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Risk to Reward Ratio

August 15th, 2009
by Ahmad Hassam

Many new traders think that a good entry into the markets for each trade is the key to success. Most are wrong, unfortunately. What is more important is trading with a good risk to reward ratio that has a high probability to making a profit. A risk to reward ratio compares the potential for reward with the potential for loss.

Risk is measured by the pips between the forecasted entry price and the forecasted price at which you want to exit the market in case of a losing trade. Risk is just a measure of how much you can lose in a trade. A trader must view each trade as a business transaction.

Reward is calculated by the pips between the forecasted entry price and the forecasted price at which you would want to exit the market in case of a winning trade. Reward is the expected number of pips that you want to make in a trade that will be a winner.

In order to manage risk properly, you need to look for high probability trades that have a risk to reward ratio of 1:2 or higher. However, this depends on the time frame that you want to trade. For example, suppose you are a day trader. You are looking for making only 30 pips in a trade. A stop loss of 15 pips is sufficient for the risk to reward ratio of 1:2.

However, suppose you are a swing trader or a position trader with a longer time frame. Your profit potential will be more on a longer time frame. Suppose you choose 200 pips as your expected profit. You will need to set your stop loss at 100 pips.

The reason that you need to set a higher stop loss is that on a larger time frame, small trends occur within the larger trend. Retracements on shorter time frame is much smaller as compared on the larger time frame. Your trade is going to be recycled. In order to be not stopped out, you need to calculate your risk to reward ratio appropriately.

You must agree that next to maximizing profits, the second most important thing for you is minimizing losses. A trading system that wins 50% of the time can still be profitable. The unfortunate thing about most of the traders is that they want to make money but dont know how to protect what they currently have.

You have 50/50 chance of market going your way just like flipping a coin. In case, the trade does not develop in your favor, you should cut your losses by using stop losses. In short, you cut your losses and let your winners run. This simple 50/50 strategy earns a profit even when a novice trader might experience a loss.

Consider the following different risk to reward ratios. For 2:1 risk to reward ratio, you will need 67% winners just to break even. For 1:1 risk to reward ratio, it means 50% winners to break even. 1:2 ratio means 33.5%. As I have said before, never ever trade when the risk to reward ratio is more than 1:2.

About the Author:
Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading and swing trading stocks and currencies. Trade Dow Futures. Learn Forex Trading.

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More on Technical Indicators

August 14th, 2009
by Ahmad Hassam

Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is the difference between the 26 day and 12 day exponential moving average. A 9 day exponential moving average called the signal or a trigger is plotted on top of MACD to show buy sell opportunities.

You can use MACD in three ways: Crossover, overbought/oversold conditions and divergences. In wide swinging markets, MACD proves most effective. When MACD falls below the signal line, the basic rule is to sell. Similarly, when MACD rises above the signal line and cuts it from below, it is a buy signal.

When the shorter moving average pulls away from the longer moving average, it is likely the price is overextended itself. This indicates, it will comeback to the realistic levels soon. MACD is also very useful tool in telling whether the market is overbought or oversold.

An indication that an end to the current trend may occur soon is when MACD diverges from the currency pair. A bearish divergence occurs when MACD is making new lows and the currency price fails to reach those lows. Similarly, a bullish divergence occurs when the MACD is making new highs but the currency price fails to reach those highs.

Momentum is an oscillator that indicates the rate of price change not the actual price level and it is the net difference between the currency pair closing price and the oldest closing price from the predetermined period. The signal is triggered when the oscillator crosses the zero line. The more responsive the momentum oscillator will be to the short term price fluctuations, the shorter the number of days included in the calculations.

Another important technical indicator is the Relative Strength Index (RSI). It indicates a markets current strength or weaknesses depending on where the prices close during a given period. RSI is plotted on a scale of 01-100. A buy signal is triggered when RSI moves up from the lower band above 30. Similarly, a sell signal is triggered when RSI moves down from the upper band and comes down below a level usually set at 70.

Rate of Change (ROC) is another version of momentum oscillator sometimes used. Instead of subtracting the oldest closing price from the current closing price, the ROC formula divides the current closing price with the oldest closing price.

One of the most popular indictors is the Volume Indicator. It is used to show the strength of an up or down movement. A movement accompanied by an increasing volume is more likely to continue strongly than a movement accompanied with decreasing volume.

Many traders use volume indicator as their only tool in trading. Others use it in conjunction with charts, economic news and geopolitical news. The Volume Indicator is a great source of confirmation, entry and exit signals and overall trading decisions. Learn to use these technical indicators. Become comfortable in using them and discerning trends on different currency pairs and time intervals.

About the Author:
Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading and swing trading stocks and currencies. Trade Dow Futures. Learn Forex Trading.

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Using Holiday Reviews When Travelling To Cuba

August 10th, 2009
by Jim Bowen

Travelling is not a simple thing. Travelling has always been a serious matter and a lot of individuals place travelling very high in terms of degree of significance. In any case whether any person plans a business tour or any recreational trip, either ways a person should be well informed with the facts and the realities about the place he wants to visit. Lack of knowledge in this regard can not be vindicated.

Not only will people take advantage of it, but also it will cost you a lot more than your actual budget. An ignorant person is most likely to be fooled by others. Therefore, it is in your best interest to gain all the information that you can.

Imagine yourself being lost in a maze when it is dark. You will be struck by feelings of fear, anxiety, curiosity, and bewilderment. It will be a total chaos. Now envision that you by a strike of good luck get a map and a lantern. Wouldn’t you be relieved? Holiday reviews are just like map and lantern in this situation. They serve as guidelines for prospect travellers.

A great number of tourists get benefit from holiday reviews when travelling to Cuba for this same motive. They want to be on the precise track and not get trapped because of unawareness. If you wish to know about the holiday reviews; as the name describes, these holiday reviews are the facts and information material that helps tourists in getting to recognize all facts about the place they have planned to visit. The reviewers share their views and this helps the future tourists get well equipped for the journey.

Cuba is an expensive city, particularly for tourists. There have been some reports that the tourists are most of the times charged with a greater cost on many objects like food, travelling, or other shopping goods. In order to pay reasonably for a commodity or a service in Cuba, it is necessary for the prospect tourist to be updated with the present prices and charges.

Many holiday review sites offer rates of the concerned products and services along with the places to be visited. By knowing such facts before hand one can also work out the total budget that will be required for the tour and can therefore make a financial plan. This is undoubtedly going to benefit you.

Never miss out the must to do things in Cuba and for this reason many prospect tourist refers to holiday reviews, when planning to travel to Cuba. If any individual is going for a short trip, then he would wish to see the most central places that subsist in the area. With the help of reviews, he can plan his itinerary and set his priorities accurately. He will also know what to expect when travelling to Cuba and hence be prepared subsequently.

Conclusively you set the moderate expectations that are something which is morally apt to do. You should not expect a lot as you may find disappointment. However, with the help of reviews, you will know what you are most likely to witness. During our journeys, we make mistakes that we regret. Reviewers share their experiences and any mistake they have made, which might have cost them something. Their story will help the prospect tourist to be careful in that similar regards narrowing down the possibilities of any errors that are in likely to happen. Holiday reviews are most likely to assist you get well organised and equipped to visit Cuba in a great manner.

About the Author:
Jim Bowen is a travel expert and has written many books on travelling, for additional details you may visit his recommended site for best holiday reviews

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Looking For Rental Homes In Utah Valley

August 8th, 2009
by Britnee Nguyen

Looking for a place to live in Utah Valley because of a job or for schooling? The best place to live would be in homes for rent in Utah. Utah Valley is just 40 minutes from Salt Lake City which many people choose to commute for work. It is also home of two universities, Utah Valley University and Brigham Young University.

There are many rental homes in Utah Valley that are available for rent; you just need to know how to find the one that fits your needs and interests. KeyRenter, a Utah property management company help people like you to have a good rental experience in Utah.

With more than 25 towns to choose from in Utah Valley, you must evaluate what are your needs and wants when choosing a rental home. If you need to commute to Salt Lake City, then choose a more northern part of the Valley. This includes Draper, Alpine, and Lehi cities which are just at the point of the mountain on the I-15.

If you are moving to Utah to experience the great outdoors, consider moving to Cedar Hills, American Fork, Provo, Orem, and Spanish Fork which are nestled next to the entry ways to canyons and national forests. If you are a college student, choose a rental home more south in either Orem or Provo.

After deciding which town in Utah Valley suits you best, then the search begins. As an out-of-state person moving into Utah, your best bet would be to contact a Utah property management company like KeyRenterwho can send you listings of rental homes in Utah. This saves you time from sifting through listings online that may not have enough information about them or are not reliable.

KeyRenter.com has their entire list on their website. So you can just go to their website and look through reliable listings there. You will find that a tenant application is available for download online as well. Finding a rental home in Utah Valley is easy with KeyRenter.com who represents several homeowners in that area.

Be sure to find a rental home that is in your price range. It’s unwise to apply for a high cost rental if you are not positive you can afford it. Don’t waste your time applying for it because they will do a credit check on you to see how your financial situation is. If you already know you are not qualified, then don’t apply.

Only apply for the realistic rental homes you can afford. After you find your rental home and get accepted to move in, make sure to read over the terms of your contract so you know what is expected of you and your responsibilities as a tenant.

About the Author:
KeyRenter assists hundreds of Utah homeowners rent out their homes. As a Utah property management company, KeyRenter handles leasing, management, and accounting for Utah rental homes.

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What Are Extended Stay Hotels?

August 7th, 2009
by Amy Nutt

You may have heard the term extended stay hotel and thought that it sounded like a contradiction in terms. After all, hotels were created to give travelers a place to stay when they were far from home, not as a place to live. But what if your travels keep you far from home for a long period of time? Where are you supposed to stay then?

If your trip keeps you away from home for months, staying in a traditional hotel would get very expensive. Besides, just how long can a person live comfortably in a one or two rooms.

Hotel rooms are also not equipped with kitchens. In some you may find a microwave and a tiny kitchen, but nothing that would allow you to fix yourself a real meal. This leads to even more expense as you need to eat every meal in a restaurant.

Unfurnished apartments are not usually a viable option for the short term either. Most landlords want you to sign a lease of at least one year. In addition, you will have to wait while you go through the credit check and approval process. After all of that, you still need to furnish it and make sure that you have all of the linens, kitchen utensils, pots and pans, appliances, and on and on. It will take a great deal of money to make an unfurnished apartment into a place that you can live comfortably in for an extended period of time.

Extended stay hotels were developed to solve all of the problems that someone that needs to be away from home for a long period of time may face. Like a hotel room, they can be rented quickly and with out the hassle of an approval process. Like an unfurnished apartment, they give you the room you need to stretch out and be comfortable for a long time.

Better than either of those choices, rooms in extended stay hotels come equipped with everything you need to live a normal life. Most have a full kitchen complete with all appliances and utensils you would need to fix yourself a complete meal. The fact that there are several different rooms means that you can easily entertain, whether you want to have the guys over to watch the game or fix a special meal for yourself and that special someone.

Another advantage is that you will not need to worry about things like whether or not you have clean towels for your morning shower or clean sheets to make your bed with. If you want, most also provide maid service so that you will not even have to concern yourself with vacuuming or dusting.

Extended stay hotels provide the long term traveler with the comforts of home without the hassle of creating a home of your own. They will cost you more than an unfurnished apartment but they are much more convenient and if your stay is going to be less than a year, an unfurnished apartment simply may not be an option. So the next time you need to travel for a long period of time, rush for the closest extended stay hotel and save your time energy and money for the task that took you away from home in the first place.

About the Author:
Corporate Housing Toronto offering Toronto Short Term Rental and furnished apartments.

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Newlyweds In Utah Rental Homes

July 29th, 2009
by Britnee Nguyen

Newlyweds may be told by their families to not rent their first home because they’ll just be throwing their money away instead of investing it. However, renting is becoming a popular trend as it is financially more beneficial than renting. There are added fees and taxes that come with a mortgage that renting doesn’t have. Just because newlyweds may qualify to buy a home, doesn’t mean they should do it.

Just look at the past year and how people have bought homes because they were “qualified”, but couldn’t really afford it. Millions of homes are vacant right now with no one willing to buy them because of the sluggish economy. Newlyweds should not get themselves in this mess unless they positively know they can afford it in the long run.

They should look into rental homes in Utah through listings provided by Utah property management such as KeyRenter. A concern may be that they won’t be building equity if they are renting a home. If this is a concern of yours, realize that equity is basically an investment and there are other more stable businesses and similar entities that can be invested in.

It makes more sense to rent when looking at how much it costs to buy a home. The homeowners have to pay the mortgage payment, mortgage insurance, homeowner’s insurance, and property taxes which adds up to a hefty monthly bill. Renting frees you from most of these homeowner costs. In the end, you won’t be stuck with a home you may not want in a few years. You can simply just move out to another one when your contract is over. KeyRenter handles rental contracts and can assist tenants in their desired length of stay at homes for rent in Utah.

Mortgage rates may be very low right now, but that doesn’t mean you can afford to buy a home. You need to make sure that your income is stable and that you will be able to handle the payments for several years down the road. Newlyweds usually aren’t sure they’ll still be at the same stable job in the future.

Many newlyweds are still trying to figure out where they want to live and where to raise their future children. They should not tie themselves prematurely when they buy a home. When they try to sell it later they run the risk of getting no buyers. Couples should wait until they have steady jobs and know exactly where they want to spend their lives together. Then they will be ready to buy and be smart about it.

About the Author:
KeyRenter assists hundreds of Utah homeowners rent out their homes. As a Utah property management company, KeyRenter handles leasing, management, and accounting for various rental homes in Utah.

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How To Trade Price Action In Forex Markets?

July 27th, 2009
by Ahmad Hassam

If you want to become a successful trader, you should immerse yourself completely in the subject in order to find your edge. In case, you are already a winning trader than you should know exactly what your edge is.

Even the most advanced traders find it difficult to understand, interpret and trade the sharp moves often seen in the forex markets. By learning to read and interpret price action, you can develop a huge advantage for you as a trader.

When the market is going in a steep decline, one should be really careful to measure the reaction of the long positions. You must try to understand if the sharp move has the chance to turn into a rout.

Look at the reaction of the longs as soon as the rate begins to go south, this way you may be able to determine if the market is sitting on a large number of long positions. In case, the spike is followed by a sharp V recovery, you should avoid shorting the pair.

More buyers entering the market at lower levels tells you that the market is not heavily long and traders are seeing it as an opportunity to buy low. These lower prices mean bargain prices for you if you wish to accumulate long positions.

Moving averages (MAs) are among the oldest, true and tested lagging indicators. MAs can be simple as well as exponential. Widely used moving averages are the 50, 100 and 200 day MAs. Many traders use MAs in making trading decisions.

Moving averages are essentially lagging indicators and relate to the past price action. MAs can be used effectively in intra day trading for entering and exiting positions in one way markets.

During times of sharp price moves, it becomes difficult for the traders to enter a position as retracements are far and few. This makes most of the traders confused and forces them to start taking arbitrary decisions.

Moving Averages can be used as dynamic support and resistance levels in such situations. This will give results superior than the static support and resistance levels used by majority of the traders.

The advantages of using Moving Averages this way gives you dynamic levels to trade off and gauge price action taking place. MAs can help you avoid using arbitrary levels in trading a position on when you should take profit.

About the Author:
Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading and swing trading stocks and currencies. Learn Currency Trading. First Trade Your Forex Demo Account!

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Learn To Trade Like A Hedge Fund Manager (Part I)

July 25th, 2009
by Ahmad Hassam

The difference between a professional trader and an amateur trader is that a professional trader never goes into a trade blindly. You see hedge fund managers have to show good results to their investors in order to solicit their investments into their funds. Hedge fund managers have to convince their clients that they have a battle tested strategy.

As retail or individual traders, our $10,000 account is just as important as any $20 million hedge fund. In fact, our $10,000 account is more important. We are staking our own hard earned money on trading compared to a hedge fund manager. He is most likely trading with other peoples money.

Most of the hedge fund managers follow a step by step process to develop their forex trading strategies. There is no reason why should we as individual traders also not follow that step by step process to develop our own trading strategies. We cant afford to lose our hard earned money in unsuccessful trading.

One thing should be clear; every trader has to find his/her own edge. We can learn from others. But in the end, it is our own methods and insights that will make us succeed as forex traders in the long run. Lets discuss the step by step process of developing our own trading strategy like the hedge fund managers.

Properly define your trading strategy. Every hedge fund manager like every trader follows a different methodology. Some use fundamental analysis. Other use technical analysis.

The first thing that you need to figure out is the style of trading that best suits you and what type of trader you are. Are you a short term trader like most day traders? Are you a long term trader and want to swing trade or position trade?

From the start, figure out whether you want to trade based on fundamentals or technicals or a combination of both. Hedge fund managers develop their trading strategies by defining clear cut trading rules and coding them. This way the hedge fund managers avoid the pitfalls of emotional trading.

Trading based on emotion is dangerous and can and will ruin you as a trader. Make your forex system rule based to make your trading as unemotional as possible.

You need to decide whether you want to be a news trader or you will use technical indicators in your trading. You need to pick a few currency pairs and become master of their behavior. Not all currency pairs are created equal and you need to focus on only a few to become a successful long term trader.

Every currency pair requires a different trading strategy to succeed. You need to understand this. Some strategies work best on one currency pair but dont work on others. Read more in Part II of this article how hedge fund managers develop their trading strategies.

About the Author:
Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading and swing trading stocks and currencies. Know These Forex Broker Tricks. Learn Currency Trading!

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Using Interest Rate Differentials as Fundamental Trading Strategy

July 24th, 2009
by Ahmad Hassam

As a forex trader, you should be aware of the role played by the interest rate changes in the general economic and investment climate. You should know that interest rates are an essential part of investment decisions and can drive currency markets as well as the stock and commodities markets in either direction. After the unemployment figures, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) rate decisions are the second largest currency market moving release.

The impact of interest rate changes is not only short term but also long term on the currency markets. One Central Banks interest rate decision can affect more than a single currency pair in the interconnected forex markets.

In forex trading, an interest rate differential is the difference between the base currency interest rate and the quoted currency interest rate. In the currency pair, EUR/USD, EUR is the base currency and USD is the quoted or counter currency. The interest rate differential for the EUR/USD pair will be the difference between the Euro interest rate and the USD interest rate.

Understanding the relationship between the interest rate differentials and the currency pairs can be very profitable. In addition to the Central Banks overnight interest rate decisions, expected future overnight rates as well the expected timing for the rate changes can be critical to the currency pair movements.

The reason why this is profitable is that international investors like big banks, hedge funds and institutional investors are yield seekers. They actively keep on shifting funds from the low yield assets to high yield assets.

Interest rate differentials are considered to be the leading indicators for currency prices. London Inter Bank Offer Rate and the 10 year government bond yields are usually used as leading indicators of currency movements.

Lets use an example to make it clear. Suppose the Australian 10 year government bond yield is 5.25%. The US 10 year government bond yield is 1.75%. The yield spread between AUD and USD would be 350 basis points in favor of the AUD.

Suppose the Australian government raises its overnight interest rate by 25 basis points. The Australian 10 year government bond yield would appreciate to 5.50%. Now, the new yield spread between AUD and USD is 375 basis points in favor of AUD. The Australian Dollar will also be expected to appreciate against US Dollar.

The general rule of thumb used by professional traders is that when a yield spread increases in favor of a certain currency that currency is expected to appreciate against the other currency in the pair. This is important information for you as a trader. Interest rate data is available on Bloomberg. Keep track of the currencies in the currency pairs that you trade with that data.

About the Author:
Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading and swing trading stocks and currencies. Know These Forex Broker Tricks. Learn Currency Trading!

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Using Commodity Prices as Leading Indicators

July 23rd, 2009
by Ahmad Hassam

Commodities, namely gold and oil, have a strong and substantial correlation with forex markets. By understanding this relationship between gold, oil and currency pairs, you as a forex trader can gauge risk, forecast price changes as well as understand exposure.

Gold and oil prices essentially tend to move based on almost similar fundamental forces that affect a few currency pairs. Four major currencies, the New Zealand Dollar, the Australian Dollar, the Canadian Dollar and the Swiss Franc are considered to be commodity currencies.

The NZD, CAD, AUD, and CHF all have strong connection with gold prices. Natural gold reserves and currency laws in these countries result in almost mirror like movements. The CAD also tends to move with the oil prices.

However, the correlation between CAD and oil prices is not that strong. Each one of these currencies has a correlation with gold and oil and the fundamental factors behind doing so.

Knowledge of the fundamental factors behind these movements, their direction and strength could be a good method to discover trends in both the markets. There is a strong correlation between gold prices and US Dollar as well.

During unstable geopolitical times as well as when global recessionary fears become strong like that presently, investors tend to run away from US Dollar and instead turn to gold as a safe haven for their investments and hoard their wealth.

Therefore, as Dollar loses value, gold prices tend to rise as wary investors become afraid of losing their wealth. As US is going to print more and more dollars to finance its budget deficits, USD will depreciate and gold will appreciate. Many countries are trying to hoard gold keeping in view this anticipated depreciation of dollar. AUD/USD, NZD/USD and USD/CHF are currency pairs that tend to mirror gold movements.

Global energy needs are wholly dependent on oil supplies. Oil prices usually tend to have a huge impact on the global economy. Dont forget, the early part of 2008 when oil and commodity prices jumped skyward taking the global economy to the brink of recession. Oil prices did come down due to the stock market crash but it is being forecasted that it will rise again when the global economy comes out of recession and the demand for oil rises again. USD/CAD currency pair tends to show an oil relationship. The major reason for this relationship is the heavy dependence of US and Canadian economies on foreign oil.

Generally speaking, commodity prices are usually considered to be a leading indicator of currency prices. As such, commodity block traders monitor gold and oil prices to forecast movements in currency pairs. The knowledge of this relationship between gold, oil and currencies can help forex traders to diversity their risk exposure using different products. The combination of gold and forex trading can be very profitable.

About the Author:
Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading and swing trading stocks and currencies. Know These Forex Broker Tricks. Learn Currency Trading!

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