Low Interest Rates Hurt Those With Money

By Stacy Tran

Money market and CD rates are very low right now. No matter how hard you look or where you look, you will not find any rates that will make you very happy. For someone who relies on interest income, this is a very tough time right now. Retired people usually fall into this category as the only two income sources most retirees have are Social Security and interest from their savings.

With CD interest rates and money market interest rates so low, there is really no safe place for retirees to put their money and get a reasonable rate of return. This is why retirees are also having a tough time in this atrocious economy. They don't have to worry about losing a job like many folks do but their income has taken a big hit too.

The best money market interest rates are usually going to be lower than CD rates or government bonds. This is because the money you put in a money market account is not locked up like it is with a CD. Most money market accounts allow you to make periodic withdrawals and you can take all of it out at any time. This means you get a lower interest rate than some other investment vehicle like a CD where you agree to leave the money in for a predetermined length of time.

Money market accounts are often used in conjunction with stock portfolios so that you can buy and sell stock and have the money go in and out of your money market account. No matter how long you search the Internet, you will not find one rate you are happy with. For someone who has some money and wants to invest it safely, you should be prepared to get little in return.

There is something called social lending that will give you a higher rate of return but it does come with some risk. With social lending, you are lending money to another person rather than a banking institution. This is done through the Internet and you might be able to get a rate of return of 6% or higher. In exchange for this higher rate you will be exposed to more risk as the person you loan your money to could default on the loan. Even with the risk, if you absolutely need to find a place where you can get a higher interest rate, this type of social lending is worth looking into. - 23200

About the Author:

Are you interested in learning more about the best CD interest rates? If so, please visit my website The Best Money Market Rates.

Drawing Correct Trendlines

By Ahmad Hassam

For new forex traders, learning forex trading is like building a new car from scratch without an instruction manual. Many of you acquire quality parts like brakes, wheels, motors, seats, steering wheels etc.

To become a successful trader you need right parts with right instructions to put them together. After all, a part such as a $2.00 gasket can bring your car to a screeching halt.

You should understand that forex trading is very different from trading stocks. Companies can file for bankruptcies like GM or Goldman Sachs or Enron. Companies can go completely out of business taking their share value to zero in the stock markets. However in case of currencies, there is no threat of a country going bankrupt or doing out of existence in a few weeks.

What can happen is that severe economic changes take place between countries. This can create dramatic changes between the currencies value of different countries. When that happens, it can create an incredible financial return for savvy, educated currency traders.

Before you enter the markets, you should learn how to find the current trend. For a skilled and educated trader, learning how to spot a trend is very important. A trend can last from a few hours, several days or several months. It can create an enormous financial return for the savvy.

Fighting a trend is like swimming against the current and getting drowned. You should always trade in the direction of the market. Traders make many mistakes. The biggest one is trading in the wrong direction.

If you are an active trader and you dont have the trading software that has the moving trend line indicator, you will need to learn the skill of drawing correct Trendlines. An incorrectly drawn trendline can mean the difference between making and losing money in a trade.

There are three types of trend lines that you need to learn how to draw. 1) An Inner Trendline. 2) An Outer Trendline. 3) A Long Term Trendline. These three trendlines form on all time frames and in both uptrends and downtrends and you will need them in your trading.

Draw a straight line connecting support levels without penetrating bodies or wicks of a candle in any uptrend. Correctly drawn trendlines can predict future levels of potential support in an uptrend as well as future levels of resistance in a downtrend.

Draw inner up trendlines by finding the last two support levels. Draw the line from left to right. Draw the outer up trendline by starting at the far left of the chart. Move to the right and connect the majority of the support levels with a straight line.

Go on a larger time frame like daily or weekly. Draw the longerterm trendline by connecting the support levels starting from the far left of the chart moving forward. Instead of a support level, use the resistance level to draw trendlines in a downtrend. That means all the rules are the same but in the opposite direction. The market reacts the same way in a downtrend as an uptrend but in an opposite direction. - 23200

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading and swing trading stocks and currencies. Discover A Revolutionary New Forex Robot. Develop your own Forex Trading System.

A Forex Tutorial on Opening a Forex Account

By Bart Icles

Before you can start trading in the foreign exchange market, you must first be able to open and setup an account. Any forex tutorial will tell you that having a forex account is a prerequisite to trading. Very much like in trading in the equity market, currency trading will require you to open a trading account.

Each forex account, as well as the services that come with it, is different. Therefore, it is important that you are able to determine which one would best suit you. One of the things that will tell you more about the account you are about to open is leverage. Leverage is simply the ability to manage and influence large sums of capital using a relatively small amount of your own capital. One has to remember that the higher leverage means higher levels of risk.

Nevertheless, many forex investors see leverage as a major currency trading benefit because it can allow you to reap large gains even with just minor investments. On the other hand, leverage can also make you lose more than what you have invested if trading moves against you. Although there are firms that have protective stops to keep an account from going negative, it still helps to exercise extra caution. It also helps to remember these two contradicting scenarios when you try to determine your desired leverage when opening a forex account.

Commissions and fees also make trading accounts different. Major forex accounts normally allow you to trade without having to pay a commission fee to the broker. This is possible because in forex trading, you are dealing directly with market makers and you do not need to go through brokers. However, this does not mean that market makers do not earn money each time you engage in trading. When a trade is made, market makers gain the difference between the bid and ask prices.

There are many ways in which forex firms and the accounts that they offer can differ from one another. It is therefore recommended that you carefully evaluate each firm that you potentially would want to deal with before you commit to them. If you look back to your forex tutorial, it will remind you that each firm will deliver different programs, levels of services, and fees that can be above and beyond the actual trading costs. What is important is that you are able to review them well before making a decision, and when you do, see to it that you are dealing with a reputable firm. - 23200

About the Author:

When you learn forex currency trading it starts with a desire to learn and a drive to become a great trader. When you learn forexknow it is fun but takes dedication and a good teacher. But once you learn how to trade and do so successfully your life will change and you have options and financial resources you never had before.

Learn Forex Trading Tips

By Bart Icles

Many people these days make extra money through forex trading. If you are one of the millions who have been lured by the rewarding yet unpredictable world of forex trading, it is important that you learn forex trading tips before you start dealing with real money. Although the forex market can allow you to make money easily, it can also take away all your investments in under a minute. As a beginner, it is important that you keep your distance from the forex market and learn the most that you can about it before you finally decide to start engaging in currency trading.

One of the most valuable tips you will have to remember about forex trading is to learn forex trading techniques at length before you step into the market. One false move and you easily destroy your trading career forever. Learning about forex trading techniques will help you a lot in making your income levels soar as you engage in this volatile yet profitable market.

It is important that you are able to follow the different trends that occur and are practiced in the forex market. By following these trends, you will be able to determine when the market is going to experience a decline and when it will start to rise again. This can also help you judge when to join and when to exit trading. The market trends will also form the basis for your strategies that will differ according to the different scenarios that the market can pose.

There are also certain house rules that forex investors observe. You can learn more about these rules through enlisting yourself to forex courses. There are different forex courses online, some of which are free of charge and some will cost you a small amount of money. Whatever form of investment your forex education will require from you, be assured that it will help much in making you familiar with the basics of forex trading, as well as how you can develop different strategies for different circumstances.

If you learn forex trading tips, you are actually taking the first few steps in ensuring that your trading career will be worth your while. It is important that throughout your learning process until the time that you are already actively engaging in forex trading, you are able to keep your senses keen and alert. This will help you absorb information as you come across them, and you will also be able to make immediate responses to the different changes that can happen in the forex market. - 23200

About the Author:

Forex trading education starts with a desire to learn and a drive to become a great trader. A free forex education takes dedication and a good teacher. But once you learn how to trade and do so successfully your life will change and you have options and financial resources you never had before.

Forex Trading

By Paul Bryant

Forex currency trading or simply Forex trading is the trading of foreign currencies against each other. Every Forex trade which takes place results in buying of one currency and selling of another currency simultaneously.

Here one countrys currency is being purchased by that of another and the traders do so by particular price negotiations known as the exchange rate and the entire transaction is called Forex transaction.

It is being called the main pillar of all the international capital transactions worldwide put together. Forex trading has also acquired the status of being the largest markets in terms of trading volume with an estimated trading of $1.5 trillion USD worth of transactions occurring every single day.

Currency trading has exceeded the stock market too in terms of popularity and volume and under the present scenario has emerged as the most potential business in the world of trade. Huge profits are generated in Forex trading within a short span. Minor currency movements too results in great profits as compared to small profit margins in other businesses dealing with currency like commercial banking and the stock markets.

The trading throughout the world varies with respect to place and time and with respect to the daily working hours the market timings vary from place to place. Forex trading begins every Sunday at 7pm in the evening New York time, as the markets open for the week in Tokyo located in the easternmost part of the world. Next in line to open the markets is the Hong Kong and Singapore markets followed by the European markets. Last in line to follow is London and trading takes place throughout the world.

Currencies are generally traded for hedging and also for speculative purposes. Participants in the market, such as the individual traders, corporate agencies and financial institutions trade the foreign currencies for one or more reasons. It is a definitely a good platform to hedge the currency exposure, and the investors experiencing it during their normal course of trading.

Forex trading operates well in speculative markets. In just less than a decade Forex markets have grown tremendously and its present size is about 50 times that of all the other capital markets combined together. In Forex trading the most favored currencies till date are USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CHF, CAD, and the AUD.

Even for the execution of a large buy and sell orders there is just no slippage of the market price in Forex trading. The traders are able to take the advantage of both upward as well as the downward trend, thereby increasing the market profit potential. This is probably the reason why the Forex trading is considered to be the most efficient markets in the world. - 23200

About the Author:

If you want to find out more about trading the currency trading field then please visit Forex Trading for everything you to need to do to get started.