Forex Trading takes place 24 hours 5 days a week. It starts from 23.00 (EST) Sunday and closes at 24.00 (EST) Friday (trading server time). The time zone in forex trading is referenced in terms of Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Currency trading involves global exchange of currencies all around the world. When forex trading stops in one part of the globe, it opens in another part.

Here trading time does not follow the same time as is the case in other trading markets like the stocks and commodities. If one part of the world goes to sleep, the other part awakens.
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LEAPs are traded just like shorter-term stock options. The only difference is the expiration date, which can be as far as three years. Because the price of the underlying stock can change a lot over such a long time frame, LEAPs are expensive to purchase and risky to sell.

For traders who do not enjoy micromanaging a portfolio, LEAPs are a good way to hedge a position. By purchasing a January 2010 put on one of your underlyings, you are ensured a hedge until then. If you purchase shorter term puts then they will expire worthless each period assuming your underlying does not decrease in price enough to necessitate exercising the put. Allowing a hedge to expire is like letting an insurance policy lapse, and if you forget to roll your hedge each expiry, you may be left at risk.
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Oil prices today are determined by many factors. As a commodity, oil is of course priced by market forces: supply versus demand. However, oil is subject to several distorting factors which can lead to vast swings in price.

Oil requires a lot of processing to turn it into a useful form. Crude oil is a complex soup of different molecules, and must pass through a refining process to split it out into kerosene, gasoline, diesel and other products. Anything which affects refining capacity (such as a hurricane striking the concentration of refineries around the coast of the Gulf of Mexico) tends to drive up the price of oil, even though the crude oil itself may be coming out of the ground as quickly as ever.
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The study of how currency rates or exchange rates are determined is studied in economics. It is studied in the stand of economics called macroeconomics. There are two different types of exchange rates a country can enforce and they are fixed or floated.

Fixed exchange rates are where the Reserve Bank or related body sells and buys foreign currency, using their home currency (If it was the US Reserve Bank, they will buy and sell currency using USD). By buying and selling foreign currency the reserve bank can determine the exchange rates. But if the Reserve Bank runs out of foreign exchange they stop buying, they will have to sell foreign exchange to build up their foreign exchange reserves so they can start selling currency again. Read the rest of this entry »

So you want to become a successful, profitable share trader?

If you want to become a successful, profitable share trader in the stock market, you need to implement a few basic guidelines.
Listed below are a few ideas you might find invaluable.

1. Adhere to your written down plan for buying and selling shares. I.e. The amount you are going to spend, the amount you can afford to lose if things go the wrong way (2% of the total value is a good guideline)

The % profit you want to make, after allowing for brokerage etc.

The time frame you would like. (Not always possible) for the total transaction. Is it short, medium or long term?

The number of shares you want. (This depends also on your capital constraints)
Diversify don’t invest just in one area. Spread your risk over different types of companies.

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Debt has the ability to be both a positive and negative catalyst for wealth. Too much debt becomes out of control, too little debt and opportunities may pass by. Debt has been used as a financial instrument for centuries and is means by which lenders can make a profit and borrowers can 1) engage in financial ventures otherwise unfunded 2) increase standard of living and 3) allow businesses to finance activities more profitably. This article will focus on the use of debt as a potentially wealth building business venture.

Financial ventures and expenditures financed through debt can go very well or terribly wrong if the debt is unrealistic, cannot be paid back or does not create a return higher than the cost of debt. An example of beneficial debt leveraging is Coca-Cola’s use of “debt financing to lower the cost of capital, which increases return on shareholder equity” (Coca-Cola 10Q, 4Q 2007) In other words, the cost of debt is cheaper than other sources of capital for Coca-Cola company.
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