Forex Factory launches commercial forum, admits there were ‘flaws’ in old policy

BUYER BEWARE

Forex Factory has no affiliation with any product or service offered on the Commercial Forum, nor is an ensorement of any product or service being made. Please read the Forex Factory disclaimer.


Welcome to the beta version of the new Commercial Forum. This forum will contain threads that are dedicated to or started by commercial entities in the Forex industry.

If you've been a member of Forex Factory for a substantial amount of time you might be surprised to see a forum dedicated to commercial activity. For the past 5 years we've fought tooth-and-nail to keep commercial activity off the forums under the presumption that commercial agendas compromise the integrity of the forum discussions. In hindsight we believe this was the right policy, but it hasn't been without flaws. Often our strict policy forced us to do things that we didn't want to, such as banning long-standing valuable members because they started to offer commercial services. Some members were so valuable to the community that we allowed them to bend the rules, which only created more tension by setting up a double-standard. It's been long evident that a policy modification was needed to address these issues.

Earlier this year we came up with a plan for modifying the policies and member-structure to accommodate commercial operators. We haven't implemented the plan because we're busy with some big projects, and we still aren't ready to implement it. The Commercial Forum you are looking at is a temporary measure that resolves a few current issues; the rules, policies, and site changes for the Commercial Forum are still about 30-60 days from being announced. Our plan calls for creating two classes of membership, trader and commercial, then setting up separate forums and permissions that put up a one-way wall. Traders will be able to go into the commercial domain, but commercials will not interfere with the Traders' sections.

Because the Commercial Forum is a temporary measure, and the rules and procedures are not in place, there will be little clarity as to how we manage this forum and what the rules are. When we announce the new policy in 30-60 days the structure will be very clear. Please bear with us during this transitional period.

Fyi, it's not too late to influence our new policy! Please post your ideas here and they will definitely be taken into consideration!

http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=184345

EES responds:

The paradox is the following:

 
 

Those who are "Forex Professionals" meaning anyone whose primary income is from Forex (regardless if you are a broker, trader, programmer, or secretary of a Forex company) have in many cases more knowledge than non-professionals.  But professionals can basically only promote their own product, because it's what they feel is the best solution for Forex market. In other words, if someone asks a broker 'who is the best broker' he will probably say the company he works for, and what's wrong with that?  Limiting discussion to non-professionals ends up being without the knowledge of pros.  This should seem obvious but commercial products are seen as 'bad' where as amateur products are seen as 'real'.  This stigma should be stopped, and this commercial forum is a step in the right direction.  We can contribute our content including strategies for free to Forex Factory due to this significant change. 

 

Link to commercial forum:

http://www.forexfactory.com/forumdisplay.php?f=149

Testosterone-Charged Women Take More Financial and Career Risks

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aL1LRQuQcBf4
Testosterone-Charged Women Take More Financial and Career Risks

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The sex hormone testosterone, already linked to better performance among male stock market traders, may spur women to make riskier financial and career decisions, research showed.

Guaranty Bank Seized, Sold to BBVA

http://www.banktech.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=219401165&cid=RSSfeed_TechWeb
WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Troubled Texas lender Guaranty Bank has been sold to a Spanish bank after the U.S. government agreed to absorb about $3 billion of its losses, officials say.

Under the deal, announced Friday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., regulators took over the bank, based in Austin, Texas, then brokered its sale to the American subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in one of the largest-ever government-assisted deals with a foreign firm, The New York Times reported.

You Have Used Me as a Fish Long Enough - part 2 - origins of Artificial Intelligence

You Have Used Me as a Fish Long Enough- In this episode, the history of brainwashing and mind control was examined. The angle pursued by Curtis was the way in which psychiatry pursued tabula rasa theories of the mind, initially in order to set people free from traumatic memories and then later as a potential instrument of social control. The work of Ewen Cameron was surveyed, with particular reference to Cold War theories of communist brainwashing and the search for hypnoprogammed assassins. The programme's thesis was that the search for control over the past via medical intervention had had to be abandoned and that in modern times control over the past is more effectively exercised by the manipulation of history. Some film from this episode, an interview with one of Cameron's victims, was later re-used by Curtis in his The Century of the Self. The title of this episode comes from a paranoid schizophrenic seen in archive film in the programme, who believed her neighbours were using her as a source of amusement by denying her any privacy, like a pet goldfish.«

Boeing takes a dive with ‘nightmareliner’

This is quite a turnaround for Boeing, which is America's largest exporter. Barely a year ago, the company was doing well. Or so it seemed. ... http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2009-08-05-boeing-problems-dreamliner_N.htm

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009381335_787flaw250.html
The structural flaw that has grounded Boeing's 787 Dreamliner will likely add months of delay to the new jet program, an executive with one of Boeing's key Japanese partners said Wednesday.

Kiyotaka Ichimaru, an executive at the aerospace division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), which makes the 787's carbon-fiber composite plastic wings in Japan, also said the problem announced Tuesday stems from Boeing's engineering design, not MHI's — an assessment confirmed by Boeing.

Ichimaru said MHI engineers are drawing upon the experience of similar problems on the Mitsubishi F-2 jet-fighter program in working with Boeing to fix the problem: a need for reinforcement of the structure where the Dreamliner's wing is joined to the load-bearing box at the center of the fuselage.

Ichimaru doesn't believe the structural flaw represents a fundamental safety concern.

"We are not seeing this as a very, very serious issue," he said in an interview Wednesday.

It's the business consequences of the new delay that may be more damaging. Boeing shares fell another 5.8 percent Wednesday after losing 6.5 percent Tuesday, when the company unexpectedly said it would postpone the Dreamliner's scheduled first flight. The company's stock has lost $5.58 in two days, shrinking its total market value by $4 billion.

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2009/08/05/inside-and-outside-the-787-operating-theatre/
Inside and outside the 787 operating theatre

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2009/08/07/us-media-wakes-up-to-dreamliner-nightmare/
US media wakes up to Dreamliner nightmare

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2009/06/24/boeings-nightmare-liner.aspx
Boeing's Nightmare Liner Two years ago, when its maiden flight was supposed to usher in a new era of high-speed, low fuel-consumption aircraft for the world's airlines -- and a new era of profits for Boeing shareholders -- the "Boeing Dreamliner" name was apropos. But now you need to make it official: The 787 is now and forevermore to be designated the Boeing Nightmare Liner.

Yesterday, Boeing announced its latest delay in the maiden voyage of "ZA001," Boeing's code for the first prototype 787. The stock promptly crashed -- down 6.5% on the day -- and has continued to burn today -- down another 6% as of this writing. Which brings Boeing to a total of over 60% worth of market cap destroyed since the company first began announcing delays in the project.

Dan Rather reports on Boeing's use of composite materials in the construction of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and introduces the concerns of former Boeing engineer Vince Weldon to the flying public. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epDtuSJm0eM

Prison Consultant Larry Jay Levine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Jay_Levine

Larry Jay Levine (born July 1, 1961) is an American federal prison consultant. In 2006, Larry Levine founded American Prison Consultants, a legal services firm that provides information and support to offenders that are about to enter the federal prison system. American Prison Consultants also operates under the synonymous name of Wall Street Prison Consultants.

Levine was arrested by a Federal Organized Crime Task Force in 1998, and was convicted of narcotics trafficking, securities fraud, obstruction of justice, and possession of automatic weapons. He was sentenced to ten years in federal prison by former U.S. District Judge Carlos R. Moreno who is now a Justice on the Supreme Court of California. In 2005, Levine was incarcerated at the former Nellis Federal Prison Camp outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, and upon its closure was transferred along with several hundred other Nellis white-collar inmates to the gang infested higher security La Tuna Federal Prison on the El Paso, Texas-Mexican Border. While at La Tuna, Levine single-handedly, filed a Federal Class Action
Habeas Corpus
Lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Prisons claiming that the DOJ had violated its own policies by sending the Nellis inmates into higher custody. Due to Levine's actions, the DOJ was forced to act and subsequently shifted hundreds of its inmates around the country to conform to the lawsuit's claims.

While in custody, Levine served time in 11 different Federal Correctional Institutions in California, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and Oklahoma, where he self educated himself in Federal Criminal law, and upon release in 2007, became a renowned International expert on the U.S. Federal Criminal Justice System. Levine's advise, views, and comments, frequently appear in wire service news reports, TV, broadcast radio, magazine, and newspaper articles worldwide. Since the Bernard Madoff scandal, he has become a popular interview subject on CNN, Fox News Channel, CBS News, ABC News, MSNBC, Bloomberg and others.

In July, 2009, Levine was issued a Cease and Desist Letter by the NYSE New York Stock Exchange for copyright and trademark infringements due to Levine's use of images of the New York Stock Exchange and references to the NYSE and crime on the Wall Street Prison Consultants website.

EES Releases V Speed indicator for Spot FX Volatility

V (Volatility) Speed is an indicator that displays the current high-low (range) of each bar on the chart, and displays it in the data window below with a smoothed average of the past x(3) bars. 3 is the default, the longer the period the more long term the value, in other words if you want a short term volatility indication to signal an increase in volatility, a lower number should be used.

EES recommends using this indicator as a measure of volatility, and to signal an increase or decrease in volatility by watching the SMA. A cross up (when the SMA is below the V Speed line and crosses above it) of the SMA indicates a decrease in volatility and conversely, a cross down indicates an increase. The SMA values can be adjusted according to the specific pair and time frame used. V Speed can be referenced by strategies as an indication of volatility.

The name speed is derived from the method to determine how 'fast' volatility is moving, specific to your pair. Monitoring the VIX is not necessarily appropriate. V speed also is a handy tool to display each bars high-low which is the range.

Download this indicator at: http://www.eesfx.com

http://eesfx.com/eesfx/index.php/docs/doc_download/3-ees-v-speed-v11-code.html

Microsoft spends $100 Million to advertise Bing, a lot of it with Google

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/28/ads-for-new-microsoft-bing-search-engineon-google-search/

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/bing/default.mspx

Classification and Identification for FX Systems and Indicators

EES is developing a system of Classification and Identification for trading systems, indicators, and related files. The system will be based on existing international standards, modified for appropriate trading applications.

During recent market analysis, some words and descriptive terms are lacking to describe certain market events. EES will use existing scientific standards as a template to name our own systems and develop a trading nomenclature.

For example, we are developing an indicator that will determine market "velocity" which is the 'speed' of the pair divided by the time.

Another example, how does a trader measure the amount a pair may fluctuate in a range? It would calculate the amount of times the price crosses a line, or multiple lines, inside a trading range.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centimetre_gram_second_system_of_units

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_protocol

To participate in this development, see the thread in eesfx.com:

http://eesfx.com/eesfx/index.php/forum/14-fx-systems/11-classification-and-identification.html

Commodity Traders’ $1 Million Bonus as Oil Doubles

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aafaX5C3qFmA
Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Wall Street firms are again recruiting commodities traders with promises of $1 million bonuses as prices of raw materials from oil to copper double.

Less than a year after oil tumbled a record 54 percent and the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index was suffering its biggest drop ever, Bank of America Corp. plans to boost commodity headcount by 25 percent. London-based Barclays Plc will increase staff about 6 percent. Morgan Stanley is recruiting traders in shipping. The banks declined to comment on compensation.

Stocks slide, dollar gains

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aNHdNnf9dDHY
Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks tumbled around the world, led by China, while the yen, dollar and Treasuries rose as investors speculated that a rally in riskier assets has outpaced prospects for economic growth. Energy and commodity prices also slid.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aFCS3BWplJOY
Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Former Credit Suisse Group AG broker Eric Butler was convicted of fraudulently selling millions of dollars in subprime securities to corporate clients.

Interaction between MеtaTrader 4 and MATLAB Engine

http://articles.mql4.com/833
MetaTrader 4 and the MATLAB mathematical package have gained high popularity among users due to their positive characteristics, including "flexibility" in creation of complex calculation systems. There are three main ways of MATLAB connection with external applications, but only one of them is recommended - use of the virtual desktop MATLAB Engine. This method guarantees the full compatibility with the whole MATLAB package. Many programmers avoid this method for below reasons:

• Many users find it slow. This is true, if compared with the direct function call from DLL libraries of MATLAB. The main delay takes place at the beginning of operation, when the virtual machine is called because of the call of numerous libraries that are uploaded into the virtual space of the calling process (in our case MetaTrader 4).
  
• Transferability of the project. True, when transferring a project to another computer all MATLAB DLL libraries must also be transferred, though as well as when direct call is used, to know the "relations" of the latter ones, i.e. start queue!
  
• Obligatory knowledge of C++ or Fortran. Well, if you know MQL4, you can easily learn C++ and vice versa.
  

Why I recommend this method:

1. This is the most reliable and independent from the MATLAB version method of connection with external programs. You can change MATLAB version and your indicators or Expert Advisors won't notice it. This is the most important advantage.
   
2. It has a relatively quick development method. It doesn't require debuggers, and it will make no difficulties to write the DLL wrapper.
   
3. "Common desktop" for several indicators and/or Expert Advisors. I consider this method useful when we need to make a decision based on data of several indicators or in the implementation of a pyramid trade.
   

This article describes the way of connecting MetaTrader 4 and MATLAB ver. 7.4.0 (R2007a) via a "DLL-wrapper" written in Borland C++ Builder 6. Programmers who prefer Microsoft products will have to adapt examples to their compiler (good luck to you in this complicated matter!).

China offers Silver Investments

Forexcoding.com beta launch

First projects posted to forexcoding.com - http://forexcoding.com

Forex Projects on Code Plex

http://www.codeplex.com/site/search?projectSearchText=forex