Black box trading sounds mysterious and scary for many. Tall tales of machines running amok or making mistakes that wipe out accounts make for good movies, but the reality is often much simpler. All good traders use rules to provide structure to their trading. This helps regulate emotions so they can make decisions quickly under […]

An esoteric trade caused dramatic sell-offs in the equity markets this month. A surprise rate increase by the Central Bank of Japan (BOJ) tipped over a complex set of dominoes, resulting in a 165% daily spike in the VIX contract in the United States and a 10% drop in the S&P over just a few […]

Much like my children would love to eat nothing but desserts, consumers prefer spending power with few limits that come with low interest rates. Thus, we see the shock from the talking heads on CNBC and other investment channels when central banks tighten. Sugar and cheap borrowing both create addiction, and both can also lead […]