Interestingly, such growth is not only limited to the number of jurisdictions in which medicinal cannabis has become legalized.  Growth has also become evident in the number of new studies that have been able to verify the medical benefits of cannabis.

With these new findings, more effective products are being developed and this is making the market more colorful with a wide array of products and services to enhance the lives of patients.

Cannabis-infused Food and Beverages

One of the most influential improvements in the development of medical marijuana is the arrival of cannabis-infused foods and beverages (like cookies, chocolates, and sodas).  This innovation has already made a strong impact on the United States market, as roughly $180 million worth of cannabis-infused products were sold last year in California alone.

This is significant because it makes up more than 10% of the state’s total sales of cannabis. The chemical terpene is one of the main reasons for efficacy of this new cannabis trend.  Terpenes present in the cannabis flowers are what give them a unique fragrance and flavor, and also trigger the endocannabinoid system function in humans.  This makes their chemical compounds useful in treating a number of different illnesses.

Cannabis in Beauty and Skincare

Cannabis is also known to contain numerous antioxidants that can help prevent skin damage, and slow down the aging process.  Various scientific studies have already proven that CBD has an important role in the prevention of unwanted skin growth, and the reduction of inflammation and infection.  This essentially suggests that the marijuana plant has far more applications that the medical community had previously thought.

Recently, the Europe-based company MGC Pharmaceuticals (a brand that offers skincare, anti-aging, and cosmetics products with CBD), made a landmark deal with the Korean company Varm Cosmo.  Over the last few years, the South Korean beauty scene(known as K-Beauty) has become a leader in terms of beauty and skincare innovation, and the recent marketing done in these areas suggests rising global demand for CBD products.  This South Korean market aone has been valued at $13 billion, and with the corporate collaborations from other cannabis-utilizing companies suggest that these numbers are only going to be much bigger in the future.

GrowLife: Cannabis Cultivation Technology

Or course, in order to maximize the benefits of CBD medicines, producers must first be able to grow the marijuana plants themselves.  This is where an industry innovator like GrowLife, Inc. (OTCMKTS: PHOT) comes into play.

GrowLife, Inc. is a publicly-traded holding company that specializes in soil technology, cultivation equipment, and other related products.  As a cannabis cultivation technology organization, GrowLife stands to benefit from the dramatic increases we are seeing in the underlying demand for medicinal cannabis products.

These are all factors that should benefit shareholders that are able to get in on the ground-floor for this emerging industry.  At the same time, the company’s innovative development of various sustainable practices in cannabis cultivation and water management have driven the increased production needed to bring a broader diversity of medical marijuana products consumers.

Sales in Global Markets

Interestingly, the Canadian legal cannabis market is one of the GrowLife’s foundational elements of its growth strategy — and for good reason.  Medical marijuana sales from licensed producers have grown at a heightened pace over the last four years, and it is clear that more companies are now trying to capitalize on the emerging trends toward acceptance and legalization.

These trends in global sales will only add to what is still the largest single market in the United States.  This is why also the company has established operations in other U.S. states and cities (i.e. Oregon, Colorado, and Las Vegas) under the Greenway Medical brand.

In 2018 and beyond, the market for medical cannabis is expected to become more widespread and mainstream within the public consciousness.  A large part of this new sales activity will be fueled by the recent advancements that have been made in agricultural technology.  As advancements continue to be made, companies will continue to make progress as the ‘picks and shovels’ play in the Green Rush as they further push the innovation forward in developing the best products and medicines for patients.

This article originally appeared on Geopolitical Focus.

Markets are starting to return to full strength again, now that the holiday period has officially come to a close.  The next moves in the US Dollar Index (DXY) could be significant in terms of their possibility to define the broader market trends seen for the remainder of this year.  As we will see here, this did happen in 2017 and this does match the historical averages that develop in the Bitcoin and the USD when its value is compared to a basket of heavily traded currency counterparts.

In this chart, we can see that the US Dollar Index (DXY) has been in a steady downtrend since the beginning of the stock market rally 2017.  This actually came as a surprise to many forex analysts, as the pro-growth agenda that was expected after the Donald Trump US Presidential election did not ultimately translate into a higher US Dollar.

Chart: US Dollar Index Daily Chart

There is the possibility that this could change if GDP reports continue to impress.  But, until then, it looks like the majority of the market’s momentum is currently headed in the other direction.  One strategy for this type of market scenario can be found in the forex trend swing trading strategy because of its ability to establish clear positions on the approach of long-term support levels.

The DXY instrument itself is now clearly focused on a retest of the lows from last September near 91, and and downside follow-through from there would be a heavily bearish event for the US Dollar.  A period of prolonged extensions of the current rate policy could mean that the Federal Reserve could impact financial stocks in addition to values in the US Dollar and so there are several different asset classes to watch over the next few weeks.

A bounce off of the 91 level in DXY would be encouraging, however, and this means that simple levels trading could be the way to go during the remainder of this month.  Indicator readings also suggest a bounce could be in order but we will need to see an upside break through 93.60 in order to confirm the downtrend is finally completed.

There are real questions, however, with respect to whether or not these types of rallies higher can continue throughout the next year.  When we look at the charts themselves, it is relatively clear that the impetus for many of these moves higher in equities has come as a result of the 2016 US Presidential election.  Markets and investors have clearly been encouraged by the results as the pro-growth agenda stands to benefit many different market sectors if plans are passed and able to proceed further.

In the chart above, it is clear that the Dow Jones Industrial Average was still below 18,500.  The Dow is a smaller collection of stocks that is more heavily focused on specific industries and sectors.  Low interest rate levels, gold prices are changing and rising GDP data reports are all pointing in one direction, and the market has ignored recent political turmoil in North Korea as the Dow benchmark has since posted highs above the 25,000 mark.

Given the strong psychological nature of this type of price level it is clear that the dominant direction is higher, and that most of the sideways activity that was seen during the earlier parts of 2016 found an impetus once the event risk of the election was out of the way.  But given the fact that much of this buying has already occurred, the prospects for those holding mutual funds in 2018 are less likely to impress in the same fashion.

At the Federal Reserve, the new Chairman (Jerome Powell) has a consistent record of voting policy that was largely in line with the direction taken by predecessor Janet Yellen.  But this could ultimately prove to be another positive for stock markets as cheap cash rate help boost long term investment.

As usual, the corporate earnings season will have the final say as business performance improvement statistics still suggest there could be areas of the market that miss analyst expectations.  The first two quarters of the year will likely be the most important in terms of their ability to influence the long term trends that are seen within the broader economy.

One of the biggest mistakes investors can make at this stage is to start chasing stock rallies at their currently elevated levels.  If we start to see a slowdown in momentum, it could be very likely that late investors could actually end up under water if not positioned correctly.

This article first appeared on Financials News.

The best way of measuring these trends is generally through the US Dollar Index (DXY) as it relates the US Dollar value toa number of different currencies within the basket, and this is a good indicator of the general momentum that is likely to be found in these parts of the market.

In this chart, the new forex trends that we are seeing have been characterized by a chart rebound in the USD from the lows that were posted during the earlier parts of this month.  Increased volatility was seen after the most recent release of the US Non Farm Payrolls figures, but markets have since returned to pre-release levels once the dust managed to settle.

Events like these can be traded using the modified double stochastic trading strategy given the extent of the prior moves, and the scope for longer-term follow through that could be seen once the broader market trend starts to reassert itself.  In the current scenario, the most likely outcome is that we see a break of the double-bottom lows that were posted in the earlier parts of this month.

Confirmation of this outlook will be seen if there are new failures at the 92.60 level, as this is likely to contain US Dollar markets over the next several weeks.  Moving average readings are also supportive, given the fact that the 20-period EMA on the daily charts is once again moving below the highly critical 200-period EMA on the same price history.

Currently, markets are holding within the 2-standard deviation Bollinger Band and this suggests that shorter-term traders can position on both sides of the market with tight stop losses.  Longer-term, however, the picture is much more one-side as it suggests that we will continue to see forex selling pressure in DXY.

As the new year 2018 unfolds, the divide between the older and relatively newer members of the European Union continues to widen. One of the most pressing issues that the council cannot seem to settle is the matter regarding border policies.

For a long time now, Italy has expressed its desire to issue visas that will allow migrants to travel around the EU as stock markets stabilize. Such attempt was aimed to pressure other members of the EU to do more in order to relieve the global crisis in migration. For a long time, Italy has been complaining about the fact that it is being left alone to manage the effects of the crisis concerning refugees that arrive on its shores. Apparently, this is highly inevitable as the country is one of the most accessible entry points and most popular routes for migrants coming from Libya.

The tug-of-war begins

According to the EU law, migrants should be kept in the first country of arrival; Italy does not accept this and continues to believe that migrants should be EU’s responsibility in general. However, as a blunt response to Italy’s decision of granting temporary migrant visas, Austrian leaders deem it to be unacceptable and even threatened EU of installing border controls in some areas.

• In particular, Austrian Minister Sebastian Kurz even said that the border should be permanently shut down. According to him, the fact that visas would be issued is extremely ridiculous as it would cause more people to come. This will not relieve the burden for Italy itself and its neighboring countries.

• Kurz added that should this Italy’s proposal be granted, Austria will not allow people to go to the north freely.

Predictions in 2018

Throughout history, Austria has long exhibited high levels of opposition to many EU policies. Austrian leaders pointed out that they don’t want to experience the same situation back in 2015 wherein EU did not respond to what happened.  Now, Austria seems to be ready to defend any time as border controls were already increased.

• In the coming year, Austria is set to soon take over the presidency of the EU council. Furthermore, in 2018, Austria is predicted by many to join the Visegrád group (an EU minority group of anti-immigration states) and bring an end to the goal of EU to become a closer union of allies. Many experts believe that by joining the Visegrád group, Austria may have the chance to influence decisions concerning anti-immigration policies. When this happen, the common policies as well as the principles of EU will be put under serious strains.

• The tension between the members of the EU is expected to get worse. Because of such turmoil, the status of financial markets, not only of the member countries but also the overall financial market will be affected.

• Austria is considered to be a contributor to the net EU budget while the members of the Visegrád group are the receivers.   In particular, the effects of this impending threat on euro are predicted to be very severe as it is rapidly weakening towards parity against USD.

• At the moment, the EU is currently trying its best to decipher the best ways to respond to the most severe challenges to its key values and rules of law.

The currency symbols can be divided by a slash (AAA/BBB), colon (AAA:BBB), dash (AAA-BBB) or sometimes nothing at all (AAABBB).

The position of the symbols is significant to determine value, understand the quote and make informed trade decisions that are commonly associated with success in the financial markets.  This is typicallly done using forex trading account Australia for buying and selling currencies, and then profiting from scenarios that agree with an active position in the markets.

Base Currency

The base currency is the first currency listed in a pair. In the pair USD/JPY, the base currency is the United States Dollar. The base currency is the unit of measurement for the secondary currency listed. For example, in the currency pair USD/JPY, the US Dollar is the base unit of measurement. The base unit is always one. Therefore, USD/JPY tells us how many Japanese Yen will equal one US dollar.

Quote Currency

The quote currency, also known as counter currency, it is the second currency listed in the pair. The base currency is always one, so the quote currency shows the value of the second currency against one unit of the base currency. For example, EUR/USD shows how many US dollars equal one Euro.

Direct and Indirect Quotes

Which comes first, foreign or domestic currency? It’s a common practice that the domestic currency is the base currency in a quote. That means, traders will be seeing the value of foreign currencies against their home currency. When the base is domestic, this is called a direct quote.

Indirect quotes, however, put the foreign currency in the base position. Most countries use direct quotes, so the market trader is viewing quotes based on their home currency. However, in some countries, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, the preference is to use indirect quotes.

Regardless of whether the base currency is foreign or domestic, it always equals one unit, so it only takes a little math to calculate the domestic price on an indirect quote.

Exchange Rates

The exchange rate always refers to the rate of exchange on the quote currency. It’s sometimes called the forex rate or the conversion rate, but it means the same thing. The rate is the formula for how many quote units it would take to equal one base unit.

For example, if the USD/CAD is quoted at 1.292, that means it takes 1.292 units of the quote currency (Canadian Dollar) to equal one base unit (one US dollar). Clearly, with this exchange rate, the US dollar has a stronger value and new forex trend against the Canadian dollar.

When to Buy, When to Sell

Buyers purchase a currency pair when they feel the base currency will rise against the quote currency. They sell when they feel the base will weaken against quote currency. Many forex traders watch news reports about the top 8 currency nations to get a feel for how market values may change.

For example, in 2008, many forex traders saw the Canadian dollar gaining momentum against the US greenback, spurring them to buy Canadian currency and sell US. Those who bought CAD were rewarded when the Canadian dollar reached parity and then surpassed the US dollar.

Buying and Selling on Every Transaction

The nature of currency pairs means each trade is both a buy and sell transaction. However, decisions to buy or sell are made according to the projected value of the base currency. Therefore, buying the pair AUS/USD means that you are buying Australian dollars, while also selling American dollars.

Essentially, the trader is converting or exchanging American dollars for Australian dollars. If the trader is selling the same pair, then the transaction is selling Australian dollars and buying American dollars.

In the end, mastering currency symbols and how they relate to each other is not as daunting as some would believe. The basic rules of how currency pairs and forex quotes are presented do not bend or change. Learning how they work is the first important step to successful trading in the forex market.

There are many different ways of crafting your brand’s image in ways that are memorable for your potential clients and customers.  But it is generally a better idea to give these audiences a physical item that they can hold and keep, rather than spending time writing an email that may or may not be read by the right person.

This is where corporate event marquees, printed cards, company wristbands, and ID lanyards can work wonders.  It is important to find the right balance between balance and quality so that you are not overpaying for your items but you still receive products that your customers will find to be impressive.  Remember, this is your brand identity that is being presented — and if it is not done correctly it could prove costly in terms of the lost business that is ultimately generated.

Branding Ideas for Companies

Giving your potential customers a physical gift to remember your company is important.  But it is equally important to define your branding image in ways that are succinct and memorable.  To get some of the ideas for what actually works in these areas, we need only look at some of the classic slogans that have been easy to remember.

As an example, think of the popular candy M&M’s.  To start, it is a short and easy to remember brand name that is original and cannot be confused with the brand identity of another company.  In addition to this, the company has a great slogan:  “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.”  This is a great slogan because it gives you a good idea of the company product (a chocolate candy).  This is a good example of a textual branding idea that has stood the test of time and become memorable for the key demographics that are likely to purchase the products.

Another example can be seen in the branding identity of Apple, Inc.  The tech company has its signature “apple”symbol that is often accompanied by the slogan “Think Different.”  The text slogan is great because it gives the potential user of the innovation that the company strives to achieve.  But the visual image is also great because it is different than what is generally seen in technology companies.

These are some of the factors that should be remembered when you are trying to expand your brand and reach a wider audience.  It is a great idea to give potential customers a physical item that can be taken home, as it allows your business to be remembered every time those items are used. Water bottles, bags & satchels, and fidget spinners can be great investments for small businesses that are looking to expand outreach in key areas of the market.

GBP/USD Faces Resistance at 1.3850

By  New Forex Trends

The GBP/USD continues to press forward with its long-term downtrend but there are still opportunities for bullish currency investors that are looking to capitalize on opportunities at lower levels.  After seeing some critical changes in the need for higher interest rates, the Bank of England has quickly started to alter its stance and this is leading to a turnaround in the GBP off of its prior lows.

Traders that are looking to take a position in the GBP/USD must understand that there is a large amount of momentum in the bearish direction and that any trades taken here should have relatively tight stop loss levels.  To the topside, there is now clear technical resistance in the 1.3850 zone and this is the first bullish target for long positions from here.

Ultimately, we are looking at an emerging uptrend channel on the shorter-term charts and this is coming into somewhat strong trendline resistance near 1.35.  The Commodity Channel Index is now holding at middle levels, so there is clear room to extend higher and the GBP will likely he helped further by suggestion that building inflation in the UK economy could make price stability less manageable.

This could require the Bank of England to start making additional changes in its interest rate outlook, and tighter monetary policy will likely push the GBP into prior resistance levels.  Using the best forex trading indicators for this currency pair, it is possible to assess the broader trends that have quickly become apparent in the GBP/USD.  We are looking to establish longs in the GBP/USD at current levels, with our stop losses placed at 1.3030.  This places risk-reward ratios in favorable territory and forex traders can build longs into these lower support areas to improve average entry prices.

Simple, as it may seem, the concept of trading of finance is rather complex. Also, when it comes to trades, the main goal is to achieve the highest price while having the least risk as possible. In order to achieve this, careful planning and actions should be done. Below you can find an overview about one of the essential steps during the trade life cycle: post-trade.

The Trade Lifecycle

Before we talk about what happens in post trade, let’s know first what a trade cycle is. Trade cycle refers to the series of events that are involved during the exchange of financial products and stocks.

• Basically, the trade life cycle is often divided into two parts: pre-trade and post-trade. As its name suggests, pre-trade occurs before the actual trade itself and even before the orders are made.

• On the other hand, post-trade is performed after the completion of a trade. Here, the seller and buyer evaluate trade details and transactions and perform changes in the records of ownership. Additionally, arrangements regarding transfer of securities and cash are also done.

Activities During Post-trade

Post-trade is not as simple as it may sound. Aside from the aforementioned activities, post trade is generally divided into three main parts: order matching and conversion, confirmation, and entire clearing and settlement. These individual steps are briefly described below.

1. Order matching and conversion

Under this step, orders are organized and are delivered to be executed in the exchange. Once done, the details of the trade (i.e. taxes and commission charges) are sent as notifications and are later executed.

2. Confirmation

After the successful execution, trade confirmations are sent to the funding manager. At the same time, cross verifications regarding allocation matches and other trade details (i.e. number of orders and their prices) are being done.

3. Entire clearing and settlement

Last but not the least is the process of clearing and settlement where accounts are opened again with certain banks. During this step, the members of the trade are reminded of their obligations in bank accounts.

Commoditization of Post-trade Processing

Unfortunately, post trade processing is slowly becoming a huge commoditized service, but not because on the quality of service given but because of mere increase in demand. Another factor is that banks that offer post-trade processing are often troubled by a dilemma: gaining very little despite working their very best or working poorly and losing a lot in return.

• Because of this, banks are put under great pressure of reducing service costs, leading to further fluctuations in trading volumes. In the end, this makes post-trade processing a commodity that only few people can afford.

]]> http://www.australiantimes.com.au/2017/11/investing-education-what-is-post-trade/feed/ 0 http://www.australiantimes.com.au/2017/10/forex-markets-stocks-and-the-australian-dollar/ http://www.australiantimes.com.au/2017/10/forex-markets-stocks-and-the-australian-dollar/#comments Tue, 31 Oct 2017 03:25:23 +0000 http://www.australiantimes.com.au/?p=4715 When we are looking at today’s financial markets, most of the attention is often focused on the stock markets as there has been a series of strong record highs that have been posted this year.

This has been highly encouraging for investors that were buying stocks before the global market collapse in 2008 as it essentially means that those days of volatility and uncertainty are now clearly in the rear view mirror.

But if you are looking for ways to expand your portfolio diversity, it is important to track the performance of the Australian Dollar (AUD) as it will have an influence on many different assets that are currently trading within the financial markets.  In order to complete these trades, it is essential to have a reliable online trading account that will allow you to have access to all of these assets at once.

Online Trading Platforms

Only the best online trading accounts will allow investors to access the forex markets, stock markets, and CFDs all at the same time.  This is a highly comprehensive package that will allow investors to profit from active financial trends as they relate to both currencies and to large corporations.

So, if there is an example of a news event that is suggesting of strength in the Australian economy, investors can move into positions that are in a position to benefit from rising values in the Australian Dollar (AUD).

Ultimately, this shows that investors will need to have a number of different strategies in their arsenal in order to benefit most from the trends that are occurring in the financial markets.  In the traditional investment format, investors would generally stay with a single asset class whenever looking to implement a retirement savings strategy.  This is no longer the case, as the modern online trading platform can combine all of these instruments into a single trading screen that can be accessed at any time.