Archive for: December 2006

I am doing daytrading. I trade both forex as well as SP500 E-mini futures. For forex , though the trading duration is round the clock , there are realistically only 3 periods that are most active : London open , Asia open and US market open. For SP500 , the window of opportunity is even shorter. I found that once there is hesitation in any trade decision , then I miss the opportunity for the day altogether. As such , trades execution must be flawless.

What flawless execution means is acting on an opportunity ( either getting in or out of a trade ) the moment you see that it’s an opportunity without hesitation. Once there is second thoughts , then game over …

 Flawless execution does not mean having the perfect trade. Many traders want a guaranteed outcome. And that is the reason why many people hesistate when it comes time to put on a trade or cover an open position. They want the guaranteed outcome , but they realize there isn’t a guarantee , so they fail to be …

Neuro-Linguistic Programming , NLP - In 1972 , in California , Richard Bandler and John Grinder began the study of excellence in human language and behaviour. They listened to , observed and felt the behaviour of three great therapists - Milton Erickson , Fritz Perls and Virginia Satir , each a giant in their own field. They analysed and disaggregated the patterns of language and behaviour and then set about modelling them , to create tools and techniques for anyone to understand , resolve and change their own behaviours at will.

Now , more than three decades on , NLP Practioner is the fastest growing profession in the world. People are transforming their own lives and facilitating lasting change in others’.

NLP gives you the power to understand the critical psychology that sorts winners from losers in the markets and achieve lasting change in your life. A good poker player understands probability , but the world champion understands people. And trading in the world’s financial markets is no different. Analytical techniques and computer programmes help …

Online trading is very exciting , to beginners at least. When I first started trading “live” with real money , my excitement level was super high. My eyes never leave the computer screen and my heart beat was as fast as every tick and every pulse of the price bar movement. Mind was totally filled with excitement , anxiety , stress , fear … Obviously , that is not what trading is all about.

But there are still people who want to seek excitement by doing trading online ; and I feel that is one of the worst reason to participate in the stock market. For many traders , this type of trading becomes akin to purchasing a lottery ticket. Each action is motivated by an energising and electric fantasy. Buying a lottery ticket is like buying a Dream and buying Excitement. Buying lottery occassionally might be alright , I do that too . But to consistently throw money into the stock market just for excitement and hope for luck is …

Habits shape and mould our lives. Everyone has his own habits in daily chores as well as in work and other things we do. What we do every day is what we build on and if the habits we develop are good ones , we will have a solid foundation. Our successes in life or trading are rarely the result of luck. They are more likely to be the result of good trading system and good personal habits , which support success. Trading is all about consistency and practicing good habits will ensure consistency and is the key to success.

On the other hand , our losses and failures are often the result of our bad habits. These negative and sabotaging habits will surface when we are under stress and our bad behaviour becomes automatic. At that point , we will resort to our everyday behaviours or had habits. At the very moment we need to be at our best , we may find that we are guided by the actions that we never …

In the news …

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is to meet his old foe , US billionaire and philanthropist George Soros , who will visit the country this week.

Tun Dr Mahathir , who in 1977 referred to Mr Soros as a ” moron ” , blamed him for under-mining the South-east Asian economies during the Asian financial crisis by destablising their currencies. Malaysia later established capital controls to prevent currency speculation.

Mr. Soros , 76 , retorted that Tun Dr Mahathir , 81 , was a ” menace to the country ” ‘ and subsequently called on him to step down amid fierce controversy over the 1998 sacking of then Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim.

” They are definitely meeting , but the details of the meeting have yet to be finalised , ” an aide to Tun Dr Mahathir said.

Mr. Soros , who is making his first visit to Malaysia , will be arriving tomorrow as part of a regional tour to promote his new book , …

I am a long time subscriber of Investor’s Business Daily. I use this subscription mainly for fundamental datas. However there is also a section about traits of successful people. Lots of real examples about real successful people that I love to read. Over here in this folder I am briefly summarising some of the important traits of successful people for your reference and comments. Here it goes … enjoy reading the next few posts to come …

Almost without exception , successful people think positively. They think of success , not failure. They are able to be positive regardless of how difficult the situation , which allows them to rebound from obstacles and problems. Their attitutes determine their fates.

Pat Riley , the NBA coach who led the Los Angeles Lakers to four titles in the 1980s , says his father taught him something he has never forgotten : ” It’s not what happens to you that’s important - it’s how you react to it .” Successful …

Trading is a tough journey. We need serious personal commitment to transform our Dreams into Reality. Nothing jump-starts us on our roadmap to success quicker than making a solid commitment to our goals. When we commit ourselves to a desired result , we are like aiming or zooming our rifle to the ” bulleye ” or ” target ” . Then , magically it seems , we proceed on ” auto pilot “. Our brain gives us the signals and appropriate actions to pursue the target , no matter how it tries to elude us ! It is just so amazing … have you ever felt or experienced that before ? It is sort of difficult to express in words.

Without a firm commitment to a goal , our autopilot remains in the “off” position ; there is no basis for any action since we are not even taking any aiming onto any target at all. Perhaps only a hazy idea meanders in and out of our consciousness. …

The advent of the Internet contributed vastly to our direct involvement with the stock market and the financial world. We are spending more time in front of our computers than in front of our television sets.

The World Wide Web has transformed global communications and liberated us to think and act for ourselves with regard to our financial affairs. No longer do we have to rely on financial advisors to mail us an analyst’s report about a company. All the financial data we could ever hope to digest lay right at our fingertips and within a mouse click away. Stock research reports , detailing news , fundamentals , institutional holdings , and proprietary rankings , are readily availabe online.

As more and more of us decided to take control of our portfolios , brokerage houses soon got the picture by offering us the opportunity to purchase and sell equities online. Since we are conducting our own research , we had no intentions of paying big commisions to have the trade made. discount brokers offered slashed …

I attended a financial planning seminar today. The speaker , Thomas , quoted something that interest me. I feel it is rather related to our trading psychology too. He mentioned - “at point of time in life we may lose friends , lose money … but if we lose the courage - we lose everything.”

Trading is never easy. It has a long learning curve. At times we may feel we are drowning and what we need is a lifeline. Strangely enough , for many people , including myself , reaching out for that lifeline takes courage. ( perhaps I should say reaching out for the last straw …) When we feel we are drowning , all we can see is what we do not have. Pride and self ego always gets in the way of reaching out. Fear of admitting we need help or that we have gotten ourselves into trouble prevents many traders from seeking help before all is lost. Fear that we will be rebuffed or humiliated when we ask …

Hope is an very bad emotion which is destructive in your trading. How many times have you found yourself hoping that a position will move in your favour or hoping that a loss you have been riding will turn into a profit ? If you find yourself hoping that a loss will turn into a profit , then you are looking for trouble. Do not be too hopeful during trading … Cut loss and stop hoping is the solution.

Greed is what causes us to hold onto winning positions though we know that they should be closed out. Greed causes us to carry too large a position , to pyramid positions as prices move in our favour , and to ignore facts which clearly indicate that our position is wrong.

Fear is what prevents us from taking a trade when are supposed to. Fear is what prevents us from holding on to trades and riding profits when we hear rumours which move market against us temporarily and from adding to positions when the time …