Author: FX_Trdr

By Fast Brokers – Friday’s selloff in the USD/JPY accelerated on large volume as investors headed divested from riskier investment vehicles in reaction to the large selloff in U.S. equities.  Friday’s strength in the Yen also stemmed from the BoJ’s decision to end a couple of its bond purchasing programs in an effort to tighten liquidity.  Friday’s monetary policy falls in line with the BoJ’s more conservative stance since the DPJ took office.  Furthermore, the BoJ was likely encouraged by the USD/JPY’s recent solid performance above its important 90 threshold.  However, yesterday’s larger than expected decline in both the Tokyo Core CPI and Household Spending tell us the BoJ can’t be too conservative with its monetary policy since deflationary pressures are still bearing down on consumer prices.  Additionally, even though last week’s Industrial Production number printed better than analyst expectations, the 1.4% rate of growth is unsubstantial compared to the huge declines we witnessed during late 2008/early 2009.  Hence, Japan’s economy still faces a long path to recovery.

Meanwhile, investors will be focused on the flow of important U.S. econ data along with more Q3 earnings reports before Wednesday’s FOMC meeting.  Additionally, investors will receive monetary policy decisions from both the ECB and BoE on Thursday.  Therefore, we could be in for another volatile trading week since there is an air of uncertainty surrounding the upcoming central bank decisions.  For the time being, it seems investors may favor the Yen over the Dollar as a safe haven due to yesterday’s selloff in conjunction with pullbacks in the EUR/USD, GBP/USD and AUD/USD.  As a result, the USD/JPY could be in for further weakness should the S&P futures choose to test their October lows and the psychological 1000 level.  However, we’ll also receive a public address from BOJ Governor Shirakawa on Tuesday along with BoJ meeting minutes on Wednesday.  Any surprising language coming from either of these events could have a moderate impact on the Yen.

Techncially speaking, the USD/JPY dropped through 10/16 lows and was fairly close to testing 10/14 lows.  Furthermore, the currency pair sank past the highly psychological 90 level along with our 1st tier uptrend line on high volume.  As a result, present momentum appears to be in favor of the downside.  As for the topside, the USD/JPY faces multiple downtrend lines along with 10/30 highs.  On a positive note, the currency pair has managed to climb back above 90 this morning to keep its head above water.

Present Price: 90.11

Resistances: 91.16, 91.29, 90.41, 90.60, 90.78, 90.93

Supports:  89.91, 89.77, 89.60, 89.38, 89.26, 89.14

Psychological: 90

Market Commentary provided by Fast Brokers.

Disclaimer: FastBrokers’ market commentary is provided for information purposes only and under no circumstances should be regardedneither as an investment advice nor as a solicitation or an offer to sell/buy any financial product. FastBrokers assumes no responsibility or liability from gains or losses incurred by the information herein contained.

Risk Disclosure: There is a substantial risk of loss in trading futures and foreign exchange. Please carefully review all risk disclosure documents before opening an account as these financial instruments are not appropriate for all investors.

By Fast Brokers – The Cable is tacking onto Friday’s selloff backed by a pop in sell-side volume.  Friday’s weakness came on the heels of worse than expected British HPI data along with disappointing U.S. pricing and spending numbers.  The EUR/GBP has been hit heavily recently, making today’s pop in the currency pair and present relative weakness in the Pound warranted.  The Cable is adding onto its losses today after a Bloomberg report signaled that many analysts expect the BoE to increase its QE package by 50 billion at its upcoming monetary policy meeting.  Britain’s recent negative Prelim GDP number sent shockwaves throughout the FX market, and analysts are expecting the BoE to react by loosening liquidity further.  However, investors should keep in mind that we have seen some encouraging data from Britain lately, including today’s impressive Manufacturing PMI number.  Hence, positive results from tomorrow’s Halifax HPI and Wednesday’s Services PMI data points could change the present bearish tone.  The Services PMI number should carry the most weight of the two releases since services comprise roughly 70% of Britain’ GDP.  The last release thoroughly trounced expectations, and analysts are expecting the indicator to remain around a respectable 55.4 level.

Meanwhile, the riskier investment vehicles sure could use a little boost from econ data since we are witnessing a flight to safety across the board.  The S&P futures received large sell-side volume with Friday’s sizable pullback beneath Wednesday lows.  Hence, there remains a downward pressure on U.S. equities, meaning investors could continue to favor the Dollar since the Greenback and equities are normally negatively correlated.  Therefore, investors should keep an eye on the S&P’s reaction to upcoming econ data and Q3 earnings, particularly if we should witness a retest of October lows.  The Cable should ultimately follow its positive correlation with U.S. equities despite its relative strength as of late, that is unless the BoE behaves surprisingly hawkish at this week’s policy meeting.  Overall, with key econ data and an abundance of monetary policy meetings we should be in for another volatile trading week.

Technically speaking, the Cable still has a couple uptrends to fall back on along with 10/28 and 10/26 lows.  However, the currency pair is getting awfully close to our 2nd tier uptrend line, which may separate the GBP/USD from stabilization and a retest of the psychological 1.60 level.  As for the topside, the Cable has multiple downtrend lines bearing overhead along with 10/20 and 10/30 highs.  Additionally, the psychological 1.65 level serves as a technical barrier once again.

Present Price: 1.6346

Resistances: 1.6356, 1.6397, 1.6435, 1.6474, 1.6508, 1.6566

Supports: 1.6315, 1.6285, 1.6251, 1.6234, 1.6204, 1.6167

Psychological: 1.65, 1.60

Market Commentary provided by Fast Brokers.

Disclaimer: FastBrokers’ market commentary is provided for information purposes only and under no circumstances should be regardedneither as an investment advice nor as a solicitation or an offer to sell/buy any financial product. FastBrokers assumes no responsibility or liability from gains or losses incurred by the information herein contained.

Risk Disclosure: There is a substantial risk of loss in trading futures and foreign exchange. Please carefully review all risk disclosure documents before opening an account as these financial instruments are not appropriate for all investors.

By Fast Brokers – The EUR/USD’s trading right around where we left it on Friday.  The currency pair found strength once again just around our 2nd uptrend line, setting a slightly higher low than Thursday.  However, downward forces remain since last week’s global econ data ended on a sour note.  German Retail Sales printed 12 basis points lower than analyst expectations, negating Thursday’s positive Employment Change number.  Furthermore, investors found that U.S. prices and personal spending continue to decline while Unemployment Claims remain at historically high levels.  Therefore, unemployment and consumption are lagging behind the improvement in corporate earnings.  Investors should keep in mind that much of the rebound in earnings has been driven by a combination of deep cost cutting measures and global economic stimulus measures.  Hence, economists are becoming increasingly worried that any premature removal of stimulus and tightening of liquidity may jeapordize the global recovery taking root, resulting in additional cost cutting and even higher unemployment.  As a result, investor uncertainty is rising, as seen by the large pop in the VIX, and are divesting from risk and heading towards the Dollar.

The EU will be relatively quiet data wise until Thursday’s monetary policy decision.  The ECB was complaining about the strength of the Dollar recently, and the Euro has since declined about 300 basis points.  As a result, the ECB may be less inclined to take any liquidity measures at this week’s meeting.  Although, we will have to see how the Fed acts on Wednesday first.  Therefore, between now and then activity in the EUR/USD will likely focus on U.S. econ data and Q3 earnings reports.  Hence, investors should keep an eye on the S&P futures and their interaction with present technicals along with October lows should they be tested.

Technically speaking, last week’s sharp movement below the psychological 1.50 level is a discouraging sign for bulls.  However, there remain several uptrend lines we can form, meaning the EUR/USD has a few technical cushions to rely upon before investors can safely cry bear.  The EUR/USD has three uptrend lines to fall back on along with the psychological 1.45 level should the currency pair take a turn for the worst.  Our 2nd tier uptrend line seems to be a key technical since it runs through October lows and likely represents the support separating the EUR/USD from a retracement towards 1.45.  As for the topside, the EUR/USD now has multiple uptrend lines bearing down on price and the psychological 1.50 level becomes a technical barrier once again.  Overall, although the uptrend remains intact, investors should tread carefully since U.S. equities are facing headwinds.

Present Price: 1.4761

Resistances: 1.4806, 1.4828, 1.4853, 1.4878, 1.4907, 1.4933

Supports: 1.4760, 1.4723, 1.4686, 1.4670, 1.4638, 1.4612

Psychological: 1.50, 1.45

Market Commentary provided by Fast Brokers.

Disclaimer: FastBrokers’ market commentary is provided for information purposes only and under no circumstances should be regardedneither as an investment advice nor as a solicitation or an offer to sell/buy any financial product. FastBrokers assumes no responsibility or liability from gains or losses incurred by the information herein contained.

Risk Disclosure: There is a substantial risk of loss in trading futures and foreign exchange. Please carefully review all risk disclosure documents before opening an account as these financial instruments are not appropriate for all investors.

First of all, before we get more into details let me just restrict myself. It is impossible to have a 100% control on the FSA account. The reason is very simple, when you choose to have strategies trading for you; you forfeit your right to control what’s going on.

Despite all the above, there are still many things you can do in order to adjust the strategy to your needs. Let’s try and figure those out:

1. If I want a short-term strategy, then by definition my greatest concern is how the strategy has been doing recently. So when I need to sort the strategies’ Time Frame, I choose “Last Month to Date”.

2. Then, naturally, I look at the Profit ($) factor. Just like any aspect of life, it is recommended to follow the winner. It can’t promise us that the strategy will continue to see profits, but it’s for sure the best alternative.

3. Now, you have to make the first difficult choice – sort by Max DD. Max DD means Maximum Draw-Down, which means what was the worst losing sequence in losses for the system denoted in pips. In general, the first thought that comes to your mind is that you want the Max DD to be as low as possible. However, bear in mind, that strategies which were built for short-term profits, are also exposed to large quick loses, which means that their Max DD could be relatively high. Take this under consideration upon choosing a strategy.

4. Remember, the major currency pairs don’t tend to fluctuate harshly on a regular basis. This means that if you’re looking to see large profits quickly, you should consider using strategies that trade the more exotic pairs such as GBP/CHF, GBP/JPY, EUR/CAD, etc…

5. One last thing before we say goodbye. Some of you may not be aware of this, but you are perfectly capable of closing a position manually. If you wish to see quick exits, but the strategy doesn’t “obey”, don’t hang on and wait for the system to close it – close it by yourself!

Many people are interested in trading in the forex market because they are attracted to the fact that said market is open and running 24 hours a day and moves more money than the European and American stock markets combined. If one wants to succeed in this market, he has to have a good strategy that will support him as completely as possible.

Most forex traders rely on the economic data that they themselves have gathered, but those who have less time to devote to such a process often choose to use an automated forex trading program to locate successful long-term and short-term strategies for them. This is because they understand that this market is one of the most volatile in the world, and sometimes help is needed.

Therefore, those who want to keep up with the forex game turn to long-term strategies. This is considered one of the best techniques in this very competitive market. You have to keep in your mind a few things when you choose them:

1. Max DD: Maximum Draw Down – The largest drop from net balance peak to net balance valley. The market is unpredictable and a strategy that risks a lot isn’t always a great choice unless it offers very high rewards.

2. The PAR: If the strategy offers a much higher return than what it risks, consider using it.

3. Profit Factor: Shows how many times the gross profit exceeds the gross loss. The larger is this value, the better.

4. High Level of Equity: If you wish to open a long term position, I recommend starting with at least $5000 in your balance in order to sustain negative movements.

Another useful tool is the when you log into your FSA account you can see every aspect of the trading strategy before implementing it on your account. You will know in advance what the level of risk and reward the strategy offers even before it has opened a trade.

Long-term strategies might help you ride out the rough times and capitalize on the good ones, but only high equity accounts will be able to ride out negative movements so keep this in mind before trading this type of strategy. Sometimes just taking a step back and accepting a few losses will give you the energy and the knowledge to attack the Forex market with renewed vigor, and make some serious profits!

By Nico Isaac

The following article includes analysis from Robert Prechter’s Elliott Wave Theorist. For more insights from Robert Prechter, download the 75-page eBook Independent Investor eBook. It’s a compilation of some of the New York Times bestselling author’s writings that challenge conventional financial market assumptions. Visit Elliott Wave International to download the eBook, free.

Once upon a time, the term “Black Monday” was to Wall Street what the name “Lord Voldemort” was to Hogwarts. It turned the air freezing cold and sent traders flinching around every corner in fear of a repeat of the October 19, 1987 or October 28, 1929 meltdown.

Case in point: The 2008 “Black Monday” anniversary. At the time, the U.S. stock market was locked in a ferocious downtrend that included regular, triple-digit daily declines of 400 points and more. Needless to say, when the final two Mondays of October arrived, the least superstitious investors surrounded their portfolios with more good-luck talismans than a Bingo player. See October 19, 2008 AP headline below:

“Black Monday: Stocks Sink As Gloom Seizes Wall Street. Prolonged Economic Turmoil” is seen.

That was then. Today, the usual dread surrounding the back-to-back string of “Black Mondays” is nowhere to be found. In its place, media reports abound of a new, global bull market “shrugging off,” “ignoring,” and “making a distant memory” of the event.

For one, “gloom” hasn’t “seized” the U.S. stock market in quite a while; from its March 2009 low, the Dow has risen more than 50% to above the psychologically important 10,000 level. For another, the mainstream experts insist that today’s financial animal is unrecognizable to that of 1987, and especially 1929. In their eyes, it’s a completely different — i.e. safer, smarter, and sounder system.

We beg to differ.

See, while the usual experts want to put as much mental distance between today’s market and those that facilitated the 1987 recession and 1929-1932 Great Depression — the physical similarities are impossible to ignore; more so, in fact, to the latter scenario.

Here, the October 2009 Elliott Wave Financial Forecast presents the following news clip from the October 25, 1929 New York Daily Investment News.

Now, take a look at these headlines from the week of October 12-17, 2009:

“The Great Recession Is Over.” (Reuters) — “80% of Economists Say The Worst Is Behind Us.” (CNN Money) — “The Bull Is Back” (AP) — “The Economic Recovery Is Well Underway” (Wall Street Journal)

They’re interchangeable — Eighty years later.

Along with a similar extreme in bullish sentiment, the performance of stocks between now and the 1929 situation is cut from the same cloth. After an initial plunge from August 1929 through late October 1929, the US stock market enjoyed a powerful rally well into the following year. NOW: After a steep freefall from its October 2007 peak, the US stock market is once again enjoying the fruits of a powerful rally back to new highs for the year.
Also, on closer examination, the October 19 Elliott Wave Theorist (EWT, for short) uncovers an even deeper parallel between the 2009 rally and the 1929-30 one. Here, EWT presents the following snapshot of the Dow during the Depression-era advance:

As Bob Prechter points out — in 1930, stocks rallied to the level of the preceding year’s gap. Bob then reveals that the same level has been reached now.
So, we all know how the 1930 rally ended. The question is whether the 2009 advance will experience the same fate. As Bob explains in the Theorist, the only way to know for certain is to “look at the reality of the situation.”

For more information, download Robert Prechter’s free Independent Investor eBook. The 75-page resource teaches investors to think independently by challenging conventional financial market assumptions.

Source: ForexYard

After a week of greenback recovering this week promises to provide high volatility. Interest Rate announcements are expected from the U.S, the Euro-Zone and the U.K. In addition, the Non-Farm Employment Change for October will be released on Friday. In short, sharp fluctuations are expected, with plenty of opportunities to make large profits.

Economic News

USD – A Week Packed With Economical Data Expected

During last week’s session the Dollar managed to recover against most of the major currencies. The Dollar saw a 300 pips rise against the Euro, and the EUR/USD pair is trade near the 1.47 level. However, the Dollar continued to weaken against the Japanese yen.

The Dollar’s recovery appears to be mainly psychologically. Last week did not provide sustain data showing that should have supported the Dollar. It seems to be that the fact that the EUR/USD reached the 1.50 level, a very poor level for the Dollar, the market promptly corrected this situation with a bullish trend for the Dollar.

Last week’s data mainly showed that the U.S economy is yet to be seen as a recovered economy. The housing sector, the main reason for the recession, is far from returning to levels seen before the crisis began. The employment condition continues to deteriorate, and the weekly Unemployment Claims rises every week.

Nevertheless, the upcoming week has the potential to create mayhem in the market, as various extremely-impacting news publications are expected from the U.S economy. The main data that traders should focus on is likely to be the Federal Funds Rate and the Non-Farm Employment Change. The Federal Funds Rate is in fact the U.S interest rates announcement for November. Currently, analysts expect the FED to leave the rates at their low level, lower than 0.25%. If the FED will surprise and hike rates, it is likely to boost the Dollar. The Non-Farm Employment Change measures the change in the number of employed people during October, excluding the farming industry. Analysts forecast the 173,000 have lost their jobs during October, and that could be the best figure in 14-months. This also has the potential to boost the Dollar.

EUR – European Interest Rates Announcement Expected This Week

The Euro dropped against all the major currencies during last week’s trading session. The Euro lost 300 pips against the Dollar, 300 pips against the Pound and over 600 pips against the Yen. Two main reasons have led to the Euro’s downfall last week. One, the economic data from the Euro-Zone has failed to reach analysts’ expectations. The German Consumer Climate, a leading indicator of consumer spending, saw a 4.0 end result, failing to reach expectations for a 4.5 result, falling for the first time in 14 months. The German Retail Sales dropped by 0.5% in September, also showing that the German economy still experiencing difficulties to fully recover. Considering that Germany contains the strongest and biggest economy in the Euro-Zone, the negative data has weakened the Euro. The second reason for the Euro’s downtrend seems to be the recovering Dollar. Furthermore, it appears that if the Dollar’s correction will proceed, the Euro might continue to weaken.

Looking ahead to the following week, the main data expected from the Euro-Zone will be the Minimum Bid Rate scheduled for Thursday. The Minimum Bid Rate is the Euro-Zone’s interest rates announcement for November. The Minimum Bid Rate currently stands on 1.00% and analysts expect it to stay this way. However, if the European Central Bank will surprise and hike rates, it will have the potential to reverse the Euro’s bearish trend, and to lift the Euro back up. Traders should also follow the British interest rates announcement whish is due at the same day.

JPY – Yen Strengthens Against the Majors

The Yen saw an extremely bullish session during last week’s trading. The Yen rose over 600 pips against the Euro and over 500 pips against the Pound. The Yen even saw a rising trend against the recovering Dollar, and the USDJPY pair dropped to the 89.20 level.

The Yen’s bullish correction appears to be a direct result to the positive data published from the Japanese economy. The Japanese Unemployment Rate dropped to 5.3%, its lowest rate in 4 months. The Japanese Preliminary Industrial Production rose by 1.4% in September, beating expectations for a 1.1% rise. This means that the inflation-adjusted value of output produced by manufacturers rose by 1.4% in September as opposed to August. The Yen strengthened despite the fact that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) left the Japanese Interest Rates at 0.10%, the lowest level in the industrial world.

As for the week ahead, many interesting news publications are expected from the Japanese economy. Traders should focus on two main events: the BOJ Governor Shirawaka speech on Wednesday and the Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes. On these events the BOJ will most likely reveal its future plans for the Japanese economy, and this is likely to impact the Yen.

Oil – Crude Oil Drops on Global Recovery Concerns

Crude Oil saw an extremely volatile session last week. Crude oil was traded between 77$ to $82 a barrel during the week, showing sharp ups and downs. In conclusion, crude oil lost a little portion of its value, as it is now traded for $77 a barrel.

Crude oil dropped on concerns that global recovery may take longer than expected, and thus demand for energy might be damaged as a result. The Negative data which was published during the previous week, especially from the American and the German economies, has dented confidence for a swift global recovery. In addition, the strengthening Dollar also contributed to the oil’s downtrend. Crude oil, just like other commodities such as gold, is traded in Dollars. When the Dollar appreciates, oil tend to drop and vice versa

As for this week, the leading data from the U.S. and the Euro-Zone are likely to influence on oil the most. The main publications that traders should follow are the interest rates announcements from the U.S, the Euro-Zone and Britain and of course the U.S. Non-Farm Employment Change. A surprising release from any of these publications is likely to have an immediate impact on crude oil’s value.

Technical News

EUR/USD

There appears to be a bullish cross forming on the 4H chart’s Slow Stochastic, indicating that an upward correction is expected in the near future. However, almost all other oscillators are stuck in neutral territory, signaling that this pair may be less volatile than expected. Going long with tight stops might be the right strategy today

GBP/USD

It seems that the Cable has limited its bullish correction after peaking at the 1.66 price level. And now, a bearish cross on the hourly chart’s Slow Stochastic indicates that the general downtrend might extend. Going short seems to be the preferable choice today

USD/JPY

The typical range trading on the 4 hour chart continues. Both the hourly RSI and Slow Stochastic are floating in neutral territory. On the contrary, the daily chart is showing a moderate bearish momentum with diminishing strength. Forex traders are advised to wait for a clearer signal before entering the market with this pair

USD/CHF

There is a very distinct bearish formation continues on the hourly level, as the pair is now floating in its lower section. In addition, all oscillators on the daily chart are pointing down, suggesting that the downward move might extend. Going short might be the right strategy today.

The Wild Card – GBP/AUD

There is still a bearish configuration on the 4H chart, indicating that the momentum is still down. The RSI is floating around 50, which supports the notion that there is still room to run. In the shorter time frame there is a bullish cross forming on the hourleis Slow Stochastic indicates that there might be a small bullish correction before the bearish move resumes. Forex traders can maximize profits by selling on highs and taking advantage of a currently bearish trend.

Forex Market Analysis provided by Forex Yard.

© 2006 by FxYard Ltd

Disclaimer: Trading Foreign Exchange carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. There is a possibility that you could sustain a loss of all of your investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with Foreign Exchange trading.

GDP Quickly Loses its Affect, Rate Decisions Ahead

Investors experienced a rollercoaster ride last week as economic data had a major impact on the currency market. Even though the major news came on Thursday in the form of a better than expected GDP result, the news quickly wore off on Friday as the markets dropped lower. Friday’s session was a major turnaround as the market nosedived and closed down sharply for the week.  The S&P 500 index finished the week down 4 percent or 43 points at 1036. The Dow Industrial average settled unchanged for the month.

The market started the week on the defensive side, led down by transportation, financials and healthcare stocks. Even though previous news from large names, such as IBM, helped to prevent a major drop, consumer confidence numbers prevented the previous week’s momentum from continuing.  Tuesday and Wednesday the market continued to show weakness as market participants waited for the US GDP release on Thursday.  The correlation between dollar strength and US equity market weakness was extremely strong during the week, as the dollar rebounded from oversold levels.  As one can see on the chart below, the Dollar jumped higher for the week along with an S&P sell-off.

Thursday was the major day of the week as a wave of news hit the boards.   Japanese industrial production expanded for the seventh month in September, the longest run in 12 years. Output climbed 1.4% from a month earlier, more than the 1% expected. The US released new on Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which came out much better than the consensus.  Gross domestic product expanded at a 3.5% seasonally adjusted annual rate in the third quarter, a rise that leaned heavily on government spending. Some of the largest components of growth came from spending on cars and house building, two areas propped up by federal programs.  Out of the 3.5% growth, approximately one percent came from sales of motor vehicles and parts. Auto sales were accelerated by the “cash for clunkers” trade-in program.

On Friday, Consumer spending and the Chicago Purchasing Managers Survey took the stage. Consumer spending tumbled 0.5% in September with the end of the “cash for clunkers” auto trade-in program, while incomes remained flat. According to a published Commerce Department report, analysts are now concerned that the economic recovery could lose steam in the absence of government help, despite projected figures.

U.S. Economic Data

The Dollar Bounces Higher for the Week

The dollar stole the show last week, rebounding against most major currency pairs as traders looked for a safe haven in the currency market. The Euro was hammered during the week, selling off 5 big figures.  Economic figures released Friday by the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat showed the rate of unemployment in the 16 countries that use the euro rose to the highest level since records began in 1999.  The euro-zone jobless rate inched up to 9.7% in September from 9.6% in August. Eurostat said 184,000 people joined unemployment rolls across the euro zone in September following a rise of 165,000 in August. That brought the total number of jobless to 15.3 million.  The figures showed that 3.2 million people have lost their jobs in the year as of September. From a technical point of view, the EUR/USD came down to an important trend line on Friday, one that will be closely watched by traders. A break of support could lead to low levels.

Last week’s sell-off was broad based and even had an impact on the British Pound. Even though the Pound has showed relative strength against its counterparts over the last week, headlines added to the pressure, preventing it from rallying.  News from Nationwide that UK house prices gained 2.0% y/y, the first increase in 19 months and an improvement Gfk consumer confidence to -13 from -16 had little lasting impact. Looking forward, the pound is likely to come under pressure ahead of next week’s events including the BoE meeting where the MPC is expected to extend Quantitative Easing (Q/E) after the contraction in Q3 GDP.

On the other side of the globe, the Bank of Japan announced that it would phase out emergency measures, put in place to help ease credit conditions, in coming months.  As expected, the program of buying commercial paper and corporate debt will be allowed to expire at the end of this year. Other programs including paying interest on excess reserves will however continue.  With a low rate environment, together with low inflation one can now understand why the news was positive for the Yen, helping it to gain strength against the Dollar, Euro and Pound.

The Week Ahead

Looking forward, a wave of important economic data will be released this week, including the market moving NFP result.  The data released on Friday, will show whether recent growth figures are government backed or whether unemployment has reached its top. One must note that higher unemployment levels often mean that the end consumer is avoiding purchasing due to lack of work. Furthermore three central banks are schedule to release their rate decisions. Even though all the banks are expected to maintain current rate levels, investors will be observing their statements to see whether a healthy economic turnaround will lead to rate hikes in the future.

Market Analysis provided by eToro

Disclaimer: Trading in the Foreign Exchange market might carry potential rewards, but also potential risks. You must be aware of the risks and are willing to accept them in order to trade in the foreign exchange market. Don’t trade with money you can’t afford to lose.

© 2009 eToro Blog.

By Zachary Storella, CountingPips.com

Today I am excited to bring you a new forex interview with Dave Lemont, the CEO of Currensee.com, a social network for forex traders. Currensee has some really unique characteristics for forex traders, you can build a trading team of friends based on trading styles, currency pairs, etc. and within that team, see the other traders open positions and statistics and talk about positions. I have been lucky enough to be a member of Currensee for a little while now and as of October 20th the platform has opened up to the public in beta mode.

Hi Dave, Thanks for participating in this interview with me. For those out there who have not heard of Currensee, could you give us a little summary of what Currensee is?

Currensee is the first Forex social trading network where traders from around the world collab orate on real trades and strategies in real time. Just the way the TripAdvisor has brought trust and transparency to the travel market, Currensee brings the same trust and transparency to currency trading by sharing real-time trade data on the trades its members are making with the entire network. This is just one of the things that sets it apart from the scores of Forex forums where traders can make unsubstantiated claims about their strategies and trading successes.

Who is the perfect candidate to join Currensee?

Currensee is all about active Forex traders – we welcome both experienced and novice traders. For experienced traders we offer the opportunity to connect with other link-minded traders and share trades, as well as measure your performance. For novice traders we offer the chance to connect with the best in the trade so you can learn real time and be assured that all connections and transactions are authenticated. We offer tools to both experienced and novice traders to help them make their trading decisions faster – like our Econoday calendar, our research dashboard and our Social Indicator widget, the first real-time social sentiment indicator that shows a a real-time long and short position summary of all the traders in the Currensee community

What do you think the biggest benefit will be to those who join Currensee?

Currensee provides the transparency and authenticity that is hard to find in much of the Forex market. Traders can see the real trades, strategies and performance, of other like-minded traders that are their friends from around the world, and they can gain new insights into the market and their trading practices through collaboration and trading together

Talking about the unique feature of seeing other traders’ open positions that are on your Trading Friends team, has there been any apprehension on the part of some traders or on the part of some brokers about sharing this information? Why do you feel it’s important for this information to be shared?

Forex trading is plagued by scammers who thrive off the anonymity of the Internet and the fact that they don’t have to back up the claims they make about their trading prowess. On Currensee’s social trading network, traders put their money where their mouth is. In order to join, members create a Currensee account that connects directly to their brokerage account. Currensee creates a secure connection to the broker, so that trades are recorded as they happen and are shared with the entire Currensee network. We know there are traders who are hesitant to join our platform and link their account to us – we know why they are cautious and we know it will take time to educate that market that we indeed are here to change it for the better – to bring a level of authenticity and transparency that will eventually reduce the scamming and unethical practices still rampant in our business. Currensee is regulated by the NFA and has very strict privacy and security policies

One of the most interesting features of Currensee I find is the social indicator where each currency pair is shown and how many traders are long and short and at what average price. This has to be one of the only places to see this kind of information, have you found that traders are using this information in their trading decisions?

Market Watch, our first-if-its-kind Social Indicator widget, provides traders real-time visibility into the amount of volume long or short on each currency pair along with detailed information about the average entry prices and real-time graphical feedback regarding which side of the trade is winning or losing at that moment for the entire network. These new real-time social insights create exciting new ways to analyze the market and we are seeing more and more traders using this insight – it is one of the most popular and interesting data points that we post about on our Twitter and Facebook account – because of its popularity, we have pulled some of that data on our home page too – we show the number of total trades made by our traders, currently almost 200,000, as well as if the community is long or short on the most commonly traded pairs. Many of our community members are telling us that they have incorporated the social indicators into their daily trading decision making.

On a personal note, reading your bio on Currensee, you have an extensive business background and now you have been participating in some Forex trading as I have seen on Currensee. What has it been like for you to get in there and start Forex trading and is there anything in your business background that you feel has helped you in your trading?

I have gained quite a bit of respect for great Currensee traders. It takes quite bit of work and time to be successful. One of the most important lessons I have learned in business is patience and discipline when waiting for new business strategies to develop. Good Forex traders, I have learned, must exercise extreme discipline on sticking to their strategies to manage their positions and money effectively. We are trying to provide many tools for the trader on the Currensee platform to help traders understand how they are doing relative to their strategies.

Going forward, what can we look forward to from Currensee? Will we get to see more features like the social indicator mentioned previously? That would be great.

We are all about real-time, authenticated data – about helping to facilitate collaboration based on transparency and authenticity. You can expect us to continue to innovate in that direction and offer our traders increasing more sophisticated tools to help them analyze and inform their trading strategies and performance.

Once again, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to participate in the interview, is there anything I missed that you’d like people to know about Currensee?

I want to end on a positive note and ask traders who have not yet experienced our platform to join us and help us impact change in our industry for the better – we are just starting out, but we know we are onto something. We know we have the chance to make Forex fun and reputable – but we can’t do it alone. It is all about trading together, which in fact is our company motto.

Thanks Dave for participating in this forex interview. To find out more about or join this new network, you can visit Currensee.com.

By Adam Hewison – The markets I am referring to are the gold market and euro markets. Readers of this blog will know from our previous videos and examples that we are big fans of Fibonacci retracement lines.

In this super short video (1:49), I will show you the lines we are talking about for the above two markets. I think you’ll find it very illuminating as this example is so fresh. You will also find it very empowering.

Watch the New Fibonacci Video Free here…

As always our videos are free to watch and there is no need to register.

All the best,

Adam Hewison
President, INO.com
Co-creator, MarketClub