Death by Newstrade! - IFCN Wk 21 -Wed- Equity: $710.05

The Fed interest rate change took place today as expected. Or not as completely expected as some thought.The Eur/Usd and Gbp/Usd in particular oscillated substantially before finally deciding the greatest number of stops to hit were to the upside. So up they went. Anyone who tried to newstrade had difficulties keeping a position without having a large stop in place. The Usd/Chf and Usd/Jpy

Rate change blues? - IFCN Wk 21 -Tue- Equity: $714.10

A number of big reports will be out tomorrow. Not the least of which will be the FOMC Statement report @ 14:15 CST.  It is common for the day preceding the "big news" to have a lot of action, and today was a good example.  The pound lost a lot of ground to the dollar.  We'll see if tomorrow how well the market has anticipated the Fed's actions. At last we entered our last two FirstStrike trades

The Dollar making a slow turn? - IFCN Wk 21 -Mon- Equity: $722.36

There was no real news out today, except that the dollar continues to trade near an 8 week high versus the yen. That means that someone is beginning to buy the dollar. And the Euro still isn't having the best time right now. Euro weakness last week wasn't met with a snapback, just a wimper today.I always find it useful when a big bank tells you how to trade--- I found the following on

Dollar gets Stronger, Market Turmoil still causes losses!-- IFCN Wk 20 -Fri- Equity: $743.53

The dollar gained quite a bit this week as expected. Too bad our initial gains evaporated.NOTE: I am getting a lot of bouncing emails from Yahoo addresses, and those similar to them. If you are not getting emails from:..., that is why. Here is the recap of our trading week--The data below is as of Friday's close, April 25, 2008: We had one OneNightStand trade executed on Friday. We went long

Owning the Euro is decidedly less fun now! - IFCN Wk 20 -Fri- Equity: $773.80

Since yesterday, the Euro has continued to drop determinedly versus the dollar.Also, there are rumblings that the Fed may not lower interest rates any further.  That doesn't help the Euro either, with the strong possibility that the European community may have to lower rates and lose value to the greenback.A note about OneNightStand orders for this week and the future, until further notice:*****

Euro is being Abandoned! - IFCN Wk 20 -Thu- Equity: $780.67

The Euro is getting sold.  The Euro took out the last two weeks trading action versus the dollar after a German IFO survey showed corporations' sentiment wasn't as positive as expected in April.It made many of the holders of Euros less certain it would maintain its strength against all comers.The weakening IFO data could open the possibility for cuts in the European interest rates, something

A Real Standoff! IFCN Wk 20 -Wed- Equity: $792.16

We are still in all of our FirstStrike trades from Monday.What is amazing is this,  our total equity hasn't changed much but the positions have evened out a bit to their profitability.  The Gbp/Usd and Gbp/Jpy have given up some of their profits which seem to have moved into the Eur/Usd, Usd/Chf and Usd/Jpy trades.It has turned into an interesting week, seeing which pairs might actually become

It Isn't Luck! IFCN Wk 20 -Mon- Equity: $801.06

We just take the trades....FirstStrike entered all 5 of the markets we placed our orders. The first ones to hit were the short trades of GBP/USD and GBP/JPY. They executed their orders, dropped like a rock and stopped for nothing. Just the way I like to see a trade, because they can be the absolute best ones. Most people are uncomfortable with a “straightline” trade because it gives virtually

-- IFCN Wk 19 -Fri- Equity: $747.51

All the news released this week tends to indicate that there is a lot of demand for dollar denominated products manufactured in America and its possessions. The export boom that US manufacturers are enjoying is continuing at a greater pace for companies like Caterpillar Inc., Terex Corp, and the U.S. unit of Siemens Corp. Don't be surprised if the dollar gains a little strength in the near

The Problem of Curve-Fitting -IFCN Wk 19 -Fri- Equity: $753.25

I have received a number of emails from readers over the past few months concerning whether one could improve the results of systems like FirstStrike or One Night Stand by optimizing.If one tests all possible combinations of variables in a trading system you can always find a combination of parameters that, if used in the past, would provide a better return than the parameters currently being

Fed doesn't like the condition of our economy, Buy Euros! IFCN Wk 19 -Wed- Equity: $757.69

Apparently the U.S. economy is not too good right now, according to the Fed's most recent report on conditions, with conditions getting worse across the the nation. Consumer spending is down, job numbers are declining and manufacturing is holding its own, according to the Fed's Beige Book, the compilation of gossip from its 12 regional banks. Three said there was no apparent change. Nine of the

Euro is trying hard to show a strong face, but..., -- IFCN Wk 19 -Tue- Equity: $741.12

FirstStrike entered all 5 of the markets we follow. One by one all the trades have gotten stopped out except the Eur/Usd. Very like last week. I wouldn't give great odds on the Eur/Usd trade surviving this week. Then again, I wasn't that confident about last week's Euro trade either.It should be very difficult for the Euro to remain strong when the other major pairs are losing out to the

Choppy Week! -- IFCN Wk 18 -Fri- Equity: $759.67

There really wasn't much to talk about this week. No important news or reactions to anything worldwide. So we really got lots of chop.Even if I wasn't trading this week, I would have been able to tell what the market was like from the types of calls I got from other traders.  People were not as focused as usual.  Small, insignificant details were drawing away their attention.  And they were all

One FirstStrike Trade Soldiers On! -- IFCN Wk 18 -Thu- Equity: $761.20

 The Eur/Usd bought @ 1.5717 is still profitable.  And there is a possibility of a OneNightStand trade in the Eur/Usd today.Current equity is $761.20.  Not a great week, but we take the trades we have.The OneNightStand orders went out and are as follows:eur/usd:  BUY 1.5914, stop 1.5859. gbp/jpy: SELL 197.01, stop 197.56. gbp/usd: SELL 1.9651, stop 1.9706. usd/chf: SELL .9871, stop .9926.

One Lone FirstStrike Trade Soldiers On! -- IFCN Wk 18 -Wed- Equity: $768.60

One FirstStrike trade is still going. The Eur/Usd bought @ 1.5717 with a stoploss @ 1.5657 is profitable and near all-time historic highs.I am actually surprised that we had the one holdout. The other pairs have been exceptionally choppy this week, until today. If you traded frequently this week it is likely you lost more than average.When the markets are trying to digest new market conditions

The US dollar Isn't Alone! -- IFCN Wk 18 -Tue- Equity: $749.10

The dollar is not the only currency under pressure anymore.The Gbp/Usd is getting hammered after housing data in the UK indicates that their economy is not as rock solid as they've been trumpeting.The Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates Thursday, which is a possible “buy the fact” event--- and the market is starting to price in the possibility of even more severe interest rate cuts

The Quick and the Dead! -- IFCN Wk 18 -Mon- Equity: $755.34

It is great that the weather is generally improving around the US. Spring is getting here, but in Minnesota today, it was a nasty cold one! The warmth from late last week disappeared, and showed us we have to be patient for the good weather.The weather is just like the markets we've been trading. Nothing great comes easy!We got 4 quick FirstStrike entries today and are still alive in 1 of them

Non-Farm Payroll Surprise? Not really.... -- IFCN Wk 17 -Fri- Equity: $783.77

The big news today was the first-Friday-of-the-month Non Farm payroll report. According to today's Labor Department report, the US economy lost 80,000 non-farm payroll jobs in March. Some forecasters had predicted an even larger loss.February and March payrolls were revised downward by 67,000 jobs for a total cumulative loss of 152,000 jobs.Friday's report is the first time since June of 2003

Attention: Readers, and Nancy Pelosi --CORRECTION--

Attention: Readers, and Nancy PelosiThe post of April 2, 2008 about Pelosi and specific statements attributed to her about wanting to tax 401K's – and just about anything else..., were in error. Huge error.I normally do not check websites like http://www.snopes.com before I post a newsletter with information I get from a "trusted" source. That will change now.I got an email about Nancy

Nancy Peloski to the Rescue!!! --IFCN Wk 17 -Tue- Equity: $783.77

Still out of the market, waiting for Friday.The dollar has gotten stronger vs. the Japanese Yen.After a correction today in the Eur/Usd, the dollar seems to be gaining again here too.Since this Friday is the Non-Farm Payroll event, it is likely to have large potential because of the major flows of capital from bonds to stocks and from one currency's assets to another's.Thursday will likely be a

Eur/Usd has a double top! More Downside likely -- IFCN Wk 17 -Mon- Equity: $783.77

I got stopped out of this week's final two FirstStrike pairs, the short Gbp/Jpy and the short Usd/Chf. That makes all five FirstStrike trades concluded for the week with a total of 300 pips loss.Current equity is $783.77. I will wait patiently for some possible OneNightStand trades this weekend.The Euro/Usd does appear to have double-topped at the $1.59 area as I thought it should. Financially