More oil

I am beginning to wonder whether the mere fact that people are betting on oil moving to $200 a barrel will not in some way become a self fulfilling prophecy. The interesting thing about options trading is that the easiest way to go broke (other than writing puts) is to buy deep out of the money options.…

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CFDs

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) in a profound act of ignorance and nannying has called for a ban on investors trading derivatives such as CFDs until they can prove that they are capable of doing so. ”In our experience, the only investors who trade in CFDs successfully are sophisticated traders who watch and manage their…

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More oil

I am beginning to wonder whether the mere fact that people are betting on oil moving to $200 a barrel will not in some way become a self fulfilling prophecy. The interesting thing about options trading is that the easiest way to go broke (other than writing puts) is to buy deep out of the…

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The Science of Traffic Jams

You might ask what do traffic jams have to do with trading but have a look at the graphic below and think about how natural systems have a tendency to bunch, trend and have differing level of synchronization. Traders often think that markets are somehow distinct from the natural world – I think this view…

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Monkey brain traders

THE capuchin monkeys working with economist Keith Chen and psychologist Laurie Santos know a good bargain when they see one. They use metal chips as money, buying bits of apple or cucumber from humans, and they seem to know what they’re doing. When the researchers make apple cheaper than cucumber – offering more food for…

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