Make Money Online - Without Spending a Dime

Even with no product and no Web site, you can get paid for what and who you know
Making money online used to pretty much require you to have your own Web site, products to sell and some marketing savvy. But a new generation of dot-coms have arisen that will pay you for what you know and who you know without you having to be a web designer or a marketing genius.
But it's hard to tell hype from the real deal. I did a search on make money online and making money online, and much of the information out there is just promoting various infoproducts, mostly about Internet marketing. I see why people sometimes ask, Is anyone making money online besides Internet marketing experts?

So I put together a list of business opportunities with legitimate companies that:

* Pay cash, not just points towards rewards or a chance to win money
* Don't require you to have your own Web domain or your own products
* Don't involve any hard-selling
* Aren't just promoting more Internet marketing
* Give a good return on your time investment

In the interest of objectivity, none of the links below are affiliate links, and none of them have paid or provided any other consideration for their presence here. These are legitimate companies with business models that allow you to get paid for a wide range of activities. - Scott Allen -

Foreign Exchange Market - What is FOREX ?

FOREX (FOReign EXchange market) is an international foreign exchange market, where money is sold and bought freely. In its present condition FOREX was launched in the 1970s, when free exchange rates were introduced, and only the participants of the market determine the price of one currency against the other proceeding from supply and demand.
As far as the freedom from any external control and free competition are concerned, FOREX is a perfect market. It is also the biggest liquid financial market. According to various assessments, money masses in the market constitute from 1 to 1.5 trillion US dollars a day. (It is impossible to determine an absolutely exact number because trading is not centralized on an exchange.) Transactions are conducted all over the world via telecommunications 24 hours a day from 00:00 GMT on Monday to 10:00 pm GMT on Friday. Practically in every time zone (that is, in Frankfurt-on-Main, London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc.) there are dealers who will quote currencies.

FOREX is a more objective market, because if some of its participants would like to change prices, for some manipulative purpose, they would have to operate with tens of billions dollars. That is why any influence by a single participants in the market is practically out of the question. The superior liquidity allows the traders to open and/or close positions within a few seconds. The time of keeping a position is arbitrary and has no limits: from several seconds to many years. It depends only on your trading strategies. Although the daily fluctuations of currencies are rather insignificant, you may use the credit lines, that are accessible even to currency speculators with small capitals ($ 1,000 - 5,000), where the profit may be impressive. (You can learn more about it in the section: The main principles of trading.)

The idea of marginal trading stems from the fact that in FOREX speculative interests can be satisfied without a real money supply. This decreases overhead expenses for transferring money and gives an opportunity to open positions with a small account in US dollars, buying and selling a lot of other currencies. That is, on can conduct transactions very quickly, getting a big profit, when the exchange rates go up or down. Many speculative transactions in the international financial markets are made on the principles of marginal trading.

How to start trade on Forex ?

If you devote money to trading, it is important to take it seriously. Many traders are getting into the Forex market for the first time and are basically starting from square one. But new traders don’t have to be left in the dark when it comes to learning to trade currencies; unlike with some of the other markets, there are a variety of free learning tools and resources available to light the way.
You can become forex-savvy with the help of virtual demo accounts, mentoring services, online courses, online resources, signal services and charts. With so much to choose from, the question you’re most likely to ask is, “Where do I start?” Here we cover the preliminary steps you need to take to find your footing in the FOREX market.

Finding a Broker
The first step is to pick a market maker with which to trade. Some are larger than others, some have tighter spreads and others offer additional bells and whistles. Each market maker has its own advantages and disadvantages, but here are some of the key questions to ask when doing your due diligence:

* Where is the FX market maker incorporated? Is it in a country such as the U.S. or the U.K., or is it offshore?
* Is the FX market maker regulated? If so, in how many countries?
* How large is the market maker? How much excess capital does it have? How many employees?
* Does the market maker have 24-hour telephone support?

In order to ensure that the money you are sending will be safe and that you have a jurisdiction to appeal to in the event of a bankruptcy, you want to find a large market maker that is regulated in at least one or two major countries. Furthermore, the larger the market maker, the more resources it can put toward making sure that its trading platforms and servers remain stable and do not crash when the market becomes very active. Third, you want a market maker with a larger number of employees so that you can place a trade over the phone without having to worry about getting a busy signal. Bottom line, you want to find someone legitimate to trade with and not a bucket shop.

Checking Their Stats
In the U.S., all registered futures commission merchants (FCMs) are required to meet strict financial standards, including capital adequacy requirements, and are required to submit monthly financial reports to regulators. You can visit the website of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (an independent agency of the U.S. government) to access the latest financial statements of all registered FCMs in the U.S.

Test Drive
Once you’ve found a broker, the next step is to test drive its software by opening a demo account. The availability of demo or virtual trading accounts is something unique to this market and one that you want to exploit to your advantage. Your goal is to learn how to use the trading platform and, while you’re doing that, to find the trading platform that suits you best. Most demo accounts have exactly the same functionalities as the live accounts, with real-time market prices. The only difference, of course, is that you are not trading with real money.

Do Your Research
When you trade, you never want to trade impulsively. You need to be able to justify your trades, and the way to find justification is by doing your research. There are many books, newspapers and other publications with information about trading the FX market. When choosing a source to consult, make sure it covers:

* The basics of the FX market
* Technical analysis
* Key fundamental news and events

Education and Mentoring Programs - Are They Worth It?
The benefit of online or live courses over books, newspapers and magazines is that you can get answers to the questions that perplex you. Hearing or seeing other people’s questions is also extremely valuable, since no one person can think of every possible question. In a classroom setting, either online or live, you can learn from the experiences and frustrations of others. As for a mentor, he or she can draw on personal experience and hopefully teach you to avoid the mistakes he or she has made in the past, saving you both time and money.

What about Trading Systems and Signals?
Many traders wonder whether it is worthwhile to buy into a system or a signal package. System and signals fall into three general categories depending on their methodology: trend, range or fundamental. Fundamental systems are very rare in the FX market; they are mostly used by large hedge funds or banks because they are very long term in nature and do not give many trading signals. The systems that are available to individual traders are typically trend systems or range systems - rarely will you get one system that is able to exploit both markets, because if you do, then you have pretty much found the holy grail of trading.

Trading Setups - Finding What Works Best for You
Every trader is different, but the best trading style is probably a combination of both technical and fundamental analysis. Fundamentals can easily throw off technicals, while technicals can explain movements that fundamentals cannot. Smart traders will always be aware of the broader fundamental picture while using their technicals to pinpoint good entry and exit levels; combining both will keep you out of as many bad trades as possible, and it works for both day traders and swing traders. Most free charting packages have everything that a new trader needs, and many trading platforms offer real-time news feeds to keep you up to date on economic news.

Conclusion
Learning to trade in the Forex market can seem like a daunting task when you’re just starting out, but thanks to the many practical and educational resources available to the individual trader, it is not impossible. Learning as much as possible before you put actual money at risk should be at the forefront of your agenda. Print and online publications, trading magazines, personal mentors, online demo accounts and more can all act as invaluable guides on your journey into currency trading.

Technical advantages of forex online trading

Of all financial instruments traded, forex may be the best suited for technical analysis for a number of reasons:
1. Forex exceeds all other markets in trading volume. Forex trading has grown some 2,000% over the last three decades, rising from barely $1 billion per day in 1974 to an estimated $2 trillion by 2005, so there is plenty of turnover to produce liquidity.

2. Forex markets never close during the trading week so there is no build-up or backlog of client orders overnight or pent-up reaction to news stories hitting the market at the open. This means no gaps that can create instant losses (or gains) for those holding positions overnight. The trading week begins in Sydney, Australia, on Monday while it is still Sunday in North America and Europe and ends in New York on Friday afternoon so you can trade in the middle of the night or whenever you want.

3. There are two basic types of markets: trending and trading-range markets. It is far easier to make money in trending markets. Currencies tend to experience longer-lasting trends that can continue for months or even years. This makes them ideal vehicles for trend-trading and breakout systems and explains why chart pattern analysis works so well in forex trading. With such widespread groups playing the game around the world, crowd behavior plays a large part in currency moves, and it is this crowd behavior that is the foundation for technical analysis tools and techniques.

4. Due in part to its size, Forex is less volatile than other markets. Lower volatility equals lower risk. For example, the S&P 500 Index trading range is between 4% and 5% daily, while the daily volatility range in the Euro is around 1%.

5. Forex is an ideal market for the “intermarket” method of market analysis developed many years ago by respected industry professional Louis B. Mendelsohn. Trading veterans know that markets are interdependent, with some markets more heavily influenced by certain markets than others.

Forex Market Drivers

How Interest Rate Increases Drive Currency Prices
How Rising Gold Prices Affect Currencies
Translating Rising Oil Prices to Currency Trading Opportunities

How Interest Rate Increases Drive Currency Prices
A common way to think about U.S. interest rates is how much it's going to cost to borrow money, whether for our mortgages or how much we'll earn on our bond and money market investments. Currency traders think bigger. Interest rate policy is actually a key driver of currency prices and typically a strategy for new currency traders.

Fundamentally, if a country raises its interest rates, the currency of that country will strengthen because the higher interest rates attract more foreign investors. When foreign investors invest in U.S. treasuries, they must sell their own currency and buy U.S. Dollars in order to purchase the bonds. If you believe U.S. interest rates will continue to rise, you could express that view by going long U.S. Dollars.

If you believe that the Fed has finished raising rates for the time being, you could capitalize on that view by buying a currency with a higher interest rate, or at least the prospect of relatively higher rates. For example, U.S. rates may be higher than those of Euroland now but the prospect of higher rates in Euroland, albeit still lower than the U.S., may drive investors to purchase Euros.

How Rising Gold Prices Affect Currencies
It's not hard to understand why we've experienced a run-up in gold prices lately. In the US, we're dealing with the threat of inflation and a lot of geo-political tension. Historically, gold is a country-neutral alternative to the U.S. dollar. So given the inverse relationship between gold and the U.S. Dollar, currency traders can take advantage of volatility in gold prices in innovative ways.

For example, if gold breaks an important price level, one would expect gold to move higher in coming periods. With this in mind, forex traders would look to sell dollars and buy Euros, for example, as a proxy for higher gold prices. Moreover, higher gold prices frequently have a positive impact on the currencies of major gold producers. For example, Australia is the world's third largest exporter of gold, and Canada is the world's third largest producer of gold. Therefore, if you believe the price of gold will continue to rise you could establish long positions in Australian Dollar or the Canadian Dollar - or even position to be long those currencies against other major countries like the UK or Japan.

Translating Rising Oil Prices to Currency Trading Opportunities
Equity investors already know that higher oil prices negatively impact the stock prices of companies that are highly dependent on oil such as airlines, since more expensive oil means higher expenses and lower profits for those companies.

In much the same way, a country's dependency on oil determines how its currency will be impacted by a change in oil prices. The US's massive foreign dependence on oil makes the US dollar more sensitive to oil prices than other countries. Therefore, any sharp increase in oil prices is typically dollar-negative.

If you believe the price of oil will continue to increase for the near term, you could express that viewpoint in the currency markets by once again favoring commodity-based economies like Australia and Canada or selling other energy-dependent countries like Japan.


Put your opinions into action. Register for a free practice account and test your strategies in a real-time environment!



>>Next: Currency Pair "Personalities"

Pricing & Spreads

Tight spreads as low as 1-2 pips, with fractional pips for more precise quoting.

At FOREX.com, you'll trade on dealing spreads as low as 1-2 pips on the most widely traded currency pairs. And with our fractional pip pricing, you gain an extra digit of precision so that you can take advantage of smaller price movements.

Plus, you can enter orders at any price - even inside the spread - and trade around news events, major economic announcements and other times of high market volatility.

Fractional pricing is always market driven. Using our proprietary rate engine, we aggregate prices from some of the world's leading FX banks, in real-time. Because quotes are derived directly from bank prices, dealing spreads will fluctuate to reflect available forex market liquidity.
See for yourself. Register for a free practice account.

Our strong liquidity relationships with over a dozen of the world's leading FX banks, such as UBS, Barclays and Goldman Sachs, to name a few, provide us with deep liquidity - several billion dollars in fact - and tight prices. We execute an average of $100 billion in FX volume each month and are therefore able to pass along the benefits of our size and volume to you in the form of tight dealing spreads and quality fills.

Fixed Spread Pricing
For clients who trade news events, we also offer fixed spread pricing. Bid/offer spreads remain fixed 100% of the time under all market conditions - which includes times of high market volatility, before and after major economic releases, and following other important news and events. Learn more

Flexible Account Types
We offer customized account types for the way you trade. With our mini and standard forex accounts, you can select the leverage and trade size that's right for you. Plus, you can receive value add products and services based on your initial deposit and activity levels. View all account types.

Learn to Trade FOREX allows you to study at your own pace.

Learn to Trade Forex is a comprehensive training course designed to introduce investors to the Foreign Exchange (Forex) market.

Accessible online, the course allows you to study at your own pace and consists of seven lessons covering everything from pips, margin, technical analysis & tools, charting, and more.

* Understand currency quoting and the factors that drive individual currency movements
* Read and analyze currency charts using advanced technical tools
* Recognize and capitalize on market trends
* Effectively utilize the leverage available in forex trading
* Manage risk and protect open positions using stop loss and other order types
* Anticipate and react to major economic events impacting global currencies
* Employ sound money management techniques to maximize gains and keep losses to a minimum

These preview pages will provide you with a sneak peek of the course content included in the program.

To begin, click the next button in the top right corner. Use the Next and Back buttons to navigate between slides.

Forex Training Courses

Learn to Trade FOREX is a self study online training program designed to introduce investors to the global Foreign Exchange (Forex) market. Developed by GAIN Capital Group, the program shares the considerable expertise of GAIN's senior traders and market analysts.

Study and learn at your own pace.

Learn to Trade FOREX consists of seven web-based lessons and will teach you how to:

* Understand currency quoting and the factors that drive individual currency movements

* Read and analyze currency charts using advanced technical tools

* Recognize trends in the market

* Utilize tools to help you manage risk

* Anticipate and react to major economic event impacting global currencies

* Employ sound money management techniques

Find out more about Learn to Trade FOREX.

The Trend/No Trend Paradox

To make matters worse, many traders typically utilize only one or two technical indicators to identify market direction and trade-timing. This one-size-fits-all approach leaves them exposed to the trend/no-trend paradox – an indicator that works well in trending markets can give disastrous results in sideways markets and vice versa. As a result, individual traders frequently find themselves exiting positions too early and missing out on larger moves as a bigger trend unfolds. Conversely, traders may end up holding onto a short-term position for too long following a reversal, believing they are "with the trend," when no trend exists.

To avoid getting caught in the paradox, this article will suggest using several technical tools in conjunction to determine whether or not a trend is in place. This will in turn dictate which technical indicators are best used to gauge entry/exit points as well as provide some risk management guidance. Rather than setting forth a list of concrete trading rules, this article seeks to outline a dynamic approach to the use of technical analysis to avoid getting caught in the trend/no-trend paradox.

Trend-friendly Tools and Non-trend Tools

Trend-friendly Tools
The obvious starting point for this discussion is to define what is meant by a trend. In terms of technical analysis, a trend is a predictable price response at levels of support/resistance that change over time. For example, in an uptrend the defining feature is that prices rebound when they near support levels, ultimately establishing new highs. In a downtrend, the opposite is true – price increases will reverse as they near resistance levels, and new lows will be reached. This definition reveals the first of the tools used to identify whether a trend is in place or not – trendline analysis to establish support and resistance levels.

Trendline analysis is sometimes underestimated because it is perceived as overly subjective in nature. While this criticism has some truth, it overlooks the reality that trendlines help focus attention on the underlying price pattern, filtering out the noise of the market. For this reason, trendline analysis should be the first step in determining the existence of a trend. If trendline analysis does not reveal a discernible trend, it's probably because there isn't one. Trendline analysis will also help identify price formations that have their own predictive significance.

Trendline analysis is best employed starting with longer time frames (daily and weekly charts) first and then carrying them forward into shorter timeframes (hourly and 4-hourly) where shorter-term levels of support and resistance can then be identified. This approach has the advantage of highlighting the most significant levels of support/resistance first and minor levels next. This helps reduce the chances of following a short-term trendline break while a major long-term level is lurking nearby.

A more objective indicator of whether a market is trending is the directional movement indicator system (DMI). Using the DMI removes the guesswork involved with spotting trends and can also provide confirmation of trends identified by trendline analysis. The DMI system is comprised of the ADX (average directional movement index) and the DI+ and DI- lines. The ADX is used to determine whether or not a market is trending (regardless if it's up or down), with a reading over 25 indicating a trending market and a reading below 20 indicating no trend. The ADX is also a measure of the strength of a trend – the higher the ADX, the stronger the trend. Using the ADX, traders can determine whether or not there is a trend and thus whether or not to use a trend following system.

As its name would suggest, the DMI system is best employed using both components. The DI+ and DI- lines are used as trade entry signals. A buy signal is generated when the DI+ line crosses up through the DI- line; a sell signal is generated when the DI- line crosses up through the DI+ line. (Wilder suggests using the "extreme point rule" to govern the DI+/DI- crossover signal. The rule states that when the DI+/- lines cross, traders should note the extreme point for that period in the direction of the crossover (the high if DI+ crosses up over DI-; the low if DI- crosses up over DI+). Only if that extreme point is breached in the subsequent period is a trade signal confirmed.

The ADX can then be used as an early indicator of the end/pause in a trend. When the ADX begins to move lower from its highest level, the trend is either pausing or ending, signaling it is time to exit the current position and wait for a fresh signal from the DI+/DI- crossover.

Non-trend Tools
Momentum oscillators, such as RSI, stochastics, or MACD, are a favorite indicator of many traders and their utility is best applied to non-trending or sideways markets. The primary use of momentum indicators is to gauge whether a market is overbought or oversold relative to prior periods, potentially highlighting a price reversal before it actually occurs.

However, this application fails in the case of a trending market, as the price momentum can remain overbought/oversold for many periods while the price continues to move persistently higher/lower in line with the underlying trend. The practical result is that traders who rely solely on a momentum indicator might exit a profitable position too soon based on momentum having reached an extreme level, just as a larger trend movement is developing. Even worse, some might use overbought/oversold levels to initiate positions in the opposite direction, seeking to anticipate a price reversal based on extreme momentum levels.

The second use of momentum oscillators is to spot divergences between price and momentum. The rationale with divergences is that sustained price movements should be mirrored by the underlying momentum. For example, a new high in price should be matched by a new high in momentum if the price action is to be considered valid. If a new price high occurs without momentum reaching new highs, a divergence (in this case, a bearish divergence) is said to exist. Divergences frequently play out with the price action failing to sustain its direction and reversing course in line with the momentum.

In real life, though, divergences frequently appear in trending markets as momentum wanes (the rate of change of prices slows) but prices fail to reverse significantly, maintaining the trend. The practical result is that counter-trend trades are frequently initiated based on price/momentum divergences. If the market is trending, prices will maintain their direction, though their rate of change is slower. Eventually, prices will accelerate in line with the trend and momentum will reverse again in the direction of the trend, nullifying the observed divergence in the process. As such, divergences can create many false signals that mislead traders who fail to recognize when a trend is in place.

Putting the Tools to Work

Let's look at some real-life trading examples to illustrate the application of the tools outlined above and see how they can be used to avoid the trend/no-trend paradox. For these examples, MACD (moving average convergence/divergence) will be used as the momentum oscillator, though other oscillators could be substituted according to individual preferences.

The first example (Figure1) illustrates 4-hour EUR/USD price action with MACD and the DMI system (ADX, DI+, DI-) as accompanying studies. Following the framework outlined above, trendline analysis reveals several multi-day price movements, identified by trendlines 1 and 2. Looking next at the ADX, it rises above the "trend" level of 25 at point A, indicating that a trend is taking hold and that momentum readings should be discounted. This is helpful, because if one looked only at the MACD at this point, it might be tempting to conclude that the upmove was stalling as the MACD begins to falter. Subsequent price action, however, sees the market move higher.

Along the way however, trendline 1 is broken and the ADX tops out and begins to move lower (point B). While the price action has been extremely volatile around this point, it should be noted that the ADX over 25 negated the premature crossover signal of MACD as well as the break of support on trendline 1. At point C, the ADX has fallen back below 25 and this suggests taking another look at the MACD, which is beginning to diverge bearishly, as new price highs are not matched by new MACD highs. A subsequent sharp downmove in price generates another negative crossover on the MACD, and since ADX is now below 25, a short position is taken at about 1.3060 (point D).

Following along with trendline 2 now, MACD is clearly weakening as prices move lower. The ADX initially continues to fall indicating the absence of any trend, but begins to turn up after a failed test of trendline resistance at point E. The focus remains on the MACD at this point as the ADX is still below 25. As price declines slow, MACD crosses upward indicating it is time to exit the position at around 1.2900 at point F. Subsequent price action is extremely whippy and the ADX again fails to signal an extended trend, confirming the decision to exit.

The above example showed the interplay between ADX and momentum (MACD), where the absence of a trend indicated traders should focus on the underlying momentum to gauge price direction. Let's now look at an example where a trend is present and it essentially cancels out signals given by momentum.
Figure 2 shows USD/CHF in an hourly format with DMI and MACD as the studies. Beginning with trendline analysis again, trendline resistance from previous highs is broken at point A. Momentum as shown by MACD has been moving higher and supports the break higher. The ADX also rises above 25, confirming the break higher and indicating a long position should be taken at approximately 1.1650. The trade entry could also have been signaled earlier by the crossover of DI+ over DI- and the application of Wilder's 'Extreme Point Rule.'

Subsequent price moves are modest initially, but the relevant feature to note is that the ADX remains well above 25, suggesting momentum signals should be disregarded. This is critical since the MACD quickly generates a signal to exit the trade at point B. Relying on the ADX alone at this point, however, the long position is maintained and subsequent price gains cause MACD to reverse higher again. ADX continues to rise with the price gains, which are also adhering to trendline support. MACD again generates a sell signal at point C, but this is ignored as the ADX approaches 50, suggesting a strong trend is now in place. Price gains become more explosive and the ADX goes on to register new highs. Contrast that with the MACD which is indicating a bearish divergence from point D onwards, even though the uptrend remains intact. The ADX also indicates a bearish divergence, implying trend intensity is fading. Only at point E are exit signals given by the break of trendline support and the decline of ADX below 25 at point E around 1.2000. In this example, a short-term trade was able to capitalize on a much larger move by employing the ADX in addition to the MACD. A strictly momentum based approach would have been caught in multiple whipsaws, or even a premature short based on bearish divergence.