Saturday, July 25, 2009
Online Forex trading, aka currency trading, is growing fast and affiliates are starting to realize its potential. As with other products, the ability to promote a successful, respected brand, backed up by effective forex marketing tools, is the key to conversion. Established in 2005, FOREXAYRD quickly recognized the value and importance of affiliate to the growth of its business, and so we place high importance on our affiliate partners. Through its Forex affiliate program (Forex Partnerprogramm), FOREXYARD gives you the opportunity to tap into this booming industry, allowing you to profit from your existing traffic and giving you the potential to generate even more.
The international financial turmoil of the past couple of months has led many traders to diversify their investments, and many are turning to the forex market as a result! Forex affiliates have seen increases in traffic and conversions as a result, so now is a great time to push your sites by adding fresh content in an effort to attract speculators from the Stock markets and beyond.
To give you an idea of the Forex affiliate market at present, it is comparable to that of the gaming industry 8-10 years ago. As with gaming, affiliates who establish themselves relatively early on in the market will reap substantial rewards further down the line. FOREXYARD will be there throughout, to provide you with the high level of personal support, latest marketing tools and fantastic conversion rate needed to succeed. Sign up now and find out why the top affiliate sites are promoting Forex!
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spot forex trading
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spot forex trading
FOREXYARD is acutely aware of the benefits of working with affiliate partners, who can create sites/portals and direct large volumes of traffic to our site. Affiliates have the experience and know-how needed to achieve this, and so we pay generously for your efforts, be it CPA, Revenue share or Hybrid. FOREXYARD's forex affiliate program was launched in 2006, and in mid 2007 FOREXYARD established a dedicated Affiliate department to deal with the increasing demand for the program.
We guarantee a higher level of affiliate support than that of our competition in order to improve campaigns and conversions, with dedicated forex managers, and we are committed to developing long term relationships with each of our marketing partners. Our system provides accurate tracking, transparent reporting and regular updates and improvements, so that you receive the information you need in order to optimize your marketing efforts and maximize your affiliate earnings.
Since being established in 2005, FOREXYARD has provided a secure and dynamic trading platform, backed up by a high level of client support. We are not the biggest FX broker in the market, but we have steadily built ourselves a reputation as a professional and dependable company, who invest both time and resources into each of our clients in order to make them better traders.
Based in Nicosia, Cyprus, we cater to a wide range of traders from around the world, placing equal importance on first time traders as we do on experienced professionals. We firmly believe in the value of building a relationship with each and every client, in order to better understand their needs. We are quickly turning into one of the top paying forex affiliate programs, so join us today and start promoting FOREXYARD.
spot forex trading
spot forex trading
spot forex trading
spot forex trading
Friday, July 17, 2009
HISTORY OF INSURENCE
In some sense we can say that insurance appears simultaneously with the appearance of human society. We know of two types of economies in human societies: money economies (with markets, money, financial instruments and so on) and non-money or natural economies (without money, markets, financial instruments and so on). The second type is a more ancient form than the first. In such an economy and community, we can see insurance in the form of people helping each other. For example, if a house burns down, the members of the community help build a new one. Should the same thing happen to one's neighbour, the other neighbours must help. Otherwise, neighbours will not receive help in the future. This type of insurance has survived to the present day in some countries where modern money economy with its financial instruments is not widespread (for example countries in the territory of the former Soviet Union).
Turning to insurance in the modern sense (i.e., insurance in a modern money economy, in which insurance is part of the financial sphere), early methods of transferring or distributing risk were practised by Chinese and Babylonian traders as long ago as the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, respectively.[7] Chinese merchants travelling treacherous river rapids would redistribute their wares across many vessels to limit the loss due to any single vessel's capsizing. The Babylonians developed a system which was recorded in the famous Code of Hammurabi, c. 1750 BC, and practised by early Mediterranean sailing merchants. If a merchant received a loan to fund his shipment, he would pay the lender an additional sum in exchange for the lender's guarantee to cancel the loan should the shipment be stolen.
Achaemenian monarchs of Ancient Persia were the first to insure their people and made it official by registering the insuring process in governmental notary offices. The insurance tradition was performed each year in Norouz (beginning of the Iranian New Year); the heads of different ethnic groups as well as others willing to take part, presented gifts to the monarch. The most important gift was presented during a special ceremony. When a gift was worth more than 10,000 Derrik (Achaemenian gold coin) the issue was registered in a special office. This was advantageous to those who presented such special gifts. For others, the presents were fairly assessed by the confidants of the court. Then the assessment was registered in special offices.
The purpose of registering was that whenever the person who presented the gift registered by the court was in trouble, the monarch and the court would help him. Jahez, a historian and writer, writes in one of his books on ancient Iran: "[W]henever the owner of the present is in trouble or wants to construct a building, set up a feast, have his children married, etc. the one in charge of this in the court would check the registration. If the registered amount exceeded 10,000 Derrik, he or she would receive an amount of twice as much."[1]
A thousand years later, the inhabitants of Rhodes invented the concept of the 'general average'. Merchants whose goods were being shipped together would pay a proportionally divided premium which would be used to reimburse any merchant whose goods were jettisoned during storm or sinkage.
The Greeks and Romans introduced the origins of health and life insurance c. 600 AD when they organized guilds called "benevolent societies" which cared for the families and paid funeral expenses of members upon death. Guilds in the Middle Ages served a similar purpose. The Talmud deals with several aspects of insuring goods. Before insurance was established in the late 17th century, "friendly societies" existed in England, in which people donated amounts of money to a general sum that could be used for emergencies.
Separate insurance contracts (i.e., insurance policies not bundled with loans or other kinds of contracts) were invented in Genoa in the 14th century, as were insurance pools backed by pledges of landed estates. These new insurance contracts allowed insurance to be separated from investment, a separation of roles that first proved useful in marine insurance. Insurance became far more sophisticated in post-Renaissance Europe, and specialized varieties developed.
Toward the end of the seventeenth century, London's growing importance as a centre for trade increased demand for marine insurance. In the late 1680s, Edward Lloyd opened a coffee house that became a popular haunt of ship owners, merchants, and ships’ captains, and thereby a reliable source of the latest shipping news. It became the meeting place for parties wishing to insure cargoes and ships, and those willing to underwrite such ventures. Today, Lloyd's of London remains the leading market (note that it is not an insurance company) for marine and other specialist types of insurance, but it works rather differently than the more familiar kinds of insurance.
Insurance as we know it today can be traced to the Great Fire of London, which in 1666 devoured 13,200 houses. In the aftermath of this disaster, Nicholas Barbon opened an office to insure buildings. In 1680, he established England's first fire insurance company, "The Fire Office," to insure brick and frame homes.
The first insurance company in the United States underwrote fire insurance and was formed in Charles Town (modern-day Charleston), South Carolina, in 1732. Benjamin Franklin helped to popularize and make standard the practice of insurance, particularly against fire in the form of perpetual insurance. In 1752, he founded the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. Franklin's company was the first to make contributions toward fire prevention. Not only did his company warn against certain fire hazards, it refused to insure certain buildings where the risk of fire was too great, such as all wooden houses. In the United States, regulation of the insurance industry is highly Balkanized, with primary responsibility assumed by individual state insurance departments. Whereas insurance markets have become centralized nationally and internationally, state insurance commissioners operate individually, though at times in concert through a national insurance commissioners' organization. In recent years, some have called for a dual state and federal regulatory system (commonly referred to as the Optional federal charter (OFC)) for insurance similar to that which oversees state banks and national banks.
spot forex trading
spot forex trading
spot forex trading
Monday, July 13, 2009
Introduction to Trading Forex
Foreign Exchange
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This short introduction explains the basics of trading Forex online, a brief explanation of the markets and the major benefits of trading Forex online. There are also two scenarios describing the implications of trading in a bear as well as a bull market to better acquaint you with some of the risks and opportunities of the largest and most liquid market in the world.
As an additional aid for those who are new to Forex, there is also a glossary at the bottom of this text which explains some of the terms used in connection with currency trading.
Overview
Foreign exchange, Forex or just FX are all terms used to describe the trading of the world's many currencies. The Forex market is the largest market in the world, with trades amounting to more than USD 3 trillion every day. Most Forex trading is speculative, with only a low percentage of market activity representing governments' and companies' fundamental currency conversion needs.Unlike trading on the stock market, the Forex market is not conducted by a central exchange, but on the “interbank” market, which is thought of as an OTC (over the counter) market. Trading takes place directly between the two counterparts necessary to make a trade, whether over the telephone or on electronic networks all over the world. The main centres for trading are Sydney, Tokyo, London, Frankfurt and New York. This worldwide distribution of trading centres means that the Forex market is a 24-hour market.
Trading Forex
A currency trade is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another one. The currency combination used in the trade is called a cross (for example, the euro/US dollar, or the GB pound/Japanese yen.). The most commonly traded currencies are the so-called “majors” – EURUSD, USDJPY, USDCHF and GBPUSD.
The most important Forex market is the spot market as it has the largest volume. The market is called the spot market because trades are settled immediately, or “on the spot”. In practice this means two banking days.
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Forward Outrights
For forward outrights, settlement on the value date selected in the trade means that even though the trade itself is carried out immediately, there is a small interest rate calculation left. The interest rate differential doesn't usually affect trade considerations unless you plan on holding a position with a large differential for a long period of time. The interest rate differential varies according to the cross you are trading. On the USDCHF, for example, the interest rate differential is quite small, whereas the differential on NOKJPY is large. This is because if you trade e.g. NOKJPY, you get almost 7% (annual) interest in Norway and close to 0% in Japan. So, if you borrow money in Japan, to finance the trade and buying NOK, you have a positive interest rate differential. This differential has to be calculated and added to your account. You can have both a positive and a negative interest rate differential, so it may work for or against you when you make a trade.spot forex trading
Trading on Margin
Trading on margin means that you can buy and sell assets that represent more value than the capital in your account. Forex trading is usually conducted with relatively small margin deposits. This is useful since it permits investors to exploit currency exchange rate fluctuations which tend to be very small. A margin of 1.0% means you can trade up to USD 1,000,000 even though you only have USD 10,000 in your account. A margin of 1% corresponds to a 100:1 leverage (or “gearing”). (Because USD 10,000 is 1% of USD 1,000,000.) Using this much leverage enables you to make profits very quickly, but there is also a greater risk of incurring large losses and even being completely wiped out. Therefore, it is inadvisable to maximise your leveraging as the risks can be very high. For more information on the trading conditions of Saxo Bank, go to the Account Summary on your SaxoTrader and open the section entitled “Trading Conditions” found in the top right-hand corner of the Account Summary.spot forex trading
Why Trade Forex?
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24 hour trading
One of the major advantages of trading Forex is the opportunity to trade 24 hours a day from Sunday evening (20:00 GMT) to Friday evening (22:00 GMT). This gives you a unique opportunity to react instantly to breaking news that is affecting the markets. -
Superior liquidity
The Forex market is so liquid that there are always buyers and sellers to trade with. The liquidity of this market, especially that of the major currencies, helps ensure price stability and narrow spreads. The liquidity comes mainly from banks that provide liquidity to investors, companies, institutions and other currency market players. -
No commissions
The fact that Forex is often traded without commissions makes it very attractive as an investment opportunity for investors who want to deal on a frequent basis.
Trading the “majors” is also cheaper than trading other cross because of the high level of liquidity. For more information on the trading conditions of Saxo Bank, go to the Account Summary on your SaxoTrader and open the section entitled “Trading Conditions” found in the top right-hand corner of the Account Summary. -
100:1 Leverage
Leverage (gearing) enables you to hold a position worth up to 100 times more than your margin deposit. For example, a USD 10,000 deposit can command positions of up to USD 1,000,000 through leverage. You can leverage the first USD 25,000 of your investment up to 100 times and additional collateral up to 50 times. -
Profit potential in falling markets
Since the market is constantly moving, there are always trading opportunities, whether a currency is strengthening or weakening in relation to another currency. When you trade currencies, they literally work against each other. If the EURUSD declines, for example, it is because the US dollar gets stronger against the euro and vice versa. So, if you think the EURUSD will decline (that is, that the euro will weaken versus the dollar), you would sell EUR now and then later you buy euro back at a lower price. In case that the EURUSD indeed declines, then you can take your profit. The opposite trading scenario would occur if the EURUSD appreciates.
Important Forex Trading Terms
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Spread
The spread is the difference between the price that you can sell currency at (Bid) and the price you can buy currency at (Ask). The spread on majors is usually 3 pips under normal market conditions. For more information on the trading conditions at Saxo Bank, go to the Account Summary on your Client Station and open the section entitled “Trading Conditions” found in the top right-hand corner of the Account Summary. -
Pips
A pip is the smallest unit by which a cross price quote changes. When trading Forex you will often hear that there is a 3-pip spread when you trade the majors. This spread is revealed when you compare the bid and the ask price, for example EURUSD is quoted at a bid price of 0.9875 and an ask price of 0.9878. The difference is USD 0.0003, which is equal to 3 “pips”.
On a contract or position, the value of a pip can easily be calculated. You know that the EURUSD is quoted with four decimals, so all you have to do is cancel out the four zeros on the amount you trade and you will have the value of one pip. Thus, on a EURUSD 100,000 contract, one pip is USD 10. On a USDJPY 100,000 contract, one pip is equal to 1000 yen, because USDJPY is quoted with only two decimals.
Trading Scenario – Trading Rising Prices
If you believe that the euro will strengthen against the dollar you'll want to buy euro now and sell it back later at a higher price.![](http://www.blogger.com/img/trans.gif)
• You buy euro | We quote EURUSD at Bid 0.9875 and Ask 0.9878, which means that you can sell 1 euro for 0.9875 USD or buy 1 euro for 0.9878 USD. In this example you buy euro 100,000, at the quote price of 0.9878 (ask price) per euro. |
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• The market moves in your favor | Later the market turns in favour of the euro and the EURUSD is now quoted at Bid 0.9894 and Ask 0.9896. |
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• Now you sell your euro and get the profit | You sell euro at a Bid price of 0.9894. |
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• The profit is calculated as follows | Sell price-buy price x size of trade (0.9894 minus 0.9878) multiplied by 100.000 = USD 140 Profit (Note that the profit or loss is always expressed in the secondary currency) |
Trading Scenario – Trading Falling Prices
If, on the other hand, you believe that the euro will weaken against the dollar, you'll want to sell EURUSD.![](http://www.blogger.com/img/trans.gif)
• You sell euro | We quote EURUSD at a Bid price of 0.9875 and Ask price of 0.9880 and you decide to sell euro 100,000 at a Bid price of 0.9875. |
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• The market moves in your favour | The euro weakens against the dollar and the EURUSD is now quoted at bid 0.9744 and ask 0.9749. |
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• Now you buy back your euro | You buy EUR at an ask price of 0.9749. |
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• Your profit/loss is then | Sell price-buy price x size of trade (0.9875 minus 0.9749) multiplied by 100.000 = USD 1260 Profit |
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Further Reading
To see how you can trade the Forex market and benefit from our toolbox of information and live quotes, please proceed to the Forex Quick Start found under the Trading menu of SaxoTrader.Glossary
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• Appreciation | ![]() | An increase in the value of a currency. |
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• Ask | ![]() | The price requested by the trader. This usually indicates the lowest price a seller will accept. |
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• Base currency | ![]() | The currency that the investor buys or sells (i.e. EUR in EURUSD). |
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• Bear | ![]() | Someone who believes prices are heading down. A bear market is one in which there has been a sustained fall in prices and which does not look like it will recover quickly. |
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• Bid | ![]() | The price offered by the trader. This usually indicates the highest price a purchaser will pay. |
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• Bid/Ask | ![]() | The Bid rate is the rate at which you can sell. The Ask (or offer) rate is the rate at which you can buy. |
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• Bull | ![]() | Someone who is optimistic about the market. A bull market is characterised by enthusiastic and sustained buying. |
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• cross | ![]() | When trading with currencies, the investor buys one currency with another. These two currencies form the cross: for example, EURUSD. |
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• Cross rate | ![]() | An exchange rate that is calculated from two other exchange rates. |
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• Depreciation/decline | ![]() | A fall in the value of a currency. |
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• EURUSD | ![]() | Means that you trade EUR against dollars. If you buy euro you pay in dollars and if you sell euro you receive dollars. |
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• FX, Forex, Foreign Exchange | ![]() | All names for the transaction of one currency for another, e.g. you buy GBP 100.00 with USD 150.25 or sell USD 150.25 for GBP 100.00. |
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• Interbank | ![]() | Short-term (often overnight) borrowing and lending between banks, as distinct from a banks business with their corporate clients or other financial institutions. |
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• Interest rate differential | ![]() | The yield spread between two otherwise comparable debt instruments denominated in different currencies. |
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• Leverage (gearing) | ![]() | The investor only funds part of the amount traded. |
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• Long | ![]() | To buy. |
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• Long position | ![]() | A position that increases its value if market prices increase. |
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• Margin | ![]() | The deposit required when entering into a position as well as to hold an open position. Your margin status can be monitored in the Account Summary. |
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• NYSE | ![]() | The New York Stock Exchange. |
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• Pips | ![]() | A pip is the smallest unit by which a Forex cross price quote changes. So if EURUSD bid is now quoted at 0.9767 and it moves up 2 pips, it will be quoted at 0.9769. |
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• Secondary currency (variable currency or counter currency) | ![]() | The currency that the investor trades the base currency against (i.e. USD in EURUSD). |
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• Short position | ![]() | A position that benefits from a decline in market prices. |
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• Short | ![]() | To sell. |
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• Speculative | ![]() | Buying and selling in the hope of making a profit, rather than doing so for some fundamental business-related need. |
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• Spot | ![]() | A Spot rate is the current market price of an asset. |
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• Spread | ![]() | The difference between the bid and the ask rate. |