FOREX (DEVISEN) NACHRICHTEN

You can get the big direction of a currency right and still lose money. A short-term swing may knock you out before the trend fully develops, while overnight financing can steadily eat into a trade held for months. This guide explains what position trading is and how traders use it to follow longer-term forex trends. It includes a worked trade with both possible outcomes, explains position size, margin and holding costs, and covers strategies, indicators and exit rules. Position trading is a long-term approach in which traders aim to capture a major market trend, typically holding a trade for several weeks to several months. It calls for wider stops and smaller position sizes, and the trader must account for overnight financing costs. Position trading is a long-term trading approach that focuses on holding positions over extended periods while following major market trends. In forex, a trader may form a view from interest rates and economic trends, then look for confirmation on weekly and daily charts. Most forex position trades last from several weeks to several months, giving the broader trend time to develop while the trader accepts short-term price swings. A leveraged forex position is different from a traditional buy-and-hold investment: it is opened on margin, can be long or short, and may incur or earn overnight financing for as long as it remains open. Position trading works by taking a view on where a currency may be heading over the coming months and keeping a trade open while that view plays out. The trader focuses on the broader trend rather than reacting to every short-term price move. Position traders trade less often than scalpers and day traders, but they still respond to the same longer-term drivers, such as interest rates and economic growth. That is why they focus on weekly direction and treat many daily fluctuations as market noise, unless those moves signal a change in the wider trend. The worked example puts numbers on each of these stages. This hypothetical example follows one trade from the initial idea to both possible outcomes, including position size, margin and overnight financing. It assumes the US central bank rate is 5.25%, and the euro area rate is 2.50%, with the gap expected to persist. On that assumption, the trader favours the US dollar and plans to sell EUR/USD at 1.1200, with a target at 1.0500 and a stop-loss at 1.1500. These rate figures are scenario assumptions, not a forecast: interest-rate differences alone do not determine where a currency pair will go. The example also uses illustrative margin and financing rates, which vary by broker and can change. The stop-loss is 1.1500, which is 300 pips above the 1.1200 entry. The trader has a $10,000 account and plans to risk 1%, or $100, on the trade. Dividing the $100 risk budget by the 300-pip stop gives about $0.33 of risk per pip. The trader rounds down to 0.03 lots, or 3,000 euros; at this size, each pip is worth $0.30, so the planned price loss at the stop is 300 × $0.30 = $90. The same $100 risk budget with a 30-pip stop would allow a position of about 0.33 lots. A stop ten times wider therefore calls for a position roughly ten times smaller. At an entry price of 1.1200, the 3,000-euro position is worth about 3,000 × 1.1200 = $3,360. If the broker’s illustrative margin rate is 5%, the trade uses $3,360 × 5% = $168 in margin while open. Margin is the amount reserved to maintain the position; it is not the maximum possible loss. A gap, slippage or other trading costs can mean the final result differs from the planned $90 price risk. For illustration, assume the trade is held for 90 nights. In Case A, the short position receives $0.12 per night: 90 × $0.12 = +$10.80. In Case B, it pays $0.21 per night: 90 × $0.21 = −$18.90. Actual financing depends on the broker, the currency pair, position direction and the rates applied during the holding period. The target is 700 pips below entry, while the stop is 300 pips above it. At $0.30 per pip, the price gain at the target would be $210 and the price loss at the stop would be $90, before financing. The trade could also close early if the reason for entering stops holding, for example, if the interest-rate gap begins to narrow. The trader might then exit with a small profit or loss instead of waiting for the target or stop. Before financing and other costs, the trade risks $90 to aim for $210, a risk-to-reward ratio of about 1:2.3. The wide stop is matched with a smaller position, rather than a larger risk. Scalping, day trading, swing trading and position trading can all be used in the same markets; the main difference is how long each trade stays open. The table compares their usual pace, costs and stop distances. Stop ranges are broad examples for major currency pairs, not fixed rules; the risk of a trade also depends on position size, leverage and market conditions. *Risk levels are illustrative, not inherent to a trading style. A trader can reduce or increase exposure through their position size, stop placement and use of leverage. The longer the holding period, the fewer the trades, the wider the stop and the more the cost shifts from spread to overnight financing. Read more: What Is Swing Trading? How to Find and Trade Market Swings Read more: Forex day trading strategies for beginners: The UK trader's guide 2026 A position trading strategy is the set of rules a trader uses to decide which trend to join and when to enter or exit. For position trading beginners, it often helps to start with one of these five approaches and practise applying its rules consistently. Trend following means joining a trend that is already visible on a higher-timeframe chart. For example, a trader might look for price above a rising 200-day moving average and stay in the trade while the broader trend structure remains intact. Read more: Trend Trading Strategies: How to Use Indicators with Examples A breakout strategy enters when price moves out of a long consolidation range on the weekly chart. Waiting for a weekly close beyond the range can help filter out brief moves that fail to develop into a sustained trend. Read more: Breakout Trading: What It Is and Key Strategies for Forex Traders A carry trade buys the currency with the higher interest rate and sells the one with the lower rate, aiming to receive the difference through overnight financing, or swap. Whether financing is credited or charged depends on the direction of the position and the broker’s rates. In the worked example, the short EUR/USD position either receives an illustrative $0.12 per night or pays $0.21 per night. Over 90 nights, those amounts would total +$10.80 or −$18.90, respectively; actual charges and credits can change during the trade. Overnight financing can accumulate on positions held for longer periods. The price risk still matters more than the interest collected: at 0.03 lots, a move of 36 pips against the position costs 36 × $0.30 = $10.80, wiping out the example’s 90 nights of positive swap. A favourable rate gap cannot make a trade profitable if the currency pair moves far enough in the wrong direction. A pullback strategy waits for price to retrace temporarily within an established trend before entering. Traders may watch for a pullback towards a moving average or a Fibonacci level, but the level is a potential area of interest rather than a guarantee of a reversal. A fundamental strategy builds a longer-term currency view from factors such as inflation, employment, economic growth and interest rates, then uses the chart to help time an entry. Position traders may combine this with technical analysis to assess the broader trend. Read more: Trading Strategies: 12 Best Strategies Every Trader Should Know The table summarises the main idea, typical market conditions and tools for each position trading strategy. Read more: Forex Fundamental Analysis: Meaning, Data and Trade Setups Position traders often use indicators on weekly and daily charts to confirm the direction of a longer-term trend and help time entries or exits. These tools can support a trading plan, but they do not predict what the market will do next. On a daily chart, price above a rising 200-day moving average can support an uptrend view, while price below a falling average can support a downtrend view. A 50-day moving average crossing the 200-day one may signal a possible change in the longer-term trend, but it is a lagging signal and needs context. A weekly RSI can help show when a currency pair’s recent move is becoming stretched, prompting a trader to check whether an entry still fits their plan. Readings above 70 or below 30 can persist for weeks in a strong trend, so they are not automatic instructions to sell or buy. Read more: What is RSI in forex? Meaning, formula and signals A trader can draw Fibonacci retracement levels across a significant weekly price swing and watch the 38.2%, 50% and 61.8% levels as possible areas for a pullback to pause. These levels may help plan an entry or add to an existing position, but they do not guarantee that price will reverse there. On a weekly chart, a MACD cross above or below its signal line, or a move across the zero line, can help confirm that longer-term momentum may be changing. MACD lags price, so traders often use it alongside price structure instead of treating a cross as a stand-alone signal. Read more: The best forex indicators every trader should use in 2026 Position trading for beginners starts with preparation, because a trade held for months leaves little room to fix a poor setup afterwards. Before entering, decide what would support your market view, how much you can afford to risk and what would make you exit. Read more: How to start trading forex: a step-by-step guide for beginners Major forex pairs often suit position trading because they tend to have deep liquidity and can develop longer-term trends as interest rates and economic conditions change. Shares and commodities can also be traded with a longer-term approach, though each market has its own drivers and costs. Use higher timeframes to check whether price is moving consistently in one direction before planning a trade. Match the strategy to the market condition: trend following or a pullback may suit an established trend, while a breakout approach may suit a market leaving a long range. A carry trade may be considered when the interest-rate gap is wide and stable, but financing and price risk still need to be assessed. Place the stop beyond the relevant weekly price structure first, then calculate the position size from the distance to that stop. In the worked example, a $10,000 account risking 1% sets a $100 risk budget; with a 300-pip stop, $100 ÷ 300 = about $0.33 per pip, so the trader rounds down to 0.03 lots, worth $0.30 per pip. Read more: What is a stop-loss order and how to set it Read more: 10 Forex risk management tips every trader should know Review the trade on a schedule, such as once a week and after each central bank decision, rather than watching every price movement throughout the day. At each review, check whether the original thesis still holds and whether any planned exit rule has been triggered. When you have a written plan, explore the account options available at Radex Markets and consider practising the approach on a demo account first. A position trade has three main cost considerations: the spread, overnight financing and the margin tied up while the trade is open. The spread is generally paid at entry, while overnight financing can accumulate for as long as the position stays open. Swap per night = position size × applicable swap rate. Read more: What are swap fees and how are they calculated in forex trading? Before opening a position trade, check whether the pair’s swap is charged or credited in your trade direction, then estimate it over the planned holding period. Read more: What Is Margin in Forex Trading and How to Use It? Position trading carries risks that build over a long holding period, but rules set before entry can help keep them manageable. Before and during the trade: These rules cannot remove risk, and a market gap can still push the loss beyond the planned amount; they help limit the damage when a trade goes wrong. Position trading can be a good strategy for a trader who can identify a long-term trend and wait for it to develop; fewer trades usually mean fewer decisions and fewer spread payments. It may be a poor fit if financing costs, price gaps or having capital tied up for months would put too much strain on the account. These are some reasons position trading can work well for traders with a long-term outlook: These are the conditions that can make position trading difficult for a particular trader or account: Position trading is a good fit when the trader and account can handle the costs, drawdowns and waiting periods; when they cannot, a shorter-term style may be more suitable. Position trading may suit you if you can hold a trade for weeks or months, follow broader market trends and accept that results can take time. Position trading may be a poor fit if the account, costs or need for regular returns make a long holding period difficult. Read more: Forex Volatility: Measuring and Trading Currency Pair Swings Read more: Types of forex traders and how they trade Position trading means holding a trade for weeks to months to try to benefit from a major trend. Traders often use fundamental factors and higher-timeframe charts to form their view, while giving less weight to short-term swings. It can be, but results depend on identifying the trend, sizing the position to the stop and accounting for overnight financing; there is no guaranteed return. Swing trading generally holds trades for days to weeks to capture a shorter price move, while position trading holds for weeks to months to follow a broader trend. Position trades often need wider stops and smaller position sizes and may accumulate more overnight financing. In forex, position trades commonly last from several weeks to several months. A trade ends when the trend or the reason for entering changes, rather than on a fixed date. Consider closing when the reason for the trade no longer holds, when the planned holding period passes without progress, or when a trailing stop is hit. It can suit beginners because it involves fewer decisions and less screen time, provided the account can accommodate a wider stop while keeping risk within the trader’s limit. Beginners also need to understand overnight financing and be comfortable waiting for results. Position trading aims to capture a long-term trend by holding a position for weeks or months, while accepting short-term swings and overnight financing costs. I would suggest trying position trading on a demo account first. Be patient, ride the planned drawdowns and be prepared for longer trades. Lee W. is a seasoned professional trader with over 10 years of experience. Passionate about sharing valuable expertise and unique market insights, Lee W. now serves as an external and independent market analyst for RADEX MARKETS. Reviewed by RADEX MARKETS Risk Warning Trading derivatives and leveraged products carries a high level of risk, including the risk of losing substantially more than your initial investment. Related concepts:

The US midterm elections have concluded. The result has been an unambiguous sweep by the Democrat party, which has officially secured a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The question now turns to what happens next, and what the consequences are for financial markets at large. Fortunately, there is an overwhelming amount of historical data from which we can formulate an answer. The incumbent party losing the midterms is a highly predictable event; only the extent of the defeat presents any real variability. The subsequent performance of the stock market exhibits a similarly consistent path. The two years following the midterms are typically characterised by political stalemate. One party has significant control over the US Congress, while the other retains the Executive Office of the President. The divided government neuters political action and legislative progress, resulting in an endless back-and-forth period during which very little is accomplished. In short, nothing gets done because no one can agree on anything. Congress cannot successfully enshrine a bill into law without the consent of the president, who maintains the power of veto to reject any piece of legislation they please. The one exception to this is if the opposing party enjoys a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, allowing it to bypass such presidential powers. As it stands, the Democratic contingent benefits from neither. Republicans lack the numbers to pass bills and Democrats lack the numbers to override vetoes. The result is a political standstill, which is exactly what investors want. Stability in government is the ideal foundation for financial markets. Corporate tax changes, spending programmes, new regulations and legal changes become extremely unlikely in the two years following midterm elections. No surprises, no drama, no unforeseen legislative changes, just boring political gridlock, which is what Wall Street craves above all else. What follows is an amazingly consistent historical trend: the S&P 500 has risen in the 12 months after the midterms for every period since 1942. Moreover, the index has delivered significantly higher returns in the 12 months following the midterms compared to other years of the presidential election cycle, averaging 15-20% during these periods. With the obvious caveat that past performance is not indicative of future results, said results are nevertheless interesting. The initial fall in tech stocks as the ballots trickled in on Tuesday night caused a major flush of US stock market futures, but by the time the Wednesday regular session rolled around, investors were piling back into the New York and Nasdaq stock exchanges. The uncertainty is over and financial markets are eager to move on to the next chapter. Punitive AI regulations are unlikely to materialise any time soon, although such fears will undoubtedly linger in the back of the minds of many founders. The recognition by the Trump administration of the unpopularity of the Iran war also helped to lift hopes that the conflict may be brought to a close over the coming months, hence the sharp drop in crude oil prices yesterday. Cryptocurrencies were equally quick to adapt to the new paradigm, with Bitcoin gaining a solid 4% on Wednesday despite the initial selloff. Fundamentally, as far as crypto is concerned, the legislative landscape is now looking far worse compared to the previous two years. The crypto-friendly Clarity Act is essentially dead, while firmly anti-crypto figureheads could soon take control of the Senate Banking Committee. And yet, over the next two years, no one can really lay a hand on cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, the SEC and CFTC remain vocally supportive of the industry and will continue to push forward with their own rules in circumvention of Congress. The previous two election cycles witnessed strong appreciation in crypto markets, not necessarily in the 12 months following the midterms, but more so in the interim period between the midterms and the subsequent presidential inauguration 2+ years later. Bitcoin fell from $6,000 to $3,000 immediately following the 2018 midterms but went on to hit highs of $65k in early 2021. The pattern repeated four years later; Bitcoin fell from $21k to $15k immediately after the 2022 midterms, only to surpass the $100k mark in early 2025. Once again, past performance is not indicative of future results. About the Author Lawrence J. came from a strong technical and engineering background before pivoting into a more financial role later on in his career. Always interested in international finance, Lawrence is experienced in both traditional markets as well as the emerging crypto markets. He now serves as the financial writer for RADEX MARKETS. Reviewed by RADEX MARKETS Risk Warning: Trading derivatives and leveraged products carries a high level of risk, including the risk of losing substantially more than your initial investment.

The ballots are still being counted but early tallies suggest that the Democrats have significantly outperformed, with most forecasts now pointing towards the party taking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The result has caught financial markets off-guard, prompting a sizeable selloff in US stock market futures, particularly in the technology sector. Nasdaq futures were down 2% earlier this morning, while S&P 500 futures shed 1.2% and those on the Dow Jones incurred a more moderate 0.8% loss. The dollar is likewise under pressure today, with the DXY falling as low as 101.2 points, as market participants weigh up the prospect of the legislative gridlock that will likely grip the US government over the next two years. The outlook for AI infrastructure buildouts is looking a lot bleaker, as the sector braces for greater regulatory scrutiny and legal hurdles, especially in states such as Texas, where data centres were explicitly on the ballot. The same is true of cryptocurrencies, which are now unlikely to see any legislative progress over the next couple of years. Bitcoin dropped deep into $75k territory earlier in the session but recouped the losses in a classic ‘sell the rumour, buy the news’ turnaround. Markets in general are still somewhat unsettled this soon after the election and the volatility will probably last throughout the remainder of the day. Several indicators are already showing signs of reversal, but the day is still young. Crude oil prices have plummeted so far this week as the prospect of a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Iran gains ground. Qatar continues to mediate talks between the United States and the Iranian regime, with both sides expressing cautious optimism about a potential end to hostilities. The Brent Crude benchmark tumbled 8% on Monday and has not yet bounced back, remaining at around $104 per barrel as of this morning. US contracts meanwhile have ended their brief stint in the three-figure range, falling to $96 per barrel earlier this week. Of course, markets have been in this situation many times over the last six months, and expectations remain tempered. Nevertheless, the loss of the House of Representatives and Senate could well impede future war spending, which may affect the future course of the conflict. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) surged in after-market trading last night after the company published its third quarter earnings report. The results easily exceeded expectations on the top and bottom lines, while data centre revenue doubled compared to the same period last year. The cherry on top was that Q4 revenue targets were also adjusted significantly higher, from forecasts of $16.2 billion to a predicted $17 billion. AMD has now officially surpassed Intel (INTC) in data centre revenue, and if fourth quarter forecasts hold, the perennial underdog will dethrone Intel in total revenue as well. AMD stock rose up to 8% in extended hours following the earnings call. #MIDTERMS #AMD #OIL About the Author Lawrence J. came from a strong technical and engineering background before pivoting into a more financial role later on in his career. Always interested in international finance, Lawrence is experienced in both traditional markets as well as the emerging crypto markets. He now serves as the financial writer for RADEX MARKETS. Reviewed by RADEX MARKETS Risk Warning: Trading derivatives and leveraged products carries a high level of risk, including the risk of losing substantially more than your initial investment.

Louisiana is in the midst of an unprecedented industrial renaissance. Since 2024, the Bayou State has attracted hundreds of billions of dollars of private investment across a range of different industries, as companies line up to build factories, natural gas facilities, data centres and even orbital launch bases. In the past three years alone, no fewer than 16 separate projects with a price tag over $1 billion have been confirmed, with more being added to the list seemingly every month. The most ambitious development by far is Starbase Louisiana, a project announced by SpaceX (SPCX) back in August that plans to build the largest spaceport the world has ever seen, capable of supporting thousands of launches every year. The new launch facility is projected to cost a staggering $100 billion and when completed, will span a total of 500 square kilometres – an area 8 times the size of Manhattan. Starbase will host ten separate launch pads and catch towers, with the ultimate goal of being able to handle 30 flights per day. To put the figure into some context, there are currently only around 300 flights per year on the entire planet, and most of those are already down to SpaceX. Back in the 2010s, the world could barely manage 100 flights per year. More than just a launch base, the site is designed to be as self-sufficient as possible, including its own power plants, vehicle processing amenities, an on-site airport, as well as propellant production facilities, taking full advantage of Louisiana’s local natural gas resources. This summer, Meta Platforms (META) announced that it would commit an additional $50 billion to its existing data centre campus, which currently houses the company’s largest AI training cluster, Hyperion. When completed, the data centre will likewise be one of the biggest on Earth, ramping up to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity. Meta has committed to funding new gas-powered turbines and grid facility upgrades to handle the additional power requirements and has pledged $1 billion toward public road and water improvements. The Facebook parent company has even allocated $5 million in local education grants to fund trade scholarships. Amazon (AMZN) recently scaled up its investment commitments in Louisiana by adding a third data centre campus, amounting to a total of $18 billion in new cloud computing facilities. Just as with Meta’s new data centres, Amazon will foot the bill for all new power and transmission upgrades, thereby insulating local residents from bearing such costs. A similar arrangement is being implemented with regard to new water infrastructure, to the tune of $400 million, which will allow Amazon to use local water resources to cool its data centres during the summer months. The next three items on the list all concern new LNG developments. Venture Global announced an additional $18 billion to expand its existing facilities south of New Orleans, beefing up production to 27 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). Woodside Energy Group, a global energy company based in Australia, has committed $17.5 billion to build a new LNG production and export facility on Louisiana’s southwestern border, marking the largest investment by a foreign company in the state’s history. Just down the road, LNG company Caturus initially pledged a $13 billion investment to construct a 9.5 Mtpa coastal export facility, but in September the plans were augmented to increase capacity to 17 Mtpa. While data centres and LNG facilities make up the bulk of the planned investments in Louisiana, Hyundai’s decision to invest $5.8 billion in the construction of a state-of-the-art steel production mill initially appears to stand out from the crowd. In fact, building a clean, low-carbon steel plant on the banks of the Mississippi River makes a lot of economic sense when considering the ravenous appetite for novel construction materials in data centres, as well as the mature waterway and railway networks that connect many parts of the state of Louisiana. The clean energy drive is also a shared desire between AI server farms and the steel mill, due to prior green commitments made by their founders. All this ushers in the question of why Silicon Valley and international manufacturing giants are converging on Louisiana of all places. Part of the explanation has already been mentioned, but infrastructure is an important contributor to such decisions. Because of its history of powering heavy chemical and oil refining plants, Louisiana has a very robust electrical grid, capable of handling sudden, immense loads that would otherwise cause problems in other parts of the United States. As for transport, the Mississippi River, the Gulf Intracoastal and Red River Waterways, the miles upon miles of canals, to say nothing of the vast, deepwater coastal ports, together offer the ideal environment to carry heavy goods up and down the state, at relatively low cost. The third reason is that Louisiana’s state government has fundamentally rewritten its tax laws to attract capital from other states. Governor Jeff Landry recently signed a 20-year exemption on sales tax that specifically targets data centre equipment. In the same vein, the state has introduced a fast-track permitting system that ploughs through many of the zoning and environmental regulations that would usually slow massive infrastructure projects down to a crawl. The final reason, as laid out several times above, is that private companies have received the green light to fund various infrastructure improvements themselves, while the state complements the improvements with developments of its own, resulting in better support systems that benefit private and public interests alike. Educational funding follows a similar model, with the state coordinating with local industries to build custom training facilities and private companies injecting vast sums of cash directly into regional schools. There is nothing novel about what Louisiana is doing. The southern state is merely following the same path that California committed to back in the 1950s and 1960s, albeit with a modern flourish. The only real difference lies in who foots the bill. While Californian taxpayers bore much of the groundwork costs half a century ago, this time around it is the bottomless pockets of hyperscalers and rocket companies that are laying the foundations for the next economic boom. About the Author Lawrence J. came from a strong technical and engineering background before pivoting into a more financial role later on in his career. Always interested in international finance, Lawrence is experienced in both traditional markets as well as the emerging crypto markets. He now serves as the financial writer for RADEX MARKETS. Reviewed by RADEX MARKETS Risk Warning: Trading derivatives and leveraged products carries a high level of risk, including the risk of losing substantially more than your initial investment.

Investors collectively slammed the brakes on the AI trade last week, following abysmal third quarter earnings reports from Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN) and Intel (INTC). Google disappointed on search engine and ad monetisation, while Amazon’s e-commerce section showed its worst growth rate in recent times. In other words, the very businesses the companies are known for are showing severe signs of weakness. The two hyperscalers revealed impressive growth in their respective cloud operations, but Wall Street crowds are growing weary of the colossal amounts of cash being funnelled into new data centres. The truly shocking result arrived on Thursday evening, when Intel (INTC) published an exceptionally weak Q4 revenue forecast, prompting a huge selloff in extended trading hours, which culminated in a jaw-dropping 28.6% collapse in share price on Friday. All bets were off at that point, as investors rushed to get out of anything even tangentially related to big tech. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) fell 7.2% on the final trading day of the week, with all the big names being relentlessly punished. By the end of the day, the chip manufacturing sector was in flames, with Nvidia (NVDA) down 4.2%, AMD suffering a 10.9% drop, Micron (MU) falling 5.3% and Seagate (STX) and Western Digital (WDC) both crumbling over 7%. The combined selling pressure crushed the Nasdaq-100 to its lowest level since early August, incurring a 3.5% loss on Friday. Despite the hilarious lamentations of ‘big tech being carried out on a stretcher’, the wider US stock market held up remarkably well. The Dow Jones fell a modest 1.1% on Friday, while the S&P 500 shed a more sizeable 1.8%, suggesting that market participants were not willing to abandon ship completely. Energy, consumer staples, utilities and healthcare all performed admirably, seemingly immune to the carnage unfolding in technology stocks. The technology bloodbath is directly intertwined with this week’s midterm elections in the United States. A strong performance from the Democrat contingent could profoundly dent investor confidence in the semiconductor trade due to foreseen restrictions on data centre construction, harsher environmental regulations and an AI sector faced with more rigorous scrutiny in general. With that in mind, the global tech sector remains in limbo going into this week. Investors in precious metals were in no position to mock those in semiconductors, after gold crashed through the $4,000 support level on Friday to reach lows of $3,875 per ounce. Silver collapsed in similar fashion, losing the equally psychologically important $50 threshold and falling almost 6% on the day. The brutal selloff in equities forced investors to liquidate their bullion holdings in a desperate attempt to shore up their defences, crushing precious metal prices in the process. Gold and silver are now lower than they were 12 months ago, reflecting a macro environment that has heavily punished non-yield-bearing assets for most of this year. Astonishingly, despite the largest hack in the history of cryptocurrencies, amounting to $6.36 billion by the latest count, Bitcoin is holding up rather well, reclaiming $78,000 per coin over the weekend and rising once again this morning. Traders will need to brace themselves for the coming week. Two events to look out for today, the first being the ISM Manufacturing PMI later this afternoon, followed by the latest earnings from Apple (AAPL) after market close, marking the first earnings call with new CEO John Ternus at the helm of the company. On Tuesday, all hell will break loose with the US midterm elections, which will see all 435 House of Representative seats as well as 35 Senate seats up for grabs. It will take a long time for all the ballots to be counted, with results spilling over to the Wednesday session and potentially even beyond. It is somewhat traditional for the incumbent party to lose the midterms, so the result is largely priced in, but US elections have surprised markets before and participants would do well to expect the unexpected. Tuesday will also provide an update from the Reserve Bank of Australia, which is forecast to increase rates on the Australian dollar by another 25-bps, bringing the target rate up to 4.85% – a rate not seen since 2008. Tuesday evening also sets the stage for the latest quarterly earnings from AMD, a company that would certainly welcome a dose of good news. On Wednesday, the ISM will complete the PMI picture with the services component of the US economy, while the ADP will publish the October employment change. Eurozone inflation will also hit the newswires on Wednesday, a figure that is expected to rise to 3.9% for the October print. Thursday will see attentions turn to the Bank of England, the members of which will almost certainly enact a 25-bps rate hike of their own, lifting the base rate to 4%. As if all the above were not enough, non-farm payrolls are scheduled for release on Friday, closing the chapter on what is set to be a highly volatile week. #MIDTERMS #SOX #AAPL About the Author Lawrence J. came from a strong technical and engineering background before pivoting into a more financial role later on in his career. Always interested in international finance, Lawrence is experienced in both traditional markets as well as the emerging crypto markets. He now serves as the financial writer for RADEX MARKETS. Reviewed by RADEX MARKETS Risk Warning: Trading derivatives and leveraged products carries a high level of risk, including the risk of losing substantially more than your initial investment.

The world’s largest crypto exchange is in the midst of a catastrophic security breach. Late on Thursday evening, Binance confirmed ‘our teams are aware of reports of a potential security issue and are actively investigating’, following which the exchange informed users that withdrawals would be suspended until the issue had been resolved. An official figure for the total loss has not been confirmed as of yet, but estimates place the size of the hack at a staggering $6 billion. Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao reassured users that funds were safe, while co-CEO Yi He said that the platform would cover ‘all hacking losses’. The latest investigation into the matter suggests the incident ‘may involve a compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions’, although the exact nature of the attack has not yet been confirmed. The hacker’s wallet held roughly $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, $900 million in Ether, as well as several billion dollars in various stablecoins. Unfortunately for the hacker, stablecoin operators rapidly intervened and froze the stolen assets, making them essentially unmovable and rendering half the attack futile. Nevertheless, if the amounts in question are confirmed, the hack will be the largest in history by a huge margin. The fact that Binance can supposedly absorb the blow with no loss of funds on behalf of its user base speaks volumes of the sheer size of the financial moat that the exchange has established. The CEO of crypto market maker Wintermute even claimed that ‘Binance has enough to withstand 3-4x of current hit and still be largely intact’. Despite reassurances, the resulting price action has not been pretty. Bitcoin tumbled from $81,000 before the attack to lows of $76,000 in the following hours, while the wider crypto sphere suffered much of the same fate. All things considered, the damage was relatively limited, with most cryptocurrencies undergoing no more than a 10% drop before rebounding, which says a lot about the newfound resilience in crypto markets. For many of the big tech companies, earnings season is not going according to plan. Alphabet (GOOG) missed expectations by a country mile on Wednesday, falling well behind on advertising revenue and reporting a massive cash burn of $9 billion in the third quarter. Alphabet shares plummeted over 12% during the following market session, erasing half a trillion dollars in market value. A day later, Amazon (AMZN) found itself in a very similar position, falling short on revenue and earnings per share and revealing astronomical capital expenditures of $220 billion, which will primarily be funnelled into AI data centres. Shares fell up to 8-9% in after-hours trading, setting the stage for a brutal opening on Wall Street later today. Intel (INTC) is in the same position, but to an even worse extent, collapsing over 20% in extended trading after publishing awful forward outlook. The poor sentiment continued to spread further out, affecting chipmakers and software companies alike. Investors are worried because the core business models that have kept the likes of Google and Amazon afloat over the years are weakening, while these companies aggressively pivot to AI ventures that are costing absurd amounts of money. Whether the gambit pays off or not remains to be seen, but for now, many market participants are not impressed. The technology sector may be going through a rough phase, as evidenced by a 1.4% drop in the Nasdaq-100 yesterday, but the broader US stock market appears to be in a much healthier state. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones lost a comparatively modest 0.3% on Thursday, while the small cap Russell 2000 rose a solid 1%. Silicon Valley may be on the ropes, but many companies in the wider economy are showing robust earnings and growth, prompting a healthy rotation away from the usual market drivers. By the same token, US third quarter GDP figures came in higher than expected yesterday, highlighting a 3.4% annualised growth rate. #CRYPTO #HACK #BINANCE About the Author Lawrence J. came from a strong technical and engineering background before pivoting into a more financial role later on in his career. Always interested in international finance, Lawrence is experienced in both traditional markets as well as the emerging crypto markets. He now serves as the financial writer for RADEX MARKETS. Reviewed by RADEX MARKETS Risk Warning: Trading derivatives and leveraged products carries a high level of risk, including the risk of losing substantially more than your initial investment.