Has anyone had any FOREX trading experience ?

[oldboldpilot]

I wondered if anyone on the board has had FOREX trading experience and
if so........were you/are you successful ? With the market as dicey as it is (and not much hope of stability any time soon) I was looking for alternatives. It seems to me there are two ways to go..one where you are glued to the monitor or a managed account. You have to have a lot of faith in management to allow them full rein with your money so, I don't know. Hoping someone could give me some advice !

[Bullish Homing Pigeon]

I was going to make a post asking about that also. I saw it on msn money and checked the site out earlier today. I use scottrade for margin and like it but am looking to open another cash account. I tried sharebuilder when I first started but hated the expensive commission on selling stocks. Forex claim to have over 50k accounts I wonder if anyone here has one?

[oldboldpilot]

I was never into options and that is the closest thing to FOREX trading.
There is an "IRobot" type of program....."only $10,000 to start". They
make it sound like 10K is chump change and maybe it is to some. They
say if YOU don't make money, THEY don't make money. Seems to me
I've heard that hype before. Think I will look into it after I return from vacation,
who knows, there might be something to it.

[jacobnbr1]

old bold:
go to www.elitetrader.com and check it out, that is where all the forex traders hang out and trade ideers. i aint gonna go into the whole forex thingy, but you can get great free info there.
hope this helps...

[Bullish Homing Pigeon]

fxcm.com I meant to say . Does anyone have an account there?

[aj14]

FOREX is a very professional market conducted, ultimately, by a handful of big banks and brokers. Citi, JPM, Goldman, Deutche Bank, and firms of that size control the market. Round lot size is one million dollars. All of the dealers see the large orders--either directly or through the action on the street. It is not unusual for a hedger (like an oil company or an auto company) to come in to lay off several billion dollars. The dealers will take the price up or down to accomodate the trade. The market tends to respond to global economic data (yes, while you sleep!) and is highly influence by technical traders.
My advice? You and i would be considered "scalpers" trying to take a turn here or a turn there. It is very unlikely that we will make any money in the short term, if at all. Stay away, and save yourself the aggravation. If you want exposure in a subtle way, pick an ADR to trade which is influenced by the underlying currency. The bigger the ratio of ordinary shares to the ADR, the greater the leverage, so pick accordingly. Playing in ADR's softens the blow when the dollar moves, and gives you three chances to be right: the currency, the market, and the stock.

[oldboldpilot]

I don't feel comfortable in areas that I don't understand and I REALLY
feel uncomfortable when in the hands of the "professionals". I have
never had anything but bad experiences with professional guidance.
This market is so squirrely that I may bow out and watch what happens
in the new year. If it begins like this year did .... the sideline is the best
place to be I think.
It is my feeling that the dollar will not fare well versus the euro next
year and maybe there is an European index stock that will profit from
the dollar's decline. Worth looking into.

[aj14]

Originally Posted by oldboldpilot

I don't feel comfortable in areas that I don't understand and I REALLY
feel uncomfortable when in the hands of the "professionals". I have
never had anything but bad experiences with professional guidance.
This market is so squirrely that I may bow out and watch what happens
in the new year. If it begins like this year did .... the sideline is the best
place to be I think.
It is my feeling that the dollar will not fare well versus the euro next
year and maybe there is an European index stock that will profit from
the dollar's decline. Worth looking into.

Sometimes my ignorance surprises even me. Duh!!! What was i thinking?
Take a look at the new Rydex fund....symbol FXE...it mirrors the Euro...almost perfectly...which is what it is designed to do. If you think the dollar is going to behave poorly, i.e. the Euro rally, then buy the FXE. If you think that the dollar will do well, then short the FXE. Easy, liquid, inexpensive, and trades just like the Euro, except it works well for small speculators/hedgers like us.