There are some pretty good free software out there that even the professionals can use. Here are my favorites:
Stocks, Forex and Futures
Ninja Trader - Good software, alot of support, built in simulator.
Quotetracker - very popular free software.
Quotetrader by eSignal - I'm trying this one out now.
Hubb Investor
Forex
Metatrader - free with a demo or paid Forex account. This program is awesome.
VT Trader - free with a demo or paid Forex account.
Stocks
PatternZ - A software that recognizes classic patterns.
Strategy Desk - Free with TDAmeritrade Account. Very good back testing feature.
FCharts SE - Good basic software but Pro has more features.
SoftInvestor Free edition - I have not tried this one yet
EasyTrader & Net Trader - Day trading software.
Money Management
Tony Oz Stock Market Calculator - Calculate profit potential. Other free stuff here as well.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Support and Resistance (Supply and Demand)
Sam Seiden's presentation on FXSTREET.com
'Multiple Low Risk Forex Entries With Support and Resistance'
Also, on FXSTREET.COM you can find many presentations by well known professionals in the transcript archive to watch without signing up. FXSTREET.com is free to sign up for the non premium live webcasts.
'Multiple Low Risk Forex Entries With Support and Resistance'
Also, on FXSTREET.COM you can find many presentations by well known professionals in the transcript archive to watch without signing up. FXSTREET.com is free to sign up for the non premium live webcasts.
SUPPY AND DEMAND
Basic economics says that when there is too much supply prices goes down, and when there is too much demand price goes up. This is true in all aspects of markets and business. Understanding supply and demand concepts is important when you are in the investing and trading business.
When there is supply we usually hear that we have more sellers, and when there is demand we usually hear that we have more buyers. At one given point we can either have the sellers in control, the buyers in control or none in control of the market (equilibrium). Wall street calls the controlling sellers bears and the controlling buyers bulls. So we hear the terms bear market or bull market.
We also get out of supply and demand the concept of support and resistance. Support is where the buyers believe price is cheap and are willing to buy. Resistance is where the sellers believe the price is expensive and is willing to sell.
I've over simplified the concept of supply and demand but you can read more professional explanations on the topic. Just go to the links below.
Economics: Supply and Demand
http://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/economics3.asp
Forbes Article on Supply and Demand
http://www.forbes.com/2006/08/23/forex-trading-education-in_swh_0823investools_inl.html
Supply and Demand
http://stocks.about.com/od/understandingstocks/a/112807supply.htm
Sam Seiden, An Online Trading Academy Instructor with 10 years of experience trading, has an interesting yet simple trading strategy involving recognizing supply and demand. Check out his articles at the link below. Also, check out the video section for links to his archived video presentation on FXSTREET.com.
http://www.samseiden.com/resources.htm
When there is supply we usually hear that we have more sellers, and when there is demand we usually hear that we have more buyers. At one given point we can either have the sellers in control, the buyers in control or none in control of the market (equilibrium). Wall street calls the controlling sellers bears and the controlling buyers bulls. So we hear the terms bear market or bull market.
We also get out of supply and demand the concept of support and resistance. Support is where the buyers believe price is cheap and are willing to buy. Resistance is where the sellers believe the price is expensive and is willing to sell.
I've over simplified the concept of supply and demand but you can read more professional explanations on the topic. Just go to the links below.
Economics: Supply and Demand
http://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/economics3.asp
Forbes Article on Supply and Demand
http://www.forbes.com/2006/08/23/forex-trading-education-in_swh_0823investools_inl.html
Supply and Demand
http://stocks.about.com/od/understandingstocks/a/112807supply.htm
Sam Seiden, An Online Trading Academy Instructor with 10 years of experience trading, has an interesting yet simple trading strategy involving recognizing supply and demand. Check out his articles at the link below. Also, check out the video section for links to his archived video presentation on FXSTREET.com.
http://www.samseiden.com/resources.htm
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Quotetracker
Quotetracker is a popular free stock quote and charting program. It intergrates various datafeeds from some of the most well know brokers and you can see real-time streaming quotes once your broker or datafeed provides it. You can even get Level II on it.
So far, I have not seen any scanning capability but still it's a nice free program to have.
The free program displays advertisement in a banner on the software itself. But if you want no advertisement then the registration fee is $60 a year. If you have a TDAmeritrade account with $2500 plus in it, then it's free.
As I understand, TDAmeritrade is now the owner of Quotetracker.
I've also learnt that Traders Coach Applied Reality Trading program runs on Quotracker.
Go to Quotetracker.com to learn more about it and download software free.
So far, I have not seen any scanning capability but still it's a nice free program to have.
The free program displays advertisement in a banner on the software itself. But if you want no advertisement then the registration fee is $60 a year. If you have a TDAmeritrade account with $2500 plus in it, then it's free.
As I understand, TDAmeritrade is now the owner of Quotetracker.
I've also learnt that Traders Coach Applied Reality Trading program runs on Quotracker.
Go to Quotetracker.com to learn more about it and download software free.
Amibroker
Amibroker is another software I've messed around with. Although not free, you can download the demo which has no expiration date. The demo is limited as far as saving updated quote information, scanning, and configuring data feeds. There might be other limitations but other than that, you can play around with the formulas, create your own and test out the software. It's pretty cheap compared to others and there is no subscription fee.
Amibroker is for Equities and currencies. Read more about it on their site, Click Here.
Amibroker is for Equities and currencies. Read more about it on their site, Click Here.
Beginners Start Here - The Basics
There is a wealth of educational information on the internet to learn about the markets, investing and trading. This blog is just one of the many with lists of such resources. A good place to start to learn is
Investopedia.com Tutorial - This link will take you straight a tutorial where you can learn the basics about the stock market, investing, economy and more.
Forex Tutorial - Investopia also have a Forex tutorial for those who are interested.
Investopedia.com Tutorial - This link will take you straight a tutorial where you can learn the basics about the stock market, investing, economy and more.
Forex Tutorial - Investopia also have a Forex tutorial for those who are interested.
Clichés of the Market World
Have you ever heard any of these phrases or sayings? Some has merit to it and some probably not worth paying attention to. I wrote a short opinion about each. Hopefully, I presented the sayings correctly.
'Fear and Greed'
- Well, this is what they say drives the market. You have those that are greedy and drive the market up. And you have those that are fearful and drives the market down.
"Buy on bad news, sell on good news"
- Maybe this work sometimes but most times it don't. it's not recommended.
'Sell the news, buy the rumor'
- Not recommended either. But the premise is that you sell to those jumping on the news that was already accounted for in the market.
'Don't sell or buy around news time.'
- I agree with this if you want to minimize your risk.
'Buy low, sell high.'
- It's hard to pick the bottom or top but this is what it's all about isn't it?
'Buy high, sell higher.'
- Many market educators and professionals would teach this. It works only when it works. Hey, another cliché. But the idea is that something in motion stays in motion until some force stops it. A market making new highs tend to go higher.
'Buy strength and sell weakness.'
- I agree. You want to buy into a strong market. One that the herd is in to. But you have to ask yourself, what is a strong or weak market.
'Buy near support and sell near resistance.'
- A classic technical analysis saying and basic technique that when coupled with the next cliché, among other things, can help one be successful in trading.
'The trend is your friend.'
- If the trend is up, look to go long. If the trend is down, look to short. Again, you're going with the herd. The hard part is defining the trend.
'Indicators are lagging.'
- Indicators are based on price. They only tell you what already has happened. However, used the right way indicators can help with trading.
'Price is king.'
- Understand how to read price and you sometimes can determine with high probability what price is doing and could do.
'Price and volume are the leading indicators.'
- In a sense they are because they tell you what the market is doing at the moment. But still, no human nor machine can predict the future.
'Win big, loss small' or 'Cut your losses and let your winners run.'
- Good money management is one of the major keys to becoming a successful investor/trader. In this game, there will be losses and you must expect them. But keep them small.
'Don't try to catch a falling knife.'
- Markets tend to fall faster than they rise. The reason is fear.
'Stock investing is gambling.'
- This one is up for debate. But certain aspects of how you approach investing and trading can be considered gambling. For instance, if you do no research at all, or have no idea of entry or exit strategy, well you can consider yourself gambling. You're playing by chance.
'Don't have hopium'
- that is to say don't hope the market will do this or that. Still, though we do hope and I've heard even pro's so the word hope. But we should have a plan, rules and stick to them, then we won't have to hope so much.
Which brings me to..
"..The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going..." John 3:8 (NIV)
Same is with the market and price. We don't know which way price will go because we cannot and should not try to predict the future. What professionals do is go with the flow. Follow the herd (institutions). You are like a sail boat that goes in the direction of the wind. It waits for the right setup and move when it's time to move. And stop when time to stop.
There are more and I will add them as they come.
--Nigel
'Fear and Greed'
- Well, this is what they say drives the market. You have those that are greedy and drive the market up. And you have those that are fearful and drives the market down.
"Buy on bad news, sell on good news"
- Maybe this work sometimes but most times it don't. it's not recommended.
'Sell the news, buy the rumor'
- Not recommended either. But the premise is that you sell to those jumping on the news that was already accounted for in the market.
'Don't sell or buy around news time.'
- I agree with this if you want to minimize your risk.
'Buy low, sell high.'
- It's hard to pick the bottom or top but this is what it's all about isn't it?
'Buy high, sell higher.'
- Many market educators and professionals would teach this. It works only when it works. Hey, another cliché. But the idea is that something in motion stays in motion until some force stops it. A market making new highs tend to go higher.
'Buy strength and sell weakness.'
- I agree. You want to buy into a strong market. One that the herd is in to. But you have to ask yourself, what is a strong or weak market.
'Buy near support and sell near resistance.'
- A classic technical analysis saying and basic technique that when coupled with the next cliché, among other things, can help one be successful in trading.
'The trend is your friend.'
- If the trend is up, look to go long. If the trend is down, look to short. Again, you're going with the herd. The hard part is defining the trend.
'Indicators are lagging.'
- Indicators are based on price. They only tell you what already has happened. However, used the right way indicators can help with trading.
'Price is king.'
- Understand how to read price and you sometimes can determine with high probability what price is doing and could do.
'Price and volume are the leading indicators.'
- In a sense they are because they tell you what the market is doing at the moment. But still, no human nor machine can predict the future.
'Win big, loss small' or 'Cut your losses and let your winners run.'
- Good money management is one of the major keys to becoming a successful investor/trader. In this game, there will be losses and you must expect them. But keep them small.
'Don't try to catch a falling knife.'
- Markets tend to fall faster than they rise. The reason is fear.
'Stock investing is gambling.'
- This one is up for debate. But certain aspects of how you approach investing and trading can be considered gambling. For instance, if you do no research at all, or have no idea of entry or exit strategy, well you can consider yourself gambling. You're playing by chance.
'Don't have hopium'
- that is to say don't hope the market will do this or that. Still, though we do hope and I've heard even pro's so the word hope. But we should have a plan, rules and stick to them, then we won't have to hope so much.
Which brings me to..
"..The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going..." John 3:8 (NIV)
Same is with the market and price. We don't know which way price will go because we cannot and should not try to predict the future. What professionals do is go with the flow. Follow the herd (institutions). You are like a sail boat that goes in the direction of the wind. It waits for the right setup and move when it's time to move. And stop when time to stop.
There are more and I will add them as they come.
--Nigel
FCharts SE Charting Software
FCharts SE is a free stock charting software by Spacejock. You can find it at www.spacejock.com/FreechartsSE.html.
It has all the basic functions of most stock charting software but with some limitations. The Pro version, for a price, has more features and scanning capability. You can use the built in downloader to update quotes from sources like Yahoo. This is one of the first software I had tried out. I actually purchased the PRO version for it's scanning capability.
It has all the basic functions of most stock charting software but with some limitations. The Pro version, for a price, has more features and scanning capability. You can use the built in downloader to update quotes from sources like Yahoo. This is one of the first software I had tried out. I actually purchased the PRO version for it's scanning capability.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Quick Links
The "Quick Links" on the left side bar will comprise of links to websites that offer free information to the investment community. I usually look at these websites every morning to get an idea of what the markets are saying.
Nasdaq PMI - Offered by Nasdaq.com, Is a pre-market indicator of how the nasdaq stocks are trading in the pre-market(Time before the stock market opens usually between 8am - 9:30am EST). Usually, I get a sense from the Nasdaq PMI whether we would have an up or down opening at 9:30am in the Nasdaq.
Briefing.com - This site has a wealth of information. In the morning, I mainly go to Market snapshot, Stock Market Update, to see how the S&P and Nasdaq futures are doing. It's delayed of course. I can also get a sense of if the market will open higher or lower by if the futures were higher or lower.
Smartmoney.com - Also has a wealth of information. Not all is free but one of the free features I particularly like is the Map of the Market. This shows you a map of stocks, within their respective industries, with red and green colors to indicate strength and weakness. This might be useful to those who are looking for stocks in strong or weak sectors. It also has a free sector map.
Yahoo Economic Calendar; Forex Economic Calendar; FXSTREET Economic Calendar - Well, these are self explanatory. News almost always affect the markets. I check these so to know when news is coming out in these markets and I decide whether to trade or not during those times. Yahoo also has company events if you need to know if specific news or earnings reports will be coming out for a specific stock.
MORE TO COME
Nigel
Nasdaq PMI - Offered by Nasdaq.com, Is a pre-market indicator of how the nasdaq stocks are trading in the pre-market(Time before the stock market opens usually between 8am - 9:30am EST). Usually, I get a sense from the Nasdaq PMI whether we would have an up or down opening at 9:30am in the Nasdaq.
Briefing.com - This site has a wealth of information. In the morning, I mainly go to Market snapshot, Stock Market Update, to see how the S&P and Nasdaq futures are doing. It's delayed of course. I can also get a sense of if the market will open higher or lower by if the futures were higher or lower.
Smartmoney.com - Also has a wealth of information. Not all is free but one of the free features I particularly like is the Map of the Market. This shows you a map of stocks, within their respective industries, with red and green colors to indicate strength and weakness. This might be useful to those who are looking for stocks in strong or weak sectors. It also has a free sector map.
Yahoo Economic Calendar; Forex Economic Calendar; FXSTREET Economic Calendar - Well, these are self explanatory. News almost always affect the markets. I check these so to know when news is coming out in these markets and I decide whether to trade or not during those times. Yahoo also has company events if you need to know if specific news or earnings reports will be coming out for a specific stock.
MORE TO COME
Nigel
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Disclaimer
The information presented on this blog are for educational purposes only and should not be regarded as investment advice. The information can help to guide you into further education and workings of trading the markets. MyTradersEd does not recommend trades nor provide trading signals. Examples from this site and the resources listed, although might be based on real world outcomes, are hypothetical and are for educational purposes.
We do not represent any service or information presented on this blog. We do not certify that the services or information provided on this blog will meet your requirements or is suitable for your individual needs.
The past performance of any trade whether actual or hypothetical is not an indication of future results.
MyTraders Ed is neither a registered Investment Advisor nor a Broker/Dealer. You should seek professional advice from a licensed financial advisor before taking any action or making any financial decisions. Trading and investing in the markets involves risk and the individual should understand these risks before committing any money to the markets. And you must understand that you can lose all that you've invested. Your decision to trade and/or what instruments you use are solely your decision.
We do not represent any service or information presented on this blog. We do not certify that the services or information provided on this blog will meet your requirements or is suitable for your individual needs.
The past performance of any trade whether actual or hypothetical is not an indication of future results.
MyTraders Ed is neither a registered Investment Advisor nor a Broker/Dealer. You should seek professional advice from a licensed financial advisor before taking any action or making any financial decisions. Trading and investing in the markets involves risk and the individual should understand these risks before committing any money to the markets. And you must understand that you can lose all that you've invested. Your decision to trade and/or what instruments you use are solely your decision.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Purpose
The purpose of this blog is to share my lists of free online trading and market educational resources. So, to help others to improve their understanding of the trading and investment arena. This site is for the novice trader as well as the professional trader. You can never have too much education. -- Nigel
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