This title shows how investors of every size can profit from today's largest trading market. Newly-developed online trading tools and tactics have helped individual investors smash the barriers between Main Street and Wall Street. Nowhere is this more evident than in the foreign currency market, or FOREX. Recent rule changes have opened this phenomenally lucrative market - formerly reserved for banks, corporations, and high net worth individuals--to independent investors, many of whom start with as little as $300! "Forex Made Easy" is the first no-nonsense, step-by-step introduction to making the FOREX an integral part of your overall trading program.Pulling back the curtain to reveal how simple and straightforward FOREX trading actually can be, this results-based manual takes you through an easy-to-follow, six-step process to: use unheard-of 100:1 leverage to make the most of your limited trading capital; practice market-proven techniques guaranteed to minimize your risk exposure; and, trade the FOREX market online, 24 hours a day, six days a week FOREX trading has quickly become one of the investing world's hottest opportunities, for all traders and investors, regardless of their size or strategy. Discover how to make it work for you, in renowned FOREX trading pioneer James Dicks' commonsense yet revolutionary "FOREX Made Easy".'In this book I have put together what I feel to be a very investor-friendly understanding of the FOREX market and how to trade it. This is for the everyday investor, looking for an alternative to the stock market for better portfolio diversification' - James Dicks.The foreign currency market is the largest and most liquid trading market in the world, with $1.5 trillion or more traded every day. And in our increasingly barrier-free global financial markets, online traders and investors armed with inexpensive point-and-click trading systems, along with a new attitude that markets should be open to all traders, all the time, have made it among the most accessible! Problem is, the majority of books written on FOREX trading have been needlessly complex and technically dense, written for institutional investors making billion dollar-plus trades. "FOREX Made Easy" changes all that, telling you everything you need to know minus the unnecessary detail and tactics.The first book to provide you with only the information you need, to allow you to get a feel for the market and determine how to fit FOREX trading into your long-term investing program, this straight-talking guidebook reveals: what the FOREX is, and how and why it has become the major player in today's financial markets; clear instructions for setting up a trading station, opening an account, and placing your first order; 6 steps to FOREX success - concise, effective rules for successful trading; fundamental analysis and the FOREX - Economic indicators, inflationary indicators, and more; technical analysis and the FOREX - From basic charts and patterns to Fibonacci, Elliot Wave, and more; money management principles to ensure that you trade with your head instead of your heart; and, business and tax strategies for squeezing every financial advantage from your FOREX trading practices. "FOREX Made Easy" gives you much more than just facts and numbers.This first-of-its-kind book provides you with the tools and techniques you need to stand toe-to-toe with the world's most powerful traders and institutions, using FOREX trading like they have for years to both offset your market risks and augment your profits. Simple, uncomplicated, and filled with examples of individual traders using their smaller size to tremendous advantage in the institution-dominated FOREX, it will open your eyes to an opportunity that is unique, unprecedented, and bound to become a staple for traders looking for new sources of profits, and innovative techniques to protect those profits.

Table of Contents

Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv 1 What Is the FOREX? 1 Introduction 1 FOREX Defined 12 A Brief History of the FOREX 13 Free-Floating FOREX Market 13 Major FOREX Participants 14 2 More FOREX 15 Currency Pairs 15 Recommended Currency Pairs 16 Why Trade the FOREX 19 Volume in the FOREX 19 Analyzing the FOREX 23 How Profits Are Made 23 The FOREX as a Two-Way Market 25 3 Forecasting the Market 29 Fundamental Analysis 29 Technical Analysis 32 Fundamental versus Technical Analysis 33 4 Currency Options 35 Currency Options Introduction 35 Options Pricing 36 Advantages of Trading Options 37 European and American Options 37 Exotic Options 38 Lock in Profits 40 Accelerate Your Profits 41 5 Creating a Workstation for Trading 43 Workstation Location 43 Trading Computer and Accessories 44 Internet Connection 45 Trading Software Programs 45 Continuing Education 48 6 Fundamentals of Trading 51 Introduction to Trading Theory 52 Trends Defined 53 Trend Cycles 53 High-Probability Trading 55 Sideways, Nontrend Strategy: Wait for Strong Trends 55 Uptrend Trading Strategy: But at Dip Bottoms 55 Downtrend Trading Strategy: Sell at Rally Tops 58 Symmetrical Triangle 58 Ascending Triangle: A Bullish Continuation Pattern 63 Descending Triangle 65 The Falling Broadening Formation 67 Support Breakdown or Resistance Breakout 67 The Double Bottom 68 Head and Shoulders (Crown) 70 7 Economic Fundamentals 73 Introduction 73 Economic Indicators 74 Inflation Indicators 76 Employment Indicators 78 Consumer Spending Indicators 78 Leading Indicators 79 8 Introduction to Technical Analysis 81 Technical Analysis Defined 81 Technical Analysis Assumptions 82 Bar and Candlestick Charts 83 Technical Analysis Terms 86 Market Patterns: Uptrends, Downtrends, and Sideways Trends 87 Support and Resistance 95 Moving Averages 95 9 Advanced Trading Charts and Indicators 103 Tools for Technical Analysis 104 Bollinger Bands 104 Directional Movement Index (DMI) 107 Stochastic Indicator 107 Moving Averages (Simple, Weighted, and Exponential) 110 Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MAC/D) 116 Momentum 119 Relative Strength Index (RSI) 119 Rate of Change (ROC) 122 Volume 122 10 Fibonacci Numerical Sequences and Elliot Waves 125 Introduction 125 Fibonacci Rectangles and Shell Spirals 127 Fibonacci Retracements 128 Fibonacci Extensions 128 Fibonacci Time 129 Fibonacci Circles 130 Elliot Waves 135 11 Money Management Principles 139 Trade with Sufficient Capital 140 Exercise Discipline 140 Be Patient and Persistent 141 Employ Risk-to-Reward Ratios 141 Follow Trading Rules 143 Accept Losses 144 Always, Always Use Stops 144 When In Doubt, Stay Out 145 Never Overleverage Your Account 145 Make Realistic Goals That Can Be Achieved within Reason 146 Always Trade with Money You Can Afford to Lose 147 Protecting Your Profits 147 Keep a Trading Log 147 12 Six Steps to Success 149 Identify Current Long- and Short-Term Trends and Which Trend to Trade 149 Check News and Market Announcements 150 Identify Support and Resistance Levels 151 Use Studies and Indicators for Entry 151 Buy at Dip Bottoms (Uptrends) or Sell on Rally Tops (Downtrends) 151 Use Proper Money Management 152 13 Getting Started with a Trading Station 155 Access the PremiereTrade Web Site 156 Install and Run the Dealing Software 156 Open a Demo Trading Account 156 Dealing Rates Window 157 Open Positions Window 159 Accounts Window 161 Multiple-Accounts Window 163 Orders Window 163 Placing a Market Order 164 Placing a Stop/Limit on an Open Position 167 Change Price on a Stop/Limit (Open Position) 168 Delete Stop/Limit (Open Position) 168 Close an Open Position 169 Placing an Entry Order 170 Change an Entry Order 171 Canceling an Entry Order 173 Reports 173 Customizing the Trading Screen 173 Trading Station Options 175 14 Corporations in the FOREX 179 Introduction 179 Forward Transactions 180 Examples of Strategies 181 Portfolio Management and Currency Risk 183 15 The Business of Trading 185 Staring your Business 185 The Tax Code 186 How to Become a Trader 187 What If I Don't Make Enough Money to Use Those Deductions? 188 How to Make the Win/Win Better 188 What Kind of Corporation Should You Use? 189 Let's Take a Look at Some Examples 190 Appendix: Bretton Woods System and Post--Bretton Woods System 193 Glossary 199 Bibliography 207 Charts, Figures and Credits 207 Index 209

About the Author

James Dicks is president and CEO of PremiereTrade. One of today's leading authorities on trading the foreign currency exchange market as an innovative means of diversification, Dicks speaks to more than 60,000 traders each year through his popular training sessions. He lives in Orlando, Florida.