Archive for October 8th, 2009

Forex Trading Software Tip: Is An Automated System Important To Forex Trading?

How valuable is an automated system to the Forex trading system?

Before we answer this important question, let us first discuss how large the Forex trading market is. From there, we will know the value of automated systems for the Forex trading market.

You name it, we’ve got it. Take a look at the following:

BANKS- they are not just for saving money and lending capital to entrepreneurs, but they are one of the major players in Forex market. Banks cater both to large quantity of speculative trading and daily commercial turnover. Well-established banks can trade billions of dollars worth of foreign currencies everyday. Some of the trades are undertaken on behalf of their clients, but most are through proprietary desks.

COMMERCIAL COMPANIES- these commercial companies trade small quantities of foreign currencies compared to larger banks and their trades produce small and short-term impact on the market rates. However, the trade flows from transactions made by commercial companies are essential factors with regards to the long-term direction of the exchange rate of a certain currency.

CENTRAL BANKS- central banks play an important function in the Forex market. They have the control over the supply of different currency, inflation, and interest rate. In addition, they have also official target rates for the currencies that they are handling. They are responsible for stabilizing the Forex market through the use of foreign exchange reserves. Their intervention in the market is enough to stabilize a certain currency.

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FIRMS- these firms commonly manage huge accounts on behalf of their clients such as endowments and pension funds. They are using the Forex market to facilitate transactions, specifically in foreign securities. For example, an investment manager bearing an international equity portfolio needs to purchase and sell several pairs of foreign currencies to pay for foreign securities purchases.

RETAIL FX BROKERS- they handle a fraction of the total volume of Forex market. A single retail Forex broker estimates retail volume of between 25 to 50 billion dollars each day, which is estimated to be at 2% of the total market volume.

SPECULATORS- these are individuals who purchase and sell foreign currencies and profit through fluctuations on its price as opposed to popular methods such as interest and dividends. They perform the important role of transferring the risk to individuals who do not wish to bear it.

In the Forex trading market, there are already six major players partaking on the $1.8 trillion worth of daily turnover. With a large number of Forex trading players, there is really a vital need in switching from manual to automated Forex trading system.

Among the aforementioned major Forex players, the automated trading system is of great advantage to the speculators. Since they focus on the price fluctuations of various foreign currencies in order to profit, the real time data analysis will help them determine trades that will give advantage to them.

There are several automated Forex trading systems available in the market. There are also automated Forex systems that are offered for free or as part of their trading account acquired from their Forex brokers or agents. Such complimentary system packages are typically elementary trading system. Thus, if you are looking for more features, you can avail of it through additional payments.

There are two major kinds of automated Forex trading systems. These are:

Desktop-based system- all Forex-related data are stored on your desktop’s hard drive. This system is unpopular to Forex traders because all data are susceptible to computer virus contamination and other security problems. Worse, when the computer malfunctions, all essential information might be lost and cannot be retrieved (unless you have some back-up files of your own). However, it is little expensive compared to the other types of automated trading system.

Web system- the security of your Forex account and other data are provided by your web-based provider. These are hosted on secured servers. It is also very convenient in the fact that there will be no software required and it is compatible with your Internet browser.

You may also try different Forex automated trading system demos first so that you will be able to determine the automated Forex trading system that best suits your personal preference and needs.

Even if you are just a small-time Forex player, it will be to your best advantage if you will use an automated Forex trading system for your future Forex trades.

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Covered Call Strategy Part 2

A covered call strategy within a cycle will require people to sell options against the stock. If the stock is above the strike price, the stock will be “called” away. The seller receives the premium, but the owner of the call receives the shares at the strike price. There are various strategies involving this covered call strategy.

Some people prefer to have the covered call eventually pay back the stock owner his investment, so that he or she can reinvest that money, and upon receiving the investment back, the person will let the stock run. If this is the strategy, ideally you want to sell covered calls as the stock falls, as it stays flat, and then you want to have your cash back and let the stock run when it is on its way up again. This can allow you to buy an out of favor stock that is still in it’s decline, but in the second half of the decline, reduce your cost basis to zero, and still own the stock near it’s bottom. In the cycle mentioned earlier, depending on how fast the yield will allow you to recover the price of the stock, You will invest in the stock as early as the beginning of “dogs” and as late as contrarian, and recover your cost as early as contrarian, and as late as the start of estimate revision.

Another covered call strategy would be to buy a neglect, contrarian, or positive earnings surprise stock, sell out of the money covered calls, and continue to do so until the end of the growth stage of the stock, and not only stop selling the calls, but to just sell the stock.

Yet another strategy would be to write a covered call until around 20% can be gained, either through capital appreciation or collecting the option, then to convert the stock into a LEAP call as soon as selling the stock plus the premiums collected can pay for the call. This allows you to have a quicker turnover rate in terms of getting your money out, and playing with the house’s money.

This would be great for anyone who intends on having the stock paid for, and expecting to own the stock option through the entire length of the option or longer if they intend on rolling over the gains by buying another LEAP. It is also a good strategy if the stock’s future becomes less certain, and the investor wants to protect his or her initial investment. Now if someone rolls a stock into a stock option that doesn’t necessarily mean they are done collecting income from covered calls. There is far more to be learned about covered calls, so make sure to do your research before considering if its right for you.

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Retirement and Online Stock Trading

Retirement comes with a benefit and a drawback: more time and less money. The discovery of the Internet has brought about many changes in the way we conduct our lives. We can pay our bills online, go shopping online, do our banking online, and even make a date online!

People can even buy and participate in online stock investing. This activity could fit in very nicely with the extra time and may even make up the shortfall in income. Online stock investors like to have the facility of looking at their stock investment accounts whenever they want to, and online stock brokers love having the ability to take stock orders over the Internet, as opposed to using the telephone.

All it takes really is reading the newspapers and watching the news. Well, that is the start of it. Any ideas that spring to mind can be followed up by greater research into the company concerned. Most stock brokers and brokerage houses now offer online stock research to their clients as well as online stock investing. Another great thing about online stock trading is that fees and commissions are often lower. While online stock trading is great, there are also some drawbacks.

If you are brand new to trading, having the ability to actually speak with a stock broker can be quite beneficial. If you aren’t experienced in the stock market, online stock trading may be a rather dangerous thing for you to do. If this is the case, make sure that you learn as much as you can about trading stocks before you start ‘live’online stock trading.

You could control a dummy portfolio. For instance, many online stock brokers offer the chance to run a ‘watch list’ or dummy portfolio, where you can ‘buy and sell’ without risking your pension!

You should also remember that not everyone has a computer with Internet access on them all the time, although most mobile phones can get online, so you might not always have the ability to get online to make a trade. You will need to be sure that you can telephone and talk with a broker if you use an online stock broker. This is the case whether you are an experienced stock market trader or only a novice.

It is also a good idea for the retiree to sign up with an online stock broker that has been in business for quite a while. You won’t find one that has been in business online for fifty years of course, but you will be able to find a company that has been in business that long and that now offers online stock trading.

Again, online stock trading is a wonderful thing for retired people – but be sure that it isn’t for everyone. Think carefully before you decide to opt for online stock trading, and make sure that you really know what you are letting yourself in for!

Therefore, in summary, retirees can use their newly-found free time to investigate the stock market free by getting leads from newspapers, magazines and news programs. These leads can then be followed up by online research using a free online stock investing account.

These hunches can then be tracked by using a dummy portfolio. When you have gained sufficient experience, you can go ‘live’ by opening an active online stock investing account.

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