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Risk!!!

Do you have a Reward to Risk ratioIn the world of trading, do you know what a Rw/Rs (Reward to Risk) ratio is? if you dont this article will be beyond your understanding. I suggest you read up on Reward to Risk ratio & come back to read this. If you do know what a Rw/Rs ratio & assume most of you do, we can continue our merry trade discussion ;D My Rw/Rs ratio for Swing trades that i take on a Weekly (W) chart is factor of 4 to 6, am happy to see more. with my Day trading strategy; am a little more aggressive & will settle for a Rw/Rs factor of 3-4 to take on a day trade. Once a while, a trade opportunity arises that offer such a large room for Reward to run, as in this (W) chart of WMT WalMart Corp. if the trades goes my way, look at this room for profit to run, with no resistance of supplyzone in sight this can go up.....sweet mama, she got my attention. First; (Disclaimer) I will never take a trade solely based on a sweet Rw/Rs the odds are not in my favour. Back to the trade. So i have a sweet Rw/Rs ratio what else is going on? Price is crashing into a DZ from the (M) & this DZ happens to be the HL of the month (M) uptrend. This is good, The week (W) price chart is into the long-term chart DZ (Demand zone). This qualifies only if the (M) is still in a technically defined in uptrend. This is a Classic trade set-up I love. Like a Snipper I set my LNG (long) entry at 117 level slightly above the lower band of the DZ, my entry was so low that my risk was less than a dollar before my STP triggers. I took the Long position, the market rallied & so did WMT, & I closed 1/2 my position once price reached 128, I took a good 10 Rw (Reward) pressure if off. already the trade made its money. & I let the 1/2 of the position run. Lets see how it goes when the market is open on Monday. This was a swing trade using the (W) chart to identify the setup. Long-term would be the (M) chart & I used the (D) daily chart to enter & set my STP.
NYSE:WMTLong
by greatful-me
Bull? Bear? Swan? The chart: Shows an index average for SPX, NAS and DOW using rescaled CFD and futures prices. Indicator is a momentum oscillator (midline) with an envelope much like a Bollinger band. The paradox: The consensus is the chart is a picture of 'doom' (as bearish as it gets). At the same time, every trader in the chat room was bullish on the upcoming 12 hours. Not a single bear. The assumption that recent outcomes will be repeated is also called "The Hot Hand" . Both chart and traders refer to the same asset class. The chart accurately describes what traders experienced. Same information, but divergent conclusions and sentiment. Why the gap? One contributing factor is likely the qualitative difference between looking at a chart, and trading that same market in real time. Research shows that when we "experience" outcomes ourselves we pay more attention to the most recent, frequent and impactful outcomes. This does not happen if we get the same information on a chart, from a discussion, or the news.) In his book "The Black Swan", Nassim Taleb attributes peoples 'black swan blindness' (pp.77) to never *experiencing* an event, even if the information is available in some descriptive format (like a chart). There is a similar discussion in the chapter on rare events (ch.30) in Kahneman's book "Thinking fast. and slow" . Lastly, lab studies from economics, finance and psychology provide data for both predictive and descriptive models. These models can be used to predict how personal experience with risk will result in different sentiment that a simple description of the same information. Some of this research is summarized in a Psych-Science paper at: pure.mpg.de Notes: This way they can share the same USD scale and are weighted so that a 1 point change will imply the same change in $ terms. (For weights see: www.barchart.com ). In basketball there is a belief that a player can be on a hot-streak and more likely to score. Despite the compelling belief, statistical studies show it to be false. The same can be said for consecutive sessions in the equity markets. On a whole the market is largely efficient thanks to our relentless effort to remove every last inefficiency.
FX:SPX500
by gb50k
2
Risk Management ‼️‼ Survival rules in trading for newbies, if you respect those rules i can make a bet you wound't lose your account as the majority of traders are. ‼ The key word there is IF YOU RESPECT ✅ 1. Always trade with a stop loss ✅ 2. Have a pre-determined risk on each trade no more then 1% ✅ 3. Don't move your stop loss if the price is not going in your favour ✅ 4. Don't add to losing positions, only viceversa. Add to your winning positions ✅ 5. You have to increase your risk only if you are in profit on your account, decrease your risk when you are losing and increase it when you are winning. Hope that was usefull for your trading plan.
Education
by Snick3rSD
RISK ON vs RISK OFF ‼️Today we will talk about RISK ON vs RISK OFF Market Sentiment as i use this confluence to enter trades. ✅ Risk ON vs Risk OFF market sentiment reflects all the market activity its not a market sentiment for crypto or forex or stock market its for all the financial markets, when i use this confluence i try to understand what are institutional/retail investors are doing the are buying risk on assets or they are buying risk on assets. ✅ Usually investors buy risk on assets when they are looking for risk meaning they want higher yield on their investment they want to MULTIPLY money(key word) this is happening during times of financial prosperity, no wars, no lockdowns, no problems around the world everyone are doing great and making money on viceversa risk off is when investors tend to buy financil assets that PROTECT (key word) their capital they dont want a high yield they want just to save their money and protect during time of financial stress, wars, lockdowns when everything is not clear and safe.
Education
by Snick3rSD
The rotation of 2022. Out of Tech/Crypto into Agriculture.The market has taken a turn to a risk off scenario. When on spot without the capability to short, the most logical move is a rotation towards the most Risk-Off asset there is Agriculture. Under normal conditions gains in this area would be meagre at best. However, as producing countries face civil unrest due to rising inflations, we are seeing an increase in export bans, this is compounded by the Ukrainian conflict effect on wheat. So far there is a group of 20 countries some of daam top 3 producers in their respective crops imposing export bans that are planned to end in December 2022-December 2023. With this in mind a hefty increase in wheat and other crops is expected. Aiming for FIB 4. #LONG #TRADEOF2022
WLong
by TheBitcoinGeneration
The great 2022 rotations. Tech/Crypto -> AgricultureThe market has taken a turn to a risk off scenario. When on spot without the capability to short, the most logical move is a rotation towards the most Risk-Off asset there is Agriculture. Under normal conditions gains in this area would be meagre at best. However, as producing countries face civil unrest due to rising inflations, we are seeing an increase in export bans, this is compounded by the Ukrainian conflict effect on wheat. So far there is a group of 20 countries some of them top 3 producers in their respective crops imposing export bans that are planned to end in December 2022-December 2023. With this in mind a hefty increase in wheat and other crops is expected. Aiming for FIB 4. #LONG #TRADEOF2022
BLong
by TheBitcoinGeneration
The great 2022 rotation Tech/Crypto -> Agriculture.The market has taken a turn to a risk off scenario. When on spot without the capability to short, the most logical move is a rotation towards the most Risk-Off asset there is Agriculture. Under normal conditions gains in this area would be meagre at best. However, as producing countries face civil unrest due to rising inflations, we are seeing an increase in export bans, this is compounded by the Ukrainian conflict effect on wheat. So far there is a group of 20 countries some of them top 3 producers in their respective crops imposing export bans that are planned to end in December 2022-December 2023. With this in mind a hefty increase in wheat and other crops is expected. Aiming for FIB 4. #LONG #TRADEOF2022
CME:CPO1!Long
by TheBitcoinGeneration
Your strategy will inevitably go through a Drawdown!Your strategy will inevitably go through a Drawdown. And there's nothing you can do about it to stop that. However, you can learn how to survive it! Today I will give you actionable steps, that you can use for the next time the market hit your strategy and you feel that everything is going wrong. Let's start with an idea of what a drawdown is, and why drawdowns happen. There are an infinite amount of trading strategies and tools that people use to trade and take advantage of specific market conditions. Some traders are better in trending markets, they trade breakouts. Other traders feel more comfortable in ranging markets, where they trade quick reversals on key levels. The Math is simple here. Trending strategies will have a poor performance on ranging markets, while reversal strategies will have a poor performance on trending markets. Detecting the beginning and end of trending cycles or ranging cycles, is blurry. So, if you agree with that, as I do, you can expect your strategy to start failing at some point. And that's the beginning of the drawdown. (This is true for the best traders in the world, as for the worst traders in the world. Nobody scape drawdowns, the quickest you accept this, the faster you can learn how to handle them properly) So let's start by saying that drawdowns are situations where your strategy experiences a lasting decline in performance, even if you are doing everything perfectly. Drawdowns, happen because strategies are made to take advantage of specific anomalies that can be found in one part of the market cycle, and when that market cycle finishes, or changes, your strategies become less accurate. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's important that you become aware of the Psychological consequences of Draw Downs , so you can have a countermeasure for this. Let's take a look at the most common ones: 1) Decrease in confidence (constant negative thoughts about your system) 2) Fear of entering the next trade. 3) Thinking about changing things in your strategy (deviations from the original plan) 4) Thinking about modifying the risk you are using to cover losses quicker. 5) Ceasing your trading execution, and looking for a new strategy. ALL THESE ITEMS, are the main situations you may start feeling when going through a drawdown. IF you are going through that, it's important that you understand that you are under a delicate emotional state, where your confidence is low, and you are prone to make more emotional decisions that 99% of the time, tend to increase the drawdown. So the way we handle drawdowns is by having logical and systematic processes in place instead of emotional ones. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here you have actionable steps to handle drawdowns: STEP 1 : You handle drawdowns by getting ready before they happen, not when they are happening. This is true for almost all disciplines, not only for trading. Airplanes have clear plans in case things start going wrong, instead of figuring out the problem at the moment, pilots go to the manual book, and use the template for this situation, plus the fact that they trained those situations several times in simulations. So, if you want to understand what a drawdown situation looks like in your strategy, you MUST go into the past, and when I say this, I'm not saying making a 3 week backtest. You need to go as far as you can in the past, to find that exact moment where your strategy is not working as expected. How many consecutive stop losses do I have? 3? 5? 15? 20? How long does this period last until everything goes on track again? 1 month? 3 months? or a year? These are the kind of answers you are trying to solve. When doing a backtest you are trying to understand two things. The first one is if your strategy has an edge. The second one is how hard you get hit when things go wrong! STEP 2: Work your risk management around the stats of your system. Imagine we reach the following conclusion "I have a system, that executes 10 setups per month" and the worst-case scenario I have found is 20 consecutive stop losses during 2 months. What I would personally assume is that 20 consecutive stop losses can be 30. So how much capital percentage should I risk on this system so I don't get knocked out if this TERRIBLE scenario happens. The answer for me would be 1% per setup. Under the assumption of this unique scenario, I would be 30% down, which is something acceptable, compared to the drawdown of conventional investment vehicles like S&P500 where we observed those kinds of declines, in the last years. The main point here is that you need to adapt the risk you are using on the strategy, to the stats of it, and your risk tolerance. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let's recap the key aspects of this post. 1) Drawdowns are inevitable, your strategy will be hit by this scenario eventually. 2) Drawdowns cause an emotional disturbance and are the main reason why people make really bad decisions. 3) We handle drawdowns by getting ready in advance. Through backtest, we can understand the edge of our strategy and the worst-case scenarios. 4) We adapt the risk of our strategy, by considering a terrible scenario, like 30 consecutive losses. This will not eliminate the feeling during this period, but it will bring you a work frame to make logical decisions based on data, instead of emotions. Implementing this type of thinking will make your strategy more robust, it will help you go through these situations, and most importantly it will protect you from making stupid things with a strategy that has an edge, and actually works! Thanks for reading!
Editors' picks
BITSTAMP:BTCUSDEducation
by ThinkingAntsOk
129
LUNA TO THE MOONIt is so hard time for LUNA coin. THe CEO of luna is smart guy and trying to come bake with different ways. One of them is burning coins each minute and also creating new token for giving back for those who lost their money. But market has risks and traders learning it. Mistake will help to everyone. Its time to gain good income now and do not lose this good chance. Always invest that money that you can affort to lose. Live is risk any time you can die, win, lose, get profit.
LLong
by humortvc
14
Emotional Responses are Dangerous in this EnvironmentMarkets across all asset classes hate uncertainty because it causes traders, investors, and all market participants more than a bit of indigestion. Fear and greed are emotions that drive impulsive behaviors. Effective decision-making depends on a rational, logical, and reasonable approach to problem-solving. The Fed finally addresses inflation Recessionary risks are rising Stagflation creates the worst of both worlds Tools impact the demand side- The supply side is a challenge Tools and rules for keeping emotions in check during scary times Reducing impulsive, emotional responses is a lot easier said than done. While it is easy to mitigate emotion during calm periods, they take over and trigger fear or greed-based actions in the heat of the moment. In mid-May 2022, the markets face a crossroads. The current market correction is a function of rising interest rates, the potential for an economic decline, a rising dollar, the war in Europe, supply chain issues, geopolitical tensions between nuclear powers, and a host of other domestic and foreign factors. It is now the most critical period in decades to take an emotional inventory that will avoid catastrophic, impulse-based mistakes. Wide price variance in all markets could accelerate, and those with a plan are the most likely to succeed and protect their hard-earned capital. The Fed finally addresses inflation The US central bank had an epiphany after mistakenly believing that rising inflationary pressures were “transitory” in 2021. The Fed woke up smelling the blooming inflationary environment late last year when CPI and PPI data showed the economic condition rose to the highest level in over four decades. At the May 4 meeting, the central bank hiked the Fed Funds Rate by 50 basis points to 75 to 100 basis points. The central bank told markets to expect 25 or 50-basis point hikes at each meeting for the rest of 2022 and into 2023. The Fed also laid out its plans to reduce its swollen balance sheet, allowing government and debt securities to roll off at maturity. While the Fed has switched to a hawkish monetary approach, it remains behind the inflationary curve. Last week, April CPI came in at 8.3% with PPI at 11%, meaning real short-term interest rates remain negative, fueling inflation. While wages are rising, they are lagging behind inflation. Consumers may be earning more but spend even more on goods and services each month. Recessionary risks are rising The US first quarter 2022 GDP data showed a 1.4% decline or economic contraction. The war in Russia, sanctions and retaliation, supply chain bottlenecks, deteriorating relations with China, political divisiveness in the US, and many other issues weigh on the US economy. Meanwhile, rising US interest rates have put upward pressure on the US dollar, pushing the dollar index to a multi-year high. As the chart shows, the dollar index rose to 105.065 last week, a two-decade high. A rising dollar is a function of increasing US rates, but it makes US multinational companies less competitive in foreign markets. The falling GDP in Q1 2022 increases the threat of a recession, defined as a GDP decline in two successive quarters, putting pressure on the Q2 data this summer. Stagflation creates the worst of both worlds Recession and inflation create stagflation, the worst of all worlds for central bankers seeking stable markets and full employment. The most recent economic data has put the US economy on the road towards stagflation as rising prices and a sluggish economy require competing monetary policy tools. The Fed is addressing inflation with higher interest rates and quantitative tightening, but recession requires stimulus, the opposite of the current hawkish monetary policy path. The central bank must decide on which economic condition threatens the economy more. The Fed seems to have chosen inflation, but it is more than a reluctant choice. Tightening credit treats the inflationary symptoms, but it can exacerbate recessionary pressures as higher rates choke economic growth. Stagflation is an ugly economic beast. Tools impact the demand side- The supply side is a challenge Meanwhile, the US and other central banks have deep toolboxes that address demand-side economic issues. While inflation and recession require different tools, the Fed faces other compelling factors from the global economy’s demand side. The war in Ukraine is distorting prices as sanctions on Russia and Russian retaliation distort commodity prices. Moreover, the “no-limits” alliance between China and Russia creates a geopolitical bifurcation with the US and Europe. With nuclear powers on each side of the ideological divide, economic ramifications impact the economy’s supply side. China is the world’s leading commodity consumer, and Russia is an influential and dominant raw materials producer. Energy and food prices are the battlegrounds. Central banks have few tools to deal with supply-side shocks and changes, which can create extreme volatility in the prices of goods and services. The Chinese-Russian alliance transforms globalism with a deep divide. Global dependence on Chinese demand and Russian supplies distorts raw material’s supply and demand fundamentals. While the US Fed faces a challenge balancing inflation and the potential for a recession, the supply side issues only complicate the economic landscape, increasing market volatility across all asset classes. Tools and rules for keeping emotions in check during scary times The best advice for dealing with anxiety came from US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who said, “the only thing to fear is fear itself.” Conquering fear requires a plan that mitigates emotions no matter the market conditions. The Fed’s toolbox is bare in the current environment, creating a volatile landscape. Chasing inflation and dealing with a recession in the face of supply-side shocks is a potent cocktail for price variance. Investors and traders need to change their orientation to markets to adapt to the current conditions. The following tools and rules can assist in mitigating the human impulses that lead market participants to make significant financial mistakes: Hedge portfolios using market tools to protect the downside and allow for upside participation. Hedging reduces the impulse to liquidate portfolios because of fear. Since volatility creates opportunities, approach markets with a clear plan for risk versus reward. Remember that the market price is always the correct price. A risk-reward plan only works when risk levels are respected. Markets are never wrong, while traders and investors are often wrong. A long or short position should constantly be monitored at the current price, not the original execution price. Positions are long or short at the last tick. Adjust risk and reward levels based on current market prices. Follow trends, not news, “experts,” or pundits. Trends reflect the crowd’s wisdom, and collective wisdom reflects the sentiment that drives prices higher or lower. Never attempt to pick the top or the bottom in a market, let the price trends do that for you. The rules are simple, but emotions are tricky. The emotions that trigger impulsive behavior cause market participants to ignore the rules. The critical factor for success in markets is discipline, defined as “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.” When it comes to our hard-earned savings and portfolios, the punishment is losses. Tuck those emotions away and face the volatile market landscape with a plan. Hedge your nest egg, and you will sleep better each night. Remind yourself that fear is the only factor you should fear. -- Trading advice given in this communication, if any, is based on information taken from trades and statistical services and other sources that we believe are reliable. The author does not guarantee that such information is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. Trading advice reflects the author’s good faith judgment at a specific time and is subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that the advice the author provides will result in profitable trades. There is risk of loss in all futures and options trading. Any investment involves substantial risks, including, but not limited to, pricing volatility , inadequate liquidity, and the potential complete loss of principal. This article does not in any way constitute an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any investment, security, or commodity discussed herein, or any security in any jurisdiction in which such an offer would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.
ICEUS:DX1!Education
by Andy_Hecht
1
Prop-firm Challenges (FTMO) Risk ManagementProp-firms tell us to come trade for them so that they can take trades off our ideas. In reality they make their money on relying on the fact that 95% of traders are unprofitable and will fail either the challenge or verification stages of their trading. People fail because either they do not have a real edge on the market, they cannot control their emotions, or some combination of the two. If you only have a 10% total loss before you lose the account, why are you risking 1% per trade? why are you risking 1% with only 2% left? The short answer is because you cannot manage risk. And if you cannot manage risk you with either fail immediately, or fail in time. This is a risk profile guide for attempts at FTMO or any other prop firm. The basic premise is to begin at 1% and raise it while in profit, and lower it while in loss. A new theoretical 0 point can be established even within profit in order to protect your gains. You must understand that no single trade is that important. If you are hoping for a trade to change your life you are going about this the wrong way. What is important is compounding profitable trades that outweigh the losers.
Education
by akhena10fx
What Will A Geopolitical Compromise Means For Markets?Henry Clay was a US Senator from Kentucky, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the US Secretary of State, and a Presidential candidate in the 1800s. His legacy and nickname were “The Great Compromiser” for his involvement with the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise Tariff of 1833, and the Compromise of 1850. As Henry Clay understood, any great compromise means that both sides at the negotiating table must come to an agreement that makes them uncomfortable or incomplete. The price of an asset is always the correct price A messy geopolitical landscape Option one- A Great Compromise- High Odds Option two- A prolonged conflict Option three- The unthinkable In 2022, the geopolitical temperature has risen to the highest level since WW II. On February 4, Chinese President Xi and Russian President Putin met at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The leaders signed a $117 billion trade agreement, but the watershed event was the “no-limits” cooperation understanding. Twenty days later, after the end of the Olympics, Russia invaded Ukraine, launching the first major war on European soil in over three-quarters of a century. Many analysts believe the Russian invasion sets the stage for Chinese reunification with Taiwan. Markets reflect the economic and geopolitical landscapes. Volatility in markets across all asset classes has increased, and uncertainty is the market’s worst enemy. The war, sanctions, retaliation, and a Chinese-Russian alliance threatens the status quo over the previous decades. The price of an asset is always the correct price As we learned in early 2020 in nearly all asset classes, bear markets can take prices to levels that defy logic and rational and logical analysis. The same holds on the upside as price spikes can reach unthinkable heights. The moves to the upside or downside compel many market participants to sell what they believe are tops or buy when they think the market cannot go any lower. Picking tops or bottoms is more about ego than making money, as the effort contradicts to prevailing trends. Picking a top or a bottom is a statement that the current price is too high or too low, which is always a mistake. Market participants can be wrong, but markets are never wrong. The price of any asset is always the right price because it is the level where buyers and sellers agree on a value in a transparent marketplace. Declaring a market top or bottom is a contrarian statement as it goes against the prevailing trend. A messy geopolitical landscape Two years ago, the world faced a common enemy as COVID-19 ignored borders, race, religion, political ideology, and all of the other factors that separate countries and people. In February and March 2022, the world faces new and daunting challenges: The Chinese and Russian leaders shook hands on a “no-limits” alliance. Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the first major war in Europe since World War II. Ukraine continues to put up fierce resistance. The US, NATO allies in Europe and allies worldwide slapped sanctions on Russia. Russia retaliated with export bans and other measures. North Korea test-fired ICBM missiles. Iran fired missiles near the US embassy in Iraq. Russian missiles came within miles of the Polish border. An attack on Poland triggers article five of NATO’s charter- An attack on one member is an attack on all. China and Russia stand on opposite sides of the conflict from the US and Europe. China plans to reunify with Taiwan against their will. On the US domestic scene, the US remains divided along political lines with mid-term elections in November. The central bank liquidity and government stimulus that stabilized the economy during the pandemic ignited an inflationary fuse before the geopolitical landscape deteriorated. The war in Ukraine only exacerbates price increases as Russia is a leading world producer of raw materials. Europe’s breadbasket in Ukraine and Russia is now a mine and battlefield at the start of the 2022 crop year. Russia and Ukraine typically supply one-third of the world’s wheat and other crops. They are also leading fertilizer exporters, causing problems in other worldwide growing regions. In 2022, the war will lead to rising prices, falling supplies, and the potential for famine and civil uprisings. Historically, food shortages have caused many revolutions. The 2010 Arab Spring that began as food riots in Tunisia and Egypt caused the sweeping political change in North Africa and the Middle East. Meanwhile, the Biden administration pledged to address climate change by supporting alternative and renewable fuels and inhibiting the production and consumption of fossil fuels. US production declined in 2021. After decades of working to achieve energy independence from the Middle East, US policy handed the pricing power to the international oil cartel. Since 2016, Russia has had an increasing role in OPEC’s production policy. In 2022, the cartel does not move unless Moscow agrees to cooperate. Oil prices were already rising when Russia invaded Ukraine, and they moved over $100 per barrel after the attack. Meanwhile, other fossil fuels have moved higher. Coal traded to a new all-time peak. US natural gas rose to a multi-year high, and European and Asia gas prices rose to record levels. Rising energy prices fueled inflation, and the war has poured fuel on an already burning inflationary fire. The war in Ukraine is less than one month old, and the human toll is rising. Tensions are at the highest level in decades. Markets are nervous, and the developments on the geopolitical over the coming days and weeks will dictate the direction of markets across all asset classes. I see three potential outcomes. Option one- A Great Compromise- High Odds In the current standoff, neither side wants to give an inch. The Russian leader faces disgrace or worse if he loses to an inferior military but impassioned Ukrainian population, many of who would choose death over capitulation. The US and Europe do not want to appease Russia like the UK’s Nevil Chamberlain appeased Hitler in the 1930s. China may support Russia, but the world’s second-leading economy has close economic ties with the US and Europe. A Henry Clay-inspired great compromiser could emerge and come up with a solution where Russia, China, the US, Europe, and the rest of the world walk away from the negotiating table unhappy but with a workable solution. I believe, and it is more than a bit of wishful thinking, that this is the high odds result of the current geopolitical mess, and the result will go down in history as the great compromise of 2022. A great compromise would likely lead to a significant stock market rally and a commodity correction. Option two- A prolonged conflict A prolonged conflict where Russians fight a long and bloody war against Ukrainian forces will devastate the world economy and peace. Russia may capture territory, but it is clear President Putin will never capture the souls of the Ukrainian masses. The Russian brutality over the past weeks will never be forgotten. President Putin did not count on the passionate resistance Russian troops encountered across Ukraine. The longer the battle and the more brutal the weapons, the greater the price for Russians controlling the territory over the coming years. Millions of refugees have left the country, but that leaves over 40 million Ukrainians; most now consider Russians their mortal enemy. A long battle will weaken the Russian military and the Russian leader abroad. A prolonged conflict will cause sanctions to collapse Russia’s economy, causing domestic problems for President Putin and his government. Moreover, skirmishes are likely to break out worldwide. In the early days of the war in Ukraine, North Korea and Iran flexed their military muscles. With Europe and the US focused on Ukraine, China could use the opportunity to seize Taiwan. A prolonged conflict would weigh on US stocks and likely lift commodity prices to higher highs. Option three- The unthinkable The final option is the nuclear one, which is low odds, but a highly frightening scenario. If Russian aggression spreads across the Ukraine border into Poland or any NATO member country, it will trigger Article five that states an attack on one is an attack on all. The US and Russia have the most nuclear weapons, which increases the potential of MAD or mutually assured destruction. In this scenario, it does not matter how markets react as the world would face a disastrous situation. I believe that a great compromise is on the horizon, which would cause markets to stabilize. However, the extent of the compromise is critical as it must address the current situation in Ukraine and Taiwan and threats from North Korea and Iran. Anything short of a comprehensive understanding between the world’s powers will cause years of rising tension and threats to the nearly eight billion people that inhabit our planet. Where is Henry Clay when the world needs him? Expect the volatility in markets to continue. -- Trading advice given in this communication, if any, is based on information taken from trades and statistical services and other sources that we believe are reliable. The author does not guarantee that such information is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. Trading advice reflects the author’s good faith judgment at a specific time and is subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that the advice the author provides will result in profitable trades. There is risk of loss in all futures and options trading. Any investment involves substantial risks, including, but not limited to, pricing volatility , inadequate liquidity, and the potential complete loss of principal. This article does not in any way constitute an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any investment, security, or commodity discussed herein, or any security in any jurisdiction in which such an offer would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.
SP:SPX
by Andy_Hecht
2