If you wanna be my source

I'll tell you what I want,
What I really, really want.....

I want you to feed me interesting things about the market, relevant to charting and technical analysis, that my readers will want to read.

What? You should do the work?

Well, yeah. If you knew how many solicitations and emails journalists get every day you would understand that we do not have the time, desire or sometimes the knowledge to pour over your missives. Most of you cannot coherently write your way out of a paper bag, too.

I was at an investor conference recently and made some great contacts. Many attendees and presenters had great information generating products that could give me an early warning on changing market conditions. Perfect!

I exchanged email addresses and twitter handles. I sent them queries. I got some responses and most required me to set up accounts (that's fine) and then look around for what I wanted.

Uh, no.

From my point of view, yeah, I guess I need to do some work to create well researched stories. But let's talk about it from your point of view. You want your name in the media. Or you want to create buzz for your products so qualified leads will head over to your website.

Sounds simple, right? SO WHY DON'T YOU FOLLOW UP WITH ME or any other journalist who can make your dreams come true. And why don't you get your marketing person working on something created just for me? Make me feel special, dammit!

No, I am not the PR god and no I am not a big shot name like Cramer or Abelson (RIP). But I do have multiple tens of thousands of qualified readers twice per week, every week of the year.

Journalists have to write  - A LOT. I put out five newsletters, two columns and two articles every week, not to mention a monthly column, a weekly webinar and the occasional interview. I need stuff to write about. And so does every other journalist.

Do you think they know you exist? They have their go-to guys on the topics they hit every once in a while and so do I. But we all want more. We want a story to fall into our laps every once in a while and that is where you come in.

Hey Mike, the XYZ indicator we created just signalled a major change
(Not RSI or MACD. I have those on my screen already)

Hey Mike, the number of carpenter benches purchased just tripled. The economy is humming. Now that is different!

Hey Mike, gun permits are skyrocketing. Umm, OK, buy guns stocks.

Tell me something I don't know, that is relevant and is interesting. I guarantee you will see your name in my column. Do it twice (after a reasonable period of time) and you become my go-to guy/gal.

OK, rant over. Time for a drink.

The 2014 Mike Epstein Award

Mike Epstein Award 2014

Market Technicians Association Educational Foundation

Prof. Blake LeBaron: Abram L. and Thelma Sachar Professor of International Economics at Brandeis University

In 2009, the MTA Educational Foundation established an annual award in memory of our late colleague, Mike Epstein.  Each year, the award is presented to the person who best exemplifies Mike’s goals for long-term sponsorship of technical analysis in academia and in practice.

The original mission of the MTA Educational Foundation was to create and fund educational programs in the field of technical analysis. Throughout the years, this mission has expanded to include the creation and support of a complete Technical Analysis curriculum that is now being taught in colleges and universities for college credit. (source: MTAEF.org)

Fulfilling these goals would not be possible without dedicated partners from academia. Advocates on the university side are critical for not only teaching what we already know about technical analysis but forging new ground in the field that we can pass on to the next generation to put into practice.

The MTA Educational Foundation is honored that Professor Blake LeBaron of Brandeis University will accept the 2014 Mike Epstein award. His work goes beyond the indicators that most of us use to the core of how markets operate and how strategies for dealing with them evolve over time.

For most of us, the world of non-linear analysis and simulated markets is beyond our day to day activities of trying to make money for ourselves or for our clients. Indeed, most of the time "regular" analysis does quite nicely. It is the outliers, the unusual and the black swans, that have the potential to drastically change our results and Prof. LeBaron's work seeks to understand them.

For those people who have only heard of technical analysis, it is a somewhat mysterious endeavor. After all, forecasts are made without considering how a company's business is doing or how international trade is flowing. What they don’t realize is that the sum wisdom of the crowd - that thing we call the market - is indeed considering those factors and just about everything else professionals and amateurs worldwide track.  But instead of making rational guesses directly from the data about what might happen to future stock, bond and other prices they take the indirect route of measuring what everyone has done and is doing about it right now.

In other words, it tracks where people are putting their money rather than their talk. I'll spare you the colloquialisms about what talks and what walks.

Technical analysis is a pure play on market forecasting and money management. Its input - price - is what actually happened and it is never revised later as a government report usually is. And it is objective. Price is what it is. It is not subject to individual interpretation.

Of course, this is the simplest way to look at it. There are many derivatives of price, such as momentum indicators, commonly in use today. Other market generated data such as volume and sentiment indicators round out the second level of analytical inputs.

The next level is where Professor LeBaron and his colleagues do their work. His research has concentrated on the issue of nonlinear behavior of financial and other macroeconomic data but he is also interested in understanding some of the observed behavioral characteristics of traders. This includes strategies such as technical analysis and portfolio optimization.

It sounds like an earful for most of us, especially considering his many publications with titles such as "Heterogeneous Gain Learning and Long Swings in Asset Prices" and "Chaos and Nonlinear Forecastability in Economics and Finance."

We've heard the phrase "publish or perish" in the university world and with tongue planted firmly in cheek these impressive titles are well above my pay grade. But then consider a few of LeBaron's other publications: "Wealth Dynamics and a Bias Toward Momentum Trading" and "Foreign Exchange Market Trading Volume and Federal Reserve Intervention." Those are of direct interest to most of us.

For the less informed, this writer included, the jargon masks the value in the research.

Blake LeBaron was born in Boston so Brandeis is a coming home of sorts for him. But before that, he was a computer science and engineering major at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He developed his interest in economics there and given his chosen fields of study he knew it was going to be from a data driven, computational approach.

His graduate work at the University of Chicago, where he earned his PhD, was focused on non-linear aspects of finance and his thesis was on nonlinear dynamic chaos, tested on stock returns. What was most interesting to him was finding the deeper meaning in the many the wiggles we see every day in the stock market. What he found was that they are not really as random as they seem. And chaos is not just the absence of identifiable trends but something that hides that meaning.

This led to direct testing of technical analysis in the 1990s.

Today, he is juggling several investigations. One is on minimum variance portfolios and how they are related to trend following. Another compares and contrasts the carry trade with trend following in the foreign exchange markets. And a third is trying to understand how trend following strategies come together to become correlated, and therefore a common factor.  Quoting, "This is the 'when alpha becomes beta' dynamic that many people talk about."

I'll give you a moment to let all that sink in.

LeBaron sees changes in the investment world, especially since the financial crisis of 2008. Persistently low interest rates, high frequency trading and exchange-traded funds are making their mark. More significantly, they have changed the overall body of market data over time. That is important to note when attempting to explain market movements because the data a decade ago was simpler and trader intentions were more easily determined. Today, one can express a bullish or bearish opinion with complex strategies including multiple instruments.

He also suspects that investors and traders themselves are changing. Whether it is the rise of passive or semi-passive investing through ETFs or lingering shock over two bear markets in just a few years, something is different. But as all of us in the technical analysis world believe, so, too, does LeBaron believe that that technical analysis can still smoke out market changes early.

He says that students at Brandeis have a great interest in the field. While he is not teaching a direct technical analysis course this semester, he reports that there are enthusiastic students with dual interest in behavioral finance. The students have even formed the Brandeis Technical Trader’s Society to educate members on the subject and on related topics.

From his office located in the middle of the woods off to the side of the Brandeis campus, Blake LeBaron is indeed fostering interest by students in technical analysis. He is also proving that technical analysis is a viable strategy for not only understanding how markets evolve but in putting strategies to work in the real world today.

American Worker

I really don't utilize the blog much anymore as all I seem to have time to do is tweet.  And there is precious little time for that since I write, write, write for a living. Somebody tell me how to get paid on Twitter :-).

But something happened today that needed more than 140 characters to express. I was working this morning in my home office and the doorbell rang. A delivery? Solicitor? I don't think I had any maintenance work scheduled for today.

It was a guy (ethnicity irrelevant). Last year, he saw that my roof was covered in living schmutz (moss or algae or something green) and offered to powerwash it for a good price. I took him up on it and he did a really good job. I would use him for other work around that house if something came up.

He said his cell phone number changed and as any good businessman would do, he notified his customers. But since all he had was in-person communication, there he was at the door. He also asked for more work, which, unfortunately for him, I did not need.

So here is a guy looking for business and working hard. He was polite, confident and willing to deal.

My guess is he does not live in a $2 million dollar house on the water but he is indeed an example of what people in this country should strive to emulate. I took his new number and will keep it for the next time I need him.

Nostalgia - MTA Seminar 2001

The 26th Annual MTA Seminar
Lincolnshire, IL
May 17-20, 2001

Although the crowd was somewhat smaller than usual, MTA members, affiliates and guests converged in suburban Chicago for their 26th annual seminar. It delivered the networking, reunions and new friendships that have become the mainstay of these gatherings. It also presented the opportunities to learn from both well-known and not-so-well-known technicians but all had something valuable to offer each attendee.

The Marriott Lincolnshire was a beautiful resort hotel with a worthy golf course, several restaurants and the expected complement of amenities. It was a good environment in which to base a successful weekend.

Thursday Golf

You could really see in his eyes how happy Phil Erlanger was to get his beloved golf outing underway. After explaining the rules to the duffers and outlining various contests in which to compete, five groups hit the links. Team Bridge (John Kosar, Michael Kahn, their boss Kevin Pendley and the director of the CRB Bob Hafer) teed off last at 11:40. Six hours and countless dead waterfowl later, the final four pulled into the starter area only to be met by Mr. and Mrs. Erlanger in a golf cart ready to search the golf course for the lost souls. Hey, it was a day in the sun, especially since Kosar and Kahn had not been on a golf course in literally a decade. When the boss says golf, you golf.

Michael Jepson reported that he has never seen rough like what we saw in Lincolnshire.  At the first tee, his drive went a little left into the rough.  No problem, he thought, just pull out the 4-iron and punch out. Three strokes later he's still trying to get out!  "I was so lost in the rough all day long, I thought they were going to send Jesse Jackson out to save me!" he said.

Congratulations to golf award winners: Todd Gold - closest to the pin, Kevin Pendley - low gross score and Ian McAvity - longest drive.

Thursday

Check-in was smooth and exciting as old friends met in the lobby.  Conversations begun a year ago in Atlanta, and interrupted as friends left to catch flights, were resumed without hesitation one full year and one half a country later.  It wasn't until several hours later over cocktails that we felt sufficiently informed of the past to discuss the future.

After an outdoor buffet and cocktail party, attendees moved under the pool deck tent for the evening festivities. Seminar Chair Nina Cooper sketched out the next three days: a trip to the CME and the CBOE, a boat ride past several historical Chicago sites and many exciting speakers.  President Phil Erlanger introduced the Board of Directors and Management Committee members followed by Keenan Hauke, who presented this year's Charles H. Dow Award for the best paper on technical analysis.  This year, the competition was fierce and we awarded two awards, one each to Charles Kirkpatrick and Peter Eliades.

Friday

Friday was kicked off with a traditional Ian Notley walkabout where we were split up into many small tables for mix-and-match discussions. After a small time, the whistle blew and we followed predetermined patterns to switch to the next small table for discussions with new people on new topics. The theory is that by the end of walkabout, each attendee will have met half of the entire group although that rarely works quite that smoothly.

After a coffee break and visit to the exhibitor rooms, the late morning presenters where on. The pace was fast since the schedule was tight. By noon, we were all on board three buses and on our way, box lunches in hand, to downtown Chicago. Next stop, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange.  In front of the large window overlooking the trading floor at the Mercantile Exchange, former pit trader John Kosar explained the layout of the pits and demonstrated the hand signals in use.

Across the street at the CBOE, where we were welcomed with a cake, there were 7000 computers.

These computers generate enough heat collectively that the air conditioner runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  The furnace, though present in the basement, sits inactive but we could have used that heat at our next stop, the water taxi tour of the Chicago skyline as seen from lake Michigan. 

Standing on the sidewalk awaiting our tour, the temperature grew cooler by the minute.   Adjacent to our post was a drug store.  It was a nondescript place, unremarkable in every way except that it was about experience a strange run on warm clothing.

Dressed in short sleeves, we entered this store like an occupying army foraging in the countryside.  Bruno DiGiorgi was the first to spot them.  They hung above the counter, and were reduced for clearance.   They were ugly; so ugly they weren't hung as one would expect; on hangers.  Instead, they were stapled to the wall. They were lightweight, ugly, green windbreakers.

Eight dollars later, our scouts emerged from the drug store much warmer and fully prepared to cruise.  Moments after that there were two green jackets standing in the crowd, then there were three, then four.  Soon the crowd turned to face the door and place bets on how many of us there would finally be.  With every green jacket at the door the crowd cheered.  With each addition to our special group the cheers became more enthusiastic.  Each coat wearer, seeing no other choice, took his rightful place next to his brothers like some junior high band preparing for parade.  We can only imagine what non-MTA customers must have thought as they opened the door to find 50 people, a half dozen of whom dressed in uniform, cheering, pointing and staring at them. 

The MTA Bowling Team was born.

(more about the) Legend of the Green Jackets

Dick Arms and Mike Jepson left the bus, walked around looking for a department store to buy something warm. Finally they walked into what looked like a downtown mall....it was a train station.  Anyway, a security guard said that all the stores in the area catered to women only and that maybe we could find something in the drug store at the end of the station.  Not knowing that other MTA members had just purchased green jackets and walked out the other door, they walked into the opposite end of the store.

Mike eyed a nice looking tan jacket but Dick buys it.  So, Mike thought thought, "we don't want to look like the Bobsy Twins.  Think how dumb we would look walking out of the drug store and on to the boat with our cute, matching jackets."  So, he did the smart thing and bought a green one.  Moments later as they exited the drug store they were in for a really big surprise!

Take my word for it, everyone but Dick Arms and Bill Meehan (on the right) was wearing the same green jacket.

An hour later on board ship John Brooks, always the considerate of the comforts of others, offers his eight dollar green jacket to the shivering crowd.  "Sixty dollars, firm."  Now that's a technician!

Saturday

Saturday's closing dinner was highlighted by the keynote address given by Peter Eliades. Next Mike Epstein presented the 2001 MTA annual Award to Phil Roth, who accepted it and then made a $4000 donation to the Educational Foundation.

 

Once the evening's dinner, speeches and awards were behind us, Barbara Gomperts wheeled out a piano and with it was Nina Cooper's request to Peter Eliades for a song or two. Peter played and sang. Sam Hale danced with Karen Beaver. 

After Peter, Michael Smyrk came to the keyboard to play a great Jazz riff and Mark Scott followed that with an original piece, which he had written for his wedding proposal.. Just when you didn't think it could get any better, there was a sing-a-long.

"It was without any doubt, one of the greatest moments any MTA annual seminar has ever had." said Michael Krauss.

Thinking of the future:

With the great reviews of late, will boat rides and light shows now be de rigueur for upcoming MTA annual seminars?  When I complained that since Walter Deemer wasn't present there would be no light show, some quick thinking showman pulled out a laser pen and dealt with that problem.

Should potential keynote speakers also be evaluated on how well they entertain us after their presentation?  Is it true that Linda Raschke's virtuoso piano presentation and day trader Barbara Streisand are on next year's short list for keynote speaker? Linda has the edge because her political views are more acceptable to the MTA.

Will attendance trail off as the widely accepted view of MTA seminar debauchery and hell-raising is exposed as the wholesome events they actually are when it leaks out that we now have father-son attendees? How long can it be kept secret that one third of the group took the 6:30 PM bus back to the hotel from downtown Chicago after the afternoon activities so they could get to bed early and be alert for the morning presentations?

No one I spoke with thought the walkabout lasted long enough.  Since a very vocal majority wants next year to be near the beach, will it be oversubscribed when it is known that the walkabout will be 1/2 day from Tiki Bar to Tiki Bar--shoes and sandals optional?

Q. Did Mike Epstein really write that book at the Traders Press booth about "Safe Sex on Wall Street"?
A. After 42years, two wives, five kids and a lot of bar bills, etc. I feel I can state that there is NO safe sex on Wall St - Mike Epstein

Remembering Legends (part 1)

Remembrances of the Legends

(from the June 2000 edition of the MTA newsletter, "Technically Speaking"

by Mike Carr

                Linda Raschke and George Schade, CMT, prepared and presented a tribute to the deceased winners of the MTA Annual Award. Several highlights from the life and work of each winner were detailed.

                L.M. Lowry was selected as the first recipient of the MTA Annual Award in 1974. In his work, he looked strictly at supply and demand. He identified four factors to measure the relative balance between these two forces - total points gained by NYSE stocks, up volume, total points lost by NYSE stocks, and downside volume. The advisory service he started in the 1930s still relies on this methodology. He also was credited with saying, "An investor doesn't truly get an education until he's lived through a bear market."

                The 1975 Award winner, Edson Gould, was referred to as the most sought after technician of the 1960s and was well known for his precise, long-term forecasts. In 1962, he correctly foretold the end of the then twenty-year-old bull market in 1966. He issued a sell bulletin in January 1973, less than one week after the top. And, in 1979, he predicted the Dow would reach 2500-3000 in the 1980s, a level actually reached in 1989.

                Edward C. Johnson 2d was recognized in 1976. The man who founded Fidelity Management and Research was described as practical, unorthodox, and artistic. He viewed investment management as an art, not a science. He felt that technical tools were similar to a violin and could be used skillfully by trained artists.

                1978's Award winner was John Magee, the well-known co-author of "Technical Analysis of Stock Trends." Magee was most responsible for the second part of that book, the part on trading tactics. He sought to discover what market action really meant in terms of supply and demand.

                John Schulz, the 1979 Award winner, was best known for his 1962 book "Intelligent Charts" on the theory and practice of point and figure charting. He also led an eighteen-month effort to write the original MTA constitution.

                In 1980, three men were recognized. Along with Schulz, these three are credited with being the "keepers of the light" of technical analysis. They kept technical analysis alive in the 1950's and raised the practice of the discipline to a higher standard. Ralph Rotnem began his career in 1929 and he developed a number of indicators. He is credited with identifying the Presidential Cycle, researching seasonality, and developing the hemline indicator. Kenneth Ward began his career in 1927, and spent the next fifty years with the same firm. He put forth the idea that the MTA should be a forum to share techniques and resources rather than a venue to exchange market opinions.  Edmund Tabell developed one of the first computerized systems in 1961, using more than 6000 punch cards to identify strong stocks.

                Harold M. Gartley was recognized with the Award in 1981. He laid the cornerstone for many concepts in technical analysis. His book, "Profits in the Stock Market", published in 1930, was the first compilation of technical tools. He is noted for his studies on volume as a measure of supply and demand.

                The 1982 Award winner, Garfield Drew, was the person most responsible for the acceptance of the odd lot theory. He published the first study on odd lot data in 1940, four years after the numbers became available and only one year after the odd lot short sales figures were available. He didn't feel that odd lotters were always wrong, but he did find that they bought proportionally less at bottoms than they did on the way down.

                In 1983, William Gann was recognized. He was best known for his contributions to the time elements of technical analysis. He began publishing a market letter, titled "Supply and Demand", in 1919.

                The accomplishments of Charles Dow were acknowledged with the 1984 Award. Dow is best known for the indexes that bear his name and for the editorials he published as editor of the Wall Street Journal that became the Dow Theory. About 100 years ago, he was quoted as saying, "People should focus on earning 10-12% per year instead of 50% per week and they would do better in the long run."

                Abraham Cohen was the 1986 Award winner. He was a major contributor to the development of point and figure charting techniques. Cohen published the three-box reversal method, which allowed point and figure charts to be maintained using only daily high and low data that was accessible to all investors. He was the first editor of Chart Craft.

                E. S. C. Coppock, the 1989 Award winner, analyzed the pattern of human emotions in the stock market. In addition to publishing studies on relative strength, he developed the Very Long Term Momentum Index to identify low risk buying opportunities.

                The developer of the Negative Volume Index and the Positive Volume Index, Paul Dysart, was the 1990 Award winner. He also developed the 25-day Plurality Index to measure the breadth of the market.

                The 1991 Award went to George Lindsay, a commercial artist with an interest in history. He is best known for his model of the Three Peaks Followed by the Domed House, a chart formation which has signaled tops at least 35 times in the DJIA since 1895.

                A trader with an amazing record was honored as the Award winner in 1992. George Chestnutt managed the American Investors Fund from 1958 to 1981 and posted a 13.5% annualized gain, compared to a 4.8% average gain for the S&P 500 over the same time period. He is also the one who observed that, "The market does whatever it has to do to prove the majority wrong."

                In 1993, Humphrey B. Neill was the Award winner. A socioeconomic journalist, Neill formulated the theory of contrary opinion. This was not intended as accurate timing model, but was intended to prevent errors in forecasting. He stressed the importance of doing your own work and observed, "If we can learn to think, we shall indeed be a member of the minority."

                R.N. Elliott, who devised the Elliott Wave Theory, was the 1996 Award Winner.

                The 1999 Award winner was Richard D. Wyckoff. His Wall Street career began in 1888. He explored the accumulation/distribution cycle in great detail. In his work, Wyckoff combined bar charts, line charts, and point and figure charts to monitor the relative balance between supply and demand. He attempted to identify a directional bias that could be exploited for immediate potential.

                Rashke closed with an observation that all of the legends were well-rounded individuals with a passion for technical analysis. They were constantly observing human nature, investor psychology, and themselves. They all believed in the importance of doing your own work to reach your own conclusions.

MTA Award Dinner 2014

I made a really good decision just last week - to attend the 2014 MTA Awards dinner. While I was not going to attend the MTA Symposium for many reasons not the least of which was still having to do my day job, I was too close geographically to miss the dinner. Red Buttons would be proud because some very worthy technicians did finally get their dinner.

The location was certainly far off the beaten path at a place called Cedar Lake on 26th Street near 11th Avenue. But when we went inside the place looked great and the bar was open.

Let the networking begin.

It was great to see people I have not seen in years. It was also great to put faces with names from the MarketsList, Twitter and newsletter articles from over the years. We commiserated. We encouraged each other. We caught up with each others' careers and I am sure there will be a little career shuffling in the wake of the event. No help wanted ads could compare.

Tyler Wood and Bill Kelleher CMT put together a great event which included aerialists dancing above the floor. It seemed a bit strange but the theme of the night was the "Art of Finance" so it did fit. Tom DeMark send a photo of the three performers home to his wife and daughter, who questioned whether he was really at an MTA event.

Speakers from Ralph Acampora CMT to Ralph Vince introduced a distinguished list of honorees.

Recognition Award Bob Pisani from CNBC, who gave a passionate plea for baby boomers not to be afraid of the markets. He trashed analysts without a solid opinion. He gutted Michael Lewis and his "Wall Street is rigged" comments. And he said that technical analysis does indeed add value.

MTA executive director Tim Licitra introduced Service Award winner Jeff Lay CMT who talked of service - to others and to the MTA. He talked about he received help getting into the business and how each of us should pay that forward.

Michael Carr CMT introduced this year's Dow Award winners Michael Gayed CFA and Charles Billelo CMT, who discussed their paper "An Intermarket Approach to Beta Rotation."

Dr. Jerry Blythe spoke eloquently about this years Memorial Award winner Joe Granville who worked hard yet took the time to enjoy life. The award was accepted by his wife Karen Granville, who got a standing ovation.

Then MTA President David Keller CMT recognized past MTA Annual Award dinners who came on stage for a photo. In attendance were Steve Leuthold, John Murphy, David Krell, Ralph Acampora, Hiroshi Okamoto and Ned Davis.

Ned Davis stayed on stage to say a few words about the late Martin Zweig and what he meant to our profession. 

Finally, Ralph Vince introduced Tom DeMark, who said many words about this year's Annual Award winner Larry Williams. Tom, who is just as well known as Larry, spoke only of Larry. Of how Larry helped him decades ago when we was starting in the business. And then there were stories about a truly remarkable life aside from trading. They ranged from spending time in jail to managing professional boxers to running for political office and each one was more fascinating than the last.

I was honored to be sitting at the dinner table with Ralph, Tom, Larry and members of his family. There were even more stories. I leaned on Larry's bother in law to get him to write an autobiography that I would pre-order today.

Larry finally took the stage, talking about his life, the changing landscape of the markets, how the people in the room were not wolves on Wall Street. After his battles with the regulators he told us to stay alert in case they back track.

The evening ended with a quick discussion with Ralph V, Tom and Larry, led by Bob Pisani. Tom said stocks were very near a peak (the Dow tanked 159 points the next day after an inital rally following the payrolls report). Larry said a monster bull market will begin in 2015.

A few more handshakes followed and I had to dash out the door to catch my train back home. I was very busy tweeting and texting about a great evening.

Dodobird, CMT

Blogger has been relegated to carrying posts that are too long for Twitter. Life imitates life in a sound-bite, I want it now world.

From today's Quick Takes Pro (still offering the first month for 10 bucks, no obligation):

I attended the Traders Expo in NYC yesterday - like I would ever have a break from the markets lol - and although the show is half what it used to be I learned a ton. What is clear, as a technician
would say, is the trend in the industry. There were five or six dedicated education vendors and one pure trading software vendor. It used to be one teacher for every half dozen "tool seller" and that reflects where things are heading. Everyone portrays themselves as experts and tools are offered for free by brokers to get you to trade more.

Market advisers, except for the ones with cult-like followings, are going the way of the betamax. Thanks Internet!

Effing Market

I don't do much on the full blog anymore (find me on Twitter) but this one needed two charts and some whine.

Monday was the day the Dow shed over 300 points. Here is one of the 37 NYSE stocks that hit a fresh 52-week high before caving into the market's pressure. BTW - only a half dozen from the news highs list actually closed higher that day.

 

 And here it is the next day when the Dow regained only 72 points.

Effing market.