What do You Think About he Current Global Economy?

The are many opinions about the current global economic crisis. Some say economy may recover in 2009, stock market may bottom out, some say it's going to get worst in second half of 2009. Some say the slow down may last up to 2 more years. Some say there is going to be anarchy and some even said it may lead to World War III. What do you think? Can we get out of this economic and financial mess this year?

See the video for some of the people's opinions on the Davos Debates...





Kofi Annan



Bollywood Actor Amitabh Bachchan




Harvard's Peter Galison



Zurich's Financial CEO James Schiro



Bob Forbes of Forbes FY!



Arianna Huffington of huffingtonpost.com



Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard




Chairman of Intel Craig Barrett


More HERE from Youtube

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N.I.N.E.

Price of Gold at Resistance Level

Gold Futures Price on CBOT is currently at US$899.30 per oz. Since late October last year, the price of gold has increased 28%, rallying from $700 to the recent high of $927.60. The resistance level on the chart is at $930. Deman for gold has been increasing because investors are shifting their portfolio to this "safe" commodities in times of financial and economic crisis.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator current reading is lower than the reading on the previous high, suggesting that the momentum in the short term trend has started to weaken. The Stochastic indicator is at the overbought level. With these readings, the price of gold is expected to decline with a target of $860. If the price breaks below $860, then we may look at a lower target of $780. The forecast is only valid if the resistance of $930 is not broken.


Daily Gold futures (CBOT) chart as at 3 February 2009 using NextVIEW Advisor. Click on chart for larger view.

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Article contributed by Private Trader, Market Expert, Trading Coach and Chief Market Strategist of Nextview, Mr. Benny Lee. For more articles and commentaries from Benny, click HERE.

(Investing) The Most Important Question to Ask When You’re in a Slump

Slumps happen. The trader who has a respectable 60% win rate has a 2.5% chance of losing four times in a row simply as a matter of chance. That doesn't sound like high odds, until you realize that, over the course of regular trading, such strings of losers are virtually guaranteed to happen. When traders encounter one of these losing streaks, they often interpret the outcome as a "slump". They may even become fearful of the slump--having seen other traders go through harrowing drawdowns or firings--and develop performance anxiety. This only adds to trading woes, making the "slump" a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The question traders naturally ask when they're in the "slump" mentality is: What am I doing wrong? Of course, they have good intentions. They want to identify their problem so that they can effect a possible solution.

But sometimes that question is the problem. The trader is so caught in a problem mindset that he or she loses sight of strengths and what brought success to that point.

For that reason, the most important questions to ask when you're in a slump are: What are you really good at? What are your distinctive strengths as a trader? What has brought you success to this point?

Too often, traders after a hot streak will stop working on their game. Conversely, after a losing streak, they become mired in problem thinking. It's far better to focus on improvements you want to make when you're making money and get back to basics--your distinctive strengths--when you're down. That way, you always avoid overconfidence and underconfidence that can result from mere chance runs of winners and losers.

Here are a few questions that I find helpful in focusing on strengths:
* What markets do you trade most successfully?
* What time frames (holding periods) are most successful for you?
* What times of day represent your greatest trading strengths?
* What are your most successful trade setups?
* Do you tend to trade better from the long or short side?
* What position sizes and stops work best for you?
* How do you prepare for trading when you're at your best?
* How do you handle losses when you're trading well?

The idea is to handle drawdowns by building on what you do best. It also means that it's important to keep tabs on your results and identify your trading niche. If you're not sure of your niche--that area of trading that best maximizes your talents, skills, interests, and opportunities--this chapter from my book might be of help.

It's difficult to stay modest and hardworking when things are going well, but it's just as hard to stay solution-focused when problems abound. If, however, you ask problem questions when you're mired in problems, you may just be compounding your difficulties. Slumps are only permanent if you lose sight of the best within you.

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Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D. is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY and author of The Psychology of Trading (Wiley, 2003). As Director of Trader Development for Kingstree Trading, LLC in Chicago, he has mentored numerous professional traders and coordinated a training program for traders. An active trader of the stock indexes, Brett utilizes statistically-based pattern recognition for intraday trading. Brett does not offer commercial services to traders, but maintains an archive of articles and a trading blog at www.brettsteenbarger.com.

Singapore STI heading towards 1,600 points

The Singapore FTSE Straits Times Index continues to trade sideways with a downward bias. The FTSTI is at about the same level a month ago with a volatile trading range between 1,677 and 1,960 points. It was not able to rebound as expected but instead broke the 1,700 points support level. Therefore a down trend continuation is not under way. Investors are being very cautious with higher unemployment rate and weak financial results.


Weekly FTSTI chart as at 29 January 2008 using NextVIEW Advisor. Click on chart to view enlarged chart.

The short and mid term 30 and 60 day moving averages remain flat and this means that the intermediate trend is sideways. However, the long term trend is still down with the 90 day moving average declining with the FTSTI still below it. The FTSTI is expected to continue the long term down trend when it broke the support level of the wedge pattern (S1) at 1,780 points on the chart. It looks like the STI is heading towards the next support level at 1,600 points.

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Article contributed by Private Trader, Market Expert, Trading Coach and Chief Market Strategist of Nextview, Mr. Benny Lee. For more articles and commentaries from Benny, click HERE.

US market: Down Trend waiting to resume

In my previous article, I mentioned that the US market is still uncertain and a rebound is expected. However, the US market continues to be weak. Weak financial results were posted and giants like Microsoft, Shell and others are reporting quarterly losses. Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives approved another US$819 billion stimulus bill that investors hope will help lift the American economy out of its worst crisis in decades. Thousands of workers are being laid off due to the current economic slow down.


Daily DJI chart as at 29 January 2009 using NextVIEW Advisor. Click on chart for larger view.

The DJI traded in a volatile range between 7,900 and 9,080 points. The DJI so far is able to stay above the 8,000 points support level and is now at 8,149 points. The down trend is waiting to resume and from the weakening bullish momentum, it looks like the support may not be able to hold long. Support and resistance level remains at 8,000 and 9,000 points. Expect DJI to move into a more bearish mode if it breaks below the support level and stay below it.

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Article contributed by Private Trader, Market Expert, Trading Coach and Chief Market Strategist of Nextview, Mr. Benny Lee. For more articles and commentaries from Benny, click HERE.

Gold Price: Downward correction appears to be underway

For the last couple of days gold has been testing a minor support range between 888 and 880.

There is not too much doubt that gold will in due time rise above its’ most recent high of 916. But meanwhile, a down ward correction to around 870-860 appears to be underway. Even a drop to around 845 would weaken the recent bullish action but would not likely prevent a rise to or above 916.

An unlikely close below 845 could indicate that the down trend has resumed.


Daily Gold chart as at 29 January 2009 using NextVIEW Advisor. Click on chart for larger view.

TECHNICALS
EMA20 – rising around 865
SMA 100 – flat around 810
Stochastic – down
MACD – still showing bullish energy

R1 – resistance at 916.
S1 – nearby support at 870.
S2 – 860.
S3 – 845.

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Article and Commentary by Don Schellenberg. A trader and trading coach, he is a noted expert on Market Structure, Elliott Wave and Fibonacci. He trades the forex market.