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Are You Getting Ready for Next Year?

The bull market for 2009 has been unusually strong and a trend which has been rather consistent. From a trading or investing point of view, it has been one of the easier price trends in which to participate. Now by no means do I imply that trading is easy. It is never easy. However, the bull trend which began in March has had only minor corrections during the price rise. Bull trends with constant reversals create many opportunities to make a mistake in investing. The bull market of 2009 was one of the most consistent price rises you will witness.

The bearish trend in 2008 was also clearly identified, if you knew what you were looking at in your charts. My question is whether you feel comfortable in looking at a price trend in a stock or commodity chart and developing a trade plan from what you see? If the answer is no, then you need to make that part of your new year’s resolution for 2010. Learn as much as you can about how to read a price chart. If you do, you will be rewarded for many years to come.

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2009.12.23 / no responses / Category: Bulls and Bears, TCC, The Stock Market, Uncategorized
The Big Lie in Trading Education

There are lots of trading educators out there. Some spend days and days teaching the new student all about support and resistance or some other simple concept. I hold three books in my hand that teaches the same amount of material for a fraction of the cost of the course.

Other courses or paths to education imply that trading is easy. Just buy software or attend a webinar and within a few days you are looking at a BMW brochure looking for your next car purchased with your dollars earned on a daily basis. Well you and I know that is nonsense, but there are still so many that line up and sign up.

The transition from “working for a living” that earns a certain income for hard work to trading for a living that offers uncertain income that fluctuates widely on a daily basis is incredibly difficult. But I would reduce my sales, if I were to tell the potential student this was the case. Instead, many course vendors imply that trading is not difficult. Just give them a week and they will have you ringing up profits like a cash register. Well, if that is the case, ask them how many of their students are actually trading for a living after one year from graduating the class.

You would be shocked if you knew the answer. Most organizations do not make such a survey. Why? Because if they had hard evidence of how many, it would open them up for potential legal claims in the future. Hard to make a sales pitch on how easy it is to become a trader, if you know by survey that less than 10 percent of your students actually learn to do it.

Let me make this simple. You cannot learn to trade for a living by taking a one week course! Oh there are a few who will catch on to a methodology and turn the corner and change from being a big time loser to having a small degree of success. But I am talking about the vast majority of the students who are new to trading. “But there are testimonials about students finding success.” Let me tell you about the testimonial game.

Ok. I teach 100 students and they go out and begin to trade. Some of the students will have a great winning streak. Even if the students merely sat in an empty room and watched Lady Gaga videos, some of the students who trade will have a streak of winning trades. It is nothing but a fact of probabilities. Now some of these students will be so excited about their winning streak they will write a letter or send an e-mail to the course vendors. “I made $10,000 in my first week of trading! Thanks for the great education.”

Now the course vendor will be able to post that letter on their website. It is factual, but it may represent only 5 percent of their students. As I teach more and more students, I get a few more letters, but they represent only a small fraction of the total experience by all the students. As you can imagine, they don’t print the letters that say “What a crock. A total waste of my time!”

Now I have taught students in the past and it may look like I am trashing my own industry. In fact, I am merely coming out of the closet and telling the truth about our industry. You are not told about how few people who take trading courses, attend webinars, or buy a boatload of books actually succeed in trading to the level of replacing their income from their “real job”. It is an extremely low number. Just know that and realize that, if I am selling you a course, I will most likely tell you about the few successes and not the experience of the majority.

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2009.12.15 / no responses / Category: TCC, Uncategorized
CURBING COLLEGE EXPENSES: Save and Spend Wisely

Welcome, Class of 2013. You have made a good decision to attend college. The U.S. government has poured trillions of dollars into physical capital but not enough into the most important capital of a society: human capital. By investing years in a college education, you are increasing intellectual capacity and, therefore, preparing yourself to be a productive member of the country.

Reading this post is a wise idea. I will try my best to share tips on business and financial issues, so that you can take control of your freedoms and stave off stress caused by economic downturn. My goal is to help you navigate your future. Most people are scared of this so-called “real world,” but it is not as daunting as you think it may be.

It is the first month of school, and the expenses are already adding up. You are probably wondering how you are going to make it through the year.

You won’t even open half the textbooks your professors claim you need. Find out from students who previously took the course whether the textbook is necessary. Trading textbooks with friends is the best way to save some cash.

“Every course requires the professor to provide the book at the school library for free,” said Farnoosh Torabi, contributing editor at Seventeen magazine.

School bookstores sell new and used books at unfavorable prices. Check out www.campusbooks.com and www.DealOz.com for the best deals. The websites filter all the major discount sites (eBay, Amazon.com, etc.) and find you the most affordable prices. On average, I end up paying approximately a quarter of the price I would have paid at the bookstore.

You may need your books the first few weeks of school, but buy them at the bookstore with the intent of returning them on the last day, so you’ll be able to get a full refund. That way you have them while your on-line purchases are being shipped. Do not tamper with shrink-wrapped items, as the bookstore will not accept was that are opened.

Universities charge unreasonable rates for meal plans. But when you look at how many meals you actually eat every week, you will find that many go unused. Find ways to use those unused meals – maybe they can be converted into credit at the local supermarket?

Stay tuned for more tips!

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2009.09.15 / no responses / Category: Naresh Vissa, Uncategorized
Which Side of the Fence are You On?

I realize which side of the health care debate many of the Shufflers may be on. You have health care from your employer and you like your doctors and you do not want any new government program. There is no way you want any chance that your coverage can be compromised or minimized in any way. Stay out of my health care!

Seniors have medicare so they don’t want a new government health care plan, because there is no way we can trust congress to do it right. Well wait! Medicare is a goverment health care plan. Well you know what I mean. There is no way the goverment should offer a plan that seniors have to non seniors. Stay out of my health care.

I have the unfortunate priviledge of having to deal with health care from the other side of the fence. I am near 60. I am self employed as a trader and advisor and I was dropped by a very large health care company. Let’s call them company A for their first letter in their name. Now you may ask. Do I have cancer or some serious illness? Was I too expensive? No. I have controlled high blood pressure with elevated cholesterol levels. So do many of you who have coverage. But I was dropped. And no it was not my weight. I am a runner. Why did they drop me? Because private insurance companies can do anything they want.

For the past 40 years, there has not been a single year in which my insurance premiums did not exceed the amount paid out by my insurance providers. Yet I was dropped. Before I was dropped I had surgery for a shoulder injury. I paid out more in deductibles and co pays then the insurance paid in total-and this was with coverage!

I applied for insurance from many of the BIG name companies. Company U said no way. Company BC said no to me, but they would cover my wife and children. When I now apply there is a box in every application that asks “Have you ever been denied coverage?” I now have to answer YES. Guess what that response gets me from other companies? That’s right. Further denials.

I am so sad about the public debate about health care, because both extremes from both parties are insuring that nothing of substance will be done. Yet we all know something must be done. Now you have coverage so I know what side of the debate you are on. I don’t and no company for which I have applied will accept me. So am I for a public option? Yes. The answer is simple. For me, it is the only option I have.

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2009.09.09 / no responses / Category: Uncategorized
Welcome to my Debt Buyers’ blog.

I am looking forward to having a lot of fun while providing insight and knowledge to those who are interested in this unique and rewarding market. I am sure you will find the blog valuable and informative. So let the blogging begin!

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2009.09.08 / 4 responses / Category: Author, Dennis Hammond, Uncategorized
I Hope You Shufflers Had a Good Night Sleep

I hope you had a good night sleep, because, while you slept in your bed this past weekend, the dollars in your wallet fell in value against every major currency. This fall in the US dollar created much more of a stir in the financial markets than just what you or I could do with our American dollars, if we were to venture overseas. The fall in the US dollar helped the energy market stage a dramatic rally in both crude oil and products. So better “fill ‘er up” on the way home.

This fall in the dollar helped the gold market make the magical $1,000 print as well. However, since all markets have fun with new investors, gold settled below that level just to create a little concern for those who may have purchased gold with 4 big digits. The old high for gold was made in February of 2009 near $1,015 an ounce, so we have not made a clear pathway into the stratosphere quite yet, but that will be the upper targets, if the US dollar keeps falling- while we sleep.

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2009.09.08 / no responses / Category: TCC, Uncategorized
Welcome to the New Wall Street Shuffle Site & My New Blog

Check here daily for some of the best financial insight on the web.

“You need to know what we know…”

Dan

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2009.09.08 / no responses / Category: Author, Dan Cofall, Uncategorized