Always use a sell stop: A sell stop is a sell order that is placed in advance, what happens is if the price of the stock hits a particular price which you determine in advance then it becomes a market order and you are out of the stock. The idea is to use this to protect you against buying something at high and then ridding it all the way down to the low. The biggest advantage that this has is you can set the sell stop at a particular point which could be a sign that the stock could be getting ready to go lower such as right below support (which is a major point that the stock stopped dropping previously and then reversed going higher). You can also adjust the sell stop upward to protect your profits and then when the stock does start to top out and go lower the sell stop will sell the stock leaving you in cash while it is going down, something that will help improve trading stock for dummies.

Buy after you see the follow through of a trend: A trend is when you see three consecutive points confirmed. What happens is many investors try to guess when the economy is going to turn around or if a company is going to beat their earnings based on what is happening in one quarter often leading to losses as they were just a little to early to get into the stock. What you want to do is see three consecutive quarters of better than expected numbers from a stock to confirm that they are in an earnings growth trend. When you are looking at any economic numbers you want to see three consecutive numbers in the same direction to confirm that a particular sector of the economy is expanding or contracting.

Clearly trading the markets during these challenging times can be very confusing for the beginning trader. To be able to successfully trade the volatile markets means that you must use tactics that will protect you as well as let you enter the stock at the right time such as: always use a sell stop and buy after you see the follow through of a trend will help you avoid the falling knifes, increasing your overall profits, helping you to be more successful at trading stock for dummies.

An example that we would encounter frequently is when we travel overseas and need to exchange the local currency for the foreign destination currency and we would head to the local money changer or bank to buy the foreign currency. This is a good example that we are familiar with.

By buying and selling currencies at the money changer or bank we are already involved in this huge foreign exchange market. Banks and central banks, investment funds, hedge funds, exporters and importers, companies and retail forex traders are among the main participants in the forex market.

Banks trade to generate profits and also act as buyers and sellers of one currency against another for their clients trading and commercial transaction. While central banks buy and sell currencies to hold as reserves and protect the reserves. They also act to moderate their country’s currency strength to facilitate reasonable terms of trade in the international markets for their exports and imports.

Investment funds have a percentage of their portfolio in the forex market for many reasons like diversification, hedging, etc. While most hedge funds will speculate on currencies as it is the biggest market in the world thus able to accommodate their large trading size which is quite difficult to do in the equities or futures market.

To be continue.. at – Forex Options Trading – What is Forex? (Part 2 of 2)

1. The Spot Currency Market

The spot market (also known as cash currency market) is the current or actual price of a currency at that moment in time. It is the price at which you will get a currency for immediate delivery. Every time you go to a bank to exchange your Japanese yen for Canadian dollars, you are engaging in the spot currency market. For the spot forex trader, it is the price in which you contact your forex broker either by phone or through his trading platform and ask for the price you wish to trade a particular currency.

Most retail forex traders deal in the spot currency market which is the forex market. With the advent of new technology, transactions of this kind are normally concluded in seconds but the normal delivery time for spot forex contracts is two days with the exception of the Canadian dollar which is one day.

2. The Forwards Currency Market

A more complicated currency market is the forwards currency market. Forward trading is different from spot trading in that you must take into account the interest rate differences ,otherwise called the interest rate differential, between the countries currencies you are trading in. For example, when dealing with the currency pair GBP/USD (Great Britain Pound against the USA dollar), you must take into account the interest rate differences between Britain and the USA. If the interest rate in Britain is 5% and the interest rate in the USA is 3%, the interest rate differential is 2%.

A forward currency contract attempts to calculate the fair value of two currencies taking into account the interest rates of the two countries in the future. The future rate or the forward rate is normally 3 days to 3 years, but most such contracts are under 6 months. The forward rate is calculated as

(Spot rate x interest differential (e.g. Dollar interest rate – British Pound Interest Rate) x days/360) / (1+ ( British Pound Interest Rate x Days/360)

Before you get your calculator out, note that the determination of the forward price is not a prediction of a future exchange rate but is merely a tool to allow parties to fix a rate in the future. Currency forwards are the domain of large financial institutions and corporations.

3. Currency Swaps

A currency swap is a combination of a spot currency trade and a forward contract. This type of contract is also very complicated and involves multinationals trying to get better rates in their trading activities.

For example, a car manufacturer in the USA makes a deal in Europe but believes it will get better interest rates in the USA because of better relationships in the USA. The manufacturer borrows funds in the USA over the next 5 years.

The USA manufacturer then makes a deal with European banks to trade it’s future dollar interest rate liability to the USA banks in Euros. As such the European bank agrees to pay the car manufacturer enough dollars to service it’s dollar loan and in return, the car manufacturer agrees to make payments to the European bank in Euros.

4. The Currency Futures

Currency futures fall under forward currency contracts. They however have specific contract sizes ,maturity dates and are traded in a formal exchange. Most currency futures are traded in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Retail currency traders can trade in the currency futures market however they are more expensive to trade than spot forex in that one needs to trade through a member of the exchange. Another disadvantage is that unlike the spot market where the trader only risks the capital available with his forex broker, trading in currency futures puts at risk all the wealth a trader may have.

Spot forex traders have been known to look at currency futures rates as a guide to the trend in a currency.

5. Currency Options

Forex options are slowly being introduced and these provide a buyer with the right but not the obligation to sell or buy an amount of forex at an exchange rate and a date specified in advance.

For example, a forex trader may bet on the price of the EURUSD going to the rate of 2.1222 on July 31st 2009. He can then buy currency options at the rate of 2.1190 . If the price goes above this, the forex trader will still have the option to buy the currency at 2.1190 even if the price has risen to 2.1222 and then resell the currency at the open market for a profit. If the market does not reach 2.1190, the currency options trader has no obligation to buy the currency.

To be able to buy the currency options, the forex trader must pay a premium to the writer of the option which is normally the bank or the forex broker.

Gamma: Gamma is derived from Delta is the odds of a change in Delta. It also informs in advance if the Delta could be changing. Gammas are positive for both the call and put. When options are deep in the money of deep out of the money the Gammas will be near zero as the probability of a change in Delta are very low. Likewise at strike price the Gamma would likely to e the highest.

Theta: Time decay is reflected in the option position as Theta. Options bought have negative Theta, which means that each day you do not sell that option, the time value is declining because of the time decay. In this case, time decay is making it worse for the buyer of the option. When you sell options, Theta is positive, meaning that time decay is good for the option seller.

Vega: How volatility affects the option pricing is reflected in the in Vega. In other words, its sensitivity to volatility. Options tend to have price increases when the underlying asset’s volatility increases. In this case, volatility is good for the buyer of an option and bad for the seller of an option. Vega is positive for long option and negative for short option.

Rho: Rho is how interest rates affect the pricing of the the option. When interest rates are high and it is good for the position, Rho will be positive. If interest rates are high but bad for the option position, Rho will be negative.

FX market does not have a fixed exchange. It is primarily traded through banks, brokers, dealers, financial institutions and private individuals. Trades are executed through phone and increasingly through the Internet. It is only in the last few years that the smaller investor has been able to gain access to this market. Previously, the large amounts of deposits required precluded the smaller investors. With the advent of the Internet and growing competition it is now easily in the reach of most investors.

With the advance system now days, you can trade Forex market with as low as US$200 with a leverage ratio of 1-200. Even with a free service of market charting information, updates and news. That’s why now days there’s more and more transaction in Forex market. Market also became very liquid also due to small investor that came in, in quantity which changes the market environment.

As you can see that person are introduced to the exciting world of Forex Trading in many ways: friends, current events, newspapers, television, and many others. For those of you who are new to Forex, the following guidelines cover the basics of currency trading. You even can start which a demo account which is a simulation of the live trading account data feed. The Broker will allow you to trial out using a simulation of $100,000 virtual money to trade live market.

In Forex Market, there’s always risk.. So a Stop-Loss is always a must in forex trading. With good strategy and discipline, you will success in Forex Trading. Trading is a mind game; you must change your mental attitude first from a normal person to that of a speculator. Almost all traders I have met, except a few successful ones who really made millions and billions trading in the market, simply waste all their time trying to learn the easiest part in perfection, like about how to read data and charts, and trying to perfect entry and exit skills, etc. Trading is a mind game and without having a right frame of mind, it is a losing game even before it starts. Training a trader’s mind is the first step for any successful trader but almost all new traders neglect that part and that explains why more than 95% of traders are a failure in the long run.

Most of us relate options only with the stock market; but the fact is that options can also be used in the Foreign Exchange market as an alternative method of trading. Basically, forex options are financial contracts between a buyer and a seller. Purchasing this contract would entitle the buyer the privilege but not the obligation to purchase a certain amount of foreign currency. In other words, it gives the buyer control over the currencies stated in the contract by only paying for the contract and not the goods. When the value of the currency in question goes up, then the buyer could execute the contract and purchase the goods at a predetermined price so that he can make money out of the rise in its value. The disadvantage of this however is that the contract has an expiration date, so the buyer is under time pressure.

Termed as forex options trading, there are two ways to do this. First is the Single Payment Options Trading, also known as SPOT, and would require the buyer to predict and elaborate a scenario which could happen in the market; then he would get a premium quote for this. If the scenario happens or takes place as predicted, then he will receive a payout.

The other way of forex options, known as traditional options trading, is exactly similar to the stock options trading. This is a useful alternative as it carries a lesser burden of risk compared to other methods of trade. You will pay less money and risk only that in order to place yourself on a great advantage.