Market Participants

Unlike the equity market - where investors often only trade with institutional investors (such as mutual funds) or other individual investors - there are additional participants that trade on the Forex market for entirely different reasons than those on the equity market. Therefore, it is important to identify and understand the functions and motivations of the main players of the Forex market.

Governments and Central Banks
Arguably, some of the most influential participants involved with currency exchange are the central banks and federal governments. In most countries, the central bank is an extension of the government and conducts its policy in tandem with the government. However, some governments feel that a more independent central bank would be more effective in balancing the goals of curbing inflation and keeping interest rates low, which tends to increase economic growth. Regardless of the degree of independence that a central bank possesses, government representatives typically have regular consultations with central bank representatives to discuss monetary policy. Thus, central banks and governments are usually on the same page when it comes to monetary policy.

Central banks are often involved in manipulating reserve volumes in order to meet certain economic goals. For example, ever since pegging its currency (the Yuan) to the U.S. dollar, China has been buying up millions of dollars worth of U.S. treasury bills in order to keep the Yuan at its target exchange rate. Central banks use the foreign exchange market to adjust their reserve volumes. With extremely deep pockets, they yield significant influence on the currency markets.

Banks and Other Financial Institutions
In addition to central banks and governments, some of the largest participants involved with Forex transactions are banks. Most individuals who need foreign currency for small-scale transactions deal with neighborhood banks. However, individual transactions pale in comparison to the volumes that are traded in the interbank market.

The interbank market is the market through which large banks transact with each other and determine the currency price that individual traders see on their trading platforms. These banks transact with each other on electronic brokering systems that are based upon credit. Only banks that have credit relationships with each other can engage in transactions. The larger the bank, the more credit relationships it has and the better the pricing it can access for its customers.

Banks, in general, act as dealers in the sense that they are willing to buy/sell a currency at the bid/ask price. One way that banks make money on the Forex market is by exchanging currency at a premium to the price they paid to obtain it. Since the Forex market is a decentralized market, it is common to see different banks with slightly different exchange rates for the same currency.

Hedgers
Some of the biggest clients of these banks are businesses that deal with international transactions. Whether a business is selling to an international client or buying from an international supplier, it will need to deal with the volatility of fluctuating currencies.

If there is one thing that management (and shareholders) detests, it is uncertainty. Having to deal with foreign-exchange risk is a big problem for many multinationals. For example, suppose that a German company orders some equipment from a Japanese manufacturer to be paid in yen one year from now. Since the exchange rate can fluctuate wildly over an entire year, the German company has no way of knowing whether it will end up paying more Euros at the time of delivery.

One choice that a business can make to reduce the uncertainty of foreign-exchange risk is to go into the spot market and make an immediate transaction for the foreign currency that they need.

Unfortunately, businesses may not have enough cash on hand to make spot transactions or may not want to hold massive amounts of foreign currency for long periods of time. Therefore, businesses quite frequently employ hedging strategies in order to lock in a specific exchange rate for the future or to remove all sources of exchange-rate risk for that transaction.

For example, if a European company wants to import steel from the U.S., it would have to pay in U.S. dollars. If the price of the euro falls against the dollar before payment is made, the European company will realize a financial loss. As such, it could enter into a contract that locked in the current exchange rate to eliminate the risk of dealing in U.S. dollars. These contracts could be either forwards or futures contracts.

Speculators
Another class of market participants involved with foreign exchange-related transactions is speculators. Rather than hedging against movement in exchange rates or exchanging currency to fund international transactions, speculators attempt to make money by taking advantage of fluctuating exchange-rate levels.

Some of the largest and most controversial speculators on the Forex market are hedge funds, which are essentially employ unconventional investment strategies in order to reap large returns. Given that they can place such massive bets, they can have a major effect on a country’s currency and economy.

Fundamental Versus Technical Analysis

While technical analysis concentrates on the study of market action, fundamental analysis focuses on the economic forces which cause prices to move higher, or lower, or stay the same. The fundamental approach examines all of the relevant factors affecting the exchange-rate between two currencies to determine the intrinsic value of each currency.



The intrinsic value is what the fundamentals indicate one currency is actually worth against another currency. If this intrinsic value is under the current market price, then the currency is overpriced and should be sold. If market price is below the intrinsic value, then the market is undervalued and should be bought. Both of these approaches to market forecasting attempt to solve the same problem, that is, to determine the direction prices are likely to move. They just approach the problem from different directions.



A "fundamentalist" studies the cause of market movement, while a technician studies the effect. Most market traders classify themselves as either technicians or fundamentalists. In reality, there is a lot of overlap. Most fundamentalists have a working knowledge of the basic tenets of chart analysis. At the same time, most technicians have at least a passing awareness of the fundamentals.



The problem is that the charts and fundamentals are often in conflict with each other. Usually at the beginning of important market moves, the fundamentals do not explain or support what the market seems to be doing. It is at these critical times in the trend that these two approaches seem to differ the most. Usually they come back into sync at some point, but often too late for the trader to act. One explanation for these seeming discrepancies is that market price tends to lead the known fundamentals.



Stated another way, market price acts as a leading indicator of the fundamentals or the conventional wisdom of the moment. While the known fundamentals have already been discounted and are already "in the market," prices are now reacting to the unknown fundamentals. Some of the most dramatic market movements in history have begun with little or no perceived change in the fundamentals. By the time those changes became known, the new trend was well underway.

Meta Trader 4 Platform

As of today, MetaTrader 4 is one of the most innovative and powerful trading platforms. It outperforms and stands out from competition - on the the average machine MetaTrader 4 can serve over 10,000 traders working with multiple accounts simultaneously. The server is capable of processing dozens of different financial instruments with quotes history going back many years.

From a technical standpoint, the MetaTrader 4 platform is a lot more than just a state-of-the art trading platform utilizing the IT industry best practices and latest developments. Its distributed architecture, robust security system, convenient mobile trading, and innovative automated trading are some of the core competences that give MetaTrader 4 its compelling competitive advantages, thus offering the perfect solution to the most demanding trading needs.

MetaTrader 4 combines an accessible, user-friendly interface with a wide range of powerful of functions, making it a highly flexible platform. It enables to easily and efficiently manage the set-up of traders' groups, financial instruments, databases, data feeders and many others. The Introducing Brokers (IB) service is also available. With MetaTrader 4, you can easily set up an efficient network of your company branches and manage it with a great deal of accuracy.

Among a great many key competitive advantages of MetaTrader 4 are multi-currency and multi-language support, effectiveness and performance, reliability and security. The platform contains Application Program Interface (MetaTrader 4 API) that makes it possible to extend its functionality and integration with any other systems. Moreover, you get access to ready plug-ins designed to facilitate various aspects of the platform operation.

These advantages have made MetaTrader 4 the most popular trading platform in the world. The fact that hundreds of brokerage companies and traders choose MetaTrader 4 is the best testimony that it delivers outstanding value and meets their expectations.

Reading Quotes

When a currency is quoted, it is done in relation to another currency, so that the value of one is reflected through the value of another. Therefore, if you are trying to determine the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar (USD) and the Japanese yen (JPY), the forex quote would look like this:

USD/JPY = 119.50

This is referred to as a currency pair. The currency to the left of the slash is the base currency, while the currency on the right is called the quote or counter currency. The base currency (in this case, the U.S. dollar) is always equal to one unit (in this case, US$1), and the quoted currency (in this case, the Japanese yen) is what that one base unit is equivalent to in the other currency. The quote means that US$1 = 119.50 Japanese yen. In other words, US$1 can buy 119.50 Japanese yen. The forex quote includes the currency abbreviations for the currencies in question.

Forex Signals

Forex signal systems can create executions that are either manual or automated. A manual system involves a trader sitting at the computer screen, looking for signals and interpreting whether to buy or sell. An automated trading system involves the trader "teaching" the software what signals to look for and how to interpret them. It is thought that automated trading removes the psychological element that is detrimental to a lot of traders.

Both automated and manual day trading signals are available for purchase on the internet. However, it is important to note that there is no such thing as the "holy grail" of trading signals. If the system was a perfect money maker, the seller would not want to share it. This is why big financial firms keep their "black box" trading programs under lock and key.

Can I set pending orders in the WSB trading platform?

Yes you can. The WSB MT4 software accepts the following pending order types:
Limit orders:
- A SELL Limit Order may be set when a client wants to open a sell trade at a price that is 15 pips or more above the current market price. The order is executed when the BID price rises to the level set in the Sell Limit Order.
- BUY Limit Order may be set when a client wants to open a buy trade at a price that is 15 pips or more below the current market price. The order is executed when the ASK price falls to the level set in the Buy Limit Order.
Stop Orders:
- A Buy Stop Order may be set when a client wants to open a buy trade at a price that is 15 pips or more above the current market price. The order is executed when the ASK price rises to the level set in the Buy Stop Order.
- A Sell Stop Order may be set when a client wants to open a sell trade at a price that is 15 pips or more belowe the current market price.. The order is executed when the BID price drops to the level set in the SELL Stop Order.
Stop Loss Orders:
A Stop Loss order is an important feature which can be used to either cut out of a losing trade without risking the entire account and to minimize the loss, or to lock in profit on a profitable trade.
Take Profit Orders:
The Take Profit order is used to automatically exit a trade at a profitable level of your choosing.
Trailing Stop:
The Trailing Stop is a useful and advanced feature of the MT4 platform. It is useful to automatically lock in profits as the market moves. As a practical example, you have a BUY trade on GBP/USD at 1.6000 open and it is in profit. You may set the Trailing Stop to automatically adjust your stop loss level as the market moves in your favor. For example, you may have your trailing stop level set at 25 pips. Once your trade is +25 pips in profit, the trailing stop will automatically move your stop loss level to 1.6000 or break even. This means in that trade, it is impossible to lose! Further, if the market continues to move in your favor, the trailing stop will continue to adjust the stop loss to lock in profits. If for example the trade is now +26, your stop loss will be set at +1, at +27 your stop loss will be set at +2 thus "trailing" the market. Why is this useful? Well, in this example, the market moved +27 pips in your favor, and your 25 pip trailing stop had locked in a profit of 2 pips by automatically setting the stop loss order. If the market then reversed against your buy position, you would still be guaranteed a profit of 2 pips instead of loss. To activate the Trailing Stop loss on a position, go to 'Trade' in the 'Terminal' at the bottom of the trading platform, right-click and choose Trailing Stops. Please note that you have to be making a profit of minimum 15 pips before you can activate it.

How To Read Forex Charts ?

Learning the basic skills in Forex, such as how to read Forex charts, is really important.

This is because once you have this vital skill under your belt, it will be a lot easier and quicker when the time comes for you to learn and practice an actual Forex trading system.

By the time you finish this article, you'll learn how to read Forex charts, as well as know the pitfalls that can occur when reading them, especially if you haven't traded forex before.

Firstly, let's revise the basics of a forex trading as this relates directly to how to reade forex charts.

Each currency pair is always quoted in the same way. For example, the EURUSD currency pair is always as EURUSD, with the EUR being the base currency, and the USD being the terms currency, not the other way round with the USD first. Therefore if the chart of the EURUSD shows that the current price is fluctuating around 1.2155, this means that 1 EURO will buy around 1.2155 US dollars.


And your trade size (face value) is the amount of base currency that you're trading. In this example, if you want to buy 100 000 EURUSD, you're buying 100 000 EUROs.

Now let's have a look at the 5 important steps on how to read a forex chart:

1. If you buy the currency pair, that is, you're long the position, realise that you're looking for the chart of that currency pair to go up, to make a profit on the trade. That is, you want the base currency to strengthen against the terms currency.

On the other hand if you sell the currency pair to short the position, then you're looking for the chart of that currency pair to go down, to make a profit. That is, you want the base currency to weaken against the terms currency.

Pretty simple so far.

2. Always check the time frame displayed. Many trading systems will use multiple time frames to determine the entry of a trade. For example, a system may use a 4 hour and a 30 minute chart to determine the overall trend of the currency pair by using indicators such as MACD, momentum, or support and resistance lines, and then a 5 minute chart to look for a rise from a temporary dip to determine the actual entry.

So ensure that the chart you're looking at has the correct time frame for your analysis. The best way to do this is to set up your charts with the correct time frames and indicators on them for the system you're trading, and to save and reuse this layout.

3. On most forex charts, it is the BID price rather than the ask price that's displayed on the chart. Remember that a price is always quoted with a bid and an ask (or offer). For example, the current price of EURUSD may be 1.2055 bid and 1.2058 ask (or offer). When you buy, you buy at the ask, which is the higher of the 2 prices in the spread, and when you sell, you sell at the bid, which is the lower of the two prices.

If you use the chart price to determine an entry or exit, realise that when you place an order to sell when the chart price is say 1.330, then this is the price that you'll sell at assuming no slippage.

If on the other hand, you place an order to buy when the chart price is the same price, then you'll actually buy at 1.3333. A forex system will often determine whether your orders will be placed simply according to the chart price or whether you need to add a buffer when buying or selling.

Also note that on many platforms, when you're placing stop orders (to buy if the price rises above a certain price, or sell when the price falls below a certain price) you can select either "stop if bid" or "stop if offered".

4. Realise that the times shown on the bottom of forex charts are set to the particular time zone that the forex provider's charts are set to, be it GMT, New York time, or other time zones.

It's handy to have a world clock available on your computer desktop in order to convert the different time zones. This is important when you're trading major economic announcements.

You'll need to convert the time of an announcement to your local time, and the chart time, so you'll know when the announcement is going to happen, and therefore when you need to trade.

5. Finally, check whether the times on your forex charts corresponds to when the candle opens or when the candle closes. Your charting software may be different to someone else's in this way.

The reason I mention this, is that if you need to trade major economic announcements, either by entering a trade based on the movements that happen after the announcement, or to exit a trade before the announcement in avoid getting stopped out during it, then you need to be precise (to the minute!) as these trades are performed according to what happens at the 1 minute immediately after the announcement, not the candle afterwards!

So there you have it.

You now have the 5 essential keys to how to properly read forex charts, which will help you to avoid the common mistakes which many forex beginners make when looking at charts, and which will speed up your progress when you're looking at forex charting packages, and forex trading systems that you want to trade!

Now that you know this, practice looking at forex charts with each of these 5 points in mind.

So get to it!

How to Choose a Forex Broker

With so many different choices out there, how does a Forex "newbie" pick a broker? Chances are most new traders have no idea on where to start - and that's okay! We're here to help! We have put together a simple three step process to help you find a broker that YOU think will best suit YOUR needs. You might be thinking now, "Three steps? That's it?" Yesssiirrrr!

In the first step, you will go through some of the main questions you need ask yourself when reviewing different brokers. Then you will take a look at different brokers and their available features. We have put together a comparison guide by taking some of the most frequently asked questions across the internet, and surveyed some of the most frequently asked about brokers out there, so that you don't have to.
With this guide, you can narrow your choices down and take the final step of talking with different brokers and demo trading on different platforms. Simple, right? Let's begin...

Step 1: Do your research

Before comparing brokers, do you know what to look for? No? Well, here are a few of the main questions you should ask yourself:
1. Is this broker registered with any regulating authorities? Check to see if your broker of choice is registered with the National Futures Association (NFA) or Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) if they're based in the US. If the broker is based in the United Kingdom, check with the Financial Service Authority (FSA). If the broker isn't registered with any of these or any other recognized regulating firm, then you may want to think twice before signing up with them.
2. Dealing Desk or Non-Dealing Desk broker? Does the broker offer fixed or non-fixed spreads? How wide are the spreads? These questions are more significant to those traders who like to take quick profits on a few pips. Large and/or variable spreads can cut into the profits of this type of trading strategy.
3. How much or how little leverage will a broker give you? We highly recommend you review "Leverage the Killer"before deciding on how much leverage would be suitable for your trading style. The phrase, "Less is More," can save every newbie
4. Of course, you’re not going to start trading with real money right away, right? Well, when you do having a winning strategy and you are ready to trade live; knowing how much risk capital you have to start with makes a big difference. If you have $2000 or less to start with then you probably want to start trading "micro" lots. Not every broker has this feature.
5. Does this broker credit or debit daily rollover interest? Some brokers either do both, deduct interest, or neither. This information is important to traders who hold positions overnight.
6. Does this broker over premium services such as charting, news feeds, and market commentary? How important are premium services to my trading?

Step 2: Compare brokers

I will suggest you one of the best brokers with gives u best offers and low spreads which is WSBROKERS , you can see their offers through this link http://www.wsbrokers.com/

Step 3: Open demo accounts and ask questions.

Pick at least two brokers that fits most of your criteria and open up demo accounts. Trade in different market environments. Learn all the different features of each trading platform. If you have questions, don't be afraid to ask. Many brokers have excellent customer service support and would be happy to answer your questions.
Most demo trading platforms are very similar to their live counterparts, but not exactly the same. There may be a difference in speed of execution, slippage, and platform reliability (most of the time live accounts are more reliable than demo accounts). When you do have your strategy down and you are ready to move to a live account, start off small, test the waters, and see if this particular broker will suit your trading needs.

What is Forex Trading

The off-exchange retail foreign currency market, also referred to as the 'Forex' or 'FX' market, is one of the largest financial and investment markets in the world. Forex is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. The world's currencies are on a floating exchange rate and are always traded in pairs, for example Euro/Dollar or Dollar/Yen. Forex investors use various methods of analysis (both technical and fundamental) in an effort to predict future price movement and thus profit from well timed transactions. Trading currencies is a very risky form of investing. Any funds used when speculating on the values of currency prices should be considered as risk capital.