April 2023 barometer update
The turmoil surrounding Silicon Valley Bank has sent shockwaves through the market: the FTSE fell from nearly 8000 at the start of March to around 7350 at mid-month. The S&P 500 fell from about 4050 to 3850 during the same time period. The S&P has completely recovered since then while the FTSE is only half […]
January 2019 – IB Options Trading update
In September 2015 I attended a course on the PIE Trading Method where I learnt to trade options. Between October 2015 and October 2017 I traded very successfully using this method making a return of over 45% with no drawdowns. You can see my trading progress by observing this chart. I have since used this […]
September 2017 – PIE Live Trading Results
Here are my results for September options expiry for the PIE Trading Method. This is the options strategy that I have been trading since October 2015. I made a monthly return in September of 0.5%. This is an average of 1.7% return per month since I started live trading with a highest monthly return of […]
March 2017 – PIE Live Trading Results
As promised I said I would update you with my results for March options expiry for the PIE Trading Method. This is the options strategy that I have been trading for the last 15 months. I made a monthly return of 1.0%. Putting this into context I have averaged 2.1% return per month since I […]
May 2015 barometer alert
I am making progress with the family issue, and hope to be able to provide an update by 15 May Looking at how the markets are playing out, I would say that they are performing to my expectations as outlined in my previous updates. Many thanks, Mark
What’s new for 2012?
Thanks to your feedback I’ve introduced some changes for 2012: I have introduced a “narrative” section which will preface each monthly update. This will be a non-techie overview of what I see going on in the markets Inclusion of FTSE 100, FTSE 250, FTSE Small Cap, FTSE Fledgling and FTSE AIM All Share indices on […]
How to spot corrections
Spotting a forthcoming correction is notoriously difficult but there are often clues lurking within the indicators. Take the Hi-Lo-Grometer for example. I had been watching the highs decline steadily from November 2010. At first I thought that the decline was pointing to the drop below 5600 in March. However, the peaks continued to fall in […]
The Business Cycle Clock
The OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-ordination and Development) publishes information on the state of the economy for a number of different countries in the world. As investors we can make use of the Business Cycle Clock which shows whether a particular country’s economy is in one of four phases: Expansion Downturn Slowdown Recovery Each […]