“Et Tu, Bruno?”: Lessons for Traders from JP Morgan’s Recent Loss

bruce.bowerBruce Bower, General Comments, Guest Blog, Trading Lesson5 Comments

London’s “Whale” got harpooned. After being in the press for taking outsized positions in the credit derivatives market, it finally ended for Bruno Iksil, aka the Whale—and badly.  JP Morgan’s recent multi-billion dollar trading loss caused a huge amount of angst in the financial press over its prop trading activities and risk controls.  As traders, we should pay attention – … Read More

Facebook Friday And Rocket Science

sspencerGeneral Comments, Steven Spencer (Steve's) Blogs, Trading LessonLeave a Comment

Despite the fact that the fast majority of those hired by hedge funds and banks these days are literally rocket scientists (PHD’s in Physics, AstroPhysics, Mathematics etc.) trading is NOT rocket science. Of course being good at math and being able to write algorithms doesn’t prevent someone from successful market speculation it just isn’t a prerequisite. On Friday I outlined … Read More

When do I move on from a stock?

BellaGeneral CommentsLeave a Comment

It’s time to move on, time to get going What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing But under my feet, baby, grass is growing It’s time to move on, it’s time to get going Tom Petty Bella, Yesterday I got absolutely chopped up in JPM. I could not believe how much I lost in such a short amount … Read More

Expiration week and the SPXpm

Greg LoehrGeneral Comments1 Comment

This post is another in a series that we will be publishing over the next month , tracking the hypothetical performance of broken wing butterfly trades selected by Greg Loehr of Optionsbuzz.com. For those who haven’t heard of or traded the SPXpm, take a look at it.  It’s an electronically traded SPX product that trades through expiration Friday afternoon and … Read More

How to Bounce Back From Failure in Trading

bruce.bowerBruce Bower, General Comments, Trader Development, Trading Lesson, Trading Psychology6 Comments

This is one blog post that I hope you never have to read. Why? Because it’s all about failure. The word “failure” has tons of connotations. Shame. Guilt. Disappointment. Anger. These are things that we try to avoid at all costs. If the world were perfect, you would never run into failure in your trading career. I hope that you … Read More

Play Like A Pro

jeff.whiteTrader DevelopmentLeave a Comment

It’s time for Episode 5 of When The Bell Rings. In this episode, I’ll give you some food for thought when it comes to your trading. We’ll talk about some distinct differences among traders regarding their approaches, and it should either give you some added motivation, or a boost in confidence. I hope you get a lot out of this … Read More

Four Quick Ways To Get Better At Trading

bruce.bowerBruce Bower, General Comments, Trader Development, Trading Lesson6 Comments

Four Quick Ways To Get Better At Trading Usually, the “quick fix” implies fixing something, but only temporarily and in a fashion that won’t help long-term.  Luckily for us traders, there are several quick things that we can do that can readily improve our trading. They are quick lessons in that they don’t take much time to grasp, but their … Read More