General Investing Articles

Lies, (Darn) Lies and Government Statistics

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:16:28 GMT

I think the actual quote goes something like "Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics"; however, my personal feeling is that government statistics are absolutely the worst. Today, I want to talk about some of the government's economic statistics they use to tell us how the country is doing.

Seven Big Things Professors Won't Teach You (But You Should Know)

Wed, 17 May 2006 11:28:47 GMT

Are you studying finance? If so, then terms like present and future value, efficient market theory, capital budgeting, arbitrage pricing and a whole slew of other exciting phrases are becoming part of your vocabulary. And if you're thinking about studying finance in college or graduate school, be prepared to be

March Madness's Trading Secret

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 19:38:43 GMT

March Madness

Taking It On the Chin and Learning

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 12:04:58 GMT

Traders who want to be successful must believe that they are responsible for the outcomes of their trades

Paper Trading Can Pump You Up, But It's Not Real

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 13:29:57 GMT

When a baseball player in his late 30s hits the ball harder and more often than he did in his mid-20s, none of us believes that's "normal." The latest news about Barry Bonds' alleged steroid use strongly suggests that it helped pump up his unprecedented hitting statistics since 1999. Sports

Breakfast of Champions & Trader

Fri, 03 Mar 2006 13:28:54 GMT

At 47 years old, Julio Franco is the oldest player in major league baseball by more than four years. He broke into the majors in 1982 ? one year before Carl Yastrzemski retired. That's what you call "experience."

Contesting the Accepted View of Bernanke

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 02:24:55 GMT

This was the week that was Alan Greenspan stepped down from his chairmanship of the Federal Reserve and was replaced by Ben Bernanke. The earth did not stop spinning, nor did the markets crash (yet). But unlike most commentators who think that Bernanke has what it takes to keep

Jack Welch Set the Bar Too High?

Fri, 30 Dec 2005 12:36:52 GMT

Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, is known far and wide as a brilliant business executive. But the recent issue of Barron's reveals that some of his apparent success may have been due to other factors:

Is It Bullish When the Market Ignores Bad News?

Sat, 17 Dec 2005 05:49:32 GMT

It helps to have a sense of history when studying the behavior of human beings, the economy, and financial markets particularly since human behavior is what makes markets trend in one direction or another. In last month's Elliott Wave Theorist, Bob Prechter wrote about how current events in our

The Wave Principle, Condensed Version

Sat, 10 Dec 2005 04:18:29 GMT

Those who study the Wave Principle and use it for trading appreciate all it can do to provide a framework for making trading decisions notwithstanding the fear and trepidation or other emotions that come out when trading. Learning how to use the Wave Principle in all its rich complexity

Herding Behavior in War and the Markets

Sat, 03 Dec 2005 05:07:53 GMT

It's not necessary to visit a cattle ranch to find herding behavior. Consider this report from today's news: 'Two of America's allies in Iraq are withdrawing forces this month and a half-dozen others are debating possible pullouts or reductions, increasing pressure on Washington as calls mount to bring home U.S.

Do Pit Traders Have an Advantage?

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 22:51:58 GMT

When markets go against a trader, it's so often easy to believe that it's 'a conspiracy': professional traders do better, because they have better information to trade on. Even though Bob Prechter doesn't believe in this conspiracy theory, he does believe that professionals have an advantage. Here's an excerpt from

The Federal Reserve: Leader or Follower?

Sat, 12 Nov 2005 03:40:38 GMT

Ben Bernanke's confirmation hearings are on tap on Capitol Hill. With near certainty that he will be confirmed to replace Alan Greenspan as the Federal Reserve chairman, our minds turn to what powers the Fed really has. Here's an excerpt from Bob Prechter's question-and-answer book, called Prechter's Perspective, that describes

Sophisticated or Naive Investors?

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 05:28:11 GMT

Has the house down the street from yours just sold for a bundle more than you ever imagined houses in your neighborhood would sell for? You might find yourself scratching your head at the amazing fact that some folks will pay much more than what a house or a

The Bernanke Era

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 21:03:11 GMT

The King is going. Long live the King. We now know that Ben Bernanke will be the next Fed Chairman. His approval by the Senate is as close to a lock as you can get. This week we focus on Bernanke, and specifically his most famous, and what I think

Deflation and Gold Bugs

Sun, 30 Oct 2005 03:23:24 GMT

Some things never go out of style, including good interviews. Let's look back one year in time to Bob Prechter's Theorist of October 2004. In it, he published an interesting interview he did with Chris Oliver, the Money Editor of The South China Post. Here's an excerpt:

Inflation and Fed Policy

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 22:55:25 GMT

Last year, as the Fed first began to raise rates, I made two observations. If the Fed does what they almost always do, they will raise rates higher and go longer than anyone at the beginning to the cycle believed. Secondly, I suggested that the Fed would like to see

Wave Principle - In the Beginning with Bob Prechter

Sun, 23 Oct 2005 03:18:58 GMT

The back-to-back, 100-point swing in the Dow this week shows how much the markets are driven by human psychology. Humans behave in certain ways, and these behaviors are patterned. In the case of financial markets, these patterns are perfectly recorded for all to see in a price chart. Anybody can

Avian Flu and Bear Markets

Mon, 17 Oct 2005 03:45:53 GMT

The threat of avian flu has moved from the back burner to the front burner. Last week, we learned that U.S. scientists had recreated the virus that caused the Spanish flu epidemic that killed more than 40 million people in 1918 and 1919. The bad news is that this lethal

The Qualities of a Successful Trader

Mon, 10 Oct 2005 05:21:19 GMT

October begins major league baseball's playoffs, an annual reminder that those ballplayers and teams who make it this far share two common traits: discipline and coolness under pressure. The John Smoltzes of the world (star pitcher for the Atlanta Braves) didn't make it with a casual attitude about work. Smoltz