Corporate Profits Buoyed by Forex Gains

While the American economy is sputtering, US corporations are earnings record profits and stock market capitalization is soaring. These seemingly contradictory trends are being driven by the decline in the USD. Multinational corporations, especially those based in the US, are conducting a growing portion of their business abroad and subsequently, their foreign sales are booming. When corporations convert these profits from the currencies they are booked in back to USD, on which their financial statements are based, they are realizing the equivalent of a 5-10% bump from foreign exchange gains. Many of these companies are web-based, such as Yahoo, Amazon and eBay. Ironically, as the economy sags, betting on these types of companies may be akin to a bet against the USD.

Top 100 Forex Resources

The average daily forex trading volume currently exceeds $1.9 trillion. With so much on the line, we've put together a list of our favorite 100 forex resources to help you become a knowledgeable forex trader. The following resources were chosen for the quality of information and training tools offered. Although some of these tools are located on commercial sites, you'll find value in materials produced by professionals. Other sites were chosen for the resources that they offered for a price (like books), but they're all geared specifically toward the forex trader. The chosen sites are written in the English language, but some individuals, businesses, and organizations are located in areas other than the United States. All sites are listed in alphabetical order within the following categories:
Topics Covered in this ArticleBeginner's Paradise Blogs & News Charts Currency & Currency Converters Directories & Portals Economic Calendars & Indicators Fibonacci & Candlesticks Forecasts and Signals Forums and Communities Glossaries Market Reports Nonprofit Associations Practice Real-Time Quotes Technical Indicators X-Tras
Beginner's Paradise
If you're a forex newbie, the following sites will help you get a grip on the similarities and differences between forex trading and stock exchange trading. Take advantage of free resources before you dedicate any serious cha-ching to training.
Action Forex — Learn about the forex market through free e-Books, news, insights, and much more.
Currency College — Currency College delivers a variety of course offerings with classes that are held at the student’s convenience. Each class is followed by homework and tests; each course lasts about six weeks; and each class contains about ten students. Emphasis is given to risk management. This is not free education, but if you bring referrals to Currency College you could earn a scholarship toward your tuition. This site has plenty of free resources, however, like a comparative chart for various trading platforms so you can make an educated choice about trading platforms.
CyberTrading University — This site offers free forex training through a two-hour video that includes a brief history, PIP spreads, majors and crosses, economic indicators, fundamental analysis, technical analysis, short-term long-term fundamentals, trading rules, leverage and margin, trading psychology, Fibonacci Retracement Levels, moving averages, oscillators, Candlestick Charts, Bollinger Bands, and more.
Forex Charting 101 — A brief and basic overview of forex charts from Pip Trader. You'll discover that the charts are very similar to those that you might use for securities trading. But, some of the charts may seem more complicated if you're not a seasoned trader.
Forex Realm — Possibly the most comprehensive and thorough forex education online. Learn about everything from currency codes to exotic trading strategies through articles, graphics, and concise examples.
Forex-Training.com — Fairly comprehensive training with a free demo account. The highlight to this site is their explanations about various charts.
FX Home Trader — Focus on the information about technical analysis, where you can learn more about Fibonacci Trading, Pivot Points, and more. Their Forex Facts also contain some valuable information.
FX Power Trading Course — Offered by FXCM, this paid course is one step up from free at the current price. Learn how to time the market, recognize trends, and basics in fundamental and technical analysis through this eight-day course.
Investopedia on Forex — An extensive 10-part article on forex investing, from an introduction to a recap that covers everything from benefits and risks to technical analysis. If you can't get enough of Investopedia's information, head to a list of their Forex articles, where you can learn more and download their free e-Book entitled, "High Probability Trading Setups for the Currency Market."
Law of Charts — Joe Ross offers advice for traders across the board, but the information contained in his "Law of Charts" offer speaks to forex as well as any other trading strategy. He identifies chart patterns that result from human behaviors and points to entry and exit targets on those charts. You can take advantage of Ross's other tools as well, including the forum.
Learn4X — This is an interesting site simply because it contains several tests that help you determine if you have the 'guts' and knowledge to be a trader. They also offer a free online seminar.
Market Traders Institute (MTI) — You don't need to spend a lot of money to train in forex markets. MTI offers many free resources such as videos and lesson plans that will help you get off the ground. If you like what you hear and see, you can invest in materials for the advanced trader down the road.
My Forex Trading Tools — A site that contains overviews on everything from fundamentals to options.
Online Training Academy — Free basics on FX trading via video, offered by Mike McMahon. You need to register, but you can opt out of contact lists with a click of a box.
School of Pipsology — A lighthearted forex education from Kindergarten to College so the beginner knows exactly where he stands in an attempt to grasp the forex market.
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Blogs & News
The following list provides a variety of news from both professional and single-investor resources.
A Forex Loser — The name of the blog ought to warn you. This blog contains a different perspective on trading, with an emphasis on trading psychology. Some great trading tips.
Currency Secrets — Not updated daily, but plenty of resources in historical entries. The focus is on currency, but you can find plenty of reviews and tips here as well.
DailyFX — Sponsored by Forex Capital Markets (FXCM), this site offers a free weekly trading lesson and free quarterly outlook reports.
Forex News — At-a-glance links to news and analyses.
Forex Project — A fascinating blog written by a forex beginner who logs his experiences in a journal, through established goals, and with a full trade history. This blogger currently is under pressure from a fulltime job, and he's considering a transition from day trading to going long on his investments. Should be an interesting read. Be sure to check out this blogger's list of references, including a nice beta risk calculator.
Forex Reader — Daily currency trading news and commentary.
FX Boot Camp — Wayne McDonell offers his boot camp theories for free at his blog on FXStreet (see next).
FXStreet — Breaking news, commentary. Sponsored by Global Forex Trading (GFT).
Peter Bain Forex Trading Commentary — Peter Bain's commentary needs to be good, as it's a tool to push his training course. You can take advantage of his free podcasts as well.
Piptopia — This is Rob Booker's blog on forex. He's a currency trader and trainer and he's been at this blog for two years, so you'll find some interesting history here.
Grace Cheng's Forex Blog — "Not long after my graduation, I was introduced to forex trading, and since then, have never looked back." Outside of her blog, Cheng writes for a number of trading and investment magazines.
Quantitative Trading — Dr. Ernest Chan's take on automated, statistical trading strategies.
Trader Mike — Michael is a trader, and this blog is a trading journal of sorts. Although he considers himself a swing/position trader, he switched to day trading in 2005. Although this blog doesn't focus on forex per se, you can learn plenty about trading strategies here.
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Charts
You can't trade without charts, but the chart that you use is a matter of personal preference. The list below provides a nice pool to pick from:
DailyFX Chart — You can manipulate this chart by type, time scale, view, and much more. Java based.
Free Forex Charts — From simple to Premium to System Trading, simply the best choice of charts around.
Forex-Market — This site offers two free, real-time charting applications, one Web-based and the other a stand-alone Java applet.
Live Currency Chart — This chart, offered by FXStreet (see Blogs & News above), is also Java based. A nice feature is the Drag&Drop that allows traders to pull indicators out of the Studies window and up into the Chart window.
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Currency & Converters
Currencies can be confusing, especially when you learn that many lots are purchased in pairs. You can learn about specific currencies when you type the names of that currency into a search engine. For instance, you can learn more about the Euro at that currency's official site. But, if you don't know what to look for, the information found in the following sites will help you out:
ADVFN Forex Symbol Table — Comprehensive list of currencies. When you click on the currency symbol you'll reach a page where that currency is represented through currency exchange rate tables and historical exchange rate charts.
ExchangeRate.com — Try out the "hot" and "currency info" links that provide information about everything you'd want to know about worldwide currencies for 170 countries. Includes calculators, fun facts, serious facts, and more.
Go Currency — Reliable currency converter and money conversion service.
List of Currencies — This is an extensive list provided by Wikipedia that covers everything from ancient coinage to the current Yen. As with most Wikipedia lists, you might run across a link or two that doesn't contain information. But, you can use that information to search elsewhere if needed.
Oanda — Excellent set of currency converter tools from historical currency exchange rates for over 164 currencies to traveler's cheat sheets to customizable products. Visit their detailed currency converter FAQ page if you have questions.
X-Rates — More than a currency list or a converter, this site will bring you up-to-date on every bit of information you'd need to know as a forex trader.
XE.com — A basic currency converter backed up by other tools on this site, such as current and historic rate tables and a free email currency update service.
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Directories & Portals
The following resources offer choices beyond the ones listed here. Since forex is a booming individual trader industry, expect to find new sites popping up weekly.
Earn Forex — A limited list, but some great resources broken down by category. This list is just one feature to this site, as you can access calculators, a blog, and information for beginners here.
Forex Bastards — Don't let that empty page or the name put you off. Click on other categories to find some interesting resources. This is a project in the making, brought to you by the Secret Forex Society.
Forex Central — You want it? They have most of it (blogs are missing). Resources aren't rated.
Forex Directory — This site is a little difficult to slug through, but worth it for the resources provided.
Pip Trader — This site contains a forum, live quotes and charts, news, reports, and a "mini-game" that has nothing to do with forex, but that might help you lighten up a bit.
Top 100 Forex Sites — Although these sites are rated by popularity and, therefore, subject to rating scams, you can learn much from the sites that are listed simply from the variety of information that's offered here. Many sites are brokerage firms, but as I mentioned previously you can find free information on many of these sites such as news, calculators, techniques, and more.
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Economic Calendars & Indicators
Economic calendars and indicators are vital tools for fundamental research. The sites below will give you simple and detailed options.
Economic Indicators — A government site brought to you by the Economics and Statistics Administration at the US Department of Commerce. Their mission is to provide timely access to the daily releases of key economic indicators from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the US Census Bureau.
Forex Economic Calendar — What better place to find an excellent economic calendar than a site that focuses on this tool?
Global Forex Trading (GFT) — A detailed look into the next month's international monetary future based on GMT.
InfoForex — Brief overviews on various sectors from Auto and Truck Sales to a Monthly Wholesale Trade report based upon the US Census.
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Fibonacci & Candlesticks
Fibonacci and Japanese Candlestick charts may seem difficult, but with the right training you can master both technical strategies.
Fibonacci — This is the home page for Dr. Ron Knott's multimedia Web site on the Fibonacci numbers, the Golden section and the Golden string hosted by the Mathematics Department of the University of Surrey, UK. Simple to use, easy to understand, and filled with illustrations to help you learn why some numbers are so important to nature. These numbers are also of vast interest to many forex investors.
Fibonacci Forex Indicators — Forex Planet will begin to show you how to apply Fibs to forex in this easy-to-understand lesson. But, the lesson is short, so you might try the next resource as well.
Fibonacci Method in Forex charts — This lesson also applies to forex, and it offers a short tutorial on applications along with a downloadable Fib calculator.
Japanese Candlesticks — FX Words offers a simple and succinct explanation for candlesticks, including bullish and bearish patterns.
Japanese Candlesticks (Elliott Gann) — A comprehensive tutorial that covers all the basic terminology and explains each term with appropriate graphics, offered by the ElliottGann site.
Japanese Candlestick Trading Forum — It costs to become a member, but you can access all the candlestick basics for free on this site.
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Forecasts and Signals
The following resources use a mix of fundamental and technical analyses to formulate their prognoses:
AceTrader — True 24 hours real-time analysis for up-to-the-minute recommendations and analysis.
e-Forex — Free trading signals. Dig into their historical records to understand their precision.
Forex Predictions — Currently free daily and weekly high-low signals through the Web site and by email. This site is a division of RDC Bancorp, Inc., a foreign exchange services company.
Forex Signals — FinoTek provides signals and trends with charts. Check out their archived signals to determine credibility.
Investica Ltd. — Online information and free e-newsletters filled with signals and forecasts.
Open Forex — Daily forecasts in real trade and analytical articles on forex basic currency pairs.
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Forums and Communities
Forex Factory — You'll find a Forex Beginner Q&A section as well as topics that focus on specific strategies and techniques.
Forex TSD — Go ahead and lurk in this forum until you feel comfortable. Then register for free to access the forum and a calendar. The paid "elite" subscription offers detailed statements of currently more than 20 trading systems.
Global View Forums — Another free forum that's been around since 1996.
MoneyTec — With over 33,000 members, this traders' forum offers a format to discuss trading ideas, share, learn, and build new trading techniques and strategies.
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Fundamental Research
The following list contains comprehensive information about economic fundamentals for your research:
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) — Get the straight stuff from the US Department of Commerce like the pros. Everyone from the White House staff to US Trade Commission employees to trade policy officials who want to negotiate international trade agreements use the measurements contained on the BEA Web site.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) — The US Department of Labor offers a ton of information just on this page alone through their links.
Forex Daily Fundamentals — XpressTrade offers a daily focus on forex fundamentals.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) - An international organization which fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks. As such, this organization offers valuable information through their publications and research as well as through many other resources offered on this site. They also maintain a list of Central Bank Web sites.
The Fundamentals of Forex — Forex TV brings you the lowdown on what type of news would affect forex from a fundamental standpoint. You can use the information on this list to conduct further research.
Glossaries
Forex Glossary — The only drawback to this glossary is that the "A-Z" tab doesn't include a total listing of all the terms under the single-letter tabs. Comprehensive.
Forex.com Glossary — An at-a-glance glossary contained on one page.
Glossary of Forex Terms [PDF] — This printable file, offered by FX International Group, contains all the basics.
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Government Regulation
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) — The ASIC's regulatory coverage includes the forex market. Use their search box to learn more about their reach and responsibility.
Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — The CFTC operates along the same lines as the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), except this government organization focuses on protecting market users and the public from fraud in the futures and option markets. So keep this site handy to stay on top of any forex scams through their Consumer Advisory on Forex Fraud. You can learn quickly what to avoid in your learning curve through a detailed forex advisory that offers information about other resources as well.
Financial Services Authority (FSA) — An independent non-governmental body located in the UK, given statutory powers by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Use their search box to locate information about the UK forex market and regulations.
National Futures Association (NFA) — The NFA is "the premier independent provider of efficient and innovative regulatory programs that safeguard the integrity of the derivatives markets," which basically means that this organization regulates any market that depends upon future cash flows. The "investor information" section contains materials about how to find a broker and basic lessons in forex trading. Plus, they publish forex warnings, news, and they offer a place for investor disputes and complaints.
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Market Reports
KBC [PDF] — A Comprehensive "Morning Report" from this Belgian foreign exchange bank (in English).
Mellon — FX Daily report from Mellon Financial Corporation, with links to American and European editions and past issues.
SaxoBank — Daily market update from this foreign exchange service in London.
Scotia Capital [PDF] — Daily report with corresponding links for further reading from this Canadian foreign exchange bank.
UBS — Daily summary for forex markets sponsored by this Swiss foreign exchange bank.
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Nonprofit Associations
Australian Technical Analysts Association (ATAA) — A non-profit association of both professional technical analysts and anyone who uses technical analysis for private investing, trading or advising.
International Compliance Association (ICA) — The ICA is a professional organization dedicated to the furtherance of best compliance and anti money laundering practice in the financial services sector.
The Financial Markets Association (ACI) — ACI has the largest membership of any of the international associations in the wholesale financial markets. The Head Office is based in Paris.
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Practice
Some of the best demonstration tools are owned by forex brokerages. The following were chosen for their reliability and popularity. Be aware that some brokerages will request your permission to be contacted by mail, phone, or email. In some cases you might want this contact, as they will provide support for your training. In all cases you can walk away if their training and trading platforms don't turn you on.
CMS Forex — Customize your practice with unlimited funds on CMS Forex's VT Trader 1.8.5.1, a program that includes an API so that you can customize your solution. This software offers a point-and-click open and close positions directly on the chart. Access over 100 indicators, Reuters Forex related news and market analytics, and an "autopilot" feature. You can reach their customer support team by phone, live chat, or e-mail.
Forex Trading USA — Free 30-day demo with a Mini ($2,000 virtual cash, 200:1 leverage, 10k lot size) or Standard ($25,000 virtual cash, 100:1 leverage, 100k lot size). Their free education is a nice plus.
FXSolutions — Use $10,000 in practice funds with full access to FXSol's new charting solution, FX AccuCharts. Backed by 24/7 customer service.
Global Forex Trading — Download their DealBook 360 to practice forex trading with live, dealable prices, real-time data, and free real-time breaking world and financial news. The software features forex charts, more than 85 technical indicators (for standard size GFT trading accounts) and the ability to build your own indicators. You have a choice about the amount of beginning funds, from $2,500 to $50,000.
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Real-Time Quotes
ACM — Pick pairs and watch the quotes. ACM includes a manual [PDF] that explains in detail how to manipulate the chart to your liking. Must have Java plugin.
Forex Trading Charts — Real-time forex quotes. This site also contains real-time forex charting tools with editable indicators.
FXQuote — Scroll down the page, as the real-time quotes are located at bottom left. Based upon ET.
Live Forex Quotes — You might recognize the GFT logo behind the rates, but don't let that distract you from the constantly changing figures. If you're addicted to live feeds, you'll be mesmerized by the constantly changing currency rates on this chart.
SaxoBank — Scroll down the page a bit, as the quotes are located at the bottom left on this page, based upon GMT.
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Technical Indicators
The following three resources offer the most succinct information about technical overlays and indicators. You can find many more resources at some of the sites previously listed under the Beginner's section, under many of the Blogs & News resources, and at various brokerages.
Forex-Business Technical Indicators — Where the other two sites offer great technical indicator explanations, this site offers 10 charts that illustrate some of those terms.
IQ Chart — This company offers a list of technical overlays and indicators with short and easy-to-understand explanations. Take a look at their chart patterns while at this site, as this company is a provider of stock charting software to individual investors and technical analysts.
Technical Indicators — Definitions provided by MetaQuotes Software.
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X-Tras
IFXTAG — The International Forex Traders Affinity Group provides individual investors access to products and services that are evaluated by top professionals and their members. IFXTAG is committed to harnessing the potential to make electronic trading work for their global community of subscribers. Membership is free, but the resources are not. Members, however, do receive free trials and discounts to various services.
Secret Forex Society — A 'closed' forum and educational site where members ask you to join or you can ask to be placed on a waiting list. Go ahead and trust them. Get on the waiting list so you can access some interesting information.
Traders Press, Inc. — An online bookstore specifically for traders.

Get Started Investing in Forex: 37 Tutorials, Tools & Resources

Even if you're an active trader in stocks, you may not be prepared to invest in forex, or the foreign exchange market. Forex trades 24 hours a day from 5:00 p.m. ET on Sunday until 4:00 p.m. ET Friday, so you won't hear those opening or closing bells. And, there's no central market like the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. Instead, trade is conducted between participants through electronic communication networks (ECNs) and phone networks in various markets around the world. So, when you hear that the US dollar closed at a certain rate, it simply means that was the rate at market close in New York. But currency continues to be traded around the world long after New York's close.
But, like securities, traders can go long or short and they can make a profit or lose money. As with stocks, it's best to conduct some research into how the forex market works before you begin to trade. After you understand how the forex market works, you can begin to build a trading strategy.
The following list contains 37 tutorials, tools, and resources that will help you get started with investments in forex. If you've traded on any stock exchange in the past, some of these tools might feel or appear familiar, but they may have a new twist. The resources listed below were chosen for their clarity and simplicity as well as for their reputation.
Getting Started
The following information is for the forex beginner, but even intermediate-level forex traders might pick up a tip or two from these sites:
Baby Pips: A pip is the smallest unit of price for any foreign currency, so "baby pips" is a bit redundant. But you won't find any redunancy on this site. Skip the news on the front page for now and go straight to the School of Pipsology that holds a complete course for beginners. If you walk through all the lessons contained on this site, you'll have a solid basic forex education under your belt.
Forex Glossary: Although the previous tutorial might help you to understand some forex terms, this glossary is a great tool to have on hand for future reference. You'll see some familiar terms here, like "selling short" and "limit order," and you'll learn that they mean the same as they do when you use them for trading securities. But, you'll also find new terms like "big figure" and "two-way price," terms that will set you apart as a forex trader.
Investopedia: This online financial encyclopedia contains an extensive 10-part article on forex investing, from an introduction to a recap that covers everything from benefits and risks to technical analysis. If you can't get enough of Investopedia's information, head to their Forex index, where you can find a list of articles and an opportunity to download their free e-Book entitled, "High Probability Trading Setups for the Currency Market."
National Futures Association (NFA): Now that you have a basic understanding about forex markets, visit the NFA to learn how to build a sound forex strategy. The NFA is "the premier independent provider of efficient and innovative regulatory programs that safeguard the integrity of the derivatives markets," which basically means that this organization regulates any market that depends upon future cash flows. The "investor information" section contains materials about how to find a broker and basic lessons in forex trading. Plus, they publish forex warnings, news, and they offer a place for investor disputes and complaints.
Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): The CFTC operates along the same lines as the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), except this government organization focuses on protecting market users and the public from fraud in the futures and option markets. So keep this site handy to stay on top of any forex scams through their Consumer Advisory on Forex Fraud. You can learn quickly what to avoid in your learning curve through a detailed forex advisory that offers information about other resources as well.
Martket Traders Insitute (MTI): You don't need to spend a lot of money to train in forex markets. Even MTI offers free resources such as videos and lesson plans that will help you get off the ground. If you like what you hear and see, you can invest in materials for the advanced trader down the road.
Learn about Currency
If you're going to trade something, you better know what it is you're trading. These currency sites will help you get up to speed on foreign currency exchange and markets.
Exchange Rate: Skip the top link box, as those links will take you to FXCM (Forex Capital Markets — see #13 and #33). Instead, try out the "hot" and "currency info" links that provide information about everything you'd want to know about worldwide currencies for 170 countries. Includes calculators, fun facts, serious facts, and more.
Oanda: With a free registration you can access customizable currency tools, including calculators and foreign exchange data. If you don't register you can still access currency exchange tools that are great items for instant information, especially for travelers, let alone forex investors. The Traveler's Cheat Sheet is indispensable for money-conscious globetrotters.
GoCurrency: This site offers a powerful and accurate currency converter, but don't stop there. Learn about currencies by country, currency forecasts, and gather insights on foreign investments.
The Euro: Confused about the Euro? Over 13 European Union countries now use the Euro, and this Web site, brought to you by the European Commission, will teach you everything you want to know about this currency. But the Euro represents just one currency among hundreds. Which leads me to my next point...
List of Currencies: This is an extensive list provided by Wikipedia that covers everything from ancient coinage to the current Yen. As with most Wikipedia lists, you might run across a link or two that doesn't contain information. But, you can use that information to search elsewhere if needed.
Get the News
Once you've learned the basics, the next best thing you can do before you begin to trade is to read up on forex information via traditional financial news sites and blogs. Use the tutorials listed above during this process so that you can grasp the language and learn the strategies involved in any reporting. Take advantage of forums or chats offered by these resources to ask questions:
Action Forex: This site offers an easy-to-read layout that includes news, insights, fundamentals reports, calculators, and tons of other forex resources.
Daily FX: An easy-on-the-eyes news source that offers a calendar, charts, and a forum. Sponsored by FXCM, this site offers a free weekly trading lesson and free quarterly outlook reports. You must be an FXCM client to access the market commentary, but the other "free" news offers a great resource for learning and for staying on top of forex news.
Forex Reader: The Forex Reader is a popular blog that offers updates on financial headlines relegated by currency.
Forex News: Like most of the sites listed here, Forex News offers more than news. Check out their forums, their technical news, and their educational and research materials while you're there. Register for free to take full advantage of the site's resources, including a chat feature.
FXStreet: Global Forex Trading (GFX) sponsors this forex news site. Use the forums, chats, strategies, techniques, and trading tools to get a feel for forex. Additionally, several bloggers share their insights, including Wayne McDonell's FX Boot Camp Training Videos (visit his FX Bootcamp site).
Profiting with Forex Blog: You might discover that this newsworthy blog is part of the network, "Profiting with Forex." The blog is interesting, but the backend reports, podcasts, and commentary at the "Profiting" site might appeal to you more.
The Forex Project: Lessons learned first-hand from a forex trader. This site has an unbelievably long list of topics, along with news about the blogger's personal trading experiences, calculators, charts, news, and a perspective on forex psychology.
Participate in Forums
Speaking of forums, here are a few specific resources where you can tap into information from around the world that may help to answer your questions about forex trading and markets. Be aware that individuals who want to sell their ideas visit these forums, just like any other forums. But, you'll find a wealth of valid information here as well.
MoneyTec: With over 33,000 members, this traders' forum offers a format to discuss trading ideas, share, learn, and build new trading techniques and strategies.
Global View Forums: Another free forum that's been around since 1996. This one focuses solely on forex. You must register to participate.
Forex Factory Forum: You'll find a Forex Beginner Q&A section as well as topics that focus on specific strategies and techniques. Free to register.
Learn Strategies
You'll discover that some forex traders use Fibonacci (Fib) methods, and that others rely on current financial news to divine futures. There are as many strategies as personalities in the forex market, but — like the stock market — they rely either on fundamental or technical analysis. The following contains a mix of the two:
Fibonacci Lesson: Don't know much 'bout arithmetic, Fibonacci numbers, or the Golden Section? This tutorial, offered by Dr Ron Knott from the Mathematics Department of the University of Surrey, UK will provide results. Simple to use, easy to understand, and filled with illustrations to help you learn why some numbers are so important to nature. Interstingly, these numbers are also of vast interest to many forex investors.
Fibonacci Forex Indicators: Forex Planet will begin to show you how to apply Fibs to forex in this easy-to-understand lesson. But, the lesson is short, so you might try the next resource as well:
Mini-Lesson on Fibonnaci: This lesson also applies to forex, and it offers a short tutorial on applications along with a downloadable Fib calculator.
Intro to Japanese Candlestick Charting: Altavest provides a short and succinct introduction to Japanese candlestick charting, another method that forex traders use to graph charts.
Candlestick Patterns: If you like the Japanese candlestick methodology, this site will thrill you. Extensive patterns are illustrated graphically from basic to single patterns and reversal to continuation formations. This entire site offers some great information on techniques and strategies beyond the candlestick information, so take some time to look around while you're here. Basically, this site has it all as far as technical analysis goes.
Fundamentals of Forex: Forex TV brings you the lowdown on what type of news would affect forex from a fundamental standpoint. You can use the information on this list to conduct further research, but I'll bring a few of those topics to you now...
Consumer Price Index (CPI): The US Department of Labor offers a ton of information just on this page alone through their links. But, the CPI is often influenced by many other factors. If you're a fundamentalist, you might want to tag this next link for further research as well...
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA): Don't play around with someone else's opinions. Get the straight stuff from the US Department of Commerce like the pros. Everyone from the White House staff to US Trade Commission employees to trade policy officials who want to negotiate international trade agreements uses the measurements contained on the BEA Web site. Why should you be left out of this information resource?
Use Charts
Charts offer visual validation for technical strategies, but they also reflect fundamental behaviors in the market. Even if you're a seasoned securities trader, you might want to learn more about the psychology behind forex trading. If you can read all sorts of charts inside and out, you'll have the forex advantage.
The Law of Charts: Joe Ross offers advice for traders across the board, but the information contained in his "Law of Charts" offer speaks to forex as well as any other trading strategy. He identifies chart patterns that result from human behaviors and points to entry and exit targets on those charts. You can take advantage of Ross's other tools as well, including the forum.
Forex Charting 101: A brief and basic overview of forex charts from Pip Trader. You'll discover that the charts are very similar to those that you might use for securities trading. But, some of the charts may seem more complicated if you're not a seasoned trader.
Free Forex Charts: There's no reason for me to push you into using a specific chart. Instead, I'll point you to a short list of free forex charts that you can use for practice. When you're ready to begin trading, take a look at their lists of premium and system trading charts for professional use. The lists contain ratings and reviews, visuals, features, and tips and tricks for individual charts.
FXCM: Although I don't advocate specific brokers in this article, when you visit brokerage sites make sure that you take advantage of any free information offered by those businesses. In this instance, Forex Capital Markets offers tons of information about forex trading, and you can sign up for a risk-free 30-day practice account to get your feet wet. Forex.com and several other brokerage sites also offer this free account service. Be aware that when you sign up for these services that you'll be added to a mailing list. You can opt out of these lists, but read any other pertinent information to make sure that you're not obligated to purchase anything from any brokerage that you use for services such as this one.
Other tools
The tools listed below are "sidebars" to all the information listed above. I'll cut you loose on the last two sites, as they contain just about every site you'd might want to access for more forex information:
Live Forex Rates: You might recognize the GFT logo behind the rates, but don't let that distract you from the constantly changing figures. If you're addicted to live feeds, you'll be mesmerized by the constantly changing currency rates on this chart.
A Free Book about Forex: This book is truly free, as you don't need to register to access the PDF file. A forex trader offers information about all the mistakes he made as he learned how to develop his own forex strategy. Short and easy to read, this little book will bring some insights into how to avoid some pitfalls in the forex markets.
Top 100 Forex Sites: Although these sites are rated by popularity and, therefore, subject to rating scams, you can learn much from the sites that are listed simply from the variety of information that's offered here. Many sites are brokerage firms, but as I mentioned previously you can find free information on many of these sites such as news, calculators, techniques, and more.
Earn Forex: A link exchange/directory for other forex sites. Unlike the "Top 100" site listed previously, Earn Forex doesn't rate their links. But, you will also find much different information here than at the previous site. Additionally, the links are sorted by categories, which makes it easier to find what you need. In addition, you'll find other tools here like calculators, articles, and a forex FAQ and glossary.
There are many other sites that I could list for your forex training, but my next suggestion is to head to your local library and read some books about forex trading. If you find an author or two who are to your liking, begin to study their techniques and strategies both through their books and on the Internet. If you share your information and questions on forums, you might find a mentor who will help you learn how to strategize and to use charts and fundamentals to your advantage as well.
Forex trading isn't learned overnight; so don't feel inadequate if you can't grasp the fine points immediately. You can't lose by learning more about how world economies work. The information that you gather in your search for forex training will make you a better trader no matter which markets you prefer to use.

What is FOREX?

FOREX (FOReign EXchange market) is an international foreign exchange market, where money is sold and bought freely. In its present condition FOREX was launched in the 1970s, when free exchange rates were introduced, and only the participants of the market determine the price of one currency against the other proceeding from supply and demand.
As far as the freedom from any external control and free competition are concerned, FOREX is a perfect market. It is also the biggest liquid financial market. According to various assessments, money masses in the market constitute from 1 to 1.5 trillion US dollars a day. (It is impossible to determine an absolutely exact number because trading is not centralized on an exchange.) Transactions are conducted all over the world via telecommunications 24 hours a day from 00:00 GMT on Monday to 10:00 pm GMT on Friday. Practically in every time zone (that is, in Frankfurt-on-Main, London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc.) there are dealers who will quote currencies.

FOREX is a more objective market, because if some of its participants would like to change prices, for some manipulative purpose, they would have to operate with tens of billions dollars. That is why any influence by a single participants in the market is practically out of the question. The superior liquidity allows the traders to open and/or close positions within a few seconds. The time of keeping a position is arbitrary and has no limits: from several seconds to many years. It depends only on your trading strategies. Although the daily fluctuations of currencies are rather insignificant, you may use the credit lines, that are accessible even to currency speculators with small capitals ($ 1,000 - 5,000), where the profit may be impressive. (You can learn more about it in the section: The main principles of trading.)

The idea of marginal trading stems from the fact that in FOREX speculative interests can be satisfied without a real money supply. This decreases overhead expenses for transferring money and gives an opportunity to open positions with a small account in US dollars, buying and selling a lot of other currencies. That is, on can conduct transactions very quickly, getting a big profit, when the exchange rates go up or down. Many speculative transactions in the international financial markets are made on the principles of marginal trading.

Margin trading is trading with a borrowed capital. Marginal trading in an exchange market uses lots. 1 lot equals approximately $100,000, but to open it it is necessary to have only from 0.5% to 4% of the sum.

For example, you have analyzed the situation in the market and come to the conclusion that the pound will go up against the dollar. You open 1 lot for buying the pound (GBP) with the margin 1% (1:1000 leverage) at the price of 1.49889 and wait for the exchange rate to go up. Some time later your expectations become true. You close the position at 1.5050 and earn 61 pips (about $ 405). For the calculation of 1 pip click here.

Everyday fluctuations of currencies constitute about 100 to 150 pips, giving FX traders an opportunity to make money on these changes.

In FOREX, it's not obligatory to buy some currency first in order to sell it later. It's possible to open positions for buying and selling any currency without actually having it. Usually Internet-brokers establish the minimum deposit such as $ 2000, for working in the FOREX market, and grant a leverage of 1:100. That is, opening the position at $100,000, a trader invests $1,000 and receives $99.000 as a credit. The major currencies traded in FOREX, are Euro (EUR), Japanese yen (JPY), British Pound (GBP), and Swiss Franc (CHF). All of them are traded against the US dollar (USD).

In order to assess the situation in the market a trader has to be able to use fundamental and/or technical analysis, as well as to make decisions in the constantly changing current of information about political and economic character. Most small and medium players in financial markets use technical analysis. Technical analysis presupposes that all the information about the market and its further fluctuations is contained in the price chain. Any factor, that has some influence on the price, be it economic, political or psychological, has already been considered by the market and included in the price. The initial data for a technical analysis are prices: the highest and the lowest prices, the price of opening and closing within a certain period of time, and the volume of transactions.

A technical analysis is founded on three suppositions:
Movement of the market considers everything;
Movement of prices is purposeful;
History repeats itself.
That is, technical analysis is a statistical and mathematical analysis of previous quotes and a prognosis of coming prices.
A number of technical indicators have been installed into the PRO-CHARTS trading system. Analyzing the indicators one can come to the conclusion about further movements of the quoted currencies. For a more detailed description of the indicators, analyzing price charts and volumes of trading, click here.

Fundamental analysis is an analysis of current situations in the country of the currency, such as its economy, political events, and rumors. The country's economy depends on the rate of inflation and unemployment, on the interest rate of its Central Bank, and on tax policy. Political stability also influences the exchange rate. Policy of the Central Bank has a special role, as concentrated interventions or refusal from them greatly influence the exchange rate.

At the same time one should not consider fundamental analysis just as an analysis of the economic situation in the country itself. A far bigger role in the FOREX market belongs to the expectations of the market participants and their assessment of these expectations. Various prognoses and bulletins, issued by the participants, have a strong influence on the expectations. Very often an effect of the so-called self-filfilling prophecy occurs when market players raise or lower the exchange rates according to the prognosis. But a deep and thorough fundamental analysis is available only for big banks with a staff of professional analysts and constant access to a wide field of information.

In spite of these different approaches, both forms of analyses complement one another. Traders who act on the basis of a fundamental analysis, have to consider some technical characteristics of the market (the main rates of support, such as resistance and resale), and supporters of the technical approach to the market must track the main news (interest rates, important political events).


The main merits of the FOREX market are:
The biggest number of participants and the largest volumes of transactions;
Superior liquidity and speed of the market: transactions are conducted within a few seconds according to online quotes;
The market works 24 hours a day, every working days;
A trader can open a position for any period of time he wants;
No fees, except for the difference between buying and selling prices;
An opportunity to get a bigger profit that the invested sum;
Qualified work in the FOREX market can become your main professional activity;
You can make deals any time you like.

What is FOREX?

FOREX (FOReign EXchange market) is an international foreign exchange market, where money is sold and bought freely. In its present condition FOREX was launched in the 1970s, when free exchange rates were introduced, and only the participants of the market determine the price of one currency against the other proceeding from supply and demand.
As far as the freedom from any external control and free competition are concerned, FOREX is a perfect market. It is also the biggest liquid financial market. According to various assessments, money masses in the market constitute from 1 to 1.5 trillion US dollars a day. (It is impossible to determine an absolutely exact number because trading is not centralized on an exchange.) Transactions are conducted all over the world via telecommunications 24 hours a day from 00:00 GMT on Monday to 10:00 pm GMT on Friday. Practically in every time zone (that is, in Frankfurt-on-Main, London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc.) there are dealers who will quote currencies.

FOREX is a more objective market, because if some of its participants would like to change prices, for some manipulative purpose, they would have to operate with tens of billions dollars. That is why any influence by a single participants in the market is practically out of the question. The superior liquidity allows the traders to open and/or close positions within a few seconds. The time of keeping a position is arbitrary and has no limits: from several seconds to many years. It depends only on your trading strategies. Although the daily fluctuations of currencies are rather insignificant, you may use the credit lines, that are accessible even to currency speculators with small capitals ($ 1,000 - 5,000), where the profit may be impressive. (You can learn more about it in the section: The main principles of trading.)

The idea of marginal trading stems from the fact that in FOREX speculative interests can be satisfied without a real money supply. This decreases overhead expenses for transferring money and gives an opportunity to open positions with a small account in US dollars, buying and selling a lot of other currencies. That is, on can conduct transactions very quickly, getting a big profit, when the exchange rates go up or down. Many speculative transactions in the international financial markets are made on the principles of marginal trading.

Margin trading is trading with a borrowed capital. Marginal trading in an exchange market uses lots. 1 lot equals approximately $100,000, but to open it it is necessary to have only from 0.5% to 4% of the sum.

For example, you have analyzed the situation in the market and come to the conclusion that the pound will go up against the dollar. You open 1 lot for buying the pound (GBP) with the margin 1% (1:1000 leverage) at the price of 1.49889 and wait for the exchange rate to go up. Some time later your expectations become true. You close the position at 1.5050 and earn 61 pips (about $ 405). For the calculation of 1 pip click here.

Everyday fluctuations of currencies constitute about 100 to 150 pips, giving FX traders an opportunity to make money on these changes.

In FOREX, it's not obligatory to buy some currency first in order to sell it later. It's possible to open positions for buying and selling any currency without actually having it. Usually Internet-brokers establish the minimum deposit such as $ 2000, for working in the FOREX market, and grant a leverage of 1:100. That is, opening the position at $100,000, a trader invests $1,000 and receives $99.000 as a credit. The major currencies traded in FOREX, are Euro (EUR), Japanese yen (JPY), British Pound (GBP), and Swiss Franc (CHF). All of them are traded against the US dollar (USD).

In order to assess the situation in the market a trader has to be able to use fundamental and/or technical analysis, as well as to make decisions in the constantly changing current of information about political and economic character. Most small and medium players in financial markets use technical analysis. Technical analysis presupposes that all the information about the market and its further fluctuations is contained in the price chain. Any factor, that has some influence on the price, be it economic, political or psychological, has already been considered by the market and included in the price. The initial data for a technical analysis are prices: the highest and the lowest prices, the price of opening and closing within a certain period of time, and the volume of transactions.

A technical analysis is founded on three suppositions:
Movement of the market considers everything;
Movement of prices is purposeful;
History repeats itself.
That is, technical analysis is a statistical and mathematical analysis of previous quotes and a prognosis of coming prices.
A number of technical indicators have been installed into the PRO-CHARTS trading system. Analyzing the indicators one can come to the conclusion about further movements of the quoted currencies. For a more detailed description of the indicators, analyzing price charts and volumes of trading, click here.

Fundamental analysis is an analysis of current situations in the country of the currency, such as its economy, political events, and rumors. The country's economy depends on the rate of inflation and unemployment, on the interest rate of its Central Bank, and on tax policy. Political stability also influences the exchange rate. Policy of the Central Bank has a special role, as concentrated interventions or refusal from them greatly influence the exchange rate.

At the same time one should not consider fundamental analysis just as an analysis of the economic situation in the country itself. A far bigger role in the FOREX market belongs to the expectations of the market participants and their assessment of these expectations. Various prognoses and bulletins, issued by the participants, have a strong influence on the expectations. Very often an effect of the so-called self-filfilling prophecy occurs when market players raise or lower the exchange rates according to the prognosis. But a deep and thorough fundamental analysis is available only for big banks with a staff of professional analysts and constant access to a wide field of information.

In spite of these different approaches, both forms of analyses complement one another. Traders who act on the basis of a fundamental analysis, have to consider some technical characteristics of the market (the main rates of support, such as resistance and resale), and supporters of the technical approach to the market must track the main news (interest rates, important political events).


The main merits of the FOREX market are:
The biggest number of participants and the largest volumes of transactions;
Superior liquidity and speed of the market: transactions are conducted within a few seconds according to online quotes;
The market works 24 hours a day, every working days;
A trader can open a position for any period of time he wants;
No fees, except for the difference between buying and selling prices;
An opportunity to get a bigger profit that the invested sum;
Qualified work in the FOREX market can become your main professional activity;
You can make deals any time you like.

The Main Principles of Trading

In contrast to exchange transactions with real supply or real currency the participants of FOREX use trading with a margin deposit; i.e. marginal or leverage trading. In marginal trading, each transaction has two obligatory stages (they can be divided by period of time, which can be as long as you like): buying (selling) of currency at one price, and then selling (buying) it at another (or at the same) price. The first transaction is called opening the position, the second one, closing the position.
Opening a position, a trader furnishes a deposit sum from 0.5 to 4 per cent of the credit line, granted for the transaction. So, in order to buy or sell 100,000 US dollars for Japanese yens, you will not need the whole sum, but only from 500 to 2000 US dollars depending on your policy of controlling risks. When the position is closed, the deposit sum returns, and calculation of profits or losses is done. All the profit or losses caused by the change of currency rates is credited on your account.

Let's take a concrete example of getting a profit from the changing the rate of the Euro, from 0,9162 to 0,9292. If you have anticipated this change by using technical or fundamental analysis, you can buy the Euro cheaper for dollars, and then sell it back at a higher price. For example, if you choose leverage 1:100, then 99,000 dollars of the credit line, granted by the Internet broker, is added to 1000 dollars, and you buy the Euro at the price of 0.9162. As a result of this transaction we get: $ 100,000 / 0.9162 = Euro 109.146, 47.

When the rate changes (an average daily change of Euro is about 70 to 100 pips), you close the position and sell the Euro for dollars, but at the rate of 0.9292. You get 109,146. 47*0.9292 =101,418.89 dollars. Your profit is $ 1,418.89. The same transaction with leverage 1:200 would give you $2, 837.78 of profit, with leverage 1:50 the profit would be 709.45, with leverage 1:25 - 354.72.

We'd like to remind you that the higher the credit leverage, the higher is your profit if the fluctuation of the currency rate was anticipated correctly. However, if your anticipation was wrong, your losses will be bigger.

One cannot feel confident in the FOREX market without a thorough knowledge of the terms used there.

Foreign exchange quotes are a relation between currencies.

USDCHF - the cost of $1 in Swiss Francs.
USDJPY - the cost of $1 in Japanese yens.
EURUSD - the cost of Euro 1 in US dollars.
GBPUSD - the cost of 1 GBP in US dollars.
That is, quotes are expressed in the units of the second currency for a unit of the first one. For example, quote USDJPY 108,91 shows that $1 costs 108,91 Japanese yens. Quote EURUSD 0.9561 shows that 1 Euro costs 0.9561 US dollars.
The last figure in the quote is called "pip". The cost of the pip is different for every currency, and depends on the leverage and current quote.

The formula for calculating 1 pip is:


100,000/current quote without commas * K


where К=1 at leverage 1:100,
К=2 at leverage 1:200,
К=0,5 at leverage 1:50,
K=0,25 at leverage 1:25.

Examples:

USDJPY = 108.91 leverage 1:100
100.000 / 10891 х 1 = 9,18 USD

EURUSD = 0.9561 leverage1:200
100.000 / 9561 х 2 =20,92 USD
GBPUSD and EURUSD are direct quotes, i.e. when the chart goes up, GBP and EUR become more expensive, and when it goes down, the currencies become cheaper. USDCHF and USDJPY are backward quotes, and when the chart grows, prices on CHF and JPY fall, and when the chart goes down, the prices grow.

On direct quotes you buy according to ASK and sell according to BID. With backward quotes, you buy according to BID and sell according to ASK .

Trading in the FOREX market is realized in lots. When you open a position, you can choose the number of lots you want from 1 to 10. One lot equals $ 100,000. The deposit sum for one lot will vary from $500 to $2000, depending on the credit leverage you choose. Leverage is a financial mechanism that allows crediting speculative transactions with a small deposit. We give you an opportunity to choose a credit leverage in the range of 1:200 to 1:25.

In the course of trading you can fix your profit or cut off your losses according to the commands LIMIT and STOP that have been set up.

LIMIT is set up higher than the current meaning of the price.
STOP is set up lower than the current meaning of the price.

With these commands the positions is closed without additional orders when the price reaches the agreed level.

In the process of trading you can create pending positions, that will be activated when the price reaches the agreed level (open price). When creating and closing orders, a temporary delay occurs, and lasts for about 30 to 40 seconds. When you make an inquiry, you are given a real market price, which is the current price at the moment of proposal, not at the moment of inquiry.

The process of trading is described in detail in section Description of the Trade Terminal.

The main terms that characterize the account:

Deal, realization of 2 trade transactions, when currency is bought (sold), and then the reverse conversion is realized.
Balance, the sum on the account of a client after the last transaction is conducted.
Floating Profit, the current profit on open positions.
Floating storage, fee for postponement of an opened position over midnight GMT.
Equity = Balance + Floating + Floating storage.
Margin requirement, a necessary deposit sum calculated according to the formula
100,000 / K + 100,000 / K,
where K = leverage, and the number of items equals the number of open positions.
Percentage, index of an account.
Percentage = Equity / Margin Requirement. At Percentage lower than 50 % it's impossible to open new positions.
Margin call, condition of an account when all opened positions are closed by the Internet broker according to current quotes. It occurs at a Percentage lower than 10%.
Please note that contrary to the majority of other companies, in PRO-FOREX.com price levels of client's orders may differ from the current price only by 5 pips. However, very rarely are orders executed worse than requests, because of the high market volatility.

Conditions of work

The Internet broker PRO-FOREX.com gives an opportunity to work 24 hours a day on four major currencies against the US dollar (British Pound, Euro, Swiss Frank, Japanese yen) on the spot, i.e. according to the current prices on the international FOREX exchange market.



Minimum deposit $1000
Leverage 1:25, 1:50, 1:100, 1:200 (trader's choice)
Spread 3 pips (EURUSD and USDJPY)
4 pips (GBPUSD and USDCHF)
Measure of the lot $100.000
Carrying the position over midnight $8
Minimum volume of entering the market 1 lot (4 lots with leverage 1:25)




No fee is taken for deals. If there were no deals closed during a month, $15 should be paid.


Beginning of work
To begin working on the FOREX market via our company you should

- read the following documents:
SERVICE AGREEMENT
REGULATIONS FOR EXECUTING TRANSACTIONS ON THE EXCHANGE MARKET
RISK INFORMATION
- accept all the rest of the necessary documents directly in the Internet, having filled in the respective registration form.

If you haven't ticked the point "I wish to start working at once, accepting the documents here", then a package of documents (in two copies) will be sent to you by registered mail. We'd ask you to sign the received documents and return one copy to the address:

VIGRI Ltd.
12 Laki St.
Tallinn, 10621
Estonia

- place a margin deposit. This can be done by a bank money order. The money will be placed on your subaccount on the account VIGRI Ltd. (trademark: PRO-FOREX.com) in AP Anlage & Privatbank AG (Switzerland).