Vulnerability, Exchange Rate and International Reserves of Gold, Oil and Fore,

Imagine a Latin American country sitting on US$350 billion of international reserves, while running current account deficit, fiscal deficit and paying an interest bill on public debt that hovers above 5% of GDP every year. Given the enormous opportunity costs of hoarding such chest of gold, how could that money ever be used outside a crisis situation, without unleashing the very currency appreciation that it disguisedly tried to curtail? Brazil could well be in that position by the end of 2010 if the same rate of reserve accumulation observed in 2007 prevails in the next 18 months (and, in fact, the current pace is not too far from it).

Since 2002, strong capital inflows have sustained a process of exchange rate appreciation in Brazil, briefly interrupted in the last quarter of 2008 by the financial crisis. To be fair, several other emerging market currencies behaved likewise. For most of this period the sum of the current account and direct investment has posted positive figures, accumulating US$ 90 billion since 2003. Net portfolio inflows amounted to US$ 80 billion in total from 1Q03 through 3Q08 (having spiked to US$ 48 billion in 2007) and net loan flows totaled a positive US$75 billion in the same period (excluding IMF flows). In this environment of abundant liquidity, Brazil prepaid the IMF in November 2005. Since then, the CB and the Treasury interventions in the market have escalated amassing net purchases of US$ 169 billion by September 2008, with international reserves (IR) piling up to above US$ 200 billion.

Gold / Oil Excahnge Rate

Crude oil rose in New York for the first time in four days as the dollar weakened, bolstering the investment appeal of commodities, while China confirmed its August net imports were the second highest on record.

Oil climbed above $70 a barrel as the dollar fell against the euro, leading investors to buy oil and gold to hedge their inflation risk. Official data showed net crude oil imports by China, Asia’s largest consumer, rose 18 percent to 17.92 million metric tons, confirming preliminary figures released on Sept. 11.

If the United States is going to succeed in its push for more balanced global economic growth, it must convince China, Germany and other big exporters there is no going back to the pre-crisis boom times.

Gold – The Best Option To Make Business Stable And Profitable.

As far as investment is concerned, gold can be the best option to invest in. Gold can yield good returns, when sold. Gold investment started many years ago, which was called gold bullion system. Since then, gold became the most preferred mode of investment to secure the reserves and surplus of a business enterprise. Companies can trade gold under this system. Small, medium and large scale industries can buy as well as sell gold to earn profits.

At present, most of the western countries trade gold on a large scale. On the other hand, many Asian countries have also emerged as the most liberalized market for gold trading. Hence, the trade volume of gold between these countries is very important for securing the finances in times of world economy crisis.

Companies can easily trade in gold these days, as they have many opportunities under the gold bullion system to sell gold in the open market that will earn them a substantial amount of profit.

Today, it has become very easy for companies to trade gold. Companies have great opportunities in the open market that gives better return on the investment (ROI) with gold trading.

Automated Forex Trading System – Let Your Money Do The Work

Using the Forex Autopilot automated forex trading system can be the vital ingredient that gives you the edge over other traders in forex just as for other financial trades.

Automated trading works exactly the way that you would think. A highly complex and sophisticated software program uses secret mathematical algorithms to decide the best moments to buy and sell currency, and either prompts to act, or makes the trades for you. If you want it to go ahead and trade using electronic ordering, you must first fund your account, then just sit back and watch as it buys and sells for you.

This may sound risky but in fact letting a computer program make your trading decisions can often be safer than doing it yourself. Subject to very rare downtime, the program is online 24/7 and will not miss a vital marker. The human trader, however, has to sleep. Humans are also likely to make a mistake when reading data and cannot cross-check thousands of pieces of data the way that a computer can. We also often let our emotions and beliefs sway our decisions, often either getting nervous and pulling our investment just when we should have let it ride, or leaving it too long when we should have pulled out.

Forex trading software does not make these mistakes. When you have the software doing it for you, it’s as if you could always be watching all of the markets, seeing every change, analyzing all data instantly, and taking the smartest decisions.

Of course there is a cost. Many companies offering this kind of software ask thousands of dollars for it, and many people willingly pay, because automated forex trading can offer huge benefits, especially for the less experienced trader. Whilst manual trading can require years of experience in order to develop the “edge” that most traders rely on for their best decisions, using software can mean that all you have to do is learn the basic principles of trading, enough to understand what the program can do for you and to set it up to work in the way that you want. Then you can sit back and have your money work for you.

Clearly automated systems rely on data analysis for their decisions, and cannot take into account upcoming factors like political change or environmental events which may affect a nation’s currency. The trader still needs to keep up with current world events, and there are no guarantees. But many traders have freed up their schedules and profited from an automated forex trading system that is highly effective and accurate. You can find the top selling Forex Autopilot software here.

ETF Trading Signals Review

I like a good return on my investments, and I thought that ETFs, while a safe investment, probably wouldn’t bring the returns I wanted on my money. The low buy in cost with the low risk makes them attractive, but the yields can be disappointing and I considered them a long term strategy.

A friend of mine told me about ETF Trading Signals and said he was doing better with his ETF investments since he started subscribing to the service. I was skeptical, but I took a look and did some investigating. ETF Trading Signals changed the way I looked as ETFs as an investment instrument. While the returns were less than I make on some of my hot stocks, the risk was a lot lower. I decided to try it out.

Instead of considering my ETFs as long term financial instruments, I started looking at them as I would any other stock. The low buy in meant that I didn’t have to tie up as much capital as I did with some other methods. It isn’t as fast as hot stocks, I usually hold my ETFs for one or two months, but following the tips from ETF Trading Signals has helped me to make more in this market than I thought I could. I owe my friend a nice dinner.

So by using the alerts and tips from ETF Trading Signals, you can increase your profits without increasing your risks. There are some advantages to ETFs in addition to the low risk. The buy in on ETFs is relatively low. Even if you don’t have a lot to invest, you can buy into ETFs. If you have a strategy to buy and sell ETFs, you can make a reasonably good profit. You do have to pay an annual fee though, as with any mutual fund.

You can make more than average on a low risk investment like ETFs with the right advice. ETF Trading Signals is right more often than they are wrong. Nothing is certain in the stock market, but so far I’m getting a better return on my ETFs than I expected to by following the tips and advice offered by this site.

This type of investment is not for everyone. I like to use a variety of strategies in my approach to the market. I invest a certain amount each month in each one. ETFs are more long term than hot stocks or trend following, but you can get your capital out when you need to, and by keeping tabs on the market you can make a better profit than you might expect.

On the up side, so far I haven’t taken any serious losses with my ETF investments. I didn’t really expect to since the reason for getting into the ETF market was the low risk and relatively low investment of capital. I have made more profits than I initially expected to by following the advice offered by ETF Trading Signals. Hot stocks can make more, but I’ve also had more losses in hot stocks. The risk is a lot higher for hot stocks and trend following than it is for ETFs.

If you are considering getting into the ETF market, I strongly suggest you subscribe to ETF Trading Signals. If you’re trying to get rich quick, it probably won’t happen this way, but if you are looking for a low risk investment with reasonable returns, the advice on this site can help you maximize your profits.

Establishing good credit

There is a point in your life that it is required to move on from having no credit and building up a good credit score to secure your financial future. It makes no difference if you are trying to rent your first apartment of if you are applying for a loan to get something huge, you will have to have a good credit history for your name so that the person that you are working with will understand that you are reliable and very responsible for their investment. However, there are some people that do not know how to establish credit.

Having bad credit is much worse than most understand. You can be denied loans and have trouble with some of the financial institutions because you will find that you are labeled as high risk. Identity theft is a very good reason for the false negative credit to your name. It is a bad circumstance but you should not think that anyone is going to go easy on you. If you put it all out there, you will not loan money to a friend that has been slow to repay others in the past. There are unreliable things that people will notice first and they will not care to hear the excuses no matter how good you think they are.

The key is to be safe and to build credit without risking mistakes that will result in a bad credit history. For example, your parents could put one of their monthly household bills in your name while you are still going through school. If these bills are not paid on time, you will gain good credit. On the other hand, it is vital to understand that if you miss some payments, it is going to get you started off on the wrong foot.

Another factor that plays into your worth to the creditors is to keep the same job for at least two years or longer and have the stable checking or savings account with a good bank are just a few things that you can do. You should also think about having a stable cash flow and responsibility with finances. You can make deposits and keep your balance at a positive number with a bank account and have a steady income show that you are not at risk for missing any payments or leaving town to avoid facing any collectors. Your address, bank, positive bill history, and employment information can be added to your credit report at your request if it is not already there.

Your credit is an important part of everyone’s life. Having good credit will help you in being accepted for automobile, home, and other loans. If your score is bad, you will often times be rejected for loans because you will be labeled as a bad risk and it is assumed that you may not be able to pay back the loan on time. Building good credit is going to be good when you do it early so that you can get a head start in the right direction for your financial future.

Totally Free Credit Report company

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How to protect your finances for divorce

If you think that you will be ending your marriage in the near future and you are uncertain what the future will hold for you, you may want to start taking the right precautions now. You have to make sure that you are protecting your financial security for later.

Reduce unnecessary expenses as soon as you can. Meet with your spouse and agree to cancel utilities and other bills. You will probably need to have money later on and this is a way to save money. Sell off your personal property that you do not need or want anymore. You can do this now to avoid losing it later on.

Cancel all of your jointly owned credit cards. You both should agree to cancel the cards and get separate ones. You need to cancel the cards because the spouse can charge up all kinds of different charge on the cards and you will get stuck paying them back. Canceling the cards now can save you money that you will need to have later on.

You may want to separate the jointly owned bank accounts. If you have bank accounts together, you may want to divide the money first. If not, your spouse may decide to go and take care of the money on their own and leave you with nothing. If you have outstanding bills for the home, explain this to the spouse so that the arrangements can be made to pay for them. If you do open up a different bank account, do it at another bank. Do not stay with the same company.

Stop contributing to combined accounts like 401K and pension plans. Telling your place of employment usually does this. Make the necessary arrangements so that your money is not being added to this account. You have to do this until you find out what will happen to those accounts and who will benefit from them.

Keep your job or try and find one. You have to make sure that you are protecting yourself and able to raise your family. If you are not getting any income from your spouse, you will have to do something to support your monthly needs. You may want to ask your ‘soon to be ex’ if they can help you financially until the divorce proceedings are over. This is only recommended if you are ending the divorce in a good way. If you are fighting over everything and not getting along, you need to contact your attorney and have them ask for you.

Your Shortcut into Forex Trading

Trading in forex is exciting no matter if you lose or win. You cannot stay cool when you earn money and you cannot be calm when you lose it. Of course it is more pleasant to earn money. In forex it is up to you to decide whether you will earn or lose it. This is a truly magic market where you will have many opportunities to change your life forever.

Have you ever dreamed of a job where you are your own boss? Do you want to go to work dressed in your pajamas? Do you want to start your working day when you want and finish it when you are tired? Forex is the job got you, then. No more waiting for paychecks. No more annoying colleagues. In forex you are master of your destiny.

Many people think that forex is easy. In fact, this market works according to a very simple principle. You should buy world currencies and then sell them at higher prices. The difference in prices would be your profit. At a first glance it sounds very easy. But actually it is not easy to make correct forecast. In other you should know when, for example, US dollar will be cheap and when it becomes more expensive. If your forecast appeared to be wrong you lose money. If you had all you money at stake then you will lose everything.

90% of beginners do not survive their first month in forex. It happens due to several reasons, namely:

1) They trade without strategy. Beginners come to the market with no knowledge and experience. Moreover, they think that performing random trades will earn them money. They think this is another casino. Forex is not a casino because there are many factors that influence this market. If you can analyze and summarize these factors you can succeed. Of course, you can win a couple of times of you have good luck. But in long term you are destined to lose.

Chart Patterns to Avoid

Chart Patterns to avoid: Head and Shoulders Top

The Head and Shoulders Top is another chart that may indicate a stock has made a top. Usually a Head and Shoulders pattern will have a Head and two Shoulders with a Neckline connecting the bottom of the two Shoulders. The stock price should find support at the Neckline however if it breaks below that support then the stock price could spiral downward. I certainly don’t profess to be an expert in Head and Shoulder formations but here are a few examples.

Here is a chart of EBAY which shows a top (Head) being made in late April. Normally a Head and Shoulders pattern has two Shoulders however there appears to be three Shoulders in this case (points A, B and C). Determining exactly where to draw the Neckline can be subjective but for this case I will define it from points D to E. In theory the stock should find support at its Neckline if the price drops after forming the second Shoulder (point B). In this case the price dropped back to the Neckline and then rebounded to form a third Shoulder (point C). EBAY then dropped again and fell below the Neckline and continued in a downtrend until early August.

The next example shows a chart of LVCI. The Head develops in mid-July as the stock makes a top. The two Shoulders are defined at points A and B while the Neckline is defined by the line from points C to D. Once again as the stock broke through its support area at the Neckline it continued to drop for several more weeks.

Understanding The Gold Standard

The gold standard refers to the use of gold as the “insurance” to back what a country’s paper currency was actually worth - if there was no physical asset to support the value of the paper, well, the dollar bill in your wallet was worth just that - paper. The gold standard has been in use in one form or another since the earliest days of coinage when rulers minted coins and the value of a coin was the intrinsic value of the gold or other precious metal contained within it. Stamping the head and name of the king or emperor whose treasury issued the coinage was not just a political statement as to who was boss, but also a symbol of quality control - you have one of my coins, I am saying it has this much gold included in it!

Today Hot Stocks Review

I’m a pretty conservative investor. I knew about the hot stocks market, but I’ve always felt that it was pretty risky. I was willing to take lower returns and keep my capital as safe as possible. I was talking to friend who is at least as conservative as me and he told me about Today Hot Stocks newsletter. I thought maybe he’d been out on the golf course too long.

He insisted that he was skeptical about hot stocks trading too, but he found this newsletter that predicted stock trends with a software program and that he was actually getting a great return on hot stock investments by following their advice. I thought it was probably some kind of scam, so I looked it up. I just didn’t see how software could figure all the angles in the hot stock market.

I signed up for the Today’s Hot Stocks newsletter six months ago and I haven’t looked back. The program doe everything it says it will do and I have been making a great return on my hot stocks. Sure, I’ve had occasional losers, but not as many as I had before trying this newsletter. The returns on the winners have been better than most of my own picks.

Investing in hot stocks is a risky business and I’d never recommend it as a single strategy for investing. That said, as part of an overall investment strategy, hot stocks can be very profitable if you choose your issues carefully. Today’s Hot Stocks newsletter and email alerts help you do just that. In addition, it is crucial to know when to sell, and Today’s Hot Stocks takes away a lot of the guesswork. Intuition is great, but notoriously unreliable for most people.

The newsletter isn’t free. Some people may have a problem with that. I consider my monthly fee as part of my investment. I’m making more than enough to cover the fee by using the hot stocks information, so it’s certainly proved worth the investment to me.

I admit that I like the money back guarantee. Today’s Hot Stocks allows you to try the newsletter and email alerts for up to sixty days, and if you aren’t happy they will give you a full refund. I thought I’d be getting that refund, but I am more than satisfied with my results and I’m happy to keep paying for their advice. I wouldn’t even be in this great market if it wasn’t for Today’s Hot Stocks, and of course, my friend.

Sure you can get free advice on hot stocks, but you usually get what you pay for. Free advice isn’t necessarily good advice. The software used by hot stocks is remarkably accurate. OK, the market doesn’t always behave predictably and sometimes you may suffer a loss, but the program does help to minimize your losses and takes your emotions out of the equation.

I can only say that I am definitely getting my money’s worth and more from the Today’s Hot Stocks newsletter. If you are in the hot stocks market, i strongly suggest you try it, even if only for the sixty day trial. You won’t lose anything, and like me, you may decide that your subscription is worth every cent.

Follow Gold in Forex Trading

Gold has always been considered as the ultimate global currency. Before 1973, US Dollar used to be pegged to gold. But with the collapse of the Bretton Woods System that year, US Dollar was unpegged from gold and become a freely floating currency. Free floating means the value of the currency is determined by the economic fundamentals of supply and demand.

Now US Dollar is only backed by the full faith and credit of the US Government. In times of financial crisis like the present when the global economy is in recession, many investors try to take refuge in gold as the ultimate safe haven.

The Australian Dollar (AUD) is known for its strong correlation with gold prices among the different currencies in the world. This correlation is due to fact that Australia has gold deposits and exports gold. On the other hand, USD has an inverse relationship with gold prices. Gold prices rise, USD falls in value. This causes the currency pair AUD/USD to appreciate in value when gold prices rise.

The opposite of this is also true. When USD gains value, gold usually loses value. The pair AUD/USD depreciates as a result. So when gold prices are rising, we can trade AUD/USD currency pair long. Likewise, when gold falls in value, we can trade AUD/USD short. This relationship may be due to the fact that gold is considered to be the ultimate safe haven of their wealth by investors in times of financial crisis. This relationship provides us with a method that we can use to take advantage of the fundamental factors that influence the currency markets.

How do you follow gold in currency trading? We now know that AUD/USD pair reacts strongly to gold prices. So we will trade AUD/USD based on following gold. Entering a trade to follow gold is a three step process. Use RSI (Relative Strength Index) as the technical indicator to trigger the trade. If you have read the previous article on following oil in currency trading, we had used the CCI (Commodity Channel Index) to trade USD/CAD pair.

When both gold and oil are commodities, why dont we use CCI for gold as well? Why is that we are using RSI now? CCI gives a quicker signal. This is good for relatively less volatile pairs like USD/CAD. Whereas RSI gives slower signals, this is ideal for more volatile pairs like AUD/USD. It all depends on how quickly the two indicators react to volatility.

You should use a moving average to confirm if gold is in an uptrend or a downtrend. You will use the seven periods RSI on AUD/USD chart. Watch the RSI chart when it enters one of its reversal zones, then move back out of the reversal zone in the same direction as the gold is trending.

You should enter a long trade on AUD/USD if the gold prices are rising and the RSI is crossing back above the 30 line. On the other hand, you should enter a short trade on AUD/USD pair if the gold prices are declining and the RSI is crossing below the 70 line.

You should set a limit order of 200 pips. You should also put a stop loss order of 50 pips for the trade. This risk to reward ratio is good and is (=50/200). The chances are you are going to make $2000 profit (200 pips is equal to $2000 on a standard lot) if the trade goes as you had anticipated. And if the trade does not go in your favor you should be prepared for a $500 loss (500 pips equal $500 on a standard lot). It is not uncommon to have a trade go against you. Only to find yourself right back in trade that goes your way after sometime.

Trying to forecast forex rates is an acquired skill

It’s not easy to forecast the forex markets, but it’s what thousands of forex traders and brokers do every day, with varying degrees of success. Like forecasting the weather, predicting the forex market is sometimes a crapshoot, sometimes a guessing game, and always an adventure.

There are two basic philosophies on how to forecast the forex markets. One is technical analysis; the other is fundamental analysis. We’ll look at them both.

The technical approach examines past market action and uses that data to predict the future. Previous trends in most areas of life are almost always good indicators of the future; forex is no different. People have not changed much in the decades since the forex market was created. People still buy and sell and react to stimuli in much the same way as they did 50 years ago.

Since forex rates change constantly throughout the day, every day, looking at all the years of past data can be daunting. Smart analysts learned to look at the big picture, to skip the minor details and examine trends over a longer period of time.

Using fundamental analysis to forecast forex markets is a bit more in-depth, but it can also be highly accurate. Basically, fundamental analysis means forecasting the market based on external factors -- political moves, government involvement, social movements, even the weather. Someone good at fundamental analysis might forecast forex drop-offs because he knows a country’s government is unstable at the moment, or increases because the country has just elected a popular new leader. Anything that can affect a nation’s economy can affect the exchange rates, and that’s what a fundamental analyst uses to guess at the forex market’s future

Naturally, this means having to know a particular country in-depth, which is hard to do for more than a few countries at a time. (It becomes even more complicated when trying to forecast the euro, since several different countries use that currency.) But having that kind of intricate knowledge makes it much, much easier to forecast forex trends.

Most good traders use a mixture of both processes, technical and fundamental. For example, a trader might see that a country is currently facing a particularly strong hurricane season (fundamental) and know that in the past, strong hurricane seasons have meant a weaker economy for that nation (technical). Thus, he can predict down-turns for that nation with some degree of confidence.

Covering the basics of the forex market

The foreign exchange, or forex, market is relatively young, having begun in the early 1970s after the United States dropped the gold standard and national currencies started to fluctuate widely. For about 30 years prior to that, most nations had agreed to keep their currency values stable in relation to the U.S. dollar, making a forex market unnecessary. With that no longer the case, banks quickly realized that a profit could be made in “buying” currency when it was devalued and “selling” it after it strengthened, just like any other commodity.

Today, the forex market handles about $1.9 trillion in transactions every day, and it runs 24 hours a day, five days a week. (With nations around the world involved, it’s always daytime somewhere.) The most traded currencies are the U.S. dollar, the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Swiss franc and Australian dollar.

The forex market is overwhelmingly dominated by international banks, government banks, investment banks, corporations, and hedge funds. In fact, individual traders account for only about 2 percent of the market. Nonetheless, a lot of people do try their hand at it, with varying degrees of success.

In the forex market, transactions are always handled in pairs: You buy one currency and sell another one. The idea is to make a trade when you believe the currency you’re buying is going to go up in value compared to the one you’re selling. Then, if it turns out your prediction was correct, you do another trade in the reverse direction -- selling the currency you originally bought and buying the one you sold -- in order to reap the profits.

For example, let’s say the market reports this: GBP/EUR 1.2200. That means the cost of buying one British pound is 1.22 euros. If you believed that course was going to change, and the euro was going to become more valuable than the pound, you might sell 100,000 pounds, buy 100,000 euros, and wait. Then let’s say a few weeks later, the exchange rate fluctuates to this: EUR/GBP 1.3100. Sure enough, the euro is now worth 1.31 pounds, a profit of 0.11 per unit.

The forex market is vast and daunting and mostly inhabited by giant organizations. But it can be navigated by individuals who have studied the finer points and who want to take a risk on something potential profitable. And since the whole world uses money, the trading of that money is always going to be a major force in the financial world.

Adaptation to the Realities of the Market

Hey Joe!
Do you think adaptation to the realities of the market is the most important thing?

Many times in the past I’ve written about the need to adapt, the need to be able to change your behavior relative to the market because the markets are ever changing.

I’ve stated that mechanical systems may be workable, but for only a short time relative to the life of markets. You must learn to trade what you see and to understand what you see on a chart.

When I first began trading there was no such things as futures contracts for foreign currencies. Why didn’t they exist? Because there was no need for them! In the 1970’s all that changed when the US dollar went off the gold standard and began to float against other currencies. Following that, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange began to create currency futures to provide a place where currency traders could hedge the risks associated with dealing in foreign currencies. Some of these risks are direct and some are indirect. Direct risk is involved for those who deal directly in foreign exchange. Indirect risk involves companies who export or import and receive payments or make payments in the currency of another country.

Ever since currency futures were created, they have been in a state of flux. More recently, for purposes of futures trading, currency gyrations have centered on a massive move away from currency futures to more direct trading in the forex markets. Currency futures, while maintaining their volume and open interest figures, are actually less liquid than they had been previously. Volume and open interest do not reveal the picture of what is happening in the currency futures pits. Volume and open interest levels are being maintained by fewer and fewer futures traders.

In the period from 1992 to the present, we’ve witnessed currency futures moving from “red-hot” to “cool” and now hot again insofar as speculators are concerned. Foreign exchange, which in 1992 was one of the hottest plays, first turned dull and then back again to exciting.

That this has happened can be seen in areas of which most futures traders are ignorant. Five years ago foreign currency traders were being paid huge salaries and anyone with a track record could virtually name his price. Following that, currency traders were no longer in great demand. Now, again, there is a huge demand for successful currency traders.

Currency futures are but a small representation of the $1.5 trillion dollar foreign exchange market. Professional currency traders use forex, forwarding contracts, derivatives of all kinds, and the futures pits, to deploy their various trading and hedging strategies. Looking at only the futures is like the blind man trying to tell what an elephant is like by feeling only the tusks.

In past years, foreign exchange desks at banks, insurance companies, brokers, and other institutions were seen closing down and firing hundreds of employees. Today, they are again looking for currency traders.

Industry Group Relative Strength

The Importance of Industry Group Relative Strength

Knowing which Industry Groups the Institutional Money is flowing into and out of is very important to recognize. If your invested in Stocks that reside in low Relative Strength Industry Groups then they may remain poor performers until that Industry Group shows signs of increasing Relative Strength. Sometimes it can take many months or even a few years before an Industry Group will finally begin to show signs of life.

Lets look at a couple of Industry Groups over the past few years and see how they compare based on Relative Strength and Price Performance. The Gold and Silver Sector has been very strong since the first of the year which has been reflected in its Industry Group Relative Strength and Year to Date price Performance.

Notice how this Industry Group was strong in the Fall of 2001 but gradually became out of favor in November and December of 2001 as the Groups Relative Strength dropped to 8 (highlighted in blue). However things began to change by January as the Group’s Relative Strength began to increase and has been very strong since February with values consistently in the 90’s (highlighted in red).

If we look at the individual stocks in the Mining-Gold/Silver/Gems Industry Group all of them have performed well except for one. The Average Year to Date Return for the Group since January 1st is over 130% as of May 24, 2002. This is why it’s important to notice which Industry Groups are starting to show signs of increasing Relative Strength.

Now lets look at a Industry Group (Medical-Generic Drugs) which has been exhibiting low Relative Strength values over the past several weeks. Notice in the table below how this Industry Group was strong in the Fall of 2001 but quickly fell out of favor as the Relative Strength values dropped from 96 in October to as low as 1 by January of 2002 (highlighted in blue). During the past several weeks the Relative Strength values have continued very low (highlighted in red) as this Industry Group has remained out of favor with the Institutional Money.

If we look at the individual stocks that make up this Industry Group several of them have been performing very poorly since Jaunary 1st with an Average Year to Date Return of -16% through May 24, 2002..

We track over 180 different Industry Groups each week as this allows me to notice which Groups are showing signs of decreasing or increasing Relative Strength and where the Institutional Money is flowing into or out of. Recognizing these trends can be very beneficial to investors as typically the best performing Stocks will reside in high Relative Strength Industry Groups as shown by the above examples.

How Sales and Earnings Growth is related to a Stock’s Performance

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If you go back through the history of the stock market there is a recurring theme among those stocks which have had some of the strongest price appreciation and it’s related to their Sales and Earnings Growth. If you plot a chart of Sales and Earnings Growth versus a companies Stock Price there is a usually a strong relationship between the two.

Here is a recent example during the past year. USNA has been one of the strongest performing stocks during the past year and has been experiencing accelerating Sales and Earnings Growth over the past year. A table of USNA Sales and Earnings Growth is shown below.

Meanwhile if we take the table above and make a graphical plot of USNA’s Earnings Growth versus its Stock Price shows a very strong relationship. Notice how USNA’s stock price (blue line) began to rise significantly as its Earnings Growth (red line) started to accelerate beginning in the Spring of 2002 (point A) and has continued through the Spring of 2003 (point B). From March of 2002 until mid June of 2003 USNA has seen its stock price rise from $1.60 to over $50 a share for a return of over 3000%.

I first featured USNA as a Stock to Watch based on its accelerating Sales and Earnings Growth and Cup and Handle chart pattern in August of 2002 when it was trading around $7 a share. If you don’t believe it click here for the report. Notice how USNA formed a 2 1/2 year Cup followed by a 3 month Handle before breaking out in October of 2002.

As this example shows regardless of market conditions companies which have accelerating Sales and Earnings Growth have the potential to perform very well until their Sales and Earnings Growth begins to decelerate. If you don’t believe this go back and research some of the best performing stocks of all time and a majority of them will exhibit similar characteristics.

The key is to recognize those companies which are starting to establish a trend of accelerating Sales and Earnings Growth before everyone else does which takes a lot of time and research. This is what I do every week as I spend over 20 hours a week looking for companies that are starting to show signs of accelerating Sales and Earnings Growth. This is how I found USNA well before its stock price took off.

How Sales and Earnings Growth can affects a Stock’s Performance

If you go back through the history of the stock market there is a recurring theme among those stocks which have had some of the strongest price appreciation and it’s related to their Sales and Earnings Growth. Let’s look at two companies over the past few years and compare their Sales and Earnings Growth.

First let’s look at Microsoft (MSFT) which has hard meager Sales and Earnings Growth in 2002 and 2003. Since the market made a bottom in October of 2002 MSFT has seen very little price appreciation since then. Back in early October of 2002 MSFT was trading around $22 a share and in late March of 2004 MSFT was trading near $24 a share. Thus while the major averages saw significant gains from October of 2002 into the early part of 2004 MSFT was only up 9%.

Now let’s look at a stock which has been exhibiting strong Sales and Earnings Growth over the past year or so. As you can see below Taser (TASR) has seen accelerating Sales and Earnings Growth over the past two quarters which has been reflected in its stock price. TASR formed a "Cup and Handle" pattern before breaking out in September of 2003 and rose nearly 800% from September of 2003 through mid February of 2004.

As these examples show those companies which have accelerating Sales and Earnings Growth have the potential to perform very well while those with poor Sales and Earnings will languish even in a Bull Market environment. I would imagine those investors who have held MSFT over the past few years aren’t very happy as the stock price has virtually gone nowhere since October of 2002 into the early part of 2004.

The key is to recognize those companies which are starting to establish a trend of accelerating Sales and Earnings Growth before everyone else does which takes a lot of time and research. This is what I do every week as I spend over 20 hours a week looking for companies that are starting to show signs of accelerating Sales and Earnings Growth.

Day Trading Indicators and Indicator Trading

Did You Begin Day Trading As An Indicator Only Trader?

Did you start day trading after buying a book on technical analysis, and getting a charting program - probably a free one that you found online - in order to save money? While reading your book you learned about trading indicators which could ’predict’ price movement, and what do you know, the ’best’ indicators were actually included in your free charting program - let the games begin.

Now that you have all the day trading tools that are necessary, the book for education AND the free charting program with those ’best’ day trading indicators, you now need a day trading plan so you can decide which ones of those ’magic’ day trading indicators you are supposed to use. This really is a great book, besides telling you how to day trade using indicators to ’predict’ price - it also said that you need a trading plan to day trade.

So what should this plan be? The book told you about trend following using an indicator called macd, and it also told you how it was possible to pick the top or bottoms using an indicator called stochastic; my guess is that you picked the stochastic indicator to start your day trading - this must be the ’best of the best’ since this indicator was going to ensure you of entering your trades with the ’best’ price. Amazing, simply amazing how easy this day trading stuff really is. In fact, why even bother taking the trades, each time your indicators give a signal - just call up your broker and tell him to stick $100 in your account.

My book was Technical Analysis of the Futures Markets. My charting program was TradeStation with an eSignal fm receiver; that was the one that if you hung the antennae wires just right, and you put enough foil on the tips, you might even get quotes. I had sold a business before I started trading so I did have some capital - isn’t that how everyone gets into trading, you either sell a business or you lose your job? My indicator was the macd as I had decided that I was going to be a ’trend follower’ instead of a ’top-bottom picker’. I also decided that I was going to be ’extra’ clever, if one indicator was good than two indicators must be better, so I added a 20 period moving average. My first trade was a winner, then after many months of extensive therapy, I was finally able to forget the next twelve months - ahhh the memories ƒ؛

Learning To Day Trading - The Learning Progression

Beginning to day trade, or learning to day trade, as an indicator trader is very typical. This is also logical when you consider - HOW are you supposed to initially learn how to trade? Trading indicators are available to anyone who has a charting program, and simply using line crosses, or histogram color changes, provide ’easy’ signals to understand. If you will also take the time to learn the arithmetic behind your indicators, as well as learning what each indicator is specifically intended to do, not only is this a logical way to begin, it is also a good ’step’ in your learning progression - understanding the WHAT you are doing, instead of attempting to create ’canned’ indicator only trading systems, without any regard as to WHY you are trading this way.

This does become one of the ’sticking’ points in your learning progression, as you come to find out that you are unable to profitably trade indicators as signals only - now what? Now what - you ’can’t’ develop your own indicators, so you start doing google searches for day trading indicators and start buying your ’collection’ - they don’t ’work’ either. Now what - you buy a mechanical trading system - what does hypothetical results may not be indicative of real trading or future results mean? Now what - you start subscribing to signal services OR you start joining the ’latest and greatest’ chat room - am I really the only person using the signals who isn’t profitable?

Now what - you never learn how to trade.

I began trading as an indicator trader, and I did try to learn everything that I could about the various indicators, as well as trying to combine indicators that were consistent with how I wanted to trade - I just could never develop a mechanical day trading system from what was available to me. I read a couple more books that didn’t really help me, so I then started looking for someone who could teach me. From what I now know about gurus -vs- teachers, I am very lucky that I got involved with a money manager-trader who taught me a tremendous amount, but I still couldn’t get profitable, in part because there was also ’pressure’ to learn how to trade using real money. As well, any discussions or thoughts about trading psychology and the issues involved, especially to beginning traders, was non-existent.

Now what - learning but losing - I stopped trading. Learning to trading using real money, and ’scoffing’ at trading psychology as simply individual weakness, really was something that I now regard as misinformation. I always mention this as I now feel that this cost me as much as a year of time, and was very close to costing me my trading future, as stopped trading was VERY close to quitting trading. How can’t trading psychology be real to a beginner, when you consider that you are risking losing money at a very fast pace as a day trader, and when you further consider that you are also doing this when you really don’t know what you are doing - this is NOT by definition being weak. And if trading psychology is real, how are you going to learn to make ’good’ trading habits with real money while you are fighting the implications?

Now what - not trading and not ready [quite] to quit - still studying and searching.

Probably the single most important ’thing’ that got me to a next step in learning how to trade, was the concept of a trading setup, and that a setup and a signal were not the same. This was extremely meaningful to me, as it also led to an understanding of how to better use trading indicators for the information that they can provide, but not to use them as trading signals - in essence I began learning about trading method where discretion could be consistently applied -vs- trading system that was mechanical and arithmetic rules.

Traders who are indicator only traders, are also what I refer to right side only traders, that is they are always looking at the right side of their charts for an indicator signal. BUT what about the left side of the chart, what about price and patterns, what about market conditions - WHAT about the relevant ’things’ that are ’moving’ price, instead of indicators only as an arithmetic derivative of price, and thus, one that is dependant on the time frame that you have chosen to trade from? These ’thoughts’, along with the concept of trade setup, became instrumental in the development of a trading method, and how I came to turning my trading around.

When I think about the steps in my learning progression - I would list them as follows:

2/95 - 6/96 indicators only teaching service that included signals learning to trading with real money and trading psychology issues stop trading

6/96 - 3/97 understanding of trading psychology issues learning about trading setups concept trading method -vs- trading system trade setup - trade trigger are not the same method development understand the importance of the left side of the chart and what is happening ’across’ the chart related trading setups and how/when they triggered indicators + pattern indicators + pattern + price indicators + pattern + price + market conditions

3/97 - 11/97 able to paper trade profitably able to real money trade profitably able to trade for a living

Indicator Only Day Trader - Setup Including Indicators Method Day Trader

I have attempted to discuss the way I started day trading, and the way I think many-most traders typically begin. Along with this, I have pointed various issues and problems that I had - those regarding how to learn to trade, and then progressing into a profitable trader. My experiences have been both personal, as well as those of many traders that I have worked with over the last 8-9 years through Tactical Trading - that a very large number of these problems are due to day trading only with indicators, the specific indicators used, along with trying to turn these indicators into a mechanical trading system. This is not to say that this can’t be done - I simply couldn’t do it. However, I would strongly suggest that anyone who is in the early stages of day trading, or struggling with their day trading, consider these things that have been discussed.

This discussion, along with chart examples of various trading indicators and trade setups, is continued at
http://www.tacticaltradingmethod.com/indicator-trading.html
Copyright © 2006 Tactical Trading, LLC. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

How to choose a Forex Broker?

Forex brokers need to be associated with a large financial institution such as a bank in order to provide the funds necessary for margin trading. In the United States a broker should be registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as protection against fraud and abusive trade practices.

Before trading Forex you need to set up an account with a Forex broker. You may feel overwhelmed by the number of forex brokers who offer their services online. Deciding on a broker requires lots of research on your part. There are several areas to examine before you sign on the dotted line with any broker. Here are some things that you need to look for in making your choice:

1. Safety of Funds
   Is the broker regulated? Are client funds insured?
   
2. Order execution
   How fast is the broker’s order execution?
   Will they place you on manual execution?
   Do they offer automatic execution?
   How much can you trade before having to request a quote?
   Do they offset all clients orders?
   Do they trade against their clients?
   
3. Spread
   Is it fixed or variable?
   How tight is the spread?
   Is it larger for mini accounts?
4. Slippage
   How much slippage can be expected in normal and fast moving market conditions?
5. Margin requirements
   What are the margin requirements and how are they calculated? Does the margin change with currency traded? Is it the same for mini accounts and standard accounts?
6. Forex Trading Platform
   Is it reliable during fast moving markets and news announcements?
   How many different currency pairs can you trade?
   Do they offer an Application Programming Interface (API) for automated systems trading?
   What other features does it offer? (One click trading from the chart, trailing stops, mobile trading etc.)
7. Account Size
   What is the minimum account balance?
   Can you trade mini accounts?
   Do you earn interest on the unused equity in your account?
   Can you adjust the standard lot size traded?

Forex FAQ

• What is Foreign Exchange?
• Where is the central location of the FX Market?
• Who are the participants in the FX Market?
• When is the FX market open for trading?
• What are the most commonly traded currencies in the FX markets?
• Is Forex trading capital intensive?
• What is Margin?
• What does it mean have a ’long’ or ’short’ position?
• What about terms like "bid/ask", "spread", and "rollover"?
• What is the difference between an "intraday" and "overnight position"?
• How are currency prices determined?
• How do I manage risk?
• What kind of trading strategy should I use?
• How often are trades made?
• How long are positions maintained?
• I am interested in foreign exchange trading, but would like some additional information. Any suggestions?

What is Foreign Exchange?

The Foreign Exchange market, also referred to as the "Forex" or "FX" market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average turnover of approximately US$1.5 trillion. Foreign Exchange is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. The world’s currencies are on a floating exchange rate and are always traded in pairs, for example Euro/Dollar or Dollar/Yen.

Where is the central location of the FX Market?

FX Trading is not centralized on an exchange, as with the stock and futures markets. The FX market is considered an Over the Counter (OTC) or ’Interbank’ market, due to the fact that transactions are conducted between two counterparts over the telephone or via an electronic network.

Who are the participants in the FX Market?

The Forex market is called an ’Interbank’ market due to the fact that historically it has been dominated by banks, including central banks, commercial banks, and investment banks. However, the percentage of other market participants is rapidly growing, and now includes large multinational corporations, global money managers, registered dealers, international money brokers, futures and options traders, and private speculators.

When is the FX market open for trading?

A true 24-hour market, Forex trading begins each day in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins in each financial center, first to Tokyo, then London, and New York. Unlike any other financial market, investors can respond to currency fluctuations caused by economic, social and political events at the time they occur - day or night.

What are the most commonly traded currencies in the FX markets?

The most often traded or ’liquid’ currencies are those of countries with stable governments, respected central banks, and low inflation. Today, over 85% of all daily transactions involve trading of the major currencies, which include the US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and the Australian Dollar.

Is Forex trading capital intensive?

No. FXA requires a minimum deposit of $250. FXA allows customers to execute margin trades at up to 200:1 leverage. This means that investors can execute trades of $10,000 with an initial margin requirement of $50. However, it is important to remember that while this type of leverage allows investors to maximize their profit potential, the potential for loss is equally great. A more pragmatic margin trade for someone new to the FX markets would be 20:1 but ultimately depends on the investor’s appetite for risk.

What is Margin?

Margin is essentially collateral for a position. If the market moves against a customer’s position, FXA will request additional funds through a "margin call." If there are insufficient available funds, FXA will immediately close out the customer’s open positions.

What does it mean have a ’long’ or ’short’ position?

In trading parlance, a long position is one in which a trader buys a currency at one price and aims to sell it later at a higher price. In this scenario, the investor benefits from a rising market. A short position is one in which the trader sells a currency in anticipation that it will depreciate. In this scenario, the investor benefits from a declining market. However, it is important to remember that every FX position requires an investor to go long in one currency and short the other.

What about terms like "bid/ask", "spread", and "rollover"?

FXA has an extensive Glossary that provides detailed definitions of all Forex related terms.

What is the difference between an "intraday" and "overnight position"?

Intraday positions are all positions opened anytime during the 24 hour period AFTER the close of FXA’s normal trading hours at 4:30pm EST. Overnight positions are positions that are still on at the end of normal trading hours (4:30pm EST), which are automatically rolled by FXA at competitive rates (based on the currencies interest rate differentials) to the next day’s price.

How are currency prices determined?

Currency prices are affected by a variety of economic and political conditions, most importantly interest rates, inflation and political stability. Moreover, governments sometimes participate in the Forex market to influence the value of their currencies, either by flooding the market with their domestic currency in an attempt to lower the price, or conversely buying in order to raise the price. This is known as Central Bank intervention. Any of these factors, as well as large market orders, can cause high volatility in currency prices. However, the size and volume of the Forex market makes it impossible for any one entity to "drive" the market for any length of time.

How do I manage risk?

The most common risk management tools in FX trading are the limit order and the stop loss order. A limit order places restriction on the maximum price to be paid or the minimum price to be received. A stop loss order ensures a particular position is automatically liquidated at a predetermined price in order to limit potential losses should the market move against an investor’s position. The liquidity of the Forex market ensures that limit order and stop loss orders can be easily executed.

What kind of trading strategy should I use?

Currency traders make decisions using both technical factors and economic fundamentals. Technical traders use charts, trend lines, support and resistance levels, and numerous patterns and mathematical analyses to identify trading opportunities, whereas fundamentalists predict price movements by interpreting a wide variety of economic information, including news, government-issued indicators and reports, and even rumor. The most dramatic price movements however, occur when unexpected events happen. The event can range from a Central Bank raising domestic interest rates to the outcome of a political election or even an act of war. Nonetheless, more often it is the expectation of an event that drives the market rather than the event itself.

How often are trades made?

Market conditions dictate trading activity on any given day. As a reference, the average small to medium trader might trade as often as 10 times a day. Most importantly, by not charging commission, FXA customers can take positions as often as necessary without worrying about excessive transaction costs.

How long are positions maintained?

As a general rule, a position is kept open until one of the following occurs: 1) realization of sufficient profits from a position; 2) the specified stop-loss is triggered; 3) another position that has a better potential appears and you need these funds.

I am interested in foreign exchange trading, but would like some additional information. Any suggestions?

In The Forex Market section we describe the foreign exchange market in some detail. In order to gain a practical understanding of foreign exchange trading, there is no better way than to open a demo account, where you can experience what it’s like to trade the Forex market without risking any capital.

Forex trading basics

The Foreign Exchange market (also referred to as the Forex, FX market, "Cash" Forex or Spot Forex market ) is the largest financial market in the world, with more than $1.5 trillion changing hands every day — 30 times larger than the combined volume of all U.S. equity markets. Another major feature of the Forex market is that it operates 24 hours a day, corresponding to the opening and closing of financial centers in countries all across the world, starting each day in Sydney, then Tokyo, London and New York. At any time, in any location, there are buyers and sellers, making the Forex market the most liquid market in the world.

What to trade in Forex Market?

In the forex market, currency trading is always done in currency pairs, such as EUR/USD or GBP/USD. Accordingly, all trades result in the simultaneous buying of one currency and the selling of another. The base currency is the "basis" for the buy or the sell. It is useful to consider the currency pair as an instrument, which can be bought or sold.

Understanding Forex quote

• Base currency: The first currency in the pair.
• Counter Currency: The second currency in the pair. Also known as the terms currency.

The US dollar is the centerpiece of the Forex market and is normally considered the ’base’ currency for quotes. This includes USD/JPY, USD/CHF and USD/CAD. For these currencies and many others, quotes are expressed as a unit of $1 USD per the second currency quoted in the pair. For example, a quote of USD/CAD 1.1302 means that one U.S. dollar is equal to 1.1302 Canadian dollar.

BID and ASK Prices

When trading forex you will often see a two-sided quote, consisting of a ’bid’ and ’ask’. The ’bid’ is the price at which you can sell the base currency (at the same time buying the counter currency). The ’ask’ is the price at which you can buy the base currency (at the same time selling the counter currency).

Commission-free, but with spreads

Most Forex brokers offer commission-free Forex trading. Spread - The difference between the bid and ask price of a currency. Normally 3-5 pips on the Majors.

Rollover - What happens to my open positions at the end of the trading day?

Process whereby the settlement of a deal is rolled forward to another value date. The cost of this process is based on the interest rate differential of the two currencies. Most brokers will automatically roll over your open positions, allowing you to hold a position for an indefinite period of time.

Leverage & Margin

The leverage available in forex trading is one of main attractions for many traders. Leveraged trading, or trading on margin, simply means that you are not required to put up the full value of the position. Forex brokers provide more leverage than stocks or futures. In forex trading, the amount of leverage available can be up to 400 times the value of your account.

Futures Spread Trading of Forex

How professional traders optimize profits

Futures spread trading is probably the most profitable, yet safest way to trade futures. Almost every professional trader uses spreads to optimize his profits. Trading spreads offers many advantages which make it the perfect trading instrument, especially for beginners and traders with small accounts (less than $10,000).

The following example of a Soybean-Spread shows the advantages of futures spread trading:

Example: Long May Soybeans (SK3) and Short November Soybeans (SX3)

Four Advantages of Futures Spread Trading

Advantage 1: Easy to trade

Do you see how nicely this spread starts trending in mid February? Whether you are a beginner or an experienced trader, whether you use chart formations or indicators, the existence of a trend is obvious. (If you are looking for a concept of how to identify a trend, we strongly recommend visiting http://www.tradingeducators.com/?source=Tradejuicetrading_philosophy.htm). Spreads tend to trend much more dramatically than outright futures contracts. They trend without the interference and noise caused by computerized trading, scalpers, and market movers.

Advantage 2: Low Margin requirements

Many spreads have reduced margin requirements, which means that you can afford to put on more positions. While the margin on an outright futures position in corn is $540, a spread trade in corn requires only $135 — 25% as much. That’s a great advantage for traders with a small account. With a $10,000 trading account risking 8% of your account, you can enter 6 corn spreads, instead of only 1-2 outright corn futures trade. How’s that for leverage?

Advantage 3: Higher return on margin

Each point in the spread carries the same value ($50) as each point in the outright futures ($50). That means that on a 3 point favorable move in corn futures or a 3 point favorable move in the spread, you would earn $150. However, the difference in return on margin is extraordinary:
Corn futures - $150/$540 = 27.8% return
Corn spread - $150/$135 = 111% return
And keep in mind that you can trade 6 times as many spread contracts as you can outright futures contracts. In our example you would achieve a 24 times higher return on you margin.

Advantage 4: Low time requirements

You don’t have to watch a spread all day long. You do not need real-time data. The most effective way to trade spreads is using end-of-day data. Therefore, spread trading is the best way to trade if you do not want to watch or cannot watch your computer all day long (i.e. because you have a daytime job). And you can save all the money you would have had to spend for real-time data systems (up to $600 per month).
So where is the catch?
If futures spread trading is so fantastic, why does it seems that hardly anybody trades spreads? Well, it is not true that hardly anybody trades spreads: the professional traders do, every day. But either by accident or design, the whole truth of spread trading has been hidden from the public over the years.
The purpose of this website is to inform you about futures spread trading. In the following we will answer the four frequently asked questions:

• What is a spread?
• Why trade spreads?
• What can you expect when trading spreads?

What Is a Spread?

A spread is defined as the sale of one or more futures contracts and the purchase of one or more offsetting futures contracts. You can turn that around to state that a spread is the purchase of one or more futures contracts and the sale of one or more offsetting futures contracts. A spread is also created when a trader owns (is long) the physical vehicle and offsets by selling (going short) futures. Furthermore, a spread is defined as the purchase and sale of one or more offsetting futures contracts normally recognized as a spread by the fact that the two sides of the spread are actually related in some way. This explicitly excludes those exotic spreads put forth by some vendors, which are nothing more than computer generated coincidences which are not in any way related. Such exotic spreads as Long Bond futures and Short Bean Oil futures may show up as reliable computer generated spreads, but bean oil and bonds are not really related. Such spreads fall into the same category as believing the annual performance of the U.S. stock market is somehow related to the outcome of the Super Bowl sporting event. In any case, for tactical reasons in carrying out a particular strategy, you want to end up with:

• simultaneously long futures of one kind in one month, and short futures of the same kind in another month. (Intramarket Calendar Spread)
• simultaneously long futures of one kind, and short futures of another kind. (Intermarket Spread)
• long futures at one exchange, and short a related futures at another exchange. (Inter-exchange Spread)
• long an underlying physical commodity, and short a futures contract. (Hedge)
• long an underlying equity position, and short a futures contract. (Hedge)
• long financial instruments, and short financial futures. (Hedge)
• long a single stock futures and short a sector index.

The primary ways in which this can be accomplished are:

• Via an Intramarket spread.
• Via an Intermarket spread.
• Via an Inter-exchange spread.
• By ownership of the underlying and offsetting with a futures contract.

Intramarket Spreads

Officially, Intramarket spreads are created only as calendar spreads. You are long and short futures in the same market, but in different months. An example of an Intramarket spread is that you are Long July Corn and simultaneously Short December Corn.

Intermarket Spreads

An Intermarket spread can be accomplished by going long futures in one market, and short futures of the same month in another market. For example: Short May Wheat and Long May Soybeans.
Intermarket spreads can become calendar spreads by using long and short futures in different markets and in different months.

Inter-Exchange Spreads

A less commonly known method of creating spreads is via the use of contracts in similar markets, but on different exchanges. These spreads can be calendar spreads using different months, or they can be spreads in which the same month is used. Although the markets are similar, because the contracts occur on different exchanges they are able to be spread. An example of an Inter-exchange calendar spread would be simultaneously Long July Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wheat, and Short an equal amount of May Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBOT) Wheat. An example of using the same month might be Long December CBOT Wheat and Short December KCBOT Wheat.

What is Forex ?

The Foreign Exchange market, also referred to as the "Forex" or "FX" market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average turnover of approximately US$1.5 trillion. Foreign Exchange is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. The world’s currencies are on a floating exchange rate and are always traded in pairs, for example Euro/Dollar or Dollar/Yen.