Press Digest for Friday

Pete, November 30, 2007 @ 3:54PM ET | Link | RSS | Read via Email | Start a Discussion

Spirit Lake Internment Camp [DOWNLOAD PODCAST]
[Editor: Will it happen again in this post 9/11 world?] The Current producer John Chipman took a powerful look at the quest for official recognition of the interning of Canadians of Ukrainian heritage during the First World War. The documentary is presented in its entirety. Chipman follows the story of Mary Manko Haskett, a Canadian-born child of Ukrainian immigrants. In 1915, those of Austro-Hungarian descent were deemed a security risk by the government of the day, so Mary, her two sisters and their parents were arrested under the War Measures Act and incarcerated at Spirit Lake in the Abitibi Region.
Protesters demand teacher’s death
Primary school teacher Gillian Gibbons was found guilty of insulting Islam on Thursday by allowing her class to name a teddy bear Mohammad, the name of the prophet of Islam. More at The Economist.
Venezuela’s fateful choice
On Sunday, Venezuelans will vote on constitutional changes that would, among other things, grant Chávez unparalleled power to run the country’s finances as he sees fit. If the referendum is approved, government accounting is expected to become still harder to fathom, and foreign businesses, many of them already afraid to invest, will find Venezuela even more forbidding. . . .Under the proposed changes, Chávez seeks to formally strip the central bank of its autonomy, giving him the power to dictate monetary policy and the spending of excess foreign-currency reserves. Another measure would eliminate an already neglected rainy-day fund.
Meet This Year’s Tech Pioneers
The World Economic Forum has bestowed the coveted honor on 39 companies, which could become the Googles, a previous winner, of tomorrow.
The panic about the dollar
Net private capital inflows into America seem to have evaporated since the credit turmoil began. The subprime crisis has tarred the dollar as a subprime currency. In recent years a fall in private inflows has usually been offset by central banks in emerging economies that link their currencies to the dollar. This system (often known as Bretton Woods II) has thus propped up the dollar. But this time these central banks have been less willing to take up the slack. Right on cue, the cracks in Bretton Woods are becoming clear.
Bernanke Says Fed to Judge Market ‘Turbulence’ Impact
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke speaks in Charlotte, North Carolina, about “turbulence” in financial markets, the performance of the U.S. economy and factors affecting central bank monetary policy. Bernanke speaks at a Charlotte Chamber meeting where he was awarded the Citizen of the Carolinas award.
IOC’s Rogge Says Fight Against Drugs Is ‘First Priority’
Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, spoke with Bloomberg’s Richard Jordan in Laussane, Switzerland, about preparations for the Beijing and London games, the threats posed by drugs and terrorism and the future of the Olympic movement. China will handle any political protests during next year’s Beijing Olympics in a “very correct way,” according to Rogge, the top Olympic official. They spoke on Nov. 28.
Nuclear Programs
Protests in Venezuela, threats from iran and Italy says not so fast, with Kenneth Timmerman, Middle East Data Project president & CNBC’s Brian Shactman.
Euro Inflation Climbs Higher
Euro-Zone inflation jumped more than expected in November, to its highest level in six-and-a-half years, official data showed Friday. CNBC’s Ross Westgate asks Dominic Bryant, senior economist at BNP Paribas, what the implications are.
Indian GDP Grows 8.9%
India’s second-quarter gross domestic product grew 8.9 percent in November, year on year. CNBC’s Christine Tan speaks to Krishnan Sehgal, managing director at Kris Fund Management, about Asia’s third-largest economy.
Russia Parliamentary Elections
Russia goes to the polls this weekend for parliamentary elections. CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore talks with Carlo, about the possibility of President Vladimir Putin coming out on top.
Rare wine goes under the hammer
A rare collection of wine once belonging to Russian Tsar Nicolas II has gone under the hammer at International auction house Bonhams.

How Leverage Affects The Individual Trader

Teresa, November 29, 2007 @ 5:08PM ET | Link | RSS | Read via Email | Start a Discussion

The past few years has seen its share of high-profile blowups in the hedge fund industry. Traders find it incredible that professional traders — hedge fund stars with all the resources at their fingertips — could be “this stupid”. I can think of two reasons why this happened, and stupidity is not one of them.

First, potential investors do not want to invest in a hedge fund that promises 10% per year. They want their risk capital to return a lot more, forcing hedge funds to squeeze blood from a stone with exotic strategies. Or else they cannot get money from the client.

Second, since there is only so much return that can be had from any strategy, the only way to increase returns is to use more leverage. And of course, that cuts both ways. When it’s up, it’s up a lot. And when it is down, it is over and out.

Leverage and The Individual Trader

New traders are typically undercapitalized, and tend to gravitate to highly leveraged markets such as forex and futures. This always results in wild swings in the account equity.

Because individual traders rarely contemplate the implications of leverage, huge fluctuations in account equity are easily interpreted as bad trading or “lack of discipline”. The blame is inevitably placed on an inadequate trading system or deficient technique, yet few realize that there is a structural reason behind the problem: excessive leverage.

Leverage warps the perception of risk. The reflex is to tighten stops based on how much the trader can lose instead of using stops based on range and volatility. This generally results in trades being prematurely stopped out, and when that happens, the trader usually moves to ever-smaller time frames. At this point, commission and slippage eat up much of the potential profits. The trader has to sprint just to stay in the same place. It becomes a vicious cycle.
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