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Anyone here into FOREX? v2.0

~Shard~

~Shard~

macrumors P6
Original poster
Ah, the good old Forex Thread, this takes me back. 😉 Glad to see some people are still trading. I myself have focused more on commodity futures trading as well as day-trading stocks - not much forex anymore. I've been really busy in general with other interests and investments lately (rental properties, etc.) so I simply haven't had the time.

Glad to see there's still an interest though! Good luck to everyone, this thread is a great resource. 😎




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Mod note
Continued from here in

Anyone here into FOREX? (v1.0)

😎
 
c2v4l said:
I just want to know one thing. Do you trade using MAC? Mind to share with me your trading setup(using MAC)?
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I am now currently using XP for my trading. The MAC now belongs to my daughter who is in her 2nd year of University and is in her room and "no one else is allowed to touch it".

For some reason my platforms works better with the XP.
 
greenspanke said:
There are many brokers that uses MT4. Myself I use both IBFX and Gain Capital.
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I've been reading some reviews around the place and read some bad ones about Interbank FX. Yes, reviews of every other broker are full of horror stories, too, so it's hard to get an honest opinion. What's your opinion of them? How long have you used them? In this thread Music_Producer thought he'd found a good broker that then seemed to make life difficult for him (though he was trading the news).

I'm sorry, I don't understand the finer details, but is the fact that IBFX uses MT4 a guarantee of some sort that the feeds and prices are accurate and honest? What's the difference, say, between using MT4 with IBFX and the Oanda software with Oanda (apart from being different software)

greenspanke said:
Nothing to excuse my friend. I wish someone helped me as well but it was hard as I didnt know anyone then and I had to learn by myself. I'm happy to help anyway I can.
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I appreciate that. Many thanks.
 
MrSmith said:
I've been reading some reviews around the place and read some bad ones about Interbank FX. Yes, reviews of every other broker are full of horror stories, too, so it's hard to get an honest opinion. What's your opinion of them? How long have you used them? In this thread Music_Producer thought he'd found a good broker that then seemed to make life difficult for him (though he was trading the news).

I'm sorry, I don't understand the finer details, but is the fact that IBFX uses MT4 a guarantee of some sort that the feeds and prices are accurate and honest? What's the difference, say, between using MT4 with IBFX and the Oanda software with Oanda (apart from being different software)


I appreciate that. Many thanks.
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I've heard the stories about IBFX also. I've been with IBFX for about 4 yrs. now and I was with Oanda before that. I left Oanda because of the MT4 platform and most of all was the ever changing spreads were just too ridiculous for me.

I dont think you can attach the word honest with either one of them with what I've seen of them and any other for that matter. Gain I've just started using and so far so good but still I've come to realize that everyone of them are just the same in their practices.

I also trade a large account but its an institutional acct so its different.

I will have more time later on and i can expand on my experiences with Oanda and IBFX. I've just accepted that its all part of doing business.
 
Hi everyone, I am just after some advice from all you good people that trade FX.
I have traded different instruments including FX, Interest Rate Futures and Options for the last 20 years or so, for a medium sized bank in London. I have been out of the market for a couple of years now, but I have kept up-to-date as in my most recent role I was analysing the FX markets for a fledgling blog start-up. Even though there are more day traders in FX by the day the powers that be pulled the plug on the idea in August. So now I am seriously considering going for it on my own.
My questions are :-
Which web brokers do people recommend ? Are they OS X compatible ?
On the issue of hardware, I currently have a MacBook Pro, but will need to invest in a desk top model with a minimum of two 24" screens. Realistically I presume I will have to go down the PC route unless any of you good people can suggest otherwise ?
Finally as I am in the UK are your profits taxed or are they treated like betting winnings i.e tax free ?

Cheers for the advice
 
bollard said:
Which web brokers do people recommend ? Are they OS X compatible ?
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The majority of us here use(d) Oanda and Currenex as an ECN. I use CMC Markets and have surprisingly had little issues with them (at least compared to what other people have experienced). There always seemt o be trade-offs between fixed/non-fixed spreads, slippage and so forth no matter who you deal with. Currenex as an ECN is good, however there are restrictions with it, such as minimum account balances, lot sizes etc.

Unfortunately none of the platforms I have come across are Mac-compatible, with the exception of Oanda, but this is because it has a Java client, which isn't really true Mac compatibility. 😉

bollard said:
On the issue of hardware, I currently have a MacBook Pro, but will need to invest in a desk top model with a minimum of two 24" screens.
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More real estate is always better. 😉

bollard said:
Realistically I presume I will have to go down the PC route unless any of you good people can suggest otherwise ?
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As I mentioned above, yeah, unless you want to use Oanda. Personally I wouldn't trust a Java interface to handle my trading needs though. 😎

bollard said:
Finally as I am in the UK are your profits taxed or are they treated like betting winnings i.e tax free ?
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Can't speak for UK tax law, as I live in Canada. Here, profits are basically treated as self-employed income, so technically it's up to the trader to report his own income off trading - but there is nothing saying you'd have to I suppose... 😛 😉

Hope this helps!
 
nhallmark said:
Damn, it's been almost a year...look at those rates now 😱
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Yeah, I guess me and MP do sometimes know what we're talking about - scary! 😉 😀

Good to see you again Nathan - how are things with you and what's your current trading situation? As for myself, I've been sticking more with day trading stocks (there have been plenty of good shorts out there!) and commodity trading (oil futures have been excellent to day trade due to volatility).

Hope all is well. 😎
 
I'm ok...still trading but not as often because of all the BS and indecision these days.

Are you still with CMC? I read an article that their Aussie unit was filing bankruptcy...don't know if that affects the Canadian unit.
 
Yeah, but I'm planning on closing my account soon and moving on, so it shouldn't affect me regardless. I've been hearing about a lot of closures and such in the industry, so they're definitely not alone - not that I'm surprised of course. 😉
 
Thanks for the housekeeping Blue Velvet, let's hope 2009 will see a renewed interest in this thread!

Happy New Year 🙂
 
Just now getting into forex

Just opened a practice account. I had trouble with the Java based traders and am now installing XP 😡 using VirtualBox, I'll let you know how it works out.
 
MrSmith said:
You should find Oanda's online Java system works fine.
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Although I never used it extensively myself, I never had any major issues with it either. Not my preferred interface, but functional nonetheless and a viable Java option if a person requires one.
 
Looking for a class on Forex in NYC

I'm interested in learning more about Forex trading, and I'd like to take a class. (No, I haven't started paper trading yet, but that's the next step.)

Does anyone know of a reputable place to learn Forex trading in New York City?
 
Theobroma said:
I'm interested in learning more about Forex trading, and I'd like to take a class. (No, I haven't started paper trading yet, but that's the next step.)

Does anyone know of a reputable place to learn Forex trading in New York City?
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Hi,

There are several ways to get a forex trading education. The best place to get a forex trading education is online. There are many free websites available that let you open free demo accounts to practice your forex trading. There are also free seminars that are avaiable at random times. The best thing to do is to get some advice from someone who is a current forex trader. They can give you some insight on the subject of forex trading. The important part of a forex trading education is to learn the market background. The foreign exchange market is always changing. With forex trading education, you will learn how to monitor these changes to be helpful for you.
 
Market analyst / sales position in Forex

Can someone tell me what it likes working as a market analyst / sales position in the forex field? It is a cut throat gig? I heard the pay is based on the base + commission (based on the number of trades by clients).
 
YS2003 said:
Can someone tell me what it likes working as a market analyst / sales position in the forex field? It is a cut throat gig? I heard the pay is based on the base + commission (based on the number of trades by clients).
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Have you seen Boiler Room?
 
YS2003 said:
Yeah. But, seriously, the actual work is not like what Hollywood exaggerates in its production.
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There is a pretty good show on Hulu, Wall Street Warriors, that will show you what a few of the jobs on Wall Street are like. The second season is particularly interesting because one of the people it focuses on is a recent finance grad from NYU.

Its going to be a cut throat environment, its pretty much the nature of the industry. You'll probably never work only a 40 hour week, but the potential is there to make $100k+ in your first year.
 
rhsgolfer33 said:
ts going to be a cut throat environment, its pretty much the nature of the industry. You'll probably never work only a 40 hour week, but the potential is there to make $100k+ in your first year.
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With that kind of the money, it comes with the territory a player has to deal with a cut throat work environment, I guess. I hope a Forex analyst/sales can also make the similar amount of money.
 
Okay, I am thinking about dipping into the Forex business now. The rate can either goes up or down; so, my chance of winning is 50%. As I can also change my strategy as the market progresses (it's non stop for 24 hours for 5 days), it seems I can hedge the risk by placing another lot to counteract the loss by the 1st lot.

An example:
A minimum lot: $2000
Transaction fee: USD 120 per lot
At 8 pm, USD/JPN at 89.50. Buy dollars at that price point; Sell the lot at 89.90.
Profit: (89.90 - 89.50) X 2000 - 120 = $680
If I do 2 lots, then, $680 X 2 = $1360
The spread should be around 10 points (0.10) (preferably fixed so that you don't have to get confused on the spread while you are trading).
 
Hey everyone.. I've been reading this thread for the last few days. Only about a quater of the way through but have been looking at markets for a little while. Just after some advice on a something specific that happened today..

zacl87


As you can see this concerns the GBP/USD
On the left is the graph of what happened when the reports (right) were released at 11.01am - BRC Retail Sales Monitor y/y and RICS House Price Balance. Both of these SHOULD boost the GBP (I think) with good reports. As the first doesn't have a forecast it's hard to tell, but the second was well above (34% with 29% forecast).

My question is - why did the GBP dip if a positive report in these releases should have pushed the pound up? It does rise about 5 pips at around 11, but then dips a lot over the next couple of hours.

Any help would be appreciated!
Cheers

http://s706.photobucket.com/albums/...iew&current=Screenshot2009-11-10at73515PM.png
 
zacl87 said:
As you can see this concerns the GBP/USD
On the left is the graph of what happened when the reports (right) were released at 11.01am - BRC Retail Sales Monitor y/y and RICS House Price Balance. Both of these SHOULD boost the GBP (I think) with good reports. As the first doesn't have a forecast it's hard to tell, but the second was well above (34% with 29% forecast).

My question is - why did the GBP dip if a positive report in these releases should have pushed the pound up? It does rise about 5 pips at around 11, but then dips a lot over the next couple of hours.

Any help would be appreciated!
Cheers

http://s706.photobucket.com/albums/...iew&current=Screenshot2009-11-10at73515PM.png
Click to expand...

Well, first of all - those events are hardly significant to move the currency markets. There's a reason why those events are colored yellow/orange. The 'red' ones are important - but not all of them either. The GBP/USD can easily move 300-400 pips when a significant report has been released. Remember, it's all about market 'expectations' rather than the actual news. If the markets are expecting a -5% growth rate, and that report comes out at -5.1% - GBP won't move much - maybe by 10-20 pips at the most.

Since the last 2 years the forex market has been very temperamental - sometimes they rely on equities, sometimes they don't. When global stocks fall - the US$ rallies and so on.

Now look at the Non Farm Payroll report which occurred on Friday. I've seen this pattern a few times before - it was a bad report.. and the US$ actually went up (short term) *gasp* Why is this? Short term, traders anticipate that this bad news will cause the stock market to collapse - so there's a flight to US dollars - this is only short term though. Additionally, the increase in unemployment caused the US interest rate futures to shoot up (increased possibility of a rate hike)

An hour later however, you'll see that the USD started dropping (like it should have in the first place) and EUR/GBP climbing up. I always stay out of the NFP for the first 15 minutes or so - to gauge the market direction. Especially in the current economic environment.

3-4 years ago, it was very simple. Bad job reports? USD sank for an hour non-stop - easy trades. Not so anymore.

Check out the Bank of England's inflation report today (King is going to give a speech) Depending on what he says, GBP has the potential to move hundreds of pips. Good luck!
 
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