How Sales and Earnings Growth can affects a Stock's Performance

If you go back through the history of the stock market there is a recurring theme among those stocks which have had some of the strongest price appreciation and it's related to their Sales and Earnings Growth. Let's look at two companies over the past few years and compare their Sales and Earnings Growth. First let's look at Microsoft (MSFT) which has hard meager Sales and Earnings Growth in 2002...

Mark-to-Market Accounting: Is It Right for You?

One of the most important decisions you will make as a trader is whether to elect the mark-to-market (MTM) accounting method. Although MTM is only available to traders, not investors, and does offer some significant tax advantages, it is not right for everyone. What makes this decision so important is that once you select MTM, you're stuck with it; there is no going back simply because it would be...

Pivot Point Trading

You are going to love this lesson. Using pivot points as a trading strategy has been around for a long time and was originally used by floor traders. This was a nice simple way for floor traders to have some idea of where the market was heading during the course of the day with only a few simple calculations. The pivot point is the level at which the market direction changes for the day. Using some...

Stop Placement

Stop placement is where we separate the kids from the adults. Stop placement is the sole responsibility of you as the manager of your trading business. It is one buck that you cannot pass. You are the end of the line when it comes to placing stops. Let me show you why you, and only you, can decide where to place the stop. There are several considerations: The size of your margin account has the...

Chart Patterns to Avoid: Climax Top Off a Parabolic Move

This pattern occurs when a stock rises very quickly out of a base and gets overextended. Stocks in a Parabolic Move can double or triple in value in a very short period of time (usually less than two weeks). As an investor you certainly don't want to be one of the last passengers on the train and get quickly thrown off. Some examples of this pattern are shown below. Notice the quick move upward...