Did You Know?
15 articles
Market curiosities and how it works under the hood.
What was Black Monday 1987?
The Dow fell 22.6% in a day and it is still the record. The odd part: the market's fear gauge did not exist yet — 1987 is why it was built.
Did you know 'pip' is actually an acronym?
Every trader talks in pips, but almost nobody knows it's an acronym — Percentage in Point. What a pip really is, why the yen is the exception, and how it becomes your risk plan.
Why do they call the yen carry trade the 'widow-maker'?
For years the yen carry trade pays like clockwork — then wipes out months of gains in days. The story behind forex's darkest nickname, and the risk lesson inside it.
Did you know market fractals were discovered in the price of cotton?
In 1962, Benoît Mandelbrot studied cotton prices and found the jumps repeated at every scale. That's how fractals were born… and a lesson about the market's real risk.
Did you know the forex market is only truly 'alive' for a few hours a day?
Forex is open 24/5, but almost all the real volatility fits in four hours: the London–New York overlap. Why that window changes everything?.
What was the Medallion Fund?
One hedge fund returned about 66% a year for three decades — and has been closed to outsiders since 1993. What the Medallion Fund was?, and why you can't copy it?
Why does the US dollar dominate almost every forex trade?
The dollar sits on one side of about 89% of all currency trades — even in pairs that do not include it. Here is why, and what it means for reading strength.
Why do we call it a 'bull' or 'bear' market?
Two animals decide the mood of every market on earth. The reason comes down to how each one attacks — and to a very old con involving bearskins.
Why is CHF called the 'swissie'?
The Swiss franc's nickname is the easy part. Why the world runs to this currency when the world catches fire is the part worth knowing.
Why does the forex market never sleep?
There's no single building where forex trades — which is why the market runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, handing off around the world like a relay.
Why is GBP/USD called 'Cable'?
Traders call GBP/USD 'Cable' after the 1866 transatlantic telegraph that carried the rate between London and New York — still the market's most storied liquid pair.
Why is AUD called the 'aussie'?
The Australian dollar is the 'aussie' — plain slang, no coin story. What's interesting is that it's the market's risk barometer, tied to iron ore, China and the carry trade.
Why is CAD called the 'loonie'?
The Canadian dollar (CAD) is nicknamed the 'loonie' after a bird on its coin — and it trades almost in lockstep with oil, which is where the FOTSI comes in.
Why is the New Zealand dollar called the 'kiwi'?
No, it's not the fruit. The New Zealand dollar (NZD) is called the 'kiwi' after the national bird on its coin — and it's a carry-trade star the CTS tracks.
6 forex curiosities you probably did not know
$9.6 trillion a day, a dollar on 9 of 10 trades, and why GBP/USD is called 'Cable' — six forex facts, each with the tool it connects to.
