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
one time home cleaning Highland Park ..Let's assume that you want to make some serious money... Read More
The stock market has been in an up trend for... Read More
One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline... Read More
Since I can remember, and that's a long time ago,... Read More
Trading is a fascinating activity.There are so many layers to... Read More
Ever notice how behavior in one area of life can... Read More
One of the greatest challenges of investing in stocks is... Read More
Ever have one of those sample boxes of candy? Each... Read More
Stock trading can be a very profitable activity. You can... Read More
There is no question that the stock market is being... Read More
Where is the beef? Or maybe it should be where... Read More
There are so many kinds of work that needs to... Read More
In his wonderful book, 'Multiple Streams of Income', best selling... Read More
There is a current movie entitled "Eternal Sunshine of the... Read More
When is a dividend not a dividend?The latest thing "conservative"... Read More
Have you bought any mutual funds this year or late... Read More
There are major differences between trading stocks and trading futures.... Read More
Regardless of the fact that the world's stock markets have... Read More
Three little pigs went to the market to stock up... Read More
As the man said, "I've got some good news and... Read More
Stock investment advice is easy to find. Do you get... Read More
If you're a normal human being, your need to feel... Read More
What does it mean to short a stock?This means that... Read More
If you are serious about making and keeping money by... Read More
I made my very first investment in the stock market... Read More
licensed cleaning services Park Ridge ..Do you have a financial planner? Does one of your... Read More
AS BUILDERS BEGIN WORK ON THE FREEDOM TOWER in New... Read More
Today's society gives special recognition to alcoholics, sexaholics, binge-aholics, shopaholics,... Read More
Spread trading is a technique that can be used to... Read More
It is wonderful to be alive in the information age.... Read More
I have been trading for several decades and was an... Read More
Yesterday I received my monthly issue of MONEY magazine. This... Read More
Robert Rodriguez likes to buy stocks at their lows. When... Read More
After some forty years of banking and investments, I retired... Read More
When will the stock market stop going down and start... Read More
Every day I hear from the "experts" on CNBC-TV and... Read More
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... Read More
One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline... Read More
Everyone who invests in the stock market wants to be... Read More
The fight continues to rage among traders who use technical... Read More
When you invest in the stock market for ever-increasing cash... Read More
Just about everything you have been told about Social Security... Read More
I would like to share with the reader an article... Read More
You have decided to buy some stock or mutual funds,... Read More
Let me start by saying that...Most online brokers do not... Read More
Let's first define insanity. It is doing the same thing... Read More
Any online investor / trader seeks an excellent off or... Read More
We keep hearing about this bear market and that the... Read More
The Law of Chaos is the theory of random unpredictable... Read More
Mutual fund investing is a lot like Thai cooking. Everyone... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |