Global Macro and Commodity Trading

By Jay Hammer

While most people think of commodity traders as just a bunch of guys in Chicago the truth is that many different types of investors participate in the commodity markets. Obviously we have floor traders but we also have several types of upstairs traders.

One of the main types of upstairs traders in the commodity markets are the CTA or commodity trading advisors. They typically do a lot of long term trend following. The second major commodity trader is the global macro trader.

Some global macro traders are always involved in the commodity markets while others don't actually do a ton of trading. But one thing that all global macro funds do is track and forecast commodity prices. This is so that they have a better grip on raw materials cost as well as where on earth are things growing fast and slow. It basically gives a great picture of the macroeconomic landscape.

In 2008 for example we saw oil climb to record highs. During this time the macro trader was busy looking for what companies will benefit and what companies will get hurt by this. Yes, oil companies made out well but so did companies like MLP's and railroads. On the other hand airlines and fleet services got absolutely hammered as their fuel costs started to cut heavily into their sales.

Precious metals are another area of great concern. Long looked as a fantastic inflation gauge gold and silver are also looked upon more and more as alternative currencies since most fiat currencies are looking like junk these days. As you can see precious metals are very useful to key in on currencies and inflation.

Another huge piece of the economic pie is that of industrial commodities. Industrial commodities comprising aluminum, zinc, lead, tin, nickel, iron, copper, etc are used in everything for everything. If you drive it, plug it into the wall, or live in it then you have industrial metals all around you. And you only need to have accounts with access to three exchanged to trade 95% of all this.

Next up are the agricultural commodities. While some gloss over this section they are actually a huge part of the economy. Do you eat food? Do you drink water? If you answer was yes to either of these questions then you need to pay attention to the ags. If you answered no then call the hospital please. Anyways the ags are important and can be traded based off of the demographics of different nations. Emerging markets are rapidly emerging which is changing the entire supply demand situation of food and water. Monitor and profit from this, or stay ignorant and get unpleasantly surprised.

Obviously commodities are huge part of the global economy. If you are not using and monitoring them you are missing out on some of the biggest puzzle pieces out there. If you are a global macro trader you need to be monitoring all the commodity complexes. - 23208

About the Author:

If you need actionable trading ideas then check out The Macro Trader It is a weekly global macro investing advisory publication with frequent intra-week updates for time-critical analysis and actionable trading ideas.

Creating your Forex Trading Robot

By Mike Ashford

Having an automated forex trading robot is the dream of every forex trader. There would be nothing better than going about your daily duties as you continue making money from an automated forex trading robot. A forex trader has two choices, either go buy an already completed automated system or create your own.

If you do decide to create your own forex trading robot, you need to ensure that your forex trading system is working. This should be done before you go looking for a software developer or using some of the current forex trading robot software available. Some of the considerations in your automated forex software could be

1. What Type of Forex Trader are you

The beauty of the forex market is that you can create forex trading system based on what type of trader you are.

If you prefer trading trends, then your forex trading robot should be based on trend trading. It would not make any sense to create a reversal based system when you are more comfortable trading a trending market.

If you are more concerned about making quick wins and don?t mind choppy markets, then a trend trading automated forex system might not be what you want. Be very honest about the kind of forex trader you are and you will be able to create a winning forex trading robot.

2. How often do You Trade

There are traders who love the thrill of entering and exiting the market as many times as possible. When you are looking for many small quick wins, instead of one big move, one should be creating a reversal or range trading forex trading robot.

Your automated forex trading system should reflect how comfortable you are in the number of trades you make in a day. If you are only comfortable with no more than 3 trades a day, then your automated forex system should reflect the same.

3. Money Management

A forex trading robot with no money management is bound to lose in the long run. Ensure you have built in money management principles that will allow you to trade your automated forex system.

You should be able to know how big a position your forex trading robot can handle given your forex trading capital. I have seen many trading robots that do not take into account losing trading periods. Make sure your trading robot can tell you how much you can afford to lose in a trade and you will be able to profit even during losing trading periods.

Lastly, before you decide to use you new forex trading robot, are you sure it is profitable? If you do not expect your trading robot to be profitable, then you really should not be trading with it. Trying to make a complicated automated forex system that does not work is a losing proposition. Keep the forex robot simple and you will be trading a profitable automated forex trading system. - 23208

About the Author:

If you want to find out this "secret" and start making a nice income with forex, click here.

What Happens To My Stock When It Goes From OTC to NASDAQ

By Sam Nielson

Out of the thousands of questions I've been asked over the years, one question keeps coming up that pisses me off. A bright eye'd newbie trader wants to know what will happen to his OTCBB stock if it gets uplisted to a major exchange like the NASDAQ.

Your brokerage firm (Scottrade, Etrade, etc.) or your post office will keep you informed of any special changes or actions you must take but usually, no action is needed on your part. Your shares will automatically convert into the new ticker symbol traded on the Nasdaq or major exchange.

Traders call this a jumper. Your shares will gain in value and they will automatically start trading on the NASDAQ.

If a change occurs in the ticker symbol, your brokerage house (Scottrade, Ameritrade, and so on) will contact you by your trading account and by regular snail mail.

Time for some brutal honesty. You are George Bush stupid if you are investing in OTC stock you think will go to the NASDAQ.

Slick con artists and their publishing companies will try and sell you on some alert service that supposedly has a guaranteed track record at picking jumpers but they are lying. Every last one of them.

In the hundreds of traders I've spoke with over the years, not one of them has told me that he made money from picking jumper stocks more than he lost.

Time for a splash of cold water on your face to bring you out of Fantasy Land. There is not a big cost different between a NASDAQ listing and an OTC listing. If this hot, insider tip company was making so much money selling such a hot product then why didn't they just list on the NASDAQ in the first place? Why even list on the OTCBB? The reason is not the cost. The reason is the reporting requirements. Companies that list on the OTCBB don't want to provide you with timely, behind the scenes financials that were audited by an independent party. That should scare you completely away from OTCBB listed stocks.

There's the dark truth. The only reason a company lists on the OTCBB is precisely because they do not want to meet the stricter reporting requirements of a major exchange. They do not want to disclose to investors the truth about what's really going on.

While not as bad as the pink sheets, the OTCBB exchange is filled with fraudulent companies who wouldn't think twice about posting false PRs and scamming you out of your money. Investing in OTCBB stocks is a fools game. Over the long run, you will go broke like everyone else who has tried. I should know. I speak from personal trading experience.

Plus, think about this. The primary reason for investing in OTCBB was to get stocks cheap. Now that we are at a market bottom, many good companies listed on the major exchanges are at crazy OTCBB prices! Plus there's a lot less risk because stocks on the major exchanges have stricter disclosure and reporting laws they must follow than stocks listed on the OTCBB. So what is the advantage to the OTCBB at this present time? None. - 23208

About the Author:

Written By Sam Nielson. To discover more million dollar trader articles go to what happens to my stock when it goes from otc to nasdaq

Forex Practice Trading (Part I)

By Ahmad Hassam

Almost every forex broker offers a free practice account to new clients. This is used as a marketing gimmick by most of the brokers in order to entice new people to forex trading. All you need to do is to sign up with any good forex broker. The best way for new traders to get a handle on what currency trading is all about is to open a practice account.

Practice accounts give you the great chance to experience the forex market without losing your real money. You can see how the price changes at different times of the day. Practice accounts are funded with virtual money. So you are able to make trades with no real money at stake and gain experience in how margin trading works. The more you use the practice account, the more familiar you will become with how the forex market works. This will help build your confidence. Confidence is what you need when trading live.

How various currency pairs may differ from each other? How the forex market reacts to new information when major news and economic data is released. You can trade your practice account with real market conditions without any fear of losing money.

You will also learn using different market orders. How to manage an open position? Improve your understanding of how margin trading and leverage works and start analyzing charts and following technical indicators. You can experiment with different trading strategies and see how they work out in the real market conditions with any fear of losing your money.

You can test drive almost all the features and functionality of a brokers platform on your practice account. However, one thing you will never be able to simulate on your practice account is the emotions involved in trading. Controlling emotions is important in order to become a successful trader. Emotions will only come into play once you put your real money on the line. Practice accounts are a great way to experience real forex markets first hand.

You can use market orders like the limit orders or the one cancels the other orders. However, you can also trade the current price of the market using the click and deal feature of your brokers platform. There are many ways to pull the trigger in the forex market. Pulling the trigger means how to enter or exit a position.

Many traders dont want to leave an order that may or may not get executed. Most like the idea of opening a position by trading at the market. Most prefer the certainty of knowing that they are in the market.

Most forex brokers provide live streaming prices that you can deal on with a simple click of your computer mouse. Just specify the amount that you want to trade. Click on the buy or sell button to execute the trade. The forex trading platform responds back within a second or two with a pop-up message either confirming or not confirming that the position was opened.

Attempts to trade at the market can sometimes fail in very fast moving markets. This happens when prices are adjusting quickly like after a data release or break of a key technical level or price point. - 23208

About the Author:

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

Learn Forex Trading-Get Ahead Early

By Zita Von Snyder

Learn Forex Trading and stay ahead of the game, because in the world of cut-throat business, it pays to be prepared. When trading forex it pays to know who the players are, know the market conditions and the risks involved. Be aware of what you are looking at: the currency you are trading, the factors that affect the value of the currency you are trading, your trading strategy and current market trends. You can be ahead of the curve if you take the time to learn forex trading.

To learn forex trading, you should consider a forex trading course. There are a couple of benefits to learning forex trading with a forex course:

To learn forex, a trading course will show you how to read charts which help predict the movements of the market as well as the best entry and exit times of a trade. This forex trading course will also help you learn the language, terms and basic processes involved in forex trading.

The world of forex demands discipline, the ability to move quickly and the knowledge of the risks involved. To learn forex you need to learn to manage the stress and emotions that can come along with forex trading. A good forex trading course teaches these principles.

A good forex trading course should include the following features so you can best learn forex trading:

*The Basics of Forex Trading-A basic overview of forex terminology including margins, types of orders, leveraging trades, how to understand types of analysis of charts and other indicators.

*Analysis-the forex trading course should teach you how to do both technical and fundamental analysis and which tools or software to use and which to avoid. This will help you minimize your risks and maximize your profits.

*Learn Forex Trading Values- This can be the key to becoming a successful forex trader, by having the understanding not only of the value of money but also the discipline it takes to trade forex without emotion. Learn forex with a good forex trading course and you will learn these trading values.

Experience can only be gained by trading forex in either real time or a simulated environment. This should be offered as part of your forex trading course. Some courses have live demo accounts or trading rooms that offer a great learning experience. Being able to discuss your lessons and what you have learned either one-on-one or in a forum also helps to learn forex trading.

A forex trading course is a great way to jump-start learning forex trading. If you invest in a good trading course, learn the basics, study the market, learn how to analyze the fluctuations in the market, and manage the psychology of trading you can be on the road to success. Being well equipped will lead to higher profits as well as the ability to successfully learn forex trading. - 23208

About the Author:

A forex trader and financial advisor Zita Von Snyder has written a beneficial article about ways to Learn Forex Trading. Zita also shares some beneficial hints on ways to find a good Forex Trading Course.