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Trading Places

masteroftheuniverse — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:52:19 +0000

This is the final scene in the movie Trading Places. A couple of us knew some people that knew some people, and we got in as extras on the floor. It was a fun way to spend a weekend.

Best...Ok, Only Article I Read Today

polisciafterparty — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:00:18 +0000

This article was actually brought to my attention by a coworker of mine. It comes from the huffington post.

What If Bristol Palin Were Black? by Cenk Uygur

Christian-right leaders and conservative stalwarts have praised the decision of Bristol Palin, the daughter of Governor Sarah Palin, to carry her child to term. She is 17 and conceived this child out of wedlock. Now imagine she wasn't the daughter of a prominent Republican politician but an average person. Now imagine she was black.

What do you think conservatives would have to say about her? "Typical, urban youth with no sense of responsibility raised with loose morals who plans to depend on the state to take care of her child." You know it. It's not within dispute. That's exactly what they would say.

Barack Obama has told everyone to lay off this because it is a personal, family matter. Yes, but it also has public policy ramifications. Governor Palin is for abstinence only education. Well, that obviously didn't work.

Has she learned her lesson? Will she now amend her policy position on this matter given her personal record of failure in implementing this ridiculous stance?

Notice I am not blaming Bristol. Quite the opposite. People like me are the ones that defend the Bristols of the world. It is conservatives like James Dobson, Rush Limbaugh and yes, Governor Palin who usually attack people who find themselves in Bristol's situation. They demand a dogmatic adherence to moral strictures and chastise and belittle women who have children out of wedlock. Especially if they are women of color.

Which brings us back to Obama. Do you think the Republicans would lay off of Obama if his 17 year-old daughter had gotten pregnant out of wedlock? You know the answer to that question. Everyone does.

"This is what the permissive liberal attitude gets you. If you allow your children to think everything is acceptable, they have no boundaries. They wind up getting themselves in trouble like this. It's a predictable result of the liberal lifestyle."

And that's before the subtle and not so subtle racial implications are brought into this. There is a constant double-standard of how black and white people and politicians are covered in this country. When a young black girl gets pregnant, she's looking to get money from welfare. When a young white woman gets pregnant, she made an unfortunate mistake and her family is being supportive in trying to help the make the best of it.

Cindy McCain was addicted to drugs and stole from her own charity to feed her addiction. Now what do you think the Republicans would have done if Michelle Obama had done that? How do you think the press would have covered it? You think they would have called it a simple mistake and moved on?

When presented with these examples, no matter who you are, you know in your heart that this double standard exists. All of this is not said to condemn Bristol Palin or Cindy McCain. This is to get you to think twice about your own assumptions about the next time you hear a story of a young African-American woman who got pregnant in the inner city or a minority who got addicted to drugs and committed a crime to feed that addiction.

There but for the grace of God go Bristol Palin and Cindy McCain.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/what-if-bristol-palin-was_b_123107.html

What would happen if the roles were reversed. I doubt John McCain or Sarah Palin would take the moral high-ground that Obama is trying to take.

Burn

masteroftheuniverse — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:52:59 +0000

This is a classic burn on CNBC. Watch the whole thing, it's that good.

Jeff

The Financials

keyceo — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:32:57 +0000

It seems as though we have formed a bottom in the financials. XLF the financial sector ETF reached an intra-day low on July 15th of 16.67 on extremely high volume and we had an exhaustion bar. The stock has been in an uptrend and closed today at 22.03. Currently there is resistance at 22.50. Therefore, we will possibly look for a pull back to the moving average at 21.06 to get long.

Mentoring

masteroftheuniverse — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:08:56 +0000

I've mentioned before that I've been mentoring a kid and teaching him how to trade. He's been really impatient, as he thinks I'm too conservative in my approach, and the rules I gave him. I stress longevity, risk management, and not over trading. He's rather impatient, as I've been making him come over and play chess and gin rummy instead of being glued to the screens. Even though I give market allegories with each game, he sees no lesson from the exercises of the games. Like the mentor in the old show Kung Fu, I've started to call him Grasshopper. Part of me realizes that it's a generational thing.....these kids all want instant gratification.

We were discussing returns this morning, and he believes all this bullshit on the internet and thinks that he can make 5-10% returns per week with no sweat. I keep telling him that if he could make 5% per week, every week, Goldman would give him half of the company for free to trade their account and both would come out ahead. He came over yesterday morning and was wondering why I didn't short oil yesterday. I went over the rule that I will not trade when I'm not feeling 100%, and had a long talk about discipline. Sure, I could have shorted oil, as I knew exactly what the market was going to do. However, despite the decline in oil, my mental condition would have made it better than 50% that I would have still lost money.

I'm going to still keep helping this kid out, but I'm going to notch things up. So far, he's piggybacked a couple of my trades and has made decent money. What I want for him to do is to figure out a trade for himself, put it on, and lose his ass. Despite the fact that I have a financial interest in his account, I want him to take a big hit. He will learn so much more from taking a big hit than anything else. I'm planning on giving him enough rope to hang himself, get nailed, then start back from scratch. After he has a nice hit or two under his belt, then the real lessons can begin.

Luckily, he has no interest in blogging, and doesn't read my blog.

I need to get off my lazy butt and finish my book. I've almost got it done, and see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, I'm sure that my friend that I've drafted into reading it will offer much more constructive criticism, and I'll be rewriting till my fingers fall off.

My son returned to school and has been calling me every couple of hours just to see if I'm OK. I appreciate his concern. My sister is leaving in a week, and then I will be left to my own devices.

My own devices will probably include spending a lot of time in Sarasota on my buddy's new sailboat. He bought an old 1978 Morgan 41, and is working on restoring it to pristine condition. It's a pretty decent boat, and needs a little updating and cosmetics. My master plan is to help him with the boat, learn as much as I can about fixing up boats, then maybe starting my own little project.

I've been looking at another LeRoy Neiman seriograph. It's called, "Chicago Options" and I might get it to put next to my other Neiman. Although lithographs and seriographs aren't what I collect, I do like this work.

We'll see.

Jeff

Mr. Trader Joe

Alexa Asjes — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:15:02 +0000

Trader Joe was one of the most interesting interviews I have had the privilege to do. "Trader Joe's" actual name is Joe Coulombe and he still lives near the very first Trader Joe's in Pasadena, California. He originally ran a chain of Pronto Markets, selling primarily dairy-based consumer products. But when 7-Eleven bought out his dairy provider, Joe Coulombe had to find a new angle and that was the birth of the Trader Joe's grocery store chain. He sold the chain to a German family in 1988 and now serves on the board for World Maket Cost Plus and for True Religion Apparel. We interviewed Joe Coulombe at his house in Pasadena. He has taken up painting and his fantastic art was all over the house, including the painting behind him in the interview...

Watch the Video

Trading: Scalping Dax Future (Video)

daytradingitalia — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:02:09 +0000

Avete mai visto uno scalper all' opera sul Dax?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cos'e' il DAX?

Il Dax future è un derivato quotato sull' Mercato Eurex. Ha come sottostante l' indice Dax (Indice Mercato Tedesco). Il Valore del Contratto è di 25€ per ogni punto indice. Il Tick è rappresentato da 0,5 di punto.

Quindi per ogni contratto Dax il Tick Minimo sarà di € 12,50.

Caratteristiche Operative

Il Dax Future è uno strumento abbastanza aggressivo, dotato di una Ottima Volatilità ideale per tutti i tipi di Trading. A mio avviso risponde molto bene ai classici segnali d' analisi tecnica.

Sicuramente interessante per fare Trading Intraday (daytrading) su svariati time frame. Per quanto riguardo lo Scalping dev' essere preso un pò con cautela, in quanto basta un piccolo momento di distrazione per incassare nel caso più sfortunato parecchi tick di perdita.

In Definitiva è uno strumento molto buono ma dev' essere sicuramente affrontato dopo aver fatto molta esperienza su titoli più "tranquilli" ed aver precedentemente metabolizzato una tecnica di Trading affidabile e disciplinata.

RICORDA: Non rispettare gli Stop Loss sul Dax "Danneggia Gravemente la Salute TUA e del TUO PORTAFOGLIO" :)

Libri Trading: "Master Trader" di Greg Capra & Oliver Velez

daytradingitalia — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:49:33 +0000

Un libro scritto da due fra i migliori tutor mondiali: Greg Capra e Oliver Velez, i due trader professionisti fondatori di Pristine.com, il pluripremiato sito dedicato alla formazione sul trading che ha contribuito a divulgare eccezionali tecniche operative adatte a svariati time frame, dall’intraday al “5 minuti”, fino al giornaliero.
Le tecniche contenute in questo libro, frutto di anni di applicazione e testing sui mercati reali, sono adatte a quei trader di breve termine che desiderano disporre di un arsenale efficace ma di facile utilizzo. Le strategie proposte sono dettagliatamente spiegate proprio per evitare un impiego “meccanico” delle stesse e per far sì che il trader ne abbia ben compreso il senso prima di applicarle al mercato.
L’opera nel suo insieme affronta efficacemente anche gli aspetti relativi all’approccio corretto verso il mercato, indicando i “sette peccati capitali” accanto alle “virtù”, intese come abilità da acquisire che sono proprie di ogni trader di successo.
Lungi dal proporre una formula magica per prosperare senza faticare, gli autori sottolineano come qualsiasi semplificazione che stimoli l’illusione di facili guadagni vada «evitata come la peste».
Il risultato è un’opera estremamente completa, compatta e dal taglio spiccatamente pratico, destinata a diventare un classico nella biblioteca di ogni trader motivato a raggiungere il successo.

Indice dei contenuti

Prima parte
Diventare master trader: prepararsi mentalmente al successo

Capitolo 1
Gli inizi di un master trader: capire il mondo di un master trader
Capitolo 2
Acquisire una mentalità vincente: come sviluppare un atteggiamento corretto
Capitolo 3
Saper perdere: fondamentale presupposto di un’operatività vincente
Capitolo 4
La formazione di un master trader: come formarsi in tempi ragionevoli e senza grosse perdite
Capitolo 5
I sette peccati capitali del trading: come combatterli e sconfiggerli
Capitolo 6
Le 12 leggi del successo nel trading: principi di vita del master trader
Capitolo 7
I segreti del master trader: 15 cose che ogni trader dovrebbe sapere ma che spesso non sa
Capitolo 8
10 lezioni per il master trader
Capitolo 9
I consigli di una maestra vera: otto lezioni elementari per la vita e il trading da parte di mia madre

Seconda parte
Strumenti e tattiche del master trader: acquisire l’arsenale operativo del master trader

Capitolo 10
Strumenti e tattiche per il timing
Capitolo 11
Strumenti e tattiche per l’analisi grafica
Capitolo 12
Strumenti e strategie di esecuzione degli ordini
Capitolo 13
Book di II livello del Nasdaq e relative strategie
Capitolo 14
Strategie e tattiche d’ingresso
Capitolo 15
Tecniche e strategie di gestione della posizione
Capitolo 16
Tecniche e strategie di uscita

Terza parte
Guardare avanti

Capitolo 17
Compendio finale
Capitolo 18
ESP: il futuro dei software di trading
Capitolo 19
Conclusioni

Commento

Trattasi di un libro molto interessante che, oltre a trattare l' aspetto puramente operativo del Trading, prende in considerazione tutto l' aspetto e il bagaglio psicologico necessario per affrontare i mercati.

All' interno del libro inoltre vi si possono trovare delle vere e proprie "Pillole Di Saggezza" , frutto di una notevole esperienza diretta dei due autori nel mondo del Trading Online.

Per quanto riguarda l' aspetto operativo sono illustrati numerosi pattern e svariate tecniche di Trading.

A mio avviso alcuni contenuti comunque rimangono perlopiù destinati a chi opera direttamente sui Mercati Americani ( Dow Jones , Nasdaq ).

In ogni modo questo libro rimane un MUST per tutti in quanto riesce a trasmettere un ottica professionale con cui osservare ed analizzare i mercati finanziari.

Consigliatissimo.

Jual Berapa....80 ribu..100 ribu...?

sasanti — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:59:12 +0000

Gara-gara di milis tempat saya bergabung, ada postingan dari satu member yang bilang dia punya usaha jual-beli barang antik plus testimonial kalo keuntungan jualan antik bisa berlapis-lapis macam lapisan kue apple strudel itu atau kue lapis tepung beras yg yummy itu....

Beliau ngaku kalo topeng antik yang dia dapatkan di pedalaman seharga Rp 100 ribu bisa dia jual lagi ke orang-orang asing di luar negri sana senilai Rp 10 juta..cckk..cckkk..kebayang kan untung yang dia dapat ngalahin lapisan kue-kue di atas.

Siapa yg ngiler coba..? Baru 1 hari posting besoknya udah ada banyak tanggapan dari member yg lain mau ikutan, bergabung…..termasuk saya.

Keluarga saya punya beberapa koleksi guci antik yang salah satunya mau dilepas saja, lumayan nilai dan hasil penjualan bisa buat beli reksa dana dan nutup biaya hidup pasangan pensiunan. Dilihat dari kondisi dan usia sih, saya yakin nilainya bisa di atas Rp 100 juta. Guci antik dari dinasti Sung usia 1000an tahun (900M) ,kondisi masih baik.

Makanya saya langsung email-emailan deh ama tuh anak dan kirim foto guci segala.Niat anaknya sih baik dan sangat to the point ( time is money, you know lah, no time for basa-basi).

Lalu anak ini tanya harga guci.Di sinilah bukti kesenjangan komunikasi.antara saya dan anak ini,calon pembeli/mediator/broker. Dia to the point and tembak langsung,saya masih melipir dan berkelok.Sudah dijelaskan dengan gaya bahasa yang halus dan samar kalo nih anak boleh aja jual guci diatas Rp 100 juta dan Insya Allah dapat komisi 3% dari nilai jual. Eeehh..lhadalah..ini anak emang gak ngerti atau melecehkan, dia tanya lagi seperti ini, “Anda mau jual berapa? 80 ribu, 100 ribu, berapa?” .Kurang ajar.

Saya balas email. Anda bisa menawarkan guci ini di atas 100 juta. Kami kan ingin bersikap baik,kenapa anda jadi kasar begitu,?” Kalo anda tidak mau berbisnis ya gak apa-apa, mungkin gucinya berjodoh dengan keluarga kami alias gak mau dilepas”.

Dia balas email,agak kaget..Ternyata anak ini paling banter ngeluarin duit Rp 5 juta buat cari barang antik dan kirim ke luar negri.

Dia tanya ” saya mesti jual berapa dong? “ “Ya, terserah anda dong, anda kan gak harus beli putus dari kami, tawarkan aja dulu,kalo ada yg naksir baru kami dikasih tahu,”balas saya.

Si anak antique trader ini gak mau ambil risiko.Alasannya berat di ongkos shipmentlah, gak punya uang kas lebihlah dan macam-macam alasan.Udah ketahuan deh,berapa harga yang dia beli dari para orang pemilik barang antik, muraaaah sekali dibandingkan harga jual kembali.Itu aja dia masih komplain soal biaya shipping.Emangnya mau untung berapa boss..?

‘

Prakata

cahbanjar — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:28:28 +0000

Dunia Forex….. Setiap kita membaca atau mendengar kata kini, kita akan dinina bobokan dengan asumsi inilah jalan cepat untuk menjadi jutawan. Atau inilah jalan pintas untuk menjadi kaya. Bisnis forex identik dengan cara cepat mendapatkan keuntungan berlipat dalam waktu dekat, itulah sekelumit image dan penilain yang aku dapatkan di tengah masyarakat kita dewasa ini. Padahal dalam kenyataannya tidak demikian, bahkan sangat jauh dari hal tersebut di atas kalau kita menjalankan secara aca-acakan dan serampangan. Apalagi kalau dibarengi dengan sistem tebak-tebak buah manggis, atau dengan menghitung kancing baju, atau sejenisnya. Dunia forex bukanlah dunia tebak-tebakan, walaupun pada dasarnya kita cuman memilih antara beli apa jual, ask atau bid, long apa short.
Dunia forex adalah dunia bisnis, dan sebagai bisnis forex menuntut kerja keras dari sang trader. Perlu ilmu yang matang dan keahlian khusus yang selama ini tidak pernah kita dapatkan di bangku sekolah maupun bangku kuliah. Mungkin hanya dalam mimpi apabila ada pemain forex apalagi yang masih newbie alias pemula menjamin akan terus profit 100% dalam trade nya. Kalau kita buka dan baca banyak artikel ataupun iklan, sering kita dimanipulasi dan dirayu dengan kata-kata yang semanis gula, bahwa dengan membeli indikator atau EA atau sistem trading mereka kita akan profit 600% atau 100% atau 300% dalam setiap bulannya. Kalau mereka bisa profit sedemikian, kenapa tidak mereka gunakan sendiri ? Rasional bukan ?
Okey, sebelumnya aku minta maaf dulu dan kulanuwun pada rekan-rekan semua. Aku bukan seorang trader profesional ataupun pialang yang mahir ataupun apalah namanya, aku hanyalah salah satu dari sekian korban iklan dan bujuk rayu orang-orang yang menjual indikator atau sistem trading. Aku mengenal forex satu tahun yang lalu dan sampai sekarang aku mencoba untuk arif dan bijaksana dalam dunia forex. Pengalaman adalah guru yang terbaik. Pepatah inilah yang sekarang sedang aku terapkan, sambil membangun kepercayaan diri dan mempersiapkan sistem trading sendiri sambil menetapkan money management yang pas dengan keadaan diriku sendiriku. Okey lain waktu curhat ini akan aku lanjutkan…. salam kenal buat semua trader.

Random DNC thoughts

polisciafterparty — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:55:05 +0000

Joe Biden is yet to speak tonight, but here are some thoughts I had while watching Bill Clinton and John Kerry:

1) I would totally do Chelsea Clinton...

2) If he was able to, I am pretty sure Bill Clinton could run for and win the Presidency again. The man is just so popular its scary. Also, when he speaks, its like liquid goodness pours from his vocal cords. I loved his line about "The world looks to the power of our example, not the example of our power." Thats my contribution to line of the night.

3) Lastly, if John Kerry was as compelling and enthusiastic in his speeches four years ago as he was tonight, we might not be in this mess right now.

I know its the Democratic Convention and everyone speaking is a Democrat, but the place is absolutely jumping. I really can't wait to see Barack's speech tomorrow night.

Squeeze in a post

masteroftheuniverse — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:15:31 +0000

We've been spending the morning surfing. The waves have been small, but consistent. I did look at real estate, and plan on doing some more looking. However, we're coming back on Saturday, as John has to go back to school and has to be there by the 2nd. I don't know what I'll do after he's gone.

I've been thinking about the art market as of late, and plan on attending a couple of auctions this fall. Whether I end up buying anything or not remains to be seen. The Russian juggernaut has caused a distortion(bubble) in the market, and they seem to throw money around like it's confetti. My grain spreads have been making me a small profit, and that's my only positions right now. As soon as summer ends, there will be many trading opportunities with the increase in liquidity.

It looks like there might be a big hurricane in the gulf next weekend, but it shouldn't affect Florida. It should bring us some great waves, and that's what counts. At my advanced age, I think I still have a couple of years of big wave surfing left.

Anyways, time to go hit some more waves.

Jeff

Surfing Cocoa Beach

masteroftheuniverse — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:04:31 +0000

Never did get started on looking for real estate today.............

Around 1PM, the swell started to fill in and we were blessed with decent waist high sets. I slathered on my sunscreen, and put my waterproof i-Pod on and paddled out. I caught waves with a vengence, despite the fact that there are elevated e-coli levels in the water. That's a risk I'm willing to take. I stayed out surfing until around 6, getting real mellow. I was listening to old Funkadelic, Parliment, and all the George Clinton stuff. I was trying all the old tricks of cross stepping, hanging 10, cheater fives, soul arches, and a couple other moves. While I was surfing, John was chatting with girls on the beach and offering them surf lessons. He managed to entice a bevy of them into the water, and pushed them onto waves. He ended up getting a date out of one of the girls, and I told him to come home before 2. I ended up at Starbucks later, and did some people watching for an hour or so while drinking my triple venti cappucino.

Back at our suite, I've been re-reading my chapters in my book, refining a little here and there. Something is still missing, but I haven't put the nail on the head. It will come to me in one of those "eureka" moments sooner or later.

I really love Cocoa Beach. There's no pretense here at all, and the beach is pretty mellow. It's also a very beautiful beach. The little business area of Cocoa Beach isn't bad, either.

The waves are expected to be a bit bigger tomorrow, and I plan on being all over them. Trading will need to take a sideline unless there's a big event. Life's too short, and surfing is as important as art or trading, or any of my passions except for love.

Jeff

Forex Trading – Genderless Paradise for Women Traders

forexexplore — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 08:02:51 +0000

Despite the increasing numbers of women in business, journalism, news and politics the world is still possessed by male dominance. The unfair discrimination against women employees and applicants still exist and socially you can still hear how sexual differences are used to justify different roles for male and female. This made me think – can women in online forex trading finally enjoy faceless and sexless identity and earn just as much as male traders do?

The answer is shockingly simple – women forex traders are just as good as men forex traders (if not even better!). Apart from living significantly longer, getting away from troubles using flirting and almost zero probability of becoming the next most-wanted serial killer, women are very good in multitasking and intuition.

Read more why forex trading is a perfect job opportunity for women - http://www.forexexplore.com/blog/viewpost/356.html

Does Mini Forex Trading Mean Minimum Risk?

forexexplore — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:59:12 +0000

Aside from forex trading, the definition of the word "mini" is something that is small and limited compared to others of the same kind. In forex trading, is mini forex the limited option? Is mini forex designed only for those who cannot afford to trade large? Is mini forex less dangerous when it comes to risking?

Forex brokers give you lots of options when it comes to opening a trading account - demo account, standard account, vip account. And then there is mini forex account. It usually requires a small deposit compared to standard forex account. Mini forex account is considered a connecting bridge for new forex traders that had enough practicing their trading skills with demo accounts, but not yet really to open a standard account.

Mini forex deposit requirement might be small but it still allows you to trade large amounts of currency. This is done via margin and the usual margin requirement for mini forex is about 1%. It sounds too good to be true but it might turn into one of the forex trading hell unless you understand the risks. You might think that depositing small will not get you in trouble and that is the kind of thinking that you should avoid. You should fully understand the margin terms and requirements of your forex broker. If the requirements are not listed on the site make sure to discuss it with your forex broker and get the straight answers.

Margin allows you to trade larger amount of currency then you actually have in your deposited funds. As mentioned previously margin requirement is usually 1% but it is possible to get lower requirements such as 0.5% or higher, such as 2% or 5%.

The problem with margin is that your trading positions might get partially or completely disabled in case your available margin gets below the required amount.

Don't be fooled by the word mini! Read more about real risks related to mini forex account here - http://www.forexexplore.com/blog/viewpost/360.html