... that I don't know what the financial markets will do, and neither does anybody else.

If you read the title of this blog post, and actually thought that I was going to make a definitive prediction for the financial markets for the next ten years, you definitely need to read the rest of this blog post, and should probably read my article where I reveal the holy grail of trading as well.

It is almost the end of the year, and also the end of the first decade of the first century of the third millenium (phew), and it is about this time that a lot of people (note that I said people not traders) start talking about what the financial markets will do over the next year and even the next ten years.

Most people will say that the financial markets are going to be bullish (primarily because this is what they want to happen). Some people will say that the financial markets are going to be bearish (perhaps because of a desire to be contrary to the masses). The truth is that nobody knows what the financial markets are going to do, and anyone who claims that they do is either a prophet or a fool (most likely the latter).

Successful traders do not try to predict what the financial markets are going to do over any length of time, and certainly not for such a ridiculous length of time as ten years. Profitable trading is about analysing a market, and then making trades based upon that analysis, but it is not about trying to guess (which is exactly what a market prediction is) what a market is going to do.

As we get closer to the end of the year, there will be more and more market predictions from many so called market analysts, and if you are an aspiring trader, you will need to ignore every one of them. These predictions are designed to sell advertising on mass media, and no successful trader will ever pay any attention to such a market prediction (or any other market information that comes from the mass media).

So, if you haven't already done so, this is a good time to decide which group you want to be part of, the prediction hungry public, or the prediction averse traders. If after reading this, the correct choice isn't obvious, then I apologize for distracting you from your search for the holy grail :-).

There are only a few news releases from the US this week, but many news releases from Europe, and several news releases from Asia. The US has seven high volatility news releases, while Europe has seven high volatility news releases, and Asia has three high volatility news releases. Markets from all three regions will probably experience some significant volatility and price movement at some point (US markets) or throughout this week (European and Asian markets).

The US, European, and Asian news releases for this week are as follows (all times are Greenwich Mean Time, which is 1 hour behind Central European Time, and 5 hours ahead of US Eastern Time) :

US

• Monday : Existing Home Sales at 3:00 PM
• Tuesday : GDP at 1:30 PM, HPI at 2:00 PM, Consumer Confidence, HPI, and Manufacturing Index at 3:00 PM, and FOMC Meeting at 7:00 PM
• Wednesday : Durable Goods Orders, Unemployment Claims, PCE Price Index, Personal Spending, and Personal Income at 1:30 PM, Consumer Sentiment, and Inflation Expectations at 2:55 PM, New Home Sales at 3:00 PM, Oil Inventories at 3:30 PM, and Natural Gas Storage at 5:00 PM
• Thursday : No News Releases
• Friday : No News Releases

• This week's US news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are only a few US news releases this week, but seven high volatility news releases. The US markets will probably experience some significant volatility and price movement at some point this week.

Europe

• Monday : France PMI Manufacturing and Services at 8:00 AM, Germany PMI Manufacturing and Services at 8:30 AM, EU PMI Manufacturing and Services at 9:00 AM, and EU Central Bank News Conference at 1:00 PM
• Tuesday : Switzerland Consumption Indicator, and Germany GDP at 7:00 AM, France Consumer Spending at 7:50 AM, Switzerland Employment Level at 8:15 AM, Germany Business Climate at 9:00 AM, UK Mortgage Approvals, and Business Investment at 9:30 AM, UK Inflation Report at 9:45 AM, EU Industrial Orders at 10:00 AM, Belgium Business Climate at 2:00 PM, UK Central Bank News Conference at 3:35 PM, and Switzerland Central Bank News Conference at 5:30 PM
• Wednesday : Germany Consumer Climate at 7:00 AM, UK HPI at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), Italy Retail Sales at 9:00 AM, and UK GDP, and Index of Services at 9:30 AM
• Thursday : Germany CPI at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), EU Money Supply, and Private Loans at 9:00 AM, Germany Bundesbank News Conference at 10:15 AM, UK Realized Sales at 11:00 AM, and Germany Bundesbank News Conference at 5:00 PM
• Friday : Germany Import Prices at 7:00 AM, EU Consumer Confidence at 10:00 AM, and Switzerland Economic Barometer at 10:30 AM

• This week's European news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are many  European news releases this week, and seven high volatility news releases. The European markets will probably experience significant volatility and price movement throughout this week.

Asia

• Monday : Australia Vehicle Sales at 12:30 AM, and Australia Leading Index at 11:00 PM
• Tuesday : Japan Central Bank Report at 5:00 AM, Australia Central Bank News Conference at 10:20 PM, and Japan Trade Balance, and CSPI at 11:50 PM
• Wednesday : Australia Construction Work at 12:30 AM, and Japan Monetary Policy at 11:50 PM
• Thursday : Australia Private Capital Expenditure at 12:30 AM, New Zealand Business Confidence at 2:00 AM, New Zealand Trade Balance at 9:45 PM, Japan Household Spending, CPI, and Unemployment Rate at 11:30 PM, and Japan Retail Sales at 11:50 PM
• Friday : New Zealand Inflation Expectations at 2:00 AM

• This week's Asian news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several Asian news releases this week, but only three high volatility news releases. The Asian markets will probably experience some significant volatility and price movement throughout this week.

The fourth pair of the japanese candlestick patterns that require two separate candlesticks are composed of almost identical individual candlesticks, but have slightly different placement, and provide completely different indications. The inverted hammer and the shooting star are relatively easy to identify on a price chart, and in the appropriate context they can be used as trade entry and trade exit signals.

There are several news releases from each region (the US, Europe, and Asia) this week. The US has seven high volatility news releases, while Europe has five high volatility news releases, and Asia has two high volatility news releases. Markets from all three regions will probably experience some significant volatility and price movement throughout this week.

The US, European, and Asian news releases for this week are as follows (all times are Greenwich Mean Time, which is 1 hour behind Central European Time, and 5 hours ahead of US Eastern Time) :

US

• Monday : Retail Sales, and Manufacturing Index at 1:30 PM, Business Inventories at 3:00 PM, Central Bank News Conference at 5:15 PM, and FOMC News Conference at 11:15 PM
• Tuesday : FOMC News Conference at 10:30 AM, PPI at 1:30 PM, Long Term Purchases at 2:00 PM, Capacity Utilization Rate, and Industrial Production at 2:15 PM, FOMC News Conference at 3:15 PM, and Housing Market Index at 6:00 PM
• Wednesday : Building Permits, CPI, and Housing Starts at 1:30 PM, and Oil Inventories at 3:30 PM
• Thursday : Unemployment Claims at 1:30 PM, Manufacturing Index, and Leading Index at 3:00 PM, and Natural Gas Storage at 3:30 PM
• Friday : No News Releases

• This week's US news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several US news releases this week, and seven high volatility news releases. The US markets will probably experience some significant volatility and price movement throughout this week.

Europe

• Monday : UK HPI at 12:01 AM, UK MPC News Conference at 8:15 AM, Germany Bundesbank News Conference at 8:50 AM, EU CPI at 10:00 AM, and UK MPC News Conference at 6:00 PM
• Tuesday : Switzerland Retail Sales at 8:15 AM, UK CPI, and RPI at 9:30 AM, EU Trade Balance at 10:00 AM, and UK Inflation at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time)
• Wednesday : EU Central Bank News Conference at 8:40 AM, EU Current Account at 9:00 AM, UK MPC Meeting at 9:30 AM, and UK Industrial Order Expectations at 11:00 AM
• Thursday : Switzerland Trade Balance at 7:15 AM, Italy Trade Balance at 9:00 AM, UK MPC News Conference at 9:20 AM, UK Retail Sales, Public Sector Borrowing, and Money Supply at 9:30 AM, and EU Central Bank News Conference at 4:00 PM
• Friday : UK Financial Stability at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), Germany PPI at 7:00 AM, Germany Bundesbank News Conference at 8:00 AM, Switzerland Central Bank News Conference at 9:15 AM, and EU Central Bank News Conference at 10:30 AM

• This week's European news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several  European news releases this week, and five high volatility news releases. The European markets will probably experience significant volatility and price movement throughout this week.

Asia

• Monday : Japan Central Bank News Conference at 12:30 AM, China Foreign Direct Investment at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time), and Japan Industry Activity at 11:50 PM
• Tuesday : Australia Monetary Policy Meeting at 12:30 AM, and Australia Central Bank News Conference at 10:05 PM
• Wednesday : Australia Leading Index at 12:00 AM, and Australia Wage Price Index at 12:30 AM
• Thursday : Australia Central Bank Bulletin at 12:30 AM, Australia Central Bank News Conference at 1:00 AM, and Japan Industry Activity at 4:30 AM
• Friday : New Zealand Credit Card Spending at 2:00 AM, and Japan Monetary Policy, Overnight Call Rate, and Central Bank News Conference at ??:?? ?? (Unknown Time)

• This week's Asian news releases that should cause high volatility are shown in bold type. There are several Asian news releases this week, but only two high volatility news releases. However, the Asian markets will probably experience some significant volatility and price movement throughout this week.