After the correction in December, it seems like gold is heading up again once more. Price now is already above the 200-day moving average.

Gold has broken through the resistance trend line as show in the chart (click for bigger view). I am using ichimoku clouds to aid me once more. 4 reasons why gold is turning bullish again (solely my opinion).

1. Breakout from the trendline

2. Chikou span broke through cloud (to give confidence that it’s a not fake breakout)

3. Kumo Twist (future sentiment is turning bullish)

4. Price is above cloud

I am long gold now. Expect to test resistance at about 1,756 region.

The information above is just my personal opinion. I could be wrong and I am always wrong. 

STI rallied and the counter hit 1.16. So, I sold half of my positions and take some profits. The very next day, price shoot up even higher and went as high as 1.205. But towards the closing there were selling pressure and a very long upper shadow shooting star candle had formed. By the way, a shooting star candlestick is a bearish reversal signal.

So I thought to myself, “The selling is coming in, I will just cover the rest of my position and take profits”, thus I sold the rest at 1.18 and was quite happy about it.

BUT… the next 2 days, the market continued to be extreme bullish and the counter went to 1.285 at closing!

I have a friend who is also vested in this same counter as me and we had a casual sms chat about our trades. He said he regretted selling a tad too early because price just “chiong” all the way up.

On the other hand, I realized that I did not have this “regret” feeling at all.

Yes, price went up a lot more and should I hold on to the position, I would have made more money. But I think that what I did was right and I stick to my plan. Who knows after the shooting star, the next day price gap down? Nobody knows what will happen to the market.

In a way, I feel I am now better at managing my emotion. No “regret”… I already have an entry price, stop loss and profit taking level in mind before I enter the trade. So, I am glad I followed my plan. If the price just continue to go up, so be it! There will always be an opportunity to trade again. Now I don’t chase the price. Trading also train me to be more patient to wait for the right opportunity to appear.

As cliché as it sounds, trading is indeed all about psychology and learning how to control your emotions. I can’t say I am very good at it now, but I think I am progressing and getting better in controlling my emotion when it comes to trading.

I have opened an account with them some time ago through my friend who is working as a dealer. Before I opened an account with UOB KH, I already have accounts with DBS Vickers and POEMS.

As of now, out of these 3 brokerage firms, I prefer UOB Kay Hian’s. Why?

The main reason is their charting platform, which is called Techanalyzer, a tie up with ChartNexus. Techanalyzer allows user to perform technical analysis on the singapore counters and also screen for stocks using their stock screeners. I can view the intraday prices with ease and the layout is exactly the same as ChartNexus which I am already very used to it.

Just my personal view, I find that POEMS’s platform looks pretty outdated and “messy” – difficult to navigate.

DBS Vickers’ charting platform can only be used on IE. Hello? This is 2012 already. A lot of users are using Firefox, Chrome or Safari as their main browers and Vickers is still stuck in Internet Explorer ONLY? You can only view 30min or 1 hour for their intraday. Not very good and their charting platform is not very user-friendly.

Also UOBKH provides free SMS/email alerts for orders that are done. Not only that, I am able to set the target price to notify me using SMS if the stocks goes up or down. That’s when i can then decide to log-in and key in my orders to buy/sell. This takes out a lot of hassle from constantly checking on the price movement throughout the day.

Although the published brokerage rate is the standard rate as other major stockbroking firm, I get to enjoy preferential rates from them (due to my dealer friend).

UOBKH also provides frequent education seminars on fundamental analysis and technical analysis. The technical analysis seminar is taught to complement the use of the Techanalyzer. They teach you on moving averages, fibonacci retracement, elliott waves and also candlestick patterns which I find are pretty useful for beginners. Other seminars include how to build your own trading strategies using technical indicators. These are definitely useful for people who are new to technical analysis.

The easy of use of the online platform coupled with the Techanalyzer makes UOBKH’s platform a very good tool for investing as compared to other broking firms’ platform. Mobile platform is also available on iphone and the browser-based platform is available for non-iphone users.

If you are interested to open an account with UOB Kay Hian, you can fill up contact form below. I will ask my dealer friend to get in touch with you and give you a better rate.

I am quite surprised that the STI is so bullish during the past 4 days. The shortists must have been squeezed till they choked by now.

The chart above is the STI daily (click for bigger view) and I am using the Ichimoku Clouds indicator to “see” the overall picture. I guess most people are not aware of this Ichimoku indicator. First of all, I have to tell you that it’s NOT some secretive proprietary indicator. It has been around since 1969. Secondly, it’s not a holy grail indicator just because you are not exposed to it. I treat it just like a normal MACD, stochastic, moving averages etc. It’s very common for Japanese traders to use Ichimoku, just like japanese candlesticks which is like the de facto now.

At first glance on the chart above, it looks very busy and with a lot of lines like spaghetti. But if you know how to use and read the Ichimoku, it’s not complicated at all. Anyway, this post is not about explaining how Ichimoku works, but I will explain on why I think STI is bullish now.

The blue areas on the charts are known as clouds. If price is below the clouds, the clouds will be acting as resistance and if price is above the clouds, the cloud will be acting as support.

Also, if price is above the clouds it’s considered bullish and if below the clouds it’s bearish.

Looking at “A”, we can see that price has broken through the clouds, which means STI breaks the resistance today.

Is it a fakeout?

I believed not. Looks like a real breakout to me. The volume is relatively higher as compared with “C” ’s volume back then. Also the Chikou Span (green line) also broke through the cloud at “C” too.

There is also a golden cross at “B”, which is very similar to the commonly known moving average crossovers. Although in Ichimoku context, crossovers below the cloud is considered a weak bullish cross, the price is showing good momentum. So, I treat the golden cross as good signal as the cloud and chikou span breakout adds to confirmation.

The cloud shadows, which are clouds behind the price, will be the resistance ahead. 2,800, 2,830, and 2,870 will be STI resistance in the near future.

Price is approaching 2,800 level already and STI is already way overbought now. I expect a pull back soon. So, although I am bullish, I will not buy now. Wait for the pull back. If you are thinking to buy (long) on Monday, you are chasing… so it’s better to wait.

I am still vested in my S&P 500 position right now and looking into some STI counters next week.

The above information is just my personal opinion. I could be wrong and I am always wrong.

Although it seems that the bulls and bears are still fighting to determine the market’s direction, it’s telling me that the bulls may have the upper hand now.

Why do I say that?

The above chart is the DJI (click for bigger view). Price is now clearly above the 200-day moving average, so it’s towards the bullish bias. Not only that, price also did not ever close below the T-line (8 EMA) for the past 15 days. The trend up is slow and steady, which is good because if it’s a parabolic rally, it will not be able to sustain.

Yesterday DJI started negative. But towards the closing time, the market recovered, as shown with the doji candle with lower shadow. There were buying pressure.

The shortists (the perma bears who are already well-conditioned to short from the downtrend last year) who shorted these few days just cannot bring the market down – - The market just keeps going up, which means they are LOSING money now. Somehow they will be forced to cover their positions sooner or later, which adds more fuel to the buying.

Yes, I agree that based on fundamental reasons, the market should be down all the way because of the EURO and US debt issues. The govt. are just kicking the can down the road. The next financial crisis is inevitable and will be more severe than in 2008 (my view). But it’s just not happening now. The market is not always rational. The chart is telling me that the bulls are stronger now.

S&P 500 is forming a rising wedge as shown in the chart above. (click the picture for a bigger view).

A rising wedge is a generally a bearish chart pattern. But at the mean time, I am still bullish about the market. There is still room for the price to go up and reach the top of the wedge. So, there is a good chance that S&P 500 can hit its former high at about 1,345. By the way, Dow Jones (DJI) is also forming a similar rising wedge pattern.

Once price gets to the resistance, we will have to see the price action and see where the market wants to go. Most likely it will go down from there. Whether the market will crash is another story, which I don’t want to predict.

In short, the current market still has the fuel to go up. Recently the market sentiment is still pretty ok and price action is bullish since the start of the year in 2012. Personally I am vested in the S&P 500 at point of writing.

Alvin interviewed some of the top Singapore traders (8 to be exact) and shares his findings to you. Many of these traders are quite “famous” and prominent. Besides being just a trader, they also conduct seminars/workshops to the general public who wish to learn the art of trading. These 8 traders are:

1. Keane Lee
2. Yeo Keong Hee
3. Binni Ong
4. Nihcolas Tan
5. Clarence Chee
6. Tom Yuen
7. Patrick Lee
8. Dave Foo

They trade different asset classes such as forex, stocks, indices, options, futures etc.

I have read the book personally and what I like best about it is the interview format. This makes the book very easy to read and as if the trader is talking to you directly. The gems in this book is that the traders talked about their EXPERIENCE. For example, their best or worst trade, their psychology to approaching the market, whether they use mechanical or discretionary trading, the pitfalls, what they have done to achieve trading mastery etc.

I have yet to attend any of the traders’ workshop yet, so this book provides valuable insights and for me to know their style of  trading. All their wisdom gained from the markets all these years are contained in this book. Great job from Alvin for him to interview them and compile this book!

If you purchase the book, you will also get to access the interview videos as well. Personally, I think reading the book and watching the interview videos is kind of different. I tend to have a deeper understanding when I watched the videos. Well, just my experience.

You can buy the book and have it delivered to your house for FREE. Click here to order the book now.

Most of these newbies have zero idea on how to create their website and I always recommend using WordPress to create their website. It is simple to install (provided you are using cpanel with your webhost), easy to use and most importantly there are a lot of useful “plugins” to enhance your site. If you don’t know what I mean, it’s like having apps in your iphone to do all the things you want.

In fact, I just shown a friend of mine recently on how to use wordpress to create a website for his newly started business.

So if you are thinking of having your own website, just use wordpress. Period.

I have created and compiled 60 WordPress step-by-step video tutorials, teaching you how to use and navigate through wordpress:

http://www.CompleteWordpressVideos.com

When I first got started in internet marketing, I really know nothing. I started from scratch. I don’t even know how to create a website back then. I struggled to learn how to use wordpress to set up my site (I am technically challenged, LOL). If such tutorial videos existed last time, it would have saved me a lot of my time.

If you are still struggling and want to cut short your learning time, here’s the videos for you – - WordPress Video Tutorials

What is the worst-case scenario for investors affected by the shut down of Wall Street brokerage MF Global and its Singapore arm?

Many customers opened accounts with MF Global in order to trade multiple products in multiple countries.

In order for such trades to be executed smoothly, monies would have been placed in various jurisdictions (countries) and exchanges (stock exchanges).

As a result, time is necessary to determine where all the relevant monies are located, then repatriate all monies back to Singapore as soon as possible.

Only then, can an orderly distribution of monies back to all clients begin.

As a MF Global is a holder of a Capital Markets Services (CMS) license, it is obliged to segregate the monies and assets of its customers from its own monies and assets under the Securities and Futures Acts.

Nevertheless, given the global nature of its business, it will take some time to locate and repatriate the monies back to Singapore, and distribute to customers.

What lessons can investors learn from MF Global, especially when an Internet connection is all you need to invest and manage your own money?

With the ease of opening trading accounts and trading globally today, investors must be aware of jurisdictional issues.

While MF Global Singapore is a CMS license holder and has to abide by the Securities and Futures Act, I am aware that some investors are trading on platform which are not CMS license holders and thus, do not have the protection of the laws in Singapore.

Needless to say, investors would have a harder time recovering their monies, in what we understand, is an already complicated task. 

– end of interview –

From what I understand and interpret from the interview, clients who have money with MF Global Singapore should be able to get back their money BUT it will take some time.

This incident serves as a reminder on counterparty risk. If you deposit your money with a broker, that broker is the risk you have to undertake. Under such uncertain economy nowadays, the broker could fail and go bankrupt and your money will be gone as well.

Although MF Global is MAS-regulated, it doesn’t mean it’s fool-proof. You never know what they will do with the money behind the tables. In other words, know the risk and don’t deposit large sum amount of money with a broker. Of course, “large sum” is relative.

There was a lady who deposited her life savings of more than $100,000 into MF Global (as reported in Straits Times). Her open positions could not be closed and it seems that she had incurred $40,000 in losses. A broker is NOT a bank. A bank can also fail, let alone a broker!?!? You don’t deposit ALL your money with them. Know what you can afford to lose and use some common sense too.

However, it also doesn’t mean you should stay clear from trading CFD completely from now on.

Just like there are always accidents on roads. It doesn’t mean you stop walking on pavements and stop driving completely. There will always be people who fell in bathrooms, that doesn’t mean you don’t step into your bathroom ever, right?

Due diligence please…