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Trading

Futures & Margin Trading

What is Dow theory?
Trading
Dow theory and the foundations of technical analysis
Timeless, trendy wisdom on market timing and trends.
What is the basis trade?
Trading
How basis trading works (and why borrowing big makes it risky)
Small gaps, big consequences.

Recently Updated

  • Single-stock futures: Trading individual stocks without owning themStock exposure; futures leverage.
  • Perpetual futures: A crypto-driven force reshaping global marketsCrypto derivatives get a marginal (and marginable) upgrade.
  • How basis trading works (and why borrowing big makes it risky)Small gaps, big consequences.

See All

Basics of margin calls: An unpleasant flip side of using leverage
When the double-edged sword draws blood.
Brewing up volatility: Why and how triple witching days can shake up markets
Double, double, toil, and trouble?
Commitments of Traders (COT) report: Tracking the big commodity players
Follow the flow of the outsize money.
Contango vs. backwardation: What’s the difference?
Navigating the price slopes.
Cryptocurrency futures: A new way to ride the crypto wave, with some old-school trading twists
Crypto not risky enough for you? Add leverage.
Different margin for different traders: Reg T, futures margin, and portfolio margin
Regular, enhanced, and super-duper.
Futures contract specifications: Know the delivery terms before jumping in
Specs are a key part of any risk assessment.
Futures delivery basics: Cash vs. physical
Managing delivery risk, from first notice date to last trading day.
How basis trading works (and why borrowing big makes it risky)
Small gaps, big consequences.
How do crude oil prices affect gasoline prices?
 From the ground to the pump.
Margin account vs. cash account: What to know before you trade
Stability and simplicity vs. flexibility and buying power.
Mark-to-market, variation margin, and daily settlement in futures
Every day is a day of reckoning.
Perpetual futures: A crypto-driven force reshaping global markets
Crypto derivatives get a marginal (and marginable) upgrade.
Prediction markets: The intersection of forecasting and investing
But it sure looks like gambling.
Reading market signals: The role of volume and open interest
The conviction of the crowd.
Single-stock futures: Trading individual stocks without owning them
Stock exposure; futures leverage.
The gold-silver ratio: Industrial growth, flights to safety, and storing value
Relatively precious.
Top USDA reports: Under-the-radar numbers that move markets
Harvesting the data that drives prices.
What is a futures contract?
They’re uniquely forward-looking.
What is leverage in trading? A powerful tool for doing more with less
But it’s dangerous if misused.
When the upside is down: An intro to short selling of stocks
Zig when the market zags.
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