Trading Psychology: Mistakes in a Trading Environment

When it comes to trading, one of the most neglected subjects are those dealing with trading psychology. Most traders spend days, months and even years trying to find the right system. But having a system is just part of the game. Don't get us wrong, it is very important to have a system that perfectly suits the trader, but it is as important as having a money management plan, or to understand all psychology barriers that may affect the trader decisions and other issues. In order to succeed in this business, there must be equilibrium between all important aspects of trading by Raul Lope.

In the trading environment, when you lose a trade, what is the first idea that pops up in your mind? It would probably be, "There must be something wrong with my system", or "I knew it, I shouldn't have taken this trade" (even when your system signaled it). But sometimes we need to dig a little deeper in order to see the nature of our mistake, and then work on it accordingly.

When it comes to trading the Forex market as well as other markets, only 5% of traders achieve the ultimate goal: to be consistent in profits. What is interesting though is that there is just a tiny difference between this 5% of traders and the rest of them. The top 5% grow from mistakes; mistakes are a learning experience, they learn an invaluable lesson on every single mistake made. Deep in their minds, a mistake is one more chance to try it harder and do it better the next time, because they know they might not get a chance the next time. And at the end, this tiny difference becomes THE big difference.
Mistakes in the trading environment

Most of us relate a trading mistake to the outcome (in terms of money) of any given trade. The truth is, a mistake has nothing to do with it, mistakes are made when certain guidelines are not followed. When the rules you trade by are violated. Take for instance the following scenarios:
First scenario: The system signals a trade.

1. Signal taken and trade turns out to be a profitable trade. Outcome of the trade: Positive, made money. Experience gained: Its good to follow the system, if I do this consistently the odds will turn in my favor. Confidence is gained in both the trader and the system. Mistake made: None.

2. Signal taken and trade turns out to be a loosing trade. Outcome of the trade: Negative, lost money. Experience gained: It is impossible to win every single trade, a loosing trade is just part of the business; our raw material, we know we can't get them all right. Even with this lost trade, the trader is proud about himself for following the system. Confidence in the trader is gained. Mistake made: None.

3. Signal not taken and trade turns out to be a profitable trade. Outcome of the trade: Neutral. Experience gained: Frustration, the trader always seems to get in trades that turned out to be loosing trades and let the profitable trades go away. Confidence is lost in the trader self. Mistake made: Not taking a trade when the system signaled it.

4. Signal not taken and trade turns out to be a loosing trade. Outcome of the trade: Neutral. Experience gained: The trader will start to think "hey, I'm better than my system". Even if the trader doesn't think on it consciously, the trader will rationalize on every signal given by the system because deep in his or her mind, his or her "feeling" is more intelligent than the system itself. From this point on, the trader will try to outguess the system. This mistake has catastrophic effects on our confidence to the system. The confidence on the trader turns into overconfidence. Mistake made: Not taking a trade when system signaled it

Second Scenario: System does not signal a trade.

1. No trade is taken Outcome of the trade: Neutral Experience gained: Good discipline, we only need to take trades when the odds are in our favor, just when the system signals it. Confidence gained in both the trader self and the system. Mistake made: None

2. A trade is taken, turns out to be a profitable trade. Outcome of the trade: Positive, made money. Experience gained: This mistake has the most catastrophic effects in the trader self, the system and most importantly in the trader's trading career. You will start to think you need no system, you know better from them all. From this point on, you will start to trade based on what you think. Confidence in the system is totally lost. Confidence in the trader self turns into overconfidence. Mistake made: Take a trade when there was no signal from the system.

3. A trade is taken, turned out to be a loosing trade. Outcome of the trade: negative, lost money. Experience gained: The trader will rethink his strategy. The next time, the trader will think it twice before getting in a trade when the system does not signal it. The trader will go "Ok, it is better to get in the market when my system signals it, only those trade have a higher probability of success". Confidence is gained in the system. Mistake made: Take a trade when there was no signal from the system
As you can see, there is absolutely no correlation between the outcome of the trade and a mistake. The most catastrophic mistake even has a positive trade outcome, made money, but this could be the beginning of the end of the trader's career. As we have already stated, mistakes must only be related to the violation of rules a trader trades by.

All these mistakes were directly related to the signals given by a system, but the same is applied when getting out of a trade. There are also mistakes related to following a trading plan. For example, risking more money on a given trade than the amount the trader should have risked and many more.
Most mistakes can be avoided by first having a trading plan. A trading plan includes the system: the criteria we use to get in and out the market, the money management plan: how much we will risk on any given trade, and many other points. Secondly, and most important, we need to have the discipline to follow strictly our plan. We created our plan when no trade was placed on, thus no psychology barriers were up front. So, the only thing we are certain about is that if we follow our plan, the decision taken is on our best interests, and in the long run, these decisions will help us have better results. We don't have to worry about isolated events, or trades that could had give us better results at first, but then they could have catastrophic results in our trading career.

How to deal with mistakes

There are many possible ways to properly manage mistakes. We will suggest the one that works better for us.

Step one: Belief change. Every mistake is a learning experience. They all have something valuable to offer. Try to counteract the natural tendency of feeling frustrated and approach mistakes in a positive manner. Instead of yelling to everyone around and feeling disappointed, say to yourself "ok, I did something wrong, what happened? What is it?

Step two: Identify the mistake made. Define the mistake, find out what caused the mistake, and try as hard as you can to effectively see the nature of that mistake. Finding the mistake nature will prevent you from making the same mistake again. More than often you will find the answer where you less expected. Take for instance a trader that doesn't follow the system. The reason behind this could be that the trader is afraid of loosing. But then, why is he or she afraid? It could be that the trader is using a system that does not fit him or her, and finds difficult to follow every signal. In this case, as you can see, the nature of the mistake is not in the surface. You need to try as hard as you can to find the real reason of the given mistake.

Step three: Measure the consequences of the mistake. List the consequences of making that particular mistake, both good and bad. Good consequences are those that make us better traders after dealing with the mistake. Think on all possible reasons you can learn from what happened. For the same example above, what are the consequences of making that mistake? Well, if you don't follow the system, you will gradually loose confidence in it, and this at the end will put you into trades you don't really want to be, and out of trades you should be in.

Step four: Take action. Taking proper action is the last and most important step. In order to learn, you need to change your behavior. Make sure that whatever you do, you become "this-mistake-proof". By taking action we turn every single mistake into a small part of success in our trading career. Continuing with the same example, redefining the system would be the trader's final step. The trader would put a system that perfectly fits him or her, so the trader doesn't find any trouble following it in future signals.
Understanding the fact that the outcome of any trade has nothing to do with a mistake will open your mind to other possibilities, where you will be able to understand the nature of every mistake made. This at the same time will open the doors for your trading career as you work and take proper action on every mistake made.

The process of success is slow, and plenty of times it is attributed to repeated mistakes made and the constant struggle to get past these mistakes, working on them accordingly. How we deal with them will shape our future as a trader, and most importantly as a person.

Money Management Tips For Trading On The Forex

What is Money Management: describes strategies or methods a player uses to avoid losing their bankroll.

Money management in the foreign exchange currency market requires educating yourself in a variety of financial areas. First, a definition of the foreign exchange currency or forex market is called for. The forex market is simply the exchange of the currency of one country for the currency of another. The relative values of various currencies in the world change on a regular basis. Factors such as the stability of the economy of a country, the gross national product, the gross domestic product, inflation, interest rates, and such obvious factors as domestic security and foreign relations come into play. For instance, if a country has an unstable government, is expecting a military takeover, or is about to become involved in a war, then the country's currency may go down in relative value compared to the currency of other countries.

The Forex, or foreign currency exchange, is all about money. Money from all over the world is bought, sold and traded. On the Forex, anyone can buy and sell currency and with possibly come out ahead in the end. When dealing with the foreign currency exchange, it is possible to buy the currency of one country, sell it and make a profit. For example, a broker might buy a Japanese yen when the yen to dollar ratio increases, then sell the yens and buy back American dollars for a profit.

There are five major forex exchange markets in the world, New York, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo and Zurich. Forex trading occurs around the clock in various markets, Asian, European, and American. With different time zones, when Asian trading stops, European trading opens, and conversely when European trading stops, American trading opens, and when American trading stops, then it is time for Asian trading to begin again.

Most of the trading in the world occurs in the forex markets; smaller markets for trade in individual countries. Simply put forex trading is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. Over $1.4 trillion dollars, US of forex trading occurs daily and sometimes fortunes are made or lost in this market. The billionaire George Soros has made most of his money in forex trading. Successfully managing your money in forex trading requires an understanding of the bid/ask spread.

Simply put the bid ask spread is the difference between the price at which something is offered for sale and the price that it is actually purchased for. For instance, if the ask price is 100 dollars, and the bid is 102 dollars then the difference is two dollars, the spread. Many forex traders trade on margin. Trading on margin is buying and selling assets that are worth more than the money in your account. Since currency exchange rates on any given day are usually less than two percent, forex trading is done with a small margin. To use an example, with a one percent margin a trader can trade up to $250,000 even if he only has $5,000 in his account. This means the trade has leverage of 50 to one. This amount of leverage allows a trader to make good profits very quickly. Of course, with the chance of high profits also comes high risk.

Like many other speculative investments, a key part of money management for the forex trader is only using money that can be put at risk. It is wise to set aside a portion of your net worth and make that the only money you use in forex trading. While the chances of good profits are there, if you should have a problem and get wiped out, you'll only have a limited amount of money placed at risk. Also remember that the market is n constant motion. There are always trading opportunities. If a currency is becoming stronger or weaker in relation to other currencies there is always a chance for profit. For instance, if you believe that the Euro is gong to become weak compared to the US dollar then selling Euros is a good bet. If you believe that the dollar is going to become weaker than the yen, or the pound sterling, then selling dollars is wise. Staying current on the news and current events in the countries whose currency you hold is a smart move. Many people reach points where they can predict currency changes based on political or economic news in a given country. Remember though that forex trading is speculation, so be careful when managing your funds and only invest what you can afford to risk.

Please always make sure you check with the pros when dealing in this market unless you are doing this as a hobby and don't have a lot at stake in it. There are a lot of big boys playing here and they won't lose much sleep if you and thousands others lose their shirts...
by David Mclauchlan

Emotions And Forex Trading Don't Mix

The key to making money in the currency exchange market is to avoid emotional decisions and to follow a carefully thought out strategy that takes the current market and history into account. Going with your gut is not the way to go in the Forex market. Going with your gut could cost you money. Forex trading is a highly volatile market where emotions tend to run high. Emotions can influence your trading decisions, unless you have a strategy planned in advance, and stick to it, no matter what you think you're seeing at the moment. The keys to success in Forex are system, analysis and perseverance.

Most experienced traders tell novice traders that they need to develop a system — and stick to it no matter what. Letting your emotions rule your decisions can hurt your trading in a number of ways. The system tells you when to buy, what to buy, when to trade and what to trade for. By sticking to your system you'll maximize your profits. A system based on technical analysis of historical market trends is one of the most potent tools that you can utilize if you're just getting started in Forex trading. Many traders, with years of experience, continue to use this system to keep the profits rolling in. Many traders will tell you that when their gut instinct and their system collide, the system is almost always right.

Using a mechanical system takes the emotion out of your trading, eliminating one of the reasons people fail. Your system doesn't sway with emotions. It sticks to a tried and true course. To be effective, your system — whether you develop your own or adopt one created by someone else — should identify the entry and exit point of your trade, mitigating factors, and an exit strategy. In general terms this is as follows:
Under what conditions should I acquire a currency?
For instance, you may have a buy order for when a particular currency drops more than 5 pips because your analysis tells you that that's likely to be as low as it goes.
When should I trade one currency for another and for which one?

There are two reasons to exit — to maximize your profit, or minimize your loss. That means you have a set stop-loss order and a set take-profit order at which point you cash out your trade.
What factors will I allow to change that decision?
While the money market moves in predictable patterns, there are always individual variations of a trend within those patterns. If you've taken those variations into account, it will be far easier to decide when a factor really does make a difference, and when it's just wishful thinking. If you're not careful however this is where emotion could come into play and sour deals for you.

How will I trade out of a currency?
Your exit strategy may be as simple as a stop-loss order when my loss hits 5% or a take-profit order when I make 40% profit'.
Another key is perseverance. Analysis of trends in the market will show you that the market moves in dips and spurts within overall patterns that are predictable. No trend moves smoothly in an up or down line — there are inevitable periods of time when values suddenly spiral up or down based on some outside factor.

These are the times when emotion can hurt your portfolio. When a currency that you're holding takes a sudden dip south, it's tempting to succumb to panic trading, cut your losses and run even if your system tells you to hold on. On the other hand, it's easy to catch the rising excitement as a trade starts increasing in value and scramble to buy more of the same. These are exactly the times to rely most heavily on your trading system. It will tell you exactly when to trade for maximum profit.
If you control your emotions and stick to the system you'll maximize your profits and all should be smooth sailing. by David Mclauchlan

Forex Trading Is Driven By Five Top Economic Indicators

Many factors affect Forex trading. It is critical to know and understand the various factors that cause the Forex to fluctuate from day to day. The foreign exchange market will change depending on the economic factors that play a role in the movement of currency. Guest post by David Mclauchlan

Economic factors and indicators are released by the government or by private organizations that can look in depth at economic performances. These indicators can be used to analyse economic performances from any country. The economic reports measure a country's economic health, in addition to government policies and current events.

For the most part, a reputable broker can look at economic indicators and know which trades will be best. Reports on these indicators are released at scheduled times and can tell if a certain country is experiencing improvement in the economy or if the country's economy is on the decline. When the prices fluctuate, a great deal one way or the other, the price can be affected.
Current events and the state of the economy in any given nation is one of the top economic indicators used when analyzing the Forex. Factors such as unemployment numbers, housing statistics and the current state of a country's government can all affect changes in the Forex. When a country is feeling optimisitic about the current state of affairs in their country, prices of the Forex will reflect this. When a nation experiences political unrest, large amounts of unemployed workers and inflation, the rate of the currency will be reflected. Sometimes, this indicator tends to be overlooked, but can serve as an important gauge in the fluctuations of the Forex.

The gross domestic product,or GDP,is another economic indicator used when looking at the foreign exchange market. The GDP is considered the widest and broadest measure of the economy in a country. The gross domestic product represents the total market value of all goods and services that are normally produced within any given country. This is usually measured in the time frame of a year, and not in weeks or months. Using a larger time period gives good statistics on the products and services that are produced in the country. This indicator is not used alone when forecasting the Forex. The GDP is considered a lagging indicator, meaning that is a measurable factor that changes after the economy has already began to follow a certain trend.

Retail sales reports are the third economic factor that is often used in analyzing the Forex. This is the total receipt of all retail stores in any country. Usually, this measurement is not every single retail sale, but is a sample of diverse retail stores throughout the country. This is considered a very reliable and important economic indicator because of the consumer spending patterns that are expected throughout the year. This factor is usually more important that lagging indicators and gives a clearer picture of the state of the economy in any country.

Another reliable economic indicator in the foreign exchange market is the industrial production report. This report shows the fluctuation in productions in industries such as factories, and utilities. The report looks at actual production in relation to what the production capacity potential is over a period of time. When a country is producing at a maximum capacity it positively affects the Forex and is considered ideal conditions for traders.

The consumer price index, or the CPI, is the last critical economic indicator in analyzing the Forex. The CPI is the measure of the change in the prices of consumer goods in 200 categories. This report can tell whether or not a country is making or losing money on their products and services. The exports that a country has are very important when looking at this indicator because the amount of exports can reflect a currency's weakness or its strength.

The Forex is affected by many factors. These factors usually follow a certain trend so it is important to understand how each factor works in forecasting the Forex. Some are good indicators alone while others should be used together for accurate Forex predications.

Trade Forex Like a Pro

Trade Forex Like a Pro- Revealed the secret of the floor traders, How you will be successful trading forex using price. This is proven method tested that is making over $1,250 Monthly. No sorry, no complicated calculation. This is as simple as "ABC" B

Why You Should Treat Forex Trading as a Business

If you trade the forex market you will undoubtedly be aware that it is a high risk venture. Most traders who trade currencies end up losing money. Unfortunately, some traders end up losing a substantial part of their net worth. By Eric Martin

Many traders, especially new traders are attracted to forex because they see brokers offering "500 to 1 leverage" and in some cases even higher amounts. It is a common belief amongst new traders that they can use this leverage to generate a substantial amount of wealth. This belief nearly always ends in tears.

To be a successful forex trader, it is imperative that you treat trading like a business. It is unlikely that you could put $50 in to a business and turn it into $20,000 in a short frame of time. Granted, there are exceptions, but they are EXTREMELY few and far between.
You need to apply this same theory to forex trading. One of the biggest reasons traders lose money is having an account size that is too small.

One of the major advantages is forex is that you can effectively borrow as much money as you like from your broker. However, it is important to remember that borrowing money to trade will increase your profits, but it will also increase your losses.
There are no universal rules to state how much you should borrow. Many new traders should start off borrowing very little, if anything. Of course, it does depend on the type of strategy that you use.
If you have a $10,000 trading account, most brokers would allow you to open positions to the value of at least $500,000. If you bought a USD pair, this would be 50:1 leverage. The position size is 50 times the size of your account.

It would not take much of a price movement in the wrong direction to cause a significant loss to your account.
Many new traders start with a small account balance. The same principle can be applied to a $100 account trading a $5,000 position.
The smallest position allowed by many brokers is often $10,000, yet they may still allow you to open an account with $100.

The brokers don't mind, they know that 99% of the clients who do this will blow their account.
The point I am trying to get across is the one of being realistic. Treat trading as if it is a business. Aim for realistic returns. Think about the stock market or mutual funds. They often earn less than 10% per year on average. If you can make 30% per year trading forex, that is significantly higher!
Don't expect to make $1,000 a month from your $100 account. It almost certainly will NOT happen.

Trade Forex Like a Pro

Trade Forex Like a Pro- Revealed the secret of the floor traders, How you will be successful trading forex using price. This is proven method tested that is making over $1,250 Monthly. No sorry, no complicated calculation. This is as simple as "ABC" B

How To Trade Trends With Ichimoku Clouds

The Ichimoku Cloud, also known as Ichimoku Kinko Hyo, is a versatile indicator that defines support and resistance, identifies trend direction, gauges momentum and provides trading signals. Ichimoku Kinko Hyo translates into "one look equilibrium chart". With one look, chartists can identify the trend and look for potential signals within that trend. The indicator was developed by Goichi Hosoda, a journalist, and published in his 1969 book. Even though the Ichimoku Cloud may seem complicated when viewed on the price chart, it is really a straight forward indicator that is very usable. It was, after all, created by a journalist, not a rocket scientist! Moreover, the concepts are easy to understand and the signals are well-defined.

How To Calculate Ichimoku Clouds

Four of the five plots within the Ichimoku Cloud are based on the average of the high and low over a given period of time. For example, the first plot is simply an average of the 9-day high and 9-day low. Before computers were widely available, it would have been easier to calculate this high-low average rather than a 9-day moving average. The Ichimoku Cloud consists of five plots:

This tutorial will use the English equivalents when explaining the various plots. The chart below shows the Dow Industrials with the Ichimoku Cloud plots. The Conversion Line (blue) is the fastest and most sensitive line. Notice that it follows price action the closest. The Base Line (red) trails the faster Conversion Line, but follows price action pretty well. The relationship between the Conversion Line and Base Line is similar to the relationship between a 9-day moving average and 26-day moving average. The 9-day is faster and more closely follows the price plot. The 26-day is slower and lags behind the 9-day. Incidentally, notice that 9 and 26 are the same periods used to calculate MACD.

Analyzing the Cloud

The Cloud (Kumo) is the most prominent feature of the Ichimoku Cloud plots. The Leading Span A (green) and Leading Span B (red) form the Cloud. The Leading Span A is the average of the Conversion Line and the Base Line. Because the Conversion Line and Base Line are calculated with 9 and 26 periods, respectively, the green Cloud boundary moves faster than the red Cloud boundary, which is the average of the 52-day high and the 52-day low. It is the same principle with moving averages. Shorter moving averages are more sensitive and faster than longer moving averages.

There are two ways to identify the overall trend using the Cloud. First, the trend is up when prices are above the Cloud, down when prices are below the Cloud and flat when prices are in the Cloud. Second, the uptrend is strengthened when the Leading Span A (green cloud line) is rising and above the Leading Span B (red cloud line). This situation produces a green Cloud. Conversely, a downtrend is reinforced when the Leading Span A (green cloud line) is falling and below the Leading Span B (red cloud line). This situation produces a red Cloud. Because the Cloud is shifted forward 26 days, it also provides a glimpse of future support or resistance.
Chart 2 shows IBM with a focus on the uptrend and the Cloud. First, notice that IBM was in an uptrend from June to January as it traded above the Cloud. Second, notice how the Cloud offered support in July, early October and early November. Third, notice how the Cloud provides a glimpse of future resistance. Remember, the entire Cloud is shifted forward 26 days. This means it is plotted 26 days ahead of the last price point to indicate future support or resistance.

Chart 3 shows Boeing (BA) with a focus on the downtrend and the cloud. The trend changed when Boeing broke below Cloud support in June. The Cloud changed from green to red when the Leading Span A (green) moved below the Leading Span B (red) in July. The cloud break represented the first trend change signal, while the color change represented the second trend change signal. Notice how the Cloud then acted as resistance in August and January.

Trend and Signals

Price, the Conversion Line and the Base Line are used to identify faster, and more frequent, signals. It is important to remember that bullish signals are reinforced when prices are above the cloud and the cloud is green. Bearish signals are reinforced when prices are below the cloud and the cloud is red. In other words, bullish signals are preferred when the bigger trend is up (prices above green cloud), while bearish signals are preferred when the bigger trend is down (prices are below red cloud). This is the essence of trading in the direction of the bigger trend. Signals that are counter to the existing trend are deemed weaker. Short-term bullish signals within a long-term downtrend and short-term bearish signals within a long-term uptrend are less robust.

Conversion-Base Line Signals

 Chart 4 shows Kimberly Clark (KMB) producing two bullish signals within an uptrend. First, the trend was up because the stock was trading above the Cloud and the Cloud was green. The Conversion Line dipped below the Base Line for a few days in late June to enable the setup. A bullish crossover signal was triggered when the Conversion Line moved back above the Base Line in July. The second signal occurred as the stock moved towards Cloud support. The Conversion Line moved below the Base Line in September to enable the setup. Another bullish crossover signal was triggered when the Conversion Line moved back above the Base Line in October. Sometimes it is hard to determine exact Conversion Line and Base Line levels on the price chart. For reference, these numbers are displayed in the upper left hand corner of each Sharpchart. As of the January 8 close, the Conversion Line was 62.62 (blue) and the Base Line was 63.71 (red).

Chart 5 shows AT&T (T) producing a bearish signal within a downtrend. First, the trend was down as the stock was trading below the Cloud and the Cloud was red. After a sideways bounce in August, the Conversion Line moved above the Base Line to enable the setup. This did not last long as the Conversion Line moved back below the Base Line to trigger a bearish signal on September 15th.

Price-Base Line Signals

Chart 6 shows Disney producing two bullish signals within an uptrend. With the stock trading above the green cloud, prices moved below the Base Line (red) to enable the setup. This move represented a short-term oversold situation within a bigger uptrend. The pullback ended when prices moved back above the Base Line to trigger the bullish signal.

Chart 7 shows DR Horton (DHI) producing two bearish signals within a downtrend. With the stock trading below the red cloud, prices bounced above the Base Line (red) to enable the setup. This move created a short-term overbought situation within a bigger downtrend. The bounce ended when prices moved back below the Base Line to trigger the bearish signal.

Signal Summary

This article features four bullish and four bearish signals derived from the Ichimoku Cloud plots. The trend-following signals focus on the Cloud, while the momentum signals focus on the Turning and Base Lines. In general, movements above or below the cloud define the overall trend. Within that trend, the Cloud changes color as the trend ebbs and flows. Once the trend is identified, the Conversion Line and Base Line act similar to MACD for signal generation. And finally, simple price movements above or below the Base Line can be used to generate signals.
Bullish Signals:

• Price moves above Cloud (trend)
• Cloud turns from red to green (ebb-flow within trend)
• Price Moves above the Base Line (momentum)
• Conversion Line moves above Base Line (momentum)

Bearish Signals:

• Price moves below Cloud (trend)
• Cloud turns from green to red (ebb-flow within trend)
• Price Moves below Base Line (momentum)
• Conversion Line moves below Base Line (momentum)

Conclusions

The Ichimoku Cloud is a comprehensive indicator designed to produce clear signals. Chartists can first determine the trend by using the Cloud. Once the trend is established, appropriate signals can be determined using the price plot, Conversion Line and Base Line. The classic signal is to look for the Conversion Line to cross the Base Line. While this signal can be effective, it can also be rare in a strong trend. More signals can be found by looking for price to cross the Base Line (of even the Conversion Line).
It is important to look for signals in the direction of the bigger trend. With the Cloud offering support in an uptrend, traders should also be on alert for bullish signals when prices approach the Cloud on a pullback or consolidation. Conversely, in a bigger downtrend, traders should be on alert for bearish signals when prices approach the Cloud on an oversold bounce or consolidation.
The Ichimoku Cloud can also be used in conjunction with other indicators. Traders can identify the trend using the Cloud and then use classic momentum oscillators to identify overbought or oversold conditions.

The Ichimoku Cloud indicator is available on SharpCharts by selecting it as an indicator in the "Overlay" drop-down box. Default settings are 9 for the Conversion Line, 26 for the Base Line and 52 for the Leading Span B. The Leading Span A is based on the Conversion Line and Base Line. The number for the Base Line (26) is also used to move the Cloud forward (26 days). These numbers can be adjusted to suit individual trading and investing styles. Sometimes it is necessary to add extra bars to the chart when increasing the Base Line, which also increases the forward movement of the Cloud.

Trade Forex Like a Pro Make $1500 Monthly

Trade Forex Like a Pro- Revealed the secret of the floor traders, How you will be successful trading forex using price. This is proven method tested that is making over $1,250 Monthly. No sorry, no complicated calculation. This is as simple as "ABC" B

Forexpathfinder indicator - After Government Shutdown USA Nonfarm Payroll and Other To Be Release Today (Friday, October 18)

Canada Core CPI    -    8:30am NY time   (Friday, October 18)

Change in the price of goods and services purchased by consumers also called Bank of Canada Core CPI, CPI Ex Volatile Items, excluding the 8 most volatile items is usually released monthly, about 20 days after the month ends; When Actual greater-than Forecast is Good for currency; Volatile items account for about a quarter of CPI but they tend to be very volatile and distort the underlying trend. The Bank of Canada pays most attention to the Core data - so do traders. This is among the few non-seasonally adjusted numbers reported on the calendar, as it's the calculation most commonly reported.













Important of It.
Consumer prices account for a majority of overall inflation. Inflation is important to currency valuation because rising prices lead the central bank to raise interest rates out of respect for their inflation containment mandate;

	Traded pair	Expected figure	Deviation trigger
	USDCAD	0.2 (%)	±0.3 (%)

	Buy	USDCAD	if actual figure is or is below	-0.1 (%)
	Sell	USDCAD	if actual figure is or is above	0.5 (%)

Expected move during first 20 minutes after the release is 20 pips or more.


  Forexpathfinder Signals Trade Plan
 

	Traded currency pair	:	USDCAD
	Initial spike duration limit	:	15 seconds
	Initial spike price action threshold	:	10 pips
	Triggering retracement percentage	:	40 %
	Retracement duration limit	:	40 seconds
	Maximum trade hold time after release	:	15 minutes
	Stop loss	:	10 pips
	Take profit	:	10 pips
	Maximum spread	:	2 pips

1. If between 08:30:00am and 08:30:15am, so during the first 15 seconds you see USDCAD move up or down by 10 pips or more, then enter in the direction of the initial spike at the very first 40% retracement if it doesn't take more than 40 seconds (till 08:30:40am) – and if spread is at 2 pips or less. Set stop/loss at 10 pips, and set take/profit at 10 pips immediately.
2. If the move either up or down was less than 10 pips during the first 15 seconds, then the actual number of the report did not generate sufficient interest in the market, and you simply skip the trade.
3. If by 08:45:00am, so 15 minutes after the report release, neither your stop/loss nor your take/profit points were hit, then close the trade automatically at market price of the time.

Forexpathfinder Trade Plan

USA Nonfarm Payroll    -    8:30am NY time   (Friday, October 18)

PLEASE MIND GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN! THIS EVENT CAN BE DELAYED!

	Traded pair	Expected figure	Deviation trigger
	USDJPY	179 (k)	±75 (k)

	Buy	USDJPY	if actual figure is or is above	254 (k)
	Sell	USDJPY	if actual figure is or is below	104 (k)

Expected move during first 15 minutes after the release is 50 pips or more.

Details:

 USA Nonfarm Payroll    -    8:30am NY time   (Friday, October 18)

--–––––————————————————————–––––--

	Traded currency pair	:	USDJPY
	Initial spike duration limit	:	30 seconds
	Initial spike price action threshold	:	25 pips
	Triggering retracement percentage	:	30 %
	Retracement duration limit	:	90 seconds
	Maximum trade hold time after release	:	15 minutes
	Stop loss	:	15 pips
	Take profit	:	15 pips
	Maximum spread	:	3 pips

1. If between 08:30:00am and 08:30:30am, so during the first 30 seconds you see USDJPY move up or down by 25 pips or more, then enter in the direction of the initial spike at the very first 30% retracement if it doesn't take more than 90 seconds (till 08:31:30am) – and if spread is at 3 pips or less. Set stop/loss at 15 pips, and set take/profit at 15 pips immediately.
2. If the move either up or down was less than 25 pips during the first 30 seconds, then the actual number of the report did not generate sufficient interest in the market, and you simply skip the trade.
3. If by 08:45:00am, so 15 minutes after the report release, neither your stop/loss nor your take/profit points were hit, then close the trade automatically at market price of the time.

Trade Forex Like a Pro Make $1500 Monthly

Trade Forex Like a Pro- Revealed the secret of the floor traders, How you will be successful trading forex using price. This is proven method tested that is making over $1,250 Monthly. No sorry, no complicated calculation. This is as simple as "ABC" B