Well, quite a response regarding my mention the other weekend that I was finalising my new 'Trading Forex the Easy Way' course!
It certainly appears that a whole lot of you fancy the idea of expanding your activities into that particular market place.

Anyway, you can thank a combination of a very sticky back door and some icy steps, for the fact that the course should be available sooner than originally planned - within the next six weeks or so - yes, I slipped and fell (not even drunk either!) and damaged my left shoulder, enough to keep me off the ski slopes for the next few weeks, so I'm currently giving a couple of new projects my more or less undivided attention.
(The proliferation of that modern scourge of skiers - snowboarders - means that currently, for the first time in my life, I'm not that sorry anyway to be sitting at my desk on a sunny winter's day. I'm beginning to give serious thought to moving somewhere that boarders are actually banned from polluting proper ski slopes - possibly Switzerland, or maybe Colorado, where some resorts provide dedicated snowboarding areas and allow normal people to enjoy themselves on normal slopes in a normal fashion.)
If you're a skier, you'll understand exactly where I'm coming from on this - if not, just assume that I'm a grumpy, intolerant old curmudgeon and indulge me while my shoulder is playing me up!

Anyway, moving along, frothy market conditions continue unabated - merger and acquisition fever is still in full flood in Europe, with for example BOC Group jumping from about £11.50 to over £15 within a couple of days, so doubtless European indices will push on up this coming week as the current euphoria gathers steam again after the recent bouts of profit taking.

Over in the good ol' US of A, not a lot of worrying is going on either, it seems, although surely the smelly stuff must be getting pretty close to the fan over there - as I suggested the other week, I think the bear market will resume first in the USA.

'Denial' is clearly still the name of the game in the USA.
Consider that Friday's American GDP (Gross Domestic Product) figures for the last quarter of 2005 were expected to show growth of about 3.3% according to 'the pundits' but they came in at a measly (and doubtless still manipulated upwards) 1.1%.
Consider too that consumer spending fell considerably, despite the fourth quarter obviously including Christmas, and that spending on durable goods fell by a whopping 17.5%, with company inventories (what they have in stock at a particular time) growing substantially - ie they're not selling very much.
Consider also that the American motor industry (what little is left of it) is on its last legs - another 36000 jobs gone, almost unnoticed by the media because they're so bored with it all.

Yet USA indices closed UP for the day, and for the week.

As my Yank brother in law remarked in his phone call yesterday evening: "Go figure!" (Whatever THAT means!)

Over on this side of the pond, word is that the closure of 'final salary' pension schemes to current members, is an idea fast gathering pace among big companies, as suggested the other week in WICS - I didn't think it would take that long for Financial Directors to start thanking Rentokil and the Co - Op for leading the way. I doubt if such a beast will exist at all in the private sector, within the next year or so. I guess everyone will just have to work for Big Government instead - and everyone thought the USSR had disappeared!
All it did, was relocate to the UK.

Gosh, doesn't a sore shoulder make me cynical, if not even downright nasty?
No sympathy either from the radiographer - lovely lady though she is. (Gorgeous green eyed brunette actually...but callous.) "If it's hurting so much, senor Williams, then you know you're still alive." Easy to see she's a friend of my wife's.
I guess men are just such wimps when they're hurting - they have to take it out on someone - and you good people are right in my firing line.

Pity my poor family - which reminds me - my accountant, aka youngest daughter, is in a right strop with me at the moment about WICS subscriptions.
It seems I've been a bit tardy in changing the current password, and she's giving me a hard time, as only daughters can, so in the next ten days or so, the password will change. If your subscription is expiring, you'll receive an email from me shortly, and there's a printable renewal form here on the website at www.trading-the-easy way.com/wicsform.htm - otherwise you can renew by phoning my publishers on 01709 820033 (0044 1709 820033 from outside the UK.)

The other thing, while I remember to let you know, is that Hotmail seems currently to be going through one of its periodic tantrums - I have had several recent 'bouncebacks' of my replies to some of you who have Hotmail accounts. Some of these 'fail' messages have suggested your 'mailbox is full' and it's worth remembering that you may only have limited storage space, so please check that out. As you know, tesco.net and ntlworld don't work at all as far as I'm concerned, but from time to time, the likes of Hotmail, Yahoo, and AOL have their 'moments' too. Don't ask me why - ask a techie - but it does happen, and if you're missing a response from me, that may well be the reason.

(Note from webmaster - get yourself a 'proper' email address - not sure how? Email me at colin@cjonesdesign.co.uk)

Moving on to today's charts - what a lot of emails I receive from you about 'triangles'!
It seems they have struck a chord with many of you, and I agree they can be powerful indicators as to 'what might happen next'.
Sadly, however, as with any indicator, they don't ALWAYS work, and sometimes, after a false breakout in one direction, they break in the opposite direction - just like any other indicator.
Sometimes too, they just keep on racking along sideways, so as with any other chart pattern, please try to be patient, and watch for the 'most probable' ones, if you know what I mean.

As always in this trading world, 'interpretation' is needed, and looking at triangles is as much art as science - I wish I could identify a 'never fail' formula for what I do but that is more than a little unlikely.

Today, I'm showing you a couple of triangles - one is 'difficult' and the other was a 'no - brainer' (with hindsight of course, because I didn't spot it till one of you asked a question about it AFTER it had 'sprung'.)

Hopefully, you may see the differences between the two, and once again, they rather define what I'm always banging on about - if something is indeterminate, stand aside - you don't HAVE to trade it - whereas if something 'shouts' at you, maybe then you should pull the trigger on a trade.

Impatience is still losing some of you your doubtless hard - earned cash, so PLEASE, force yourself to develop a calm, patient approach to your trading - it will pay off, I promise!

Anyway, on to the charts, and all the best as always till next weekend.

Ian.

Oh, by the way - I mentioned 'a couple' of projects above - one of course is the Forex thing. The other one is a 'workshop video'. I have had so many requests to run more workshops (which I'm extremely unlikely to do, especially if I do in fact move to Colorado!) that I have spent several weeks putting together a video based upon what I did at my workshops.
My good friend Denis McGregor and his family stayed with us over Christmas, and he lent his considerable expertise in such matters, so overall it's looking pretty useful.
In many ways I think it's actually better than a 'live' workshop because you can stop it and replay it at will, and I'll back it up with regular updates too, so it will remain topical.
.
Anyway, Denis is writing a 'blurb' for it, and once he has completed that, I have little doubt you'll be receiving it via my publishers. (And by the way, a big 'thank you' also to one of you folks: "Thanks 'Mac' for finding me the necessary software - it worked a treat, and your reward of course will be a copy of the video foc, in due course." (You know who you are!)

IW.

PPS: take a wee look at Bodycote International - could it be forming a triangle??

 

.'IMPORTANT NOTICE: These WICS charts are for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. They represent only MY understanding of what is happening in the market for any particular share, stock, commodity or index. In NO circumstances should they be construed as recommendations to trade. If I choose to trade what I see, that is MY decision. YOU must, in turn, come to YOUR OWN conclusions about what action, if any, YOU might choose to take'.