful and wish it will work out for them. Traders should be objective useing calcualted risk with a rule-based apporach.

FAQ NO5: What is the best time to Trade

The absolute busiest time in the forex markets are during the London to US overlap between 13:00 GMT to 16:00 GMT. These are the hours that are the most liquid or when the most traders are in the markets making trades. If your intention is to do daytrading, these are key hours!

The London Session
The London session starts around 8:00 GMT and winds down around 1600 GMT. The currencies that are the most active during these hours are EUR, GBP, and USD.

The US Session
The US session starts around 1300 GMT and winds down around 22:00 GMT. The currencies that are the most active during these hours are AUD, EUR, GBP, JPY, and USD.

The best time to trade the forex markets is between 8:00 GMT and 16:00 GMT. These are basically the hours of the London market with the last 5 hours being in overlap with the US market. This is the time when the most traders and biggest banks are in the markets making their trades. It is widely considered the most profitable time to trade

FAQ NO4: What type of people Become Traders

With  the rise of the internet You, Me, Him, Her, Young, Old  abousoulty anyone who has the right mental strenght,determination, persistance, passion to succeed, can become an online day trader.

This person has an undying faith and belief in their own ability, he she accepts that most things that went wrong were probably outside of their control, because they planned their work. Their brutal honesty with themselves and with others allowed them to develop a faith in their own ability that was beyond the norm.

This person is humble, and understood that they were not smarter, stronger, nor wiser than others; they just knew that there were few others that had more faith in their own ability to follow something through and to achieve their goals.

They had faith that they could get it done, and humility to accept defeat; that is what defines them, and usually defines any great trader.

Successful traders have a plan that they refine, develop and test, and debrief on a daily basis. They share their plan as a work in motion, and not as the Holy Grail. A successful trader accepts that there is always something new to learn, and however good the plan is today, there will be the chance to improve it tomorrow.

FAQ No3: What are Candle sticks

Candlestick Charting: What Is It?

The candlestick techniques we use today originated in the style of technical charting used by the Japanese for over 100 years before the West developed the bar and point-and-figure analysis systems. In the 1700s, a Japanese man named Homma, a trader in the futures market, discovered that, although there was a link between price and the supply and demand of rice, the markets were strongly influenced by the emotions of traders. He understood that when emotions played into the equation, a vast difference between the value and the price of rice occurred. This difference between the value and the price is as applicable to stocks today as it was to rice in Japan centuries ago. The principles established by Homma are the basis for the candlestick chart analysis, which is used to measure market emotions surrounding a stock.

Candlestick ComponentsWhen first looking at a candlestick chart, the student of the more common bar charts may be confused; however, just like a bar chart, the daily candlestick line contains the market's open, high, low and close of a specific day. Now this is where the system takes on a whole new look: the candlestick has a wide part, which is called the "real body". This real body represents the range between the open and close of that day's trading. When the real body is filled in or black, it means the close was lower than the open. If the real body is empty, it means the opposite: the close was higher than the open.

Just above and below the real body are the "shadows". Chartists have always thought of these as the wicks of the candle, and it is the shadows that show the high and low prices of that day's trading. If the upper shadow on the filled-in body is short, it indicates that the open that day was closer to the high of the day. A short upper shadow on a white or unfilled body dictates that the close was near the high. The relationship between the day's open, high, low and close determines the look of the daily candlestick. Real bodies can be either long or short and either black or white. Shadows can also be either long or short. 

Basic Candlestick PatternsIn the chart below of EBAY, you see the "long black body" or "long black line". The long black line represents a bearish period in the marketplace. During the trading session, the price of the stock was up and down in a wide range and it opened near the high and closed near the low of the day.

By representing a bullish period, the "long white body", or "long white line"-(in the EBAY chart below, the white is actually gray because of the white background) is the exact opposite of the long black line. Prices were all over the map during the day, but the stock opened near the low of the day and closed near the high.

Spinning tops are very small bodies and can be either black or white. This pattern shows a very tight trading range between the open and the close, and it is considered somewhat neutral.

Doji lines illustrate periods in which the opening and closing prices for the period are very close or exactly the same. You will also notice that, when you start to look deep into candlestick patterns, the length of the shadows can vary.
 

 http://www.investopedia.com/articles/technical/02/121702.asp

FAQ No1: About the Foreign Exchange

Forex is the world's most traded market, open 24 hours a day. It is an over-the-counter market (which means that it is decentralised with no central exchange) for trading currencies.

Forex is also known as foreign exchange, FX, or the currency market. Currencies trade in pairs, like the Australia dollar versus the US dollar (AUD/USD) or the US dollar versus the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY).(GBP/USD).(EUR/GBP)

Forex trading is used to speculate on the relative strength of one currency against another. For example in a forex trade, you 'buy' if you think the first-named currency in the quoted pair is going to strengthen against the second-named one, and you 'sell' if you think the first-named currency is going to weaken.

How do I read Currency

Base currency: The base currency is the first currency in a currency pair, and the currency that remains constant when determining a currency pair's price. The United States Dollar (USD) and the European Union Euro(EUR) are the dominant base currencies in terms of daily traded volume in the foreign exchange market. The British Pound (GBP), also called sterling, is the third ranking base currency. The USD based pairs are USD/JPY, USD/CHF and USD/CAD; the Euro based pairs are EUR/USD, EUR/JPY, EUR/GBP, and EUR/CHF. The GBP is the base for GBP/USD and GBP/JPY. The Australian Dollar (AUD) is its own base against the USD (AUD/USD).
So if prices are going up or down look at the base currency first.

FOREIGN CURRENCY SYMBOLS

Currencies, like equities, have their own symbols that distinguish one from another. Since currencies are quoted in terms of the value of one against the value of another, a currency pair includes the "name" for both currencies, separated by a "/". The "name" is a three letter acronym. The first two letters are in most cases reserved for identification of the country. The last letter is the first letter of the unit of currency for that country.

For example,

USD = United States Dollar

GBP = Great Britain Pound

JPY = Japanese Yen

CAD = Canadian Dollar

CHF = Confederatio Helvetica (Latin for Swiss Confederation) Franc

NZD = New Zealand Dollar

AUD = Australian Dollar

NOK = Norwegian Krona

SEK = Swedish Krona

Since the European Euro has no specific country attached to it, it goes simply by the acronym EUR.

By combining one currency, EUR, with another USD, you create a currency pair EUR/USD.

THE VALUE OF CURRENCIES

The base currency is ALWAYS equal to one of the currency's monetary unit of exchange (i.e., 1 Euro, 1 Pound, and 1 Dollar). When an investor buys 100,000 EUR/USD, he is said to be buying (or receiving) the EURO or the Base Currency and selling (or paying for) the USD or Counter Currency. The amount of the Base Currency he is buying is equal to 100,000 Euros. Note that this is true no matter the current exchange rate at the time. The base currency amount remains constant.

The Counter Currency equivalent amount that the investor is selling (or paying), on the other hand, will fluctuate with the exchange rate for the Currency Pair. It is equal to:

(Amount of Base Currency x Market Foreign Exchange Rate)

Since the Counter Currency is the part of the currency pair that fluctuates higher or lower, it determines the strength or weakness of both currencies in a currency pair. As one currency goes up, the other must go down.

Currencies trade in fractions of a full unit. The smallest fraction is called a "pip". Currencies trade in pips because exchanges of currencies for speculative reasons are generally for large amounts. This is because of the leverage that is available when trading Foreign Exchange.

FXDD provides a Maximum Trading Leverage Ratio of 100:1for standard accounts. At that ratio, a 100,000 EUR position would require $1,200 of Margin at an exchange rate of 1.2000. This is calculated by taking the US$ equivalent of 100,000 EUR or US$120,000 and dividing by the 100:1 leverage ratio.

Margin Required = $120,000 / 100 = $1,200

To determine the value of a pip for the deal above the following calculation would be made:

Value in US$ = 1.20 x Par Amount of Base Currency = $120,000

Value in US$ + a pip = (1.20+.0001) x Par Amount of Base Currency = $120,000

The value of a pip in dollars is equal to $120,000 - $119,990 or $10.

When a currency pair goes from a low price to a higher price, the Base Currency is said to have strengthened or gotten stronger. The converse is true for the Counter Currency. That is, it has weakened or gotten weaker as the Base Currency has gotten stronger.

Since Exchange Rates represent what a fixed amount of currency is equal to in terms of another currency, we have seen there is just one price for the Currency Pair. The movement of that price determines whether a currency is getting stronger or weaker.

If the EUR/USD exchange rate goes from 1.2000 to 1.2024, we have concluded that the EUR got stronger, the USD weaker. Why?

When looking at Foreign Exchange Rates (or prices) an action to Buy the Currency Pair implies buying the Base Currency, or EUR, and selling the Counter Currency, or USD. If the EUR/USD exchange rate moves higher, as expected, the trader can now sell the EUR/USD at a dearer/higher price. The difference represents a Profit to the trader that was Long, or who bought the EUR/USD Currency Pair.

Another way of looking at it is at 1.2000, an investor/trader could exchange 1 EUR for $1.20. At 1.2100, however, that same single EUR can now be exchanged for a higher amount of USD, in this case $1.21 USD. The EUR has strengthened or gotten stronger.

TRANSACTING FOREIGN EXCHANGE FUNDAMENTALS

BUYING AND SELLING FOREIGN EXCHANGE

What exactly do you buy or sell when you make a foreign currency transaction?

In reality, you are doing both actions - buying and selling. A transaction of Buying the EUR/USD at 1.2000 is actually buying the Euro and selling the Dollars at 1.2000 cents. If the Euro increases in value in relation to the dollar, the price would increase and the investor will make money.

If for whatever reason, a trader could not execute an order using FXDD, a verbal order to a broker could be the following:

"I buy 100,000 Euros and sell the dollar at the Market"
or
"I buy 500,000 EUR/USD on a 1.2100 stop"
or
"I buy 100,000 Euros vs. the Dollar at the market"

What is required on all verbal orders is the amount, the Currency Pair, the rate and/or the type of order. Simply saying "I buy the Dollar at the Market" is not good enough as it does not say what currency the trader wants to sell.

THE BID/ASK PRICE

Like equities, foreign exchange has a Bid price and an Ask price. The bid is where the market maker will buy. The ask is where the market maker will sell. For investors, the reverse is true. The bid price is where an investor can sell, while the ask is where an investor can buy.

The bid price is always less than the ask price. This makes logical sense as a market maker, like any investor, wants to buy low and sell high.

The spread between the bid and the ask is called the Bid/Ask Spread or Dealing Spread. The bid/ask spread is the premium that market makers charge to provide constant liquidity to a retail client base. For example, the bid and ask might be 1.2050/1.2055. The spread is 5 pips.

Paralleling foreign exchange trading to equities, a market maker, like FXDD, is the equivalent of a specialist on the floor of the exchange.

A specialist is always willing and able to make a market (i.e. provide liquidity) to the market/investor. For this service, he will have a bid where he buys the stock and an offer or ask, where he will sell the stock. The bid/ask spread the specialist charges will fluctuate with the general liquidity of the underlying stock.

That same principle applies to FXDD's Bid/Ask Spreads.

Dealing Spreads for the major currencies pairs on FXDD are 2-3 pips wide. Some less liquid currencies will be a bit wider. This reflects the relative liquidity/risk in the professional market for that particular currency pair. The dealing spreads that we quote reflect a normal market making spread given the risks we take and the costs we incur for servicing our clients' business.

Obviously, if the volatility and risk of making a market increase because the markets become less liquid, it stands to reason that our spreads will increase as well. These are universal realities of market makers and should not come as a surprise to knowing investors/traders.

FAQ No2: What are the most commonly traded currencies in the FX markets? And when is the FX market open for trading?

FX available  24 hours daily from 22.00 Sunday to 22.00 Friday. These times may vary on market holidays and where daylight savings time applies.

Times shown are London time unless otherwise specified.
A true 24-hour market from Sunday 5:00 PM ET to Friday 5:00 PM ET, Forex trading begins each day in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins in each financial center, first to Tokyo, then London, and New York. Unlike many other financial markets, investors can respond to currency fluctuations caused by economic, social and political events at the time they occur - day or

The most often traded or 'liquid' currencies are those of countries with stable governments, respected central banks, and low inflation. Today, over 85% of all daily transactions involve trading of the major currencies, which include the US Dollar (USD), Japanese Yen (JPY), Euro (EUR), British Pound (GBP), Swiss Franc (CHF), Canadian Dollar (CAD), and the Australian Dollar (AUD). 

Put that in the back of the net

Goals help individuals to direct it towards achievement
Goals encourage strategies to ensure achievement
Goals help build assistance required for achievement
Goals encourage new learning strategies to ensure achievement
Goals that are more specific are more achievable than generalized goals (.eg to be the best , or to be good)
Goals are within the individual's control and thus are flexible
Goals set more realistic expectations resulting in less anxiety and more motivation and thus enhanced performance.

Goals Should be:
Specific, Measurable, Behavioural
Challenging but realistic

Explicit goals are far superior to general non-specific goals, such as 'must do the better'
The more difficult the goal the better the performance but unrealistic goals beyond the individual ability leads to frustration and failure. Consequently goals must be difficult  enough to challenge but realistic enough to be possible

Eur Raises as Ireland denies bailout talk

Fail to plan Plan to fail.

Zig Ziegler says; "You are working with no plan? Why? Working without a plan is about as difficult as trying to come back from somewhere that you have never been". You will become profitable if you achieve success, but success rarely comes without a plan.

Success is not counted in cash; success starts with an inner faith, the ability to listen, and in having a plan. However, financial freedom only comes by following the plan.

EURGBP and EURCAD Trade

Good Morning Traders
Practice Pure Patience Produces Pure Profit
My dear TraderS Eurgbp and Eurcad trade has worked out nicely book profits at frist target
now f@ 1.3816 Eurcad and EURGBP book profits @ 0.8497 and bring stop loss to break even I love risk free trades.

well done!!!
Peace going out to China!!!!!

EURGBP WITH NEWS

The euro continued to fall against the pound and was stuck near its lowest level in more than a month versus the dollar Thursday morning in New York, as world leaders convened the G20 summit in South Korea. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank can raise its interest rates before phasing out all of its extraordinary measures taken during the height of the financial crisis, the bank's Executive Board member Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo said. The euro fell further versus the sterling, touching 0.8481 -- its lowest since late September.

Plan: A Bullish Bat formed on the 4hr chart looking to go long on 1hr conformation signal @ 0.8334 1.618% expansion fromA= 0.8950 to B=0.8658 C= 0.8816 D=? A-B-C-D?

Economic event for Eur

EUR - ECB Monthly Bulletin - Nov 11

European Central Bank (ECB)

This bulletin provides insight into both possible interest rate changes and economic issues and developments that are on the minds of the ECB. Optimistic comments suggest that future interest rates may remain the same or rise while the cautionary discussion of the inflation outlook indicates the likelihood of a rate increase.

EURGBP WITH NEWS

IRISH DISSENT ON BUDGET, CONFLICTING reports of IMF bailout and a less dovish than expected inflation outlook from the Bank of England triggered the biggest weekly decline in EURGBP since January (and its only Wednesday). Although the BoE continues to see inflation below the 2% target at the end of its 2-year forecast period, it did express uncertainty by noting the chances of inflation being either above or below the target by the end of the forecast period are judged to be roughly equal which is an implicitly hawkish shift, that would serve to delay any QE2 for now. The EURO SIDE OF THE STORY is largely Irish-related as PM Cowen urged opposition Labour Party that if the planned EUR 6 bln adjustment to the budget is not implemented, then the State could not undertake its EUR 50 bln in annual spending, which exceeded EUR 31 bln in receipts. Not going away with the EUR 6 bln in adjustment, would restrict spending by over 50% in services. EURGBP CHART showing a SIMILAR PATTERN TO THAT EURCAD call, whereby a key retracement held up, coupled with a major trendline resistance. The break of the 55-WEEK MA (blue line) BELOW the 100-WEEK MA represents a DEATH CROSS, suggesting further losses towards the prelim 0.84 (June lows), followed by 0.8370 and 0.8150. Only a close above 0.8870 merits re-consideration of this important downcycle. My BLOOMBERG INTERVIEW earlier today
AshrafLaidi     ..........................................................

Entry 0.8410 tight stop 0.8373 We will waite for hourly buy signal to hold for confirmation of this  Harmonic Bat pattern before entering

Eurcad 4hr Butterly

Eurcad
Possiable enrty 1.3669 waite for confirmation

Eur/Cad currently in a dwn trend. Waite for prices to cross and hold 8 DMA with candle stick confirmation. i.e. Hammer, bullish engulfing, thrusting pattern harami at support line. I suggest waite for turning stochastic on the 15min and 1hr time frame and bullish 4hrs stochastic. AB-CD projection 224%= 1.3674 which is also close to S2 and 90DMA.

Watch video http://www.bloomberg.com/ video/ 64414220/

4Ps

Practice Pure Patience Produces Pure Profits.
This is Timeless Corporation Ltd Motto.
In my three tough years of being a Student of the Market the most important lesson i have learned is that price is king watching prices and waiting like a Sniper in the bushes for that head shot (entry confirmation ) has saved me more times than i can remember. There is no sliver Bullet only that
Price is King!!!!