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A sneak look inside the Mancave…

Hi everyone!

Ok, for so long you have been kept in the dark….

until now…

Not quite Willy Wonka opening his factory doors for the only time but today I can exclusively reveal a sneak preview inside the Piptastic Mancave.

Please note, rather than a boring picture of the man cave I opted for a fairly tongue in cheek video so sit back, enjoy & have a chuckle..

Damon

Worldspreads enters administration

Hi everyone!

So, yet another spreadbetting company enters administration & starts the ripple effect amongst spreadbetters of doom & gloom but is all the hype & scare stories worthwhile?

Worldspreads Home page today

Before we get too over animated lets remember that only two have entered administration recently namely Worldspreads & MF Global. Please note that whilst the very serious nature of client funds being tied up during the administration process takes place, what I’m trying to do here is look from a overview perspective.

Worldspreads was notorious for its “zero spreads” campaign which attracted a lot of attention from home traders & rightly so however as some will now realise, the lure of “too good to be true” offers quite often results in a painful end. We can cite many examples of “too good to be true” offers in recent times & if you find yourself thinking this of a platform then it is probably true. For many experienced traders like myself we realise that in trading & especially within spread betting there is simply no such thing as a free lunch. The spread is where the platform make their profit so if a company touts zero spreads then how is their profit generated? I’m not going to start speculating how or why they did it but the facts speak clearly for themselves as of this morning;

 The client shortfall is estimated at £10m-12m.

Pretty serious stuff…!

Now, this cant be directly linked to poor business marketing in the zero spreads but much like MF Global is attributed to the lack of segregation of client funds which notably is a requirement under UK law.

So what’s the point of this article then?

Ideally, it should make traders look more closely at their platforms. Are the offers too good to be true & hence why they use them? I for one have never been lured by these offers of low spreads & much prefer a stable platform & one I feel I can trust due to regular communication. Many of you will know that I use ETX capital as it ticks all the boxes for me & as such here is a screenshot from their website today giving that reassurance.

ETX Capital advert

We can point to numerous other examples; Partymarkets offering 10p trading across all markets, all the time.. great in principle for new traders however this was a completely unsustainable business model & as such ended up being sold to Intertrader who quickly put a stop to the 10p trading.

I’m not suggesting you stop using them, just that you don’t tie up too much trading capital with them or make regular withdrawals.

So, I don’t believe we are about to see a big topple of spread betting platforms anytime soon but just like any recession or tough economic climates there will be business casualties in pretty much every sector. Spreadbetting is no exception to this but all the time we have markets in action I’m sure we will still have platforms allowing us to trade.

Have a fantastic day!

Damon

Calculating Forex Pivots

Hi!

One of the common questions I get asked is with reference to calculating pivot levels for 24hour markets so i have produced a short video which explains everything. In the video you will also see me using an Excel spreadsheet which you can download from here if you wish. Please note the spreadsheet does not update the stock indicies all of the time but the currency areas for manual input are auto calculated when you input the figures. It is also worth bearing in mind that I am not an excel expert by a long shot so please dont mock my basic pivot calc spreadsheet. Also, although this file was virus checked on uploading, as with all downloads please ensure you check as I cannot be held responsible for any nasties that attach themselves whilst up in the cloud – i’m sure it’s fine but just double check!

Onto the video;

Piptastic Daily Newsletter 6th February 2012

Good evening all!

Please check out the video below & you wiull need the password sent out via email to access.

 

Piptastic Daily Newsletter 19th January 2012

Good evening all!

I don’t know if your anything like me but anyone else think that the winter has gone on just a little bit too long?… for once, i’m actually looking forward to spring/ summer time having decided that winter is officially far too long – in fact I’m noes on the look out for destinations to move to that have a warm climate all year round in readiness for when all the monsters have left school! Nothing like a goal is there!

Anyone watching Celeb Big Bro…?.. Nope me neither which really sums up the lack of exciting things going on right now so i’d better talk about something sensible;

Tomorrow I will be sending out an important update via email regarding the changes to the newsletter as of next week. I won’t spoil it but having thought long & hard, I believe the changes will make a big difference but i will explain in more detail tomorrow.

Results;

1 – The piptastic spreadbetting method would have accumulated 12pips  (207pips for month)
2 – The members site spread trading methods would have accumulated 82pips (for full details click here)(380pips for month)
3 – The live room site intraday trading methods would have accumulated 10pips (to join live room click here)(85pips for month)
4 – The live room only Piptastic swing trading methods would have accumulated 0pips this month (0pips ytd)

Make sure you check out the email tomorrow & until next week have a great weekend!

Damon

 

 

Piptastic Daily Trading Newsletter 17th January 2012

Gooood Evening everyone!

I hope you had a pleasant evening off yesterday courtesy of the US public holiday. I don’t know about you but I find that this kind of holiday disrupts the flow of the markets as they are trying to get back into stride after the xmas break. Still, I think we have had one of the best days of trading today so far this year & guess who wasn’t around to pick up any pips! moi!….. Today I had my second broadband line installed so was offline followed by a trip over to West Malling as i discovered recently that people who make ski clothing clearly don’t understand sizes! Yes, I may be 6′ 4″ & fill the size of the doorway however my new ski jacket, size 5xl (!!!) is exactly the same size as my berghaus mountaineering jacket of 2xl… no before you ask, I am still the same size & yes, the berghaus still fits! I am baffled & no doubt will become the source of amusement from Mrs E every time I hit the cake cupboard…

So, the big news in the markets today was the downgrading last night of the bailout fund itself which sent shockwaves through the market, shaking it to its very core … ok, so it didn’t & I don’t actually think many people are actually that bothered by it anymore however with all this doom & gloom surrounding the markets it all makes for a happy olympics don’t you think? – Applause is allowed but smiling is forbidden

Results;

1 – The piptastic spreadbetting method would have accumulated 101pips  (195pips for month)
2 – The members site spread trading methods would have accumulated 131pips (for full details click here)(298pips for month)
3 – The live room site intraday trading methods would have accumulated 20pips (to join live room click here)(75pips for month)
4 – The live room only Piptastic swing trading methods would have accumulated 0pips this month (0pips ytd)

All the figures above also include yesterday mornings trades.

Have a fantastic evening!

Damon

Piptastic Daily Trading Newsletter 12th January 2012

Good Evening Pip pickers!

I hope you have had a great day & at last the markets seemed to pick up a bit of steam & the clearest run yet of the year & some excellent trading conditions were found on both EURUSD & Wall st today. Now, the word on the street is that 2012 is going to be a vintage year fro us traders, some even suggesting it is going to be the best ever? I’m not going to go that far however all the signs are there for a fantastic year for sure… actually this is starting to sound like one of those sales speeels… you get my jist anyway – its going to be a good year.

Anyway, not much to report on the news front i’m afraid although my younger brother has given birth to a baby boy or at least thats what the text said..”graeme has just had a baby boy”… Naturally i replied – “blimeee a medical miracle, is he & baby doing well?”…. I didn’t get a response back after that so i guess my humour wasn’t appreciated! Ha… However, now the good lady wants to do the coooey thing over the baby this weekend & my first response was, great, me & Ben can go & watch the game… no such luck – super saints are away this weekend! Ever feel the course of events are conspiring against you?…

Sooo, markets smooth running at last but how did we do today?;

Results;

1 – The piptastic spreadbetting method would have accumulated 56pips  (94pips for month)
2 – The members site spread trading methods would have accumulated 31pips (for full details click here)(167pips for month)
3 – The live room site intraday trading methods would have accumulated 25pips (to join live room click here)(55pips for month)
4 – The live room only Piptastic swing trading methods would have accumulated 0pips this month (0pips ytd)

No screenshots today but I do have a bit of a info you may like. If you are able to trade in the mornings there is a little known fact that on ETX capital you can trade Wall St at only 3pip spread PLUS minimum stake of 50p thus making this market tradable from morning until night – its worth a look especially where a lot of platforms are increasing the minimum stake on FTSE & DAX to £2.

Have a fantastic evening!

Damon

Piptastic Daily Trading Newsletter 11th January 2012

Merry Xmas everyone!

Ok, maybe not but at least you probably double checked the date! Anyway, in todays live room I was discussing the annual crap present award & this year it appears socks was coming out on top but if you did have a seriously poor present then feel free to email me & if there is more than 5 different ones i’ll do a top5/ top10 as fits..you know the ones, where you force a smile while through fritted teeth saying thank you!

In todays news, it is reported that Italy’s biggest market sector turns out to be crime – not the nicking of cheese & wine from Tesco’s type but the organised type. Although I’m rather hoping for a repeat of the freak snowfall in the Alps new month when I’m rocketing down the slopes Franz whatisname style…

Another odd day on the markets – amazingly great in places but annoyingly spiky in others. We’ve yet to see the smooth moving markets that were around at the end of last year so looking forward to the return of those.

Results;

1 – The piptastic spreadbetting method would have accumulated 29pips  (38pips for month)
2 – The members site spread trading methods would have accumulated 41pips (for full details click here)(136pips for month)
3 – The live room site intraday trading methods would have accumulated 15pips (to join live room click here)(30pips for month)
4 – The live room only Piptastic swing trading methods would have accumulated 0pips this month (0pips ytd)

Have a great evening!

Damon

Piptastic Daily Trading Newsletter 10th January 2012

Gooood evening all!

Welcome back & I hope you have had a great start to 2012. Markets still a little shaky in getting started but still some good moves around. I’m just recovering from being ill for the best part of 4weeks (all together now…ahhhhh) but on the mend courtesy of the doctors magical pills & potions but being unwell meant a little too much watching telly for my liking. In fact as the good lady sat there tuned into the Celeb Big bro 129 My thinking as they entered the house went along the lines of;

“oh she’s was in eastenders…, Who’s he?!…, Who’s he?!..(different person), he’s a twat..! – at this point I changed channel as it was too much to bear, seriously , these are celebrities?… not in my world they aren’t! Although with all this trash on telly, surely it is only a matter of time before a channel takes me up on my offer of a reality series. I’m planning on being the judge, mentor, choreographer to lots of ladies & the show is called pornstars where the basis of the show is to… ok moving swiftly on…

Markets still a little twitchy today with Euro yet again holding the news. Now last year I pretty much got it right with the countries that were on the brink but I would like to add in a surprise one here to actually leave the euro albeit for different reasons & that is Finland. How long will Finland go along with all this madness when they have one of the strongest economies in the eurozone? Time will tell but we should be in for a fun few months for sure!

Results;

1 – The piptastic spreadbetting method would have accumulated 9pips  (9pips for month)
2 – The members site spread trading methods would have accumulated 95pips (for full details click here)(95pips for month)
3 – The live room site intraday trading methods would have accumulated 15pips (to join live room click here)(95pips for month)
4 – The live room only Piptastic swing trading methods would have accumulated 0pips this month (0pips ytd)

I will be sending out an email detailing what these results relate to over the next day or so along with frequency of updates etc.

Until then, have a great evening!

Damon

ps check out this screenshot of the EURUSD today for some great chart formations!

Piptastic Daily Trading Newsletter 15th December 2011

Gooood evening!

It’s close to midnight & something evils lurking in the dark…under the moonlight , you see a sight that almost stops your heart…. oi! Stop thinking of my website profile picture & concentrate! No, not lots of zombies running around tomorrow but it is of course “Freaky Friday” tomorrow.. Don’t panic, I haven’t lost my marbles just yet & yes, there is a relevance to trading. “Freaky Friday” or as we traders prefer to call it, Triple Witching is when you have a number of options etc expiring & this strange day occurs on the third Friday of March, June, September & December. Here in the UK you can expect some strange moves mid morning usually as traders either close or rollover positions & with potential end of year bonuses at stake it might be a little more volatile than usual so please be aware & make sure your stops are in place for every trade.

Next up concerns the EURUSD. You would have noticed this is doing well for intraday trading but on closer inspection you will notice that it is kinda stuck around the 13000 level. This is a major psychological support/ resistance area for this market so please watch out when trading near this level.

And finally tonight, next week I am away on holiday but you will still be receiving a couple of videos via email plus any emails will be responded to however please bear in mind that where i’m going is an internet deadspot so replies make take around 24-48 hours when i find a signal!

Have a great evening!

Damon