FuturesTechs Blog

We are pleased to announce that our ipad/iphone App is now available to download from the App Store (simply search for “Futurestechs”).

We would like to invite you (client or otherwise) to download the App.

We are running a 2 week Free Trial Period when you can look at all the reports (After that access will be limited to 1 “sample” report per day).

We would ask that you pass this e-mail on to any friends or colleagues who you think may be interested.

Also any reviews of the App would be most helpful and appreciated, so if you like it please take the time to add a review to the App store.

As you can see from the screen grabs below (click on them for a full size view) the reports look really good on the ipad and, thanks to our friends at wordflow, navigating around the App and finding the reports you want is really easy.

Anyone who decides to subscribe will also be given free access to our Website Member’s Area (in case the kids are hogging the ipad!!) where all the reports are also posted daily.

Cheers,

Clive.

Dear All, We welcomed an old friend and buddy from the LIFFE Floor days to FuturesTechs Mews this morning and he insisted we did a webcast together, which was great fun. It can be seen on the Naked Trader website here:

http://www.nakedtrader.com/webcasts/tony-laporta—-please-click-here-to-reach-me-directly-via-email/9-26.aspx

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Clive.

The last few days have seen some big swings either way in Equity markets.

“Where next?” I hear you ask! Our chief market analyst Clive Lambert was on CNBC last night trying to pick the bones out of this price action, looking at the S&P 500 Futures, FTSE Futures, and suggesting Fresnillo as a Stock to buy.

See it on our media page by clicking here.

Clive was on CNBC this morning over the phone, talking about the short term outlooks for the FTSE Futures, BP and Vedanta. Please click here to go to our “Media” page and take a look!

Please remember anyone can have a Free Trial of our Technical Analysis at any time.

We analyse over 25 markets on a daily basis including EU and US Bond Futures, Equities, Commodities ansd Forex.

Professional Traders/Brokers/Fund Managers please click here.

Retail/Spread Bet/CFD Traders please click here.

Happy New Year to all.

FuturesTechs celebrates 10 years in business this year. Back in March 2000, exactly as the NASDAQ 100 peaked above 4800, I set up FuturesTechs to provide analysis for Caboto Securities, the firm I had just left, plus any other ex LIFFE traders who were interested. The LIFFE Floor had recently succumbed to the rise of Electronic trading and the “Locals” (traders who traded their own money) had all moved up to a number of offices dotted around London and the home counties. These guys were struggling. They needed an edge, as their previous edge (awareness of the ebb and flow of orders in the trading pits) had completely disappeared. These traders were the bread and butter for FuturesTechs for many years to come, and it’s only in recent years that we’ve branched out to offer our services to a host of other traders, brokers and market participants.

The Locals-turned-arcade traders traded The Bund, Bobl and Schatz spreads, as well as Euribor and Short Sterling Futures, again mostly spreads, so these were the first reports we wrote. Below is one our early reports from that era.

Bund Report from 2000 - Click here

In the early years I moved to Australia, then back to the UK, I had several stints with trading firms (alas day trading and writing analysis didn’t prove to be a good mix), and I wrote the reports from all manner of different locations. It wasn’t until 2007 that the business’s growth forced us to “grow up” and get our own premises.

By this time we were up to 4 staff, and writing around 25 pages of analysis per day. We were writing more and more reports,  covering Commodity markets in response to demand from a new swathe of traders leaving Futures Floors like the IPE. We then decided to “branch out” and build a website to offer the reports to a wider audience. We employed the services of Silkstream, a fellow Southend-based company, and they did a fine job, and we now have a growing band of Private Investors and Individual clients who find this to be an essential part of their daily trading routine.

We’ve been able to add lots of functionality to the website as we’ve gone along,  making it something that is constantly evolving; becoming better value for money by the day. We have recently posted our first Video on the Members Area, and this Blog continues to grow and grow, particularly with our “Tutorial” blogs that many have found useful when starting their journey in Technical Analysis.

2009 saw us add “Skew-Bars” to all of our reports, and this colour coding of the support and resistance levels has proved a real hit across the board.

2009 also saw our client base expand even further afield, offering trade recommendations to UK Equity traders, money managers and brokers.

We have recently added another layer to this product, also available within the members area, with our “Trade Signals” report, using our in depth knowledge of Technical Analysis to provide a daily list of things to watch that may be of interest.

Click here to see a sample page from this report.

If you’ve stumbled across us for the first time then why not request a trial of our service.

Professional clients: click here to see what we can offer you.

Private Investors/traders: click here for a website trial.

Here’s to the next 10 years!

Cheers,

Clive.

Thought you might like to know we won the “Best Fixed Income Research and Strategy” category at this year’s Technical Analyst Awards.

The dinner was at the Sheraton Park Lane last Thursday, and I can assure you I almost fell off my chair when it was announced!

We were up against some strong competition including RBS and UBS, so it was good to see that a little firm from Southend can impress!!

I didn’t get the chance to do a speech, which was a good job really, so can I now publicly thank Graham and all the guys and girls here for all their hard work.

A nice way to celebrate our recent anniversary of 10 years in business!

To all of our customers we would like to thank you all for your continued support.

If you’re not a client and wish to have a trial of our analysis please click here register your interest.

Cheers,

Clive.

http://www.technicalanalyst.co.uk/conferences/Awards10.htm

Event: 4 Practical workshops on Technical Analysis, delivered over 2 days by our chief Technical Analyst, Clive Lambert

Date: March 17^th and 18^th 2010

Place: MWB Business Exchange, Houndsditch (City of London).

Details: Join Clive Lambert for a 2 day seminar introducing the basics of Technical Analysis, then delving deeper into three key methodologies used by traders every day.

This course is suitable for anyone from a new trader to an experienced market professional wishing to expand their knowledge on essential technical tools for short and medium term trading.

These practical modules on key trading methodologies may count towards 12 hours of your FSA CPD, based on them satisfying you training requirements*.

Clive Lambert has been a central figure in the UK Futures day trading arena for 10 years now, and has taught thousands of traders how to incorporate Technical Analysis into their daily routine. He is the Author of “Candlestick Charts” and is an accomplished and interesting speaker, who delivers seminars for many organisations including the UK Society of Technical Analysts.

March 17^th - 10am to 1pm - Module 1 - Introduction to Technical Analysis/Support and Resistance - £300 (+VAT)

• Clive will explain the basic principles and the main chart types before looking into the creation of support and resistance levels, and how to spot potential turning points using methods like trendlines and chart pattern recognition.

March 17^th - 2pm to 5pm - Module 2 - Candlestick Analysis - £300 (+VAT)

• After a run through of the history and construction of candlesticks Clive will go through the 7 most powerful patterns in candlestick analysis, sharing his unique insight into the “psychology” of each pattern, and their application on whatever timeframe chart you’re viewing. Clive is one of the UK’s leading proponents of Candlestick Analysis.

March 18^th - 10am to 1pm - Module 3 - Moving Averages and Momentum Indicators - £300 (+VAT)

• These studies are sometimes overused and often misunderstood. Clive will run through the common Indicators used in by different types of traders, the mistakes that are often made in their interpretation, and the correct way to utilise these studies to enhance your trading and understanding of price movement.

March 18^th - 2pm to 5pm - Module 4 - Market Profile - £300 (+VAT)

• Originally from the Futures Pits in Chicago this methodology is extremely tough to convey, as evidenced by the pile of difficult to read books on the subject. Clive breaks down the ideas behind Market Profile and tells first hand, in a practical way, how traders in London and Chicago use this in their daily trading. He has “grown up” around traders using Profile, so understands not only the complexities of this methodology, but its benefits to day traders.

Class sizes will be limited to 12 people, so you are guaranteed training that is both relevant and “personal”. All methodologies will be discussed using live charts of markets familiar to you.

Top notch Refreshments and Lunch will be provided, as well as course notes, either in bound, full colour “paper” format or on Memory Stick.

Delegates will also get a free signed copy of Clive’s book “Candlestick Charts”.
The course will take place at the MWB Business Exchange in Houndsditch (EC3, 5 minute walk from Liverpool Street); a fantastic modern space where delegates will enjoy excellent facilities.

Book now by clicking here or call us on +44 (0) 1702 333461.

Remember, places are limited.

Or take advantage of our generous discounts:

All four modules - £1000 (+VAT), or £800 (+VAT) for FuturesTechs customers**

FuturesTechs customers** can chose individual modules for £250 (+VAT).

If you wish to discuss block bookings for any of these Modules please let us know. I’m sure we can sort something out!!

Yours,

Clive

* Check with your compliance officer prior to booking

**Discount does not apply to FuturesTechs Website customers on month-to-month contracts.

The finalists for the 2010 Technical Analyst Awards have been announced, and we’re pleased to report that FuturesTechs has been shortlisted in the “Best Fixed Income Research and Strategy” category.

We are up against some strong competition including RBS and UBS.

“Friends” of FuturesTechs that have been nominated in other categories include CQG in the “Best Data Provider” and “Best Technical Analysis Platform” categories, and Progress Apama in the “Best Automated Trading Product” group.

The winners will be announced towards the end of March.

Other Company News:

On April 6th we celebrate our 10th birthday. We started life writing reports on the Bund, Bobl, T-Notes and 30 Year Bonds, and have since expanded to cover 28 markets in all (and counting!), covering Equities, Commodities and Foreign Exchange.

Our client base has morphed from a hard core of ex-LIFFE traders to a wide range of users, from Prop traders to Brokers, End Users and Fund Managers.

Last year we added Individual UK Equities (FTSE 350) to our product range, catering to CFD Brokers and Fund Management/trading groups. We send out structured buy/sell recommendations, and are working hard to add to the distribution channels for this, as more and more institutions show an interest in this product.

If you wish to see our track record or receive a trial of our daily recommendations click here and let us know.

2010 is already shaping up to be a big year for FuturesTechs as we continue to widen our readership by providing a reliable, timely, easy to read, innovative and trusted service. We recently asked our clients for feedback on the services we provide. Below are a few replies we received:

“I believe you are a market leader in technical analysis and reporting” - PW  - Ireland

“When trading the FTSE , FuturesTechs provides key technical levels that count whichever way the market is moving. At the click of a mouse , the analysis is delivered in an easy to read format and is part of a robust and reliable service which is spot on” - RH - East Sussex

“I don’t trade unless I have my FuturesTechs levels on my desk” - JB - Dublin

“As a company we use FuturesTechs for both daily technical analysis and charting seminars. On both counts they have been professional, dependable and efficient. The daily reports are easy to read and always on time, and should intra-day markets exceed the levels stated in the reports, they will always send out an update with added commentary. The charting seminars provided by Clive are tailored to the needs of the group and are comprehensive in their content. Clive is friendly and approachable and always very thorough. We are very happy with the services provided by FuturesTechs, and we would thoroughly recommend using them” - HT - London.

We (mostly!!) thank our clients for their continued support.

Click here if you wish to discuss a Trial of our Professional Service, or Click here to try out our Website Members’ Area.

WHAT DO WE THINK NOW?

At FuturesTechs we analyse 28 different markets each day and give our trading clients regular up to date analysis on the current thinking and market’s state of mind. We look at Bonds, Forex, Commodities and Equities. At the moment Stock Markets are the most interesting, providing the biggest conundrum for traders and operators.

We believe that Fundamental analysis is flawed (by not taking into account sentimenrt), and that most Economists get it wrong. A far more sensible way to look at the markets is to work out what the trend is, and stick with the trend, then do your best to spot (as early as possible!) any changes in trend.

One thing we’ve learnt over the years is that the market usually tops out when most people are getting bullish, and dashing in to get long, afraid to miss out. In other words when people are getting greedy. This could definitely be applied to Gold at present, and probably also to Equities!

The opposite situation creates bottoms and emerged in March when Equities bottomed out  -

Fear gripped the market and everyone ran for the door. We didn’t. We took a step back, and realised that many in the market had given up, that there were plenty of doomsayers talking the FTSE down to 2500. Our analysts said at the time that the market was nearing a bottom. In fact we said it on CNBC, so if you don’t believe us click below link to have a look.

There is a saying that “Harry Hindsight is the best trader in the world”, and we would suggest that if anyone says “I got long back in March” ask them to prove it!

In recent weeks we have been concerned that this up move is coming to an end, and despite the fact there is usually a “Santa Claus rally” we are still erring on the side of worrying about downside risk. We really haven’t gone very far since September, if you take a step back and look at things.

I used a Warren Buffett line last week in one of our reports and it sums up quite well everything I’ve said above.

“Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful”.

He’s done quite well out of it!

We follow the trend, but are always looking out for when the market’s psychology gets to an extreme.

Feel free to ask for a Free Trial by clicking the link below. Don’t forget to click below as well to view our comment on CNBC back in March.

Trial FuturesTechs here.

Check out Clive Lambert’s March 4th CNBC appearance here.