Nothing is quite as perfect as Great Plans that fail! --IFCN Wk 34 -Thu- Equity: $679.77.

"The marvel of all history is the patience with which men andwomen submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments."--William Edgar BorahThe report this morning caused tons of buying of the Eur/Usdand Gbp/Usd, lots of selling in the Usd/Chf and Usd/Jpy---followed by complete reversals in all of them except the Usd/Jpy which only had an anemic rebound.The dollar truly won this

No One Worries About Your Fire, When They Have One Themselves! --IFCN Wk 34 -Wed- Equity: $671.33.

After dropping more than 200 points in trade the other day, theEur/Usd has basically spent the last 30 hours sitting andwaiting for..., something.The focus in the currency markets has obviously moved from fearsabout the US economy to concerns about the rapidly deterioratingeconomic conditions in the European Community.If another European financial “shoe falls” there will belittle to hold the Eur/

Dollar Recovery Obvious, but Obvious to Whom? --IFCN Wk 34 -Tue- Equity: $666.73.

In trading, perception tends to become reality only after a period oftime where there are no major conflicts to the new perception.Any basic commodity group that is priced in dollars and is showing adecline in prices, is giving the perception that the dollar is gettingstronger, at least in that sector. If it were just one sector, the oldperception of permanent dollar weakness might remain.But,

Mirror week? Dog days of Summer? --IFCN Wk 34 -Mon- Equity: $668.51.

Sorry about the delay in getting the Infiniteyieldforex Challenge update for last week. My weekend was in many ways a reflection of the previous week, volatile and surprising at the same time. I had great moments and frustrating moments, the most frustrating moments involving a very unexpected hard drive failure on an important trading computer. Back to 95% restored but tired of Microsoft

Holding the Course Not for Wimps! --IFCN Wk 33 -Fri- Equity: $675.94.

It takes a great deal of character to take trades over and over again which end up losing.A perfect example was this last week. After a series of 4 weeks with marginal profits or actual losses, we came into last week and immediately were slammed with 5 losses.  I got a small net profit from a pair of uncancelled reverse trades that did little to stem the onslaught.Remembering that this is a

No sure thing! --IFCN Wk 33 -Thu- Equity: $671.45.

The Dollar is maintaining most of its strength aquired in the last week.  But continued action betrays the fact that many of the market participants have different ideas of how strong they feel the dollar will be allowed to maintain. The existing home sales news worked out as I suspected, the dollar remained strong and got stronger vs. the Euro and the Pound.We are still currently long the Usd/

What would you bet that the Fed already knows the numbers? --IFCN Wk 33 -Wed- Equity: $689.56.

Existing home sales for June, to be released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), are widely expected to fall to an annual pace of 4.94 million units following a 2.0% increase to 4.89 million in May.With sparse financial news from the U.S. this week, the currency markets may move on it.Not all forecasts agree of course.Lehman Brothers economists are looking for a 1% advance to

Weatherman..., Trader- 2! --IFCN Wk 33 -Tue- Equity: $675.23.

Hours after the last posting, we prove that we are long or short..., until we aren't. And, we paid personally for our losses.The dollar bulged suddenly on Tuesday because Treasury Secretary Paulson vocally supported the currency and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia president stated that he thought interest rates should be raised. Despite the nervousness implied in the markets recently,

Weatherman..., Trader! --IFCN Wk 33 -Mon- Equity: $701.41.

The Japanese market was on a holiday and other markets were without any reports to encourage strong positions. That is why nothing seemed to happen today.The economic calendar from the US should give more information as the week wears on. Fear of ruinous consequences in the financial sector have eased somewhat following recent better-than-expected earnings reports from the banking sector.

Living Forever! --IFCN Wk 32 -Fri- Equity: $709.06.

I intend to live forever, or die trying. Groucho MarxMarkets like this last week make you think that you might have to live forever to finally catch a big move. Markets are very patient. You must be too. Here's the week's recap:The data below is as of Friday's close, July 11, 2008:Start of week equity: $ 729.65.OneNightStand Exit(s) on 06/14/08 : Exited the long Eur/Usd OneNightStand trade from

Dollar Strengthens More! --IFCN Wk 32 -Thu- Equity: $707.07

The Gbp/Usd is the only FirstStrike trade still working. It definitely looks like one of those weeks where the early profits get drained away. Oil has been falling precipitously, along with grains and other main commodities.  Continuation of these factors will be bearish on the Eur/Usd and bullish for the dollar. Why? Perception of the currency policy makers. We'll see if it works out that way

Dollar Strengthens! --IFCN Wk 32 -Wed- Equity: $729.93

Remarkable.The difference a few days make. A few days ago the “dollar was over” in the minds of the majority in foreign exchange. New high in the Euro, more mortgage banking crisis news, new highs in crude oil. 2 days later, oil dropped 15 dollars and shares of Freddie Mac melt UP! The dollar rose more on Wednesday, moving further from a record low against the Euro, due to a continued drop in

Ben Bernanke, Font of Information! --IFCN Wk 32 -Tue- Equity: $737.12

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke had his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee today. Remarkable things were said.“There is speculation in the oil trade.”"There seems to be adequate oil in the ground.”“There is no "magic bullet" to deal with high commodity prices.”Thanks. I feel much better now. And to think these guys make the big money for sharing this crucial information.Even

Game Theory Alive and Well! --IFCN Wk 32 -Mon- Equity: $717.01

There is some historic news involving game theory.  Game theory is a field which has shown great potential in the markets and definitely impacts trading as a profession.Before we look at it, I'll review our current positions.Early this morning, we exited the long Eur/Usd OneNightStand trade from Friday – in @ 1.5911, out at 1.5898. A loss of 13 pips ($ .95).We entered all five FirstStrike

Dollar Takes a Hit Despite Good News! --IFCN Wk 31 -Fri- Equity: $729.65

Eur/Usd jumped to new weekly highs after the data on exports and imports was released. And, although the information released was actually fairly bullish for the dollar, the dollar dropped heavily against all major Forex currencies because of solvency concerns for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agencies.Ben Bernanke is testifying to the US Senate next Tuesday, July 15th, for a semi-annual release

This Week was Asleep! --IFCN Wk 31 -Thu- Equity: $709.55

Not a lot of change..  I still periodically think about the cow pictured yesterday.  That's how slow trading has been.We're still long the Eur/Usd with profits. If we still have profits by the end of trading Friday, we'll be happy to take them. It was a pretty anemic week.A couple OneNightStand orders have a realistic chance for getting filled, namely-- the Gbp/Jpy and the Usd/Jpy. We'll see

Learning to Trade Isn't This Hard! --IFCN Wk 31 -Wed- Equity: $712.44

Being a successful trader requires being tough enough to take regular adversity, keep persevering with your efforts so as to come out the other side victorious. So, I'm typically the champion of determined people. No one can succeed at anything difficult or important without persistence. But sometimes you hear about extremes that just make you wonder.Here is a link to a story about a woman whom

Can You Handle A Look in the Abyss? --IFCN Wk 31 -Tue- Equity: $706.20

These following quotes are all very true, and it is terrific that “Wall Street” was so expertly done. I tend to side with Gekko in the film, who would be considered a choir boy compared to the hi-jinx played today by operators in the markets.Gordon Gekko: “The richest one percent of this country owns half our country's wealth, five trillion (dated) dollars. One-third of that comes from hard

Euro is Skittish! --IFCN Wk 31 -Mon- Equity: $714.40

After very interesting closes last week in most of the currency pairs, I figured this week could be challenging.  I hate being right about that.It is very rare for a market to reverse to the downside like the Eur/Usd did and not at least make an attempt at correcting. When the market doesn't correct, you have a great opportunity because most traders count on a correction for their methods.The

Independence Day! -Continued --- IFCN Wk 30 - Sat-

To be among the best and succeed at trading:ONE-----You have to have financial resources to be able to start trading.  That 's the easy part.  You can always get money.  The toughest resources to obtain are those that enable you know for certain there is opportunity in a certain marketplace.  Not everyone can remain committed to trading markets for long periods of time.  If you expect to

Independence Day! --IFCN Wk 30 -Fri- Equity: $730.43.

Independence....Independence is a wonderful word. Having the freedom to do what you wish within very reasonable terms is what all peoples on earth want. (Except for those who think it is ok under certain circumstances to wrap a baby girl in bombware and have her walk into a crowded building.)When most people think of independence they are thinking of having the financial wherewithal that allows

Million Dollar Question!--IFCN Wk 30 -Thu- Equity: $730.43.

In response to my last post, selling the Euro was the right thing to do!I took a big trade today right after the Non Farm Employment report came out. I took one of my low risk DIBS trades, short the Eur/Usd at 1.5863. The market cratered. Anyone selling within a minute of when I did-- had instant profits after getting filled. It was a meltdown. The entire world must have been long the Euro

The Phone Rang, it's my Wife! Sell the Euro!--IFCN Wk 30 -Tue- Equity: $730.43.

I finally got stopped out of the three remaining FirstStrike entries-- the Eur/Usd, Gbp/Usd, and Usd/Chf, for a 60 pip loss each. A total of 5 FirstStrike trades and 5 losses.  It has happened before and will happen again, many times....These are the FirstStrike entries and exits for the week-----Eur/Usd: short @ 1.5737, stopped out at 1.5797 for a 60 pip loss.Gbp/Jpy: short @ 210.59, stopped