rss

European shares close with mostly modest gains

German Dax up 0.5%

The European shares are closing with mostly modest gains as Germany works toward the reopening of the economy.
The provisional closes are showing:
  • German DAX up 0.5%  . The low reached -0.42%
  • France’s CAC up 0.2%.  The low reach -0.80%
  • UK’s FTSE 100 up 0.8%. The low reached -0.35%
  • Spain’s Ibex up 0.3%. The low reached -1.56%
  • Italy’s FTSE MIB up 0.7%. The low reached +0.06%
In the European debt market, the benchmark 10 year yields are ending with declines across the board, with the Italian yields falling the most at -3.9 basis points.
European yields are lower
In other markets as London/European traders look to exit shows:
  • spot gold up $10.28 or 0.60% at $1727.37
  • WTI crude oil futures are trading up $0.22 or 1.11% at $20.10

European shares are beaten down. German DAX falls -2.5%. France’s CAC -2.9%

Ouch.  European shares take a beating.

The European major indices are closed and the provisional closes are not looking good. The major indices are all beaten down by 2%-3%  declines.
The provisional closes are showing:
  • German DAX, -2.5%
  • France’s CAC, -2.9%
  • UK’s FTSE, -3.2%
  • Spain’s Ibex, -2.7%
  • Italy’s FTSE MIB, -2.8%
In the European debt market, the benchmark 10 year yields are ending the session higher, but off the highest levels of the day.  Below is a snapshot of the current yields, changes and high low yields.
Ouch.  European shares take a beating.
US stocks are also down sharply and trading near lows.
  • S&P index, -1.91%
  • NASDAQ index, -1.75%
  • Dow industrial average, -2.0%

In other markets:

  • spot gold is surging and back above the $1500 level. The price is up $22.34 or 1.51% at $1501.50.
  • WTI crude oil futures is trading down $1.35 on expectations of slower growth. That is down 2.5% at $52.28. The inventory data showed a higher build then expectations today
In the forex, the JPY remains the strongest currency on flight to the relative safety of the JPY. The CAD has taken over as the weakest.  The USDCAD is now trading back above its 200 day moving average at 1.3288.

If Not Now, When?

Care a little more.

Show up.

Embrace possibility.

Tell the truth.

Dive deeper.

Seek the truth behind the story.

Ask the difficult question.

Lend a hand.

Dance with fear.

Play the long game.

Say ‘no’ to hate. (more…)

Margin Call-Movie

 The movie Margin Call is an outlier in any number of ways.  The financial blogosphere has been abuzz ever since the trailer came online.

(more…)

Pizza Proves to Be the Best Motivator

In the upcoming book “Payoff: the Hidden Logic that Shapes Our Motivations,” behavioral economist Dan Ariely detailed a study showing that pizza motivates workers to increase productivity more effectively than money.
Looking for a way to encourage your employees to show better results? The answer might be pizza.

In his book, Ariely recounts an experiment conducted at an Intel  semiconductor factory in Israel. For the experiment, factory employees were split into four groups, three of which were promised a reward if they managed to complete stated goals by the end of the day.
Members of the first group were offered about $30 cash apiece. The second group was told that they would receive a compliment from their boss, and members of the third group would get vouchers for pizzas. (more…)

10 Favorite Quotes from Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

Although Jessie’s life ended too early, his words of wisdom live on for discovery. The book is filled with obscure references and colorful characters long forgotten by the general public, but the key themes of the text remain as relevant as ever. Therefore, I’ve pulled out my favorite quotes, below, though I highly recommend reading the entire text.

  1. There is nothing new in Wall Street. There can’t be because speculation is as old as the hills. Whatever happens in the stock market today has happened before and will happen again.
  2. The desire for constant action irrespective of underlying conditions is responsible for many losses in Wall Street even among professionals.
  3. I never lose my temper over the stock market. I never argue the tape. Getting sore at the market doesn’t get you anywhere.
  4. They say you can never go poor taking profits. No, you don’t. But neither do you grow rich taking a four-point profit in a bull market. Where I should have made twenty thousand I made two thousand. That was what my conservatism did for me.
  5. Remember that stocks are never too high for you to begin buying or too low to begin selling.
  6. A man may see straight and clearly and yet become impatient or doubtful when the market takes its time about doing as he figured it must do. That is why so many men in Wall Street…nevertheless lose money. The market does not beat them. They beat themselves, because though they have brains they cannot sit tight.
  7. After spending many years in Wall Street and after making and losing millions of dollars I want to tell you this: It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was the sitting. Got that? My sitting tight!
  8. Losing money is the least of my troubles. A loss never bothers me after I take it…But being wrong—not taking the loss—that is what does the damage to the pocketbook and to the soul.
  9. Prices, like everything else, move along the line of least resistance. They will do whatever comes easiest.
  10. The speculator’s chief enemies are always boring from within. It is inseparable from human nature to hope and to fear. In speculation when the market goes against you hope that every day will be the last day—and you lose more than you should had you not listened to hope—the same ally that is so potent a success-bringer to empire builders and pioneers, big and little. And when the market goes your way you become fearful that the next day will take away your profit, and you get out—too soon. Fear keeps you from making as much money as you ought to. The successful trader has to fight these two deep-seated instincts…Instead of hoping he must fear; instead of fearing he must hope.

Murphy's Laws

  • If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.
  • If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then.
  • If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop.
  • If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
  • Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.
  • Whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first.
  • Every solution breeds new problems.
  • Enough research will tend to support your theory.
  • When there is a very long road upon which there is a one-way bridge placed  at random, and there are only two cars on that road, it follows that: (1) the two cars are going in opposite directions, and (2) they will always meet at the bridge.

(more…)

Don’t trade for the thrill-Jesse Livermore

small picture of jesse livermore“The desire for constant action irrespective of underlying conditions is responsible for many losses on Wall Street even among the professionals, who feel that they must take home some money every day, as though they were working for regular wages. Remember this: When you are doing nothing, those speculators who feel they must trade day in and day out, are laying the foundation for your next venture. You will reap benefits from their mistakes.”

Once you realise the cost of trading and the benefits of being able to sit tight in a market you learn a valuable lesson.

Once you’ve learnt this lesson, you can look at all the other investors on Wall Street and realise how they are actually helping you in your quest.

They’re all trading in and out of the market, every day racking up huge commission fees and losing money. This reveals the opportunity for you to take advantage of. By sitting on your hands and waiting for the profits to roll in, by only making calculated bets.

Always trade according to the trend and according to your plan.

The desire for action will be strong but you need to resist. Because that is the gambling mindset. The professional trader mindset simply sits tight and waits for the opportunities to come to him.

Remember that when you trade, you don’t only pay a fee to your broker and a commission but you pay the spread too.

Trading Wisdom – Larry Hite

Larry Hite – Turned a $2 million managed account into $800 million in 8 years.


Throughout my financial career, I have continually witnessed examples of other people that I have known being ruined by a failure to respect risk. If you don’t take a hard look at risk, it will take you. If you argue with the market, you will lose. It is incredible how rich you can get by not being perfect. Never risk more than 1% of your total equity in any one trade. By risking 1%, I am indifferent to any individual trade. Keeping your risk small and constant is absolutely critical. I have two basic rules about winning in trading as well as in life:
  1. If you don’t bet, you can’t win. 
  2. If you lose all your chips, you can’t bet. Frankly, I don’t see markets. I see risks, rewards, and money.