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• A Color-Based System For Short-Term Trading?

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Using the Sp d r S&P 500 exchange traded fund as an example, here's how you can apply a simple swing trading system that utilizes the colors of volume bars....

AUTHOR: Edgar KrautDATE: JUL2011

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• Backtesting Option Strategies

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Looking for a quick way to backtest option strategies? You can use Excel to count occurrences of historical prices outside a price band you set to develop an expectation for future price movement. Here's how....

AUTHOR: John A. SarkettDATE: JUL2011

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• Books For Traders

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Ben Graham Was A Quant: Raising The IQ Of The Intelligent Investor (338 pages, $49.95 hardcover, 2011, ISBN 978-0- 47 0 - 6 4 2 0 7- 8 ) b y Steven P. Greiner, published by John Wiley & Sons. Benjamin Graham, the pioneer of value investing, believed in a p h i l o s o p hy t h a t continues to be followed today. Part of this philosophy includes adhering to your stock selection process. If a quant designs and implements mathematical models for predicting stock or market movements, what better way to remain objective than to invest using algorithms ...

AUTHOR: Technical Analysis, Inc.DATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Books For Traders

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• Calling The Tune In The Gold Market

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Just about everyone seems to be aware of the longrunning uptrend in the gold market, one that is now about 10 years old. Gold market traders, on the other hand, realize that the shorter-term swings and cycles in this highly emotional commodity are chaotic and unpredictable, and that a highly disciplined discretionary or mechanical trading system is an absolute must in order to make and retain trading profits. Here is a closer look at an intraday, fully mechanical trading system for gold futures....

AUTHOR: Donald W. Pendergast, Jr.DATE: JUL2011

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• Comparing Seven Money Flow Indicator

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Since Joseph Granville presented the first money flow indicator in 1963, other technicians have attempted to improve on Granville's original formula or devise a completely new approach using volume to predict market price moves. On-balance volume (Ob v), Chaikin money flow (Cm f), accumulation/distribution, volume price trend (vp t), volume oscillator (VO), ease of movement, negative volume index, positive volume index, Klinger oscillator, volume flow indicator (vf i), and the money flow index (mf i) are all indicators that technicians have developed to quantify the rel...

AUTHOR: Markos KatsanosDATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Indicators

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• Explore Your Options

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Taking stock of a broken WinG If I'm bearish on a stock but wish to own shares at lower levels, would an out-of-the-money (Ot m) long put broken butterfly through assignment be a win-win spread to consider? I like the idea of participating in larger dollarpriced stocks such as Google (GO O G) or Apple (AAp l) for a credit with these two linked but somewhat different objectives in mind. At the same time, I am not completely sure of all the risks involved. Any light you shed on this would be greatly appreciated....

AUTHOR: Tom GentileDATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Explore Your Options

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• Futures For You

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...CURRENCY FUTURES What is the best way to build an intermediate- to long-term position in the currencies? First, traders must choose a venue -- whether foreign exchange, futures, or equity products such as exchange traded funds (Et fs). If you have been following this column, you likely know we have supported arguments for and against each method but lean toward the idea of currency futures. Here is a quick recap, but keep in mind these are highlights and do not encompass the entire argument....

AUTHOR: Carley GarnerDATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Futures For You

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• How High For Crude?

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...As of late spring 2011, the varied response to geopolitics has pushed already firm Ny m e x Wt i crude oil prices to more than $100 per barrel. Sensing the speculation, major media and news outlets have caught the "how high will crude oil go" bug, while the pundits have been suggesting barrel prices ranging from the $120s to $200-plus. Of course, reacting to these forecasts can be treacherous. Pundits often blindly forecast prices without any measure or accountability or responsibility even if they turn out to be wildly wrong. And back in 2008, when prices zoomed to almost $...

AUTHOR: Dean RogerDATE: JUL2011

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• Interview: Gail Mercer Of TradersHelpDesk.com

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Gail Mercer, a 15-year veteran of the trading industry who is the founder and Ce o of TradersHelpDesk, has dedicated her career to helping traders achieve success. Committed to helping traders grow from amateur analysts to master traders, her unique methodology is rooted in her philosophy that success depends not on a trader's indicators but the ability to remain focused and responsive to price. Selfresponsibility, another cornerstone of her work, provides the mirror for what a trader needs to learn about him- or herself in relationship to the markets. Working with both the inner an...

AUTHOR: J. Gopalakrishnan and B. FaberDATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Interview

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• Letters to S&C

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Editor, Excellent article by Jamie Theiss in the May 2011 S&C. Nearly all my trades are done by fading the gaps right after the opening using one-minute candlesticks plus a couple of indicators. Occasionally, I will wait around after my exit and look for a continuation back in the direction of the gap, as Theiss describes in his article, and that works too. I'm done by 10:30 at the latest every day. His article was very timely for me because I've been thinking about staying around longer more often. Thanks for the encouragement....

AUTHOR: Technical Analysis, Inc.DATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Letters to S&C

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• More Power To The Subordinates

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...There are primary indicators and there are subordinate indicators. Often we get caught up in the primary indicators and fail to see certain patterns within them. Here's how applying the subordinates can help you see something that could give you the edge....

AUTHOR: Martha Stokes, CMTDATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Indicators

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• Opening Position

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...For a while, we have been saying that the equity markets have been reeling out of control for some reason. As long as we were making money, though, nothing really mattered. It's only a matter of time before we see a major selloff either as a correction or a reversal. The markets have to correct. On May 23, 2011, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 130.78 points, it set off all the alarms and the media was on top of it. Could this be the start of a reversal in the market? Had the market reached its top? Along with that dip in the equity markets, the price of gold, which had declined ...

AUTHOR: Jayanthi GopalakrishnanDATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Opening Position

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• Product Review: Professional Flux Tool Set

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Ben Letto, the computer programmer and creator of the Flux tools, has discovered a way for traders to view potential intraday price turning points that occur in the future. He has produced indicators based on predictive algorithms that harness the buying and selling behavior of institutional traders, revealing high-probability reversal times up to seven days in advance. In essence, he discovered a way to level the trading field by allowing the individual trader to peer through the tunnel of time and view potential price turning points that occur in the future....

AUTHOR: Barbara Star, Ph.D.DATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Product Review

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• Product Review: VisualTrader 8

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...I last reviewed VisualTrader in 2008. The latest version, VisualTrader 8.0, remains unique in its ability to display technical information and market movement. Nirvana Systems has continued to add new features and make improvements to the software. With VisualTrader and just a few clicks of the mouse, you can determine which way the market is moving, find strong trade candidates, and execute trades....

AUTHOR: Sean M. MooreDATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Product Review

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• Profiting In Biotech

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Is biotech investing the same as investing in slots? Is there any way to consistently build wealth in this sector? Many investors avoid biotechnology altogether, appalled at the prospect of stocks that can nosedive over 60% within minutes, while others are attracted to the extraordinary gains possible for companies that receive Food and Drug Administration (Fd a) approval. All investors wonder: Is biotech investing a hopeless gamble? Without knowing what the Fd a will decide beforehand, is there a way to trade biotech stocks with a high probability of success....

AUTHOR: Mark Messier and Jeff Dos SantosDATE: JUL2011

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• Q&A by Don Bright

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Reversing The NegativeEffects Mr. Bright, thanks for your column, I read it every month, it really helps. A while back I read about how some of your traders have taken advantage of what seemed to be a negative situation. High-frequency and subpenny trades take place with more frequency these days, and I think you said something about how to reverse the negative effects. Could you possibly go into that again, please? --coyotejk Sure, let's start with a quick review of what we're addressing. Automated computer programs can and do send in high-frequency trading orders in s...

AUTHOR: Don BrightDATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Q&A

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• Traders' Tips

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...For this month's Traders' Tips, the focus is Edgar Kraut's article in this issue, "A ColorBased System For Short-Term Trading." Code for MetaStock is already provided in Kraut's article. Subscribers will also find the same code at the Subscriber Area of our website, www.Traders.com. Presented here is an overview of possible implementations for other software. Traders' Tips are provided to help the reader implement a selected technique from an article in this issue. The entries are contributed by various software developers or programmers for software that is capable of customi...

AUTHOR: Technical Analysis, Inc.DATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Traders' Tips

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• Traders' Resource: Newsletters & Publications

  ARTICLE SYNOPSIS ...Where can traders turn for market insight, trade recommendations, and education about trading and investing? Perhaps the question should be where can't you? These days, financial information is put out in print, on TV, on your handheld, and over the Internet in various formats, but there's still nothing more readable, reliable, or researchable than a regularly published newsletter or magazine....

AUTHOR: Technical Analysis, Inc.DATE: JUL2011SUBJECT: Traders' Resource