Many traders underestimate the importance of being out of the market.....at certain points in the year.

Being out of the market has several benefits

1) the time out is an opportunity to reflect
2) and an opportunity to rest, recharge the batteries
3) many traders find when they come back to the market after a break they have a fresh perspective, and in some cases more objectivity.

There are some excellent times to be out of the market
1) during vacations - dont make the mistake of trying to trade on holiday, the results will often be poor, and that can spoil the holiday as well as destroying one of the points of it
2) during major personal events, for instance moving house
3) during illness

Traders that trade all the year round come what may risk performance deterioration. For most people it is better to schedule a number of periods every year to be out of the market.

Thanks to those of you who commented that the site was down at various points over the weekend. I have had confirmation from the technical team that the problems have been resolved and everything is back to normal.

Following good feedback on the recent blog on ADX messages, here is a quick update on the three indices we track.

1) FTSE100 - definitely in sideways mode now, both the 14 and the 8 day ADX indicators have fallen below 25. This is confirmed by visual inspection
2) FTSE250 - 14 day ADX is falling, but still at 28, but 8 day ADX has fallen below 25. This suggests that a minimum the downtrend is stalling.
3) S&P500 - 14 day ADX falling but still at 32, 8 day down to 27 but now rising again, so not yet in sideways mode, although the downtrend has been stalling.