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08 Mar 10 Know These Short Selling Shocking Facts

Short selling is one of the favorite day trading strategies employed by many day traders. Many companies hate short sellers as they believe that short sellers were responsible in the fall of their stock prices. Nothing can be far from the truth. Short selling is just like anyother market mechanism that provides liquidity and better price discovery. Short selling can never destroy a company if its’ fundamentals are strong. Many stock brokers now let you short stocks with just the click of a mouse. When you sell stocks from your online brokerage account, the message asks you whether you are selling your own shares or short selling. You just need to click once on short selling and the rest is taken care of by the broker. These shares are a loan to you by the broker that you will have to return at a later date!

In some cases,a stock gets so much shorted that there are no more shares of that stock left for you or your broker to borrow anymore. Now, you cannot always short a stock instantly. Most of the investors work on rumors. In that case, you simple will have to cross your fingers and see how the other short sellers do on that stock while you search for another stock to short!

Now, shorting is one of the favorite strategies employed by day traders. A day trader may short stock on the mundane reason like its price had been going up for three days and it’s time to come down! Day traders are not fundamental traders. Day traders are simply interested in the daily volatility in the stock. Most even don’t do any financial or fundamental analysis of the companies whose stocks they are trading. Almost all are technicians or what you call technical analysis experts.

Now, you cannot straight away short a stock as there are mechanisms in place employed by msot of the stock exchanges that don’t want a massive shorting attack on a stock. There is the famous Uptick Rule that has been put in place to prevent that from happening. What the Uptick Rule means is that you cannot short a stock unless it moves up on the last trade. This rule has been placed to prevent a stock from being driven down to almost zero by short sellers. In simple words, once the stock starts to move down, you cannot short it. You will have to wait for its price to move up on the last trade, before your short selling order can be executed by the broker.

How much risky short selling can be? Well, in theory there is no stopping a stock price to reach the sky. So if you are wrong in your short selling decision, your loss can be catastrophic. But don’t worry, short sellers also use stop loss so if the price starts to move up, your position will get closed automatically by the stop loss order.

Now, don’t get caught in the market with short selling when good news spreads about the stock that you had shorted driving its price up. This is known as Short Squeeze. Once that happens, almost all short sellers get desperate to dump their stocks and exit but when they try to buy back the stock, they get more hurt as the prices go even higher and higher on rising demand for the stock in the market.

Now many companies, brokers and investors hate short sellers and try tactics to bust them. Sometimes, they will issue good news or spread rumors of good news to create a squeeze. Other times, they can ask the stock holders collectively to tell their brokers not to loan out their shares. What this means is that short sellers have to buy back the shares and return them to the brokerage firm and close their short positions even if it does not make any sense.

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05 Mar 10 Are Your Options Losing Value?

Today we’ll be discussing the differences between investing with stocks and options. Let’s first tackle the less complex investing vehicle, stocks. Most of the world already knows, but in case you don’t, stocks are directional trading vehicles. If we are long the stock, then we make money when the prices of the asset rises, and we lose capital as the underlying asset drops in price. We can also sell a stock short in which the profit comes when the stock falls. In any case when investing with stocks, the direction is what matters. We don’t need to worry about market volatility or time.

Options, however, involve these other two dimensions just mentioned, plus the dimension of price as well. So options are actually three-dimensional trading vehicles based on price, time and volatility. To compare stock and options in a practical sense, let’s consider this scenario:

Let’s say that AAPL moved up 20% in one year. The stock holders would have made 20% in return for holding on to the stock all year long. Now, if an option trader was holding a Call contract all year, he may have just lost his investment.

So why did the option trader lose money if the stock went up? Well, it’s quite simple really. The option trader lost the time value of his options. Each option has time premium factored into the option price, and if the move doesn’t happen fast, then the option trader will most likely lose money if he is simply buying Calls. Also, the volatility will most likely drop on the asset as the price rises, and this will also cause the price of the option to fall.

So, hopefully you can see that in order to trade options, we really need to be educated. Entry level option traders usually buy Calls and Puts, and they don’t understand why they lose money when the underlying asset goes the direction they are hoping. Remember, when trading options, you are not trading a single dimension; you are really trading a 3 dimensional asset. Finally, the exciting thing about options is that once you understand them, they allow you to be very flexible, creative and can be traded in any type of market.

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05 Mar 10 Candlestick Charting Patterns- The Hammer, the Hanging Man and the Spinning Top!

Hanging Man and the Hammer are two different candlestick patterns. The patterns are not identical. Hanging Man is considered to be bearish and the Hammer is considered to be bullish.

The first question. How do you identify whether this is a Hanging Man or a Hammer? Hammer and the Hanging Man both have a very small candle body accompanied by a long wick either on the bottom. If this type of pattern appears at the top of an uptrend with the long wick at the bottom, it is a Hanging Man. And if it appears at the bottom of an downtrend it is a Hammer.

In less than ideal cases, you might also find a small wick at the top of the candlestick. When the Hanging Man or the Hammer appears, you need to look for the confirmation on the next day.

Now suppose, you think that you have spotted the Hanging Man in an uptrend. Wait for the confirmation the next day with the opening price. If the opening price on the next day is less than the previous day’s close, you have a true Hanging Man. If not, then that was not a true Hanging Man.

Similarly, if you spot a Hammer at the bottom of a downtrend, you need to confirm it with the opening price on the following day. If the opening price on the next day is higher than the closing price on the last day, the Hammer formed was a true Hammer.

The best chart for these candlestick patterns is the daily chart. Once, you get the confirmation, trade these patterns. They can be highly profitable. But in case, you don’t get the confirmation the next day with the price action, simply ignore the pattern as not true. Whenever, you trade candlestick patterns, first spot them correctly than wait for the confirmation on the following day.

Spinning Top is just like the Hanging Man and the Hammer. Spinning Top is a signal that the battle between the bulls and the bears ended in a draw. It will start next day again with ony side giving in. What this means is that an explosive move in the price action can take place the following day.

Spinning tops appear much more frequently and are very easy to spot with a very small body in the middle of the candlestick and almost equal wicks on the two sides. A spinning top is a nice indication that the trend is about to change direction. Knowing about a trend change early is a highly profitable trading signal.

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28 Feb 10 ETF Options Trading Advantages

You must have traded ETFs. No, then let me first introduce you to ETFs. ETF is the short acronym for Exchange Traded Funds. ETF are a basket of stocks or other assets that have been designed to closely track a stock index, a market index, sector index or any other index. Now trading stock indexes is what many trader do. You can trade stock indexes with options. However, trading ETF Options can be a more profitable venture for you!

Now trading ETF Options is somewhat different than trading Index Options. Though both track almost similar indexes but Index Options are settled in cash at expiry. On the other hand, ETF Options are settled with the underlying instruments that is shares of ETFs. This gives you the chance to use various combination strategies with ETF Options that you cannot normally use with Index Options.

Now when you are trading index options or ETF options both of them get affected by the dividend payments on the underlying stocks. You need to take this fact into account when calculating the values of puts and calls with an Options Calculator otherwise your investment returns may not be what you have been anticipating.

Now, ETF Options are more flexible than the Index Options as you can use the underlying ETF as well in your options strategies. If you have already traded stock options, ETF options should not be difficult for you. You can hedge your ETF position with an option on the ETF.

Protective Put is a famous options trading strategy that portfolio managers use to hedge their stock positions. Now when trading ETF Options, you can use the famous Protective Put Strategy by combining long ETF with a long put. This way you can hedge against the downside risk with a small increased cost to the ETF. A Protective Put will limit the downside risk to the put strike price.

Similarly, you can use a Covered Call on ETF. A Covered Call is formed by taking combining long ETF with a short call on that ETF. The short call will give you some income in the shape of a premium and reduce the cost of the position. This will also slightly reduce the risk of the position. But on the other hand, a covered call will limit the upside profit potential. Your max profit now will only be limited to the call strike price.

Another combination strategy that you can use with an ETF is forming a Collared Position. A Collared Position is formed with a long ETF and a long put combined with a short call. A Collared Position limits the limited but high risk to a limited risk only. The downside risk is now only limited to the put strike price. The premium paid in taking a long put position is offset somewhat by the premium that you get by writing a call.

Options trading is risky in the sense that it has both time volatility as well as price volatility. Now, many traders trade options without getting good options trading education. What you need to do is first paper trade these strategies and master them. This way you will learn how to deal with unexpected risk.

ETF options are always American Style meaning you can exercise them any time before the expiry. You can even use LEAP Options on ETFs. LEAP Options are long term options having expiry ranging from nine months to 21/2 years. Now just like stocks, not all ETF have options available for trading.

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28 Feb 10 Harami And The Harami Cross Candlestick Patterns Can Be Highly Profitable!

There are simple as well as complex candlestick patterns. There are single stick, two stick as well as three stick candlestick patterns. Harami is a two stick candlestick pattern. Two stick patterns take two days to form on daily charts. A Harami is formed whent the first day candle is longer than the second day candle. Harami can be bullish as well as bearish!

A bullish Harami is formed in a downtrend when the first day candle is very bearish. But on the second day, the bulls come into play and beat the bears out of the market by taking the prices higher. However, the bulls are not completely successful and the second day is still lower than the first day open and the first day high is not crossed. But this is an important signal that bulls are now active and trying to take hold of the market. This means that the downtrend will be soon over and an uptrend is about to start.

On the second day when the Harami is formed, the bears are still slightly ahead of the bulls at the start of trading. The open is higher than the close of the last day. However, the bulls close the day higher than the open.

Bulls and bears are always fighting with each other for the control of the market. When a bullish Harami is formed what this means is that the bulls are still cautious about their success and fear that the bears might return to take the prices lower again. However, when this does not happen, it gives confidence to the bulls encouraging more buying in the market and the reversal of the trend.

What this means is that you need to confirm it with the price action on the following day. Now, like most of the candlestick patterns, a Harami can fail. Always place the stop loss first when you trade. When you spot a Harami, place the stop loss near the open of the second day.

Harami pattern has got few variations. On of them is the Bullish Harami Cross Pattern. The first day in case of a Bullish Harami Cross is a bearish candle. The signal day or the second day is a Bullish Doji with an open higher than the close of the first day and the close lower than the open of the first day. Now,a Bullish Harami Cross is not formed very frequently. But when it does form, it means an sudden trend reversal. So you should act immediatetly when you spot it.

The bearish Harami Pattern is the other way around. The first day candle is bullish but the second day candle is bearish with the open lower than the close of the first day and the close higher than the open of the first day. But this means is that bears have taken over the market and soon a new downtrend is going to develop.

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27 Feb 10 Inverted Hammer Candlestick Pattern Can Make You Rich!

Inverted Hammer Candlestick Pattern is a trend reversal pattern. This pattern can be bullish as well as bearish and occurs rarely or what you can say not frequently.

The first day is a usual bearish candle in the downtrend. On the second day or what you call the signal day you find the inverted hammer something quite rare as the price action required to produce such a pattern seldom takes place.

An inverted hammer has a very small body at the bottom with a long wick at the top. As the high is way above the body, most of the trading took place near the small area close to the low. This low serves as the support for the upcoming days.

Now, you should wait for the confirmation the following day in order to trade this bullish inverted hammer pattern. If the open of the next day after the appearance of the inverted hammer pattern is higher than the low of the previous day, the inverted hammer pattern is a true pattern and you can trade it by putting the stop at the same level of the open of the day.

Now, let’s talk about an uptrend. Identifying an Inverted Hammer in an uptrend is almost similar to a downtrend. When an inverted hammer is formed in an uptrend, it means that the uptrend is about to reverse itself into a downtrend. On the first day, you will find the usual bullish candle signalling that the bulls are in control of the market. This is followed by a gap opening and more buying.

But soon the bears start to take control of the market and push the prices down. The close of the day is equal to or close to the low of the day. When you idenfity a bearish inverted hammer pattern, you can safely go short by putting a stop near the open of the signal day or the day when inverted hammer was formed.

However, as an aggressive trader, you can place the stop at the high of the inverted hammer formed on the second or the signal day. Always follow the rules. Place the stops and wait for the market to move further. If the market moves in the direction anticipated, you can make a nice profit. If not and the candlestick pattern is not confirmed by the subsequent price action, the stop loss order will take you out of action at a very small loss. Sometimes, the price action can retrace itself but stick with the rules, this is what disciplined traders do!

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27 Jan 10 Oil Stocks Will Go Up

For investors considering oil stocks, there are a host of potential investment possibilities. In fact, the recent rise in global oil demand has resulted in higher oil prices which in turn has spurred the growth in alternative energy solutions. This growth has lead to new investment opportunities, as well. Overall, the energy sector can be divided into three segments. These are the E&P, or exploration and production, companies, oil services companies, and alternatives.

The rise in energy demand and interested in energy investing has resulted in these companies having the highest market capitalization globally. For instance, some of the largest oil conglomerates are among the biggest companies in the world who also happen to be partially owned and run by their residing governments. The largest oil producing company in the world is in Saudi Arabia, called Saudi Aramco.

Within the energy sector, additional divisions can be made depending on the service provided. In this regard, there are separate companies for equipment providers, drillers, pipelines, and even refiners. In conjunction, they combine to form the upstream and downstream aspects of the oil process. Sometimes energy investors include utilities within the discussion, as well.

The recent excitement within the energy space has been associated with the advent of renewable and alternative energy companies. The high price of oil has enabled other energy solutions to become cost effective. As a result, there have been a number of companies that have floated shares or have filed to do so. Some of these solutions are centered on solar, wind, and even hydro generated energy technologies.

Separate from the whole cost benefit analysis, there are companies focused on the environmental benefits of lower fossil fuel based emissions. In fact, many governments are in the process of imposing mandatory ceilings on the amount of carbon emissions generated by any single company. As a result, a whole new marketplace of carbon credit trading has emerged. Consequently, there have been companies founded to facilitate this process either via software technology or hardware monitoring systems.

In summary, the price of oil continues to drive the investing in energy stocks. As oil prices rise, many oil related stocks rise, as well. Since oil prices are controlled by supply and demand imbalances, any global event or growth will require additional settlements. In addition, the finite amount of energy resources mandates that energy investing is likely to remain exciting.

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