ntrader

Cyprus bankrun, Pepe Grillo in Italy and Greece in deep recession; that doesn't sound good for the future of the Euro..

Eurozone leaders and the IMF on Saturday announced an unprecedented levy on all deposits in Cypriot banks, as a 10-billion-euro bailout for the near-bankrupt government in Cyprus. The levy will see deposits of more than 100,000 euros in Cypriot banks hit with a 9.9% charge, under that threshold and the levy drops to 6.75%. Do you believe the cut in deposits will help Cyprus and euro?

This thread is for those who like to discuss about the European debt crisis. I am waiting for your thoughts and predictions to help us in successful trading.

My short term trading points for Monday: Buy If the price breaks through the level 1.30085, take profit at 1.3022, stop loss at 1.2980 Sell if the price breaks 1.2980, take profit at 1.2923, stop loss at 1.3008

Setting proper stop losses are important to ensure that your losses are minimized. For traders that don’t want to sit in front of their computer every minute they have positions opened, stop losses are your best friend.

Options basically created for hedging and soon speculators jumbed in to make some extra profits in the new market. Greeks are useful tools in the hedging procedure.

Walgreen Company is the world's largest drug retailer, operates retail drug store and general merchandise. It is engaged in the retail sale of prescription and non-prescription drugs and general merchandise. The stock closed the last trading session at $40.13. In the past year, the stock has hit a 52-week low of $28.53 and 52-week high of $42.00. Technical indicators for the stock are neutral. WAG has a market cap of $37.93 billion and is part of the services sector. BALANCE SHEET Net earnings for the first quarter ended November 30, 2012 were $413 million or $.43 per diluted share. This was a 25.5% decrease in net earnings over the same quarter last year. Quarter net earnings and net earnings per diluted share, respectively, was $59 million, or $.06 per diluted share, in acquisition-related amortization, $34 million, or $.04 per diluted share. Net sales for the quarter ended November 30, 2012 decreased by 4.6% to $17.3 billion. VALUATION WAG PE stands at 18.16 above the industry’s average of 17.26. The stock is currently trading 6% below its intrinsic value of $42.80 this suggests that the stock is undervalued at these levels. WAG’s current Price/Sales of 0.54 is at the average of its industry of 0.52. The beta of 1.28 implies higher volatility of the stock with respect to the S&P 500. The firm pays a 2.6% dividend yield. WAG’s Total Debt/Equity is 34.70% The company has demonstrated neutral technical signs, the company stands on very sound financial footing but lower sales makes us cautious at current price level. WAG stock is 8.43% higher year to date. My overall score for WAG is 5.00/10.00 I am neutral on the stock.

Here some technical analysis points that i have noticed: XOM is trading in the range of $86.59 - $91.93 in the last 30 days. The stock has been showing support around $87.90 and resistance in the $91.80 range. The stock is trading below the 50-Day Moving Average and below the 200-Day Moving Average. My indicators give a neutral view on XOM.

Thank you for your reply ThetaTrend, your post was very helpful. So here is how our list looks like now: Advantages: Leverage - requires good risk controls Hedging Decaying asset - when you are short Zero sum - if you are constantly winning. Various strategies can be used across months and strikes. Can be used as part of a portfolio hedging strategy Unlimited upside - if long options, and you can run them (subject to expiry, and if put or call) Limited Downside - if long options Flexibility and ability to create complex positions that would not be possible if you only traded the underlying Dividend and corporate strategy plays - dependent on local laws Disadvantages: Excessive leverage when risk controls are poor Hedging is often misunderstood and the hedge may in-fact merely change the risk profile but not actually act as a hedge Decaying asset - when you are long Zero sum - if you are constantly loosing and have no way of offsetting this Various strategies can be used across months and strikes -dangerous if you dont understand what you are doing You might not have enough capital/assets to effectively implement a portfolio type strategy Unlimited downside - if short options, (subject to expiry, and if put or call) - See more at: http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/options-trading-laboratory/15289-advantages-disadvantages-stock-options-trading.html#sthash.2SI5duhZ.dpuf

Thank you Vinayak, Nice approach on NAV's Exxon Mobil, very interesting research report and very helpful

Every trader should estimate the current market conditions and various fundametals and technical factors and then apply the trading strategy which believes it fits to the current market conditions.

Dear Gringo, I really liked your technical analysis on NOC it was really helpful and gave ne some hints, thank you

One basic rule that i try to follow always is to never risk more than 2% of my account funds on any one trade, which refers to the amount that may be lost, and not the amount that may be traded. You could trade 5%, 10%, even 20% of your account funds, but your stop-loss must not allow more than 2% of account funds to be at risk. Using this 2% risk factor and combining with the stop-loss range (number of pips), you can calculate the lot size that can be traded without exceeding your 2% risk factor if the stop-loss is triggered. The most important element in this calculation is the stop-loss.

One other trading method that i am using and it makes me some money is moving averages crossover. Indicators: (multiple of 7) 7 SMA, 14 SMA, 21 SMA. Entry rules: When 7 SMA goes through 14 and continues through 21, BUY/SELL in the direction of 7 SMA once price gets through 21 SMA. Exit rules: exit when 7 SMA goes back and touches 21 SMA. It can produce very good results during strong market moves, the system also can be easily programmed and traded automatically.

Here is what I believe about the falling gold prices. The end of financial panic in the eurozone is as good a reason as any for gold to fall. As a result many individuals and investors will reduce their safety holdings such as cash, gold, silver, and bonds as fears fade. This is not to say that we are out of the woods, but fears have lessened and hedge funds are already in the process of reducing their holdings of gold, and investment demand for gold has dropped around the world in the last year. But I am not optimistic about the eurozone crisis and i am sure is far from over, so i am still bullish on gold prices.

Most successful day traders are not greedy bandits and day trading itself, although much maligned, is neither illegal nor unethical. However, it's risky business and should only be undertaken by people who fully understand the process. You can find some stocks that i have in my portfolio (Northrop Grumman, Exxon Mobil, after my fundamental and technical analysis, even though there are not stocks for day trading you can have an idea about the company and you can decide to go long or short

Traders should be very carefull not to overtrade. Over trading can mean taking too many trades at a time, so increasing your risk exposure to the market. It can also mean trying to chase pips all over the market by placing too many trades in a day, especially after a losing run in an attempt to get back some of what was lost. Either way, you run the risk of losing big money and never recover.

The British pound will face continued pressure in the coming weeks as confidence erodes in the United Kingdom’s recovery efforts. U.K. economic growth will remain “sluggish” over the next few years compared with past recoveries in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

A zero sum game is one where for every winner you must also have a loser. In trading it means that for every person who turns a profit someone else must suffer a corresponding loss.

What I also like about XOM is that During the fourth quarter of 2012, Exxon Mobil Corporation purchased 59 million shares of its common stock for the treasury at a gross cost of $5.3 billion. These purchases included $5.0 billion to reduce the number of shares outstanding, with the balance used to acquire shares in conjunction with the company’s benefit plans and programs. The dividend yield is not bad at 2.6% with very low Debt to Equity.

Great article! I like futures trading too and one reason is that the commission charges for futures trading are relatively small as compared to other type of investments.

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, and manufacture of petroleum products. Last Price: $88.36 Highlights: Exxon Mobil is the world's largest publicly traded integrated oil company and the largest producer of natural gas in the United States with a daily production of 3,712 mmcf. The stock closed yesterday’s trading session at $88.36. In the past year, the stock has hit a 52-week low of $77.13 and 52-week high of $93.67. Technical indicators for the stock are bullish. XOM has a market cap of $397.80 billion and is part of the basic materials sector. BALANCE SHEET XOM profit in the fourth quarter was $9.95 billion, or $2.20 per share, compared with $9.4 billion, or $1.97 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Oil and gas output fell 5.2 percent to 4.29 million barrels oil equivalent per day, Exxon said. Profit at Exxon's exploration and production business fell 12% to $7.76 billion. At its chemicals unit, profit more than doubled to $958 million, and refining earnings were $1.77 billion, up sharply from $425 million a year earlier. VALUATION XOM PE stands at 9.11 below the industry’s average of 9.87. The stock is currently trading 6% below its intrinsic value of $93.90 this suggests that the stock is undervalued at these levels. XOM's current Price/Sales of 0.88 is above the average of its industry of 0.87. The beta of 0.85 implies lower volatility of the stock with respect to the S&P 500. The firm pays a 2.60% annual dividend yield. XOM’s Total Debt/Equity is 8% and is acceptable for our model. My view: The company has demonstrated neutral technical signs. The current P/E ratio of 9.11 and dividend yield of 2.60% makes this stock very attractive for value investors. XOM stock is 4.29% higher year to date. I will buy the stock and keep it my portfolio as a long term investment and not for trading.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is an oscillator that measures current price strength in relation to previous prices. The RSI is a versatile tool, it can be used to: Generate buy and sell signals Show overbought and oversold conditions Confirm price movement I usually buy when the RSI crosses above the oversold line (30) and sell when the RSI crosses below the overbought line (70). A trader must always use a combination of technical analysis indicators in order to make the right investment decision.

Knowing the Greeks and applying them to your options investing strategies can greatly help your performance but the most important is that you have to choose the right strategy and open the right position

Not using a stop loss or a profit take target is pure suicide. In Forex trading, an overnight event can send an unprotected trade badly into the negative territory writing huge losses. You can never know what will hit you especially these days with the currency war.