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The week that was:
So Thursday and Friday certainly gave us something to think about with Obama upping the ante on the war against the bank in the U.S. Then again they have to expect some sort of reaction after brining the world to its knees and putting their hand out for assistance.

From a trading point of view these “news” events are always annoying as they disrupt nice trends and wash out stops, but they do provide our next base to move forward from. Whether the selling is limited to just these few days we will know soon enough.

FX:
With the FX markets still countering the major trend I’ve sat on the sidelines for another week although the were some better moves starting to shape up, so it’s time to get my head back in the game again FX wise. Hopefully this shake up of the markets will allow people to do some decision making and pick a direction to trend for a month or two.

Equities:
The churn of the sell off caught me in a few new mid term positions I entered early in the week, one on U.S. market and one on the ASX, both of which stopped out, including a little slippage due to gapping on the ASX open. A second trade on the US market stopped out on Thursday for a break even trade before selling off much further on Friday, stops are brilliant, use them. Having kicked off this system after this recent move was already underway washing out of trades is no big deal. Having feedback from how the trades went to move forward on the next rally is better than crunching numbers in your backtesting software any day.

Equity Sectors:
Some possible setups from the selling into this move that I’ll be keeping an eye out for, what you lose on the selling you make up for on the rebounds.

Commodities:
Still cruising in my one now long term trade, no new actions.

Results:
FX : R
Equities : -2.0R Mid Term
Equity Sectors : R
Commodities : R

Housekeeping:
Just keeping out of the way for the moment & waiting to see what the market brings.

The week ahead:
FOMC week but no huge changes expected, plenty of housing and GDP news to fill the week though.

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The week that was:
The highlight of the week was certainly the swinging price action on most markets as news pushed price first up, then down. All in all not a lot of opportunities in those conditions for me. It’s times like this when the value of a longer term system shows though. Having entered several positions early in the week the long term trades didn’t even look at the stops, while one of the mid terms was quickly run over with spike before recovering. Both systems have their unique advantages, we simply move on to the next trade knowing the larger returns take time to deliver.

FX:
No trades for the week as price swung back and forth with a few failed breaks on longer time frames. New trends are always around the corner, so I sit and wait for their arrival.

Equities:
Two new long term positions added as my heat had lifted sufficiently, one being the first pyramid for this new market cycle we are in. Pyramiding correctly for the time frame and instrument you are trading is one of the biggest keys to successful trading, it’s the difference between good results, and great results, all from the same price move.

One mid term position was entered as well, while the spike took out the position entered last week after it failed to hold it’s support level on the broad market price drop. A -1.0R loss, but an excellent signal all the same.

Equity Sectors:
Still waiting for price setups to suit my trading style.

Commodities:
No new moves and no actions, still holding the one position.

Results:
FX : R
Equities : -1.0R mid term system
Equity Sectors : R
Commodities : R

Housekeeping:
No stops to move this week, no new long term positions on my scope, just sitting back and letting the trend do its job.

The week ahead:
Plenty of news from China hitting the street mid week and a holiday for the US market on Monday.

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The week that was:
A new year is upon us and the trading gods have kicked us off to a favorable start. In a news heavy week the market held it’s trend and has left most market commentators praising the prospects for the year ahead. All I need to know is my positions are mostly going up, and more importantly that my stops are moving towards break even as several of my longer term trades hit new highs.

The trend is strong, let your system do the work and be sure not to fiddle!

FX:
One trade for the week, a quick short on the GBP on Tuesday for a 2R win. Always good to start the year with a win in any system. With NFP due Friday and plenty of other news I took a slow start to the FX markets. Still plenty of congestion around and currencies that normally correlate headed in different directions. Good for some cross rate trades, but I’d still rather a strong trend.

Equities:
One new mid term position added on the US market during the week. I’m still finding the best opportunities there at the moment as it moves to steady new highs and money seems to be flowing into the US once more. Several long term positions are up making new highs so a few stops will move in towards break even, allowing me to look for a few longer term trades again.

Equity Sectors:
No setups meeting my criteria this past week.

Commodities:
Still on board the one position, no actions required.

Results:
FX : +2.0R
Equities : R
Equity Sectors : R
Commodities : R

Housekeeping:
Stops to move up Monday and start scanning for long term trade entries now that heat is lifting.

The week ahead:
Not too much news in the way so it should be a nice steady week leading up to the US long weekend, which may see some quiet trading on the Friday US session.

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Wishing everybody a safe festive season! Take a break from the markets, step back, look at your lessons from the year & gear up your strategy for the year ahead!

Wrapping up the past few weeks:
With the FX market range bound at the time I switched off from active trading a few weeks backs other than taking advantage of the strength in the US equities market to get set in one more position prior to the x-mas break. DOW & S&P still look strong compared to the other equities indices at the moment, and the flow back to the USD leading up to US end of financial year seems to be giving the move some weight for the moment.

FX:
The breakout of the USD index has given a nice trend retracement to the next resistance level. Happy to take my end of year break for now though & see what the new year brings. Possibly the UDS has found a base for a while in this area.

Equities:
As mentioned I’m liking the US listings more than the other markets I track at the moment. The mid term trade in the Aussie market that had drifted for over a month finally stopped out for a -1.0R loss, meanwhile I’ve taken a new position in the US leaving me with 2 mid term trades there at the moment, one at break even already. The outlook for these trades is a 1-2 year hold or longer if I can, so it’ll be a case of many 1R losses while the other wind up to multiple R wins over the long haul. A similar strategy served me well about 7 years back when the market was in a similar stage of exiting a bear market, although at the time I was so new to trading I really didn’t know what I was doing. Experience is something that you can never have too much of in any industry.

Equity Sectors:
No setups expected until a move out of this congestion area.

Commodities:
No new positions entered and my mid term come long term trade continues to perform well, and is indeed my best performing trade for the year with several pyramids in place. The payoff is still in the days ahead though, a strong 2010 is needed to really bring this trade home now. One good trade a year does wonders for your bank balance.

Results:
FX : R
Equities : -1.0R
Equity Sectors : R
Commodities : R

Housekeeping:

The week ahead:
With trading volumes lower and several short weeks I will be totally zoned out other than adjusting stops as required. A few positions are pressing up to new highs and taking a few minutes a week to monitor them won’t stress my x-mas activity schedule greatly.

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The week that was:
Given the mix of news from Dubai to US jobs numbers it was a relatively steady week. With the jobs hemorrhage coming to an end for the moment people can head towards the new year with some confidence the world hasn’t come to an end, and that 2010 will be a better year for the average man on the street.

Macro trends remain in force and the guiding light for the moment offering opportunities to consolidate existing and look out for new trades.

FX:
Again sitting out the market congestion. A few setups with the “congestion rules” I’m monitoring performed well though which was good to see.

Equities:
Long term trades are hitting some highs at long last. Entered a second mid  term trade, my first foray into the US market in quite a while. It immediately plunged 5% towards my stop, joy, but it having respected its price support level it is headed in the right direction again for now at least.

Equity Sectors:
No signals yet but some setups starting to form up.

Commodities:
Still holding my long term position, no other setups to action at this stage.

Results:
FX                               :  R
Equities                       :  R
Equity Sectors             :  R
Commodities               :  R

Housekeeping:
Several of my stocks have moved high enough to start moving my stop towards break even. Given the amount of sideways drift I’ve had on most things I’ve entered recently it’s good to finally have some action!

The week ahead:
Last of the major news numbers for the year, waiting to see if the US market can follow through