2008 was a wild and hairy year for sure. Volatility was the highest I’ve ever seen it and also the highest I can ever find on record.

The Dow dropped from over 14,000 down into the 7000s. Oil dropped from $147 down to just under $40. These were some of the fastest drops I’ve ever seen in my life.

 So what’s in store for 2009 for stocks, bonds, commodities and currencies?

 Stocks finally stabilize and a few “select” sectors will lead the way out!

In stocks, you are going to see stabilization for 2009. In fact, it will likely “base” in a very wide sideways range for much of 2009 as it catches its breath to head higher into the next bull market in late 209 or 2010.

I remember the 201k joke very well from the last stock market dive back in 2001-02. It’s a term used for when your 401k gets chopped in half, and it goes from a 401k to a “201k”    It certainly wasn’t used in the 1929 crash, because 401k’s did not exist. Today they very much do exist and are a huge part of people’s financial future and still a great tool regardless of this painful market.   I am not being a dipster here, (a dipster is a term for people that just mindlessly buy any investments just because they are down) I see this market as an opportunity to get smarter about your investing and your finances in general. 

While you’re spending all that money on holiday shopping, don’t forget to consider a couple of year end tax saving strategies for perhaps a larger tax refund or smaller liability depending upon your withholding.

 The Fed just released its interest rate decision ....cut interest rates to a range between 0% and 1/4%. The first time I've ever heard of a "range" but that's the word.  

The Dow popped 50 points upon the Fed lowering rates by "at least" 75 basis points from the former 1% level.

Sean Hyman

Head Instructor

www.mywealth.com

shyman@mywealth.com

In the years that I’ve spent being an instructor to currency students all around the world, I’ve realized that the names and faces change but the same mistakes tend to happen.

 I think it’s because its human nature to be drawn to the same errors. So let’s talk about a few of the biggest ones so we can “put out a few of these fires” and get you on the road to success in your trading.

 The biggest mistake I see is that traders always say, “How little (dollar wise) can I get started with?” rather than saying how much SHOULD I start with?

 Being undercapitalized is one of the biggest mistakes in any market but particularly in a higher leveraged market like currencies. In my opinion, a trader ought to have at least $2,000 to $3,000 in their account per mini lot traded minimally.

Don't forget about the Fed's interest rate decision today at 2:15pm EST and be sure to watch out of the results of the OPEC meeting tomorrow (the 17th). Supposedly, 2 million barrels of oil may be cut DAILY. 

The Fed is expected to cut rates by 1/2 of a percentage point to 0.50% down from 1% currently. 

They also may buy Treasuries to try to manipulate the interest rates down further. 

So stay tuned. 

Being an avid chart watcher, I always like to see what indices seem to show improvement the quickest. It’s always good to be attune to the first “signs of life” and where they appear.

 So I was looking around recently as I routinely do and I noticed that China’s stocks are perking back up again. That’s a good thing. Because if that large economy perks up, then it will help the entire global economy.

 In looking at the Shanghai Composite Index below, I see the first signs of life “higher lows and higher highs” on the charts. This tells me that for the first time in a long time, new buyers are coming back into Chinese stocks (as noted by the red downtrend line being broken).