Earnings Season Is Gold to Some Option Traders

By Morris Puma

First of all, I'd just like to say hi to all the option traders out there, and then I would like to tell you about some of the exciting things that are going on with the San Jose Options Mentoring Program. Where do I start? Well, let's begin with this week. This has been a very exciting week for me. San Jose Options just launched the Options Toolkit which can back-test over 4,000 optionable stocks with just a single click of the mouse.

I am very excited about the new software, and to give you an idea of the power of this monster, listen to this. What used to take weeks of research using other options back-trading software, now can be done in the Options Toolkit in just 1.2 seconds!

Imagine the power this brings to you, the investor. By gathering this data so fast, option traders can confidently put on trades that they would never be able to do without the software. Spend less time researching trades and more time forward trading. This is truly a product that I believe will revolutionize the way each option trader invests.

Earnings Plays Week 1

The Options Toolkit has just released its earnings tester, and after using it just one week, I have had great results. I made 4 different trades and yielded about 30% net. That is after paying commissions. The software quickly back-tested these stocks for me and gave me the data and confidence I need to make the trades.

I think the options market has really needed a tool like this for quite some time now. The Options Toolkit is what every options trader needs to refine his strategies to perfection. It's definitely the best thing on the market to gather data on trades and to find upcoming trades with higher probability.

Here's an example of what I can do with the Options Toolkit. I simply type in AAPL, fill in some parameters, and then I click my mouse. In just a second I can see that AAPL is an excellent candidate for an overnight earnings play. It has averaged over 20% on this strategy for quite a while now. Without this software, it would take me hours to make these calculations. I can now enter another stock and get its data. After using this tool, I'll never go back to manually back-testing my ideas.

Well, that's about all I have time for at the moment. I just wanted to get the word out about this new tool by San Jose Options. It's been a big project, and but it's worth the wait. I'm loving the new Options Toolkit, and I'll be using it in my studies and trading from now on. It will be developing as time goes by, but in this first release, the earnings tester is awesome and it's helping me make some money which is the bottom line. - 23162

About the Author:

For more information about the Options Toolkit and the San Jose Options Mentoring Program, please visit www.SJOptions.com and receive your Free 45 Minute Video on Option Trading Greeks. Learn what Maximum Safety, Maximum Reward option trading is all about.

Some Forex Trading Tips

By Bart Icles

One of the most basic things you will learn about foreign exchange or forex trading is to invest on your forex education. This is perhaps one of the most common forex trading tips you will receive or come across with as a beginner to the volatile yet profitable world of currency trading. Investing in your forex education does not only mean paying for the most intensive forex lessons and tutorials. Rather, it requires more of your time and commitment to learn as much as you can about the basics of forex trading, and keeping your mind open for different kinds of forex trading tips that you will learn along the way.

Perhaps the most effective way of learning different forex concepts and principles is through getting as much forex trading tips as you can. These tips can be gathered from seasoned traders and investors, and from brokers and advisers who have all sorts of forex ideas and strategies that they can willingly share to you.

Reading books and journals is another way of enriching your knowledge of the forex market. There are many different kinds of forex books and journals available in bookstores and through the internet. You should not only educate yourself about the technicalities of the currency market ? it also helps to learn more about the psychology behind forex trading. This can help you much in learning why you tend to encounter failure and how you can steer clear of it.

In the forex world, practice can help much in making you aware of the different conditions that might arise from the smallest to the largest trading decisions that you can make. Therefore, it helps that you develop and make use of a trading system or a trading plan. Doing so, you will be able to better determine when to execute stop orders and other significant decisions. Forex trading signals can also help you much in developing trading decisions and actions. So try to give yourself time to trade with the trend. Indicators like long-term moving average charts can help much in determining when to trade with the trend and when to trade against it.

The most important of the forex trading tips that you should learn is to never set yourself up for false targets and expectations. You should keep in mind that currency trading is not an exact science. Learn how to take whatever it is that the market gives you, and take happiness from it. Remember that while the forex market promises sizable gains, it also warns you of unpredictable losses. - 23162

About the Author:

forex trading are powerful when coupled with a desire to learn and a drive to become a great trader. Learning forex takes dedication and a good teacher. But once you learn how to trade and do so successfully your life will change and you have options and financial resources you never had before.

US Dollar (Part I)

By Ahmad Hassam

It is important for the currency traders to have a good grasp of the general economic characteristics of the most commonly traded currencies. US Dollar is the most heavily traded currency in the global economy.

Some currencies tend to track commodity prices while others may move in complete contrast. Traders need to also know the difference between the expected and the actual data.

The correlation between the currency markets and news is very important. News or data that is in line with the expectations has less of an impact on currency movements than unexpected news or data. Therefore short term traders need to closely monitor the expectation of the currency markets.

US GDP is approximately three times the size of Japan, five times the size of Germany and seven times the size of UK. United States is the worlds leading economy. The US economy is now a service oriented economy with almost 80% of GDP coming from real estate, transportation, finance, health care and business services.

United States has the worlds most liquid and deep equity and fixed income markets in the world. The manufacturing sector is still formidable and US Dollar is particularly sensitive to the development within the sector.

The import and export volume of US also dwarfs the countries. This maybe due to the sheer size of US as true import and export represent only 12% of the GDP. Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) into the US is equal to almost 40% of the total net inflows for United States. Investors from all over the world purchase US assets due to their liquidity and safety.

United States is running a large CA deficit for more than a decade now. US economy is facing the paradox of the twin deficits. One is the Budget Deficit and the other is the Current Account (CA) deficit.

The large CA deficit makes the US Dollar highly sensitive to changes in the capital flows. US need to attract a few billion dollars of capital inflows daily in order to prevent the decline in the value of US Dollar.

United States is the trading partner of many countries across the globe. US is also the member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). US trade is equal to roughly 20% of the world trade. A weaker US Dollar will help boost US exports whereas a stronger US Dollar makes the US exports expensive and US imports cheap.

Leading export markets for United States are: Canada, Mexico, Japan, EU and UK. Leading import sources for United States are: Canada, China, Mexico, Japan and EU. The growth and political stability in countries that are leading export markets for US are important. For example, should Canada growth slow; its demand for US exports will fall that will have a ripple effect on US growth. - 23162

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Try Strignano's Forex Signals free. Discover a revolutionary Forex Robot Trading System!

Selecting a Forex Trading Broker

By Bart Icles

If you are a beginner to the foreign exchange or forex market, it would help a lot if you work with a forex trading broker. This broker can help you a lot in representing you during trading in such a way that trading with a broker will help eliminate the chances that you will be making the same trading mistakes again and again. A lot of beginners simply enter the market and they believe that they will eventually succeed out of pure luck. However, they often realize too late that they are making the same mistakes and before they know it, they have already lost all their investments.

However, this does not mean you cannot start trading in the market on your own. If you are one of those beginners who have been equipped with sound knowledge and proper training on how to make use of forex signals, then you can easily take on any trading situation on your own. On the other hand, if you are one of those who have entered the currency market without any clue of what to do, it would be to your advantage to take time to consult a forex broker.

There are certain factors that you will need to consider in looking for the right forex trading broker. Take time to do a little research on the different companies that promise to give you help in forex trading representation and other needs. You will need to be cautious in making decisions because you will be putting the management of your trading account into the hands of someone else.

You can start researching for a forex trading broker online. Go online and participate in online web forums. Try to see if you will be able to talk to someone who has a first-hand experience in dealing with trading brokers. Then, try to ask for recommendations and referrals. Once you have a name, try to do a little background check on that person ? try to gather information on his or her reputation and his or her experience in forex trading.

There is no foolproof way of selecting the best forex trading broker. But it definitely helps to screen several brokers before settling for one. In this manner, you will be able to have a good idea of what they do and how they can potentially help you. In this manner, you will able to determine if he or she can effectively handle your forex trading needs. - 23162

About the Author:

Your forex training software starts with a desire to learn and a drive to become a great trader. Using the best forex training takes dedication and a good teacher. But once you learn how to trade and do so successfully your life will change and you have options and financial resources you never had before.

British Pound Currency Profile (Part III)

By Ahmad Hassam

UK tends to share a more common set of views with the United States. Economically, the United Kingdom is more free-market oriented than Europe. The United Kingdom cant totally disassociate itself from Europe at the same time, given its history and its geography. The upshot is a currency that is affected by politics at home and on the two continents to which its destiny is so closely related.

6% of the all the global currency trading involves GBP as either the base or counter currency. The GBP/USD is one of the most liquid currency pairs in the world. The British Pound GBP is active against the dollar and the euro, offering good opportunities to trade both pairs (GBP/USD and USD/GBP).

The recent Financial Service Act has made the London capital markets one of the most efficient in the world. US capital markets still have oversight and regulatory confusions. This makes London an important destination for many foreign investors. One of the reasons for GBP liquidity is the countrys highly developed capital markets. GBP is also in the four most traded major currency pairs EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY and USD/CHF in the world.

Many hedge funds are located in London. UK is an important foreign investment destination. Many foreign investors seeking to diversify their investment other than the United States send their funds to the UK. Foreigner investors need to convert their local currency into GBP in order to create these investments.

GBP was full of speculators one to two years back. GBP had one of the highest interest rates in the developed countries. Although Australia and New Zealand had still higher interest rates but their financial markets are not as well developed as UK.

Carry trading was popular with many hedge fund managers. It is a long term fundamental trading strategy. Carry traders would use GBP as the lending currency taking advantage of the high interest rates and would go long against USD, JPY and CHF.

However, the present global financial crisis has taken a heavy toll on the British Banks as well. There have been a number of high profile bankruptcies. UK Treasury had to intervene heavily in the market by pumping money into a number of failing banks in order to stabilize the financial markets.

Interest rates have been lowered. An exodus of carry traders took place that increased volatility in GBP with the lowering of the interest rates. Interest rate differentials between UK gilts/US Treasuries is a barometer for GBP/USD flows and UK gilts/German Bunds is a barometer for EUR/GBP flow. These interest rate differentials are widely watched by the professional forex traders to judge where the money will flow between US, UK and EU.

Will UK join EMU? This is an important question that still can determine the long term fundamentals of GBP. Indications on adopting the Euro usually put negative pressure on GBP while further opposition to Euro boosts GBP. The three month eurosterling futures reflect market expectations on UK interest rates three months into the future and can help predict fluctuations of GBP/USD.

GBP has positive correlation with the energy prices. GBP/USD is more liquid than EUR/USD. However, EUR/GBP is the leading gauge for GBP strength. GBP/USD tends to be more sensitive to the developments in the US economy. EUR/GBP is a more pure fundamental pound trade as EU is the UK primary trading and investment partner. - 23162

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Try These 1500 Pips A Day Forex Signals From Heaven. Know Forex Rebellion!