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Forex Revolution

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Forex Revolution

An Insider's Guide to the Real World of Foreign Exchange Trading

FT Prentice Hall,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Speculative traders in the high-risk foreign currency exchange move money like chess pieces on a global playing board.

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Editorial Rating

6

Qualities

  • Overview
  • For Beginners

Recommendation

Author Peter Rosenstreich’s short, concise guide is a neophyte’s introduction to the world of foreign exchange trading. Its chief virtue is that it warns against trading if you don’t have a strategy and some level of technology. Its chief vice is the suggestion that it is realistic for individual investors to expect to make money in the foreign exchange markets. The author cautions against the risks of the market (and gives good advice on spotting the most egregious frauds), but even to suggest that an individual retail trader equipped with an Internet connection, a news feed, a research source and a charting service can hope to succeed in Forex investing is a bit misleading. Perhaps, it would have been more enlightening if the author had discussed the competition that confronts the potentially foolhardy neophyte, in terms of equipment, technology and expertise. That said, readers will gain an elementary - but not really an insider’s - acquaintance with the ABCs of the Forex markets and will learn the names of key agencies and approaches. getAbstract.com finds that the book’s most useful attributes include references to further reading that should deter novices from attempting to trade their own money in the foreign exchange markets. For solid basics, read on - but zip your wallet.

Summary

Forex Fundamentals

The Foreign Currency Exchange (called Forex) is the world’s largest market. It trades approximately $1 trillion daily, far more than any stock exchange. It is a 24-hour operation, opening late on Sunday, New York time, and trading wherever the sun shines until the close of the New York markets at 5 p.m. on Friday. Forex observes no holidays. Almost every day at almost every hour, foreign currency is trading somewhere on the planet.

What makes Forex special? First, immense risk - thanks in part to the power of leverage. An individual with only $1,000 to trade can, through leverage, trade $100,000. But trading risk is not the only thing that makes the foreign exchange market special. Whole countries are at risk in these markets and, in recent years, traders have attracted the wrath of political leaders because their relentless pursuit of profit has caused chaos in national economies.

Currency and Politics

The value of a nation’s currency always has been an important element in determining its strength. In ancient times, when currencies were gold and silver coins stamped with the face of the local king, rulers attempted to make more coins...

About the Author

Peter Rosenstreich is a principle and foreign exchange trader with the New York investment firm Rose Stevons & Company. He is registered with the National Futures Association (NFA) as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).

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