World Articles

One thing I don’t really do on this blog is talk about the basics of forex trading. I automatically assume most of my readers have a general understanding of how the forex markets work. However if you are looking for an entry level forex trading course, there is one course that I can highly recommend.

It’s called Forex Nitty Gritty and despite the dubious name, it’s actually a very impressive course.

This course assumes you have no prior knowledge of forex trading and starts right at the beginning. Through a series of online videos you will learn all the basics of forex trading. You will also be taken through out some of the more advanced subjects such as how you can use price patterns, fibonacci techniques and various different technical indicators to trade the markets. In short you are basically given a complete education in forex trading.

Furthermore if that wasn’t enough you are also provided with a simple, but very effective trading method that you can use to trade the markets. I use this method quite a lot myself on the intraday time frames and it works very well because it gets you into a trade whenever a currency pair is trending strongly upwards or downwards, so the odds are always stacked in your favour.

Anyway if you would like to find out more about this excellent forex course, you can do so either by visiting the Forex Nitty Gritty website or by clicking here and reading my full Forex Nitty Gritty review.

Source: http://theforexarticles.com/forex-course/

One of the hardest decisions you face when starting out as a forex trader is which forex broker to go with. If you do a search online you will find hundreds of different forex brokers to choose from. The trouble is that some are better than others, and furthermore there are some that you should avoid like the plague. 

So let me give you a list of things you should look out for when choosing a forex broker:

1. Regulation

This is arguably the most important factor because whichever broker you decide to go with, you must make sure that they are fully regulated with the relevant authority. So if they are based in the US, for example, then you should ensure that they are regulated by the NFA (National Futures Association) or the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). Similarly if they are a UK-based company, then they should be regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority).

If you go with an offshore forex broker that is completely unregulated, for example, then you are taking a huge risk because you may never see your money again.

2. Spreads

If you are a relatively long-term trader and mainly use the 4 hour or daily charts, for instance, then the spreads offered by your chosen forex broker is not so much of an issue. However if you intend to trade the shorter time frames then your points gains per trade will obviously be a lot less, and therefore the spreads will start to eat into your profits. So as a general guide you ideally want to choose a broker that offers spreads of around 2 or 3 pips for the EUR/USD and GBP/USD pairs, and certainly no more than 4.

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There are very few forex trading signals providers that are genuinely consistently profitable month after month. There are many that claim to be and have impressive looking performance records but very often it transpires that they massage their numbers, and use hypothetical figures in their calculations, rather than trade their signals themselves.

I’ve come across many different forex signals providers in my time. It’s hard not to as the internet’s full of them. Nearly all of them have turned out to be a waste of time. I thought I’d found a great site a while back in the shape of Forex Live Pro, but after having several highly profitable months, even they ended up going on a losing streak and have since closed down.

That’s why there’s only one company that I’m more than happy to recommend and that’s ZuluTrade.

ZuluTrade is basically an extensive database consisting of some of the best forex traders from around the world. You can trade any of the signals that these traders provide automatically in your ZuluTrade account. All you do is open an account, deposit some cash, and choose which traders’ signals you wish to trade (based on their past performance record). Then whenever the signals are provided by your chosen provider(s), the same positions are opened and closed automatically on your behalf in your account.

It’s basically a managed forex trading account where you’re in complete control over which signal providers you use, and all trading is completely automated.

Click here to find out more and to open a free demo account where you can experiment with different signal providers before trading with real money.

Several of Australia’s leading real estate and financial experts have challenged the ‘doom and gloom’ outlook at a major panel event, saying the country’s property market remains resilient.

The event, held at Salt Village, saw financial commentator Michael Pascoe, demographer Bernard Salt, independent property analyst Michael Matusik and Tweed Economic Development Corporation CEO Tom Senti reveal emerging property trends, with a focus on the surging Tweed Coast region.

Both Mr Matusik and Mr Pascoe said a major concern was that misinformation about property and commodity values were dampening consumer confidence.
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Despite the downturn tourists have flocked to the Philippines in greater numbers this year, boosting the country’s burgeoning resort sector.

Over the first quarter of 2009 tourist arrivals to the South East Asian island nation rose by a staggering 51 percent to 1.3 million people compared to 858,244 during the same period last year, according to the Philippines Department of Tourism (PDoT).

Growing demand has led to a shortage of the best accommodation, increasing occupancy rates and resort yields. Commenting on the PDoT’s figures, the director of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines, Rene C. Baltasar, has been reported to have said the country was getting up-market tourists but there was a lack of rooms compared to its regional rivals.

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CB Richard Ellis today announced the results of its Rent and Yield Indices for the first quarter of 2009, broadly reporting falling rents and rising yields across Europe.

Key findings included:

RENTS

Offices

Prime office rents across Europe fell in the first quarter of 2009. The CB Richard Ellis office rent index for the EU-15 area fell by 3.4% in the quarter, taking the year-on-year rate of growth to minus 4.1%.

Twenty eight of the 48 locations in the survey saw prime rent falls, one location increased and 19 remained unchanged. The largest falls occurred in Kyiv (down 33% to €357 per sq m per annum) and Moscow (down 20% to €918 per sq m per annum). The only increase was in Zagreb, where rents increased by 0.8% to €211 per sq m per annum.

Retail

Prime rents also fell in the retail sector. The CB Richard Ellis retail rent index for the EU-15 area fell by 1.3% in the quarter, taking the year-on-year rate of growth to 0.6%

Only one location in the survey saw an increase in the level of prime rent, 13 declined and 29 remained unchanged. The largest falls were recorded in Warsaw (down 33% to €960 per sq m per annum) and Bucharest (down 30% to €1,080 per sq m per annum). The single increase occurred in Birmingham, where rents increased by 9% to €1,669 per sq m per annum.

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A recent report by CB Richard Ellis Inc., the world’s largest commercial real estate services company, confirms that Dubai has seen a substantial increase in Prime Industrial rents compared with the rest of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

The statistics featured in the EMEA Industrial and Logistics MarketView (March 2009) report show industrial rents to be at AED 45/sq ft/annum, up 50% in 2008, the eighth most expensive in the EMEA region . The top three markets for industrial rents are led by London Heathrow at £13.25/sq ft/annum (151.80 W / sq m); Geneva at SFR 210/sq ft/annum (139.44 W / sq m); and Helsinki at €132.00/sq ft/annum (132.00 W / sq m).

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“The credit crunch has been felt far less in Malta because of the rigorous regulatory regimes that Malta has and also because the financial banking sector is not as sophisticated as in other countries.

In a sense, whilst Malta may not be totally spared the impact, at least we have not been as badly hit as others”, says Benjamin Muscat, CEO at Midi plc

Midi plc is the consortium that is creating what is probably the most luxurious development of quality homes on the island. Having secured a dramatic and impressive location situated at the mouth of the world famous harbour, the company has had a highly successful operation with their chic, quality apartments and penthouses at Tigne Point.

Continued Muscat, “Although the Maltese economy has been adversely impacted by the global recession, Malta is still a strong proposition for inward investment in the e world, financial services and insurances sectors which are all complimented by a well educated, predominantly English speaking population. The pharmaceutical sector is highly successful too and Malta is increasingly recognised as a natural choice for producers of generic pharmaceuticals. Tourism is making a bigger impact on the local economy as top quality hotels attract monied, business people seeking a sunny safe island with easy access from both the East and the West”.

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Figures from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) show that in 2008, Brazil’s tourism industry rose to 13th position in the world in terms of the economic activity it generates.

It also predicts the sector will expand at an average annual rate of 4.5% between 2010 and 2019 allowing for a slight contraction in 2009 due to the global economic downturn.

It is the North East of this huge country that is drawing increased interest from visitors; the State of Rio Grande do Norte and especially resorts near to the city of Natal.

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The Altinkum Didim Yacht Marina in Turkey has been in the pipeline for an absolute age, but the waiting is finally over. The £33.6 million marina will open next month, potentially giving a huge boost to property in the Altinkum area.

The luxury marina will cover more than 287,000 square metres of land between Third Beach and Parlementerler, to the west of Altinkum and is set to change the face of the Turkish coastline at Didim.

The largest marina in the Southern Aegean, the Didim D-Marina will include a heliport, customs, own pier and high-end shopping centre, not to mention space to moor more than 1,000 yachts, blowing Bodrum’s 450-berth site out of the water.

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Today, a top property expert warned investors to beware of false rental yield guarantees made by some developers and agents.

John Scott, from hotel investment specialist Asset Property Brokers, said: “Some rental yield guarantee schemes, typically offered over a period of two years, are actually funded by the purchaser buying the property at an inflated price. For example a property priced at £80,000, but worth £60,000, allows the developer to give back to the purchaser £20,000, fulfilling a guaranteed yield of £10,000, or 12.5 percent per year over two years. This ruse particularly applies to apartments, villas or hotel rooms, built in areas with poor occupancy rates and oversupply. The result is at the end of the guarantee period in the third year buyers are left with properties that earn them very little, if any, rental income, and a financial disaster.

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What has Canada’s largest city got to offer (aside from the fact that it regularly plays New York City’s body double?) TheMoveChannel.com finds out why it attracted more then ten million tourists last year alone.

A self-proclaimed ‘mega-city,’ Toronto mirrors New York City and is made up of what were once six separate cities; Etobicoke, North York, York, Scarborough, Toronto and the borough of East York.

The area was annexed into the City of Toronto in 1998, but the areas are still often referred to by their former names and maintain a unique flavour.

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Even when applying the magic formula of ‘sun + beach + golf’ many holiday resorts come a cropper. Over-built, over-crowded and over-hyped. But not Costa Ballena.

This Andalusian Tourist Board masterminded development at the heart of Spain’s southern coastline constitutes something of a blueprint for holiday resorts of the future.

Costa Ballena was founded almost ten years ago on a four million square metre tranche of land between the ancient fishing villages of Chipiona and Rota. Displaying proud Royal roots the land once belonged to members of the Spanish Royal Family – manzanilla barons Orleans-Borbón – who remained involved in the development throughout. In fact the matriarch of the family, Doña Beatriz de Orleans-Borbón, is current president of the golf club. Today the resort declares itself to be one of the most advanced tourist resorts in Europe and this is largely based on its social and environmental awareness.

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We all know that the US property market is in a state right now (no pun intended) so news that an increasingly popular way of valuing properties could in fact be damaging real estate prices is generating much concern.

As everyone looks for ways to save some cash, American property owners are increasingly turning to Broker Price Opinions (BPOs) for a valuation on their property as they are far cheaper than traditional valuations carried out by registered property appraisers.

These BPO valuations, which are often done by estate agents with minimal training, cost as little as £35, as opposed to several hundred pounds when a trained appraiser values a property.

But now there are warnings that the agents who are carrying out these BPOs are valuing the properties very low in order to ensure a quick sale and get the market moving again.

Research from the Affiliated Appraisers has shown that BPOs frequently understate actual market values by thousands of pounds.

These low valuations could be artificially depressing US real estate prices. BPOs pull other property prices down because, under lending industry underwriting guidelines, appraisers must consider recent listing prices as well as sale prices.

As they are more often carried out on foreclosure properties owned by banks, they are having even more of an impact where prices are already low.

In order to clamp down on these potentially harmful valuations, appraisers and consumer groups are calling for regulations to be introduced to the valuation market.

The Appraisal Institute adds to the wave of anti BPO feeling, saying that not only do its members lose revenue when property owners or lenders order BPOs, but that it brings down standards.

On the other side of the story, some surprised homeowners in the US are discovering that their property valuation remains far higher than they thought it would.

As US homeowners receive their 2010 property valuation notice this week, valuation and sales prices are found to be miles apart and the value of their homes hasn’t dropped as much as they had assumed it would.

Some homeowners are suspicious, thinking that the values are being kept artificially high so that local Governments can rake in more tax.

However, assessors and industry experts say that property valuations traditionally lag far behind the housing market and county is limited in what sales data can be counted toward establishing values.

Social networking and blogging has become the 21st Century way of expressing ourselves and anyone who’s worth their salt is blogging, tweeting or facebooking about something – but now, a new blog on an online expat guide has caused major controversy by rubbishing New Zealand.

Would you want to visit a ‘horrible, soulless’ place inhabited by hobbits? Exactly. And that’s the problem the NZ tourist board have with a new blog written by an Australian duo on their website.

The online expat guide was created by the Australians, a professional couple in their late twenties who recently moved to New Zealand.

They show no mercy on their new home, which is a place millions of people long to emigrate to, describing Auckland as a ‘horrible, soulless’ place where they couldn’t even buy a copy of The Age (an Australian newspaper).

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It may seem like an inauspicious time to be selling the most expensive home in the US, but that hasn’t put Candy Spelling, wife of the late TV producer Aaron Spelling, from putting her Holmby Hills mansion up for sale for an eye-watering £105 million.

The Spelling home, which is known as The Manor, is the largest property in Los Angeles County, at 56,500-square-foot, and is set in 4.6 acres of land. Built in 1991, just as Aaron’s biggest show, Beverley Hills 90210 was taking off; it counts the Playboy Mansion and the uber-exclusive Los Angeles Country Club amongst its neighbours.

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Abu Dhabi is faced with a property supply and demand dilemma! Home to 1.4 million residents at present it is expected to grow dramatically between now and 2030 where it estimated that there will be some 3.1 million residents, an increase of a staggering 1.7 million people.

Oliver Hickey Managing Director of Nexus Development Ltd said, “The Abu Dhabi 2030 plan is set to transform this capital Emirate by 2030.  Over ambitious? Far from it.  This realistic government backed period of growth over the next 20 years will set Abu Dhabi on a pedestal and elevate and secure its position as the hub of the Middle East. However the wealth that Abu Dhabi enjoys, is expected by many to lift it to new heights with many believing that Abu Dhabi will become an international and financial trade hub. Real estate, tourism and infrastructure will be the ultimate winners, but don’t forget the financial backers, whether government owned, large corporations or individuals, they will all benefit from this huge undertaking.”

Already we are seeing the planned benefits of the Abu Dhabi 2030 plan captivate the world’s attention.  The new Grand Prix circuit is already in place to host the 2009 Formula 1 Grand Prix finale. Saadiyat Island with developments of  up to $40 billion earmarked for construction is toasting the near completion of the 1.4km Saadiyat Bridge which will cut commuter time dramatically from Abu Dhabi International Airport to the down town area.

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Asia’s property sector will see new pockets of opportunity and value emerge during 2009 ahead of a more concerted market improvement in 2010 – that was the prevailing view of a panel of Asian based property investment experts at the Cityscape Connect Business Breakfast in Singapore today.

This inaugural networking event in Singapore was held as a lead-up to Cityscape Asia 2009, an exhibition and conference taking place from 19 – 21 May at the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre (Suntec Singapore).

Speaking at this morning’s discussion, Mr Nick Crockett, Associate Director Structured Finance, Asia Capital Markets, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) said that although some individual players in Asia’s property sector are facing ‘tremendous pressure’ according to the region as a whole has greater liquidity and the prospect of more deals happening more quickly than either Europe or America the panelists said.

“The overall quality of lending has been higher in Asia than some of the things that have happened in Europe and the United States (US),” said Mr Alan Dalgleish, Executive Director, CBRE.

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French leasebacks are touted to be safe long-term investments, with limited downsides – TheMoveChannel.com finds out if this really is the case.

France property has traditionally been a hot favourite with second home buyers and buy-to-let investors, thanks to the country’s strong rental potential.

Today, it remains a popular property investment destination, with some developers introducing the idea of a leaseback scheme to appeal to investors looking for a long term opportunity and reliable rental returns.

In today’s shaky market, investors are keen to snap up a stable investment and leaseback could provide that for them – they buy the property and hand it over to the developer for a fixed term, who then rents it out on behalf of the client for an agreed return.

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It’s no secret that hoards of Brits would love to escape the economic downturn and move to pastures new, but who knew it would be quite so many?

New research has found that four out of every five people living in Britain are desperate to emigrate, with the majority hoping to sun it up in Florida.

Quitting the UK for sunnier climes is nothing new, but the sheer number of people looking to do so has sky-rocketed since the credit crunch first darkened our doors.

The survey, carried out by perfectholidayhome.co.uk, found that, if no obstacles existed, 79 per cent of Brits would choose to emigrate. As usual, the top reasons for leaving the UK would be to enjoy a better lifestyle and escape the British weather.

The survey did hold one surprise, revealing Florida to be the most popular emigration destination, as opposed to the traditional hotspots of Spain and Australia. Whilst 42 per cent chose Florida, 20 per cent chose Australia and New Zealand and Spain and France received just six per cent each.

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