Trading the news is something I've been trying to learn since I started Rob Booker "1 on 1" training.  I'm finding that the potential to be profitable doing so is there.  It does take time to learn though and the only way is to gain the actual experience of trading during volatile macroeconomic news reports.  

Today, I traded the news and made 30 pips on 1 trade and lost 30 pips on another.  Unfortunately during these times more than others, the price can swing wildly back and forth so the chances of your stop getting taken out quickly is a strong possibility.  The key is obviously in the entry.  You don't want to jump the gun and enter too quickly but you also don't want to enter too slow.  I entered both positions today at the same time after the close of a 15 minute candle.  These were both valid entries and both swung against me by more than 20 pips.  The Yen swung too far against me and I was stopped out as mentioned previously.  The Sterling swung about 25 pips against me (I had a 30 pip stop) initially and tried for an hour to move back in my direction.  There was a point when my position was even and I could have gotten out of the trade unscathed.  I decided to stay in because I've made the mistake of exiting right before the trade goes my way.  The pair went 20 pips in my favor and I thought again that I should exit.  I waited and waited.  My limit was 30 pips.  The pair was up 28 pips and I still waited.  My target was hit and even though I'm even for the morning, it felt good to have shown a bit of restraint and confidence in my initial entry.  

With that said, I wanted to mention a new article by Boris Sclhossberg that talks about exactly what I'm trying to learn; trading the macroeconomic news.  It's a quick read and worth it if your interested in learning how to trade the news.

http://www.investopedia.com/printable.asp?a=/articles/forex/06/ScalpFundamentally.asp