With over $1.5 trillion changing hands daily, it might be advantageous for you to investigate the extremely lucrative business opportunity involving currency trading.
Once the domain of major banks and corporations, this field is now an open playground for the ordinary individual.
The following information gives you a comparison of different investment opportunities in comparison to Forex trading Forex could be the perfect opportunity for you if you are willing to have an open mind and investigate.
Equities are dependant on variable factors regarding when to buy and when to sell. With Forex, the opportunity to buy or sell is always present.
Futures require a person to pay exchange fees as well as commission charges. Forex requires no commission charges or fees. Futures also is limited to specific trading hours, whereas Forex is not limited and is available 24/7. Also, with Futures, once a person buys they are basically locked in for a specific amount of time. Forex offers flexibility to change position within seconds at the onset of any variable which could effect the particular economic security. When a late breaking news or factor is announced, bam--a trade is made within seconds.
Real Estate can be devastating to the novice and often requires larger amounts of investments. It is also volatile with the factors which can affect the buying and selling. Ask any real estate investor; they all can tell you the horror stories. The emotional strain of a lingering negative tenant is enough to make any investor throw up their hands and run for the hills. An investor may often have money tied up in an investment for several years depending on the situation involved. Although real estate has been up in value for the past few years, many now believe the market has bottomed out and value is growing at a snail’s pace. Many investors often have to wait on approval from banks in regards to financing or releasing money for financing; therefore, an investor may have his money wrapped up long-term. Forex is extremely flexible.
CD’s and Savings Accounts offer security but with little return on the investment dollar. With Forex, a sharp trader can often multiply his investment many times over.
Annuities are mostly safe for the long-term, but if an investor needs to pull his money out for the short term, he may have to pay surrender charges which can range as high as 6-8% if withdrawn within the first 6 to 8 years. In his article entitled, “Are Annuities a Worthwhile Investment, Don Taylor, Ph.D., CFA (bankrate.com) states that “most investors would be better off considering annuities as a last resort rather than a first choice when it comes to creating an investment portfolio.
There is a learning curve with Forex; however, the investment in time may pay multiple benefits in terms of investment. There are many avenues to achieve wealth, but few as flexible and lucrative as Forex. With a 24/7 timetable, a person can be in business starting with just a few hundred dollars, the right training and a computer. This flexibility allows a person to work from the comfort of their own home and be in control.
FOREX Investing Compared to Other Investment Opportunities
Last Male Bastion under Siege - Grab what profits you can NOW
By: Forex Uncovered
Women are set to step out from the shadows and earn the Lion's share of profit and consistently out perform the Men trading the Largest Market in the World.
Why? Because they are naturally better by design.
Well, I can hear the rumblings already - this is certainly going to throw the 'cat amongst the pigeons' and make me very unpopular with the men, but what the heck - I believe what I say, and I say what I believe. I'm a modern man.
Heads up guys, the truth is staring you in the face...
FACT: Women are thriftier than men.
Guys, could you manage to feed the family and buy new shoes each week on the house keeping money?
FACT: Women are more systematic and organized than men.
Observe your 'better half' in the kitchen or cleaning the house. She will have a routine for everything and God help anyone who disrupts it!
FACT: Women follow instruction (strategies and systems) far more diligently than men..
.. and are far less emotional in doing so! Did I say less emotional? OK, maybe that is stretching the point a bit, but the good news is that PMT could soon be standing for a 'Perfect Month's Trading'
FACT: Women have a built in advantage over men in that they nurture by nature.
What? Well, look at it this way - when you look back at your life how many times do you kick yourself and think:-
"If only I had stuck with that and had not become impatient; I would be set up for life right now"
Women have the natural ability to nurture from conception through to conclusion routinely, calmly and with care. Following things through to a successful conclusion is an attribute of all successful traders and it comes naturally to woman.
Now I am not saying that men cannot become great traders as most great traders are men, but trading should be a walk in the park for most women if only they knew it.
Head Trader
Author BioThe author, in his late forties has many years trading experience under his belt trading various markets including; Futures, Equities, and Foreign Exchange. His approach to trading has capital maintenance at its absolute core - it is the single biggest priority. This is a trading philosophy that has proven to be the key to consistent trading results. Detailed information is available at:
www.forex-uncovered.com
Email: support@forex-uncovered.com
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content
5 Things You Must Do To Attain Financial Freedom Through Forex Trading
By: Eddie Yakubovich
With the amazing growth of the forex market, you are going to see an astounding amount of traders lose all their money. Unfortunately, they haven't followed the simple steps I have laid out for you. Go through these steps and give yourself the greatest opportunity to achieve your goals.
1. Have Faith In Yourself
To reach the level of elite forex trader, you must trust in yourself and your forex trading education. You must be willing to make all your trading decisions, instead of relying on someone else's thoughts or ability (or lack of). Of course, you will prepare yourself fully before every risking any money.
2. Accept Your Learning Curve
Unless you are a veteran trader, you will lose money trading the Forex market. This is a near certainty. I don't say this to talk you out of trading. In fact, quite the opposite. You will be trading against others that fall to this reality day in and day out. You, however, will not risk a dime until you have learned the skills you need to make money trading the forex.
3. Decide What Type of Trader You Are
There are many ways to trade the forex. They range from very active to very patient. You must decide which style suits you best. The best time to learn this about yourself is while you are trading a demo account. There is no need to allow your learning curve to cost you money.
4. Get Educated
Education is the shortest path to elite forex trading. Regardless of your ultimate goals, you will reach them quicker with a great forex trading education. Take some time to review different options before deciding on who to trust with your forex trading education needs. A forex seminar will help shorten your learning curve drastically.
5. Continue to Get Educated
In order to achieve and retain elite forex trading skills, you must constantly be adding to you knowledge base. Your education should never end. In fact, one of the key points to look for in an elite forex trading course is ongoing education. It's nice to have an ongoing relationship with the person/people helping you to achieve your goals.
What separates an elite forex trader from all others is their desire and ability to be independent. Many traders are willing to follow signals, systems, strategies, or anything else you may call them. By taking this approach, however, these traders are only as good as the people they follow.
An elite forex trader will lead. Their decisions will be calculated and analyzed to near perfection. They will make decisions with no hesitation, and handle the growth of their account in a predetermined, intelligent fashion. Take your trading to their level and you will never look back.
Author Bio
Eddie Yakubovich has trained hundreds of successful traders using the same methods found in his elite forex trading course. This forex seminar provides you with as in depth a forex trading education we have ever seen. We highly recommend it.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content
13 Socially Responsible Careers in Finance
f you're interested in a financial career, you might be curious about how your interests can lead to reconciliation between your job and your belief system. Social finance might open the door to several solutions for your dilemma. While social financing might seem new, it's been around since the first individual took a stand against profit at any cost. A Quaker would no more finance slavery before the Civil War than a conscientious objector would finance war machines today.
Before you have an epiphany about your career goals, you might want to learn more about the various facets within social financing, the career opportunities that are open to you, and the education you may need to pursue your dreams.
Social Finance Defined
Social finance means that financial instruments are used to promote social goals. Financial instruments used to accomplish these goals include credit, savings, investments, and loans, among other devices. These tools help the poor to cope better with risk, take advantage of income-generating opportunities, to organize and to have a voice. These tools also incorporate personal values and societal concerns with investment decisions, where individuals or groups hope to support sustainable business efforts.
Social finance has, historically, belonged to governments and charitable or religious organizations; however, with a focus on global warming and with news about difficulties encountered by individuals in underdeveloped countries, the private sector has become involved in this specialized field. While some businesses and individuals seek to use funds for philanthropy, others want to contribute with an eye to profit.
So, while the social goals may seem similar among most social financiers, intents behind those goals may vary widely. For instance, a public corporation and a private individual both may want to support lower income populations. But, the corporation might want to eliminate poverty to create a new consumer pool for their products while the individual might work toward the same goal to support a belief in social equality.
Some Social Finance Careers
If you're interested in financial matters, you already know that markets have integrated to a degree, and that this integration - or globalization - means that various countries have become more interdependent. Financial capital is flowing into pre-emerging and emerging markets, where these funds help individuals and communities meet social needs.
Social finance careers have expanded to the point where you can attend a school in London that focuses solely on social entrepreneurship. Whether your interests lie in a nonprofit or for profit participation in this specialized industry, you might wonder where your opportunities lie. Some social finance positions might include:
Community Investor: The community investor works with other individuals to gather, oversee, and direct capital to community investment opportunities in local or regional areas or abroad. The communities in question usually have been under-served or overlooked by ordinary financial services. You can learn about community investing and some organizations involved with this outreach at the Social Investment Forum's Community Investing Center.
Usually, community investors report to a board of directors and, ultimately, to the shareholders of a company that organizes investing efforts. But, you can work toward becoming a venture capitalist who focuses on community potentials rather than on new businesses. Or, you can find a place within various organizations or on their boards.
Micro-Financier: Community investors can also become micro-financiers, a role that is very similar to the venture capitalist but that doesn't demand return on investment in all cases. This individual seeks to provide impoverished individuals or communities with the means to invest or borrow money for business or community development. Usually these financial transactions eliminate the need for collateral, and they carry smaller than average investment requirements.
The micro-financier may work solo or for companies that range from financial businesses to non-governmental organizations (NOGs). As a solo investor, you can also become involved with opportunities provided by micro-finance networks that focus on helping individuals as diverse as your own family members to unknown individuals in developing countries.
Nonprofit Sector: The nonprofit sector is, perhaps, the most traditional arm of the social finance network. When you work for a nonprofit organization or private foundation, you'll usually report to a board of directors or trustees, depending upon that organization's legal structure. The nonprofit sector is diverse, as it ranges from interests in the arts to animal rights.
The nonprofit sector is also the most diverse when it comes to opportunities. While some individuals are content to volunteer for nonprofit efforts, you can also seek a career as an executive or work as a freelance grant writer or project coordinator. The freelance positions may allow you to satisfy your desires to provide help for various organizations and still pay the rent.
Social Entrepreneur: Unlike venture capitalists, social entrepreneurs provide innovative solutions to difficult social problems usually without seeking personal profit. This entrepreneur is similar to the business entrepreneur in that he seeks to build something out of nothing with creativity and ambition. Social entrepreneurs, however, see people or communities in need rather than new businesses as their untapped markets.
Social enterprises include businesses that measure success by profits and by community benefits. With that said, a career as a social entrepreneur could combine the characteristics of altruistic nonprofits with for-profit micro-financing to create a hybrid social financing opportunity. The individuals involved at both ends often define whether the opportunity is for-profit or nonprofit, but in all cases the project usually helps to improve a community's social situation.
What to Expect
If you're already drawn to a financial career in accounting, investing, research, trading, banking or other areas, then you know the specific thrills you gain from your interest(s). If you want to incorporate a social angle to your career objective, you will also need to expand your skills and experience through education and work. You can expect to gain the following:
Interdisciplinary Skills: You will gain skills across disciplines, as you may need experience in other fields other than financial management. Sociology, anthropology, political science, and other studies that are listed under social sciences or humanities will help you reach your goals. You can also focus on technological, environmental, or leadership facets to social financial careers. Your interdisciplinary needs will depend upon whether you want to focus more on social or financial aspects within this field.
Leadership Opportunities: Social financing is a means to create innovative ways to improve social environments, and this field needs creative leaders who can take the initiative in many situations. Social financing does focus on money, but that's only half the equation. The "social" aspect requires individuals who can identify unusual resources beyond money that can be used to improve an individual or community situation.
So you can write grant proposals for projects, or you can search for alternatives to funds to resolve a problem. Or, you can donate enough money to sit on an organization's board, or you can donate your time and energy to achieve the same objective. Business leadership skills like those found in organizational, nonprofit, or project management can open doors to many opportunities.
Flexibility: Careers in social financing currently may be definitive or broad and fairly undefined. You many find a way to travel the globe, or you may seek a situation where you're alone and surrounded by books and archival materials. Since this field is growing, however, you may find that your job will demand a little of both worlds and more. This flexibility is part of what many social finance employers seek, as their volunteers and employees often wear more than one hat.
An ability to flex with a situation is also defined as "creative" and "innovative," especially when unexpected situations are met with little complaint. A flexible situation can also be meaningful, as a job within the social finance sector is well suited to people who want to use their skills, talents, education, and money to bring about social change.
Global Knowledge: Even if you end up in a back office surrounded by social financing accounting books, you will learn much about how people live in other communities around the world. This global knowledge contains many advantages for a person who seeks to move up the social finance career ladder, or for the individual who eventually wants to become a social venture capitalist or entrepreneur. Without knowledge about politics, cultural influences, and other objectives that influence community development, the social financier will waste time, skills, and money.
In addition, globalization requires specialized knowledge on how countries and communities become interdependent. Whether or not you approve of globalization, the trend toward interdependence is in motion. Your can use your participation in a social financing career to support your beliefs.
Where to Begin
If a career in social financing intrigues you, you might want to conduct more research and you'll definitely want to try this field on for size. Your focus can include local volunteerism, online reading, further education, and conversations with individuals who work in the field.
Begin with Volunteerism: If you want to learn more about how "social" connects to "finance," you can volunteer to work with a nonprofit organization. Not only will you gain experience on the ground, you'll meet individuals who can help point you in a career direction. You can also expand your horizons to work in other regions as well. You can find nonprofit volunteer and career opportunities online through sites like the Nonprofit Career Network or Idealist.org.
Find Other Social Financiers: When you link up with other like-minded individuals, you can learn more about what to expect in your career aspirations. You can find these individuals locally or online through sites like the Social Edge or Changemakers.net. If you plan to head in the venture capitalist direction, you can find like-minded individuals at the National Venture Capital Association. While the individuals within this organization might not participate in social financing, they can help you gain knowledge about this investment field.
Expand Your Education: Even if you've accomplished a doctoral degree, you can always learn more. Think about expanding your education to achieve the cross-disciplinary expectations required by this industry. You might consider that school in London, or you can find similar courses in social entrepreneurship at Duke University or at Stanford. You can also take it upon yourself to learn new languages, financial skills, social sciences, and about environmental issues.
If you feel you can't take the time or money to expand your education in a campus or self-learning environment, then plan to join an organization at the ground floor or as a volunteer. Sometimes experience can count for credits in a later educational endeavor, and it always counts toward a career move when others see your participation in action or on your resume.
All social finance organizations need financial personnel. From the Red Cross to Greenpeace to other social organizations, you can find a niche that best fits your current financial skills and social goals. If you prefer to work in investments, you can learn from socially responsible funds and other investment opportunities. Sites like Social Funds or the Social Investment Forum can offer opportunities to learn about investments that range from green initiatives to funds that support minority groups. You'll also learn more about the organizations that offer these funds and investment opportunities.
No matter your direction once you get your feet wet in this field, you may learn that financial opportunities don't always lead to gluttony, lust, and depravity. Nor will they all lead to living without the needs vital to survival. Whether you lean toward nonprofit or for-profit careers in social financing, you can find an area that needs your support and interest. You may find that your new career will help you "do good" and do well.
Factors which influence exchange rates
Before you undertake currency investment, it is important you understand the forces that drive exchange rates. Many of these factors are intangible and/or psychological, and, thus, are impossible to characterize. However, those factors which are generally recognized as fundamental determinants are spelled out below.
1. Inflation
A low rate of inflation, relative to other countries, implies that prices of goods in services in one country are increasing at a comparatively slow pace. These goods and services then appear cheaper in the eyes of foreigners, who increase demand. If the law of purchasing power parity holds, the nation's currency should appreciate to offset the relative decrease in prices.
2. Interest Rates
The correlation between a nation's interest rate and its exchange rate is easy to grasp. We would expect savvy investors to invest their money where, for a given level of risk, the returns are highest. Thus, when a disparity in interest rates exists between countries whose risk of default is equal, investors would likely lend to the country that was offering the higher interest rate. In order to invest in or lend to another country, one must first obtain that nation's currency. This increases demand for that nation's currency, and causes it to appreciate in value.
3. Current-Account / Trade Balance
When a country runs a current account deficit, it typically means that the nation imports more than it exports. This tends to skew the exchange rate in favor of the country that runs a trade surplus, as foreign demand for its currency must be comparatively high. In due course, the exchange rate may adjust so as to make the first nation's products affordable to foreigners, and bridge the gap between imports and exports.
4. Public (government) debt
The relationship between government debt obligations and its exchange rate is not as cut-and-dried. Basically, government borrowing to finance deficit spending increases inflation, which literally eats into the value of that nation's currency. In addition, if lenders believe there is any risk of default, they may sell the debt (in the United States, this debt takes the form of treasury securities) on the open market, exerting downward pressure on the exchange rate.
5. Political and Economic Factors
Most investors are risk-averse; accordingly, they will invest their capital where there is a certain degree of predictability. They tend to avoid investing in countries that are typified by governmental instability and/or economic stagnation. In contrast, they will invest capital in stable countries that exhibit strong signs of economic growth. A nation whose government and economy are perennially stable will attract the most investment. This, in turn, creates demand for that nation's currency and causes its currency to appreciate in value.
