Happy Monday, Lark Traders! This is Lark Digest, the trading newsletter that’s all pips and no drawdown.

We hope you’re sitting down and enjoying a nice cup of coffee because we’ve got a big one for you.

On the agenda:

• Everything you need to know for the week ahead 💹 

• 5 ways to guarantee you fail at trading ❌ 

• The best trading competition is about to start 🚀

5 WAYS TO GUARANTEE YOU FAIL ❌ 

When I first started trading, I would strategy hop faster than Usain Bolt winning another gold medal.

Yeah, it was bad. It was so bad that I bought so many different courses, and before I knew it, I had blown thousands of dollars.

But eventually, I did learn one thing.

A little secret that not many traders talk about.

And that’s the power of measuring in 100s.

You see, I eventually learned that it didn’t matter what my next trade or next 5 trades did.

They could all be losers.

What only mattered was what my next 100 trades did.

And that’s because I learned that my trading edge would only play out with a large enough sample size.

And boy, let me tell you. No longer needing to care about the next trade was a massive stress relief.

To me, this was a total game-changer and helped me on the path to becoming a Funded Trader.

If that got your brain juices flowing, then check out our latest YouTube video, where we go over 4 more tips like this.

DO YOU LIKE COMPETITION? 👀 

We sure do! And so we’re calling all Lark Traders because our February Competition is about to begin!

Here’s the deal:

• It’s completely free to join.

• The top 30+ traders will win a free challenge account.

• It starts in just 2 days.

• It’s a ton of fun!

Click HERE to sign up.

We hope to see you there!

HUGE WEEK FOR THE MARKETS 🥵

We’re not very deep into 2024, but the week ahead is still set to be the biggest one so far this year.

In fact, there’s so much data coming out things could get as messy as the Mona Lisa.

But rather than spending hours trying to decipher what’s important this week and what’s nonsense, we’ve done the work for you (you’re welcome).

So, add the following to your trading agenda:

WEDNESDAY

1. Aussie Inflation Data 🇦🇺 

For all AUD traders, this is one to keep an eye on.

The market is expecting the RBA to start cutting rates in August. If we see inflation rates continuing to come down, that expectation will only get stronger.

Remember: Lower interest rates = Lower AUD (typically)

2. Fed Rate Decision & Press Conference 🇺🇲 

Likely the most important event of the week, rates are expected to remain unchanged at 5.5%.

The real kicker, however, will be at 2:30 pm when Jerome Powell will take center stage.

Everybody will be watching for any comments that give clues as to when the Fed plans to start lowering rates.

Takeaway: Be very careful on Wednesday. The USD and stocks could move like a bad rollercoaster.

THURSDAY

On Thursday, we have:

• The ECB Inflation Rate. The rate is expected to drop from 2.9% to 2.8%. CPI continuing to drop means the market is expecting the ECB to cut interest rates beginning in April. But the ECB says the first cut is likely coming in the summer.

• European Unemployment Rate. The rate is not expected to move and stay at 6.4%. This figure will also impact when the ECB decides to lower rates.

• BoE Interest Rate Decision. No change is expected, and the rate should remain at 5.25%. The BoE has remained firm on keeping rates high until inflation returns to its 2% target.

All of these will likely move the Euro and British Pound in one way or another, so keep a close eye on them before going full-margin on your account.

FRIDAY

If all of that wasn’t enough, we top it all off on Friday with Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP).

The Unemployment Rate is expected to increase from 3.7% to 3.8% (bad news).

It’s important to keep in mind that in the last report, there was some hidden data that showed a lot of weakness. More specifically, the household survey showed the largest jobs decline since the lockdown of April 2020 (also bad news).

If the print is 3.8% or anything worse, we expect the market to get spooked and things to move quickly.

So, what did we learn?

• Everybody is waiting for interest rates to drop. The question is, who’s going to be first to the party?

• The market could get wild this week.

Stay safe out there, Larkers.

DIGESTIBLE MEMES 🍪 

PS: These promotions end in just 2 days!