The Obvious Advantages of Trading Forex over any Other Open Market

Posted on by The INO.com Team

The sudden hype around Forex trading is not without good reason. Forex, which is the exchange of currency on the open market, provides a number of benefits that you won’t get from the stock market or other trading venues. Forex is fast, it’s fun and it has the potential to lead to big profits.

The Size of the Market

There is close to 2 trillion dollars being traded on the Forex market every single day. You don’t have that kind of liquidity in any of the other markets. With that much money floating around, there is no worrying about prices changing too much before you are able to enter or exit your trade.

With a market that is this large, it is also nearly impossible for prices to be manipulated by any one single group. This allows for a more accurate read of supply and demand as you analyze the market and your currency pairs.

Small Initial Capital

If you shop around brokers, you are going to find some that allow an initial investment of as low as $50. There is always potential to gain money in the Forex market, even when you are only putting up a small amount of money to start. Continue reading "The Obvious Advantages of Trading Forex over any Other Open Market" →

Where Have All the Statesmen Gone?

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By: Marin Katusa, Chief Energy Investment Strategist

One of the most striking things about the Colder War—as I explore in my new book of the same name—has been the contrast between the peevish tone of the West’s leaders compared to the more grown-up and statesmanlike approach that Putin is taking in international affairs.

Western leaders and their unquestioning media propagandists appear to believe that diplomatic relations are some kind of reward for good behavior. But it’s actually more important to establish a constructive dialogue with your enemies or rivals than your friends, because that’s where you need to find common ground. Indeed, it’s been the basis for diplomacy since time immemorial.

Reassuringly, despite having been the target of the Ukraine crisis rather than the instigator, Putin still sees the West as a potential partner, not an enemy. Nor does, he says, Russia have any interest in building an empire of its own. In theory, if Putin is sincere, there should be plenty of room for cooperation, especially in the fight against terrorism.

As Putin said in his speech at the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi in October—whose theme was “The World Order: New Rules or a Game without Rules”—he hasn’t given up on working with the West on shared risks and common goals, provided it’s based on mutual respect and an agreement not to interfere in one another’s domestic affairs.

Putin has, of course, already shown that he can rise above the fray. By negotiating the destruction of Assad’s chemical weapons arsenal under international supervision, he did Obama a big favor and got him off the hook in Syria. Continue reading "Where Have All the Statesmen Gone?" →

Weekly Futures Recap With Mike Seery

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We've asked Michael Seery of SEERYFUTURES.COM to give our INO readers a weekly recap of the Futures market. He has been Senior Analyst for close to 15 years and has extensive knowledge of all of the commodity and option markets.

Michael frequently appears on multiple business networks including Bloomberg news, Fox Business, CNBC Worldwide, CNN Business, and Bloomberg TV. He is also a guest on First Business, which is a national and internationally syndicated business show.

Gold Futures

Gold futures in the February contract witnessed another extremely volatile trading session with another $20 trading range currently trading up $4 at 1,188 after trading as low as 1,167 earlier in the session as the U.S dollar hit another multiyear high pressuring many the commodity prices, however bottom feeders appeared thinking that gold was overdone to the downside. Gold futures are trading below their 20 and 100 day moving average as I am currently sitting on the sidelines in this market waiting for better chart structure to develop as the market is just too volatile in my opinion, however if you are bearish this market I would sell at today’s price while placing my stop above the 10 day high which currently stands at 1,210 risking around $23 or $2,300 per contract plus slippage and commission as the chart structure is relatively solid at the current time. Gold futures remain in a long-term downtrend as investors are still putting money into the S&P 500 and out of the precious metals especially with a strong U.S dollar which looks to head higher in my opinion and with worldwide problems cooling down especially with Russia there’s really no reason to own gold at the current time.

Gold futures traded over the last 2 months in a price range between $1,140-$1,240 and now around mid-range so I’m waiting for a trend to develop as traders are waiting next Friday’s monthly unemployment report which should send even more volatility into this market so make sure if you are in the futures market that you use the proper amount contracts risking 2% of your account balance on any given trade as this market is high risk.
TREND: LOWER
CHART STRUCTURE: EXCELLENT Continue reading "Weekly Futures Recap With Mike Seery" →

Caution, Caution, Caution

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Here we are at the first trading day of 2015. You may remember one of my posts in December indicating that the markets can be quite dangerous over the holiday time period. Well, that same danger carries over in to the first week of January when many traders are just getting back from vacations and preparing to setup their trading desks for the New Year. Typically, I like to get serious about the market after the first full trading week of January is over and volume once again returns to the market.

At the moment, we're still in a very low volume period indicating that the markets can be extremely volatile on a moment's notice. You only have to look at gold in the last several days to see the extreme swings up and down that market is going through, which proves my point. This extreme kind of market action can happen in any market with little or no notice - so the word for today and next week is caution, caution, caution.

On A Personal Note

I hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and loved ones over the Christmas holidays.

I am very fortunate, thought some would say unfortunate, that right after Christmas I have a birthday. The 26th of December is my birthday, for those of you living in England and Australia, that's Boxing Day. I've gotten to the age when birthday presents really aren't my thing anymore as I pretty much have all the underwear and socks I will ever need. However, this year was different, as I did want something, something very special and close to my heart. Continue reading "Caution, Caution, Caution" →

What's Ahead In 2015?

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Here we are, the first day of 2015, thinking about what's ahead this year. There's no doubt about it, 2014 was a good year for most stock investors and we hope you got your share of the pie.

The big standouts to me in 2014 were the mega drop in oil prices and the fact that gold prices have lost two years in a row. The last time that happened was in 1997 – so what's ahead in 2015?

I think that 2015 will offer some amazing opportunities for smart, knowledgeable investors. The key to trading this year is to go with the flow and don't fight the market. I don't know of any market expert who, in January of last year, forecast a 40% drop in oil prices. I'm not sure I heard anyone predicting that gold prices were going to have back-to-back losses two years in a row.

What does that tell you?

The investors or gurus who hold fixed beliefs and feel compelled to defend their market opinions are doomed. Investors who hold rigid market opinions in 2015 are not going to fair well and enjoy positive returns. That's just my opinion, and I reserve the right to change it at any time.

Here is another timeless piece of advice for 2015: Continue reading "What's Ahead In 2015?" →