Online Trading Academy Dubai was recognized last year when it received Best Educational Institute Award from Arabcom.

The Dubai campus joined the growing franchise network and became the 1st Middle East campus for Online Trading Academy in 2005.

Since then they have had over 700 gradates complete the training courses in various assets classes such as: forex, equities/stock, options, futures/commodities and wealth management.

At Online Trading Academy Dubai courses are taught in both Arabic and English for individual trader/investors and brokers.

This unique education environment allows students to practice what they are taught in class by trading live using real money, Online Trading Academy’s money, in its Professional Trader course.

This allows students to practice what they were taught without risking their own money or paying commission costs. With a firm commitment to their students, Online Trading Academy also offers free course retakes at any of the over 30 worldwide locations.

N2 Capital Markets will be sending out speaker to the conference, which will see international experts from the Forex industry sharing knowledge in the Forex and financial market. Attendees could expect to learn new trading techniques, news and charting in Forex, Gold and many more, the details of which can also be obtained at N2 cm’s stand (F14) in the Exhibition Hall.

Mr. Ouseh, a director at N2 Training Division (N2fx Training Center) says this is a good opportunity for potential Forex traders to learn more about online Forex trading from a number of experts. He also added N2cm stand is open for potential traders to interact with N2 Forex Instructors and learn about N2 services.

1. Fear
2. Greed
3. Ego.

So many issues in trading are against our own human nature. A simple example is that commodity traders risk their hard earned capital on a trade. Isn’t it logical that if you put your hard earned money in an idea… you would expect it to work and make money…otherwise why would you risk hard earned money? You believe that the trade will make you money..that is why you put it on in the first place, Right?

Wrong… just because you put on the trade..it does not have to work.. Too many a trader do not sell and take a quick loss because they think they are right.. Guess what…The only thing that is right is to follow your plan with discipline and patience.
The real crux of successful commodity and forex trading boils down to how you think. Emotions such as the above mentioned can destroy ones commodity trading career. I have seen it… I do this everyday except Saturday and Sunday. I live it…

Here are some simple examples of mistakes that I have seen commodity traders make.

1. The commodity trader exits a trade early. He does not follow his plan…or mechanical trading system. He has a small open trade loss which has not gotten to his stop loss and because of fear ( maybe ego)… he exits prematurely and does not let the trade either get stopped out or work.
2. A commodity trader quits trading during a draw down ( probably right before a nice rebound). I have seen investors in commodity trading advisors quit and blame the commodity trading advisor & say that trend following does not work any more ( FEAR). Shortly their after if they had stayed in with the commodity trading advisor their account would have rebounded and they would have continued to compound their way to wealth. Draw downs are all part of this. More so the greatest draw down is always ahead of you.
3.I have seen commodity traders take profits and exit before their stops have been hit. They over ride their plan or mechanical trading system because they are afraid of giving back an open profit. One of the major tenants of trend following is LET YOUR PROFITS RUN!. These traders miss the big moves because of a combination of fear …or maybe greed.
4.I have seen traders not take a loss when they should of. Again they over ride their plan. Maybe out of ego…they do not want to accept they were wrong and the trade did not work. Worse.. I have seen commodity traders insist they are right and add to their losing position. Doing things like this are the seeds of destruction of a commodity trader.

Really I can keep on going…but in order to succeed…one needs to park their emotions and let the market tell them what to do. This is the whole basis of trend following.

So what is the point here… if you want to succeed in commodity trading, you have choices.. you can learn and trade yourself. This takes tremendous work and commitment. I know.. I have been there…If you are committed…develop a plan…you follow it with patience and discipline you stand the chance of succeeding over time. Another alternative is to allocate to a commodity trading advisor that has done the work and learned what has the chance of succeeding overtime.

You must understand how the commodity trading trades…and probably more important how they think about risk and money management. I trade with my colleagues which reinforces the needed discipline and patience…as well as allocate to other commodity trading advisors.

Finding the right commodity trading advisor is surely not easy. However an initial four quick questions you can separate the potential successful commodity trading advisors and the want to bes..

1. What is their risk per trade
2. What is their risk per sector
3. What is their total open trade risk
4. What is their margin to equity..

Ask these questions…know what you are comfortable with. I wish you much success in your commodity trading career.

Andrew Abraham
www.myinvestorsplace.com

Andrew Abraham has been in the financial arena since 1990. He is a commodity trading ddvisor and co manager of a Commodity Pool. Since 1993 Andrew has been a proponent of quantitative mechanical trading programs. Andrew’s major concern is not only total return on investment but rather the amount of risk that one would have to tolerate in order to achieve returns He focuses on developing quant models that encompass strict risk adherence and correlation. He has been a speaker at conferences as well as an author of numerous articles. Andrew has spent years researching ideas that have the potential to outperform indices as well as maintain fewer draw downs.

Visit Angus Jackson Partners (http://www.angusjacksonpartners.com) Contact: A.Abraham@AngusJackson.com (mailto:A.Abraham@AngusJackson.com)

© 2009 Copyright Andrew Abraham – All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

What is Scalping?

Forex scalping is the trading method by which the trader makes quick and small profits by opening and closing new positions within minutes. A scalped trade can remain open for three to five minutes, with the majority of such trades staying open for as little as one minute. Scalping is a popular trading method primarily because the inherent risk of Forex is minimized when scalping. Since trades are only open for a minimal amount of time, the danger in a fluctuating market is much lower than in traditional trading methods due to a lower level of market exposure.

While day traders are focused on concepts like trends and ranges, scalpers concern themselves mainly with the bid-ask spread. The volatility of the Forex market, therefore, affects scalpers less than a trend follower or day trader.

Is Scalping for Everyone?

Scalping is most definitely not a suitable trading method for the majority of Forex traders. The profits made from scalping are understandably much lower, and the scalper depends on many small profits as opposed to making it big with one specific position. The scalping technique lowers your risk as a trader, and on the flip side, lowers your potential for great profit. When all of a scalper’s small profits are combined, is where they make their money.

Taking human nature into account, the scalper has to be a patient and diligent individual who is willing to forego the desire for instant gratification, and wait patiently while their trading account grows. An excited and impulsive person will achieve nothing by scalping, in fact, their blood pressure and frustration are sure to increase.

Another characteristic that is necessary for successful scalping is a high level of concentration. While some day traders might open a position, go out to eat, then come back and close the position based on the latest market developments, the scalper must be concentrated on their open positions at all times, and have their finger on the trigger, in preparation for their next move. It requires a serious attention span as well as the ability to stay glued to one screen for an extended period of time.

If you are not a full time trader, and do your trading on the side, you must realize that scalping is a time consuming technique that might not be suitable for your schedule. There is always the automatic traders option, but that is a dangerous option, as we have discussed before. A trader that feels that scalping is the right method for them can also consider semi automatic scalping systems.

With such a tool, your scalping would not require you to stay glued to your screen full time, but would still require a high level of attention.

The Importance of Consistency

Forex trading in general, requires consistency on the part of the trader. This is magnified when it comes to scalpers. Trading unpredictable size positions will inevitably lead to a closing of your trading account. The scalping method, after all, is based on the principle that your small profits will overpower your losses. This will not necessarily work if you open large trades, and lose.

Keep the size of your trades consistent, don’t get greedy, and you are very likely to benefit from the scalping technique assuming you meet the above requirements.

With the help of the newly announced features, CH Devisen Macht has been able to provide forex traders with an excellent Forex trading platform, which will help traders to maximize their trading potential. The efficient client-support means that its clients will stay a step ahead than the clients of its Swiss Competitors. The clients should benefit from the lowest possible fees and the most advanced market prediction tools. In fact the companies’ aggressive move, posits an influx of clients who presently stay with its competitors.

Full time traders will find CH Devisen Macht an invaluable part of their trading exercise. Even if clients fail to find enough time to fulfill their daily forex trading obligations, the Managed Accounts feature of this forex broker can handle their daily transactions on their behalf. The risk management features of the company are one of the best when compared to the swiss forex trading market.

The Managed Accounts feature enables busy clients to fully concentrate on their most-important tasks without worrying about their daily forex trading obligations. The advanced forex prediction tools offered by CH Devisen Macht help you to identify the currency pairs on which you can rely on in the near future. This gives you a significant advantage above other traders present in the market. With this tool, you will also be able to find out the favorable trading times in the trading market. This allows you to trade only when trading circumstances favor your trading preferences.

The advanced forex prediction tools also give you strong indications as to whether you need to focus on one or different currency pairs. This gives you the best chance to make sustained gains from forex trading. CH Devisen Macht connects its clients directly with the Swiss Foreign Exchange Marketplace. Its clients will be able to take advantage of the Swiss Foreign Exchange, which is home to the richest collection of interbank spot forex liquidity. The give up facility is also provided as part of the full Broker capability offered to its members.

Seasoned Forex Trading observers are of the opinion that CH Devisen Macht’s trading platform is among the safest and most secure trading platforms currently available. You can trade any amount of money you desire without concern as you will be able to manipulate even the finest details of your order execution. It has also provided several risk management tools, which helps you immensely in your endeavor to trade securely. The CH Devisen Macht trading platform also makes trading an effortless task as you will be able to carry out trading with just a single “click” of your mouse. It also provides 24/6 support to those clients who prefer to trade over the phone.

With the variety of new features announced by CH Devisen Macht, it promises to take forex trading to the next level. The very low transaction fees offered should encourage a much higher volume of trading. The account features will help even the busiest people to indulge in daily trading. The advanced forex prediction tools will enable traders to have a much better grasp of what can be expected to happen in the near future of the forex trading market, which is indispensable for effective trading. CH Devisen Macht has also made arrangements for fast forex trading. In addition, the risk management tools make trading a tension-free exercise.

However, with the plethora of investment options available, Nitin is a little confused in what he would like to invest in. He has homed in to good investment avenues – Forex trading and commodity trading. He has found that Commodity trading and Forex trading are two of the most popular ways to invest and two of the markets which are easiest to make money in. He has also found that most traders have turned to commodities and Forex over stocks due to the overall decreasing value of stocks in the stock market and that many people are making their fortunes using these methods.

However, since his confusion was not readily resolved, he decided to analyze both the options so that he could determine which would be easiest for him to trade in, which would be most profitable and which would be most consistent. Here’s what he found.

Ease of trading

Commodities can be fairly easy to trade because their value is usually based directly on supply and demand. When anything being traded is directly based on supply and demand, it’s trend will be more predictable.

Forex can be rather easy to trade if you are using the right trading system or strategy, however, Forex can also be very complex if you are unsure about the system or strategy you are using.

Profitability

Commodity trading can be very profitable; however it depends on the amount of money you initially invest.

Currency trading can also be extremely profitable. With an average daily turnover of over $1.3 trillion, millions of people are earning their fortunes by trading in the forex market. Traders also have the option of trading with leverage. While trading with leverage is risky, it increases your potential to make money.

Consistency

Trading commodities can be consistent; however one of the only ways to predict future values is by utilizing market news and analytics.

The Forex market is overall more consistent than commodities. Forex trends can be predicted using set techniques. There are many trading strategies available on forums which can be learned and, best of all, proven Forex signal services offer traders the opportunity to trade with automated signals which tell them what to trade & when to trade it.

Predictability

Commodity prices can jump all around the board depending on demand, weather, crop percentages planted, oil found or not found, etc. This decreases the amount of change you can predict.

Forex markets are more predictable. Sure, currency prices can fluctuate and become volatile at times, but there is more of a pattern involved with Forex. There are more trends created in Forex that can be followed compared to the commodity market. This can make it easier to be consistent when trading Forex.

Finding Information

Information about trading commodities can be fairly difficult to find, especially information which is free. There is an ample amount of information available, but a lot of it is costly to obtain.

Forex information is much more accessible and most of it is free. You can also sign up for practice accounts at many forex sites and actually try your hand at forex trading without risking your capital. This makes for a great introduction to forex trading and lets you know what the possibilities are. These practice accounts in forex trading are typically not available in the commodities arena.

In conclusion

Owing to the above mentioned factors it is easy to see that the balance tips in the favour of forex trading. However, you must always make decisions based on your investment plans and goals. Reading up on more information would always help in taking the right decision.

The Portfolio model offers a way to reduce total portfolio volatility in the wake of the stock market rally that saw many investors turn away from Forex trading.

“Many investors are staying out of the Forex market – either because they lost money and have given up, or because they simply don’t know where to put their money,” said David Karsbøl, Chief Economist at Saxo Bank and Trading Floor commentator. “The Saxo Bank Forex Portfolio Model is a way of re-activating this idle money by applying them in a low-cost and relatively low risk fashion.”

The portfolio model is based on the Saxo Bank Fundamental Indices that measure the underlying economic strength (contraction or expansion) of 10 currencies: NZD, AUD, CAD, JPY, EUR, GBP, USD, CHF, SEK, and NOK. This should give a theoretical 45 possible currency crosses, but the model subtracts the12 most illiquid and expensive to trade and looks at 33.

The allocation signals are generated by the spreads in the fundamental indices and the idea is to always allocate more capital to the currencies with a relatively strong economic activity (and positive rate outlook) and fund the positions by going short on the currencies with weak economic activity (weak rate outlook).

The model allocates capital after changes in the spreads between the fundamental indices. For example, if the Eurozone Fundamental Index suddenly drops relative to the US Fundamental Index, the model (everything else being equal) would reduce exposure to EURUSD. Additionally, positions are scaled up or down according to the volatility of the currency crosses in question so that the expected risk-adjusted return for positions in EURCHF is the same as for positions in EURCAD.

“The model is always well diversified and is always in the market,” said David Karsbøl. “It is therefore not exposed to timing issues.”

The model doesn’t use stops, since the overall volatility of returns tends to be low (especially on single leverage). One particularly interesting feature is that returns tend to be almost completely uncorrelated to returns in stock markets (correlation = 0.1) and other risky asset classes (correlation to the CRB Index is 0.11).

In back testing since 1991, the model has produced annual returns of 5.34% using single leverage, 10.58% using double leverage and 15.67% with triple leverage.

“Therefore, if the back-testing is indicative of future returns, it would make a lot of sense to use part of one’s portfolio to allocate to the FX Model and thereby decreasing overall portfolio volatility without lowering returns too much or at all, depending on the leverage used.”

About Trading Floor:
Trading Floor is run by Saxo Bank – one of the most successful of the new generation of trading platforms. Trading Floor delivers trading strategy and knowledge about key industry events and global trends within commodity markets including CDF trading and Forex strategy. Good information drives profitable decision-making, making Trading Floor an important tool for anyone involved in the markets. Trading Floor aims to inform, inspire and provide an entertaining read for the contemporary trader.

These days, traders are looking increasingly towards the wide forex market to take benefit of the latest economic trends and diversify their portfolios. The energy, commodities, equity indicies, and shares in the forex markets are always moving. In fact, the demand to keep updating with the latest price and date related to commodities like gold & silver along with equities has also increased. Addressing to meet this constant growing demand and provide easy access to forex market from a single trading platform, the STIFX’s MetaTrade4 is the most up-to-date trading platform and an answer for all traders to perform trading more successfully.

Developed for active traders and professional forex traders, MetaTrader4 online trading platform is a hybrid application that is simple enough to be used and tailored to adapt to meet the growing needs of forex traders. STIFX’s MetaTrade 4 offers traders a wide range of useful tools and functionality, including advantages like:

1) Windows-based click and deal trading platform that helps in trading executions within second
2) Real-time margining, mini statements detailing along with realised and unrealised profit & loss summaries
3) Real-time news & analysis of data pre and post release
4) Regular economic updates and FX commentaries

In an era where technical quick adaptability rules and electronic bars are constantly being raised, the introduction of this new, simple and user-friendly platform by STIFX will surely revolutionize the practice of commodity trading. All that a trader requires to do is open the account with 4 easy steps:

1. Fill in live form and upload or fax/email identification document
2. Sign risk disclosure agreement
3. Receive live account details
4. Deposit funds by credit/debit card, wire transfer and other payment methods

“We know that traders always want to place and enjoy a trade when the conditions are right. The launch of our online forex trading platform will surely allow traders a fast and easy way to place an order, whether it is to enter, close or hedge a position. This new product can be considered as a powerful forex software program designed for traders who want the latest in technology and usability to trade the $3.2 trillion daily forex market,” said the Managing Director, STIFX.

About STIFX:
STIFX, forex trading broker provides forex trading (fx trading) along with currency, foreign exchange, equities trading, money transfer & exchange, CFD, stock and commodities gold silver trading, oil trading with same forex trading platform (Meta Trader 4). Committed to offer efficient and hassle free trading experience, the company even offers 24 hour global support. Making the best use cutting-edge technology based software, which constantly monitors all major currency pairs; STIFX provides translucent and easy execution to the foreign trade trader and online dealing stage.

Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) posted a quarterly loss of $1 billion on consumer credit woes, disappointing markets after more upbeat bank earnings results earlier in the week. For details, see [ID:nN15485899]

The dollar has traded inversely to stocks recently as the huge supply of dollars around the world and expectations of prolonged low U.S. interest rates fueled demand for other currencies and assets.

“The (FX) market is going to be focused on Bank of America and see if the Dow (Jones industrial average) closes down,” said Greg Salvaggio, vice president of trading at Tempus Consulting in Washington. “The dollar is at a precarious level and we’re watching the $1.50 (euro/dollar) bellwether level.

The dollar hit a 14-month low against the euro Thursday and matched those troughs earlier on Friday. The greenback also printed a fresh 14-month high against the Australian dollar Friday.

But the BofA results prompted traders to rethink positions ahead of the weekend.

In New York on Friday morning, the dollar index, a measure of its value against six major trading partner currencies, was up 0.3 percent at 75.72 .DXY.

The dollar added 0.7 percent against the yen at 91.18 yen JPY=, just shy of a three-week high of about 91.33 yen touched earlier on Friday.

The euro fell 0.5 percent to $1.4875 EUR=, almost a full cent down from the peaked touched earlier which was the highest since August last year.

YEN WEAKNESS WIDELY SPREAD

The Australian dollar was down 0.4 percent at $0.9172 AUD=, having earlier hit a 14-month high.

Sentiment toward the U.S. currency remains broadly negative, however, and is not far from 2009 lows against the euro and higher-yielding currencies, such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars.

Analysts said the dollar’s rise on Friday did not reflect any change in this broad scenario, but said investors were wary that currencies such as the euro and the Australian dollar may have limited scope for further gains.

The euro, in particular, faced stiff resistance before the key $1.50 level.

The yen bore the brunt of the dollar’s recovery on Friday, and also slid against other currencies, as Japanese investors sought out higher returns from foreign fixed income markets.

There was no reaction to the U.S. Treasury Department capital flows data.

Net overall capital inflows into the United States rebounded to $10.2 billion in August from a revised outflow of $107.7 billion the previous month, the government said on Friday. [ID:nN16345151].

“It’s not too exciting,” said Amelia Bourdeau, senior currency strategist at UBS in Stamford Connecticut. “I just think the TICs data is lagging, so there was very little reaction.”

Trading ranges in the European session were much narrower than they were in Asia, however, with dealers reluctant to take on too aggressive bets ahead of the European Central Bank and Bank of England policy decisions later in the day.

Australian data beat expectations for a fall in jobs in September, with 40,600 positions created instead, pushing the Aussie to a 14-month high against the U.S. currency as markets anticipated more interest rate hikes to come. [ID:nSYD431125]

U.S. aluminium producer Alcoa Inc (AA.N) reported a surprise third quarter profit, which boosted overall bullishness about a global recovery. [ID:nN07320124] European stocks rose 1 percent .FTEU3 and Wall Street futures pointed to a higher open too.

“The dollar looks like it will continue to fall as long as equities continue to hold or rally,” said Maurice Pomery, managing director of Strategic Alpha in London.

“Treasury yields remain soft and in fact, lower levels could be seen,” he said, noting the strong 10-year Treasury auction on Wednesday which drew solid demand from “indirect bidders”, often thought to be foreign central banks.

At 0955 GMT the dollar index .DXY, a measure of the greenback against six major currencies, was down 0.7 percent on the day at 75.96, not far off its 2009 low set last month at 75.827.

The euro was up 0.6 percent against the greenback at $1.4770 EUR= and the dollar was down 0.4 percent against the yen at 88.30 yen JPY=.

Wednesday’s eight-month low of 88.01 yen JPY= is the most immediate target, and a break below would bring January’s 13-year low of 87.10 yen into view as traders test how far and fast Japan’s Ministry of Finance will let the yen strengthen.

The biggest gainer was the Australian dollar, up 1.5 percent on the day to trade above $0.90 for the first time in 13 months AUD= and test options barriers at $0.9050.

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANKS

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia became the first central bank in the Group of 20 to raise its cash rate in this cycle. The move led to a general improvement in risk appetite and made leveraged carry trades even more attractive.

On the other hand, U.S. interest rates are set to remain anchored at record lows well into next year, making the dollar a possible funding currency for higher-yielding assets.

“The Aussie data was way above expectations … and certainly backs up what they did this week,” said Derek Halpenny, currency economist at BTM-UFJ in London, referring to the RBA’s rate hike.

“Equity markets are up, and the general sentiment there is good after the Alcoa figures,” he said, explaining that until U.S. interest rates and yields rise too, a backdrop of rising equities and risk appetite will be broadly dollar-negative.

Attention shifts to European interest rates now, with the ECB and BoE meetings. Both central banks are expected to keep rates at record lows of 1 and 0.5 percent, respectively, so the focus is what they say about their broader policy.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet might caution investors against high hopes of a speedy economic recovery. [ID:nL7664834]. There is also speculation that he might complain about the euro’s strength.

British rates are expected to remain on hold, although markets will be keen to get some insight on its quantitative easing programme. [ID:nL7579384]

“The BoE, which has (rightly) welcomed sterling’s (recent) slide, may resort to more guarded language as sterling is now the worst performing G10 currency, be it on a one-month or three-month horizon,” Citigroup strategists said in a note.

“On the other hand, the ECB has recently appeared more apprehensive of euro strength/dollar weakness, but is unlikely to deviate from language used in the G7 statement and its belief in the U.S. ’strong dollar’ policy,” they added.