Monitoring the Markets
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008Online stock trading had been an adventure lately for those of us who actively manage our accounts and trade on a regular basis.
For me, I have spent more and more time trying to monitor the financial markets and the politicians actions. It’s like September 11 all over again, when I was glued to the television and internet.
Fortunately, the low fees of today make the decision to make a trade much easier.
Back in the bad old days, you used to have to call your broker, who wouldn’t be available immediately, and you would have to leave a message. Then you would get a call back the next day, letting you know the sale was executed.
Now I can monitor all of the market conditions very easily and make a much more educated decision than years ago.
However, there can be such a thing as too much information with online stock trading. Sometimes I’m just flummoxed by the tons of information. I get paralyzed as far as making a trade. The real time changes coming in change my mind from moment to moment.
For the moment, I have decided to hold most of my positions. I believe there will be some rallies. I’m not sure if there will be a “dead cat bounce” or a real bottom will reached and a true rally started.
The next couple of weeks will be interesting.
The Dow isn’t believing too much that the government has reached a solution.
Other financial institutions across the globe are having problems, too.
The central banks can’t seem to get a grip on the situation. They are torn between raising or lowering interest rates depending on what they think might occur.
A number of different countries are nationalizing these banks and institutions, so the world is shaping up to be very different than even a month ago.
Still, I’ll be watching the markets very closely, and trading when necessary to protect my earnings.