SUn Tzu Forex

Sun Tzu"s Art of War Provides The Solution To Your Trading Blues

Sun Tzu's Art of War provides a key solution to successful battle, which can be extrapolated to Forex trading.

Sun Tzu's Art of War called it: "Know Your Enemy"

And your enemy in Forex trading is merely the Forex market itself and you- the person itself.

To win in the Forex market, you must know the Forex market itself - in other words, you must get to understand the currency-pairs that you are trading on. Spend time to study their price movements.

Know what trading patterns and setups occur time and again in those currency-pairs. Be familiar with the risk-reward ratios of each specific trade pattern for those currency-pairs you are trading. Define and apply a specific trading strategy for those currency-pairs you trade. Know when to enter and exit the market and when to stay away. The best way to ensure you are doing it correctly is to get another experienced and successful trader to mentor or to show you the ropes. Budget to learn before you trade.

As to the other part of the battle, you need to see the part of you, yourself who is the enemy. Forex trading involves decision making where your risk tolerance is put to the test, where emotions of greed and fear will play a daily tug of war within your heart. The solution to win this emotional battle is to trade with discipline. Adopting a winning strategy, a winning plan complete with risk management and ensuring you do not deviate from that plan is a necessity for you to win. 

Artikel yang ditulis oleh Mark Thomas, the Silver Price Advisor yang bertajuk Twenty Reasons to Buy Silver for the Long-Term pada hari khamis 27 Disember 2012 di Wealth Wire perlu diambil perhatian yang serius oleh pedagang silver jika ingin berjaya sebagai pedagang profesional.

  

I believe that silver could go to $60 per ounce from today’s price of just $30 by the end of 2014. That would be double from today’s current prices in just a little over two years! I also believe silver will be the best single investment of this decade. The following article is focused on why I think that you should seriously consider having a significant percentage of your investment portfolio in silver.

Many gold investors deride silver as the "poor man's gold" because of its low relative price to gold. They also don't like the fact that it because it is used primarily as an industrial metal it can be negatively affected by a cyclical downturn in the economy. This is opposite of gold which is viewed almost entirely as a precious metal. Many years ago, the silver market was so oversupplied because there were huge artificial inventories of silver. This was because the US took currency (coins) out of circulation due to its physical silver content. Because of this artificial situation, huge surpluses hung over the market until these excess inventories were depleted. This led to silver prices crashing as low as $2 and then traded around $5 for years. Because silver had so decoupled from the price of gold during this period, it began to be thought of as just another industrial metal and not a precious metal.

There are still skeptics who think of silver as just another industrial metal. 

However after a 600% rise in price from $5 to $30 since 2003, it has begun again to be viewed as a precious metal. I think that silver has only completed about fifty percent of that process. As this transformation continues there will be additional significant moves higher in price. That will attract more investors to silver again until it once again retains its true status as a precious metal.

1) The amount of silver consumed annually and bought for investment exceeds currently exceeds total annual mining output and has for years. That gap has been filled by sellers willing to sell from existing inventories and as prices rise. As time passes this will naturally push prices significantly higher until this fundamental imbalance reaches a true equilibrium price where supply is closer to demand.

2) Both industrial and investment demand for silver is growing in excess of the annual increase in mining production growth. The available inventory is low and will get even tighter over time. These two factors will lead to a continued tighter supply-demand situation going forward. 

3) The lower price of silver at $32 appeals more broadly to small investors relative to the more expensive gold at $1705, especially if gold prices continue to rise.

4) Most silver is not found in mining sites in any significant concentrated form. It is usually chemically bound to other metals; much of it is actually the byproduct of mining for lead, copper, etc. In the last few decades this made it less attractive from a profitability standpoint to invest in pure silver mine. Now prices have finally recovered enough to make new projects feasible again. So there is new investment in the sector but it is a lengthy multi-year process to bring on significant new production. 

5) The last time silver was found in huge concentrations or veins that dramatically affected the amount available and therefore significantly lowered prices was in the Comstock Lode in Nevada in the late 1800's. The Comstock Lode produced tons of ore that was very pure with concentrations of 25-50% silver. Silver mines today have much lower concentrations, usually always less than two ounces per ton of refined ore.

6) Silver is the most conductive metal on earth. Gold is also conductive but is prohibitively expensive due to its much higher price for most industrial uses compared to silver.

7) Silver is an industrial metal with over 10,000 commercial applications. Because it is one of the best electrical and thermal conductors, that makes it ideal for electrical uses such as switches, multi-layer ceramic capacitors, conductive adhesives, and contacts. It is used in some brazing and soldering as well. Silver is also used in solar cells, heated automobile wind shields, DVD's and some mirrors.

8) Silver is an essential element in the electronic gadgets that are a growing part of our digital age. It is in every cell phone, smart phone, tablet, computer keyboard, solar cells and every radio frequency if ID device (RFID). This makes it an essential element going forward as the world becomes more addicted to gadgets. The growth and rising living standards of people in the emerging economies will drive long-term growth of new customers that will demand more and more electronic gadgets.

9) Silver's industrial demand should increase 60% to 666 million ounces per year by 2016 from 487 million ounces in 2010. Current annual mine production is only around 700 million ounces per year growing a few percent annually.

10) Of a total of fifty billion ounces of silver that have been mined in history, only two ounces (estimate) or 5% remain in above ground inventories available to be bought and sold. This is due to silver being used up in industrial applications in very small quantities, which makes it unprofitable to recycle at today's prices. A lot of silver is used in minute quantities in industrial products which are used up and discarded without being recycled.

11) This is unlike gold where five billion ounces have been mined and two and half billion ounces (estimate) are still available in all inventory. Since gold is hardly ever discarded because of its very high price, used mainly in jewelry or for investment purposes, the total inventory is so much larger than silver.

12) The supply demand equilibrium in silver is extremely tight. There is now less than one year of inventory of silver, compared to over eleven years of inventory in the 1970’s.

13) Exchange Traded Funds (mainly SLV, SGOL, PSLV, and CEF) have opened precious metals investing in silver to millions of investors around the globe. When investor make net new purchases, the ETF purchases physical silver and removes it from the available market, which increases the scarcity of available supply. This is the first time many investors worldwide are not required to actually buy physical silver bullion and coins and store it themselves. Now they have an investment vehicle that offers liquidity and ease of trading to get exposure to precious metals.

14) Silver also has many medicinal applications. Roman soldiers long ago noticed that if water is kept in silver cups, it wouldn’t become stagnant. Today silver in "colloidal" form is used as a broad spectrum antibiotic. It can be used in bandages to treat burn victim's wounds and also in colloidal form actually swallowed to target microorganisms in one's gut. It is also used in water purification systems.

15) The US Dollar has lost 31% of its purchasing power just since 2000. The dollar has lost a staggering 82% of its value since the US was taken off the gold standard in 1971. Since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, the US dollar has lost 95.6% of its purchasing power. When you compare the historical appreciation and more importantly, the retention of real purchasing power of precious metals versus the dollar in those same time frames, those facts alone should convince you that significant exposure in precious metals is necessary to protect your wealth. The primary and overarching reason you should have a significant percentage of your investment assets in precious metals is simple: to protect the real purchasing power of your accumulated wealth! In this age of government's abusing their privilege of excessively printing currency, on a magnitude and scale not seen for decades, only gold and silver can protect and actually grow your wealth.

16) Gold and silver are such unique elements with so many uncommon properties. Therefore the chance of a gold or silver substitute being developed is almost impossible. It hasn't happened in thousands of years and it probably never will. That is what makes them exclusive; they can't be printed, manufactured or copied. They can only be mined, purchased from a willing seller of the world's existing inventory and from recycling.

17) Unlike an account at a bank, a dollar bill or a bond, these are all both an asset and liability to counterparty. This includes every other financial instrument and derivative man has created in history. Precious metals are the only asset class with no counterparty risk if you have physical or very secure possession. They will always retain some value and can’t go to zero like any other investment.

18) The total amount of silver available to trade in the physical silver market is only about $70 billion versus the total gold market which now exceeds $4.3 trillion. As you can see from these numbers, the total market size of the silver market is only 1.6% of the size of the entire gold market. This lack of liquidity and use of extreme leverage in its respective futures market produces wild volatility in price fluctuations of silver.

19) The total gold market is sixty one times the size of the silver market yet. As interest in silver increases this sets up a situation where prices could soar higher.

20) Since World War II, the US government has sold over five billion ounces of silver and currently has no reported stores. Now that vast stockpiles are gone, the supply demand equation has changed dramatically.

The Silver Bomb

Published on 11 Dec 2012

Doom is priced into the silver market. Less doom = less demand

"All price movements have one thing in common: They are a reflection of the trend in the hopes, fears, knowledge, optimism and greed of market participants."

"The sum of these emotions is expressed in the price level, which is... never what they are worth, but what people think they are worth."

"The... market consists of everyone who is in the market at a given moment, plus everyone who is not in the market but might be if conditions were right"

-Technical Analysis Explained, Matin J. Pring

Beli Silver

Satu artikel yang ditulis oleh Christian DeHaemer mengapa pedagang perlu membeli dan menyimpan silver sebagai aset utama. Baca dan ambil tindakan.

 The Silver Lady's 2,477% Gain

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By Christian DeHaemer
Thursday, December 6th, 2012

Gold has been a great investment for the last twelve years. It has gone from $300 an ounce to $1,900 an ounce with few stops.

At the moment, the price of gold is a bit off its all-time highs and sits at $1,725.

It's not as cheap as it was — but it is far from a mania...

I've yet to hear a taxi driver or waitress tell me to buy gold. The guys running the stores at the strip malls are buyers, not sellers. And it never leads the news.

Greek Fire

Furthermore, it's much easier to envision gold going up versus down as the global currency warlords are fighting each other for the right to surrender...

It's not hard to imagine a scenario where a Greece- or Argentina-style default in France or the U.S. would spark a speculative frenzy and a blow-off high around $10,000 an ounce.

In fact, this is quite easy to picture. What's more difficult to figure out is how gold will drop back below $1,000.

I like gold, and I'll continue to own it and recommend you buy on the dips.

The most immediate catalyst is the new Basel III rules, which will double the value banks place on gold.

(This could be why Goldman Sachs downgraded it today. They need to stock up.)

One More Silver Dollar

That said, today we are talking about silver.

My dear, sweet grandmother was born in 1898 and died in 2000, thus acquiring the unique honor of living in three centuries.

She was born before the Fed was created in 1913; raised a young family during the Great Depression; and hoarded her bridge winnings in the credenza. She had a big drawer full of pre-1963 silver half dollars, quarters, and other loose change.

I remember in the late 1970s, the old biddy would call up silver buyers and have them appraised...

They would come scurrying over to her apartment, hoping for a quick score from a little retired lady. But she never sold. She just liked talking to people sometimes. They would get tea and cookies.

I don't know what happened to all those silver coins, but I do know they have gone up in value over the last fifty years.

A 1948-1963 silver half dollar is 90% silver, 10% copper, and weighs 12.5 grams. Using $32.80 as our silver price and $3.63 for copper, this will give you a melt price of $11.87.

That's a 2,477% return over 49 years. Not too shabby.

Silver as Industrial Metal

Unlike gold, which has few industrial uses, silver — in addition to being used in coinage and as a storehouse of wealth — is used in all sorts of products.

It is also cheap.

Take a look at the gold/silver ratio:

Though the ratio isn't at a bottom, like we saw in 2011 when silver popped to $48.44, we are still below the average and well off the highs.

Today silver is trading at $32.22.

At silver’s high point, the ratio dropped to around 30:1. During the metal’s worst days, when it traded for $3.73 in 1992, the ratio swelled to 90:1. For silver to revisit its highs versus the price of gold, silver would need to almost double in price while gold remained the same.

There are two arguments for why silver will go up.

1.The first is debasement of currencies, which has been covered in this space many times.

2.The second is industrial supply and demand.

In the year 2000, global industrial demand stood at 383.3 moz. This reflected rising demand from a growing range of consumer products, most notable photography and electronics.There was a post dot-com bubble drop, but silver demand quickly bounced back and went on a seven-year run to a record amount of 492.7 moz in 2008. In 2009 demand took a hit, but bounced back in 2010 with 499.6 moz.

Many people thought digital photos would end demand for silver after that sector went from using 33% of industrial silver in 2000 to 13% of silver in 2011. The supply has been taken up by TVs, computers, cellphones, and solar panels. Some 40 moz a year are now used in thick solar cells.The Silver Institute has recently put out numbers that say industrial demand for silver fell 6% in 2012, but will bounce back in 2013.

They expect it to hit an all-time high of 511 moz in 2014 based on demand growth from India and China, with photovoltaic cells being the fastest growth unit.The upshot of this is the price of silver trades below its average with a number of upside catalysts — including industrial demand and currency debasement.

Next week, I'll tell you about the looming supply disruptions.

All the best,

Christian DeHaemer

What Can Happen with Gold If the Dollar Collapses?

-- Posted Tuesday, 4 December 2012 | Share this article | Source: GoldSeek.com Today’s essay is the first one in our two-part commentary on U.S. debt and the dollar collapse. On numerous occasions we have gone back in our commentaries to the year 1971 and U.S. President Richard Nixon’s decision to cut off the ties between the greenback and gold. Today, we revisit the topic once more and check what kind of implications it has for the price of the yellow metal. Prior to 1971 the most prominent world currencies had been regulated by the Bretton Woods system. Under this agreement, the U.S. agreed to link the dollar to gold. This meant that any amount of dollars handed over by a foreign government or central bank would be exchanged for gold at $35 per ounce. Such an arrangement had a particularly important consequence for money creation. Namely, the U.S. government shouldn’t issue more paper money than it had physical gold to back this money up. In practice, it was rather improbable that all the dollars would have to be exchanged for gold at once, so the U.S. government in fact issued more money than it could have paid for with gold, but the main restriction was in place: debt numbers couldn’t be inflated to unsustainable levels. In 1944 when the Bretton Woods system was introduced, the relation of U.S. debt to the official Treasury gold reserves stood at $319.90 per ounce of gold. This meant that there was $319.90 of borrowed money for every ounce of gold the U.S. had. With the price of gold at $35, a quick calculation shows that the U.S. gold reserves could have paid for about 10.9% of its debt. At first, it might seem that there was a lot of debt compared to gold assets. On the other hand, however, such a ratio was similar to reserves required from commercial banks by the regulator. In a way, the U.S. operated like a bank (with a lot of differences, of course). By 1970, partly due to the Vietnam War, the U.S. began running consistent deficits. The government printed more dollars to meet its obligations and the amount of debt per ounce of gold surged to $1,172.56. The coverage of debt in gold went down to 3.1%. The ability of the U.S. to keep up to the promise to exchange dollars for gold was put into question. Nixon, fearing a situation in which foreign central banks would make a collective bank run on Fort Knox, decided to cease to exchange the dollar for gold and directly break the Bretton Woods agreement. From that moment on, the dollar has been a fiat currency, that is a currency not backed by a physical asset, just by a promise of the government to accept payments (taxes) in it. But, as we’ve just seen, promises can be broken and right now the ability of the U.S. to pay its debts off in the future is also being put into question. To see why, take a look at the chart below. Since 1970 U.S. debt has gone up from $370.9 bln to $16,159.5 bln, which is a more than 41-fold increase (!). Since 2000 gold has appreciated along with the ever sharper increase in debt. A similar chart was discussed in our commentary on gold as insurance. Our next chart shows the rates of change (ROC) of both the U.S. debt and the average annual price of gold between 1920 and 2012. The annual ROC of U.S. debt was in a general downtrend in the 1983-2000 period which was accompanied by poor performance of gold. Since 2000, the ROC of U.S. debt has been increasing again, which means that debt has been growing increasingly rapidly. This coincided with gold’s extraordinary performance during the last 10 years. The U.S. Federal Reserve, led by Ben Bernanke, initiated three substantial rounds of what it calls quantitative easing (QE). In short, QE is a process in which the Fed buys government bonds and other assets from secondary markets with newly created dollars. Its (official) purpose is not to finance government deficits but rather to bring the U.S. economy back on the growth trajectory. Nonetheless, the effects of QE can be compared to those of printing enormous amounts of money. Just to give you an idea of how much debt the consecutive rounds of QE have so far created (approximate amounts): QE1 (Nov 2008 – Mar 2010): $1.65 trillion QE2 (Nov 2010 – Jun 2011): $600 billion QE3 (Sep 2012 – ?): $40 billion per month. As a matter of fact, Fed’s quest to provide the economy with more incentives has not stopped. The direct effect of QE on debt is reflected on the chart below. In the period between January 2012 and November 2012 U.S. debt grew by 7.2%. There’s more to it: QE3 is an open-ended operation. This means that there is no limit on the amount of money the Fed can create and inflate the debt with within QE3. The purchases in the amount of $40 billion per month will continue as long as the Fed deems necessary. The points mentioned above add up to a picture which is not at all rosy for the U.S. But it’s not apocalyptic either. Particularly for precious metals investors. Let us explain why. It belongs to common sense that you can’t borrow money forever. Economics has a lot of intricacies and can be quite complicated at times but the basic rules are very simple. You borrow, you have to pay back. So if the government borrows too much and can’t pay it back, it will have to go bankrupt. The more debt it has, the worse its reputation is. People are less willing to put their money into treasury bills of a government with excessive debt. If the economy is shaky and the government is printing money, it damages its reputation but also makes the currency worth less and less. Hyperinflation is not a default nor bankruptcy in technical terms, but it is in practical terms. For the USD bond holders it will make little difference if they are not paid or paid something that is worthless. In such an environment investors, motivated psychologically, turn to gold and silver. As Warren Buffet correctly pointed out: “[Gold] gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.” But there’s one side of precious metals that is not covered by that quote. Gold and silver may be just lumps of metal but what makes them extremely interesting is the psychological association people have with them. Gold and silver have been used as currencies throughout the centuries. And people, for whatever reason, perceive them as valuable, particularly in times of economic turbulence. This alone stipulates that gold and silver prices may rise along with the worsening of the economic situation. And in case of the unlikely collapse of paper currencies, gold and silver could quite naturally come in as the base of a new monetary system. The possibility we would like to highlight now is the default of the U.S. on its obligations and the demise of the dollar. In this scenario, a new currency system based on the gold standard is introduced. The financial collapse is usually perceived as Armageddon but doesn’t necessarily have to be one. Just imagine, even in case of the U.S. government defaulting on its obligations, the assets that the country has would remain in place. The buildings, cars and infrastructure would still be there, they wouldn’t melt down in the possible financial crisis. A lot of property would change hands and there definitely would be turmoil, but it wouldn’t need to amount to a civil war. Take a look at Latvia, a country where the GDP between 2007 and 2009 shrank by 24%, where unemployment shot up to 30% in 2010. Where the government laid off 30% of the civil servants and cut payrolls by 40%. Latvia didn’t disintegrate. So what implications for gold would a collapse of the U.S. dollar have? The next chart will aid us to analyze such an occurrence. This chart presents the already mentioned relation of U.S. debt to Treasury gold reserves – the amount of debt per one ounce of gold – up to 2012. The red line represents U.S. Treasury gold reserves in metric tonnes, while the yellow line denotes the amount of U.S. debt in dollars per ounce of gold. The debt per ounce has visibly increased since 1971, accelerating around 2000 and even more around 2008. In 2012, there were $61,796.11 of debt per one ounce of gold owned by the U.S. government. Now, if a new gold standard is introduced and the agreement works like the Bretton Woods system, the dollar (or whatever other currency) would be tied to gold. As noted earlier in this essay, at the introduction of the Bretton Woods agreement in 1944 the debt coverage for the U.S. stood at 10.9% (or $319.90 of debt per one troy ounce of gold). If the new system were based on similar assumptions with debt coverage at 10%, this would imply a fixed price of $6,179.61 per ounce of gold ($6,179.61 per ounce of gold divided by $61,796.11 of debt per one ounce of gold gives us coverage of 10%). But is the dollar collapse all that likely? Or let us restate the question: if the dollar doesn’t collapse, does it still make sense to be invested in gold and silver? Bear with us until next week when we publish the second part of this commentary. Until then you can gain some more insight into why holding on to precious metals might keep you on the safe side by reading our essays on gold and silver as insurance and on gold and silver portfolio structure. Thank you for reading. Have a great and profitable week! Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA Founder, Editor-in-chief Gold & Silver Investment & Trading Website - SunshineProfits.com

Assalamualaikum wbh

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http://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/11/forex-careers.asp?utm_source=forex-free&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=FXWeekly-9/10/2012#axzz26Jfd4uFk

Working In Finance: 5 Forex Careers

June 07 2011| Filed Under » Careers, Forex, Forex Brokers and Accounts

The forex markets can be an exciting and lucrative market to trade if you thoroughly understand how to buy and sell currencies. If you're drawn to this area, you might even want to make it your career.

TUTORIAL: Forex Trading Rules

Forex jobs are fast-paced and can mean strange work hours and long work days since forex markets are open 24 hours a day, five total days a week. They require knowledge of and compliance with laws and regulations governing financial accounts and transactions. Some jobs require candidates to have passed one or more exams, such as the Series 3, Series7, Series 34 or Series 63 exams. If you are eligible to work in a foreign country, a career in forex can bring the added excitement of living abroad. No matter where you work, knowing a foreign language, particularly German, French, Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Portuguese or Japanese, is helpful and might be required for some positions. (The forex market has a lot of unique attributes that may come as a surprise for new traders, check out The Forex Market: Who Trades Currency And Why.)

This article will provide an overview of five major career areas in forex. Keep in mind that specific positions tend to have different names at different companies.

1. Forex Market Analyst/Currency Researcher/Currency StrategistA forex market analyst, also called a currency researcher or currency strategist, works for a forex brokerage and performs research and analysis in order to write daily market commentary about the forex market and the economic and political issues that affect currency values. These professionals use technical, fundamental and quantitative analysis to inform their opinions and must be able to produce high-quality content very quickly to keep up with the fast pace of the forex market. Both individual and institutional traders use this news and analysis to inform their trading decisions.

An analyst might also provide educational seminars and webinars to help clients and potential clients get more comfortable with trading forex. Analysts also try to establish a media presence in order to become a trusted source of forex information and promote the companies they work for. Thus, there is a large marketing component to being a forex analyst. (This market can be treacherous for unprepared investors. Find out how to avoid the mistakes that keep FX traders from succeeding, read Top Reasons Forex Traders Fail.)

An analyst should have a bachelor's degree in economics, finance or a similar area and may be expected to have at least one year of experience working in the financial markets as a trader and/or analyst and be an active forex trader. Communication and presentation skills are desirable in any job, but are particularly important for an analyst. Analysts should also be well-versed in economics, international finance and international politics.

2. Account Manager/Professional Trader/Institutional TraderIf you have been consistently successful trading forex on your own, you may have what it takes to become a professional forex trader. Currency mutual funds and hedge funds that deal in forex trading need account managers and professional forex traders to make buy and sell decisions. So do institutional investors such as banks, multinational corporations and central banks that need to hedge against foreign currency value fluctuations. Some account managers even manage individual accounts, making trade decisions and executing trades based on their clients' goals and risk tolerance. (If you are looking for answers, check out Top 7 Questions About Currency Trading Answered.)

These positions have very high stakes: Account managers are responsible for large amounts of money, and their professional reputations and the reputations of their employers ride on how well they handle those funds. They are expected to meet profit targets while working with an appropriate level of risk. These jobs may require experience with specific trading platforms as well as work experience in finance and a bachelor's degree in finance, economics or business. Institutional traders may need to be effective traders not just of forex, but also of commodities, options, derivatives and other financial instruments.

3. RegulatorRegulators attempt to prevent fraud in the forex industry, and there are numerous ways to work in forex regulation. Regulatory bodies hire many different types of professionals and have a presence in numerous countries. They also operate in both the public and private sectors. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is the government forex regulator in the United States; the National Futures Association (NFA) sets regulation standards, and screens forex dealer members from the private sector.

The CFTC hires attorneys, auditors, economists, futures trading specialists/investigators and management professionals. Auditors ensure compliance with CFTC regulations and must have at least a bachelor's degree in accounting, though a master's and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation are preferred. Economists analyze the economic impacts of CFTC rules and must have at least a bachelor's degree in economics. Futures trading specialists/investigators perform oversight and investigate alleged fraud, market manipulation and trade practice violations, and are subject to work experience and educational requirements that vary by position.

CFTC jobs are located in Washington, DC, Chicago, Kansas City and New York and require U.S. citizenship and a background check. The CFTC also provides consumer education and fraud alerts to the public. Since the CFTC oversees the entire commodity futures and options markets in the United States, an understanding of all aspects of these markets, not just forex, is necessary.

The NFA is similar to the CFTC and also oversees the broader futures and commodities markets, but instead of being a government agency, it is a private-sector self-regulatory organization authorized by Congress. Its missions are to maintain market integrity, fight fraud and abuse and resolve disputes through arbitration. It also protects and educates investors and enables them to research brokers, including forex brokers, online. Most NFA jobs are located in New York, but a few are in Chicago. (Think this career is right for you? Learn more about how to get in - and how to succeed, read Becoming A Financial Analyst.)

Internationally, a regulator could work for any of the following agencies:

• Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the United Kingdom
• Financial Services Agency (FSA) in Japan
• Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia

4. Exchange Operations Associate/Trade Audit Associate/Exchange Operations ManagerForex brokerages need individuals to service accounts, and they offer a number of positions that are basically high-level customer service positions requiring FX knowledge. These positions can lead to more advanced forex jobs.

An exchange operations associate's job responsibilities include: processing new customer accounts; verifying customers' identities as required by federal regulations; processing customers' withdrawals, transfers and deposits; and providing customer service. The job usually requires a bachelor's degree in finance, accounting or business; problem-solving and analytical skills; and understanding of financial markets and instruments, especially forex. It may also require previous brokerage experience. (For more, see Broker Or Trader: Which Career Is Right For You?)

A related position is a trade audit associate. This job involves working with customers to resolve trade-related disputes. Trade audit associates must be good with people and able to work quickly and think on their feet to solve problems. They also must thoroughly understand forex trading and the company's trading platform in order to help customers.

An exchange operations manager has more experience and greater responsibilities than an exchange operations associate. These professionals execute, fund, settle and reconcile forex transactions. The job may require familiarity with forex-related software, such as the widely used Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system. (The global interconnection of U.S. payment systems makes commercial and financial transfers possible, check out Inside National Payment Systems.)

5. Software DeveloperIn forex, software developers work for brokerages to create proprietary trading platforms that allow users to access currency pricing data and use charting and indicators to analyze potential trades, as well as trade forex online. Job qualifications include a bachelor's in computer science, computer engineering or the like; operating system knowledge such as UNIX, Linux and/or Solaris; knowledge of programming languages such as Javascript, Perl, SQL, Python, and/or Ruby; and knowledge in many other technical areas, including back-end frameworks, front-end frameworks, databases and web servers.

Software developers may not be required to have financial, trading or forex knowledge to work for a forex brokerage, but knowledge in this area will be a major advantage. If you are a forex trader yourself, you'll have a much better idea of what customers are looking for in forex software. Software quality is a major factor differentiating one forex brokerage from another and a key to the company's success. A brokerage faces serious problems if its clients can't execute trades when they want or trades are not executed on time because the software doesn't work properly. A brokerage also needs to be able to attract customers with unique software features and practice trade platforms. (For more in this area, this is a must read, Forex Automation Software For Hands-Free Trading.)

Other positions in forex for computer types include user-experience designers, web developers, network and systems administrators and support technicians.

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Assalamualaikum wbh.

Sempena kedatangan Syawal 1433H, saya sekeluarga mengucapkan

SELAMAT HARI RAYA, MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN.

Semoga amal ibadah puasa yang dilakukan diberi ganjaran terbaik daripada Allah swt sebagaimana yang disebut oleh Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, Baginda bersabda yang maksudnya :

"Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam bersabda :

Allah Subhanahu Wataala berfirman : "Setiap amalan anak Adam (manusia) adalah untuknya (dapat diperiksa sendiri dan dinilai baik buruknya), melainkan amalan puasa, maka sesungguhnya puasa itu adalah untuk-Ku (Aku sendiri yang dapat memeriksa dan menilainya) dan oleh sebab itu Aku sendirilah yang akan menentukan berapa banyak balasan yang perlu diberikan kepada mereka yang berpuasa.
(Hadis riwayat Bukhari).

Kita juga berdoa kepada Allah swt agar diberikan kesihatan untuk mengamalkan puasa sunat di syawal kelak berdasarkan sabda Baginda yang maksudnya :

" Sesiapa yang berpuasa Ramadan kemudian diikuti dengan puasa enam hari pada bulan Syawal, seolah-olah dia berpuasa sepanjang tahun." (Hadis riwayat Muslim).

10 Hari Terakhir Ramadhan

Keutamaan 10 Hari Terakhir Ramadhan

Bulan Ramadhan merupakan momentum peningkatan kebaikan bagi orang-orang yang bertaqwa dan ladang amal bagi orang-orang shaleh. Terutama, sepuluh hari terakhir Ramadhan.

Sebagian ulama kita membagi bulan ini dengan tiga fase: fase pertama sepuluh hari awal Ramadhan sebagai fase rahmat, sepuluh di tengahnya sebagai fase maghfirah dan sepuluh akhirnya sebagai fase pembebasan dari api neraka. Sebagaimana diriwayatkan oleh sahabat Salman Al Farisi: “Adalah bulan Ramadhan, awalnya rahmat, pertengahannya maghfirah dan akhirnya pembebasan dari api neraka.”

Dari ummul mukminin, Aisyah ra., menceritakan tentang kondisi Nabi saw. ketika memasuki sepuluh hari terakhir Ramadhan: “Beliau jika memasuki sepuluh hari terkahir Ramadhan, mengencangkan ikat pinggang, menghidupkan malamnya dan membangunkan keluarganya.”

Apa rahasia perhatian lebih beliau terhadap sepuluh hari terakhir Ramadhan? Paling tidak ada dua sebab utama:

Sebab pertama, karena sepuluh terkahir ini merupakan penutupan bulan Ramadhan, sedangkan amal perbuatan itu tergantung pada penutupannnya atau akhirnya. Rasulullah saw. berdo’a:

“اللهم اجعل خير عمري آخره وخير عملي خواتمه وخير أيامي يوم ألقاك”

“Ya Allah, jadikan sebaik-baik umurku adalah penghujungnya. Dan jadikan sebaik-baik amalku adalah pamungkasnya. Dan jadikan sebaik-baik hari-hariku adalah hari di mana saya berjumpa dengan-Mu Kelak.”

Jadi, yang penting adalah hendaknya setiap manusia meangakhiri hidupnya atau perbuatannya dengan kebaikan. Karena boleh jadi ada orang yang jejak hidupnya melakukan sebagian kebaikan, namun ia memilih mengakhiri hidupnya dengan kejelekan.

Sepuluh akhir Ramadhan merupakan pamungkas bulan ini, sehingga hendaknya setiap manusia mengakhiri Ramadhan dengan kebaikan, yaitu dengan mencurahkan daya dan upaya untuk meningkatkan amaliyah ibadah di sepanjang sepuluh hari akhir Ramadhan ini.

Sebab kedua, karena dalam sepuluh hari terakhir Ramadhan di duga turunnya lailatul qadar, karena lailatul qadar bisa juga turun pada bulan Ramadhan secara keseluruhan, sesuai dengan firman Allah swt.

إنا أنزلناه في ليلة القدر

“Sesungguhnya Kami telah turunkan Al Qur’an pada malam kemulyaan.”

Allah swt. juga berfirman:

شهر رمضان الذي أنزل فيه القرآن هدى للناس وبينات من الهدى والفرقان

“Bulan Ramadhan,adalah bulan diturunkan di dalamnya Al Qur’an, sebagai petunjuk bagi manusia dan penjelasan dari petunjuk dan pembeda -antara yang hak dan yang batil-.”

Dalam hadits disebutkan: “Telah datang kepada kalian bulan Ramadhan, bulan di dalamnya ada lailatul qadar, malam lebih baik dari seribu bulan. Barangsiapa diharamkan darinya maka ia diharamkan mendapatkan kebaikan seluruhnya. Dan tidak diharamkan kebaikannya kecuali ia benar-benar terhalang -mahrum-.”

Al qur’an dan hadits sahih menunjukkan bahwa lailatul qadar itu turun di bulan Ramadhan. Dan boleh jadi di sepanjang bulan Ramadhan semua, lebih lagi di sepuluh terakhir Ramadhan. Sebagaimana sabda Nabi saw.:

“التمسوها في العشر الأواخر من رمضان“.

“Carilah lailatul qadar di sepuluh terakhir Ramadhan.”

Pertanyaan berikutnya, apakah lailatul qadar di seluruh sepuluh akhir Ramadhan atau di bilangan ganjilnya saja? Banyak hadits yang menerangkan lailatul qadar berada di sepuluh hari terakhir. Dan juga banyak hadits yang menerangkan lailatul qadar ada di bilangan ganjil akhir Ramadhan. Rasulullah saw. bersabda:

“التمسوها في العشر الأواخر وفي الأوتار”

“Carilah lailatul qadar di sepuluh hari terakhir dan di bilangan ganjil.”

“إن الله وتر يحب الوتر”

“Sesungguhnya Allah ganjil, menyukai bilangan ganjil.”

Oleh karena itu, kita rebut lailatul qadar di sepuluh hari terakhir Ramadhan, baik di bilangan ganjilnya atau di bilangan genapnya. Karena tidak ada konsensus atau ijma’ tentang kapan turunya lailatul qadar.

Di kalangan umat muslim masyhur bahwa lailatul qadar itu turun pada tanggal 27 Ramadhan, sebagaimana pendapat Ibnu Abbas, Ubai bin Ka’ab dan Ibnu Umar radhiyallahu anhum. Akan tetapi sekali lagi tidak ada konsensus pastinya.

Sehingga imam Ibnu Hajar dalam kitab “Fathul Bari” menyebutkan, “Paling tidak ada 39 pendapat berbeda tentang kapan lailatul qadar.”

Ada yang berpendapat ia turun di malam dua puluh satu, ada yang berpendapat malam dua puluh tiga, dua puluh lima, bahkan ada yang berpendapat tidak tertentu. Ada yang berpendapat lailatul qadar pindah-pindah atau ganti-ganti, pendapat lain lailatul qadar ada di sepanjang tahun. Dan pendapat lainnya yang berbeda-beda.

Untuk lebih hati-hati dan antisipasi, hendaknya setiap manusia menghidupkan sepuluh hari akhir Ramadhan.

Apa yang disunnahkan untuk dikerjakan pada sepuluh hari akhir Ramadhan?

Adalah qiyamullail, sebelumnya didahului dengan shalat tarawih dengan khusyu’. Qira’atul qur’an, dzikir kepada Allah, seperti tasbih, tahlil, tahmid dan takbir, istighfar, do’a, shalawat atas nabi dan melaksanakan kebaikan-kebaikan yang lainnya.

Lebih khusus memperbanyak do’a yang ma’tsur:

وَعَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ : قُلْت : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، أَرَأَيْت إنْ عَلِمْت أَيُّ لَيْلَةٍ لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ ، مَا أَقُولُ فِيهَا ؟ قَالَ : قُولِي : اللَّهُمَّ إنَّك عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي

Seperti yang diriwayatkan oleh Aisyah, bahwa beliau berkata: “Saya berkata: Wahai Rasul, apa pendapatmu jika aku mengetahui bahwa malam ini adalah lailatul qadar, apa yang harus aku kerjakan? Nabi bersabda: “Ucapkanlah: “Allahumma innaka afuwwun tuhibbul afwa fa’fu ‘anni.” (Ya Allah, Engkau Dzat Pengampun, Engkau mencintai orang yang meminta maaf, maka ampunilah saya.” (Ahmad dan disahihkan oleh Al-Albani)

Patut kita renungkan, wahai saudaraku muslim-muslimah: “Laa takuunuu Ramadhaniyyan, walaakin kuunuu Rabbaniyyan. Janganlah kita menjadi hamba Ramadhan, tapi jadilah hamba Tuhan.” Karena ada sebagian manusia yang menyibukkan diri di bulan Ramadhan dengan keta’atan dan qiraatul Qur’an, kemudian ia meninggalkan itu semua bersamaan berlalunya Ramadhan.

Kami katakan kepadanya: “Barangsiapa menyembah Ramadhan, maka Ramadhan telah mati. Namun barangsiapa yang menyembah Allah, maka Allah tetap hidup dan tidak akan pernah mati.”

Allah cinta agar manusia ta’at sepanjang zaman, sebagaimana Allah murka terhadap orang yang bermaksiat di sepanjang waktu.

Dan karena kita ingin mengambil bekalan sebanyak mungkin di satu bulan ini, untuk mengarungi sebelas bulan selainnya.

Semoga Allah swt. menerima amal kebaikan kita. Amin

تقبل الله منا ومنكم صالح الأعمال

sumber dari

http://halaqah.net/v10/index.php?page=67

KEUTAMAAN BERIBADAH DALAM BULAN RAMADHAN

Artikel yang bernilai dari

SUMBER: http://muzir.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/keutamaan-ibadah-puasa-bulan-ramadhan/

Keutamaan Ibadah Puasa Bulan Ramadhan

By Shahmuzir

Saudara-saudaraku,

Ramadhan yang mulia bakal menemui kita, insyaALLAH. Sama-samalah kita berdo’a kepada ALLAH ‘Azza wa Jalla agar kita dipanjangkan umur untuk hidup di dalam bulan Ramadhan, dan diberikan hidayah dan taufiq serta daya kekuatan agar dapat mengambil manfaat dari kebaikan-kebaikan yang telah ALLAH ‘Azza wa Jalla sediakan di dalamnya, amin.

Sungguh, golongan yang bersungguh-sungguh mengejar Taqwa untuk dijadikan bekal bertemu dengan ALLAH Jalla wa A’la pada hari akhirat nanti sangat rindu menanti-nantikan kehadiran bulan yang mulia ini, iaitu Ramadhan Mubarak. Marilah kita contohi mereka dalam mengejar kebaikan.

Berikut disenaraikan kalam ALLAH yang Maha Mulia dan kalam Rasulullah sallAllahu ‘alaihi wasallam, agar dapat sama-sama kita meneliti dan menghayati dengan sungguh-sungguh akan kelebihan bulan Ramadhan yang bakal kita hadapi beberapa hari lagi, insyaALLAH.

1. Puasa adalah ibadah fardhu yang diwajibkan ke atas orang-orang yang beriman, dengan tujuan agar memperolehi Taqwa. ALLAH subhanahu wata’ala berfirman:

“Wahai orang-orang yang beriman, diwajibkan atas kamu berpuasa sebagaimana diwajibkan atas orang-orang sebelum kamu, agar kamu bertaqwa.” (Surah al-Baqarah 2:183)

2. Ibadah puasa sangat tinggi nilainya di sisi ALLAH dan ALLAH sendiri yang akan mengganjarinya. Puasa boleh menjadi perisai dari perbuatan tidak berfaedah dan kegembiraan yang besar bagi orang-orang yang beriman yang melakukan ibadah puasa ini.

Dari Abu Hurairah radhiAllahu ‘anhu bahawa Rasulullah sallAllahu ‘alahi wasallam bersabda:

“ALLAH ‘Azza wa Jalla berfirman: “Semua amal perbuatan anak Adam (manusia) itu bagi dirinya sendiri kecuali puasa. Sesungguhnya puasa itu untukKU dan AKU yang akan membalasnya. Puasa itu adalah perisai, oleh kerana itu, apabila salah seorang di antara kamu sekalian berpuasa maka janganlah berkata kotor dan janganlah bertengkar/berteriak. Apabila ada seseorang yang mencaci-maki atau mengajak berkelahi, maka hendaklah ia berkata: “Sesungguhnya aku sedang berpuasa”. Demi Dzat yang jiwa Muhammad berada dalam genggamanNYA, sungguh bau mulut orang yang berpuasa itu di sisi ALLAH lebih harum dari bau minyak kasturi. Bagi orang yang berpuasa ada 2 kegembiraan iaitu gembira ketika ia berbuka dan gembira ketika ia menghadap Tuhannya kerana besar pahala puasa” (HR Bukhari & Muslim)

3. Ibadah puasa pada bulan Ramadhan boleh menghapuskan semua dosa-dosa yang pernah kita lakukan pada masa lampau.

Dari Abu Hurairah radhiAllahu ‘anhu bahawa Rasulullah sallAllahu ‘alaihi wasallam bersabda:

“Barangsiapa yang berpuasa pada bulan Ramadhan dengan penuh keimanan dan hanya mengharapkan pahala daripada ALLAH, maka diampuni dosa-dosanya yang telah lalu.” (HR Bukhari & Muslim)

4. Pada bulan Ramadhan, sekalian manusia mempunyai peluang yang besar untuk melakukan kebaikan dan menggandakan kebaikan-kebaikan itu. Dari Abu Hurairah radhiAllahu ‘anhu bahawa Rasulullah sallAllahu ‘alaihi wasallam bersabda:

“Apabila bulan Ramadhan datang, maka dibukalah pintu-pintu syurga dan ditutuplah pintu-pintu neraka, serta diikat syaitan-syaitan.” (HR Bukhari & Muslim)

Banyak hikmah yang boleh kita perolehi daripada kalam-kalam yang mulia di atas. Semoga ia dapat membuka minda dan roh kita untuk sama-sama mengejar kebaikan-kebaikan yang terdapat di dalam bulan Ramadhan, insyaALLAH.

Selamat Menyambut dan Menghayati Ramadhan.

Semoga kita Beroleh Taqwa, amin.