No, you would NOT be happy trading for a living! You might think so, and you might even [I][U]be[/U][/I] so…for maybe a year or two, but no more than that. Most people seek from life purpose, development, achievement, family, security, freedom to travel and take up hobbies, raise children, buy a house, maybe a boat,too! How many of these goals can you achieve [U]and enjoy [/U]from sitting all day by your screen - unless you happen to earn a [U]very [/U]significant lump of money in a fairly short time? OK, longer term traders will tell you they do not spend much time by their screens but if they are really solely dependent on their trading results for a living then I am sure they are never very far from their positions either physically or, more importantly, mentally as well.
It is true that as a trader you are only as good as your last profit. How much stress do you think there is in trying to earn fresh money every week, every month, every year. How much can one rely on one’s interest, ability or even health continuing for years on end? And if markets or regulations change can you be sure that your “tried and tested” method will always continue successfully?
And even if you did succeed as a trader for you entire career years, how would you feel about what you had achieved in life?
Personally, I think you are in the absolute perfect position right now. You have a job that interests you and offers challenge and achievement. You have a young family and time to spend with them - and your trading is relatively stress-free leaving you free to take it or leave it as you wish and to be able to [I][U]enjoy [/U][/I]it
Actually, I am starting to move towards the same dimension as you and looking to trade a small position on a weekly basis. My core trading is still on a day basis but I would like to extend my interests to include more long-term moves - the main difference is that I am looking at a technical analysis model for my position management…
You have a point, Eddie… I probably would not be satisfied with trading as my main job…I would certainly keep music to unwind after work…
One thing I would say: earning a living as a freelance muaician is also about being ‘as good as your last note’, so the stresses of trying to find the next private student that pays regularly and lasts longer than a term are not dissimilar to those of someone trying to make a living out of trading from home, I imagine… I am always breathing a sigh of relief when the month is over and I have managed to pay all my bills So I am not sure that living through trading could be any more stressful haha
What is your main occupation, Manxx, if I may ask?
As part of my university studies in the UK I spent time working in France and Switzerland. I fell in love with the so-called French style banknotes like the one below. Since France had many colonies around the globe its influence is present in the banknotes of many other countries. Nowadays I am mainly interested in the earlier banknotes of the Euro countries.
I’ll have to introduce you to my grandmother: she’s still trying to pay for her shopping with very old Maltese five-shilling notes (which doesn’t work too well, on several levels, really).
How wonderful…there is a whole universe of history contained in these small bits of paper we value so much… Are they worth much in the collector world? Do you have to.insure such a collection?
Haha! Now you have set me off again! I only have a few Maltese notes myself but they are all quite interesting and reflect a country and nation that has an amazing history. It has had various currencies from other Mediterranean countries throughout the years as well as its own Lira, but the most prominent has been the British pound.
The note you published above is indeed an update but is actually issued in 1979 to mark Freedom Day which was when the British forces left the island. It is the so-called 3rd series of the notes issued originally in 1967 when the Central Bank of Malta took over note issuance from the Government of Malta (following independence from Britain in 1964). The note I put there is the 2nd issue of the same series.
In these two notes we already have a historic reference to major changes in both politics and central bank activities that link back to the history of the island in the two world wars and then to its history as a colony, commonwealth member and independence - and then links forward to eventual membership of the EU and adoption of the Euro.
It is always of interest to me why certain pictures are selected for inclusion on banknotes. It this case the 2nd issue was far more historic/artistic/touristic/romantic whereas the 3rd issue emphasise commerce/industry/prosperity.
Yet another dimension to banknotes is the actual printing techniques, security measures and artwork…
Am actually planning to go on holiday to Malta next year. Some friends went there last year and really enjoyed it.
P.S. I just discovered that the Central Bank of Malta has some really good stuff about its history including a timeline of banknote issuance here:
As my father always reminds me, with his rather idiosyncratic perspective of the subject, the Bank “celebrated my birth” by launching its 5th series of banknotes, and then “celebrated my emigration” by joining the Euro …
Some very good points being made in this post. I just cannot see how it is possible to trade without knowing what is going on with macro fundamentals. As an example USDCHF moved down almost 300 pips solely because of a sentiment change at the FOMC report. Ok so price did bounce off a level I had identified BUT the following 5 days saw a strong downward move due to that news.
Then good results and sentiment change at ADP on Wednesday 3rd…look how price changed direction and moved up. Then NFP last Friday. Really good news. Look how price has moved up. I suspect we will see USD strength for the coming days. So now I am in a technical mindset looking for a setup that will get me into this uptrend (hopefully the sentiment stays bullish for USD). I use price action and levels but stoch, MACD, FIB, Clouds, Moon phases, tea leaves might also work if that’s your strategy.
There are enough analysts out there doing a damn good job of translating the fundamental gobbledygook. You need to find those few people that you trust and listen to what they have to say. One of the guys here on babypips releases a breakdown of the COT report. I dont really know how to translate that report but he does a good job of summarizing it. If what he says is in tune with everything else I am reading then I feel a lot more confident about taking trades.
I find more suitable to watch gold during FOMC, NFP and other events having potential impact on “risk appetite” in global trading. Precious metals such as gold is a safe heaven asset so tend to receive protracted impact, I would say it is more “trendish”.
Just look at the gold behavior today after NFP. Post-event decline were extended though major of other instruments such as GBP/USD, EUR/USD were basically moving in flat manner. Gold got probably strongest impact as global investors saw opportunity to bid some more on risk assets so damped the bullion.
I don’t think this is an issue of not even knowing what is going on with Fundamentals, it is a question of how one interprets available information and forms an opinion of which direction currencies will take.
Data such as NFP, retail sales, etc are not in themselves [I]the [/I]fundamentals, they are [I]measures [/I]of the fundamentals actually taking place - or rather what have been recently taking place. When the economy is improving then one expects to see an increase in employment, and an increase in employment should see an increase in consumer spending etc, etc. The data releases themselves are only indicators of underlying actual activity in the economy.
The idea of this thread is whether or not one can/should use these kinds of data releases to formulate one’s own opinion of their future impact on currency movements. The typical problems relating to this approach are, for example: the data is historic, often amended in future releases, already anticipated and built into the current price, insignificant in current circumstances, diluted by stronger factors in the pair’s other currency, and so on.
The alternative is to remove the analysis one step further and instead of analysing the actual data, analyse the net collective view of the entire bulk of active participants by looking at their net collective impact on price.
Basically it is the same thing. It is only a question of which approach gives a clearer and more precise picture of when and where to enter a position and some kind of measure of the strength of that impact.
Of course, one cannot ignore when and what kind of data releases, announcements, statements, minutes etc are going to be released because of their effect on volatility both before and after their release.
At least, this is the way I look at technical analysis - which is not necessarily correct!
Fundamental analysis is very important but not for all traders. If you are trading nice with technical then you don’t need to bother about news events. I’ve seen some good fundamental traders that even predict the outcome of some high impact news by analyzing the little news releases in between of different currencies.
I really cannot agree with this part. Even the most pure technical trader should always be aware of what news events are coming and when, and what degree of impact these typically have on price movements, both prior to their release and afterwards.
The point here is that whilst technical analysis can provide good signals when to enter trades and also when to exit, they cannot really tell you for how long they will continue in between! Moves can become very erratic and short-lived prior to major releases as participants adjust their positions. take profits etc. It is very relevant for technical analysts to be aware of the nature of price movements at any particular time and not just their direction.
Fundamental analysis is about interpreting future direction based on economic and related data whereas technical analysis is about interpreting future direction based on what the price is doing now relative to where it was previously. For both methods it is important to be aware of when further data is to be released as it will impact on both methods of analysis.
We need the knowledge of both the technical and fundamental analysis as we trade, so that we can have a better understanding and view regarding the market.
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