reading the FT

[ha0dho]

Who here reads the Financial Times regularly? and why what do u gain from it?

Should i consider reading the FT

I trade FX and some gold and silver

Would I get anything from it?

 

[Masterful]

I don't read the FT, but I do read the RSS news feed for FT markets along with many other news feeds and you'll receive articles as the FT publishes them.

 

[MarketMoverTrader]

I don't, but I was just reading 'The Ultimate Day Trader' (Jacob Bernstein) today and he does not recommend following the news.

"There's a great deal to be said for isolationism in trading. In other words, in order to keep free of impulse, it is often best that you not know the news. This sounds counterintuative at first, since in many cases the market is driven by news, even reacting on a minute-by-minute basis. The problem is that if you spend you time glued to the TV channels, you're reacting as the market often does: randomly, impulsively, and often irrationally" and it goes on...

Not sure about the FT though. Just thought that was an interesting perspective.

 

[Rugby Trader]

I get it free from my gym, i pick it up most days at lunchtime but usually don't have time to read it though.

 

[Dommo]

I have a subscription. It's helpful for forming a broad market/economic view, and staying up to date with news you might not otherwise look for (eg headline on corn/food crisis fear this morning). Lots of UK/US company-specific news, so I would have thought it useful for an equity trader. Smaller 3 page markets summary at the back. I don't rely on it for trades, but I think it is definitely worth trying out. Reading from paper is always a welcome change from reading from the screen. You could probably get a discount/trial if you look at the website.

 

[Liquid validity]

I last had an online FT sub in 2003.
For me too much focus on analyst opinion as opposed to both sides of the coin perspective.
My own view is its just part of the financial landscape, like a copy of the SUN on the dash of a builders transit

In all seriousness, no harm in it but there is plenty of equivalent free content such as Reuters, market oracle etc. that are arguably just as good if not better for being, imo more clinical and impartial.

Putting it briefly, not an essential for me.

 

[meanreversion]

That's a good question. My subscription with the FT is now due for renewal, and I'm wondering if it's worth £152. I find some of the market reporting fairly amateurish and suspect it's a 22yr old trying his best to think of a story that fits the facts. However, it is good for company news and some of the detailed macro articles are worth reading as well. But £152? Hmmmm, I'm still chewing on it.

 

[Hotch]

It depends what you're using it for, if you're going to trade based upon the market analysis then I doubt it's going to improve your trading significantly. If you're going to read it to keep track of events, then it's the best I've found.

The other thing worth a look is alphaville (http://ftalphaville.ft.com/) it's normally got something worth a read on it, and plenty of important people keep tabs on it.

 

[BlackBison]

It seems good for company and market news and maybe working out what the general sentiment is, but the sections on fx and commodities are too brief and is not that useful coming a day late and repeating what you already know if you follow the news actively during the trading day.

 

[ha0dho]

I get it free from my gym, i pick it up most days at lunchtime but usually don't have time to read it though.

U go to a posher gym than me the guy behind the counter at my gym usually has the star

I have a subscription. It's helpful for forming a broad market/economic view, and staying up to date with news you might not otherwise look for (eg headline on corn/food crisis fear this morning).

I might start reading it for the same reason as dommo. I dont think it will help my tarding but it would be good to see whats happening in markets that I dont really look at.

There again I might look at free sources like other posters have suggested.

Cheers

 

[tomorton]

I had The Economist for about a year - interesting, well researched, being a weekly it takes the time and space needed to thoroughly explore issues.

 

[predator001]

I don't read it, and I dont follow any of the Financial news (CNN, Bloomberg) etc. I prefer to do my own research. Having said that, early on in my trading life, I read everything: the investors Chronicle, FT, The Economist etc and subscribed to Bloomberg TV.

After a while it dawned on me that they were nothing more than a distraction. The market tells me everything I need to know - and for what the market dosen't tell me - I sure as hell am not going to find out from a journalist (printed media or TV).

Everyone is different though - to an exent, it depends on your personality, some people like the excitement and "adrenaline" of constant news/24 hrs seven (perhaps looking for tips?) - I prefer to be left the hell alone, and just get down to thinking on my own, for myself. Trading uis very much a reflection of ones personality, so you are probably going to get different answers from different people - allthough I suspect that the more experienced traders prefer to cut out all "outside noise".

 

[spy74]

i completely agree that you can get "info overload" by reading too much and thinking that somehow it's going to help you trade better....I don't think this is the case at all, in fact, in my experience it can be very detrimental! - price action alone will tell you what a market is thinking about a data release or an economic event.

i have a sub to WSJ online.....not useful whatsoever for daily trading, but i do find it VERY useful for keeping up with the bigger picture, and being informed/conversant in the current trends/themes, which i do think is important. There are a couple of columnists who's articles are more informative and insightful than a research piece from a bank IMO....

 

[DionysusToast]

Shurely it depends what you are trading.

if you are a long term equity trader, wouldn't it be nice to know one of your holdings is under SEC investigation ?

If you are scalping for 2 ticks, then all you really need is a calendar such as the one on Forex Factory so you don't try picking up pennies in front of a steam roller.

I just ended my subscription to Briefing.com. Mostly because free resources are just as timely and informative.

 

[Liquid validity]

Shurely it depends what you are trading.

if you are a long term equity trader, wouldn't it be nice to know one of your holdings is under SEC investigation ?

If you are scalping for 2 ticks, then all you really need is a calendar such as the one on Forex Factory so you don't try picking up pennies in front of a steam roller.

I just ended my subscription to Briefing.com. Mostly because free resources are just as timely and informative.

You could get more background info on the specifics maybe, but surely EDGAR (U.S. equivalent of UK RNS) would also be instantly issued at the time of the SEC notifying market?

I don't trade U.S. stocks so I could be wrong.

 

[DionysusToast]

Aye - but you don't read Edgar every day - it doesn't have a cartoon section...

 

[Liquid validity]

Thats a good enough reason