There has been much said about the psychology of trading and the necessity that we manage our emotions with every gain and loss. Emotions tend to rise to the surface during times of uncertainly as we are faced with an unexpected situation or crisis. How would we feel to win the state lottery worth over $10 million? It is easy to say, we would feel very surprised and in fact ecstatic. On the other hand, how would the average person feel to lose their life savings in an investment of some type? Most would assume he/she would feel pretty horrible.
These emotions should not come into play as we trade our accounts. Speculating in the financial markets should be approached with the same planning, research, and discipline in its execution, as a small business owner spends each day making decisions in order to improve revenues, and reduce risk.
It would be absurd for a business owner to fall into panic during the first or second slow day of sales. We would logically expect that entrepreneur to simply review the mission statement and ensure each one of his/her actions has this mission statement and long term business plan in mind.Let’s assume we are not trading the FX-market, but rather our business is one of a traveling salesman, who travels the world, marketing their various products to potential consumers in various marketplaces. It is safe to say that one product may reap higher profits in certain markets and regions than others. Continue Reading
A trader emailed me a while back, asking for some advice on a good money manager for him. He said he was a “lousy trader” and tired of losing money.
I doubt there is one non-rookie trader reading this story who has not experienced at least a small run of poor performance in trading futures. I’ve said before that most successful veteran traders have more losing trades than winning trades in any given year. The key is maximizing profits on the winning trades and minimizing losses on the losers.
I will also argue that at one point or another in most traders’ experiences, they, too, have felt like “lousy traders.” I certainly have. (Those who say they have never had a run of poor trading performance or felt “lousy” about a trade or trades are likely either lying or completely out of touch with futures trading reality.) Continue Reading
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 31 (Bernama) — It turned out to be a truly people’s show at the 50th Merdeka gathering and parade here Friday morning, showcasing Malaysia as it truly is — solidly based on goodwill and solidarity, economically strong and a friend to all.
The thousands who were all around Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) and along the parade route saw the parade reflecting the five eras which established peace, progress and prosperity for the nation — independence, development, unity, modernisation and excellence.
The celebration this morning, on the heels of the midnight heralding of a new period that builds upon five decades of glorious achievements, also showed that Malaysia’s social contract is thriving, with people of all races and religions teaming together in performing various displays and in marching along in the massive parade.
Together with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and wife Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah, and other Malaysian leaders were a host of foreign dignitaries from all over the world.
Themed “Malaysiaku Gemilang” (My Glorious Malaysia), the colourful and joyous two-hour parade comprising 25,000 participants kicked off at about 7.30am.
Thousands of spectators began flocking to the square as early as 6am to witness the parade made up of 100 contingents from the public and private sectors, including 12,570 marchers, 14 floats, 25 military vehicles and a breathtaking aerial display performed by 52 aircraft.
Among the foreign dignitaries present at the historic occasion were the Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah; the Duke of York, Prince Andrew; Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo; Thai Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn and Australian Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffery.
Asean leaders who converged on the square for the parade were Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Laotian Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla and a host of ambassadors. Also joining in the celebration was former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The national anthem “Negaraku” was played soon after Tuanku Mizan arrived at the square as five Royal Malaysian Air Force Nuri helicopters flew overhead bearing the Jalur Gemilang and Malaysian Armed Forces’ (ATM) flags.
The King then inspected a 107-member guard-of-honour.
This was followed by hoisting of the Jalur Gemilang accompanied by Negaraku as a 14-gun salute boomed. Both parade participants and spectators then gave spirited renditions of patriotic songs such as “Jalur Gemilang”, “Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang” and the Merdeka celebration theme song “Malaysiaku Gemilang”.
Following this, all eyes were on 50 special education students who recited the Rukun Negara (national ideology) led by Syed Nur Khairin Al-Safi before breaking into shouts of Merdeka seven times.
The square then turned into a kaleidoscope of colours as the field presentation comprising 10,000 performers, a choir, drum beaters and members of the “integrated people’s component”, got underway.
The performances depicted important events which had left indelible marks on Malaysia since it freed itself from the shackles of colonialisation 50 years ago.
The performance by the 1,000-strong Malaysia Drum Symphony signified the spirit of unity among the country’s various racial communities.
Those hoping to get a view of Tuesday morning’s eclipse of the moon will find a large swath of fair skies extending from the central United States, through the Ohio Valley and into the Northeast and New England.
And some of those in the best viewing locations, out West, are in for a treat: An area of generally clear skies will be found across the Pacific Northwest and northern California.
What to Expect
A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth gets directly between the sun and the moon, blocking the light that normally reflects off the moon. Portions of the pre-dawn total lunar eclipse will be visible, weather permitting, across the country. Only in the West will the entire Aug. 28 event be viewable before sunrise, however.
The moon enters the Earth’s full shadow, or umbra, at 4:51 a.m. EDT (1:51 a.m. PDT). It enters the total-eclipse phase at 5:32 EDT (2:52 PDT) and the event ends after sunrise on the East coast and at 4:22 a.m. PDT.
Much of central and southern Florida should also enjoy mainly clear weather.
Unfortunately, the rest of the Southeast, including the Gulf Coastal region, are likely to be plagued by considerable cloud cover. The same may hold true for parts of the Northern Plains and the Desert Southwest, where widespread cloudiness seems likely to prevail.
Showers and thunderstorms could fall from parts of the Dakotas and Nebraska, northeastward through northern Iowa, southern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms will also be possible across much of the Southeast. A few residual monsoonal showers may linger over parts of the Southwest.
For a more specific and detailed weather outlook, go here and click on the National Weather Service Forecast Office for your local area. Forecasts are available for all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico, Guam and America Samoa. More…
That is the fear of the trader who looks at a list of potential trades and feels that they need to trade every single set-up for fear of missing the “big” one. First, in our type of active trading we’re not looking for home run shots. We’re looking for steady gains - we know some market months will be easier than others but we’re not looking to make or break it off any individual trade. Read more…
Sony has unveiled a new version of its PlayStation Portable handheld games console at the 2007 E3 Media & Business Summit in Santa Monica.The new design is 33% lighter and 19% slimmer than the current version, weighs less than 250g and is less than 20mm thick.Sony has packed in a thinner and more efficient battery, 64MB of system memory and video-out capabilities allowing users to output games at 480 x 272 resolution, and movies at full standard-definition resolution on any progressive scan TV.The new PSP will be released in new colours with two limited edition PSP Entertainment Packs for the US market.
PSP ‘Ice Silver’ will be included in the limited edition Daxter PSP Entertainment Pack due in September.
Sony will also offer a collector’s edition PSP ‘Ceramic White’ pack, including a Darth Vader silk-screen on the unit, as well as the PSP exclusive Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron launching in October.
Jack Tretton of Sony said: ‘In response to consumer interest, we are offering additional colours as part of this enhanced design to match users’ personal styles and interests’.
PSP entertainment packs with the new colours will be available for $199.99, while the current PSP core pack will continue to be available at $169.99.
US retail sales fell unexpectedly in June as American consumers cut back their spending amid a persistent housing slump and higher energy costs, an official survey showed today.
The Commerce Department said June retail sales declined 0.9%, defying most Wall Street analysts’ forecasts that sales would remain unchanged.
Stripping out vehicle sales from the June report, retail sales dropped 0.4%.
Sales excluding cars are also likely to disappoint Wall Street as most analysts had expected sales to rise 0.2%.
Over the past 12 months, overall retail sales in June are up 3.8% or 4.2% excluding car sales.
KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 (Bernama) — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the Islamic financial system in Malaysia was at a very strong and stable position both at the domestic and international levels.
He said at the domestic level, the contribution of the Islamic financial system to the country’s Gross Domestic Product had increased.
“The Islamic banking system has become part of the country’s primary financial flow, taking 12.2 per cent of domestic financial capital market with assets worth RM133 billion.
“Takaful (Islamic insurance) meanwhile took up 6.1 per cent with total assets valued at RM6.9 billion,” he said in a written reply to a question from Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri (BN-Kudat).
Abdul Rahim called on the Prime Minister in his capacity as Finance Minister to provide a brief on the progress reached so far to make Malaysia as the most important Islamic financial hub in the world.
Abdullah said in the international market, Malaysia was the largest issuer of sukuk in the world with 67 percent of the total sukuks yet to be redeemed.
“Malaysia is also a pioneer in the international stage with the issue of sovereign Islamic bonds worth USD600 million and 51 per cent of the issues were subscribed by investors from the Middle East.
“Investors from Europe and the US took up 19 per cent while Asian investors took the rest,” Abdullah said.
Several countries wishing to learn the system have also adopted Malaysia’s Islamic financial system as the model.
“The confidence shown by investors and financial institutions to set up base in the country is itself a significant success for the country’s Islamic financial system,” he said.
Abdullah said the establishment of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) was the first institution in the world offering professional accreditation which is the Certified Islamic Finance Professional.
Bank Negara Malaysia introduces tiered pricing structure to promote good financial discipline among credit card users
Bank Negara Malaysia wishes to announce the introduction of a tiered pricing structure for credit card users to promote the use of credit cards as a payment instrument. This is part of Bank Negara Malaysia’s continuous efforts to promote prudent financial management and inculcate good financial discipline among credit card users in Malaysia.
On average, one-third of credit cardholders use their credit cards as a payment instrument, settling their credit card outstanding amount in full every month. More than half of cardholders pay at least the minimum amount due promptly and roll over the remaining balance. For the benefit of credit card users who have a good track record of settling their credit card balances which are due each month, promptly for 12 consecutive months, the finance charge will be reduced from the maximum of 18% per annum to not more than 15% per annum. The ceiling rate of 18% per annum will still be applicable for other cardholders.
Credit card issuers will begin to track the repayment behaviour of their cardholders with effect from 1 July 2007. The details of the new scheme, including the finance charges and its calculations, will be communicated by individual card issuers. The tiered pricing structure will be implemented by 1 July 2008.
Bank Negara Malaysia also encourages debit cards as an alternative payment instrument. The domestic banking institutions are in the process of upgrading all credit card terminals deployed by them to accept their ATM cards. The exercise, which is expected to be completed this year, will enable the 15.4 million ATM cardholders to use their ATM cards to make purchases at participating merchants.
The greater use of these payment cards is part of Bank Negara Malaysia’s drive to accelerate the migration to e-payments. Bank Negara Malaysia and the financial industry will continue to implement initiatives to promote e-payments.
