Archive: August 2026
Is forex a zero-sum game?
The accounting is, trade by trade. The intent is not. 42% of volume is funding swaps and 2025’s growth came from hedging — but among those who speculate, once costs are in, the game is negative-sum.
Why does almost nobody make money day trading?
Between 67% and 97% of intraday traders lose money. The cause is not that markets are unpredictable: the gross result hovers around zero and what sinks it is cost, which scales with frequency.
Dollar dips as US inflation cools; gold steadies below $4,400
The dollar came under pressure today after softer US inflation data reduced Fed hike bets, reversing yesterday's recovery; gold steadied below the $4,400 ceiling it had just cleared, and the pound was the weakest major.
What does a trading bootcamp actually sell you?
The information is free. What you pay for is a schedule, a group, and someone who reads your trades — and it is worth knowing which of those you actually need.
Forex today: Gold clears the $4,400 ceiling as the dollar recovers
Gold broke through the ceiling that had capped it for three sessions after US inflation landed in line, while the dollar reversed yesterday's dip with Strait of Hormuz risk back in play.
Dollar dips as oil advances; attention on US CPI
The dollar eased on Wednesday, with caution ahead of US inflation data, while crude oil continued its advance on Middle East tensions.
What is the Bank of Canada (BoC)?
The BoC sets the rate behind the Canadian dollar, and it is the one major central bank whose inflation target is renewed by agreement with the government every five years.
What is the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)?
The RBA sets the cash rate that drives the Australian dollar. Its inflation target is a band rather than a point, and its rate moves reach households faster than almost anywhere else.
What are the consumer confidence indexes (Michigan and Conference Board)?
Two monthly surveys ask American households how they feel about the economy. One of them carries the inflation-expectations number the Federal Reserve reads most closely.
Trailing stops: when do they protect a trade and when do they cut it short?
A trailing stop follows price and never moves back. Set the distance from volatility rather than a round number, and know what it really does: it does not maximise the winner, it protects it.
Order book and depth of market: why does forex not have one?
Forex has no central order book because it has no central exchange. That one structural fact explains tick volume, broker-specific spreads and why institutional orders cannot be verified.
Expectancy, Sharpe and Sortino: the metrics beyond win rate
Win rate tells you how often you are right, not whether you make money. Expectancy answers whether the edge exists; Sharpe and Sortino tell you what it cost to collect it.
Moving averages: what do SMA, EMA and the crossovers really tell you?
A moving average is the average price over the last N bars. That simplicity is the point — and it is why the signals built on top of it, golden and death crosses included, are so often misread.
What is the dollar index (DXY) and what does it really measure?
The DXY tracks the dollar against six currencies, but its weights were set in 1973 and never updated. What is actually inside it, and why it sometimes disagrees with the dollar in front of you.
Does SMC actually work? What it can and cannot claim?
SMC describes real things on a chart, but cannot prove the story it tells about them. What the framework can honestly claim, what it cannot, and how much of it is genuinely new.
What is the VIX and why does it move forex?
The VIX measures the movement the options market expects in US stocks. It is not a currency indicator — and yet it is one of the cleanest early warnings that risk appetite is about to turn.
Dollar gains momentum as oil soars on Middle East concerns
The dollar claws back recent losses as rising oil prices reignite inflation worries, while Middle East tensions boost commodities and risk metrics indicate greed.
Daily roundup: The NFP shock still weighs on the dollar as Hormuz risk returns
The dollar is still the weakest major after Friday’s negative payrolls, but Monday’s Asian session brings renewed Middle East risk that is already supporting it.
