November 14th, 2008
See me in the latest issue of “Technical Analyst”, Trading Volatility with the VIX
U.S. backed Treasuries fall into favor.
Yesterday’s lull in light of swiftly moving equities seemed suspect; today’s trade in the interest rate arena made up for lost time.  What started out as a meager bid on weak economic data turned [...]

November 14th, 2008
See me in the latest issue of “Technical Analyst”, Trading Volatility with the VIX
Stocks give some back on weak economic news
Stocks traded sharply lower following yesterday’s massive intraday rally leaving many to wonder whether the market is a ‘one hit wonder’.  Some weakness was to be expected given the magnitude of the [...]

November 13th, 2008
See me in the latest issue of “Technical Analyst”, Trading Volatility with the VIX
Bond trade stalls, another rally looming?
Incredibly low yields have lured Treasury market bears back to the markets.  According to the latest COT (Commitment of Traders) data, both small and large speculators are heavily short.   Given the lack of upward [...]

November 7th, 2008
See me in the latest issue of “Technical Analyst”, Trading Volatility with the VIX
Stocks take employment report and GM earnings in stride.
After one of the largest two day drops in history, the domestic indices traded in positive territory despite another onslaught of crippling economic news.  The term “dead-cat bounce” is being used [...]

THE SECRET OF REDUCED MARGIN SPREADS
by Joe Ross
One of the best kept secrets in trading is that of reduced margin spreads.  You cannot name a trading method that provides more safety or a greater return on margin than does a reduced margin spread, while also being one of the least time-consuming ways to trade. Have [...]

The Safest Way to Sell Options
Commodity markets have not been spared the mood swings pounding other markets in late 2008, and futures traders continue their quest to find safe methods of receiving consistent returns as they trade the markets. Futures traders often stumble on option writing as a strategy that “makes sense,” at least from [...]

Apparently it’s come to this. Either there’s a forceful, unmistakeningly unified statement of action at the conclusion of this weekend’s G-7 meeting in Washington or markets will be smoldering ruins by Monday morning. The market is about to suffer its worst week since 1987. The VIX is at 63. Iceland’s banking system has collapsed. GM’s [...]

HELPFUL HINTS
INITIAL RISK EXPOSURE.
HOW MUCH SHOULD I RISK ON A PARTICULAR TRADE? THIS IS A QUESTION THAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BEFORE PLACING THE TRADE. MANY OF YOU REFUSE TO USE ‘STOP-LOSS’ ORDERS BECAUSE YOU DO NOT WANT TO GET ‘STOPPED-OUT’! EGO PLAYS A LARGE PART IN TRADING AND AS SOON AS YOU CAN RID [...]

Commodity Risk Depends Upon Trading Strategy
by Rick Thachuk
Many believe that commodity trading is risky and rightly so. This is reinforced even by the disclosures required by federal regulators that emphasize the inherent risk of commodity trading and its corresponding unsuitability for many members of the investment community. However, the degree of risk of a commodity [...]

Managing Margin Funds
by Rick Thachuk
The margin account provides the capital to finance futures positions. It is a direct measure of the customer’s equity so it is important to properly manage margin funds both in terms of monitoring the level of equity in the account and getting the most out of your margin dollars.

Monitoring Margin Funds
When [...]