Trendstone

The Market Never Sleeps, So Neither Do I

David McLaughlin, Treadstone Partner
May 10, 2010 3:00 AM ET

I’ve gone as much as three days without sleep, due to recent market activity. I’ve been working hard to look for the proper entry point into the trades. Submitting an order at the wrong time can prove fatal within hours, let alone minutes.

It is amazing how worldwide currencies are directly affected by major, as well as minor, news events. I start my evening by scouring the news wires, listening to the projected day on Bloomberg TV and studying my charts. As a pure trend trader, it’s crucial to have a rough idea as to where the market will go. I review the day’s upcoming announcements and plan a strategy to get into (and/or out of) the market. Trading the news can be tedious; as you never know which way the market will move. In a matter of seconds, the market can move 50-150 pips (1/2 % to 1 1/2 %) of your open positions. Typically, we hold off on trading until the marketplace has settled down.

Our strategy has proved beneficial: we keep emotions in check and stick to basic principles. While Treadstone continues to carve a niche in the highly specialized financial industry, we diligently study the markets, take copious notes and veraciously watch all news wires to be sure our business model is fine tuned to perfection.