Feb 18, 2010

Forex Crunch PT Multistation Goes Social

Forex Crunch PT Multistation Goes Social

PT Multistation Goes Social

Posted: 17 Feb 2010 10:09 PM PST


Connecting to different brokers at the same time is the core feature of PT Multistation. Now they allow connecting to different traders. The social abilities are part of a new set of features and of re-branding of their site. Here’s a review.

It seems that everybody is going social these days. The values of the Web 2.0 trend haven’t skipped PFSoft, the company behind PT Multistation. The new version of their software includes an internal instant messaging service between different users.

Apart from the regular features instant messaging features such as chatting and file sharing, users can share trading signals. Depending on permissions, one user can execute a forex signal for another user.

Sharing in PT Multistation – click to enlarge

This is a powerful  feature that allows automatic trading, but should be handled with care. Note that all these community features can be used with live accounts, demo accounts or both.

If you have a winning strategy and you don’t want to just give it away, there’s an option to sell it to other members. This option is intended for guru traders. I wonder if this will evolve into a big marketplace.

These social features reminded me of Currensee. So, what about sharing real trades? This is the main feature of there. So, there is also an option to share trades in real time, but it is currently quite limited. Anton Trakht, PF Soft’s marketing manager said that this feature is still undergoing some testing and will become more flexible in the future.

Sharing and selling signals – Click to enlarge

More languages and brokers

In the previous post about PT Multistation, I’ve mentioned that a few programming languages are supported: MQL, EasyLanguage, PTL. Now also C# is available, for Microsoft.NET programmers. I think that MQL will remain the most popular language for Expert Advisors.

Also the basic feature of this software has been expanded: more brokers are supported. Known names such as GFT, OANDA and Forex.com (GAIN Capital) have hopped on the wagon. Trakht promised that more are on the way.

I appreciate brokers that cooperate with forex social networks. The will to be transparent is a good sign for the broker. Even if you’re not into socializing and prefer trading alone, I think that you should take a look and see if your broker is on one of these lists.

As PT Multistation went social, they also re-branded themselves in a more hip style. The homepage consists of a huge and neat spaceship and there’s a sliding carousel – a design that is inline with fresh websites.

Conclusion

All in all, PT Multistation is a good product that is evolving in the right directions. I hope that they will put even more effort in the community features.

Want to try it? There’s a free demo here.

Forex Daily Outlook – February 18th 2010

Posted: 17 Feb 2010 02:00 PM PST


Yet another busy day expects traders: a rate decision in Japan, American PPI, and American jobless claims stand out. There are many other events as well.

The Greek crisis is fading away. EUR/USD isn’t the only pair to enjoy this. Also commodity currencies are on the rise, enjoying risk appetite trading. There are no releases today in Europe, but headlines regarding Greece might still appear. Let’s start the review:

The Bank of Japan is expected to leave the Overnight Call Rate unchanged at 0.10%. The yen will move by the wording of the Monetary Policy Statement that might include a revised forecast of the economy, and by the sentiment that will be felt in the accompanying BOJ Press Conference.

In Australia, the NAB Quarterly Business Confidence is expected to show a positive number, following last quarter’s score of 16 points. On the other side of the day, RBA governor Glenn Stevens will make a public appearance and will probably shake the Aussie as well.

For more on the Aussie, read the AUD/USD forecast.

In Switzerland, Trade Balance is expected to show a bigger surplus – 1.8 billion. Later, the ZEW Economic Expectations figure for Switzerland will be released. The last score of 56.2 points will probably be followed by something similar. This score is better than Germany and the EU.

The SNB doesn’t like these positive figures – they want a weaker Franc.

After inflation and employment, today we have a lighter British release: CBI Industrial Order Expectations which are predicted to edge up from -39 to -35. Later in the day, BOE Executive Director Paul Fisher will make a public appearance and might lay out future policy. For the Pound’s technical levels, read the GBP/USD forecast.

In Canada, inflation went back to normal after one month of strong rises. Also now, CPI is predicted to to rise by 0.3% and Core CPI by 0.1% – modest rises indeed. These follow drops last month.

Also in Canada, Foreign Securities Purchases which have jumped to 10.5 billion last month, are expected to drop to 7.5 billion. This still reflects confidence in the Canadian economy. For more on the loonie, read the USD/CAD forecast.

In the US, Unemployment Claims fell to 440K last week, and they’re predicted to edge up to 445K. Another fall could convince everybody that we’ll have a positive NFP this time.

American producer prices are predicted to leap – after rising by 0.4% last month, a jump of 0.8% is expected this time. Core PPI is predicted to be more moderate – a rise of 0.2%.

Later in the US, the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index is predicted to follow the Empire State Manufacturing Index earlier this week and rise from 15.2 to 17.2 points. This is usually a serious market-mover. Also in the US, CB Leading Index is predicted to rise by 0.6%.

For another technical look at EUR/USD, check out Casey Stubbs’ article.

That’s it for today. Happy forex trading!

Want to see what other traders are doing in real accounts? Check out Currensee. It’s free.

Oops, we’ll reinstate your position

Posted: 17 Feb 2010 07:00 AM PST


Not all forex brokers were born equal. Some will play dirty tricks to drain your account without being typical scammers. Here’s ascenario that happened to me and to many others.

This should ring all your bells. There is a solution: take your business elsewhere.

A scenario that can happen to anyone

Your make up in the morning, check out your forex account and discover that your open position hit the stop loss point and was closed by your broker. This can happen. The market moves 24 hours a day and your pair could have moved in the wrong direction.

When you look at the charts, you notice that the market was never at this point. Your position should not have bounced! A quick call to your broker and they tell you that they’ll check it out.

When they call you back, they say “Oops, that was an error. We’ve reinstated your position”.

The anger

On one hand you’re glad that you didn’t lose that trade,at least not yet. But then the anger starts boiling inside. If you weren’t on the watch, the money would be gone. You were on the watch, but you might have acted differently on the position. You wasted time on finding the error, the phone calls and the aggravation.

Then you forget about this specific position and begin thinking: what if they already did this to me and I hadn’t noticed. Will they do it again? (Probably so). Will I have to be alert all the time?

Such brokers do it occasionally to everybody. In many cases, there isn’t a big gap from the real market levels and the stop loss – such cases are harder to catch. They can spread the spreads in a creative way – creative for them and a loss for you.

Such brokers don’t live off the spreads, but on the money you deposit. They rarely pass on the deals – they just wait for the customer to lose all the account. And they find creative ways to “encourage” a quick loss of the account.

They don’t do it in their forex demo account – you succeed in demo trading, deposit money and then start losing. It isn’t always the trade psychology that brings you down – it’s the broker.

Solution

After you’ve calmed down, the solution is simple. Close all your positions with that broker, withdraw what’s left and take your business elsewhere. You deserve a better broker.

Don’t lose all your money in that account and blame the forex market. There are better brokers out there. Those who are more transparent are probably more reliable. Those who are gated should be suspected.

Want to see what other traders are doing in real accounts? Check out Currensee. It’s free.
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