Choo Koon Lip

Taking stock of the movies I watched in 2011. And somehow, I consolidated some of my favourites over the last 18 months by extracting from my blog. As always, the show is where we laughed, cried (in my heart), reminisced, fell in love, reflected on life – hoping to find that magical connection. Here’s my top 5 of ‘different movie genres’ – enjoy.

My 5 Favourite Chinese Movies:

You Are The Apple of My Life
- watched once in Singapore
- watched the trailer and MTV over and over again

Let The Bullets Fly (March 2011)
- watched on DVD and iPad a couple of times
- everytime I watch, I discover something new

Echoes of the Rainbow (June 2010)
- watched once in cinema
- watched once on flight to Istanbul
- really a tear-jerker!

After Shock (July 2010)
- watched once in Singapore
- watched once in Hanoi

Life Without Principles
- watched once in HK
- watched the trailer more than 20 times, haha!!

My 5 Favourite Action / Thrillers:

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
- watched once in Singapore
- planning to watch in cinema again!
- really exciting and entertaining trailer

Fast 5 (May 2011)
- watched twice once in Singapore
- on my to-watch list
- really exciting and entertaining trailer

X-Men: First Class (June 2011)
- watched once in Singapore
- watched once in KL
- on my to-watch list

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (August 2011)
- watched once in Penang
- on my to-watch list
- a good remake, lots better than the on with Mark Wahlberg

Unstoppable (November 2010)
- watched once in Singapore
- watched once in KL
- Denzel Washington: always reliable

My 5 Favourite ‘Others’:

Due Date (December 2010)
- watched once in PJ
- on my DVD/iPad to-watch list

The Social Network (October 2010)
- watched once in Singapore
- watched once on DVD

Burlesque (January 2011)
- watched once in Singapore
- watched once in Jakarta
- watched short clips now and then on iPad

Ra.One
- watched once in Singapore
- my first Indian movie in cinema in my life
- entertaining dance sequence
- quite funny, so I classified this as ‘comedy’

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-wrecked
- watched once in Singapore
- the best chipmunks movie so far

My No.1  favourite movie over the last 18 months!

Inception (July 2010)
- watched once in Singapore
- watched once in KL
- watched once in New York on IMAX
- once on iPad
- really exciting and entertaining trailers and teasers- my all-time favourite

Magic To Win – 03 December, 5.30pm @ Cathay City Square (JB)

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol – 15 December 2011, 7.00pm @ GV Max (Vivocity)

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-wrecked – 23 December, 6.25pm @ GV Katong

New Year’s Eve – 26 December, 1.10am @ The Cathay

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadow – 28 December, 4.25pm @ GV Katong

Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate – 31 December, 7.30pm @ GV Katong

Footloose – 02 November, 7.15pm

Ra.One – 07 November, 5.40pm @ GV Vivocity

The Adventures of Tintin – 19 November, 12.10am @ GSC Tropicana (PJ)

You Are The Apple of My Life – 23 November, 7.20pm @ GV Tiong Bahru

The Sorcerer and the White Snake – 8 October 2011 @ GSC Times Square (KL)

Real Steel – 15 October 2011, 8.50pm @ GV Marina

Life Without Principles  – 24 October 2011, 12:10am @ President (Newport Circuit) (Causeway Bay, HK)

Love on Credit – 25 October 2011, 3.30pm @ PolyBona Huaqiang Beimao Yebaihuo (Shenzhen)

One Day – 26 October 2011, 7.10pm @ GV Tampines

In Time – 29 October 2011, 6.15pm @ MBO KSL City (JB)

Midnight in Paris – 30 October 2011, 7.00pm @ Cathay Cineleisure

1) Get real time results.
Make sure the FX robot/EA developer shows transactions from a real, live money market account. A positive track record should span over several months to a few years. While past results don’t always guarantee future profits, seeing the track record proves that the robot/EA is logically sound. In addition, make sure what you are viewing isn’t a simulation. While all EA robot companies offer backtests, it shouldn’t be their only means of providing you with results.

2) Ability to tweak the system.
Reputable Forex robot software systems will reveal the logic behind them – more specifically how they generate their trading signals. If you understand and agree with their logic, then you will have confidence in the system and will be able to use the system with ease. The best robots allow you to trade with multiple currency pairs, but remember a robot may be good for a certain pair and not the rest.. This gives you the ability to customize the robot with the right lots, stops and limits.

3) Be realistic.
Don’t believe the stories that promise to make you rich overnight – any product that says you will is a scam. Be aware that you will face short-term losing streaks; that’s simply the reality of trading. In order to be successful, you will have to stick it out long-term and not get frustrated with a short-term losing streak. By being realistic, you want moderate, consistent results.

To get the most out of your Forex EA Robot, you will need to learn how to properly use it. You cannot just install it and expect your pockets to fill up with money. There is a learning curve involved that includes testing and tweaking your robot until you have picked the strategy right for you. Hopefully, this has better prepared you to choose a Forex EA Robot. You weed out all the scams and ineffective products.

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon (IMAX 3D) – 4 July 2011, 10.20am @ UA iSquare (HK)

Mr. Poppins’ Penguins – 18 July 2011, 11.40pm @ GSC Times Square (KL)

Bridesmaids – 24 July 2011, 4.10pm @ GV Vivocity

A new tax proposed by European leaders is threading the status of London as a hub for trading in global FX markets.

The tax is spearheaded by Frances Sarkozy and Germany’s Merkel. The tax will be charged on every financial transactions, this will have an effect on the cost of the trade thus affecting profits.

The market hasn’t welcomed the decision and large financial institutions are adamant that if this bill is passed they will find new jurisdictions with more attractive tax conditions.

London is home to more than one-third of the worlds daily FX volumes. Most large banking organisations have trading desks in London. London has conquered the broker/ dealer industry post NFA tightening of spot FX regulations. Most large US brokers transferred their base to take advantage of  flexible trading conditions.

The Tobin tax was introduced in Sweden in the late 80′s. It had detrimental effects on the overall financial climate. 60% of the 11 most actively traded Swedish shares migrated to London and over 50% of Swedish equities had moved to London by 1990. The bill was scrapped within 5 years.

FX markets are announcing record volumes, price, liquidity and technology have been the key drivers. This bill could hamper growth in the words most traded asset class.

1. Stops Should be Technically Relevant
Stop loss levels should not be arbitrary – just because you’re willing to lose a maximum of 2% of your equity doesn’t mean that a 2% stop loss is a good idea. Instead, your stops should be technically relevant.

Place stops at price levels that represent a maximum deviation from the technical pattern you’re trading, not some random loss you’re limiting yourself too.

This can coincide with the maximum risk you’re willing to take; but doesn’t have to.

2. Stop Outs Should Be Material
Way too often, I see cases of traders who do a good job of honoring their stops (and closing their positions), only to leave money on the table when the trade rebounds.

The problem is that they’re being too strict with their stops. Remember, support prices are not absolute levels – a Forex pair can easily move a few pips below the support level set as a stop without being a “failed” pattern just yet.

You should see support / resistance as a price range instead of just an exact price level.

3. Stops Should Hold You Accountable
If you’re having trouble pulling the trigger when it’s time to sell a stop out, you need to be accountable to your stop loss orders.
One of the easiest ways to do that is to be explicit about them: consider posting your trading levels on a public forum like a blog or Twitter.

A more private solution is to keep a trading journal that clearly defines your stop loss price for any position. This requires you to review (and hold yourself accountable for) your trades that fell below those levels.

Forex brokers have recently been sponsoring major sport teams to have their brand displayed in front of millions of fans. Their primary goal is to promote their brand as well as hype up the industry as a whole.

1. MIG is a sponsor of the Mercedes F1 team with Michael Schumacher as one of their drivers

2. FXPro sponsors Fulham and Aston Villa, well-established English soccer teams, as well as AS Monace, one of France’s leading clubs.

3. FXDD sponsors the Red Bull F1 team, Alpari sponsors the New York Knicks basketball team and New York Ranger hockey team

4. Saxo Bank sponsors cycling tournaments

5. FXOpen sponsors Drift challenges …and the list goes on.

Car racing, in particular, Formula 1, seems to be the current trend for Forex brokers. There are some good synergies with Forex and F1: fast paced, risky, technical and there is an element of nationalism (like the World Cup) via the competition between drivers and teams of different nationalities – like Euro vs Yen. The demographics of the average Formula 1 fan are predominantly male aged 35-55 years old and upper-middle class. F1 sponsorships are expensive and the messages that these companies are trying to deliver are ‘we are a big company because we sponsor a F1 team’ and that Forex trading is akin to car racing.

Do you want to see what they spent on these sponsorships? Was it money well spent or just vanity marketing?

Personally I don’t believe in big sponsorship by the brokers, and I don’t use those who come in with such enormous sponsorship. Your trading commission / spread is paying for it.

With reference from Jeff Baskin