@merchant.If it works for you, then thats fine but as I said, I'm yet to met a trader who uses hedging for speculative purposes and consistently profits from it.

About brokers, I've had accounts with some of the best brokers in the world...My broker was in the UK. UK brokers are among the best as they are regulated by the FSA.I was trading by phone on a first name basis with trading desk staff, chatting online about favorite soccer teams and all that sh*t. I was so casual with one of these guys that one day, he bore it all. First of all he said he himself would 'never' trade forex. He said that the odds are so heavily stacked against you, eventually a market-maker broker knows you will lose your money. Yes, he profits from spread, but he lies in wait for that day.So he may do all he can to get your money. If you make money (by news trading or other shaky way) these guys may start targeting you account using slippage, requotes and hunting your stops during normal trading.So use limit orders only.

The only traders brokers 'care' for are institutional traders.They want these guys in for the long term cause they trade 50 or even 100 lots per trade. High volumes = high transaction fees. You, the retail trader they can do without. Btw, at that time you needed about 10m pounds and min trade volume of 4 m pounds/month to open/maintain an institutional account.

My point is this, get a well regulated broker, preferably in the UK, Switzerland or Australia.That way,you have a case on any malpractice on your account. If you also did not read the fine print on your contract, here is another shocker. Should your broker go bust, resident account holders get priority in compensation. This brings me to my next point, Whatever you do, do not open accounts with brokers based in those funny tax havens. Broking is a business, so look for reviews online e.g @forexpeacearmy.com and see what other traders are saying about your broker.

Finally, get your brokers books (should be available if they are listed) and see if they are managing their accounts well. If not, do not bother opening an account with them.

This thread is quite interesting and an eye opener. I recently opened a live account with FXCM micro and have traded for a short while. Two days ago I was very profitable and thought I am getting better as a trader. A day later using the same strategy I lost all the gains made in the previous day and thought there was something fishy about the market movements. For some Broker called FXCH, dare you not try. They cleaned me out on slippage.

They were in the CNBCnews the other day and they argued that they lead while others follow.

No disrespect to you Morey, but personally, I never watch CNBC and if I happen to browse through the channels and find something interesting on CNBC, I take it for what it is.....entertainment.

To all you newbies. Please avoid these FNNs(Financial news networks) like the plague. They are in the NEWS business, not the TRADING business.You will be surprised to note that NONE and I mean absolutely NONE,ZILCH,ZERO of the CNBC presenters are traders in anything.

I remember during one phone interview with Jim Rogers one presenter was opposing his trading opinion on Crude Oil.Jim was/is long on commodities & at the time, crude was at $42 barrel.The interview came to an akward premature end when Jim Rogers asked the guy if he was a trader. And the answer was an awkward silence then an embarrassing 'NO'.IF YOU NOT A TRADER, WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU?