World Biz Info
The source of the best business, financial and legal news
web www.worldbizinfo.com
Business Informations

Choosing A Forex Broker


With currency trading becoming ever more popular, the number of brokers is growing at a rapid rate. What should one look at when deciding which broker to open an account with? These are the important points to consider.

Spread

Because currencies, unlike futures and stocks, are not traded through a central exchange, the spread can be different depending on the broker you use, so it's well worth checking a few out before you open an account. Most forex brokers publish live or delayed prices on their websites so you can compare spreads, but check if the spread is fixed or variable. A fixed spread means exactly that - it will always be the same no matter what time of day or night it is. Some brokers use a variable spread, which might appear to be nice and small when the market is quiet, but when things get busy they can widen the spread which means the market must move more in your favor before you start to make a profit. Fixed spreads are generally slightly wider than the variable spreads are when at their narrowest, but over the long term fixed can be safer.

Execution

Some brokers will show live prices on their trading platform, but will they honor them when it comes to pushing the Buy or Sell button? The best way to find out is to open a demo account and give them a test drive. This will also give you the opportunity to see what the speed of execution is like - when you want to buy, you want to buy now, not sit around waiting for ten minutes whilst your order is confirmed!

Trading Platform

Good trading software will show live prices that you can actually trade at, not just indicative quotes. It will offer Limit and Stop orders, and ideally will let you attach these to your entry order. One-Cancels-Other orders are another useful feature - they mean you can set up your trade and then leave the software to get on with it. And the most important feature of all - can you actually understand the platform? Having all the bells and whistles is of no use if you can't use them, so again, get a demo account and give it a go.

Support

Forex is a 24 hour market, so your broker should offer 24 hour support. You might not be trading at 3am, but that could be what time it is in your brokers head office on the other side of the planet, so make sure there will be somebody there to pick up the phone if things go wrong. You should also check if you can close positions over the phone - essential in case your PC or internet connection crash at a critical moment.

Backing

Finally, before opening an account do a little homework and find out about the company. Forex brokers are regulated, but that doesn't mean they all have equal backing. If the market collapses, you want to know that they've got the reserves to cope with it and will still be around when you decide to withdraw your cash. If a broker is elusive when it comes to questions about their parentage and financial backing, then steer clear.

In Conclusion

Choosing a forex broker isn't difficult, but don't rush the decision. Check out a few, and always get a demo account first to make sure you're happy with the way everything works before sending off your opening balance.

About The Author

Geoff Turnbull is a full time day trader, and a contributor to http://www.forexheaven.com


MORE RESOURCES:

BBC News

Shekel opens weaker against euro
Globes, Israel - 10 hours ago
The shekel had a mixed opening to foreign currency trading this morning, gaining slightly against the dollar but weakening against the euro. ...
Video: Mortgage Meltdown Q & A CBS
Report of Dollar Rises After Mortgage Bailout TransWorldNews (press release)
$A opens higher as risk appetite returns Sydney Morning Herald
AHN - Forbes
all 7,270 news articles


Trading in currency futures: up and away
Livemint, India - 1 hour ago
As pointed out earlier, the new entrants to currency derivatives trading wouldn’t be bothered about these limitations. Varma says that we’re currently in ...


Citizen

Asian currencies lower against dollar
Economic Times, India - Sep 6, 2008
Yuzo Sakai, currency trading manager at Tokyo Forex and Ueda Harlow, predicted before the Labor Department report that the yen could rise again. ...
* Dollar dips vs euro, but up vs yen on GSE bailout plan guardian.co.uk
Dollar Drops To Multi-day Lows Against Euro And Pound RTT News
CEE MARKETS 3-FX give up early gains, yields down Finance.cz
Wall Street Journal - The Age
all 467 news articles


The Moscow Times

Central Bank Acts to Stem Ruble Slide
The Moscow Times, Russia - 22 hours ago
08 September 2008The ruble recovered on Friday from a historic trough after the Central Bank said it would not allow the currency's trading band to widen, ...
Ruble Rises Against Currency Basket After Central Bank Steps In Bloomberg
Russian assets tumble amid worries about ruble MarketWatch
Big Summer Sell-Off Hits the Russian Stock Market New York Times
Bloomberg - MarketWatch
all 35 news articles


Forex Buy/Sell Signals from DailyFX Provide Profitable Trades in ...
Daily FX, NY - 4 hours ago
Given challenging currency market conditions, we would continue to underweight range trading market strategies and concentrate on higher-reward trending and ...


Jordan's mufti issues fatwa against electronic currency trading
Monsters and Critics.com - Sep 6, 2008
... the trading of currencies on the internet after scores of citizens went bankrupt, suffering big losses in currency trading with foreign markets. ...


Stay prepared for breakout
Business Standard, India - Sep 7, 2008
Action in the new currency trading segment suggests that market expectations are in the range of Rs 44.80 to the dollar by the end of the month. ...


`Overvalued' Pound to Fall 20% as Darling Despairs (Update3)
Bloomberg - 5 hours ago
8 (Bloomberg) -- Currency traders are starting to take the British government at its word, putting the tumbling pound on course for the worst year since ...


India Infoline.com

Defining the role of currency futures and other derivatives
Economic Times, India - 21 hours ago
India launched exchange-traded currency derivatives the other day and on the first day of trading, the exchange handled $60 million. ...
Mentha oil futures up in early trade Hindu Business Line
Brisk start for FX futures trading on India’s NSE but scope is ... Futures Options Week
India gold futures higher on commodities mkts boost Reuters India
Economic Times
all 14 news articles


India Rupee Rises Most in 6 Weeks, Spurred by Asian Stock Gains
Bloomberg - 11 hours ago
``That should increase capital inflows and benefit the currency in the short term.'' The rupee rose as much as 1.2 percent to 44.125 per dollar before ...
India's Rupee Gains as Stocks Rally on Fannie, Freddie Rescue Bloomberg
India to Use Rates for Rupee, Standard Chartered Says (Update1) Bloomberg
India to Announce Industrial Production for July: Week Ahead Bloomberg
all 7 news articles

currency trading - Google News

home | site map
© 2006
web www.worldbizinfo.com