The Market Maven Alert
Tuesday 18th August 2009
Hi,
I hope all is well with you.
I've been beavering away with the latest edition of What Really Profits and a guide to trading robots.
Busy busy, especially when as I'm trading at the same time. Most of my personal trades involve an audio alert or are based on end of day action, so I don't have to stay glued to my screens. It does test the old concentration levels though, especially as I've the attention span of a small child that's just consumed an entire bag of skittles.
I'm a bit of a self improvement addict and I think you need to have a degree of interest in this to make trading work. I'm not talking weekend long retreats doing yoga and eating wheatgrass, I mean the ability to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses and try to improve yourself and your trading.
A reader suggested I take a look at Leo Babauta's 'The Power of less', which is pretty good I have to say. Simple tips to help you become more productive, worth a read, though most of the tips are already on his popular blog: click here
In the latest edition of WRP I've written about eliminating bad trading habits. I've a fair few and it takes some discipline to not let them slip into my trading.
Other articles this month include quick reviews of Ivy bot and the London Sunrise EA. I've reviewed a superb market timing service called Market Sci and reveal a simple yet very effective trend following system for spotting stocks that could explode.
In a back to basics article I explain the difference between all the different ways of entering the market. If you confuse your limit orders with your buy stops, I hope this clears a few things up for you. Finally I lift the lid on the spread betting firm that lets you trade at 15p per point.
Check out these free systems
There are a number of good commercial trading strategies out there, but if you do a little digging, you can also find some really useful free systems & methods floating around.
Whenever I come across something interesting I make an note of it in my favourites and was surprised the other day to find some much cool stuff on the list.
I thought you might be interested in these with my two pennies worth to add to the mix.
1. Strange currencies - This kind chap has put up some free articles and a couple of free trading systems. Look here
The first one, strange currencies is a long term trend following system. It trades just three times a year per pair on average and does require a big stop, but winners are substantially bigger than losses. The best results seem to come when going long when the pair reaches a 120 day high and closing when it fails to close even higher in 12 days. Stop loss set at 10%. Opposite settings for short trades.
Worth a read for the full rules.
There's also a simple breakout system for the GBP/USD with different results depending on the time frame used. Could be of interest for those looking for an end of day system.
2. The Super Trend Indicator
This site has a neat guide to using the forex super trend indicator which you can use for free within metatrader. This relatively simple indicator turns green to indicate an uptrend and vice versa.
You can get a free download of the Super Trend indicator by clicking here
3. The Gold Cross system
Simple system:
Buy then next open on the S&P 500 when the 50 day simple moving average closes above the 200 day moving average. Sell when the 50 day closes below the 200 day moving average.
Doesn't happen much, but according to
this there have been 25 trades since 1960 and 21 winners with the average gain being 5 times the average loss. Worth keeping an eye out for it!
Free signals:
1. Free US stock picks
Woodshedder runs a cool blog where he updates the performance of a particular system called Power Dip. It's done very well since May:
http://ibankcoin.com/woodshedderblog/
2. Free stock market analysis
Danny runs a very interesting blog with lots of unique indicators here: http://ibankcoin.com/dannyblog/ I follow his thoughts most days and his analysis adds flavour to my own trades on the S&P 500.
Enjoy!
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My Trades
Well I finally got the breakout out I've been waiting for to get me off the fence. Trouble is, it's not in the direct I was hoping for. I dipped my toe in the water last night with a small buy on the S&P 500. I think there's potential for a bounce, but I'm not as happy with this trades as if the breakout would have come to the upside. In the medium term I'm not convinced by this rally so I think it will be a quick trade for profit or loss.
Forex systems are still ticking over and I'm experimenting with a few more. No trades at all yesterday, but a couple in profit this morning.
This week's hot trading buttons
Pretty quiet week compared to last week. Top announcements today include US PPI and housing starts. Tomorrow we've got the release of the last MPC meeting minutes. Today UK CPI increased more than forecast while RPI decreased less than forecast. The pound has been given a boost this morning as the UK economy makes its way back towards normal inflation levels.
Trading Wisdom
"Have a routine to lean on. Every trader should follow a mental routine on every trade. It keeps you focused on what you have to do, and when the pressure is on, it helps you manage your nerves. You may not have control over the market, but you have control on how you trade the market. Having a routine will inject consistency that will keep you calm under pressure". Charles Kirk
Regards
Dave Evans
Market Maven