US Consumer Confidence Weak - Slow Down in Progress

The October number came in at 95.6 vs 99.5 in September (revised down from 99.8). Expectations were that Consumer Confidence would come in at 99. So clearly this is indicating that the slowdown is in progress. The US Dollar is taking a beating.

Oil and Inflation Up - Interest Rates to Drop?

The US packs the economic calendar this Halloween with GDP and the FOMC Interest Rate Announcement Headed by Ben Bernanke and team. The latest statement by the Fed Chief that I am listening to is that the Fed is still “Data Dependant”

Who’s Data Is It that Bernanke Is Looking At?

On October 25th John Crudele of the New York Post wrote an article stating that US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has met with Ben Bernanke 58 times and other Treasury officials 66 times. Averaging 4.1 meetings per month with Paulson. To contrast this, Crudele points out that the former US Treasury Director John Snow only met with the Fed Chief on an average of 1.6 times per month. Now this is an interesting excursion in statistics that could fill another blog - But the point being is a question: Is the FOMC being coached by the Treasury ?  Now filling Alan Greenspan’s shoes is a big job and I have no problem with Bernanke seeking advice. My question is, Is the Fed taking orders or to be subtle “being coached” ? Click Here for the New York Post Article

UK Pound Sterling Continues to Punish Greenback - Update

My Post on October 26th clearly showed an Inverse Head and Shoulders coinciding with a nice Trend Channel with matching price movement targets of approximately 2.12 for the Pound vs the US Dollar. These  two chart patterns converge with the 1.618 Fibonacci Extension. Now I never make trade recommendations because everyone has their own risk tolerance, but this chart pattern is starting to play out. Actually it’s going slower than I prefer, but these are lofty heights for the Pound. See the October 26th Post and the current chart here. (Click to Enlarge)

Live Webinar Coverage of Both Reports GDP and FOMC Oct 31

Click on each link below to tune into Free Live Special Webinar Coverage of these most important scheduled economic events. You will see Jerry broadcast live technical analysis and discussion of these events before and as they happen.

Click Here to Register for Live Coverage of the US GDP

Click Here for Live Coverage of FOMC US Interest Rate Decision

Jerry Furst also broadcasts weekly on FX Street with “1stonForex the Week Ahead” and facilitates and presents his own live educational workshops. Jerry is an active trader, educator, and Founder of Investors Education Network (IEN), he is also a mentor and trading coach to select clients.

What Will You Do After Making Billions Trading?

The Boston Red Sox have won the World Series! What does this have to do with trading? John Henry is the owner of the Red Sox and was the owner of the Florida Marlins. He took both teams to win the championship in short order. What did John Henry do before buying languishing baseball teams and seeing them win? He was a currency and commodities trader! Successful people have goals and visions, What would you do as a successful trader with more money than you could ever need?  Hopefully you will choose to do something good to inspire people and make a positive contribution.

Henry Capitalized on Infamous Rogue Trader, Nick Leeson

Back in 1995, while the world press focused on the demise of Barings Bank and Nick Leeson, they failed to highlight where the money went. Even the movie "Rouge Trader" often touted as a classic movie for traders failed to focus on the money being won by people like John Henry taking the opposite side of Leeson’s trades. In fact it is sad that almost all movies with plots on trading like "Wall Street", "Trading Places" and "Boiler Room" are only focusing on the negative connotations of trading and the people in the industry.

We need more success stories! 

There is a fantastic biography of John Henry on the Turtle Traders web site. It gives great insight into how John Henry turned $16,000 USD into more than $1 Billion USD.

Trend Trading Not Short Term Scalping Made Him a Billionaire

There are other great insights in this article. "The discipline to wait for and ride the big move is richly rewarded" Click Here to read about this most successful baseball owner - and how he got to where he is today starting out as a Currency Trader.

Live Webinar Coverage of Both Reports GDP and FOMC Oct 31

Click on each link below to tune into Free Live Special Webinar Coverage of these most important scheduled economic events. You will see Jerry broadcast live technical analysis and discussion of these events before and as they happen.

Click Here to Register for Live Coverage of the US GDP

Click Here for Live Coverage of FOMC US Interest Rate Decision

Jerry Furst also broadcasts weekly on FX Street with "1stonForex the Week Ahead" and facilitates and presents his own live educational workshops. Jerry is an active trader, educator, and Founder of Investors Education Network (IEN), he is also a mentor and trading coach to select clients.

I’m Back!

Thank you for your patience as I have been rebuilding my main Trading Station after a nasty Hard Drive Failure, that coincided with a business conference in Los Angeles. I had an opportunity to witness the wild fires burning over California from a safe distance of 30,000 feet on my return home.

US Dollar Set To Slide vs Pound ?

There is a very nice technical analysis lesson here (For Educational Purposes Only - Not a Trade Recommendation)  that shows a very nice example of a Head and Shoulders, Trend Channel and Fibonacci Convergence on the Pound Sterling vs. the US Dollar.

Trick or Treat - Halloween Schedule for the US Markets

The next scheduled FOMC announcement is on October 31 coinciding with a GDP release earlier that morning. Providing the US markets with a true "Halloween" of tricks and treats and potential ghouls, ghosts, and goblins! It would be interesting to see Bernanke and Paulson come out in some costumes - Which would best fit them and the economic situation?

Live Webinar Coverage of Both Reports GDP and FOMC Oct 31

Click on each link below to tune into Free Live Webinar Coverage where you will see live technical analysis and discussion of these events before and as they happen.

Click Here to Register for Live Coverage of the US GDP

Click Here for Live Coverage of FOMC US Interest Rate Decision

Jerry Furst is an active trader, educator, and Founder of Investors Education Network (IEN), he is also a mentor and trading coach to select clients.

Upward revisions to July and August in government and education jobs may not be the best sign of economic growth and/or stability - but for now it helps bring in some stability.

What is the Fed Going To Do?

Knee Jerk Reactions as Needed!!

Fed Vice Chairman  Kohn came out after the NFP report this morning and said that the FOMC would rather  be nimble - preferring to acting too much too fast vs too little too slow. He went on to infer that the economy is in no way out of the woods and the credit markets and defaults are still lurking in the shadows. I interpret his comments as a possibility of the FOMC possibly making “unscheduled”  rate changes.

Trick or Treat - Halloween Schedule for the US Markets

The next scheduled FOMC announcement is on October 31 coinciding with a GDP release earlier that morning. Providing the US markets with a true “Halloween” of tricks and treats and potential ghouls, ghosts, and goblins! It would be interesting to see Bernanke and Paulson come out in some costumes - Which would best fit them and the economic situation?

Live Webinar Coverage of Both Reports GDP and FOMC

Click on each link below to tune into Free Live Webinar Coverage where you will see live technical analysis and discussion of these events before and as they happen.

Click Here to Register for Live Coverage of the US GDP

Click Here for Live Coverage of FOMC US Interest Rate Decision

Jerry Furst is an active trader, educator, and Founder of Investors Education Network (IEN), he is also a mentor and trading coach to select clients.

Is US Dollar Oversold or In Need of a Bounce?

The Loonie seems to have stabilized right around parity with the US Dollar after hitting lows of 0.9910. With no significant news coming out of Canada until Friday’s employment numbers, price may bounce between 1.007 and the recent low.

Jerry Furst is an active trader, educator, and Founder of Investors Education Network (IEN), he is also a mentor and trading coach to select clients.

New Quarter - New Month - Beware October

As the media is having a “Giddy Up” spin as the DOW 30 hitting all time intra day highs - It needs to be pointed out that these 30 Stocks are not representative of the thousands of others. New money coming into the market.

Beware the Month of October and Sub Prime Monster!

October is traditionally a volatile month. Many homeowner loans are set to be readjusted. For those who have already forgotten that the sub-prime monster is still alive and well, It is worth stating that the Housing bubble started inflating in 2001 with 5 and 7 year ARMS still ticking to reset over the next few years.

Dollar Index Hitting Record Lows

Bloomberg has a fantastic article with analysis covering several bases. The US Dollar Index is making historic lows never seen since the NYBOT first started tracking the basket of currencies used to gauge the greenbacks strength.

The article also gives opinions on consumer confidence, inflation, and hints at speculation on what the ECB may do later this week. “The expectation of an ECB ease was squashed”. said Robert Since - Bank of New York.

Click Here to read the Bloomberg Article in it’s entirety

Jerry Furst is an active trader, educator, and Founder of Investors Education Network (IEN), he is also a mentor and trading coach to select clients.