Larry Levin's Blog – November 2012 Archive (8)

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?

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 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…