This article written by Bruce Bower was originally published in the June 2013 issue of Traders' Magazine.
- Bruce Bower is a portfolio manager at a hedge fund. He has a keen interest in markets, psychology and self-development, having trained as a hypnotherapist.
In school, did you ever study something and end up more confused? For some, trading psychology has that effect. The more they learned, the more they would become confused. Actually, the standard advice is well-meaning and can be appealing on some levels. “Be more disciplined”. “Get in the zone”. Who can argue with that? Who wouldn’t want to do that?! Instead, most traders are struggling to close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. They know what they want, but they can’t quite get there. What to do? Ultimately, trading psychology should help us do two things: 1. Help us to identify problematic areas with ourselves that negatively impact our trading. 2. Solve them.
If you’re spending time “solving” problems that aren’t relevant to your trading, or implementing solutions that don’t work, then you are going to get confused. Instead, you should work on things that make you a better trader. And you know what — confusion doesn’t help you to get better at trading. With this in mind, how do we find out the best advice and block out the stuff that confuses us?
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD trims gains, nears 1.1700
The EUR/USD pair eases in the American afternoon and approaches the 1.1700 mark. The pair surged earlier in the day after the ECB left interest rates unchanged and upwardly revised inflation and growth figures. The US CPI rose 2.7% YoY in November, nearing Fed’s goal.
GBP/USD returns to 1.3370 after BoE, US CPI
The GBP/USD pair jumped towards the 1.3440 early in the day, following the BoE decision to cut rates, and US CPI data, which was much softer than anticipated. The US Dollar, however, managed to regain the ground lost during US trading hours.
USD/JPY rises to near 156.00 ahead of US CPI data, BoJ policy decision
USD/JPY moves higher to near 156.00 in the countdown to the US inflation data. Fed’s Bostic sees inflation more worrying than the job market. The BoJ is expected to raise interest rates by 25 bps to 0.75% on Friday.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD trims gains, nears 1.1700
The EUR/USD pair eases in the American afternoon and approaches the 1.1700 mark. The pair surged earlier in the day after the ECB left interest rates unchanged and upwardly revised inflation and growth figures. The US CPI rose 2.7% YoY in November, nearing Fed’s goal.
GBP/USD returns to 1.3370 after BoE, US CPI
The GBP/USD pair jumped towards the 1.3440 early in the day, following the BoE decision to cut rates, and US CPI data, which was much softer than anticipated. The US Dollar, however, managed to regain the ground lost during US trading hours.
Gold extends its consolidative phase around $4,330
The bright metal cannot attract speculative interest on Thursday, despite central banks announcements and the United States latest inflation update. XAU/USD is stuck around $4,330, confined to a tight intraday range.
Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum hold steady while XRP slides amid mixed ETF flows
Bitcoin eyes short-term breakout above $87,000, underpinned by a significant increase in ETF inflows. Ethereum defends support around $2,800 as mild ETF outflows suppress its recovery. XRP holds above at $1.82 amid bearish technical signals and persistent inflows into ETFs.
Bank of England cuts rates in heavily divided decision
The Bank of England has cut rates to 3.75%, but the decision was more hawkish than expected, leaving market rates higher and sterling slightly stronger. It's a close call whether the Bank cuts again in February or March.
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