Cheat Sheet: 5 Things You Must Know About Juneteenth

Juneteenth is more than a day off from work and cookouts! June 19th is an acknowledgment of the day that the last group of our enslaved ancestors found out that there were free after the Civil War. Here are some facts about this historic day.

Small Town Horror Story: Juneteenth & The Aftermath of Slavery

In September 1862, during the Civil War—which started in 1861—President Abraham Lincoln introduced the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation was a radical action that gave Confederate states only 100 days to rejoin the Union or else those who were enslaved would be declared free. The Confederacy refused to budge, so on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, releasing over 3 million people from slavery.

Image: Buyenlarge / Contributor (Getty Images)

Although the Emancipation Proclamation freed those who were enslaved in the Confederacy, those who remained were not informed that they were free until almost two years later. Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. General Granger handwrote a note called General Order No. 3 to officially announce their freedom which states:

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.”

Image: Buyenlarge / Contributor (Getty Images)

The Emancipation Proclamation did not free everyone who was enslaved in America as more enslaved people lived in the North. Interesting, right? However, the Proclamation did lead the way for the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery across America. After Lincoln’s assassination, the Amendment was adopted in December 1865.

In 1980, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth a holiday, with Black people celebrating the day they were a step towards freedom in the United States. Juneteenth was made a federal holiday in 2021 by President Biden.

Photo: Drew Angerer / Staff (Getty Images)

Opal Lee is known as the grandmother of Juneteenth, as she is credited with pushing legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. She created a petition that received over a million signatures and walked from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington D.C. to bring awareness to her cause. She believed that Juneteenth should be recognized nationally because the day that freed the last slaves would’ve never happened without help from people across America. She was successful, being present in 2021, when President Biden made June 19th an official holiday. In February 2023, she became only the second Black American to have her portrait hung in the Texas statehouse in honor of her persistence to make the holiday happen.

Photo: Dia Dipasupil / Staff (Getty Images)

Forex Candlestick Patterns Cheat Sheet

Candlestick patterns are an effective way to help forex traders read currency charts. Benzinga compiled this forex candlestick patterns cheat sheet to help you learn what candlestick patterns you can use in a bearish and bullish currency market.

What is a Candlestick?

Candlestick charts originated in Japan as an informative and compact way to track market prices visually. They later became popular worldwide since they show reliable candle pattern types that traders can incorporate into their trading strategies. 

A candlestick chart shows how the value of a stock, currency pair or security evolves over time. Such a chart consists of a series of individual candlesticks that represent the high, low, opening and closing values observed over a certain period of time. These charts also display a variety of common candlestick patterns that forex traders can use to their advantage. 

Technical traders might use candlestick charts computed for one or multiple timeframes, such as 15-minute charts, 1-hour charts or daily charts, to name a few. Check out the detailed candlestick patterns cheat sheet below for more information on forex candlestick patterns and how to use them. 

Reading Currency Charts with Candlestick Patterns

A candlestick consists of a body and two wicks. The upper and lower wicks on each end of a candlestick’s body respectively represent the currency pair’s highest and lowest exchange rates observed during the candlestick’s time period.

The body of a candlestick is bounded by the opening and closing exchange rates for the relevant time frame. The body is assigned one of two colors, depending on whether the market closed that time period higher or lower than it opened. 

If the exchange rate at the close of a given time frame is higher than at the open, then the candle’s body for that time frame will typically be green or white by default, although a user can usually adjust the colors in their technical analysis software. Conversely, if the exchange rate closes below its open for a time frame, the candle will typically be red or black by default. 

Candlestick charts provide a visual tool to help traders get a feel for the forex market and identify various candle shapes or multi-candle patterns that have predictive value. You can use candlestick charts to identify a trending market and to trade based on the appearance of reliable candlestick patterns. 

A forex cheat sheet containing the most useful bearish and bullish candlestick patterns for currency traders appears in the sections below. You can use this cheat sheet as a reference when looking to incorporate candlestick charts into your trading plan. 

6 Bearish Forex Candlestick Patterns

While various chart types can be used by technical forex traders, candlestick charts are among the most popular since a variety of bullish and bearish candlestick patterns can show up on these charts that can suggest profitable trades. 

Shooting Star

A shooting star is a bearish reversal candlestick pattern that indicates a decline is likely following an upward trend. As the schematic image above shows, the exchange rate initially rises as buyers enter the market. However, the rate then falls back toward its open price as its upward momentum fails.

A shooting star should have an upper wick at least twice the size of its body with only a small lower wick. This candlestick pattern suggests that a bullish run has reached its high, so a reversal could be in process. The bearish signal may fail, however, if the exchange rate subsequently continues to make gains.

Evening Star

An evening star is a relatively rare but reliable candlestick pattern that appears during uptrends and signals a bearish reversal. The relatively complex pattern consists of three candles. 

In the first candle, a currency pair's exchange rate rises significantly. The opening of the subsequent small bullish or bearish candle then gaps up. The exchange rate then gaps down to form a bigger bearish candle. The final candle should cover a minimum of half the first candle’s body size. 

These signs confirm that an evening star pattern has appeared on the candlestick chart and that a potentially stronger trend reversal to the downside is brewing. 

Hanging Man

A hanging man candle is a bearish reversal chart pattern that displays a long lower wick and a small body above it. The hanging man pattern appears during upward trends as they are losing steam and suggests that a downside correction may be imminent.

The appearance of this candle indicates that an increasing number of bearish forex traders are entering the market and attempting to push the exchange rate lower. Although bullish traders force a close higher during this candle’s duration, a bearish reversal may subsequently take place.

Bearish Engulfing

A bearish engulfing pattern is a chart pattern that shows up during bullish trends and signals that a trend reversal is on the horizon. In a bearish engulfing pattern, the exchange rate closes higher in the first candle, but it then falls in the second candle to a degree that encompasses, or engulfs, the full extent of the first candle. The bearish engulfing pattern can be a helpful reversal indicator that suggests an aggressive move to the downside is on the horizon, although it is less reliable in choppy markets. 

A bearish engulfing candlestick pattern. Source: Benzinga.com.

Dark Cloud

A dark cloud is a bearish reversal chart pattern consisting of two candlesticks. It forms when the market initially gaps up to open a candle above the previous bullish candle’s close, but the market then ultimately closes below the midpoint or 50% mark of the first candle to form a bearish second candle.

A dark cloud pattern shows that a substantial shift in market momentum from the upside to the downside has taken place. Both the initial bullish and the final bearish candles can be quite large, suggesting a significant number of market participants were involved. 

More conservative traders might look for confirmation by waiting for another bearish candle to appear after the dark cloud pattern to signal a selling opportunity. 

Three Black Crows

The bearish three black crows chart pattern is a reversal pattern that typically shows up at the end of an uptrend. It consists of three candlesticks that all close lower than the previous candle. This candlestick chart pattern implies strong downside momentum and can be used alongside other technical indicators.

6 Bullish Forex Candlestick Patterns

While various bearish candlestick patterns are used, traders also rely on many bullish patterns as well. 

Bullish Engulfing

The opposite of the bearish engulfing pattern, the bullish engulfing pattern is a two-candle pattern that starts out with a bearish red candle and completes with a bullish green candle that engulfs the previous red candle. This bullish pattern typically shows up after a market decline to suggest a potentially aggressive upside move may be on the horizon.

A bullish engulfing candlestick pattern. Source: Benzinga.com.

Hammer

A hammer is a bullish single candle signal of the conclusion of a downward trend and the possibility of a turnaround to the upside. A hammer pattern occurs when a currency pair drops noticeably lower but then spikes higher within the time frame of a single candle. As a result, the candle appears like a hammer since the lower wick is much larger than the actual body.

For a hammer to emerge, sellers cause the exchange rate to decline. However, buyers then absorb the selling pressure and push the exchange rate back up to close just above its opening price. The hammer formation thus indicates potential upside gains for bullish traders.

Inverted Hammer

An inverted hammer is a type of bullish single candle that occurs on a candlestick chart after buyers begin putting upward pressure on a currency pair. It tends to have a large upper wick, a short lower wick and a small body. The name comes from the shape of the candle since it looks like an upside-down hammer. 

An inverted hammer candle is most commonly seen at the bottom of a downtrend where it signals the start of an upside reversal. Bullish traders begin to gain some confidence and attempt to push the exchange rate higher. Although this attempt may be unsuccessful initially, the inverted hammer candle signals that bullish pressure is emerging.

Morning Star

The morning star pattern consists of three candles that signal the formation of a bullish trend after a downtrend. After the first candle falls, the market gaps lower to open the second candle below the first, but the second candle has a much smaller red or green body than the first. 

The market then gaps up to open the final bullish candle that exceeds the midpoint of the first candle. The morning star pattern captures a moment of market indecision. Traders can watch for this pattern to seek confirmation that an upside reversal is developing after a bear phase.

Piercing Line

A piercing line pattern is a two-candle reversal pattern that marks the transition from a downtrend to an uptrend. The first candle of this pattern opens near the high and closes near the low, so it has two small wicks. The second candle then gaps down but closes near its high and above the 50% midpoint of the first candle. This pattern indicates that a near-term upside reversal could take place.

Three White Soldiers

The three white soldiers pattern is the reverse of the three black crows pattern. It involves three green candles that each close above the previous high and tend to have short wicks. This bullish reversal pattern indicates strong upside momentum emerging after a downtrend. 

Additional Candlestick Patterns Traders Should Know

Over 50 established bullish and bearish candlestick patterns exist to help traders forecast near-term moves in the financial markets. You can research the full range of these useful patterns online and in books dedicated to the subject. A few additional candlestick patterns that traders should be aware of are mentioned below.

Doji

A doji candlestick occurs when the opening and closing levels of a candle are perfectly equal. Doji candles typically show large wicks and bodies that consist of a horizontal line. The directional implication of a doji depends on its form, as the image below shows.

Four types of doji candles and their directional implications. Source: CoinVestasi.com.

Spinning Top

A spinning top candlestick features a short body vertically positioned in the middle of extended upper and lower wicks. When this pattern forms, it represents a period of indecisiveness in the market. The opening and closing levels are similar in spinning top candles, but buyers and sellers attempted to push the market in both directions during its duration. A bullish spinning top has its close above the open, while a bearish spinning top has its open above its close. 

Falling Three Methods 

The falling three methods pattern is a bearish pattern that appears in a downtrend. The first red candle makes a significant move lower and has a large body, but green candles two through four make small gains higher but do not exceed the high or low of the first candlestick. The fifth and final red candle then falls significantly from its open below the previous candlestick’s close to a close below the close of the first candlestick. The falling three methods pattern suggests a bearish trend is likely to remain in effect despite a slight upside correction.

The falling and rising three methods candlestick patterns. Source: Vecteeezy.com.

Rising Three Methods

The rising three methods pattern appears during an uptrend and is the opposite of the falling three methods pattern. In this bullish pattern, the first and last candles are bullish, with the small three candles in the middle correcting modestly lower. This pattern indicates that sellers could not push the market significantly lower, so the uptrend is likely to continue.

Trade Your Strategy

Many very useful candlestick patterns exist to choose from, although how to incorporate them into a forex trading strategy will depend on an individual trader’s preferences. While these patterns can help improve your profitability and edge as a trader when used alone, they usually provide the best trading opportunity when used in combination with other technical indicators that can confirm the validity of their signals.

Learn Candlestick Patterns with These Forex Brokers

Learning about the more reliable candlestick patterns and how to trade them is a great way to boost your success as a forex trader. Getting started putting these patterns into practice generally requires the services of an online forex broker, so look through and compare some of the best forex brokers listed in the table below to help narrow down your options and implement this cheat sheet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

A

Candlestick patterns are generally either bullish or bearish, but there are over 50 well-established candlestick patterns for traders to watch for.

Q

A

It can be challenging to narrow down the best candlestick pattern for scalping. For some, it is the shooting star and its inverse pattern the hammer, but opinions differ.

Q

A

Most of the patterns discussed in this article are strong because they show clear and reliable bullish or bearish signals that traders can include in a trading plan.

Stuart Varney: Media working ‘hand in glove’ with Biden admin as president’s 'cheat sheet' is exposed

FOX Business host Stuart Varney argues someone is telling Biden what to say after his cheat sheet was exposed during his press conference in the Rose Garden.

During his latest "My Take," "Varney & Co." host Stuart Varney discusses Biden's "cheat sheet" being exposed during his most recent press conference, arguing the media and the administration is working "hand in glove."

STUART VARNEY: See this? The president is holding a cheat sheet. 

He walks into the Rose Garden for a press conference with full knowledge of who is going to ask the first question and what the question would be. You can see it, all written out. 

And sure enough, the first question did indeed came from the Los Angeles Times reporter, and it was almost word for word the same as the question printed on the cheat sheet.

BIDEN CAUGHT WITH CRIB NOTES DETAILING REPORTER'S QUESTION PRIOR TO CALLING ON HER DURING PRESS CONFERENCE

President Joe Biden speaks about the economy to union members at the IBEW Local Union 26, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, in Lanham, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci / AP Newsroom)

At this point, we don’t know how the White House got the question, but it sure looks like the media is working "hand in glove" with this administration. 

The Los Angeles Times looks like it’s an extension of the Biden campaign!

It also tells us that Biden’s handlers will do anything to avoid a real press conference, with real, unscripted questions! 

This is the basement strategy revamped for the 2024 campaign.

BIDEN BELITTLED FOR USING ‘CHEAT SHEET’ WITH REPORTER’S QUESTION PRE-WRITTEN ON IT: 'IT'S NO SURPRISE'

FOX Business host Stuart Varney on Biden's press conference. (Fox News)

But it’s more serious than just a campaign strategy. 

The cheat sheet raises the question of just who is calling the shots. Who is exercising presidential power? Somebody is telling him what to say. 

And we are expected to just lap it up for another 18 months. That’s not right.

I will say this: if the president can’t handle questions at a time of war and crisis, if he needs handlers to tell him what to say, if we still have to live under the threat of a Harris presidency, he should not be running for a second term.

'The Evening Edit' panelists Jason Chaffetz and Carol Roth discuss the House passing the GOP's debt ceiling bill and President Biden holding the lowest number of press conferences since Ronald Regan. 

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