Benefits of Trading Forex

Here are some advantages of trading Forex:

Liquidity. Forex is by far the most liquid financial market in the world with nearly 2 trillion dollars traded everyday. This ensures price stability, and you will always be able to open and close transactions. Also it is hard to manipulate the market in a extended manner.

24hr Market. The market opens on Sunday at 3:00 pm EST when New Zealand begins operations, and closes on Friday at 5:00 pm EST when San Francisco terminates operations. There are transactions in practically every time zone, allowing active traders to choose at what time to trade.

Leverage trading. Trading the Forex Market offers a greater buying power than many other markets. Some Forex brokers offer leverage up to 400:1, allowing traders to have only 0.25% in margin of the total investment. For instance, a trader using 100:1 means that to have a US$100,000 position, only US$1,000 are needed on margin to be able to open that position.

Low Transaction costs. Almost all brokers offer commission free trading. The only cost traders incur in any transaction is the spread (difference between the buy and sell price of each currency pair). This spread could be as low as 1 pip (the minimum increment in any currency pair) in some pairs.

Low minimum investment. The Forex market requires less capital to start trading than any other markets. The initial investment could go as low as $300 USD, depending on leverage offered by the broker.

Specialized trading. The liquidity of the market allows us to focus on just a few instruments (or currency pairs) as our main investments (85% of all trading transactions are made on the seven major currencies). Allowing us to get to know better each instrument.

Trading from anywhere. If you do a lot of traveling, you can trade from anywhere in the world just having an internet connection.

Forex Broker: Choosing the right Forex Broker

Sometimes it's hard to make a decision on which Forex broker to open our trading account, there are just too many of them. Most of them have different features, capabilities, weaknesses and advantages, for this reason I have created a checklist that can help you decide the broker to use in your Forex adventure.

1. Is it regulated?

The first question you have to ask yourself is: is the broker I want to use Regulated ? There must be no doubt about this first point. All regulated brokers must submit financial reports to regulatory authorities, and when they fail to do it, authorities have the right to fine them or terminate their membership. This enforces Forex brokers to keep transparent financial reports.

The brokers must be regulated by their local regulatory authorities, for instance, for brokers based in the US , they must be regulated by the NFA (National Futures Association) and CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission), Swiss based brokers must be regulated by the FDF (Swiss Federal Department of Finance) and so on.

Also when a Forex broker is regulated allows investors to dispute any resolution, increasing the investor protection.

2. Trading Conditions

This point refers to the features of the trading platform and the trading conditions with the chosen broker. Amongst the most important factors are:

Spread - Obviously the smaller the spread on currency pairs the better the conditions are for investors and traders.

Platform execution - Trading execution refers to how fast and consistent are the execution of trades. Some brokers guarantee fast and transparent executions during normal market conditions.

Fractional trading – Some brokers allow investors and traders to trade on a fractional basis, instead of trading full lots “100,000 units” or “300,000 units”, they allow you to trade “163,345 units” or “325,911 units”. This is very helpful for trades risking certain percentage of their balance on each trade.

Safety of funds – We need to make sure our trading funds are kept in a segregated account or at least insured.

Trading platform – Easy to use and understand platform, is it reliable during fast moving markets? And what extra features it offers such as: one click buying/selling, trading directly from a chart, supports mobile devices, trailing stops, etc.)

Minimum investment – What is the minimum amount of money required to open a trading account? This aspect is very useful because before trading your full account, you need to test the waters and see how well you perform with an account with limited funds (after trading a demo account).

Margin (leverage) – What kind of leverage can be used with the chosen broker? Just to make sure our leverage requirements by our Forex strategy and methodology (leverage above 100:1 is not advisable).

Commissions – Some brokers charge commission, it is ok if they do if the spread is smaller than other brokers.

3. Diligence

Hopefully you have eliminated most brokers at this point. You should have 3 or 4 finalists. In this step do your diligences on forums, ask other traders about their experiences using their brokers, and so forth.

Some forums where you can ask for broker information are: ForexFactory, MoneyTec, ForexNews.

If brokers are registered by their local regulatory authorities, you can visit the regulator website and you will find plenty of information about Forex brokers. Some of them publish resolutions regarding Forex brokers.

Amongst the aspects you should ask and get informed are:

Customer service – This aspect is the most important of them all, are they rude to customers? Are they willingly to help customers? These are the questions you should ask in forums and fellow traders.

Slippage – Slippage is the difference between the price where the trade was executed and actual value of it. Do they honor stop loss and take profit levels? Do they guarantee it? If any one had any discrepancies, did their broker revert the result?

Manual execution – Some brokers don't like scalpers, if they catch someone doing it, they will put this trader into manual execution, so a dealer (human) must accept all transactions made by this trader. Do they do this?

Re-quotes – a re-quote happens when you click the buy/sell button and the platform doesn't accept our price, so it will give us another quote for that particular trade.

4. Testing

In this phase we should test our Forex broker, first on a demo account to see how it works, also test your system to see how it performs. If you are satisfied with the results, then try the same platform with limited funds to see how it performs on real trades. If you are satisfied again then open your full trading account with the chosen broker.

I hope this checklist help you all traders to take the right decision when choosing brokers.

Forex Strategy: Trading with Stochastics

Stochastics are amongst the most popular technical indicators when it comes to Forex Trading. Unfortunately most traders use them incorrectly. In this article we will review the correct way to use this popular technical indicator.

George Lane developed this indicator in the late 1950s. Stochastics measure the current close relative to the range (high/low) over a set of periods.

Stochastics consist of two lines:

%K – Is the main line and is usually displayed as a solid line

%D – Is simply a moving average of the %K and is usually displayed as a dotted line

There are three types of Stochastics: Full, fast and slow stochastics. Slow stochastics are simply a smother version of the fast stochastics, and full stochastics are even a smother version of the slow stochastics.

Interpretation:

Buy when %K falls below the oversold level (below 20) and rises back above the same level.

Sell when %K rises above de overbought level (above 80) and falls back below the same level.

The interpretation above is how most traders and investors use them; however, it only works when the market is trendless or ranging. When the market is trending, a reading above the overbought territory isn't necessary a bearish signal, while a reading below de oversold territory isn't necessary bullish signal.

Trending market

When the market is trending is necessary to adapt the oscillator to the same conditions: When the market is trending up, then the signals with the higher probability of success are those in direction of the trend “Buy signals”, on the other hand when the market is trending down, selling signals offer the lowest risk opportunities.

Thus when the market is trending up, we will only look for oversold conditions (when the stochastics fall below the oversold level [below 20] and rises back above the same level) to get ready to trade, and in the same way, when the market is trending down we will only look for overbought conditions (when the stochastics rise above de overbought level [above 80] and falls back below the same level.

Taking all overbought/oversold signals during a trending market will lead us to many whipsaws. If you are not comfortable with the number of signals given, try expanding your trading to other currency pairs.

Trend-less market

During a ranging market we could use the interpretation explained above to trade off stochastics.

Divergence

Divergence trades are amongst the most reliable trading signals in the Forex market. A divergence occurs either when the indicator reaches new highs/lows and the market fails to do it or the market reaches new highs/lows and the indicator fails to do it. Both conditions mean that the market isn't as strong as it used to be giving us opportunities to profit from the market.

Stochastics can also be used to trade off divergences.

Price behavior

A price behavior can be incorporated into any kind of system or Forex strategy. When using divergences or overbought/oversold condition with a price behavior approach, the probability of success of our signals increases enormously. Why? Because price dictates at the end, how all indicators will behave, it also gives us a lot of information about the probable direction it will take in the future.

I hope this article helps you become a better trader.

Don't forget to read our risk disclaimer.

How to take a loss

There are quite a few books written on how to make money in the market. Some of them are even written by people who have made money as traders! What you don't see often, however, are books or articles written on how to lose money. “Cut your losers and let your winners run” is commonsensical advice, but how do you determine when a position is a loser? Interestingly, most traders I have seen don't formulate an answer to this question when they put on a position. They focus on the entry, but then don't have a clear sense of exit—especially if that exit is going to put them into the red.

One of the real culprits, I have to believe, is in the difficulty traders have in separating the reality of a losing trade from the psychological sense of feeling like a loser. At some level, many traders equate losing with being a loser. This frustrates them, depresses them, makes them anxious—in short, it interferes with their future decision-making, because their P & L is a blank check written against their self-esteem. Once a trader is self-focused and not market focused, distortions in decision-making are inevitable.

A particularly valuable section of the classic book Reminiscences of a Stock Operator describes Livermore 's approach to buying stock. He would sell a quantity and see how the stock responded. Then he would do that again and again, testing the underlying demand for the issue. When his sales could not push the market down, then he would move aggressively to the buy side and make his money.

What I loved about this methodology is that Livermore's losses were part of a grander plan. He wasn't just losing money; he was paying for information. If my maximum position size is ten contracts in the ES and I buy the highs of a range with a one-lot, expecting a breakout, I am testing the waters. While I am not potentially moving the market in the way that Livermore might have, I still have begun a test of my breakout hypothesis. I then watch carefully. How are the other averages behaving at the top ends of their range? How is the market absorbing the activity of sellers? Like any good scientist, I am gathering data to determine whether or not my hypothesis is supported.

Suppose the breakout does not materialize and the initial move above the range falls back into the range on some increased selling pressure. I take the loss on my one-lot, but then what happens from there?

The unsuccessful trader will respond with frustration: “Why do I always get caught buying the highs? I can't believe “they” ran the market against me! This market is impossible to trade.” Because of that frustration—and the associated self-focus—the unsuccessful trader does not take any information away from that trade.

In the Livermore mode, however, the successful trader will see the losing one-lot as part of a greater plan. Had the market broken nicely to the upside, he would have scaled into the long trade and likely made money. If the one-lot was a loser, he paid for the information that this is, at the very least, a range-bound market, and he might try to find a spot to reverse and go short in order to capitalize on a return to the bottom end of that range.

Look at it this way: If you put on a high probability trade and the trade fails to make you money, you have just paid for an important piece of information: The market is not behaving as it normally, historically does. If a robust piece of economic news that normally sends the dollar screaming higher fails to budge the currency and thwarts your purchase, you have just acquired a useful bit of information: There is an underlying lack of demand for dollars. That information might hold far more profit potential than the money lost in the initial trade.

I recently received a copy of an article from Futures Magazine on the retired trader Everett Klipp, who was dubbed the “Babe Ruth of the CBOT”. Klipp distinguished himself not only by his fifty-year track record of trading success on the floor, but also by his mentorship of over 100 traders. Speaking of his system of short-term trading, Klipp observed, “You have to love to lose money and hate to make money to be successful…It's against human nature what I teach and practice. You have to overcome your humanness.”

Klipp's system was quick to take profits (hence the idea of hating to make money), but even quicker to take losses (loving to lose money). Instead of viewing losses as a threat, Klipp treated them as an essential part of trading. Taking a small loss reinforces a trader's sense of discipline and control, he believed. Losses are not failures.

So here's a question I propose to all those who enter a high-probability trade: “What will tell me that my trade is wrong, and how could I use that information to subsequently profit?” If you're trading well, there are no losing trades: only trades that make money and trades that give you the information to make money later.

Forex Trading System: Choosing between Mechanical and Discretionary Systems

There are basically two types of Forex trading systems, mechanical and discretionary systems. The trading signals that come out of mechanical systems are mainly based off technical analysis applied in a systematic way. On the other hand, discretionary systems use experience, intuition or judgment on entries and exits. But which one produces better results? Or more importantly, which one fits better your trading style? These are the answers we will try to answer on this article. We will first analyze the pros and cons about each system approach. Mechanical systems Advantages This kind of system can be automated and backtested efficiently. It has very rigid rules. Either, there is a trade or there isn't. Mechanical traders are less susceptible to emotions than discretionary traders. Disadvantages Most traders backtest Forex trading systems incorrectly. In order to produce accurate results you need tick data. The Forex market is always changing. The Forex market (and all markets) has a random component. The market conditions may look similar, but they are never the same. A system that worked successfully the past year doesn't necessary mean it will work this year. Discretionary systems Advantages Discretionary systems are easily adaptable to new market conditions. Trading decisions are based on experience. Traders learn to see which trading signals have higher probability of success.

Disadvantages They cannot be backtested or automated, since there is always a thought decision to be made. It takes time to develop the experience required to trade successfully and track trades in a discretionary way. At early stages this can be dangerous. Now, which approach is better for Forex traders? The one that fits better your personality. For instance, if you are a trader that finds it hard to follow your trading signals, then you are better off using a mechanical system, where your judgment won't play an important role in your system. You only take the trades that your system signals. If the psychological barriers that affect every trader (fear, greed, anger, etc.) puts you in unwanted scenarios, you are also better off trading mechanical systems, because you only need to follow what your system is telling you, go short, go long, close a trade. No other decision has to be made. On the other hand, if you are a disciplined trader, then you are better off using a discretionary system, because discretionary systems adapt to the market conditions and you are able to change your trading conditions as the market changes. For instance, you have a target of 60 pips on a long trade. But the market suddenly starts trending up pretty strongly, then you could move your target to say 100 pips. Does it mean that trading a discretionary system has no rules? This is absolutely incorrect. Trading discretionary systems means that once a trader finds his/her setup, the trader then decides what to do. But every trader still needs certain rules that need to be followed, such as the size of the position, conditions that have to be met before thinking to get in the market, and so on. I am a discretionary trader. The main reason I chose a discretionary system is that my trades are based on price behavior, and as you already know, the price behaves similar to the past, but it is never identical, therefore the outcome of every trade is unknown. However, I do have rigid rules on my system, certain conditions have to be met before I even think in getting in a trade. This keeps me out of trouble, once my setup is present and in accordance with the rules I have set, then I closely watch the price behavior and finally decide whether it is a good opportunity or not. Whether you choose to be a discretionary or a mechanical trader there are some important points you should take in consideration: You need to make sure the Forex trading system you are using totally fits your personality. Otherwise you will find yourself outguessing your system. You also need to have some rules and most importantly have the discipline to follow them. Take your time to build the perfect system for you. It's not easy and requires time and hard work, but at the end, if done correctly, it will give you consistent profitable results. Before going live, try it on a demo account or even on a small account (I will go for the second option, since psychological barriers will be present.

Forex Pivot Points: Mapping Your Time Frame

It is useful to have a map and be able to see where the price is relative to previous market action. This way we can see how is the sentiment of traders and investors at any given moment, it also gives us a general idea of where the market is heading during the day. This information can help us decide which way to trade.

Pivot points, a technique developed by floor traders, help us see where the price is relative to previous market action.

As a definition, a pivot point is a turning point or condition. The same applies to the Forex market, the pivot point is a level in which the sentiment of the market changes from “bull” to “bear” or vice versa. If the market breaks this level up, then the sentiment is said to be a bull market and it is likely to continue its way up, on the other hand, if the market breaks this level down, then the sentiment is bear, and it is expected to continue its way down. Also at this level, the market is expected to have some kind of support/resistance, and if price can't break the pivot point, a possible bounce from it is plausible.

Pivot points work best on highly liquid markets, like the spot currency market, but they can also be used in other markets as well.

Forex Pivot Points

In a few words, pivot point is a level in which the sentiment of traders and investors changes from bull to bear or vice versa.

Why PP work?

They work simply because many individual traders and investors use and trust them, as well as bank and institutional traders. It is known to every trader that the pivot point is an important measure of strength and weakness of any market.

Calculating pivot points

There are several ways to arrive to the Pivot point. The method we found to have the most accurate results is calculated by taking the average of the high, low and close of a previous period (or session).

Pivot point (PP) = (High + Low + Close) / 3

Take for instance the following EUR/USD information from the previous session:

Open: 1.2386

High: 1.2474

Low: 1.2376

Close: 1.2458

The PP would be,

PP = (1.2474 + 1.2376 + 1.2458) / 3 = 1.2439

What does this number tell us?

It simply tells us that if the market is trading above 1.2439, Bulls are winning the battle pushing the prices higher. And if the market is trading below this 1.2439 the bears are winning the battle pulling prices lower. On both cases this condition is likely to sustain until the next session.

Since the Forex market is a 24hr market (no close or open from day to day) there is a eternal battle on deciding at white time we should take the open, close, high and low from each session. From our point of view, the times that produce more accurate predictions is taking the open at 00:00 GMT and the close at 23:59 GMT .

Besides the calculation of the PP, there are other support and resistance levels that are calculated taking the PP as a reference.

Support 1 (S1) = (PP * 2) – H

Resistance 1 (R1) = (PP * 2) - L

Support 2 (S2) = PP – (R1 – S1)

Resistance 2 (R2) = PP + (R1 – S1)

Where , H is the High of the previous period and L is the low of the previous period

Continuing with the example above, PP = 1.2439

S1 = (1.2439 * 2) - 1.2474 = 1.2404

R1 = (1.2439 * 2) – 1.2376 = 1.2502

R2 = 1.2439 + (1.2636 – 1.2537) = 1.2537

S2 = 1.2439 – (1.2636 – 1.2537) = 1.2537

These levels are supposed to mark support and resistance levels for the current session.

On the example above, the PP was calculated using information of the previous session (previous day.) This way we could see possible intraday resistance and support levels. But it can also be calculated using the previous weekly or monthly data to determine such levels. By doing so we are able to see the sentiment over longer periods of time. Also we can see possible levels that might offer support and resistance throughout the week or month. Calculating the Pivot point in a weekly or monthly basis is mostly used by long term traders, but it can also be used by short time traders, it gives us a good idea about the longer term trend.

S1, S2, R1 AND R2...? An Objective Alternative

As already stated, the pivot point zone is a well-known technique and it works simply because many traders and investors use and trust it. But what about the other support and resistance zones (S1, S2, R1 and R2,) to forecast a support or resistance level with some mathematical formula is somehow subjective. It is hard to rely on them blindly just because the formula popped out that level. For this reason, we have created an alternative way to map our time frame, simpler but more objective and effective.

We calculate the pivot point as showed before. But our support and resistance levels are drawn in a different way. We take the previous session high and low, and draw those levels on today's chart. The same is done with the session before the previous session. So, we will have our PP and four more important levels drawn in our chart.

LOPS1, low of the previous session.

HOPS1, high of the previous session.

LOPS2, low of the session before the previous session.

HOPS2, high of the session before the previous session.

PP, pivot point.

These levels will tell us the strength of the market at any given moment. If the market is trading above the PP, then the market is considered in a possible uptrend. If the market is trading above HOPS1 or HOPS2, then the market is in an uptrend, and we only take long positions. If the market is trading below the PP then the market is considered in a possible downtrend. If the market is trading below LOPS1 or LOPS2, then the market is in a downtrend, and we should only consider short trades.

The psychology behind this approach is simple. We know that for some reason the market stopped there from going higher/lower the previous session, or the session before that. We don't know the reason, and we don't need to know it. We only know the fact: the market reversed at that level. We also know that traders and investors have memories, they do remember that the price stopped there before, and the odds are that the market reverses from there again (maybe because the same reason, and maybe not) or at least find some support or resistance at these levels.

What is important about his approach is that support and resistance levels are measured objectively; they aren't just a level derived from a mathematical formula, the price reversed there before so these levels have a higher probability of being effective.

Our mapping method works on both market conditions, when trending and on sideways conditions. In a trending market, it helps us determine the strength of the trend and trade off important levels. On sideways markets it shows us possible reversal levels.

How we use our mapping method?

We use the mapping method in three different ways: as a trend identification (measure of the strength of the trend), a trading system using important levels with price behavior as a trading signal and to set the risk reward ratio of any given trade based on where the is the market relative to the previous session.

Main Drawbacks of Forex Traders

Why is it that very few traders succeed in the Forex trading environment while the grand majority of traders fail to achieve success? There is no hard answer to this question, there are a few things that will put you one step ahead and will definitely put the odds in your favor.

The main purpose of this article is to guide you through some important aspects of Forex trading. But in a different way, instead of telling you what to do or the best way to do it, it will tell you what to avoid. Sometimes it is better to identify the main drawbacks on a discipline and then isolate them so we have the best results at a certain level of development.

The Holy Grail

Many traders spend years and years trying to find the Holy Grail of trading. That magic indicator or set of indicators, only known by a few traders, that will make them rich in a short period of time.

Fact: Well, there is no magic indicator, nor a set of indicators that will make anyone rich in a short period of time. The main reason of this is because market changes, every single moment is unique. Every Forex trading system will fail from time to time. Our work here is to find a Forex trading system that fits our personality as traders, otherwise the trader will find it hard to follow it.

Looking for Easy Money

Unfortunately most traders are attracted to the Forex market for this reason. Mainly because of the publicity showing or rather trying to show how easy is to trade and make money in the Forex market.

Fact: Yes, it is very easy to trade, anyone can do it. It is as hard as one click. But the second part of it isn't that easy. Making money or achieving consistent profitable results is hard. It requires lots of education, patience, discipline, commitment, and this list could go to infinite. In a few words, it is possible to have consistent profitable results, but definitely it is not easy.

Looking for Excitement

Some other traders are attracted to the Forex market or any other financial market because they think it is exciting to be a trader.

Fact: Yes, it is very exciting to trade the Forex market. But if this is the main reason you are still trading the Forex market, sooner or later you will discover the most expensive adventure you have ever known. Do some thinking on it.

Not Using Money Management

Most traders forget about this important aspect of trading. They think they shouldn't be using money management until they achieve consistent profitable results. They totally forget about the risk side of trading.

Fact: Money management allows your profits to increase geometrically, but also limits your risk on every single trade. Money management tells you how much to risk on each trade. Using money management is a must if you want to achieve your trading goals. By using money management you make sure you are going to be able to trade tomorrow, the next week, month and the following years.

Not Being Psychology Tuned

This is one of the most underestimated subjects when it comes to trading. One of the main principles of financial markets is that the price of each instrument is based on the perception of each individual participant “the crowd.” In other words the price of each instrument is determined by the fear, greed, ego and hope of all traders.

Fact: Being aware of all psychological issues that affect the decisions made by traders will definitely put the odds in your favor.

Lack of Education

Education is the base of knowledge on every discipline. As lawyers and doctors require several years of college until they get their degree, Forex traders also require long years of study. It is better to have someone experienced to guide you through your trading, since some information could take you in the wrong path.

Fact: The market teaches us invaluable lessons on every single trade made. The process of education for a Forex trader could take for ever. That's right, we never stop learning. We should be humble about the markets and our knowledge; otherwise the market will prove us wrong.

These are some of the most important barriers every trader faces when trying to trade successfully.

Trading successfully the Forex markets is no easy task, it requires a lot of hard work to do it right, but with the right education, you will put yourself closer to your trading goals.

A Quick Forex Guide for Traders

In this Forex course we will review some steps you need to take care before you venture into your trading journey. Most traders venture into the Forex market with little or no experience in the Forex market. This results in painful experiences like loosing most of the risk capital, frustration because it seemed so easy to make money, etc.

The first thing you need to realize is that, it is not easy to make money. As every other endeavor in life, where important rewards are to come after mastering it, you need to work hard. You need to get very well educated and experienced before having the possibility to receive important rewards on it. The key on mastering the Forex market relies on commitment, patience and discipline.

Ok, you have decided you are going to trade the Forex market, you have seen several advertisings featuring how easy is to make money in the Forex market. You might think this is your opportunity to reach your financial freedom, right away, time is money, why waiting any longer if you have the opportunity to make money now. I know, I've been there, but you have a chance now, I didn't, no body told me what I am going to tell you.

We, Forex traders, make transactions based on a set of rules. These sets of rules are what we call a Trading System. Our systems tell us the exact time where we need to get in the market and out the market in order to make a profit (i.e. buy low sell high.)

Creating a system is the first big step you need to take care first. Why is this so important? Because you need to build a system that suits your personality, otherwise you are going to find hard to follow it, thus hard to profit from.

A system can be based on technical indicators or what we called a mechanical system or based on experience and intuition or what we call discretionary systems. I highly recommend using and trying first a mechanical system, because discretionary systems are dangerous during the early stages of a Forex trader (can lead to indiscipline.) With experience, on later stages, you will find out which signals work better and which ones to avoid.

The next step in this Forex course is to try your system on a demo account. Most Forex brokers offer a demo account, an account with virtual money. This is an excellent choice to test your trading system as there is no money at risk. In this step you will figure out if the strategy works for you. If you feel comfortable trading it, then it is most likely to produce good results. How much time should you stay in this step? It varies, but you shouldn't go one step further until your system gets consistent profitable results over a period of time. It can take many months, but remember, you need to be patient.

You must be honest to yourself; you need to take every single signal generated by your system, not only the signals you thought were going to work, otherwise, you are going to have problems in the next two steps.

Ok, by know you had consistent profitable results on your demo account. You might think its time to go full. Nope, nope, nope. There is a big difference between trading a demo and a real account. The most important difference lies on emotions (fear, greed, anger, etc.) These are psychological barriers that affect every single decision made by traders regardless of what he/she is trading (stocks, bonds, Forex, futures, grains, etc.) These emotional factors, in my opinion, are the most determinant factor that separates profitable traders from the others.

The next step in this Forex course is specially designed to deal with emotions and to confirm the results obtained in the prior step (consistent results in a demo account.) At this step you need to trade in a real account with limited funds. Some brokers offer fractional lot trading. Meaning you are able to trade any desired amount (even cents.) The important thing here is that these emotions we've been talking about are present only when there is real money at risk. At this stage, you are going to see if you are really comfortable trading your system and if you are able to trade with such system, remember different systems produce different emotions. If you are able to produce similar results than those obtained in a demo account, then ready for the next step. If you didn't, then you might need to create another system, there is chance your system never fit you. If you created consistent profitable results on this stage, you have a chance to produce similar results in the next one, on the other hand, if you didn't produce good results in this stage, you will not be able to make on the next stage. Remember, you need to do things right, and be honest to yourself.

The last stage is trading in a real account with sufficient funds. If you are at this stage, and have passed successfully every prior stage, then you have a chance to make it, go ahead and try it, you need to be confident in yourself and in your system, your strategy have already produced consistent profitable results, there are reasons to believe you are going to make it. Very few traders fail at this stage (if passed successfully prior stages.)

Trading successfully is no easy task, it requires a lot of work, patience, discipline, and education. By completing the steps outlined in this Forex course, you have a chance to produce profitable results. I repeat it again, you need to be honest to yourself about the results obtained in every stage. Some times you might need expert guidance regarding your system development strategies.

Deadly Forex Mistakes That Assure Failure

Before venturing into your trading journey there are some things you need to be aware of, otherwise you could succeed on your trading adventure, and we don't want that to happen, do we? This Forex training guide will help you track the most costly mistakes Forex traders do.

First of all, make sure you don't have a trading system. Having a trading system might increase the odds of your success. If you have a system, you will have an objective way to get in and out the market. When traders create their trading systems they think objectively since there is no position to be taken at the moment. If there is no position to be taken, there is also no money at risk, if there is no money at risk, we do think objectively and are open to every possibility, thus we are able to find low risk trading opportunities. So make sure you don't have a system and trade based on a randomly approach.

If you have already created your system, then don't follow it, be undisciplined. If you follow your system, there is a possibility that you can profit from the Forex market based on the trading opportunities you have found. If you want to fail on your trading, be sure to be undisciplined.

Don't get educated. Most successful traders are very well educated in the market they trade (stocks, Forex, futures, etc.) If you get educated, you might acquire the knowledge and experience you require to master the Forex market. Don't read about the Forex market, don't enroll into Forex training programs and don't even look at historical charts.

Don't use any money management technique. The purpose of money management is to avoid the risk of ruin, but at the same time it helps you boost your profits, allowing them to grow geometrically. For instance, by using no money management techniques, there is a possibility that in loosing 10 trades in a row you could empty your trading account. On the other hand, by applying simple money management techniques you can avoid it. So make sure, if you want to fail, don't even consider money management.

Forget about psychological issues. You need to get every trade to win. Successful traders know that they don't need to win every trade in order to profit from the market. This is one characteristic that is hard to understand and really apply. Why? Because we are taught, since kids, that any number below 70% is a bad number. In the Forex trading environment, this is not true.

Don't even consider using a Risk-reward (RR) ratio greater than 1-1. If you use a RR ratio of 1-2 (willing to make twice the amount risked in one trade) then you only need a system that is right around 50% to make money. If you use a RR ratio of 1-3 (willing to make three times the amount risked in one trade) then you will need a system that is right around 40% of the time to make money. So make sure to use a RR ratio below 1-1.

By applying every point outlined in this Forex training guide, you will almost assure your failure in your Forex trading journey. Do the opposite, and you will have the possibility to achieve what every trader is looking for: consistent profitable results.

Forex Trading: Mistakes in a Trading Environment

When it comes to trading, one of the most neglected subjects are those dealing with trading psychology. Most traders spend days, months and even years trying to find the right system. But having a system is just part of the game. Don't get us wrong, it is very important to have a system that perfectly suits the trader, but it is as important as having a money management plan, or to understand all psychology barriers that may affect the trader decisions and other issues. In order to succeed in this business, there must be equilibrium between all important aspects of trading.

In the trading environment, when you lose a trade, what is the first idea that pops up in your mind? It would probably be, “There must be something wrong with my system”, or “I knew it, I shouldn't have taken this trade” (even when your system signaled it). But sometimes we need to dig a little deeper in order to see the nature of our mistake, and then work on it accordingly.

When it comes to trading the Forex market as well as other markets, only 5% of traders achieve the ultimate goal: to be consistent in profits. What is interesting though is that there is just a tiny difference between this 5% of traders and the rest of them. The top 5% grow from mistakes; mistakes are a learning experience, they learn an invaluable lesson on every single mistake made. Deep in their minds, a mistake is one more chance to try it harder and do it better the next time, because they know they might not get a chance the next time. And at the end, this tiny difference becomes THE big difference.

Mistakes in the trading environment

Most of us relate a trading mistake to the outcome (in terms of money) of any given trade. The truth is, a mistake has nothing to do with it, mistakes are made when certain guidelines are not followed. When the rules you trade by are violated. Take for instance the following scenarios:

First scenario: The system signals a trade.

1. Signal taken and trade turns out to be a profitable trade.

Outcome of the trade : Positive, made money.

Experience gained: Its good to follow the system, if I do this consistently the odds will turn in my favor. Confidence is gained in both the trader and the system.

1. Signal taken and trade turns out to be a loosing trade.

Outcome of the trade: Negative, lost money.

Experience gained: It is impossible to win every single trade, a loosing trade is just part of the business; our raw material, we know we can't get them all right. Even with this lost trade, the trader is proud about himself for following the system. Confidence in the trader is gained.

Mistake made : None.

1. Signal not taken and trade turns out to be a profitable trade.

Outcome of the trade: Neutral.

Experience gained: Frustration, the trader always seems to get in trades that turned out to be loosing trades and let the profitable trades go away. Confidence is lost in the trader self.

Mistake made: Not taking a trade when the system signaled it.

1. Signal not taken and trade turns out to be a loosing trade.

Outcome of the trade: Neutral.

Experience gained: The trader will start to think “hey, I'm better than my system”. Even if the trader doesn't think on it consciously, the trader will rationalize on every signal given by the system because deep in his or her mind, his or her “feeling” is more intelligent than the system itself. From this point on, the trader will try to outguess the system. This mistake has catastrophic effects on our confidence to the system. The confidence on the trader turns into overconfidence.

Mistake made: Not taking a trade when system signaled it

Second Scenario: System does not signal a trade.

1. No trade is taken

Outcome of the trade: Neutral

Experience gained: Good discipline, we only need to take trades when the odds are in our favor, just when the system signals it. Confidence gained in both the trader self and the system.

Mistake made: None

1. A trade is taken, turns out to be a profitable trade.

Outcome of the trade: Positive, made money.

Experience gained: This mistake has the most catastrophic effects in the trader self, the system and most importantly in the trader's trading career. You will start to think you need no system, you know better from them all. From this point on, you will start to trade based on what you think. Confidence in the system is totally lost. Confidence in the trader self turns into overconfidence.

Mistake made: Take a trade when there was no signal from the system.

1. A trade is taken, turned out to be a loosing trade.

Outcome of the trade: negative, lost money.

Experience gained: The trader will rethink his strategy. The next time, the trader will think it twice before getting in a trade when the system does not signal it. The trader will go “Ok, it is better to get in the market when my system signals it, only those trade have a higher probability of success”. Confidence is gained in the system.

Mistake made: Take a trade when there was no signal from the system

As you can see, there is absolutely no correlation between the outcome of the trade and a mistake. The most catastrophic mistake even has a positive trade outcome, made money, but this could be the beginning of the end of the trader's career. As we have already stated, mistakes must only be related to the violation of rules a trader trades by.

All these mistakes were directly related to the signals given by a system, but the same is applied when getting out of a trade. There are also mistakes related to following a trading plan. For example, risking more money on a given trade than the amount the trader should have risked and many more.

Most mistakes can be avoided by first having a trading plan. A trading plan includes the system : the criteria we use to get in and out the market, the money management plan : how much we will risk on any given trade, and many other points. Secondly, and most important, we need to have the discipline to follow strictly our plan. We created our plan when no trade was placed on, thus no psychology barriers were up front. So, the only thing we are certain about is that if we follow our plan, the decision taken is on our best interests, and in the long run, these decisions will help us have better results. We don't have to worry about isolated events, or trades that could had give us better results at first, but then they could have catastrophic results in our trading career.

How to deal with mistakes

There are many possible ways to properly manage mistakes. We will suggest the one that works better for us.

Step one: Belief change.

Every mistake is a learning experience. They all have something valuable to offer. Try to counteract the natural tendency of feeling frustrated and approach mistakes in a positive manner. Instead of yelling to everyone around and feeling disappointed, say to yourself “ok, I did something wrong, what happened? What is it?

Step two: Identify the mistake made.

Define the mistake, find out what caused the mistake, and try as hard as you can to effectively see the nature of that mistake. Finding the mistake nature will prevent you from making the same mistake again. More than often you will find the answer where you less expected. Take for instance a trader that doesn't follow the system. The reason behind this could be that the trader is afraid of loosing. But then, why is he or she afraid? It could be that the trader is using a system that does not fit him or her, and finds difficult to follow every signal. In this case, as you can see, the nature of the mistake is not in the surface. You need to try as hard as you can to find the real reason of the given mistake.

Step three: Measure the consequences of the mistake.

List the consequences of making that particular mistake, both good and bad. Good consequences are those that make us better traders after dealing with the mistake. Think on all possible reasons you can learn from what happened. For the same example above, what are the consequences of making that mistake? Well, if you don't follow the system, you will gradually loose confidence in it, and this at the end will put you into trades you don't really want to be, and out of trades you should be in.

Step four: Take action.

Taking proper action is the last and most important step. In order to learn, you need to change your behavior. Make sure that whatever you do, you become “this-mistake-proof”. By taking action we turn every single mistake into a small part of success in our trading career. Continuing with the same example, redefining the system would be the trader's final step. The trader would put a system that perfectly fits him or her, so the trader doesn't find any trouble following it in future signals.

Understanding the fact that the outcome of any trade has nothing to do with a mistake will open your mind to other possibilities, where you will be able to understand the nature of every mistake made. This at the same time will open the doors for your trading career as you work and take proper action on every mistake made.

The process of success is slow, and plenty of times it is attributed to repeated mistakes made and the constant struggle to get past these mistakes, working on them accordingly. How we deal with them will shape our future as a trader, and most importantly as a person.

Incorporating Price Action into a Forex Trading System

Trading the Forex market has become very popular in the last few years. But how difficult is it to achieve success in the Forex trading arena? Or let me rephrase this question, how many traders achieve consistent profitable results trading the Forex market? Unfortunately very few, only 5% of traders achieve this goal. One of the main reasons of this is because Forex traders focus in the wrong information to make their trading decisions and totally forget about the most important factor: Price behavior.

Most Forex trading systems are made off technical indicators (a moving average (MA) crossover, overbought/oversold conditions in an oscillator, etc.) But what are technical indicators? They are just a series of data points plotted in a chart; these points are derived from a mathematical formula applied to the price of any given currency pair. In other words, it is a chart of price plotted in a different way that helps us see other aspects of price.

There is an important implication on this definition of technical indicators. The fact that the readings obtained from them are based on price action. Take for instance a long MA crossover signal, the price has gone up enough to make the short period MA crossover the long period MA generating a long signal. Most traders see it as “the MA crossover made the price go up,” but it happened the other way around, the MA crossover signal occurred because the price went up. Where I'm trying to get here is that at the end, price behavior dictates how an indicator will act, and this should be taken into consideration on any trading decision made.

Trading decisions based on technical indicators without taking price action into consideration will give us less accurate results. For example, again a long signal generated by a MA crossover as the market approaches an important resistance level. If the price suddenly starts to bounce back off that important level there is no point on taking this signal, price action is telling us the market doesn't want to go up. Most of the time, under this circumstances, the market will continue to fall down, disregarding the MA crossover.

Don't get us wrong here, technical indicators are a very important aspect of trading. They help us see certain conditions that are otherwise difficult to see by watching pure price action. But when it comes to pull the trigger, price action incorporation into our Forex trading system will definitely put the odds in our favor, it will generate higher probability trades.

So, how to create a perfect Forex trading system?

First of all, you need to make sure your trading system fits your trading personality; otherwise you will find it hard to follow it. Every trader has different needs and goals, thus there is no system that perfectly fits all traders. You need to make your own research on various trading styles and technical indicators until you find a concept that perfectly works for you. Make sure you know the nature of whatever technical indicator used.

Secondly, incorporate price action into your system. So you only take long signals if the price behavior tells you the market wants to go up, and short signals if the market gives you indication that it will go down.

Third, and most importantly, you need to have the discipline to follow your Forex trading system rigorously. Try it first on a demo account, then move on to a small account and finally when feeling comfortably and being consistent profitable apply your system in a regular account.

Things You Should Know About Forex Trading

How difficult is it to make money trading the Forex market? How much time does it take to actually be able to make a living trading the Forex market? These and other important aspects of trading are to be discussed in this article.

Trading the Forex market has many benefits over other financial markets, among the most important are: superior liquidity, 24hrs market, better execution, and others. Traders and investor see the Forex market as a new speculation or diversifying opportunity because of these benefits. Does this mean that it is easy to make money trading the Forex Market? Not at all.

Forex brokers agree that 90% of traders end up losing money, 5% of traders end up at break even and only 5% of them achieve consistent profitable results. With these statistics shown, I don't consider trading to be an easy task. But, is it harder to master any other endeavor? I don't think so, consider musicians, writers, or even other businesses, the success rates are about the same, there are a whole bunch of them who never got to the top.

Now that we know it is not easy to achieve consistent profitable results, a must question would be, Why is it that some traders succeed while others fail to trade successfully in the Forex market? There is no hard answer to this question, or a recipe to follow to achieve consistent profitable results. What we do know is that traders that reach the top think different. That's right, they don't follow the crowd, they are an independent part of the crowd.

A few things that separate the top traders from the rest are:

Education: They are very well educated in the matter; they have chosen to learn every single and important aspect of trading. The best traders know that every trade is a learning experience. They approach the Forex market with humility, otherwise the market will prove them wrong.

Forex trading system: Top traders have a Forex trading system. They have the discipline to follow it rigorously, because they know that only the trades that are signaled by their system have a greater rate of success.

Price behavior: They have incorporated price behavior into their trading systems. They know price action has the last word.

Money management: Avoiding the risk of ruin is a primary subject to the best traders. After all, you cannot succeed without funds in your trading account.

Trading psychology: They are aware of every psychological issue that affects the decisions made by traders. They have accepted the fact that every individual trade has two probable outcomes, not just the winning side.

These are, among others, the most important factors that influence the success rate of Forex traders.

We know now that it is not easy to make money trading the Forex market, but it is possible. We also discussed the most important factors that influence the rate of success of Forex traders. But, how much time does it take to have consistent profitable results? It is different from trader to trader. For some, it could take a life time, and still don't get the desired results, for some others, a few years are enough to get consistent profitable results. The answer to this question may vary, but what I want to make clear here is that trading successfully is a process, it's not something you can do in a short period of time.

Trading successfully is no easy task; it is a process and could take years to achieve the desired results. There are a few things though every trader should take in consideration that could accelerate the process: having a trading system, using money management, education, being aware of psychological issues, discipline to follow your trading system and your trading plan, and others.

Currency Trading: Understanding the Basics of Currency Trading

Investors and traders around the world are looking to the Forex market as a new speculation opportunity. But, how are transactions conducted in the Forex market? Or, what are the basics of Forex Trading? Before adventuring in the Forex market we need to make sure we understand the basics, otherwise we will find ourselves lost where we less expected. This is what this article is aimed to, to understand the basics of currency trading. What is traded in the Forex market? The instrument traded by Forex traders and investors are currency pairs. A currency pair is the exchange rate of one currency over another. The most traded currency pairs are: EUR/USD: Euro GBP/USD: Pound USD/CAD: Canadian dollar USD/JPY: Yen USD/CHF: Swiss franc AUD/USD: Aussie These currency pairs generate up to 85% of the overall volume generated in the Forex market. So, for instance, if a trader goes long or buys the Euro, she or he is simultaneously buying the EUR and selling the USD. If the same trader goes short or sells the Aussie, she or he is simultaneously selling the AUD and buying the USD. The first currency of each currency pair is referred as the base currency, while second currency is referred as the counter or quote currency. Each currency pair is expressed in units of the counter currency needed to get one unit of the base currency. If the price or quote of the EUR/USD is 1.2545, it means that 1.2545 US dollars are needed to get one EUR.

Bid/Ask Spread All currency pairs are commonly quoted with a bid and ask price. The bid (always lower than the ask) is the price your broker is willing to buy at, thus the trader should sell at this price. The ask is the price your broker is willing to sell at, thus the trader should buy at this price. EUR/USD 1.2545/48 or 1.2545/8 The bid price is 1.2545 The ask price is 1.2548 A Pip A pip is the minimum incremental move a currency pair can make. Pip stands for price interest point. A move in the EUR/USD from 1.2545 to 1.2560 equals 15 pips. And a move in the USD/JPY from 112.05 to 113.10 equals 105 pips. Margin Trading (leverage) In contrast with other financial markets where you require the full deposit of the amount traded, in the Forex market you require only a margin deposit. The rest will be granted by your broker. The leverage provided by some brokers goes up to 400:1. This means that you require only 1/400 or .25% in balance to open a position (plus the floating gains/losses.) Most brokers offer 100:1, where every trader requires 1% in balance to open a position. The standard lot size in the Forex market is $100,000 USD. For instance, a trader wants to get long one lot in EUR/USD and he or she is using 100:1 leverage. To open such position, he or she requires 1% in balance or $1,000 USD. Of course it is not advisable to open a position with such limited funds in our trading balance. If the trade goes against our trader, the position is to be closed by the broker. This takes us to our next important term. Margin Call A margin call occurs when the balance of the trading account falls below the maintenance margin (capital required to open one position, 1% when the leverage used is 100:1, 2% when leverage used is 50:1, and so on.) At this moment, the broker sells off (or buys back in the case of short positions) all your trades, leaving the trader “theoretically” with the maintenance margin. Most of the time margin calls occur when money management is not properly applied. How are the mechanics of a Forex trade? The trader, after an extensive analysis, decides there is a higher probability of the British pound to go up. He or she decides to go long risking 30 pips and having a target (reward) of 60 pips. If the market goes against our trader he/she will lose 30 pips, on the other hand, if the market goes in the intended way, he or she will gain 60 pips. The actual quote for the pound is 1.8524/27, 4 pips spread. Our trader gets long at 1.8530 (ask). By the time the market gets to either our target (called take profit order) or our risk point (called stop loss level) we will have to sell it at the bid price (the price our broker is willing to buy our position back.) In order to make 60 pips, our take profit level should be placed at 1.8590 (bid price.) If our target gets hit, the market ran 64 pips (60 pips plus the 4 pip spread.) If our stop loss level is hit, the market ran 26 (26 pips plus the 4 pip spread equals 30 pips) pips against us. It's very important to understand every aspect of trading. Start first from the very basic concepts, then move on to more complex issues such as Forex trading systems, trading psychology, trade and risk management, and so on. And make sure you master every single aspect before adventuring in a live trading account.

Disability Benefits For Veterans Vary Widely By State, Study Finds

Disability pay for injured veterans varies widely from state to state, according to a new study conducted by the Institute for Defense Analysis, the AP/Arizona Daily Star reports. The 50-page report, which is the first to examine scientifically the cause of variance in veteran disability pay, was made available to the Associated Press. The examination was launched after reports in 2005 showed wide disparities in payments to veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The study was conducted over a period of about 18 months.

The study found that average annual disability payments varied from $7,556 in Ohio to $12,395 in New Mexico. The nationwide average was $8,890, according to the study. The study found that about one-third of disparities in disability payments could be attributed to poor agency standards and inadequate training. The VA has in the past mostly attributed the problems to factors outside of its control, such as the number of Vietman veterans in a state — who on average receive higher payments — and whether a veteran had legal assistance while making a claim. As a result of poor standards and training, VA regional offices often had too much authority and discretion over how much pay a veteran received, the study found. The study also reached several other conclusions:

* Post-traumatic stress disorder claims accounted for the highest disability pay, averaging $20,000 annually to more than 200,000 veterans;

* Veterans who receive legal help or aid from advocacy groups received on average $11,162, compared with $4,728 for those who had none;

* About two-thirds of veterans received advocacy help, with the highest representation in North Dakota, at 81.9%, and the lowest in Maryland, with 44.8%;

* Vietnam veterans received annual compensation of $11,670, compared with $7,410 for veterans of other wars; and

* Veterans of the Gulf War received the lowest average payments of $6,506 per year

Stem Cell Research Conference October 15-16 At The Rockefeller University

The New York Stem Cell Foundation’s (NYSCF) second annual Translational Stem Cell Research Conference will be held from October 15-16 at The Rockefeller University in Manhattan. The conference will bring together many of the most prominent figures in human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research from across the United States and abroad. These pre-eminent scientists will present the latest and most exciting breakthroughs in this revolutionary field of research in the search for cures of the major diseases of our time.

This year, the NYSCF Translational Stem Cell Research Conference will be co-chaired by John Gearhart, PhD, Director, Stem Cell Program, Institute for Cell Engineering, Johns Hopkins Medicine; Douglas Melton, PhD, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute; and Paul Nurse, PhD, president of The Rockefeller University.

The conference opens on October 15 with a public policy panel, featuring top stem cell scientists, advocates and policy leaders, who will discuss the continuing challenges facing the field of hESC research. The panel will be moderated by R. Alta Charo, JD, Professor of Law and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and will include David A. Carmel, Vice President, Business Development, StemCyte, Inc.; Dr. Gearhart; Michael Manganiello, principal, Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek Government Affairs; Dr. Melton; William B. Neaves, PhD, president and CEO, Stowers Institute for Medical Research; and Susan L. Solomon, JD, CEO of the New York Stem Cell Foundation.

The second day of the conference, October 16, “Unlocking the Potential,” will begin with opening remarks by Susan L. Solomon, welcoming remarks by Paul Nurse, followed by a special address by R. Alta Charo and presentations on Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), the most advanced hESC technique. Among the presenters with be Kevin Eggan, PhD, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology at Harvard University and NYSCF’s scientific director. Dr. Melton will give the keynote speech. Further sessions will explore the impact human embryonic stem cell research is having on efforts to better understand, and ultimately find more effective treatments and cures for, cancer, neurological disorders, heart disease and diabetes, and auto immune disease.

A full conference pamphlet and registration information is available at http://www.nyscf.org/.

“Our inaugural conference was an unprecedented event for New York and reinforced the city’s status as a vital national center for stem cell research,” said Solomon. “With the field of hESC research now at critical scientific and political junctures, the conversations at this year’s conference will be key to gaining a better understanding of what is on the horizon.”

The New York Stem Cell Foundation conference is co-sponsored by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, the Helen and Martin Kimmel Center for Stem Cell Biology at New York University School of Medicine, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the members of Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative: The Rockefeller University, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

“The New York Stem Cell Foundation is a very important organization, because the kinds of problems we’re trying to solve are far beyond the reach of any one investigator or laboratory, so we need cooperation across the universities to make progress in this area,” said Dr. Melton.

“We need, desperately, foundations like this, and I would look for the New York Stem Cell Foundation to lead us for quite a while,” said Dr. Gearhart.

“The Foundation’s work is important because it allows support of those activities which, at present, the federal government, through the NIH, will simply not support,” said Dr. Nurse.

“It’s a delight to work with people who are passionate about trying to find new cures,” added Melton. “And it’s a pleasure in life to work with people who are so focused on a mission and want to work together to achieve that goal.”

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.

USA Today Examines Practice Of Ingesting Placenta To Mitigate Postpartum Depression

USA Today on Thursday examined the practice known as placentophagy, in which the placenta of a pregnant woman is saved, dried and emulsified, then placed in gelatin capsules and taken by the mother in the months after childbirth. Hospitals usually store placentas for a few days to allow for testing if there is a postpregnancy complication but then destroy them, according to USA Today. Some hospitals regard placentas as “hazardous medical waste” and are reluctant to let women keep them, while other hospitals allow women to keep the organ, USA Today reports.

According to USA Today, the practice of ingesting placenta “is far from widespread” and has been received with “great skepticism by more traditional medical experts.” However, a “small but vocal contingent” of pregnant women and advocates “strongly” believe that the placenta is “rich in chemicals that can help mitigate fluctuations in hormones believed to cause postpartum depression,” USA Today reports.

“I feel that it is what we as women are meant to do with the placenta,” Jodi Selander — who provides the encapsulation service at no cost to clients and is collecting testimonials of women who have ingested placenta for her Web site placentabenefits.Info — said, adding that other mammals eat their placentas. Mark Kristal — a professor at State University of New York-Buffalo, who focused his 1971 doctoral dissertation on why animals eat their placentas — said, “People can believe what they want, but there’s no research to substantiate claims of human benefit.” He added, “The cooking process will destroy all the protein and the hormones. … Drying it out or freezing it would destroy other things.”

Selander said she has sought FDA guidance but received no clear answers. FDA spokesperson Kris Mejia said the agency considers some statements on Selander’s Web site to be unsubstantiated medical claims and will be reviewing the matter. “Human placental capsules that make treatment claims … must be accompanied by well-designed and controlled clinical studies to support approval/licensure,” Mejia wrote in an e-mail (Friess, USA Today, 7/19).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Two Technologies To Improve Flu Virus Detection Licensed

The University of Colorado’s Technology Transfer Office has executed two licenses with Quidel Corporation of San Diego, CA, a leading provider of rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests. The agreements grant exclusive, worldwide rights to two influenza detection technologies developed by researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The Anti-Viral Resistance (AVR) Chip was developed by a team of CU-Boulder researchers led by Drs. Kathy Rowlen and Robert Kuchta. Quidel’s intent is to develop and market diagnostic tests featuring the chip for use in identifying mutations that may complicate influenza treatment decisions.

The chip detects the two most common factors contributing to the resistance of influenza to drug treatment. The ability to identify antiviral susceptibility is important for global monitoring of influenza patterns, and for directing physicians toward better treatment decisions.

Preliminary studies demonstrate a 95% success rate in the detection of influenza mutations known to result in drug resistance.

The BChip was also developed at CU-Boulder, in close collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); its primary application is in influenza B monitoring, as a tool for the clinical laboratory and at the point-of-care in the physician office laboratory. The BChip can detect two influenza B virus strains (B/Victoria/2/87 and B/Yamagata/16/88), which are critical in determining seasonal influenza vaccines.

In a recent study of 62 influenza B virus samples from 19 countries, dating from 1945 to 2005, as well as five negative control samples, the BChip exhibited 97% sensitivity and 100% specificity, with no false positives.

The two new chips help strengthen Quidel’s technology foundation in molecular diagnostics; they represent further work done on the FluChip and MChip technologies licensed by Quidel from CU in December 2006.

“After many years of faculty research, we are excited to have executed three licenses with a leading company in the molecular diagnostic industry. This arrangement has the potential to help millions of people,” said David Allen, CU’s associate vice president for technology.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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National Hotline Expands To Assist Professionals With Clients’ Full Array Of Medicare Questions And Problems, USA

The Medicare Rights Center’s Professional Hotline is now providing comprehensive guidance on a complete spectrum of Medicare benefits, rights and options to professionals who assist older adults and people with disabilities who have Medicare.

Launched in 2005 to support social workers and health care professionals in need of advice on the new Medicare prescription drug benefit available through private drug plans, the hotline service has just expanded to cover all consumer-related Medicare issues.

Hotline counselors now give free and expert information about a range of topics, including: how to appeal Medicare private health and drug plan denials; help for victims of Medicare private health plan marketing schemes; how the Medicare drug benefit works with Medicaid, state pharmaceutical assistance programs and other drug coverage; resources for low-income people with Medicare; and how Medicare covers care in the home, skilled nursing facilities and hospitals, and durable medical equipment.

“Professionals can access accurate, unbiased information with just a phone call,” said Robert M. Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights Center, a national consumer group. “The Medicare Rights Center staff helps professionals serve their clients more effectively by providing Medicare-related information in a consumer-friendly and timely manner.”

Medicare Rights Center (MRC) is the largest independent source of health care information and assistance in the United States for people with Medicare. Founded in 1989, MRC helps older adults and people with disabilities get good, affordable health care.

Update On Tainted Veggie Booty Snack Food - FDA Testing Confirms Presence Of Salmonella Contamination, USA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed that a strain of Salmonella Wandsworth bacteria found in Veggie Booty snack food is responsible for the disease outbreak that occurred between March and June 2007.

Laboratory testing conducted by the Minnesota Agricultural Lab previously confirmed initial epidemiologic evidence that implicated Veggie Booty snack food as the source of the outbreak. The results of FDA’s own testing added further confirmation.

Veggie Booty is marketed by Robert’s American Gourmet, of Sea Cliff, N.Y.

FDA continues to advise consumers not to eat any Veggie Booty and to throw away product they have. FDA also advises consumers not to eat Super Veggie Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks, and to throw out any supplies they have, because this product also may be contaminated.

No illnesses have been associated with any other Robert’s American Gourmet products.

Salmonella typically causes diarrhea (may be bloody), often accompanied by abdominal cramps and fever. Symptoms typically begin within one to four days after exposure to the bacteria. In infants and persons with poor underlying health and those with weakened immune systems, Salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections.

Individuals who have recently eaten Veggie Booty or Super Veggie Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks and who have experienced any of the symptoms described above should contact a doctor or other health care provider immediately. Both products may appeal to children, so parents should be especially vigilant and seek medical care if they observe signs of illness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified 60 persons, mostly toddlers, from 19 states who have become ill. Five persons were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. States reporting illnesses include: California (seven cases), Colorado (five), Connecticut (two), Georgia (one), Illinois (one), Indiana (one), Massachusetts (four), Minnesota (two), New Hampshire (two), New Jersey (two), New York (15), Oregon (one), Pennsylvania (four), Tennessee (one), Texas (two), Virginia (one), Vermont (three), Washington (four), and Wisconsin (two).

FDA, the States, and CDC are continuing the investigation. Preliminary testing suggests that the seasoning mix used in Veggie Booty may be the source of the contamination. FDA will continue to trace back the ingredients and processing methods used for the seasoning mix, seeing to determine whether the seasoning actually is the source of the problem.

Veggie Booty is sold in a flexible plastic foil bag in four ounce, one ounce and one-half ounce packages. Some gift baskets available for purchase on the internet include Veggie Booty or Super Veggie Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks.

Robert’s American Gourmet ceased distributing Veggie Booty and began recalling the product on June 28. The company has also voluntarily recalled all lots and sizes of Super Veggie Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks snack food because the same potentially contaminated seasoning may have been used in making that product, too. In addition, the manufacturer of Veggie Booty and other products for Robert’s has ceased production until this investigation is complete. Robert’s American Gourmet and its contract manufacturer are fully cooperating with FDA’s investigation into the cause of the contamination.

FDA will provide additional updates as the investigation progresses and more information becomes available.

Wellbaskets.com Is Alerting Customers of the Veggie Booty Voluntary Recall Issued on June 28, 2007 by Robert’s American Gourmet (July 2, 2007)

Robert’s American Gourmet Food, Inc. Conducts a Nationwide Recall of Super Veggie Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks Because of Possible Health Risk (July 2, 2007)

FDA’s Pilot Program to Better Educate Consumers about Recalled Food Products

Do I Know You? QBI Researchers Identify Woman’s Struggle To Recognise New Faces

A young woman - who is by every other measure healthy and intelligent but struggles to recognise new faces - has presented Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) scientists with fascinating new insights into learning and memory.

The woman’s condition, known as prosopamnesia, is extremely rare and has only been found in a handful of people around the world, according to University of Queensland cognitive neuroscientist Professor Jason Mattingley.

“For many years, scientists have been interested in how people learn to recognise new faces, and people who have difficulty with faces often have trouble interacting in social settings,” he said.

The woman - whose identity remains protected - presented herself to researchers after experiencing social embarrassment when she found she was unable to recognise colleagues, people to whom she had already been introduced.

The research, in collaboration with colleagues at Macquarie and La Trobe universities, is published in this month’s edition of Current Biology. The work suggests the woman’s “disability” might lie in her inability to encode or recognise new faces, rather than her ability to perceive them.

“She reports relying heavily on featural cues such as hair colour and style, eyeglasses, and eyebrows to recognise new acquaintances,” Professor Mattingley said.

On a battery of standard face-recognition tests, the woman consistently registered scores that indicated her ability to recognise new faces was severely impaired.

The woman experiences a similar difficulty in recognising characters on television, but after months of repeated viewing could slowly learn to identify key individuals.

For example, when the woman was shown 42 images of pre-nominated movie celebrities, she correctly identified nine-out-of-10 of the faces.

The researchers also noted that it was only after six months of testing that the woman was able to recognise the faces.

The group’s findings were backed up by brain-imaging investigations, which indicated that the woman’s exposure to an unfamiliar face, even over ‘multiple encoding episodes’, was not enough to leave a lasting memory.

“It may be that enduring face representations are slow to form or are degraded in quality, or they may decay rapidly following normal encoding,” Professor Mattingley said.

While face recognition is currently thought to be an innate capacity that human babies have at birth, aspects of this ability are probably shaped by experience.

Prosopamnesia is probably a condition linked to an irregularity during neural development, Professor Mattingley said.

To add to the researchers’ intrigue, the young woman has reported that some of her family members experience similar problems with face memory.

“If this is true, this woman’s condition might present us with tantalising evidence for a genetic link as well,” Professor Mattingley said.

While more studies are planned, the woman has placed any additional investigations on hold until she establishes her career.

Scientific paper: Williams et al., Abnormal fMRI Adaptation to Unfamiliar Faces in a Case of Developmental Prosopamnesia, Current Biology (2007), doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.06.042.

The University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia