It's Never Too Late!

After reading the responses on the Stevenson High School blog post, we got to thinking…what is the average age of today’s trader? Of course, we started our research with, where else, but Google search. We were shocked at how difficult it was to find any statistical information on traders in general. So, we thought further. Why not use the very database that our Trader’s Blog is so closely connected with…us. Or better yet, YOU!

INO.com receives over 1 million unique visitors every month. Now, we don’t like to assume, but we are a website based on trading, and on the individuals that make those trades. So, for statistics sake, let’s assume that out of those million viewers, everyone is either an active trader, or would like to become one.

Turns out, the majority of viewers that visit our site are 50 years of age or older (52.9% to be exact). Thirty of our viewers are 35-50, 15.6% are 21-34, and 1.2% of our viewers are under the age of 21. This is where your comments come in:

“I came late to the party at 43, and am now 44 and just catching up.”
-Bob

“IF more of us had been educated (at least to the extent of some basic exposure) to the markets, we’d all be a lot smarter today.”
-Rick

“Would that as a youngster I had been introduced to “trading” and shown the benefits of knowledge in this fantastic game of calculated risk. I would be much better off today had I been instructed and tested but it is never too late.”
-Jo

You’re right Jo, it is never too late - unless you’re missing MarketClub’s buy/sell signals right now, that is!

So why do we wait so long before jumping into trading and the markets? Perhaps a more important question is, why do so many traders fail while just a few succeed? Maybe those questions go hand in hand. Do you enjoy doing something that you’re not necessarily “good” at? Do you enjoy losing your hard earned dollar in an attempt to “figure out” the markets? Once again, we don’t like to assume, but we will take that risk here and assume that your answer is no. How do you get “good” and “figure out” the markets, you ask?! Simple…PRACTICE!

Did you know that the average lifespan of a trader is between 1-5 years? Perhaps if traders had a little more education and guidance, they could expand their lifetime (in trading years, that is!)

We all (us old fogies) like to believe that wisdom comes with age, but perhaps the bright young students at Stevenson High School already have a leg up on us…learning at a young age, but like Jo said, “It’s never too late.”

See how the youth at Stevenson High is taking control of their futures in trading!

Click here and let MarketClub help you extend your trading career...

Best,
The MarketClub Team

A Classic Trade Triangle Signal Today

This buy signal in  HUDSON CITY BANCORP INC occurred just a little while ago and is a classic Trade Triangle signal. All of our  Trade Triangles are now showing a 100% reading as the monthly Trade Triangle just kicked in today at 13.42.

Symbol:HCBK
Name: HUDSON CITY BANCORP INC
Open: 13.22
High: 13.62
Low: 13.07
Last: 13.62
Point Change: +0.58
% Change: +4.45%
Vol: 5,885,595
Time: 11:29
Score: +100

Adam Hewison
President, INO.com
Co-creator, MarketClub

Traders Toolbox: Gann Theory

MarketClub is known for our "Trade Triangle" technology. However, if you have used other technical analysis indicators previously, you can use a combination of the studies and other techniques in conjunction with the "Trade Triangles" to further confirm trends.

W.D. Gann was a trader in the early 1900s who devised a unique and complex trading method that parallels some of these other theories. His technique is sometimes referred to as geometric because of his use of the mathematical properties of certain geometric figures and angles to predict price behavior. Gann had a cyclic view of market behavior and placed enormous emphasis on proportional relationships between price and time. He believed market events occurred at intervals that could be determined mathematically. And like Elliott, he believed the relationships he “discovered” reflected the natural law of the universe.

Gann calculated price retracements on percentages derived from dividing price action into eights, i.e. 2/8 = 25%, 4/8 – 50%, etc. He also included the Dow and Fibonacci retracements of 1/3 (33%) and 2/3 (67%) in his list of key percentages. He constructed support and resistance lines (Gann lines) based on varying ratios of time units to price units. His most important trend line, plotted at 45 degrees (up from a market bottom or down from a market top) represents one unit of time movement per one unit of price movement.

He also placed lines with other time/price ratios, like 1:2, 2:1, 1:3. 3:1, etc. The angle of these lines corresponds to the strength and speed of a trend. As long as pries stay above (or below, depending on the direction of the trend) the 45-degree line, the trend will continue. Once prices break that line, they will theoretically proceed to the next line of resistance, 1:2 or 1:3, for example, as the trend is played out.

Gann determined “anniversary dates” for timing market events based on the degrees of a circle (30, 60, 90, 180, 360 days) as well as periods of 12 months and 144 days (144 is the only square Fibonacci number). For example, when a market made a high or low, Gann looked for another significant price milestone 144 days or a year in the future.

He also predicted future support and resistance points using “cardinal squares.” Starting with a low price for a contract, he spiraled prices clockwise around it on a grid until the prices reached the current trading range. Prices that fell on the “cardinal cross,” the perpendicular lines equivalent to the X and Y axes of a graph, represented probable levels of future support and resistance.

Gann techniques are most effective when used together. Instances in which a trend reversal corresponds to a previously calculated retracement ratio, a cardinal square price, an anniversary date and the breaking of a trend line would represent important market cycles.

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You can learn more about the Gann Theory by visiting INO TV.

Traders Toolbox: Williams %R

MarketClub is known for our "Trade Triangle" technology. However, if you have used other technical analysis indicators previously, you can use a combination of the studies and other techniques in conjunction with the "Trade Triangles" to further confirm trends.

Williams' %R oscillator, attributed to Larry Williams, is a variation of the stochastics indicator previously discussed. Because the two oscillators are essentially the same, only minor modifications to the formula are required. The formula for calculating %R is: %R = Hn – C / Hn – Ln where Hn = highest high of the period, C = Close of the current period and Ln = lowest low of the period.

The %R oscillator differs from the %K formula in the stochastics indicator because the outcome of each formula is inverse to the other. In other words, %K compares the close with the lowest low, whereas %R compares the close with the highest high. Similar to other oscillators, %R is plotted with horizontal zones of 20% and 80%. When the indicator has a reading of -80% or below it signifies an oversold condition. Similarly, a reading of -20% or above signals an overbought condition.

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You can learn more about the Williams %R and Larry Williams by visiting INO TV.

Traders Toolbox: Relative Strength Index (RSI)

MarketClub is known for our "Trade Triangle" technology. However, if you have used other technical analysis indicators previously, you can use a combination of the studies and other techniques in conjunction with the "Trade Triangles" to further confirm trends.

Developed by Welles Wilder, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) addresses the two major flaws of momentum – the need to have a constant band against which to compare price movement and the ability to smooth the ebb and flow of price movement.

Sharp up or down movement 10 days ago (in the case of a 10-day momentum line) can cause pronounced shifts in the momentum line even if the current prices are relatively stable, giving false signals. Also, different commodities may have different “overbought” and “oversold” levels. RSI corrects these concerns by smoothing the movement and by creating a constant range from 0 to 100.

The formula for calculating RSI is as follows: RSI= 100-[100/(1+RS)] where RS= average of the days closing higher during the interval divided by the average of the days closing lower during the interval.

The RSI indicator is plotted on a vertical scale of 0 to 100. The general rule of thumb is overbought levels are at 70% and oversold levels are at 30%. When the reading of the indicator surpasses 70, an overbought conditions exists. An oversold condition exists with readings below 30.

Similar to momentum, a trader should look for bullish and bearish divergences to occur when trading with RSI. A 14-day interval is commonly used, but personal fine-tuning and experimentation always is needed.

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You can learn more about the Relative Strength Index by visiting INO TV.