A Woman’s Addiction To Forex

TRADING IS IDEAL FOR A WOMAN!

As I told you in an earlier article, women can be, and are great traders as well. They certainly got admirable qualities that can also help them in trading. There’s no level of success in trading that isn’t attainable by women. I foresee that the number of women in trading would only be increasing geometrically.  The purpose of the interview you’re about to read is to encourage women to come out of their comfort zone and embark on their journey towards real financial freedom. N. Hayes is just a woman like you (or your wife, mom, sister, and aunt). But she’s taken a noble decision – to be a successful trader.  It’s a wonderful privilege for me to present this interview with her to you. Here we go:

Azeez: Please introduce yourself.

N. Hayes: Hi everyone, my name is N. Hayes, but most people call me N. I am currently living in Europe and I have been trading forex, for more than a year now. Before being a trader, I worked in the hospitality industry, in the Human Resources Department. I enjoyed it very much but I am definitely enjoying Forex more. Trading started out as just a hobby to pass the time and it has now become my full time job and I love it. Travelling is one of my favorite pastimes, other than reading, cooking, gardening, watching movies and TV series. Currently, I am looking at expanding my career by taking a full 10-month intense course in Money Management, Psychology of Trading, Forex Foundation, etc. My goal is to help others get started in trading and to share my knowledge and experience in this business.

Azeez: How did you start your trading career and what really motivated you to start trading?

N. Hayes:  I quit my Human Resource Management job a little more than year ago and started trading full time. I have been hooked on trading since early last year when I had to spend so much time at the hospital and at home due to a shoulder injury. I was bored and started to surf around and I came across an informative website on Forex. Coming from a job with administrative and financial background, I became interested in Forex and I immediately opened an account (real account!) and started trading like a pro (no knowledge in FX at all except 2 years in the futures market many years back). I margined out my 2k account in less than a month! That didn't stop me from funding my account again. I promised myself that I would get my 2k back from the market. But this time, I subscribed to a signals provider and learn how to trade by reading FX websites, forums etc.  I was doing well, my account tripled the amount and that was when I decided to be a full time FX trader and said good bye to my well paying job. I love the freedom of being able to work from home and the freedom to travel! My first Forex related holiday was to the Las Vegas Trader's Expo, last year in November, which I highly recommend to all traders, especially the ones who are new to this business and wanting to gain more knowledge in trading.

Azeez: Do you think women should be seriously encouraged to trade?

N. Hayes:  Being a female trader, one must be prepared to accept her position as an outsider - Trading is a man’s world (I heard this often but I don't see it this way).This is definitely not gender specific. There are definitely more men in this business, but success and failure come from inside oneself. Of course, the circle of "friends" will be more men than women, I can vouch for this. Having thicker skin helps because it does get brutal sometimes, especially when you are trading with a group, sharing ideas and learning from one another.  It can get nasty! Anyway, if one's goal is to become a successful trader, then they need to do whatever it takes to learn a strategy, a method, practice it over and over again until it becomes second nature.  You may need to work harder as a woman to prove yourself, but that is just a part of the excitement and challenge. Take the challenge and you will be successful.

There are many free educational materials that you can download online and plenty of websites that offer great trading information. You just need to spend time searching for them.  If it is tough to be learning on your own, then work with a trading coach or get a mentor to help you and to keep you growing as a trader. Do not be afraid to get help or ask! There is no right or wrong questions.  I know some women are scared of sounding silly by asking a specific question. This fear is rather baseless in many respects. I believe it is time for more women to become traders. Contrary to what some might believe, trading does not turn a woman into becoming a non feminine woman or developing a tough personality. Trading is a refreshing change to the female-dominated professions and I do know some women who choose to become a full trader, mainly because of the freedom it offers. A friend of mine who chose to be a full time trader is a great mom to her daughter.  She made a deliberate decision to spend more time with her family and less time in the office. It was not an easy choice as she enjoyed her job very much but she realized that Forex can give her the freedom and flexibility of being a mom and a career woman. Being a trader, she does not need to be at the office 8 hours a day.

Azeez: What do you think are the qualities peculiar to women that could help them in trading?

N. Hayes:  I think the best qualities we women have is the ability to multi task, use our intuition, and our perseverance. I also believe that our ability to separate our trading lives from our personal lives is a big bonus, as it helps to alleviate the stress of trading… we have other outlets to relieve our stress.

Azeez: What kind of trader are you? What is your style of trading?

N. Hayes: I used to be more of a scalper (very short term trader) but lately, since becoming a full time trader, I am more of a day and swing trader now. This matches perfectly with my method of trading as my trades are based on technical analysis. I am quite conservative in choosing my trades, the ones with high probability set ups.

Azeez: How do you analyze the markets? What are your favorite pairs/crosses and timeframes?

N. Hayes: Being a conservative technical trader, I describe myself as practical, realistic and decisive when it comes to trading. I love facts and what I think is concrete. I have a set of standards (in my trading plan) and I follow them consistently. With rules in hand, I have no problems weighing alternatives and take rapid decisive action. I let my charts speak to me and I listen to them. I started with EurUSd and Usdjpy but now, I am trading most of the majors and the AudJpy and UsdJpy for crosses. For trade set ups, I start at the higher timeframes; daily, H4 and 1 hour. When executing and exiting trades, I will move to the lower timeframes, 30 minute.

Azeez: Could you please tell us how you apply money management?

N. Hayes:  Money management is so important, next to a trading plan and psychology of trading. You see, why most traders fail when they come to the market is they rely on their emotions to make their trading decisions. With good MM, I don’t need to worry about my emotions while I am trading. I have in my trading plan how many pips I am willing to risk per trade and how many trades I have to make if I have few losses in a row etc. I cannot emphasize enough how important a trading plan is.

Do keep in mind that all big losses once began as small losses. Moreover, if you let a losing trade turn into a big loss, that’s going to have a detrimental effect on your trading capital, and once you take a couple of big losses, it’s much more difficult to trade and to gain back the money which you’ve lost. These mistakes can be easily prevented if you have a good money management.

How I determine how much money I actually make on a particular trade? Well, it depends on how much money I actually put into the trade. My usual ratio is 2:1 and 3:1 (low and high probability trades)

Azeez: I really appreciate your blog (http://www.smurfette4x.com/). What are the aims behind this blog?

N. Hayes:  The aim behind my blog is to help other traders that are just entering the trading world.  My goal is to share the knowledge I have gained with everyone in an attempt to make it less intimidating for people considering trading.

Azeez: Do you fancy or at least, would advise the use of trading robots?

N. Hayes:  These so called "Expert advisors" have their pros and cons. I do believe that some work but again a trader needs to spend some time looking for the right one. Also, the mentality of the trader plays an important role in this. There is no such thing as earning money without doing any kind of work. Many people get themselves burned by ignoring the fact that research and testing are definitely a must before they link these Expert Advisors to their live account. Learn how these Expert Advisors work first before having your hard earned money totally at the mercy of a program. There is no doubt of the high success rates that these systems hold but while these values are very positive, it is important to realize the risk that accompanies these rates of success.  These experts are programs for certain market conditions and not for difficult market conditions that could lead to serious losses.  As for myself, I am currently testing an Expert Advisor which is programmed based on the Grid Trading technique and so far, I am quite happy with it (Grid Trading is a trading technique that uses a series of pending orders creating a "grid".)

Azeez: Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, what do you think is your greatest strength and, your weakness as a trader?

N. Hayes:  I think my strength is that I’m willing to put as much energy and focus into the job as I have to.  My greatest weakness would be that I become a little more cautious and doubt my instincts when I have multiple losses, but on the positive side I don’t give up and work towards improving my skills no matter what.

Azeez: How many pips on average, do you make per month?

N. Hayes:  I have a daily goal of 20-50 pips. Monthly average is between 500 - 1000, it really varies, depending on the market. Also, I am more of a conservative trader; I would rather wait for the market to give me a trade than jumping in just for the sake of making some pips. There are times that I don't trade for a few days, when I don't see any good, solid setups. It is fine with me. Since becoming a full time trader, I realize how much it pays to be patient and disciplined.

Azeez: What do you enjoy doing apart from trading?

N. Hayes:  Traveling! My favorite destination is the USA. This is one of the reasons why I decided to be a full time trader, I can work from anywhere in the world, as long as I have my laptop with me.

Azeez: Do you have any advice for traders out there, especially female traders like you?

N. Hayes:  I am not sure if I am the right person to give out any great advice here as I am still "learning" myself. This is the best part of this business, one never stops learning. There is always something new and the market doesn't pause for us.  We need to keep updated and try not to fall too far behind. One reminder that I apply to myself and I would like to share with others, is that "If you are satisfied with the kind of work you're doing and why you are doing it, you will be successful.” I really believe in this. If you put your heart in it and are willing to learn as much as you possibly can, you will open up doors you can't even imagine. Never let others influence you otherwise, because if you let others define what success is for you…then it is pretty easy to stray and to lose sight of yourself. Everyone has their own dreams and goals, never forget that. Also, don't let fear get in the way. Trading is ideal for a woman. It takes time to master so one has to have patience in order to be able to succeed in this business. This is a profession that takes a lot of hard work, focus, strength (emotionally) and determination but if you have what it takes and if you are up for the challenge, you can do it!

Azeez: What are your plans for the future, as long as trading is concerned?

N. Hayes:  I am described by friends as a flexible person. Not to mention a daring one. I do have plans for my future but my plans are mostly adjustable. I go with the flow. I prefer to tell you about my dreams instead, as they are more concrete and something that I am really looking forward to and working on. My dream is to be among the successful women in this line of business some day, with a good trading portfolio. My trading blog is a start, for me to share my ideas with my followers. I want to expand from here, maybe giving lessons in a subject that is related to trading. My aim is to help new traders in realizing the reality of what Forex can give them and not seeing it behind rosy glasses. In short I would like to help prevent others from making the same mistakes that I have made in the beginning of my career.

Azeez: N. Hayes, thank you very, very much for this insightful interview!

Azeez Mustapha

Market Analyst, Trading Signals Provider and Coach

Source: http://uk.advfn.com/newspaper/authors/azeez-mustapha

 

Goldplat Remains a Hopeless Stock

Goldplat stock (LSE:GDP) has been in a bearish mode since the last year and it has remained so till now. This is bias that would inevitable continue. The EMA period 50 has been sloping downwards for the most part of this year.

Historically, any rallies - which were few and far between - had given nice shorting privileges. Right now, the stock is so weak that it even gapped downwards in the early part of this week. The only succor to the bulls is the possibility of the gap getting filled – something that would be essentially transitory. The price is below the EMA and the shares are hopeless. The price could go down towards the support line of 7.000. Nevertheless, this is good news for the bears. A bear that has sold this stock since the beginning of the year 2013 would have gained thousands of points in profits. That is one way of making money in any market condition. Despite any positive or negative experience, we’re irresistibly making progress. What could compare with the privilege of making your own trading decisions?

This article is ended with the quote below:

“If you have confidence in your ability to win, work hard, gain a wealth of experience and persist, you'll master the markets and make the profits you are looking for. To gain a wealth of experience, you need to be able to survive in the markets sufficiently long to allow experience to happen to you.” – Joe Ross

Azeez Mustapha

Market Analyst, Trading Signals Provider and Coach

Source: http://uk.advfn.com/newspaper/authors/azeez-mustapha

Weekly Trading Forecasts (June 3 - 7, 2013)

Because of the weakness on the Greenback, the EURUSD and the GBPUSD have been bullish, whereas the USDCHF has been bearish. This outlook may be valid for the next several trading days. The JPY pairs also have the potential to maintain their extant outlook.    

EURUSD

Primary trend: Bullish

There is a bullish indication on the EURUSD, with the current Bullish Confirmation Pattern on the chart. The price recently reached a weekly low of 1.2887 during a bearish retracement attempt, and it has been going upwards since then, to the point of generating a bullish signal. The price could reach the resistance lines at 1.3100 and 1.3200 respectively. During that attempt, any bearish correction along the way ought not to take the price below the support line of 1.2950.

USDCHF

Primary trend: Bearish

This is a bear market which has a Bearish Confirmation Pattern (as signified by the indicators). There was a recent clean rally in the market, reaching a peak of 0.9780, which was a weekly high. From that weekly high, the price has gone downwards by over 200 pips. This is an outlook that is supposed to continue to be valid. Eventually, the price may fall towards the support level at 0.9400.

GBPUSD

Primary trend: Bullish

There is a new era for this wonderful pair. From the weekly low of 1.5008, the Cable has gone upwards by roughly 230 pips. There is now a Bullish Confirmation Pattern on the chart, for the indicators now point to the bulls’ supremacy. The nearest target to be reached between now and the next several trading days is the distribution territory at 1.5300. Along the way, any potential bearish threats ought not to take the price below the accumulation territory of 1.5100.

USDJPY

Primary trend: Bearish

This is a bear market – something that could remain so. One reason behind this is the weakness of the Greenback. The Greenback is not strong enough to pull this pair higher, and as a result of this, there is still a bearish indication on the chart. It is advisable that only short trades ought to be sought here, unless otherwise indicated. The only thing that can render this possibility invalid is the condition in which the price breaks the supply level at 102.50 to the upside and closes above it.

EURJPY

Primary trend: Bullish

There is currently a degree of uncertainty on this cross. The new lease of strength in the EUR has made it possible to help the cross withstand bearish threats. So it can be said that the price has been bullish recently. The price has not gone upwards determinedly. Nevertheless, it is sagacious to seek long trades because there is a great probability that when the price does break out, it would be to the upside.  

This article is concluded with the quote below:

“The key to success is to decide when to follow the crowd and when to go against it.” – Joe Ross

Source: www.paxforex.com

For more articles, go to: http://www.paxforex.com/forex-blog

Jim Rogers: The Nostradamus of the Markets

LEARN FROM GENERALS OF THE MARKETS - PART 29

“Experience taught me that experts are wrong most of the time. The reason for my success in the financial markets is the fact that I see the world from another point of view.” – Jim Rogers

James B. Rogers was born in October 19, 1942 (Baltimore, Maryland, USA, though he was raised in Demopolis, Alabama). He first experienced business at a tender age of 5 when he sold peanuts and empty bottles left by some sports fans. When he graduated in History from Yale University in 1964, he worked at Dominick & Dominick – a Wall Street firm. Then, he got his 2^nd BA degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Balliol College, Oxford University in the year 1966. He worked alongside George Soros, starting from 1970, at an investment bank called Arnhold and S. Bleichroder. Together with George, he founded the Quantum Fund, whose portfolio was increased 42 times in 10 years. This means they outperformed the S&P by more than 893 times. That Fund was really marvelous. He’s currently the head of Rogers Holdings and Beeland Interests, Inc. and the creator of RICI (the Rogers International Commodities Index). That Index keeps tabs on the indices as one way to speculate in the index. Jim has always espoused trading agricultural products.

In 1980 Jim quit working at Quantum Fund and started a world tour on a bike. After this, he engaged in some interesting activities, but soon, he started his journey through China, including the world (1990 - 1992). This feat was a record one hundred and sixty thousand kilometers spanning six continents. As a result of this, he made the Guinness Book of World Records. Yet, from January 1, 1999, to January 5, 2002, he made another Guinness World Record by hiking through one hundred and sixteen lands, in a custom-made Mercedes. He started in Iceland and ended up returning to New York on January 5, 2002. More details about this may be found on Jimrogers.com. He’s written a number of best-selling books including ‘Investment Biker,’ ‘Hot Commodities: How Anyone Can Invest Profitably in the World's Best Market,’ ‘Adventure Capitalist,’ and ‘A Gift To My Children’ (the latest one).

Lessons

What can we learn from Jim?

1. I call Jim Rogers the Nostradamus of the markets because of his trading approaches and style. He does what many traders wouldn’t want to do, and he achieves extraordinary results and records that many can’t achieve. When it comes to his perception of the markets, his views could be strange to many, but they’re true. For example, unlike what most peculators in the world thinks, Jim says the commodity market is the best market in the world. Do you believe this? How about other financial markets? The best answers are found in his book: Hot Commodities: How Anyone Can Invest Profitably in the World's Best Market.

2. What is the best city to live in the world? OK, to be precise, where is the best part of the world in which one can live as an investor? Jim is no longer living in the US, for he’d sold his mansion in New York and relocated to Singapore. He’d have settled in China or Hong Kong if it wasn’t for the perceived high level of pollution in those lands. According to him, the UK was the best place to invest in the early 19^th century, and the USA was the best place to invest in the early 20^th century. Now there are economic power shifts, so the best place to invest in the early 21^st century is Asia. Even certain small lands like Cambodia and Sri Lanka are fertile markets for investors (although he was pessimistic about the future of Indian economy, for he believes that India might not survive another 30 or 40 years). This means that, the UK and the US are no longer the ideal places to invest.  Apart from Jim, many assiduous investors and market analysts have often mentioned this fact.

3. Jim declares that Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS region) have what it takes to be the leader in agricultural products. He said people should put less attention on stocks and focus on commodities and agriculture.  He pointed out that rather than looking forward to Wall Street or the City professions, it pays to learn commodities, agriculture and mining. He was reputed as saying this: “The power is shifting again from the financial centers to the producers of real goods. The place to be is in commodities, raw materials, natural resources” In May 2012 he remarked during an interview with Forbes Magazine: ‘There’s going to be a huge shift in American society, American culture, in the places where one is going to get rich. The stock brokers are going to be driving taxis. The smart ones will learn to drive tractors so they can work for the smart farmers. The farmers are going to be driving Lamborghinis. I’m telling you. You should start Forbes Farming.”

4. For those who idolize the English language, well this mayn’t be the unwelcome fact. English language mayn’t be the most important language in the world in the foreseeable future. The Chinese Mandarin is the language with the most speakers in the world (even the Chinese population is far higher than all the population of the 54 counties in Africa). The fact that I can speak English doesn’t make me the greatest man in the world, nor does the fact that you can’t speak English make you the most unfortunate man in the world. Perhaps some people (including me) idolized English language because of the reasons that are beyond the scope of this article. Don’t those who speak 2 or more languages have advantages over those who can only speak one language? Well, Jim’s first daughter is being taught Mandarin so as to get her prepared for the future.  Why? Jim revealed that the Chinese are highly enthusiastic, inspired and industrious; and that’s the kind of environment in which one should be.  That was how the USA and Europe used to be. Think of heavy machinery, electronics, goods and many more that are coming from Asia. More than half of all the robots in the world are in Asia. I was even amazed to learn that most of these robots help build ships and many other industrial goods with unbelievable speed. Are you prepared for the future? Do you prepare your children for the future?

5. With all these, Jim has always been, and remains, a successful trader. He knows where the best markets are and how to take advantage of them. This has really added to his expertise and profile. Are you ready to take the challenge and trade your way to financial freedom? 

Conclusion: Speculation has to do with taking advantage of opportunities that most others fail to see; and this is usually done before others see the opportunities. Unless in some obvious cases, the most common means to harness gains in the markets is when the price moves downwards after a short position is opened, or when the price moves upwards after a long position is opened.

This piece is concluded with more quotes from Jim:

1. “Do not buy the hype from Wall St. and the press that stocks always go up. There are long periods when stocks do nothing and other investments are better.”

2. “Those who cannot adjust to change will be swept aside by it. Those who recognize change and react accordingly will benefit.”

Source: www.paxforex.com

For more articles, go to: http://www.paxforex.com/forex-blog

 

Short Randgold Resources!

Randgold Resources (LSE:RRS) has been in a clear downtrend. From the year 2012; and so far in this year, this statement has been true. Any rallies have proven to be short-term in nature, giving nice opportunities to go short at dearer prices. 

It can be seen that the EMA 21 has long been sloping downwards on the chart – for a long period of time. As said above, it has always been great to sell rallies in this market, and this time is very much adept for that kind of strategy. In this month of May, 2013, the Williams’ % Range has been going downwards from its monthly overbought region. The price is below the EMA 21 (closing below it), plus the Williams’ % Range would still go below the level 50 and go towards the oversold region. The next nearest target is the demand level at 4500. However, it is possible that the price would cross that level to the downside, going further downwards. This is the matter of the bulls’ loyalists and the bears’ insurgents. The bulls have been suffering in the market, and the bears have been gaining upper hand. There is currently no end in sight to this outlook. 

This article is ended with the quote below:

“Find a mentor. As much as I love trading, I could have saved myself years of misdirection had I sought and found a successful mentor. I took timeless

lessons about human behaviour and eventually made them my own, but to have a teacher/coach helping set the path would have been a gift.” - Derek Hernquist (Source: www.tradersonline-mag.com)

Azeez Mustapha

Market Analyst, Trading Signals Provider and Coach

Ground-breaking lessons from expert traders: http://www.harriman-house.com/experttraders

Source: http://uk.advfn.com/newspaper/authors/azeez-mustapha