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Anyone here into FOREX?
- Thread starter Music_Producer
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Serious Day Trading
I found my laptop really isnt up to the task of serious trading and actually have considered to buy a PC for specific programs dedicated to it.
Anyone have experience with Boot Camp running 2 or 3 Quad Processors and 2-4 monitors?
I found my laptop really isnt up to the task of serious trading and actually have considered to buy a PC for specific programs dedicated to it.
Anyone have experience with Boot Camp running 2 or 3 Quad Processors and 2-4 monitors?
No experience with Boot Camp. I just run everything through Parallels on a 15 inch MBP which suits my needs for the time being.
BritGuy, I always use market orders. I only place limit orders for taking profits or specifying a stop loss. What trade did you get slipped on?
Nathan, good to see you trading regularly bro
Today's UK employment reports were good trades.. got about 30 pips (and then after I exit GU goes up 50 more pips.. hmmm!)
Also EUR CPI came out higher than expected, so got about 34 pips on that one, again EU has shot up another 50 pips or so. There should be good resistance at 1.6000 though.. those are some high levels!
I've started my blog site, it's at www.ezpips.com..
I know, cliched name, but easy to remember. Some posts are already up, but the domain hasn't completely been forwarded yet so you can go here till then - http://homepage.mac.com/vishalj/ezpips/Pardon the look of the site - it's very basic. I will add some pages eventually.. if anyone has questions feel free to ask and I will post them up.
What kind of laptop do you have? FX Programs aren't really intensive, I use a MBP with Fusion running Win XP for win-fx platforms, while Java on the mac works fine with Oanda, Currenex, etc.
I've recently created a free site that shows you how the forex market has reacted in the minutes and hours after the NFP and other economic news releases. Lots of charts! Hopefully, this will be helpful.
http://www.forexnewspatterns.com
Hey everyone, sorry I've been MIA for a while, I've had a lot on the go. I've managed to trade a few reports here and there the past couple months but have mostly been focusing on the stock markets as there have been some excellent opportunities. My real estate ventures have been occupying a lot of my time as well. Just wanted to pop in, mention that I'm still reading the thread and will definitely continue to trade when I can.
Happy trading everyone!
Just wanted to pop in, mention that I'm still reading the thread and will definitely continue to trade when I can.Happy trading everyone!
Great thread, I've just finished reading the entire thing!
HUGE thanks to the contributors! It is hard to find good information on this topic without the posts being seemingly dominated by teenage "veterans".
So I'm trying to wrap my head around what happened on Tuesday after the CAD interest rate statement.
I read on ezpips that the CAD dropped because consumer sentiment had some people expecting a smaller cut. This makes sense.
An hour later out come some US numbers (multiple report, eek, but FF tells me to concentrate mostly on the Existing Home Sales number).
- EHS comes out slightly higher than expected
- House Price Index comes out way higher than expected (this is good because this is a measure of inflation - better chance of raising interest rates)
- Richmond Fed Index comes out lower than expected (this is bad)
With two positives and one negative, I would expect the USD to rise against the CAD. But it dropped significantly. So I thought maybe it just dropped because of the jump an hour earlier due to CAD interest rates. But it looks like USD lost on all the pairs.
Is Richmond Fed Index that important? Or is something else going on here that I'm missing??
HUGE thanks to the contributors! It is hard to find good information on this topic without the posts being seemingly dominated by teenage "veterans".
So I'm trying to wrap my head around what happened on Tuesday after the CAD interest rate statement.
I read on ezpips
that the CAD dropped because consumer sentiment had some people expecting a smaller cut. This makes sense.An hour later out come some US numbers (multiple report, eek, but FF tells me to concentrate mostly on the Existing Home Sales number).
- EHS comes out slightly higher than expected
- House Price Index comes out way higher than expected (this is good because this is a measure of inflation - better chance of raising interest rates)
- Richmond Fed Index comes out lower than expected (this is bad)
With two positives and one negative, I would expect the USD to rise against the CAD. But it dropped significantly. So I thought maybe it just dropped because of the jump an hour earlier due to CAD interest rates. But it looks like USD lost on all the pairs.
Is Richmond Fed Index that important? Or is something else going on here that I'm missing??
Well I've got as far as page 38, but I'm going all the way...
Thank you Music_Producer for all the information and help you've given freely over the length of this thread. I hope you haven't disappeared off the scene!
I've opened a practice account with Oanda (you really should get some commission) and am coming to grips with the mechanic of it all. I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask you, if I may:
Firstly, the attached picture shows a stop loss activated at far below the (5 second) graph. Is there a reason for this? Is the graph inaccurate?
Secondly, my sister-in-law started forex a little while ago and has sold the equivalent of $10,000 of JPY/NZD. This is money she can put aside for the long term. She is using no leverage. She is earning 8% or whatever interest it attracts. Far better than anything else she'd get here in Japan. Of course the value can drop but if she just left the money there for 20 years, with no leverage she's in the game unless it drops to zero. Even if the value never reaches the level at when she bought the compounded interest will more than make up for the shortfall after a few years. Is there anything I'm missing about this scenario? It seems too good to be true. I mean, why doesn't everyone do this?
Thank you Music_Producer for all the information and help you've given freely over the length of this thread. I hope you haven't disappeared off the scene!
I've opened a practice account with Oanda (you really should get some commission) and am coming to grips with the mechanic of it all. I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask you, if I may:
Firstly, the attached picture shows a stop loss activated at far below the (5 second) graph. Is there a reason for this? Is the graph inaccurate?
Secondly, my sister-in-law started forex a little while ago and has sold the equivalent of $10,000 of JPY/NZD. This is money she can put aside for the long term. She is using no leverage. She is earning 8% or whatever interest it attracts. Far better than anything else she'd get here in Japan. Of course the value can drop but if she just left the money there for 20 years, with no leverage she's in the game unless it drops to zero. Even if the value never reaches the level at when she bought the compounded interest will more than make up for the shortfall after a few years. Is there anything I'm missing about this scenario? It seems too good to be true. I mean, why doesn't everyone do this?
Attachments
tribble, the Richmond Fed Index had nothing to do with the USD/CAD moves. The way I trade reports is.. I'm in and out in a few seconds.. sometimes I do hang around for a few minutes depending on the report.. but basically, if you have USD/CAD moving 100+ pips.. there is bound to be some profit taking at some point.
Also, it will be pretty evident when the dollar is going to have a weak session or a strong session. All $ pairs will usually rise in tandem.. or fall.. depending on the 'mood' of the market. Now why has the dollar been rising lately? Because there is talk in the market that the Feds are done with cutting rates (because of high inflation) and that they will cut by 25 basis points.. next week. That should be the final cut, this is what the market chatter is.
Where do you read this market talk? On any financial site, I remember seeing this on bloomberg.com (or cnbc) Just market sentiment can move currencies..
Now if the Feds cut rates by 50 bps next week.. and they say something like 'There is still more room for cuts' then look out for a massive dollar fall.
Mr. Smith.. thanks for the kind comments! I am trying to update ezpips everyday, but I was on a little break.. am back now, will update it accordingly
I don't see the Japanese hiking rates.. it would be detrimental to their economy. They are mostly export-oriented.. Toyota and other companies have been experiencing losses due to the stronger Yen.
Yes, NZD/JPY would be a good trade to hold on to - by the way, everyone *does* it! Look at the risk factor though - if some day, that trade collapses.. you see massive falls .. like GBP/JPY went through a 5000 pip loss. If you have enough capital and can withstand such fluctuations, then the interest should pay off handsomely.
It's just that most people invest by maxing out their margin accounts and then they cannot withstand such moves.. and blow up their accounts. NZD and AUD (aussie $) are relatively strong.. I prefer them compared to the pound. Good luck with the demo account!
What I have been doing lately is look for dips in the Euro/Pound/Ausie $.. and then buy. Markets are still dollar bearish.. so the overall trend is up for the $ pairs. I am going to wait for the US rate decision and take it from there..
Oops, forgot to answer this one - there could have been a 'spike' which you cannot see on a 5 second chart.. as that would probably have lasted for a second or less. It's fishy though, because apparently (this is what the general rumor is) brokers carry out 'stop loss hunting'
They will deliberately cause such spikes (which are entirely fake) simply to take out stops. This will not happen with a true direct platform, but with market makers (like Oanda and most of the retail platforms) it's possible that they do this. Again, the incident you show can be a temp spike (a real spike)
Thanks a lot MP!
Since my sis-in-law is not using any leverage, she could ride dips down to, well, anything above a zero value NZD. I mean she can't get a margin call and if it drops 5000 pips it won't stay down there. Is that correct thinking?
I guess I'm at the stage of understanding where most people give up...
My wife is also starting Forex trading (training) on a separate account. I'm wondering whether we'll double our profits/losses or cancel each other out.
Since my sis-in-law is not using any leverage, she could ride dips down to, well, anything above a zero value NZD. I mean she can't get a margin call and if it drops 5000 pips it won't stay down there. Is that correct thinking?
I guess I'm at the stage of understanding where most people give up...
My wife is also starting Forex trading (training) on a separate account. I'm wondering whether we'll double our profits/losses or cancel each other out.
Thanks a lot MP!
Since my sis-in-law is not using any leverage, she could ride dips down to, well, anything above a zero value NZD. I mean she can't get a margin call and if it drops 5000 pips it won't stay down there. Is that correct thinking?
I guess I'm at the stage of understanding where most people give up...
My wife is also starting Forex trading (training) on a separate account. I'm wondering whether we'll double our profits/losses or cancel each other out.
I think it will be a good investment - might carry a little risk but it's better to diversify one's assets. Right now, risk appetite seems to be returning to the markets, and we had Bank of Japan state that their exports are slowing down (which basically hints at their discomfort with their interest rate levels)
You and your wife can become hedging partners
In fact, tomorrow we have the Non Farm Payroll report - since you are both on demo accounts.. try this out. One of you buys GBP/USD (2 minutes before the report comes out) and the other sells. Keep a limit for a profit of 30 pips (i.e. if you buy GU at 1.9800.. set the limit target profit for 1.9830.. if she sells at 1.9800.. she will have a limit to close the trade at 1.9770) During NFP, EU, GU, etc tend to completely reverse direction after the initial spike (most of the time) So let's see if it works this time
I presume the Non Farm Payroll report is what ForexFactory calls 'Nonfarm Employment Change'. If so, that's at 9:30pm our time so a very convenient time. One question, what about setting stop losses? I'm still getting to grips with the mechanics. And why 30 pips? Is that a figure you use from experience?
I wish I lived in London.. I'm up all bloody night trying to trade
(well, nights are ok - but I hate staying up till 7-8 am .. when certain reports come out)30 pips is the number I chose because of the spreads.. Oanda will probably add 20 pip spread. So taking that into account, 30 pips would seem a decent amount. Euro seems to be weak today, and the pound is really strong - if NFP comes out really good, that could lead to a euro drop.
I really want to see if this hedging strategy works (buy and sell at the same time, and lock in profits if the trade moves both ways) Of course, I will be using a small lot - and if you are doing this, then use a demo account only.
Ahh, then you're closer to me
NFP was excellent! For the first time, it came out with no annoyances like a conflicting unemployment rate and all that - both numbers came out much better than expected (I have a feeling they're made up) Look at the carry trades! -
GBP/JPY - jumped more than 150 pips! Still going higher..stocks will rally today unless ISM comes out bad.
NFP was excellent! For the first time, it came out with no annoyances like a conflicting unemployment rate and all that - both numbers came out much better than expected (I have a feeling they're made up) Look at the carry trades! -
GBP/JPY - jumped more than 150 pips! Still going higher..stocks will rally today unless ISM comes out bad.
Not really. Of course, you don't keep all your available funds in a trading account....at least, I don't. Withdrawal only takes 2-5 days, depending on the broker. With bucket shops, you can usually get your money the same day.
thanks for your answer.
I can read in this forum that you do it alone like a "pro" not using companies like Forex Automoney charging 99$ a month, etc...
They say we need them coz just 2% of the people win money in forex.
Is that true? what do you think, guys?
thanks again, I'm ready to trade but I have a couple of questions.
rey
I can read in this forum that you do it alone like a "pro" not using companies like Forex Automoney charging 99$ a month, etc...
They say we need them coz just 2% of the people win money in forex.
Is that true? what do you think, guys?
thanks again, I'm ready to trade but I have a couple of questions.
rey
Not many people make money with 4X.
Take your time to read and test your methods before opening an account.
I wonder if I may share a link that other beginners preparing to stake their pennies might find useful? It's about money management; in particular, limiting risk to a percentage of your balance. Real basic nuts 'n' bolts stuff, but I can imagine myself with a wiped-out account wishing I'd studied that kind of thing before jumping in.
Forex Money Management
If any of you pros have anything to add we'll be all the better for it.
Forex Money Management
If any of you pros have anything to add we'll be all the better for it.
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