A Systematic Trader's Journal

Paulson cannot be allowed a blank cheque By George Soros  Published: September 24 2008 20:28 - Last updated: September 24 2008 20:28 Hank Paulson’s $700bn rescue package has run into difficulty on Capitol Hill. Rightly so: it was ill-conceived. Congress would be abdicating its responsibility if it gave the Treasury secretary a blank cheque. The bill submitted to Congress even had language in it that would exempt the secretary’s decisions from review by any court or administrative agency – the ultimate fulfillment of the Bush administration’s dream of a unitary executive. Mr Paulson’s record does not inspire the confidence necessary to give him discretion over $700bn. His actions last week brought on the crisis that makes rescue necessary. On Monday he allowed Lehman Brothers to fail and refused to make government funds available to save AIG. By Tuesday he had to reverse himself and provide an $85bn loan to AIG on punitive terms. The demise of Lehman disrupted the commercial paper marke...

Continuing from my previous blog, how did I fair in the market as a trader today, after the market has adopted to the tight spreads and no commission trading environment? I made money, that is my humble answer. Is it a lot? Is it that simple? Some may ask, but the answer is no. It was never easy. Simply, what is the difference between trading on the current environment versus an environment that requires you to make back wide spreads and huge commissions from the market? Well, in my opinion, the difference is just that other than being able to allow you to exit at a price that could end you up with lesser losses, if not it will end you up with a small profit. But if you relook at it again, do you think the market has also became less trendy over the years? If time allow, it would be excellent if you could take a close look at the Average Daily Range data on some of your favourite currency pair that you trade on frequently. You will discover that right after when trading became more e...