French growth forecasts have been cut in half. Analysts say the French austerity plan will certainly reduce debts but may not be sufficient to avoid a cut in the nation’s credit rating. This issue is a little like looking at Illinois or California within the USA. It has to do with a member of the EU and not the EU itself. But, maybe not. In order for the bailout plans of the various nations in the EU to work the two largest economies must grow. Italy, the third largest EU economy is in trouble. France is looking to reduce debt which will likely reduce economic growth. That leaves Germany whose economy is recovering from the recession more slowly than desired. How does all of this affect the seemingly continuous downward direction of the Euro? Europe, for all of its current problems, is either the first or second largest economy in the world, depending upon whether they or the USA are in the lead for the year. However, the value of the Euro versus other currencies will adjust based upon the economic strength of the EU in relation to other economies.

French officials are cautioning the nation that sacrifices may be required as the idea of a European nation going bankrupt is no longer an abstraction. With Greece, Spain, and now Italy in danger of debt default it is altogether possible that one or more nations might leave the EU. How this new reality will affect the Euro versus the dollar is uncertain. A national bankruptcy could cause a cascade of defaults in weaker European economies. This could lead to nations leaving the EU. On the other hand it could end up with a stronger and more economically viable union. As with all Forex trading the issue of the French austerity plan requires continual fundamental and technical analysis of the currency involved, the Euro. Obviously a true global economic recovery would speed the recovery of the major nations of Europe and help stave off the wave of defaults that trouble world markets. As always traders need to watch two economies and two sets of data at once in Forex trading as traders trade one currency against the other.

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You are the one who will need the discipline to be there when the market opens, pay attention to the overall market trend and be ready to execute promptly, on signal from your software.

An experienced trader always has a Forex plan. The Forex plan takes into consideration information regarding gross domestic product changes in the countries whose currencies you trade. Your Forex plan takes into consideration inflation, news of natural disasters, possible war, huge mergers and acquisitions, balance of payments and more.

Your Forex plan starts with basics. Which currency pairs will you trade? The more pairs you trade the more opportunity you will have. Also, the more currency pairs you want to trade the more home work you will need to do to keep up with market determinants.

Your Forex plan needs to include which market you will trade, London, New York, Hong Kong, or Singapore. If you are a US citizen living in the USA trading the foreign markets means living a different set of hours than the rest of society. A Forex plan for trading the largest, London, market means some basic life style decisions, like having the discipline to not party late on Sundays when you need get up to be ready to trade at 2 am Eastern Time.

You buy Japanese Yen with US Dollars and the Yen goes up instead of down. What do you do and how fast do you do it? Or for that matter the Yen goes down. How fast do you take your profit? How do you reset your stops to take advantage of a longer run?

A big part of your Forex trading plan is your homework. Your Forex world extends far beyond the station at which you trade. How much time do you allot to catching up on world news, market news, or the national news of the countries whose currencies you trade?

The glamorous part of Forex trading is sitting there and “pulling the trigger” to make a lot of money. The sad part of Forex trading is sitting on the wrong side of a market move and having no clue as to whether you should wait for the market to reverse or get out of the trade as fast as possible to preserve the capital you have left.

A successful Forex plan for a beginner is to trade in small amounts, practice lots of simulation trading, and continually review your trades, successful or unsuccessful.

For that matter a successful plan for an experienced Forex trader may well be to trade in small amounts, practice lots of simulation trading, and continually review your trades, successful or unsuccessful!

There are always times when the exchange rate of a given currency pair will change dramatically. During that time, however, there will be ups and downs. Having done your homework in advance will allow you to maximize your trading gains during these times by working your Forex plan.