Author: The INO.com Team

Crazy Columbus Day ... plus more horror stories

Posted on by The INO.com Team

There's no doubt about it, these are crazy times in the market.

My business partner, Dave Maher, came up with the new name for one of the most volatile days in market history ..."Crazy Columbus Day." I think many of us in the industry will always refer to Columbus day with a crazy in front of it.

This is the time to remain cool, calm and collected. Looking back, how did this all happened? It was like a snowball rolling down a hill, gradually building over a period of time and turning into a huge problem. Now that we are sitting in the dust of the crash we ask, who's to blame? It doesn't matter if you're on the Democratic side of the aisle or the Republican side, both parties are to blame for the mess we are in now.

Legendary speculator, George Soros doesn't understand them.

Felix G. Rohatyn, the man who saved New York from financial catastrophe in the '70s, calls them “hydrogen bombs.”

Warren E. Buffett calls them “financial weapons of mass destruction, carrying dangers that, while now latent, are potentially lethal.”

They are all referring to the non-transparent derivatives market. All of these well known financiers figured out the dangers of these toxic financial instruments years ago, yet the Chairman of the Federal Reserve insisted that everything was fine and that the risk in the derivatives market was well spread out.

There was one woman that the CFTC who could have prevented this financial mess. However, this woman left the agency after being verbally beaten down for warning of the possible crisis. Could she have stopped the snowball before it began rolling?

I recently read an article in the New York Times newspaper (online) that I think you'll find fascinating, as I know I did.

Having been a member of several futures exchanges I know that transparency is without a doubt the key to a healthy and vibrant market. The lack of transparency for the past 12-15 years in the derivatives market is nothing short of criminal.

The lack of transparency allowed large banks to make unusually big profits as no one had any idea of what they were actually trading. It all sounded so good on paper. Structured investment vehicles (SIV), collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) all of these looked great in the derivatives modeling world. Unfortunately in the real world, financial modeling does not always work out. And when it comes to big money, the element of greed always comes into play. Greed is something you cannot model into an equation.

Here is the link to the New York Times article I hope you find it interesting, informative and eye-opening.

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

Fear is not an option for successful traders

Posted on by The INO.com Team

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Thus spoke Franklin D. Roosevelt 75 years ago.

Looking back on Roosevelt's speech in 1933, 4 years after the infamous crash of '29, he was referring to the economic conditions of the time -- better known as The Great Depression. In essence he was saying that if we can't shake our pessimistic economic outlook, it will be tough to turn things around.

The question is... are things different this time?

The answer is yes and no. People are still fearful of what the future holds and they have very little confidence in the economy. The big difference between the crash of '08 and the crash of '29 is that we now have India and China on the world stage. Back in '29, both of these countries were not on the radar. In fact India was under British Rule.

Both India and China's economies will suffer with the turn down here in the US. They are now going to have to generate their own domestic consumption patterns for the goods and services they formerly sold to the US. This is going to be hard to do as so much of their economy is based on exports which are evaporating quickly.

The fact of the matter is that the markets are extraordinarily turbulent. We do not expect, even with the worldwide bailout, for things will be rosy again anytime soon. However, that does not rule out some extraordinary trading opportunities in the markets. This is a time for rational thinking. It is also a time to eliminate fear from trading.

There is no need for fear in one's trading plan if you're running with a diversified program that has proven to be successful over time. What I mean by over time is not just the last six months, or six years, but over a long period of time I mean as much as 30 years.

When you have a program that puts the odds on your side, you can trade with confidence knowing that you're going to lose some small skirmishes in the market, but overall you will make money based on your own trading decisions.

Many of you know that we trade using MarketClub's "Trade Triangle" technology. This approach has proven successful in all types of markets, including the ones we are in now.

I've put together a short 12 minute video to show you how we have fared in three different markets using this technology.

For a small percentage of you, this video will be an eye-opening experience. For another percentage of you, you are already fearless MarketClub members. There will also be some of you that are successful traders using your own system, and there is probably no need to watch this video.

Trading should be an unemotional experience. If you are trading for the excitement, odds are you're going to lose. If you are trading just to say that you trade, you're probably going to lose. If your trade for any other reason than to make money, you're probably going to lose.

The possibility of successfully trading any market is out there. This video will show you how our unemotional, time tested approach to the stock, future, forex, etf, and mutual fund market will put the odds in your favor that you are on the right side of these extraordinary trading times.

"The only limits to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today."
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Every success,

Adam Hewison

President, INO.com

It takes a long time for a market recovery

Posted on by The INO.com Team
This from our media partner Associated Press.

The Associated Press
Monday, October 13, 2008

NEW YORK: It has taken Wall Street considerable time to recover from crashes and for investors to regain their confidence and decide it was safe to put their money into stocks again. A look at how the market recovered from its two best-known crashes, and how much it needs to recover from its latest plunge.

When the market crashed Oct. 19, 1987, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down 508 points to 1,738.34, the blue chips had lost 938 points, or 36.1 percent, since reaching a then-record close of 2,722.42 on Aug. 25, 1987. It took just over 15 months for the Dow to get back to its pre-crash level, and almost two years to the day — Aug. 24, 1989 — to reach a new closing high, 2,734.64.

_The recovery from the 1929 crash was more difficult — and spanned a quarter century. The Dow had reached a high of 381.17 on Sept. 1 and then began drifting downward. Although the date of Oct. 29, 1929, Black Tuesday, is probably best-known by the public, many market historians say the crash began on Thursday, Oct. 24, and accelerated the following Monday and Tuesday.

From its close of 305.85 on Oct. 23, the Dow tumbled 75.78, or 24.8 percent, by the time it ended at 230.07 on Black Tuesday. It continued its decline to a low of 198.69 on Nov. 13, giving it a drop of 107.16, or 35 percent.

That also made for a drop of 182.48, or 47.9 percent from the September high. But stocks kept on falling as the Great Depression wore on, and the Dow fell to 41.22 on July 8, 1932, giving it a loss of 339.95, or 89.2 percent from the September 1929 high.

The Dow did not close above 305.85 again until April 1, 1954, more than 24 years after the crash, and it didn't return to 381.17 until Nov. 23, 1954, a quarter century after Black Monday and Tuesday.

The Dow has a large percentage drop to regain this time. By Friday's close, the average had fallen 5,713 points, or 40.3 percent, from its record finish of 14,165.43 a year earlier, on Oct. 9, 2007. More recently, it fell 2,970, or 26 percent, from its close before the Sept. 15 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the event that triggered the freeze-up in the credit markets and that sent stocks plunging.

With Monday's advance of 936.42, the Dow is still nearly 4,778, or 33.7 percent, below its record close.

A Word of Encouragement for the 'Average Trader'

Posted on by The INO.com Team

I'm going to cut right to the chase...READ THIS!! Our good friend Norman Hallett from DirectYourMind.com has been an expert in the psychology of trading for years! He's helped, and helping, thousands of traders a day to get their minds right. So read this article and check out Normans site.

=================================================================

"Deep recession!"

"Depression!"

"End of the world as we know it!"

Anyone who's tuned into CNBC or CNN has heard these statements of doom and gloom.

They may or may not be true.

We are not in control of what happens to the economies of the world.

We ARE in control of how we handle our personal finances in light of these possibilities and, as traders, how we choose to TAKE ADVANTAGE of all situations... including this one.  No, ESPECIALLY this one.

We know that price action is a reflection of what is perceived "to be", not what is.  We know if we take a position and employ money management techniques, then
if we are wrong in our position, we will get pinched and not punched... and we'll re-analyze and go again.

It's the way of the trader.

For the trader, the greater the economic challenge, the greater the opportunity to better ourselves and our family... through our trading.

When most individuals are hiding behind excuses, the trader steps up to the plate.

We are lucky, indeed.

But don't fool yourself. Being a trader, is not easy.

I look at markets in turmoil and I "feel" for the average trader.

The average trader has every good intention, but lacks the two basic elements to consistent trading success...

A formulated trading plan, whose elements are the components of a good trading system or systems, is the first element. And having the mental and emotional discipline to run that plan is the second element.

The GREAT NEWS for the 'average trader' is that it doesn't take years to elevate your level of trading... months, yes, but not years.

The further GREAT NEWS is that we are in historic times.

The opportunities that will unfold over the coming weeks, months and years could result in windfall profits for those traders who choose to master the two elements mentioned above.

Shake-outs like we are experiencing now in the marketplace yield new super-trends that may be followed.. and ridden... by those who are prepared.

So should you "drop back and punt", and stand aside while the market displays its current violent ways?

Only you know the answer to that.

Are your two basic elements solid?

Is your trading plan MEANT to handle extremely high volatility?

For any average trader... these are the type of markets that exploit your weaknesses.

FOR YOU, it's time to re-group and prepare yourself for the opportunities that are about to present themselves as the smoke starts clearing.

Adopt a solid trading plan, based on a solid trading system. AND

Start now to make the development of your trading discipline a PRIORITY.

Without COMMITMENT to these two elements, you will not succeed on a consistent basis and will not be able to take advantage of the opportunities to come.

This is NOT the time for excuses.

It's your time for admission... recognizing that you do, in fact, possess these two elements, or admit that you don't and work NOW on shoring them up.

I've been trading for 25 years I can say with confidence that the opportunities that are about to unfold will be historic.

Fortunes will be made.

The Disciplined Trader with a tested trading plan and possesses solid trading disciplined will gather the money of The Average Trader who continues to downplay both.

It's time to prepare.

Norman Hallett

DirectYourMind.com

Fire your broker and make money!!

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Fire your broker and take control of your own money ... and stop listening to Jim Cramer unless you want to lose more money.


We are serious. According to BARRON'S magazine Cramer has been consistent in one thing and that is underperforming the markets. This is the same guy who recommended buying Wachovia and we all know how that turned out!!

Check out this new FOX TV ad. FOX did not pay us a penny to run this YouTube ad on our blog, we just thought that it really said what a lot of us already know. The king (Cramer) has no clothes.

There is a simple antidote to market chaos and bad advice from your broker or Jim Cramer's putrid picks and that is MarketClub.com. Try it out and check out our track record. If a positive road map and positive returns in turbulent times makes sense to you then try out a 30 day risk free trial to MarketClub.

I am betting you will be glad you did.

Adam Hewison
Co-Creator, MarketClub