The foreign exchange market, or Forex market, is an around-the-clock cash market where the currencies of nations are bought and sold. Forex trading is always done in currency pairs. For example, you buy Euros, paying with U.S. Dollars, or you sell Canadian Dollars for Japanese Yen. The value of your Forex investment increases or decreases because of changes in the currency exchange rate or Forex rate. These changes can occur at any time, and often result from economic and political events. Using a hypothetical Forex investment, this article shows you how to calculate profit and loss in Forex trading.
To understand how the exchange rate can affect the value of your Forex investment, you need to learn how to read a Forex quote. Forex quotes are always expressed in pairs. In the following example, your pair of currencies are the U.S. Dollar (USD) and the Canadian Dollar (CAD). The Forex quote, USD/CAD = 170.50, means that one U.S. Dollar is equal to 170.50 Canadian Dollars. The currency to the left of the "/" (USD in this example) is referred to as base currency and its value is always 1. The currency to the right of the "/" (CAD in this example) is referred to as the counter currency. In this example, one USD can buy 170.50 CAD, because it is the stronger of the two currencies. The U.S. Dollar is regarded as the central currency of the Forex market, and it is always treated as the base currency in any Forex quote where it is one of the pairs.
Let's go now to our hypothetical Forex investment to show how you can profit or come up short in Forex trading. In this example, your pair of currencies are the U.S. Dollar and the Euro. The Forex rate of EUR/USD on August 26, 2003 was 1.0857, which means that one U.S. Dollar was equal to 1.0857 Euros, and was the weaker of the two currencies. If you had bought 1,000 Euros on that date, you would have paid $1,085.70.
One year later, the Forex rate of EUR/USD was 1.2083, which means that the value of the Euro increased in relation to the USD. If you had sold the 1,000 Euros one year later, you would have received $1,208.30, which is $122.60 more than what you had started with one year earlier.
Conversely, if the Forex rate one year later had been EUR/USD = 1.0576, the value of the Euro would have weakened in relation to the U.S. Dollar. If you had sold the 1,000 Euros at this Forex rate, you would have received $1,057.60, which is $28.10 less than what you had started out with one year earlier.
As with stocks and mutual funds, there is risk in Forex trading. The risk results from fluctuations in the currency exchange market. Investments with a low level of risk (for example, long-term government bonds) often have a low return. Investments with a higher level of risk (for example, Forex trading) can have a higher return. To achieve your short-term and long-term financial goals, you need to balance security and risk to the comfort level that works best for you.
By: Gregory DeVictor
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Day Trading, Forex Or Currencies Back Testing - A Way To Improve Your Trading Score
You can draw some useful parallels between running a business and Day Trading, Forex or Currencies trading. For instance, most successful businesses keep statistics on everything from their conversion rate, to their average dollar sale, to the number of people that come in the door. Businesses do this to keep on top of how they are doing on a day to day basis and businesses must first take score before begining to improve on that score. Using a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan in your trading works exactly the same way.
Now that you`re looking at Day Trading, Forex or Currencies trading as a business, you need to learn some valuable statistics about your system so you can improve it`s performance. You would use a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing method. You can`t improve your system unless you have something to measure it against. How could you expect to improve your trading unless you knew what it was you were looking to improve? You can discover these measurements and other valuable information about your trading system, by using a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan.
There are two ways that you can use a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan to back test a system. You can do it manually, which can be a drawn out and labour intensive process, or you can do it with the aid of some software packages. Unfortunately, I recommend you do it by hand when you first start out. You`ll get a much better feel for your system, and you`ll understand exactly how using a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan works in all its intricacies. Once you have the Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan and the in depth knowledge, you could look at finding a software package that does it for you.
There are a few major statistics on your Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan that you need that you will uncover through back testing. The first statistic you need to become familiar with is the R multiple principal. R stands for risk, the risk you take on any trade when you enter the market. The R multiple of a trade is the ratio of the profit or loss compared to the amount of money risked to make the profit or loss.
Therefore, if you risk $200 dollars in your initial purchase, and you make a profit of $1,000, you have made five times the amount you risked in the trade. You have an R multiple of five. This statistic gives you a good idea of the relative size of your profits to your losses. You can compare the average size of your winning trades with the average size of your losing trades.
The next statistic you`ll find useful is your win to loss ratio. This is how many times you get a winning trade in proportion to how many times you get a losing trade. For example, if you had ten trades, four of those trades were winners, and six were losers, your win to loss ratio is simply four to six. This is your hit rate; you`ll get 40% of your trades correct.
With these two simple statistics, you can calculate the average size of your profits and of your losses, multiply these figures with your win to loss ratio, and calculate on average how much money you make with every dollar you risk.
For those of you who think this sounds like a too much work, particularly using a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan that you need to do to uncover these statistics, consider this scenario: Imagine yourself trading a system that you knew had a win to loss ratio of 60/40. You made profit on every six trades and lost one out of every four. How do you think you would feel, where would your confidence level be, after you traded the system for a little while and you received a string of 11 losses in a row?
Now, you know that this system has a win to loss ratio of six to four. Would you have the confidence to open another trade if your system brought up another buy signal after getting 11 trades wrong?
Unless you use Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan to back tested your system, I doubt that your confidence level will remain high. That trading system may be a fantastic profitable system. However, since you didn`t use your Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan to back test it, you don`t know that historically this system received up to 13 losses in a row, but was still profitable.
Here`s another point you may not have picked up unless you used your Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan. Once you`ve set your money management rules and you begin to trade, you will likely experience a string of losses. Countless times, I`ve had clients who get disheartened by this fact because they don`t understand the nature of setting good management. If you`re adhering to the rules of cutting your losses short and letting your profits run, because you`re cutting your losses short, those trades are going to last for a shorter amount of time.
This means once you begin trading the odds of getting losses early in the game are much higher than getting a winning trade. This is particularly true when you consider that many successful trading systems run on a 40/60 win to loss ratio. However, you will never know the intricacies of your system unless you use a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan and back test it.
Using a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan, will help you to understand what works and what doesn`t. It will give you the statistics to gauge the effectiveness of your trades. It fills in your scorecard, and allows you to make improvements. But, you shouldn`t simply believe everything I`ve told you. Instead, you need to prove it to yourself by using some Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plans and back test your system.
By: David Jenyns
Now that you`re looking at Day Trading, Forex or Currencies trading as a business, you need to learn some valuable statistics about your system so you can improve it`s performance. You would use a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing method. You can`t improve your system unless you have something to measure it against. How could you expect to improve your trading unless you knew what it was you were looking to improve? You can discover these measurements and other valuable information about your trading system, by using a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan.
There are two ways that you can use a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan to back test a system. You can do it manually, which can be a drawn out and labour intensive process, or you can do it with the aid of some software packages. Unfortunately, I recommend you do it by hand when you first start out. You`ll get a much better feel for your system, and you`ll understand exactly how using a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan works in all its intricacies. Once you have the Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan and the in depth knowledge, you could look at finding a software package that does it for you.
There are a few major statistics on your Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan that you need that you will uncover through back testing. The first statistic you need to become familiar with is the R multiple principal. R stands for risk, the risk you take on any trade when you enter the market. The R multiple of a trade is the ratio of the profit or loss compared to the amount of money risked to make the profit or loss.
Therefore, if you risk $200 dollars in your initial purchase, and you make a profit of $1,000, you have made five times the amount you risked in the trade. You have an R multiple of five. This statistic gives you a good idea of the relative size of your profits to your losses. You can compare the average size of your winning trades with the average size of your losing trades.
The next statistic you`ll find useful is your win to loss ratio. This is how many times you get a winning trade in proportion to how many times you get a losing trade. For example, if you had ten trades, four of those trades were winners, and six were losers, your win to loss ratio is simply four to six. This is your hit rate; you`ll get 40% of your trades correct.
With these two simple statistics, you can calculate the average size of your profits and of your losses, multiply these figures with your win to loss ratio, and calculate on average how much money you make with every dollar you risk.
For those of you who think this sounds like a too much work, particularly using a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan that you need to do to uncover these statistics, consider this scenario: Imagine yourself trading a system that you knew had a win to loss ratio of 60/40. You made profit on every six trades and lost one out of every four. How do you think you would feel, where would your confidence level be, after you traded the system for a little while and you received a string of 11 losses in a row?
Now, you know that this system has a win to loss ratio of six to four. Would you have the confidence to open another trade if your system brought up another buy signal after getting 11 trades wrong?
Unless you use Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan to back tested your system, I doubt that your confidence level will remain high. That trading system may be a fantastic profitable system. However, since you didn`t use your Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan to back test it, you don`t know that historically this system received up to 13 losses in a row, but was still profitable.
Here`s another point you may not have picked up unless you used your Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan. Once you`ve set your money management rules and you begin to trade, you will likely experience a string of losses. Countless times, I`ve had clients who get disheartened by this fact because they don`t understand the nature of setting good management. If you`re adhering to the rules of cutting your losses short and letting your profits run, because you`re cutting your losses short, those trades are going to last for a shorter amount of time.
This means once you begin trading the odds of getting losses early in the game are much higher than getting a winning trade. This is particularly true when you consider that many successful trading systems run on a 40/60 win to loss ratio. However, you will never know the intricacies of your system unless you use a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan and back test it.
Using a Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plan, will help you to understand what works and what doesn`t. It will give you the statistics to gauge the effectiveness of your trades. It fills in your scorecard, and allows you to make improvements. But, you shouldn`t simply believe everything I`ve told you. Instead, you need to prove it to yourself by using some Day Trading, Forex or Currencies back testing plans and back test your system.
By: David Jenyns
Friday, December 5, 2008
Currency Trading Three Reasons Why It Beats Stock Trading
There are several different ways to trade but these days it seems everyone is talking about Forex and currency trading. Check out these three reasons why it beats stock trading.
Profits in a Bear or Bull Market
Currency can bring growth during both a bull and bear market which is one of the three reasons why it beats stock trading. There is no short selling restrictions and there is profit potential no matter where the market is going. With Forex you sell on currency and then buy another. Even in fluctuating markets a trader has the ability to profit in both short and long positions.
50 Times More Leverage Than Stocks
It quickly becomes apparent why you want to go with currency trading over stock trading another reason why it beats stock trading. Foreign exchange trading with Forex will land you up to 50 times the leverage of what your stock accounts can do.
Diversity Here Is Like No Other
Forex can offer a broad diversity. The balance of trade between nations is detrimental to the value of the currencies. If a nation imports more than it exports it will have a deficit trade balance which is considered not favorable to currency value. So you see currency trading beats stock trading.
A prudent investor will know that they need to diversify their US dollar balance through holding a variety of currencies which can be somewhat challenging since almost all US banks offer only a few other currencies. Through Forex and foreign currency trading you can control hundreds of thousand of dollars worth of currencies that will give you more than 50 times the leverage of the stock market which again proves why the currency trading beats stock trading.
Open For Business 24 Hours A Day 7 Days A Week
You can trade Forex 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Your trading can start at 5:00 PM EST with markets in Sidney and Singapore. Only a few hours later Tokyo opens up, next is London opening at 2:00 AM EST and soon New York with it’s world currency markets have already been open for 15 hours. The stock market offers you no such easy access which is why currency trading beats stock trading. In fact Forex is the largest, most liquid market, open 24 hours a day for trade.
You’ve got 3 reasons why currency trading beats stock trading but there are plenty of others.
Copyright © 2007 Joel Teo. All rights reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety with the following author's information with live links only.)
By: Joel Teo
Profits in a Bear or Bull Market
Currency can bring growth during both a bull and bear market which is one of the three reasons why it beats stock trading. There is no short selling restrictions and there is profit potential no matter where the market is going. With Forex you sell on currency and then buy another. Even in fluctuating markets a trader has the ability to profit in both short and long positions.
50 Times More Leverage Than Stocks
It quickly becomes apparent why you want to go with currency trading over stock trading another reason why it beats stock trading. Foreign exchange trading with Forex will land you up to 50 times the leverage of what your stock accounts can do.
Diversity Here Is Like No Other
Forex can offer a broad diversity. The balance of trade between nations is detrimental to the value of the currencies. If a nation imports more than it exports it will have a deficit trade balance which is considered not favorable to currency value. So you see currency trading beats stock trading.
A prudent investor will know that they need to diversify their US dollar balance through holding a variety of currencies which can be somewhat challenging since almost all US banks offer only a few other currencies. Through Forex and foreign currency trading you can control hundreds of thousand of dollars worth of currencies that will give you more than 50 times the leverage of the stock market which again proves why the currency trading beats stock trading.
Open For Business 24 Hours A Day 7 Days A Week
You can trade Forex 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Your trading can start at 5:00 PM EST with markets in Sidney and Singapore. Only a few hours later Tokyo opens up, next is London opening at 2:00 AM EST and soon New York with it’s world currency markets have already been open for 15 hours. The stock market offers you no such easy access which is why currency trading beats stock trading. In fact Forex is the largest, most liquid market, open 24 hours a day for trade.
You’ve got 3 reasons why currency trading beats stock trading but there are plenty of others.
Copyright © 2007 Joel Teo. All rights reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety with the following author's information with live links only.)
By: Joel Teo
Foreign Currency Trading – How To Make Money With Forex Trading
Topic on how to make money with Forex trading. FOREX stands for FOReign Exchange market and it refers to the international currency market where currencies are purchased and sold.
Forex is one of the most promising and rewarding investments around and learning how to make money with Forex trading is easy. Of course there is risk and because you can trade marginally it is how to make money with Forex trading with the potential of making huge profits. One benefit is the inability of investors to influence the market for their own gain. As a short term investor you will need some patience and diligence. Technical analysis and strategies should be part of your investment plan.
When you learn how to make money with Forex trading in foreign currency you can trade 24 hours a day in just about every part of the world because you will find a dealer ready to quote on a currency. After you decide what currency you want to invest in you buy online either through a dealer or through your own Forex trading account and that’s how to make money with Forex trading.
Marginal trading is used for trading with borrowed capital which is common practice when learning how to make money with Forex trading. That’s one of the reasons for its appeal. You can invest without having the real money to back it. That means you can make much bigger investments quicker and cheaper.
Make sure that you have some investment strategies under your belt and by then you’ll know how to make money with Forex trading. You should understand both fundamental analysis and technical analysis. The investor doesn’t try to outsmart the market instead they learn how to make money with Forex trading.
Fundamental analysis analyzes the country where the currency is from, the economy, political stability, and other related issues. These are all contributing factors that are used to analyze the currency and fluctuations that might occur.
Now that you have the basics on how to make money with Forex trading you’re ready to take the next step. If you still aren’t comfortable enough to invest there are plenty of online courses to help improve your skills. What are you waiting for – now is the time to start making your wealth.
Copyright © 2007 Joel Teo. All rights reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety with the following author's information with live links only.)
By: Joel Teo
Forex is one of the most promising and rewarding investments around and learning how to make money with Forex trading is easy. Of course there is risk and because you can trade marginally it is how to make money with Forex trading with the potential of making huge profits. One benefit is the inability of investors to influence the market for their own gain. As a short term investor you will need some patience and diligence. Technical analysis and strategies should be part of your investment plan.
When you learn how to make money with Forex trading in foreign currency you can trade 24 hours a day in just about every part of the world because you will find a dealer ready to quote on a currency. After you decide what currency you want to invest in you buy online either through a dealer or through your own Forex trading account and that’s how to make money with Forex trading.
Marginal trading is used for trading with borrowed capital which is common practice when learning how to make money with Forex trading. That’s one of the reasons for its appeal. You can invest without having the real money to back it. That means you can make much bigger investments quicker and cheaper.
Make sure that you have some investment strategies under your belt and by then you’ll know how to make money with Forex trading. You should understand both fundamental analysis and technical analysis. The investor doesn’t try to outsmart the market instead they learn how to make money with Forex trading.
Fundamental analysis analyzes the country where the currency is from, the economy, political stability, and other related issues. These are all contributing factors that are used to analyze the currency and fluctuations that might occur.
Now that you have the basics on how to make money with Forex trading you’re ready to take the next step. If you still aren’t comfortable enough to invest there are plenty of online courses to help improve your skills. What are you waiting for – now is the time to start making your wealth.
Copyright © 2007 Joel Teo. All rights reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety with the following author's information with live links only.)
By: Joel Teo
Forex Trading: Calculating Profit And Loss In Foreign Currency Trading
The foreign exchange market, or Forex market, is an around-the-clock cash market where the currencies of nations are bought and sold. Forex trading is always done in currency pairs. For example, you buy Euros, paying with U.S. Dollars, or you sell Canadian Dollars for Japanese Yen. The value of your Forex investment increases or decreases because of changes in the currency exchange rate or Forex rate. These changes can occur at any time, and often result from economic and political events. Using a hypothetical Forex investment, this article shows you how to calculate profit and loss in Forex trading.
To understand how the exchange rate can affect the value of your Forex investment, you need to learn how to read a Forex quote. Forex quotes are always expressed in pairs. In the following example, your pair of currencies are the U.S. Dollar (USD) and the Canadian Dollar (CAD). The Forex quote, USD/CAD = 170.50, means that one U.S. Dollar is equal to 170.50 Canadian Dollars. The currency to the left of the "/" (USD in this example) is referred to as base currency and its value is always 1. The currency to the right of the "/" (CAD in this example) is referred to as the counter currency. In this example, one USD can buy 170.50 CAD, because it is the stronger of the two currencies. The U.S. Dollar is regarded as the central currency of the Forex market, and it is always treated as the base currency in any Forex quote where it is one of the pairs.
Let's go now to our hypothetical Forex investment to show how you can profit or come up short in Forex trading. In this example, your pair of currencies are the U.S. Dollar and the Euro. The Forex rate of EUR/USD on August 26, 2003 was 1.0857, which means that one U.S. Dollar was equal to 1.0857 Euros, and was the weaker of the two currencies. If you had bought 1,000 Euros on that date, you would have paid $1,085.70.
One year later, the Forex rate of EUR/USD was 1.2083, which means that the value of the Euro increased in relation to the USD. If you had sold the 1,000 Euros one year later, you would have received $1,208.30, which is $122.60 more than what you had started with one year earlier.
Conversely, if the Forex rate one year later had been EUR/USD = 1.0576, the value of the Euro would have weakened in relation to the U.S. Dollar. If you had sold the 1,000 Euros at this Forex rate, you would have received $1,057.60, which is $28.10 less than what you had started out with one year earlier.
As with stocks and mutual funds, there is risk in Forex trading. The risk results from fluctuations in the currency exchange market. Investments with a low level of risk (for example, long-term government bonds) often have a low return. Investments with a higher level of risk (for example, Forex trading) can have a higher return. To achieve your short-term and long-term financial goals, you need to balance security and risk to the comfort level that works best for you.
By: Gregory DeVictor
To understand how the exchange rate can affect the value of your Forex investment, you need to learn how to read a Forex quote. Forex quotes are always expressed in pairs. In the following example, your pair of currencies are the U.S. Dollar (USD) and the Canadian Dollar (CAD). The Forex quote, USD/CAD = 170.50, means that one U.S. Dollar is equal to 170.50 Canadian Dollars. The currency to the left of the "/" (USD in this example) is referred to as base currency and its value is always 1. The currency to the right of the "/" (CAD in this example) is referred to as the counter currency. In this example, one USD can buy 170.50 CAD, because it is the stronger of the two currencies. The U.S. Dollar is regarded as the central currency of the Forex market, and it is always treated as the base currency in any Forex quote where it is one of the pairs.
Let's go now to our hypothetical Forex investment to show how you can profit or come up short in Forex trading. In this example, your pair of currencies are the U.S. Dollar and the Euro. The Forex rate of EUR/USD on August 26, 2003 was 1.0857, which means that one U.S. Dollar was equal to 1.0857 Euros, and was the weaker of the two currencies. If you had bought 1,000 Euros on that date, you would have paid $1,085.70.
One year later, the Forex rate of EUR/USD was 1.2083, which means that the value of the Euro increased in relation to the USD. If you had sold the 1,000 Euros one year later, you would have received $1,208.30, which is $122.60 more than what you had started with one year earlier.
Conversely, if the Forex rate one year later had been EUR/USD = 1.0576, the value of the Euro would have weakened in relation to the U.S. Dollar. If you had sold the 1,000 Euros at this Forex rate, you would have received $1,057.60, which is $28.10 less than what you had started out with one year earlier.
As with stocks and mutual funds, there is risk in Forex trading. The risk results from fluctuations in the currency exchange market. Investments with a low level of risk (for example, long-term government bonds) often have a low return. Investments with a higher level of risk (for example, Forex trading) can have a higher return. To achieve your short-term and long-term financial goals, you need to balance security and risk to the comfort level that works best for you.
By: Gregory DeVictor
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