08:10am  ~  I got back here to Suffolk late last night, so it’s back to normal today – a few errands and a pile of emails regarding the new system plus a few Skype calls together with some trading at some stage. I will also fit in a cycle ride at some stage, not sure how the day is going to pan out yet.

Obviously the markets were quite quiet yesterday as it was the Martin Luther King bank holiday in the U.S. but overnight there was welcome news regarding a cash injection due from the People’s Bank of China of around $42billion after a cash liquidity scare in the run up to the Chinese new year. Persistent fears of a credit crunch and recent data hinting at an impending slow down in the People’s Republic have had markets cautious that the worlds second largest economy may be reaching a tipping point. However, this loosening of money markets has given Asian indices a boost overnight and we are set to see that optimism carrying over into Europe markets this morning.

An ongoing increase in the physical demand for gold, mainly from Asia pushed its price $1.8 higher yesterday to $1255. It would seem the demand for gold bars, coins and jewellery managed to offset the price drop sparked by a better US economy.

11:05am  ~  There’s not much happening on my collection of charts so far this morning although there is the possibility of a ‘short’ trade developing on the Gold chart, so I’ll keep an eye on it and report back later.

12:00 Midday  ~  The Gold trade triggered a short while ago and I’ve been in a ‘short’ position for a few minutes.  I have also had a couple of friends arrive for a cycle ride so I’ll set a stop and shoot out for an hour or so to get some exercise.

14:20pm  ~  I’m back home, showered and sitting here in the study and my Gold trade is doing ok, it’s currently at +93 pips so I’ll probably come out quite soon.

14:35pm  ~  The Gold price looks as though it’s having a prolonged retrace, so I am out with an 83 pip profit.

16:10pm  ~  I was not really looking for another trade this afternoon, but a nice opportunity just popped up on my Brent Oil chart so I am in ‘short’ now.

17:15pm  ~  Now I’m in one of the “Trade With A Day Job” strategies as well now on the S&P500 and my Brent Oil trade is still trundling down. Report later !

17:25pm  ~  Well that was quick – I am now out of my S&P500 trade at the usual 20 pip target and as my Brent Oil trade was in profit as well, I closed that off at the same time as we’re off out to the pub for  a swift one with some friends who’ve just travelled up from London.  The Brent Oil trade came in at +61 pips.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES  (+164 pips)

The new updated “Trade With A Day Job” beginner’s trading system is now available for download.  For 2014 it is in two parts, the main strategy which is basically unchanged for the past 14 years although it’s greatly simplified now.

Although I do love getting students questions coming in by email, my goal in rewriting the manual was to take the questions that students ask most often, and explain those points to a much greater degree.  This has two advantages – firstly students studying the system will understand it quicker with obvious repercussions on their trading and secondly I have more time to concentrate on talking to new students about starting to trade.

The second part to the system is a separate manual containing three new strategies that will help traders find more trade opportunities during the evening session. For more details, just email me or book a Skype chat.

13:45pm  ~  There’s no market update today unfortunately, I am currently on a long weekend break in Brighton but will be back home tomorrow morning, so normal service will be resumed then.

09:50am  ~  Another lie-in for me this morning after a very late night. We are off to Brighton for a long-weekend away so I’ve got a few errands and jobs around the house to do this morning before leaving soon after lunchtime.  I may have time to look at some charts, not sure at the moment.

The U.S. equity staged a partial sell-off yesterday partly due to their banking sector led by Citigroup and Goldman Sachs disappointing investors by announcing numbers that fell short of estimates. The Dow Jones 30 lost 71 points down to 16396 and my favourite instrument, the S&P500 also had a negative overall and did not even reach the established resistance level at 1852. Gold bounced off a support level of mine yesterday due to investors leaving equity markets and looking for safer havens for their money, although the price did not rise as much as many city traders thought it might and ended up forming a spinning top candlestick pattern on the daily chart..

There is new, updated “Trade With A Day Job” system manual due out on Sunday, if you would like more details please email me directly. There are going to be some new strategies available as part of the package.

09:10am  ~  After a late evening out a lie-in was in order this morning. I am going to have a lazy day at home today putting the final touches to the updated “Trade With A Day Job” evening system and also doing emails and some chart watching.

European equities are in a bullish mood and should open higher this morning. Yesterdays rally pushed the major indices in to higher territory for the year but when resistance levels are broken there is always the risk of hasty retreats as well. With traders now seemingly comfortable with the Fed’s tapering commitment and an easy outlook for monetary policy on the immediate horizon it looks like the usual January charge upwards for equity markets may at last be happening. The Dow Jones 30 gained 109 points to 16,468 as the World Bank upgraded its global growth forecast for 2014 and Bank of America beat estimates sparking a rise in the financial sector.  Conversely – the S&P500 hit the big resistance level on the daily charts yesterday, so keep an eye on another retreat from the 1851 level again, it may give some trading opportunities.

Surprise news regarding a massive drop in U.S. oil inventories gave the WTI price a boost and also helped my Brent Oil trade yesterday.

09:45am  ~  Change of plan, two friends are coming round in 5 minutes and we’re off for a cycle ride – east along the river – so I will be back around lunchtime for some chart watching after the U.S. trading session open.

14:20pm  ~  I have been watching some charts for a few hours now and most of them are trading in a range, no trends or nice reversals to get my teeth stuck into, so I’m switching them off and going into the garage to tinker about with three old cars that will be coming out from their winter break in a few months.   I’ve offered to do an oil change on a friend’s Austin 7 as well so he will be here soon.

18:30pm  ~  I’ve two computer screens here in the garage and I’m currently in a short position with my “Trade With A Day Job” strategy – it’s actually one of the new set-ups from the updated manual that’s going to be available in the next few days. I will report back later on the result.

20:50pm  ~  Well I am out of that earlier S&P500 position and we’re off to the pub now.  The trade ended with a 20 pip profit, jut above the 16 pip stop-loss value.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES  (+20 pips)

08:45am  ~  After a full day & evening in London yesterday I am spending the day at home today, so there maybe some trades to report on later – I will be watching my charts and doing some emails as well.  I also have three Skype calls this morning with people who are learning to trade.

Having experienced its worst decline in over two months at the beginning of the week, yesterday’s US equity market rally was the best performance so far this year, and was largely attributed to a 0.2% improvement in US retail sales for December, which was better than the 0.1% reading markets had been expecting. The S&P500 bounced off the support I mentioned yesterday and now looks set for the 1850 level.

Any rise in U.S. retail sales is considered a catalyst for economic growth, so yesterday’s increase triggered some bargain hunting in the energy sector on expectations of oil consumption picking up. The WTI crude prices gained $1 to $92.56 a barrel, throwing aside worries over the extra output from Libya or Iran where the regime started to co-operate with the West. Over here Brent did not join in the enthusiasm and came down onto the long term support level at $106, will we see a rebound today ?

10:10am  ~  I’m back from a cycle ride now so I’m going to get busy in the study with some chart watching plus some Skype calls.

12:15pm  ~  I usually watch just four charts when trading and the only thing I can see happening at the moment is a possible UTB opportunity on Brent Oil, I will let you know later what happens.

13:00pm  ~  The Brent Oil set-up did come off in the end and I’m currently long in the market with a 28 pip stop-loss.

15:40pm  ~  The Brent Oil price has shot up in the last hour and a half and I’ve just closed the position off at 107.05 giving me a 90 pip profit. Off to do some errands but I shall be back around 5pm to trade my evening system for a few hours.

17:55pm  ~  I’ve been watching my S&P500 chart for half an hour now, and I’m in a ‘long’ trade with my “Trade With A Day Job” strategy, currently the position is at break even.

18:30pm  ~  I have just been stopped out of the market at minus 16 pips and normally I would look for another trade to recover the loss but we are off for a Chinese meal with friends at 7 o’clock so I’m switching my charts off now.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES  (+74 pips)

08:40am  ~  Another day away from the screens – I am off to London in an hour to visit some old trading friends and spread betting companies in the city.  I may be back in time for some trading this evening but I will report back later

European equities are set to open lower after an overnight sell off in the US and Asia, in New York the Dow Jones posted a sharp plunge yesterday losing 172 points to 16,272 as investors are waking up from that disappointing employment report.  The New Year has not seen the usual buying frenzy often seen when traders come back from the Christmas holiday. Instead, the markets have stalled as no new catalysts have emerged to keep the bulls going and the double edged sword of good economic data being bad if it leads to further tapering by the Fed.   There are concerns stock markets could start rolling back – the US indices made a decisive move out of their ranges yesterday and Asian indices have been already trending lower since late December so the question is whether the European indices will follow suit today? Having said that, the S&P hit a significant support/resistance level at 1815 last night, so there may be a rebound from that level in the next few days – this was a resistance level in December but now seems to be support.

Doubts regarding the pace of the US economic recovery continued to allow gold prices to rebound slightly. The precious metal gained over $4 to $1253 also helped by ongoing strong physical demand in China in the run up to their new year celebrations.

23:25pm  ~  I got back from a very full day in London half an hour ago, so no trading at all for me today – I am planning a much more relaxed day at home tomorrow.

08:50am (07:50 UK time)  ~  I am still away on a long-weekend break in Le Touquet so no trading for me today but I will be back in the UK later today.

Here in Europe equities are set to open marginally higher but the mood remains very cautious. Despite the weak jobs data released on Friday, European equities managed gains overall. The US Non Farm Payrolls report showed a gain of 74,000 jobs, less than the expected increase of 196,000 jobs with the unemployment rate dropping down to 6.7%, the lowest since October 2008, so we now have the prospect of revised tapering plans by the Fed and the impact that will have on the markets. Having rallied in the first part of the day, the Dow Jones reversed course as a reaction to the employment figures ending 8 points down at 16,442, although the S&P500 faired slightly better and now looks like its on a course back to the high of 1852 that was reached on the last day of 2013.

17:40pm  UK time  ~  I’m back home now so I’ve got a chance to switch on my MT4 platform for a few hours and watch my S&P500 chart. I will report back later if I see anything.

19:10pm  ~  I am in a short position with my Trade With A Day Job strategy, the stop loss is 24 pips and so far I am at break-even although the market has been going south for most of the afternoon so all looks ok.

19:35pm  ~  I have closed my trade off now as we’re out to Cafe Rouge shortly for some supper.  I managed +30 pips.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES  (+30 pips) 

09:15am  ~  A nice late start for me this morning after a very late night.  There’s no trading for me today as the U.S. employment numbers are out at lunchtime (UK time) so the markets will be in their usual holding pattern up until then. I shall be off on a cycle ride shortly in the bracing morning air and then in the kitchen with a fire going for the rest of the morning catching up on emails as I did not look at any yesterday.

There were no surprises from either the Bank of England or the European Central Bank yesterday, both leaving their respective policies unchanged, but it’s slowly becoming apparent that the ECB’s next policy move is likely to be in the opposite direction to both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.

As mentioned above, the main event today is the U.S. non-farm payrolls report and expectations for this afternoon’s employment number are for 197,000, down slightly from November’s 203,000 change, but given some of the strength seen in recent manufacturing data we could see a number well north of 200k. We should not forget that we could also see significant revisions to the previous two months as we’ve witnessed in previous years.

The S&P500 moved up slightly on a volatile day’s trading and now seems to be in a definite up-trend going towards the high of 1852 seen last week.  Gold is trading in a bit of a channel and needs some large movements in equities to force it into some worthwhile (tradeable) movement, maybe we’ll see that later at 1:30pm ?

07:40am  ~  An early start for me this morning as I am off up the road for a clay pigeon shoot at 8am but should be back before lunch when I’ll do some chart watching and emails here in the study.

US markets finished slightly lower yesterday as the latest FOMC minutes last night confirmed the view that the recent decision to taper their money-printing exercise was very much a majority view, a view that has subsequently been endorsed, earlier this week, by the lone dissenter at the time, Boston Fed chief Rosengren.

These minutes also showed optimism that the current improvement in the labour market looked set to continue as the economy improved, but this was tempered with some caution about the weak inflation outlook, which could well influence future decisions about tapering too quickly, in the coming months. All will be revealed on Friday when we have December’s employment numbers announced in the Non Farm Payroll figures.  Here in Europe we have rate decisions for the ECB and Bank Of England plus a speech later on in the day by ECB President Mario Draghi.

As expected, Gold was under pressure from the resistance level at $1250 and ended slightly down although the direction of equities today will most probably dictate its direction for the rest of the week.

16:15pm  ~  In the end we stayed up at the farm all day so I have only just got back home. I am going to switch on my charts shortly and see what opportunities present themselves – I will report back later.

17:25pm  ~  I’ve found a ‘short’ opportunity on my Brent Oil chart using strategy 3 from the trendFX system and I got into the trade a few minutes ago.  Nothing has come up with my Trade With A Day Job strategy yet.

19:45pm  ~  The price of Brent Oil has had a break in its downward momentum so I’ve come out of my position with a profit of +52 pips. We are off out with friends to the Bell at Walberswick for supper at 8 o’clock so my charts are being switched off now.

Daily Target Reached ?  YES  (+52 pips)