Articles for category: Educational

SniperElite

The Silver Crash: Margin Hikes, Algorithmic Carnage, and the $74 Bottom

The silver crash on Friday, 30 January 2026, was a violent deleveraging event that effectively shattered every pillar supporting the $120 price point. The 31.3% collapse in a single session represents the worst daily percentage decline in the history of silver trading, eclipsing even the infamous “Silver Thursday” crash of 1980. According to Dow Jones ...

The 2026 Silver Crisis: Strategic Overview

The silver market in early 2026 has become a place of extreme confusion for the average trader. You might see a headline price of $126 in Shanghai while your local broker quotes $111, and wonder if there is free money to be made. There isn’t. What looks like a simple arbitrage opportunity is actually the ...

SniperElite

The Japan Macro Survival Guide (2026 Edition)

Introduction: The Gravity-Defying Experiment Japan is currently attempting an economic feat that defies conventional gravity: maintaining near-zero interest rates in a world of inflation, while trying to prevent its currency from collapsing. For the average trader, this creates a landscape filled with counter-intuitive traps—where “good” economic news crashes the stock market, and a dying currency ...

What is technical analysis?

When I first started off learning TA, I thought it was ‘technical’. There is nothing technical about it. Technical tends to mean something very complex. It’s not that. TA is a strange two words. Actually, there is little in the way of analysis with pen and paper. Almost never is a calculator required. Basically you ...

SniperElite

What is money?

I’ve explored money before. Some say, “Everybody knows what money is.. so why ask stupid questions about it?” For simpletons, money is coin or cash in hand, or credit in the bank – end off. If that’s you, then kindly depart now. This is not a tutorial on money or how to make money. If ...

Bonds – what they are and their importance

There is much confusion out there about what bonds are. I’ve seen so-called experts get it wrong, and then mislead people. The recent importance of the ‘bond market’ has come about as there is talk about an ‘inverted yield curve’. Not much will be said about that. In this post I focus on the basics. ...

SniperElite

Conversation with a failed trader

Today I met a chap who is a failed trader. This was a rare opportunity. I had known him for about 3 months just from the odd conversation here and there. I knew that he had an interest in ‘stock markets’ and had some knowledge about CFDs. But it was strange how we ended up ...

SniperElite

Enquiry from a new trader

A new trader (who will remain anonymous) has contacted us to ask for some help. I’ll deal with each point, as it is of value to other new traders but largely for my own reflection. This is what we do, and we do this stuff for free and no obligation – ever! Note that I ...

SniperElite

The loser’s game

The news has been out from August 2018 that the European Securities and Management Agency (ESMA) has compelled all brokers (subject to its jurisdiction) to reveal their statistics on the percentages of losing trader accounts. See informative article headed, “ESMA Regulations Reveal: Where CFDs Traders Lose the Most“. The reported percentage of losing accounts ranged between ...

Bitcoin: Investor, trader, gambler or idiot?

In the last few months we’ve received inquiries from several about Bitcoin and various similar things, often referred to as cryptocurrencies. In essence many of these folk are the ones who missed out on making millions by not buying a few Bitcoin when it was dirt cheap. Now, they don’t want to make the same ...