|
E-Currency: If Forest Gump Was Here, This Is What He Would Be Doing
So you want to learn currency exchange huh?
You heard about it and now you decided you want to become the Donald Trump of investing, somehow you know you can pull this off and become the next big thing.
Well it's quite possible to earn a very...
How to choose wisely a FOREX broker
Most traders use a FOREX broker to handle their transactions. What exactly are brokers? Strictly speaking, brokers are individuals or companies that buy and sell orders according the investor's decisions. Brokers earn money by charging a commission...
Is My Money Safe? On The Soundness Of Our Banks
Banks are institutions wherein miracles happen regularly. We rarely entrust our money to anyone but ourselves – and our banks. Despite a very chequered history of mismanagement, corruption, false promises and representations,...
There Are Real, Live People Behind Currency Trading
The Internet offers an abundance of information about investing, currency trading, forex market, about how, when and what to do to earn more money in the easiest way possible. The “information highway” is practically a gold mine for traders that...
Three Important Forex Concepts For New Traders.
As you enter the world of Forex you will find yourself learning
and using many new concepts that you may not have used or heard
before.
Three of this important concepts that you must understand are
what "Pips" are, What "Volume" is and what...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Investing in FOREX or investing in Stocks? Understand the benefits and risks of each Market
So, you have the money to invest, but you don’t know whether to buy Stocks or try something new, like FOREX for example.
Stocks
Before we describe what are the benefits of FOREX, lets remember what are Stocks. Stocks have been a popular investment for hundreds of years. Companies issue stocks to raise capital for expansion and new projects, and each share of the stock represents a partial ownership in the company. Basically speaking, when you buy stocks you invest in the company and in the market it is working in.
Hence, when the company does well and makes a profit, the value of the stocks rise and you can sell your shares for a profit or hold on to the stock for even more gain in the future. Sometimes companies will issue dividends – part of the profits that are distributed to share holders, another way for you to make a profit.
Stocks are traded on Stock exchanges. Most stocks are bought and sold through brokers (agents) who charge a commission or fee for this service. American stock exchanges include the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (NASDAQ). Most stocks are only listed on one exchange, although large companies may have listings on several exchanges.
Stocks were traditionally seen as long-term investments. So-called 'blue chip' stocks - those having proven value over many years - may form the backbone of an investment portfolio. Short-term traders (Day traders) exist, but it is a relatively new phenomenon made possible with the advent of Internet trading. Day traders attempt to take advantage of large daily fluctuations in the market by buying and selling many times in one trading period. It is relatively risky and broker commissions charged on each transaction reduce any profits realized.
Stocks may sometimes be bought on Margin, meaning that the investor borrows money to buy the stocks. Margin rates are usually around 50% - the investor can borrow as much as half the value of the stock.
FOREX
The Foreign Exchange Market (FOREX) is quite different from the stock exchange. In contrast to the stock exchange, the FOREX is primarily a short-term market. Most traders enter and exit deals within a 24-hour period – sometimes within a few minutes. Many FOREX trades can be made in one
day without building up a large brokerage fee because FOREX trades are commission free; hence, you keep all of your profit. Brokers earn money by setting a spread – the difference between asking and selling prices.
FOREX is the largest financial market in the world. It is handles transactions worth $1.5 trillion every day ($1,500,000,000,000). By comparison, all the American stock exchanges combined handle daily transactions worth about $100 billion ($100,000,000,000), 15 times smaller than FOREX. It is not located in any one location, but in the virtual space of the Internet. Trading markets are located world-wide and because of difference in time-zones trades can be made 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Trading begins in Sydney, Australia on Monday morning (Sunday afternoon New York time) and continues non-stop until Friday afternoon New York time.
The huge volume of FOREX and its around the clock availability, means that it is one of the most liquid markets in the world. There is always a buyer and seller for any type of currency because the world economy relies on the movement of goods from country to country. Stock exchanges have more limited trading hours. While it is possible to trade on exchanges worldwide, each exchange is independent and operates for just 7 hours a day. There is no way to buy or sell a certain stock that is only traded on one stock exchange when that exchange is closed.
FOREX has even more advantages compares to Stocks: It is more predictable than stocks, it follows well established trends, it allows high leverage – typically 100:1 instead of 2:1 on the stock market; and it doesn't require a large investment – mini accounts as small as $250 can get you started in FOREX.
The big question is what is Best for you? Are you looking for a Day-Trading constant activity, with its advantages, or a long-term investment. Know the answer and you know the nature of your next investment.
More FOREX articles can be found at http://forex.beyogi.com - The Foreign Exchange Market Explained.
About the author:
Ofer Shoshani is the Editor of beyogi (http://forex.beyogi.com) - The Foreign Exchange Market Explained where many more articles like this one can be found.
|
|
|
|
|