I was asked by frequent emailer Rod to address something he came across regarding the cost of forex trading as compared to trading other markets, like futures. He is referring to this blog post in which the author compares retail forex to emini S&P 500 futures. In particular, the following statements are made: “…unlike a stock, option or futures trade where one pays to enter and again to exit (but not to hold) a FX position is inherently a short-term trade, as you will be charged simply for the privilege of holding...

The other day I posted Increasing Regulation of Retail Forex Trading discussing the continued efforts of the CFTC and NFA in terms of regulating retail foreign exchange trading in the US. I came across a discussion on Trade2Win today which made me want come back to the subject, though. The thread starter asked the question “10:1 could this be the new leverage in the US ?”. This came from a single line in the CFTC”s communique: CFTC Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Regulations Regarding Retail FOREX Transactions,...

There is an article on the Financial Times website on the subject of increased regulation in the US of retail forex trading. For those who have been following along with developments over the last year (No More “Hedging” for Forex Traders, New NFA Rule Impacts More Than Just Forex Hedging, New NFA Retail Forex Leverage Restrictions) there won’t be much new information. Here’s an interesting point of reference from the article, though. The rules bring fresh oversight to a small but expanding portion of the $3,700bn-a-day...

I got the following email over the weekend. Let me know what your immediate response is. I had my own, but I won’t taint your view with what went through my mind at first. Dear sir, kindly to inform you that i’m new in forex trading. So far i always lost my money in trading forex. if you don’t mind, can you tell me what is the best forex trading technique or trading system that can make me always win and make money in my forex trading. thanks you. Aside from any other response, my recommendation to this individual...

I recently got a zero sum question in regards to the stock market. The one question I cannot seem to find the definitive answer to is this: Is the Stock Market a “zero sum” entity? I have done a lot of online research the last week or so trying to answer this question. Unfortunately, there are too many differing views on this subject and I have not yet found confirmation. I’ve addressed the general zero sum question previously in the post The Zero Sum Game. Let me tackle stocks specifically here, however. First,...

I had all sorts of interesting things I was going to be working on this week. Someone, however, decided they had other plans for me. Well, they didn”t actually have plans for me, but their hacking of some of my web sites certainly forced me to do some work I really hadn’t planned on or and certainly didn’t want. It took me a couple of days just to clear up all the malware code that this hacker inserted into key files. I don’t know what it did, nor do I particularly care. With the help of my web host I...