Hello Herman and other contributors to this site.
In particular, I would like to thank Herman for opening my eyes (wide) to the proper method of INVESTMENT. For too long I relied on the, "two steps forward and one step backward" method of investing, as a result of reading Wall Street Journal misinformation. The prevailing attitude of their investment advice seems to be, "You're in it for the long hall...just sit through those bear markets".
Since Jan 1, when I happened across this Forum, I have been educating myself with all of the accumulated wisdom of this site. I have consumed How to make Money (william O'neil), and the first 14 chapters of OPtions as a Strategic investment (lawrence McMillian), two weeks of IBD, countless usefull links (which are mostly bookmarked and still need digestion), set up my waterhouse account for options trading, and analyzed the fundamentals of dozens of companies!
My thanks go to Herman Matos for his wisdom and generosity! I am confident that I will benefit materially from this forum.
Now, onto business. I have bookmarked many useful sites for charting and analysis, but I have not found a site for the VIX indicator. Could you please direct me to the most useful sites for measuring volatility (I really like Dougs stock emporium to look at turnover and bollinger bands, as well as IQC for general charting). I am also interested in a site which charts options greeks, such as delta (although I only have a rudimentary understanding). Also, I downloaded a spreadsheet(excel) for options but have not had time to familiarize myself with its function yet. If you could focus my attention to the proper use of the excel template, I would appreciate it.
Now, I noticed that this forum has really evolved into something quite different than it started (i got through the first 700 or so and last 200 or so messages), and I was wondering: Are there any rules regarding talking about stocks we have personal interests in? As this seems to be the direction the forum is taking (with ROST as a sideshow).
My one criticism of this divergence is possibly out of naievete. When someone mentions a stock there seems to be a lot of talk about the way the stock is conforming to the mathematical boundaries of certain criteria, with apparent little concern for the "fundamentals", such as earnings growth potential based on new products expectations, etc. It seems to me, people will get caught with their pants around their ankles, if they don't have a very clear idea of what products the company has and will have, in the foreseeable future (as well as the competition).
Finally, I have been reading many peoples criticism of their option brokers and, I was wondering if anyone has found a really superior broker, who would like to make some of my money.
Thanks again to all contributors! |
