I have been reading about trading forex but I am unsure about the strategy I should be using. I have read about so many different strategies and they all claim to be the best and easiest. I was just wondering if anybody had any real experience trading forex that could recommend a good strategy to start out with.

Answer
If you are a beginner, i suggest you to use Marketiva, which is a very good platform to start trading with and very easy to use.

Marketiva gives you 5$ real to start trading so you don't have to deposit and if you made profit from it you can cash out, this is why it's very good for beginners. Their platform is very easy to use and they have support during trading hours for your questions, doubts etc.

They also have chat channels where you can talk, exchange opinions and ideas with traders of your country or international traders.

To open your account please visit http://www.marketiva.com/index.ncre?gid=3371

what is the best forex trading strategy?

i want to know a proven strategy for forex trading (swing or long time) and will appreciate if it's from a pro trader.
thanks

Answer
www.FXCM.com

http://www.babypips.com/

Here is a couple good videos to watch,

http://www.forex.com/forex-seminars-developing-listen.html

http://www.forex.com/forex-seminars-developing2-listen.html

Here is a squido site for fxbootcamp that has several good video, if youll take the time to watch these you can learn a lot.

http://www.squidoo.com/fxbootcamp/

I like Oanda for a starting broker because you can trade with as little as 1 cent a pip on the line, of course youll only be making 1 cent a pip. then as you improve you can step it up a penny or a dime or what ever.
The only bad thing about them is 50:1 leverage and there spread gets very wide during news times.

I also agree with babypips good site.

a short but very good ebook
http://www.robbooker.com/books/Strategy10.pdf

Here is a good site to learn about the indicators. Just look all over it.

http://www.investopedia.com/university/movingaverage/default.asp

Use Oanda as a demo account. It doesn't expire so you will have as long as you need to practice.
http://fxgame.oanda.com

check out this guy: http://www.robbooker.com/

Hello, I want to invest $200 into forex using either forex megadroid or fapturbo, but i have problem knowing which one to buy for this start up capital, and which one is the best, because i learnt that both works fine. Please advise me..

Answer
I tested megadroid but it turned me off that it worked only on selected currencies. Good trading system has to work on all majors, otherwise it is probably done just to fit the curve. I tested quite a few of them, and find them mostly dis-satisfactory for one reason or another. Whatever you do, make sure that you know enough about money management and discipline that you need to stick with the system. But anyway, could this fapturbo be actually FAB turbo?

Forex Megadroid a Scam?

I have purchased Forex Megadroid on 2 June 2009 and trade live since with default setting except the risklevel which I set at 0.4. Till now, the robot did only 3 trades. But when I back test it, the robot did 9 trades, why is the robot not performing just like said in their web? Why did the robot missed out so many trades? I'm starting to think that it's a scam already. Disappointed.

Answer
It could be the broker that you are using if they have a high spread then it the forex megadroid could be missing the trades.

I would suggest that you look at this site they test all the forex robots on live accounts and also have a section where they display all the settings they are using. So you could compare their settings to yours to see if there is a difference. If you join the site (it is free) you can also see what trades each robot is doing so be able to compare the performance of your robot against the one on test.

http://www.forex-robots.com/

Also this site explains how to understand forex robots work and what you need to do to get the best from them

http://www.currency-exchange-reviews.com/automatic-forex-trading.html

I invest in equities and think it might be interesting to trade commodities as well. I am less interested in FOREX for currencies but would like to take a look at other commodities.

Answer
Hope this list on the website would be useful....http://www.summaryworld.com/commodity-broker-directory.php

What can I do with leftover British Currency?

I went to London last year and I have A LOT of currency leftover, I forget how much it totals but its all coins. Obviously, I cant use it back in the US but I was wondering if theres somewhere I can exchange it or sell it. If I can exchange at like a bank or something will I be charged a fee? Im trying to figure out if there is a fee, would it be worth exchanging the currency...??

Answer
Most currency exchange firms - and in the US, Post Offices are not among these, alas - will accept only foreign banknotes ("paper money"), not coins. You can always call around to see if there are any exceptions, but all those I've dealt with to date have accepted only banknotes, not coins.

One example is Travelex, whose "Terms and Conditions" state that "Travelex will not accept coins":

http://www.travelex.com/us/personal/SU_yourcurrency.asp?content=su

Here's one possible exception, an outfit in Virginia that claims on their website to accept foreign coins.

http://foreigncoinandcurrency.com/

Here's a handy guide to finding currency exchange firms near you in the US, so you can call around to see if any might accept coins:

http://www.forex-guide.net/currency-exchange-directory.html

Also, most retail bank branches don't accept or exchange foreign currency on a routine basis. Exceptions include some branches in big city financial districts, near airports or borders, and in university towns that have many traveling and/or foreign students, that may have an actual foreign exchange window or desk. At other branches that do this less frequently, you may need to make a special arrangement to have the bank exchange your foreign currency.

Whether at a bank or foreign exchange firm, if you do exchange currency, you may either be charged a fee, or the difference between the bank/firm's "buy" and "sell" price for the currency, or both. At one Bank of America branch I've dealt with in the San Francisco Bay Area, for instance, the 'spread' between the buy and sell prices is typically around 2-4%, depending on the currencies being exchanged.

One option is to sell these coins on eBay. This is done fairly frequently. Because buyers account for shipping costs when deciding how much to pay, this means that you'll receive only a fraction of the coins' value, but at least you'll get something back.

Another option: find a neighbor, friend, co-worker, or someone else who's travelling to the UK this summer. With the usual caveats about personal safety, you could also try Craigslist if you want to expand your scope.

Finally, Alice's suggestion is a good one: if you went on a tour, rather than arranging your London travel yourself, you might check with the tour organizer.

As it is the ROI is reaching more than 5% everyday. Considering the current economic upgradations in almost all nations across the world, do you think that forex investments are going to reap the best results?

Answer
I think that Forex will have some interesting ramifications on the geopolitical power shifts that may happen sooner rather than later.

There is no way that the USD will ever be the universal currency. I would not be surprised if the USD loses its position as the currency with which all oil transactions occur. I can see the EUR as becoming a more dominant currency and I can also see the oil rich countries in the Middle East establishing their own version of the EUR.

Now that the USD and CAD are near parity perhaps we will all be learning what a loonie is.

If you are looking for the best forex software, visit this site

http://the-best-forex-software-in-internet.blogspot.com/

This software is the best software that can help increase your trading profit and user friendly.


Best Wishes,

How many of you think that forex is going to control the future of the world?

As it is the ROI is reaching more than 5% everyday. Considering the current economic upgradations in almost all nations across the world, do you think that forex investments are going to reap the best results?

Answer
I think that Forex will have some interesting ramifications on the geopolitical power shifts that may happen sooner rather than later.

There is no way that the USD will ever be the universal currency. I would not be surprised if the USD loses its position as the currency with which all oil transactions occur. I can see the EUR as becoming a more dominant currency and I can also see the oil rich countries in the Middle East establishing their own version of the EUR.

Now that the USD and CAD are near parity perhaps we will all be learning what a loonie is.

Paul

Any recommendation ?
Thank You !

Answer
Amazon EC2. You can get a Windows Micro VPS for free for 1 year, and it will work just fine for forex trading.

Is 3 essentials vps good for forex trading?

Answer
Yes. It's the best vps hosting company for forex trading.

I am thinking about trading precious metals, and I was wondering what the easiest way to do it would be without having to get physical gold. I heard about gold certificates, and was wondering if they have the equivalent for silver? What is the easiest way to buy these, do they have comission fees, and how liquid is the market for them? I live in the US.

Also, last time I posted I learned that Scottrade is an option, any others?

Answer
Gold and silver certificates can be traded.

You can also trade gold and silver futures.

Some forex brokers even allow you to buy gold or forex vs. the USD on leverage (Oanda.com).

GOld and silver certificates do have some fee's associated with them.

Is there a internet site for investing that trades 24 hrs daily?

Trying to trade in the gold market, but have not been able to find a site that trades all hours other markets are open.

Answer
check out this site. it will lead you to a leading legitimate forex site that allows trading in gold, silver, oil as well as exotic currencies where applicable. the symbol for gold is XAU, silver is XAG and oil is also OIL. traders can perform day-trading in gold which means deals are usually completed before the close of trading that day but it is not necessary to complete the deal within a day. the deal can be extended for two or three days, depending on how the trader decides to make the deal. once a day-trading deal is opened, it can only close in one of three ways: the trader ends the deal, the deal reaches its stop/loss limit and the date decided for ending is reached
until one of these three things happens, the deal continues. when your day-trading gold deal is open, it is renewed automatically every night at 22:00 GMT. get more information from the site below. all the best.

Is there such a thing? After trading for 5 years I can honestly say I am yet to come across a system that just works consistently. If losing money isn't bad enough, I have spent my my last 5 years reading the forums and meeting so many losers and scammers. I am starting to beleive the whole business is a scam.

Answer
Forex trading is like any other form of business. If you keep on thinking the forex systems you see are magical and will make you heaps of money then you are likely to fall for lot of scams.

For me, I had to learn forex trading the hard and traditional way for a number of years. So when all the new forex systems came up like those on autopilot systems, I was really skeptical and I refused to believe that new comers can trade just like that whilst I had to "learn" the trade the hard way.

But I did find that some of these new forex systems do work in the sense that I made money consistently with them over periods of months. But i generally will not jump in just like that. I still test on paper and try to familiarize myself so that I know how to make the most of the forex software.

So whilst there are scams there are also forex systems that make money. I found Forex Killer my favorite for generating forex signals. Still makes money for me. Another one I like is Forex Automoney. I find the membership really helpful.

What is the best Forex Trading System?

I was looking at two things, one seems to be a trading system on autopilot, the other a robot. I still don't know the difference... sorry newbie here

One is

http://warrenforren.org/2009/01/17/forex-ambush/
the other is:
http://warrenforren.org/2009/01/17/3/

I am nervous about a robot doing anything with my money. Thoughts?

Answer
tommyfourth, A great forex system means you need to constantly have high probability trades. You also need to be aware of all the currency pairs in real time. Maybe this blog can help. http://www.whatisforextrading.com/blog/ Remember, no trading will be fool proof, so be cautios about the claims some trading systems make.

l received a lot of forex signals daily. When l try to unsubscribe, a yahoo confirmation notice page appears in my email. Now, what am l suppose to do in order to unsubscribe. l cant find anything in the notice to help me to turn off this forex signals.

Thanks

Answer
Just mark it as SPAM. Need not to unsubscribe, or you will invite even more just junk mails.

How do the tax laws work with playing the forex market with a US broker and being a Canadian resident?

I currently dabble in the forex market and using a US broker. How will I be taxed on my earnings, and what happeneds if I lose money that year, is it a capital loss? HOw does this work in regards to canadian tax laws with the broker being in the US?

Answer
Your tax reporting for dealing with a US broker is the same as dealing with a cdn broker in that the income reporting and transactions should be translated in Cdn $.

Regarding your quesion whether your loss should be a capital loss depends on whether your "playing" in the fx market constiute an investment or a business. There are no provisions in the Act which specify whether a foreign exchange gain or loss is on account of income or capital. An investment is generally in a situation of buy and hold, while a business is in a situation when you are knowledgeable and maybe with insider information, lots of daily time spent and numerous buys and sells during the day or week, etc.

Please see the CRAâs IT-95R âForeign Exchange Gains and Lossesâ. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it95r/it95r-e.txt

I've lost close to $100k in recent weeks trading market index, I've already entered into a contract to buy a piece of land in two weeks time and now I don't even have enough any money for a deposit, how do I make some serious money in two weeks and beyond? I'm 27 and pretty much bankrupt right now, that was all the money I had saved.

I'm not a natural sport superstar or famous entertainer, I'm willing to do anything else to make serious money as quickly as possible with minimal risk, does anyone have any advice? I'm up for anything, whether ethical or unethical, I am very desperate. I have no interest working in couple of part time jobs for $20 an hour for the next 20 years to save up. I need an idea that requires minimal capital, something to make it big... I live in Australia

I know I'm asking in the Israel section, but I very much respect Jewish people's business acumen.
Ok with great and controlled risk where possible
@hatmanone: I'm not trolling, I asked about the mentality between Chinese and Jewish people, because I'm Chinese myself, and the Jewish people I met in uni are extremely entrepreneurial. I have a deep respect for Jewish people. And to the other dude, the $100k was my life saving from working.

Answer
You have two options as far as i see it:

(if you need the money urgently in the next two weeks, your best bet is a bank or financial institution; tr asking for a loan, line of credit or other product that may help you get 100K quickly)

or, you can try starting or investing in a business, if you have stock market experience, try investing in some high yielding stocks, maybe Forex; i would recommend starting and running your own business, online businesses and neighborhood businesses really require very little capital; but a lot of hard work and dedication...

Why is everyone so biased about the Israel/Palestine war?

I have read a lot of questions about this war on yahoo answers, and it seems to me that everyone has chosen a side and quite aggressively defends it.
But the point of this war is based on questions NO ONE really knows the answer to, which is why it continues.
Palestine was once occupied mainly by Muslim people, over time, more and more Jewish people entered it, mainly to find asylum away from persecution in Europe. This increase in Jewish population got to a point where they wanted independence from Palestine, and a vote from the UN decided the country would be divided. This did not sit well the Palestinians, who had been peacefully occupying the whole country for a long time before all this, and is what started the revolt. The Jewish claim that the land should actually all be rightfully theirs, based on historical religious documents, however the evidence is questionable, and is refuted by just as questionable opposing evidence. Years and years of debate between the 2 nations has escalated into deeply patriotic beliefs where the both sides believe passionately, and are willing to give their lives, that the country should rightfully be theirs.
Feel free to correct me where I am wrong, but I think if any of you do the research you can not irrefutably claim that one side is right and the other is wrong. I think we all agree both sides have used violence and people have sadly lost their lives.

If you make a claim in this section, I would like to see evidence that what you say is true, or at least somewhat accurate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab%E2%80%93Israeli_War
Like I said, both sides have questionable evidence for why the land should rightfully be theirs. I personally would like patriotism shot down, and for everyone on Earth to consider the whole world their country, and stop trying to own parts of it. Obviously that would come with it's own problems. But if you look at nations of individuals of people just like you and me, and stop generalising them to what country they live in, people everywhere are just trying to survive, raise families and live happy lives.
To the person who said the Jews had the country for 2000+ years (no evidence provided) and then the Palestines had control of it for 1500 years (also no evidence provided), and then that the Jews were reclaiming what is rightfully theirs. Does this apply to the rest of the world or only the Jews are allowed to do it? I live in Australia, should I leave the country with the whole 20 million other people because the Aboriginals want it back. Should the the 300 million Americans go look for somewhere else to "sqwat" since Indians were there before them? What happened in the past to get the land is not something we should be proud of, but in modern day why are there still people trying to forcefully take land.

Answer
Sadly that's how we are. Most of us feel we should fight for what we believe in. You see that in movies a lot. Unfortunately it inevitably comes to a point resulting into violence in real life. I don't think we've evolved enough to transcend this disastrous flaw in our nature. Human conflict of this magnitude has happened for thousands of years, and all it teaches us is that it ends up with one side dominating and the other yielding. The differences we possess are what define us and enrich us, and ironically, divide us from each other as well... a most powerful double edged sword. A simple albeit naive solution would be sharing, cohabitation.. but people inherently complicate everything. The tricky part making all parties satisfied. It can get as extreme as Forex trading .. no one can profit without someone else losing ..

Q. I am a new forex trader and still learning. Forex trading looks very attracting profession to me.

Do you know any good forum with which it is easy to learn forex? It can help a lot.

Please help.

Answer
First: which ones to avoid. There are many "scam forums" in the Forex world. www.forexpeacearmy.com is a well known fake review and forum site: fake forex reviews, self promoting own services. Avoiding scams is becoming an art in Forex trading. Be very wary.

OK so,

www.babypips.com has a nice educational section. I like www.forexfactory.com which I recently found myself for A.I in Forex trading for instance. Lots of nice people on the forum, good calender (if you use it, I don't)

I need a qualitative a FOREX signal, feeds and review for FOREX trading, how can I get one of the best offer ?

I need a qualitative a FOREX signal, feeds and review for FOREX trading, how can I get one of the best offer ? You should bear in the mind, the timeliness of such signals, trading platforms, quality of signal, reliability etc.
Many thanks

Answer
For me I have tried Forex Killer and I am very impressed. It has made my forex trading so much easier and profitable. Overall the signals are profitable for me after using it for 3 months.

Please let me know in detail abut the forex and currency trading business?

Answer
It's a way to invest your money kind of like the stock market. You are buying and selling, just like the stock market. But rather than buying and selling the actual currency itself, you are buying and selling the DIFFERENCE in value (aka the exchange rate) between two different currencies.

Best way to get into the Forex is to open a demo account at http://comefollowme.zulutrade.com/Performance.aspx and add some strategies to your portfolio. It's all free, and it's the largest Forex strategy website in the world. I'll post some more links below in my sources.

What's an easy way to trade currency for profit?

I see all these Forex trade currency sites, but I don't get their explanation.
What's an easy way to do it? How much is needed? And what all needs to be done?

Answer
buy low then sell high?

Does anybody knows a website that provide free historical daily gold prices (London or NY), in format of Date, Open Price, High,Low,Close?
I checked Kitco but they don't publish that detailed data.

Answer
you could try http://www.netdania.com . it is a forex data feed but if im not mistaken, they also have Gold and Silver price. You must sign up (its totaly free) and install Java in your computer in order to use the chart. once youve singed up - Log in, click on "chart station" on the left menu and click "try demo".

You can also try http://www.barchart.com but this website is not interactive and the charts are only updated at the end of the day.

Where can I get Commodities Futures data feeds/real time & history spot charts to post on my blog?

I've looked at Yahoo Finance and found stock charts but not Commodities...I need spot charts for energy, metals, grains and livestock that I can embed in my site.
Any suggestions?

Answer
you can see it if you sign up for one of the companies (fxdd,wwm,forex) but from the experience i can tell you that the feed is proprietary and no one will let you publish it to your site without a large fee.

Then yen has been riding the carry trade meltdown for some time now. And for some reason, it's seen as a "safe" currency in times like this. But if you look at the fundamentals, Japan is in big trouble. So this crazy rise in the yen is starting to look like oil did in the first half of 2008: a speculative circle jerk without the fundamentals to back it up. Am I wrong? Is it too early yet to short? What do you think?

Answer
Bad move. Japan has a currency rate of 0.10%. If you short JPY against another currency and that country/region drops their interest rate to stimulate their economy in a recession, JPY will go up. The same will happen if Japan increases its rate.

Regarding the five majors:
USD: 0.25%
JPY: 0.10%
EUR: 2.00%
CHF: 0.50%
GBP: 1.50%

You definitely would be at risk with the cross rates. I wouldn't be surprised if the UK make a rate cut. The swiss franc is no good even with a 0.50% rate because it moves similar to the Euro and the European union has room for rate cuts.

Your only option for shortening the JPY is against the USD. With America wanting to improve employment and the housing market, I think the FOMC will leave the US rate at 0.25 for most of or all of 2009, but even then you've got to hope that Japan doesn't raise their interest rate.

I'm more knowledgeable about the stock market, but I have traded the FX spot market before. If I was trading it now, I would be shorting the Pound against the USD. UK is in a recession and have more room for interest rate cuts. The US and Japan doesn't.

After spending my entire life studying the stock market..do I have it right..?

ok..when I say my "entire life", what I mean is that I watched the 6:00 news tonight, which makes me an expert...in my house.
My expert prediction is that the market will come right back up in the next 2 market sessions, and the networks are trying to scare everyone and create the news.
I know my prediction isnt very complicated, which will make many market watchers be wary of it, but I bet I'm right.
The good news is that we will know by Monday evening.
The bad news is that the networks will start creating other news shortly there after.
re: maximus ....I'm no expert..just an idiot posting messages on yahoo...but when the market rebounds by monday, I will be a GENIUS! ;)
I dont know which market will rebound..I didnt know multiple markets needed rebounding...so I'll let you pick which one..then we'll both be GENIUS ;)

Answer
MSNBC, Bloomburg and the such like just create a load of hype... there is no way that any market professionals base their buy / sell decissions on the waffle on the goggle box.

you say "After spending my entire life studying the stock market..do I have it right..? "

well predicting the right market just once does not make you an expert... you say "the stock market" but what specific market? the dow, the nasdaq?...

"My expert prediction is that the market will come right back up in the next 2 market sessions, "
-- to what level? and for how long? .... eg. its easy to say "buy the market" but what market? and knowing *when* to sell is the other side of a successful trade. what are you basing your trading signal on? a flip of a coin, or genuine market knowledge and insight?

BTW - Each year, some financial magazine or news paper will get a monkey to throw darts at the stocks in the wall street journal... they usually perform quite well beleive it or not !!!

here is a way to prove you are an expert. By filming yourself and posting your (technical or fundimental) analysis on the net (youtube for example) you can allow people to see your prediction BEFORE the event... if you ARE a true market guru, then this will be apparent for all to see, and then, no doubt MSNBC will want you on their show :-)

i sometimes follow people who "predict" the FOREX markets on youtube.

All the best !

I'm based in the US and already have an US based FX account. Due to silly NFA rules and regulations I am thinking about opening a UK Forex account but am worried about potential taxes I would have to pay. Do I have to pay US and UK taxes if I have a UK based account and live in the US. I will not be spread betting.

Answer
If you are a USA citizen and open a private forex account in the UK you will only have to pay tax in the USA the same way you are paying will your USA account. The UK and USA and a double taxation agreement where no individual or company will pay the same type of tax in both countries. However if you open the account under a private company based in UK you will pay tax on the company profits in UK and tax on the dividends in the USA. You should consider both options depending on your tax bracket and the prevailing corporate taxes a private company may work out more cost effective.

What to consider when choosing a Forex broker?

I have $5000 and I'm interested in trading forex. What are the best brokers on the internet?
Also when they say minimum trade size micro unit (1k) does that mean I have to buy at least 1000 units which is for instance for a currency (1.05) $1005?
Also what is the lot size? Is that the range of profit/loss? Like instead of gaining $1 for 1 pip gain $10 if I change the lot size?

Thanks

Answer
Wow... you're on your way to an unbelievable surprise.

There are no good Forex Brokers... there are only Forex Brokers that are not as bad as most.

The first thing you want to consider is where is the corporate headquarters (what country?). Assuming you're from the USA... make sure they are licensed in the USA. Do not, for any reason, deal with a Forex Broker not licensed in your home country.

The next thing is to compare the "spread" charges. All these brokers advertise "no commissions".You'd actually be better off with a commission charge than the way they charge (by the spread). Make sure that the pairs that you'll be trading have comparatively smaller spreads than the competition.

No matter what you see on the web (especially from the brokers)... understand that it will take, on average 3-5 years to be profitable in any type of trading. Forex traders usually destroy their account in days, weeks or months.

The free "classes" taught by the brokers are a joke. They concentrate on the least important aspect of trading, which is Technical Analysis. The two fields of study, significantly more important are;
A. Psychology (yours and the markets).
B. Risk Management.

Read 6-12 books on trading and another 2-3 books on Forex Trading before you open a Forex brokerage account.

Good luck!

What program do you use to trade the Forex Market?

Answer
To find out how traders themselves rate their forex broker, go to elitetrader.com and check out the broker ratings thread. Here is the link: http://elitetrader.com/br/

The list of forex brokers are listed together with different brokers on the left hand column.

I used to trade with FXCM, but chose to move all the funds under my management to OANDA. You'll find out why later when you check the ratings.

OANDA's trading platform is java based. I find it easy to use, and you can enter your trades by clicking on that price level in the chart to enter either a limit order or a market order. All accounts are updated in real time, plus their spreads are one of the lowest in the industry today.

Another thing I like with OANDA is that you can open a trading account with any amount. There are no minimum lots to trade. You can open a live trading account with only $1 and trade that account as much as you want, with the same spreads that the big boys trade with. This works well with any risk management profile.

What I don't like about OANDA's trading platform is that I cannot enter notes on the chart. Unlike other trading platforms that I have used. But I guess it's a small trade-off; they claim their developers are working on an upgrade for that.

Hope this helps.
Jim http://jsforex.blogspot.com

Do you think investing in the Russian ruble is a good idea?

I was planning to invest about $500 in the Russian ruble. Not through forex, but to actually have the tangible cash in my safe. This would be almost 15,000 rubles.

In two years time, do you think I will have made money?

Thanks in advance!

Answer
You leave out some pertinent facts. Where do you live? Are you located near the Russian border, so you can acquire and sell the currency at minimal expense? If you get this from a currency dealer, you will pay a very high markup. In the United States, banks and currency exchange desks at airports charge exorbitant fees and use rip-off exchange rates. You'll be far behind from the get-go. When you sell, you'll be hit hard in the other direction, unless you live close enough to Russia to go there and spend the money easily. So even if the ruble goes up, it must go up enough to overcome the expenses you incur.

This is a major gamble, with little prospect of an after-expense profit. Especially a profit larger than what you would have made had you simply placed the $500 into a money market fund.

I want to earn as much as possible with the swap. Please explain to me which pair pays the highest swap.

Thank you.

Answer
I think you are confused and need to define your terms and restate your question.

Are you asking about a currency swap? A swap is generally for companies, not individuals. We, as individuals, use a forex broker to trade currency pairs.

Investopedia explains Currency Swap
For example, suppose a U.S.-based company needs to acquire Swiss francs and a Swiss-based company needs to acquire U.S. dollars. These two companies could arrange to swap currencies by establishing an interest rate, an agreed upon amount and a common maturity date for the exchange. Currency swap maturities are negotiable for at least 10 years, making them a very flexible method of foreign exchange.

Currency swaps were originally done to get around exchange controls.

Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/currencyswap.asp#ixzz1fOAgL6Rc

Firms and financial institutions dominate the swaps market, with few (if any) individuals ever participating. Because swaps occur on the OTC market, there is always the risk of a counterparty defaulting on the swap.

Currency swaps have two main uses:

To secure cheaper debt (by borrowing at the best available rate regardless of currency and then swapping for debt in desired currency using a back-to-back-loan).
To hedge against (reduce exposure to) exchange rate fluctuations.

Is one of the above what you're trying to do? If so, give an example so we can be clear and not have to waste our time guessing.

You asked, "I want to earn as much as possible with the swap." As you can see from the "uses" above, the objective of a swap is not to "earn as much as possible."

If not a swap, then you are probably asking "what is the best currency pair to speculate on in order to make money?" You want to trade currencies, and you're asking which currency pair makes or "pays" the highest return?

Are you a trader? Or are you new to Forex? Once again, I have to guess you're a newbie. A trader focuses on risk, not potential profits.

Whatever your question relates to, you don't seem to realize that "best" is a relative term, that means something different to each and every trader. The highest volatility pair may have the biggest price swings, but may not be "best" for trading or your account.

For me, a prerequisite to trading is liquidity. That means I don't trade the rare crosses or at illiquid times of the day -- I don't trade the Asian session, for example.

Define your terms on Investopedia.com.

Maybe the following will help:
Currency Trading â FOREX â Foreign Currency Exchange

1.EUR/USD - Euro/U.S. Dollar
2.GBP/USD - Great British Pound/U.S. Dollar
3.USD/CHF â- U.S. Dollar/Swiss Franc
4.USD/JPY â- U.S. Dollar/Japanese Yen
5.USD/CAD â- U.S. Dollar/Canadian Dollar
6.AUD/USD - Australian Dollar/U.S. Dollar
7.EUR/GBP - Euro/Great British Pound
8.EUR/JPY - Euro/Japanese Yen
9.EUR/CHF - Euro/Swiss Franc
10.GBP/CHF - Great British Pound/Swiss Franc
11.GBP/JPY - Great British Pound/Japanese Yen
12.CHF/JPY - Swiss Franc/Japanese Yen
13.NZD/USD - New Zealand Dollar/US Dollar
14.EUR/CAD - Euro/Canadian Dollar
15.AUD/CAD - Australian Dollar/Canadian Dollar
16.AUD/JPY - Australian Dollar/Japanese Yen
17.EUR/AUD - Euro/Australian Dollar

NOTE: Of the above 17 currency pairs, six of them are deemed the âmajor currency pairsâ in the FOREX market because they account for about 80 percent of FOREX transactions:

1.EUR/USD - Euro/U.S. Dollar
2.GBP/USD - Great British Pound/U.S. Dollar
3.USD/CHF â- U.S. Dollar/Swiss Franc
4.USD/JPY â- U.S. Dollar/Japanese Yen
5.USD/CAD â- U.S. Dollar/Canadian Dollar
6.AUD/USD - Australian Dollar/U.S. Dollar

As you can see, there is a currency on the left and one on the right. The one on the left is referred to as the base, and the one listed on the right is known as the cross. The format, once again, is as follows. BASE/CROSS, or EUR/USD. The EUR is the BASE and the USD is the CROSS.

TERMINOLOGY:
â¢PIPS- Price Interest Point. This is the smallest unit price for any Foreign Currency.
â¢LOT- A lot of currency is one denomination for a trade (100K or mini account). This is similar to purchasing one stock or one contract in the futures market.
â¢LONG to buy
â¢SHORT to sell
â¢BID-The price at which you sell
â¢ASK-The price at which you buy

Price Interest Point - (PIP)
Profits are made in the FOREX by gaining PIPS. A pip is the last digit from the decimal point. This value is 1/100th of a cent. You may now be asking yourself, how do I make money off of 1/100th of a cent? The answer is leverage. The FOREX market is highly leveraged and should be respected. That said, it can also provide for a tremendous return on your investment. The average leverage in the FOREX is 100 to 1. Basically this indicates that for every dollar you invest in a trade you are controlling $100 of value.

Is EUR/USD the best currency to trade in forex?

I want to start trading in forex, therefore just want to know which curreny is beneficial at this point of time.

Answer
The EUR/USD is the most liquid, most traded currency. I'm not sure what you consider to be "best." We tend to trade whatever is moving at the moment.

There are six currency pairs that are deemed the âmajor currency pairsâ in the FOREX market because they account for about 80 percent of FOREX transactions:

1. EUR/USD - Euro/U.S. Dollar
2. GBP/USD - Great British Pound/U.S. Dollar
3. USD/CHF â- U.S. Dollar/Swiss Franc
4. USD/JPY â- U.S. Dollar/Japanese Yen
5. USD/CAD â- U.S. Dollar/Canadian Dollar
6. AUD/USD - Australian Dollar/U.S. Dollar

As you can see, there is a currency on the left and one on the right. The one on the left is referred to as the base, and the one listed on the right is known as the cross. The format, once again, is as follows. BASE/CROSS, or EUR/USD. The EUR is the BASE and the USD is the CROSS.

In the case of your question concerning the EUR/USD pair, it's simpler to think in terms of being long first. If you are long the pair, you are long the base currency(EUR) and short the cross (USD) simultaneously. Being short would be the reverse of that.

If yo are short the EUR/USD pair, you are short the base currency (EUR - betting it will go down in price, or go down more than the USD), and long the cross currency (USD - betting it will go up in price, or go up more than the EUR).

TERMINOLOGY:
⢠PIPS- Price Interest Point. This is the smallest unit price for any Foreign Currency.
⢠LOT- A lot of currency is one denomination for a trade (100K or mini account). This is similar to purchasing one stock or one contract in the futures market.
⢠LONG to buy
⢠SHORT to sell
⢠BID-The price at which you sell
⢠ASK-The price at which you buy
Price Interest Point - (PIP)
Profits are made in the FOREX by gaining PIPS. A pip is the last digit from the decimal point. This value is 1/100th of a cent. You may now be asking yourself, how do I make money off of 1/100th of a cent? The answer is leverage. The FOREX market is highly leveraged and should be respected. That said, it can also provide for a tremendous return on your investment. The average leverage in the FOREX is 100 to 1. Basically this indicates that for every dollar you invest in a trade you are controlling $100 of value.

Calculated PIP
Calculated PIP â shows the Price Interest Point (PIP) value for the selected currency pair based upon your trading account margin. For example, a standard 1 percent margin trading account controlling $100,000 in currency would show the EUR/USD with a PIP value of 10.
PIP VALUE-Fixed or Floating
FIXED- When the USD is the cross currency (right side of the pair), the PIP value is fixed at $10 in a 100k account.
FOATING- When the USD is the base currency (left side of the pair), the PIP value is based upon the exchange rate of the cross currency (i.e., USD/CAD.). Also, the PIP value is floating when the pair consists of foreign currencies (i.e., EUR/ GBP).
LOT
A lot is the normal unit of trading in the FOREX market. Trades are made in lot increments, similar to share increments in the stock market.
Standard (or 100k) FOREX account- has a 100:1 leverage ratio
1 LOT= $1,000 investment= ratio leveraged 100 to 1, which = $100,000 in buying power.
Mini FOREX account- has a 200:1 leverage ratio
1 LOT= $50 investment= ratio leveraged 200 to 1, which = $10,000 in buying power.
TRADING HOURS (EST)
⢠Trades 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. The market is open from Sunday at 5pm EST to Friday at 4pm EST.

Then yen has been riding the carry trade meltdown for some time now. And for some reason, it's seen as a "safe" currency in times like this. But if you look at the fundamentals, Japan is in big trouble. So this crazy rise in the yen is starting to look like oil did in the first half of 2008: a speculative circle jerk without the fundamentals to back it up. Am I wrong? Is it too early yet to short? What do you think?

Answer
Bad move. Japan has a currency rate of 0.10%. If you short JPY against another currency and that country/region drops their interest rate to stimulate their economy in a recession, JPY will go up. The same will happen if Japan increases its rate.

Regarding the five majors:
USD: 0.25%
JPY: 0.10%
EUR: 2.00%
CHF: 0.50%
GBP: 1.50%

You definitely would be at risk with the cross rates. I wouldn't be surprised if the UK make a rate cut. The swiss franc is no good even with a 0.50% rate because it moves similar to the Euro and the European union has room for rate cuts.

Your only option for shortening the JPY is against the USD. With America wanting to improve employment and the housing market, I think the FOMC will leave the US rate at 0.25 for most of or all of 2009, but even then you've got to hope that Japan doesn't raise their interest rate.

I'm more knowledgeable about the stock market, but I have traded the FX spot market before. If I was trading it now, I would be shorting the Pound against the USD. UK is in a recession and have more room for interest rate cuts. The US and Japan doesn't.

After spending my entire life studying the stock market..do I have it right..?

ok..when I say my "entire life", what I mean is that I watched the 6:00 news tonight, which makes me an expert...in my house.
My expert prediction is that the market will come right back up in the next 2 market sessions, and the networks are trying to scare everyone and create the news.
I know my prediction isnt very complicated, which will make many market watchers be wary of it, but I bet I'm right.
The good news is that we will know by Monday evening.
The bad news is that the networks will start creating other news shortly there after.
re: maximus ....I'm no expert..just an idiot posting messages on yahoo...but when the market rebounds by monday, I will be a GENIUS! ;)
I dont know which market will rebound..I didnt know multiple markets needed rebounding...so I'll let you pick which one..then we'll both be GENIUS ;)

Answer
MSNBC, Bloomburg and the such like just create a load of hype... there is no way that any market professionals base their buy / sell decissions on the waffle on the goggle box.

you say "After spending my entire life studying the stock market..do I have it right..? "

well predicting the right market just once does not make you an expert... you say "the stock market" but what specific market? the dow, the nasdaq?...

"My expert prediction is that the market will come right back up in the next 2 market sessions, "
-- to what level? and for how long? .... eg. its easy to say "buy the market" but what market? and knowing *when* to sell is the other side of a successful trade. what are you basing your trading signal on? a flip of a coin, or genuine market knowledge and insight?

BTW - Each year, some financial magazine or news paper will get a monkey to throw darts at the stocks in the wall street journal... they usually perform quite well beleive it or not !!!

here is a way to prove you are an expert. By filming yourself and posting your (technical or fundimental) analysis on the net (youtube for example) you can allow people to see your prediction BEFORE the event... if you ARE a true market guru, then this will be apparent for all to see, and then, no doubt MSNBC will want you on their show :-)

i sometimes follow people who "predict" the FOREX markets on youtube.

All the best !