The Forex Glossary tips

Appreciation - A currency is said to 'appreciate ' when it strengthens in price in response to market demand.

Arbitrage - The purchase or sale of an instrument and simultaneous taking of an equal and opposite position in a related market, in order to take advantage of small price differentials between markets.

Around - Dealer jargon used in quoting when the forward premium/discount is near parity. For example, "two-two around" would translate into 2 points to either side of the present spot.

Ask Rate - The rate at which a financial instrument if offered for sale (as in bid/ask spread).

Asset Allocation - Investment practice that divides funds among different markets to achieve diversification for risk management purposes and/or expected returns consistent with an investor's objectives.

Back Office - The departments and processes related to the settlement of financial transactions.

Balance of Trade - The value of a country's exports minus its imports.

Base Currency - In general terms, the base currency is the currency in which an investor or issuer maintains its book of accounts. In the FX markets, the US Dollar is normally considered the 'base' currency for quotes, meaning that quotes are expressed as a unit of $1 USD per the other currency quoted in the pair. The primary exceptions to this rule are the British Pound, the Euro and the Australian Dollar.

Bear Market - A market distinguished by declining prices.

Bid/Ask Spread - The difference between the bid and offer price, and the most widely used measure of market liquidity.

Big Figure - Dealer expression referring to the first few digits of an exchange rate. These digits rarely change in normal market fluctuations, and therefore are omitted in dealer quotes, especially in times of high market activity. For example, a USD/Yen rate might be 107.30/107.35, but would be quoted verbally without the first three digits i.e. "30/35".

Book - In a professional trading environment, a 'book' is the summary of a trader's or desk's total positions.

Broker - An individual or firm that acts as an intermediary, putting together buyers and sellers for a fee or commission. In contrast, a 'dealer' commits capital and takes one side of a position, hoping to earn a spread (profit) by closing out the position in a subsequent trade with another party.

Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 - An agreement that established fixed foreign exchange rates for major currencies, provided for central bank intervention in the currency markets, and pegged the price of gold at US $35 per ounce. The agreement lasted until 1971, when President Nixon overturned the Bretton Woods agreement and established a floating exchange rate for the major currencies.

Bull Market - A market distinguished by rising prices.

Bundesbank - Germany's Central Bank.

Cable - Trader jargon referring to the Sterling/US Dollar exchange rate. So called because the rate was originally transmitted via a transatlantic cable beginning in the mid 1800's.

Candlestick Chart - A chart that indicates the trading range for the day as well as the opening and closing price. If the open price is higher than the close price, the rectangle between the open and close price is shaded. If the close price is higher than the open price, that area of the chart is not shaded.

Central Bank - A government or quasi-governmental organization that manages a country's monetary policy. For example, the US central bank is the Federal Reserve, and the German central bank is the Bundesbank.

Chartist - An individual who uses charts and graphs and interprets historical data to find trends and predict future movements. Also referred to as Technical Trader.

Clearing - The process of settling a trade.

Contagion - The tendency of an economic crisis to spread from one market to another. In 1997, political instability in Indonesia caused high volatility in their domestic currency, the Rupiah. From there, the contagion spread to other Asian emerging currencies, and then to Latin America, and is now referred to as the 'Asian Contagion'.

Commission - A transaction fee charged by a broker.

Confirmation - A document exchanged by counterparts to a transaction that states the terms of said transaction.

Contract - The standard unit of trading,

Counterparty - One of the participants in a financial transaction.

Country Risk - Risk associated with a cross-border transaction, including but not limited to legal and political conditions.

Cross Rate - The exchange rate between any two currencies that are considered non-standard in the country where the currency pair is quoted. For example, in the US, a GBP/JPY quote would be considered a cross rate, whereas in UK or Japan it would be one of the primary currency pairs traded.

Currency - Any form of money issued by a government or central bank and used as legal tender and a basis for trade.

Currency Risk - the probability of an adverse change in exchange rates.

The online Currency Trading Basics tips

The All currency trades involve the buying of one currency and the selling of another, simultaneously. that is, the value of one currency relative to another. The relative supply and demand of both currencies will determine the value of the exchange rate.

When a currency trader places a trade he wants the currency purchased to appreciate in value versus the currency sold. His ability to determine the direction that the exchange rate will move, will dictate his gain or loss in a trade. Let's do an example with a currency quote obtained from the forex trading system.

currency trading example

Running A High Risk High Reward Forex Account

In this post I want to discuss the merits of opening a forex account specifically to place high risk high reward positions. Now before you dismiss this idea out of hand, please hear me out because this concept may not be as crazy as it sounds.
What I'm actually suggesting is that you open two forex accounts. The primary one should be used to trade your main forex strategy and should hopefully accumulate regular profits over time as a result of taking controlled positions. You should treat this account like you would your pension fund in that your ultimate goal is to grow your account by taking safe low-risk trades which over time will give you some very healthy returns.
The secondary one should be your high risk account. This account should be a fraction of the size of your main trading account, and should be financed by money you can afford to lose. The goal of this account is to identify set-ups that have a large pay-off of at least 4:1. For example you are looking to trade positions which could potentially move 400 points in your favour whilst using a 100 point stop loss.
Furthermore you will be risking your whole account on this trade, or as much as you are allowed by using leverage. The worst case scenario is that you lose all or most of the cash in your account but remember that this account should be very small anyway and it should be money you can afford to lose. I usually start off with no more than £200 in this high-risk account.
With this account I am looking to make at least £800 from a winning trade and while this may sound fanciful, it is not actually that difficult because you only need a success rate of 20% (equivalent to 1 winning trade out of 5) just to break-even. However if you get a couple of consecutive winning trades, your account can grow substantially.
Although this is a high-risk account, you should still take this account seriously. Use technical analysis along with support and resistance lines to place the odds in your favour and only trade those positions that are most likely to pay off. For this particular system I suggest you use some kind of breakout system on the daily or weekly charts because these time frames are the ones that will give you these substantial gai

FAP Turbo (Another New Robot) Is Released

im kind of reluctant to write a post about FAP Turbo the latest forex trading robot to hit the market, because I've told my readers about other expert advisors in the past and nearly all of them have turned out to be pretty poor from the feedback I have received.
However the aim of this blog is to keep you up to date with the latest forex news and developments so I thought it was worth a mention, plus I know for a fact that a lot of my readers and subscribers are very interested in forex robots.
So what actually is FAP Turbo?
Well it's basically an automated expert advisor for Metatrader4 that trades the markets for you. It claims to be a much improved and far more profitable version of Marcus Leary's forex trading robot, after the three technical experts behind the system gave it a complete overhaul.
On first impressions the sales page looks like all the other robots being sold on the market, but what caught my eye about this one is that it has been trading and updating it's live account for everyone to see for a few months now, and seems to be having great success.
One obvious positive feature about the FAP Turbo system is that it seems to use tight stop losses, which already makes it a lot better than some other robots I've seen that have huge stop losses and very small profit targets.
It seems to be completely legit with impressive-looking

Latest Analysis Of The GBP/USD, AUD/USD And Dollar Index

Well I've got a special treat for you this holiday weekend because Adam Hewison has just created three brand new trading videos covering the GBP/USD and AUD/USD currency pairs as well as the Dollar Index.
Actually the videos are now a couple of days old but every single one of his calls has been correct so far and have since moved in his favour. Each of these videos contains some excellent analysis particularly regarding fibonacci analysis, which I have to admit is not a tool that I use very much myself, and overall they are well worth watching.

Dealing Spread, but No Commissions

When trading foreign exchange, you are quoted a dealing spread offering you a buying and a selling level for your trade. Once you accept the offered price and receive confirmation from our dealers, the trade is done. There is no need to call an exchange floor. There are no other time-consuming delays. This is possible due to live streaming prices, which are also a great advantage in times of fast-moving markets: You can see where the market is trading and you know whether your orders are filled or not.
The dealing spread is typically 3-5 points in normal market conditions. This means that you can sell US dollars against the euro at 1.7780 and buy at 1.7785. There are no further costs, commissions or exchange fees.

Base Currency and Variable Currency

When you trade, you will always trade a combination of two currencies. For example, you will buy US dollars and sell euro. Or buy euro and sell Japanese yen, or any other combination of dozens of widely traded currencies. But there is always a long (bought) and a short (sold) side to a trade, which means that you are speculating on the prospect of one of the currencies strengthening in relation to the other.
The trade currency is normally, but not always, the currency with the highest value. When trading US dollars against Singapore dollars, the normal way to trade is buying or selling a fixed amount of US dollars, i.e. USD 1,000,000. When closing the position, the opposite trade is done, again USD 1,000,000. The profit or loss will be apparent in the change of the amount of SGD credited and debited for the two transactions. In other words, your profit or loss will be denominated in SGD, which is known as the price currency.

Forex Trading Basics

The global foreign exchange market is the biggest market in the world. The 3.2 trillion USD daily turnover dwarfs the combined turnover of all the world's stock and bond markets.
There are many reasons for the popularity of foreign exchange trading, but among the most important are the leverage available, the high liquidity 24 hours a day and the very low dealing costs associated with trading.
Of course many commercial organisations participate purely due to the currency exposures created by their import and export activities, but the main part of the turnover is accounted for by financial institutions. Investing in foreign exchange remains predominantly the domain of the big professional players in the market - funds, banks and brokers. Nevertheless, any investor with the necessary knowledge of the market's functions can benefit from the advantages stated above.

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Forex Trading Advice

Forex trading success to a degree relies on method - but if you don’t have confidence in your method, you will never have the discipline to apply it and without discipline, you simply have no method at all.

Why the Forex market?

The Forex market moves billions of dollars back and forth every day. You just need the expertise to know how to get into the middle of all this. Most people have dreamed of becoming part of the Forex market but the truth is that almost no one knows what they are doing.

Yeah, you can jump in and try to learn on your own. But we'll guarantee that you'll lose money. Just giving your money away like that and not making anything doesn't seem very productive. The way to make money in the Forex market is by predicting a price movement of a currency pair and investing right before and exiting right after. This usually happens a few times in a day. Real day traders and professional traders do just that, hence the name "day" traders. Huge companies like Citi Group and JP Morgan Chase do this every single day and employ thousands of professionals that do it for them.

How to Boost Your Understanding of Forex Market Investments.

The word ‘investments’ is one that most of us are familiar with hearing in financial context. It’s true that, at the top level, investments may run into many millions. It is possible for the average person in the street to invest smaller amounts of money and to invest it wisely. Maybe you’ve wondered what opportunities are available, if you’ve ever thought about trying to help your money to grow. In fact, investments can cover a wide range of options. One of the most traditional types of investing is in the stock market. This has been viewed by some as being a difficult type of investment to get into. Anyway, but times are changing. The new range of online stockbrokers available mean that it’s now easy (and fairly inexpensive) to get involved in selling shares and buying. If you’re interested in share dealing yourself, then you’d be wise to remember that there is a risk involved (”shares may go down in value, as well as up”).

LEARN FOREX MANUAL

The popularity and interest in Forex Trading has resulted in a number of automated systems to be developed. This is no longer the domain of financial institutions; it is now of interest to small and medium speculators as well. This type of trading is all about one currency being traded for currency of another country. Trillions of dollars are traded here every day without stopping making it the largest and most active financial markets of the world .

Discover More About Forex Trading Investments.

One of the most lucrative types of investments available today is Forex Trading (or Foreign Exchange Trading). The Forex market is the largest market on the globe since it deals with most important countries, on every continent on earth. Since it deals with countries around the world, it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even if the Forex market does not take place in a physical location, it is a large network of banks and investors who exchange currency for large profit. Profits are so big that its daily volume averages about 1.8 trillion dollars. reasonable investors make hundred percent or more profit per month. However, like any other type of investing, you need to have knowledge of the market to be successful.

Crash Market Rules for Traders

Right now, the markets (specifically equity markets) are a point of capitulation where many traders, investors and general public are trying hard to make sense of the events at hand... With this in mind, I've jotted down some of the simple "crash market rules" - to help you navigate the volatility in the days to come...
While what you are about to read may have more to do with psychology, over actual trading, all is of great importance in the present environment.

HELLO FROM CHINA...

Good afternoon from China! Wow! I think I may have just traveled for about 24-hours to get to Dalian finally last night... I have quite a few stories for you already; I am seeing many great things too - namely, some great investment opportunities for all traders! I will share them with you as the week progresses!

I have to tell you, when I was flying over the ice caps yesterday, I couldn't help to think how amazing this world is and how much there is to see all the time. Don't get me wrong, I've traveled the world over, I even went to school in London; however, sometimes, from time-to-time, we just forget in our day-to-day lives. For some reason, the ice caps reminded me.

Jittery Markets Spell "Range-Bound"

Forex markets are yet to break out of the recent ranges; something that many expected last week with the ECB and BOE rate cut decisions...

Today, the Bank of Canada slashed rates 75 bps to a 50-year low of 1.50%, bringing the USD/CAD differential to 0.5% and the EUR/CAD differential to 1%. What this means is that there really is no carry trade effect in either currency pair and markets will remain locked in the recent range until something else surfaces...

Euro and Pound Moving Higher - Here's a Piece of the Puzzle

We witnessed a large rally in the euro and pound today, much of which was derived from Trichet's comments earlier in the day that the ECB has acted accordingly to help pad the economy during the crisis. Really, Trichet's comments made traders realize that the ECB is hawkish (as usual) and would move slower to lower rates. While Trichet mentioned that the ECB would cut rates, if the situation warranted, the overall theme is that the euro will likely retain some carry trade effect and the range-locked paradigm is still solidly in place.

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Why is the Yen Sinking? You Might be Surprised..

The decline in the yen isn't just about weakening GDP Growth in Japan...

We're setting up to see some pretty big volatility in the upcoming week... Towards the end of last week, we really witnessed the yen begin to lose steam... And, many traders are struggling to find a reason supporting cross currency strength... Here's the thing, really, there's not too much "flight to safety" reasoning behind the yen today, nor was there yesterday. In fact, the "flight to safety" reasoning is really more psychological than anything else.

Here's what you WON'T read anywhere else but here... While the rest of the world is trying to figure out why the yen has come under weakness, the reasoning is truly the potential deterioration in the credit quality of U.S. Treasuries.

See, it is a fundamental principal in economics that anytime you increase the money supply, inflation kicks in. Right now, the market is pricing in deflation. But there's more to the story. Three weeks ago, in the U.S. Treasuries $30 billion auction, there were no buyers of U.S. debt. Mysteriously an anonymous bid stepped in to save the day...

Just read this excerpt from James West, "Last Thursday, an $30 billion auction in five-year notes failed to stir the interest of traditional primary dealers. The auction itself was saved by an anonymous "indirect" bid.

Buyers are discouraged by the prospect of what is expected to amount to $2 trillion total issuance for the full year of 2009. The further out the maturities on notes, the more bearish the sentiment towards them. The only way to entice buyers is through the increase in yields."

Online Trading Rooms

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Led by our Trading Coaches and Trading Mentors, each online session is live and offers interactive instruction featuring trading principles and ongoing market analysis as a support service or within an active trading environment.

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To support quality training and education, Trading Post provides a variety of educational options that form a complete foundation for a client's area of interest. Since we know that different students assimilate information differently, we provide multiple instructional modalities. These modes of learning include:

Maybe Australia is First Out; Maybe Not.

FX Trading - Maybe Australia is First Out; Maybe Not.
Worried about your countries currency? The easy solution to your worries: don't cut rates when the market expects it.

The Reserve Bank of Australia announced their latest monetary policy decision overnight. Sitting at 3.25%, most analysts figured that was plenty of room for the RBA to knock a few more basis points of their benchmark.

Wrong.

Even though the RBA slashed about 4% off their benchmark since September, they opted not to make any changes this time around. Australian dollar? Zoom, Zoom!

Yeah, the Aussie rocketed-up once the market realized the RBA wasn't budging this month. This inaction shored-up confidence (perhaps only temporarily) in Australia's economy ... effectively saying, "Things aren't really as bad down here as they are most everywhere else."

For now it seems they're content in Australia with government stimulus and previous rate cuts. For now they don't expect growth to roll off a cliff. For now their economy looks set to out-under-perform (i.e. slow less sharply than its counterpart countries).

And while rather subdued from its glory days just over a year ago, the Australian dollar was able to achieve the title of best performing major currency in the month of February. Unfortunately, a pause in the interest rate downtrend isn't going to be enough to stop its longer-term downtrend versus the US dollar.

We've mentioned it plenty of times recently - Jack especially - but we're targeting another 46% downside for the commodities complex from current levels. That is, in the chart below we're looking to at least retake the levels from Oct 2001 when the rocket took off.

Central bankers boast they know history, but.

Here is a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry be happy
In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy......

Ain't got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry, be happy
The land lord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don't worry, be happy
Look at me I am happy
Don't worry, be happy
Here I give you my phone number
When you worry call me
I make you happy

Don't worry, be happy
Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style
Ain't got not girl to make you smile
But don't worry be happy
Cause when you worry
Your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don't worry, be happy.....

Dodd Dollar Dump

"The general shape of the universal delusion may be indicated by three of its familiar features.

"First, the idea that the panacea for debt is credit.

"Second, a social and political doctrine, now widely accepted, beginning with the premise that people are entitled to certain betterments of life.

"Third, the argument that prosperity is a product of credit, whereas from the beginning of economic thought it had been supposed that prosperity was from the increase and exchange of wealth, ad credit was its product.

"Result: Much more debt. A world-wide collapse of foreign trade, by far the worst since the beginning of the modern epoch. Utter prostration of the statistical serpents. Credit representing many hundreds of millions of labor days locked up in idle industrial equipment both here and in Europe. It is idle because people cannot afford to buy its product at prices which will enable industry to pay interest on its debt. One country might forget its debt, set its equipment free, and flood the markets with of the world with cheap goods, and by this offense kill off a lot of competition. But of this thought occurs to all of them, and so all. With one impulse, raise very high tariff barriers against one another's goods, to keep them out.”

Strong Dollar Hurts US Businesses

While the year-long surge in the Dollar has been a welcome development for American consumers and the US government (in terms of cheaper imports and easy credit, respectively), American businesses are not smiling. The strong Dollar has resulted in decreased competitiveness in the eyes of foreign consumers, and consequently, lower exports. For this reason, the US trade deficit has not shrunk significantly, despite a slight down-tick in imports. One must also look at the overseas earnings of American multinational corporations, which are frequently repatriated to the US and booked in Dollar-terms. In fact, as much as 50% of S&P 500 member company profits now come from overseas. Simply, lower exchange rates mean lower profits. In short, investing in the stocks of companies as a proxy for the markets in which they do business is not (as) profitable when the Dollar is strong.

US and Japan Should Form, Forex Partnership

While continuing to deny the possibility of direct forex intervention, Japan is nonetheless desperate to halt the rise in the Yen. The primary concern of the US government, meanwhile, is not that the Dollar is becoming too valuable, but rather that it will face great difficulty in funding its economic stimulus plan. Perhaps there exists a golden opportunity to simultaneously alleviate both of these quandaries; Japan should be solicited to buy US government bonds. A large-scale purchase of US Treasury securities by the Central Bank of Japan would be tantamount to intervention, and would probably lead to a decline in the Yen, at least against the Dollar. Of course the US would benefit not only by the direct purchase of its bonds, but also by the positive signal that this would send to other institutional investors. Besides, given that China is in no position to increase its holdings of US Treasury securities, Japan represents the best candidate for partnership.

The Euro Paradox,

The deepening of the credit crisis in the EU has triggered a wave of self-reflection, prompting those on the inside to ponder life without the Euro and those on the outside pondering life with the Euro. Their opinions couldn't be any more divergent. Countries like Italy, Spain, and Ireland, for example, have blamed the Euro for their economic woes, arguing that easy monetary policy and cheap credit were responsible for their real estate bubbles. Some commentators, accordingly, have argued that structural differences between these countries and the economic powerhouses of Germany and France are so large that it doesn't make sense for them to share a common currency. Meanwhile, Eastern European countries, most of which are still outside the Euro, are clamoring to join as sudden depreciations in their respective currencies have exposed them to massive economic instability.

ECB Hints at Rate Cut

At its next meeting, to be held in March, the European Central Bank is all but certain to bow to pressure and cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low. This should not come as a surprise, for the ECB’s February decision to hold rates constant was met with a large outcry, in both public and private circles. Soon-to-be-released inflation data is expected to confirm that prices are rising at a slower pace, perhaps even below the ECB’s 2% benchmark. Members of the Bank are also paying attention to the Euro, the continued weakness of which is ironically a product of the ECB’s comparatively tight monetary policy, as investors guard themselves against the risk of deflation.

Make Ur Money with Currency Trading on FOREX

FOREX investing is one of the most potentially rewarding types of investments available. While certainly the risk is great, the ability to conduct marginal trading on FOREX means that potential profits are enormous relative to initial capital investments. Another benefit of FOREX is that its size prevents almost all attempts by others to influence the market for their own gain. So that when investing in foreign currency markets one can feel quite confident that the investment he or she is making has the same opportunity for profit as other investors throughout the world. While investing in FOREX short term requires a certain degree of diligence, investors who utilize a technical analysis can feel relatively confident that their own ability to read the daily fluctuations of the currency market are sufficiently adequate to give them the knowledge necessary to make informed investments.

How FOREX Works

Transactions in foreign currencies are not centralized on an exchange, unlike say the NYSE, and thus take place all over the world via telecommunications. Trade is open 24 hours a day from Sunday afternoon until Friday afternoon (00:00 GMT on Monday to 10:00 pm GMT on Friday). In almost every time zone around the world, there are dealers who will quote all major currencies. After deciding what currency the investor would like to purchase, he or she does so via one of these dealers (some of which can be found online). It is quite common practice for investors to speculate on currency prices by getting a credit line (which are available to those with capital as small as $500), and vastly increase their potential gains and losses. This is called marginal trading.

UK Housing Crisis Could Affect Pound

When one hears the phrase "housing crisis" uttered, the US immediately comes to mind. Not without reason, of course, since the US housing market is the largest in the world, and the scope of any US housing crisis is sure to dwarf a comparable crisis in any other country, in absolute terms. At the same time, let’s not forget that prices in the UK, for example, began to decline earlier than in the US. In addition, as one columnist points out, the impact of the UK housing crisis may be relatively greater on the UK economy. While some of the statistics he quotes are dubious, housing and consumer debt (on a per capita basis) may in fact be larger in the UK than in the US. As a result, the ongoing correction in housing prices would be expected to punish the UK more than the US. The story could be the same for the Pound, vis-a-vis the US Dollar.

British Pound Under Pressure

The British Pound has already fallen 25% against the Dollar, since the credit crisis kicked off earlier this year. On a technical basis, therefore, it would seem that the Pound is due for a rally. From the standpoint of economic fundamentals however, the picture is quite bleak. While the Bank of England’s recent 150 basis point interest rate cut could help restore the UK economy to solid footing, it sent a massive shock to investors. UK interest rates now stand at a 50-year low, and futures prices suggest that the benchmark rate will fall another 1% in the next 12 months. In addition, the Bank of England has not ruled out ruling interest rates all the way to zero. As unlikely as this scenario may be, investors are now fully aware of the scope of Britain’s economic troubles. The next couple weeks could be make-or-break for the Pound, as a series of economic data releases, as well as the minutes from the latest BOE meeting, will help investors craft a more accurate forecast.

Pound Versus the Euro

In recent years, the idea of parity seemed to pop up repeatedly in forex markets. First, the Canadian Dollar breached the mythical 1:1 barrier against the USD; then, it looked as though the Australian Dollar would follow suit. The most recent battle for parity is being waged across the Atlantic Ocean, between the British Pound and the Euro. Both economic and monetary circumstances favor the Euro, as the housing crisis pummeled the UK economy and the UK Central Bank subsequently embarked on a steep program of monetary easing. The Euro has probably also received a boost from the perception that the EU is one of the most stable economies and investing locales, outside of the US. In any event, investors tend to get carried away with psychological milestones and ignore economic fundamentals, which means the Euro could quickly achieve parity, before pulling back.

British Pound Oversold?

Last week, the British Pound recorded its strongest performance against both the Dollar and Euro in nearly 20 years, on the basis of both technical and fundamental factors. On the surface, the Bank of England interest rate cut that prompted the rally would seem to be be negative for the Pound, since lower yield makes Britain a less attractive place to invest. On a deeper level, the relative modesty of the rate cut signalled to investors that the Bank of England is conscious of currency markets (the record decline in the Pound in 2008) when carrying out monetary policy. In addition, the BOE's proactive response to the credit crisis dwarfs the actions of the European Central Banks, which risks falling further behind the curve. In other words, investors began to question why they were pushing the Euro close to parity, when the economic fundamentals aren't much better in the EU than in the UK.

British Pound: It is All Relative

Since the inception of the credit crisis, perhaps no currency has been beaten down more than the British Pound, with analysts bitterly divided about whether the currency will fall further. A lot depends on whether the British efforts to save its devastated banking sector are successful. The government has already moved to nationalize the Bank of Scotland, and is quickly moving to shore up the capital positions of other vulnerable banks. Experts point to the Pound's historic volatility, however, as an indication that investors have always fled, and will continue to flee the UK in times of uncertainty. Jim Rogers, whose partner George Soros famously "broke" the Bank of England in 1992, forecasts a bleak future, although his motives are questionable. Ultimately, the fate of the Pound is entirely relative, as is the case with all currencies. In other words, if investors suddenly changed their minds about the perceived stability of the Dollar and Yen, the Pound could quickly recover.

Forex Reserves Backfire

Prevailing wisdom has long held that the accumulation of foreign exchange reserves has helped stabilize emerging market economies by cushioning them against economic shocks. The economies of Asia, in particular, were praised by economists for responding to the 1997 Southeast Asian economic crisis by building up their reserves to guard against runs on their currencies in the future. In hindsight, however, the accumulation of reserves may have actually contributed to the current economic crisis, by facilitating the formation of massive global economic imbalances. High savings rates in Asia, for example, enabled western countries to run continuous current account deficits. Now, the chickens are coming home to roost, and developing economies are once again finding themselves vulnerable to recession, since their forex reserve policies came at the expense of developing domestic economic bases. The Times of India reports:

Yuan Revaluation is in China’s Interest

While China remains committed, in rhetoric at least, to a flexible Chinese Yuan that rises and falls in accordance with market forces, its actions suggest otherwise. Beginning in the second half of 2008, China stopped allowing the Yuan to appreciate, for fear that a more expensive currency would exacerbate the domestic effects of the credit crisis by making exports less competitive. What China fails to realize however, is that a more valuable Yuan is not only conducive to global economic stability, but also to its own economic well-being. In fact, the artificially cheap Yuan may have actually worsened the economic downturn in China, because de-incentivized the creation of a domestic economic base. Now that overseas demand has dried up, it is left feeling the consequences of this neglect. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Asia Forms Forex Pool

After nearly six months of currency depreciation, the nations of Asia have finally been spurred to action. Japan, China, and South Korea have joined together with the 10 ASEAN economies to form a $120 Billion pool of foreign exchange reserves, which contributors can tap into to protect their currencies. The goal is to prevent capital flight and currency weakness from engendering the same kind of financial crisis that only 10 years ago ravaged Asia. Fortunately, this time around, the 13 countries possess a combined $3.6 Trillion in reserves, which can be deployed in forex and securities markets in order to restore investor confidence. Ironically, the bulk of these reserves belong to China and Japan (who are also funding a large portion of the forex pool), both of whose currencies remain strong in spite of the crisis. Bloomberg News reports:

Dollar Retains Safe Haven Status

The ForexBlog recently reported that investors were cautiously wading back into emerging market currencies. In hindsight, it looks like this report was delivered prematurely, as this week marked a return to the notion of the Dollar as save haven currency, having displaced even the Japanese Yen. While President Obama did his best to assure taxpayers and investors that the economic stimulus would bring the economy out of its slump, the markets were unconvinced. Economic data, especially as it pertains to the housing market, has become increasingly grim, and even Chairman Bernanke of the Federal Reserve conceded that a recovery is unlikely before 2010. Given that the government will have to issue a tremendous quantity of Treasury Bonds in order to fund its ambitious spending plans, however, it’s possible that foreign investors will soon lose their appetite for low-yielding American securities. Reuters reports:

Advantages of the Forex Market

What are the advantages of the Forex Market over other types of investments?

When thinking about various investments, there is one investment vehicle that comes to mind. The Forex or Foreign Currency Market has many advantages over other types of investments. The Forex market is open 24 hrs a day, unlike the regular stock markets. Most investments require a substantial amount of capital before you can take advantage of an investment opportunity. To trade Forex, you only need a small amount of capital. Anyone can enter the market with as little as $300 USD to trade a "mini account", which allows you to trade lots of 10,000 units. One lot of 10,000 units of currency is equal to 1 contract. Each "pip" or move up or down in the currency pair is worth a $1 gain or loss, depending on which side of the market you are on. A standard account gives you control over 100,000 units of currency and a pip is worth $10.

The Forex market is also very liquid. When trading Forex you have full control of your capital.

Many other types of investments require holding your money up for long periods of time. This is a disadvantage because if you need to use the capital it can be difficult to access to it without taking a huge loss. Also, with a small amount of money, you can control

Forex traders can be profitable in bullish or bearish market conditions. Stock market traders need stock prices to rise in order to take a profit. Forex traders can make a profit during up trends and downtrends. Forex Trading can be risky, but with having the ability to have a good system to follow, good money management skills, and possessing self discipline, Forex trading can be a relatively low risk investment.

Black Dog Trading System

Black Dog Trading System Introducing a new forex trading system from seasoned and professional trader, Dave Atkinson. This system uses clearly defined entry and exit rules and comes with full customer support. Get your hands on a copy of Dave Atkinson's, "Black Dog Trading System" receiving rave reviews from customers. Get the Mini-trend Finder - a second system absolutely free with your purchase of the Black Dog Trading System!

The Great Recession!

World equity markets remain under pressure and indices such as the Dow and the S&P 500 closed at an 11-year low yesterday whilst the Nikkei reached levels last seen 27-years ago. Renewed fears around the globe that the recession will become bigger than what is already priced in and the fear of potential failure to come up with proper solutions to tackle it will continue to push these markets southwards. Hence the 11-day decline with no reason to show any positive signs just yet!

EUR/USD Stagnates as Housing and Industrial Production Declines

EUR/USD remained almost unchanged today on the Forex market after a huge drop yesterday. The market was affected by some important macroeconomic news from the United States today and the currency pair reacted with some moderate spikes in both direction. Now it’s trading near 1.2568.

Oil price

Closing Spot Prices for 1 Barrel of Crude Oil in USD Dollars.

1 Barrel = 42 US Gallons = 159 Liters

	Last Updated: Mon, 02-16-2009 19:00 (+5 GMT) Country Currency ISO 02/16/09 02/13/09 Change UNITED STATES US Dollar USD $ 37.25 $ 37.45 -0.5334% Last Updated: Mon, 02-16-2009 19:00 (+5 GMT)

Welcome !

The creators of ExchangeRate.com have made it a mission to provide you with a great wealth of information about Oil. Whether you are looking for the current buy/sell rates of crude oil, or if you are merely interested in finding out more about oil, XROilPrice.com has you covered. Since XROilPrice.com is free to use, we kindly ask you to visit some of our sponsors provided by Google and various marketing companies. Who knows, maybe you are ready to invest in oil, or maybe you just might want to learn more about oil...either way, we have many sponsors more than willing to show you their products and services.

Forex Currency rates of NBP

KARACHI, Feb 17 (APP): Following are the selling/ buying rates of major currencies issued by National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) here on Tuesday.

U.S. dollar 80.60/

78.60

Saudi riyal 21.49/

20.95

U.K. pound stg 114.50/

111.61

Japanese yen 0.8697

0.8481

Euro 101.91/

99.34

U.A.E 21.94

21.40

Safety of Funds

Maintaining the security of your money is a top priority at CMS Forex. No Forex broker can truly guarantee the safety of a client’s Forex deposits. Therefore you should choose your Forex dealer after close consideration.

Quite often the best way to judge a firm’s financial integrity is by its reputation and the commitment it shows to its clients through its service and business decisions. Our devotion to our clients has made our firm a respected industry leader. Investors must be prudent in regard to where they hold their funds and it is vital to consider the integrity of the firm and its management when making one’s decision.

CMS Forex is a registered Futures Commission Merchant, a Forex Dealer Member of the NFA (National Futures Association) and is registered with the CFTC (Commodities Futures Trading Commission), an agency of the United States government. The regulations set forth by these agencies are designed to help ensure the safety of our clients’ deposits. Among other things the regulations require that our firm:

• maintain sufficient liquid capital in excess of the amount required to cover all client deposits, potential fluctuations in the firm’s currency positions and outstanding expenses;
• does not include any debt outstanding to the firm as part of this capital;
• subject itself to all relevant laws, rules and regulations as well as stringent reporting requirements set forth by these agencies;
• submit financial information to regulatory bodies on a weekly and monthly basis;
• undergo three scrutinizing annual audits, one performed by an independent financial auditor, one by the National Futures Association itself, and a third independent audit responsible for inspecting the firm’s Anti Money Laundering procedures.

Furthermore, our firm holds all deposits with only highly reputable financial institutions. Our firm is grateful for the trust our clients place in us, and we do everything in our power to preserve the safety of our clients’ funds.

Auto Execution Partners

Looking to automate your trades according to a pre-set strategy? Many traders use auto-execution tools as a way to trade the markets actively - without spending all their time at the computer.

Auto execution tools can trade a pre set strategy for you, just as a sharp money manager would - without prohibitively high account minimums or fees. Whether you're looking for battle-tested trading strategies from leading research companies, or eager to write and test your own trading scripts, FOREX.com makes it easy to trade intelligently - automatically.

Auto Execution is ideal for clients that want to:

• Automate strategies from scripting languages such as TradeStation's EasyLanguage® or eSignal's Formula Script
• Integrate strategies from charting packages and custom applications
• Take advantage of trading systems developed by premier research companies

Our partners provide solutions for clients from the individual investor to CTAs and Fund Managers. With our partners you can:

• Seamlessly integrate your systems on one or more of your FOREX.com accounts
• Automatically execute signals based on your predefined strategies
• Easily manage your strategies from advanced software applications
• Manually intervene if necessary
• Diversify your strategy portfolio by trading systems

Regulations

CMS Forex is dedicated to the protection of its valued traders’ investments, and has always been a strong proponent of Forex industry regulation. We are proud to be a registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and a Forex Dealer Member (FDM) of the National Futures Association (NFA) (Member ID: 0313199). CMS Forex is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) an agency of the U.S. government and the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan, two prominent regulatory bodies.

Compliance with the regulations set forth by these institutions ensures that stringent quality control standards are being met and that your business with CMS Forex is safe, fair and honest.

The strict regulations set forth by these agencies are designed to ensure the safety of investors’ funds and fair business practices. These regulations require CMS Forex to maintain sufficient liquid capital in excess of the amount necessary to cover all client deposits, potential fluctuations, and outstanding expenses and generally operate under just and equitable principles of trade.

CMS Forex is not only subject to all relevant laws, rules, and regulations set forth by these agencies, but is also examined by three audits: two are performed annually by independent auditors, and one performed every 12-15 months by the NFA itself.

About CMS Forex

CMS Forex was founded by professional Forex traders, Forex brokers, and software developers, and as a result has been able to identify traders’ needs from the very beginning. Since 1999, CMS Forex’s mission has been to provide the most powerful currency trading technology combined with quality execution, competitive services, and dependable customer service. Over the past seven years, CMS Forex has quickly become one of the world’s leading online retail currency trading institutions, providing secure, user-friendly Forex trading software.

CMS Forex is positioned as an industry leader in the Forex marketplace and continues its growth while striving to provide its clients the best trading environment. Based out of New York, CMS Forex and its affiliates now have offices in Boston, Tokyo, Bermuda, Saint Petersburg, and Shanghai. Bermuda’s Capital Market Services International and CMS Japan were created to strengthen global reach and better cater to our international clients.

CMS Forex strives to serve both the retail and institutional segment of the Forex community. Its commitment to providing innovative currency trading technology, fair dealing practices, and excellent customer service establishes CMS Forex as a major force that traders look to for advanced Forex charting, up-to-date Forex news, and informative Forex education.

CMS Forex’s affiliates in New York, Saint Petersburg, and Shanghai are dedicated to going above and beyond to meet clients’ needs, by creating and constantly improving upon the already sophisticated and user-friendly trading software, VT Trader™. These attributes, plus many others, prove that CMS Forex has built from the ground up a service that truly stands on its own.

Forex Research

Our award-winning research team brings you insights and tips, direct from our seasoned traders. Divided into weekly, daily and intraday research, we cover both fundamental and technical indicators.

Our Intraday commentary includes FOREX Insider and the widely read Market Updates. Follow the market with our traders as they decode the market's movements, point out emerging chart patterns and analyze key data releases' impact on the currency markets, as they happen.

FOREX Insider Forex Insider provides you with actionable analysis of news, events and technical levels that impact currency prices - as it happens. Updates are published directly by the senior traders and members of our experienced research team, up to 20 times an hour. Take advantage of their proximity to institutional buy and sell side action, as they trade with some of the world's largest financial institutions. Keep in mind that the market impact of news and other events detailed in Forex Insider may already be factored into the currency price before this information reaches the public. Forex Insider is available directly within the platform, allowing you to act quickly on the information. To access Forex Insider, click the "Commentary" tab. View examples of Forex Insider postings. FOREX.com Market Updates Actionable research published three times daily, after the close of each major trading session in Tokyo, London, and New York. Each update summarizes the key takeaways from each trading session. Find out how each major market may impact upcoming price action, and learn about important technical levels and events to watch.

Obama eyes home loan subsidies in rescue plan: sources

By Patrick Rucker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is hammering out a program to subsidize mortgage payments for troubled homeowners who have gone through a standardized re-appraisal and affordability test, sources familiar with the plan said on Thursday.

The program would be a major break from existing aid programs, which are triggered once homeowners fall into arrears.

Under the plan being contemplated, mortgage companies would use a uniform eligibility test even before a borrower becomes delinquent, sources said.

The administration hopes the mortgage industry will soon agree to a set of standards that will allow it to move quickly to modify many home loans.

Sources said government-controlled housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would play a supporting role in the government's new plan, but said they are not expected to expand their securitization of loans.

In an interview, James Lockhart, the regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said the mortgage finance industry was eager to have a standardized mortgage modification standard.

"I've talked to all the major servicers -- both the big bank ones and the big independent ones -- and they are all ready to go, they're chomping at the bit," Lockhart, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said. "The other thing they're asking for standardization."

Under the plan being mulled, homeowners would have to make a case of hardship to qualify for new loan terms.

Housing policymakers weighed but have for now shelved one plan that would have seen the government stand behind low-cost mortgages of between 4 and 4.5 percent, sources said.

Lockhart said that policymakers are eager to prevent a large drop in home values from their current, deflated levels.

"Just as we had a large overshooting to the upside. Is there any way to prevent going much further to the downside? That will cause tremendous harm to the U.S. economy, to the financial system and it's not necessary," he said.

Codependence: recovery

C.A.R.E.S.S. yourself

C: Develop your coping skills.

• Learn to identify your emotions: anger, fear, guilt, sadness - go to some mutual support group meetings and work with a counselor on this important part of your recovery.
• Learn about boundaries: what are your responsibilities, possessions, traits, and what are others'; how to establish and maintain boundaries. Reading, groups, sponsorship in Alcoholics Anonymous will help with this. With this goes MYOB: learning to mind your own business and to detach with love.
• Learn how to be assertive in relationships and how to safely resolve conflict. Books and courses are offered on this. It also helps in your work and parenting.
• Determine what pieces of your puzzle are missing and develop them: money management, time management, stress management, learning balance, hobbies.

A: Make yourself accountable. Share your commitment to change with someone who cares for you. Join a group, get a sponsor/mentor.

R: Take responsibility for your own recovery. Being a victim may feel like it absolves you from blame, but it gives all the power to the victimizer. It's up to you to change the things you can. You can do it.

E: Education helps. Reading books, attending classes, going to group meetings all help towards reaching an understanding of addictions, dysfunctional family systems and recovering from symptoms of codependence.

S: Develop a support network. Join a group (Al-Anon, religious institution, hobby group). Identify support people, friends, family, institution of worship, or workplace and get in the habit of sharing with them, in person and by phone.

S: Your spiritual health will likely get more and more important to you as you get older. Figure out what you believe. Decide on your values and live by them. Start your day with meditation.

Don't quit before the miracle.

Author: Ray Baker, MD

Reviewer: MediResource Clinical Team

Cuba launches own Linux variant to counter U.S.

By Esteban Israel

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba launched its own variant of the Linux computer operating system this week in the latest front of the communist island's battle against what it views as U.S. hegemony.

The Cuban variant, called Nova, was introduced at a Havana computer conference on "technological sovereignty" and is central to the Cuban government's desire to replace the Microsoft software running most of the island's computers.

The government views the use of Microsoft systems, developed by U.S.-based Microsoft Corp, as a potential threat because it says U.S. security agencies have access to Microsoft codes.

Also, the long-standing U.S. trade embargo against the island makes it difficult for Cubans to get Microsoft software legally and to update it.

"Getting greater control over the informatic process is an important issue," said Communications Minister Ramiro Valdes, who heads a commission pushing Cuba's migration to free software.

Cuba, which is 90 miles from Florida, has been resisting U.S. domination in one form or another since Fidel Castro took over Cuba in a 1959 revolution.

Younger brother Raul Castro replaced the ailing 82-year-old leader last year, but the U.S.-Cuba conflict goes on, now in the world of software.

According to Hector Rodriguez, dean of the School of Free Software at Cuba's University of Information Sciences, about 20 percent of computers in Cuba, where computer sales to the public began only last year, are currently using Linux.

Nova is Cuba's own configuration of Linux and bundles various applications of the operating system.

Rodriguez said several government ministries and the Cuban university system have made the switch to Linux but there has been resistance from government companies concerned about its compatibility with their specialized applications.

"I would like to think that in five years our country will have more than 50 percent migrated (to Linux)," he said.

Unlike Microsoft, Linux is free and has open access that allows users to modify its code to fit their needs.

"Private software can have black holes and malicious codes that one doesn't know about," Rodriguez said. "That doesn't happen with free software."

Apart from security concerns, free software better suits Cuba's world view, he said.

"The free software movement is closer to the ideology of the Cuban people, above all for the independence and sovereignty."

(Editing by Jeff Franks and Bill Trott)

U.S. and Russia track satellite crash debris

By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Space officials in Russia and the United States were on Thursday tracking hundreds of pieces of debris that were spewed into space when a U.S. satellite collided with a defunct Russian military satellite.

The crash, which Russian officials said took place on Tuesday at about 1700 GMT (12:00 p.m. EST) above northern Siberia, is the first publicly known satellite collision and has raised concerns about the safety of the manned International Space Station.

The collision happened in an orbit heavily used by satellites and other spacecraft and the U.S. Strategic Command, the arm of the Pentagon that handles space, said countries might have to maneuver their craft to avoid the debris.

"The collision of these two space apparatuses happened by chance and these two apparatuses have been destroyed," Major-General Alexander Yakushin, first deputy commander of Russia's Space Forces, told Reuters.

"The fragments pose no danger whatsoever to Russian space objects," he said. When asked if the debris posed a danger to other nations' space craft, he said: "As for foreign ones, it is not for me say as it is not in my competency."

The collision between the Iridium Satellite LLC-operated satellite and the Russian Cosmos-2251 military satellite occurred at about 485 miles above the Russian Arctic.

That is an altitude used by satellites that monitor weather, relay communications and perform scientific observations.

"It's a very important orbit for a lot of satellites," said Air Force Colonel Les Kodlick from the U.S. Strategic Command. "We believe it's the first time that two satellites have collided in orbit."

The U.S. Joint Space Operations Center was tracking 500 to 600 new pieces of debris, some as small as 4 inches across, in addition to the 18,000 or so other man-made objects it previously catalogued in space, he said.

Russian Space Forces said it was monitoring debris that was spread over altitudes between 500 km (310 miles) and 1300 km (807 miles) above earth.

The priority is guarding the International Space Station, which orbits at 220 miles, substantially below the collision altitude. One Russian and two U.S. astronauts are currently aboard the station.

SPACE STATION

The orbit of the ISS can be changed by controllers from Earth but even a tiny piece of debris can cause significant damage to the space station as it travels at 8 km per second.

"If there is any threat to the ISS then there will be an announcement," one Russian space official said. Another said there was little immediate threat to the station.

The crash has underlined concerns about how crowded the orbit paths around the planet have become in recent decades.

S&P and Nasdaq rise after mortgage plan news

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks staged a late rally to close mostly higher on Thursday after Reuters reported the Obama administration was working on a program to subsidize mortgage payments for troubled homeowners.

* According to preliminary closing figures, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI ended off 6.77 points, or 0.09 percent, to 7,932.76. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 1.45 points, or 0.17 percent, at 835.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC gained 11.21 points, or 0.73 percent, to 1,541.71.

* "It's being viewed as a positive both for the mortgage industry and home building industry as well," said Richard Sparks, senior equities analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; editing by Gary Crosse)

U.S. crude drops 5.5 percent on supply glut

By Richard Valdmanis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices fell 5.5 percent on Thursday to settle at the lowest point in nearly two months, dragged down by swelling crude stocks in the United States and concerns over the health of the global economy.

U.S. crude dropped $1.96 to settle at $33.98 a barrel, the lowest since December 19 and extending a losing streak that has clipped 17 percent off the price in five days. Brent crude rose 37 cents to $44.65 a barrel.

U.S. crude has been running at a big discount to Brent due to a glut at the main U.S. storage hub in Oklahoma along with supply problems in Nigeria that tend to have a bigger impact on European supplies.

The losses came after the U.S. government reported on Wednesday a seventh straight weekly increase in nationwide crude inventories as the economic crisis crushes business and consumer fuel demand.

Crude oil stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma -- the world's biggest storage hub and the delivery point for U.S. crude futures -- rose last week to record levels around 35 million barrels, near operational capacity.

"Much of today's pressure on crude still comes from yesterday's data showing a big jump in U.S. crude supply, including at the NYMEX delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma," said Andy Lebow, broker at MF Global in New York.

"There is also anticipation that crude stocks will continue to build in the weeks to come," he added.

Encouraging losses Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said the number of people staying on unemployment benefits rose by 11,000 to a record 4.810 million in the last week of January.

"What that's telling us is the underlying trend is bad and seems to be getting worse. For job losses, February could be worse than January," Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, said.

The global economic downturn is taking its toll on oil consumption and supply appears to be outpacing demand in many parts of the world, despite production cuts by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Algerian Oil Minister Chakib Khelil told Reuters on Thursday that there is a 50 percent chance the cartel could agree to deepen cuts when it meets in March, and added that compliance among members is solid.

"We have 85 percent which is unusual for compliance. By meeting time, we will probably have 100 percent," Khelil said.

U.S. oil's losses were further exacerbated by a report Wednesday from the International Energy Agency forecasting global demand would shrink this year by the largest amount since 1982.

Traders said the short-term direction of the market was also being dominated by movements in stock markets, which were lower in New York on Thursday. .N

Brent crude was supported somewhat by news Shell (RDSa.L) may have trouble meeting some oil export obligations due to unrest in the Niger Delta.

(Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London, Fayen Wong in Perth; Editing by Marguerita Choy)