Today is July 4th. For America, it is a day of celebration recalling the Declaration of Independence. As well as remembering the past, it is also a time to think about the present and to think about the future of America. This year, more than any in the recent past has been a challenging…
Category: Macro
General, Macro
It’s ok to not have a market position
by Saeed Amen •
Equity markets have surged over the past few weeks off the March low. High beta currency pairs such as AUD/USD have pretty much wiped out the losses they experienced at the start of the crisis. Whilst the speculators have largely expected falls, building up large short exposure in for example S&P500 futures, the retail “Robinhood”…
Data, General, Macro
How to improve your trading through P&L analysis
by Saeed Amen •
We learn from our mistakes. Or in many cases, we just keep on repeating them, by having a selective memory. Or we might remember our mistakes, and just blame someone or something else, when perhaps we are the ones most to blame. Obviously, in a scenario like we’re currently living in, it’s one of those…
Data, General, Macro, Python
Writing a story with alt data
by Saeed Amen •
I seem to spend most of my time writing. For over a year Alexander Denev and I have been coauthoring The Book of Alternative Data. I’ve also written a few papers on alternative data and FX recently. Aside from that, I’m still writing, although usually in Python and I’ve also recently started to learn kdb+/q.…
General, Macro
The echo and rhyme of Lehman
by Saeed Amen •
The Lehman analogy has usually got trotted out whenever stocks have had a drawdown since past decade. Often it’s been by permabears eager to blame central banks for every woe under the sun, a point that’s been emphasised by tweets from Mark Dow (@mark_dow). Using the comparison has been a bit like equating my cooking…
Data, General, Macro
Machine readable news, markets and coronavirus
by Saeed Amen •
Sometimes, when I have a burger, it’s the unexpected ingredients which truly make it special. Perhaps it’s a fried egg, perhaps it’s the sauce, maybe the fried onions? Of course, the “core” of a burger, namely the patty and the bun have to be good too, but it’s the extra special touches, which can also…
Data, General, Macro
The Beatles and nostalgic backtesting
by Saeed Amen •
It’s 50 years this year since the Beatles’ Abbey Road album was released. Reenacting the Abbey Road cover on the zebra crossing is something I’ve wanted to do for years but have somehow never got round to it. What’s so special about the Beatles, that makes fans crowd around that Abbey Road zebra crossing, much…
Data, Foreign Exchange, General, Macro
Read the Fed through NLP
by Saeed Amen •
It’s easy to miss things. However, we simply don’t have enough time to do everything. I like burgers, and I usually use this blog as an excuse to talk about them. Bear with me for a moment, there is a point to this! Let’s say I wanted to find out the best burger in my…
Data, General, Macro
Alternative data as the oil industry
by Saeed Amen •
I know how to find a decent burger. I’ll scour the web, I’ll walk around, I’ll ask my friends. If there’s a good burger, I’ll be sure to find it. When it comes to cooking it, well, I’m probably not quite as confident. Sure, I can make a burger. Will it be the best burger,…
Data, Foreign Exchange, General, Macro
Alternative data for FX
by Saeed Amen •
I recently visited the USA. I managed to visit a number of different cities. Whilst I was there primarily for work, I managed to squeeze in a few days to look around the various cities I visited. I visited Philadelphia for the first time, and I saw Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, both of…