Ask Trader Ed is an exclusive trader's advice column that is authored by Trader Ed, the ambassador for TraderPlanet.com. Adopting a fun, light-hearted and sometimes serious approach to providing advice to traders, Trader Ed's purpose is to help individuals become better traders.
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Recent Ask Trader Ed
Maybe It’s Time For Those Expensive Shoes, Dear
When I think of his name alone, I smile, but when I think of Forest Gump's insightful words, I want to, well, break something (something small and inconsequential, nothing that really matters, of course). That wise, wise man was onto something when he said, "My mama told me, 'stupid is as stupid ...
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Tags: trading-advice | real-estate | greece | mortgage-rates
Spain Is Near, But Questions Abound
So, last night, around 4 a.m. or so, I wake up thinking, "I have so much to do before British Airways delivers me to Spain next Monday." As well, the other issue banging around in my head, not allowing me to sleep fitfully, is my computer; it got really sick from a virus last week and, sadly, it...
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Tags: trading-advice | liquidity | vantagepoint | futures | etfs
Some Days, It Is Hard To Be Me
Orchestration and negotiation are my two words of the day today. Oh, and let me throw in cold as kind of a bonus word ... The Iran situation is heating up, and this is not good news for the market. All we need is another late winter, such as we had last year - the Japanese earthquake and tsunami,...
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Tags: trading-advice | europe | greece | iran | israel | oil | japan
It Is Nice To See Smiles All Around
It has been some time since my morning reading has portrayed such optimism. Aside from some upset Republicans spinning the labor report to match their political aspirations, the news has turned on a bright light among the economists that I read this morning, and the reason is that hiring came ac...
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Tags: trading-advice | europe | labor | unemployment | iran
Iran, Oil, War, and the U.S. Housing Market
Can you hear it? It is faint, but the beat is growing, and the sound coming our way could have a big impact on the market. Listen, the drumbeat for war is getting a bit louder, and if you have been listening to the republicans running for president, you most certainly have heard the beat. The U...
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Tags: trading-advice | u-s | europe | debt | euro | china | oil | iran
Hope Withers for February Market Breakout
Today is the first day of February, right? Yeh, I thought so, but I wasn't sure when the market opened this morning and all three major indices jumped up, reaching toward 52-week highs, and the NASDAQ stepped into territory it has not seen in 11 years. The reason I wasn't sure is the headline of ...
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Tags: trading-advice | u-s | europe | debt | euro | china | oil | iran
How Can I Miss You If You Won’t Go Away?
Please, just give me a second. I have to adjust to a not so new market reality. Does anyone remember the "Whipsaw Effect," a move the market perfected some time ago, but put on hold for a few months? This morning's move in the market reminds me of the oft-quoted line from one super-silly horro...
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Tags: trading-advice | europe | u-s | ecb | sovereign-debt | s-p | ratings-agencies
To Understand, Consider Occam’s Razor
In my way younger days, my mother suggested on more than one occasion that I talked just to hear myself talk. My elementary school teachers had issues with me talking as well. I can't say for sure, but I probably hold the all-time record for "timeouts in the hall." For many years, I accepted t...
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Tags: trading-advice | europe | u-s | ecb | sovereign-debt
I Think A Big Nap Is In Order
Last night (really this morning) the sound of the wind buffeting my window woke me, just about 2:47 a.m. Each gust only lasted a few seconds, and then died down, but within a minute or so another came, died down, and then another, and so on for about 30 minutes. Then nothing. The sudden bursts...
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Tags: trading-advice | homebuilder | real-estate-market | europe | u-s-gdp | earnings
Market Consistency and A Message For Europe...
In my little world, I expect consistency. Do me a favor, will ya? Please remind me how nutty that is. Yet, even as I ask for that rebuke, I still find myself unable to delete that corrupted file from my mental directory. For example, after Caterpillar reported earnings this morning, I expected th...
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Tags: caterpillar | apple | stocks | real-estate | world-economic-forum
As Europe Turns … Wait, Don’t Change The...
Many years ago, as a young lad, I spent a good part of one precious summer hanging around with my mother. She was ill and laid up, and so I spent more than few days watching soap operas with her during the day. At one time, I could tell you in great detail about the characters in all the popula...
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Tags: trading-advice | europe | u-s | banks | debt | greece
Ambiguity and Possibility, Connotations And...
Words are important. Not only do they have a specific definition (denotation), but they carry with them connotation, an implied or suggested meaning, if you will. The word "if" has a specific meaning, (in the event that), but with that meaning comes a sense of ambiguity on the negative side and...
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Tags: trading-advice | u-s | europe | debt | euro | china
Things Are Really Moving in 2012 So Far
Unemployment claims drop further than expected, actually getting closer to the magic number of 350,000, the number that signals the labor market is strengthening for "reals." Now, one would think the number would have shot up this week, since the rap against the good December numbers was "all th...
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Tags: trading-advice | china | europe | u-s-ecb | housing
So, Where or Where Will The Market Go Tomorrow?
I am not sure what to make of this market anymore. One day, the European debacle trips it up and it drops, and the next it totally ignores the European downgrades and goes up. One day it opens on fear and the next it turns to economic fundamentals. Oh wait! Silly me. This is how it has been ...
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Tags: europe | economic-fundamentals | ecb | greece | middle-east | china | united-states
A Livelier Market, Europe Again, And More...
Maybe a three-day weekend is as good for the market as it is for everyone who works for a living. The market jumped out of bed this morning, seemingly raring to go. Good earnings from Wells Fargo and a little better economic showing for China in December perked the market. So little for so muc...
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Tags: trading-advice | europe | u-s-banks | earnings
