Blog Of Chris Dunn » Travel

Trader Error, Panic, or System Meltdown… What Happened Today?

Chris Dunn — Thu, 06 May 2010 22:12:49 +0000

After a profitable trading morning session, I decided to take the afternoon off to enjoy some time in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. And as I was sipping on some “cafe con leche”, the markets were going into a state of panic and confusion. Within 30 minutes the DOW fell about 1,000 points, which dipped below 10,000 (around $9,869), then capitulated back up to $10,520 for a loss of $347.80 (3.2%) on the day.

I can only guess as to why it happened… CNBC says there was a mistake made by a Citibank trader, who’s fat finger hit “B” for billion, instead of “M” for million, which assisted in a huge sell-off in Proctor & Gamble’s stock. Also, there’s been a lot of talk about the financial crisis in Greece and other European countries. I think all that mess, mixed with emotional selling and stops being hit, sent the market into a frenzy.

Cramer was live on the air when the Proctor and Gamble sell-off hit. Historically, I haven’t been a Cramer fan, but I gotta hand it to him. He made a very timely call live on the air to buy PG at a $49.25 bid, and in less than 3o seconds it was back up to $60. I’m sure a few quick traders made an easy six figure profit. Here’s the live Cramer video.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been talking about why we should see a some downside moves in the markets. As I’ve mentioned on the Emini Academy Blog recap videos, we’ve been in an extremely over-exuberant bullish run since early February of this year. We’ve seen both retail and institutional investors buying the hell out of the market, which we knew could not be sustained forever. And as we approached the 61.8% retracement of the bear run from 2008 and 2009, we put in a nice head and shoulders reversal pattern. We also saw professional traders get net short on the futures markets toward the end of March (another sign that a reversal was coming). And as the retail investors were buying into resistance, the pros were selling down to support, which made for some nice oscillations and increased volatility.

I think today was a wake up call for people who had a unreasonable bullish bias on the markets. In only a few short days, we saw the market dip to lows of the year, taking out a lot of stops on the way down. Who knows what will come out of this craziness? I’m sure we’ll see some investigations, speculation, and maybe even some regulation… but for the time being, I’m going to stay focused on what I do best and stick to my intra-day trading plan, and let the news anchors stress about where the markets are headed.

Stay profitable, disciplined, and sharp…

Until next time.

- Chris Dunn
E-mini Day Trader & Founder of the Emini Academy

A Trading Conversation Over Coffee… and Tango Dancers

Chris Dunn — Tue, 04 May 2010 03:33:45 +0000

Well, we made it down to Buenos Aires, Argentina and just got through our first trading day. Thankfully, today was a profitable day for us. We had a 66% win ratio this morning, and were able to pull out a few points in the e-mini S&P 500.

I wanted to introduce Marcello Arrambide, who has been a long-time trading partner of mine. He also runs our live trading room with our MAP Mastery students for the Emini Academy.

Day Trading in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Chris Dunn — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:24:15 +0000

Well, it’s been a few months since I’ve been out of the country. Ever since our last trip to Costa Rica, I’ve been hacking away at the e-mini futures markets. Also, I’ve been immersed with our MAP Mastery class, which is a group of 30 traders who have invested 95 days to learn how to trade the MAP Trading Strategy.

Anyway, we kicked around a few ideas for our next trading trip, and the winner for this time of the year is Buenos Aires, Argentina! We chose Buenos Aires for a few reasons… First, it’s known as the “Paris of the south”. The rich culture and European influence makes for a really cool experience. Next (and most importantly), the internet is fast and reliable enough to day trade e-minis. We’re taking a few air cards just in case the main cable goes out, but I think we’ll be just fine.

Also, I’ve been wanting to improve my trading via laptop. I usually trade with two 22″ monitors, but I’m only taking a 15″ laptop with an extra 17″ monitor. It takes a day or two to get adjusted, but becomes natural after pegging a few trades.

We locked down a really sweet apartment right in San Telmo. This town square we’re staying around is where tango music was invented. I might end up looking like a dork, but I figure I’ll give it a shot. After all, when in Rome… or Buenos Aires.

So, any ideas where we should head in the summer? For our next trip, we were thinking about Italy or Ireland. I’ve never traded from Europe before, and I’m curious to see how the time change effects my game. Anybody have any experience with this?

Until next time…

Trading From A Volcano… and Surfing At Night

Chris Dunn — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:28:36 +0000

Hey folks… We’re back from Costa Rica and we had a blast! Not only did I accomplish my top-secret mission, but we got to do a bunch of cool stuff in the meantime.

I can’t think of anything cooler than day trading on the side of a volcano, then surfing in the Pacific the next day… that’s definitely the life for me! And we’re already planning an extended stay back down there. I always joke about trading from a tiki-hut in paradise… well, it’s come true.

Here’s a quick video with some pictures… and life lessons.

Untitled from Chris Dunn on Vimeo.

Trading Pits, Holidays, and the S&P futures

Chris Dunn — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:30:34 +0000

As many of you know, I had a chance to visit the Chicago Board of Trade last week… and it was awesome! Visiting the S&P 500 pit has been on my to-do list ever since I started trading. Apparently, the trading pits were a lot crazier back in 2002 (when E-minis were just becoming popular).

We took my newest trader Carlee (3 week old neice) with us… she had some good calls on the S&P and corn! Just kidding, but it was a great time having the family there too.

As you’ll see in this video, the trading floor was pretty much dead. It was the Friday before labor day at about 3pm. Our connection from Atlanta was delayed by a couple of hours, so we missed the morning action. Also, it was the week before the contract rollover, so the volume was even lower. Thanks to Shannon with MF Global, we were able to get in behind the lines (with a camera)…

Trading From A Tiki Hut In Paradise…

Chris Dunn — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:26:21 +0000

As most of you guys know, I grew up as an Air Force brat. My dad flew H-60 Pavehawks, which meant he got stationed in some pretty cool places. When I was a a young kid, we lived in Korea, Iceland, Florida three times, and I think they nuked my birthplace (somewhere out in the New Mexican desert). Basically, I've experienced some pretty extreme weather in some not-so-common places.

Never living in one place for more than 2 years, and then staying here in Tampa for 10 years, I can feel my anxiousness beginning to boil. So, I've been drilling down a list of places I want to check out. After reading Tim Ferriss' "Four Hour Work Week", it's made me realize how precious time is, and how I can't afford to wait until I'm 65 to "see the world".

With my nice income from trading, and being single with no kids, it's really the best time for me to get out there and see the world. I'm thinking I want to spend 6-12 months in a few different places. Here's my short-list of places I'm considering:

1. Costa Rica- the health care and free commerce makes this a really appealing place for American expats. Also, the "Ticos" (Costa Rican's) are really friendly, and they have some of the best surfing in the world! It's still very inexpensive to live there too.

2. Ireland- I'm mostly Black-Irish… which means I'm Irish with brown eyes and hair. Ireland has some nice tax breaks and small business friendly corporate structures that would be ideal for a day trader.

3. Argentina- The capital, Buenos Aires, seems to have a rich culture with a lot to learn. They also seem to be open to American expats.

4. Australia- Probably the closest country to American culture south of the equator, Australia has many perks. For one, I have a few good buddies and trading friends that live from coast to coast. Also, it's another great country for surfing!

So far, I have a few concerns that have kept me from hopping on a plane to any of those countries. First and foremost, I need an internet connection. Anywhere I live must have a reliable, fast internet connection that can support day trading. And God knows I wouldn't leave my coaching students for a tiki hut and surfboard. ;-)

I've done quite a bit of research on each of my top 4 countries, and since I can't decide, I'm probably going to visit them all! I'm going to start with a quick trip to Costa Rica in November. My number one goal is to figure out if I can get a good enough internet connection. Actually, my number one goal is to grab a surfboard and have some fun… then we can talk about the internet!

If there are any day traders reading this from any of these countries, please contact me! I'd love to connect and learn anything I can about your home town. Until next time, Pura Vida!