U.S Unemployment Figures – Back On The Rise

Even with the U.S Gov / Data being as “massaged” as it currently is ( with the numbers being modified / skewed as best they can to show improvement ) – unemployment claims have missed “yet again” for the 4th straight week.

Coming in at 313,000 after an expected 287,000 – the numbers continue to increase – all the while U.S mainstream media continues to “sell the story” that The U.S is well on its way to recovery.

I’ve harped on this before, but once again….take a minute to consider that in the past seven days 313,000 “more people” ( after 288,000 the week prior ) now seek unemployment benefits  in The U.S.

Rough and nasty – a half a million “new” claims every two weeks, or 1 million freshly “unemployed” people per month…as the “downtrend in claims” has now been reversed.

I employ “anyone” to explain to me how consumer confidence numbers, GDP numbers or “any numbers” out of The U.S could possibly be an indication of “growth” with 1 million new people lining up at unemployment offices every single month.

The number ( and it’s longer term implications ) is literally – right out of this world.

Now there will obviously be those of you who will contend “who really cares as The Fed has got our backs”. So essentially what you are saying is that……no matter how bad things get ” it really doesn’t matter” because The Fed ( and The Central Banks in general ) will just keep the party going no matter what.

So in that sense you must be an “advocate” of such monetary policy.

Policy that continues to kill your currency, killing your buying power and reducing your savings ( and most certainly the savings of your parents / grandparents ) to such an extent that people who at one point may have considered “retirement”, now have little choice but to keep “slugging it out in the trenches” another 8-10 years longer.

What kills me is that “you’ll riot in the streets” over the injustice you feel so strongly about ( when a cop isn’t prosecuted for a murder that perhaps you feel he should have ) but will just sit back on the couch and continue to stuff your face with Doritos – watching your Government and The Fed rob you blind.

Is it true that The U.S educational system has been degrading at such a phenomenal pace, that people really “truly” claim that they “just don’t understand”?? Just….back to the football game on T.V, back to the frozen pizza and coke, back to complete and total ignorance as to what is “truly going on” around them?

I’ve never wanted to believe that, but there really does come a point…..

After 5-6 years of supposed “economic stimulus” ( and one would think “recovery” ) – U.S Unemployment figures are back on the rise.

Unreal.

Fed Speak Today – Yellen To Make It Or Break It

Well you can never boil this down to a single days trading ( especially these days ) but as per our outline last week, this “relief rally” has played out to the letter.

As seen via Japan’s Nikkei Index ( $Nikk – the symbol I follow in case you want to add it to your watch lists etc.. ) we’ve seen our “correctional move higher” with this mornings over night action now down -175 points forming a potential “swing high” – suggesting we are ready for reversal.

The chart from last Sundays report:

Nikkei_August_17_Forex_Kong

Nikkei_August_17_Forex_Kong

All corresponding and related JPY pairs ( AUD/JPY, NZD/JPY, CAD/JPY, GBP/JPY as well EUR/JPY, CHF/JPY and USD/JPY ) have now put in bearish reversal type candles with their daily RSI’s all rolling – now pointing lower.

The movement of The Nikkei (lower) and JPY (higher) correlates near 100% these days so there is no rocket science here. It’s very easy to see and follow along. I’ve also suggested the correlation with Gold – being that both Gold and JPY should move higher when risk comes off.

European Indices are also trading down / in the red here as of this morning, leaving us with of course…U.S stocks, Bonds and the U.S Dollar firmly held in the hands of Janet Yellen and the statements  / information expected today at the Jackson Hole Meeting.

If not for this risk event ( pure gambling if you think you’ve already got the markets reaction figured out ) the “long JPY trade’s we’ve been setting up for” are now in fantastic shape across the board.

Please get these on your screens and note these levels.

The Australian Dollar has obviously ( and expectedly ) rallied along side risk the entire week – now fading and looking weak.

Will markets take Yellens comments as full blown dovish ( suggesting all is well in “Fed land” ) and just continue to climb? Or will there be suggestion of “possible tightening” and a more hawkish view ( possible rate hike coming earlier than expected ) be the case?

You’ve only got a couple more hours to wait ( which I certainly suggest you do ) and find out.

Everything I track suggests we move lower next week, but one can’t discount the idea of an immediate “upward reaction” to Fed comments here this afternoon as “this is what the people want” right?

Still holding a couple of small “short USD trades” ( underwater at present ) and suggesting everyone just “stay out of the way” until this very large “risk event” passes.

Forex Trading Blog – Only It's Not Mine

It’s Friday afternoon and thus far – the world has not ended. Another week has passed, and regardless of  how completely boring it’s been – all is well.  I’ve had opportunity to do some casual “forex blog surfing” and just couldn’t help myself – in sharing with you (my valued readers) a few of my findings. Please ( as I do know a thing or two about search engine positioning) try your best to excuse the blatant repetition of the phrase “forex trading blog” in the following rant.

Forex Trading Blog 

Ooops……yes I believe I was talking about forex trading blogs, and oh so hope the kind editors at the helms of google are listening –  as my ultimate fate so clearly rests in their hands. In searching for the latter – I found this:

Forex_Trading_Blog_Kong

What on earth does it mean? This –  from what I understand to be a leading forex trading blog! Is this fellow long or short? What the hell is “dynamic support”? – and what’s with the question mark at the top?

In my view, the commentary on this “forex trading blog” indicates that the writer doesn’t have a freaking clue as to where the price action is headed – and only motivates me further to continue posting the hard cold facts – and the brutal truths of trading forex for a living. It’s Friday after all – and I appreciate most of you have heard enough  – and are likely sipping a cold one after a long hard week.

Kong is too – and “here’s  to google” – I hope your spiders get just as big a laugh outta this one as I did.

The Real Truth About Forex Analysis That Actually Matters

Why Most Forex Commentary is Complete Garbage

Look, I’m going to cut through the noise here because someone needs to tell you the truth. The forex industry is absolutely flooded with analysts who throw around fancy terms like “dynamic support” and “confluence levels” without having the slightest clue what they’re actually talking about. These so-called experts post charts covered in more lines than a New York subway map, then hedge their bets with phrases like “if price breaks higher” or “watch for a potential reversal.” What kind of analysis is that? It’s worthless noise designed to make them sound smart while covering their backsides when they’re inevitably wrong.

Here’s what separates real traders from the pretenders: conviction. When I see EUR/USD setting up for a move, I don’t dance around with maybes and possibilities. I identify the key levels, understand what the big money is doing, and take a position. Period. The market doesn’t care about your pretty trend lines or your “dynamic support zones.” It moves based on supply and demand, central bank policy, and the flow of institutional capital. Everything else is just decoration for people who don’t understand how this game actually works.

Central Bank Policy Drives Everything That Matters

While these amateur bloggers are drawing their meaningless lines on charts, the real money is positioning based on what central banks are actually doing. When the Federal Reserve signals a dovish pivot, that’s not a “potential support level” for USD pairs – it’s a fundamental shift that will drive months of price action. When the European Central Bank hints at rate cuts while inflation data comes in hot, that creates real trading opportunities in EUR/GBP and EUR/CHF that have nothing to do with technical patterns.

Smart money isn’t sitting around wondering if GBP/USD will respect some arbitrary fibonacci level. They’re positioned ahead of Bank of England meetings, they understand yield differentials, and they’re trading the actual catalysts that move currencies. This is why most retail traders get crushed – they’re focused on the wrong information entirely. They’re analyzing the shadows on the wall instead of watching what’s casting them.

The Carry Trade Reality Nobody Talks About

Here’s something you won’t read on those wishy-washy forex blogs: carry trades still dominate major currency movements, especially in pairs like AUD/JPY and NZD/JPY. When risk appetite is strong and the Bank of Japan maintains its ultra-loose monetary policy, these pairs don’t just drift higher because of some technical breakout. They rally because massive capital flows are seeking yield differentials that can generate real returns.

But here’s the kicker – when these trades unwind, they unwind fast and brutal. The 2008 financial crisis wasn’t just about housing markets; it was about massive carry trade unwinding that crushed commodity currencies and sent the Japanese yen soaring. Understanding these macro dynamics gives you context that no amount of chart pattern recognition can provide. When you see AUD/USD breaking technical support, the question isn’t whether it will bounce at some mythical support zone. The question is whether the carry trade is unwinding and how far it needs to go to flush out the leveraged positions.

Trading What Actually Moves Markets

Real forex trading isn’t about predicting every twist and turn in the market. It’s about identifying the major themes and positioning accordingly. Right now, we’re dealing with divergent monetary policy between major central banks, shifting energy markets affecting currencies like CAD and NOK, and ongoing geopolitical tensions that create safe-haven flows into CHF and JPY.

These are the forces that create sustained trends worth trading. Not some “dynamic support level” that sounds impressive but means absolutely nothing when institutional flows decide to move the other direction. When you understand that currency markets are driven by capital flows, interest rate differentials, and economic fundamentals, you stop wasting time on meaningless technical analysis and start focusing on what actually generates profits.

The bottom line is this: successful forex trading requires conviction based on real analysis, not hedged commentary designed to sound smart while saying nothing. The market rewards those who understand the underlying drivers and have the courage to act on that understanding.