Article by Leon Visagie

Many years ago, Forex trading was possible when you’re in the actual trading platform. If you’re not present there, you can’t make a trade. Thanks to the introduction of the internet, it is now possible to conduct the Forex transactions from the comfort of your own home or even in the office. There are now Forex trading courses offered online which can help you with your trading concerns.

The communication industry has definitely contributed a lot to the growth of the Forex market. Trades can be done by way of phone or through online resources. Because of this, the Forex market is far larger than other major financial markets. By taking up trading on the internet, you can learn a lot about Forex trading. Newbies in the industry will definitely learn a great deal about this market and how to conduct their trades. A lot of things are free online but the courses require a minimal fee. The knowledge that you can gain from these courses are nothing compared to the fee that you’re going to pay. Besides, if you can become a good trader, you can earn more profits.

Before signing up for a trading course, you need to consider things like:

1.Who offered the trading course? Was offered by a reputable company or firm?

2.What is the reason behind the course offer?

3.Is the company or firm trying to promote a trading site where you can join in the future?

4.Is the course trying to push you in using a certain trading website? Are you being pushed to invest money?

Answer the questions and from your answers, you can already determine if the trading course is worthy or not.

You have to find a course which provides high standard learning. All the information contained in the website should not be replicated elsewhere. There are traders who don’t enroll in any trading course at all because they were able to find the information in free online resources. So why pay for information that you can get for free online, right? Conduct your research and check the background of the company or firm offering the trading courses.

Before choosing a trading course online, try to check Forex articles and expert advice posted on the internet for free. You can even join Forex forums and discuss Forex issues there. You can meet fellow traders who can provide you with useful info on how to trade effectively and wisely.

A good trading course should be able to provide you with different kinds of views from different established companies. It should not concentrate mainly on how a certain company conducts its trade. Look for reputable companies and firms that offer excellent trading courses. With a bit of research online, you will surely find the course that you’re looking for. Since you’re going to pay for the trading course, it should teach you everything you need to know about Forex trading which includes developing a trading system, using trend indicators, signal generators, flow charts, and many other things. The course should also teach you about the best trading software programs available in the market today.

Start looking for the best trading course online. With a very minimal fee, you can already gain priceless knowledge that you can use when you finally decide to enter the Forex market. Now, Forex trading will not be very difficult for you.

ECN Forex trading

An electronic communication network (ECN) is the term used in financial circles for a type of computer system that facilitates trading of financial products outside of stock exchanges. The primary products that are traded on ECNs are stocks and currencies. ECNs came into existence in 1998 when the SEC authorized their creation. ECNs increase competition among trading firms by lowering transaction costs, giving clients full access to their order books, and offering order matching outside of traditional exchange hours. ECN’s are sometimes also referred to as Alternative Trading Networks

Functioning of ECNs

To trade with an ECN, one must be a subscriber or have an account with a broker that provides direct access trading. ECN subscribers can enter orders into the ECN via a custom computer terminal or network protocols.

The ECN will then match contra-side orders (i.e. a sell-order is “contra-side” to a buy-order with the same price and share count) for execution. The ECN will post unmatched orders on the system for other subscribers to view. Generally, the buyer and seller are anonymous, with the trade execution reports listing the ECN as the party.

Some ECNs may offer additional features to subscribers such as negotiation, reserve size, and pegging, and may have access to the entire ECN book (as opposed to the “top of the book”) that contains important real-time market data regarding depth of trading interest.
[edit] What electronic communication networks are

The emergence in the late 1990s of electronic trading venues known as “electronic communications networks” (ECNs) made it possible for more individual investors to trade after-hours. In theory, any investor who makes arrangements to access an electronic communications networks can trade in the after-hours marketplace.

To participate in the after-hours trading sessions, you must be a customer of a brokerage firm that either has an ECN of its own or access to one or more ECN’s. ECNs include Island, Market XT, Archipelago and Instinet amongst others.

It is important to understand that some ECNs are regulated exchanges, others are sidelines of broker-dealers, and others are unregulated.

ECNs and the stock market

For stock, ECNs exist as a class of SEC-permitted Alternative Trading Systems (ATS). As an ATS, ECNs exclude broker-dealers’ internal crossing networks – i.e., systems that match orders in private using prices from a public exchange.

ECN fee structure

ECN’s fee structure can be grouped in two basic structures: a classic structure and a credit (or rebate) structure. Both fee structures offer advantages of their own. The classic structure tends to attract liquidity removers while the credit structure appeals to liquidity providers. However since both removers and providers of liquidity are necessary to create a market, ECNs must choose their fee structures carefully.

In a credit structure ECNs make a profit from paying liquidity providers a credit while charging a debit to liquidity removers. Credits range from $ 0.002 to $ 0.00295 per share for liquidity providers, and debits from $ 0.0025 to $ 0.003 per share for liquidity removers. The fee can be determined by monthly volume provided and removed, or by a fixed structure, depending on the ECN. This structure is common on the NASDAQ market.[2]

In a classic structure, the ECN will charge a small fee to all market participants using their network, both liquidity providers and removers. They also can attract volume to their networks by giving lower prices to large liquidity providers. Fees for ECNs that operate under a classic structure range from $ 0 to $ 0.0015, or even higher depending on each ECN. This fee structure is more common in the NYSE, however recently some ECNs have moved their NYSE operations into a credit structure.

ECNs and the currency market

The 1st ECN for internet currency trading was New-York based Matchbook FX formed in 1999. Back then, all the prices were created & supplied by Matchbook FX’s traders/users, including banks, within its ECN network. This was quite unique at the time, as it empowered buy-side FX market participants, historically always “price takers”, to finally be price makers as well. Today, FX ECNs like Currenex, Bloomberg Tradebook (an affiliate of Bloomberg L.P.), Hotspot FX, FXall & BAXTER Financial Services Ltd with Currency Dealing provide access to an electronic trading network, supplied with streaming quotes from the top tier banks in the world. Their matching engines perform limit checks and match orders, usually in less than 100 milliseconds per order. The matching is quote driven and these are the prices that match against all orders. Spreads are discretionary but in general multibank competition creates 1-2 pip spreads on USD Majors and Euro Crosses. The order book is not a routing system that sends orders to individual market makers. It is a live exchange type book working against the best bid/offer of all quotes. By trading through an ECN, a currency trader generally benefits from greater price transparency, faster processing, increased liquidity and more availability in the marketplace. The banks also reduce their costs as there is less manual effort.

Click here to start ECN Forex trading
http://www.fxcbs.com/ecn

Article by Lan Turner

The internet has aided in revolutionizing the way an individual can earn a living these days. While the 9 to 5, forty hour a week job is still in high demand, most people have extended their income opportunities by taking benefit of the internet.

For few the creation of home businesses have aided them develop their second income, buying and selling goods or services to meet demands of the global population. Others have switched to investing as there answer to finding additional income, placing their savings in several financial opportunities like stock and bonds. If you find that you are a fan of the investing opportunity, ensure that you do not restrict yourself financially by not taking advantage of a proper education regarding investment opportunities.

Obviously going back to school to receive an investing education isn’t feasible to most and does not represent the best opportunity for most. Instead look to take advantage of the knowledge of investing professionals by investing in opportunities such as Forex Trading Software and Futures Trading Software. With Forex Trading Software a person could start their understanding of the thrilling realm of currency exchange.

Currency exchange is usually one of the most widely covered topics by the media so tapping into this source of knowledge is simple when you use Forex Trading Software. Forex Trading Software will assist the investor in getting out of the traditional traders rut of just investing in common currency and rather check out the many possibilities of all the currencies across the globe.

If the idea of trading global currencies does not appeal to you a lot more local opportunity of investing is possible when you make investments in Futures Trading Software. Futures Trading Software encompasses the trading of commodities and enables an individual to buy and sell in bulk when seasons are most beneficial. For the trader seeking knowledge on a market, a commodity trading is normally considered one of the most simple investment opportunities since it’s greatly ruled by seasonal demands.

When you access the knowledge of Futures Trading Software you could start to understand the seasons of various commodities and how they predictably rise and fall baring natural disasters. Futures Trading Software could even help you in establishing a program that will recognize these various trends and buy and sell commodities on your behalf.

The investment market has many opportunities for the trader and you shouldn’t limit your investments to stocks. Futures Trading Software and Forex Trading Software provides a one of a kind educational opportunity that will support your investment efforts and also help you in the decision making process.