Yes, and the "nice thing" is that volatility sometimes is at least as good or better during overnight sessions ... so there is no end to the possibilities. Just bumped the introductory information provided on CME fx/currencies - here : http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35372 <pre> 14:42 FOREX: M&A Flows Remain USD Negative] San Francisco, September 10th: Cross Border M&A Flows: All Cash and Cash and Stock Deals Year-to-Date ($mln) Australian Acquisitions -63,633.2 Australian Targets 65,116.4 Net inflows to Australia 1,483.2 Canadian Acquisitions -52,642.5 Canadian Targets 52,333.1 Net Outflows From Canada 309.4 Japan Acquisitions -99,012.0 Japan Targets 102,996.4 Net Inflow to Japan 3,984.4 UK to Eurozone 7,978.9 Eurozone to UK 22,934.9 Net Eurozone to UK 14,956.0 US to Eurozone 29,509.4 Eurozone to US 4,191.5 Net US to Eurozone 25,317.9 UK to US 6,917.3 US to UK 8,375.9 Net US to UK 1,458.6 </pre> <code>M&A flows still remain USD negative with over $26 bln M&A outflows from the US to the Eurozone and the UK. Eurozone outflows to the UK remain strong at over $14 bln. Japan continues to see the largest overall M&A activity at over $99 bln, though net inflows remain low at under $4 bln. Net M&A flows for Australian and Canada remain minimal this year and should have no real impact on FX rates.</code> <pre> [13:39 FOREX: Weekly Issuance: EUR Issuance Returns to Top Spot] San Francisco, Sept. 10th: Corporate Issuance By Currency, Proportion of Market Share AUD GBP CAD EUR JPY CHF USD TOTAL $ End "02 0.90% 3.9% 1.80% 32.2% 5.8% 1.67% 53.5% 1,930,460.0 End "03 1.05% 3.69% 2.07% 37.62% 5.49% 1.63% 48.5% 2,493,042.6 End Q1 1.22% 5.15% 1.10% 43.16% 3.77% 1.46% 44.12% 809,660.0 End Q2 1.27% 5.34% 1.51% 43.95% 4.53% 1.44% 41.97% 1,425,992.6 July 26 1.22% 5.28% 1.40% 44.10% 4.49% 1.44% 42.07% 1,603,161.6 Aug. 31 1.26% 5.28% 1.46% 42.70% 4.67% 1.54% 43.09% 1,734,049.3 Sep. 09 1.28% 5.21% 1.42% 43.63% 4.57% 1.55% 42.34% 1,807,721.2 </pre><code> USD issuance as a proportion of major currency issuance has lost the top spot, with USD issuance dropping to 42.34% of all issuance and the lowest levels since August 3rd. The decline comes in the face of the fifth largest week of corporate issues this year. EUR issuance has risen back to top spot at 43.63% of all issuance and the highest since August 3rd. AUD is back in demand, rising to 1.28%. CHF issuance was slightly higher at 1.55%. All other issuance declined on a proportional basis. GBP issuance was the lowest since June 7th and CAD issuance the lowest since August 16th. JPY issuance is the lowest since July 26th.</code> From www.ifrmarkets.com Thomson Financial.
Sorry, I went out to get breakfast. Lon Eagle, I trust that the others answered your question about the margin. Chinook, I trade futures simply because I have traded them for 15 years and I am very used to the convention ($12.50 per tick, etc.). I know exactly how to size my positions, etc. The futures that are "created" are the same futures as traded on the CME pit or Globex. They are entirely fungible (mutually offsettable) with each other. Best, Neal.
Thanks everyone. Just to check I am not being thick - if the margin is roughly $1600 per contract intra day then that is roughly 1%?
I'm glad that I quit smoking a while ago. Otherwise, I would have smoked a pack after 8:30 EST!!! Chinook
Some european closing profit taking - we probably will see something similar on US close - and it's friday after all. So all in all some volatility with pushing 1.23 could be expected.
I'm still long. My stops are tight and I got stopped out couple of times but got back in with couple of ticks loss. I'm hesitant to sell around the 1.2295-1.2300 level fearing that I'll miss a nice pop upside. This turned into a waiting game. I don't want to have loose stops and get caught in a downdrafts if the trend reverses. The usual dilemma--there's no right or wrong since the future is not decided yet. It all depends how all these people (including myself with nanoscale contribution) interpret what's going on and their combined actions will lead to some kind of chain reaction that'll determine the future. The only thing we can do is control how much risk we're taking.... Chinook
It was a crappy day for me. First, I got whipped couple of times during the spike and went long too late. Then my tight stops got chipped away slowly as EurUsd started pulling back late in the day. Anyway, days like this will happen again. I have to milk the profitable days as much as possible. Yesterday was a great day earlier but then gave back most of the profits by becoming stubborn. I remember telling myself " Wow I can't believe I made this much" earlier in the day. I think at that stage my ego took over and screwed me. I think I can find a pattern here. During the losing days, I try to make up the losses and tend to put smaller stops and get chopped many times. These small losses end up accumulating to a decent size end-of-day loss. During the profitable days, ego might take over after a while and I start to have large stops since I believe that I'll be correct. If I'm correct later in the day I make good $$$ overall. If I'm not then I give most profits back. I have to think about this more but I need to manage risk better. It looks like under emotions, I'm adjusting the stops based on $$$ and current P/L not what they should be given the current conditions. For instance, after a certain profit or loss I should tell myself that here is the last x% of the equity to be risked. And here is a suitable stop for the current market condition. Then I can adjust number of contracts to be traded or not trade at all and wait for a better entry condition. Overall, I'm up slightly this week. So this means no Beluga&Krug rose for me for dinner I'll treat myself to such dinner perhaps after a 6+ figure week--maybe in 5-10 years! Have a nice weekend, Chinook
When I see that I'm not getting my trades right with regards to my target - I wait for the first opportunity to get out with some profits. Today was such a trading day for me - so I made pennies instead of what I was expecting. However, I don't use strict stops - and also am guided by the P/L. My rule is to take the profits and run - and then see if I understand more of the market if I couldn't reach my targets in the manner I was expecting. Then sometimes I get a better oportunity, acumulating smaller profits - or breakeven/small loss (lately). I avoid having trades run away the wrong way like the plague; if it's starts to look like that I stop right there or as close to my entry as possible. I use tape reading combined with charts, pattern signals to try and figure out what I'll do for scalping trades. I prefer x trades with 1 tick profits to waiting out 1 trade going -10 ticks - but with target +10 ticks. Being patient and waiting for the right entry is more than half of what it's all about, right ?