Summer All Year

GBPUSD - Take the Easy one trade

2011-06-20T20:20:00.000+08:00

Another trade that bagged some nice pips.

GBPUSD 1HR Charts

Some rough action coming up.

Riding the wave

2011-06-16T21:13:00.004+08:00

Some time it just works.

And there is a quote that kinda summaries how one should approach trading:

"Take the EASY ones, And dont't do anything STUPID in the meantime" ; How so true.

The chart (EURUSD 3Min) above shows the indicators I use, which baselines against Linear Regression on the base currency. Looks easy ones it has all happened right... HOW MUCH of it would you have got.

Back on track once again...

2011-06-14T10:04:00.000+08:00

Forex Trading is indeed addictive.

Can't seem to get enough of it.

I've gone through several cycles now, losing some, making some, losing more, making more, losing even more, and making back some more.... (the account balance looks like some fancy roller coaster ride) ... hahahaha

Now the true revelation is finally hitting me, I just got to focus on the part of "losing more" and reduce that to "losing some", and I think I'm on track to a pretty good long term plan to financial "freedom".

This is hard, real hard. Well who ever said it was going to be easy

Trade Journal: 22 Nov 2010

2010-11-22T15:46:00.002+08:00

Entered 100K EURUSD SELL @ 1.3781 for Scalp.
Tight stop loss employed.

10M Chart show signs of short term resistance.
All other longer time frames still showing up.

Exit at 1.3770. Profit US$105 nett (Comms $5)
~~Risky trade overall.~~

UPDATE: Should have stayed in the trade a little longer. Already hit 1.3735 on Accucharts.

Would have got 40pip profit with 1.3740 (Original TP)

Updated chart.

Trade Journal: 19 Nov 2010

2010-11-19T11:18:00.000+08:00

Decided to enter a Scalp. (Tight stop loss)

10MIN chart looked good for the scalp.
Sell 100K EURUSD at 1.36408,

Exit and Took Profit at 1.3629. Nett USD$110 (Comms $5)

Trade Journal: 16 Nov 2010

2010-11-16T22:44:00.000+08:00

Entered Trade at 2116HRS (Did not pay attention to upcoming news at 2130HRS)

4HR Showing a turn for the up,10MIN showing up.
DAY chart is still down, and WEEK also showing down.

Decided to enter to scalp for pips.

Trade: BUY 200K EURUSD @ 1.3617
2 mins later, EURUSD spiked a little (probably in anticipation of the news) and exited trade for 17pip profit.

Total Profit - USD$343 (comm $10)
Overall OK trade, was in for the scalp.

Trade Journal: 9 Nov 2010

2010-11-09T21:40:00.008+08:00

19:47HRS - Enter EURUSD SELL 200K @ 1.3941

Based on indicators.
1HR was up, 4 HR still down strong.
10 Min also up, but longer term EMA was down.

20:05HRS - Enter EURUSD SELL 200K @ 1.3965

Same reasons as above.
10M chart shows price hitting 377 EMA (Strong short term resistance on first hit)

Total SELL 400K @ 1.3953 (avg price)
Stop 1.4005 (52 pips), Limit 1.3900 (53pips)

21:01 HRS - CLOSE 50K at 1.3950
21:07 HRS - CLOSE 350K at 1.3947

Total Profit - Nett USD$210 (Comms was $23)

Summary; Good Entry, Poor exit, too quick to exit. 2130 bar showed a low of 1.3912.
Overall poor trade. Not focused. (Kids running around ;P )

UPDATE: EURUSD went to 1.3735 next morning (10th Nov), wow 200 pips from entry. Poor Exit definitely.

Setting up your rules! Discipline 101

2010-07-26T16:37:00.003+08:00

The thing about trading the markets is that you will NEVER know which direction the market will move. You've done your home work, you've calculated your probabilities, you anticipate and get your instincts going, you enter a trade.

- BANG! - ; things don't go the way you anticipated. Now this is where it can get really easy or really hard, and based on my previous round of losses (BIG!!!) things got hard and way too stressful.

We really need to keep it simple, easy and straight forward.

Set rules up! No MATTER what!

Stick to your rules! No MATTER what!

And I think things might just work out better.

That dreaded feeling

2010-07-19T09:14:00.002+08:00

I'm back posting. The drive this time is that I've yet again made some grave mistake.

My trades was unfounded. And when things turned bad... instead of cutting my losses, I let it get worse. My trading account had almost doubled when I decided to let it self destruct.

I had shorted the EURUSD when there was strength with the buyers. I let my puny brain and big ego take over my decision making. And when I look back I really laugh, and let the thought sink through me.. Yeah. I deserved it.

In a matter of days, I've lost what took me more than a few years to build up. Yes. I can't imagine I did that to myself. The tally... almost USD$13,000 {poooffff, gone up in smoke} .. yup... that's quite a bit of money.

Now, I'm thinking to myself... do I shake it off and start again...
.... Yeah... why not, I've already invested so much time in this to let it go to waste.

Malcolm Gladwell did mention that success comes with effort and persistence. 10,000hrs at least to be exact. Here's a link to an extract -> 10,000 Hrs

Charts! Charts... even more Charts

2010-01-13T21:52:00.003+08:00

Don't we all love charts!

Here's a screen cap from my Trading Rig.
I'm using Accucharts, and its pretty good.
I normally don't watch so many FX pairs, but I'll switch over to this just to get a feel of what's going on. My main LOVE right now is still the EURUSD, which is not featured in this screencap.. Hee hee...

Trading Rig for 2010

2010-01-04T22:49:00.003+08:00

My Trading Rig for 2010.

Dual 24" at 1900x1200 each.
And the 20" at 1680x1050 on the Mac

Homing in on 2010

2009-12-30T15:53:00.002+08:00

This blog in the past years have been a way for me to express my interest in the Financial markets. Through the years, I've become more mature in my thinking, as well being emotionally and psychologically stronger.

My main USD based trading account is now up 40%, but I also got a smaller USD retail Forex account that never quite recovered from some silly & disastrous trading.

The question I pose myself is: "How am I going to take this to the next level?"
I guess, its about constant learning, and reflecting on what I really want out of this.

Other priorities in life often take you away from what you feel is right for you, so the blog serves as a reminder for me not to give up pursuing what I think is right for me, at least this is something I know I can work on even in the "twilight" years.....

STI - The EMA cross

2009-07-16T17:23:00.002+08:00

A friend, was just pinging me on what my thoughts were on the STI (Straits Times Index, Singapore), haven't done much analysis, but a point to note that, a 55day EMA cross with the 100 and 200 EMAs could be a sign of some upside movement.

Why 55? Its a fibonacci number.. instead of using 50.. they're pretty close actually.

However saying this, I would like the index to test the 2150-2200 support. And if that doesn't break when tested, we could see some up swing. But right now, we don't know how far this thing would go... just have to let time ride it out... and wait for the test on the 200EMA line.

Right now, those that have already got positions in the market, should just continue to ride I guess... but those considering new positions should hold and wait for the pull back (if it comes...)

Going downhill

2009-07-14T14:44:00.003+08:00

Haha...thinking back, my activity of posting on this blog was very closely pegged against the financial markets - going down down down....

I've taken on a new job, gonna have to focus my energy there for a while in the months to come. I hope I can find some energy to go back to some options trading. What I've learnt from Forex trading are valuable lessons in patience and persistence, although I haven't been as successful as I hoped to be, I'm taking it as a part of life's journey, going through with something with that much passion and hoping for the break to come, well.... I'm still hoping....

Let me see, I guess its been almost 4 yrs since starting on Forex. The question beckons; "How do you keep going at it successfully for years and years to come and make a living out of it?" Well asking myself this question has lead me to believe that, you still need to invest your profits wisely, and create a passive income that can sustain the lifestyle you want, I can't imagine still trading the market 20-30 years down the road.

For "newbies" wanting to strike "oil" in the FX markets ... all I can say is ... GOOD LUCK. Not that its not possible, but once the reality sets in... Ha! Time to wake up and smell the coffee...

Back to the longer term

2008-04-17T11:48:00.003+08:00

Ok Ok... I'm throwing myself back to looking at the 1H charts for my Forex Trading.
Looking at anything shorter than that time frame will bleed you if you are not focused.

Just finished reading "Adventures of a Currency Trader" by Rob Booker for the second time now.

I think there are definitely parts of the character that still in everyone trying to have a go at this game.

Well, I'm still working hard and trying to make the best effort to try succeed in this brutal market.

I will not give up... Wish me luck...

Wow.. it's been a while since I last posted

2008-03-05T11:05:00.004+08:00

Ok, just to get things into my perspective of the US markets.
We'll I not going to add on and say that we're going to experience volatility and stuff, the experts with the extensive credentials are already doing that.

I'm just gonna get down to the basics, and post the "obvious".
Hopefully pictures live up to their reputation of speaking a thousand words.
Here it goes.

Here, I've drawn the resistance level hit on the 55EMA (Day) for the Dow Jones Index.

Expect the level to be tested again, and the overall trend is changing to move downwards...

This is the SPY (S&P 500).
Notice the similar patterns.

Price faced an immediate resistance at the 55EMA. Price 0.03 cents from the line.

Movement would be contained on the upside and have to test that level again, or we're going to see a period of downward/hovering.

Ok that's all for now. I'm going to work on one for the STI. And let's see how things move from here on. A recession in the US is pending according to some experts, while others have a more "conservative" outlook... we'll see.. we'll see.

2008.. What will the new year bring

2007-12-31T11:15:00.000+08:00

Wrapping up 2007.. has been a good year for me...

But it certainly brought a lot of "excitement" to the equity markets.

Well... I do have a couple of New Years resolution.

And giving Forex a real shot would certainly be one of the things on the top of my list.

It'll be interesting to see what will happen to the US economy.

And how the other emerging markets will push forward.

To me, if there is growth in the World Economy... then something must give.

I guess depleting the resource of our mother earth seems like the compromise everybody seems to have to live with.

Ok.. so 2007 to me has been interesting, some doors are closing for me, but then, some new ones are opening. Getting out of the comfort zone, and moving to new, "greener" pastures seems to be my calling......

Cheers to all, and Happy New Year.

It's been a while

2007-11-27T21:51:00.000+08:00

Have been really busy with Forex Trading.
It's a brutal market, and its never easy.
I'm seeking consistency, and I know I'll get there.
It's not something that'll happen in the short term.
FX Trading is like a business, and you've have to be focus, watch your cash flow and overheads. (In a different kind of way)

To me, it's a fine line between Greatness and Failure.
For me, threading this line is perhaps some form of destiny.
Only time will tell if I emerge victorious.

Options Expired

2007-10-23T12:21:00.000+08:00

Ok, made a mistake on CAT. Didn't realise that Earnings report was due on Options expiry day. Well the figures came out and the rest is history, I closed my options at a loss before it decided to do even more damage.

Overall, still managed to walk away with a small profit with the other 4 counters expiring worthless, that not bad at all considering the Dow took a 366 point hit on 19th Oct, also being the 20th Anniversary of the 1987 crash.

So basically, I went into the options month not realizing there was going to be a couple of things working against me, well it also proved that with some calculated risk, you can still walk away with a profit.

Will start working on Oct Options next week or so. That has been the strategy that works for me, so let's stick with it.

BACK to Options Trading

2007-10-11T08:59:00.000+08:00

Yes, I've made my journey back to Options trading, since it has done quite well for me.
I'm still spending loads of time on Forex Trading, but I figured I could take some time to research on a couple of counters, and do some quick credit spreads without having to constantly watch it.
Just let the time decay factor do its job.

I did 5 counters last night, nett credit received is $276, maximum loss is 4,224. Or 6.53% Return on risk. Not bad considering the options expire next week. And most of the strike prices being at least 10% Out of the money.

It's been a while

2007-09-18T15:36:00.000+08:00

Yup, I've been busy working on a new Trading indicators. Trades for September are far and few, but profitable overall thou :) Gonna continue to work on the new indicators, and sometimes it better to watch it then to trade it.

Its been said that a typical Retail Forex account typically closes (due to blowups or other similar reasons) anytime from less than one year to just slight more than a year. Not exactly the nicest thing to hear being in this business.

Guess, the upcoming news from the Fed, and the recent turmoil on the UK Banks and the followup actions are going to move the market a bit. Equities market will experience volatility, along with the currencies, could be a true test of the folks with staying power. After all aren't all economies biased for going up, which economy ever says, "Hey, we want to the worst!"

Cheers, check back in soon.

FX Trade Report for August

2007-09-04T09:56:00.000+08:00

Ok the month is up.

Made about 74 trades in total. (Which is about US$350 worth in commissions)
Nett trades are in positive territory chalking in 10,600 Yen (Yes miserly). Had some bad trades in between, and managed to pull back a bit, but still a very difficult time to trade. So Account is still up, and will have to continue to have P3 -> Patience,Perseverance & Practice

Right now I'm 100% focus on the USD/JPY pair, its been treating me okay. And its trading in a very critical range right now, as a break in either direction could set the trend for the next leg.

On 4,2 and 1 H charts, I've got the 5EMA and 12EMA trading ABOVE the 55EMA. But the gap between the MAs are closing in, means that a cross or a rebound of the 55 could signal the begining of a move.

Well, lets see how September turns out, I plan to be around FX for quite a while so gonna take it easy, and continue to rake in the profits.

August so far

2007-08-21T11:49:00.000+08:00

Well, we all know what's happening in the US Equities market, and the somewhat domino effect on the Asian markets. With the Fed's cut on the discount rate to release some pressure from the bears attacking the market, we'd have to see if that holds, noting that fundamentals of the economy have not changed, and the sub-prime problems will not just GO AWAY.

My FX trades for August have been disappointing so far. Although in the last week, the attack of the Dollar from the Yen made it profitable for many of the short term "Trend" traders. Net trades are still profitable but only JUST. However taking commissions into consideration, it's a nett loss for far. But there's still time to pull back a bit, just have to re-focus and go get some pips.

My Trading Rig

2007-08-02T19:59:00.001+08:00

Just thought I post a picture of my setup just for the fun of it.
A laptop 15.4" running at 1440x900
And my MacMini with a 20" running at 1680x1050

Cheers!

FX Trades for rest of July - cont'd report

2007-08-01T10:26:00.001+08:00

Here's a glimpse of my trades for 2nd half of July.
It wasn't a fantastic 2 weeks, made quite a blunder on the GBP/JPY. Managed to recover with more trades on USD/JPY.
Overall profit targets are still in check (116K Yen), but I've got to reduce the number of my trades (comms is eroding my profits), and I have to admit I got too impatient on a couple trades, and paid the price of course, and in some cases when I left my trade overnight; 20pip gains turn into small losses.

But can't complain having a positive balance in a rather volatile trading week.
The strategy I'm using works overall, with more than 75% winning trades, just got to keep disciplined and practice money management of the losses.

USD/JPY - Low 118 area tested twice already

2007-07-30T16:45:00.000+08:00

Just as updates, managed to get out of my 120 Long (with a small profit) from my last posting before UJ started going downhill and testing the nice 118 round number.

I must admit I did not catch any of the action on the big move down.
Again, it has been a tough time to trade thereafter, and have had made several wrong judgments and sometimes staying too long in a trade in having a possible "breakout" view in a rather rangy period. Overall, no major mistakes, and account is still very healthy. (About 7% up from June)
Could have done better, but I guess there will be trades that don't go your way, and it always gets progressively harder to keep winning trades.

Ok, looking forward to August, let's see what's in store for us.

USD/JPY confluence of numbers

2007-07-25T10:35:00.000+08:00

We're definitely at some juncture here on UJ.
Weekly 50% Fibo retrace for UJ is at 119.75.
200EMA/SMA on the Daily also point to the 120-119.70 level.
Several Daily & H4 down-move fib extensions (1.382, 1.618) point to 120 area as well.

I think there should be some action in the next few days.

GBP/JPY is now in the mid 246 area. It's a monster I tell you.
Especially when Cable (GU) is making a retrace, and UJ heading south.

Ttime to take a stand, I did a long at 120 (UJ) with a small position to test things out. Can afford the drawdown and ready to take the loss.

Taking a bump on GBP/JPY

2007-07-23T13:23:00.000+08:00

Ok, just got out on a poor Long position on GBP/JPY. Made some small recoveries with a couple more trades, but overall took a loss, and hit about -2% of my account.

Decided to reverse my position, I'm now SHORT on GBP/JPY, and lets see if the Price Action takes it to the low 248 level. And continue to work on my view of some weakness in USD/JPY.

Let's see which direction decides to show it's cards.

Not being in a trade is in itself a position

2007-07-18T10:20:00.000+08:00

Have NOT been in my fav JPY crosses since last Friday. The signals that I take are indeed contradicting and it was a tough time to trade, although not impossible.

My overview is still some weakness in USD/JPY particularly from a Technical Analysis standpoint. I did take a SHORT today, and came out with a small small profit.

GBP/JPY is rather different becoz of the move on the GBP/USD (which I believe is at a level not seen since the 79-80.. go figure)

Preparing the full report for FX

2007-07-13T11:14:00.000+08:00

Ok... found some time to work on a DBase to track my trades. Still not perfect but will have to do for now. Interactive Brokers doesn't give very good reports specifically for FX trades.

In Summary
June - Up more than 60K Yen (I'm still trying to trace back a bit more, coz I remember having a net of about $USD560 posted)
July - Up 118K Yen ~ USD$960 at current exch rate (Week ending Jul 12th so far)

Looking good I must say. Stay tuned in....

Tracker on Singapore - EWS

2007-07-10T09:53:00.000+08:00

Changing my strategy to go a bit more aggressive. Managed to close EWS at yesterdays high of 14.15 (in at 13.55) or a 4.4% gain. Not too bad, there were some swings in between.

I'm now in some Long positions on USD/JPY pair. Not exactly to be the best spot to be in right now. But, I've secured a small profit for half my positions, and looking to take some small risk on buying on the dips and sell at the Fibo retracements going down to lock in a bit more profits for my overall Long positions.

Market conditions, and price action dictates the current movements, just have to hang in there.
Worst case scenario would be to sit back and collect some $$$ from the interest swaps.

Check back soon.

4th of July has been good to me

2007-07-05T22:40:00.000+08:00

Exactly! With my recent Forex trades for 4th-5th July, I managed to push through a 2.5% (yes 2 days worth of trade) gain on my account. Well sometimes things do go your way (other times you tell yourself the market is having a grudge against you :P), I did managed to pick some Short-term highs to take profit, and some nice (close-to) bottoms to go Long. Oh.. I'm still mostly on USD/JPY, GBP/JPY ya!

Well that being said, its still early in the month, and let's see what the rest of it bring me. Wish me luck. Cheers!

Out on SPY, Forex up again

2007-06-28T09:10:00.000+08:00

Closed up my SPY 150 PUT Option expiring 29thJun. Strategy went wrong during a very busy week for economic data. My CALL @ 156 is still open and will leave it for DEAD..Heh Heh...

Went in for more Forex trades on the USD/JPY. Could have stretch my profits a bit more, but wanted to stay on the conservative side during this "turbulent" times.
Forex positions on the JPY crosses are now 200+ pips in the BLACK! :)

FX - The YEN trades

2007-06-26T13:28:00.000+08:00

Just recently did a close on my USD/JPY positions.
As the US posted lacklustre housing news, and with the continued concerns on the unwinding of the carry trades. The obvious thing for me to do was to take profit on the trades I had brought over from the weekend. I took a 1.382/1.618 Fib signal on the M15, at about 10am SG time (26th Jun) and managed to get out at 123.91. Before the pair went downhill.

I'm now clean and will look for entries on the dips to continue to stay long on the JPY crosses.
Current trades from beginning of the month are still up about 180pips in total. (Based on 25K lots)

Cheers!

In on SPY- Expiry 29th June

2007-06-21T09:24:00.000+08:00

The market is certainly getting volatile, and for this reason, I'm doing a short term Option Strangle on the SPY.

Market opened rather flat for the 1st Hr or so, so I queued for a Strangle with Sell PUT at 150 and a Sell CALL at 156. With SPY hovering at 153 zone.

Went to bed, and found out that the market took a bit of a tumble, and hence my trades got done.Didn't expect a big drop, market sentiments seems to side the increase in yields in bonds, and with some profit taking. Let's see how the market reacts with the next few days.

While on this, I've also done some Forex trading, especially on the GBP/JPY. As the carry trades continue to be the talk of the town, I did make a few pips from this pair (on Long positions), and account is up about 26,000 (yen) ~ 200USD. With some interest earned on the GBP with the swaps, it seems profitable for now!

Ok.. I'm out!

Jun 15th Options Expiry

2007-06-18T09:07:00.000+08:00

Done. Not a nice period to be in, but hey I survived it taking a bit of a loss but I guess that's the nature of doing things.

The 2 major losses, kinda wiped out any other gains. And MER actually did a bit of a pull back nicely to sit right above the Strike price. And I did a bit of manual sell off to the lower Put positions to kinda cover a bit of the Comm expenditures.

Overall, I took a $300 Loss for this round, but made up for it with another Call Position on CVA. Which is riding on a $400 unrealised gain.

Ok. Stand by for the coming months, I think we should experience greater volatility as minor blips and corrections are in the way.

Limit the losses

2007-06-13T08:42:00.000+08:00

Well, we all know what's happening on the market.

Pertaining to my trades.
JC Penny posted dropping profits, Steel Companies (NUE, STLD) are taking the hit, this is a tough time to be in trade.
Well, got to suck it up and cut the losses.

I've exited my JCP and STLD positions last night:

JCP Took nett loss of $440, STLD nett loss of $420.
Sold of USNA put option as a form of recovering of commission. (Yes, I'm taking a bit of a risk, but then again... its all about risk isn't it?)
Its a good thing commissions are low on InteractiveBrokers for Options trades at this lvl! Otherwise comms will just add to the red.

I'm still in on MER, although that's in the red as well, I'm thinking of keeping it for the longer term and do some sell Calls as a repair strategy.

Well, expiration in a couple of days, my other positions are still looking good. Which helps minimize the loss! In this market condition, and if not doing the Bear Vertical Put strategy, I'm sure the losses will be far far greater, and I'll still be in trade thinking; It'll go up, It'll go up.

Ok..Hang in there..

2007-06-08T09:02:00.000+08:00

Marketwatch.com:
Dow drops 198 points on host of worries
Losses over three days near 400 points as pressured bonds increase yields, challenging stocks' attractiveness.

With losses on almost all stocks in position, Option trades are currently in the red 200USD.

Took a couple of bumps on the Forex positions as well. Looks like this is gonna be a tough month...

One more trade for 15th June

2007-06-05T12:03:00.001+08:00

Managed to get JCP from a queue I entered last night.
This should really close off my positions for Jun Expiry.
Total premiums collected - USD$822 (15.87% Return on risk)
Let's check back soon.

Option Trade Expiring 15th June Round 3

2007-06-04T22:50:00.001+08:00

Hmm.. Picked up another strong stock which gave enough premiums.

Managed to do a quick trade on USD/JPY, saw that the on the 1HR, at 121.60 was very close to the 200Ema line, so it did work for a reverse Fibo re-trace to 38.2%, and took a 15 pip profit.

This should be it for tonight and for the rest of Jun... unless I still see a couple more good ones to pick up by Tommorow or Wednesday.

Option Trade Expiring 15th June Round 2

2007-05-30T08:46:00.000+08:00

STLD and MER seems like fundamentally strong companies. Even if the options get executed, I'd be picking up the stocks at good prices.

Total premiums collected so far: USD$316 (29th) + $296 (25th) = USD$612
Will be looking at a couple more positions to close of June expiry trades. Will spend more time on my forex trades thou.

Option Trades Expiring 15th June

2007-05-25T09:10:00.000+08:00

Data for companies in the US markets are out. This is a eval time for investors, moreover with the heatup in China, I think we're in for a bumpy ride. But none the less, this is a good time to see if this strategy continue to work.

Anyway the market opened up, had some orders on queue, and this morning (US market closed down).. managed to get a couple of trades.

The strike prices for these trades are slightly out of the money. Will take a more cautious approach this month. Cheers

Options Expired for May trades

2007-05-19T10:31:00.000+08:00

Held my breath for a bit!
Check out the performance on the spreadsheet. All trades took maximum profit.
Total for holding the options for 2 weeks! USD$1,340!

Market is really moving, and many are really not sure when the "bubble" will burst, for now lets keep it this way. Cheers..

Going LONG on the asian market

2007-05-18T09:02:00.000+08:00

I've finally taken the plunge and have decided to move into the Asian Market.
Using ETFs to track the market seems as the most viable alternative, other then picking up the major blue chip stocks. EWM tracking the Malaysian stocks I believe will have some more growth potential, and I see EWS tracking the Singapore market will have some room to grow till 2009 or beyond.

Ok, tomorrow is Options expiry day, the trades made are all looking in good shape. Let's check back in.

Alan Greenspan on live tranmission during Merrill Lynch private investor forum

2007-05-14T09:37:00.000+08:00

830am Friday Morning, 11th May, Ritz Carlton Singapore, that was where the event took place.

Sitting while viewing Alan Greenspan's clear picture on the big screen and listening intently (like everyone else) to the questions being thrown at him. One could only imagine "What on earth is going through his mind?", look, I mean this guy knows a lot of things that are happening at the global political and economic level, you could notice a slight pause, as he closes his eyes momentarily when he is about to 'discuss' an issue, makes one think "Why did he say something like that?", "What lead him?", "Was there something deeper?". Sometimes I get the feeling only he knows the answer.

TJ Bond, Head Economist AsiaPac Rim, Merrill Lynch moderator for the session, threw the question, "What had to be the decision which had the biggest economic impact"... Here we all were ready to hear this man's ultimate journey.. then the curve ball came, he shared about being a one time jazz saxophonist, and being not really good at it, knowing when to call it quits and taking a turn into economics was the "biggest economic decision" he had ever made, everyone in the room blurted a laugh, and TJ could not help but remarked, "well, I'm not too sure that was where the question was leading us to...*ha*".

Overall, it was an eye opener for me, there were few questions popped by some of the folks in the audience, but what I personally took away from this session was, that being "bestowed" with so much knowledge is not quite enough, as this world has a unique way o leveling the playing field eventually.

If you are interested.. these where some of the reports:
Money.cnn.com
Money.aol.com

Options Expiring May 18 - Round 2

2007-05-05T12:08:00.000+08:00

Round 2 Trades done last night;

JCP was another trade I did that's not reflected. The strike prices are same as TEX, and premium collected is also .45. These are the 2 trades that are further out of the money, and unless there are major price movement, collecting maximum profit should not be a problem.

Wrapping up, total premiums collected over both rounds is $1,340.
Maximum loss is $6,160, and return on risk is about 21%

Let's check back in come expiry day. Cheers!

Options Expiring May 18 - Round 1

2007-05-04T08:43:00.000+08:00

Ok, I've decided to cut down on some time and capture the actual screenshot of the transactions made on the trading platform.

US companies are still making profit announcements, pricing can get volatile but should be buoyant on the whole.

Total maximum takings for May so far is US$860, will go do some more hunting tonight for some good opportunities.

Out on HSY

2007-04-24T11:07:00.000+08:00

HSY Qty 200 traded at 54.60, just wanted to close the position and look out for other opportunities since trade was already in profit.

So summary for Option Trades is realized profit of USD$830 for Apr Expiry.

Life goes on, lets keep going!

Options Apr 20 - Results

2007-04-23T08:42:00.000+08:00

Ok. Another round of successful trades.
Maximum Profit on all counters except HSY - Option exercised @ 54.50. Still a profitable trade on HSY, will look to exit position tonight SG time, and maybe spend some time on technicals to see if there is holding power.

Options Expiring Apr 20 - Round 2

2007-04-05T09:05:00.000+08:00

SUN, Put Sell 70 @ $0.92, Buy 65 @ $0.12, Nett $0.80 - 2 Lots, collected $160
TXU, Put Sell 62.5 @ $0.58 Buy 60 @ $0.18, Nett $0.40 - 4 Lots, collected $160
CNX, Put Sell 40 @ $1.50 Buy 35 @0.15, Nett $1.35 - 2 Lots, collected 270

Ok. I think this should wrap up the trades for Apr. Will Have one more look tonight to see if I'm going to take any more positions.

Total Collected amount is $320 (Rd 1) + $ 590 = $910
Max Loss is $4,090, Return on risk is about 22.2%

Options Expiring Apr 20 - Round 1

2007-04-03T08:48:00.000+08:00

So far 2 trades done, market is moving up for the counters I have in my filter. Didn't want to take lesser premiums, so most of my trades got queued out.

HSY, Put Sell 55 @ $0.88, Buy 50 @ $0.08, Nett $0.80 - 2 Lots, collected $160
FCX, Put Sell 65 @ $1.10 Buy 60 @ $0.30, Nett $0.80 - 2 Lots, collected $160

Total so far collected $320, Max Loss is $1,680

Will try to go in a couple more these few nights.

Feb Options Trades - Summary

2007-02-21T09:25:00.000+08:00

Ok, this round of trades were successful.
Managed to take maximum profits for all counters except MBT.
Put option on MBT was exercised at $55 (Market value was at $54.78)
Yesterday, sold off MBT at $54.99 (The stock climbed another $3!!!).

Therefore in summary, all trades were profitable.
Looking forward to next round of March trades.

Options - Exp Feb 16 2007 Round 2

2007-02-02T09:00:00.000+08:00

Here's the 2nd round of executions

TSO, Put Sell 80 @ $1.03, Buy 75 @ $0.33, Nett $0.70 - 2 Lots, collected $140
MBT, Put Sell 55 @ $1.10, Buy 50 @ $0.25, Nett $0.85 - 2 Lots, collected $170
GES, Put Sell 70 @ $1.33, Buy 65 @ $0.38, Nett $0.95 - 2 Lots, collected $190

Okay, this will be it for Feb round of option trades. Total collected premium - USD$860
Maximium Loss on these trades are US$5,140 (Return on Risk is 16.7%)

Options - Exp Feb 16 2007 Round 1

2007-02-01T09:34:00.000+08:00

Ok, these are what got done last night for options expiring 16 Feb 2007

ASD, Put Sell 45 @ $0.50, Buy 40 @ $0.15, Nett $0.35 - 2 Lots, collected $70
LRCX, Put Sell 45 @ $1.01, Buy 40 @ $0.11, Nett $0.90 - 2 Lots, collected $180
TS, Put Sell 45 @ $0.65, Buy 40 @ $0.10, Nett $0.55 - 2 Lots, collected $110

Google Search

2006-04-10T21:55:00.000+08:00

Ha! Did some searching on Google.. it was something about an article I did for APC (The Backup Power supply company) sometime back (2002). Enter this string in the search field -> apc "jason ong", and WHAM! First search result was exactly the article I did. A pity the actual link is dead, but the cache feature seems to be still working except the image is now officially gone.

Instant Messaging (IM) - The "natural" evolution of passive communications

2006-04-09T19:12:00.000+08:00

Today's blog is about my experiences with the several IM Applications for different OS platforms. I've been very familiar with Windows & Linux based IM applications and have been using them since the start of the Internet Revolution. But more recently with the addition of a Mac to my collection of Personal Computing Equipment, can't help but to do a discussion on this.

Before we go any further, I'll like to highlight that my discussion is strictly from a personal perspective, and it is by no means representative of the huge amount of options available today. And to be even more specific, I'm only highlighting the Multiple Protocol type IM Clients.

For Windows, mention has to be given to Trillian (http://www.ceruleanstudios.com), Its my choice when in the MS environment. It gets the job done pretty efficiently. But having used this free IM Client since 2001, there were several glitches and there were several occasions you couldn't log into MSN servers due to changes in the authentication methods. Well, this is kinda expected, knowing that such applications take advantage of published infomation. However, I've not have much problems for as far as I can recall.

For Linux, my Choice goes out to GAIM, (http://gaim.sourceforge.net). This is probably the "defacto" in most Linux Distributions. Highly usable and being developed in the "shared / open source" community means you do get some of the best features people can think of.

For Mac, Adium (http://www.adiumx.com). Fantastic interface, truly intuitive. Its a pity they don't make it for the other platforms. Have barely been using this IM client for a week and I already love the features. (Well, its more likely becoz of OS X and the aqua GUI engine). Highly recommended for any user who has several IM accounts and put it all under one roof.

For Non-platform specific, came across Meebo (http://www.meebo.com). Its a web based multi-protocol IM client. This would be an option if you are using a Kiosk or someone elses PC and you do not want to leave a trail of your personal messages. Although it currently only supports 4 accounts (MSN, ICQ/AIM, Yahoo, Gtalk/Jabber), I'm quite sure more developments are on they way. Do take a look at it as another option, especially for the guys at offices who are blocked on IM Clients and over the proxy.

Ok... so much for today.. hope someone finds this useful. Cheers!

The World is Flat!

2006-04-08T18:05:00.000+08:00

Yup. Thats the title of the book I'm reading now.
Its about Globalisation, and the major events in Human history that help shaped the world today.

In fact, what's mentioned in the book is about how the PC & Internet revolution actually paved the way for today's "fast and furious" advances in the technology space and the way we work. I'm probably only 2 chapters into the book, but it seems interesting enough to warrant spending time on it.

Did a bit of Financial Planning with a buddy of mine this whole morning. Its an essential part of life, for many it is mostly neglected due to insufficient knowledge about the the real need, or the person just simply choosing to be in a state of denial.

My Mac Mini & Bootcamp

2006-04-07T23:25:00.000+08:00

Woah... Right after the guy who managed to hack the Intel-based Macs to boot Windows XP (and won some USD13K, Good JOB), Apple releases their Public Beta of Bootcamp. Seems like theres talk about Bootcamp on every front.. hey even the Singapore News channel had a section on it.

Well, being essentially a Windows user for daily productivity purposes (YES, work) and Linux user for Development (YES, work too), the MAC OS X after some exploration is really proving to be a really cool OS. Well, I guess by now everyone knows that the GUI is intuitive, yet the stability of the OS is rock solid (being build on Unix), and I feel very much at home with the Terminal "App" constantly on my Dock!

So, yeah at some point I've give Bootcamp a shot (well, I've actually downloaded it already)
Probably end up as an effort to make things run once. Triple BOOT; MacOSX, WinXP & Linux (Ubuntu).. Hell why not!
But for now, Mac OS X is doing a pretty darn good job.

Later

Gmail Invitations .. Invites.. whatever you call it

2004-08-26T20:00:00.000+08:00

Ok... Was testing the theory if more activity on Gmail would result in better chances of receiving invites to friends... and I would certainly have to say that there is some truth to that.

Got 5 Invites in less than 2 weeks of usage.. and if anyone wants a free invite.. just send your request to jasonowl at gmail.com and I'll be glad to give it out.. First come first served basis of course...

Also thanks to a 'hapi' for pointing out that putting email accounts out in the open isn't that safe... so Cheers

New ride..

2004-08-21T19:25:00.000+08:00

Collected my new car a week ago;

It's nice to drive a continental car here in Singapore.
Got my Ford Mondeo for 91,000 SGD.
Black... nice colour.. but boy it's a real pain to keep it clean.
But then again.. I wouldn't have settle for any other colour.

Got Gmail

2004-08-17T10:01:00.000+08:00

All the hype about Gmail has finally come to an end for me....

Got an invite from a fellow colleague, and five minutes later... Tada!
My very own Gmail account jasonowl at gmail.com

(Of course, my jasonowl at hotmail.com and yahoo.com are still in working order!)

Now to try out the account

Hype on Gmail

2004-07-06T22:46:00.000+08:00

Been looking around to see if anyone is gonna drop an Invitation for a Gmail account.
1 GB of space would seem almost too good to be true...