Iris Mack's Blog - Trading

Wall Street Journal: U.S. Stocks Slide & Focus on 'Fiscal Cliff'

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:48:00 --0100

U.S. stocks fell after President Barack Obama's re-election, as investors quickly turned their attention toward the upcoming fiscal fight in Congress. Please read more here.

Forex: NinjaTrader, Tradestation, MetaTrader

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 08:55:00 --0100

Some interesting FOREX trading platforms...

Trader Jim Rogers "Ecstatic" Over Drought-Driven High Corn Prices

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:19:00 --0100

Probably not the best choice of words, but I think I understand what Mr. Rogers means....

After MF Global, Another Brokerage Firm Bites the Dust - $200 Million Missing

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:20:00 --0100

As the rock star Freddie Mercury (of Queen) sings - another one bites the dust!

Bloomberg: Quants Post Worst Month Since October

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 13:54:00 --0100

Hedge funds that use quantitative strategies executed by computers suffered their biggest losses since October last month after being whipsawed by Europe?s sovereign debt crisis.

NYSE CEO: Public Lost Trust in Market

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:09:00 --0100

The New York Stock Exchange's top executive told lawmakers investors have lost faith in a financial marketplace that has evolved to prize speed and complexity over long-term investing. Hmm..., he's just figuring this out! Guess someone forgot to send him the memo.

Bloomberg: JPMorgan Faces $4.2 Billion Trading Loss

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 13:53:00 --0100

JPMorgan Chase may report a $4.2 billion second-quarter trading loss in its chief investment office, according to an estimate by International Strategy & Investment Group Inc.

Wall Street Bloodbath Due to Higher U.S. Unemployment

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 21:22:00 --0100

Wall Street suffered its bloodiest day of the year as U.S. stocks sank more than 2% following an ugly jobs report.

Financial Times: Mysteriously Falling U.S. Trading Volumes

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:27:00 --0100

Does anybody know what?s been driving down daily US trading volumes in recent years? The New York Times floated a few possible explanations in a long article, and Josh Brown adds his thoughts in a good post as well. Is it because the U.S. has been approaching (and have now begun) the boomer retirement, driving more flows into bonds and less to equities and equity ETFs Or could it be that many Americans just don't trust the markets - with all the corruption on Wall Street, our government, ....? Please read more here.

JPMorgan's Multi-Billion Dollars Loss Prompts S.E.C. Inquiry

Sat, 12 May 2012 12:47:00 --0100

Regulators are investigating potential civil violations surrounding the $2 billion loss that JPMorgan Chase disclosed on Thursday, raising further questions about trading activities at the U.S.?s biggest bank. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently opened a preliminary investigation into JPMorgan?s accounting practices and public disclosures about the trades, according to people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is not public. Regulators learned about the activities in April, and formally opened an investigation in recent days, the people said. Please read more here.

Reuters: Commodities Trader Gets 28 Months in Prison for Death Threats

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:42:00 --0100

A former commodities trader was sentenced to 28 months in prison for threatening to kill dozens of U.S. officials at the nation's top securities and commodity regulators, including posting a 250,000 euro ($327,382) bounty on Facebook. I don't understand why so-called intelligent people advertise their future crimes. Are they trying to get caught? Or are they just stupid? Who knows?

Bloomberg: High Frequency Trading Is Progress, Not Piracy

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 15:13:00 --0100

They steal from the rich and keep it! That sums up the criticism of E-pirates, aka high-frequency traders, the current bad boys of the financial markets. Many retail and institutional investors believe that as much as $2 billion annually in high-frequency trading profits are coming out of their own pockets. Please read more here.

Is High Frequency Trader Mark Gorton Killing Wall Street?

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:20:00 --0100

Poor Wall Street! What's the matter? Can't handle a little competition from a few supercomputers?

CFTC Accuses Royal Bank of Canada of Sham Trades

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:49:00 --0100

U.S. regulators are accusing one of Canada's largest banks of engaging in hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal futures trades to reap tax benefits on its holdings of company stocks. Please read more here.

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act: "Cheat Sheet" for Traders (video)

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:57:00 --0100

Weighing in at slightly less than 1,000 pages, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is not at the top of most people?s reading list. Much of the legislation is written in legalese and typical Con-gressional jargon. So here is the InformationWeek Financial Services Dodd-Frank Cheat Sheet from the editors of Advanced Trading, Bank Systems & Technology, Insurance & Technology and Wall Street & Technology. The end product is a relatively brief 39-page document.