All Blog Posts (1,487)

Secret Trading Tip #17

Good News and Bad News



One of the biggest moments for the markets can come when there is a key news release or fresh fundamental data. Buyers and sellers seem to wrestle with the potential outcome, and in the case of larger announcements, volatility goes through the roof. The problem that I see some traders struggle with is knowing what news to look for, and how to trade it.…

EUR/USD: Technical Analysis

Eurodollar has corrected back from a strong resistance level of pivots situated at 1.3120. It has found support at the trend-line at 1.3090. Overall the up-trend is still intact and it will probably recover, with 1.3167 still a key level, which if breached could lead to a strong move higher; however, a break below 1.3050 is a possibility and would open the way to a move down to 1.3000, if the pull-back extends.…

We're Nowhere

boehner

Over the weekend talk continued on the fiscal cliff negotiations. The Sunday political programs, like “This Week” led with it.

The best part of the prior video is the end when we’re reminded that Tax-Cheatin-Timmy will no longer be Treasury Secretary in 2013.

Last Friday, Speaker Boehner held another press conference in which he said about the…

Enforcer Tuesday

tuesday

From black Friday to cyber Monday to enforcer Tuesday, today’s news moves from the shopping mall to the regulatory milieu.

First, SAC Capital Advisors LP fund manager Mathew Martoma was released on $5 million bail on Monday after making his first appearance in a New York court on charges of making illegal trades that hedge fund titan Steven A. Cohen personally signed off on. Martoma was…

Cliff Rally

sales_negotiation

The market had quite a rally last week – didn’t it?  It actually started the prior Friday on the 16th of November, near 1340.00 in the ES. 

What happened?  John Boehner held a press conference about the “fiscal cliff” negotiations in which he suggested that said negotiations were going well.  Naturally, Fraud Street took this to mean that the massive deficit-can would be kicked into next…

Two Martini Lunch

There’s nothing like a lunchtime speech from Ben Bernanke to make you want to head straight to the bar.

Speaking in front of the Economic Club of New York, Ben seemed downright depressed about the economic morass he has of course helped to create. His hopium seemed all but gone, claiming that he can no longer fix the problem that is the U.S. economy. Like the kid on a playground shouting, “NOT IT”, Ben took…

Sandy?

sandy

 Other than last Thursday’s mini-deluge of economic data, the week’s news was sparse.  Friday was no exception with just one report: Industrial Production.

Economists had expected the report to read 78.4% but it was only 77.8%.  Did economists, analysts, and reporters blame the miss on a weaker Europe (which is in recession), a weaker global economy, or even a weaker US?  No, they immediately blamed it on hurricane Sandy.  Or was it Sandy from…

Secret Trading Tip #29

Advanced Technicals – Moving Averages

In Tip #14, I talked about some of the basics for technical analysis. Trends and simple chart patterns are just the tip of the iceberg for technical analysis tools. There are many advanced tools that technicians use to try to find signals in the market price. One of the terms you might hear quite often is moving…

Blah, Blah, Blah

blah

 The market temporarily stabilized on Friday after a little bit of decent economic data as consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in more than five years. The Thompson Reuters/University of Michigan on consumer sentiment came in at 84.9, up from 82.

 Why said consumer is suddenly optimistic, I have absolutely no idea. Generally, most economic data remains mixed at best, but even data…

Secret Trading Tip #28

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Know Your Limits

One thing that I see that catches traders up all the time is knowing their limits. There are times when it is probably wiser to step away from a trade or not trade at all.

Sometimes the best favor you can do for yourself is to take a break.

It doesn't matter who you are or what kind of…

Jobs Part 2

Help-Wanted

Friday’s NFP number (non-Farm Payroll) report was better than expected. At 171,000, it was better than even the highest estimate by economists…by a wide margin.

Some economists thought that hurricane Sandy would negatively impact the NFP results, but they were wrong.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) had finished gathering its data before the storm struck.  It will surely, however, impact the next reading on…

Secret Trading Tip #16

Buyers or Sellers



A question I often receive is, "How can there be more buyers or sellers at one price? Isn't there a buyer for every seller and a seller for every buyer?"

The answer is yes, but people are forgetting one important thing. There is a bid and an ask (or offer), and only one of them can be traded at a time.

A bid is an expression of willingness to buy at a price; an ask (or…

Land of Oz

ruby-slippers-wand

Friday the preliminary look at Q3 GDP came out and "beat" expectations of a 1.8% print, with a 2.0% reading. That seemingly sounds positive, but since its “election season,” we need to delve deeper into the data to get the real story.

When you pull back the curtain, you of course see Mr. Wizzard manipulating the numbers. Because of the 2.02% annualized increase in GDP, over one third, or 0.71 %( compared to a deduction of -0.14% in Q2), was…