One of the frustrating things about being a trend follower is that it takes time to overcome the inertia of a new system, particularly if that system is based upon slightly longer time periods such as weekly data. Part of the frustration that traders encounter is based upon the simple mechanics of how systems work.…
On October 7th 2016 the GBP suffered a minor aneurysm and dropped like a stone for a short period of time as seen below. The Bank of International Settlements had just released a report into possible reasons for the crash. You can download the full report here. The executive summary outlines a constellation of reasons…
There’s an academic I know — very well respected — who especially values one of his collaborators. This particular colleague isn’t invaluable because of his creativity or intellect, says my professor friend, but because “he is willing to tell me when I’m wrong, and that’s rare”. It is indeed rare. Perhaps even rarer is the…
I am still intrigued by the US markets reaction to the results of the US election when viewed in tandem with an instrument such as gold which is generally seen as a hedge against uncertainty (in this instance read outright dickheadedry) As such I though I would look at the relative returns of both instruments…
A comment appeared in relating to this piece I wrote the other day and it deserves a fuller explanation. I will state at the outside that it is my contention that if you listen to the financial media and the sell side of the finance industry you will never get anywhere. And as a first…
A question popped up in the Mentor Program that related to what to do when related instruments all gave the same signal, in this instance the culprit was various JPY related pairs. I had not looked at FX correlations for awhile so thought I might stick a few together and see if they told me…
Sometimes I feel sorry for traders/investors who need to construct a narrative as part of their investment process. Whilst you are cocooned inside your own delusional story you would never know whether your story is the right one and is the one the market has chosen. As an example consider the year to date moves…
This is an early contender for the worst piece of financial advice of the year. My advice…..do exactly the opposite. The financial press Whether you decide to be a “passive” investor, and put all your money in index funds, or you choose to be an “active” investor, and trade the market, you should know where…
At the age of 105, the French amateur cyclist and world-record holder Robert Marchand is more aerobically fit than most 50-year-olds — and appears to be getting even fitter as he ages, according to a revelatory new study of his physiology. The study, which appeared in December in The Journal of Applied Physiology, may help…
Short-term memory dominates all tasks—in cooking, for instance: I put the water to boil in a pot on the stove and remember that the water will boil while I chop the onions. I will put the sauté pan on the stove to heat up the oil for the onions, and I will then put the…
Bloomberg recently breathlessly trumpeted the following regarding hedge fund behemoth Bridgewater – Ray Dalio Makes Clients $4.9 Billion in 2016 as Paulson, Soros Falter Their article was accompanied by the following table of returns – When you look at the table $4.9B is a lot of money in absolute terms and it is here that…
In 2015 Doreetha Daniels received her associate degree in social sciences from College of the Canyons, in Santa Clarita, California. But Daniels wasn’t a typical student: She was 99 years old. In the COC press release about her graduation, Daniels indicated that she wanted to get her degree simply to better herself; her six years of school during that…
