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FOMC Interest Rate and US GDP - October 31 Live Webinar as US Dollar Continues to Slide

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.

Red Sox Win World Series with FX Trend Trader Owner

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.

Sterling Set to Pound the Dollar?

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.

The Most Important Post You Will Ever Read

Back Up Your Data Now!

Everything in Life is Temporary - especially electrical components! Last week my main trading systems Hard Drive gave me a ""Black Screen of Death" that's the one with the message that says, " Disk Drive Read Write Error - Press Control Alt Delete". This message does not say have a nice day at the end...

Redundancies - and Planning for Failures

My background in computers is extensive as I began my career at IBM in Boca Raton in 1980 - two months before the IBM personal computer was placed on the market. Bill Gates would walk the halls in his K-Mart clothes - probably mumbling how lucky he was that IBM was fighting for it's life in a anti-trust lawsuit. But that's another story - Anyway, my technical background has me already prepared for computer breakdowns. I have three computers at the ready at all times. Two of them on as I am trading with my trading platform and charting services configured. So I had no Fear or Panic. Trading goes on - However....

Never Trade When You Are Distracted!

I closed all my trades and began the process of determining just how bad the situation is and when I realized my drive was corrupted - I promptly removed it, and installed a 100G drive that I had bought about 6 months ago and began my rebuilding process.

Do You Have Your Restore Disks?

Once upon a time when you bought a computer you received a nice thick manual telling you how to use and maintain your machine, along with all the software to reload your system to factory specifications. Today, many machines do not come with these resources. If you have them - find them now and put them in a safe place where you will remember where they are. If you do not have your restore disks -Your computer manufacturer may have provided a way for you to create them with one or two DVD's - or you may need to call your manufacturer and request them to be sent. (Don't be surprised if they want to charge you some $$$$ and even worse - be prepared that they may not send you the right disks.)

Out with the Old?

If you are not technically savvy you have a few options. You may consider buying a new system, especially if your current system was over 3 years old and getting slow. If you do this - consider making your old machine a secondary -or even a third backup system. Consider stopping into your local computer store (not necessarily the big nationwide chain) and get to know your local computer geek - they may become your best friend when you need them!

Bottom Line - Back Up Your Data and Keep Your Cool

Today you can buy an external Hard Drive that attached via USB for less than $50 US. This type of drive helped me in the past during a prior Hard Drive failure when I was able to boot my machine into "safe mode" and transfer my important recent documents and files - before proceeding with repairs and overhauls to my system. Having a regular routine is part of being a professional - whether it is trading or anything else! Backing up your data is a routine I encourage each and everyone of you to start doing - TODAY!

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. And occassionally a computer geek!

Non Farm Payroll - Surprise Revisions Give Dollar a Boost

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.

Dollar Stabilizing at Parity with Canadian Loonie

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.

Dow Intra Day Highs - Dollar Index Lows

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.