Anyone here into FOREX?

[bollard]

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

 

[~Shard~]

Which web brokers do people recommend ? Are they OS X compatible ?

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.

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.

More real estate is always better.

Realistically I presume I will have to go down the PC route unless any of you good people can suggest otherwise ?

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.

Finally as I am in the UK are your profits taxed or are they treated like betting winnings i.e tax free ?

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]

I would find it extremely amusing if the USD interest rate dropped to a level where it became a carry trade currency.

Actually, that has begun. There are stories floating around that people are looking at the USD as a carry funding currency. Lol.

Damn, it's been almost a year...look at those rates now

 

[~Shard~]

Damn, it's been almost a year...look at those rates now

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.

 

[nhallmark]

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.

 

[~Shard~]

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.





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Mod note: This thread is continued here, thanks. BV.