US Going After Commodities Market Riggers

By James McKee

It is no surprise to anyone that oil and other commodities are big business; few other resources are as vital to everyone’s day-to-day life as oil. The markets and traders that are brought to the commodities markets are often deeply enmeshed in the politics therein, and use this knowledge to profit from speculation. When a commodity such as oil goes up in price dramatically it can cause change in the value of the USD on the online forex exchange. The power of oil is all-too apparent to many who do not hesitate to manipulate the price of the substance in an effort to profit. By creating inaccurate figures from companies that harvest or even transport oil there are ways to profit from the manipulation of information.

Such information can also involve having advanced knowledge of a commodity’s availability prior to the rest of the trading world. Such actions are not seen as ethical, and they are certainly not legal by any stretch of the imagination. When a speculator increases the cost of oil through the manipulation of data so that someone can profit from a long position in the market, they are also causing a rise in the price for the public. This is why many of those in the SEC and other government organizations openly condemn such practices and go after offenders with vigor. The ability of a few traders to profit from the increase in price of a commodity is not only selfish; it is downright destructive and causes alot turmoil in many ways.

Over time there are going to be much more stringent regulations affecting speculators; but, for the time being many are free to do as they wish with the data they are in charge of. Such power and financial incentive can cause many to become corrupt in an effort to make more money. This is a great deal of motivation for traders and other wealthy parties to attempt to “turn” speculators into their own employees. This type of infiltration and corruption has existed since the beginning of any financial market, and it is the reason we have the SEC and other government organizations. There is a good deal of reform being attempted in this area; however, only time will tell if jail time can truly dissuade an individual from taking millions of dollars for a few hours’ worth of work. Ethics and business have long been at odds with one another, and this is just another example of that.

About the Author

Author is a Forex trader and financial analyst residing in Denver, Colorado. To stay up to date on all the latest developments in the financial world and beyond be sure to check out the online forex trading regularly.

Why A Forex Trading Game Is The Best Training For Trading

By Cedric Welsch

Trading in the Forex market has become increasingly popular with the expansion of the Internet and online trading capabilities. With online guides and tools, investors can quickly learn about the Forex market and trading strategies. Because the Foreign Exchange Currency Trading involves trading currencies in hopes of capital gains, Forex trading has become a hedge against unfavorable stock market conditions. If you are new to the world of Forex, consider the benefits of playing a Forex trading game to learn everything you need to know to trade wisely.

While the term Forex trading game may seem like something that could be sold for the xBox 360 or the Playstation 3, it is actually a valuable tool that will give you first hand experience in trading in the Forex market. When you are new to any type of investing you do not simply jump in the deep end without a life vest. The Forex trading game is your life vest. This tool will keep you afloat with practice trades. You do not want to throw your money into the market before you have practiced. When you play a trading game, you use virtual money. This means you do not lose your money even when you make a bad trade.

When you play a Forex trading game, you will learn how to detach your emotions from a trade. One of the biggest mistakes an individual can make when they are trading currency is becoming emotionally attached to their investment. The game shows you how you should plan your trades based on proven information and not emotions. You can review competitive spreads and current economic conditions of the countries you are selecting to ensure you make an informed decision even if you are not trading your own money.

Forex demo accounts are perfect for hands-on learning. These accounts can be beneficial to newbies and experienced traders alike. You can test your trading strategies under real market conditions in a no risk environment. While you are not really making money, you are learning how to when you enter the real market. Practical learning in a flexible environment is the best way to trade without the associated pressure. Because games have very real trading platforms, you will become familiar with how to navigate through the interface when you are ready to go live. Find a quality Forex trading game and start learning how to trade on a professional demo platform.

About the Author

Do not belittle the capacity of the forex industry to make you a rich business person someday. There is certain magic in fx trading that makes even the commoner to amass profits quick.

Do You Have a Trading Plan?

By Forex-Fx-4x.com

Specify a trading plan and follow it on a daily basis.

Professional traders have an edge and focus all of their efforts in utilising this edge.  They do not enter random trades.

Every trader should have a clearly defined trading plan and strive to implement their edge through following their rules.

The following are some of the factors that can be employed when embarking on writing your trading plan:

Think about how the different areas can affect you and expand on them as is relevant for your trading methodology.

How do you operate your trading business?

Document any plans and daily routines.  Make a list of what you do on a daily basis and seek to refine the process.

How does event risk fit in with your trading strategy? Market moving data is released constantly.  Intra-day traders may make deliberate decisions concerning how they deal with positions around event risk.

Pro traders wouldn’t generally enter positions established around TA ahead of an interest rate announcement… How is your trading strategy facilitating this?  You can take control by defining a set of rules about how you’ll supervise your trading positions during event risk.

Do you trade if under pressure with external issues? How will you quantify your state of mind?  I.e. score out of 5 in a trading log…

Do you keep a trading journal? This journal should have a trade analysis section which can capture lessons learnt etc.  It should also allow you to log what was good and bad about how you executed the position.  It is vital that we learn from mistakes in order to improve our edge.

How will you deal with an IT systems failure? Do you have a diverse internet connection?

What will you risk on a trade? Do you take current trades into account when accounting for total equity?

Will you trade correlated pairs? How do you track this correlation information?

How many losers will it take before you stop for a pre-defined trading break?

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Analyse all of the above and add as many points as is relevant to you.  This is an important step towards taking control of your trading.

Further trading psychology and self improvement posts can be read at www.forex-fx-4x.com

Here Is A Brief Study Pertaining To The Mechanics Involved Around Foreign Exchange Trading Online

By Cedric Welsch

Online Forex is the standard delivery method for trading foreign exchange currency pairs. Many brokers offer their service to online traders through real time quotes, trades and information about the markets. Other financial and economic news is also delivered on Forex platforms. The following information may be helpful to those considering entering the Forex market.

The entire foreign currency exchange market is built upon the premise that money needs to be transferred back and forth between countries. Each of these countries has a different currency. When merchants or banks buy and sell across country boundaries, the currency exchange rate comes into play. The currency of the one country must be sold and the currency of the new country purchased.

The change in valuation of each of the currencies is fluid. It can be affected in each country by economic health, leadership, natural disasters or political climate. Trades can be initiated between any of the listed currencies. The trader may choose to buy a pair of currencies or to sell a pair of currencies. The major currencies that are traded on the Forex market include the U. S. Dollar, the British pound, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc. The Australian dollar is also traded, as well as the Canadian dollar.

Unlike other markets such as stock markets and commodity markets, the foreign exchange market doesn’t have a physical location. Trading is done in major financial centers and by governments. The brokers help to process trades done by individual traders. They also usually provide account management services for investors who do not have the time or the expertise to do their own transactions.

Most brokerages who have services for individual traders also supply an online, real time platform. The platform tracks transactions in real time in currencies of interest. Not every broker provides access to every pair. Generally, a wide range of currency pairs can be viewed in real time. The platform almost always provides both current quotes and charts for the pairs that the trader is tracking.

Tutorials are offered with most brokerages and platforms. It is a prudent move to spend time using the platform in a virtual account before trading. You can learn how the platform works and practice the actions necessary to complete a transaction.

Online Forex transactions constitute the largest global market. The number of daily trades is in the trillions. Most of the countries of the world have investors trading in the currency.

About the Author

Several distinguished trading info sources bring highly factual forex news on a regular continual basis. Certain numbers of the so called forex scams are still existing in the modern world of trading.

G8 Summit to Encourage New Arab Democracies

By James McKee

Those nations in attendance of the G8 Summit this year in France are slated to discuss the recently formed democracies in Tunisia and Egypt. They are expected to commend these newly formed government and discuss ways in which they can proactively nurture them. This is great news for these nations and should encourage other Arab nations in the region to follow suit in due time. Such a change in the Arab region would be a great thing for the USD on the online forex exchange. The world economy in general will see a lot of positive ascension where the Middle East is concerned due to a cooperative group of nations. Historically the Middle East has opposed the West, and now that there are some cooperative democracies in place there is the chance for progress.

There is still a long way to go where this road is concerned however; there are a lot of people who oppose Middle Eastern cooperation with the west within these nations. The democracies being formed in these countries may choose not to do business with the West and are perfectly within their rights to not do so. The involvement of the IMF is meant to encourage these groups to cooperate with Western interests and participate in the world’s economy. There is a lot of chance for the Middle East to once again come to the bargaining table and profit alongside the West. The increased export in oil from this region would do a great deal to boost Western economies and their currencies.

As the world’s economic powerhouses come together to assess how to address the newly formed Arab governments, many people are left wondering what they will mean to the world’s economy in the long run. Will a new trust and dependence on these nations really bring about a positive change or will there be little to no change whatsoever? The truth is that no one really knows but whatever steps are taken by Western countries to assist those in the Middle East must be made with care. Any misstep could result in serious economic and political fallout for everyone involved. The old regimes in place were actually quite friendly to large corporations that were profit driven, the new governments formed are supposedly in staunch opposition of the “profit at any cost” model and are not likely to be cooperative with many corporations that approach them.

About the Author

Author is a Forex trader and financial analyst residing in Denver, Colorado. To stay up to date on all the latest developments in the financial world and beyond be sure to check out the online forex trading regularly.

White Label India Forex Metatrader Brokers

By Aaron Vast

Having been a keen Indian forex trader online for many years, I would even call myself a seasoned forex pro who was making a great living from it. However, there was always something missing from what I was being offered as a forex trader. The countless forex account managers that I have had over the years and made suggestions to, to which they never took my offer up, has always led me to believe that we are just cash cows for this great currency trading industry.

Then one night I was laying in bed, and thought I am going to open up my own white label forex brokerage. After much research and being quoted many different prices, all of which to be fair were way out of my price range, I came across a boutique white label forex provider.

You need control when operating forex, forex control! What better than with metatrader brokers that has the only platform to offer Indian CFD’s of SBI,RIL,ADAG,TATA,JINDAL,WIPRO,INFOSYS

That’s right especially created for forex brokers india and to help trade the forex market india

The helpful account managers outlined what is involved. What you recieve is the same as opening up a shop and having all your stock in their, with all the fixtures and fittings chosen by yourself. Some people may not like this approach, but it does litteraly bring the ownership of your own forex business to a micro level. For too long, myself and other forex traders that I have discussed this quandry with in forums and over lunch will testify that you do feel that these large cumbersome mega companies do no longer listen to their clients. When the forex indsutry was in its infancy many years ago, they had to be pro active in listening to clients, now you just feel that they are slow with payments and we also have the problem of slow order submission and exit.

So with this great scheme, lets say for example that you are in Nigeria and you wish to open up your own forex brokerage you can do this. Sometimes you get the impression that the large companies use these countries to drain them of money and then tell them that we can nolonger except your money. Now it looks like times are changing.

Further to this, if you are extremely new to the way to promote the business, for a smal extra monthly fee you will also recieve the affilate management program (something that is key to being a success in this industry), the live support program, so all support issues are taken care fo for you if you so wish and they also proivde an online marketing module for you as well.

So to sum up, this white label forex provider is of a huge help to the industry. It will make the big players sit up and will also help individuals who know that there is great money to be made in online forex trading, get a foot hold in the forex industry.If you are from India, Nigeria, Iran or anywhere this is the solution for you. Why not give them a try, I know that I do not regret it.

About the Author

FOREX CONTROL are the best INDIA FOREX BROKERS that are METATRADER BROKERS

China’s Manufacturing Growth Retreats During The First Months Of The Year

The Chinese economy indicated that economic growth in China to cool during the first quarter of 2011 after the nation’s manufacturing growth retreated during the month of December, as Chinese government has tightened monetary policy in April for four times since October 2010.

The Chinese economy issued its PMI manufacturing index reading for the month of May, which retreated to 51.1, compared with a previous reading of 51.8 in April, the actual reading of PMI manufacturing indicates a recovery of the industrial sector in China gets some of decline.

Meanwhile, the inflation rates still above the Chinese government target for the fourth consecutive month during April after China’s consumer price index (CPI) accelerated near the fastest pace in more than two year, which supported the monetary policy makers to hike the rates by 25 basis points to 6.31%.

Moreover, amid the government’s efforts to contain inflation rates, the economy has left the Yuan to continue its appreciation against the US dollar, while higher currency gains could limit inflation rates by reducing the cost of the nation’s imports.

High inflation rates is considered to be a threat to the economical growth experienced by China where officials are trying to halt this increasing pace of inflation by imposing tightening policies and increasing interest rates 4 times since October, which will adversely affect the production and consumption level that creating a negative impact on the GDP.

Read more at http://theforexincomeengine3.info/

China is seeking to control consumer prices that rose 5.4 percent in March, the most in 32 months, without stifling the growth that’s helping to power the world economy.

We can see that the gross domestic product in China will grow at slow pace in the first three months, affected the tightening in benchmark interest rates.

On the other hand, the economy has closed factories to meet energy-efficiency target in one of the government’s efforts to contain inflation appreciation. Further, industrial output growth weakened last month and the worst power shortage in seven years is hurting production at some factories as provinces start curtailing electricity supplies.

Read more at http://sevensummitstrader.info/

The Australian Dollar (AUD) the risk sensitive currency was under pressure with the negative Euro news spilling over to the stock markets and the Aussie. The AUD/USD fell back towards 1.0600 and could fall further as the correction continues. Overall the AUD/USD traded with a low of 1.0605 and a high of 1.0710 before closing the day at 1.0660 in the New York session.

Oil & Gold (XAU) Gold did well with the sovereign risk increasing in Europe adding to safe haven demand for the alternative currency. Overall trading with a low of USD$1486 and high of USD $1516 before ending the New York session at USD$1513 an ounce. Oil volatility continued with a sharp drop to 96.50 reversed and the market ended above $100 a barrel. WTI Oil Closed +$1.20 at $100.10 a barrel.

About the Author

http://theportfolioprophet.info/

Why Gold Does Well When Other Investments Don’t

I came across another anti-gold column this week. The author doesn’t spring to mind, but the gist was easy to recall.

It was the tired old argument that “gold is not an investment” because you can’t value it like a traditional investment. Because gold does not have cash flow, or offer some form of intrinsic asset comparison, it has to be a “speculation.” (With speculation implied as a dirty word.)

This line of thinking seems silly to me. Who is to determine what counts as a speculation and what doesn’t?

Buying a growth stock at 50 times earnings sure smells like a speculation, even if there are tangible cash flows and assets to measure. One could say the same for the entire S&P 500 at certain valuations, which means even plain-vanilla index funds have “speculative” qualities at times.

At the same time, buying gold as a crisis hedge — with total exposure in the 5% to 10% portfolio range — seems a lot more like common sense, or a form of insurance, than a seat-of-the-pants speculative play.

Traditional investors don’t like gold because they don’t know how to value it and they don’t like to think about it. So they pooh-pooh gold and misunderstand its value in times of crisis.

In one sense, gold is a hedge against government folly. The more foolish the monetary policy, the better gold does.

That is partly why gold is more relevant than ever now — because free markets are witnessing one of the most intense periods of government intervention in all of financial history.

If you really think Bernanke and his Europe/China counterparts have gotten it right, you don’t want to own gold. In fact you probably want to be short.

But if you suspect they haven’t gotten it right — or may have even screwed up royally — then gold makes natural sense as a hedge against that risk.

Gold also has a unique investment property. Along with its characteristics as a precious metal, gold can do well in periods of inflation OR deflation.

When market conditions are inflationary, gold rises along with other commodities. This is why gold has been doing well for nearly 10 years now — conditions have been inflation-prone since the early 2000s.

But gold is unique because it can also shine in times of deflation — when general prices, including commodity prices, are falling. Why does that happen? Because of gold’s role as a “neutral currency.”

In times of deflation, the central banks of the world tend to panic and pump out more liquidity. It doesn’t do much good — the “pushing on a string” effect — but gold outperforms anyway as the one form of currency not being actively debased.

The environment where gold does poorly, as we hinted at earlier, is in periods of sustained moderation, where economic growth is decent and inflation is mild or even falling.

That explains why gold was a terrible investment for nearly 20 years, from 1982 to 2002. Having peaked in the late 1970s, Western inflation and interest rates then declined continuously for the next 20 years, even as leverage grew.

So if we look to the lessons of history, there are a few questions we can ask in respect to gold’s attractiveness:

  • Is the present-day period of crisis and uncertainty coming to an end?
  • Have the major problems of the day been resolved, or otherwise addressed powerfully?
  • Can we reasonably expect inflation to fall… and general economic growth to rise?

I don’t have to tell you, the answer to all three is “NO.”

If anything, the level of uncertainty is rising, not falling. Potential for new crisis has gone up, not down, due to the extra layers of leverage baked into the systemic crisis cake. In the 1970s it took a bold leader, Paul Volcker, to “break the back of inflation” with firm and decisive action; today there is no such sheriff in sight.

And finally, any meaningful drop in inflation threatens deflationary bust, thanks to “extend and pretend” and stimulus gone wild.

In sum, there are plenty of historical reasons why gold remains a good “speculation” — if not a wise hedge against inflation and deflation. When uncertainty peaks and pro-growth, low-inflation conditions return, we’ll know.

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Slowing US Economy a Warning to Canada

This has not been a good week for those hoping to see confirmation of an improving U.S. economy. If anything, evidence suggests the pace of growth is waning and April’s consumer spending numbers were particularly disappointing. Total purchases for the first quarter of the year were far behind those recorded during the final quarter of 2010. For the quarter, consumer spending rose by less than half a percent despite the sharp increase in energy and food prices.

Even more alarming than the faltering consumer spending is the employment outlook. Last week’s new unemployment claims were much higher than anticipated totaling 424,000 new benefits claims. There is little optimism that we will see an improvement in unemployment which, for several weeks now, has remained stubbornly stuck at nine percent.

U.S. officials are rightly concerned with these latest results and any talk of a return to higher interest rates before the end of the year has been silenced. But it is not only the Federal Reserve that should be concerned – alarm bells should also be ringing north of the border in the halls of the Bank of Canada as well.

Many years ago a Canadian Prime Minister described living next to the United States as akin to sleeping with an elephant – every twitch and move made by the elephant, intentional or not, was felt by the bedmate. The truth of the matter is that Canada and the United States are linked not just by their geography, but also by economic activity. Each year the U.S. buys roughly seventy percent of Canada’s total exports comprised largely of machinery and energy; likewise, the U.S. is responsible for some sixty percent of the imports shipped into Canada. For Canadian exporters and consumers, that makes America one important elephant.

Currency traders are fully aware of the impact the U.S. can have on the Canadian economy and the Canadian dollar. The Canadian buck – known as the “loonie” for the waterfowl depicted on the back of the one dollar coin – has been unable to maintain the torrid pace it was on earlier this year. The pullback in commodity prices has also contributed to downward pressure on the loonie which has declined more than three percent alone during the month of May.

Also hampering the loonie is a growing fear that demand for resources is on the decline in China. Inflation continues to push prices higher in the world’s second largest economy with consumer prices gaining more than five percent in the past year while food costs are up more than eleven percent. This has analysts predicting additional interest rate hikes and possible decline in the Chinese economy.

With two of Canada’s most important export markets possibly weakening in the coming months, there is little chance that Canada can avoid suffering a hit as well. This possibility has forced currency trades to push back the prospect of a rate hike in Canada by several months. Gross Domestic Product numbers are due on Monday and this will provide an up-to-date snapshot of the state of
Canada’s economy. The Bank of Canada is also scheduled to issue an interest rate statement early next week and you can bet traders will be looking for signs pointing to the Bank’s intent and expectations for the economy.

Scott Boyd is a currency analyst and a regular contributor to the OANDA MarketPulse FX blog

How to Beat the Growth Stock Trap – and Get Guaranteed Income Now

By Early to Rise

Need more income? Join the crowd.

Scads of folks are scouring the landscape for decent income investments to beef up their monthly take home – especially now, with gas and other everyday items skyrocketing.

Thing is, with Bernanke & Co. printing money like there’s no tomorrow, the returns on bonds, CDs, and money market funds are almost nonexistent.

Instead, many people have turned to making big bets on growth stocks.

But let’s face it. Betting all your marbles on the next “hot stock” can be dangerous… especially in the current landscape.

By itself, one crazy out-of-your-control market plunge can lay waste to the best laid plans – and your retirement. And it won’t matter how good your picks are… or how much homework you’ve done.

But here’s the thing. You can get cold, hard cash on a monthly or quarterly basis – significant amounts of cash – simply by investing in companies with solid finances and strong management teams… companies that firmly believe they should reward loyal investors with steady and substantial dividends.

Fact is, if dividend-paying stocks aren’t a major part of your portfolio, the odds of having success in the markets are stacked against you. History reveals that investors who hold great stocks and reinvest the dividends can count on outperforming every major investment sector – including gold, silver, T-bills, or bonds – by a wide margin.

Nothing else even comes close. And there’s no reason to believe that will change any time soon.
In Triumph of the Optimists: 101 Years of Global Investment Returns (2002), the authors looked at stock returns from capital gains and dividends from 1900 to 2000. They found that a portfolio with dividends reinvested would have generated nearly 85 times the wealth of the same portfolio relying solely on capital gains.

Want more proof? Dr. Jeremy Siegel, known as the Wizard of Wharton, conducted an exhaustive study of stock market returns from 1871 through 2003. In his study, he showed that over a 135-year period, owning stocks and reinvesting the dividends produced 97% of all stock market returns, while a miserly 3% came from capital gains.

“Cash In” On the World’s Most Powerful Long-Term Trends

Since May of 2010, a small group of wealth builders have been privy to a very special type of investment recommendation…

The wunderkind heading up this portfolio is looking for the Big Ones – long-term trends that will snowball over time into massive returns.

He’s aiming for trends like oil in the 1970s… 30-year government bonds in the 1980s… and the Internet in the 1990s.

So far, 70% of his picks are winners. And his open portfolio is already showing an average gain of nearly 20%.

Get in now, and you stand to see the biggest possible gains.

Learn the details here.

Let me repeat that. Dividend-paying stocks account for nearly all the returns investors gained in the history of the U.S. stock market.

Furthermore, by reinvesting the dividends – a key factor – stocks clocked in with a 6.8% annual rate of return for the last 200 years. That means the purchasing power of dividend stocks has doubled, on average, every 10 years over the past two centuries.

But there’s more…

In addition to a nice steady stream of cash, dividends provide another advantage in market downturns. When you reinvest your dividends while the stock is cheaper, you automatically add to the number of shares you own… and your subsequent checks get much bigger down the road.

It’s no secret – a company’s dividends play a major role in its performance. Yet many investors completely ignore this important fact.

But you can’t buy just any dividend stock. History shows you must focus on the crème de la crème, the companies that are consistently growing their dividends.

Ned Davis Research compared the returns of all the stocks in the S&P 500 from 1972 to 2004 based on the companies’ dividend-paying policy. The study showed that companies that consistently grew their dividends returned 10.6% per year, more than double the returns of companies that cut or eliminated them.

This is even more important if you’re about to retire. Dividend growers provide consistent income and protection against market losses. That beats the heck out of cashing in your stocks to generate income every time the market tanks.

The fact is, if you’re not getting paid cash on your investments you’re probably losing out. And there’s absolutely no reason for that… you can have your cake and eat it too.

We’ve put together a special report that focuses on five stocks with operations all over the globe that have high and secure dividends… that yield significantly more than their historical average. These companies have such dominant business franchises that they generate exceptional cash flows.

Best of all, each of them has made a commitment to share that cash flow with their shareholders through high – and ever-growing – dividend payments.

Of course, every investment carries some risk. But all of the companies in our report have a stellar performance record of delivering growing dividends over decades. Even in the worst years for the stock market, they’ve paid out big cash dividends to their investors like clockwork.

These stocks put you in control… You decide how many checks to receive and when.

So while you’re sitting through this gyrating, up-and-down market, why not make 10%… 18%… or even 20% on your money?

To gain full access to this special report, sign up for the Liberty Street Investor here.
This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.