Welcome to the world's largest market in value. A playground where only the biggest players in the world used to work their trade. Twenty years ago, Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C), central banks of governments and the like were the primary players and probably the best way a small investor could get foreign currency was at the airport or a large branch of a big bank. Fast forward to the current world of the Internet and Forex brokers and the market has taken a complete reversal and is now one of the easiest markets requiring the smallest amounts of capital to trade in. With forex brokers offering to open an account with less than $500 to start and trading that goes on 24 hours a day Sunday through Friday it is no surprise that this world of investing, hedging, and trading has exploded to record amounts recently.
While I have traded equities and commodities for over 20 years, I have done relatively little in forex. What I have done has been a limited amount of trading along with using forex as an easy method to transfer trading gains from other countries into U.S. dollars that I could use. I picked this book after having read another from Lien to expand on my forex trading knowledge knowing that the intended reader is likely to be someone with limited trading experience and maybe no experience with forex.
I have not done much forex trading. Mostly the JPY USD pair when the earthquake hit. This book is a good primer for those interested in forex trading though.
Welcome to the world's most significant market place when it comes to value. A habitat where only the largest participants in the world used to perform their business. Twenty years ago, Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C), central banks of governments and the like were the primary participants and probably the best way a small investor could get foreign currency was at the airport or perhaps a significant branch of a big financial institution. Skip forward to the present world of the Internet and Forex brokers and the marketplace has taken a complete change and is presently one of the least complicated marketplaces needing the smallest amounts of funds to buy and sell in. Using forex brokers providing to open an account with less than $500 to start and trading that goes on 24 hours a day Sunday through Friday it is no surprise that this world of investing, hedging, and trading is growing to record volumes recently.
While I have bought and sold equities and commodities for over 20 years, I have carried out relatively very small within foreign exchange. What I have done has been a restricted amount of trading along with using forex as an easy method to convert buying and selling profits from other countries into U.S. us dollars that I could use. I selected this book after having read another coming from Lien to expand on my forex trading knowledge knowing that the intended reader is likely to be an individual with minimal trading experience and maybe no experience with foreign currency.
Kathy Lien strikes the mark and provides a satisfying clear introduction into the vocabulary used, market elements that influence foreign currencies and an insightful look at the landmines facing the new trader. Utilizing good examples including the similarities of children entering into an amusement park to a new speculator looking to place a trade and “get some action” I feel is a perfect analogy to what can be witnessed on an almost daily basis. Even some well seasoned traders get emotional at times. Of the many points I was impressed with, the timeliness of the examples and the way they increase comprehension of the concepts (while this may increase the dating of the book in the future, for now I think the objective of current relevance is met). While I do not live in New york city, which many of the good examples make use of as a settling, Lien gives the sense that you're listening to the ways and means of forex trading from a good friend who would describe what to expect and how to plan for success. This includes a well thought out, valuable example of how your own personality plays a peak function in choosing precisely what methods may offer the greatest chance of returns, both monetarily and emotionally.
Charts are used as needed throughout most of the book to illustrate points, including the use of Bollinger bands for a light brushing in technical analysis.
Lien demonstrates the self-discipline and planning that is needed to be successful in trading in general that perfectly applies as well to forex in particular.
A new investor in forex or buying and selling generally will find this book to be extremely educational. It provides a quick, easy ramp up to more advanced concepts. I would not necessarily agree that this book on it's own would bring an individual up to the point of being able to extract gains from the market (with preparation and study being repeatedly written throughout the text it, appears that this book concurs). If you're a fresh investor looking at getting into forex trading, "The Little Book of Currency Trading: How to Make Big Profits in the World of Forex" (Wiley, 2011), by Kathy Lien will be really worth your time and effort.