| Computational ability has improved over a billion-fold | | | | and investigation. |
| since the first computers of the 1950s, and they've | | | | What's starting to change is that computational |
| made pervasive inroads to nearly every aspect of | | | | power is getting cheap enough, and artificial neural |
| modern life; entire industries have vanished or been | | | | network modeling is getting robust enough, that not |
| transformed because of computers. Another | | | | only are spam filters getting better, so is the ability |
| transformation in an industry is underway; it really got | | | | to do market segment analysis. Day traders are, in |
| its start in the late '90s. That industry in the midst of | | | | large part, pattern analysis wonks. They're looking for |
| a transformation is the stock trading and | | | | a pattern of prices and movements that indicate that |
| commodities trading industry. Stock trading, especially | | | | a small investment can become a larger one...and |
| day trading, involves trying to beat the market on | | | | automated tools, called Day Trading Robots, are |
| trade timing. The person who moves first on a trade | | | | making those jobs easier. |
| tends to make the most money. | | | | Some of the more entrepreneurial sorts are selling |
| Day trading is part and parcel for the stock | | | | newsletter subscriptions based on day trading robot |
| brokerage career, and day traders at big financial | | | | reports; these will usually be aimed at the small |
| firms do trade swings with leverages of 20:1 or more | | | | investor, and are often times centered around the |
| (leverage is taking out a short term loan to buy | | | | penny sock or pink sheet market. As with any |
| shares, hoping that the profit on selling them will pay | | | | financial information seller, they're going to give you |
| off the loan and its fees). This kind of leveraging is | | | | information for a fee, and they're trading on their |
| one of the causes of our current financial crisis - the | | | | reputation for making a majority of good trades, |
| so called 'toxic assets' problem, but used wisely, | | | | usually from some sort of secret pattern matching |
| leverage is a sensible tool. Think of leverage in | | | | program. |
| investing as being like a chainsaw. You can make | | | | These can make you a decent amount of money, |
| very large profits, but one mistake can be quite | | | | but like any investor, you should use this as one tool |
| dangerous. | | | | in your arsenal. You want to investigate the |
| It's that 'one mistake' viewpoint that causes day | | | | businesses being invested in as well as use |
| trading to have such a hazardous reputation. There | | | | automated buy-and-sell recommendations from |
| are other trading strategies - Warren Buffett | | | | computer software. Also, most of these buy-and-sell |
| famously takes a "buy and hold" strategy, looking for | | | | recommendations are based on pattern matching of |
| long term growth and reasonable dividend payouts. | | | | past performance records; this does involve risk, as |
| His strategy requires a lot of in depth knowledge of | | | | does any stock investing. |
| how specific businesses are run, and a lot of research | | | | |