Testimony Day #2
Friday, April 04, 2008
by Larry Levin of Secrets of Traders
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Dear Trader, The market was mostly range bound again today but managed to close a little higher. Traders remained mostly on the sidelines today - nervous again as Bernanke and the SEC chairman answered questions on why the Fed intervened to prevent investment firm Bear Stearns from declaring bankruptcy. And there wasn't much reason to put on large positions today when the monthly jobs data will be released early tomorrow. If the weekly state unemployment data is a good barometer for tomorrow's jobs data, it may be bearish. Claims for the week ended March 29 rose by 38,000 to reach 407,000, which is the worst level for weekly claims since mid-September 2005. The four-week average of initial claims also rose, increasing by 15,750 to 374,500, and thus hit its worst level since the beginning of October 2005. Economists see readings consistently higher than 350,000 as signaling significant weakening in the labor market. Continuing jobless claims were also elevated in the latest week. For the week ended March 22, continuing claims rose by 97,000 to 2.94 million...the highest since the middle of July 2004. But there was good news...I guess. Stock indexes reversed losses after the ISM services data was released, which showed the non-manufacturing index at 49.6% in March. Any reading below 50.0% is contraction. Said another way, this contraction is just more proof of a coming recession. This was, however, better than forecast so the market raced higher from the early low. No matter what the news was today it would still have paled in comparison to what "could" happen tomorrow. It will be very important. Today's Trading Tip: "Education is a good way to level the
playing field in the trading game!!!" Click Here to Learn more about how I can help you improve your trading...
Recent articles from this author
- Corporate Bust Outs - Tuesday, November 11, 2008
- Employment Data - Monday, November 10, 2008
- Another Sell Off - Thursday, October 23, 2008
- Earnings Day - Wednesday, October 22, 2008
- Another Handout? - Tuesday, October 21, 2008
About the author
Larry Levin is the Founder & President of Secrets of Traders- a commodity trading educational firm dedicated to helping traders succeed in the futures markets. Larry trades the S&P 500 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the world’s largest and most diverse financial exchange. Larry has been trading his own account or company's proprietary accounts since 1993, trading an average of 2500-3000 E-mini S&P contracts a day. He has been in and around the S&P 500 futures pit at the CME for almost 20 years, where he started as a runner for Lind-Waldock. Larry moved up through the ranks from runner to phone clerk to desk manager of the S&P desk. He began trading his own account in 1994. In 1998 he formed Trading Advantage, a publishing company enabling him to distribute his self-authored trading course, The Secrets of Floor Traders. In 2000 he sold the rights to the course Secrets of Floor Traders to Secrets of Traders, LLC to market his products for him. This transaction has allowed him to trade for a living full time while continuing to distribute his message. He recently developed his newest trading course, ‘The Secrets of an Electronic Futures Trader’; designed to give the electronic futures trader the competitive edge needed to succeed. Larry appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg Television, Rob TV, BizRadio, as well as various other media outlets, providing his expertise and insight on the current market. Larry’s lifelong vision is teaching people to learn how to trade the right way. For more information contact: Chelsey Krull
Director of Business Development
312.235.2572
chelsey@secretsoftraders.com
Chicago Board of Trade
141 W. Jackson Boulevard, Suite 2838
Chicago, IL 60604
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