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Archive for November, 2008

Mr FT is a self-employed spread better. After 18 years in fund management he was given the choice of moving to London or .. not. ‘Not’ won out.

FT has been trading full time from home for four years, with nothing but four kids and a beach to distract him .

He fills his spare time with weight training and rugby, though more coaching than playing these days.

FT mostly trades the forex markets and although he plays FTSE on occasions his bread and butter market is £$.

He likes to think that his technique is evolving but still hasn’t the temperament or money to back the big calls. He prefers to trade between 1 and 3 times a day, aiming to take regular small gains, but feels part of the evolution is in not dealing if the conditions don’t feel right.
 A Drop In Inflation Sends The Euro Lower
By FT on 28 November 2008 at 15:23
Category: Currencies, Shares & Indices, Technical Analysis by FT 2 Comments

Hi folks,
With only a few hours to go it looks as though the markets have avoided the Apocalypse, for now. Even in these strange times I can’t see the S&P 500 closing the month below its 2002 low of 768. There’s more chance of it closing around the 900 level-CRAZY! Most markets are looking pretty dull today, but my pick of the bunch is the Euro, which is continuing to fall.


The Mole is the man in the know. Unlike most of the Paddy Power traders he doesn't spread bet for a living. Instead he works for a well-known Dublin institution where he heads a desk that regularly trades over €100 million a day.

The Mole says he mainly trades currencies but, as the markets are so closely related, he keeps a close eye on stocks and Oil too.
 Banks Get The Turkey And Taxpayers Get Stuffed
By The Mole on 28 November 2008 at 09:49
Category: Economics, Market Watch, Oil & Gold, Shares & Indices by The Mole 5 Comments

The performance of the US markets over the last week has been an enigma. But I feel that when it opens fully for business come Monday


Mr FT is a self-employed spread better. After 18 years in fund management he was given the choice of moving to London or .. not. ‘Not’ won out.

FT has been trading full time from home for four years, with nothing but four kids and a beach to distract him .

He fills his spare time with weight training and rugby, though more coaching than playing these days.

FT mostly trades the forex markets and although he plays FTSE on occasions his bread and butter market is £$.

He likes to think that his technique is evolving but still hasn’t the temperament or money to back the big calls. He prefers to trade between 1 and 3 times a day, aiming to take regular small gains, but feels part of the evolution is in not dealing if the conditions don’t feel right.
 Equities Are Holding The Rally
By FT on 27 November 2008 at 14:07
Category: Currencies, Shares & Indices, Technical Analysis by FT 3 Comments

Hi folks, and a Happy Thanksgiving to all those American turkeys out there,
It’s a refreshing change not to be on the wrong end of a strong rally in equities; I’m not long either (that will be the next stage to work on), but at least I can relax and look for opportunities in either direction. And talking of opportunities, the EURGBP chart looks to setting up nicely.


Mr FT is a self-employed spread better. After 18 years in fund management he was given the choice of moving to London or .. not. ‘Not’ won out.

FT has been trading full time from home for four years, with nothing but four kids and a beach to distract him .

He fills his spare time with weight training and rugby, though more coaching than playing these days.

FT mostly trades the forex markets and although he plays FTSE on occasions his bread and butter market is £$.

He likes to think that his technique is evolving but still hasn’t the temperament or money to back the big calls. He prefers to trade between 1 and 3 times a day, aiming to take regular small gains, but feels part of the evolution is in not dealing if the conditions don’t feel right.
 Where Next For The Oil Price? Part 2
By FT on 27 November 2008 at 11:00
Category: Oil & Gold, Views & Opinions by FT 3 Comments

Hi folks,
Yesterday I was looking at the miserable performance of the oil price and the current state of supply and demand (Where Next For The Oil Price? Part 1). Today I’m looking at pricing expectations, what events might influence the price and how I might trade oil at the moment.


Flash Rabbit is a self-taught trader. He trades part-time to supplement his main job, which is as an academic in a UK university.

Flash calls his fund a 'micro-macro' fund because he looks for macroeconomic trends and trades them with microscopic amounts of money. This enables him to stay relaxed. Trading is a way of figuring out how things are working in the world, and as he’s not reliant on it for all of his income, he can afford to make some stupid mistakes. Which he has done plenty of.
 Guest Blog: Contrarian Position Winning…For Now
By Flash Rabbit on 27 November 2008 at 10:34
Category: Currencies, Oil & Gold, Shares & Indices, Views & Opinions by Flash Rabbit 5 Comments

It’s been a good couple of trading days since the last blog. My ‘contrarian’ retailers gamble has started to pay off quicker than I expected; Darling’s VAT cut fuelled some speculative buying of beaten down shopkeepers.


The Mole is the man in the know. Unlike most of the Paddy Power traders he doesn't spread bet for a living. Instead he works for a well-known Dublin institution where he heads a desk that regularly trades over €100 million a day.

The Mole says he mainly trades currencies but, as the markets are so closely related, he keeps a close eye on stocks and Oil too.
 Dow Defies Gravity And Reality
By The Mole on 27 November 2008 at 09:41
Category: Market Watch, Shares & Indices by The Mole 6 Comments

The Dow Jones is now on a 1,000 point, four day winning streak in a defiant bear market rally that defies the ever darkening economic backdrop


Mr FT is a self-employed spread better. After 18 years in fund management he was given the choice of moving to London or .. not. ‘Not’ won out.

FT has been trading full time from home for four years, with nothing but four kids and a beach to distract him .

He fills his spare time with weight training and rugby, though more coaching than playing these days.

FT mostly trades the forex markets and although he plays FTSE on occasions his bread and butter market is £$.

He likes to think that his technique is evolving but still hasn’t the temperament or money to back the big calls. He prefers to trade between 1 and 3 times a day, aiming to take regular small gains, but feels part of the evolution is in not dealing if the conditions don’t feel right.
 Equities Rally Into The Close
By FT on 26 November 2008 at 16:54
Category: Currencies, Shares & Indices, Technical Analysis by FT 1 Comment

Hi folks,
Well, the best that can be said of equities is that they’ve held up well in the face of further appalling data. I’ve not been too involved in markets that have seemed pretty directionless until late afternoon, and what I have traded has cost me.


Mr FT is a self-employed spread better. After 18 years in fund management he was given the choice of moving to London or .. not. ‘Not’ won out.

FT has been trading full time from home for four years, with nothing but four kids and a beach to distract him .

He fills his spare time with weight training and rugby, though more coaching than playing these days.

FT mostly trades the forex markets and although he plays FTSE on occasions his bread and butter market is £$.

He likes to think that his technique is evolving but still hasn’t the temperament or money to back the big calls. He prefers to trade between 1 and 3 times a day, aiming to take regular small gains, but feels part of the evolution is in not dealing if the conditions don’t feel right.
 Where Next For The Oil Price? Part 1
By FT on 26 November 2008 at 14:59
Category: Oil & Gold, Views & Opinions by FT 14 Comments

The past week has seen a tentative return of risk appetite. The major equity markets have rallied by around 12%, Sterling has regained almost 700 pips against the Dollar and that paragon of safety, the Yen, has lost 700 pips against the Euro. Even schizophrenic gold, no longer a sure-fire safe-haven, has rallied over $100 from the lows.

But there’s someone missing from this happy reunion of risk assets, oil. Down 65% from its July high, with the world in recession and demand falling, oil is hovering around its 2-½ year low. The only need we have for it these days is to keep us warm at home whilst scanning the job pages in the paper. Even the chart looks bad.


The Mole is the man in the know. Unlike most of the Paddy Power traders he doesn't spread bet for a living. Instead he works for a well-known Dublin institution where he heads a desk that regularly trades over €100 million a day.

The Mole says he mainly trades currencies but, as the markets are so closely related, he keeps a close eye on stocks and Oil too.
 Dow Jones Three Up Days In A Row!
By The Mole on 26 November 2008 at 09:46
Category: Economics, Market Watch, Shares & Indices by The Mole 5 Comments

After the helter skelter of the previous two days of headline-grabbing gains, the stocks markets went about their business in a more sedate manner yesterday. They still finished above water


Mr FT is a self-employed spread better. After 18 years in fund management he was given the choice of moving to London or .. not. ‘Not’ won out.

FT has been trading full time from home for four years, with nothing but four kids and a beach to distract him .

He fills his spare time with weight training and rugby, though more coaching than playing these days.

FT mostly trades the forex markets and although he plays FTSE on occasions his bread and butter market is £$.

He likes to think that his technique is evolving but still hasn’t the temperament or money to back the big calls. He prefers to trade between 1 and 3 times a day, aiming to take regular small gains, but feels part of the evolution is in not dealing if the conditions don’t feel right.
 Watch Out For More Bonds Into Equities
By FT on 25 November 2008 at 13:04
Category: Shares & Indices, Technical Analysis by FT 2 Comments

Hi folks,
I’m sure the scowling Scot, Gordon Brown, will take the credit for turning around global markets; the near 10% rise in European equity indexes dwarfed the paltry 6% in the US. Sterling, the Euro and commodity currencies all benefited, as did gold, as traders played the ‘we’re happy to take on risk’ game. But the real game in town is the talk of monthly portfolio rebalancing, with US Thanksgiving Day adding a touch of urgency.


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