What is your name and position?

Jim Martens, Elliott Wave International's Senior Currency Strategist and the editor of the firm's intensive Currency Specialty Service. My colleagues and I forecast short and longer-term trend in 9 major currency pairs 24 hours a day.

What is your professional background?

I started using the Elliott Wave Principle in 1985. Four years later, I put my knowledge to use as a technical analyst at the COMEX Exchange, now part of the New York Mercantile Exchange. I came to Elliott Wave International in 1993, first as a commodity specialist and then as a currency analyst. In 2001, I joined Nexus Capital LTD., a George Soros-affiliated hedge fund, as its technical analyst. In 2005, I rejoined EWI to resume my work in the forex markets.

Can you briefly highlight for us Elliott Wave involvement with the foreign exchange market?

Elliott Wave International first began providing intensive forecasts of the foreign exchange markets in 1993: Initially, only to forex professionals at investment banks around the globe, but eventually, the word got out and we developed a strong following among private currency traders. Forex markets often display beautiful Elliott wave patterns because of their high liquidity and broad investor participation.

Could you please describe the services your company offers for the Forex market?

Elliott Wave International's intensive Currency Specialty Service attempts to forecast the direction of prices in 9 major currency pairs (EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, USDCHF, USDJPY, USDCAD, EURCHF, EURJPY, EURGBP and the U.S. Dollar Index) on various time frames. For intraday traders, we post forecasts as often as every hour, 24 hours a day. Those with a longer-term horizon can get guidance with our daily, weekly and monthly outlooks.

Who is your targeted audience?

Anyone who wants or needs to know the direction of the dollar, euro and other major currencies over the next few hours, days, weeks or months. We've had subscribers ranging from part-time and full-time market speculators to hedge fund managers to investments banks to treasury departments at multi-national corporations.

Who are your main competitors in the Forex Education market?

Elliott Wave International was founded in 1979 by Robert Prechter, Jr., who remains the firm's president and the world's foremost authority on the Elliott Wave Principle. We don't know of any other firm that can match this depth of Elliott wave knowledge, or the scope and intensity of the market coverage we provide.

What are the main advantages you have over your competitors?

We only hire analysts who know the rules of Elliott wave analysis cold. We also don't make any secrets out of our method and teach the Principle to anyone who is interested. We have lots of free and paid educational resources at elliottwave.com -- look at our Free Stuff page, for example.

What are your personal thoughts on how the financial crisis is affecting the Forex market?

We have seen increased volatility, but overall the market has continued to perform normally; Elliott wave patterns in forex charts remain as clear as ever. Markets are forward-looking; they are constantly adjusting based on the information available. At times, it appears that adjustment takes place prior to the news being available or fully understood. The future often looks bleakest or brightest just as the market turns.

What else do you offer?

I like to continuously educate my subscribers about the Elliott Wave Principle. Over the years, my best subscribers have been those traders who don't just blindly follow my forecasts, but do their own analysis and use me as a sounding board for their ideas. Learning Elliott takes time, though -- a few months, at least. That's why every week, I record educational videos for my subscribers (5-10 minutes long) and post them inside my Currency Specialty Service. My goal in each video is to show how to apply Elliott in real-life currency trading situations. It's been a hugely popular program. I also conduct live webinars for subscribers several times a year, with the same goal in mind.

Is there anything exciting happening at Elliott Wave International?

For several years, we have been developing a proprietary software program that would be able to apply Elliott wave analysis to various markets. (We believe that none of the currently commercially available Elliott wave software is up to the task.) We are still working on perfecting the program. One day, when it's able to count waves as well as a human analyst, my job may become a lot easier! Until then, I will continue doing what I love to do: watch the markets, find patterns and tell my subscribers about tradable opportunities.