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In The Zone

  
Analysis, Education

More ideas from Ari Kiev’s “Trading in the Zone”:

  1. Defining the zone.  The zone is an ideal psychological state where you are doing everything correctly. Centered state of mind, activating positive memories by remembering the sights, sounds and smells of past positive experiences. Allows you to trade in a disciplined way and yet be more open to opportunities. You do more work with less effort. “You start to see things.”
    1. How to enter the zone.  Players who are willing to get in the zone are willing to do the uncomfortable thing. “When I find an easy trade, it is usually wrong.” It requires conviction.  Conviction comes from a willingness to trade your ideas and to develop confidence in your ability to assess what moves to make. Confidence to stick with your convictions.  “When I think I am right, I will stay there.  I don’t care how the stock trades.”
    2. How to be in the zone. Totally focused. Time stands still. Less resistance. Follow your strategy, trust your plan. “I did the work. If I thought I was right, I didn’t care how they traded. I stayed with them.”  Trading with a lack of concern for results. Greater tolerance for pain. Don’t let this tolerance push you out of control. Your risk appetite should be clearly defined. “The zone is not comfortable.  It is being a little bit on edge.  Trading is a game of uncertainty.”
    3. How to stay in the zone. “Take a step back and think about what is going on. When I am worrying about my profit and loss, it takes me out of the zone.” Make small successes and build on them. 

Europe: A Continent Of Lies And Broken Promises

  
  Education
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Openeurope.org.uk has put together a paper of the most blatant half-truths, propaganda, and outright lies, abused by Europe not only over the past month, but also over the past 10 years, for the entire duration of the now rapidly collapsing eurozone experiment. As the paper notes: “More than ten years since the euro was launched, and with the single currency facing its greatest ever crisis, the parameters have radically changed. Amid all the uncertainty, one thing has become painfully clear: the EU elite simply got it wrong on the euro.” The authors demand for “a call for greater honesty about the future of European cooperation and a reminder of the urgent need to find a new model that is both politically and economically sustainable” is just as valid in Europe as it is in the US: any system based on lies and opacity is doomed to failure. Europe found this out the hard way. We will too unless somehow we restore the basic truths like transparency, honesty and integrity, instead of merely campaign promises and teleprompter soundbites.

A sampling of the best quotes:

THE DOZEN WORST BROKEN PROMISES AND RECKLESS PREDICTIONS

“The Community shall not be liable for or assume the commitments of central governments, regional, local or other public authorities, other bodies governed by public law, or public undertakings of any Member State, without prejudice to mutual financial guarantees for the joint execution of a specific project”.
– Article 104b, Maastricht Treaty, 1992.

“We have a Treaty under which there is no possibility of paying to bailout states in difficulty”.
– German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, 1 March 20101.

“[Greek Prime Minister] Papandreou has said that he didn’t want one cent. The German government will not give one cent, anyway“.
– German Economy Minister, Rainer Brüderle, 5 March 2010.

“The single currency, far from being an agent of continental style corporatism, is probably the greatest export vehicle of Anglo-Saxon economics. The euro has done more to enforce budgetary discipline, to promote privatisation and force through labour and product market liberalisation in the rest of Europe than any number of exhortations from the IMF, the OECD, or the editors of The Economist”.
– Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, 2002.

“The reality of the euro has exposed the absurdity of many anti-European scares while increasing the public thirst for information. Public opinion is already changing […] as people can see the success of the new currency on the mainland and the alarming fall in inward investment into Britain as international companies show an increasing reluctance to locate here”.
– Kenneth Clarke MP, 2002.

“The euro has been a rock of stability, as illustrated by the contrasting fortunes of Iceland and Ireland. Joining the single currency would be a major step”.
– Former Labour MEP Richard Corbett, 2009.

“We must enter the euro with a clean sheet on all the criteria”.
– Then Greek Finance Minister, Yannis Papantoniou, 1999.

“The thrust of the spirit and of the letter of the Treaty is that everything is done to construct the euro area as an optimum currency area. First by ensuring that it incorporates economies that have already proved being convergent in the fiscal field as well as in the monetary and financial fields”.
– Then Governor of the Bank of France, Jean-Claude Trichet, 1997.

“It is sometimes said that while the single monetary policy may be ‘right’ for the euro area as a whole, it is ‘wrong’ for many individual countries within the area. I disagree with this view. First, it overlooks the fact that within a single currency area adjustment can occur via prices and wages”.
– Then President of the European Central Bank, Wim Duisenberg, 1999.

“Solidarity is possible, [and] will exist. A bailout is not possible and will not exist”.
– Then EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Joaquín Almunia, 29 January 2010.

“I will defend European Central Bank’s independence under any circumstance and with all my strength”.
– ECB President, Jean-Claude Trichet, 2007.

“The euro is a protection shield against the crisis”.
– European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, 5 February 2010.

 

“THE EURO WILL REMAIN STABLE AND EUROZONE COUNTRIES WILL BE PROTECTED FROM CRISES”

What they said then (more…)

Ed Seykota-Quotes

  
  Education
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If you can’t take a small loss, sooner or later you will take the mother of all losses.

There are old traders and there are bold traders, but there are very few old, bold traders.

Dramatic and emotional trading experiences tend to be negative. Pride is a great banana peel, as are hope, fear, and greed. My biggest slip-ups occurred shortly after I got emotionally involved with positions.

I prefer not to dwell on past situations. I tend to cut bad trades as soon as possible, forget them, and then move on to new opportunities.

The elements of good trading are: 1. Cutting losses, 2. Cutting losses, and 3. Cutting losses. If you can follow these three rules, you may have a chance.

Trying to trade during a losing streak is emotionally devastating. Trying to play “catch up” is lethal.

I set protective stops at the same time I enter a trade. I normally move these stops in to lock in a profit as the trend continues. (more…)

80% of trading is behavioral

  
  Education
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80% of trading is behavioral, maybe only 20% is based on the other things that a trader does. Like much of personal finance it is not the math but the behavior that makes all the difference. Most people’s problem with being broke does not lie in their budget it is due to their behavior of spending too much money becasue they lack self control. The inability to say no to yourself in the present is what leads to most of the problems that we encounter at a future time. You can’t out earn stupid and you can’t budget away a lack of self control or work ethic. The same applies to trading.

Wanting to be a trader is only the beginning, once you make that decision you have to do the work to learn how to create a winning trading system. Having a robust trading methodology is still by far not enough it has to be expressed in a trading plan that also controls risk and fits your personalty. Even then, a trading plan is not enough you still have to follow it with discipline consistently for it to work out for you in the long term and make you profitable. But wait, there’s more…. you have to have the passion and perseverance in the market to shake off a losing streak and draw down and keep going. A great trading method is useless if you quit before you give it a chance to hit the big winning streak. (more…)

Trading Wisdom

  
  Education
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“You are the sum total of ALL your experiences in life.

And if you discount ANY of them ~ you negate and discount your very ability to be a consistent and successful trader.

So ~ what IS your definition of CONFIDENT?

If we look up the definition of the word “confident” in Roget’s Thesaurus as you know I like to do, we can find the following:

“…believing, undoubting, unhesitating, without a doubt, convinced, satisfied, assured, unafraid, courageous, unscarred, undaunted, daring, venturesome…”

Is that you?  Is that your definition?  Or, is this your definition:

“…hopeful, expecting, try to reassure, hold out hope, make promise to…”

Or do you know?  Right now, if someone were to ask you what your definition of confidence is ~ what would you say?  Right off the top of your head? (more…)

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