Talibi’s books “The Black Swan” and “Fooled by Randomness” argue, reasonably convincingly, that extreme events are under priced in the current market due to a lack of experience and the over reliance on mathematical models in trading. To take advantage of this they advocate a “dumbbell strategy” which basically is [...]
Leverage has a bad name at the moment, and deservedly. Warren Buffet calls it “the only way a smart person can go broke” and is not too kind about the idea of people who aren’t smart using it, either. Leverage was also the way in which many sound businesses became [...]
Michael Lewis, the author of "Liar's Poker," offers a first-hand account of Wall Street in the 1980s. Despite its authenticity, the book receives criticism for an outdated market view, lacking practical trading insights, and an overall negative portrayal of a testosterone-soaked, greed-driven financial culture. Some readers express disappointment in [...]
The Financial Times have an opinion piece that is worth reading. Speculators are doing God’s Work. The God’s work is from the boss of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, who made a throwaway question to a journalist about the work of the bank, a quote that hit the front page and [...]
The commodities super cycle is a term that is used by many people who are bullish on commodities. It is the belief that commodities have longer cycles than other asset classes because of the amount of time it takes to supply them. Commodities are seen as like an oil tanker, [...]
Pair Trading is the practice of betting on a specific company’s performance by at the same time betting against a rival. This seems to be odd, but it does have a compelling logic. A large part of any share’s performance will never be down to the management, no matter how [...]
Jim Rogers is one of the world’s most successful investors. He was the ideas man behind George Soros the trader. When he talks, it is a really good idea to listen. Jim Rogers was one of the first people to shout about commodities at the turn of the millennium. As [...]
Paddy Power, the online bookmaker, is launching a spread betting service. Now there’s no doubt that this will be a professional outfit and we wish them well. However there is a concern that these bookmakers may find contracts for difference tough going. They are an investment vehicle and not [...]
The Zurich Axioms is a classic. In fact it’s the first investment book I ever read from cover to cover. It’s also got a very easy to read style. I was fourteen when I read it. This isn’t as odd as it sounds as Max Gunther claims to have been [...]
ProSpreads offers traders a fast and reliable way to spread bet the major indices, commodities and currencies. This is done through the ProSpreads trading platform which provides the same functionality as Direct Market Access. This advanced trading functionality has numerous advantages and attracts the serious speculator who is looking [...]
