Interesting!

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The Fed and "Plunge Protection Team": Are They Manipulating Stocks?
Rumors are, the U.S. government "is propping up the stock market."
October 29, 2010

By Elliott Wave International

Out of thousands of questions recently submitted to us at Elliott Wave International, the most frequent one received is: "Can the Fed manipulate the stock market?" Read our expert's answer on this and other misleading “investment wisdom.” Read more.

You will find many intriguing Q&As at EWI's Message Board. We offer it as a free way for our Club EWI members and subscribers to interact with EWI and the Socionomics Institute's experts. We strive to answer every Message Board reader, and publicly post the best Q&As.
By far, the most frequent question we've been asked recently is:

"What is your take on the persistent internet chatter that the Federal Reserve is holding up the stock market via QE2, POMO, etc.? How can stocks ever decline again if the Fed is in control?"

We have several active Message Board posts that touch on "market manipulation." But here is an eye-opening chart that will help shed more light on this issue.

EWI President Robert Prechter published this chart in his October 2008 Elliott Wave Theorist. Review this chart carefully. For too many investors, the crash of 2007-2009 is becoming a hazy memory. And almost no one in the mainstream financial media talks about the utter panic in the markets in September-October 2008, the worst part of the crash.

If you think back to that time, you may remember that the Federal Reserve and U.S. government took many aggressive steps to help stop the collapse. Every time they would announce a new intervention, the market would cheer. Result? Prechter's chart gives an unequivocal answer:

As you can see, announcements of bailouts, unlimited credit, bans on short sales, etc., were powerless against the biggest stock market collapse in 76 years. The DJIA kept sliding. It didn't stop until March 6, 2009 -- after it had slipped below 6,500.

So: Is the Fed and the "Plunge Protection Team" engaged in market manipulation? You can browse EWI's Message Board for some answers, but one thing is clear: When stocks were crashing two years ago, few dared to suggest that the Fed was in the saddle. Bob Prechter puts it best:

"When markets go up, the Fed seems to be in control; when they go down, it seems out of control. But the control aspect is an illusion."

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Learn why you should think independently rather than relying on misleading investment commentary and advice that passes as common wisdom. Just like the myth that government intervention can stop a stock market crash, Market Myths Exposed uncovers other important myths about diversifying your portfolio, the safety of your bank deposits, earnings reports, inflation and deflation, and more! Protect your financial future and change the way you view your investments forever! Learn more, and get your free eBook here.

Sorry for the less updated blog. I dont feel that I have anything else to put in. The answer is all in here. This was more like a log to me. I put in everything that I learned in forex.

To make things easier, I will summarize it.

What is Forex?
Forex stands for Foreign Exchange Market. Where you buy 1 currency over the other (exchange). Its a business, no matter what people say. It involve buying and selling like any other business only difference is the medium is currency.

How to trade Forex?
The idea behind forex trading is to make profit from the difference in prices. Simply put, buy when the price is low and sell it when the price is high. Its just like the item you buy in stores, the store keeper is selling it at a higher price to make profit except in Forex you can sell first at high price and buy back later when the price is low.

When to buy and when to sell?
Logically you will sell when the price is going down and you will buy when the price is going up. It is simple but in practice this is what killing most traders. Something so simple can be so complicated.

How to know when the price is going down/up?
The price is going down when it no longer making new high. The price is going up when it no longer making new low.

Final advice
Forex is a human activity. It involve buying and selling. Because it is a human activity, it is not predictable. You cannot predict when is the time you need to go to toilet or when you are going to cut your hair. It is all based on situation. Prediction is an over statement of intelligence in Forex. You dont need it.

Fortunately not everything is unpredictable. By nature human tends to follow what other people are doing. In Forex there is something called the Trend. It happen when lots of people are doing the same thing at the same time (follow??). when more and more people are buying, you buy. When more and more people are selling you sell.

Dont get greedy. Put a reasonable target for each trade and get out once you get your target. There will always be another trade tomorrow and you dont have to trade everyday to make profit. Btw, last week I only trade once.

Good luck to all you traders. For the new blood, take your time. Give it 2 years before you can understand it and go for the kill.

October Curse vs. Objective Analysis: The Choice Is Yours

October 12, 2010

By Elliott Wave International

Over the weekend, I went shopping for Halloween decorations. In the store, one of the clerks was wearing a white T-shirt with a puff-paint rendering of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The line representing prices was the color of blood red, dripping and splashed across the front. When I asked him what it was, he said "the October Curse."

'Tis the season of stock market adages; those age-old Wall Street platitudes that claim stock prices perform a certain way during certain months of the year. The problem is, such correlations are hardly a guarantee.

Take October, for example. Yes, this month has marked some of the darkest periods in stock market history: 1929, 1987 and on. Historically, however, it's not the worst performing month. For example, the supposed "Halloween Jinx" failed to bring a deathly pallor to stocks in 2008, as the final days of that year's October saw the biggest weekly gain since 1974.

Video (Part 3): Prechter - Investing in Extreme Markets

(Note: This interview was originally recorded on September 20, 2010)

In the video below, Robert Prechter talks to Yahoo! Finance Tech Ticker host Aaron Task and Henry Blodget about a technical pattern he sees forming in the Dow.

Get Up to Speed on Robert Prechter's Latest Perspective — Download this Special FREE Report Now.

Video (Part 2): Prechter: Ominous Pattern in the DJIA

(Note: This interview was originally recorded on September 20, 2010)

In the video below, Robert Prechter talks to Yahoo! Finance Tech Ticker host Aaron Task and Henry Blodget about a technical pattern he sees forming in the Dow.

Get Up to Speed on Robert Prechter's Latest Perspective — Download this Special FREE Report Now.