For weeks, no, months we have been bombarded with nothing but negative news about the economy in general and thousands of individual companies. The stock market has dropped thousands of points and more than $8 trillion in paper assets have disappeared.
Note I said paper assets because until you turn it into spendable money these numbers are but a figure on a piece of paper. Sure that doesn't make you feel any better when you bought Lucent at $80 and have seen it go to 80 cents. You could have protected you profits or reduced your loss if you have placed an open stop-loss order with your broker. Brokers hate this, but YOU must protect you capital because he is not going to.
This past 2 weeks the bad news has continued to be shoveled out by the news media, but instead of making the market go down it has rallied about 1,000 points. Having been a floor trader for many years my experience with this kind of reaction tells me what is going on. The market is ignoring the bad stuff and has decided to go UP. Hooray! The traders are grasping at anything that looks bullish and not paying any attention to the negatives.
The market had become so oversold that almost anything will cause it to advance. Now you want to know if this is "the Bottom". No one can know for sure because the long -term trend remains down and is still in place. The voice of the market is now clearly saying, "I don't want to go down for a while". It might even allow the stock prices to continue to rise. How far and for how long - don't ask. No one knows. The stock market remains an enigma wrapped in a mystery. A few very astute (or lucky) folks are able to understand market language and make profits whether it goes up or down. Mr. Average Broker (also Mr. Average Financial Planner) has no idea what the market is saying. They have not taken the time to learn their trade.
Many times what is actually bad news makes the market go up. Here is one example. The weekly unemployment figure comes out to show there were 30,000 fewer jobs. That isn't good news. The DOW jumps up 100 points. Huh? The Wall Street mavens were predicting job losses of 55,000 so this number is a blessing. See what I mean? It is not the actual news, but the difference in what was expected and what actually occurred. You can apply this to almost every statistic put out by important government and private agencies.
The same applies to good news that does not move the market up. What you think you see is not always what you get. Before you grasp any figure as either bullish or bearish find out what number was expected and wait for the reaction to it.
Bad news can be good news and visa versa.
Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
Copyright 2005
Airbnb cleaning service Arlington Heights ..All stock trading and investing methods must deal with the... Read More
One of the main reasons many of us get into... Read More
Peter is a professional trader, Paul is not. Peter has... Read More
I have watched my cat play with a bag of... Read More
Whenever I see mutual fund comparisons in the trade publications... Read More
It's about time someone spoke the truth concerning outsourcing. The... Read More
Regardless of the fact that the world's stock markets have... Read More
I constantly hear the talking heads on CNBC-TV, the radio... Read More
If you've ever flipped on the television to CNN Financial... Read More
The demand for world oil is increasing while world reserves... Read More
The trash business in its efforts to cook their books... Read More
It has been said that low cost or even free... Read More
An investor can find and research the best stock on... Read More
I love roller coasters. The steeper the better. High and... Read More
The stock market has been going up for more than... Read More
What! Me worry?Many of you remember the cover of MAD... Read More
With the stock market stubbornly refusing to settle down and... Read More
Before we get into all the good news out there,... Read More
When you stand on the ocean shore and watch the... Read More
Let's say you are interested in this one company. You... Read More
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More
An insane person cannot evaluate an insane evaluation system.As you... Read More
I cringe every time I hear a novice investor tell... Read More
This is a rather simple strategy with which I am... Read More
Never lose money in the stock market again. Yeah, I... Read More
reliable maid service Winnetka ..When you invest in the stock market for ever-increasing cash... Read More
I constantly hear the talking heads on CNBC-TV, the radio... Read More
Several times each month I am solicited by various market... Read More
Let's assume that you want to make some serious money... Read More
Many people would like to diversify their portfolios to expand... Read More
Every Wall Street analyst, financial planner and broker will tell... Read More
A Guide to Using Stop Loss Orders Stop losses are... Read More
A PEG ratio cannot be used alone but is a... Read More
Every day on CNBC-TV they show a 200-day moving average... Read More
What are you thinking when it comes to your no... Read More
I have watched my cat play with a bag of... Read More
There are many good penny stock investments available, which could... Read More
Economists know more about how the fragments of society work... Read More
Ever jumped out of an airplane? It's OK if you... Read More
You read and hear a lot about hedge funds. Unfortunately,... Read More
How do you invest? What do you really pay? At... Read More
Today's society gives special recognition to alcoholics, sexaholics, binge-aholics, shopaholics,... Read More
Professional stock options traders use the term lean to refer... Read More
You probably know the story of Sherlock Holmes and the... Read More
There are red lights, green lights, blue lights and spot... Read More
If you are fed up with early redemption charges and... Read More
No, this is not a symbol for some Latin number.... Read More
One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline... Read More
I made my very first investment in the stock market... Read More
It looks like the market is ready to start up... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |