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By Quintin Whitfield

 Forex is the name given to the foreign exchange market, where international currencies are bought and sold. Due to the development of free exchange rates, the market began in the 1970s and has become the world’s largest financial market with a daily turnover of US$1.9 trillion. To put that into perspective, that’s over thirty times the daily turnover of the rest of the US equity markets combined.

Unlike normal stock markets which are traded on exchanges that are located in a specific place, Forex currency exchange takes place via an Over The Counter (OTC) or interbank market. This means that transactions are conducted electronically between brokers.

Thanks to this and global time zones, Forex is a genuine 24 hour financial market. The day begins in Australia and moves around the globe as each of the leading financial markets open in Tokyo, London and New York. So it’s always possible to find someone who is willing to buy or sell international currencies. This gives investors the chance to respond to price changes caused by a variety of economic, social and political events at any time of the day or night.

There are two main reasons for trading currency on Forex. Approximately 5% of Forex trades are undertaken by multinational companies and governments who buy or sell products and services in a foreign country and have to convert their profits into their domestic currency. Forex allows them to hedge (or protect) their profits so that in the even of a dramatic currency fluctuation, their profits won’t be reduced.

However, the other 95% of Forex activity is due to people or organizations trading for short term profit. Forex allows you to trade virtually any currency, although in practice most activity (85% of total turnover) relates to the major currencies which include the US Dollar, the Euro, the Japanese Yen, the Swiss Franc, the British Pound, the Australian Dollar and the Canadian Dollar.

Trading on the Forex exchange involves simultaneously buying one currency and selling another. For example, if you buy USD/EUR, that means you buy the US Dollar and sell an equivalent value of the Euro. Closing you position involves buying the Euro and selling the US Dollar.

The price of all currencies traded on Forex are influenced by the laws of supply and demand. If the demand for a currency outstrips the supply, the price rises. Alternatively, if supply is greater than demand, the price of a currency will fall.

Forex trading has a number of significant advantages that make it an extremely attractive form of speculation.

First, due to its size and lack of exchange controls, it’s almost impossible for any person or organization (including central banks and governments) to significantly influence prices for an extended period of time. This means that you can enter the market secure in the knowledge that your investment is competing on a level playing field with every other investor around the world.

Second, due to the vast size of the market, the liquidity is excellent. So unlike the position with many stocks and shares where you might find it hard to sell certain investments, you can open and close Forex trades almost instantly as there are always scores of international buyers and sellers.

Third, it’s relatively easy and cheap to get started trading Forex. All you need is an internet connection, a broker and perhaps $500 - $1000 to open a trading account. Once you’ve got these things you can trade 24 hours a day from Sunday afternoon through to Friday evening. And thanks to the availability of information on the internet it’s possible to find all the data that you need for the purposes of analysis and decision making.

Fourth, it’s possible to make substantial short term gains with relatively little capital thanks to the number of daily fluctuations in currency prices and the ability to leverage your capital (often up to 100 times) thanks to margin trading.

However, due to rapid fluctuation of currency prices and marginal trading, Forex trading carries significant risks, so caution must be required when deciding which trades to make.

When it comes to decision making, there are two basic Forex trading strategies, technical analysis and fundamental analysis.

Technical analysis relys upon using price charts, trend lines, support/resistance levels, highest price, lowest price, transaction volumes and various other mathematical formulae to identify trading opportunities. This is based upon the belief that everything that may influence the price of a currency has been considered by the market and factored into the current price.

Crucially, technical analysts don’t try to defeat the market. The are content to predict short term, minor fluctuations using patterns from the recent past and the belief that history will repeat itself. The main disadvantage of the method is that all the results are purely historic and cannot always be relied upon as an accurate guide to the future.

Fundamental analysis looks at wider factors such as the national economy of the currency, the political stability, employment figures, industry figures, interest rates, tax policy and a wide range of other economic indicators. However, before basing your investment decisions on these factors alone, it’s important to consider both technical analysis and the fact that market expectations can influence the price of a currency as much as reality.

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Easy Repayment Are The Best Option For Borrowers

By Keri Carrillo

 Secured loans - one of the most popular types of loan uses the home or any other property owned by the borrower as collateral. The borrower pledges his property to the lender for the repayment duration. Although there are numerous other types of loan, but lenders are most comfortable while giving a secured loan. The obvious reason for this comfort is the element of security or collateral. This collateral ensures a peace of mind for the lender because he has something to bank upon in case the borrower defaults. This security prompts the lenders to offer loans at low interest rates. Secured loans are panacea for people who otherwise would have faced a rejection due to their poor credit ratings or any other cause. Thus by offering proper collateral almost anyone can get the desired loan. Secured loans can be taken for a wide spectrum of uses such as debt consolidation, renovation of homes, funding a holiday or buying a new car.

The amount a person can get as a secured loan is dependent to a large extent on the value of the collateral. With proper collateral, secured loans of 5000 to 50,000 are easily available. However, if the lenders feel that the collateral is of sufficient value and the borrower has a good credit history, they do not hesitate in lending large amounts. Secured loans come with very easy repayment options and lenders keep borrower’s requirements into consideration while deciding on repayment plans. Secured loans have repayment periods stretching from five to twenty five years.

APR (Annual Percentage Rate) should be given serious consideration by every borrower who wants to take a secured loan. The APR is the interest rate charged on the loan. Secured loans have very low APR’s ranging between 5% to 8% depending on the loan term, collateral value and credit worthiness of the borrower. While taking a secured loan a borrower has to pay some fees to the lender. The lender has to ensure that the collateral is of sufficiently high value. For this purpose he takes the help of a professional valuator. This professional engagement has to be paid by the borrower. The solicitor’s fees are also charged for preparing legal documents. The conveyance and office charges also add up the cost of taking a secured loan. The borrower should be aware of all such fees and ask the lender about it in advance.

The process of applying for a secured loan has become very easy and hassle- free thanks to the modern advances in information technology. All the leading financial institutions and top of the line lenders have online presence these days. It takes just a few minutes to submit an online application via the lender’s website. A borrower can also apply through a phone and by visiting the lender’s office in person.

Since a valuation process is involved in taking secured loans, the approval of such loans take a longer time as compared to unsecured loans. Lending agencies, in spite of having collateral will like to ensure the borrower’s creditworthiness. For this the lenders take the help of existing credit rating agencies. Most of the lenders take explicit permission from the borrower before performing any credit check. The entire process from submitting the application form for the secured loan to loan approval will be completed within 30 days in most cases. A credit agreement will enforce the terms and condition of loan on both parties- the lender and the borrower. It would be a wise decision if a borrower goes through the fine print of this agreement to avoid falling into any trap, which might be detrimental to his financial and other interests. Shopping around for the right lender with the most economical offer and the lowest APR will save a fortune for the borrower.

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