MrPaul

These are my sentiments exactly.

My favorite would have to be the NYSE & NASDAQ TICK, and pivots. TICK hooks right at pivot points make me smile:p

When looking at the week ahead it's sometimes easy to forget the larger picture in development, and how different components tie in with each other. Here's a wrap up for this week that goes through each report and examines it's importance and how it fits into the larger picture. Trading around economic reports can be extremely profitable if your ready and understand how the report can affect the market (i.e having your finger on the trigger when the big fish start pounding the bid/ask). It's always good to be prepared. Here's an ecomonic calendar: Barron's Economic Calendar Here's the wrapup: Monday Data on Pending Home Sales, which is a leading indicator of housing market activity released by the National Association of Realtors, is due out at 10 AM ET on Monday. A pending sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale. Pending Home Sales Index slipped 1.1% to 109.1 in September following a 4.5% advance in August. The Index is about 13.6% below the reading found in September 2005. NAR's chief economist David Lereah said then," The market is currently a little lower than expected as buyers try to time their entry. In the meantime, there is some build up in demand that will move when consumers realize that conditions are optimal for them." Tuesday Productivity, which measures the efficiency in producing the economy's goods and services and Unit labor Costs, which reflect the labor costs for producing each unit of output, is scheduled for release at 8.30 AM ET on Tuesday. The final reading is expected to reveal that productivity stalled in the third quarter. The preliminary estimate of third quarter productivity of the non-farm business sector revealed flat performance compared to expectations for 1.2% growth. Meanwhile, productivity of the business sector as a whole rose by 0.1% in the third quarter. On a year-over-year basis, productivity growth was 1.3% for the non-farm business sector and 4.3% for the manufacturing business. Meanwhile, third quarter unit labor Costs of the non-farm business sector rose 3.8% from the preceding quarter, while the year-over-year gain is at 5.3%. The increase in third quarter unit labor cost marked the biggest gain since 1982. The Bank of Canada's Governing Council is set to make an announcement on its interest rate policy for the nation at 9 AM ET on Tuesday. The Committee meets once in every six weeks on a pre-determined scheduled to deliberate on its monetary policy. The central bank left its key interest rates unchanged at 4.25% in its October meeting. The bank has held rates at the current levels since May 2006. The dollar value of new orders for both durable as well as non-durable goods for the month October is scheduled for release at 10 AM ET on Tuesday. Economists expect the Factory Orders to have slipped 2% in October. New orders for manufactured goods jumped 2.1% in September to $411.2 billion following two consecutive monthly declines. However, the Shipment Index declined 3.5% to $392.4 billion. The Unfilled Orders Index climbed 3.9% in September after 0.5% growth in August. The Inventories Index rose by 0.6% in September, the same pace as in August. Meanwhile, durable goods orders registered a steep decline of 8.3% in October following a 8.7% gain in September and flat performance in August. Excluding the volatile transportation orders, durable goods orders eased 1.7% in October. In September, the measure edged up 0.5%. Shipments of durable goods increased 0.6% in October, reversing the 2.7% decline in September. Meanwhile, unfilled orders edged up by 1.2%, extending the 4.1% gain of September. The inventories index fell 0.8% in October following a 1.1% increase in September. The survey results of the ISM on conditions in the non-manufacturing sectors such as agriculture, mining, construction, transportation, communication, wholesale trade and retail trade is likely to be released at 10 AM ET on Tuesday. The composite diffusion index based on the 400-firm survey is expected be 56.5 for the month of November. Growth in the services sector increased at a faster rate in September. Nine of the 18 non-manufacturing industry sectors reported increased activity in the month. The Business Activity Index rose 4.2 points to 56.5, while economists had expected a reading of 54.5. The New Orders Index eased 0.7 points to 56.5 and the Employment Index fell 2.6 points to 53.6. However, the Prices Index slipped by 4.8 point to 51.9. Wednesday The ADP Employment report is scheduled for release at 8.15 AM ET on Wednesday. The report is a private survey that covers 14 million private employees at roughly 225,000 business establishments. The Energy Department's Crude Inventory report is likely to be released at 10.30 AM ET on Wednesday. The weekly inventory data revealed that crude stocks eased 0.3 million barrels to 340.8 million barrels in the week ended November 24th. Despite the slight slippage, inventories of crude stocks remain well above the average range for this time of the year. Gasoline and distillate stocks declined by 0.6 and 1 million barrels in the recent week. Refinery capacity utilization was at 87.9% in the week ended November 24th, compared to the same level in the previous week, but higher than the 87.6% in the year-ago period. Over the last four weeks, gasoline demand averaged around 9.2 million barrels, up 1.2% from the same period last year. Distillate and jet fuel demand increased by 7.1% and 0.3%, respectively in the same period. The price of gasoline was $2.246 in the week ended November 27th compared to $2.239 in the previous week and $2.154 in the week ended November 28th, 2005. Thursday The weekly Jobless Claims data for the week ended December 2nd is likely to be released at 8.30 AM ET on Thursday. Jobless Claims report for the week ended November 25th revealed that the number of individuals filing for unemployment benefit for the first time increased by 34,000 to 357,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 323,000. Economists had expected claims to be 316,000 in the recent week. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England is slated to announce its monetary policy decision at 7 AM ET on Thursday. The Committee consists of nine members and meets for two days in a month to determine the near term monetary policy of the central bank. The bank raised its interest rates by 25 basis points to 5% in its November meeting. The previous change in the bank rate was in August 2006, when the bank raised it by a similar magnitude to 4.75%. In the post-meeting policy statement, the bank noted that the U.K. economy has recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of firm growth. The bank also said that the underlying picture of household spending suggests moderate expansion despite the volatility. Notwithstanding the recent downside in oil prices, the bank noted that other pricing pressures have picked up. With the consumer price index climbing by 2.4% in September, the central bank believes that the index will rise above its target in the near term. Accordingly, the bank felt that an increase in the Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points to 5.0% was necessary to bring CPI inflation back to the target in the medium term. The European Central Bank's Governing Council is scheduled to meet at 7.45 PM ET on Thursday to decide on its monetary policy. The Committee meets twice in a month, with the first meeting of the month devoted to monetary policy. A statement on the policy would be released roughly 45 minutes after the meeting. The Governing Council held its key interest rates unchanged at 3.25% in its November meeting after nudging it up by 25 basis points in its October meeting. The bank also maintained its marginal lending and deposit rates at 4.25% and 2.25%, respectively, after raising both rates by 25 basis points in its October meeting. Consumer Credit, which is the dollar value of consumer installment credit outstanding, is scheduled for release at 3 PM ET on Thursday. Economists expect Consumer Credit to reveal an increase of $4.5 billion for the month of October. Consumer Credit declined $1.2 billion in September, representing the sharpest drop since 1991. The August reading was revised upward to $9 billion from the originally reported $5 billion. Softer car sales led to a $4.1 billion decline in non-revolving credit in September. Consumer credit rose at an annual rate of 3.5% in the third quarter, a decline from a 6.8% rate in the second quarter. Friday The monthly Jobs report, to be released at 8.30 AM ET on Friday is likely to reveal that the U.S. economy added 125,000 jobs in November. The report sheds light on the employment situation, as reflected by a set of labor market indicators such as non-farm payroll employment counts, the average workweek, average hourly earnings etc. The U.S. economy added 92,000 jobs in October compared to expectations for a 124,000 gain. However, on an encouraging note, the Labor Department noted that the job growth for September and August were revised higher to 148,000 and 230,000, respectively from the originally reported 51,000 and 188,000. Goods producing industries lost 60,000 jobs in the month after losing 6,000 jobs in September. Meanwhile, service providing industries added 152,000 jobs in October after adding 154,000 jobs in September. Meanwhile, the average hourly earnings, which is an inflation measure increased by $0.06 or 0.36% to $16.91 in October. The Jobless rate declined to 4.4% in October from 4.9% in the year-ago period and 4.6% in both August and September of 2006. The Labor Department also said that the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a five-year low of 4.4 percent in October from 4.6 percent in September. The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index for the month of December is due out at 9.45 AM ET on Thursday. The reading is expected to show that consumer sentiment held steady around the 92.8 levels in the month. The index came in at 92.1 for November compared to the mid-month reading of 92.3 and October's 93.6. Economists had expected the index to climb to 93.5 in November. The Expectations Index was at 82.3, significantly lower than the Current Conditions Index, which was at 106. Inflation expectations 12 months out eased 0.1 points to 3%. Source: Quote.com - Stock Quotes, Charts and News - News Story

So true. So true...

....Does the growth in the number of users taking up electronic trading systems reflect that more people are becoming increasingly knowledgeable in studying financial market behavior and are therefore accessing trading platforms to execute well-planned investment decisions? Or is the technology the advent of a sophisticated gaming medium that is excused and justified as a display place of "investment" opportunity?... What do you think? Why? excerpt from "The Psychology of Electronic Trading"

From Day Trading Forum - Rollover - Quick Facts & FAQs Quick Facts about Rollover Day The following applies to many (if not most) futures contracts especially those from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). * Rollover is 8 days before expiration. * Expiration is the third Friday of each quarter month (March, June, September, December) * The contract letter associated with each month is: March=H June=M September=U December=Z * Rollover is on a Thursday. * Rollover is usually on the second Thursday of the month but will be on the first Thursday if the first day of the month falls on a Friday * Volume shifts to the new contract at market open (09:30 EST) on Rollover day * New day trading or swing trading positions opened on rollover day should use the new contract month irrespective of when you plan to close it. * New swing positions might be better opened using the new contract if opened within a few days of rollover day. * Market myths abound at rollover and expiration. Check the source and confirm the probabilities before believing anything. * Rollover Days and Volume

Glad I could be of some help!

Yeah I agree torero, The checklist above doesn't relate much to day trading as it does longer holding periods. Perhaps a style where you could get caught in a devastation gap or something. I always like getting a feel for sentiment if I'm going to be in a trade for longer than a day. I liked Carter's journaling methods as well.

Trading Journal Checklist Almost every trader I know who has been doing this for awhile has learned the importance of keeping a trading journal. While all traders approach it differently, the key is to have some way to measure, track, and stay focused on improving your performance. In his column "The Write Stuff" at Trader Monthly, Doug Hirschhorn recommends that trader adopt a 15-point template to making the most of our trading journal and I think you'll find these points helpful as a starting point: 1. Establish your trading rules for the day. For example, if you've been struggling lately, you might establish a rule that you'll take 50% off your winners on the first hint of a pullback. 2. Identify the major world events that are currently in play. 3. Figure out which economic numbers are in play today. 4. Create a motto for the day. Keep it brief and positive. 5. Develop your morning game plan (be sure to do so before the open). 6. Evaluate your morning game plan (how did things really play out? How did you react? Did you stick to or stray from your game plan, and why?) 7. Prepare an afternoon game plan (create it over lunch, say, before the afternoon session begins). 8. Evaluate your afternoon game plan. A quick retooling of strategy could pay off in the second half. 9. Ask yourself: What did I do well today? What could I have done better? Use this step to dig deep and engage in some genuinely tough self-analysis. 10. List all your trades that appear to be working and all those that aren't. 11. Call the market -- is it range-bound? Trending? Which sectors are in play? 12. Determine for yourself: On a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high), your level of focus and concentration for the day. 13. Your daily question: Am I a better trader today than I was yesterday? If so, why? In other words, what exactly have I learned? A day without learning is a wasted day in a trader's career. 14. Which trades should I pay attention to tomorrow? 15. My goal for tomorrow is? Without any doubt, the kind of checklist Doug has developed is focused on the short-term trader and I think these are good starting points. I also think that having a journal is appropriate and useful even for those of you with much longer time-frames. For example, if you're more an intermediate to long-term investor, you'll need to extend the time frames on just about every one of these checklist items. For example, instead of developing a daily game plan, you'll want to create a monthly or quarterly plan instead and so on. The point is that if you integrate and customize some of these checklist items into your daily routine I think that you'll certainly have a much better understanding of how you're really performing and be in the position to improve that performance. It takes time and effort at the beginning to get a trading journal, but you'll find after awhile that it will become habit and you'll actually enjoy the work you put into it. source: The Kirk Report : Trading Journal Checklist

Welcome to the forums Reaver! I agree this place is the best for great info and helpful people.

Found this earlier Professional traders may receive a subscription to Trader Monthly Free of Charge. https://www.kable.com/pub/tdmm/controlled2.asp I have been subscribing for about 5 months now, good magazine.

I get a "Page not found" when I click on the link

I know there are many market blogs out there, some good, some less than great. There are a few I read almost daily that deliver quality content, refreshing perspectives, interesting links, and update frequently. TraderFeed - Psychological perspectives are unmatched imo. Always posting interesting topics historical and otherwise. The Kirk Report - Link posts are awesome. A full days worth of news in a nice easy to read format. Other posts are insightful and to the point. Trader-X...views from a distorted mind. - Good overall blog, thought provoking and informative. I like his philosophy on trading. uglychart.com - Probably one of the most honest, open market bloggers out there. Ugly doesn't mind sharing his triumphs and struggles. A unique look into what a trader thinks about along his journey. Trader Mike - Great market chart analysis every now and then, quality links to interesting news and other blogs, and a great archive of information.

Here's an excerpt review based on the book "Steidlmayer on Markets: Trading with Market Profile, 2nd Edition" ...Steidlmayer on Markets shows readers how to find these opportunities using the innovative techniques developed by the author during his many years of trading the market. This fully updated Second Edition covers innovations in both technology and technique-and broadens the scope of "market profile" to include stocks.

Yeah check out the videos section, and make sure to ask questions if you have em' that's the best way to learn:)

Pierre, Have you ever read "The Disiplined Trader" or "Trading In The Zone" by Mark Douglas? Those books helped me tremendously with having a bias formed by my analysis and not being able to get in the "flow". I am on my 6 or 7th read for both and always take something new out of them. I typically approach each market day with the intent not to trade. I'll have to be convinced by price action that a bullish or bearish bias had entered the markets before I put on a trade. I guess that is why I click so well with pivots and breakouts and feel comfortable trading with them. I believe that analysis is healthy and can offer a heads up and give you a good feel for who's in the markets, but anything beyond that starts to distort things open up an opportunity for you to think that you are right and the market is wrong while you are trading.

Hi newtrader, I'll throw in my opinion on on the subject. I trade Equities and Index Futures. First off what type of trading are you interested in? Intraday, swing, position? In my opinion Index futures are a bit harder to trade than stocks and day trading requires more skill and psychological framework than swing or position trading. Stocks certainly move slower in comparison to the emini's and they offer a new trader move room for mistakes. It is true that If a trader can make 2-3 ES points a day consistently, all he needs to do is to increase size which will generate a decent income. But the caveat is that you have to be on a level in which you take consistently 2-3 points away from from the markets:p Markets can look deceptively easy to trade in hindsight. As far as profit and loss emini's do offer more bang for the buck, but also offer more bust for the buck as well. I would say that if you are gearing towards futures start out trading the NQ or YM. Those markets offer smoother action and aren't as erratic. It really all boils down to these few things: A.) How much capital you have devoted to your trading business. B.) Your Psychological and analytical(technical) skill levels. C.) Your overall level of market experience. If your levels are lower than higher on those three things, you could spend your time grinding your account to dust while you try and figure things out daytrading. The key is desire, persistence and patience. Stick around here and you will find allot of people willing to help, that's for sure.

Sounds good to me, As far as time is concerned i'm pretty flexible but would prefer lunchtime.

Hi farkasb, These are the components to Aerospace, Telechart doesn't include the other listing. DJUSAE - Aerospace US Dow Jones BEAV ATK AH UIC BA CRDN PCP UTX LLL TASR COL LMT RTN CW FLIR GD ESL NOC GY MANT TGI DRS MOG.A AVL ORB AIR CUB TDY HXL GR HEIA EDO

Great post! And congrats

Well said Torero, I am constantly trying to view "failure" as an opportunity to learn something so I won't repeat it with a larger amount of money. Someone once said "you'll never again be as stupid as you are today..." I think that is insightful.

This is a good read... Sacrifices of a full-time trader Filed under: Uncategorized  Caravaggio @ 1:26 pm Many individuals who hold down a full-time job and trade the markets in their spare time, harbour the desire to trade on full-time basis. It is a very enticing proposition. Over and above your trading record and the reliability of your trading approach, I think it is important to consider the significant sacrifices involved in making the transition: * Security of full-time employment: Perhaps even more important than the absolute level of income is the fact that an income stream from an employer is usually stable. This regular paycheck stream can be matched up against routine expenses like food, rent, etc and in most cases, will leave you with a little spare change for your long-term savings account. A full-time trader either needs to have an asset that generates enough cash to make these routine payments - bear in mind that a £100,000 asset will be lucky to generate to 5% pa (£5000) after tax - or they are in a forced position of having to try to generate the cash from the their trading accounts (welcome to my world). * Income growth: Most people’s pay-packets will grow by an amount that beats inflation, and will often be supplemented with end of year bonuses. * Realistic expectations and your bank roll: The very best hedge funds (eg: Quantum, SAC, Citadel) consistently make or have made around 20-30% pa. They have the very best minds working for them, will often throw money at technology, and usually have decades of experience. If you set your aims in this context (ie at a more modest level), it becomes obvious that a substantial bank roll to required to make a decent living from your trading activities. A reasonable minimum level for a rational investor would probably be around £100,000 (plus the asset required to generate a regular income stream). This is what I think is required to stand a reasonable chance of success. It may also explain help to explain why so many traders fail at the retail level; they just don’t have the resources to take a measured approach. * Acknowledgement and interaction with peers: We are social animals and unless you are operating from a trading arcade, trading can be a very isolated activity. This is not natural and can be get quite depressing over time. In the workplace you can bounce ideas of other people and you get feedback on your efforts. In most cases, your presence is appreciated. In trading, however, your sense of self-worth has to come from within. * Other perks of the pay-check: These include things like health cover, insurances, and pension contributions from your employer and paid holidays. I hope these points underscore the idea that making the decision to become a full-time trader is not a decision to be taken lightly. As a trader, I believe my objectives are noble, but I’ll confess that I glossed over these sacrifices when I made the decision to start trading on a full-time basis. That was my first bad trade. http://the3500.wordpress.com/tag/uncategorized/

Got this in an email today. I thought it to be insightful enough to post. Hope you get something out of it! Be Specific: Precisely What Are You Doing Wrong? In the trading world, the "Market Wizards" are often elevated to the status of idols. Why not? They have accomplished relatively rare feats. Consider Tom Baldwin, for example, he took what Jack Schwager called a "skimpy capital base" and turned it into a fortune. His "fearless" approach to the markets allowed him to trade aggressively. These tales of success can be inspiring, but they can also create unrealistic expectations. You may start to believe that you need to be a natural born trader to profit in the markets. But successful trading is often a matter of persistence, and it is hard to persist if you believe that trading requires special talents. It is more useful to work under the assumption that profitable trading can be learned. That's not to say that anyone can learn to trade, but if you are relatively intelligent, confident in your ability to succeed, and persist long enough, you can learn how to master the markets. It's all a matter of taking trading seriously, setting specific goals, and picking yourself up gracefully after a defeat. Psychologists have found that many people get fed up and decide to quit when they make broad generalizations about their abilities after a setback. Rather than focus on specific deficits, they view their flaws as very general, enduring, and only about them. They think they aren't intelligent enough or they believe they don't have the right personality to trade. Although this may be somewhat true, it is not useful to think this way. It's much more adaptive to be specific about what you are doing wrong. Consider the plight of Jack. He is upset because he lost money on a trade. At about 11:00 this morning he noticed that a stock rapidly went up $1 since the open. He bought 1,000 shares, but the price went down just as fast as it went up. He decided to cut his losses. What should Jack do at this point? First, let's consider what he shouldn't do: He should not attribute his loss to an enduring inability to trade. He should not think pessimistic thoughts like, "I'll never learn to trade profitability. I just don't have enough talent." What he should do is identify where he has specific problems with his approach to trading. For example, he did not have a detailed trading plan. In addition, he did not study the stock closely enough before trading it. By identifying specific problems, rather than making global statements about his abilities, he can make a specific plan for improving his method. He can learn to trade better. He can develop more detailed trading plans. He can study a company's stock chart more closely to get a good idea of the range that the price of the stock moves in a given timeframe. When his problems are stated specifically, they can be changed more easily. Many people jump to the conclusion that their performance is closely linked to innate abilities. But oftentimes, the more you practice trading, the better you will become at it. Don't be afraid to identify specifically what you are doing wrong. The faster you do so, the faster you will improve, and the faster you will take home the profits you desire.

I personally like the open, I thrive on things like gap fades, breakouts etc. I could see how the open can be a dangerous place for entry in a longer term trade though. For a swing trade I would want to wait until a more definite trend developed before finding an entry point.

Here is the direct link if anyone doesn't want to sign up as a guest to view http://www.lbrgroup.com/images///tooI_kelvin1.pdf