At face value, the obvious answer to this question would be a simple one: Some trading systems work better than others because they are better thought out and designed. It should be obvious that a system that is superior from a design point would perform better than a poorly designed one, should it not?But that answer is only partially right.I have observed on more occasions than I care to admit two traders trading the same system with vastly...more
This may sound like a ridiculously simple subject to write about, but I suspect you would be shocked by how many traders, if pressed, could not come up with a plausible answer when asked to define a futures contract. For the purpose of this article I am going to confine our discussion to financial futures contracts, though there are futures contracts that can be purchased on a wide range of commodities.Lets start by saying that a financial...more
The Euro continues to climb as the Dollar continues to weaken. This market movement is mirrored almost across the board as every other asset class continues to strengthen. Essentially repeating the trend of 2009. But what will happen to the Dollar? The Chinese administration probably sees little need to change its economic policy just yet. China does not want to see a floating Yuan for the damage this would do to its huge UD Dollar holdings. In light of this, the continued use of the Euro, Yen and Swiss Franc as a quasi replacement for the Dollar is unlikely to diminish. While the US persists in its quantitative easing policy, and its more general structural deficits, this state of affaires is unlikely to alter. Having said that, the American economy is definitely coming out of hibernation far faster than many others. There are a certain number of Federal Reserve governors who are less than happy with Ben Bernankes dovish approach. So the market trend is still very US Dollar negative and this may continue. The US administration may play lip-service to a Strong Dollar but it will not be unhappy with a slowly weakening currency for whatever reason.The numbers coming out of the...more
Gold has been a very interesting product of late, especially for anyone who invested in it. However, it is not all one way traffic. Despite its seemingly never ending upward trend gold can be rather volatile on a day-to-day basis.Only a few weeks ago all the equity markets were looking nervous and many traders sought the so-called safety of gold....more
With the world in recovery mode, many people are still questioning how the markets got so out of control. They are also questioning something a little closer to home; their own finances.If we were to be honest with ourselves, then we should probably accept that we can improve on at least a couple of the following; tax efficient investments, long...more
Gold has experienced a spectacular rise recently. I say recently, the metal has been trending upwards for months.With limited supply, the pressure should always be easier to apply to the upside. However, if this were the only argument then precious metals prices should never really fall.Perhaps the market is not particularly overbought at the moment so there is still good room for manoeuvre to the upside; unfortunately, the same can of course be said for the downside.We are in uncharted territory. With inflation remaining weak, interest rates likely to stay low, the US Dollar showing no real signs of recovery, banks still looking a bit weak and fears over the strength of the rebound in world growth, all the factors pushing Gold to the upside continue to linger on.Looking at gold on a given day though, the price can easily rally on any weakness in the US Dollar. Of course when a market jumps like that then some investors will inevitably close their positions and take their profits. That can then cause the markets to fall, albeit temporarily.This having been said, selling Gold has proved to be an expensive mistake for quite some months. Aside from minor corrections, the price has...more
The increasing strength in world economic data does not seem to be translating, just yet, into more demand for crude. While peak oil is a phrase on everyones lips it must be said that production from many parts of the globe is currently artificially...more
Try to ask yourself how much do you know about option trading? Can you explain the distinction between "long" and "short"; "call" and "put"?If so, can you offer a good description of the right strategies to use during a "bear market"? And how about...more
Managing a financial institution in todays market is a tough job to have. With the housing and mortgage industry down the types of loans being offered are changing daily and sometimes disappearing all together. As a consumer its frustrating and as a...more
I often get a chuckle when I see trading programs that claim you can make money in both up and down markets. Of course you can, when the market is going up you are long a position, and when the market is going down you are short a position. Its...more
Leasing a vehicle is generally considered as more beneficial than to purchase it and if you are looking for a commercial truck on lease basis then plenty of leasing services is available. Finding useful and required leasing service providers is the...more
Author: Steve SelengutFrom the end of 1999 through the end of 2009, all of the popular Wall Street market performance measurement tools were in the red. The average bloodletting level of the DJIA, the S & P 500, and the NASDAQ was a...more