Over the past few years, FX markets have exploded in popularity amongst retail traders. Hard to say if that was due to heavy promotional efforts from the industry itself, or whether the continual pumping of FX trading is a result of increased interest and demand. In any event, there are a lot of misconceptions and mistruths floating out there that need to be addressed. Most of the myths involve spot currency aka "FX" markets but some include currency futures, too.

Currency Markets Are Totally Random

Not at all... nothing could be further from the truth. An individual's stock price movement can be pushed up, down or sideways by an endless procession of factors. Part may be economic, part fundamentals to specific company, industry or sector. Another part of stock market action is pure emotion. Someone makes or sells a widget with perceived value higher than what turns out to be economic reality. Doesn't matter... stock prices can remain pumped on pure emotion longer than rational people can comprehend.

Currency markets aren't like that. They are purely supply and demand, a commodity if you will. Each currency is weighted on economic conditions for that specific denomination versus any or all others in the marketplace. Price value of currencies is nothing more than a reflection of where that denomination's economy ranks as weak or strong relative to others. There is no sentimental or emotional impact on a currency. No one buys the British Pound to unreasonable heights because they like the color scheme of those bills. No one sells the USD/CHF because that country has great skiing in the winter; therefore it's a "play" to profit from guesswork of increased tourism. If the Swiss economy is weak or strong, it'll be amply

After years of hard work, you've decided to call it quits and retire. But before waving goodbye to your colleagues, you'll want to plan an exit strategy. A smooth transition requires more than just figuring out how to survive without a steady paycheck. You'll also need to figure out how to cope with the emotional impact of forgoing a routine you've followed for most of your adult life. "One of the biggest challenges in retirement is really staying engaged," says Tom Nelson, chief operating officer of AARP in Washington. Here are some steps to pave the way to retirement:

Create a health-care fund. If you don't qualify for Medicare, set aside enough money to cover the cost of health insurance, even if your employer offers health plans to retirees, advises Drew Denning, vice president of the retiree-services division at Principal Financial Group Inc. "It's not a vested benefit like a company pension plan, meaning a company can retract that at any point in time," he says. Also, get a physical before your current health-insurance plan expires, says Mr. Denning. Since some providers deny coverage to high-risk individuals, you'll want to know if you fall into this category. If you do, consider staying on the job a little longer to "mitigate the significant risk of a huge health-insurance claim," he advises.

Develop a long-term budget. Determine how much money you'll need on a monthly basis for as long as 40 years from now, says Sandy Timmermann, director of Mature Market Institute, a research division at MetLife Inc. People "are focused on how much money we can accumulate, but not a great deal of

Computer maker Dell Inc. said Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 17 percent, hurt in part by PC price cuts. Both earnings and margins fell short of Wall Street estimates, and Dell shares plunged.

For the three-month period that ended Aug. 1, Dell's earnings dropped to $616 million, or 31 cents per share, from $746 million, or 32 cents per share in the same period last year.

Excluding amortization and business realignment charges, Dell said it would have earned 33 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast a profit of 36 cents per share.

Investors sent Dell shares down $2.50, or 10 percent, to $22.71 in after-hours trading. Earlier, the stock dropped 42 cents to close at $25.21.

Sales rose 11 percent to $16.4 billion, ahead of Wall Street's view for $15.9 billion in sales. And Dell said operating expenses fell to their lowest point in six quarters.

But the company slashed PC prices too sharply in the quarter, offsetting its attempts to cut costs and eroding its gross margin. Analysts had hoped Dell's margin would hold steady at last quarter's level of 18.4 percent, but instead it sank to 17.2 percent.

In a conference call, Chief Financial Officer Brian Gladden said Dell made "strategic pricing" changes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to speed up growth and fend off competition from its larger competitor, Hewlett-Packard Co. The company also deferred some services-related profit from that region

NEW YORK (AP) -- ConocoPhillips will sell the remainder of its gas stations in the United States, the company said Wednesday, though Conoco, Phillips 66, and 76 will continue to operate under those familiar signs.

The 600 or so stations are being sold to Pacific Convenience & Fuel LLC, a subsidiary of PetroSun Fuel.

The deal is "in the ballpark" of $800 million, said Sam Hirbod, chairman and chief executive of PetroSun and Pacific Convenience.

Part of the deal includes a long-term contract in which ConocoPhillips would provide fuel for the stations.

"If our brand is at that site, we will be supplying the gas," ConocoPhillips spokeswoman Terry Hunt said in a phone interview.

The purchase will help boost Pacific Convenience's presence in major West Coast urban areas, Hirbod said.

"We see opportunity in the future," he said in a phone interview. "As the oil companies exit, we think there will be more flexibility."

Houston-based ConocoPhillips began several years ago to spin off its retail stores, focusing more on

BERLIN (AP) -- The euro recovered some ground against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday after hitting a six-month low the previous day.

The euro bought $1.4692 in morning European trading, up from $1.4650 in New York late Tuesday and well above the $1.4569 it bought earlier in Tuesday's session.

The British pound, which on Tuesday hit a 25-month low, rose to $1.8420 from $1.8389. The dollar also gave up ground against the Japanese currency, declining to 109.22 yen from 109.63 yen.

The dollar slipped as oil prices rose in Asia on concerns that Tropical Storm Gustav may disrupt operations in the Gulf of Mexico, home to a quarter of U.S. crude production.

The dollar had risen sharply on Tuesday as two U.S. economic reports came in better than expected, while surveys showed business and consumer confidence dropping in Germany, the 15-nation euro zone's biggest economy.

In addition, the Federal Reserve released notes from its Aug. 5 meeting indicating that the next move for U.S. interest rates would be upward. Higher interest rates can boost a currency as investors transfer

CINCINNATI (AP) -- The Procter & Gamble Co. is linking laundry to fashion in what's billed as the biggest product launch yet for its venerable Tide brand.

Fashion mentor Tim Gunn of reality TV's "Project Runway" is among those involved in marketing the new "Total Care" products that P&G says draw on technology from its beauty products to let clothes keep their shape, color and new look longer through repeated washing.

The $60 million marketing campaign for the Tide detergent and Downy fabric softener products includes a tie-in with Ann Taylor Stores Corp.'s Loft unit and ads in such magazines as Elle, Vogue and Cosmopolitan, said spokesman Kash Shaikh.

It's an example of how P&G is banking on big-brand innovations to overcome a tradedown-minded U.S. consumer economy, and the company is promoting the line as a budget help because clothes can be worn more often and dry-cleaning bills reduced.

"We are trying to drive some value -- clothes, in simple terms, look good longer," said Alex Tosolini, a vice president for Fabric Care.

It's sort of an anti-aging line for clothes, using ingredients derived from Pantene hair products and Olay skin care, among others, the Cincinnati-based consumer goods company says.

Helping open the campaign is a Tide Web site featuring Gunn of Bravo's "Project Runway" and "Tim Gunn's

Seeing your portfolio shrink can be tough so close to retirement, but you should still be investing for the long term.

Question: I’m 58 years old. At the beginning of June, my 401(k) was worth $482,000 and now it’s worth $430,000. How can I stop the bleeding? —John, Tyler, Texas

Answer: If your goal is simply to staunch the bleeding, the answer is simple. Just move all your money into your 401(k)’s money-market option. That will pretty much assure that your account balance will fall no further.

But I don’t think that should be your goal.

Why? Well, if you keep your money in your plan’s money-market option (or any guaranteed-return investment, for that matter), you’ll be relegating your retirement stash to a mediocre long-term return, which means that your nest egg isn’t likely to grow very much between now and the time you retire.

Of course, you could move it to a safe haven today with the idea of switching back to a portfolio of stocks and bonds at some point in the future. But you then have to figure out when the right time is to move it back. You don’t want to switch out of the money-market fund too soon and incur more losses. Yet if you wait too long, you can miss the big gains that come in the explosive early stages of a stock rebound.

So if stopping the bleeding isn’t the right goal, what should your objective be?

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices tumbled more than $6 a barrel Friday -- the biggest one-day percentage plunge in nearly four years -- after a rebounding dollar and a Russian troop pullback in Georgia sparked another frenzied sell-off.

Crude's nosedive wiped out all the gains from the previous day's big rally and reaffirmed the belief that high energy prices and a softening global economy are still cutting into consumer demand for fossil fuels in the U.S. and overseas.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell $6.59, or 5.43 percent, to settle at $114.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

It was crude's largest single-day price drop percentage-wise since Dec. 27, 2004, when prices dropped 6.47 percent. In dollar terms, it was oil's steepest one-day slide since Jan. 17, 1991, just after the start of the Gulf War. Crude prices had risen for three straight days, including an almost $6 rally on Thursday.

"This is extreme volatility," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill. "The fact that we erased all of yesterday's gains so fast suggests that we're still in a bear market. There's just not much demand out there."

At the pump, a gallon of regular fell another penny overnight to a new national average of $3.692, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Prices had peaked at

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday the financial crisis that has pounded the country -- coupled with higher inflation -- is taking a toll on the economy and poses a major challenge to Fed policymakers as they try to restore stability.

"Although we have seen improved functioning in some markets, the financial storm that reached gale force" around this time last year "has not yet subsided, and its effects on the broader economy are becoming apparent in the form of softening economic activity and rising unemployment," Bernanke said in a speech to a high-profile economics conference here.

While Bernanke welcomed the recent drops in oil and other commodities' prices, and believes inflation will moderate this year and next, the Fed chief also warned the inflation outlook remains highly uncertain.

The Fed, he said, would monitor the situation closely and will "act as necessary" to make sure that inflation doesn't get out of hand.

The current financial and economic environment is one of the most challenging to Fed policymakers "in memory," he acknowledged.

Given those dueling economic cross-currents-- weak economic growth and higher inflation -- many economists believe the Fed will leave rates where they are at its next meeting on Sept. 16, and probably through the rest of this year.

"They won't act until the coast is clear on financial stability and the state of the economy," said Allen Sinai,

Tapping into your retirement savings could leave you worse off.

Well, now I know how to get your attention. In an article entitled "Avoid these 401(k) Mistakes," I wrote that it is always a bad idea to borrow from your 401(k). Judging by the flood of e-mail I received in response, a lot of folks disagree. Most readers offered some interesting insights, but I still think borrowing from your 401(k) is something you should avoid. Why do I think so? Let's first take a look at how 401(k) loans work, their potential advantages, and why they're unwise.

The Basics

Whether you can take a loan your 401(k) depends on whether your employer has decided to give you the option. If borrowing is an option, you'll usually be allowed to borrow up to 50% of your account balance, up to $50,000. You'll have to pay interest on your loan, typically a percentage point or two above the prime rate, and generally speaking, you'll have five years to pay it back. (If you've taken a loan to buy a house, you'll probably have 10 years.) You start repaying right away, with equal payments over the term of your loan that are taken directly out of your paycheck.

The Case for Borrowing from Your 401(k)

So you've got a financial emergency on your hands, and you need some quick cash. A 401(k) loan looks like a better option than the alternatives. Sure, you've got to pay interest on your 401(k) loan, but it's

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison, a longtime fixture on the list of the world's richest people, is now ensconced atop The Associated Press' rankings of the top-paid chief executives in the United States.

Never shy about flaunting his estimated $25 billion fortune, Ellison established himself as the best-paid CEO among major U.S. companies by persuading Oracle to award him a fiscal 2008 pay package valued at $84.6 million under the AP's calculations.

The total compensation, disclosed late Wednesday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, catapulted Ellison to the top of the AP's annual analysis of CEO pay.

With a pay package valued at $83.1 million, Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain held that distinction in June when the AP released its 2008 analysis of executive compensation at more than 400 large companies.

The details about Ellison's compensation weren't available at that time because Oracle operates on an unusual fiscal year ending in May. The anomaly lets Oracle wait until late summer to make the SEC-mandated disclosures about Ellison's pay.

The AP's rankings cover disclosures made within the same calendar year, meaning Ellison could be surpassed if an SEC filing during the next four months reveals another CEO received an even bigger pay package.

For now, there are only two changes in the AP's list of the 10 best-paid executives. With Ellison taking

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- After some disappointments among Nike's prospects, the company is looking to men's basketball for one of those big medal moments companies crave from the Olympics.

Basketball is the top sport in China and other developing markets where Nike hopes to win over consumers. With the U.S. men's team's advancement to the semifinals in Beijing after a 116-85 victory over Australia Wednesday, the time may be right for the swoosh.

Nike says its sees this year's games -- which drew the company's largest Olympics investment ever -- as a success. It created a new product for every sport and outfitted 22 of the 28 federations.

In U.s men's basketball, Nike outfits 11 of the 12 players, including NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, who has spent several summers in China building relationships and is mobbed wherever he goes. His is the top-selling jersey in China.

Bryant just had his best game of the Olympics, scoring 25 points against Australia. But Nike has seen better games for big wins.

Some of its top athletes, most notably Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang, faced unexpected disappointments. And Nike lost the spotlight to competitors such as Speedo, which endorses Michael Phelps and created the famed LZR Racer suit, and Puma, which outfitted Jamaica's Usain Bolt, who swept the 100- and 200-meter sprints.

"We are about sticking by athletes through thick and thin, through injury and poor performances," said

NEW YORK (AP) -- With oil prices seesawing, the dollar bounced back against the euro and the pound Wednesday after a two-day drop.

The 15-nation euro slipped to $1.4741 in late New York trading from $1.4768 Tuesday, while the British pound fell to $1.8615 from $1.8660.

The U.S. Energy Department said Wednesday a big gain in imports drove crude inventories up by a hefty 9.4 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 15, a figure much higher than analysts expected.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose near $115 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the session, it climbed as high as $117.03 before the inventory data was released, then fell as low as $112.61, only to rebound again.

Investing in oil futures has been a hedge against a sliding dollar, but oil's weekslong drop has helped support the dollar. The prices of the two have tended to move in opposite directions.

Meanwhile, shares of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to sink Wednesday on worries that the government-chartered companies will need a bailout from the Treasury Department, a move that could wipe out shareholders' equity.

The dollar dropped earlier in the week as crude futures surged, the financial sector worried Wall Street and the U.S. government said wholesale prices jumped higher in July.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors are betting that time is running out for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Shares of the mortgage finance companies lost more than a fifth of their value on Wednesday as fears mounted that the companies will soon need government support and any bailout would hang stockholders out to dry.

Since Monday, stock in the two companies -- which together hold or guarantee half the U.S. mortgage debt -- have plunged nearly 40 percent and are now trading at lows not seen in nearly two decades.

"There's a big negative feedback loop and there's no way out of it," Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. analyst Paul Miller said in an interview. "As the stock falls more and more, it's more likely the government steps in and more likely equity holders get wiped out."

Fannie Mae's chief executive sought to reassure investors that no bailout is imminent.

"They haven't offered anything and we haven't asked for anything," Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd said in a public radio interview Wednesday morning. "I don't anticipate that they will do that."

Mudd said the company's financial position "remains very strong," and that he intends to remain the CEO.

Executives with McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac met with Treasury department officials on Wednesday morning, according to two sources familiar with the meeting who were not authorized to discuss its

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co.'s fiscal third-quarter profit jumped 14 percent, beating Wall Street's expectations, as strong laptop sales and a robust international presence lifted the technology bellwether.

The Palo Alto-based company's results, reported after the market closed Tuesday, signaled that HP is still holding its ground as the world's No. 1 seller of personal computers even with stronger competition from Dell Inc. and Apple Inc. and aggressive price cuts.

HP said it earned $2.03 billion, or 80 cents per share, in the latest period, up from $1.78 billion, or 66 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time charges, HP's profit was 86 cents per share, three cents higher than the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Investors have become accustomed to HP offering conservative guidance and topping those forecasts by a few pennies per share, so HP's strong results for the May-July period and a fourth-quarter outlook that was slightly better than analysts expected weren't much of a surprise.

Still, HP's optimism about its prospects despite a tough economic environment in the U.S. and parts of Europe helped lift the stock.

HP shares rose $1.25, or 2.9 percent, to $44.94 in after-hours trading after the results were reported