The Psychology of the Foreign Exchange Market (Wiley Trading) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "From the outside, financial markets appear "dry, technical, and economic in nature-[all about] percentage declines, volume, margin calls, and paper losses..." (more)
Key Phrases: North American, New York, Federal Reserve (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…there are enough gems in there to keep you reading on.” (The Technical Analyst, March/April, 30^th March 2005)

"...a fascinating and entertaining read..." (Economic Issues, June 2006)

Product Description

This book demystifies the foreign exchange market by focusing on the people who comprise it.  Drawing on the expertise of the very professionals whose decisions help shape the market, Thomas Oberlechner describes the highly interdependent relationship between financial decision makers and news providers, showing that the assumption that the foreign exchange market is purely economic and rational has to be replaced by a more complex market psychology.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 278 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047084406X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470844069
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #953,762 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essentail reading for Forex Dealers, March 2, 2007

By	GoodKarma (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

I am a veteran forex dealer and in-house trainer of our dealers; this book is required reading. From the opening quote in the introduction of the book you are introduced to the concept that "psychology" is everything in dealing. Believe it! Though the book provides no canned solutions to dealing, it does give you the essential foundations to begin to build your own dealing models.

10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A good dissertation may be, but not a good trading book for sure, May 22, 2006

By	ServantofGod - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

If you are interested in the result of a survey done through over 300 FX traders in 5 countries or over 200 bibliographies for your own thesis, you will be absolutely delighted. If you want to sharpen your trading edge or simply to have fun (like what Fiasco, Pit Bull, Liar's Poker and Wall Street Meat do), you will be very disappointed.

I would like to give you an example. In page 154 the author listed a table of importance ratings of successful trader characteristics (n=291, 1=unimportant, 4=very important) of 23 items ranging from Quick Reaction Time (mean=3.71, sd=0.50) & Discipline (mean=3.65, sd=0.55) to Computer Literacy (mean=2.54, sd=0.78) & Social Skills (mean=2.52, sd=0.74). Some might find it helpful. As a veteran pro FX trader and trading book lover who read to sharpen my edge in one of the most competitive market, I dont.

Perhaps the author had just tried too hard to post the findings of his survey into a book that the chapters and thus content are quite disoriented (I strongly suggest you to take a look of the content page available on Amazon). Sorry to say that there are plenty of much better trading psychology books in the market (though not dedicated to FX, but still relevant and applicable). IMHO, "Beyond Greed and Fear: Understanding Behavioral Finance and the Psychology of Investing" by Hersh Shefrin and "The psychology of Finance by Lars Tvede" should be better choices.

p.s. I had overlooked the fact that the two five star reviews (this should be the third review of this book) were written by two one-review-only readers. Shame on me!

11 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Any Trader or Investor, August 10, 2005

By	Roger Poundstone (Phoenix, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is valuable to any person trading any market. It enforces the thought that you bring yourself to the market, be it currencies, futures, stocks, or bonds. A person is the product of their environment, culture, parents, education and experiences which influences their perception of the markets. It is very difficult to observe what the market is doing without observing what it is doing to you. All markets are a mind game.