Financial Betting Articles

Horses for Courses - Did you see Cable screaming up and down the charts like a demented yo-yo last week? Our traders are fuming that I tipped you off to that one. They keep insisting on buying me lunch but every day it's the same – I’m sick of knuckle sandwiches.

So this week I'm cowering in the corner, uncertain of whether I should tell you what I'm about to tell you. Oh the hell with it - the beatings stop hurting once they become part of your routine. Don't let on that I said anything but I want to tell you how to trade the summer markets.

The glorious summer has started - there aren't any windows at Choice Towers but someone told me that it was sunny out there. Now the market is a funny creature at this time of year. Take last Wednesday for instance. The Dow was closed and the FTSE meandered along like a gentle stream. In these conditions, 5 tick moves look like colossal waterfalls.

To win on the summer markets you have to play a careful waiting game. Watch as the market trundles along in half tick increments and then jump on the break-out with both feet! Youch!! In 5 minute and hourly markets it's usually decisive so the key is to spot it as it starts to get the best price.

Similarly, market news takes on added importance in the summer. With business on the exchanges dropping to a trickle, the few traders left on watch can shift the market a big way. Low volume means a flurry of activity can cause a big spike and with such little business, no one is really sure where the market should be. Everyone in the market forms a consensus on the right level but with so few players over the summer, there is less mutual reassurance and flights of fancy can take hold.

So there is clearly money to be made but you need to adjust your game plan. But then so do our traders and it's a good chance for you to catch them on the hop. Just leave my name out of it. Bring your A game along to ChoiceOdds.com and show us how adaptable you can be.

Last week the average daily range on the FTSE was down to 52.26 ticks, compared to an average of 71.10 for the previous 4 weeks.

Last month saw the first negative monthly change (-13.50) on the FTSE since February. The previous three months saw increases of 136.50, 125.00 and 172.20 ticks.

Sterling shot through the $2.01 mark last week, propelled by the much predicted interest rate rise. It peaked out above $2.02 on Thursday and has gradually made its way back to $2.01.

I saw Scarlett Johansson on Saturday as I was coming out of the hairdressers. I would estimate we were about 155cm apart. She is actually quite short.

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