Let’s face it, those who can WFH are among the luckier ones in the current – and ongoing for too long – pandemic. The set-up may suit some, and not others, depending on the domestic situation and physical space; but it has made us all re-think priorities and re-write our wish-list.

Up-to-date connectivity and technology (which one is confident using) are key, so much so that some politicians are suggesting these should be made basic citizens’ rights, much like clean water and efficient sewage. Personally I would also suggest that a decent desk and good chair to work at, hopefully with enough space, light and quiet, are too.

Now a fixture of the STA monthly meeting calendar, January is when we round up three or four candidates and ask them to outline their outlook for financial markets in the coming year. Hosted in conjunction with ACI (FX association), […]

An album of satirical songs recorded live by Tim Lehrer in 1965, and originally written for NBC’s TV series ‘That Was the Week that Was’, somehow it sums up the year of the pandemic. But that’s not what I’m thinking […]

On Saturday, the 12th December, I went up into the loft to get down the Christmas decorations. Unsure as to whether I’d get it all sorted in a day, I started with the wreath on the door. Then, if I […]

The year 2020 has been like no other – that I can remember – and the festive season is too. A time when corporate and social entertainment goes into full swing, the pandemic has put paid to all that. Well, […]

Woke up this morning in a bit of a flap; had forgotten to get an advent calendar for my daughter. Brain kicks in and I realise my daughter is a grown up and lives abroad. However, she had remembered to […]

As a very difficult year limps into its last lap, the toll to health, sanity and the economy is probably far higher than many would admit to. Imprisoned in our homes, worried about job prospects, barely able to socialise, exercise […]

Rather than chamomile tea and a collection of soothing fairy tales for your night table, I have better ideas as to what you should read this winter. Not horror stories or fantasy gladiators, but cautionary tales; sort of in the […]

Hosted by Steven Goldstein, and timed to coincide with the launch of his latest book, this eagerly awaited event aired yesterday the 10th November 2020 with only the tiniest glitch. Of interest was that this (virtual) STA monthly meeting was […]

This year’s International Federation of Technical Analysts annual conference was due to take place in Philadelphia, hosted by AAPTA. With travel restrictions and limits on the number of participants at meetings due to the Covid-19 virus, it couldn’t go ahead. […]

A fortnight ago I wrote about the STA links between Steve Goldstein’s Alpha R Cubed Ltd and AlphaMind. This was handy as he will be interviewing Jack Schwager at our next STA monthly meeting (via Zoom) on Tuesday 10th November […]

Great excitement regarding the STA’s speaker at November ‘s monthly meeting (18:30 Tuesday 10th November – via webinar). As STA Treasurer Karen Jones pointed out: ‘’we always line up great speakers but have out-done ourselves this time’’. We’re talking about […]

He’s given talks to us before, and no doubt will be doing so in the future, but before that, pencil in this date: Tuesday October 13th at 18:30 – via webinar. This is our next monthly meeting where he’ll assess […]

In any business transaction, be it financial, real estate or retail therapy, for every buyer there must be a seller. One can either sell something one already owns, or sell ahead of delivery to lock in the price. The latter is at the very heart of, and the reason for, the creation of futures contracts; so that farmers can fetch a guaranteed price for their estimated crop or herd.

Above, a Tweet last week from Nouriel Roubini, one of the few economists I used to listen to; now he too is jumping on this silly bandwagon. As the Queen famously asked of the 2008 financial crisis (at the London School of Economics), ‘’why did no one see it coming?’’. What hope is there then of this lot spotting not only when the corner has turned, but how much momentum there’ll be in the next move?

Years ago disgruntled from Surrey would write a letter to the editor; pedantic fool complain about spelling and punctuation; ‘expert’ in the subject pick on the minutiae in an academic paper. Same old, same old as these issues exist today, transported to electronic means of communication, but remain constant themes. The difference is in the relative speed of action and reaction, and the subsequent issues raised.

With lockdown being de rigueur this season, and all the talk of family bubbles, travel corridors, quarantining and social isolation, I happened to spot a few potential island reversals in the charts. Which then set me thinking about their validity, considering the other idea that gaps should be filled.

The rather dry title of this month’s STA webinar presented by Andrew Pancholi who promised us a ‘’40 minute whistle-stop tour of 30 years of work’’. He lived up to his threat and I urge all and sundry to watch this fascinating presentation – regardless if one’s interested in technical analysis, cycles, or financial history.

In a week when even President Trump was called out for spreading dubious facts on social media, you know that the format has a big problem. The obvious scare-mongering is often easy to spot, and we all know that screaming headlines sell newspapers. But when it comes to the coverage of financial markets, the economy, and long term trends, the record is truly terrible.

Almost exactly 10 years ago – 6 May 2010 at 14:32 US Eastern Time – the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its second worst ever intra-day loss of 998 points – in just 5 minutes; it then took half an hour to get back to where the shambles started. Five years on, in April 2015 at the age of 36, Navinder Singh Sarao was indicted on 22 charges of financial misdemeanours. The authorities realised that market integrity was at stake and so, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities Exchange Commission, the FBI and the UK Met’s boys in blue swung into action.