Of the many market sayings thrown around by traders, perhaps none is more overused and less understood than the old adage 'the trend is your friend'. All too often, the phrase is used after a trader has taken a counter-trend position and subsequently been stopped out at a loss. Remorse sets in at this point and most traders kick themselves not only for having lost on a counter-trend trade, but also for not having caught the latest move in the trend itself.

Introduction
This is a guide that tells you, in simple understandable language, how to choose the right charts, read them correctly, and act effectively in the market from what you see on them. Probably most of you have taken a course or studied the use of charts in the past. This should add to that knowledge.

Although many of my previous articles pointed to the act of 'focusing' to some degree, this will be the first time I've written an article that 'focuses' on this very subject. Because of how important I've found this subject to be in my own analysis and trading of the markets, it deserves a bit more consideration than a brief mention within some other topic.

Examples of U.S. economic indicators that are clearly tradable, resulting in immediate price adjustment and trading position profits:

STANDARD DEVIATION ON REVERSAL DATES When dealing with reversal dates in market analysis and trading, we have come to accept that a standard deviation of one price bar is to be expected in order to accurately locate the swing associated with the date. The cycles combined to form market patterns are the result of external forces, some identified and some not. These forces, which are also part in parcel responsible for weather and tides in our oceans, do not stop cycling when the markets close.

The stock market has traditionally received the lion’s share of attention in the trading industry, but foreign currency (Forex) trading has surged in recent years. Inter-bank forex market, also called Over the Counter Forex – OTC market and Spot market, is world’s largest market, its daily turnover is over 1.5 trillion US Dollars daily, even greater than all other trading markets put together.

The European Union (EU) was developed as an institutional framework for the construction of a united Europe. The EU consists of 15 member countries; Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Interbank Forex Market is world's largest market with a daily turnover of nearly 2 $ trillion. It offers great advantages as compared to other trading markets, as outlined below:

n commodities futures trading, the Commitments of Traders (COT) report is the only source of insight into the market positions of the key players. The COT report provides a breakdown of each Tuesday’s open interest for markets in which 20 or more traders hold positions equal to or above the reporting levels established by the CFTC.

What are currency rates and why do they exist?

When an American owned Toyota dealership in the United States buys cars from the manufacturer – Toyota, Japan the price is in Japanese Yen. The American dealership checks the current exchange rate of U.S. dollars for Japanese Yen and figures out how many U.S. dollars each car will cost.