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ADX measures the strength of the trend. It does this quite reliably when the indicator is above 30 and has positive slope. If you see an ADX value of 40 or (rarely) 50 it is well worth your while to ride the trend, especially if you got in early. Be aware that ADX can exhibit divergence when the...

Depending on the type of system, 6 months can be too long. It certainly would be too long for a volatility expansion system. About 2 - 3 consecutive months of bad performance is all it takes to recognize a system of that type is in trouble. A trend following system can chop for years. Support...

arky, Day trading is a lot more difficult now than it was a couple years ago. The golden era has passed. Even back then it was a difficult game to learn. It took months to master the game when the market was much better. You have a long, long way to go in this tougher market. Regarding...

Pat and gh1, With numerous range contractions occurring volatility has lessened during the past year. I have some systems that have gone flat. Re-optimizing them for Net Profit does not change anything significantly. When you experience a period of 6 months where a system is not making money...

Decimalizaton has indeed played an important role in lessening the opportunities for traders. The extent of its effects might not be completely known for years. However, it is correct to assume that the golden age of day trading has passed. Improved market efficiency ended many careers. It...

I tried Omni Trader a couple years ago, and it was not very good as I recall. More importantly, I just received a spam from Nirvana Systems. This alone should tell you something. If it is so good, why must the company send a spam offer? ("Regularly $495, now $295!") Of course this price is for...

I build my own machines, something that I have been doing for many years. In the future I might consider the TriKinetics products. With the amount of money I earn from trading I cannot justify spending time on building my own boxes. Unfortunately, I upgraded all of them this year. And I have no...

andrasnm, You are absolutely, positively right regarding CNBC and the political crap. It all began a year ago with the election. CNBC kept substituting political news for stock market news. Now they focus on any stupid, current event that is not business related. Don't get me wrong. I...

Those things happen. Examine the chart of BS, which also filed bankruptcy in recent months. The stock hit a low of .15 on 10/16/01. Then it recovered to .60 in the days following before settling into an exremely tight and narrow range. Today there is steel industry news that has the stock...

ENE will not be delisted for quite a while. The bankruptcy is expected to take years before it is completed. ENE could trade for a long time just like ATHMQ. Nonetheless, if you are holding any of this junk stock be sure to get out of it as soon as possible. There is no hope for Enron anymore...

It finally happened. The bankruptcy was filed today. As expected, Dynegy is being sued. http://www.msnbc.com/news/666406.asp?pne=msn I was reviewing old VHS tapes this afternoon, and I discovered that one unmarked tape is an 8-hour recording of CNBC made weeks ago when all kinds of Enron...

topguntrader, It is clear from your post that your current employment may be nearing its end based on the comment you overheard. What is unclear is why that comment was made. In any case, one way or another you will eventually move on to something else. Whether it is trading or another full...

I do not own KMB. There was nothing in your orignal post to suggest that it was tongue in cheek. It looked much like a Yahoo! message board post. My response to it was to point out that one cannot trivialize a short sell so easily. Look at KMB this morning--a nice move upward, and still going at...

Your analysis of KMB based on a single newspaper story is very simple minded. Don't you realize that Gilette and others spend millions to develop razor blades that sell for under $10? Take a good look at the paper towel dispenser the next time you are in any office building restroom. There...

The last time I checked the XM service was available in only 2 major cities in the US. The reception is basically perfect unless I drive under some bridges or other covered areas. Yet, it worked perfectly in a downtown garage under a couple tiers of steel and concrete, so you never know. This is...

I have had XM Satellite radio service in my car since the day after the September launch date. The 3 available financial channels are CNBC, CNNfn, and Bloomberg. The service is great. It is not a true satellite signal. More like wireless with repeaters.

Contrary to all the reasons listed above, it is simply much harder to make a living by trading now than it was a couple years ago or even 20 years ago. Just a few of the reasons: 1) Narrow spreads. Typically, one-cent. Remember those full one-point spreads from a few years ago? Or maybe you...

Gary's books are interesting, but they are a few years old. In this case the publication date is 1995. Be sure to buy a couple newer books if you are just getting started. Does anyone know what Gary is up to these days? I never heard anything more after he wrote, 'How I Trade For A Living'...