Search results

http://www.cbot.com/cbot/pub/page/0,3181,1063,00.html

Margin requirement (actually, it's a performance bond) is a fixed amount per contract. You could buy 2 contracts with a $10k account. The exchange bases the margin requirement on the value of the underlying instrument and price volatility. The margin requirement changes occasionally. The...

The minimum account size is $10k at E*Trade. Other brokers may set it higher or lower. The less you have in your account, the harder it will be to avoid blowing out. The minimum margin requirement, set by the exchange, is currently $3938 for the ES, but your broker can set it higher. If you...

I tried trading futures longer term, where my best trades lasted 2-4 weeks. I made money, but I was uncomfortable with the equity swings. I tried daytrading stocks, and I found sitting and staring at a computer screen all day was like watching grass grow. Currently I am trading stocks very...

-- Soybean meal in early 1970. It ticked higher for several days then fell sharply on a report. I closed the trade for a gain of about $115, which was less than half the max open trade profit. I was a full time student, and it seems like pretty easy money, better than honest work any day.

There have been numerous studies that show that 5-10% of traders make enough money to be worth doing it. I suspect the real number is under 2%. But that figure is not as bad as it sounds. The failure rate for all business startups is nearly that bad. I think more people try trading because...

The biggest problem with gold bars has already been stated -- they could be gold plated. You can "help" protect yourself by buying from a reputable dealer, but you might have trouble selling them, especially in an emergency (i.e. the apocalypse). To sell them, you may have to have them...

Gold coins can be a good investment, because they are durable (can withstand fire, water, or trauma), are pleasing to caress, and can be used to fund getting out of town in a hurry. But all forms of gold have a markup, so probably the best form for investment is semi-numismatic gold coins. The...

I looked at what everybody else was doing, then developed a couple techniques that are pretty unique. It's a giant poker game in that there is not enough money in the pot for all of us to win. Many must lose so that a few can win.

I have used DataSharks for Yahoo data: http://www.datasharks.biz/

Anybody can trade stocks with less than $25k provided that they do not qualify as a pattern day trader (PDT). The PDT rules were established by the SEC and carry the weight of law. The only way you can legally get around PDT is to go outside the SEC's jurisdiction. Why would you want to do...

What seems to work best for couples is where the spouse is uninterested or mildly supportive. If the spouse is freaked out by trading, or wildly enthusiastic about it, that can be trouble.

If all you want is quotes, Microsoft has a tool that's free and pretty slick: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=485FCCD8-9305-4535-B939-3BF0A740A9B1&displaylang=en

Susquehanna -- WOW! I'm envious. Indahook's advice about traders being rude and abrupt is the best of this thread so far. Grow thick skin. "Markets Wizards" books are the best starting point. Beyond that, it's a matter of personal preference.

Trying to support two dependents as a prop trader is pretty ambitious. Earning a few grand per month April through January was not too hard. If you are doing it since January, then you're pretty good. Don't get overconfident or greedy. How does your wife feel about your performance?

You might be thinking of QuoteTracker: http://www.quotetracker.com

I was a programmer in a prior lifetime, and I have written several VBA macros to load financial data into Excel. It's really pretty easy. Send me a PM, if you want a sample. Depending on where you get your data, the vendor may already have such a tool. A quick and dirty alternative would be...

I have met several highly successful (>$5k/day) daytraders who changed what they were doing to "take it to the next level", and then blew out. Ask yourself: Am I willing to lose what I have to get more? How much is enough? The flip side is: Markets sometimes change, and we adapt or die. If...

I would suggest staying with an American broker. Some have servers in Europe and Asia, but you can reach anywhere in the world through the Internet.

I was a professional programmer for over 30 years, trading on the side. It's taken this long to get to the point where I can pay the rent with trading profits. The way the stock market has been this year, I will be hard-pressed to earn as much as I was getting working for a big company. But...