Economy
Insider Secrets of Forex Trading for Newbies
The world of forex has been popularised across the entire world thanks to the major advancements experienced in technology and media.
Although what’s being advertised about trading may seem glamorous and simple, there’s a lot more than what meets the eye.
Most people have a misguided view of forex trading due to a lack of sufficient knowledge on the topic; having said that, many tend to give up as soon as they realize how technical it is.
Even so, with the right attitude and information, anyone can also make a killing through forex trading. For a person to truly master this intricate craft, he or she must first comprehend the fundamentals of the trade. To help you get started, here’s a beginner’s guide to forex trading.
The term forex originates from the phrase “foreign currency exchange” which is the conversion of one currency to another. Therefore, forex trading is the buying and selling of national currencies in a global marketplace.
However, in order to participate in forex trading, you must first seek the services of a forex broker such as hotforex. These are companies that provide traders with a platform for buying and selling foreign currency. Traders on such platforms can be anyone from an individual retail currency trader to financial firms that trade on behalf of clients.
The forex market is quite broad and complicated which can be rather overwhelming for both beginners and seasoned pros. Thus, learning the secrets to the trade is extremely paramount to your success. To help you get started, here are some of the most helpful insider secrets for beginners.
Patience is Paramount
Like every other good thing, success in forex trading isn’t going to come immediately. Many novice traders usually give up after only a few attempts, not knowing that trading isn’t straight forward and requires tons of patience and practice.
It’s important to understand that forex trading is a profession similar to any other one, and requires years of training and experience to fully master and leverage.
Stick To Your Limits
When you’re just starting out in the forex trading game, it’s extremely important to know your limits as a novice trader and stick to them. Every prospective trader should understand that forex trading isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme; just because you can potentially get lots of money doesn’t mean that success is guaranteed.
Having said that, anyone looking to trade should ensure that they’re willing to risk and lose the money they intend to use. This is why this money is referred to as “risk capital”.
For those who are fortunate enough to have funds set aside for trading, it would be wise to ascertain the amount of risk capital you intend to use for each trade. This is where many amateur traders tend to go wrong and end up losing lots of money.
The best thing is to familiarize yourself with leverage ratios and stick to them. Moreover, under any circumstances, never open a position size that is big enough to blow your account.
Learn as Much as Possible
The most powerful tool in the world of forex trading is knowledge. The more you know about this profound topic, the better you’ll become at trading.
Educate yourself about the forex market and ensure you learn about all the currency pairs and what affects their behaviour. Fortunately, there’s an abundance of resources that’s available online; make good use of them before you attempt risking any actual money.
Practice Makes Perfect
Forex trading is a very practical matter that requires a hands-on approach to understand and master. There are several platforms that offer traders demo accounts which simulate the actual forex trading market. This enables prospective traders to test their knowledge in real market conditions without risking any real money.
Making use of such resources will help a trader gain the experience required to trade in the real forex market. Create a trading plan and test it out in one of the many demo platforms to see how effective it is.
Final Remarks
Contrary to what many people may think, forex trading isn’t all fun and games. Due to a lot of regulations in the interbank market, forex trading has become quite complex.
Even so, understanding how leverage works and knowing how to manage risk will go a long way in helping you succeed in forex trading.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Finance has directed the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to suspend enforcement of disputed recapitalisation fees and a directive requiring NICON Insurance Limited and the Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation to transfer their entire fresh capital into an escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The ministry also demanded a detailed response and legal justification from NAICOM over assessments of N305 million against NICON and N375 million against Nigeria Re as part of the ongoing insurance industry recapitalisation exercise.
The directive was contained in a letter dated August 6, 2026, signed by the Permanent Secretary, Finance, Mr Raymond Omachi, on behalf of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele.
The letter followed a July 27 petition by NICON and Nigeria Re over the implementation of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act, 2025. The companies challenged NAICOM’s demand for a one per cent capital injection fee, alongside processing and verification charges under the commission’s Minimum Capital Requirement Guidelines.
They also disputed a directive requiring existing insurance companies to transfer their entire recapitalisation funds into a CBN escrow account, arguing that Section 16(3) of NIIRA 2025 provides for a statutory deposit of only 10 per cent.
According to the Finance Ministry, NICON and Nigeria Re had injected N20 billion and N30 billion respectively into Mudaraba Term Deposit accounts with Lotus Bank, exceeding their adjusted capital requirements of N16 billion and N28 billion.
The companies also deposited N2.5 billion and N3.5 billion respectively with the CBN as statutory deposits and paid initial fees of N80 million and N75 million.
The ministry said the companies therefore considered themselves compliant with the July 31, 2026 recapitalisation deadline.
“Pending the determination of the petition, the Commission should suspend the enforcement of the contested processing fees, 1 per cent capital injection fee demands, and full-capital escrow transfer directives against NICON Insurance Limited and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation,” the letter stated.
The ministry consequently asked NAICOM to explain the basis and legal justification for the disputed charges and escrow requirement.
The intervention comes amid the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen the capital base of insurance companies and reinsurers, improve their capacity to underwrite larger risks and enhance the sector’s contribution to economic development.
The dispute, however, has raised questions over the extent of NAICOM’s authority to impose additional fees and require existing insurers to place their entire recapitalisation funds in escrow.
The Finance Ministry’s letter did not disclose whether NAICOM had responded to the issues raised. It also referenced an alleged N500 million demand and an additional N180 million capitalisation charge in its subject, although the substantive section specifically put the disputed assessments at N305 million for NICON and N375 million for Nigeria Re.
For now, enforcement of the contested fees and full-capital escrow directive against the two state-owned insurers has been suspended pending NAICOM’s response and legal clarification.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four price decliners overpowered the two price gainers recorded at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, August 10, weakening it by 0.32 per cent at the close of transactions.
The advancers were led by Food Concepts Plc, which chalked up 25 Kobo to sell at N2.75 per unit versus the previous price of N2.50 per unit, and Mass Telecoms Innovation Plc appreciated by 3 Kobo to 35 Kobo per share from 32 Kobo per share.
However, 11 Plc lost N24.75 to close at N222.75 per unit versus N247.50 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc declined by N3.09 to N145.00 per share from N148.09 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went down by 5 Kobo to 50 Kobo per unit from 55 Kobo per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc slid by 1 Kobo to N2.27 per share from N2.28 per share.
As a result, the market capitalisation contracted by N8.94 billion to N2.798 trillion from the previous session’s N2.807 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) retreated by 14.9 points to 4,663.18 points from 4,678.08 points.
The trading data showed that the volume of securities exchanged by investors rose by 108.9 per cent to 1.1 million units from 535,7560 units, and the value of securities jumped by 69.5 per cent to N10.2 million from N6.0 million, while the number of deals executed receded by 2.8 per cent to 35 deals from 36 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc closed the trading session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 77.0 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week on a positive note, appreciating against the US Dollar by N5.55 or 0.41 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, August 10, to N1,360.14/$1 from N1,365.69/$1.
The domestic currency also improved its exchange rate against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by 67 Kobo to sell at N1,838.50/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,839.17/£1, and gained N4.64 against the Euro to quote at N1,571.09/€1, in contrast to last Friday’s N1,575.73/€1.
However, the Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the black market and the GTBank forex counter on Monday at N1,400/$1 and N1,371/$1, respectively.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX turnover fell by 46 per cent yesterday to $213.845 million from the $393.477 million recorded at the close of trading on Friday.
The decline came despite a sharp increase in the volume of foreign exchange transactions executed during the session, indicating weaker participation by high-ticket FX customers and other major market participants.
The lower turnover suggests reduced demand for FX among large-scale buyers, even as market makers continued to facilitate transactions through the NAFEM window, with the number of FX traded rising to 182 from 102.
In the cryptocurrency market, traders and investors took profit as broader markets’ focus shifted to rising bond yields, higher oil prices and upcoming US inflation data.
Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.2 per cent to $0.1873, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 2.6 per cent to $1,873.43, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 2.3 per cent to $1.01, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 1.8 per cent to $63,949.22, Solana (SOL) crashed by 1.3 per cent to $75.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) tumbled by 0.6 per cent to $599.49.
But TRON (TRX) gained 0.5 per cent to trade at $0.3314, and Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.2 per cent to $0.0700, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
