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ZARJPY: Massive Head and Shoulders with Bearish DivergenceIn addition to the Bearish 5-0 I pointed out before on a previous chart, the ZARJPY has also formed a Potential Bearish Head and Shoulders that is visible on timeframes even as high as the monthly with Bearish Divergence on the MACD and RSI. If The Carry Trade truly is to be dissolved, the ZARJPY should be among the currency pairs that are most severely affected, as it has the highest interest rate differential and therefore generates the highest yield for the time being.
Short
by RizeSenpai
Derivatives Trading: A Comprehensive GuideI. Introduction Derivatives trading is a vital aspect of modern finance that encompasses various financial instruments, including futures, options, swaps, and forward contracts. Derivatives are financial instruments whose values are derived from underlying assets such as commodities, equities, bonds, interest rates, or currencies. They provide a robust mechanism for hedging risk, speculating on future price movements, and gaining access to otherwise inaccessible markets or asset classes. II. The Concept of Derivatives A derivative is a financial contract between two or more parties based on an underlying asset. The derivative's price is determined by fluctuations in the underlying asset's price. They were initially created to allow businesses to hedge against price variations in commodities, but they have since expanded to include a vast array of financial instruments. There are four primary types of derivatives: 1. Futures Contracts: These are standardized contracts to buy or sell a particular asset at a predetermined price at a specific future date. Futures contracts are highly liquid, as they are traded on an exchange, and they cover a wide range of underlying assets, from commodities to financial instruments. The price of futures contracts incorporates the cost of carrying the underlying asset, which includes storage costs, financing costs, and convenience yields. 2. Options Contracts: These grant the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy (call option) or sell (put option) an underlying asset at a predetermined price within a specific time frame. The price of an option (known as its premium) depends on several factors including the price of the underlying asset, the strike price, the time until expiration, the volatility of the underlying asset, and the risk-free interest rate. 3. Swap Contracts: These involve the exchange of one set of cash flows for another. For example, in an interest rate swap, parties might swap fixed interest rate payments for floating interest rate payments. The pricing of swaps involves determining the present value of the cash flows being exchanged. 4. Forward Contracts: These are non-standardized contracts between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a specified future time at a price agreed upon today. Forward contracts, like futures, involve an agreement to trade an asset in the future, but they are not standardized or traded on exchanges. The pricing of forward contracts is similar to that of futures and involves consideration of the cost of carrying the underlying asset. III. Trading Derivatives Trading in derivatives can occur either on an exchange or over-the-counter (OTC). Exchange-traded derivatives are standardized, regulated, and backed by a clearinghouse that mitigates counterparty risk. In contrast, OTC derivatives are privately negotiated, less regulated, and come with higher counterparty risk. IV. Hedging Risk One of the key functions of derivatives is to provide a hedge against price risk. By locking in a future price for an underlying asset, companies can protect themselves against adverse price movements that might affect their operational profitability. For instance, an airline company might use fuel futures to hedge against potential increases in oil prices, thereby securing their operating margins. V. Speculation and Arbitrage While hedging is a risk management strategy, many traders use derivatives for speculation, aiming to profit from future price changes in the underlying asset. Traders who anticipate a price increase in the underlying asset might buy futures or call options, while those who expect a price decrease might sell futures or buy put options. Arbitrageurs exploit price differences of the same asset in different markets or different pricing of two related assets, creating risk-free profit opportunities. Derivatives, with their leverage characteristic, can enhance these arbitrage opportunities. VI. Pricing of Derivatives The pricing of derivatives is complex and relies onvarious models. Two of the most popular models are the Black-Scholes model and the Binomial options pricing model. The Black-Scholes model , widely used for pricing options, takes into account the current price of the underlying asset, the option's strike price, the time until expiration, the risk-free interest rate, and the expected volatility of the underlying asset. It assumes that markets are efficient, and there are no transaction costs or taxes. However, the Black-Scholes model is less effective in handling early exercise of American options and dividends. The Binomial options pricing model is an alternative to the Black-Scholes model, especially useful for American options, which can be exercised before the expiration date. The model works by creating a binomial tree for possible price paths and assigning probabilities for each path. It then calculates the payoffs for each path and uses discounted backpropagation to derive the option price. The pricing of futures and forwards typically involves determining the cost of carrying the underlying asset to the contract's expiration date. This includes factors like storage costs for commodities, dividends for stocks, and interest costs for financial futures. The pricing of swaps depends on the present value of the expected future cash flows of the underlying assets. For interest rate swaps, the swap rate would be set so that the present value of fixed-rate payments equals the present value of expected floating-rate payments. VII. Counterparty Risk Derivatives trading involves counterparty risk - the risk that one party in the contract will default on their obligations. This risk is typically higher in OTC markets where private contracts are made without a central clearinghouse. To manage this risk, participants may use various methods such as collateral agreements, netting arrangements, and credit default swaps. VIII. Regulatory Considerations Regulation plays a crucial role in derivatives markets. Following the financial crisis of 2008, which was partly blamed on the unregulated OTC derivatives market, regulatory bodies worldwide tightened the rules governing derivatives trading. Regulations now require increased transparency, better risk management practices, and a greater use of centralized clearing to reduce systemic risk. Regulations like the Dodd-Frank Act in the US and the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) in the EU are examples of regulatory efforts to enhance market stability, improve transparency and protect market participants. IX. The Role of Clearing Houses Clearinghouses play a vital role in derivatives trading. They act as the middleman for all exchange-traded and some OTC derivative trades. They ensure the smooth execution of trades, mitigate counterparty risk by guaranteeing the obligations of both parties in a trade, and enhance market transparency by reporting trading details. X. Recent Trends and Future Outlook In recent years, the use of derivatives in risk management and speculative trading has increased significantly. The growth of electronic trading platforms has democratized access to derivatives markets, and complex products have been designed to address specific risk management needs. Looking forward, the derivatives market is likely to be shaped by several trends. First, regulatory changes will continue to evolve, aimed at enhancing transparency, reducing systemic risk, and preventing market abuse. Second, technological advancements, particularly in AI and blockchain, have the potential to revolutionize how derivatives are traded and settled. Lastly, the growing recognition of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors is likely to lead to the development of new derivative products linked to ESG performance indicators. XI. Conclusion Derivatives trading plays a significant role in modern finance, providing mechanisms for risk management, speculation, and arbitrage. While it carries risks, such as counterparty default and market abuse, its benefits in terms of enhancing market efficiency, price discovery, and risk distribution are significant. As the financial markets continueto evolve, the importance and complexity of derivatives trading are likely to increase, driven by advances in technology, regulatory changes, and the changing needs of market participants. As such, a comprehensive understanding of derivatives and their trading mechanisms will continue to be a vital aspect of financial knowledge.
BITSTAMP:BTCUSDEducation
by BiggWigg
Night MovesIs it wise for retail traders to hold trade positions open overnight or over the weekend if the profit target has not been met by the end of the trading day? Even if you have a stop loss in place, unless you are a position/swing trader, intra-day traders and scalpers should not get into the habit of holding any positions open overnight during the trading week or over the weekend (regular or long). If your position has not hit your take profit target by the end of the trading day and you want to keep the position open until it does, you need to have decisive analysis indicating why that take profit target is likely to be hit when the market reopens after closing. Whenever the market closes and resumes on the next day and especially when it closes on a Friday and reopens after the weekend, market flow is disrupted and unless you have a wide stop loss in place, you may well end up with a loss because your previous analysis for that set up/trade idea may no longer be valid for the new market flow. An open position held overnight can easily get stopped out if on the next trading day there is a geopolitical event that causes a gap on open, printing a big move. Geopolitical events unfortunately are not scheduled on any economic or news calendar in advance and indeed sometimes, bad news is deliberately released by governments over the weekend and can blindside novice traders with open positions. Another way that you might have your SL tripped is if an institutional algo activates a huge sell order, for example, without clear rhyme or reason on market open or soon after, creating a cascade of sells and printing a flash crash before the necessary correction. Some retail traders will even hold positions open overnight without a stop loss with the intention of “tracking” the move using dynamic support and resistance and will consequently wait to see how those MAs move on the following trading day. This can play havoc with your psychology as you will be processing bias in favour of your open position whilst trying to analyse the market as objectively as possible. Also bear in mind that you may see eye watering swap charges incurred for holding trades overnight especially with larger lot sizes and this needs to be factored into your risk to reward for the trade. At the time of writing this post, it is triple witching Friday. Any temptation to open and hold a trade just before market close today will run into another problem related to volume. This coming Monday is a U.S. federal holiday when the NYSE, Nasdaq and bond markets will be closed. Due to the thinner volume on Monday as a result, any open positions from today that get sucked into drawdown on this holiday will be that much more difficult to roll out of successfully during the day. The only exception to that might occur if the lack of volume creates an exaggerated move with a price spike due to heightened volatility. However, you’d need have your eyes on the chart at the time, have a quick trigger finger to exit and close out the trade and of course, the move has to be in your favour in terms of the direction for the exit in the first place. Always close out a position before the end of the trading day and come back to the market in the new trading day with peace of mind and a relaxed attitude. An open position in drawdown on a new trading day will only create stress and interfere with your focus not just on dealing with that open position but also with regard to entering any other set up opportunities. Remember, whenever you go to market, please be careful out there.
Education
by BluetonaFX
4
WHY YOU Don't always Receive INTEREST when you are short... Q. I thought that when you go short (sell) that we earn interest (swap fees) per day. But to my surprise I was actually charged interest on my open trade with AUD/NZD. Was I not meant to earn interest?” A. Unfortunately, it depends… With each market you trade, you’ll need to look at the symbol information for each trade you take. This also depends on the deal the broker has with each market. For example, when you SELL AUD/NZD you're essentially buying NZD/AUD (as they are currency pairs). So whether you go long or short, you don't earn interest with short (sell) currencies... But make sure, you always look at Symbol information and see what swaps are positive when you are short. With the AUD/NZD you can see you pay -3.35% per year. That means each day you hold, you’ll have to pay 0.009% per day. Then with some commodities and indices you’ll either earn interest or you’ll have to pay interest when you short (sell). For example, with gold you’ll receive an interest of 1.23% per year. Whereas with cotton you’ll pay 5.4% per year. With the UK 100 FTSE, you’ll pay an annual interest of -0.24%. And with the Dow Jones you’ll receive 0.74% per year. Then with local and international stocks, you’ll receive a certain % of interest (swap fees) per year. So make sure you always check to see what each swap (daily interest fee) entails. This obviously depends on the Market Maker you're using and if you're using Trading View make sure you see the information from your broker what the interest swaps (fees) are when you go long or short.
TVC:SA40Education
by Timonrosso
SPX - You Really Think $6 Trillion Can Save Us?Three simple reasons why markets are still broken and why I lean towards the much higher probability of another move down despite FED stimulus: 1) Garbage prospects for equity earnings - earnings were terrible a long time before COVID-19 hit and this is way beyond a virus now: -Earnings were terrible way before COVID-19 -Q4 2019 was the worst fall in EPS. growth since the 2008 Financial Crisis -Unless governments miraculously open up the entire economy overnight, we now have the Q1 2020 earnings season coming up - hmmm... 2) $6 trillion of FED stimulus is highly disproportionate to the approx $70 trillion of value lost/being eroded: -We'll start with more than $20 trillion of value that has been destroyed in global stocks -Adding to it losses in all other assets (real-estate, credit, fixed income, etc.) this number is at least double equity losses: so another $40 trillion -Adding to this: at least a $10 trillion global dollar shortage crisis (dollar shortage, forward dollars swaps and various other dollar liabilities) - Total value destruction = 20T equities + 40T all other asset classes + 10T dollar shortage problems = approximately 70T of totally capital markets value destruction. - You really think $6 trillion of FED stimulus and highly indebted governments can fix this tremendous mess? 3) The McClellan Oscillator has moved sharply from the most oversold levels to the most overbought levels
AMEX:SPYShort
by arigolden
11
S&P 500 - A Bearish Outlook Heading Into 2020Here is my thought process behind why I have a bearish outlook heading into 2020 - please note that this is the second time that I have ever published analysis and this is just me synthesizing a bunch of ideas. I'm going to start off with the lighter ideas before moving on to the heavier ideas... 1) We are in the late stage of the economic cycle... this is the longest expansion of the US economy since records began. Common sense dictates that we will enter a recession soon. 2) Keeping this in mind, let's look at the state of politics around the world. We have protests and riots in HK (recently a protestor was shot for the first time), we have Brexit which has both Germany and the UK on the brink of recession. The US and China trade war has not improved at all and is constantly seeing tit-for-tats. Finally, literally the other day the US was given the go-ahead by the WTO for $7.5 billion in tariffs on the EU in response to their 15-year long row over the subsidizing of the rival aircraft companies Boeing and Airbus. 3) In recent surveys, over half of economists in the US believe that a recession will hit the US in 2020. The market has also seen the yield curve invert, providing a stark warning (although this usually takes at least 12 months to materialize, this is a bad indicator). 4) There is a ridiculous bearish RSI divergence on the charts, with Fibonacci Time Zones pointing towards significant price action at the start or end of 2020. I believe this is because this cycle was pumped and overrated, running on the crack cocaine of financial markets: Quantitative Easing. 5) Recessions usually occur when there is a sharp fall in liquidity in the cash markets (referring to bank deposits and not trade execution liquidity). In recent times we have seen a bipartisan deal passed through in the US which mandated the US Treasury to "aggressively build up" cash reserves. After lowering the debt ceiling the Treasury plans on borrowing an additional $433 billion during this quarter (about $275 billion more than it had previously estimated) which is roughly ten times (1,000%) more than what the Treasury borrowed last quarter ($40 billion). This would cause global dollar liquidity to dry up fast (foreign nations and banks use excess deposits and reserves to purchase these meaning dollars flow out of the economy into the Treasury). 6) Continuing on from the last point, not only do we have dollar liquidity vanishing in the global economy but we have negative dollar swap spread (those lending USD via currency swaps want higher premiums). This is only getting deeper and deeper. Interestingly, the Bank of International Settlements found that cross-currency swap spreads act as a more accurate measure of struggle in the financial markets than the VIX. This shortage of dollars (highlighted by the premium being charged to lend dollars in swaps) comes at a time when the global economy is already weakening thus is making financial markets more fragile (turning to IMF reports on muted inflation and weaker final demand for goods and services) also referring to previous points Seeing and analyzing all these factors, the future doesn't look too bright. Disappointing economic data continues to plague our minds. As the Fed continues to cut interest rates they are only giving debt-laden companies one more sigh of relief which will only knock the inevitable crash further down the road when neither corporations nor the government can cope with it (they're throwing away all their ammunition and shooting themselves before the battle has even started). The drop to come will be harder and more brutal than 2008 because asset prices are currently inflated at incomprehensible levels due to quantitative easing as well as the Fed having little headroom to cut rates further. You could only imagine what is to come in countries with much less head-room for monetary policy than the US... What's next? Helicopter money!? Disclosure: I hold shares in: XSPS IGLT O IBTM
TVC:SPXShort
by malhardasgupta85
AUD/NZD's Multi-Year Cycle in Full Swing [Time For the Bulls]Another super awesome 'trade of the ages' on this SVP {Super Valuable Pair}! Another Super Valuable Pair similar to this one with identical price behavior is the FX:AUDCAD . Remember the NZD/CAD trades opposite to this one due to the negative correlation. I've been waiting forever for this Inverse Head & Shoulders to complete and lift-off and the party has now truly begun. Target's #1 and #2 have already been hit and the neckline hasn't even broke yet. My 3rd Target is the neckline itself then we really look forward to pyramiding those Buy positions aggressively. This sexy beast is just getting started just like almost all the other pairs with huge Daily and Weekly Head & Shoulder's formations like the Yen pairs just to name a few because they are literally popping up everywhere. I think Year 2016-2017 will be remembered as the year of the Head & Shoulders :) The AUD/NZD and GBP/NZD have a high level of positive correlation with each other so I really expect both pairs to push tremendously higher. The only upcoming event that may potentially hurt any British Pound momentum is the "Brexit" decision which is on June 23rd, 2016 so we'll see but until then I'm bullish FX:AUDCAD , FX:AUDNZD and FX:GBPNZD . However, I'm bearish FX:NZDCAD , FX:EURNZD and FX:NZDJPY which I will talk more about at a later time. Good luck traders, and may all your trades be profitable!
Long
by FractalEyeZ
Is AUD/CAD in a Long-term Bullish Channel?Is that a rhetorical question? ;) Even if price retraces to the downside in the near term, I am a Bull over the long-term plus it looks like a bullish Inverse H&S formation which are extremely powerful and reliable even before breaking the neckline as you can clearly see the increasing momentum. If you trade the Kiwi/CAD then for the long-term look for the exact opposite . AUD/CAD is what I like to call an SVP {a Super Valuable Pair} because each pip is worth a lot not to mention the Overnight Swap Rates are positive for Long positions so make sure to Buy dips! I like to classify my favorite pairs as either an HVP {High Value Pair}, an EVP {Extremely Valuable Pair} or an SVP {Super Valuable Pair} based on a variety of factors and situations which can and do change due to the dynamic nature of the current market conditions. Upside targets will be added in and updated when I get some more free time, maybe this weekend.
Long
by FractalEyeZ
Bitcoin regulation, huge volatility ahead?A couple of things to watch out for at the moment: OVERSTOCK CEO PATRICK BYRNE PROMISES “INTERESTING ANNOUNCEMENTS” AT LAS VEGAS BITCOIN CONFERENCE insidebitcoins.com NEW YORK (InsideBitcoins) — Promising some “interesting announcements” regarding Bitcoin on Twitter (see below), Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com, will deliver the final keynote for the Inside Bitcoins Conference and Expo in Las Vegas at the Flamingo Hotel on October 5-7, 2014. CFTC’s Global Markets Advisory Committee to Meet www.cftc.gov www.cftc.gov "The meeting will focus on issues related to clearing Non-Deliverable Forwards (NDFs) and the digital currency bitcoin. The meeting will consist of two panels. The first panel will discuss whether a clearing mandate is appropriate for NDFs, with a particular focus on how such a mandate would impact foreign exchange contracts. The second panel will discuss CFTC’s jurisdiction with respect to derivatives contracts that reference the digital currency bitcoin." New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) superintendent Benjamin Lawsky is to deliver a keynote speech at Money20/20: www.coindesk.com "New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) superintendent Benjamin Lawsky is to deliver a keynote speech at Money20/20, which bills itself as the world’s largest event for payments and financial services innovation. " European Commissioner-Designate to Discuss Bitcoin at EU Hearing www.coindesk.com --------- Depending on the outcome of these meetups, keynotes & events ahead, it is almost certainly one that will have huge effect on the price in the coming months. The last time it happened was on October 2013 which resulted in the rally towards $1000. ETF: www.bloomberg.com www.sec.gov
BITSTAMP:BTCUSD
by LastBattle
1