There is no golden rule how to choose the best spread betting company, but there are some questions you need to ask yourself before you just go ahead and open and account with the first spread betting provider that knocks on your door.  The internet is filled up with brokers and forex trading companies and this competition is good for you particularly since trading these days is so accessible.

So how can anyone go about choosing a spread betting company?  ? How can anyone say that one spread betting company is better than the other and that you stand a better chance of profiting from one than another?  In practice all providers are regulated but you will be forgiven for thinking that they are all made equal. It’s often hard to tell at first glance, but here are some steps to help you minimize the list of potential pitfalls you might encounter.

1.  Spread betting demo account,make sure that your chosen spread betting company allows you to trial their platform using a demo account to test the platform.  This also comes handy to test new trading systems and risk management strategies.

2.  Daily or Long Term make sure that your provider quotes both daily and future spread bets because some will only stick to rolling dailies.  Futures have wider spreads but are more cost effective to hold for long periods of time.  This way if you want to take a longer term trading perspective you could buy a future.

3.  Margin requirements are important, particularly competitive margin requirements in choosing a spread betting provider.  The margin range should be around 5% to 30% – any less and you would end up over-gearing yourself; while at rates higher than 30% it really isn’t worthwhile to take the leveraged trade and pay interest in the first place.

4. Broker customer service make sure you are aware of the different points of contact available to you whether phone, live-chat or e-mail support should you need them.  Test their support responses and make sure they really care about you by providing a good level of support.  Keep in mind the brokers have additional tools and access to more information than you have.

5.  Number of trade markets make sure that your chosen spread betting provider is able to offer the markets you intend to trade.  All providers will quote FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 shares these days but not many will quote the smaller cap and Aim markets.

In any case nothing prevent you from opening more than one spread betting account and often the best way to choose a provider is to test it for yourself.

Elliott Waves are a technical study of prices, often used in predicting future price directions of any liquid asset class.

In essence, the study submits that prices tend to move in waves; more specifically, they move in 5 waves upwards, and 3 waves downwards. If you look here at the weekly silver chart, price of silver is expected to be bullish in the long term.

The downward move (in an uptrend) is called the corrective a-b-c pattern, which is typically followed by a 5 wave movement upwards.

To learn more about Elliott Waves in forecasting stocks, forex and commodities prices,watch this e-learning video.

Make Money No Matter Stocks Are Up or Down!OCBC’s downtrend on the daily charts started from Aug 2011 and started going sideways in early Oct 2011. Prices tested the strong Kumo resistance and recently failed to break above.

In fact OCBC closed below the Kumo once again. The bulls had failed to sustain its attempt to take over control. This is suggestion to traders that the down trend is getting stronger once again. Bulls should take cover for the time being.

This bear momentum is aligned with the down trend on the weekly charts as shown below.

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Italy’s 10-year sovereign yields have reached new highs near 6.65%, and are at levels that Barclays Capital considers clearly unsustainable, it says in note.

• Market conditions are increasing pressure on Berlusconi’s govt to comply with promised reforms, EFSF isn’t adequate safety net while IMF can provide cash although not hold credit risk: Barclays Capital

• Sustained high yields would increase downside risk to its 0.4% growth forecast for euro area in 2012: Barclays Capital

• Market stress is already denting activity, with Barclays Capital now seeing downside risk to its 4Q growth forecast of -0.1% q/q

• France has tightened its fiscal policy by EUR7b, adding downside risks to its growth forecasts for 2012 and beyond: Barclays Capital

• Elevated uncertainty and growth concerns in euro area makes Barclays Capital bearish on EUR in medium term; favors USD among haven currencies and believes CNY offers a good alternative to USD, given easing hard-landing concerns

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As sentiment in global markets is normalizing, Goldman Sachs would tactically look to take advantage of “dislocations” in FX space, it says in note yesterday.

• SGD and MYR trade-weighted-index underperformance is among these market “dislocations,” and both currencies have underperformed in absolute performance and also adjusted for their sensitivity to risk sentiment: GS

• SGD and MYR have undershot their potential relative to other factors that have driven relative FX performance in small, open economies: GS

• Both currencies are trading at low levels relative to broader policy targets of local authorities, and long positions in these two have been notably reduced, according to anecdotal evidence: GS

• Recommends going long equally weighted basket of SGD and MYR vs EUR and USD at 100, with target of 104 and stop-loss order at 98

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In this analysis, we look at the monthly charts on the Gold Spot prices.

The last buy signal zone on the monthly chart dates back as far as end 2002. With a confluence of Kumo break, Chikou Span breaking above Kumo, bullish Kumo twist and upward sloping Tenkan Sen, Kijun Sen and Kumo, its is poised for a bull trend. Gold has been the darling trade of many trend followers since then. 9 years on and it has not tested the Kumo for once. The bull trend is intact with prices above the Tenkan sen and Kijun Sen. It is also well supported by the strong Kumo. Tenkan Sen and Kijun Sen still slopes upwards. The near term support is at Kijun Sen (1425.74).

This analysis is long term in nature as we are examining the monthly charts. Support and resistance levels are also wide due to the long term nature of this particular analysis.

When trading shorter term (weekly or daily charts) it stands to reason that buying dips would be more profitable than selling rallies, in consideration of the intact bull trend on the long term monthly chart.

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The inflation rate hit 4.8% in 2010. However, it was seen to ease off 3% by the end of this year (2011). So, the economic situation of Singapore is expected to grow better with time and thus the investment options too may grow better by the end of this year and the next year too. So, according to the financial experts the country needs to focus more on the different emerging markets, which are not only large but are diverse and even exciting.

The property sector

The property sector inSingaporehas gone underweight and thus it is supposed to become more of an investment option for many. This is because, as a result of the underweight property sector, the banks may offer low interest rate mortgages thus, people will b bale to afford to buy more property, thereby popularizing more of the Singapore real estate investment option.

With the low interest rates, mortgages are going to become still more affordable. In fact, it has been predicted that the mortgage interest rates are not supposed to move up anyhow in the coming two to three years. Thus, the demand for homes have remained positive throughout the year and this trend is expected to continue in the coming few years too.

As per recent reports, the landed home prices have started to grow at a faster rate this month, in comparison to the non-landed homes. The average resale price of the leasehold landed homes in the non-prime districts is said to have grown by 3.8 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis in the third quarter of this year (2011). In addition to this, the average resale price of the freehold landed homes of the different prime districts of the 9, 10 and 11 is said to have increased by 2.8 percent on quarter-on-quarter basis.

However, if the non-landed sector is to be considered; the average resale price of the leasehold condominiums mainly of the suburban areas are said to have risen at much slower rate which is at 2.5 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis in the third quarter of the year.

And still the demand for the private homes is seen to have remained positive irrespective of the fact that the stock markets have become volatile in the past few months. However, if the global market continues to grow weak in the coming months, the real estate market in Singapore too might weaken. So, it is important to check the global economy before investing your money in any of the financial markets.