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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (23288)	2/5/1999 7:28:00 AM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 50167

"Day trading" makes it into "Doonesbury" comic strip. (Sorry if already posted). February 5, 1999 'Doonesbury' Follows Day Trading Filed at 12:04 a.m. EST By The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- Will Chase lose his shirt -- and suspenders? The risky world of day trading in stocks has become so popular among ordinary investors that the ''Doonesbury'' comic strip is chronicling the day-by-day progress of the buttoned-down Chase. He opened an online day-trading account this week with $10,000 -- actually a smaller deposit than many day-trading companies require of an amateur getting into the practice. By Thursday's episode, Chase was ready to buy shares of imaginary company E-Bid, a new business ''with only one product -- its own stock.'' His adrenaline rush was palpable. A day earlier, he masked his fear when the Nasdaq Stock Market dropped 63 points and he was suddenly down 40 percent on his trades. Day trading has attracted a small but growing breed of investors, many of whom have abandoned their regular jobs for the prospect of quick riches. Day traders seek out stocks solely for their sharp price swings, buying and selling them quickly to capitalize on the short-term movement in price and rarely holding a position overnight. But securities regulators have expressed concern that some day-trading companies, which sell training courses and specialized software and provide computer work space to investors, could be misleading them about potential profits and causing them to get in over their heads. State regulators have stepped up their scrutiny of day-trading firms and a handful, particularly in Massachusetts, have filed fraud charges against them. ''We're concerned when day trading becomes such a part of the culture'' that it features in a popular comic strip, said Marc Beauchamp, a spokesman for the North American Securities Administrators Association, which represents the state regulators. ''People who are misled about the potential of day trading and lose all their money: that's not funny,'' Beauchamp said. Arthur Levitt, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, warned last week that day trading can be ''highly risky'' for Main Street investors, who should engage in it only ''with funds they can afford to lose.'' He expressed dismay at stories he had heard of people putting up their student loan money, mortgages or retirement savings to finance their day trading. Operators of the day-trading companies acknowledge it's not for everyone, but they say it can give financial freedom to ordinary people who study and learn trading techniques. They maintain the regulators are unfairly tarnishing their industry because of a few rogue firms that may have misled investors about what kind of money they could make. The Electronic Traders Association, which represents day-trading companies, said in a statement Thursday it was concerned that many people may be undertaking the practice without ''a clear understanding of the effort required to become successful and the potential risks.'' The group issued guidelines for people considering day trading and a suggested disclosure statement for companies to provide to potential investors. Among the guidelines: Only money not needed for living or retirement should be used to finance day trading, and only ''highly disciplined'' people should get into it. Does Chase have the aptitude for it? Stay tuned. Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (23288)	2/6/1999 9:36:00 PM
From: Cyrus	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 50167

GZ With the market internals being what they are I agree with a correction, which may not hurt anyway as a buying opportunity. One of the realizations of the previous week was that the economy in the US is not as week as economists had thought, as Ike says that will increase profits. The other sign that the world may be coming out of the hole is a marked increase in commodities (except oil) this is typically one of the first signs that the global economy is turning around. With England lowering interest rates last week,that puts pressure on other major countries to either lower their rates or slow their economies. Greenspan typically does not control growth, which appears to be the slant many are trying to put on the fed. We may finally be pulling out of this global situation, one can only hope! Some longer term thoughts on the markets. I cannot see the market reaching new highs in the second half of the year with the Y2K fears. May will be fearful and pulling liquid assets out. In the last ten years only 97 provided anything in the way of a correction in the first half of the year. I think if we do not reach new highs in the first half we will not see them at all. As for the A/D line we may see the indices diverge from it the way we saw equities and bonds decouple in recent years. Many people are interested in equities but mostly only the brand names. Some weekend rambling! Any thoughts would be appreciated As you say if none of this comes to pass, I did not write this post!