Friday, October 10, 2008

SigmaForex Fundamental Analysis

Most FOREX traders rely on analysis to make plan their trading strategy. This post will discuss fundamental analysis. The other common form of analysis is technical analysis. After reading this post you should have a better understanding of fundamental analysis and how to use it as part of your FOREX strategy.

Political and economic changes are the basis of fundamental analysis. These can frequently affect currency prices. Traders that take advantage of fundamental analysis will gather their information from a variety of news sources. They are looking for information about unemployment forecasts, political ideologies, economic policies, inflation and growth rates.

Fundamental analysis will provide you with an overview of currency movements and a broad picture of the economic conditions. Most traders then will combine their fundamental analysis with technical analysis to plot actual entrance and exit points as well as confirming the information provided by their fundamental analysis.

Just like most markets the FOREX market is controlled by supply and demand. Many economic factors can affect the supply and demand but the two most critical ones are interest rates and the strength of the economy. The over all strength of the economy is affected by changes in the GDP, trade balances and the amount of foreign investment.

There are many economic indicators released by government and academic sources. These indicators are usually released on a monthly basis but will sometimes be released weekly. These are pretty reliable measures of economic health and are closely followed by all traders.

There are many indicators that are released but some of the most important and commonly followed are : interest rates, international trade, CPI, durable goods orders, PPI, PMI and retail orders.

Interest Rates - can cause a currency to either strengthen or weaken depending on the direction of movement. In some cases high interest rates will attract foreign money, however high interest rates will frequently cause stock market investors to sell of their portfolios. They do this believing that the higher cost of borrowing money will adversely affect many companies. If enough investors sell of their holdings in can cause a downturn in the market and negatively affect the economy.

Take Bonus in SigmaForex

Due to increasing demand on our enhanced live accounts, SigmaForex.com is extending its live accounts bonus program till 31 December 2008

Don not waste your chance!

And open your live account today!

SigmaForex.com is pleased to have you as a loyal client, and we would like to thank you for your continued support and interest in our trading programs.

As appreciation and gratitude we are offering you a chance to join our bonus program and have up to 5% bonus credit on your deposit.

All current and new clients are eligible to participate in this program. Qualifying clients earn up to 5% bonus credit on all new deposits received and credited to the account before the close of business day 31 December 2008.

The bonus credit to the account is effective when the new deposit is credited and is subject to the client opening at least 100 lots and closing the trades on or before the close of business day 31 December 2008.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our customers care department at support@sigmaforex.com

SigmaForex.com, in its sole discretion, will determine if a client's deposit and trading activity entitles it to retain the bonus credit.

The Euro Bull - SigmaForex

As the EUR/USD breaks 1.50, investors should take another look at foreign exchange. 100/barrel oil, $1,000 gold, and $10/bushel wheat are not anomalies, nor is there a bull market in commodities. The US dollar is losing its value and its relevance as a world reserve currency.

What determines the value of a dollar? The common belief is that purchasing power determines the value of money, which is partially correct, but that is not the entire story. In a world of floating currencies, money is also valued in terms of other money. Simply opening a bank account in Europe, and gaining a few % per annum interest, would have returned a US based investor over a 50% return in 5 years. There are a few ways to look at that, but they all point to the same conclusion: the value of the dollar is declining. The other logical observation is that by NOT investing in the Euro, an investor is actually LOSING 50%. This is a difficult mental leap for many to make as they don't see losses in their bank account, but as we see $4/gallon gas, $3/gallon milk and skyrocketing commodity prices, many are noticing. They only have to realize the simple fact: prices are not increasing the value of US Dollars is declining.

Who is not affected by a declining dollar? The poor, debtors, manual laborers, and tradesmen (because you can continue to perform your trade for dollars, pesos, or bananas if need be regardless of the continuing slide of the dollar  tomorrow you may charge twice as much but so what?) But if you have any wealth; a house or a stock portfolio, denominated in dollars, the declining US Dollar should be the most important issue to you because that portfolio is losing value as the dollar does. In the worst case scenario, the Fed can default making US Dollars worthless overnight.

Best case, although unlikely it should be mentioned, the Fed could raise rates to 10%, Bush could declare a flat tax, open the borders to foreign investors by deregulation and providing tax incentives, pull out US Military from all foreign engagements, and be the banker of the world. This would catapult the US economy and the US Dollar to currently unimaginable success, but this is a farfetched fantasy. In reality, we are increasing our Military presence around the world, cutting interest rates, and regulating US markets, forcing even homegrown companies to look abroad.

Why Sigma?

1. Lowest spreads in the forex market, No other broker offers such competitive spreads .

2. Sigma is the only broker that allows you to customize your trading account as you wish.

3. Maintaining the security of your money is a major objective at Sigma.

Our devotion to our clients has made our firm a respected industry leader, that we have a strong commitment to maintain a long term relationship with our clients.

4. Low margin requirement.

5. Full Hedging capabilities.

6. Sigma is a registered financial institution, and registered with the European registration authorities. The regulations set out into notice by these agencies are created to help ensure the safety of our clients’ deposits.

7. We maintain enough liquid capital to meet the needs of the amount required to cover all client deposits, potential shift back and forth in the firm’s currency positions and outstanding expenses.

8. We put forward our financial information to regulatory bodies on a weekly and monthly basis.

9. In addition to all the above, Sigma holds all deposits with only highly reputable financial institutions. We are appreciate the trust of our clients place in us.

Please be aware of brokers that guarantee the safety of your funds or that claim that your funds will receive special protections such as FDIC insurance. Nobody can guarantee profits in Forex trading