At no time in history has technology provided us the ease with which we could so effortlessly and cheaply make a stock trade as it has today. Part of the mentality that previously guided the long-term investor was dictated by having to go through stockbrokers and market makers, the “guardians at the gate.” They were [...]

Generally, active traders who are watching and trading the market all day tend to break the trading session into three broad divisions, each lasting about two hours. Both the first and last segments are characterized by heavier volume, while the middle two-hour period is relatively light. If we want to refine the stages a little [...]

The following statements of affirmation should be repeated frequently during the day (either internally or out loud) as an aid in transforming perfectionistic thinking to excellence thinking. Affirmation statements put into positive words those beliefs that lend direction and support to a chosen goal. Obsessive-oriented perfectionists often do well with affirmations, because they tend to [...]

One or more of the false beliefs presented here are commonly part of the self-talk that maintain perfectionistic thinking. Often they are unconscious and unchallenged by the perfectionist and therefore continue to exert considerable influence. In pointing out each falsely assumed belief, the point is to make them conscious and to fully acknowledge that they [...]

Like long-term investors who follow the companies they invest in, smart short-term traders need to be aware of the news of the companies they are trading. While the momentum of a stock may be enough for scalpers to focus on, those who are doing swing trades of a few hours or position trades for a [...]

Related to considering exit points and having mental, if not actual, stop losses to protect profits and limit losses, the disciplined short-term trader is often more tuned in than the long-term investor to what are called the support and resistance levels of a stock. Support means the level at which a falling stock’s price will [...]

Active traders know that market makers for NASDAQ stocks like to play mental electronic games. Longer-term investors can save some emotional wear and tear by being aware of the head fake, so when they see it they will not react quite so instinctively and end up feeling duped. The purpose of the head fake, as [...]

This is one of the predictable rituals played out four times per year in the market. Since earnings are considered by many to be the fundamental engine that drives stocks forward, earnings season is never far away from the minds of those who follow the markets closely. Because different companies report earnings according to their [...]

The beginning and endings of months and quarters tend to be related to good or bad performance of the market. The beginning of months tends to be positive, while the end of a month can be choppy, as portfolio managers want their month-end portfolio to look good. So they tend to sell stocks that are [...]

If you hang around day traders at all, one of the things you hear them echo is that losing money in the market is a “good thing.” When I went to the first international day trading conference, which happened to be held in my area in the fall of 1999,1 heard this repeated by presenters: [...]