37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book on currency trading, March 9, 2009
This review is from: Essentials of Foreign Exchange Trading (Essentials Series) (Paperback)
I have spent 20 years researching and trading stocks and bonds, and was interested in currency trading. I purchased a number of books on foreign exchange. I read this book first, Essentials of Foreign Exchange Trading, and I found it an excellent choice. It has also been a good companion to my experimentation and trading on one of the major FX trading websites.
It starts off with a good introduction to the principles of currency trading and includes a discussion of a wide range of trading approaches to help understand which best fit your personality and style. The chapters that dive in on technical analysis (using candlesticks, moving averages, fibonacci/pivot point, elliott wave) are especially good; it is obviously the author's specialty. That was good for me since my background is in fundamental analysis and the author's treatment of technical analysis was comprehensive and helpful. The sections on fundamental analyses were good too, although I went through them quickly given my familiarity. My primary focus was to "expand the toolbox" with technical analyses and this book served that goal. Also, importantly, the book is written in an entertaining and fluid style. It was easy to read and absorb.
Overall, I found the book excellent and recommend it.
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26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read - definitely recommend it, March 5, 2009
This review is from: Essentials of Foreign Exchange Trading (Essentials Series) (Paperback)
I traded forex a couple of years ago and I've just gotten back into it recently. Got this book right when it came out because I've been following the author's daily currencies analysis and attended a few of the webinars he gives. From the title of the book I was thinking that it might be a bit basic for me since I've traded forex pretty extensively before. But it's turning out to be extremely helpful because it has a lot of really useful strategies and techniques. The book pretty much goes all the way from beginner to advanced and explains everything really thoroughly and clearly. I have two other books on forex trading that I bought in the past, but this one is by far the most complete and useful one. For me, chapter 5 on forex trading methods and strategies was one of the most comprehensive descriptions of trading strategies that I've seen. Also really liked the technical analysis chapter. Definitely recommend this book.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A decent introduction, but with a few flaws, October 12, 2009
This review is from: Essentials of Foreign Exchange Trading (Essentials Series) (Paperback)
I'm a bit mixed on Essentials of Foreign Exchange Trading. In terms of a basic overview and description of the retail forex market I think it does a pretty good job. Chen covers all the bases from a brief overview of how we got to where we are in terms of market structure, the basics of forex pricing and trading mechanics, and overviews of technical and fundamental analysis. This is something you would certainly expect from someone who works for a broker.
There are also a number of different trading strategies discussed. That ranges from the different timeframes (day, swing, position) to the broad styles of trading (trend, range), and incorporates some of the methodologies (breakouts, chart patterns, Fibonacci, pivot points, Elliott Wave, etc.) as well as discussions of topics like carry and news trading. While some basic strategies are introduced, this is not the type of book which outlines a specific strategy or set of strategies. Instead it provides an overview of the different approaches one could take to trading forex.
I do have a few issues with the book, however, some folks may consider them a bit nitpicky.
First, Chen discusses "stop loss" and "profit limit" orders in a way which suggests they are somehow different than stop and limit orders, which they aren't. This could confuse some new traders.
Second, the subject of margin isn't covered quite as fully as I'd like to have seen. Margin call is explained, but the actual margin requirement (initial and maintenance) are not well defined. Given how frequently this confuses new traders, it would have been good for there to have been a more thorough discussion of the subject.
Third, Chen actually talks about "hedging" in a way which suggests it can be a useful strategy. The book was written prior to the NFA's rules in opposition to this practice, but that is only for US brokers. Those in other countries can still employ "hedging", which is a strategy that"s at best something which has no bottom line impact on one's account and at worst actually costs the trader money for no net advantage being provided.
I'm also not that keen on the way the author categorizes news trading as being a fundamental approach. It really isn't. News traders are merely trying to profit from the market's reaction to data releases. They don't really care about the meaning of the release in the wider fundamental picture, just how it compares to market expectations. Call it basically a play on market psychology.
I do like the way Chen includes sidebar type boxes introducing and explaning important people and topics in forex trading (or just trading in general). One of them even covers one of my favorite set-ups, the narrow Bollinger Band one he calls a "squeeze".
I also think the author does a fairly good job of talking (at least in brief) about important subjects related to developing a strategy and implementing a trading plan, and the pitfalls traders can fall into. I don't care for his discussion of risk/reward, because it presents an overly one-sided view of trader performance, but otherwise I think Chen has done a reasonable job of hitting the major high points.
Overall, I found Essentials of Foreign Exchange Trading a pretty quick, easy read.
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