Power Trading Radio

John O’Donnell, Merlin Rothfeld and Tom Sosnoff take a walk down memory lane as they talk about the innovations that have shaped the landscape of the financial markets over the last 20+ years. Technology, transparency, and efficiency have leveled the playing field for traders and given them powerful tools to compete in the markets. According to Sosnoff, “If you can order a pizza, you can trade.” The trio go on to talk about social networks and how community plays a major part in the development of traders.

Diana Hill joins Merlin for a year end review of the current status of the Housing Markets. Diana talks about recent reports about the increase in Women buying real estate as well as other trends that are adding stability to the market. After a listener question about “Nontraditional” sources of funding to buy a home, the duo dives into a variety of market statistics which support current talk about stability in housing prices and growing confidence.

Commodities took a pretty big hit as the dollar continued to surge. This move sent the equity markets down over 1%, and momentum looks like it will continue. Craig Weil, 37 year trading veteran, weighs in with his thoughts on the current market behavior. Over the years he has seen his share of volatile markets, is this one any different? Craig and Merlin take a look at Gold as well as S&P futures to look for key levels where the slide may stop.

The market tanked on the FOMC statement, as traders were expecting a little more support from the Fed. This sent the dollar index through key resistance levels and surging upward to the next. Mike McMahon joins the show to talk about how the dollar is impacting global currency markets like the Euro, Aussie Dollar and Yen. Mike and Merlin map out key levels and zones which may pose problems for global currencies going forward. PowerPick: ESV

Former Online Trading Academy graduate, Brandon Tristan, walks us through his trading career and some of the twists and turns he has faced along the way. After completing the ProTrader course, Brandon went on to assist in the XLT, Extended Learning Track, where he became one of the favorites! After seeing a significant impact on his account from following rules and helping others Brandon talks about mentoring and his role in the process.

Merlin and John take a look at the weeks market numbers for signs of strength or weakness going forward. Of particular interest is the S&P 500 and its recent attacks at overhead price levels. John also takes a look at some international events moving our markets, and what the prognosis is going forward. The volatility continues, creating havoc for investors, but a fantastic environment for short term traders. PowerPick: SFLY

Due to overwhelming demand for advice on trader taxation, Power Trading Radio brings on an expert in the matter. Michael Atias, Director of Tax Services at OTA Tax Pros, joins the show to share a broad overview of some of the pros and cons associated with declaring trader status or maintaining individual status. Michael and Merlin discuss a wide variety of topics including: Corporations, 401k’s, wash sale rules, Mark-to-market accounting, writing off losses, and much more. PowerPick: URBN

Merlin and Debbie start right off by breaking down the current action of the S&P 500 futures which have had a few days of struggle at present levels. The duo talks about the relative strength of the current impulse moves to the downside, as well as the current erosion the current overhead supply level. Later in the show, focus turns to the importance of a trading plan, and what really goes into it.

Merlin and Justin Krebs talk about how a true professional trader does not look back at a trade that missed their entry by a tick. Instead, they feel confident that they followed their plan and move on to the next trade. To many traders whine and moan about a missed trade, get over it and find the next one! After handling a couple of listener questions on Financials and proper stop execution, Justin talks about his current ProPick on the AUDUSD, as well as the impact of Oil and interest rates. PowerPick: EURUSD

Marty Dim joins Power Trading Radio to shed some light on what news to watch and what to discard. As the markets evolve, some information becomes more relevant than others, and it can change quickly! The duo also talk about why some ETF’s don’t accurately track the underlying indexes, then ultimately take a look at the current market for clues on where its headed: PowerPick KLAC