In any business or moneymaking venture, preparation and foreknowledge are the keys to success. Without this sort of insight, the attempt to make a profitable financial decision can only end in disaster and failure, regardless of your level of motivation and determination or the amount of money you plan to invest. In the stock and Forex markets, this rule applies to the nth degree, as you are investing your own money in what could be considered a high risk wager, and you are playing with fire if you do not have at least a general background knowledge of how it functions. Since having a background in any area is helpful in guiding you down a path in that particular region, the more solid your basis of investment knowledge is, the more likely you are to profit from any attempt to trade on the open market.

Forex is the nickname for the Foreign Exchange Market. In the United States, there are several branches of the stock market, each with their own name. For instance, some stocks trade on the Dow Jones, others on Nasdaq. Of course, all stock market transactions in the United States take place on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). In other countries the same is true. There may be one or more distinct markets.
However, international trade takes place on the market termed the Foreign Exchange Market, or Forex. Several countries across the world in almost every time zone participate in trade on Forex, with multiple currencies being utilized and stocks and commodities from all participating countries being offered for trade. Because there are so many nations and time zones involved, Forex does not function as a business day entity like most domestic stock markets. It remains open for trade 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Of course, these additional hours increase the risk factor intensely for those of us who are human and obviously cannot monitor our investments 24 hours a day. This means that the value of your holdings could potentially plummet overnight, while you sleep, because other countries are still trading while you are in a dream world. Again, it is like a car there are many moving pieces under the hood, and just because you cannot see them does not mean they are not functioning.
This is one reason for several safety options, like limit orders, which will be discussed later.

For the benefit of those purchasing this introductory investment manual it includes eight chapters covering the following topics:
Chapter 1: What The Stock Market Is All About
Chapter 2: Stock Market Trends
Chapter 3: An Introduction To Forex
Chapter 4: Understanding Currency Conversion
Chapter 5: Understanding Statistics
Chapter 6: Forex Volatility And Market Expectation
Chapter 7: Aspects Of The Trade
Chapter 8: Risk Management
Chapter 9: Buzz Words
Chapter 10: Expert Trading Options
Chapter 11: Other Trading Options
Chapter 12: In Review
Chapter 13: One Final Option