Markets do not react to the raw economic number, they react to the surprise against consensus. Here is what CPI, NFP, GDP, and PMI actually measure, and why the same print can be bullish or bearish depending on the regime.
Every asset you can trade is a promise to pay money in the future, and the interest rate is the price of that future money. Change it and every claim reprices. Here is the one mechanism that links stocks, bonds, currencies, and commodities.
Before you place a single forex trade, you need to know how much you lose per pip. Here is the plumbing of forex — pips, lots, and pip value — worked out with real numbers.
Every month, a handful of economic data releases move the forex market more in five minutes than most sessions move in five days. Non-Farm Payrolls, CPI prints, and central bank rate decisions create violent spikes, whipsaws, and trend shifts that can make or break a trading account.
Leverage lets you control a larger position than your account balance would normally allow. A $10,000 account with 10:1 leverage can open a $100,000 position. That sounds powerful, and it is — in both directions.
Most forex traders who blow their accounts do not fail because they picked the wrong strategy, but because they picked the wrong trading style. Scalping, day trading, and swing trading each demand different skills, schedules, and temperaments.