The Forex Trading Course: A Self-Study Guide to Becoming a Successful Currency Trader, 2nd Edition

Preface

This edition is more than an update on the first edition. Since the first edition was released in 2008, the world of forex trading has significantly changed. The challenges facing the forex trader are new and greater than ever. The financial collapse of 2008 ushered in a rebalancing of the world economy, with monetary policy and currencies as key instruments. The era of quantitative easing began, and with it, central bank intervention became and remains since a prime mover of currencies. Forex trading became subject to greater spikes and disruptions and, more than ever, sensitive to market emotions. Expectations regarding global growth and inflation have significantly influenced currency movement. These changes underscore the need for a refocus on fundamentals for forex trading.

The significant advances in the Internet since 2007 have also transformed forex trading and its technological environment. The forex trader today has the opportunity to access more information, more quickly than ever before. Also, a popular phenomenon called social media trading has emerged where the forex trader can “copy” the trades of other traders. The Internet wraps information flow with rumors and hyperbole, creating herding behavior and swarming patterns.

Since 2008, an entirely new instrument for trading currency directions and market emotions—binary options—has emerged. It is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. Forex firms are increasingly offering binaries to their customers. ...