ITU GLOBAL MARKET REVIEWS

Are you facing any challenges in trading? You might want to explore the secrets of markets wizards and duplicate their success. Get the secrets from my past articles at:

Get my Forex trading signals at: http://www.fxinstructor.com/en/analytics/ituglobal

And my past articles are also available at: www.ituglobalforex.blogspot.com

Yahoo! Messenger ID: saazalmu

NB: There is risk of loss in trading, but it is possible to be a successful trader.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Clarifying Your Issues – Part 4

WHAT I HAVE TO OFFER

“Excellent traders are always keeping score: they want to know what they’ve done right or wrong, and what’s making and losing them money. They are always working on themselves and their trading. I’ve met far too many “breakeven” traders who, upon inspection, have been losing money consistently. It’s not that they’re lying; they simply don’t want to know the truth. Thus, they avoid it. It is simply too painful to look at the money and opportunities lost.” - Brett N. Steenbarger

Hello:

In this part of the series of articles bearing the topic above, I’d like to answer some questions from my potential and existing subscribers, hoping to throw more light on what I offer and the right attitude towards trading. I think this could benefit you also.

1. Why did you cancel your offer of one-month free trial? – J. G.

Answer: Most signal providers offer only two-week or one-week free trial while some offer none. Few trading signals providers would offer 1-month free trial. I used to offer one-month free trial; something that was long and generous enough. However, in an effort to provide better services and ensure that serious-minded subscribers eventually get what they rightly deserve, the free trial was cancelled. Whether there’s a free trial or not, whether the trial lasts only a day or a year, those who’d sign up for it would do that: those who wouldn’t would not. Whether one charges $1 or $1000 per month for a signals service, those who’d sign up would do that, those who wouldn’t would not.

2. Could the monthly price be reduced? – P. B.

Answer: The monthly charge is one of the lowest prices for trading signals; even if we make a thousand pips in a month. Upon subscribing, you get some rebate in the price for the first month, and then you subsequently pay the normal fee on monthly basis. The price is competitive (some signals providers charge hundreds of dollars per month). A higher price doesn’t necessarily mean better services. There are strategies that are used to provide signals and more are coming, since there’s an ongoing effort to achieve even better trading results. I’m convinced that my subscribers would enjoy greater trading results in future, so why should the price be reduced? Rather than wasting time by sending ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ signals thru email and/or IM, I now give my subscribers access to my trading accounts. I only notify them when I’m placing new trades or exiting them. They’d simply need to do the same things like me – setting Stops and targets and existing at opportune times. Past trades results are seen in real time, and there’s no possibility for falsification of results.

3. Can I be greatly satisfied with the trading results in one month? Can we get good results always? – K. A.

Answer: I can say that we’ll always survive on the markets (thanks to risk management), but I can’t say that we’ll win all our trades. My trading signals services aren’t suitable for someone with fallacious views and unrealistic expectations. Successful trading isn’t for someone who has a wrong mindset or fails to bring themselves into harmony with trading principles that work, neither is it possible for them to enjoy long-term survival on the markets without enough patience to stick to their entry and exit rules no matter what. Why do I coach people and provide trading signals? I’d be very glad to show people how to survive regardless of the uncertainties on the markets, rather than how to get rich quickly. You could only start making money after you stop losing it. The best soccer team in the world can never win all their matches. Top traders have good years and bad years, good months and bad months, and good weeks and bad weeks. My signals come from swing trading strategies (one even have rare set-ups that don’t come up every week), so one-month results aren’t enough to make conclusions about the validity of a strategy. My existing subscribers can testify that I’m able to keep trading portfolios safe. With this achievement, it’ll always be possible for us to move ahead as we do.

4. Couldn’t you ever show me how to trade just like you? – S. C.

Answer: Once again, my trainees are coached to trade like me, plus my subscribers also enjoy that as well. How? Instead of giving them signals thru the Sure-fire strategy, I showed them how to do that on their own (with no additional costs). Very soon, they’d learn how to make analyses just like I do in my Weekly Trading Update articles (at no additional costs), and this doesn’t preclude them for benefiting from my trading activities from the accounts on which I use GBPJPYUSDCAD Hedging system and Gap Trading system (and they’d also benefit from coming strategies). I preach effective money management and risk management methods in my articles, but my clients see first-hand how I apply them in my own trading. The secret to survival lies in risk control – not in any trading system on earth.

Dr. Brett, quoted above, say further that trading the financial markets is among the most challenging of human endeavors. At its best, trading is a celebration of the human mind's capacity to master complexity. Rarely does any single activity so reward individual initiative and the exercise of the reasoning mind. And yet, financial rewards are only part of the allure of trading. In mastering the markets, we are called upon to exercise extraordinary self-mastery. Like any noble undertaking, such as art, science, or athletics, trading is a means of self-development, fostering the ability to act intentionally, in the service of one's training and ideals.

This year is full of wonderful trading opportunities and I’ve already told my clients that our objectives shall be met. It only takes time and patience to wait for the opportunities that the markets would occasionally throw at us. If you find it difficult to survive on the markets, you might consider my trading signals services. You’d be treated like an individual, not a number. Why should you continue to suffer from the uncertainties of the markets or languish in silence? You might want to join me on my journey to consistent survival on the markets at: http://www.fxinstructor.com/en/analytics/ituglobal

NB: An article about effective gap trading in Forex is also coming next Sunday (but only my clients have access to the account on which it’s being traded).

This article is ended with more quotes from Brett N. Steenbarger:

1. “Knowledge and practice—and especially the direct experience of knowledge-in-practice—are the keys to the acquisition of expertise.”

2. “In every performance field, the development and maintenance of expertise requires a high ratio of time spent in practice relative to time spent in actual performance.”

3. “The trading computer does not have good days and bad days—only profitable ones and unprofitable ones. Human traders can perform poorly even if they make money, and they can have good days even when they’re in the red. That is because performance is a function of the chosen actions of performers, the correctness of those choices, and the skill with which the actions are carried out. Once an element of discretion enters into trading, it becomes a performance activity: one in which outcomes are dependent upon the choices of the performer.”

Your questions and opinions are highly welcome.

Thank you.

With best regards,

Azeez Mustapha

Forex Signals Strategist, Funds Manager &Coach

Senior Analyst

FX Instructor, LLC

Yahoo! Messenger ID: saazalmu

Are you facing any challenges in trading? You might want to explore the secrets of markets wizards and duplicate their success. Get the secrets from my past articles at:

Get my Forex trading signals at: http://www.fxinstructor.com/en/analytics/ituglobal

And my past articles are also available at: www.ituglobalforex.blogspot.com

NB: There is risk of loss in trading, but it is possible to be a successful trader.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Weekly Trading Update (March 7 – 11, 2011)

“I can tell you that my accountant was telling me last year that I have lots of losing trades, but that he is very happy that I keep those losses extremely small… The most important thing for success is learning to cut your losses quickly and to keep those losses very small.” – Dan Zanger

Hello:

Mr. Dan, quoted above, is a highly celebrated market wizard. He’s one of the greatest traders of his generation. The trading methodology he’s been using has been working for him for many years; something that has changed very little over time. Although his positing sizing is conspicuously higher than I can recommend, I seriously respect his trading approach. As I said in my article 2 weeks ago, Mr. Dan turned about $11,000 to $42 million within 24 months (making roughly 29,000% during the period). He has resplendent houses and a luxurious yacht which he uses to cruise around. In a single day, he can easily earn what most PhDs can’t earn in 10 years.

Both professional and novice traders face losses. The only difference is that professionals know how to deal with the losses and eventually move ahead, whereas novices don’t know how to do that or they’re not willing to do that. I’ve mentioned constantly in my articles that top traders are not the best market predictors. They abort losers when they’re wrong and capitalize on winners – a Golden Rule of trading. Novice traders, on the other hand, cut their winners and run their losers – something that backfires in the long run. There are 2 lessons to learn from Mr. Dan at the end of this article: persistence and cutting of losses.

Now let me review my recent trading activities briefly.

AUDUSD

Primary Trend: Bullish

The market is generally difficult at the present. The primary trend remains bullish, but the bulls are getting weaker and weaker. If the prices of gold and oil correct much lower, the USD would gain strength and the AUD would weaken. AUDUSD would eventually weaken. This is more than conjectural.

Order: Buy Limit

Entry date: February 17, 2011

Entry price: 1.0015.

Initial stop: 0.9915

Current stop: 1.0086

Exit date: March 2, 2011

Exit price: 1.0115

Status: Closed

Profit/loss: 71 pips

Percentage growth: 0.7%

NZDUSD

Primary trend: Bearish

There’s no way for the NZD to gain meaningful strength at the moment. It’s falling against many currencies and vice versa. Even the anticipated strength in the USD would simply make the bearish move stronger. In the light of this development, any upward rally would only be temporary.

EURCAD

Primary trend: Bullish

My last long trade on this cross broke even, emphasizing the fact that the bulls’ power on the market is still limited. The CAD isn’t a weak currency, and the EUR is not strong enough to withstand it. The much anticipated weakness in the EUR would cause strong downward journey and the primary trend could turn bearish.

Order: Buy

Entry date: March 3, 2011

Entry price: 1.3471

Initial stop: 1.3371

Current stop: 1.3471

Exit date: March 9, 2011

Exit price: 1.3471

Status: Closed

Profit/loss: 0 pips (breakeven)

Percentage growth: 0%

EURAUD

Primary trend: Bullish

Buyers are predominantly victorious here. If the level 1.3800 is broken, the level at 1.3850 would easily be penetrated; thus making the level at 1.3900 the next object of attack. If these levels can’t be violated, then a strong bearish trend would occur. You should know what to do if you’re wrong. Failure to abort your losses is like making a rod for your own back.

EURNZD

Primary trend: Bullish

There’s no question about why this exotic cross is riding in a predominantly bullish mode (remember the earthquake). Since the beginning of this month, the market has moved up by roughly 1300 pips. The price is trying to inch above the SMA 20. The ADX 20 level is still showing a very strong trend. +DI has gone much above its –DI. The present extreme bullish bias may cause a temporary pullback. Yes any pullback on this pair is expected to be temporary. Only something unusual can cause steep a fall on this market.

AUDJPY

Primary trend: Bullish

I said earlier that the market conditions are generally difficult at the present. I have no open positions at all. The weakness of the JPY is obvious, yet any noteworthy bullish attempts are invariably rejected. The present consolidation phase is paving a way for a serious breakout. Economic data can affect Forex considerably – especially if the announcement was significantly different to what the public was expecting. I’m planning to smooth this position later today, and begin to look for an opportunity to go short.

Conclusion: To perform well in a field, a person must master the information and skills specific to that field. I’m a living witness of the results of persistence and perseverance on the markets. If I gave up when I was totally hopeless on the markets, I wouldn’t be what I’m today. I realized that no-one would be inspired if I surrendered. But I’m glad that I’m now of help to many traders out there. Those who became market wizards faced recalcitrant challenges but continued their journey to success. Novices who later became crashing failures faced similar challenge, gave up and began to broadcast myths about trading. It’s advisable for them to quickly find other things to do (as they think) and see how easy it’s to attain financial freedom or get to the top.

What do you think is the difference between successful traders and so many other traders who have been kicked out of the game? The accompanying quotes from Dan Zanger answer this question:

1. “For me, it is very easy to cut my losses short and I do it often, but I must say that in a choppy, unpredictable market, this will whittle down portfolio quickly, and it is just part of the game.”

2. “… I never give up. I never, ever give up. I realize that if I give up, I will never get any money back that I might lose. I always go back to the charts and stare at them for hours, trying to figure out where and how I went wrong, and where in that chart pattern or daily bars could have foretold that this… market was going to crack before it did.”

3. “Persistence, homework, more homework and more homework is the reason for success. I feel many traders don’t put the time in. They don’t have the desire to learn. They don’t have the laser beam focus to really zoom in with what is working, why it works, what does not work, why it did not work and to put the years in that it really takes to learn all the stuff. People think that trading is going to be easy. They come in and they get crushed after a little while. Then they say they’ll never do it again. Guess what, [they] will never do it again and [they] will never succeed.”

Your questions and opinions are highly welcome.

Thank you.

With best regards,

Azeez Mustapha

Forex Signals Strategist, Funds Manager &Coach

Senior Analyst

FX Instructor, LLC

Are you facing any challenges in trading? You might want to explore the secrets of markets wizards and duplicate their success. Get the secrets from my past articles at:

Get my Forex trading signals at: http://www.fxinstructor.com/en/analytics/ituglobal

And my past articles are also available at: www.ituglobalforex.blogspot.com

Yahoo! Messenger ID: saazalmu

NB: There is risk of loss in trading, but it is possible to be a successful trader.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Resist the Lure of High Risk

NOT GOING BROKE IS BETTER THAN QUICK RICHES

“For one or two trades, luck can play a part. Beyond that, luck has nothing to do with successful trading.” – Joe Ross

“A lucky outcome, such as winning a lottery, is not a skilled performance.” - Brett N. Steenbarger

Hello:

What do you think is more important, not going broke or getting rich quickly? Most marketers however, would want to make you think that getting rich quickly is what matters. These deceptive marketers come to you as helpers who have solutions to your trading challenges, but in fact, what you’ll learn from them is a recipe for financial disaster. There’s nothing bad in trying to market any services that can help other traders achieve better results, provided people are told the right things about trading. For example, a marketer showed how an account has grown by 500% in 6 months, with high risk settings. Plus, the starting capital was $500 and the volume of the first trade was 0.2 lots. Are you kidding me!

I don’t want to go into numerous examples of high risk settings. As a trader, you should know the amount of risk for each of your trade. You should know if your risk is too high or low enough. The purpose of this article is to show you how you can resist the urge to use high risk.

Once again, professional traders go for small and consistent results whereas gamblers go for jackpots. Such gamblers dream of making it big or striking it rich with seemingly easy trades, without realizing the price they’d eventually pay for such high risk. If you’re using high risk, you need to make adjustment to your position sizing.

Many traders fail to see the link between their position sizing and their trading results. You ought to avoid position sizing strategies that needlessly shorten the life span of your capital and impair its longevity. If your trading results are poor, then you must make adjustment to your risk parameters. When you make safer adjustments to your position sizing strategy, setting reachable goals for yourself, things would improve gradually.

Eliminating long-standing wrong mindset can be daunting, and making even small adjustments to your risk parameters often requires strong motivation. Even the threat of margin calls and financial catastrophe wouldn’t move some to take effective risk management seriously. It normally takes time – weeks or months – before a normal trading mindset becomes second nature. In the meantime, if you don’t see immediate benefits from your extra efforts to do the right things on the markets, don’t despair. If you persist, in spite of setbacks, your trading results are likely to improve.

Assessing the Dangers of High Risk

Before you use high risk settings for your first or next trade, please pause and think. You oughtn’t to be like a quail going into a snare because of a bit of food. True, there may be a short-term reward for doing that, but what a price it pays eventually! Would you want to be like a quail which fails to see the danger of something attractive but deadly?

When people ask me why I don’t use high risk, I’d answer: “Because I don’t want to suffer a huge drawdown and shorten the life span of my trading portfolios.”

Despite being aggressively tempted to use high risk by some marketers; you may find that the greatest pressure comes from inside yourself. If that’s the case, answer your ‘inner voice’ by reasoning on these questions: What would I gain in the long run by using high risk? For instance, if I want to get rich quickly, would I survive long on the markets? Am I not being lured by those who tempt me to damage my trading account? How much would high risk cost me per trade? Can I survive a few losing trades in a row with this high risk? Would other traders respect me again if I had significant losses? Would I be willing to blow my account because I want to satisfy my greed?

Taking Steps to Abandon High Risk

1. Document the benefits of using low risk, and call these benefits to mind regularly. A desire to permanently keep you trading portfolio safe despite market uncertainties can be a powerful motive.

2. If you’d been using high risk, now is the time to stop it. You may request the help of experienced trading risk managers, and let them know about your trading activities. They can lovingly guide you.

3. If you find it difficult to quit using high risk parameters immediately, stop trading temporarily and give yourself 2 weeks or less, and note the day you’re going to quit. Please honor your plan.

4. Get rid of anything whatever – books, newsletters, online services and websites – that encourage high risk.

5. Stop dealing with any professed trading experts who don’t seem to know what risk management is all about or who fail to show it in their trade examples.

6. Temptations to use high risk would always come to you. Never use high risk because you’ve been told that one trading system is ‘a Holy Grail’ or because you’re confident one trade would move in your favor. The discomfort in using low risk settings may be temporary, while the benefits are permanent.

7. Never fool yourself by thinking. “I’ll use high risk on this one trade. Such rationalization may lead to a relapse to using high risk constantly again, especially if that ‘one trade’ ends in a big win.

Summary

Sly marketers show huge profits (often arising from high risk) to attract unwise traders. Why take their bait? Neither those who encourage the use of high risk nor those who present their trading systems as being magical (with unreasonable guarantees) have your best interest at heart. Rather than listen to them, try to delve deeper into the principles of effective risk control strategies. This will benefit you greatly. Coping with temptations to use high risk is much easier if you’re aware of its dangers. Why not contact a known risk management expert for further assistance?

NB: A great trading lesson would be revealed in my Weekly Trading Update (March 11, 2011) and the article next Sunday is titled: “Clarifying Your Issues – Part 4.” An article about effective gap trading in Forex is also coming soon (but only my clients would have access to the account on which it’s being traded).

This article is ended with more quotes from Joe Ross:

1. “If you are too busy to be disciplined, then you are too busy to trade. If you don't discipline yourself, you will soon disappear from the trading scene.”

2. “I feel a trade is successful if it has met my trading goals—which are not necessarily money goals. Sometimes you need to know that you did what you were supposed to do, even though you had a loss on the trade.”

3. “Most advertisers of courses, systems, books, etc., will mislead you into thinking that you just can’t lose if you buy what they are selling. We are talking here about hype, major hype – as much as the authorities will allow them to get away with… Find out everything you can about markets and how they work before you start trading. Do not look for anything magic, it doesn’t exist.”

Your questions and opinions are highly welcome.

Thank you.

With best regards,

Azeez Mustapha

Forex Signals Strategist, Funds Manager &Coach

Senior Analyst

FX Instructor, LLC

Yahoo! Messenger ID: saazalmu

Are you facing any challenges in trading? You might want to explore the secrets of markets wizards and duplicate their success. Get the secrets from my past articles at:

Get my Forex trading signals at: http://www.fxinstructor.com/en/analytics/ituglobal

And my past articles are also available at: www.ituglobalforex.blogspot.com

NB: There is risk of loss in trading, but it is possible to be a successful trader.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Weekly Trading Update (March 4, 2011)

“Yes. All businesses have losses. I can’t name one that doesn’t. Why should it be any different for trading?” – Joe Ross

Hello:

This is an update on some of the movements on the markets and what I’m doing about them, plus my losses and profits. The analyses are based on daily charts, looking at the Big Picture. My preferred leverage is 1:100 and my position size is 0.01 lots for each $1000. My maximum drawdown in a week is 2% (worst case scenario). I use the Price Behavior rules for strategic decisions and customized indicators and a shorter timeframe for tactical entries. I believe that a ‘buy’ signal that fails is a ‘sell’ signal; and a ‘sell’ signal that fails is a ‘buy’ signal. I open primary positions without predetermined exit target in mind, riding the trend for as long as it continues. The value of patience will forever be emphasized. As long as I stick to my rules and keep my risk low, I’m immune to fear.

The noblest thing a trader can do is to keep a trading portfolio safe thru effective risk control despite future uncertainties. This is imperative and you need to know how to do this. If you’re a trader, you’re involved in this quest for survival, and therefore, my articles contain both an appeal and a warning. The existence of risk management methods in trading offers you a choice: Accept it or oppose it. The choice you make will certainly affect your very trading results. Great traders have the courage that’s required to defend the trading principles that work and of course there are benefits that come to those who show such courage.

AUDUSD

Primary Trend: Bullish

Occasional corrections on this pair simply provided short-term opportunities for buyers, but the bullish runs are limited now. There’s a naughty resistance at level 1.0200. The price must break it before level 1.0300 can be tested: otherwise a serious bearish move could resume. My last trade on this pair has been closed.

Order: Buy Limit

Entry date: February 17, 2011

Entry price: 1.0015.

Initial stop: 0.9915

Current stop: 1.0086

Exit date: March 2, 2011

Exit price: 1.0115

Status: Closed

Profit/loss: 71 pips

Percentage growth: 0.7%

NZDUSD

Primary trend: Bearish

Since the earthquake incident last week, the NZDUSD has assumed a slow but steady bearish move. Any future strength in the Greenback would certainly intensify this downward journey. It looks like the Kiwi cannot recover now. Whatever happens, you’d do well by smoothing your positions when you’re wrong; thus looking for other opportunities. Extreme losses occur only when a trader falls in love with a market direction.

EURCAD

Primary trend: Bullish

My last long trade on this market was closed with 1% loss, emphasizing the fact that the bulls’ power on the market is limited. There’s a great probability that the bulls can become stronger in the nearest future – for further weakness in the CAD is anticipated - first against the USD, and then against the EUR. A new trade I have on the cross is still open.

Order: Buy

Entry date: March 3, 2011

Entry price: 1.3471

Initial stop: 1.3371

Current stop: 1.3471

Exit date: N/A

Exit price: N/A

Status: Open

Profit/loss: 102 pips

Percentage growth: 1.0%

EURAUD

Primary trend: Bullish

This cross, being in the equilibrium zone, has been difficult to trade for some time. The AUD isn’t weak enough to be battered by the EUR and vice versa. This is one instance in which both buyers and sellers can be stopped out. What we see on the charts is the real market price; there are no Machiavellian tactics here.

Order: Buy

Entry date: February 16, 2011

Entry price: 1.3499

Initial stop: 1.3399

Current stop: 1.3581

Exit date: February 25, 2011

Exit price: 1.3581

Status: Closed

Profit/loss: 110 pips

Percentage growth: 1.1%

EURNZD

Primary trend: Bullish

The NZD is currently too weak to withstand the strength of the EUR. This scenario has been in continuation since last week. The price is now far above the SMA 20. The ADX 20 level is still showing a very strong trend. +DI has gone above its –DI, after a short-term pullback (which wasn’t strong enough to generate a ‘sell’ signal).

AUDJPY

Primary trend: Bullish

I have a long trade on this cross at the moment. The protracted weakness in the JPY is giving the currencies that pair with it some leeway. The Bollinger Bands are narrow, but gradually inching its way up. Time would tell if the present breakout attempt would be sustained. If not, there could be a steep fall on the market very soon. Whether the price goes up or down, we’d like to ride it for as long as it’s valid. The amount of profit is equal to amount of trend you capture.

Order: Buy

Entry date: February 25, 2011

Entry price: 83.02

Initial stop: 82.02

Current stop: N/A

Exit date: N/A

Exit price: N/A

Status: Open

Profit/loss: 45 pips

Percentage growth: 0.4%

Conclusion: How do you know if the market is going up or down or sideways? The simplest way is just to look at it. The best way to determine trend is to look at the chart and see the direction of price movement. Any other analytical tools that are added are only secondary. For example, there are traders who don’t use any indicators for trend following, and they survive constantly on the markets. Please make your trading simple and your life would be easier.

I’ll end this article with quotes from Joe Ross (a highly respected trader with over 50 years of experience). Basically, great traders are those who’ve been enjoying consistent success on the markets, and move ahead irrespective of occasional and transitory losses:

1. “You might say that trading is my life. I really know how to do little else. I write about trading, teach trading, and trade. But trading has given me most of the things I ever wanted.”

2. “I’ve made my living at it all of my adult life. If you don’t try to make a job out of it, it is quite pleasurable. The problem with most aspiring traders is that they turn trading into a job. They are at it day and night. That’s not how trading is supposed to be. You become a trader so you can have a life of leisure. Trading is freedom, not slavery. A trader can live and work anywhere in the world where he can obtain a telephone connection. I know, I’ve traded on my laptop from a mountain top in South Africa. All I had was a phone line operated from a solar panel and a battery.”

3. “When you become a successful trader, you have a choice. You can focus entirely on yourself and your materialist desires, or you can use the money to improve the lives of others. The choice is always yours.”

Your questions and opinions are highly welcome.

Thank you.

With best regards,

Azeez Mustapha

Forex Signals Strategist, Funds Manager &Coach

Senior Analyst

FX Instructor, LLC

Are you facing any challenges in trading? You might want to explore the secrets of markets wizards and duplicate their success. Get the secrets from my past articles at: