There are ways that a dishonest broker can skim profits off of your trade. One of those ways is by taking advantage of what can be up to a 2 minute gap between the time that you place your order and the time that you see the results on your platform. Second- the broker controls the price you see on your trading platform and there’s a custom made opportunity to shave profit from the transaction if the price moved before the transaction was posted back to your screen.
Category: Foreign Exchange Market
Oil prices, global stocks fall; gold rises
Concerns about the debt crisis have weighed on oil markets in recent weeks, adding to worries about weak US economic data that could hit fuel demand.
“It doesn’t look like the two biggest items were seriously discussed today — the potential for a euro bond and the size of the stabilization/bailout fund,” said Edward Meir, senior commodity analyst for MF Global in New York.
Crude prices dropped before the meeting as data showed sluggish German growth hobbled the euro zone, dragging US stocks. The euro slid against the dollar.
Gold Hits $1,800
As gold topped a record $1800 on Wednesday, traders that are long gold [GCCV1 1751.50 -32.80 (-1.84%) ] began to get nervous that they were behind a trade that may not have any potential new buyers left. After all, a trade only keeps working if you can find someone else who wants that particularly security or commodity at a higher price.
Investors flee to gold
Stock-shocked investors are fleeing to gold, pushing the precious metal to new heights.
Gold reached a new intraday high of $1,782.50 per ounce in electronic trading before backing down to $1,746.20. That’s an increase of $33, or about 2%, compared to its Monday close. On Monday, gold broke $1,700 for the first time.
The current flight to gold has been by a nasty stock market plunge. On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 624 points, or about 5.5%, and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 dropped nearly 7%. It was the worst day on Wall Street since the 2008 fiscal crisis.
Foreign Currency Brokers Come Under Fire
ompanies that allow home investors to trade foreign currencies are coming under fire as regulators consider whether to put more rules on the fast-growing but risky market.
Currency brokers allow ordinary Americans to speculate on the value of dollars, euros and yen, and have grown revenue 374% since 2007, drawing in 615,000 American traders, according to the Aite Group consulting firm.
The most intense recent criticism of these brokers came from a hedge fund manager who researches and invests in companies that cater to home investors.