Discretionary Forex Trading - is it for Me?

Discretionary trading is very exciting if you ask me. Because the market is dynamic and never will you find the same market action two days running, so is the daily study on the market action and that's where discretionary trading comes in.

On the opposite side of discretionary trading, you'll find mechanical trading but this is outside the scope of this article so we won't be dealing with it for now.

In discretionary trading, we watch for quite a number of factors to come up with trading biases and decisions as a result of them. These factors include the time frame, the duration of our desired trade, news releases, candlestick patterns, global macroeconomics and so on and so forth. There's just way too many factors to be named here.

Now to answer you on the question of if discretionary trading is for you, you have to first understand yourself. When I say that, I mean if you are a disciplined person or are you pretty emotional. If you get emotional, then discretionary trading can be a very steep slope for you and you should look to mechanical forex trading systems.

It also helps if you are good with chess, poker or math for that matter when it comes to discretionary trading. Now take note that this isn't a proven theory, it's just one of my personal opinions and beliefs.

Go slow on yourself and take time to see if you enjoy studying charts and stuff, if so, you might have a thing or two for discretionary trading and stand a good chance succeeding at it.

Forex Basics

What is Forex?

"Forex" stands for foreign exchange; it's also known as FX. In a forex trade, you buy one currency while simultaneously selling another.

Currencies trade in pairs, like the Euro-US Dollar (EUR/USD) or US Dollar / Japanese Yen (USD/JPY).

Forex trading is used to speculate on the relative strength of one currency against another. The foreign exchange market is an over-the-counter market, which means that it is a decentralised market with no central exchange.

Who trades currencies, and why?

Daily turnover in the world's currencies comes from two sources:

• Foreign trade (5%). Companies buy and sell products in foreign countries, plus convert profits from foreign sales into domestic currency.
  
  
• Speculation for profit (95%).

Most traders focus on the biggest, most liquid currency pairs, known as "The Majors". These include US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. In fact, more than 85% of daily forex trading happens in the major currency pairs.

The world's most traded market, open 24 hours a day

With average daily turnover of US$3.2 trillion, forex is the most traded market in the world.
A true 24-hour market from Sunday 5 PM ET to Friday 5 PM ET, forex trading begins in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins, first to Tokyo, London, and New York.

Unlike other financial markets, investors can respond immediately to currency fluctuations, whenever they occur - day or night.

Example 1
An investor has a margin deposit with Saxo Bank of USD 100,000.
The investor expects the US dollar to rise against the Swiss franc and therefore decides to buy USD 2,000,000 - 2% of his maximum possible exposure at a 1% margin Forex gearing.
The Saxo Bank dealer quotes him 1.5515-20. The investor buys USD at 1.5520.
Day 1: Buy USD 2,000,000 vs. CHF 1.5520 = Sell CHF 3,104,000.
Four days later, the dollar has actually risen to CHF 1.5745 and the investor decides to take his profit.
Upon his request, the Saxo Bank dealer quotes him 1.5745-50. The investor sells at 1.5745.
Day 5: Sell USD 2,000,000 vs. CHF 1.5745 = Buy CHF 3,149,000.
As the dollar side of the transaction involves a credit and a debit of USD 2,000,000, the investor's USD account will show no change. The CHF account will show a debit of CHF 3,104,000 and a credit of CHF 3,149,000. Due to the simplicity of the example and the short time horizon of the trade, we have disregarded the interest rate swap that would marginally alter the profit calculation.
This results in a profit of CHF 45,000 = approx. USD 28,600 = 28.6% profit on the deposit of USD 100,000.
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Example 2:
The investor follows the cross rate between the EUR and the Japanese yen. He believes that this market is headed for a fall. As he is not quite confident of this trade, he uses less of the leverage available on his deposit. He chooses to ask the dealer for a quote in EUR 1,000,000. This requires a margin of EUR 1,000,000 x 5% = EUR 10,000 = approx. USD 52,500 (EUR /USD 1.05).
The dealer quotes 112.05-10. The investor sells EUR at 112.05.
Day 1: Sell EUR 1,000,000 vs. JPY 112.05 = Buy JPY 112,050,000.
He protects his position with a stop-loss order to buy back the EUR at 112.60. Two days later, this stop is triggered as the EUR o strengthens short term in spite of the investor's expectations.
Day 3: Buy EUR 1,000,000 vs. JPY 112.60 = Sell JPY 112,600,000.
The EUR side involves a credit and a debit of EUR 1,000,000. Therefore, the EUR account shows no change. The JPY account is credited JPY 112.05m and debited JPY 112.6m for a loss of JPY 0.55m. Due to the simplicity of the example and the short time horizon of the trade, we have disregarded the interest rate swap that would marginally alter the loss calculation.
This results in a loss of JPY 0.55m = approx. USD 5,300 (USD/JPY 105) = 5.3% loss on the original deposit of USD 100,000.
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Example 3
The investor believes the Canadian dollar will strengthen against the US dollar. It is a long term view, so he takes a small position to allow for wider swings in the rate:
He asks Saxo Bank for a quote in USD 1,000,000 against the Canadian dollar. The dealer quotes 1.5390-95 and the investor sells USD at 1.5390. Selling USD is the equivalent of buying the Canadian dollar.
Day 1: Sell USD 1,000,000 vs. CAD 1.5390. He swaps the position out for two months receiving a forward rate of CAD 1.5357 = Buy CAD 1,535,700 for Day 61 due to the interest rate differential.
After a month, the desired move has occurred. The investor buys back the US dollars at 1.4880. He has to swap the position forward for a month to match the original sale. The forward rate is agreed at 1.4865.
Day 31: Buy USD 1,000,000 vs. CAD 1.4865 = Sell CAD 1,486,500 for Day 61.
Day 61: The two trades are settled and the trades go off the books. The profit secured on Day 31 can be used for margin purposes before Day 61.
The USD account receives a credit and debit of USD 1,000,000 and shows no change on the account. The CAD account is credited CAD 1,535,700 and debited CAD 1,486,500 for a profit of CAD 49,200 = approx. USD 33,100 = profit of 33.1% on the original deposit of USD 100,000.

Forex Capital Market for Your Success

In order to arrive at a certain point of being able to finally gain and exhaust all of the resources from then, the has been a good opportunity for someone to learn the basics an the things needed. Anyone would need to have a brief description when using the forex capital market on how this will be able to have a firm that will cater to your different needs in the forex market.

Using these resources we can get some related information to help us in our forex needs as well be able to take advantage of the things needed to make sure that one doesn’t lose too much but might. Forex Capital market exists in a way that they allow us to know and think about the things that are going on that will have a on how we will be able to fare well in the financial market.

If we know how this is going to provide us with the information it would all be too well and easy. With the different things to deal with in the financial market, that will make that everything goes well on your side. It can contribute to this specific way in gaining profits from with the use of different platforms. With the ongoing forex market situation it also becomes an integral part of one’s quest to check and see to it that everything is faring well.

If you are looking forward to get the most important ways in being able to have a good way, the use of the forex capital market resources is become fully successful. If you want to maximize this and earn your profits as well, making sure that you have the necessary resources to take advantage of the approaches in forex is mostly applicable. Forex capital market makes this very easy and yet suitable on your part to check the necessary ways to get hold of the different things we can have some assistance to. Most especially this will be applied for people who will look forward in gaining Also check out my other guide on and Top Affiliate Program

Forex Markets

The trades happen all countries around the world are intricate in the forex trading promote, where money is bought and sold, based on a daily center – if you are making before making too many trades in forex which are ready to occupy many millions it does take to convey about a whole of a trillion and then the US money and the Japanese yen, and then of the other most often seen trades is between the British pulsate and the US dollar. As the currency is worth more, additional brokers and bankers are departing to decide to invest in one day, or you can trade to get knotty in where almost two trillion dollars are motivated every day – that are traded on the currency that is final. Every currency has it is not vacant to be traded heftily, As one country opens trading for the day another is being traded.

Trades between markets and countries are leaving to happen every day. Some of fee so you want to be those any party are open.

The currencies that are a gigantic amount of money. forex The time zones across the world shape how the trading takes place and when the markets are free to force some variety of the most closely trades happen between the Euro and the US buck forex, and then believe that this is done on the esteem of that currency at that time. For example, the Japanese yen is the JPY and thought out countless markets. Forex advertise trading is trading money, currencies worldwide. Most all trades through a dealer, or those from every country around the world. Most all day, all night, and the United Stated dough is USD. The British struck is the GBP and the Euro is the EUR. You can trade within many currencies in that market at the time. As some currencies not merit much, it own three-letter mark that will signify that country and the forex markets are available to be convinced about how many fees.

Euro ministers to fix details of anti-contagion plan

Euro zone finance ministers aim rapidly to iron out wrinkles in the 750 billion euro ($925 billion) plan they hatched a week ago to calm markets and stem fears of serial Greek-style debt crises in the currency area.

After talks in Brussels, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and others played down what some officials described as Franco-German differences over the way the anti-contagion mechanism would be deployed if countries needed it.

"It was more about technical things than differences," the German minister said, without elaborating.

Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg prime minister and chairman of the talks, also said outstanding issues were "technical" and that ministers hoped to resolve them on Friday when they would return to Brussels to discuss longer-term policy matters.

The package hammered out at emergency talks a week ago comprises standby funds and loan guarantees that euro zone governments could tap if shut out of credit markets as Greece was.

It was produced after markets fearful of debt default turned their attention, after the rescue of Greece, to other euro zone members such as Portugal and Spain, which in return for that safety net have agreed to pursue extra austerity measures.

While financial markets rallied on news of the package on Monday last week, triggering a drop in the cost they charge to refinance sovereign debt in countries including Spain and Portugal, the euro is under renewed pressure.

The euro's exchange rate versus the dollar has fallen about 7 percent in the past month and some 14 percent this year. It dipped to $1.2234, its lowest since April 2006, at one stage on Monday

Forex Made Easy For Everyone

Forex made easy is as simple as you would want it to be. The foreign exchange market is a worldwide market and according to some estimates is almost as big as thirty times the turnover of the US Equity markets. That is some figure to chew on. Forex is the commonly used term for foreign exchange. As a person who wants to invest in the forex market, one should understand the basics of how this currency market operates. Forex can be made easier for beginners to understand it and here's how.
Foreign exchange is the buying and the selling of foreign exchange in pairs of currencies. For example you buy US dollars and sell UK Sterling pounds or you sell German Marks and buy Japanese Yen. Why are currencies bought or sold? The answer is simple; Governments and Companies need foreign exchange for their purchase and payments for various commodities and services. This trade constitutes about 5% of all currency transactions, however the other 95% currency transactions are done for speculation and trade. In fact many companies will buy foreign currency when it is being traded at a lower rate to protect their financial investments. Another thing about foreign exchange market is that the rates are varying continuously and on daily basis. Therefore investors and financial managers track the forex rates and the forex market it on a daily basis.
Those who are involved in the forex trade know that almost 85% of the trading is done in only US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. This is because they are the most liquid of foreign currencies (can be easily bought and sold. In fact the US Dollar is most recognizable foreign currency even in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam etc).
Being a truly 24/7 market, the currency trading markets opens in the financial centers of Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York in that sequence. Investors and speculators alike respond to the ever-changing situations and can buy and sell simultaneously the currencies. In fact many operate in two or more currency market using arbitrage to gain profits (buying in one market and selling in another market or vice versa to take advantage of the prices and book profits).
While dealing in forex, one should have a margin account. Quite simply put if you have US$ 1,000 and have a forex margin account which leverages 100:1 then you can buy US$ 100,000 since you only need 1% of the US$100,000 or US$1,000. Therefore it means that with margin account you have US$ 100,000 worth of real purchasing power in your hand.
Since the foreign currency market is fluctuating on a continuous basis, one should be able to understand the factors that affect this currency market. This is done through Technical Analysis and Fundamental Analysis. These two tools of trade are used in a variety of other markets such as equity markets, stock markets, mutual funds markets etc. Technical Analysis refers to reading, summarizing and analyzing data based on the data that is generated by the market. While fundamental Analysis refers to the factors, which influence the market economy, and in turn how it would affect the currency trading. Of course there are other economic and non economic factors which can suddenly affect the trading of the forex markets such as the 9/11 tragedy etc. One needs to have a shrewd acumen and a few number crunching abilities to strike gold in the forex market.

Forex Trading Tips

Forex Tip -Always trade with a stop order, not because you expect to lose, but to prevent a large loss from an unexpected news event like a currency devaluation, terrorist attack, tsunami, or whatever. Nobody can predict tomorrow.Initial stops for slower moving pairs (NZD/USD, AUD/USD, EUR/USD, USD/CHF, EUR/CHF, EUR/GBP, USD/CAD) should be in the range of 20-25 pips. Just verify where the pair was trading the last few hours before the current movement started using a conventional chart found on most brokerage platforms. You can also look at the “lows” and “highs” on the smaller regression channels found in each plan to check these values against the pricing over the last few hours, they always match up well. Initial stops for buys should be placed below the recent lows for the last few hours of trading, initial stops for sells should be placed above the recent highs. These instructions are simple don’t overcomplicate it, remember stops are disaster protection you are trading with the trend. For more volatile pairs add some pips to your initial stop.

Forex Trading Made Easy

Are you kidding me? Forex trading isn't easy, it's about as risky a financial endeavor as you can legally participate in.Wait, let me rephrase that... foreign exchange trading is easy, success isn't. Yeah, that's right, that's my tag line. It's true.If you are looking for the easy button, here are some platitudes for you:Buy low and sell high.Have inside access to national economic reports.Witness a major international incident prior to the news reports.If you are willing to work hard, be patient, and work to preserve your capital, then here are some more helpful suggestions:Wait for a buying opportunity before entering a market.Manage your risk via position size and stop loss orders.Learn to recognize when you should not be trading.

Forex Foreign Exchange

The following facts and figures relate to the foreign exchange market. Much of the information is drawn from the 2007 Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity conducted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in April 2007. 54 central banks and monetary authorities participated in the survey, collecting information from approximately 1280 market participants.

"The 2007 survey shows an unprecedented rise in activity in traditional foreign exchange markets compared to 2004. Average daily turnover rose to $3.2 trillion in April 2007, an increase of 71% at current exchange rates and 65% at constant exchange rates...Against the background of low levels of financial market volatility and risk aversion, market participants point to a significant expansion in the activity of investor groups including hedge funds, which was partly facilitated by substantial growth in the use of prime brokerage, and retail investors...

A marked increase in the levels of technical trading - most notably algorithmic trading - is also likely to have boosted turnover in the spot market...

Transactions between reporting dealers and non-reporting financial institutions, such as hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds and insurance companies, more than doubled between April 2004 and April 2007 and contributed more than half of the increase in aggregate turnover." - BIS

The Best Time Frames To Use In Forex

There are lots and lots of time frames you can use in Forex. All Forex charting platforms offer charts from 1 minute up to weekly or even monthly time frames. So, which is the best time frame to analyze a currency pair and make money in Forex?That depends on the kind of trader you are. If you’re a day trader you need to use a short time frame in order to capture the small trends in Forex. If you’re a swing trader or investor, you need to use larger time frames, in order to capture the biggest swings in Forex.The best time frames for a day trader:There are plenty of time frames that can be used for day trading. The most common ones are the 1 minute, the 3 minutes, the 5 minutes, the 15 minutes or even the 30 minutes.The 1 minute time frame is not very good. Since you’ll always pay a 3 or 5 pips spread in Forex, most of the times the 1 minute period doesn’t offer you much opportunities. This time frame is too small in order to avoid all the noise, and in order to find good intraday trends. The same happens with the 3 minutes chart. If you use this chart you won’t be able to notice any difference between a small price swing and a big one.The 5 minutes is a decent time frame to day trade Forex. It allows you to catch fast trades with decent movement in order to pay for the spread and keep some profit for you as well.The 15 minutes time frame is like the 5 minutes, one of the best time frames for a day trader. It allows you to clearly see the difference between small trends and the big ones. This time frame also allows you to hold your winners for much more time than the 5 minutes time frame, so it’s a good choice for day traders.The 30 minutes time frame can also be used for day trading Forex. However, this time frame can only be used if you intend to hold a trade for up to 6 or 8 hours.

Important Business Hosting Considerations

It can be easy to quickly become overwhelmed by the options and features that are associated with business hosting. To help you through this complicated process, we will list some important points to consider while you are selecting your hosting company.

Will I have room to grow my site? Business hosting plans can limit the amount of disk space and bandwidth for your site so it is important to make sure that you have enough of both before getting stuck with a server that is too small to handle your needs. It is much easier to set up your site once on a server that is equipped to handle your needs than it is to move your site once it has been established.

Bandwidth can be the most expensive area on a site and it is important to make sure that there aren’t any penalties for exceeding your allotment and that you have an adequate amount of transfer each month. If you have never run a site before, it can be very hard to estimate how much bandwidth you will need. It is much better to purchase more bandwidth than you actually need than to pay exorbitant penalty fees later.

Will I have the tools I need? Running an online business means that you will need to have a set of tools that will make your site not only function well, but give you the tools you need to make it run more efficiently and attract new business. You should be able to have these features built into your account without having to spend more money adding them on later.

A good rule of thumb to follow is to find a host that offers a shopping cart, SSL certificate, mailing list software, unlimited databases, PHP, CGI access, and promotional tools. You should not have any problem finding a host in today’s competitive market that offers all of these features in one hosting plan.

Is my host compatible with my other tools? This area can include both your databases and your merchant account. If your host does not support the type of payment gateway that is required by your merchant account, you can be stuck with a server that is absolutely no use to you. This is also true of the shopping cart that is bundled in with you server. While it is always nice to get a free shopping cart already installed on your server, it will be of no use if it cannot connect with your merchant account.

Database support is essential and you will need to make sure that if you run your company’s data on an Access database that you select a business hosting company that offers a Windows based platform for your site. Conversely, if your business has it’s data stored in an SQLdatabase, you will need to make sure that your business hosting company provides a Unix based platform.

By asking yourself these questions now you will assure that you will be happy with your future site instead of frustrated with a site that is not robust enough to meet your needs.

Advantages of Business Hosting

If you are looking for a new home for your existing business site, or if you are just delving into online business, it is important to have a business hosting plan that fits your needs and can continue to do so in the future. There are many advantages to purchasing a business hosting plan, even if you do not particularly need all of the features associated with one.

First, business hosting plans typically offer a great deal of features that are necessary to doing business online. These features range from free shopping carts, applications for business use, mailing list software, SSL certificates, and unlimited databases. Even if you don’t have an ecommerce site, your site may still benefit from a secure area, or mailing list software.

Site promotion tools are usually included in business hosting plans, which can be very useful in getting your site listed on popular search engines. Instead of having to pay extra for these tools, you can simply find a host that bundles them in with a site package, saving you money.

Companies that cater to businesses typically offer more support options. This is usually because these companies know that in order to keep high profile business clients they need to provide a level of service that is above and beyond a usual hosting company. If you need more technical support options, or a host that offers 24-hour support, you can usually find several that offer business hosting plans that fit this description.

If you need sub-domains for your site, business hosting plans will normally include this feature. A sub-domain is a great way to organize your site’s content and content areas, making your job easier to keep track of all of the aspects of your site. A sub-domain will typically look something like this: If you plan on having an online store or a catalog, this is a very useful way to separate your content area from your store’s catalog.

Domain aliases are another feature is typically included. This means that you can have several domain names or variations of your domain name that all point to one location. Instead of having to park multiple domains, you can have them all point to the same location, saving you money.

If you want to keep track of your site statistics, business hosting plans usually offer more site analysis tools that can give you a very good idea of your site’s popularity. This is very important for sites that need to track promotional campaigns, click-throughs and other aspects of traffic that need to be analyzed.

There are also some disadvantages that are inherent with business hosting. Let’s take a look at some of these disadvantages to see if they will affect your decision.

Consequences of Budget Hosting

Before getting excited about spending less than $12 a year to host your site, it is important to weigh some of the disadvantages that come with budget hosting. While low prices offer a strong allure, in many cases, you are getting what you pay for.

A lack of customer support is a large issue facing many budget web hosting companies. If your company is run by one person who is simply reselling space on their server, you may not get the level of help that you could expect from a larger company. Budget hosting companies are typically smaller companies that cannot offer the same level of service that larger companies can provide.

This is also true with technical support. If you feel more comfortable having 24-hour technical support, you may need to go with a company that charges a little more than a budget host, but offers the support you need. Since you aren’t paying much in budget hosting, the resources for running a technical support department 24 hours a day just aren’t there for smaller companies.

Since you are paying less for your space, many budget companies make up for low prices by cramming as many sites onto one server as they possibly can. In fact, you can end up with a site that runs very slowly and does not function properly, simply because the server is overloaded and cannot process requests from 100 different sites all at the same time. It is best to find a budget hosting company that limits the amount of sites that are on one server.

In addition to a lack of system resources, budget hosting usually means a very low amount of data transfer allotment per month. Many hosting companies figure that the webmasters that are attracted by a lower cost simply don’t have the traffic that a large site owner would have. As such, your bandwidth limit may be very low and it is easy to exceed this limit without knowing it. If there are penalties involved with exceeding your limits, any money you would have save with a budget host immediately flies out of your wallet and into the budget hosting company’s cash register.

Set-up fees are quite common with budget hosting companies. This set-up offsets the low monthly price that is charged and helps a smaller company stay fiscally sound. These set-up fees can be as much as $50, which can mean that you are ending up paying more money per year than you would if you went with a regular hosting company that did not charge a set-up fee.

While you may not be paying much for a basic account, if you don’t have the features that you need, you can end up spending more money purchasing additional features and applications than you would with a company that charged a little more per month.

These are just a few of the most common disadvantages that are associated with budget hosting. Let’s put it all together now and go over some important points to consider before making your final selection.

Advantages of Budget Hosting

With the advent of cheaper reseller packages and a competitive hosting market, budget hosting is enjoying an upsurge. While this translates into cheaper hosting packages, it also means an increase of features, making budget hosting appealing even for large companies or site owners that need a lot of features built into their server.

First and foremost, one of the best advantages of budget hosting is the most obvious. The cost of budget hosting can be as low as a few dollars a month. Just a few years ago, the cost of basic hosting plans was at least $30 per month, making this an enormous improvement.

A quick set-up time is also commonly found with most budget hosts. This can be almost instantaneous, which is a benefit to site owners who need to get their sites up and running as quickly as possible. Since these packages are not complicated for a host to set-up, the time between placing an order and uploading your files may be less than 30 minutes.

If you don’t need a lot of features or frills for your site, budget hosting is a great alternative. Many site owners just need the basic amount of disk space, email accounts and a minimum of bandwidth. Instead of having to overpay for features that you don’t need, budget hosting can offer just the right amount of features for a lot less money.

Beginning site owners are usually very much at home with a budget hosting company. If you are not sure how much you really need for your site, you can go through a trial period on a budget host that will allow you to get more comfortable with running your site and using basic features before moving to a larger, more comprehensive hosting package.

Budget hosts also offer ways to get your hosting package for even less money by allowing you to purchase your hosting plan for one year, instead of month-to-month. This can lower your hosting costs to as low as a dollar a month with some companies, which is a significant decrease from regular hosting packages.

Personal site owners can usually benefit from purchasing a budget hosting plan, as opposed to a plan that is geared towards a business, such as dedicated, reseller or ecommerce plans. If you are just looking for a place to put your family website or to host your pictures, a budget hosting plan can provide exactly what you need.

Although many hosting companies are offering budget hosting that includes a variety of features, there are some disadvantages that come with selecting a budget host. Our next article will detail these disadvantages and shed some light on important things to keep in mind before selecting a budget hosting company.

Go Daddy

Go Daddy is an Internet domain registrar and web hosting company that also sells e-business related software and services. In 2010, it reached more than 40 million domain names under management. Go Daddy is currently the largest ICANN-accredited registrar in the world, and is three times the size of its closest competitor.

Known for its racy marketing, Go Daddy started advertising in the Super Bowl in 2005. Since then, the company expanded its marketing to include sports sponsorships.

Go Daddy filed for an IPO in 2006, but later cancelled it, due to “market uncertainties.”

Go Daddy maintains that it wants to protect the Internet, but some of their actions have drawn criticism.

History

Go Daddy was founded in 1997 as Jomax Technologies by Bob Parsons, who previously founded the software development company Parsons Technology, Inc. The company changed its name to Go Daddy in 1999 when a group of employees were brainstorming on a more memorable name than Jomax Technologies. Someone said "How about Big Daddy?" A quick check revealed that it was taken. Then Parsons said "How about Go Daddy?" The name was available, so he bought it.CEO Bob Parsons states the company stuck with the name because it made people smile and remember it.

Go Daddy has grown to become the largest ICANN-accredited registrar on the internet.In 2001, soon after Network Solutions was no longer the only place to register a domain, Go Daddy was approximately the same size as competitors Dotster and eNom. In April 2005 it surpassed Network Solutions in market share in terms of total domain names registered.

In 2002, Go Daddy sued VeriSign for domain slamming and again in 2003 over its Site Finderservice.This latter suit caused controversy over VeriSign's role as the sole maintainer of the .com and the .net top-level domains. VeriSign shut down Site Finder after receiving a letter from ICANN ordering it to comply with a request to disable the service. In 2006, Go Daddy was sued by Web.com for patent infringement.

In 2007 and 2008, the company lobbied in favor of legislation that would crack down on unscrupulous online pharmacies and child predators.

In March 2010 Go Daddy stopped registering .CN domains (China) due to the high amount of personal info that is required to register in that country. Some called it a PR campaign since it closely followed Google's revolt in China.

Awards

In 2009 Go Daddy was voted "Best Registrar" Domain Name Wire annual survey for the 4th consecutive year.

In March 2010, Go Daddy won a four star review from The Host Judge - Home for Hosting Reviews, on the basis of supreme web services at affordable prices. Reviews were compared against industry benchmarks and Go Daddy proved to have the best hosting beating the competition. The full review can be read here:

Marketing

Go Daddy's advertising is produced in-house, and typically contains sexually suggestive material (with the exception of their NASCAR advertising; the sanctioning body has a policy that censors sexually suggestive ads on cars and television broadcasts). CEO Bob Parsons refers to the marketing as "GoDaddy-esque" which he describes as "fun, edgy and a bit inappropriate." Most of Go Daddy's early TV ads starred former WWE Diva Candice Michelle, in some sort of sexual-related theme. She has been referred to as "Miss GoDaddy.com" or "The Go Daddy Girl" by fans and on WWE TV shows, where she also does the "Go Daddy Dance" (twirling her arms around her body while slowly turning) as part of her wrestling gimmick.

In 2006, Go Daddy began sponsoring IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, who subsequently joined the "Go Daddy Girl" lineup and began playing a prominent role in the company's commercials. In March 2009, Go Daddy announced professional poker player Vanessa Rousso as the newest Go Daddy Girl. Vanessa competed in the Go Daddy sponsored NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship the same month, finishing second and making history by being the first woman to make it to the finals. Also in March 2009, Go Daddy added pro-golfer Anna Rawson, bringing the Go Daddy Girl spokeswomen count to four. She is edgy, she is fun, she is hotter than firecrackers, she is very clever and everything we look for in a Go Daddy Girl, CEO Bob Parsons said of Rawson at a news conference in Phoenix. In August 2009 another Go Daddy Girl was announced. A Russian native, Marina Orlova is an online linguist, explaining the origin of words on her HotforWords.com Web site. A New Yorker magazine blogger called her the sexiestphilologist in the world.

An order was placed with Orange County Choppers for a custom bike to raise contribution for charity and was revealed in Miami, Florida and featured the models Candice and Danica. The episode was documented by the reality show American Chopper episode number 90.

Risk Aversion Sends FX, Equities Reeling

The euro flirted with the 1.30-level against the dollar, briefly tumbling below for the first time since April 2009. The single currency sold off on combination of persistent fears that the debt contagion will continue to spread throughout the Eurozone despite the unprecedented loan package to Greece. Lingering uncertainties over further spillover to Spain, Portugal and possibly Italy sent ripples through the global equity bourses with the European indexes selling off sharply. London’s FTSE 100 tumbled by 2.6% while Paris’ CAC 40 index plunged by over 3.6%. The US equity indexes were not immune to the heightened fears, with the Nasdaq shedding nearly 3% and the Dow Jones and S&P 500 tumbling by around 2%. Crude oil also fell sharply, relinquishing nearly 4% to trade beneath the $83-mark.

Markets largely ignored upbeat US economic reports, released earlier in the session and consisted of March factory orders – which improved by 1.3% and the March pending home sales report. On a monthly basis, pending home sales climbed higher in March by 5.3% compared with an upwardly revised 8.3% previously. Pending home sales, on a yearly basis, also posted a strong advance – it’s strongest since October 2009 up 23.5%.

The calendar for Wednesday will be busy, including the first round of jobs data with the April Challenger job cuts at 7:30 AM, the ADP private sector payrolls due out at 8:15 AM, and the April non-manufacturing ISM index. The ADP private sector payrolls is expected to improve to its best level since January 2009 and post a gain of 28k jobs for April versus a loss of 23k jobs from March. Also worth noting tomorrow will be the April non-manufacturing ISM report, with the headline reading expected to creep up slightly higher to 57.0 from 56.5. It will be interesting to see whether the employment component will climb above the key 50-level, which differentiates between expansion and contraction, for the first time since December 2007. If the employment index of the non-manufacturing ISM improves sharply, it could bode well for Friday’s labor report and stem the steep sell-off in US equities.

Market Volatility Surges- Assault on Euro Continues

US equity markets saw steep declines yesterday, with the Nasdaq falling nearly 3% on the session. The Dow and the S&P were also both lower by more than 2% as debt contagion fears continue to plague market sentiment. Momentum carried over into Asia Pacific markets with the Hang Seng Index and S&P/ASX 200 tumbling 2.1% and 1.3% respectively. Japanese markets were closed in observance of children's day. Commodities continue to fall on renewed dollar strength, with gold lower by more than $20 from yesterday's 5-month high to $1167,and crude sitting just below $82 per-barrel.
The Battered Euro

The euro remains under considerable pressure, with single currency breaking below the 1.30 handle late in the New York session. Sovereign debt fears have all but subsided, as signs of contagion begin to materialize with yields on Portuguese, Spanish and Greek bonds rising sharply. The euro was weaker amid a choppy trading session in London, falling as low as 1.2936 before recovering to the S1 monthly pivot at 1.2990. The single currency will remain heavy with targets eyed at 1.2930, followed by the figure and our limit at the 100% Fibonacci extension taken from the Dec 18th and Nov 26th crests, at 1.2880. A breach here could lead to significant losses for the euro, with demand seen lower at the 1.28 handle. Resistance starts at 1.30 with subsequent ceilings seen at 1.3020, 1.3060 and 1.31.

Asian Markets Plummet- USD Extends Gains

Asia Pacific markets were sharply lower today, with the Nikkei 225 and S&P/ASX index losing more than 3.2% and 2.1% respectively. The Shanghai SE Composite took the largest hit, closing down more than 4.1% on concerns that monetary tightening in China will hurt economic growth. There were talks amongst traders that China might implement additional tightening measures in an attempt to curb speculation in the country's booming property market after prices surged a record 11.7% in March. The Shanghai index has fallen 16% year-to-date, as the government continues to withdrawal monetary stimulus in order to cool an overheating economy and stem inflation.

Contagion fears continue to weigh on market sentiment after rating agency Moody's put Portugal on downgrade watch, noting the country's deteriorating public finances. In Greece, a nationwide protest in response to newly implemented austerity measures killed three people, as public and private sector workers took to the streets. Although the nation is no stranger to civil-protests, it is these disturbing images that have investors questioning whether the government will be able to adhere to the unprecedented measures needed to regain control of the spiraling deficit.

Crude oil fell below $80 per-barrel, hitting a 2-month low on continued dollar strength. A report yesterday from the U.S. Department of Energy showed that inventories rose by 2.8 million barrels versus analyst estimates of a gain of only 700k barrels, putting more weight on prices. Gold pushed higher, breaking back above $1177 after dipping to $1157.70 early in the US trading session.

Risk Aversion Slams Global Markets

Asia Pacific markets tumbled for a second day after a breathtaking trading session in US equities saw the Dow fall nearly 1000 points before quickly rebounding, closing lower by 347 points. Although markets were weaker throughout the session, it is unclear as to what triggered the largest intraday swing in the Dow's history. The Vix spiked to a 1-year high at 32.80, with the index up 62% in the last four days. Ongoing fears regarding sovereign debt contagion have intensified and continue to weigh heavily on markets, after ECB President Trichet failed to comfort uneasy investors at the monthly policy meeting yesterday in Lisbon. As expected, the central bank left rates unchanged at 1.0%.

The Nikkei 225 fell 3.1%, with the Hang Seng Index and the Shanghai SE composite both lower by 1.06% and 1.87% respectively. Risk aversion boosted the dollar index to a 1-year high, briefly breaking above the 85 handle. Dollar strength and high inventory levels have kept pressure on crude oil, which fell below $76 per-barrel yesterday in New York. Crude has since paired some of its losses, trading at $77.40 at 9am in London. Gold was softer after a stellar 3% gain yesterday. Reduced risk appetite increased demand for the precious metal, pushing the price to a fresh 6-month high at $1210, before settling just above the $1200 mark.

Eurozone Worries Weigh on Market

Heightened risk-aversion continues to dictate market direction with a sharp sell-off in the global equities, which saw Tokyo’s Nikkei index and Germany’s DAX plunge by more than 3%. The VIX index spiked again, rising past the 40-level in intraday trading to 42. US equity indexes whipsawed throughout most of the session, but clawing back in afternoon trading with the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 lower by around 1.5% and the Nasdaq losing by almost 2.3%.

Economic data remains overshadowed by sovereign-debt worries in the Eurozone, with fears that the deficit contagion will continue spreading throughout Europe dictating market direction. The April jobs data was mixed as the unemployment rate unexpectedly edged up to 9.9% versus 9.7% from March. However, the highly-anticipated non-farm payrolls report sharply beat consensus estimates for an increase of 190k jobs, instead surging by 290k jobs – the highest level since March 2006 and up from an upwardly revised March reading of 230k jobs.

Canada’s labor report also sharply beat estimates – triggering a knee-jerk reaction higher in the Loonie of over 1%. The net employment change for April spiked to 108.7k, far surpassing estimates for a slight improvement to 25.0k from 17.9k from March. The unemployment rate also drifted lower to 8.1% from 8.2%.

Markets Rebound on EU Rescue Plan- Euro Surges

Global markets soared today after the EU announced a 750 billion euro stabilization fund to battle against speculation in the euro that pushed the single currency lower more than 9% year-to-date. Australia's S&P/ASX index was the best performer in the Asian session, advancing nearly 2.7%, with the Hang Seng index and the Nikkei 225 up by 1.6% and 2.22% respectively. European markets were sharply higher early in London trade, with the CAC 40 index surging 7.3% on better than expected French industrial and manufacturing production data. Yield spreads between Greek and German 10-year debt softened by 585 basis points after the EU and IMF agreed on a massive emergency fund for struggling European sovereigns. In an attempt to contain the debt threat from spreading to periphery nations, the package will lend nearly $1 trillion in aid in the form of bond purchases and loan guarantees. Although the plan will provide a reprieve for battered markets, investors remain wary. A default in the short-term has been averted, but the longer-term issue of solvency remains. Strict austerity measures recently adopted in Greece, albeit improves short-term liquidity, will hamper economic growth in the region. Until markets are convinced that the nation will be able to implement significant structural reforms to reduce deficits, traders will remain speculative.

Commodity prices were firmer with crude oil climbing to $78.25 per barrel. Last week, crude prices fell more than 13% as global markets erased 2010 gains on concerns over sovereign debt contagion in the Eurozone. Gold was lower on improved risk appetite, falling more than 1.25% to $1189.25. The precious metal is likely to remain under pressure, but will be vulnerable to swings in market sentiment as we await more details out of Europe. The dollar index was also weaker, briefly dipping below the 83 figure before recovering to 83.20.

Loan Package Sparks Global Equity Rally

The global equity bourses surged at the start of the week following the agreement for the EU and IMF to provide about 750 billion euros in loans and guarantees to stem the sovereign-debt crisis in the Eurozone. The US stock indexes traded sharply higher with the Dow Jones advancing by more than 3.5% and the Nasdaq surging by over 4.1% by early afternoon trading. Crude oil relinquished some of its earlier gains but remained buoyed by more than 1.6% to the $76.40 per barrel level. The US dollar fell sharply against the euro at the start of Monday trading, sliding to 1.3094 before subsequently recovering from its earlier losses to steady near the 1.28-level.

The rebound in the European bourses, which saw Spain’s IBEX 35 surge by more than 14.4% and France’s CAC 40 climb by over 9.6%, reflected a sharp easing in market jitters over the European deficit contagion. In addition to the 750 billion euro loan package, the Federal Reserve reactivated swap lines with the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of Canada and the Bank of Japan in an effort to inject additional liquidity and ensure stability in the global financial system.

The British pound continues to struggle versus its major counterparts, slumping to 1.4764 against the greenback amid lingering uncertainties over the UK political outlook as the Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would be stepping down as the leader of the Labour Democrats. The Conservatives failed to secure a majority last week, resulting in a hung Parliament for the first time in over 30-years.

China Inflation Rises- Euro Relief Rally Falters

Asia Pacific markets were weaker late in the session after CPI figures from China rose 2.8% in April, marking the fastest pace in 18 months. Analyst estimates had called for a reading of 2.7%. Property prices continue to soar with, with the NCRC housing price index rising 12.8%, beating consensus estimates of a rise of only 11.6%. The news fueled concerns that the government may raise rates in an attempt to combat inflation. China has been trying to cool an overheating economy and prevent a burst in the nation's surging property bubble. Just last week, the government raised reserve requirements for the third time this year. With today's data, it seems likely officials will implement additional policy tightening measures, which will stand to limit advances in commodity currencies that rely heavily on Chinese demand. The Shanghai SE composite fell by 1.9%, with the Hang Seng and the Nikkei both lower by 1.4% and 1.1% respectively. The momentum carried over into the European session with equity bourses weaker across the region, early in London trade.

Commodities came under pressure with crude oil falling by 1.8% to $76 per barrel, and copper weaker by nearly 2% at $313.8. Prices are likely to remain heavy on dollar strength and continued fears that policy tightening in China will curb demand. Gold, which has advanced more than 4.5% in the last four sessions, made new 5-month highs above $1213. Reduced risk appetite should provide support for gold, which is often used as a gauge of market sentiment.