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Welcome to the ‘Sub-Prime & Credit Crunch’ archive

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 two 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.
 Rights Issue Sir, Buy Your Rights Issue
Posted by FT on April 24, 2008
Category: Views & Opinions, Shares & Indices, Sub-Prime & Credit Crunch by FT Comment

If you’ve picked up a paper this week you’ll have read that bulimia doesn’t make you lose weight, Gordon Brown is the one person less popular than Alistair Darling and, with apologies to Thin Lizzy, ‘the banks are back in town, the banks are back in town.’

Yep, we’ve had a whole print works of banking stories:
‘ Bank of England rescues banks’, ‘more banking write-downs’, ‘RBS to launch UK’s biggest ever rights issue’, ‘even more write downs’, ‘Bank of England expects others to follow RBS’, ‘further loan loss provisions’, ‘yet more write downs’. Phew! There was barely time to read about the Ronaldo penalty miss.


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 two 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.
 Co-ordinated Closing Of Stable Doors
Posted by FT on April 14, 2008
Category: Trade Diaries, Currencies, Sub-Prime & Credit Crunch by FT 3 Comments

As predicted here on Friday world leaders spent the weekend in Washington talking about food; not only admiring the quality of the mega-big Mac-cheeseburgers, but worrying about how much it was now costing people that had to pay for their food. Yes, rising food prices leap-frogged the current credit crisis as a matter of global importance.


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 two 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.
 Sorry, What Was The Good News?
Posted by FT on April 1, 2008
Category: Trade Diaries, Shares & Indices, Oil, Gold & Commodities, Sub-Prime & Credit Crunch by FT 4 Comments

For the first time in a while I’m concerned about a possible rally in equities. My screens have shown nothing but bad news stories on banks. Yet equities are pushing higher, spurred on by, yes you’ve guessed it, banks!


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 two 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.
 Suddenly Everyone Wants A Bit Of Fannie
Posted by FT on March 19, 2008
Category: Trade Diaries, Shares & Indices, Sub-Prime & Credit Crunch by FT 1 Comment

Where’s that bloody cat when I need something to kick? Granted, my £2 Barclays bet wasn’t going to get me a villa in Spain. But the manner in which I was jerked out of the trade, and the subsequent rally had me spitting blood.


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 two 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.
 Clever, But Will The Fed Bluff Work?
Posted by FT on March 19, 2008
Category: Views & Opinions, Shares & Indices, Sub-Prime & Credit Crunch by FT 3 Comments

Hi folks,
Welcome to the weekly issue of ‘What The Hell’s Going On?’

Last week the markets treated Fed initiatives like it was free Guinness with a Viagra chaser. But on Monday investors reacted to further helpful measures from the Fed like it was a night out with Heather Mills. Last night the Fed cut rates by a further 0.75%, to 2.25%. American’s loved it, sending the Dow up a massive 420 points, but will it last?


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 two 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.
 What Happened To Quiet Mondays?
Posted by FT on March 17, 2008
Category: Trade Diaries, Shares & Indices, Sub-Prime & Credit Crunch by FT 7 Comments

Morning folks,
Traditionally we ease our way into Mondays; perhaps a few minutes late to the desk, time for a scratch and chat about the football or rugby. You know the sort of thing. But not this morning, it was straight in for a bit of action.


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 two 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.
 No One Wants Fannie Anymore
Posted by FT on March 13, 2008
Category: Views & Opinions, Shares & Indices, Sub-Prime & Credit Crunch by FT 5 Comments

Monday, Down In The Fed’s Canteen
Bearded Ben Bernanke is having a working sandwich break with his team:

BBB “Shoot guys. The whole goddamned banking system’s up the creek and we’ve gotta provide the paddle. Give me a quick run down on the latest.”

Team “Dur, OK Boss, the Dow Jones has broken below 12,000 and is heading for January’s lows when that stupid French bank couldn’t control its staff.”

BBB “Cheers Einstein, I can read my screen, but what’s causing it now?”


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 two 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.
 Crunching Like A Hungry Bear
Posted by FT on March 7, 2008
Category: Views & Opinions, Sub-Prime & Credit Crunch by FT Comment

This past week has followed the standard horror movie script to the letter (so far). Last week’s article An Eagle A Black Horse And A Load Of Bulls*t told of how the banks had taken blow after blow from the Crunchy Credit Monster. But it looked as though a spirited defence, using higher dividend payments, had stopped the monster in its tracks.


Z is a Paddy Power employee. He spent 10 years being something small in 'the City' before moving to Ireland and has been trading spread bets, on and off, for the last 4 years.

Right now Z is trading occasionally with the aim of supplementing his ‘day-job’ income. His current trading strategy means he tries to:
a) trade just one market (the FTSE)
b) make relatively few trades
c) make lower-risk trades
d) not let the sleep-loss caused by his new baby girl trash his judgement
 Too Funny Not To Put Up Here
Posted by Z on February 26, 2008
Category: Trade Diaries, Sub-Prime & Credit Crunch, Funny by Z Comment

OK, it’s not often I do this. But this primer on the sub-prime fiasco is too funny to not share.

Once you click on the link above you may need to click on ‘Open’ to run it, then use your mouse or space bar to move through the slides.

Mozilla Firefox users won’t be able to open the file but you can download a zip file from here. Make sure you save the file though before you try to open it.


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 two 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 Duff Present From Santa
Posted by FT on December 13, 2007
Category: Views & Opinions, Economics, Shares & Indices, Sub-Prime & Credit Crunch by FT Comment

Well, ho, ho, ho. It’s the five Santas with gifts for all. The world’s central bankers yesterday announced their first joint plan of action since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Yesterday’s co-ordinated financing arrangements got traders kissing under the mistletoe, but when the booze wears off, what the hell have they done and will it work?


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