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To: kendall harmon who wrote (105345)	7/1/2000 11:18:46 AM
From: Jenna	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 120523

Most daytrading firms sprouted in the bull market of the last 5 years. It was easy to make money without proper experience and the 'feeling' from losing in a bearish market. Young novices prospered and then died in the ensuing bearish market of on three different occasions a) The Asian Crisis b) The Downfall of the Internet Sector c) The Downfall of the Technology Sector. I learned my lesson in a) never experienced b) or c) .. Only the strong survived and those that were 'humble' enough to know losses in the past and clever enough to use a down market to make money and not lose money 'investing'.. Those that followed the new trend were winners (getting into energy stocks to tide you over the downswing) and not those that 'stuck it out' with antiquated investing strategies of holding through thick and thin. Even if some money did in fact come back to a number of investors, it was not the triple digit gains than traders enjoyed. When traders put their hubris on hold, admit to mistakes and break some bad investing and trading habits they will succeed. You have to be a chameleon in these markets to profit from them. Losses do come but they should be quick sells, and winners will run. If a stock is to be more than a ‘one hour or one day wonder’ we need the backbone of fundamental strength. Fundamentally strong stocks have more chance of becoming swing trades or even short term/intermediate ter holds. For the most part profits are greater and the risk inherent in holding a trade for the ‘larger haul’ lessens.

To: kendall harmon who wrote (105345)	7/2/2000 2:09:40 AM
From: SMALL FRY	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 120523

That's an excellent article Kendall. Of course it doesn't take into account the "bull-rider" traders such as myself and possibly NC. I play very well during upturns but not so well during downturns because I seldom short anything... I deal with Puts when I play the short side. Given my limitations, I stay away when the market is iffy and use that time to catch up on my neglected activities... <p> I take umbrage on some of these articles villifying the small time daytrading community. Daytrading can be quite profitable and if the trader is no dummy, he is almost impervious to the whims of the market or the hype of the analysts and investment banks. I know a couple of daytraders that hung up a "gone fishing" signs on their PC's on the first smell of blood and are still out their somewhere... powder dry, waiting to pounce on the bull.<p> I think the gambler/traders are the ones that really got hurt... the ones that over-indulge, the ones who keep leaving all their money out there waving in the wind. The ones that start out with 500 shares of something and keep piling every gained cent on the market... only to find that their "500-turned-3000" shares are now losing money six times faster on the way down... and locked in the mental battle of "Is this the bottom?" daily queries. The worst is the margin trader who think he's seen the bottom and double up his bet with borrowed money and the market continues its spiral downward... OUCH! <p> IMO a trader need to find a happy balance... otherwise he'll be cannon fodder to the market... know thy limitation and honor it! I escaped the Asian debacle by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin... I'm not about to fight another losing battle. I learned to stay away... which is very hard for me to do... last summer I sat and watched, this spring-summer, I sit and watch... <p> I'm almost back to full active again!<p> :))<br>

To: kendall harmon who wrote (105345)	7/2/2000 5:31:28 PM
From: pooh	Respond to of 120523

Here is another article from Chicago Tribute. It's pretty creative of how these guys make money!!! <<INVESTORS BEWARE: SWINDLERS ABOUND AS NET LURES FOOLS No one knows precisely how many individuals cruise the Internet's copious stock chat rooms and bulletin boards with the intent of manipulating stock prices by not only finding greater fools, but by creating them through imaginative tales of riches about to be made. What's certain is that they are many and their ranks appear to be swelling daily, as more investors go on-line and are lured by the promise of making millions at the mere click of a computer mouse. Consider the case of Yun Soo Oh Park, a.k.a. "Tokyo Joe," a former restaurateur accused of manipulating stocks and misleading investors. He has reportedly earned more than $10 million, largely through subscriptions to his on-line newsletter. The Securities and Exchange Commission says the newsletter regularly touted stocks Park was selling at the same time. Park, who is contesting the SEC's case, has said his trading does not present a conflict because he has clearly disclosed that he may indeed be selling shares in companies he has recommended. Then there's Fred Moldofsky, a self-described day trader, who allegedly posted fake news releases to pummel the price of Lucent Technologies shares. And there's Stephen Sayre, a former tree trimmer, who allegedly pocketed nearly $1.4 million in 10 days by selling shares in EConnect after issuing false statements touting the company's stock. The SEC also has cases pending against those two, with responses from Sayre and Moldofsky expected soon. In an interview with a news service, however, Sayre denied profiting from the transactions. Regardless of the merits of these particular cases, John Emshwiller, author of "Scam Dogs and Mo-Mo Mamas: Inside the Wild and Woolly World of Internet Stock Trading" (Harper Collins, 2000), says that characters with colorful monikers and often dubious pasts have become an increasingly seductive and dangerous force in the world of Internet trading. Investors beware. "You cannot wait for the SEC to come along and protect you," Emshwiller says. "The world is moving too fast and the temptations are too great." In some ways, Internet cons are like the investment swindles of yesteryear. The swindler generally tells you "inside" information that you need to act on immediately or the opportunity will be lost. But there's a huge difference that often makes these new economy swindles harder to resist: the Internet medium. First, they don't call you on the phone to give you a hard sell and urge you to send them a check via Federal Express. Instead, they're reaching you through a medium that can connect millions of people at a time. And rather than sending them money directly, they want you--and all the other people lurking in a chat room or reading an on-line bulletin board--to click over to your favorite broker and make a trade. What you probably don't know is that, if enough people like you take the bait, the tipster can make a fortune trading in the opposite direction. While you feed the buying frenzy, pushing the stock's price up, the tipster sells shares in what he knows to be an overvalued or even worthless company. By the time you find out that the stock is worth little or nothing, the tipster probably has gone on to a new stock, a new chat room and maybe a new moniker. "A lot of it is adapting to this new medium," says Philip Rutledge, deputy chief counsel for the Pennsylvania State Securities Commission. "The public needs to understand the ulterior motives. The tipster may be trying to `pump and dump.' They talk up a stock because they bought it and they need you to feed into a buying frenzy so they can sell." This type of scam is what the title of Emshwiller's book is all about. A "mo-mo mama" is a stock driven by trading momentum that's often fanned by a handful of chat-room tipsters. A "scam dog" is one step worse--a stock that is overvalued at best, a complete fraud at worst. Listening to these tipsters is seductive because they often can drive the price of a stock up just by saying it's heading higher. If you are quick on your feet, you can make a profit through rapid-fire buying and selling, Emshwiller says. Unfortunately, few investors are that quick. They end up coming home after a long day's work to find that the stock they bought in yesterday's buying frenzy has crashed today. There are no easy ways to protect investors from venal tipsters on the Internet, experts agree. Neither the SEC nor private watchdog groups appear to be close to stemming the rising tide of Internet-based stock swindles. Instead, investors need to protect themselves in dull, old-fashioned ways. Do your own research. Determine whether a company has value before you buy it, Emshwiller says. Investigate the backgrounds of company officers. You'd be surprised how many corporate "consultants" have criminal records or backgrounds pockmarked with allegations of fraud, he adds.>> chicagotribune.com