Reasons people prefer forex trading to stock trading:

Unlike some stocks, currency is traded around the clock from Sunday to Friday meaning there is only one open and one close of the market per week, even if there is a holiday during the week.

According to the Bank for International Settlements trading volume in the FX marketplace is over $1.4 trillion dollars per day.

Equities only allow you to trade at 50% margin, due to the crash in 1929. In currency trading there is no such restriction, you can trade anywhere from 100% margin required all the way down to a .2% margin requirement depending on the firm you trade with.

The value of a major currency is much harder to manipulate than the value of an individual stock.

Unlike stocks, currency trading is unregulated. There are no position limits or other trading restrictions as there are on exchange based investments.

The stock market requires you to trade options if you desire to profit from a stock price falling. In FX trading you can profit by shorting the market without the use of an option which is subject to time decay and reduced price movement.

Many people feel that the spot forex market is more suitable for day trading than stock markets are. Some of the reasons for this are the responsiveness of the market to technical analysis and the high leverage available.

Reasons people prefer forex trading over commodities:

Unlike some commodities, currency is traded around the clock from Sunday to Friday meaning there is only one open and one close of the market per week, even if there is a holiday during the week.

You are not forced to dump a position on delivery day or rollover to a new contract month at a substantially different price on spot currency and spot metals contracts. The spot value date is only 2 days away, so if you choose to hold a position overnight the position is automatically rolled over for you by your broker and the price difference between the two contracts is only the interest paid or earned in 1 day. In fact you can actually earn interest on the leveraged money in the contract when the rollover occurs.

A big advantage is being able to trade currency when it is convenient, instead of having to trade the few hours of the day that the commoditys pit is open.

While there have been numerous examples of people manipulating the price of commodities the value of a major currency is much harder to manipulate.

According to the Bank for International Settlements trading volume in the FX and interest rate derivative marketplace is over $5 trillion dollars per day. Making the Forex markets by far the most liquid markets in the world. Some commodity markets are very thin and there might not be any open interest near the price you wish to exit or enter a trade and the prices may also spike wildly.

Execution tends to be faster and at a price which is more desirable on the inter-bank currency markets compared to pit traded commodities.

Some firms offer higher leverage than that which is available on the commodity markets.

Some retail firms guarantee your risk to be limited to the amount of money you invest in the currency market, because their dealing desk will exit a trade for you if your margin is not sufficient to hold it. This is something that is not possible in commodity trading.

Reasons people prefer forex trading to investing in real estate:

While there is a lot of wealth tied up in real estate it is illiquid, where as $5 trillion changes hands daily in FX and interest rate derivative markets.

Leverage on real estate is typically 5 to 1 or less; leverage on forex can be as high as 500 to 1.

If you should wish to exit or enter the currency markets you can do so 24 hours a day.

Closing a real estate deal can take months; closing a currency trade can take tenths of a second.

Local real estates value can be manipulated quite easily, whether it is caused by trashy neighbors, undesired development, or neighbors selling homes at a discount. It is near impossible to manipulate a major currencys value.

Unlike the money you leverage in real estate, you are not charged interest on the money you borrow to trade currency in many cases. If you keep your currency trade on overnight you may actually earn interest on the money you borrow, or pay interest depending on the pair you are in and if you are long or short.

There are no property taxes or insurance premiums to pay on currency trades.

There is no ambiguity about the value of your holdings in the currency market; there is an established market value, so you always know how much your investment is worth.

With currency trading your money is not tied up unnecessarily in escrow accounts.

Typically you can only make money in real estate only if the market is booming, when it crashes you are forced to hold property for many years to make a profit. By which time inflation has caught up with any profit you might actually book.

Reasons people prefer trading forex over trading bonds:

You can trade currency 24 hours a day and there is ample liquidity in the inter-bank market to facilitate the trading.

You are not being sold an investment which has been bought by a dealer and then pushed on you at a much higher price. When you place an order in the currency markets you are the one initiating the transaction and at a price very similar to the one which your dealer will pay when he fills your order.

Your profit potential is unlimited in currency trading, not capped as it can be with a bond.

You can leverage your investment capital in the currency markets.

The yield on certain bonds, especially corporate paper can be manipulated quite easily, this not the case when it comes to major currencies.

You can execute currency trades in less than 1 second.