Monday, June 23, 2008
10:13 am - A Good Article by Joe Ross !
: Are you a frustrated trader?
By Joe Ross
I hate setbacks. I hate to admit that, for most traders, setbacks are the rule rather than the exception. Finding reliable trading strategies is really a challenge, and often, after a whole lot of work, a promising strategy produces a loss. Losses and other setbacks tick me off.
YOUR ABILITY TO TOLERATE FRUSTRATION IS ESSENTIAL
Yet I know that winning traders cannot allow themselves to be fazed by these setbacks. Winning traders welcome challenges rather than hide from them -- at least that's what all the books say. To a certain extent it's true; your ability to tolerate frustration is essential. Because setbacks are real, it is important to have a specific and active plan for coping with them; otherwise they can build up psychologically and produce problems of chronic stress. I've been there, as have many of you.
The reality is that your mind and body have limited resources, and unless you cope with frustration and anxiety effectively, you'll eventually become exhausted. You'll lose your ability to focus and process information objectively.
However, all is not lost; don't despair. By taking a few specific preventive measures, you can build up your ability to handle frustration to the point where you can handle a series of trading setbacks.
ACCEPT SETBACKS AS A NATURAL PART OF LIFE
Do not make the mistake that people with low frustration tolerance tend to make. They believe that they should experience absolutely no setbacks. But setbacks are a natural part of life.
I've read that instead of thinking of setbacks as dreaded events, challenges and setbacks can be viewed as part of the excitement and stimulation of living. Man! Where do these guys get that kind of stuff? That's like someone telling you to learn to love losses. In all my years of trading, I've never learned to love losses. How can I love something that kicks me in the face? I have learned to tolerate losses, but love them? No way. And it's the same with setbacks. I will never learn to look at them as as an opportunity to learn and develop my trading skills rather than as a discouraging impediment. I have setbacks. I tolerate setbacks. But to me they are never something to get excited about.
The Pollyanna shrinks who tell you setbacks are an opportunity can say that only because they've never really traded. They say that merely changing your viewpoint regarding potentially frustrating events can change your ability to tolerate them. But it's hard to change your viewpoint. About all you can do with setbacks is to expect them and accept them as natural, and not as a disaster. If you can get that far, you'll feel less frustrated. And rather than passively feeling paralyzed by them, you'll try to creatively think of ways you can use the setbacks as a new starting point than can lead to a higher level of trading ability.
Setbacks are ways for you to gain more experiences with the markets and sharpen your trading skills, but don't fall in love with them. They hurt. Ouch!
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
There are things you can do to take preventive measures to build up your tolerance to frustration. The most important steps concern building up physiological defenses. It is difficult to cope with frustration when we are tired and worn out. By getting plenty of rest, and especially sleep, we can cope with frustration more easily. Regular exercise and proper nutrition can help your body create a natural defense against frustration.
MAKE A SPECIFIC PLAN TO GAIN PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE
Once you are properly rested and nourished, you can also make a specific plan for coping with setbacks when they occur. In addition to accepting uncertainty and setbacks as part of your life, you should think in terms of the big picture. "Rome wasn't built in a day," and you shouldn't expect to become an expert trader overnight. You need extensive practice and experience. That can take time and money.
AVOID UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR YOURSELF
Traders are frustrated when they set unrealistic expectations for themselves, and then fail to meet them. By realizing that it will take time to trade profitably, you'll feel more relieved, and you will anticipate setbacks. You won't be caught off guard, and you will be ready to deal with them. It may be discouraging at times to continually face setbacks. To cope with them, you may want to make a list of successful trades and recall them when you are feeling especially beaten. The key to frustration tolerance is to realize that, although external circumstances can interfere with your plans, you have the freedom to decide whether they will impact your mood. You can choose to feel beaten, angry, and frustrated, or you can anticipate setbacks, view them as growing experiences, and as ways to build your trading skills. The more you acknowledge that setbacks are a necessary part of trading, the more easily you'll cope with them.
By Joe Ross
I hate setbacks. I hate to admit that, for most traders, setbacks are the rule rather than the exception. Finding reliable trading strategies is really a challenge, and often, after a whole lot of work, a promising strategy produces a loss. Losses and other setbacks tick me off.
YOUR ABILITY TO TOLERATE FRUSTRATION IS ESSENTIAL
Yet I know that winning traders cannot allow themselves to be fazed by these setbacks. Winning traders welcome challenges rather than hide from them -- at least that's what all the books say. To a certain extent it's true; your ability to tolerate frustration is essential. Because setbacks are real, it is important to have a specific and active plan for coping with them; otherwise they can build up psychologically and produce problems of chronic stress. I've been there, as have many of you.
The reality is that your mind and body have limited resources, and unless you cope with frustration and anxiety effectively, you'll eventually become exhausted. You'll lose your ability to focus and process information objectively.
However, all is not lost; don't despair. By taking a few specific preventive measures, you can build up your ability to handle frustration to the point where you can handle a series of trading setbacks.
ACCEPT SETBACKS AS A NATURAL PART OF LIFE
Do not make the mistake that people with low frustration tolerance tend to make. They believe that they should experience absolutely no setbacks. But setbacks are a natural part of life.
I've read that instead of thinking of setbacks as dreaded events, challenges and setbacks can be viewed as part of the excitement and stimulation of living. Man! Where do these guys get that kind of stuff? That's like someone telling you to learn to love losses. In all my years of trading, I've never learned to love losses. How can I love something that kicks me in the face? I have learned to tolerate losses, but love them? No way. And it's the same with setbacks. I will never learn to look at them as as an opportunity to learn and develop my trading skills rather than as a discouraging impediment. I have setbacks. I tolerate setbacks. But to me they are never something to get excited about.
The Pollyanna shrinks who tell you setbacks are an opportunity can say that only because they've never really traded. They say that merely changing your viewpoint regarding potentially frustrating events can change your ability to tolerate them. But it's hard to change your viewpoint. About all you can do with setbacks is to expect them and accept them as natural, and not as a disaster. If you can get that far, you'll feel less frustrated. And rather than passively feeling paralyzed by them, you'll try to creatively think of ways you can use the setbacks as a new starting point than can lead to a higher level of trading ability.
Setbacks are ways for you to gain more experiences with the markets and sharpen your trading skills, but don't fall in love with them. They hurt. Ouch!
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
There are things you can do to take preventive measures to build up your tolerance to frustration. The most important steps concern building up physiological defenses. It is difficult to cope with frustration when we are tired and worn out. By getting plenty of rest, and especially sleep, we can cope with frustration more easily. Regular exercise and proper nutrition can help your body create a natural defense against frustration.
MAKE A SPECIFIC PLAN TO GAIN PRACTICE AND EXPERIENCE
Once you are properly rested and nourished, you can also make a specific plan for coping with setbacks when they occur. In addition to accepting uncertainty and setbacks as part of your life, you should think in terms of the big picture. "Rome wasn't built in a day," and you shouldn't expect to become an expert trader overnight. You need extensive practice and experience. That can take time and money.
AVOID UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR YOURSELF
Traders are frustrated when they set unrealistic expectations for themselves, and then fail to meet them. By realizing that it will take time to trade profitably, you'll feel more relieved, and you will anticipate setbacks. You won't be caught off guard, and you will be ready to deal with them. It may be discouraging at times to continually face setbacks. To cope with them, you may want to make a list of successful trades and recall them when you are feeling especially beaten. The key to frustration tolerance is to realize that, although external circumstances can interfere with your plans, you have the freedom to decide whether they will impact your mood. You can choose to feel beaten, angry, and frustrated, or you can anticipate setbacks, view them as growing experiences, and as ways to build your trading skills. The more you acknowledge that setbacks are a necessary part of trading, the more easily you'll cope with them.
9:29 am - DJIA is certainly very bearish - "Hidden buying potential"
We may have a reversal bar tonite. Look at the ultra high volume from DJIA. I have not seen this for a long time.
9:09 am - FKLI gap down due to -200 DJIA overnite losses !
The FKLI is likely to move sideway or down for today !
Saturday, June 21, 2008
8:31 am - Stocks drop as credit woes continue, oil rises
Stocks drop as credit woes continue, oil rises NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks capped a difficult week with steep losses Friday amidescalating worries about the financial and automotive sectors and a rebound inoil prices. The major indexes fell by more than 1 1/2 percent on the day, andthe Dow Jones industrial average gave up more than 200 points to end at itslowest level in three months. While investors have seen other triple-digit days in the past year sinceconcerns about the economy began emerging, the Dow's first finish under 12,000since mid-March could deal Wall Street a psychological blow. An afternoon downgrade of automakers helped draw out sellers in the stockmarket while Treasury prices rose as investors sought the safety of governmentdebt. A Merrill Lynch downgrade of regional banks added to the market's initialanxiety, which ballooned Thursday when Citigroup Inc. warned of significant debtmarkdowns for the second quarter, Washington Mutual Inc. announced 1,200 jobcuts and Moody's Investors Service decided late in the day to downgrade the twobiggest bond insurers. Troubling news about the financial sector piled up all week, sending stocksto steep losses. Early on, the investment banks posted profit declines, FifthThird Bancorp said it need to raise $2 billion in capital and two Bear Stearnshedge fund managers were charged with lying to investors -- causing manyinvestors to flee from stocks. Quincy Krosby, chief investment strategist at The Hartford, said Friday'ssession saw a confluence of the worries that investors have been grappling withas they try to determine where the economy is headed. "I liken it to the GPS system saying 'recalculating,'" she said, referringto the market's uncertainty. "There's no clarity, there's no confidence." Krosby added: "The crosscurrents are coming at a time when the backdrop forthe economy appears to be stabilizing. And yet the headline risk isunrelenting." The headlines Friday helped send the Dow down 220.40, or 1.83 percent, to11,842.69. The blue chips haven't closed below 12,000 since March 17, when themarket was worried about Bear Stearns Cos. collapsing. Friday's pullback leftCoca Cola Co. as the only advancer among the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow. Broader stock indicators also dropped. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell24.90, or 1.85 percent, to 1,317.93, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 55.97,or 2.27 percent, to 2,406.09. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 5 to 1 on the New York StockExchange, where consolidated volume came to a heavy 5.15 billion shares comparedwith 4.44 billion shares traded Thursday. Volume was heavy in part because of"quadruple witching" -- the simultaneous expiration of four types of optionscontracts. For the week, the Dow fell 3.78 percent, the S&P 500 lost 3.1 percent andthe Nasdaq declined 1.97 percent. Bond prices rose Friday as stocks sank. The yield on the benchmark 10-yearTreasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 4.17 percent from 4.21percent late Thursday. Concerns over further tensions between Israel and Iran added to investors'worries and pushed oil prices higher. "That introduces dramatic uncertainty," Krosby said of the investors'reaction to unease in the Middle East. Crude oil futures jumped $2.69 to settle at $134.62 a barrel on the New YorkMercantile Exchange, recovering some of Thursday's drop of nearly $5 per barrelon news of a fuel price hike in China. Investors are awaiting the weekend's meeting in Saudi Arabia of oilproducers and consumer nations, which could bring some relief to the problem ofsoaring oil prices. But many analysts believe the gathering might end up being amere finger-pointing session. The concerns made for a difficult market. "There has to be reticence about getting back in," said Stephen Carl,principal and head of equity trading at The Williams Capital Group. "It'sdefinitely an ugly end to the week." Bond insurer MBIA Inc. fell 86 cents, or 13 percent, to $5.59, whilecompetitor Ambac Financial Group Inc. edged up 2 cents to $2.05, after losingtheir "AAA" rating from Moody's. Another ratings move hit stocks of automakers. Standard & Poor's RatingsServices placed the corporate credit ratings of General Motors Corp., Ford MotorCo. and Chrysler LLC on watch with negative implications. The classificationmeans ratings have a one-in-two chance of being downgraded in the next threemonths. S&P believes high fuel costs will hurt the U.S. auto market through2009. GM fell $1, or 6.7 percent, to $13.79, while Ford lost 51 cents, or 8.1percent, to $5.81. The dollar fell against most other major currencies, while gold prices rose. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 12.10, or 1.64, to 725.73. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average dropped 1.33 percent. Britain's FTSE100 fell 1.53 percent, Germany's DAX index declined 2.12 percent, and France'sCAC-40 fell 1.79 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week down 464.66, or 3.78percent, at 11,842.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 index finished down 42.10, or3.10 percent, at 1,317.93. The Nasdaq composite index ended the week down 48.41,or 1.97 percent, at 2,406.09. The Russell 2000 index finished the week down 7.88, or 1.07 percent, at725.73. The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index -- a free-float weighted indexthat measures 5,000 U.S. based companies -- ended Friday at 13,415.89, down374.77 points, or 2.70 percent, for the week. A year ago, the index was at15,291.15. Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
Friday, June 20, 2008
5:12 pm - FKLI closed with a bullish finish !
There were volume for KLCI. I may think this is a reversal volume for FKLI too.
2:57 pm - FKLI is turning bearish !
It is reversing after an attempt to wash to long trader and short trader today ! Very volatile !
11:17 am - FKLI is ready to turn down after hitting high 1199
The market is very choppy in the morning.
10:06 am - Notice the similarity between the FKLI after a huge fall !
After FKLI fall drastically with a doji, it will rebound back.
9:14 am - This is what I am looking for ! A doji with considerate volume.
Look for a reversal on Friday trading for DJIA i.e. tonite !
9:00 am - FKLI market oversold and short seller covering their long position
Think to short at 1190 and think to buy at 1170. Else I think the market may range based on low volume.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
5:53 pm - FKLI closed with a doji !
Watch out as DJIA may recover tonite and FKLI may open with a gap up. Short at higher level @ 1188.5
9:59 am - Shorten some more today !
FKLI just tested 1186 - maybe today high ! And then turn downward !
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