Post number 1

OK so to kick off my blog, just a few explanatory notes:

Most of my trading is done via futures. So pretty much all of the trades you will see in the spreadsheet I plan to keep will typically be the futures, not any ETF of an index etc. However, whilst I want to try and keep the live P+L as close as possible to reality, Yahoo! Finance doesn't have interest rate or currency futures in it (that I can find anyway), so in those cases I'll just use the live price of the actual underlying. I will make adjustments to P+L once trades have been closed out.

The implications shouldn't be major, although FX is a little tricky due to the forwards being different from the spot due to the carry/interest-rate differential on the trade. We'll see how it goes though.

For single stocks, it will be the single stocks I list. I haven't found a way to integrate dividends live into the spreadsheet, so again a little manual adjustment will be required from time to time.

For commodities, like equity indices, it will be the futures in the spreadsheet, so exactly as my trades will be.

In any case, I'll try and make it clear at all times, and the P+L numbers I end up posting will be EXACTLY what I make (or lose...)

Hopefully we can get some constructive dialogue going here, as I feel that whilst there are many excellent blogs out there that offer broad analysis, there aren't many purely dedicated to trading, despite the fact that many readers will be as interested as I am in making cold hard cash. I also hope to integrate polls at some point to get readers to pick some trades.

I'll do my best to not get bored with posting and keep it lively. I've been a professional trader for over 10 years now so I usually have a view on most stuff at any point in time. I warn you up front that I am typically of a skeptical nature (often described as bearish) but I try my best to keep an open-mind of opportunities and not get dragged into the perma-bear camp...although it's kinda difficult not to be these days!

Good luck to anyone following me into trades!

Yours,
2and20