Market Musings

So, You want to be a trader or investor.

During the last 20+years, since I first enter into the world of financial markets, I have seen historic bull markets, many painful crashes, and the rise and fall of many industry titans. It’s nothing short of a Hollywood movie full of dramatic emotions, financial gains & pains.

There is a saying that 90% of the retail trader and investors tends to lose money.

Why is it so? And what is that 10%, who makes money, do differently? I...

Is there an investing strategy that one can use to profit from 2020 US Presidential Election?

2020 US Presidential Election

Historically, S&P 500 volatility has typically been higher in election years than in non-election years, as markets frequently reprice the probability of the future administration’s policies.

Since 1932, an incumbent US president has never failed to win re-election unless a recession has occurred during their time in office.

If you examine the return of the...

The price of one American oil futures contract crashed on Monday into the negative for the first time in history.

The May WTI crude contract CL.1, -113.23% CLK20, -113.23% closed at -$37.63 a barrel, a one-day drop of $55.90, or 306%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Those prices—at negative $$ per barrel—mean that companies must now pay a buyer to take oil off their hands and store it if they want to exit the market. 

Since the COVID-19 epidemic started, S&P500...

What is a circuit breaker in stock market? How does it work? And what is a trading halt?

Though these are rare occurrences but market situations like today can trigger these rare triggers.

A trading halts, sometimes referred to as a circuit breaker is a financial regulatory instrument that is in place to prevent stock market crashes from occurring. As a result, circuit breakers stop trading as per rules in order to allow accurate information to flow amongst market participants.

As a reminder,...

Outbreak of coronavirus or Covid-19 has resulted in crippling stock markets world over.

After hitting all time 2weeks ago, S&P500 has crashed over 10% in less than two weeks and the results are not much different elsewhere in the global markets.

Not All Asset Classes Are Down

Though there are several ways one can slice and dice asset classes, for this article I will assume four major asset classes and exclude cash and currencies:

• Bonds US 30 years
• Gold using Gold Futures
• Stock Markets...

On a weekend afternoon, I received a phone call from one of my mentees who was learning to trade options using a high probability options trading system.

He was a diligent trader who always analysed his trades after they closed and made it a point to read up on trading. This time around, he had a few losing options trades in S&P500. After analysing his trades, though, he couldn’t identify what errors he had made which had led to losses. So, he decided to give me a call to seek my...

Time and again, I have seen people talk about options as if options are from different planet and something average investor or trader can’t make money with? Are options really that bad? I mean, do people even understand what options are before they start trading options? A lot of money is being made in options. I mean, a lot. Even Warren Buffett trades options. Options can’t be as bad as people make out, can they?

Fresh Series of Articles on Options

As someone who has been...

Options Trading can be extremely rewarding. However, it is also a fact that majority of Options traders struggle to make money consistently. Before you begin to trade options, it is crucial to understand basic nature of options and how Options are different from other trading instruments e.g. stocks or forex.

Here is simple, straight forward TOP10 list that might help you in understanding basic nature of options.

1. Right to BUY or SELL

Options give you the right to buy or sell an underlying...