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To: robert minshew who wrote (61545)	9/16/1999 8:30:00 AM
From: Mr. Stress	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 120523

Thursday September 16, 3:12 am Eastern Time Lawmakers Look At Day Trading By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress is taking its first look at the risky but popular practice of electronic day-trading, six weeks after exasperated trader Mark Barton shot and killed nine people at two day-trading firms in Atlanta before killing himself. Securities regulators have been scrutinizing the day-trading business, which lures several thousand investors who ride the tiniest ups and downs of the stock markets, squeezing profits by rapidly buying and selling shares electronically. They pay their host day-trading firms commissions on each trade. Thousands of dollars of their own money are on the line, requiring nerves of steel and the ability to make snap decisions. The day traders, many of whom have abandoned their regular jobs, are distinct from the nation's 5 million or so amateur investors who occasionally trade on the Internet at home or at work. State regulators have taken enforcement actions against several day-trading firms for alleged abuses in recent months. The regulators contend that most day traders are heading for losses and many are being misled by host firms that promise them quick riches and encourage improper loans to keep them trading. One firm, according to regulators, told prospective investors that 85 percent of day traders make money at it. The Securities and Exchange Commission, the government's market watchdog agency, and the National Association of Securities Dealers, a self-policing brokers' group, have been examining the practices of day-trading firms to see if they make unrealistic promises to investors. Now a Senate investigative panel is looking into day trading. A hearing was scheduled today by the Governmental Affairs subcommittee on investigations. It was aimed to answer three key questions, according to its chairwoman, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine: --Is day trading nothing more than gambling? ''Very few Americans would think it prudent to quit their jobs or to cash in their retirement savings to become professional gamblers who support their families at a Las Vegas casino,'' Ms. Collins said. ''Yet the day-trading industry estimates that 4,000 to 5,000 citizens are full-time day traders.'' --Are some day-trading firms engaging in deceptive and fraudulent practices and if so, how widespread is the misconduct? --What is the impact of day trading on the stock of individual companies that are widely traded, such as Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT - news), Intel (Nasdaq:INTC - news) and Dell, and on the financial markets? Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, the panel's senior Democrat, put it more bluntly. ''It's gambling,'' he asserted. ''Some of the firms touting day trading hold out a rainbow of big gains with little risk. But there's almost never a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow -- there's mostly financial pain.'' The day-trading industry has some 60 firms operating with hundreds of offices around the country, providing their trader-customers with computers and high-speed hookups to electronic trading networks. In the face of growing scrutiny, the industry defends its practices. Harvey Houtkin, founder and chief executive of All-Tech Investment Group Inc., one of the biggest day-trading firms, says its customers must have at least $25,000 to invest and must demonstrate competency in trading. The New Jersey-based company's Web site contains a warning about the financial risks, but Houtkin says many customers are not warned directly. ''Our clients are very sophisticated, relatively well-heeled, they know what they're doing,'' he said last month. ''To think that these people don't understand risk is almost insulting.'' Barton shot some of his victims at All-Tech's Atlanta office, and fellow day traders who had lent him money were among those killed in his shooting spree, according to the lead investigator in the case. Barton reportedly had lost $400,000 to $450,000 trading at All-Tech and at the second firm where he shot people, Momentum Securities, in the past year.

To: robert minshew who wrote (61545)	9/16/1999 10:36:00 AM
From: lee kramer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 120523

Robert Minshew: You forgot Doc, Grumpy and Sneezy. But you're right; stock selection ain't that hard...but the emotional part of trading can be tougher than trying to hit a Pedro Martinez fastball, curve or change-up. Ask the NY Yankees. One wise wag observed that your trading style should mirror your personality. If you're an aggressive fellow, you'll likely do well trading aggressively. If you're a timid milquetoast like me, you'll probably do better trading cautiously...then let 'er rip when you pull off a few good trades and your head swells from 7 1/4 to 7 3/4 as you con yourself into thinking that you're the best trader east of the Pacos...until the market brings you back to humble-time. (Lee)

To: robert minshew who wrote (61545)	9/16/1999 11:45:00 AM
From: lee kramer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 120523

Robert: My big fear: (I'm a Capricorn and tend to worry about everything) is that the FED and Alan Greenspan will come to the realization that upping interest rates will not slow ASSET (stock price) inflation...and one day they'll announce that they're upping margin requirements from the current 50% level. This is always in the back of my mind, the reason I hit and run, try to have some shorts on, and trade modest amounts. I sense Mr. Greenspan is getting weary of bumping up rates only to see the market make new highs after new highs. A 10%-20% bump in margin requirements would likely hit the markets hard. (Lee)