Long EURUSD @ 1.3687, out at 1.3695 & 1.3713

massive fake-out with the greenback strengthening across the board. Interesting...

I'll call it a week, have things to do (like drinking with friends).

Bought EURUSD @ 1.3687 (order filled)

...and there it goes. Whatever the data in 30 min. will show and no matter what Bernanke dishes up in Jackson Hole, the market has decided, I guess.

Stop at 1.3695 for now. Looking to let this one roll into the weekend...

Short GBPJPY 234.55, out at 235.08.

painful all along.

Sold GBPJPY @ 234.55

not an ideal setup, modest position. Just like to get involved, it's gonna be a very interesting today.

All bets are off if EURUSD breaks 1.3684...(stop buy at 1.3687 placed)

EURUSD Breakout Above 1.3684

Mood remains positive but FX still rangebound, SPX resistance at 1485, bond traders a lot more bearish than the rest of the market. Dell blew by numbers but who cares? Last day of the month today, is something ugly about to happen?

Trade breakouts: EURUSD 1.3684, Cable 2.0191, USDCHF 1.1959, USDCAD 1.0469, EURJPY 159,69.

As for hardware, my laptop is in the shop - what a fucking mess.

Weekend coming up...will be hitting the bars hard with a couple of friends that have flown in today.

Risk being bought

There are never "easy" trades but today we have seen the market giving away a few gifts. Massive late rally yesterday but then a gap lower on the back of more worries of fund collapse. So, buyers are still coming in but the European session pushed the futures lower. Close your eyes and buy the opening, idiot.

Seems the market is trying to repair the monthly candles which will be completed tomorrow. Next week every lame Wall Street strategist and bull cheerleader will be calling for a fall rally.

Regardless, I'm 100% in cash in my core investments portfolio, can't see any value out there on a 2-3 year horizon (assuming a US recession). And I probably won't trade much until SPX breaks out of 1435-85. JPY still a buy, I believe.

Short USDCHF @ 1.2001, out @ 1.2018 (-17p)

not seeing the ball too well.

Markets: still see a lot more distress coming. Vols looking up again, oil building a base, bonds to continue rallying. Don't touch SPX between 1435-1485 (short-term fibo 1465).

Sold USDCHF @ 1.2001, stop 1.2018, target open

massive hardware problems still but I'm getting some very interesting signals from my monitors right now. Seeing have rangebound currencies are at the moment, try to trade faster/tighter.

Short GBPJPY 233.10, out @ 232.70 (+40p)

the cross remains extremely perky like the rest of the carry trades. Dow exploding higher late session. Looking very hard at crude oil.

Sorry about the late trade update - my brand new laptop with Vista simply crashed without warning, unbelievable! Agree with those analysts that recommends selling MSFT every time it reaches $30...

I guess I won't be trading again until all of my hardware is running smoothly. See you then.

Short GBPJPY @ 233.10, stop now 232.70

Sold GBPJPY @ 233.10

not an ideal setup but worth acting on. Key Fibo from last night is 232.40.

Not liking the action

short carry trades yesterday with little interest in doing anything today. I continue to be pesimistic on the broader asset classes and can't see how the US will avoid a recession. Macro views, though, should never influence swing trading but for my core investments, it's worth noting.

Anyway, since this is the first time I throw myself at the blogging gods, perhaps a little background is in order:

• male, currently 32, living offshore with a rock solid girl who I'll marry someday.
  
• "retired" from a major commercial trading floor 18 months ago.
• what made me to leave a $400K job? Trading rooms are being stripped of talent these days and it's all about sales/flow. 40% of the trades/advise I gave should never have been extended to clients. On top of this, quants' say in any given matter on the job is absolutely idiotic. These people don't know shit about trading, all they have is endless columns of excel-modelled crap. Don't get me wrong, I majored in economics and have a range of models that I utilize every day. But, quants want to put everything into tiny squares and they simply can't fathom the important concept of liquidity.
  
• Besides, I guess I always wanted to trade my own money without any interference.
• FX and equities are my primary markets for short horizon trades. I trade to invest, just like Richard D. Wyckoff. (and yes, "How I Trade And Invest In Stocks And Bonds" by Wyckoff is the best book on the markets ever published)

Later...