Archive for the 'Swing Trading' Category

A Beginner’s Guide to Short-Term Trading

Monday, February 11th, 2008

Toni Turner does it again! This bestselling author and trading coach, delivers another strategy-packed guide for short-term trading. Ideal for anyone new to the game - and those looking for ways to boost their short-term trading profits - it’s compact, to-the-point and filled with-need-to-know facts. Destined to be another #1 bestseller, see why pros are saying “With today’s current market, you can’t afford to miss this book!” Now at a great price.


A Beginner's Guide to Short-Term Trading Book Cover

Tired of playing the waiting game with the same stocks year after year? Savvy trader Toni Turner Shows you ins and outs and the ups and downs of short-term trading. She’ll have you buying and selling on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis so that you have the right stocks at the right time. Ms. Turner’s clear advice, easy-to-follow explanations, and helpful charts can get you started right away in the highly profitable world of short-term trading.

    Contents:

Wall Street: The Greatest Game On Earth
Off To A Running Start Setting Up Your Business
Master A Money-Making Mindset
Market Machinations 101: The Fuel That Sparks The Energy
Market Machinations 102: Basic Charting Techniques That Make You Money
Jump-Start On Charting Basics
Charting Close-ups
Putting The Puzzle Together
The Bells and Whistles: How They Chime and Tweet
It’s Showtime!
Where The Rubber Meets The Road: Money-Management Techniques
Winning Strategies For Selling Short
Anatomy Of A Trader
You, The Wizard of Odds

Technician’s Guide to Day and Swing Trading

Monday, February 11th, 2008

Technicians Guide to Day and Swing Trading is a complete handbook for day and swing traders looking to improve their understanding of market dynamics, uncover securities with the highest probability of substantial, near-term price movement, and then select profitable entry and exit points with greater precision than that afforded by fundamental technical analysis.


Guide to Day and Swing Trading Cover

MARTIN PRING ON TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

McGraw-Hills Martin Pring on Technical Analysis series introduced individual investors to the value and legitimacy of technical analysis­­helped by the worldrenowned Martin Pring brand. Each book focuses on explaining and demonstrating one of the key tools of technical analysis, while the interactive CD-ROM/workbook format helps traders develop their technical analysis skills.

The Martin Pring on Technical Analysis series is a compelling new chapter in supplying accurate, timely information to technical traders everywhere while, at the same time, introducing traders to the foundations and proven methods of technical analysis.

Today’s volatile markets are tailor-made for day and swing traders, who are realizing that the disciplines and precision of technical analysis are the ideal fit for this high-pressure, analytically rigorous form of trading. Technicians Guide to Day and Swing Trading is a complete handbook for day and swing traders looking to improve their understanding of market dynamics, uncover securities with the highest probability of substantial, near-term price movement, and then select profitable entry and exit points with greater precision than that afforded by fundamental technical analysis.

The Master Swing Trader

Monday, February 11th, 2008

The Master Swing Trader:
Tools and Techniques to Profit from Outstanding Short-Term Trading Opportunities

The Master Swing Trader

Enter the hidden world of the master pattern recognition and build powerful swing trading strategies that respond quickly to changing market conditions. Use multiple time frame technical analysis and advanced 3D charting techniques to execute trades that take advantage of crowd confusion and market inefficiency. This complete, practical guide to modern swing trading includes over 180 illustrations and dozens of proprietary setups that illustrate both classic and highly original short-term tactics.

Biased news stories spun by insiders to manipulate options prices … Questionable stocks pushed by analysts so their trading departments can unload bloated inventories … Quick-trigger day traders chasing the latest chat room buzz …

Today’s top market players understand that our “efficient” markets are actually highly inefficient, driven by insiders with hidden agendas and an irrational pack mentality that has little to do with underlying value. Fortunately, this constant imbalance generates repeated, high-probability trade setups-and Alan Farley’s The Master Swing Trader reveals how you can find and profit from these difficult-to-spot opportunities before they disappear.

Farley’s innovative system is based on Pattern Cycles-shifting market stages that repeat in an orderly, predictable process through all price charts and time frames. These classic Pattern Cycles:

- Describe the machine language within market opportunity

- Reveal the origin of the trade setup

- Explain how to capitalize on inefficiency through every bull and bear phase

- Show exactly where to uncover consistent profit opportunities

- Offer natural methods to shift tactics quickly as conditions change

- Predict the impact of the emotional crowd on trend, range, and price development

The Master Swing Trader will help you apply Pattern Cycles to your advantage, over and over again. By encompassing virtually all market action, and revealing how price moves in a highly predictable manner, its powerful tools will give you the edge you need to take other people’s money before they take yours.

In today’s lightning-fast markets, open information makes profit opportunities decidedly more difficult to spot and capitalize upon-with the investing herd becoming far more skilled at spotting inefficiencies and closing them up quickly. The Master Swing Trader will teach you to recognize these trade setups one step ahead of the crowd, dive in for solid profits, and close out your position before the majority has even caught on.

Pattern Cycles are not easy or automatic; they require concentration, discipline, and skilled execution. But the payoff of these classic strategies is virtually unlimited. Turn to page 1 of The Master Swing Trader now, and open a new world of trading possibilities and profits-the world of the master swing trader!

Contents:

    Part I: The Gateway to Short-Term Trading.

Chapter 1. Trading the Pattern Cycle.
Chapter 2. Preparing for the Market Day.
Chapter 3. Analyzing the Market.
Chapter 4. Building a Swing Trading Strategy.
Chapter 5. Mastering the Tools.
Chapter 6. Understanding Time.

    Part II: The 7-Bells: Tools to Locate Outstanding Opportunities.

Chapter 7. Mastering the Setup.
Chapter 8. Dip Trip.
Chapter 9. Coiled Spring.
Chapter 10. Finger Finder.
Chapter 11. Hole-in-the-Wall.
Chapter 12. Power Spike.
Chapter 13. Bear Hug.
Chapter 14. 3rd Watch.

    Part III: Making the Trade.

Chapter 15. Precise Trade Execution.
Conclusion: Thirty Rules for the Master Swing Trader.

Tools and Tactics for the Master DayTrader

Monday, February 11th, 2008

Tools and Tactics for the Master DayTrader: Battle-Tested Techniques for Day, Swing, and Position Traders.


Tools and Tactics for the_ Master DayTrader book cover

“Short-term traders who concentrate only on the ‘what’ (What company is good?) and not on the ‘when’ (When do I strike?) will be trading on a very short-term basis indeed.”
-Oliver Velez

A no-nonsense, straight-shooting guide from friend/founder of Pristine.com, designed for active, self-directed traders. Provides potent trading strategies, technical skills, intuitive insights on discipline, psychology and winning methods for capturing more winning trades, more often.

It’s this type of honesty and wisdom that has made Pristine.com one of today’s top-rated day trading websites-and its founders, Oliver Velez and Greg Capra, two of today’s most consistently successful technical analysts and traders. Tools and Tactics for the Master Day Trader compiles the knowledge and insights of Velez and Capra into one information-packed resource. Whether used as a valuable daily trading desk reference, or as a front-to-back guidebook on the tactics and techniques of winning traders, this long-awaited insider’s guide shows you how to hit the market with savvy, intelligence … and a well-thought-out trading plan.

“One of the first things this book will do is create a revolution in your mind. It will change the way you ‘think’ and feel about the markets.”
-Oliver Velez

The concise, no-nonsense Tools and Tactics for the Master Day Trader covers everything traders need to win consistently. Beyond the psychology and self-discipline every trader must master for success, it covers the technical analysis skills needed to uncover and act on unique profit opportunities. How are today’s leading traders able to tune out investment noise-and concentrate only on what they need to win? This timely book reveals secrets and strategies that include:

- The 7 Deadly Sins of Trading-How to root out and eliminate these deceptive, deadly practices
- Pristine’s Mighty 5 Index-Key stocks to follow that mimic-and lead-the actions of the overall market
- Nasdaq Level II Tools and Tactics-Everything you need to understand-and trade on-fast-moving Level 11 screens
- Top 10 Charting Tools and Tactics-Reliable chart patterns for determining profitable entry and exit points
- Riding the Winning Wave-3 proven, easy-to-follow steps for letting your profits run-every time!

It’s the law of the e-trading jungle: in each market transaction, millions of times each day, one trader will outsmart another. One trader will win, one will lose. Tools and Tactics for the Master Day Trader shows you how to come out on the winning end. It tells you how to confront and overcome day trading’s all-important emotional and psychological challenges, then goes well beyond those to show you the actual techniques and strategies you can use on a daily basis to greatly increase your percentage of winning trades-and strengthen your competitive advantage on every trade! Listen to its truths, follow its rules, and start today to truly become a master day trader.

About the Authors

Oliver Velez and Greg Capra are co-founder of Pristine Capital Management, Inc., and its top-rated website Pristine.com. When they aren’t conducting detailed technical analysis of the markets, delivering trading insights to their website subscribers, or locking horns with other traders on the electronic battlefield (as they have done for over a decade), Velez and Capra are two of the electronic trading industry’s most sought-after speakers. Visit Pristine’s website at www.pristine.com

Book Contents:

Part One: Seeds of Wisdom for the Master Trader: Preparing the Trader’s Mind for Greatness.

Chapter 1: Initiation of the Master Trader: Understanding the Master Trader’s World.
Chapter 2: Developing the Master Trader’s Mind: Keys to Correct Trading Behavior.
Chapter 3: Loss: The Prerequisite to Trading Power and Success.
Chapter 4: Education of the Master Trader: How to Save Yourself from Years of Lost Time and Money.
Chapter 5: The Seven Deadly Sins of Trading: How to Combat Them and Defeat Them.
Chapter 6: Trading Laws of Success: Rules the Master Trader Lives By.
Chapter 7: Secrets of the Master Trader: 15 things Every Trader Should Know, But Doesn’t.
Chapter 8: 10 Lessons for the Master Trader.
Chapter 9: Final Words of Wisdom from a True Master.

Part Two:Tools and Tactics for the Master Trader: Developing the Arsenal of a Master Trader.

Chapter 10: Market Timing Tools and Tactics.
Chapter 11: Charting Tools and Tactics.
Chapter 12: Execution Tools and Tactics.
Chapter 13: NASDAQ Level II Tools and Tactics.
Chapter 14: Entry Tools and Tactics: A Step-by-Step Guide to Entering Stocks Like a Pro.
Chapter 15: Trade Management Tools and Tactics: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Trades Like a Pro.
Chapter 16: Exit Tools and Tactics: a Step-by-Step Guide to Exiting Your Trades Like a Pro.

Part Three: Looking Ahead.

Chapter 17: How to Put It All Together.
Chapter 18: ESP: The Future of Electronic Trading Software.
Chapter 19: Conclusion.

Why Sell Short?

Sunday, February 10th, 2008

The two primary reasons for selling short are opportunism and portfolio protection. Occasionally investors see a stock that they believe has been hyped to a ridiculously high level. They believe that the stock price will fall when reality replaces the hype. A short sale provides the opportunity to profit from the overpriced stock. Short sales are also used to protect an investor’s portfolio against a market downturn. By shorting stocks that the investor believes will fall sharply when the market as a whole falls, investors can help insulate the value of their portfolios against sudden market drops.
Zitel provides an example of opportunistic short selling. In 1996, Zitel was caught up in a wave of investor enthusiasm because it has a stake in a company that fixes the computer glitch that causes computers to interpret dates in the next century (2000s) as dates in this century (1900s). This problem, known as the “Year 2000″ problem, suddenly became a hot topic of conversation and made it to the covers of Time and Newsweek. In September 1996, Zitel was selling for $7 per share. By December, the shares topped $70. At this point, many investors thought the stock was overpriced and saw an opportunity to make money by selling it short. If an investor had sold short in December 1996, he could have bought the stock back for $15 per share in April 1997. Selling short would have allowed the investor to take very profitable advantage of the opportunity presented by the overpriced Zitel stock.
Short selling is also used to protect portfolios against erosion due to a broad market decline. Short sellers make money when stock prices fall. An investor can diversify a long portfolio by adding some short positions. The portfolio will then have positions that make money both when prices rise and when they fall. This reduces the volatility in the portfolio’s returns and helps protect the value of the portfolio when prices are falling.
By shorting carefully selected stocks that are priced near their peak but that will fall sharply if the market falls, an investor can use the profits from the short sales to help offset losses in his long position to protect the value of his portfolio.
For example, Bob has most of his wealth tied up in stocks which she has bought because she expects them to appreciate in price. But she is concerned that the stock market is vulnerable to a sharp drop and wants to protect his savings while staying invested in the market. She knows that market drops are often caused by a change of investor sentiment from optimism to pessimism. She identifies businesses that are not worth much today, but whose stock price is high because people hold high hopes for their future prospects. These stocks should be especially susceptible to a negative shift in sentiment since optimism is what principally drives their stock price. She then sells these stocks short. If investors become more pessimistic and the market falls these stocks should fall more than most. Larry can use the profits from these short sales to offset losses in the rest of his portfolio. This will help to protect the value of his portfolio.

Up Tick Rule

Sunday, February 10th, 2008

To sell your stock short, you must adhere to the up-tick rule. The transaction before your short sale must have been executed at a higher price than the transaction before it. In other words, the transaction before your short sale must be an up-tick.
In practice, you cannot short a stock that is already falling in price. Otherwise, short selling would amplify the decline.
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    Uptick Rule

What does it Mean? A former rule established by the SEC that requires that every short sale transaction be entered at a price that is higher than the price of the previous trade. This rule was introduced in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as Rule 10a-1. The uptick rule prevents short sellers from adding to the downward momentum when the price of an asset is already experiencing sharp declines. The SEC eliminated the rule on July 6, 2007.

The uptick rule was also be known as the “plus tick rule”.

Investopedia Says… By entering a short sale order with a price above the current bid, a short seller ensures that his or her order is filled on an uptick. The uptick rule is disregarded when trading some types of financial instruments such as futures, single stock futures, currencies or market ETFs such as the QQQQ or SPDRs. These instruments can be shorted on a downtick because they are highly liquid and have enough buyers willing to enter into a long position, ensuring that the price will rarely be driven to unjustifiably low levels.

How Do I Sell Short?

Sunday, February 10th, 2008

Unlike a stock purchase transaction, which involves two parties (the buyer and the seller), short selling involves three parties: the original owner, the short seller, and the new buyer. The short seller borrows shares from the original owner, and immediately sells them on the open market to any willing buyer. To finalize (”close out”) the short sale transaction, the short seller must then go out into the stock market and buy the same amount of shares as he sold so that the broker can return them to the original owner.
To sell short you first must set up a margin account with your broker. A margin account allows you borrow from your brokerage company using the value of your portfolio as collateral. The general rule is that the value of your portfolio must equal at least 50% of the size of the short sale transaction. In other words, If you have $1,000 worth of stock in your margin account, you can borrow $2,000 of stock to sell short.
To sell a stock short, you must borrow stock. To initiate a short sale, you simply call up your broker and ask to sell short a specific number of shares of your selected stock. Your broker then checks with the Margin Department to see whether the shares are available or can be borrowed from another brokerage, usually while you wait on the phone for a minute. If they are available, the brokerage borrows the shares, sells them in the open market, and puts the proceeds into your margin account. To close out your short sale, you tell your broker that you want to buy the same number of shares that you shorted. The broker will purchase the shares for you using the money in your margin account, return the shares and close out the short sale transaction.
While your short sale is outstanding, your account will be charged interest against the value of the short position. If the stock you shorted goes up in price, or the value of the stock you are using as collateral goes down in price, so that your collateral is less than the “maintenance” requirement (usually 30% of the value of the short position) you will be required to add money to your margin account or buy back the stock that you sold short. You must also pay any dividends issued by the company whose stock you sold short.

Where Does The Broker Get The Stock?

Sunday, February 10th, 2008

The short answer is from other customers. Oddly enough, he doesn’t have to ask permission!

Short selling is a marginable (???) transaction. In plain English, that means you must open a margin account to sell short. This is the same account you would use if you want to use your stocks as collateral to borrow money from your broker.
When you open a margin account, you must sign a hypothecation / rehypothecation agreement. This hypothecation agreement says you will pledge your stocks as collateral against your loan. The re-hypothecation agreement allows your broker to loan your stocks to a bank, or to other customers!

What does it mean to sell short?

Saturday, February 9th, 2008

If you sell a stock you don’t own, you are selling short. (Yes, it’s legal.) You are now short the stock.
A short seller sells a stock that he believes will fall in value. A short seller does not own the stock before he sells it. Instead, he borrows it from someone who already owns it. Later, the short seller buys back the stock he shorted and returns the stock to close out the loan. If the stock has fallen in price since he sold short, he can buy the stock back for less than he received for selling it. The difference is his profit.
Short selling allows investors to profit from falling stock prices. “Buy low, sell high” is the goal of both short selling and purchasing shares (”going long”). A short sale reverses the order of a typical stock purchase: the stock is sold first and bought later.
For example, in September 1987, Bob thinks IBM is overvalued. She sells short 100 shares of IBM at $175 per share. The stock market crashes in October and IBM’s shares fall to $125 per share. Bob buys back 100 shares of IBM and closes out the short sale. Bob gains the difference between the sales proceeds and the purchase costs and pockets $5,000 from the short sale, excluding transaction costs.

Appendix A–Short Selling

Saturday, February 9th, 2008

Traditionally the premise of investing is that you buy an asset and hold it until it rises enough to make a sizable profit, it doesn’t get much easier than that. What about the times you come across a stock that you wouldn’t invest a cent in, you know that thing is doomed, a sure loser. If you knew that the stock was going to decline wouldn’t be nice to be able to profit from its decline.
Well you can profit from the decline of a stock and although it sounds easy, there are substantial risks and pitfalls that you need to watch out for. The mechanics of a short sale are somewhat complicated and the investor’s risks are high so it is important that you understand the transaction before getting into it. Let’s dive in!


Short (finance)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In finance, short selling or “shorting” is the practice of selling financial securities the seller does not then own, in the hope of repurchasing them later at a lower price. This is done in an attempt to profit from an expected decline in price of a security, such as a stock or a bond, in contrast to the ordinary investment practice, where an investor “goes long,” purchasing a security in the hope the price will rise.

The term “short selling” or “being short” is often also used as a blanket term for all those strategies which allow an investor to gain from the decline in price of a security. Those strategies include buying options known as puts. A put option consists of the right to sell an asset at a given price; thus the owner of the option benefits when the market price of the asset falls. Similarly, a short position in a futures contract, or to be short a futures contract, means the holder of the position has the obligation to sell the underlying asset at a later date.