Alan's Forex Blog

German index on prices on import increased by 8% on an annual basis last year, reported Destatis. This was the largest increase in price in the last 11 years. The index soared 3.9% in December on monthly basis.  At the same time, export prices edged up 3.7% on a yearly  average basis in 2011.

New home sales in the US declined by 2.2% in December, reported US Census Bureau. The new home sales declined to 307,000 units on a seasonally adjusted basis while analysts expected the sales to rise by 2% to 320,000 units. Following the data release, the US Dollar inched lower against the Euro and the pair EUR/USD gained 0.44% to 1.3165.

George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer has proposed several laws, giving the exclusive right of bailing out banks to Treasury. Osborne is attempting to put through these law changes in order to sweep away any doubt on the institution responsible for crisis solutions.

Swiss KOF economic barometer decreased more than expected, announced by KOF Economic Research Agency. The economic barometer declined to minus 0.17 in December on a seasonally adjusted basis from 0.01 in November. Experts predicted the indicator to inch down to minus 0.06 in December.

After publication of December retail sales data, analysts are viewing the developments in the Japanese economy more positively. Although consumer appetite is obviously rising, the risk of declining employment and incomes still remains, analysts from Itochu Corp. claimed today.

Daily maximum: 1.3159
Daily minimum: 1.3078
The shared European currency depreciated versus the American dollar today and pierced the daily forecast mean (1.3122) the EU annual M3 money supply was released lower than expected (1.6% act./2.2% est.). Daily Resistance: 1.3164; 1.3220; 1.3257. Daily Support: 1.3071; 1.3034; 1.2978. Daily Bias: Strongly bullish.

Daily maximum: 101.53
Daily minimum: 100.64
EUR/JPY moved downwards today, missing the daily market participants’ target (101.66) as the annual retail sales rose (2.5% act./2.3% est.). Daily Resistance: 102.01; 102.50; 102.80. Daily Support: 101.22; 100.92; 100.43. Daily Bias: Strongly bullish.

Daily maximum: 1.5729
Daily minimum: 1.5652
The British pound rose versus the American dollar after on announcement Greece is close to get the debt deal, piercing the daily forecast mean at 1.5689. Daily Resistance: 1.5734; 1.5780; 1.5824. Daily Support: 1.5644; 1.5600; 1.5554. Daily Bias: Strongly bullish.

Daily maximum: 77.46
Daily minimum: 76.75
USD/JPY declined on Friday after Japanese annual retail sales rose more-than-forecast (2.5% act./2.3% est.), leaving the daily market participants’ target (77.49) intact. Daily Resistance: 77.74; 78.03; 78.26. Daily Support: 77.22; 76.99; 76.70. Daily Bias: Strongly bullish.

Daily maximum: 0.9228
Daily minimum: 0.9176
The pair traded below 0.9200 level today as the US advange GDP disappointed investors (2.8% act./3.0% est.). Daily Resistance: 0.9235; 0.9268; 0.9307. Daily Support: 0.9163; 0.9124; 0.9091. Daily Bias: Bearish.

EU, IMF press Greece on reforms before aid flows
The European Union and IMF want Greece to push through more budget cuts and implement a series of long-agreed austerity reforms before they agree on a new bailout the country needs to avert bankruptcy, a report obtained by Reuters shows.

U.S. Economy Grows 2.8%, Less Than Forecast
The U.S. economy expanded less than forecast in the fourth quarter as consumers curbed spending and government agencies cut back, validating the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates low for a longer period.

Japan Consumer Prices Fall, Mild Deflation to Persist
Japan’s core consumer prices fell for the third consecutive month in the year to December due to weak demand, showing mild deflation is likely to persist this year as energy prices stabilize and worries about Europe’s debt crisis suppress wage growth.

“The cost of postponing a solution [debt swap] is extremely high for Europe, but especially for the future of the euro”
- Giovanni Bossi, chief executive officer of Banca Ifis SpA
Talks on Greek debt swap resumed on Thursday as European finance ministers pressure private bondholders to take bigger losses on their Greek holdings.

“Improving economic momentum and diminished angst surrounding the financial crisis has encouraged businesses to take on more risk”
- Richard DeKaser, deputy chief economist at Parthenon Group Inc.
The number of Americans claiming for unemployment benefits rose to 377 thousand in the week ended January 21 from 356 thousand the week before, said the Department of Labor on Thursday.

“Given the key role of consumer spending, the CBI survey heightens concern that the economy is set for further contraction in the first quarter of 2012″
- Chris Williamson, the chief economist at Markit
U.K. retail sales fell in January, said the Confederation of British Industry on Thursday. The index measuring sales declined to -22 from 9 in December. Above 0 indicates higher sales volume, below indicates lower.

CHF
“Further delays in [Greece’s] negotiations [with private bondholders] would lead to renewed nervousness on the financial markets”
- Anja Hochberg, head of investment strategy at Credit Suisse Group AG
Swiss stocks gained on Th ursday as the Federal Reserve hinted it plans to keep interest rates at record lows through 2014.

JPY
“The job cuts announced [by the NEC Corporation] today are bigger than expected”
- Yuichi Ishida, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co.
NEC Corporation announced on Thursday it plans to cut 10,000 jobs, almost one-tenth of its workforce, in an attempt to decrease costs as weak global growth and fierce competition reduce demand for its computers and mobile phones.

“There’s been a big selling of U.S. dollar positions since the Fed and, just by sheer weighting of money, the euro has benefited more than the pound”
- Credit Agricole (based on Reuters)
Bullish impetus is weakening ahead of tough resistance area at 1.3200/50. Rally may extend up to 1.3245/50, although further advancement is highly unlikely. Thus the attention is on the support lines at 1.3025 and at 1.2930.

“The BOJ will need to keep its ultraeasy stance in the meantime. If risks from the euro-zone debt crisis heighten, it could move for an additional easing in the near term”
- Norinchukin Research Institute (based on CNBC)
Resistance at 102.55/60 should be able to withstand attempt of EUR/JPY to step over it. Nonetheless, the currency pair has to overcome this resistance to confirm long-term bullish trend. Supports at 100.75 and 100.55 should cover dips.

“Sterling has strongly rejected any move below $1.54 on a couple of occasions and we might see it continue to go a little higher, but above $1.58 it will struggle”
- FXPro (based on Reuters)
The Cable is expected to soar up to 1.5770/80, after it breaks though 1.5680 resistance. The initial support may be found at 1.5618, while subsequent lines are located at 1.5579 and 1.5544.

“The dollar will rise moderately, and I expect it will hit JPY80 by March”
- Royal Bank of Scotland (based on WSJ)
As long as a key support at 76.70/20 is not violated, the outlook will stay bullish for USD/JPY. The currency couple did not manage to breach resistance at 78.25/35 (200 ma) and is thus likely to step lower.

“Swiss central bank’s decision to impose a franc ceiling of 1.20 versus the euro was the most important step to help bolster the economy”
- Johann Schneider-Ammann, Swiss EM (based on Bloomberg)
Being that USD/CHF has violated support at 0.9250, the price is expected to fall down to 0.9080/65. The latter level should provide sufficient support and halt bearish movement. In the long-term USD/CHF should aim for 0.9775.

Greece Firewall Must be Built: Swedish Finance Minister
The EU should build up more resources for a firewall around Greek debt, Sweden’s Finance Minister Anders Borg told CNBC at Davos Thursday.

First-Time Jobless Claims in U.S. Increase, Displaying Seasonal Volatility
Claims for U.S. jobless benefits rose last week, displaying the usual volatility around holidays that has masked an improvement in the labor market.

Japan retail sales rebound in December
Japanese retail sales rose in December, snapping back from November losses, but large retailers reported a fifth month of lower revenue.

Big rethink is necessary in the Euro Zone within world’s economy, said Angela Merkel at the World Economic Forum.  Structural reforms aimed at creating new jobs are crucial, she added. Indebted Euro Zone is the most discussed issue at the forum. Many consider Germany and other strong economies have to inject more money into rescue fund.

Due to weak recovery and slowing inflation in the US, market speculation on possible further easing has skyrocketed. On the last announcement Ben Bernanke claimed that Fed was unlikely to increase interest rates until 2014, indicating the weak state of the American economy.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron claimed today during his speech in Davos forum that European officials should be bolder if they wish to calm the current economic turmoil. Asked about the recently developed deficit reduction plan, Cameron claimed it had helped the UK economy to shake off its economic doldrums.

The official SNB exchange rate for EUR/CHF is 1.2072 today; yield on 10-year Swiss Confederation bonds decreased to 0.79%. 3-month LIBOR CHF stands at 0.07%, and is within the target range of 0.00-0.25%. Swiss SMI stock index has gained 0.09% since the opening bell, and is currently fluctuating around 6079 points.

Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average opened higher on Thursday but erased gains later and closed into negative area, dropping 0.41% or 36.52 points to 8,847.17. Exporters experienced the biggest losses as Toshiba Corp. declined 1.7%, Sharp Corp. edged down 0.6%  and  Hitachi Ltd. gave up 0.9%. Nintendo Co and NEC Corp. lost 0.9% and 1.2% respectively ahead of their earnings reports.

Daily maximum: 1.3183
Daily minimum: 1.3091
EUR/USD rose today on disappointing US unemployment claims (377K act./371K est.), causing the daily forecast mean (1.3067) to breach. Daily Resistance: 1.3173; 1.3242; 1.3363. Daily Support: 1.2983; 1.2862; 1.2793. Daily Bias: Strongly bullish.

Daily maximum: 102.20
Daily minimum: 101.59
101.71 was hit today as the pair moved upwards on higher than expected GfK German Consumer Climate (5.9 act./5.6 est.). Daily Resistance: 102.26; 102.60; 103.24. Daily Support: 101.28; 100.64; 100.30. Daily Bias: Strongly bullish.

Daily maximum: 1.5718
Daily minimum: 1.5651
GBP/USD continued its rally as the American dollar weakened on less-than-forecast US New Home Sales (307K act./321K est.). Daily Resistance: 1.5713; 1.5770; 1.5862. Daily Support: 1.5564; 1.5472; 1.5415. Daily Bias: Bullish.

Daily maximum: 77.80
Daily minimum: 77.32
USD/JPY advanced on strong monthly Core Durable Goods Orders (2.1% act./0.9% est.), though the daily forecast mean (77.84) has not been pierced yet. Daily Resistance: 78.18; 78.59; 78.90. Daily Support: 77.46; 77.15; 76.74. Daily Bias: Strongly bullish.

Daily maximum: 0.9228
Daily minimum: 0.9157
USD/CHF committed a much deeper correction today, leaving the daily market participants’ (0.9242) untapped as investors were disappointed by poor data on US new home sales (307K act./321K est.). Daily Resistance: 0.9301; 0.9388; 0.9436. Daily Support: 0.9166; 0.9118; 0.9031. Daily Bias: Strongly bearish.

ECB at centre as Greek debt talks resume
Greece’s tortuous negotiations over a debt swap with private creditors entered a new phase on Thursday with focus on how much the European Central Bank and other public creditors may need to contribute.

Jobless Claims Rise; Durable Goods Orders Jump 3%
The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 377,000, up from a nearly four-year low the previous week. But the longer-term trend is pointing to a healthier job market.

NEC to Eliminate 10,000 Jobs After Loss
NEC Corp. (6701), forecasting its third annual loss in four years, will cut 10,000 jobs as slower global growth reduces demand for its mobile phones, computers and wireless gear.

“The widely-spread fear that the euro zone’s biggest economy could now also be caught by the crisis virus has been soothed”
- Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING in Brussels
German business confidence improved for a third consecutive month in January, a sign Europe’s largest economy may avoid a recession. The Ifo institute’s business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 businesses, rose to 108.3 from 107.3 in December.

“We’ve had a clear turn toward positive momentum in the housing market at the end of 2011″
- Aaron Smith, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc.
U.S. month on month pending home sales decreased 3.5% in December, following a 7.3% increase in November, said the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday.

“There are growing indications that any [economic] downturn is likely to be mild and short-lived”
- Chris Williamson, the chief economist at Markit
The U.K. economy contracted 0.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011 from the previous three months, said the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.

CHF
“Further delays in [Greece’s] negotiations [with private bondholders] would lead to renewed nervousness on the financial markets”
- Anja Hochberg, head of investment strategy at Credit Suisse Group AG
Swiss stocks erased two-day gains on Wednesday as health-care shares dropped on lower-than-expected 2011 financial results of Lo nza Group AG, Novartis and Roche Holding AG.

JPY
“Japan is losing its competitiveness to produce domestically”
- Hideki Matsumura, senior economist at Japan Research Institute
Japan has published first annual trade deficit since 1980 putting into question how long the country can rely on exports to serve a huge public debt.

“The euro could continue to make short-term gains as the remaining positions are covered, so its downside risks are low for now”
- State Street Global Markets (based on CNBC)
The currency couple has already penetrated resistance at 1.3075 and is presently moving toward a tough zone located at 1.3140/45. However, this area in conjunction with 1.3245/50 is unlikely to allow EUR/USD to advance any further.

“The yen is weakening, boosting earnings for exporters and fueling confidence in the Japanese stock market”
- Shinkin Asset Management Co. (based on Bloomberg)
EUR/JPY currency pair is about to hit a strong resistance situated at 102.56/63. In case the latter level is breached, the price might increase up to 104.25. Dips should be covered by supports at 100.77 and 100.40/30.

“If they are saying [February QE is] “likely” in the minutes that pretty much means definitely. That’s a pretty strong word from the MPC who would normally sit on the fence”
- Investec Bank PLC (based on Reuters)
In case the Cable is unable to climb over a downtrend line at 1.5680, the bias will turn bearish. The possibility of GBP/USD going down to 1.5500 en route to a long-term at 1.5270 will then increase.

“After the Fed, the dollar will have a harder time continuing this week’s gains against the yen. The topside has gotten heavy”
- Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. (based on CNBC)
Resistance area at 78.25/35 (200 day ma) has repelled off USD/JPY, sending it down to a cluster of supports at 77.40/20 (55 and 100 day ma). From there the pair is expected to recover and attempt to challenge resistances 79.50 and 80.00.

“The Fed was crystal clear in its intentions to keep rates low until at least 2014″
- Oppenheimer (based on WSJ)
The short-term outlook for USD/CHF is negative. The pressure on a key support at 0.9200 is increasing. In case it does not withstand, a fall might extend down to 0.8895 (55 week ma). Resistances at 0.9315 and 0.9340/55 cap the pair from above.

Merkel Makes Appeal for Time to Solve Crisis
German Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to business leaders at the World Economic Forum to give policy makers the space they need to tackle the debt crisis, pledging that Europe will pull together and restore confidence.

Economic Gains Aid Obama
Mitt Romney mounted a fresh attack on President Barack Obama’s stewardship of the economy Wednesday, while a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll raised caution signs for Mr. Romney’s strategy of putting the economy at the center of his campaign.

China Overtakes Japan as World’s Top Coal Importer
China overtook Japan as the world’s top coal importer for the first time in 2011, customs data from the countries showed, partly driven by robust Chinese demand.

Dear Zulutraders,

After 4 years full of data analysis, we can now suggest a quick tutorial that will show you how to prevent, in most cases, a large drawdown by a provider in your portfolio, and disable such providers before the drawdown gets serious.

We will base our tutorial on the signal provider “FX178″, a signal provider that quickly climbed at the top 10 performance list, but suddenly got hit by a huge drawdown. How could we prevent this drawdown and what could we do to detect that something is not right?

Below we can all see the tragedy:

Now let’s see how we could detect it. At the chart below we can see the weekly worst trade. As you can see this provider’s strategy has never crossed the 170 pips worst trade limit for the first 6 months. Right after that he started risking more, his worst trades grew larger and his appetite for risk became stronger; he also started risking 200 pips or more, in contrast with the last 6 months when he never did so. It is obvious that he changed strategy. If you could have placed a stop loss equal with the average of the worst trades he had experienced during the last 6 months, you would have prevented the whole tragedy afterwords.

This practice will not work for signal providers with tight stop losses such as i.e. Forextechno [EURUSD_LT]. It will only work, in most cases, with signal providers that will experience a higher than usual drawdown, putting our accounts in risk.

One of the best ways to spot the right stop loss, (we always recommend to use a stop loss as a safety net by selecting the Safe option at your accounts Advanced Settings), is to use our latest backtest tool seen below. You can find it in your Settings page, after you login, at the button “Backtest”

Find the right stop loss for each one of your providers, or decide to remove the provider, in case there is no stop loss that will  make his/her strategy viable. Try before you buy!

Play with slippage and see if this strategy is viable in real life (unless the provider broadcasts from a live account, in which case all results are perfectly realistic).

Happy Trading!

To find out more about Zulutrade please visit the ZuluTrade homepage.

Belgian business climate improved in January, but remained in the negative territory since May 2011. The business climate index added 1.1 point to minus 9.5 this month on a seasonally adjusted basis from minus 10.6 in the preceding month, reported the Bank of Belgium. Experts predicted the index to inch up 0.5 points approaching minus 10.1 this month.

US President Obama called the government to impose higher taxes on country’s  wealthy to restore income equality in US economy, fueling predictions he will use this call in his election campaign. Obama claims that those who earn millions must pay at least 30% tax to make sure more citizens have a fair share of income. President also demanded to create more jobs in domestic natural gas production and alternative energy production.

Debts owed by a typical UK family surged 48% since January last year as increasing inflation rate impacted households’ incomes, reported Aviva Family Finances. Average UK family owes about 7,944 Pounds in unsecured borrowings on loans, credit cards and overdrafts as compared to 5,360 Pounds in January last year. The debts represent over 32% of the overall net annual income and imply that families owe more debts as financial pressure increases.

The official SNB exchange rate for EUR/CHF is 1.2088 today; yield on 10-year Swiss Confederation bonds decreased to 0.80%. 3-month LIBOR CHF stands at 0.06%, and is within the target range of 0.00-0.25%. Swiss SMI stock index has lost 1.36% since the opening bell, and is currently fluctuating around 6052 points.

Japan reported the first yearly trade deficit in 30 years. The trade deficit of the country for 2011 amounted 2.49 million Yen, with imports adding 12% and exports decreasing by 2.7%, according to finance ministry. Experts blamed recent earthquake and tsunami as many factories and supply chains were damaged.

Daily maximum: 1.3051
Daily minimum: 1.2931
The shared European currency weakened versus the greenback and breached the daily forecast mean (1.3022) as the ECB opposed to accept losses on Greek government bonds. Daily Resistance: 1.3081; 1.3126; 1.3190. Daily Support: 1.2972; 1.2908; 1.2863. Daily Bias: Bullish.

Daily maximum: 101.89
Daily minimum: 100.98
The shared European rose today versus the American dollar as the German Ifo Business Climate Index rose today despite the recession fears, leaving daily forecast mean (99.15) intact. Daily Resistance: 101.69; 102.12; 102.96. Daily Support: 100.42; 99.58; 99.15. Daily Bias: Strongly bullish.

Daily maximum: 1.5626
Daily minimum: 1.5535
The British pound erased earlier weekly gains after touching the market participants’ mean (1.5602) on lower-than-expected final GDP (-0.2% act./-0.1% est.). Daily Resistance: 1.5655; 1.5687; 1.5748. Daily Support: 1.5562; 1.5501; 1.5469. Daily Bias: Bullish.

Daily maximum: 78.27
Daily minimum: 77.68
The pair crossed the 78.00 level and left the daily forecast mean (77.54) intact as the Japanese currency depreciated on the first trade balance deficit in almost 30 years. Daily Resistance: 78.03; 78.39; 78.93. Daily Support: 77.13; 76.59; 76.23. Daily Bias: Strongly bullish.

Daily maximum: 0.9338
Daily minimum: 0.91269
USD/CHF traded lower today after pending monthly home sales disappoined investors (-3.5% act./-0.6% est.), touching the daily target at 0.9273. Daily Resistance: 0.9312; 0.9350; 0.9389. Daily Support: 0.9235; 0.9196; 0.9158. Daily Bias: Neutral.

Greece hoping for debt swap deal as early as this week
Greece hopes to complete talks on a debt swap deal with its private creditors as early as this week, a Greek government spokesman said on Wednesday.

Fed set to push back timing of eventual rate hike
The Federal Reserve looks set to keep monetary policy on hold on Wednesday, even as it releases forecasts expected to show interest rates will be near zero for at least two more years.

Japan posts first trade deficit since 1980
Japan has posted an annual trade deficit for the first time since 1980 after a year of struggling to adjust to a strong yen, a eurozone crisis and the impact of natural disasters.

“We consider that French banks will be able to maintain their lending activity in their core businesses”
- Standard & Poor’s
Standard & Poor’s cut credit ratings of four French banks, a move expected by markets after the credit agency downgraded France’s top notch sovereign credit rating on January 13.

“It’s all about the negotiations of Greek debt”
- Mike Ryan, chief investment strategist at UBS Wealth Management America
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as investors debated whether a threeweek rally in equities was warranted.

“[Government debt]  shows the unsustainable level of spending this country built up over the past few years”
- A Treasury spokesperson
U.K. budget deficit decreased to 10.8 billion pounds in December from 15.1 billion in November, said the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday.

CHF
“Further delays in [Greece’s] negotiations [with private bondholders] would lead to renewed nervousness on the financial markets”
- Anja Hochberg, head of investment strategy at Credit Suisse Group AG
Swiss stocks rose modestly on Tuesday amid Greece’s negotiations with private bondholders.

JPY
“The BOJ sees European credit crunch as the biggest risk”
- Naka Matsuzawa, chief investment strategist at Nomura Securities
The Bank of Japan downgraded Japan’s growth outlook but kept monetary policy on hold on Tuesday as strong yen and weak global demand weighed on exporters.

“The euro will continue to be under pressure as global investors shift money out of the euro zone and in favor U.S. markets”
- Nomura (based on WSJ)
EUR/USD is attempting to consolidate above a key level at 1.30.

“At present, Europe’s debt problem poses the biggest risk for the global economy, including Japan’s”
- Masaaki Shirakawa, BoJ Governor (based on Reuters)
The Euro – Japanese Yen currency pair has effortlessly pierced through a resistance zone at 100.45/77 and is now headed toward 102.55/60.

“There is a risk of a negative [UK] GDP number and this could raise the risk of substantial QE down the track”
- CIBC (based on Reuters)
The Cable is now trying to break through a formidable resistance located at 1.5635.

“Capital flows are much more important for the yen than trade flows”
- Societe Generale (based on CNBC)
USD/JPY currency couple has penetrated a number of resistances and is anticipated to continue rising.

“The Swiss franc is still highly valued, but it should depreciate further in the future”
- SNB (based on Bloomberg)
Following a dip down to 0.9250/02 USD/CHF is expected to recover, however, a close above 0.9395 is needed to restore bullish momentum.

Crook: Europe Can Beat This Crisis but Maybe Not the Next
How gloomy should we be about the European Union? Are its problems manageable, or is it headed for systemic collapse? My answer is yes — the problems are manageable, and the EU’s leaders are behaving so recklessly that collapse is all too possible.

Obama doubles down on taxing the rich
President Barack Obama used his last State of the Union speech before the November election to paint himself as the champion of the middle class, by demanding higher taxes for millionaires and tight reins on Wall Street.

Japan’s first trade deficit since 1980
Japan first annual trade deficit in more than 30 years calls into question how much longer the country can rely on exports to help finance a huge public debt without having to turn to fickle foreign investors.

I just learned that a popular payment processor – Plimus – has banned forex vendors from using their system. I found out about this from a buddy of mine who was using Plimus to sell his forex product and one day he just woke up to find out that he was locked out of his vendor account. Upon further investigation he discovered the following e-mail sent by Plimus a mere day before his account was blocked:

Dear Vendor

We recognize that the recent announcement concerning accounts represents a significant business challenge and apologize for the inconvenience of the account suspensions for those identified as selling online auctions, Foreign Exchange (FOREX) and related products, Media and Poker chips and other virtual currency.

It is never a good time to make such an announcement. But, for these industries the credit card associations (including Visa and MasterCard) are increasing their scrutiny of merchants selling products within these online segments due to market issues.

As a result, for the protection of our other vendors, we must undertake a detailed and exhaustive review of accounts identified as being in these segments and take appropriate action. Vendors in these market segments ONLY were suspended as of Thursday, January 12th, which will mean that no further transactions can take place until further notice. If you believe your account should not be considered to be within one of the stated market segments, or if you have any questions of concerns, please contact Vendor Support directly at vendors@plimus.com.

If your account has been identified as being in one of these categories (online auctions, Foreign Exchange (FOREX) and related products, Media and Poker chips and other virtual currency), account reviews will take approximately 30 days. During the period of this review, the payout scheduled for the 15th of this month will be suspended for a period not to exceed 30 days pending our confirmation that all transactions will be honored by the card associations.

Again, we regret having to take this action for accounts in these categories.

Regards,
Ari-Plimus Risk Team

Well, I am not surprised this happened to be honest, as there are quite a lot of junk forex products out there and the refund rate for forex and forex related products is quite high. Part of the blame rests of the vendors themselves but some part of it rests with the end users who are jumpy, impatient,  and lazy. They will quickly yell bloody scam if your forex product doesn’t make them a millionaire over night with little to no work (or thinking) on their part. OK, I’m dramatizing a bit here, but you get my point. People are finicky and tricky to deal with and the forex market and forex products are NOT simple for the average person to understand or use.

Forex vendors on the other hand need to stop peddling to the lowest common denominator and stop it with the “you can be a millionaire even if you posses only two fully functional brain cells” and they need to ensure that their product is easy to use and does not require wasted time asking for support and waiting for a reply. But above all forex vendors need to make sure…THAT THEIR PRODUCT WORKS. The number one reason forex products have such a high refund rate is because the majority of them are pure junk. Some “vendors” are not real vendors but scammers and opportunists who see retail forex traders – and more specifically NEWBIE forex traders – as “suckers”.

But I must say the Plimus handled this very unprofessionally. My buddy told me that he was not even given a reasonable prior notice so he can move his payment processing system somewhere else.  Some internet marketer complained that:

“And you know you can’t ask the customers to wait just because Plimus is not in the good mood today. I am shocked to be informed just a day before suspension. ”

One day before suspension! Ridiculous!

Anyways, the lesson here for legitimate forex vendors is that you have to be _VERY_ careful who you entrust to process your clients’ payments. Now that Plimus is no longer accepting your business where do you go? Well there is ClickBank, Click2Sell, Paydotcom, E-Junkie, AlertPay, PayPal, etc. There are probably a boat load of alternatives.

From my experience the payment processor and affiliate platform known as ClickBank has a TON of forex related products in its marketplace, so if ClickBank decides to ban forex products too then lol it would be a sad day for forex marketers – Black Friday type of situation.

We shall see what happens next.

Oh and if you want an official explanation from the CEO of Plimus go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZQ-HTOtNxg&feature=youtu.be