I love Paris (FOREX) in the spring time
The recent negative political relations between the United States and France have been tenuous, at best, but that just doesn't seem to be as significant for the investing public. I know because I recently received an invitation to speak before the Salon de l'Analyse Technique & Graphique des Marches Financiers (Conference on Technical Analysis and Charting of Financial Markets) in Paris this month about a topic that is near and dear to the Europeans and me, the Foreign Exchange Market (FOREX).
Those of you who know my investment style recognize that one of my passions is trading the FOREX. In fact, I wrote a book called FOREX Made Easy… Six Ways to Trade the Dollar, which has done very well and is now in its second printing. The one strategy that the European Foreign Exchange traders haven't embraced through the years is a simplification of the FOREX investment process. Technicals reign supreme, but actually the final FOREX trading procedure is very simple. For me, trading just six pairs is much easier than trying to find stocks moving in a positive direction among the more than 40,000 issues available on the equity markets. The six major pairs account for more than 80 percent of all FOREX transactions. The pairs are the Euro vs. the U.S. dollar, the U.S. dollar vs. the Swiss Franc, the Great British Pound vs. the U.S. dollar, the U.S. dollar vs. the Japanese Yen, the U.S. dollar vs. the Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar vs. the U.S. dollar. Easy.
Over the past couple of years, we have introduced the FOREX to investors in the U.S. who had never even heard of it. The fascinating part of the story is that these investors are actually making money. Some are using this investment as their primary income, while others are simply using the dollars earned through investments to supplement their retirement income. Investors on the European continent were raised on the FOREX. Anyone who has ever traveled to Europe (or to Canada for that matter) knows daily exchange rates are highly visible at every bank and are followed religiously. That's why I'm so excited about going to the Paris conference. My visit will allow me to learn even more about the art of trading the foreign exchange, while at the same time I will be able to "spread the word" of simplifying FOREX investing that European investors are not accustomed to.
The foreign currency exchange is different today, as global economies have become interconnected. Currency markets are more liquid and active than they ever were before. Moreover, because the markets are open 24 hours a day, six days a week, the ease of trading makes the investment process even that much simpler. This is an exciting time for the investment community, no matter where in the world you happen to be. I look forward to discussing investment strategies and the simplification of the FOREX with the European investors I will meet in Paris.
Happy Trading!
James Dicks
Originally published in James Dicks: Buy*Sell*Hold magazine.