A news blackout that ignores live spread is theatre. A spread filter that ignores the calendar is how you get clipped on a “quiet” Tuesday that was not quiet. The useful desk work is defining how the two rules interact when they disagree.
How I link them in practice:
- Calendar blackout is the floor — I am flat for the written window regardless of how calm the chart looks.
- Spread filter can extend the blackout, never shorten it. If spread is still blown after the timer, I stay flat.
- Journal tags both: calendar-flat vs spread-extended-flat so I see which rule saved the week.
Do your spread filters ever override a news timer (I argue they should only lengthen it) — how have you coded that on a human desk?
When the two rules conflict in the heat of the moment, the written hierarchy removes the debate: calendar wins on duration; spread wins on extension. I do not allow a “looks tradeable” override from either side.
