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The FOREX Market Is A Goldmine

The amount of dollars traded on the Forex market on a daily basis is in the trillions. The Foreign Exchange market (Forex) is truly the largest exchange in the world. The amount of dollars traded on the Forex market on a daily basis is in the trillions. Most of this currency trading takes place between between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. However, individual traders are starting to get in the mix, using internet discount brokers such as Etrade to participate in the currency exchange market.

There is no central exchange or meeting place for the Forex. All trading is done over computer networks between traders in different parts of the world. Also, unlike the stock market, the foreign exchange market is open 24 hours per day, because it is a global market. A trader in Hong Kong may be exchanging currency with a trader in Australia while an American trader is sleeping.

There are several different markets within the Forex exchange system. First, there is the spot market. The spot market deals with trades that are based on the current values of currencies. One person trades a certain amount of currency with another trader in exchange for an equivalent amount of a different foreign currency. Spot trades take two days for settlement.

The other two types of foreign exchange markets are the forward and futures markets. In the forward market, the buyer and seller agree on an exchange rate and a transaction date is set for a specific time in the future, at which point the trade is executed regardless of what the rates are at that time. On the futures market, futures contracts are bought and sold based upon a standard contract size and maturity date. Futures trades take place on public commodities markets.

A currency quote is listed differently from a stock quote. Stocks are quoted in terms of price per share. Currency exchange prices are listed as either a direct quote or an indirect quote. A direct quote uses the domestic currency as the base and the foreign currency as the quote. An indirect quote works the exact opposite way.

So, if you were to view a quote in an American newspaper that said USD/JPY = 75, that would be a direct quote and would mean that $1 of U.S. currency is equal to 75 Japanese yen. If that same quote appeared in that same American newspaper and was listed as JPY/USD = 0.013, that would be an example of an indirect quote.

As with stock prices, currency exchange prices have a bid and ask spread. The current bid is the amount of foreign currency that someone is willing to spend in order to buy $1 U.S. base currency. The ask is the amount of foreign currency that someone is demanding in order to be willing to sell $1 U.S. base currency.

The Forex markets are generally considered to be less volatile than then stock market because within the course of a trading day, it is highly unlikely for the value of a single currency to move all that much. With equities, it is not uncommon for a trader to buy a stock, and then a negative press release causes the stock to lose considerable value within a day or even a couple of hours. Sometimes, however, the Forex can be volatile. If there is a significant economic or political development with a certain country, the currency of that country can lose value quickly.

There is a higher degree of liquidity on the currency exchange then there is on the stock exchange because the currency exchange is open 24 hours per day and because the very nature of currency exchange is to bet on when certain currencies will go up or down; so, it is easy to sell your position in a certain currency even when the value of that money is going down. A plummeting stock is more difficult to unload, but not impossible.

If you want to begin currency tranding, try to set aside some money and open an account with an online broker. Start slowly, then as you get the hang of it, work your way up to larger trades and higher volume. However, do not gamble your nest egg on currency trading because inexperienced traders can lose everything they have rather quickly in spite of the relative safety of the Forex market.

Jim Pretin is the owner of www.forms4free.com, a service that helps programmers make a free HTML form and download formmail

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The beginner forex trader should check the news articles that the broker has posted before beginning a new trading session. Profiting from Forex news could be one strategy the beginner forex trader could profit from. The news could be informative and this may affect the trader's choice to which currency pairs and the positions to take for the trading session. Profiting from Forex trading via the Internet has resulted in a great deal of interest by small traders previously locked out of this enormous marketplace. The FOREX market is less regulated than other financial markets. There is always risk in speculation, in any traded financial instrument whether they are regulated or unregulated.

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The simplest definition of currency trading is the practice of exchanging one country's currency for another country's currency. Basically, currency trading involves four main variables: currencies, exchange rate, time, and interest rate. The interplay of these variables creates opportunities for small investors to obtain investment returns that are generally unheard of in the traditional investment world. It is also referred to as foreign exchange, FX or Forex, but the essence remains the same that currency trading is the exchange of one currency against another.

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The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA) made clear that the CFTC has jurisdiction and authority to investigate and take legal action to close down a wide assortment of unregulated firms offering or selling foreign currency futures and options contracts to the general public. The CFTC also has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute foreign currency fraud occuring in its registered firms and their affiliates. The CFTC issued an advisory in 2001 that discussed these CFMA amendments to the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), 7 USC 1, et seq.
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In order to find a reputable broker or brokerage firm you�ll need to find out what others have thought of the prospective brokers� performance. One of the best ways to do that is to visit a few different financial discussion forums where you can ask questions and find out what others have thought about specific traders.

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