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Microcap & Penny Stocks : PanAmerican BanCorp (PABN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Howard C. who wrote (40961)	9/16/1999 9:21:00 PM
From: PCModem	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 43774

Hi Howard! thanks for that link...very interesting article. I can't believe now naive some of our representatives in Washington are! "Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., a member of the subcommittee, noted that Barton is believed to have lost nearly half a million dollars in his day trading - including $153,000 in one three-day ``binge.' ``The risks associated with day trading are extremely serious,' Cleland warned." Not to mention the minor detail that it is most likely that the money he gambled away by day trading was the insurance money he received after murdering his wife and mother-in-law. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Senate panel, was among those who suggested day trading could be 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.'" 4,000 to 5,000 citizens! OMG! Run for the hills! The Day Traders are coming! AhhhhhhhhhhhhEeeeeeeeeeeee! There are 8 to 10 times that many citizens who gamble "for a living" at Santa Anita Race Track and Hollywood Park Race Track (and for the next couple of weeks at the L.A. County Fair grounds) -- all within driving distance of my home! And that does not count the Card rooms in Garden Grove and several other cities around here, and the Indian owned casinos in the Palm Springs area, also within driving distance of me. What planet does Senator Collins live on? I agree that some who day trade should not be doing so -- some because they don't have the training, some because they probably are addicted to gambling and no matter how much training they receive, they will make decisions based on their addiciton, some because they really cannot afford to do it. And of course a few because they are murders and probably insane... But using Barton as the poster boy for regulation is as idiotic as claiming investing in the stock market is not gambling. IMHO in this instance both sides of this issue are making fools of themselves. Earth to Congress, Earth to Congress, come in Congress! All investing in the stock market is gambling! Personally, I think it would be fair and just for day trading firms to publish statistics regarding the results their traders experience. Similar to the "odds of winning" one sees on lottery and scratcher game pieces. For example, what is the average gain or loss per trade per month for the company as a whole as well as for each location. What percentage of people wash out after a month, 3 months, 6 months, etc. Stuff like that. No doubt others can come up with a better list. Regardless, you get the jist of what I'm after here. As with any endeavor, key elements to success are training and talent. Those two compliment each other. A day trading firm that wants to stay in business should provide training that screens for talent so that those who really have no business day trading get screened out as early as possible. Can anyone guess what one of the oldest and most successful day trading firms is? Hint: It is in the NY area and another division of the same company has been mentioned several times on this thread (it is not I-T -- I-T is too new). PCM