Investing : Online Forex Trading - The Basics

Forex trading has become extremely popular the world over and has people from all different countries and backgrounds trading like only the professional traders could do just a short time ago. Until recently Forex trading was performed mostly by major banks and large institutional traders. The technological advancements that have occurred of late have transformed Forex into the playground of average traders like you and me.

It's easy to find an online FX trading system, platform or software that can make it easy and fun to trade the market. Simply browse the web and you will be inundated with many exciting offers and promotions. There are many firms that sell or even give away free training software, charts or other useful tools for your future in Forex trading.

Foreign currency trading is done in pairs or combinations. For example, trading the Dollar versus Yen, the Euro vs. the Dollar or the British Pound against the dollar. The most popular currencies that are used for trading and investment purposes are the United States Dollar (USD), Japanese Yen, British Pound, Euro and Swiss Franc. The make up the major portion of all currency trading.

When you come across these currencies in the market you will see them written as a pair: USD/JPY (U S Dollar and Japanese Yen), EUR/USD (Euro and U S Dollar), USD/CHF (U S Dollar and Swiss Franc) and GBP/USD (British Pound and U S Dollar).

The vast majority of all day trades of foreign currency involve these five major currencies. Your goal as a trader is to pick out which currency will appreciate against another. If you can find or develop a system that will allow you to choose the correct direction a currency will be taking it is possible to make good profits in the FX market.

Most trades on the FX market are done by Forex brokers and dealers at major banking institutions across the globe. And since it is a world wide market that makes it a 24 hour a day market. The brokers or dealers work in different shifts so that major institutional traders can perform their trades 24 hours a day around the clock.

However, don't be alarmed. You do not have to be awake all day and all night to trade the market. It is a simple matter of placing stop orders with brokers to buy or sell at pre-determined price levels even while you are sleeping. If your pre-specified price points are met the order will go through as planned. If your price points are not met the orders will not be placed or carried out. This is the key to stopping potentially big losses. You'd hate to be asleep when the market turned against you without a way to get out. Having specified price levels can save you a lot of stress in the market place. With stop orders you don't have to constantly follow your currencies every second of the day. You can place your orders and then go about your normal daily routine.

The FX is unlike stock exchanges in that stock exchanges can be very volatile. The FX market is ordinarily a great deal smoother and doesn't gyrate up and down as quickly or rapidly. The market is actually very easy to trade and is very liquid, meaning you can get your money in or out at any time. Placing an order can be done in a matter of seconds. If you have the temperament for this type of activity it can be a very worthwhile endeavor.

Career : Jobs And Over Aged Applicants

Though some employers would prefer a younger workforce, the older applicants still have a wide variety of career choices to choose from.

Employers are starting to see the potential of older and much-experienced applicants as can be seen by the statistics below:

q In Australia, Bureau of Statistics showed that between the period of August of 1989 to that of August of 2003, the workforce aged 15-24 lost more than 380,000 jobs to older workers.

Aside from the fact that most of Australia's younger generation became full-time students, employers favored the older applicants.

q In Netherlands on the other hand (by December of 2000), over 500,000 thousand of their employees are 55 years old and above. This figure had been increasing steadily since 1995.

To have a head start from the younger applicants, one has to take into consideration the following:

1. In writing one's resume, put more weight in highlighting the accomplishments without necessarily bragging about it.

One could have these lists of accomplishments and previous posts held work for one's advantage over younger applicants who may not even have any experience on the same field.

An individual's employment history receives as much scrutiny as the applicant itself. While employers tend to look for gaps or lapses of time when the applicant has been unemployed, they also tend to focus on the length of service one had rendered for their previous employers.