When you determine how much risk capital you have avail-
able for trading, you'll have a better idea of what size account
you can trade and what position size you can handle. Most
online trading platforms typically offer generous leverage
ratios that allow you to control a larger position with less
required margin. But just because they offer high leverage
doesn't mean you have to fully utilize it.
Making time for market analysis
The full version of Currency Trading For Dummies talks about
the amount of data and news that flows through the forex
market on a daily basis -- and it can be truly overwhelming.
So how can an individual trader possibly keep up with all the
data and news?
The key is to develop an efficient daily routine of market
analysis. Thanks to the Internet and online currency broker-
ages, independent traders can access a variety of information.
Your daily regimen of market analysis should focus on:
Overnight forex market developments: Who said what,
which data came out, and how the currency pairs reacted.
Daily updates of other major market movements over
the prior 24 hours and the stories behind them: If oil
prices or U.S. Treasury yields rose or fell substantially,
find out why.
Data releases and market events (for example, the
retail sales report, Fed speeches, central bank rate
announcements) expected for that day: Ideally, you'll
monitor data and event calendars one week in advance,
so you can be anticipating the outcomes along with the
rest of the market.
Multiple-time-frame technical analysis of major cur-
rency pairs: There is nothing like the visual image of
price action to fill in the blanks of how data and news
affected individual currency pairs.
Current events and geopolitical themes: Stay abreast on
issues of major elections, political scandals, military con-
flicts, and policy initiatives in the major currency nations.