What is a Candlestick?

What is a Candlestick?

Back in the day when Godzilla was still a cute little lizard, the Japanese created their own old school version of technical analysis to trade rice. A westerner by the name of Steve Nison
“discovered” this secret technique on how to read charts from a fellow Japanese broker and Japanese candlesticks lived happily ever after. Steve researched, studied, lived, breathed, ate candlesticks, began writing about it and slowly grew in popularity in 90s. To make a long story short, without Steve Nison, candle charts might have remained a buried secret. Steve Nison is Mr. Candlestick.

Okay so what the heck are candlesticks?

The best way to explain is by using a picture:

Candlesticks are formed using the open, high, low and close.

• If the close is above the open, then a hollow candlestick (usually displayed as white) is drawn.
• If the close is below the open, then a filled candlestick (usually displayed as black) is drawn.
• The hollow or filled section of the candlestick is called the “real body” or body.
• The thin lines poking above and below the body display the high/low range and are called shadows.
• The top of the upper shadow is the “high”.
• The bottom of the lower shadow is the “low”.

Forex Market Introduction

Money or currency is the ultimate commodity. Every time a company or government buys or sells products and services in a foreign country, they are subject to a foreign currency trade; the exchanging of one currency for another. Many individuals and organizations also trade currencies for speculative purposes. With all of these currency transactions going on daily, it is no wonder that the foreign currency exchange market, also known as "forex" or "fx" market, is the largest financial market in the world. It is much bigger than all of the U.S. stock markets combined, with a daily trading volume larger than that of all the world's stock markets put together.

Trillions of dollars of foreign exchange activity takes place every day. From 1997 to the end of 2000, daily forex trading volume surged from US$5 billion to US$1.5 trillion. The forex market continues to grow at a phenomenal rate.

Before the internet came along, only corporations and wealthy individuals could trade currencies in the forex market through the use of the proprietary trading systems of banks. These systems required as much as US$1 million to open an account. Thanks to advancements in online technology, today investors with only a few thousand dollars can have access to the forex market 24 hours a day.

For traders, forex trading provides an alternative to stock market trading. While there are thousands of stocks to choose from, there are only a few major currencies to trade (the Dollar, Yen, British Pound, Swiss Franc, and the Euro are the most popular). Forex trading also provides a lot more leverage* than stock trading, and the minimum investment to get started is a lot lower. Add to that the ability to choose flexible trading hours (forex trading goes on 24 hours a day) and you have the reason why so many stock traders have flocked to day trade currencies.

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.

Profiting With Forex

Profiting with Forex is today's most comprehensive guide to the enormous potential of Forex, the world's largest market. This expertly written resource explains how the global foreign exchange market works…which investing tools, techniques, and strategies have been used with great success in this market…and how you can generate profits in Forex, whether the other markets are up or down.
From the basic characteristics of the Forex market…to the full range of sophisticated investing methods, Profiting with Forex provides practical tips and guidelines for trading in this fast-paced world. This expert reference describes how businesses use Forex and shows how that experience can benefit both individual and institutional investors.

Written by two leading Forex experts, this complete investing resource uses basic economic principles, solid technical analysis, and lots of common sense to develop an arsenal of tools and techniques that will lead to winning results in the lucrative foreign exchange marketplace. Profiting with Forex includes everything that investors need to know about:
The many advantages of the Forex market_huge market size, ease of entry, profit potential, tax incentives, 24-hour trading, no commissions, increased leverage, and guaranteed stops
The basic terms of Forex trading_definitions of important concepts, including “pip,” “currency pair,” “contract” or “lot,” and more
Genesis and growth of the Forex market_how the Forex market emerged out of a changing global financial landscape and continues to change and adapt within that same volatile landscape
Fundamental factors that shape the Forex market_the U.S. government, inflation, the U.S. stock market, China and other emerging markets, oil, and breaking news
Fundamental tools for tracking Forex market changes_interest rates, Treasury International Capital Data, Consumer Price Index, S&P 500, U.S. dollar vs. Chinese yuan, balance of trade, crude oil futures, and news media
Technical analysis tools and indicators for gauging market sentiment_ such as moving averages, oscillating indicators such as, stochastics, Commodity Channel Index, Relative Strength Index and Fibonacci analysis
Filled with over 150 illustrations and figures, Profiting with Forex also shows investors how to combine their newly acquired knowledge of Forex fundamentals with proven trading techniques that can generate great rewards in the market.

WELCOME TO FOREX WORLD. WHERE YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN MONEY IN NO TIME

Forex Basics – Learn the background of the Foreign Exchange Market (Forex). How to Access the Forex. How to Analyze the Forex. How to Trade the Forex. Includes terminology, conventions and trading terms, like: Currency Names and Currency Pairs, Pricing, Pips, Liquidity, Leverage, Lots, Stop Losses, Trailing Stops... and more!
Technical Analysis – Learn about bars charts and candlesticks and patterns, used by the PROs to trade successfully. Learn about the various technical Indicators and which determine trends or oscillations, including: Moving Averages, Indicators & Oscillators: MACD, ROC, RSI, Stochastics... and more.
Money Management – Learn about Money Management, and the importance of a disciplined trading approach. Includes: Trading with sufficient capital, proper use of leverage, evaluating Risk/Reward, developing and following a Trading Plan, limiting downside risks with Stop Loss limits and protecting your profits with Trailing Stops.

Forex News Services

The following sites provide news coverage of events relevant to the forex markets:Bloomberg Currency NewsAbout Bloomberg:"Bloomberg's media services provide real-time and archived financial and market data, pricing, trading, news and communications tools in a single, integrated package to corporations, news organizations, financial and legal professionals and individuals around the world."DailyFXAbout DailyFX:DailyFX is a service of Forex Capital Markets (FXCM) providing 24-hour market news and analysis.Forex Trading News CenterAbout Forex Trading News Center:"The complete Forex portal offering live streaming forex rates, live forex charts, forex news, forex trading forecasts, technical analysis, currency converter, forex books and educational material."Forexnews.comAbout Forexnews.com:"Forexnews.com was created in January 1999 and is committed to enhancing public knowledge about the foreign exchange markets. The site offers the latest insights and analysis in currency markets, freely available to traders and researchers alike."FX Street Forex NewsAbout FX Street:Features real-time quotes, news, newsletters and interactive chats with forex experts from all over the world.Would you like to share your experiences with any of these forex news services, or suggest one we've missed? Please feel free to post your feedback in the comments below.

Forex Signal, Forex Signals Advice

Forex Signal, Forex Signals Advice There are lot's of Forex signals providers out there. New Forex traders might be thinking of looking for a reliable Forex signals provider. Is there any reliable Forex signals providers available?Personally, I will say do not pay for Forex signals. Think about it - if a Forex signals provider sells Forex signals for living, you can doubt their Forex trading skills? Or else if they are pretty good in Forex trading and making lot's of profit, I am wondering why do they still bother to sell Forex signals for money. Thus, what would be the value of such Forex signals providers? The answer is ZERO.There are Forex traders who have been relying on Forex signals arguing those Forex signals providers really help them making money in Forex trading. These Forex traders can even show their Forex trading logs as evidence. After some though, I came out with the assumption that assuming I am the owner of a Forex signals provider, in order for my business to be in black, obviously I need some satisfying customers......