InvestMacro FX

The seventeenth trading week of the year comes to a close as investors fret about the effects of rising gas and food prices on the consumer amidst record corporate profits.

Software giant Microsoft (MSFT) reported third quarter earnings after the closing bell yesterday, of $5.2 billion, or $0.61 per share, up from $4 billion, or $0.45 per share, last year. Revenue rose 13%, to $16.4 billion.

The price of the US dollar versus a number of its primary currency rivals appears to have leveled off on Friday. The recent plummet brought about by the Federal Reserve’s latest policy statement may still have momentum, but today’s suppressed market liquidity is helping the greenback consolidate around its current price levels.

Affecting the market in today’s trading sessions primarily is the Royal Wedding in Great Britain, which has closed all banks in Britain and captivated an international audience. The result has been limited trading among European investors leading to corrective price movements in the forex market.

Also limiting in this morning’s Asian session was a major bank holiday in Japan which kicked off a week of holidays known as Golden Week in the island economy. With Japanese banks largely absent until after May 5, yen movements will likely be driven by the effects wrought by the USD in next week’s trading sessions.

The stability of the US dollar in today’s trading, however, is more likely associated with thin trading than with market fundamentals, many analysts have said. The start of next week should see the return of relatively normal liquidity which in turn will likely push back down on the greenback as the week progresses.

By Zac, CountingPips.com

Today, I am very pleased to bring you a new forex interview with Jason K, the product manager from cTrader Ltd. The cTrader is a relatively new forex trading platform that is visually stunning, state of the art and looks to have a very bright future in the forex industry.

Q: Can you briefly explain what cTrader is and who are the ideal candidates to use cTrader?

cTrader is as we say ‘Your gateway to Forex ECN’. The ideal candidates are true ECN brokers, whose main objective is to provide highest quality services to their clients. cTrader is destined for exceptional usability and its sole purpose is to become a number one preference for every broker and trader. Our goal is to provide the ideal platform to Forex traders and constantly perfecting it with their help.

Q: What can one expect when using the platform?

People will find that we have put much thought and effort in building cTrader. Besides our expert developers and designers, there are professional traders in our team. We have combined our powers to achieve the supreme results. So not only cTrader is a technological masterpiece, it will satisfy the most demanding traders. We are constantly working hard, to satisfy the needs of every user. We are receiving lots of very helpful feedback, from our dear users, who constantly propose ways how we could improve cTrader for them to enjoy it even more.

Q: On your website, there is a tongue-in-cheek thank you to your competitors for providing inspiration to create cTrader. Can you explain the reasoning behind building cTrader?

We are really grateful to our competitors, for leaving us a niche we can conquer. We have learned from their mistakes and made their weaknesses into our strengths. While observing the market and the competition, we learned that other software vendors lack interest in developing and updating their software. What has been great years ago, haven’t improved nor has it evolved. Forex traders had to accept and handle with what they were presented. None of the solutions available in the market has focused on what people need, only on what Brokers do. So we are really grateful, for our competitors staying in the ‘stone age’ state. The constant disappointment in them was the reason why cTrader was born.

Q: How do you feel cTrader stands out from your competitors?

cTrader is a user friendly trading platform, which brings transparency to Forex market. cTrader is a completely conflict free software. Not only its conflict free between brokers and traders, it is impossible to manipulate the market and alter the real-time results. We completely prevent any manipulations.

Although we have a user’s guide, barely anyone will need it. The platforms features are intuitive and built for ease of use. We have chosen the best composition of features, which are always on display. People appreciate the ‘QuickTrade’ features. We have minimized the number of clicks, which save valuable time when trader is in need of fast and accurate execution. The ‘Detachable Charts’ feature is perfect, when you want to concentrate on just the chart. Even when the chart is detached, as a standalone feature, all the trading functionality is available and comfortably placed.

As for the ‘Multiple Chart’ mode, cTrader uses the in-house developed ‘Smart-Size’ technology, which allows unlimited amount of charts being displayed in the best available manner. The technology adopts and resizes the charts, whenever there are changes to the cTraders’ window size. The ‘Expanded Symbol Display’ is a very valuable part of xTrader. In it you see all the available currency pairs for trading. In the symbol display you are able to set the ‘Limit Order’, add the currency pair to ‘Favorites’, open its chart, get detailed information about the symbol, see the spread, the daily ‘High’ and ‘Low’, choose volume and immediately buy or sell. All-in-one. Also, it is very easy and comfortable to switch between multiple accounts with the ‘Account Bar’. Select and login immediately to a preferred account. Let’s not forget the constantly updated, technical analysis tools. People will find that the available tools are easily imposed and removed and extremely easily edited.

Q: What do you feel are the best features or greatest strengths of cTrader? Is there any feature that may get overlooked?

Besides the Graphical User Interface, the strength lies behind the scenes. To make implemented features intuitive and easy to use was as much exciting as it was hard. But besides the time-consuming usability,

there was a magnificent amount of effort put in the connectivity, stability, security and execution. cTrader is excellent when it comes to these four challenges. We have numerous user compliments about the execution. It is almost instant. When the user launches cTrader, the platform chooses and selects the best available proxy settings, to achieve great connectivity. Our proxy cloud has a world-wide reach, for people to trade with confidence in almost any spot of our planet. We have done and are still doing constant back-testing, which helped us achieve immense stability of our platform. One of the core features – is safety and anonymity of every trader. Every person can feel protected when trading. We are using the most up-to-date technologies to keep everyone secure.

Q: Regarding the platform, is there any way to add custom technical indicators that may not come standard in the software?

Not yet. This possibility will be available in the future. There is so much to do and as sad as it may be, we can’t do everything at once. For time being, we ask traders to send us requests on what indicators they want to be included. We will satisfy the requests in the upcoming monthly releases.

Q: Do you offer a support platform, portal or forum for users if they run into any issues?

Yes, we do indeed. We ask people to engage us in conversation, via our social communities in ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’, by writing us an email, calling us by phone or ‘Skype’. We also answer questions in the popular Forex forums. We will come, wherever traders are in need of us. We are not hiding behind our corporate badge. In the future, as soon as we have the programming language available, we will have a forum in which users can discuss and share their observations and talk to us directly.

Q: If a trader is interested in finding out more about cTrader, testing and maybe trading on the platform, what would be your advice?

The best way to find out more about cTrader is to visit our website. We provide detailed information about the platform and it’s features. We are always ready to tell more about cTrader to everyone, who contacts us. The best way, to test it before going ‘Live’ would be either opening a ‘Practice Account’ via our website or through our client FxPro. We are very happy, that FxPro – one of the leading Forex brokers, has chosen our platform, to go with their new ECN accounts. Together we are providing, one of the best trading opportunities, for traders who want to experience true ECN Forex nature.

Q: Is there any other aspect of cTrader that you feel is important that we may have not touched on?

The most important thing for us is user feedback. We are constantly awaiting and thankful for the valuable feedback we are getting. We encourage people to engage us in conversation via our ‘Feedback Tab’ in our website, platform and Facebook page and we never ignore it. We have worked very hard, to bring cTrader and in return we only ask your kind opinion and suggestions on how we can make cTrader even better. Together with your help, we will keep on getting closer to achieve our main goal – to provide the perfect Forex trading platform. Thank You.

Thank you Jason for taking the time to share your time and information in our latest forex interview. To find out more about cTrader and to try out the platform, visit ctrader at spotware.com.

We have received a number of emails this week asking about Taipan’s trading services. A couple of readers wanted more information on my service, WaveStrength Options Weekly, so I thought I would take a couple minutes to explain what it is I do.

(You also should know that Taipan offers many different services. They specialize in different markets like commodities, futures options and stocks, but also focus on different risk tolerances and strategies. I encourage you to take a look at all we have to offer.)

A Little About Me

Before all this, my life was very different. I was a member of several stock exchanges, and it was my job to trade options and make lots of money for my company. I had huge monthly costs and even bigger expectations from my bosses to deliver serious results. At every turn, Wall Street’s best and brightest traders were breathing down my neck, waiting for me to make a mistake so they could take my place.

It was my job to make money trading any order that came into my pit. When the public was buying, I was selling and vice-versa. It was a completely different frame of mind than most investors have today. I learned techniques there that cannot be learned anywhere else.

Most people with my skill set usually end up at a hedge fund, brokerage or bank, or on some major trading desk. In my opinion, it is much easier to be a trader and work for yourself than to manage other people’s money for them. Most of my colleagues feel the same way, which is why we rarely share our knowledge with the public.

But in recent years I have become a part of CNBC’s Fast Money team and just finished a book titled Your Options Handbook.

I now bring those tactics and skills to the public with a trading service. WaveStrength Options Weekly allows you to have control over your money, while giving you the information, timing and tactics you need to be successful.

(Sign up for Smart Investing Daily and let me and fellow editor Sara Nunnally simplify the market for you with our easy-to-understand articles.)

The Markets From My Eyes

My goal is to provide you with consistent, above-average returns using options. We focus on basic option strategies (long call, long put) that anyone can trade. I keep concepts as simple and straightforward as possible, so that there is minimal confusion.

Even though the ideas are simple, the research that goes into them is not. My analysis is complex… I put each idea through the ringer before I recommend anything… Stock charts, balance sheets, earnings reports… you name it, I look at it.

But it’s not just trading ideas! The main part of the service includes a weekly brief. I break down the macro economic trends, earnings, news and charts to get to a solid idea for that week. I try to offer readers the same plain speak you find here in SID, but with specific trade details and reasoning.

You will also find a lot of education and useful information in these briefs.

For example, I call upon other industry experts to give their opinion on a stock or on economic news. We usually have a guest expert each week.

Once we have found our way through the maze of data out there, we take advantage of the current trends. I outline an entry point, trade management techniques and an exit strategy.

The investment ideas generally last one week to three months. That means you don’t have to be at your computer at all times. This is a good timeline for the investor who still works or travels a lot.

If I find an opportunity outside of the normal weekly brief, I send out a dynamic email alert so you will always know if there is action that needs to be taken.

Obviously, there are no guarantees, but expert guidance can help avoid mistakes and improve results.

Getting Involved

Getting starting is literally a click away and you will begin receiving WOW briefs and alerts in your inbox ASAP.

There is no obligation, you are welcome to come and go as you please. Follow this link to subscribe to WaveStrength Options Weekly.

Article brought to you by Taipan Publishing Group. Additional valuable content can be syndicated via our News RSS feed. Republish without charge. Required: Author attribution, links back to original content or www.taipanpublishinggroup.com.

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Other Related Sources:

The Options Markets Tell Secrets… Should We Be Listening?

Video courtesy of ForexCT – A leading Australian forex broker, liscensed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, offers the MetaTrader4 and PROfit Platform to retail traders. Other services include Segregated Accounts, Trading workshops, Tutorials, and Commodities trading.

Video courtesy of ForexCT – A leading Australian forex broker, liscensed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, offers the MetaTrader4 and PROfit Platform to retail traders. Other services include Segregated Accounts, Trading workshops, Tutorials, and Commodities trading.

Source: ForexYard

Forex traders, who had been hesitant to short the greenback due to a variety of reasons last week, found many justifications to push heavily against the greenback these past two days. The EUR/USD has now risen to a three-year high, reaching towards 1.4900 in yesterday’s session. The AUD/USD witnessed a similar bull run, climbing to a 29-year high of 1.0920. The USD/JPY joined the chorus, despite weak fundamentals in Japan, and fell to 81.52 from 82.17 yesterday.

Economic News

USD – US Dollar Dropping Fast as Sell-Off Gains Momentum

The US dollar has continued to plummet since yesterday after statements from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) removed all doubt about US monetary policies remaining unchanged. The record low interest rates will persist for the foreseeable future, according to the FOMC report and subsequent statement. What market participants are witnessing now is the aftermath.

Forex traders, who had been hesitant to short the greenback due to a variety of reasons, found many justifications to push heavily against the greenback; especially since little resistance should be seen in the days ahead. The EUR/USD has now risen to a three-year high, reaching towards 1.4900 in yesterday’s session. The AUD/USD witnessed a similar bull run, climbing to a 29-year high of 1.0920. The USD/JPY joined the chorus, despite weak fundamentals in Japan, and fell to 81.52 from 82.17 yesterday.

Yesterday’s Advance GDP report gave dollar bears yet another reason to dump on the greenback as it fell just shy of its expected 1.9%, coming in at 1.8%; well below last quarter’s adjusted 3.1%. There does not appear to be any reason to resist the bear session on the USD for the remainder of the week. Dollar traders should look to short the greenback against all of its currency rivals until this bear session loses a bit of its current momentum.

EUR – EUR Making Substantial Gains vs. USD

The euro has been a top performer against the US dollar after statements by the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) regarding US monetary policy reaffirmed the disparity in monetary policies between the Atlantic rivals. The statement reaffirmed the notion that the Fed would hold interest rates at their record low for the foreseeable future, driving traders away from the greenback en masse and into higher yielding assets.

With Europe and Great Britain on track to tighten their monetary policies, currency traders have been pouring their investments into the region with expectations for a surge in value in the coming weeks. Though debt concerns loom in the euro zone, and industrial production falters globally, the higher yielding assets like the GBP and EUR appear positioned to gain despite poor fundamentals. This trend appears to have little opposition as dollar traders shift substantial value into other assets.

As for Friday, the euro looks to be gaining against the greenback as traders find additional reasons to pull out of their dollar positions in exchange for higher yields. Germany will publish its retail sales data today, along with the euro zone’s unemployment rate. These factors, however, will likely be outweighed by the shift in sentiment towards the buck after yesterday’s FOMC statement. Look for long positions on the EUR to continue through to next week.

JPY – USD/JPY Bearish after Japan Holds Rates and Purchasing Program Steady

The USD/JPY has been trading lower recently as investors flee the greenback on the coattails of the Fed’s monetary policy statements. After reaching upwards of 82.75 on Tuesday, the pair quickly dropped to a daily low of 81.61 Wednesday, and dipped farther in Thursday’s sessions after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) decided to hold rates steady and maintain present levels in its Asset Purchasing Program.

While the yen suffers from its own economic concerns, shifts in consumer sentiment have helped lift yen values against a number of its rivals. The pair also looks to be continuing this movement for the foreseeable future given the massive shift away from the US dollar. As the week comes to a close, traders shouldn’t see much change in JPY values directly correlated with its own economic news. As global investors digest the impact that the recent sell-off in US dollars will have on their portfolios, we should look to some stability and consolidation prior to this week’s closing.

Crude Oil – Despite Weak Industrial Data, Oil Prices Rise

Oil prices ended yesterday trading slightly higher on the day as traders largely moved away from the US dollar, lifting commodity values. As investors bailed out of their long positions with the USD, oil prices found support, pushing the commodity back towards $113 a barrel with a closing price of $112.86 yesterday.

As for today, crude oil traders may want to consider that commodities, which are linked to the value of the US dollar, are likely going to continue receiving a boost in the immediate future due to recent monetary policy statements out of the US. Hawkish statements about economic growth may suffice to hold prices stable between $112 and $115, but many speculators are beginning to anticipate another bull run in commodity prices and traders would be wise to watch for the bounce after the price corrects from yesterday’s movement.

Technical News

EUR/USD

After climbing about 700 pips in the past couple of weeks, the pair’s bullish trend was slightly halted yesterday. In addition, as the RSI on the 4-hour chart has dropped below the 70-line, it seems that a bearish correction might proceed today. Going short with tight stops might be the right strategy today.

GBP/USD

The cable saw a mild bearish correction yesterday, and fell from the 1.6740 level to as low as the 1.6625 level. Nevertheless, as a bullish cross takes place on the 4-hour chart’s Slow Stochastic, it appears that the pair might resume the bullish trend today, with potential to reach the 1.6750 level.

USD/JPY

The USD/JPY pair saw a relatively peaceful trading session yesterday, trading around the 81.60 level. Today, as the daily chart’s MACD continues to point downwards, it appears that the pair might once again face a bearish session. Going short seems to be the right choice today.

USD/CHF

After bottoming at the 0.8690 level, the pair saw a minor bullish correction yesterday, and is currently trading near the 0.8730 level. However, a bearish cross on the 4-hour chart’s Slow Stochastic is suggesting that another bearish session could be expected today, with a key-target level of 0.8650.

The Wild Card

Gold

Gold continues to rally at full steam and yesterday it gained about 1,400 pips to reach as high as $1,538 an ounce. Currently, as all oscillators on the weekly chart are providing bullish indications, it seems that gold might break a new-record high within the next few days, providing a great opportunity for forex traders to join a very popular trend.

Forex Market Analysis provided by ForexYard.

© 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.

Being supported by 0.9453 previous low, USDCAD rebounded from 0.9463, suggesting that lengthier consolidation in a range between 0.9453 and 0.9575 is underway, and another rise to 0.9650 to reach next cycle top on 4-hour chart is still possible. Key support is at 0.9453, a break below this level will indicate that the downtrend from 0.9973 has resumed, then further decline could be seen to 0.9300-0.9400 area.

Daily Forex Analysis

Capital Market Services LLC, a leading Forex brokerage firm, has partnered with Red Paladin Inc., a technology firm that specializes in Cloud Services, to offer the CMS Virtual Desktop Interface (VDI) for forex trading.

CMS VDI supports MetaTrader 4, ForexTraderPro and VT Trader 2.0. Using a browser window, traders can access their demo or live accounts on their virtual environment from anywhere and place trades, upload and configure EA’s, set preferences, and even request custom applications or tools such as Autochartist or Microsoft Excel.

VDI services take the traditional forex VPS model to the next level by offering traders a dedicated virtualized machine as opposed to space on a large shared server like most standard VPS products. This service eliminates the need for physical hardware and its associated performance limitations, and protects users from the risks associated with conducting financial transactions on a shared network.

CMS VDI users’ machines live on a managed dedicated network where traders can leverage Red Paladin’s resources for blazing fast and consistent execution speeds from anywhere in the world. “The ability to run your EAs or any automated trading system in a professional server environment, without the worries of having to leave your home or office computer running and supported 24 hours a day is a major plus for serious traders,” stated Joshua Bernstein, Director of Sales and Marketing at CMS Forex.

VDI services are fully accessible from most mobile devices and experiencing MT4 or VT Trader on your iPad is a “revolutionary way to trade on the go” according to Mr. Bernstein. CMS VDI is free for active CMS clients and is available to anyone for $40 a month. Visit http://www.cmsfx.com/forex-trading-services/vps/ to learn more.

About CMSFX

CMS Forex was founded in 1999 by professional Forex traders, Forex brokers and software developers. Since its inception, CMS Forex has identified traders’ needs and built its core trading platform, VT Trader™, to accommodate its loyal client base. CMS Forex is a leading provider of foreign exchange (FX) trading and related services to clients in approximately 170 countries. The Company serves institutional accounts and, with Forex.com, offers a diverse array of trading platforms combined with unmatched execution and customer services to facilitate direct access to the global FX markets for individual traders.

CMS Forex and its affiliated group of companies are headquartered in New York City, London, and Hamilton, Bermuda with representative offices in Boston, Shanghai, and St. Petersburg, Russia. The group holds registrations with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the United States, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the United Kingdom, the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) in Bermuda.

About Red Paladin

Red Paladin was established in 2001 as a full service Technology Integration Firm headquartered in Piscataway, NJ with satellite offices in India. Red Paladin has the expertise in providing Virtualization/Cloud Services, Managed IT Services, and Custom Application/Software Development Solutions to clients across multiple industries. By offering companies around the world access to the Helix Cloud for their customized Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) requirements, the company is able to integrate organizations large and small into an IaaS based IT model.