Professional system trader Art Collins shares his daily biases in the index, bonds and currency futures markets for December 22.

The Fed has taken interest rates to zero. They have clearly started a program of quantitative easing. What exactly does that mean? Are we all now Japanese? Is the Fed pushing on a string, as Japan has done for almost two decades? The quick answer is no, but the quick answer doesn't tell us much.

2008 was a historically tough year for mutual funds, hedge funds, and the "buy and hold" blue chip crowd. But every year can be a good year for the shorter-term trader who actively manages his account.

Take a look at the strong correlation between the price of oil and consumer prices.

The feds want to give people money.  They’ve already cut interest rates to zero – as a practical matter, they can’t go lower.

Lawrence G. McMillan reviews the options market in his weekly column for December 19.

Professional system trader Art Collins shares his daily biases in the index, bonds and currency futures markets for December 19.

Professional system trader Art Collins shares his daily biases in the index, bonds and currency futures markets for December 18.

ZIRP – the “zero interest rate policy” – was tested in Japan for many years. There is no evidence that it did any good.