Global trading is a risky business and should be done only if you are knowledgeable about the country, or countries you are trading with; If a beginner, you should not consider it. Learn first the markets in your own country. Then when you have sufficient knowledge of the risk of trading in general and have enough money stashed away that you can afford to lose a little of it, then, and only then shuol you should dip your toe in to test the liquidity of your foreign market or markets of choice.
Tip 1.
You will want to learn how they differ from your own country. Once you have learned this, you will need to know about the buying habits of the country, how well supported are its business dealings with their governments. Can you expect help from them should you later find there have been fraudulent deals? These considerations vary from country to country and from continent to continent. To learn of these market check out online sites that keep abreast of what is being traded where and what the latest business news is worldwide. One in particular is CIBC World Markets. There you will be able to find information about the foreign exchanges. Business is one area that is not lacking in information online.
Tip 2.
Know their currency and the relationship between the currency of the foreign markets and your own. How much more or less will their money buy than that of your own. Learn method of calculating, as an example, the relative value of the English pound as compared to the American dollar, the French franc, the Japanese yen, and the German mark. Even in countries that have the same currency as your own, there may be wide variations in the value of each; some may be either weaker or stronger. These are the little tidbits of global knowledge and understanding that make tourism and foreign travel attractive. You can visit a country where your money buys more for less.
Tip 3.
Daily check out the foreign markets and the market of your own country either online or from the daily paper. Or another preference may be listening to the television news broadcasts that will fill you in on the business world. This practice will gradually teach you lots about the business of trading. In time a pattern will form and you will be able to connect the dots and get the bigger picture about world wide trading. There you will learn about which areas of business and in which country, that is not for you; and which is.
Tip 4.
Learn how to read the tables: In the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange (NYSE/AMEX) the first note on the left high' means the highest price the stock has sold for in the last 52 weeks; Then reading from left to right, you have lows - in the same time frame; the stock symbol which is the capitalized letters representing the stock; Div, the fourth across stands the dividend, the amount paid to stock holders on an annual basis. Then you have yield, what the stock is 'yielding' at present. This is based on the annual percentage rate and is calculated by the closing price.
In column five across you have P-E meaning price index. The number shown means it now selling for that amount over last years; negative earnings will show a blank space. Next there is the sales column that shows the number of shares traded in that day - yesterday - if you are reading today's paper - divided by 100. If a little x is in front it means the dividend goes to the seller not the buyer. The next bit of information will the highs and lows and following that will be the close. It is indicative of the last price of the stock for the day. Learning to decipher the charts will become second nature as you progress in your understanding of the market.
Tip 5.
Learn how each country, especially your own, keeps its accounts of how much business is going on between your country and others. This is called Merchandise Trade Balance. It is a simple procedure. The imports and exports to individual countries are added and subtracted to see if anything near a balance of trade is taking place. In other words, as an example, my country the US is buying from a country and is selling them practically nothing, the accountant will soon begin to wonder why. This should be a consideration when trading globally. It will, when interpreted correctly, tell a potential dealer whether to proceed or whether it is time to look elsewhere for good deals.
Source:
Passell, Peter, How to Read the Financial Pages, New York, Warner Books, 1986
http://www.forbes.com
http://www.cibown.com/wm/ca pital-markets/foreign-exchange/trading.html