Ask ANY trading related question!

[uberplumber]

cme

I am considering re-entering the market after a major loss a couple of years ago. This time I am considering CME as my primary option trade using leaps.

Any advice or resource recommendations?

Thanks in advance,

Bill

 

[Cromulent]

Okay seeing as this is a newbie thread in a newbie forum here comes an ultra newbie question .

I've done a little spread betting in the past and came out on top overall after taking all wins and losses into account. Now the question, is a pure trend following trading system viable in the forex market? By that I really mean relying on the graphs without relying too much on fundamentals.

I've spent the last few weeks reading this forum but no one seems to answer this question in a nice simple fashion. How many are pure trend traders?

 

[RPEX]

A Dismal response from a DIsmal Scientist

hi im going to university soon in the UK and wondered which if any in particular offer me a good chance to go into a trading career. Im looking to study economics and just wondered what the propects are like.
thank you

Here's what i think, you may have heard different:

1. Economics is a great degree, but i think many people are mislead in thinking that it is all about the City. In reality it's more concerned with the High Street than Wall Street. As an Economics graduate, i think it's a lot of tough work for not much job security or flexibility. A lot of my friends in the Business School doing more simple business or commerce orientated courses were given much more practical teaching in financial markets, and they were viewed as better value-adders by a wider range of employers as well as being acceptable to the same employers i was hurling myself at. Economics is good if you like big concepts about how the world might work.

2. If you stretch and go into Financial Economics, the theory will try to tell you that you cannot make returns in excess of the market, if you can then it is the reult of market inefficiencies.

3. Don't rely on any academic to teach you about financial markets, because they're mainly all rubbish. Unless you go to somewhere like Harvard, Yale or Penn where they often get fund manager alumni back in to teach. There's a lot of learning material out there, much of it is trying to sell you something. But if you can separate the useful information from the hard-sell then you'll save a bundle on expensive books.

4. The most important: Why did my Engineering friends got more job offers from banks than anyone else? Especially in cash markets, sell-side traders and market makers are going the way of the dodo. Banks still have prop traders, but i assume there's always a limit on their capacity for that game. The future in the cash markets has got to be in software development and automated trading systems. Alternatively, trade a market where the products are so mind bendingly difficult to understand (and/or illiquid) that it precludes automation...and guess what, these roles require people with advanced modelling and technical skills. Engineers, Physicists etc. Or if youre going to Ox/Bridge, then you can just network your way in.

Good Luck

 

[amogul]

spread betting

This new sticky thread is targeted to all new members and existing members who are making their first posts.

In this thread, feel free to ask ANY question relating to trading, however simple you think it is. Our forum advisors and more senior members will be happy to answer them for you! :smart:

:!: If you think your question requires more than a quick reply, it's best to create a new thread in the appropriate forum, so that a discussion about it can develop.

Dear Sir,
Is it a good idea to take a course learning about spread betting costing well over £2000
which teaches you work within 1% of risk of losing. Is it true that mathematically there is such a thing as 1% risk?
amogul

 

[MrGecko]

Dear Sir,
Is it a good idea to take a course learning about spread betting costing well over £2000
which teaches you work within 1% of risk of losing. Is it true that mathematically there is such a thing as 1% risk?
amogul

Amogul,

If for your GBP2k, you get a fool-proof route to riches, then maybe. However, this isn't going to happen, so in all liklihood it's money that could be better spent elsewhere.

There are plenty of resources available for free here on T2W that will help you get an idea of what is involved - Trader_Dante's thread and Captain Currencies 3 duck method are very popular, and return good rewards if applied correctly.

As for 1% risk, I assume this is something to do with position sizing - the idea is that, for every trade, a stop loss order is placed at some level to protect you if you are wrong. One then adjusts the size of the position so that if the trade goes wrong and the stop loss is hit, the maximum loss per trade is set to 1% of your account.

In my opinion, you will recieve a much better education if you learn to develop your own strategy, building on what other have done before you. Read the threads above, practice on a demo account, then go live with your 2k. If your max loss per trade is 1%, you would have to get it wrong right from the start, about 70 times in a row before you money was down to half your original GBP 2,000. If it comes to this, you have learnt that trading might not be for you, and it's only cost you a thousand quid.

Good luck mate

http://www.trade2win.com/boards/forex-strategies-systems/26464-3-duck-s-trading-system.html

http://www.trade2win.com/boards/first-steps/26947-making-money-trading.html

 

[simonfudge]

Hello to all from Simon in Swansea

This new sticky thread is targeted to all new members and existing members who are making their first posts.

In this thread, feel free to ask ANY question relating to trading, however simple you think it is. Our forum advisors and more senior members will be happy to answer them for you! :smart:

:!: If you think your question requires more than a quick reply, it's best to create a new thread in the appropriate forum, so that a discussion about it can develop.

Hi
I am interested in setting up a spread betting account. I invested online as a day trader on the US markets back in the late 90's.

I made some money, then got cavalier and lost more. Hoping to avoid same mistakes again. I am educating myself with trading books currently. I have 2 burning issues that I would love to resolve and I would appreciate constructive feedback.

How much can the good traders expect to make per year on a % basis?

What are good strategies for avoiding being the victim of a catastrophic market event?

Hope to hear from you soon. Would also be keen to hear from anyone in South Wales.

Thanks
S

 

[Dudus]

Point & Figure

Hi, I'm new here and I wanted to know if there are traders in the Point & Figure method that I can consult with?

Thanks,
David

 

[Tyrian]

Amogul,

In my opinion, you will recieve a much better education if you learn to develop your own strategy, building on what other have done before you. Read the threads above, practice on a demo account, then go live with your 2k.

Sorry to bother I've tried to 'practice on demo account' couple times already (using mt4).. Maybe you know other 'faster' way to do this.. I don't know some simulator or something, I couldn't find any
Thanks upfront

 

[ForexTester]

Sorry to bother I've tried to 'practice on demo account' couple times already (using mt4).. Maybe you know other 'faster' way to do this.. I don't know some simulator or something, I couldn't find any
Thanks upfront

Hello Tyrian,
mt4 will not give you opportunity to "make it faster" on demo account. The only fast way I know is simulator Forex Tester.

Good luck! :clover:

 

[peto]

Hello Tyrian,
mt4 will not give you opportunity to "make it faster" on demo account. The only fast way I know is simulator Forex Tester.

Good luck! :clover:

Well ForesTester, I suppose as a Promotional Manager it is reasonably predictable that would be case. Good first post, thats the way.

 

[Victor90]

Hi, I'm new here and I wanted to know if there are traders in the Point & Figure method that I can consult with?

Thanks,
David

Hi, Im also intrested in Point&Figures charting, but im not good enough to teach you!
But i can recommend this books: The Definitive Guide to Point and Figure by Jeremy du Plessis at the Global Investor Bookshop

 

[Tyrian]

Hello Tyrian,
mt4 will not give you opportunity to "make it faster" on demo account. The only fast way I know is simulator Forex Tester.

Good luck! :clover:

Thanks man That's really good simulator, considering buying it.

 

[tellme]

Hi, A question ref. traded options v spread bets/cfds

I used to buy and sell traded options a long time ago but now find that cfd's and spread betting seems to be all the rage and can find virtually nothing ref.traded options.

Apart from the fact that traded options require a larger amt of capital to trade (effectively due to commissions), what are the pros and cons of each?...spread betting can be done with very low amounts...what about for a typical scenario such as : looking for Barclays to rise from 308 to 350 and me wanting to make the most of that move...I would have always used traded options as they were the only way of leveraging oneself up on an equity trade but not anymore.

Sorry if this isn't a interesting question but I am quite happy to be directed towards a book that may contain the answers etc.

Thanks

 

[cjonez]

Hi all,

I am interested in trading the DOW with a spread betting company, on trades that would last maybe 1 - 2 days (not intraday)

Could anyone help me find some info on when to trade, or more realistically, when NOT to trade. i.e when the markets first open (over here capital spreads opens at 7:01 am but then the ACTUAL market in NY opens at 2:30pm GMT, so are there 2 dodgy times when the market can fluctuate a bit. Also whether any news items make the market fluctuate wildly? Just the general idiosyncrasies of the market.
I have chosen this against the FOREX as that seems to be a bit volatile for a newbie.

I have tried to find some articles on here but can't seem to locate them.

Thanks for any help

Carl

Could anyone help me with this at all?

Thanks

 

[amogul]

spread betting

Thank you for your very informative reply. I really apreciate it. amogul

Amogul,

If for your GBP2k, you get a fool-proof route to riches, then maybe. However, this isn't going to happen, so in all liklihood it's money that could be better spent elsewhere.

There are plenty of resources available for free here on T2W that will help you get an idea of what is involved - Trader_Dante's thread and Captain Currencies 3 duck method are very popular, and return good rewards if applied correctly.

As for 1% risk, I assume this is something to do with position sizing - the idea is that, for every trade, a stop loss order is placed at some level to protect you if you are wrong. One then adjusts the size of the position so that if the trade goes wrong and the stop loss is hit, the maximum loss per trade is set to 1% of your account.

In my opinion, you will recieve a much better education if you learn to develop your own strategy, building on what other have done before you. Read the threads above, practice on a demo account, then go live with your 2k. If your max loss per trade is 1%, you would have to get it wrong right from the start, about 70 times in a row before you money was down to half your original GBP 2,000. If it comes to this, you have learnt that trading might not be for you, and it's only cost you a thousand quid.

Good luck mate

http://www.trade2win.com/boards/forex-strategies-systems/26464-3-duck-s-trading-system.html

http://www.trade2win.com/boards/first-steps/26947-making-money-trading.html

 

[forexmilio]

ok lol
which signal provider you like to follow

 

[jonj]

hi yawl,keep wondering about the coralation between currency pairs,my q. is: if the eur/usd is bearish and the gbp/usd is bearish what affect will this have on eur/gbp??(if any)

 

[MrGecko]

jonj,

Downward pressure on EURUSD and GBPUSD indicates Dollar strengthening against the two (you can always take a quick look at the US Dollar index for confirmation).

Dollar strengthening, directly, has little effect on EURGBP. EURGBP is a measure of the relative strength of the EUR against the GBP. However, if you thought that USD was stengthening against the EUR more than GBP, you might deduce that the GBP should be strengthening against the EUR... (i.e. from an "equilibrium" starting point, the relative drop in Dollars you can get for your Euro is more than the relative drop in Dollars for your Sterling -> the EUR has weakened more than GBP, so EURGBP should be bearish too). There are opportunities to trade this through triangular arbitrage, but this is the arena of institutional black boxes.

.. the tricky thing is that USD strength doesn't necessarily mean EUR or GBP weakness, and vice versa, ad infinitum. There is a subtle difference between taking a view on the USD as a single currency, and taking a view on EURUSD and GBPUSD - the strength or weakness of the USD is fundamentally driven by macroeconomics, and on shorter timeframes, the demand for it through repatriation of funds, etc... - a view on the Dollar alone might involve a portfolio in currencies, commodities, and Bonds, and it follows that a much more sophisticated approach is needed to build such a portfolio profitably (with specific views on the term structure of interest rates, inflation expectaions, but I'm guessing here). You could trade currencies in this way, but you'd need "real money" (i.e. actually take delivery of the currency) and a fundamental view on all the currencies involved. More Soros than Spread Bet.

So, for currency pair trading, on short timeframes (circa hours and days), inter currency pair analysis is usually more effort than it's worth. It is also important to remind yourself of how you arrive at a bullish or bearish view in the first place - conveniantly, I know you identify opportunities from Price Action - so this is what you should concern yourself with first and foremost. If you think that a level of resistance in GBPUSD will not be breached, you are saying that demand will exhaust and there will be excess supply in the market; you are not specifying whether the change in the exchange rate is driven by USD strength or GBP weakness. The effects that the strengthening of any particuar currency has on exchange rates can be seen across the markets, but these are driven by fundamentals, and so beyond the capabilities of most traders.

Having said all that, inter currency pair analysis should play some role in your trading, in the process of good risk management. There are established relationships between curruncy pairs (and some commodities, too). A simple example is EURUSD and USDCHF - to have a long and short position respectively might expose you to excess risk. Like them or loathe them, correlations are useful in this regard. If you are holding multiple positions, a worthy addition to a trading system is some model of correlation between the major pairs, and your expectation of the "realised" correlation over the lifespan of your trades.

 

[jonj]

So, for currency pair trading, on short timeframes (circa hours and days), inter currency pair analysis is usually more effort than it's worth. It is also important to remind yourself of how you arrive at a bullish or bearish view in the first place - conveniantly, I know you identify opportunities from Price Action - so this is what you should concern yourself with first and foremost. If you think that a level of resistance in GBPUSD will not be breached, you are saying that demand will exhaust and there will be excess supply in the market; you are not specifying whether the change in the exchange rate is driven by USD strength or GBP weakness. The effects that the strengthening of any particuar currency has on exchange rates can be seen across the markets, but these are driven by fundamentals, and so beyond the capabilities of most traders.

Having said all that, inter currency pair analysis should play some role in your trading, in the process of good risk management. There are established relationships between curruncy pairs (and some commodities, too). A simple example is EURUSD and USDCHF - to have a long and short position respectively might expose you to excess risk. Like them or loathe them, correlations are useful in this regard. If you are holding multiple positions, a worthy addition to a trading system is some model of correlation between the major pairs, and your expectation of the "realised" correlation over the lifespan of your trades.

[/QUOTE]


thanx MrG, i am aware of some correlations between pairs and use them(theoretically as i only demo trade atm)to spread my risk and for confirmation,i.e.i try to find a setup in BOTH e/u and u/ch,or to find confirmation in both pairs to enter a possition in one.
good points well put sir!!

 

[Spawny]

Hi All,

i´m just starting out, and have just moved to Spain. Does anyone know what the tax situation is here for spread betting? I keep getting differing opinions from people over here. Half of them say don´t bother, and the other half think it might be taxable. The tax man just got confused when asked.