Gibran Selman asked:


Telemarketing is an effective method to increase a company’s customer base and expand its scope of success. Telemarketers get the contact details for customers from various sources, one of the main ones being their company’s internal database of references from existing customers. At some point of time during a customers’ interaction with the company, he or she may have filled in a form suggesting references along with their contact numbers. These references are then contacted, some of them go on to become customers while others remain as leads. Telemarketing is a popular marketing strategy that many debt consolidation companies employ today to increase their market spread.

Debt consolidation institutions term prospective customers as “leads”. Just as debt burdened clients are on the look out for companies that offer them programs to help them manage their debts, debt consolidators companies search for good leads. These leads can be acquired by several methods such as word-of-mouth, advertising, promotions and paid lists. Also telemarketing can itself bring in additional leads as the people called refer other potential customers. The leads acquired through telemarketing stand better chances of transforming potential patrons into actual customers.

Many companies use powerful software, called predictive dialers which helps increase telemarketer productivity. It is programmed to facilitate customer interaction through a telemarketing script. This may include a pre-recorded advertisement or interactive voice response program, which allows customers to choose their requirements from numerous options or hang up without having to undergo the ordeal of exchanging pleasantries with a live agent.

How telemarketing leads for debt consolidation are generated?

When a person makes use of his credit card, there are certain programs that log their information. This information is then fed to debt consolidation companies, who will study the pattern of usage based on the customer’s information that is made available every time he swipes his credit card. After an analysis of this information, the debt consolidation companies narrow down their leads to potential customers and approach them for debt consolidation services.

Another source for telemarketing debt consolidation leads are the loans taken by people. Every bank has a database of customers who have taken out loans from them. Telemarketing executives from the debt consolidation companies get in touch with the bank authorities and strike a deal to lend them the database of those customers who have not been able to keep up their loan repayment amounts. This does not mean that your bank leaks confidential information to others. On the other hand, it is beneficial for you if the debt consolidation company approaches you and negotiates with your bank to lower the interest rates and extend the repayment period.

Telemarketing companies are constantly competing with their rivals in terms of transforming the potential leads into actual customers. The level of competition is so fierce that it actually benefits clients, as they can migrate from one Debt Consolidation Company to another if the latter offers lower rates. This might lead to a price war with the former further reducing its rates to retain its customers. Though it is important that debtors are opportunistic about these, they should not keep hopping from one company to the other. Being too greedy for lesser rates might land them in a fix of loosing both the debt consolidation offers leaving them to deal with the debt burden on their own.

Brooke Hayles asked:


Looking for a new career and comfortable working with figures? Then you might consider becoming a tax attorney. It is well worth investigating what the training might involve – people faced with an impending battle with the IRS or confusion over the tax laws, highlight the fact that tax attorneys are in demand.

The rules and regulations that surround things like filing your tax returns and making appropriate documentation often need further clarification. Some people just don’t fully understand what they are doing and as a result could end up with stiff penalties for their ignorance. A tax attorney can help with these problems and make life easier for many people.

In order to be successful as a tax attorney then you need to learn the tax code and laws, inside out. Then, if a person needs assistance with Internal Revenue Service issues you will be able to help. A good tax attorney can help organize and analyze the information that is needed to appease the IRS – if you can do this then your services will be in demand. The complex forms that need filling in can be overwhelming for people without that specialist knowledge.

There are a number of things that could prove a problem with the IRS. If you can’t account for any mistakes you have made then you could be liable for heavy penalties. This could result in your hard earned dollars going to fines and additional penalties. If the IRS takes action against you over your past tax filings, you may need to employ a tax attorney if you want to avoid any prosecution for fraud.

Tax attorneys are called upon to help in a number of different areas. Someone may request help with their Payroll Taxes – or they may be called to speak on behalf of someone facing penalties from the IRS. Tax specialists represent those who have filed late returns for one or more years and can argue for a lenient payment plan for their clients. Tax attorneys choose whether they want to be paid by the hour or whether they will charge on the basis of a given assignment.

What An Attorney Should Be Acquainted With

A tax attorney should be familiar with state and federal codes and how these operate. It is also advisable to develop a working knowledge of various incomes, properties and other personal wealth as these are all liable to taxes. A tax lawyer should be an expert in the ways of state and federal laws. This means all the possible taxes that exist. This may include sales, gift, as well as inheritance taxes. It is also advisable for a tax attorney to be familiar with the laws regarding the estates of the recently deceased.

A regular tax-related attorney should be able to deal with all of this information. A tax fraud attorney on the other hand is employed by those who have made a few mistakes in their tax filings. Some attorneys develop a specialist area and their services therefore are specific to the needs of particular individuals and businesses. The attorney may also specialize in one of two main tax issues: the IRS or another taxing authority. Either way, a tax lawyer is often in demand for protecting parts of people’s incomes and solving complex business issues.

Prerequisites Needed

To become a tax attorney you need training which results in the qualification of Juris Doctor or equivalent degree. Once you have the right educational credentials, then you need to be licensed by a State Board of Law Examiners if you want to practice as an attorney or counselor. If you really are interested in becoming a tax specialist then you may consider applying to a good law school. They will have various entry qualifications that you may need to fulfill first. Do some research on the different institutions and their requirements first.

Summary:

If you want to become a tax attorney you need to find out what they do first. A tax attorney helps people to deal with their taxes in the proper manner. An individual or a business may need the help of a tax attorney for a variety of reasons – including mistakes in their returns or late tax returns. You need quite a high educational level to become a tax lawyer.

Uchenna Ani-Okoye asked:


‘We accept credit cards’ is a statement that you must have come across multiple times at various shops, grocery stores and other merchant outlets. This statement is generally accompanied by a few stickers (Visa/Master card etc).

Credit cards have transformed the businesses and our lives to a great extent. A few years back there were just a handful of shops that would accept credit cards but today you will find that most of the shops accept credit cards. In fact, some shops (like those belonging to a big retail chain) not only accept credit cards but also supply credit cards. These credit cards entitle you for rebates when you use them at any of the stores of that retail chain.

With credit cards around, a lot of people have stopped carrying any cash with them or just carry a very small amount of cash with them. That means that any shop that doesn’t accept credit cards is potentially losing customers. In fact, this is one reason why almost every merchant accepts credit cards.

With the evolution of internet, credit card industry too took a new turn and up came ecommerce and e-shops. So, those stickers of ‘We accept credit cards’, moved on to the doors of internet shops. Thus came the era where almost every online-shop would accept credit cards (directly or indirectly). In fact, this was the premise on which the complete online-business industry was based. This is convenience at its best.

Fraud is associated with almost every financial instrument. So there came fraudsters too, who too said that ‘We accept credit cards’. These fraudsters use a lot of techniques to commit credit card related fraud. Some of them disguise themselves as online merchants who accept credit cards as mode of payment (the actual motive being extraction of critical credit card details). Others are people who work at merchant shops that accept credit cards.

These fraudsters either clone the credit cards or just note critical information from them (and use that for online-shopping). Some other fraudsters lure innocent people into revealing credit card details in chat rooms. And then there are tech-savvy fraudsters who use computer programs/software/devices (called spyware) to spy on the people who use their credit cards for online payments. The spyware capture their credit card information and get it transmitted to the spy using internet.

So a lot of merchants and service providers do accept credit cards but keep in mind that the fraudsters too welcome/accept credit cards. This is something you surely need to be careful about.

Narindra Maity asked:


Nobody wants to be a criminal. Everyone knows it better that being a criminal will disturb one’s personal life. A person is terminated from the job. The society will start looking at him with questionable eyes. US laws against crime are very strict. The punishment of any type of crime is very severe. The fines of all the crimes are unaffordable.

A person indulges in any anti law activity just because of the prevailing circumstances. Either he deliberately does the crime or does the crime due to mistake.

A person kills anybody in an anger or dispute.

Once a person was going somewhere with his friend in a train. On the way a dispute among them occurs. In anger one of them kills the other person. He didn’t do the crime deliberately. In the similar way there was a person who was very poor, don’t have money for the treatment of his mother and also to fulfill the basic needs of the family. In order to meet all these requirements he shakes hand with the criminal.

Crimes in US are categories as under:

1. Federal Crimes

2. State Crimes

Federal crimes:

1. The drugs related crimes like-growing of marijuana and selling of drugs

2. Medical related crimes

3. Fraud in credit card, insurance, bankruptcy e.t.c.

4. Immigration and

5. Smuggling e.t.c.

State crimes:

1. Drug crimes- sale and possession.

2. Theft crime.

3. Alcohol and license crime-Driving or boating under the influence of alcohol or driving without the license.

4. Sex crimes– prostitution, child abuse e.t.c.

5. Violent crimes –kidnapping, robbery, assault, bribery, corruption e.t.c.

Crimes are held due to mental tension, depressions or under stress. If you are in the shackles of any of the crimes the first step you must do is to hire a defense   attorney so that you may come out of the situation.  There are so many criminal defense attorneys in United States from whom you can take help. But the condition is that you should have perfect and clear knowledge about an attorney who is going to assist you in the case. Your attorney must investigate about your case personally. Attorney must be fully aware of your case. Things will go positive if he always keeps in touch with you and informs you about the weak and strong points of your case. You also work according to the guidelines given by the attorney. Only then the best outcome can be achieved. The cases of the criminals are represented in state court and in federal courts. The cases in both the courts are serious matter. The winning of your case depends 100% on the attorney you hired.

During investigation by the state or the federal government you must refer to your attorney before giving any statement and do accordingly. DEA, FBI, IRS are some of the investigating authorities. Attorney who is looking after your case must be experienced in handling case in both prosecutions. While choosing an attorney one must keep in mind the following points:

1. Well qualified in laws.

2. Bold and confident while in court.

3. He should be a great actor in order to gain the favor of the jury and to convince him about his client’s innocence.

4. Has handled and won such type of cases.

5. Capable to find clues and facts.

6. Attorney must be honest with the clients.

7. Friendly with detectives, police, and other lawyers.

8. Lawyer should be bold and never be afraid of threats.

Manuel J. Montesino asked:


Corporate web portals serve as a single interface to work with varied content and different applications. Both employees and outside entities like suppliers, customers, and the government can use the corporate portal to get information, contribute to content, and communicate with the company.

The portal interface can accommodate content like text, pictures, audio, video, etc. and can be customized to suit the needs and preferences of each user. Users can also collaborate using the communication facilities such as live chat, e-mails, instant messaging and forms offered by these web portals. Workflow can be simplified with the single (customized) interface that provides access to all data and facilitates collaborative working.

Vendors like Microsoft and Oracle offer portal server software that allows corporations to build their own portals, and integrate functional applications with the portals. The products provide for granting of selective access to content to different users, thus making it possible to serve only what each user is authorized to see or work with.

Third party hosts began to provide web portal services to corporations. These hosted portals offer services such as databases, e-mail, discussion forums, and even document management, among others, to their clients.

Then there are industry portals that bring buyers and sellers together. The buyers and sellers might not be for a single product or product line, but for all related products and services, as when estate agents, removal firms, and solicitors come together at a property portal.

The widespread use of corporate and industry portals have made web content management an integral part of Enterprise Content Management.

Web Content Management

A web content management system facilitates web content creation, updating, exercising of editorial oversight, and other essential maintenance functions. Users can use the system even if they are not conversant with HTML, the main web-content development language.

Look & Feel: Visual templates allow users to present their content in a uniform and standard format.

WYSIWYG Tools: What You See Is What You Get – WYSIWYG – editing tools allow users with no programming knowledge to work with web content.

Workflow Processes: To cite an example of workflow control: Content created by content authors is worked upon by a copy editor who cleans up the copy and then finally gets approved by a chief editor before it is published at the web portal.

Content Lifecycle Management: Content passes through a cycle from creation, through revisions and version control, publication, and archiving to final removal. Web content management systems provide facilities for managing this cycle.

Different Kinds of Web Portals

There are several different kinds of web sites with differing content management practices. Blogs, Search Engines, Discussion Forums and E-Commerce Sites are examples of very different kinds of web portals.

Corporate Web sites are typically e-commerce portals driven by databases. This means that all data go into databases, which are queried for generating pages on-the-fly in response to user actions. Thus a user might seek information about a particular product and the web content management system retrieves details like product photographs, specifications, prices, shipping options, etc. from the database and creates a web page to display these to the user.

Conclusion

Web portals that can accommodate different kinds of content, and can be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection, have emerged as a key element of managing enterprise content. With facilities for creation, updating, publication, and communication, web portals typically act as single (customizable) interface for working with all kinds of content generated at numerous points, often geographically widespread.

Web content management has hence come to occupy a central position in modern enterprise content management systems. Many vendors are coming up with offerings that help corporations to build their web portals and manage their content through these portals.

Shawn Mitchell asked:


gHaving a franchise fitness gym is a healthy business opportunity. The health and fitness industry is growing every year and it is already a multi million dollar industry. Franchise owners have been in competition for a long time providing convenience and service to its customers.

Running a franchise gym can be a great income opportunity, as you will be simply plugging into a proven system for making money, and then beginning to profit. Quite simply, when you buy into a franchise, the owners have already set up a proven marketing system that is virtually guaranteed to work, almost regardless of the location you are going into. Therefore, your job is simply to keep an eye on things and ensure they are running smoothly.

The best part about this is that the profits start coming in almost immediately. Since you will be the owner of a brand name gym, you won’t have to spend a lot of time letting people know you exist, since most will have already heard of you. Henceforth, the profits will start coming in much more quickly than if you were starting your own gym.

Therefore, running a franchise gym is not as difficult as starting one from scratch; however, keep this in mind; running a fitness franchise gym is still not an easy task. It requires one to be always on the toes. If it is properly managed you might not loose sleep as often as you tend to. If the following is taken care of a fitness franchise gym is definitely going to do well.

Fitness franchise gym training: Training facility members to operate gym equipments is a must. Hiring professional trainers and coaches is another important criterion. Training on injury prevention as well as what to do when a muscle gets pulled is equally important.

Convenience: Must see how convenient it is for people to visit your gym. Choose a location that suits you as a fitness franchise owner to attract people. Try to find a location as close to a hotspot in town; this is an advantage, but if you have good marketing, you really won’t need this. It’s something you should go for, but not a necessity.

Make people feel at ease and comfortable working out with their disorderly body shape. Let them know that this is only temporary and in the long run they are going to be the owners of beautiful bodies.

Minimize Expense: A business thrives when its expense is less than the revenue generated. Keeping cost low and providing good service is a tough call. Most management classes are all about this.

Revenue: Have meetings, discussions with your mother company and find out how they have managed to stay ahead in this competitive industry. Run ads, scripts and marketing pieces that will sell your gym’s value to more and more people.

Make members a franchise partner for a month by letting them have a part of fees of their invitees to the gym. Organize a theme workout in your fitness franchise gym bi monthly like making a nutritional workout or more cardio then weights for a fortnight. Use these tips to getting your fitness franchise gym running smoothly and effectively, and you will be profiting very quickly.

Amber Smith asked:


As college going students, many of us do strive to save some amount of pocket money and try to find good paying summer jobs. These little savings could actually make a lot of difference, when it comes to loan payments.

Students can also take advantage of consolidation loans with low interest rates. To find loan companies offering lowest consolidation interest rates is not an easy task. But, with modern facilities like quality search engines, the Internet and advertising websites with ready loan quotes, you can actually get approved for a fabulous consolidation loan package with minimum interest rates.

Ways to Acquire Best Consolidation Student Loans

The best way to get a great student consolidation loan rate is by possessing good bank credit. It will be very easy to apply for consolidation loans with low interest rates, if you have a credit score rating of more than 660 points. For medium credit scorers, you can acquire best loan deals after detailed search on the Internet for minimum FICO needed, so that you can assess your credit score accordingly.

Being conscious of your credit rating is one good way to double your chances to get best student consolidation loan interest rates. Self-examination of bank statements and records is a wonderful habit to determine your loan worthiness as a student. Basically, if a student has a poor FICO score of less than 600, getting an affordable and cost effective student consolidation loan rate quote could be a problem.

Consolidation Loan Interest Rate for Student Loans

The major factor about student loans is that it is an investment that you make for your future life; it is not a useless expense. Consolidating all your student loans will be lot more convenient and easier for you to pay the monthly installments. For example, if you have 3 individual loans, then all 3 could be consolidated into one large loan. Hypothetically, all 3 will be regarded as paid and a single new loan will begin in their places. You could also save, if you get an offer of a lower rate due to good credit history.

There are numerous financial institutions in the market that offer cheap consolidation student loans. You can apply for fixed consolidation loan rate, which means that you shall be paying a fixed interest rate till the time you pay off the entire loan. Even if the economic status of the country changes, interest rates remain unchanged in case of a fixed interest rate loan.

But, banks or financial institutions can change the fixed interest rates under extreme conditions. Defaulters for one or more repayments could be forced to pay increased interest rates.

Loan application for adjustable student loan consolidation interest rate is also considered by many financial firms. This consolidation loan rate student would be very low, but is subject to change depending on the inflation rate of the country’s economic status.

Matthew Shine asked:


Running a business should never interfere with the customer interaction and management of your business. When it comes to having an online business especially, you need to make sure that you are able to find a merchant account processing service that can help you to get what you need from your business ownership. Not accepting credit cards is not an option for online companies. For traditional businesses, it can be an option, but is not one that will be a wise business decision. People like things that are fast and easy these days, and credit card processing is one of those services that people have come to expect. Most often, if a company doesn’t accept credit or debit cards, the general public is more shocked and appalled than understanding of the expense.

What consumers don’t understand is that merchant account processing isn’t free. You will have to pay to set up and keep the account in operation, as well as paying for the transactions that you process. However, these fees are generally quite minimal when compared to the different benefits of accepting credit card payments. You wouldn’t want to inherently affect your business in a negative manner, would you? By not accepting credit card payments, you will be directly hampering your business’s success. Take the time to check out the companies that offer merchant account services and find one that suits your needs.

What about third party processing services? Forget about them. They might seem more affordable and easier for someone just starting out, but they will generally cost much more in the end. Plus, they won’t make your website as easy to use as a merchant account processing service would, and they will deter a lot of customers from using your site. For example, take two sites that sell the same products. One offers credit card processing through PayPal or ClickBank. These companies both require customers to have an account, which creates an extra step and more hassle for customers. The other has a direct merchant account that allows them to process payments immediately and right on their own site. People are obviously going to choose the site that has a faster, more convenient processing method.

These are all things to keep in mind when it comes to getting merchant account processing services. If you keep putting off credit card processing setup, your business will suffer the consequences in lost sales and potential customers. It’s a natural step in setting up your business to get a merchant account, so you should take the time to research them and find one that suits your business.

JT Miller asked:


Most people think about home improvement as all the little things you can fix or do around your house to make it more livable. But home improvement projects don’t have to be limited to small budgets or simply involve a few minutes of work on the weekend.

Many home improvement projects require some sort of financial loan because they are large scale projects that require payment on materials or labor all at once in order to get the project started. These larger home improvement projects require some sort of bank or lender issued home improvement money.

Larger home improvement projects that require financing could including adding an addition to your home, remodeling your home to add more space, upgrading the appointments in a kitchen or bathroom, installing a new furnace or cooling system, replacing a roof or installing siding or simply putting in a new swimming pool.

There are two general types of home improvement loans. There are unsecured home improvement loans and a secured home improvement loans. Within those two types there are many different loan vehicles and products which can give you extra money, though each has it’s own good points and potential drawbacks. The differences among the loan vehicles are many, but let’s focus on the two types of home improvement loans that are generally available:

Unsecured home improvement financing: An unsecured loan of any type involves you borrowing money without putting anything up for collateral. That means that if you can’t pay the loan then there is technically nothing the bank can immediately take away from you. Unsecured loans are granted based on many factors, but a steady income and good credit score definitely help. Home improvement credit cards are technically unsecured loans that are meant to be used for home improvement projects. Unsecured loans are meant to be paid back over a short period of time and will almost always have a higher interest rate.

Secured home improvement financing: A secured loan of any type is a loan which involves you offering something to the bank in exchange for the money. If you get a home improvement loan based on the equity in your home, then you are really trading part of the ownership in your house to the lending institution. As you repay the loan you are buying back your house. Secured home improvement loans usually involve larger amounts of money but do have a lower interest rate and offer a longer time to pay it off.

Even if you have bad credit or very little equity in your home you can still sometimes take out a small home improvement loan without much trouble. Borrowing money to improve the home you own is often seen as a much safer option for many banks than borrowing money to purchase a new home entirely.

Larry Schade asked:


FOREX MARKET HOURSAt 7:00 pm Sunday, New York time, trading begins as markets open in Tokyo, Japan. Next, Singapore and Hong Kong open at 9:00 pm EST, followed by the European markets in Frankfurt (2:00 am), and then London (3:00 am). By 4:00 am, the European markets are in full swing, and Asia has concluded their trading day. The U.S. markets open first in New York around 8:00 am Monday, as Europe winds down. Australia will take over around 5:00 pm, and by 7:00 pm Tokyo is ready to re-open.All times are quoted in Eastern Standard Time (New York).FX or Forex, currency trading is the trading of one currency against another. In terms of trading volume, the currency exchange market is the world’s largest market, with daily trading volumes in excess of $1.5 trillion US dollars. This is orders of magnitude larger than the bond or stock markets. The New York Stock Exchange, for example, has a daily trading volume of approximately $50 billion. Currencies are traded for hedging and speculative purposes. Various market participants such as individuals, corporations, and institutions trade forex for one or both reasons. Corporate treasurers, private individuals and investors have currency exposures during the the regular course of business. The FXTrade Platform is an ideal platform to hedge any such exposure. An investor, who has bought a European stock and expects the EUR exchange rate to decline, can hedge his currency exposure by selling the EUR against the USD. Currency markets are ideally suited for speculative trading. The foreign exchange market has a daily volume in excess of 1.5 trillion USD, which is 50 times the size of the transaction volume of all the equity markets taken together. This makes the foreign exchange market, by far, the most liquid and efficient financial market of the world. Thanks to its efficiency, there is little or no slippage of market price for the execution of even large buy and sell orders. Traders are able to take advantage of intra-day volatility thanks to the low spreads and enter positions for short time periods, such as minutes and hours. Unlike equity trading, where restrictions limit a trader’s ability to profit from a market down turn, there are no such constraints on currency trading. Currency traders can take advantage of both up and down trends thus increasing their profit potential.The most commonly traded currencies are: USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CHF, CAD and AUD.The most commonly traded currency pair is EUR/USD.Forex Symbol Guide Symbol Currency Pair Trading Terminology GBP/USD British Pound / US Dollar “Cable” EUR/USD Euro / US Dollar “Euro” USD/JPY US Dollar / Japanese Yen “Dollar Yen” USD/CHF US Dollar / Swiss Franc “Dollar Swiss”, or “Swissy” USD/CAD US Dollar / Canadian Dollar “Dollar Canada” AUD/USD Australian Dollar / US Dollar “Aussie Dollar” EUR/GBP Euro / British Pound “Euro Sterling” EUR/JPY Euro / Japanese Yen “Euro Yen” EUR/CHF Euro / Swiss Franc “Euro Swiss” GBP/CHF British Pound / Swiss Franc “Sterling Swiss” GBP/JPY British Pound / Japanese Yen “Sterling Yen” CHF/JPY Swiss Franc / Japanese Yen “Swiss Yen” NZD/USD New Zealand Dollar / US Dollar “New Zealand Dollar” or “Kiwi” USD/ZAR US Dollar / South African Rand “Dollar Zar” or “South African Rand” GLD/USD Spot Gold “Gold” SLV/USD Spot Silver “Silver” CURRENCY PAIRSAll currencies are assigned an International Standards Organization (ISO) code abbreviation. In currency trading, these codes are often used to express which specific currencies make up a currency pair. For example, USD/JPY refers to two currencies: the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen. SPOT FOREX Spot foreign exchange is always traded as one currency in relation to another. So a trader who believes that the dollar will rise in relation to the Euro, would sell EUR/USD. That is, sell Euros and buy US dollars. The following is guide for quoting conventions: What does it mean to be “long” or “short” a currency?Being long means buying a currency. Being short means selling a currency. If a trader goes long USD/JPY, he or she buys US Dollars and sells Japanese Yen. Buying a currency is synonymous with taking a long position in that currency. A trader takes a long position in a currency if he or she believes it will appreciate in value.If a trader goes short USD/JPY, he or she sells US Dollars and buys Japanese Yen. Selling a currency is synonymous with shorting that currency. A trader would short a currency if he or she believes it will depreciate in value.CURRENCY TRADING: BUYING AND SELLING CURRENCIESAll Forex trades result in the buying of one currency and the selling of another (currency trading), simultaneously. Buying (“going long”) the currency pair implies buying the first, base currency and selling an equivalent amount of the second, quote currency (to pay for the base currency). It is not necessary to own the quote currency prior to selling, as it is sold short. A trader buys a currency pair if he/she believes the base currency will go up relative to the quote currency, or equivalently that the corresponding exchange rate will go up. Selling (“going short”) the currency pair implies selling the first, base currency, and buying the second, quote currency. A trader sells a currency pair if he/she believes the base currency will go down relative to the quote currency, or equivalently, that the quote currency will go up relative to the base currency. An open trade or position is one in which a trader has either bought or sold one currency pair and has not sold or bought back an adequate amount of that currency pair to effectively close the trade. When a trader has an open trade or position, he/she stands to profit or lose from fluctuations in the price of that currency pair.Forex is the backbone of all international capital transactions. Compared to the slim profit margins rendered in other areas of commercial banking, huge profits are generally produced in a matter of minutes form minor currency market movements. Some banks generate 60% of their profits from trading currency aggressively.Trading volume has been growing at a rate of 25% per year since the mid-1980s and therefore it is not difficult to accept the notion that the currency market is one of the world fastest growing industries. What used to require days to accomplish in Europe or Asia now oly takes a few minutes. Needless to say, technology has changed everything and millions of Dollars are moved from one currency into another every second of every day by major banks through computers and for the average investor, with the touch of a computer key.Foreign exchange is the backbone of all international capital transactions. Compared to the slim profit margins rendered in other areas of commercial banking, huge profits are generally produced in a matter of minutes from minor currency options market movements. Some banks generate up to 60% of their profits from trading currency aggressively. Transactions in foreign currencies take place when one country’s currency is purchased (exchanged) with another country’s currency. The price agreed upon or negotiated for the currency purchased is referred to as the foreign exchange rate. Major commercial banks in the money market centers throughout the world are responsible for the majority of foreign currencies bought and sold. Trading volume has been growing at a rate of 25% per year since the mid-1980s and therefore it is not difficult to accept the notion that the currency options is the world’s fastest growing industry. What used to require days to accomplish in Europe or Asia now only takes a few minutes. Needless to say, technology has changed everything and millions of Dollars are moved from one currency into another every second of every day by major banks through computers and for the average investor, with the touch of a phone.FOREX BASICS – What’s a PIP A “pip” is the smallest increment in any cur
rency pair. In EUR/USD, a movement from .8951 to .8952 is one pip, so a pip is .0001. In USD/JPY, a movement from 130.45 to 130.46 is one pip, so a pip is .01. CALCULATING THE WORTH OF A PIP How much in dollars is this movement worth, for example, per 10,000 Euros in EUR/USD? How much is one pip worth per 10,000 Dollars in USD/JPY? We will refer to the size, in this case 10,000 units of the base currency, as the “Notional Amount”. The formula for calculating a pip value is therefore: (one pip, with proper decimal placement / currency exchange rate) x (Notional Amount) Using USD/JPY as an example, this yields: (.01/130.46) x USD 10,000 = $0.77 or 77 cents per pip Using EUR/USD as an example, we have: (.0001/.8942) x EUR 10,000 = EUR 1.1183 But we want the pip value in USD, so we then must multiply EUR 1.1183 x (EUR/USD exchange rate): EUR 1.1183 x .8942 = $1.00 This is in fact a phenomenon you will see with any currency in which the currency is quoted first (such as EUR/USD or GBP/USD): the pip value is always $1.00 per 10,000 currency units. This is why pip (or “tick”) values in currency futures, where the currency is quoted first, are always fixed. Approximate pip values for the major currencies are as follows, per 10,000 units of the base currency: USD/JPY: 1 pip = $.77 (i.e. a change from 130.45 to 130.46 is worth about $.77 per $10,000) EUR/USD: 1 pip = $1.00 (.8941 to .8942 is worth $1.00 per 10,000 Euros) GBP/USD: 1 pip = $1.00 (1.4765 to 1.4766 is worth $1.00 per 10,000 Pounds) USD/CHF: 1 pip = $.59 (1.6855 to 1.6866 is worth $.59 per $10,000)SpreadThe spread is the difference between the price that you can sell currency at ( Bid) and the price you can buy currency at ( Ask). The spread on majors is usually 3 pips under normal market conditions. Market HoursThe spot Forex market is unique to any other market in the world; trading 24-hours a day. Somewhere around the world a financial center is open for business and banks and other institutions exchange currencies every hour of the day and night, only stopping briefly on the weekend. Foreign exchange markets follow the sun around the world, giving traders the flexibility of determining their trading day and the ability to take advantage of global economic events.FOREX or The Foreign exchange rate market is an international market where various currency exchange transactions take place; this is in the shape of simultaneously buying one currency and selling another. The most commonly traded currencies are referred to as “Majors”; over 85% of daily transactions on Forex trading involve the Majors. These seven currencies are the US Currency (Dollar, USD), Japanese Yen (JPY), Euro (EUR), British Pound (GBP), Swiss Franc (CHF), Canadian Dollar (CAD) and Australian Dollar (AUD). The Forex system in operation today was established in the 1970s when free currency exchange rates were introduced, this period also saw the US Dollar overtake the British Pound as the benchmark currency. Prior to this and in particular during World War II, exchange rate remained more stable. Forex trading in simplest terms is the buying of one currency and the selling of another. Forex trading, also referred to, as “FX” is open to corporations, small businesses, commercial banks, investment funds and private individuals, it is the largest financial market in the world averaging a daily turnover of over $1 trillion dollars, making it a diverse and exciting market. It is a 24-hour market enabling it to accommodate constant changing world currency exchange rates . According to New York time, trading begins at 2.15pm on Sunday in Sydney and Singapore and progresses through to Tokyo at 7pm, London at 2am and reaches New York at 8am. This leaves investors free to respond to global political, economic and social events when they take place, day or night. Unlike trading on the stock market, the forex market is not conducted by a central exchange, but on the “interbank” market, which is thought of as an OTC (over the counter) market. Trading takes place directly between the two counterparts necessary to make a trade, whether over the telephone or on electronic networks all over the world. The main centres for trading are Sydney, Tokyo, London, Frankfurt and New York. This worldwide distribution of trading centres means that the forex market is a 24-hour market.