Merlin Rothfeld
Online Trading Academy
Tillie Allison joins Merlin from Kansas City, where she is sitting in on an options class with Steve Moses. While normally Tillie is in the teaching spot, she decided to refine her skills in options trading by sitting in with an options master! Even great traders take classes! Tillie and Merlin take a look at several market including the S&P, Bonds, Commodities and Currencies!
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Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD bounces toward 1.1750 as US Dollar loses strength
EUR/USD returned to the 1.1750 price zone in the American session on Friday, despite falling Wall Street, which indicates risk aversion. Trading conditions remain thin following the New Year holiday and ahead of the weekend, with the focus shifting to US employment and European data scheduled for next week.
GBP/USD nears 1.3500, holds within familiar levels
After testing 1.3400 on the last day of 2025, GBP/USD managed to stage a rebound. Nevertheless, the pair finds it difficult to gather momentum and trades with modest intraday gains at around 1.3490 as market participants remain in holiday mood.
USD/JPY advances to near 157.00 on BoJ's cautious tightening
The USD/JPY pair trades in positive territory for the fourth consecutive day around 157.00 during the early European session on Friday. The cautious pace of the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) monetary tightening weighs on the Japanese Yen (JPY) against the Greenback. Traders will take more cues from the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report for December, which is due next week.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD bounces toward 1.1750 as US Dollar loses strength
EUR/USD returned to the 1.1750 price zone in the American session on Friday, despite falling Wall Street, which indicates risk aversion. Trading conditions remain thin following the New Year holiday and ahead of the weekend, with the focus shifting to US employment and European data scheduled for next week.
GBP/USD nears 1.3500, holds within familiar levels
After testing 1.3400 on the last day of 2025, GBP/USD managed to stage a rebound. Nevertheless, the pair finds it difficult to gather momentum and trades with modest intraday gains at around 1.3490 as market participants remain in holiday mood.
Gold trims intraday gains, approaches $4,300
Gold retreated sharply from the $4,400 area and trades flat for the day in the $4,320 price zone. Choppy trading conditions exacerbated the intraday decline, although XAU/USD bearish case is out of the picture, considering growing expectations for a dovish Fed and persistent geopolitical tensions.
Cardano gains early New Year momentum, bulls target falling wedge breakout
Cardano kicks off the New Year on a positive note and is extending gains, trading above $0.36 at the time of writing on Friday. Improving on-chain and derivatives data point to growing bullish interest, while the technical outlook keeps an upside breakout in focus.
Economic outlook 2026-2027 in advanced countries: Solidity test
After a year marked by global economic resilience and ending on a note of optimism, 2026 looks promising and could be a year of solid economic performance. In our baseline scenario, we expect most of the supportive factors at work in 2025 to continue to play a role in 2026.
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