What is the Forex market? • What is Forex? – The basics… Basically, the Forex market is where banks, businesses, governments, investors and traders come to exchange and speculate on currencies. The Forex market is also referred to as the ‘Fx market’, ‘Currency market’, ‘Foreign exchange currency market’ or ‘Foreign currency market’, and it is the largest and most liquid market in the world with an average daily turnover of $3.98 trillion. The Fx market is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week with the most important world trading centers being located in London, New York, Tokyo, Zurich, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris, and Sydney. It should be noted that there is no central marketplace for the Forex market; trading is instead said to be conducted ‘over the counter’; it’s not like stocks where there is a central marketplace with all orders processed like the NYSE. Forex is a product quoted by all the major banks, and not all banks will have the exact same price. Now, the broker platforms take all theses feeds from the different banks and the quotes we see from our broker are an approximate average of them. It’s the broker who is effectively transacting the trade and taking the other side of it…they ‘make the market’ for you. When you buy a currency pair…your broker is selling it to you, not ‘another trader’. • A brief history of the Forex market Ok, I admit, this part is going to be a little bit boring, but it’s important to have some basic background knowledge of the history of the Forex market so that you know a little bit about why it exists and how it got here. So here is the history of the Forex market in a nutshell: In 1876, something called the gold exchange standard was implemented. Basically it said that all paper currency had to be backed by solid gold; the idea here was to stabilize world currencies by pegging them to the price of gold. It was a good idea in theory, but in reality it created boom-bust patterns which ultimately led to the demise of the gold standard. The gold standard was dropped around the beginning of World War 2 as major European countries did not have enough gold to support all the currency they were printing to pay for large military projects. Although the gold standard was ultimately dropped, the precious metal never lost its spot as the ultimate form of monetary value. The world then decided to have fixed exchange rates that resulted in the U.S. dollar being the primary reserve currency and that it would be the only currency backed by gold, this is known as the ‘Bretton Woods System’ and it happened in 1944 (I know you super excited to know that). In 1971 the U.S. declared that it would no longer exchange gold for U.S. dollars that were held in foreign reserves, this marked the end of the Bretton Woods System. It was this break down of the Bretton Woods System that ultimately led to the mostly global acceptance of floating foreign exchange rates in 1976. This was effectively the “birth” of the current foreign currency exchange market, although it did not become widely electronically traded until about the mid 1990s. (OK! Now let’s move on to some more entertaining topics!)… What is Forex Trading? Forex trading as it relates to retail traders (like you and I) is the speculation on the price of one currency against another. For example, if you think the euro is going to rise against the U.S. dollar, you can buy the EURUSD currency pair low and then (hopefully) sell it at a higher price to make a profit. Of course, if you buy the euro against the dollar (EURUSD), and the U.S. dollar strengthens, you will then be in a losing position. So, it’s important to be aware of the risk involved in trading Forex, and not only the reward. • Why is the Forex market so popular? Being a Forex trader offers the most amazing potential lifestyle of any profession in the world. It’s not easy to get there, but if you are determined and disciplined, you can make it happen. Here’s a quick list of skills you will need to reach your goals in the Forex market: Ability – to take a loss without becoming emotional Confidence – to believe in yourself and your trading strategy, and to have no fear Dedication – to becoming the best Forex trader you can be Discipline – to remain calm and unemotional in a realm of constant temptation (the market) Flexibility – to trade changing market conditions successfully Focus – to stay concentrated on your trading plan and to not stray off course Logic – to look at the market from an objective and straight forward perspective Organization – to forge and reinforce positive trading habits Patience – to wait for only the highest-probability trading strategies according to your plan Realism – to not think you are going to get rich quick and understand the reality of the market and trading Savvy – to take advantage of your trading edge when it arises and be aware of what is happening in the market at all times Self-control – to not over-trade and over-leverage your trading account As traders, we can take advantage of the high leverage and volatility of the Forex market by learning and mastering and effective Forex trading strategy, building an effective trading plan around that strategy, and following it with ice-cold discipline. Money management is key here; leverage is a double-edged sword and can make you a lot of money fast or lose you a lot of money fast. The key to money management in Forex trading is to always know the exact dollar amount you have at risk before entering a trade and be TOTALLY OK with losing that amount of money, because any one trade could be a loser. More on money management later in the course. • Who trades Forex and why? Banks – The interbank market allows for both the majority of commercial Forex transactions and large amounts of speculative trading each day. Some large banks will trade billions of dollars, daily. Sometimes this trading is done on behalf of customers, however much is done by proprietary traders who are trading for the bank’s own account. Companies – Companies need to use the foreign exchange market to pay for goods and services from foreign countries and also to sell goods or services in foreign countries. An important part of the daily Forex market activity comes from companies looking to exchange currency in order to transact in other countries. Governments / Central banks – A country’s central bank can play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. They can cause an increase or decrease in the value of their nation’s currency by trying to control money supply, inflation, and (or) interest rates. They can use their substantial foreign exchange reserves to try and stabilize the market. Hedge funds – Somewhere around 70 to 90% of all foreign exchange transactions are speculative in nature. This means, the person or institutions that bought or sold the currency has no plan of actually taking delivery of the currency; instead, the transaction was executed with sole intention of speculating on the price movement of that particular currency. Retail speculators (you and I) are small cheese compared to the big hedge funds that control and speculate with billions of dollars of equity each day in the currency markets. Individuals – If you have ever traveled to a different country and exchanged your money into a different currency at the airport or bank, you have already participated in the foreign currency exchange market. Investors – Investment firms who manage large portfolios for their clients use the Fx market to facilitate transactions in foreign securities. For example, an investment manager controlling an international equity portfolio needs to use the Forex market to purchase and sell several currency pairs in order to pay for foreign securities they want to purchase. Retail Forex traders – Finally, we come to retail Forex traders (you and I). The retail Forex trading industry is growing everyday with the advent of Forex trading platforms and their ease of accessibility on the internet. Retail Forex traders access the market indirectly either through a broker or a bank. There are two main types of retail Forex brokers that provide us with the ability to speculate on the currency market: brokers and dealers. Brokers work as an agent for the trader by trying to find the best price in the market and executing on behalf of the customer. For this, they charge a commission on top of the price obtained in the market. Dealers are also called market makers because they ‘make the market’ for the trader and act as the counter-party to their transactions, they quote a price they are willing to deal at and are compensated through the spread, which is the difference between the buy and sell price (more on this later). Advantages of Trading the Forex Market: • Forex is the largest market in the world, with daily volumes exceeding $3 trillion per day. This means dense liquidity which makes it easy to get in and out of positions. • Trade whenever you want: There is no opening bell in the Forex market. You can enter or exit a trade whenever you want from Sunday around 5pm EST to Friday around 4pm EST. • Ease of access: You can fund your trading account with as little as $250 at many retail brokers and begin trading the same day in some cases. Straight through order execution allows you to trade at the click of a mouse. • Fewer currency pairs to focus on, instead of getting lost trying to analyze thousands of stocks • Freedom to trade anywhere in the world with the only requirements being a laptop and internet connection. • Commission-free trading with many retail market-makers and overall lower transaction costs than stocks and commodities. • Volatility allows traders to profit in any market condition and provides for high-probability weekly trading opportunities. Also, there is no structural market bias like the long bias of the stock market, so traders have equal opportunity to profit in rising or falling markets. While the forex market is clearly a great market to trade, I would note to all beginners that trading carries both the potential for reward and risk. Many people come into the markets thinking only about the reward and ignoring the risks involved, this is the fastest way to lose all of your trading account money. If you want to get started trading the Fx market on the right track, it’s critical that you are aware of and accept the fact that you could lose on any given trade you take.

Kisah Pencuri Kain Kafan yang Melihat Azab Alam Kubur

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Terdapat seorang pemuda yang kerjanya menggali kubur dan mencuri kain kafan untuk dijual. Pada suatu hari, pemuda itu berjumpa dengan seorang ahli ibadah untuk menyatakan kekesalannya dan keinginan untuk bertaubat kepada Allah SWT. Dia berkata; ” Sepanjang aku menggali kubur untuk mencuri kain kafan, aku telah melihat 7 perkara ganjil yang menimpa mayat-mayat tersebut” .
” Lantaran aku merasa sangat insaf atas perbuatanku yang sangat keji itu dan ingin sekali bertaubat,” kata dia menyesal.
Yang pertama, ia melihat mayat yang pada siang harinya menghadap kiblat. Tetapi apabila menggali semula kuburnya pada waktu malam, wajah si mayat berubah membelakangkan kiblat.
” Mengapa terjadi begitu, wahai tuan guru?” tanya pemuda itu.
” Wahai anak muda, mereka itulah golongan yang telah mensyirikkan Allah SWT sewaktu hidupnya. Lantaran Allah SWT menghinakan mereka dengan memalingkan wajah mereka dari mengadap kiblat, bagi membedakan mereka daripada golongan muslim yang lain,” jawab ahli ibadah tersebut.



Sambung pemuda itu lagi; ” Golongan yang kedua, aku lihat wajah mereka sangat elok semasa mereka dimasukkan ke dalam liang lahat. Tatkala malam hari ketika aku menggali kubur mereka, aku melihat wajah mereka telah berubah menjadi buruk. Mengapa begitu halnya, wahai tuan guru?”
Jawab ahli ibadah tersebut; ” Wahai anak muda, mereka itulah golongan yang meremehkan dan meninggalkan salat sewaktu hidupnya. Sesungguhnya salat merupakan amalan yang pertama sekali dihisab. Jika salatnya sempurna, maka sempurnalah amalan-amalan kita yang lain.”
Pemuda itu menyambung lagi: ” Wahai tuan guru, golongan yang ketiga yang aku lihat, pada waktu siang mayatnya kelihatan seperti biasa saja. Apabila aku menggali kuburnya pada waktu malam, ku lihat perutnya terlalu gelembung, keluar pula ulat yang terlalu banyak daripada perutnya itu” .
Jawab ahli ibadah tersebut ” Mereka itulah golongan yang gemar memakan harta yang haram, wahai anak muda,” balas ahli ibadah itu lagi.
Golongan keempat, melihat mayat yang jasadnya bertukar menjadi batu bulat yang hitam warnanya. Mengapa terjadi begitu?
” Wahai pemuda, itulah golongan manusia yang durhaka kepada kedua ibu bapanya sewaktu hayatnya. Sesungguhnya Allah SWT sama sekali tidak ridha kepada manusia yang menderhakai ibu bapaknya” .
Ia juga melihat mayat yang kukunya amat panjang, hingga membelit-belit seluruh tubuhnya dan keluar segala isi dari tubuh badannya. Mereka itulah golongan yang gemar memutuskan silaturrahim. Semasa hidupnya mereka suka memulakan pertengkaran dan tidak bertegur sapa lebih daripada 3 hari.
Bukankah Rasulullah SAW lah SAW pernah bersabda, bahwa sesiapa yang tidak bertegur sapa melebihi 3 hari bukanlah termasuk dalam golongan umatnya.
Kemudian golongan yang keenam yang dilihat, sewaktu siangnya lahatnya kering kerontang. Tatkala malam ketika aku menggali semula kubur itu, mayat tersebut terapung dan lahatnya dipenuhi air hitam yang amat busuk baunya.
” Wahai pemuda, itulah golongan yang memakan harta riba sewaktu hayatnya,” jawab ahli ibadah tadi.
Dan golongan terakhir yang dilihat adalah mayatnya sentiasa tersenyum dan berseri-seri pula wajahnya. ” Mengapa demikian halnya wahai tuan guru?” tanya pemuda itu lagi.
Mereka itulah golongan manusia yang berilmu. Dan mereka beramal pula dengan ilmunya sewaktu hayat mereka. Inilah golongan yang beroleh keridhoan dan kemuliaan di sisi Allah SWT baik sewaktu hayatnya mahupun sesudah matinya.
Ingatlah, sesungguhnya daripada Allah kita datang dan kepada-Nya jualah kita akan kembali. Kita akan dipertanggungjawabkan atas setiap amal yang kita lakukan, hatta walaupun amalan sebesar zarah. Wallahu a’lam (Dan Allah Lebih Tahu atau Mahatahu). [Radarislam/ Am]

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