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Currency Trading for Dummies
Features forex market guidelines and sample trading plans The fun and easy way to get started in currency trading Want to capitalize on the growing forex market? This nuts-and-bolts guide gives you a step-by-step action plan for understanding and trading the forex market. It offers practical guidance and savvy tips in everything from comprehending currency quotes to using leverage, trading with fundamentals, and navigating technical analysis.
338 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2007
388 people are currently reading
987 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
February 12, 2013
This is an excellent first book for those interested in currency trading. This was my first foray into the subject and the authors do a great job with explaining the fundamentals of the forex market and trading currencies. What I particularly found helpful was the explanation of the major currency pairs and the particular intricacies of trading each. The authors also include a basic primer on technical analysis as it pertains to currency trading. However, what may be most benificial is the discussions on developing and executing a trading plan. Overall an excellent book for those new to forex.
December 18, 2020
As an active trader of options, futures, stocks, and crypto, I have been meaning to foray into forex trading for a while now. Besides, most of us have been unintentionally following the growth or decline of at least two currencies, some even more, and noticed how they could be a viable investment vehicle. For example, INR was at 40 units per dollar ten years ago, and now stands around 75. That's a bit shy of 100% returns in ten years, almost as much as real estate. And if you track the currencies of weaker economies, you see the returns of even better. An even better motivation personally is the fact that some of the biggest shorted trades in history have been those of currencies. Obviously, the one that immediately comes to mind is the iconic shorting of British Pound by the legendary investor Soros netting almost three billion pound. Cornwall Capital of The Big Short fame also profited immensely with shorting Australian Dollar before it killed it with the subprime mortgage CDOs. Those are just two of a ton of forex successes. The point being that despite the fact that volatility in the forex market is barely observable, some of the most lucrative trades of Wall Street hedge funds have been that of forex. Thirdly, the forex market is barely moved by global economic downturns. Even during the Great Recession of 2008, forex barely moved. This makes it an amazing hedging tool for your investments.
With all that prelude, I must say I was dearly disappointed to understand that my idea of forex was completely wrong after reading this book. But before we get into the content, let me give a shout out to the authors for writing a very balanced book on this trade. It tells you what is and what is not about the market, but cautiously stops short of advising you what you must and must not do. This was my first "X for Dummies" book and I must say their format is pretty impressive. With "warning signs", "tips", "remembers", "technical points" etc sort of annotations, Dummies series of books could easily become an online "Social Reader" platform. Authors of the book, Kathleen Brooks and Brian Dolan seem highly accomplished in this business and have been involved with both Forex.com and Gain Capital for many years.
First and foremost, a bulk of forex trading is short term, unlike what I had assumed all through. In fact, it's not even short-term, it's super short-term. Traders do a plethora of short trades in a small span of time, and because of the relatively small changes in the Forex market, these trades are generally mammoth, in terms of several millions to billions of dollars. With trades that big, even minor fluctuations have a drastic impact on your portfolio. Unlike the stock market where when you buy a stock, you are just buying an asset, in forex, you buy a "pair". Example, USD/EURO. So, when you say a stock goes up, it's absolute. But when you say a currency goes up, the question is it's going up against what? This basic idea sets the forex market completely apart from the stock or futures market because in this, selling a pair short is as prevalent as selling it long. Thus, interest on your margin account, or interest gain on your holding becomes a lot more central.
The book does a great job of diving into the evolution of the FX market all the way from the time of Reutors Dialing to the modern online platforms like Onada, Forex.com, Saxo etc. It explains well the correlation of other commodities like gold, oil etc on the forex market, as well describes the major and minor (exotic/emerging market) currency pairs. But my favorite parts of the book include
1. the reasoning behind Australian Dollar so closely dependent on Chinese Yuan,
2. the illiquid Chinese Yuan and the government's hold on it,
3. the impact of the interest rate on the currency market (interest rate is the single biggest influencing factor, akin to location in real estate market)
4. the impact of major economic reports like NPR (non-farm payrolls), labor report (unemployment) etc
A lot of strategies mentioned in the book are generally applicable to stocks and options as well, but it still does a good job of explaining technical analysis procedures like Fibonacci Tracing, Japanese Candlestick graphs etc. My only missing element of the book (and of probably all Dummies book) is that it's missing the "motivation" section as to why the reader should read the book. Some success stories or case-studies briefly mentioned in the introduction of the book would immensely inspire the reader. There are still a few questions in my mind that need answering. Some of the nitty-gritties of trading Ruble, about the illiquidity of Yuan, about using emerging market currencies for long term hedging etc. But I believe they were mostly out of scope of this book. Overall, a decent book, tells the story. Not preachy yet informative. I already stepped in the mud after reading this book and lost a bit investing in South African Rand! :) Luckily, it was paper-trading.
With all that prelude, I must say I was dearly disappointed to understand that my idea of forex was completely wrong after reading this book. But before we get into the content, let me give a shout out to the authors for writing a very balanced book on this trade. It tells you what is and what is not about the market, but cautiously stops short of advising you what you must and must not do. This was my first "X for Dummies" book and I must say their format is pretty impressive. With "warning signs", "tips", "remembers", "technical points" etc sort of annotations, Dummies series of books could easily become an online "Social Reader" platform. Authors of the book, Kathleen Brooks and Brian Dolan seem highly accomplished in this business and have been involved with both Forex.com and Gain Capital for many years.
First and foremost, a bulk of forex trading is short term, unlike what I had assumed all through. In fact, it's not even short-term, it's super short-term. Traders do a plethora of short trades in a small span of time, and because of the relatively small changes in the Forex market, these trades are generally mammoth, in terms of several millions to billions of dollars. With trades that big, even minor fluctuations have a drastic impact on your portfolio. Unlike the stock market where when you buy a stock, you are just buying an asset, in forex, you buy a "pair". Example, USD/EURO. So, when you say a stock goes up, it's absolute. But when you say a currency goes up, the question is it's going up against what? This basic idea sets the forex market completely apart from the stock or futures market because in this, selling a pair short is as prevalent as selling it long. Thus, interest on your margin account, or interest gain on your holding becomes a lot more central.
The book does a great job of diving into the evolution of the FX market all the way from the time of Reutors Dialing to the modern online platforms like Onada, Forex.com, Saxo etc. It explains well the correlation of other commodities like gold, oil etc on the forex market, as well describes the major and minor (exotic/emerging market) currency pairs. But my favorite parts of the book include
1. the reasoning behind Australian Dollar so closely dependent on Chinese Yuan,
2. the illiquid Chinese Yuan and the government's hold on it,
3. the impact of the interest rate on the currency market (interest rate is the single biggest influencing factor, akin to location in real estate market)
4. the impact of major economic reports like NPR (non-farm payrolls), labor report (unemployment) etc
A lot of strategies mentioned in the book are generally applicable to stocks and options as well, but it still does a good job of explaining technical analysis procedures like Fibonacci Tracing, Japanese Candlestick graphs etc. My only missing element of the book (and of probably all Dummies book) is that it's missing the "motivation" section as to why the reader should read the book. Some success stories or case-studies briefly mentioned in the introduction of the book would immensely inspire the reader. There are still a few questions in my mind that need answering. Some of the nitty-gritties of trading Ruble, about the illiquidity of Yuan, about using emerging market currencies for long term hedging etc. But I believe they were mostly out of scope of this book. Overall, a decent book, tells the story. Not preachy yet informative. I already stepped in the mud after reading this book and lost a bit investing in South African Rand! :) Luckily, it was paper-trading.
January 19, 2025
Great intro to forex, from currency pairs to interest rate differentials and carry trades, passing through role of speculators and arbitrageurs in setting currency values.
November 24, 2015
A great book to get yourself introduced to the FOREX market. It's written in very understandable way that makes people not familiar with any financial markets to understand it easily. If you are being interested in trading on FOREX, this book is definitely a great position to start with. The book alone will rather not prepare you well for trading, but will give you solid basic understanding of FOREX, allowing you to consume more advanced books much easier.
March 13, 2018
I am a newbie to currency trading & was looking for a place to start. This book does an excellent job in acquainting said newbie to the world of currency trading. It is an good read & is well laid out. I found it easy to follow. In a year or two I will be able judge how useful it really was in helping prevail in these choppy waters.
February 21, 2018
candlesticks great representative
pips five decimal points
major pairs, minor pairs. Cross currency trades have legs
going short is very common
there is interest rates in every position
deepest and most liquid market, driven mostly on speculation
pips five decimal points
major pairs, minor pairs. Cross currency trades have legs
going short is very common
there is interest rates in every position
deepest and most liquid market, driven mostly on speculation
Read
October 8, 2011B19538075E
May 28, 2016
Easy to understand, even if some info is outdated provides lots of learning links too.
February 12, 2021
Ok 3 stars might be a little too harsh but I think it's the perfect rating for this Dummies book. I have read many dummies book related to finance. This one seems simpler than most of them.
If you don't want to read the rest of the review here is a TLDR: If you are coming from another field of finance/investing/trading, you just need to read the 2nd chapter that's it. If you are completely new to finance/investing/trading. You might need to read all of it but even then its not enough.
So this book feels like it's not in depth enough for intermediates or beginners. Would just recommend to people who are already in finance, but need quick intro to forex. You can probably read the first 3 chapters in a day.
I been working in equities for the last 5 years now with a firm and I am pretty well versed in most of what goes on in the financial markets. It's weird I didn't know know much about forex/currency since everyone at some point in their life will do a forex trade or another if they travel or change currencies.
It's a pretty simple book but I wished the author went on a bit more detail. But if you just want to learn how to trade Forex you will know the basic of currency pairs. The biggest difference between equity and forex trading is that in equities normally the pair is a stock/cash. In Forex it's one type of cash for another type of cash so it can be confusing for people how to enter positions or exit positions.
I knew most of this but I was honestly expecting more technical and fundamental tools that forex traders use.
If you don't want to read the rest of the review here is a TLDR: If you are coming from another field of finance/investing/trading, you just need to read the 2nd chapter that's it. If you are completely new to finance/investing/trading. You might need to read all of it but even then its not enough.
So this book feels like it's not in depth enough for intermediates or beginners. Would just recommend to people who are already in finance, but need quick intro to forex. You can probably read the first 3 chapters in a day.
I been working in equities for the last 5 years now with a firm and I am pretty well versed in most of what goes on in the financial markets. It's weird I didn't know know much about forex/currency since everyone at some point in their life will do a forex trade or another if they travel or change currencies.
It's a pretty simple book but I wished the author went on a bit more detail. But if you just want to learn how to trade Forex you will know the basic of currency pairs. The biggest difference between equity and forex trading is that in equities normally the pair is a stock/cash. In Forex it's one type of cash for another type of cash so it can be confusing for people how to enter positions or exit positions.
I knew most of this but I was honestly expecting more technical and fundamental tools that forex traders use.
July 30, 2018
Great foundation for fx trading
Book is a good foundation for currency trading. It has a wide breadth and fairly sufficient depth for anyone to get started. It is presented in an organised and easily digest able manner. However kindle version can be improved with higher resolution diagrams. They are not readable.
Book is a good foundation for currency trading. It has a wide breadth and fairly sufficient depth for anyone to get started. It is presented in an organised and easily digest able manner. However kindle version can be improved with higher resolution diagrams. They are not readable.
January 3, 2018
Excellent book on currency trading. A good reference book. I recommend beginners should have atleast fundamental idea of forex before starting this book. I will read further readings listed on the last chapter.
May 10, 2020
A solid introduction to forex trading, but there’s a lot of repetition, to the point where there is four consecutive chapters repeating the same information. Towards the end I just ended up scanning and reading the headings.
But a good introduction overall.
But a good introduction overall.
July 21, 2020
Good intro to FOREX
I enjoyed this book and learnt a lot it was pretty much what I was looking for. there are a few topics that seem to be covered repetitively but I was ok with that.
I enjoyed this book and learnt a lot it was pretty much what I was looking for. there are a few topics that seem to be covered repetitively but I was ok with that.
March 9, 2025
After reading this book, you'll gain a solid understanding of the basics of FX trading—but you’ll have no clue how to actually get started. It’s useful for building foundational knowledge, but there's no practical guidance.
February 18, 2017
Simple concise guide about FX trading. Good for starters.
September 2, 2017
Only general things for really beginners.
January 30, 2019
Plenty of information but wordy.
May 8, 2019
Slightly repetitive, but contains some solid information regarding the fundamentals of ForEx, and basic technical analysis. For a beginner, this would be a decent start.
June 2, 2019
This is completely beginners book to Forex. If you want intermediate and advanced technical analysis, search from other place.
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August 2, 2019UNFINISHED BOOK
This book seems like a good comprehensive introduction to currency trading. I intend to one day delve into it, but for now, I will pass as it will require careful reading.
This book seems like a good comprehensive introduction to currency trading. I intend to one day delve into it, but for now, I will pass as it will require careful reading.
September 5, 2020
Excellent book for beginners
Tons of great information about forex trading and trading in general. Great book to read through every year to refresh basic trading knowledge.
Tons of great information about forex trading and trading in general. Great book to read through every year to refresh basic trading knowledge.
November 5, 2021
Whatever you need to know for currency trading.
April 19, 2022
This book is good if you are new to Forex trading. You will definitely acquire knowledge about forex but as usual Dummies books always overkill it. Too much repetition …
Currently reading
August 22, 2022Good
December 30, 2022
Solid introduction to the worlds largest market.
January 27, 2024
Fairly helpful overview of currency trading and forex.
July 28, 2024
اگر تجربه ای تو این بازار دارین خیلی چیز خاصی نداره برای گفتن
بیشتر برای همون تازه کارها خوبه
بیشتر برای همون تازه کارها خوبه
August 10, 2024
It's suitable for beginners
April 22, 2021
I had already been involved in currency trading for a few weeks and this book talks deeper into currency trading than I think it should be for a real Dummy...
On the other hand, I learned a lot of new words and technicisisms of Forex trading and will read the book again for deeper understanding.
On the other hand, I learned a lot of new words and technicisisms of Forex trading and will read the book again for deeper understanding.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews