Regional Stock Reports

Have you ever thought of market timing? There is always a bull market somewhere if you look hard. In other words if you look around you will always be able to find a market that is trending up or down that you can use to make money. Market timing maybe the trading method of the 21st century!

Power and influence is spreading to more places around the world. The world is moving from a North American and Eurocentric world view to one that includes Asia, South America especially China, India, Brazil and Russia.

This is enough to create opportunity for market timing. Internet has ushered in a revolution in the global financial system. Money gets transferred around the globe at the speed of light.

This is the new world where the ability to move faster in and out of trading positions and to trade markets that are rising or falling profitably is becoming increasing important to the long term investors. Dont forget the hedge funds when we talk of long term investors. Hedge funds have the skills and resources for market timing around the globe. The buy and hold investing strategy is losing its appeal. Does buy and hold work in todays market? Most say it does not.

Whether it is stocks, options, futures, bonds, commodities or currencies around the globe, market timing is the act of entering or exiting trades at the most opportune times in any market.

Your goal in using market timing is to maximize your profit potential. Now if you can make money when the market is going up and when the market is going down, you have twice the opportunity to make money.

Market timing is about recognizing opportunities early on in any market. Consider timing different markets at the same time. Consider going long in one market and going short in another market at the same time. This will hedge your risk. Moving into positions with well planned strategies and monitoring the progress on a frequent basis. Market timing is not day trading. Many people try to confuse market timing with day trading.

Market timing has to do something with preparation, research and analysis. In short planning! Market timing is like swing trading and position trading. It means swing trading different markets at the same time. Swing trading can last as long as the trend continues in the market and getting out when your profit targets have been met. Market timing is about seeing the intermediate term trend which lasts for weeks or months.

In order to be good at market timing, you need to know how to trade in different markets. The good thing, most of the techniques are common. So if you know how to trade stocks, you can easily learn how to trade currencies or futures. Investors who can adapt to this new world are the ones who will have the best chances of success. What makes market timing one of the useful trading methods is that you can use the techniques to time stocks, bonds, mutual funds, futures, options, currencies, commodities or exchange traded funds!

Market timing is as much a state of mind as it is a combination of trading methods. It requires knowledge of fundamental and technical analysis. With market timing, you can diversify your investment opportunities.

Market timing also helps you decrease your exposure to risk. You want to stay with the dominant trend with market timing. You want to swim with the tide by buying stocks in a rising market and selling or shorting in a falling market. Get comfortable with technical analysis.

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Know These Candlestick Patterns. Learn Candlestick Charting!

Have you ever heard of the Inverse Currency ETFs? Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a great tool for the retail traders and enable them to trade a variety of markets and sectors individually or with options. ETFs are a recent financial innovation. Overtime ETFs have become highly popular with the investing public. An ETF is made up of different component stocks, currencies, commodities or bonds. An ETF is a security. An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is typically designed to track a particular index or segment of the market.

ETFs can also reduce volatility. As ETFs track a group of securities, ETFs volatility is less than that of its component stocks, bonds, currencies or commodities. With ETFs you can also implement strategies previously only available to large investors. ETFs enable you to reduce risk by offering unleveraged access to certain asset classes.

There has been an explosive growth in ETFs. So dont hesitate seeking an ETF for a market you wish to trade. There is a good chance that an ETF will be available that will fit your requirements if you are looking for a segment of the market to invest or trade. ETFs are similar to a mutual fund. ETFs trade like a stock which means you dont have to wait till the end of the day to exit a position.

Most ETFs are based on a specific index like the S&P 500 index. Many ETFs are passively managed. So you should always check the ETF prospectus to check which index it tracks. Some recent ETFs are actively managed.

ETFs trade on major US stock exchanges. Buying and selling ETFs is like buying and selling stocks. ETFs popularity has also given rise to the availability of research and scanning tools for ETFs on brokers websites.

Options contract are also available for some ETFs. The good thing is that you can use ETF options to reduce risk further since the initial investment is reduced. You may ask what the difference between index options and ETF options is as most of the ETFs track some index. The two products differ in three important ways:

1) Index options can be European Style or American Style while ETF options can only be American Style.2) ETF options have an underlying security that you can own; they lend themselves to combination strategies. 3) Index options are cash settled while the ETF options are settled using the underlying security.

You have access to an index based security that you can protect as well as reduce its cost when combining ETFs with ETF options. ETF options are pretty natural next step for you if you have traded stock options. However, as with stocks not all ETFs have options available for trading.

Just like with ordinary options contracts, you can use the covered call, collared positions or protective put to manage risk with ETF options. But not all ETFs have options contract available for trading! If ETF options are available check how liquid the fund and the options contract are.

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Know Swing Trading. Learn Forex Trading!

A picture is worth more than a thousand words. The forex chart is perhaps the best proof of this clich. Have you heard of Candlestick Charting? It was developed by the Japanese in the 17th century to profit from rice trading.

Over time, traders have become very sophisticated in understanding charts and the information contained in them. In fact appearance of certain chart patterns can give you priceless clues about the direction in which the market is about to turn. Dont confuse the Head and Shoulder pattern with the name of a shampoo.

Now you can predict the likely direction of the currency pair whether it be sideways, upward or downward by studying the patterns that appear on the forex charts. This field of study is known as Technical analysis. Without technical analysis, you wont be able succeed in forex trading. Technical analysis depends on the study of different types of charts to understand and predict the likely direction of the currency market.

There are four main types of charts that are used in the world of finance and for that matter in forex trading. The four main types of forex charts are: 1) Line Chart, 2) Bar Chart, 3) Candlestick Chart and 4) Point and Figure Charts (P&F Charts). Lets briefly describe each one.

Line Charts: This chart resembles a line hence the name line chart. This chart simply connects the closes from one period to another. Critical data is missing from a line chart as a line chart doesnt show you where the currency pair opened for the period. It only shows where it closed. Nor does it points the high and lows for a period.

Bar Charts: A bar chart shows the opening price of a currency pair, the closing price and the low and high price for each period. The bar chart can provide the hourly, daily, weekly and even monthly information. It is also often called the OHLC (open-high-low-close) bar chart. Bar chart addresses many of the shortcomings of the line chart.

A horizontal line protruding from the left of the bar represents the opening price of the currency pair. A horizontal line protruding from the right of the bar represents the currency pairs closing price. The periods high and low are the top and bottom of the bar.

Candlestick Charts: This chart clearly depicts the currency pairs open, high, low and close. Traditional bar charts do the same. But candlestick charts do it more effectively. A candlestick chart is made up of two components.

The range between the open and the close is called the real body of the candle. It is also called the candle body. The price movement above and below the body is called the shadows. It is also known as the candle shadows. If the currency pair closing price is above the opening price, the candlestick body is white and it is taken as a bullish sign. Similarly if the closing price is below the opening price, the candlestick body is painted black and it is taken as a bearish sign.

Point and Figure Charts (P&F Charts): Sometimes Point and Figure Charts are used by traders in technical analysis. The only downside is that they dont represent the time well. The main advantage of the P&F charts is that they filter out noise or unimportant price movement. Point and figure charts plot the currency pair price using a column of Xs to represent rising price movements and Os to represent falling price movements.

The new plot is only made when the price exceeds the predetermined threshold by a fixed amount. The Xs and Os are plotted only when the currency price moves by a predefined amount. A plot may not be made if the currency price does not move significantly. Understanding and knowing the different chart types used in forex trading, when and how to use them can give you an edge as a trader.

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Know These Forex Charts. Learn Forex Trading!