What's to stop somebody from doing this....

[Chebasaz]

But in order to make a good profit I would have to spend at least 2K or 3K grand USD.

And there lies the reason I've never been interested in FOREX. In order to make serious money you have to either A) Have a serious bankroll or B) Leverage the heck out of your account. A's out, and B always scared the heck out of me. I know there's people that do it, and make money at it... but it ain't me.

[IgnazSemmelweis]

Oh, I get it. The very act of taking advantage of the system corrects the system. That makes sense. I've been trying to wrap my head around it all day.

This logic will actually help you when you start taking your economics courses.

[rickyjo]

I will be done with my first econ course tomorrow . I'm eleven points away from meeting my required 70%, there are 120 possible points left. I think my chances are quite good!

I did quite well in econ in high school, and I think it has been helpful, though, not nearly as helpful as wikipedia I'm afraid. I've spent an average of, perhaps, 10 hours a day on these stupid courses. It's paying off! If I can knock out the next course this quickly I'll have to sign up for a third to complete the month!

Business has been blissfully slow.

[rickyjo]

Yay! I have surpassed 70%. now to press "A" until the class is over.

[CLEP101]

This logic will actually help you when you start taking your economics courses.

I've never taken an economics class before. (well maybe in HS about 14 years ago.) If you think about it, its not really economics to make a profit (well maybe the principle is), its just using common sense. If you need to make a quick buck, you just think out of the box using what's available to you.

[rickyjo]

Making a quick buck in an out of the box way is my specialty!

You are right, if you think about it, economics as applied to an individual or small company is very simple (common sense!). This macro econ stuff I just completed was all about theory and principles that I will never have the opportunity to contribute to or implement in any way!

I'm hoping micro econ will be more immediately useful.

[ideafx]

I opened up a forex trading account when I was in my late teens. Unfortunately, I lost several thousand dollars in a relatively short period of time. It's an extremely efficient market, and thus, profit-making opportunities are few and far between for the average retail trader. The leverage can also wipe you out quite quickly (up to 100:1 with certain brokers). The failure rate is around 99%.

BTW, most traders rely on technical analysis for trading decisions. Charts and indicators often supersede economic data. The topics covered in a typical economics course likely won't assist in your trading endeavors.

[rickyjo]

Oh, no, I wouldn't touch this with 99 foot pole. I'm no risk taker! I simply wondered how it worked and why it wasn't as profitable and easy as it appeared on the surface.

[RUTurbo]

For more info check out babypips.com - explains the ins and outs of currency trading for free.