5 comments about Financial Freedom Through Electronic Day Trading.

1. My trading coach recommended this book to me so I could better write my trading and business plan for my trading business. After studying and applying the books material I was able to format a proven and tested plan. I later met with my trading coach to review my plan and he said it was one of the best plans he has seen. Thanks to this book I am able to sucessfully maintain a trading career.



2. In his follow up to his first book 'Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom' Van K Tharp expands on some of the ideas presented specifically in the realm of trading electronically.
   
   Though not as revolutionary as his first book, this one is still packed with 'not found elsewhere' useful information for both beginning and experienced traders. Treat it as a supplement to his first book and you will learn something useful.



3. I would recommend the book to stock traders,but also if you're trading futures -as in my case- the book is worthwhile as a blueprint for devising business and trading plans. Mind you, the advice given in the book about equipment, software and hardware is already obsolete since the book was written a few years ago.



4. This book was a great addition to the other books I have read about trading for a living. While Gary Smith's book was his actual trading process and Alexander Elder's covered the psychological dynamics of creating a system, this book really got into the technical dynamics of risk and expectancy with formulas and excellent explanations of how to be profitable based on your amount of trades/risk/expectancy.
   
   The six key elements you will understand for making money in the market from this book are:
   1. System reliability
   2. reward to risk ratio
   3. cost of trading
   4. Your trading opportunity level
   5. What you can do based on the size of your equity
   6. Your position sizing algorithm
   
   This is a more technical read than other books and comes across very tedious at times, but I found it well worth the effort for the added insights I received.



5. This book contains a wealth of information - I strongly recommend it! The content is excellent, and the writing style is understandable and candid. Brian June not only discusses the nuts-and-bolts of day-trading (Level II screens, time-and-sales data, 'ax' market makers, direct-access systems, trading strategies) but covers in detail how one should prepare prior to the market opening and how one needs to debrief trading after the close. Dr. Van Tharp covers two of the most important concepts of trading: risk management (i.e., capital preservation) and money management (i.e., position sizing). If you have not internalized these concepts into your belief system already read these chapters, memorize them. They are key disciplines as they will keep you in the game.

5 comments about New Insights on Covered Call Writing: The Powerful Technique That Enhances Return and Lowers Risk in Stock Investing.

1. This book is an excellent primer on one of the safest form of the options game, at least from the perspective of the brokerage industry. So, if you're bored with watching your portfolio creep around at a few percent a day, you can write (sell) a call option for $100 on a $5000 investment (for example) and have a pretty good chance of keeping the 2% at the end of the month. Lehman and McMillan do an excellent job of providing return formulae and web resources for further research. But the question remains: do you really want to get into this? (I admit it's addictive). If you do you'll turn into your own stock churner. The brokerage fees aren't too bad if you use one of the discounters, but get ready to do some major capital gains calculations (profits from unexercised options are all short-term capital gains). Here's a hint: this is NOT the way Warren Buffet got rich.



2. As I view it, there are two key questions relating to any complex investment strategy:
   
   1) Why? Why should I pursue this strategy versus my current (probably simpler) strategy?
   2) How? If the proposed strategy is indeed worthwhile, how can/should I implement it?
   
   This book does a reasonably good job of answering the second question, with details on how options work, and a discussion of things like getting approval to trade them, tax issues and the like. I'd read some similar material elsewhere (including CBOE's own site), but this book pulls together a lot of disparate information, and filled in some holes in my own somewhat meager understanding of the mechanics of trading options.
   
   However, showing HOW to trade options is not very important, IMO, if one cannot show WHY one should trade them in the first place.
   
   The book jacket is not very encouraging in this light - mentioning that "Returns of 10 to 15 percent per year in conservative accounts - and as much as 20, 40, or 60 percent per year in more aggressive accounts - are possible". Of course, like most investors, I would be thrilled to get 60 percent annual returns, but experience and reading have taught me that those advocating investment strategies and making claims of that magnitude are to be taken with a BIIIIIIG grain of salt.
   
   Within the book itself, sky-high claims like the above are (fortunately) not emphasized. But basically, three rationales are presented for covered call writing:
   
   1) Ability to obtain superior returns through knowledge of the future direction of a particular stock (i.e. if you think/know Microsoft will go up/down in the next month, then do XYZ...)
   
   2) Ability to use more leverage (there is a long discussion of how different scenarios are treated from a margin perspective, with an emphasis on controlling larger blocks of stock/options for a given starting investment)
   
   3) Reduction of risk, possibly without significant reduction of return
   
   Personally, I think that markets are reasonably efficient, and that I lack and real ability to outpredict the market with regards to returns on specific stocks (once I normalize for various risk characteristics). So rationale 1 above holds no appeal to me.
   
   I am also not interested in increasing the leverage of my portfolio, and further, if I was, I think there are probably simpler/cheaper/more efficient means of doing so other than writing covered calls.
   
   That leaves rationale 3, which was what sparked my interest in reading this book. The author briefly discusses the BXM - an index created by the CBOE in conjunction with some research showing that a buy-write strategy (owning a broad index and mechanically writing calls against it) produces about the same return as owning the index itself, but does so with significantly less risk/volatility. But the authors' discussion of this research is short - about two and a half pages, and gives minimal or no mention of some important issues:
   
   1) The BXM strategy involves writing calls every month. This will create a variety of costs - brokerage fees, spread/transaction costs, taxes, and time. While these factors may affect any mechanical strategy (including indexing itself), they are likely to be much more severe for the BXM strategy.
   
   2) The BXM strategy is a backtested strategy. It's relatively easy to find strategies that would have outperformed the market in the past, given what we know now (Consider the MICROSO strategy - buy at IPO any stock that begins with the letters MICROSO), but one should approach such strategies with caution. It's much harder to identify and implement strategies that will work for the FUTURE, and that are in fact proven to do so over the subsequent decade or two.
   
   3) The market itself may have changed. Writing options is relatively more attractive if call premiums are high. It appears, based on evidence presented in this book and elsewhere that I've seen, that call premiums have generally been higher than they *should* have been (per Black-Scholes). This, in turn, has made call-writing more profitable than it otherwise might have been. But markets change over time, and it's quite possible that call premiums might trend downward (or may have already done so), towards, or conceivably even below, 'true value'. I don't know if this is the case, but it's something for a potential investor to be concerned about, and isn't well addressed in the book.
   
   The authors' also conduct their own study looking at writing options on a basket of individual stocks. While the results are interesting, the study is flawed - they emphasize tech stocks, and in their limited pool of 20 companies studied, one they've chosen is Microsoft, starting in 1988! At that time, I think, Microsoft was a relatively small company (it had only gone public in 1986), and it seems unlikely that someone selecting a portfolio of 20 (hopefully representative) companies to own and write options on would have chosen Microsoft. For what it's worth, the study finds that a covered call strategy on Microsoft underperforms buy and hold in absolute returns, which should hardly be surprising (writing covered calls means giving up some upside, and Microsoft had a LOT of upside during the time period covered), though there are other stocks in the study for which the strategy had better results. But the basic problem is that the stocks selected seem unlikely to have been representative of what a conservative to moderate investor would have chosen at the beginning of the study, and thus it's not really possible to draw broad conclusions.
   
   ====
   
   OK, moving on... The book is now a few years old, and thus misses some recent market changes. There are several funds that now implement buy-write strategies, making it much simpler for investors to access these strategies (I don't *think* the authors mention any of these funds, but it's possible I've forgotten a brief mention somewhere in the book). From my brief inspection of the results of some of these funds, they haven't done very well so far, which bodes ill for individual investors thinking they can implement such a strategy on their own.
   
   Anyways, I've devoted a lot of pixels to picking at the book. In my opinion, it fails to prove that the strategy it advocates is a good one. However, that doesn't mean that the strategy ISN'T good, only that the book fails to prove things one way or the other. But if you're convinced by other evidence that covered call writing is a good strategy, or if you simply want to take your chances (I don't advocate the latter), then the book does at least offer a good overview of the mechanics involved. That's why I give it 3 stars...



3. Very good book on covered call writing. Gives alot of of basic info for beginners, as well as advanced techniques as well.



4. Messrs. Lehman and McMillan are excellent writers. The reason for choosing this book was my previous knowledge of Larry McMillan and his reputation in options as a teacher and trader. Moreover, my interest in purchasing this book was not so much as to "how" to write covered calls, but "when" and "why" to close out the position, and what the best strategy for writing OTM, ATM or ITM covered calls. I was pleasantly surprised as to everything covered in this book. I learned so much and I certainly had all of my questions answered. Since, one must be very careful when trading options, covered calls are the safest way for the novice trader (in my opinion) to put money in your pocket each month, and this book was extremely helpful not only in the selection of the best stocks but also the execution.



5. Before reading this book, I already have something introductory knowledge about option from Cohen's . I finished read this book in two days -- it's too superficial, you can go throught it very quick. Here is what I learn from the whole book.
   
   1. Covered call writing could be profitable.
   2. Covered call writing could be risky.
   3. Covered call writing need skill to choose between strike, expire, and market timing.
   4. Covered call writing could be adjustable (roll up, out, down, and etc.)
   
   The major problem: this book is lack of examples. It makes the book a full list of common conceptions.
   
   Sorry if I am too cynical or offensive.

5 comments about Bubble After Bubble in The Ongoing Bubble Boom: Oil Bursts, the Housing Bubble Fades and Now Stocks Emerge Into a Greater Bubble that Finally Ends in 2010.

1. Harry Dent has a good track record in calling the larger movements and turn-arounds in the stock market and other investments. He uses both fundamentals (e.g. demographics) as well as technical (i.e. charts) to predict what will happen in the stock market, housing prices, oil prices, etc. No one can predict the future prefectly but Dent appears to have a better crystal ball than almost anyone else. I know for sure it's better than mine. I will be making some changes in my investment strategies based on this, but I will also keep an eye out for if things aren't materializing the way he projects.
   
   The main negative I have with this booklet is it is very repetitious.



2. He called for the 2000s to "roar" just before the tech bubble burst and the 2000s sputtered. He predicted at the beginning of 2005 that the Dow would hit 14,000 by year end. Hmm...maybe his theories are just wrong.
   
   Why would a careful investor want to risk his money in a bubble of a market anyway? Even Dent acknowledges the "bubble boom" will end badly. The coming crash will catch most investors by surprise. It won't come on Dent's schedule, anymore than the 2000-2002 crash did (he didn't see it coming). His predictions of what will happen year by year into the future are ridiculous considering his totally off the mark predictions for 2005. No one can see the future. But a lot of investment gurus are arrogant (or dishonest) enough to try to convince us they have special abilities to see what the rest of us can't. Dent even throws in some "Elliott waves", a form of numerology that has proven to be irrelevant at best as a forecasting tool and has caused most people who swear by it to underperform the market (wave theory guru Bob Prechter has been trying to short the market for over a decade, convinced by his "wave count" that the Dow will go to 400...obviously Dent has a different "wave count" -- one that points to 40,000.)
   
   My advice is to not put everything in stocks and to have at least 15% of your investment assets in gold and commodities. This has been the "bubble boom" so far in the "roaring 2000s" -- even though H.S. Dent has not recommended commodities.



3. I downloaded the digital version, thinking the material was up-to-date, but it was written more than a year ago. Still, it has its moments



4. I downloaded this and the charts/graphs don't download in anyway.
   
   I like Mr. Dent's info. Although I feel he has missed some things. And how can the dollar in any way not fall further. We have to print more money as the war any many other areas are costing more than we have, and we haven't raised taxes either.
   
   The dollar has fallen since 1972 when the gold standard has been taken away by President Nixon. Look at the graph from gold since March 2003 when the Iraq War started and the dollar has fallen and gold has gone up.
   
   I simply think none of us will know exactly what will happen in the future. I just think the basics are true with Mr. Dent., but he has predicted some things that didn't happen.



5. Demographics is an important factor when predicting economic trends.
   
   But .... Dont go overboard

5 comments about Cashing in on Covered Calls. Investing with Stock Options.

1. This book is an excellent read.Alan Ellman has developed a profitable system that a novice can follow as well as a seasoned investor.Alan makes the art of selling covered calls easy to follow and understand.The approach is very conservative,producing a steady monthly income stream.I have been selling covered calls using his system and have had a positive cash flow every month(even when the market went down).I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to successfully take charge of their own finances.



2. Best Book on covered call options that I've read
   This system was a real eye opener -Takes you step by step through the entire process from picking the correct stocks to exit strategies-While most option books only give you a cursory glimpse into covered calls, Ellman's book goes through the entire process-A must read for beginners and veterans alike



3. For the first time in my very long life the market is now my friend. This system is so clear and concise I'm even getting great returns in the market. Just following Alan's advise alone can point you in the right direction toward financial freedom. A must read if your looking to do things right.
   Dennis Hand



4. ALAN, I want to thank you for your book on Covered Calls. I subscribed to a course that cost several thousand dollars to learn all the different ways to use options (Bull Call, Bear Put, Straddles and Iron Condors etc) but they never told much about covered calls. I bought your book for $19.95 and a Subscription to Investors Business Daily. I have recouped my investment in the course and have settled on using covered calls exclusively to do options. My thanks to you for showing me the way. It involves much less risk and your method is a way that I can do options without losing sleep. It does require some monitoring, but that only takes a few minutes a day. Thanks Again



5. The book contains key concepts for creating a potentially profitable trading system, but doesn't go into enough detail in certain areas, especially regarding what to do when a stock goes down. I wanted more strategies dealing with managing losses, but I think the author saved that for his extensive line of CDs and DVDs. But you can figure out strategies of your own if you research, ponder, and trade long enough.
   
   My final word is for you the reader to enter the market slowly and get used to the rules of placing trades, to get a feel for how the market moves and how much, and to experience the feeling of having your money on the line (much different than when it's paper). Eventually you can move into bigger positions and discover how much "stress" you can personally endure. It took me many nights of half-sleep before finding a level of risk/reward I was comfortable with.

5 comments about Green Investing: A Guide to Making Money through Environment Friendly Stocks.

1. Jack Uldrich creates an interesting and very well researched guide for those attracted to clean technology; both the beginner investor wanting to make
   environmentally aware investments and experienced investors looking for information on wind, solar, biofuels and other clean tech will benefit from this book. I would recommend for those people interested in environmental investing in specific technologies like biofuels (chapter 4), solar investing (chapter 5) or wind investing (chapter 6) read that chapter first. Then proceed to chapter
   7, Alternative Energies, where Green Investing covers geothermal, fuel cell, wave and clean coal investment opportunities.
   
   In my opinion chapter 8 on energy conservation shows the most promise for short term investing, in regards to clean technologies, and make the purchase
   price of the book a great investment - well worth the purchase price.
   
   To go on the author, Jack Uldrich, does a great job of presenting facts and research on the green tech companies and to his credit he keeps the passion (hype) out of the presentation. Having read several of his books, and heard him speak on a few occasions, if you want passion on future technology you
   can't go wrong with one of his other books, in fact you must read: "Jump the Curve" (2008) and "The Next Big Thing is Really Small" (2003).



2. Its a great reference for the green investor with tips and advice for how to go about finding and choosing investments.



3. Green Investing is a good primer on this emerging market. It's very well organized with loads of information on specific companies. it was worth the 15 bucks.



4. I'm an experienced investor and found this book useful as an overview of the state of green investing. The advice seems objective and fair.
   SW



5. I just read this for the solar chapter, but found the company information quite good. Thank you.

5 comments about The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing.

1. This book gives excellent advice primarily about mutual fund investing and retiring. It is basically a primer on retirement planning and leans heavily toward Vanguard funds. It is easy to read and has lots of common sense advice and examples proving the authors' suggestions.
   
   I would suggest it to anyone needing a basic primer on retirement plan investing.



2. I received the 3 copies of this book I ordered in a very timely manner. These are for the 3 children we have, who we feel will learn from reading the book or if they have questions can quickly look them up. Good for reference.



3. This is absolutely wonderful. Bogle goes through everything to do with mutual funds and index investing. He points out that its a no-brainer to invest in an index fund if you don't actively invest yourself. One of the best books on stock investing i have ever read.



4. There is nothing like a Bear Market to get you to question a lot of things about the wonderful world of investing. Having said that, this book which focuses on the ideas of John Bogle is just the ticket to set you straight on a number of critically important investment concerns. Asset allocation, the importance of having the lowest costs, how the mutual fund businss really works, it's all here and it all makes perfect sense. I wish now that I had heard more of the wisdom that this man has been passing along for so many years while inventing index funds at Vanguard Investments. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to invest with greater confidence and success for the long term. It may well change the way you think about the world of Wall Street and investing. It did for me.



5. This book establishes a set of basic principles for investing and, to a lesser degree, personal finance. The authors propose the principles, explain them, illustrate them and show you how to apply them.
   
   The book glances on non-investment personal finance topics including adopting a net worth mindset, emergency funds, estate planning, and insurance. The insurance chapter was very valuable and exposed several fallacious rationalizations people apply to insurance purchase decisions.
   
   The meat of the book is investing. Investing is covered in great detail, including in-depth descriptions of various investments, how they work, and how (or if) you should use them. The coverage of the effect of taxes on your investments is detailed and invaluable. The costs of investing are examined, and when you know where to look, you may find some nasty surprises in your current investments, especially your 401k plan!
   
   The entire book is highly opinionated, and I found that refreshing. The authors know what they're talking about, have a good idea of what the average person saving for retirement needs to do, and never fail to call it the way they see it. The writing style is fact-based advice, with humorous sayings sprinkled about, and is best described as "grandfatherly."
   
   The chapter on behavioral economics was an eye-opener. I thought that I was smart enough not to fall for any of those traps. I smugly read through the first half of them, then recognized myself in "Paralysis by Analysis." Oh my. That gave me some food for thought, and a new outlook.
   
   I did find the chapter on Asset Allocation to be lacking in practical advice. It only glanced on how to make an asset allocation for yourself, and didn't address the difficulties of balancing an asset allocation over multiple tax-advantaged accounts that have contribution limits and withdrawal penalties. (But there's a list of recommended reading in the back, and maybe one of those books will have more information on this topic.)
   
   Having just finished the book, I'm going back through it and making a list of information I need and actions to take. I finally have a direction to go in, and not just more conflicting details!

No comments about How to Make Money in Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times and Bad, Fourth Edition.

2 comments about Profiting from Clean Energy: A Complete Guide to Trading Green in Solar, Wind, Ethanol, Fuel Cell, Carbon Credit Industries, and More (Wiley Trading).

1. Useful introductory overview ... a place to start. Good Price/Value ... I got out of it what I expected. No surprises ... both a bit ahead of the market and conversely, overly analytical. Will be keeping it as a reference ... although much of it is based on extrapolation and informed "guesstimate". Worthwhile ... but, just another tool.



2. 
   The author has done an excellent job !!!
   This book is very informative and has been very well researched one.
   Everything you wanted to know about clean energy is availble her.

3 comments about Power Trading: Winning Guerrilla, Micro, and Core Tactics.

1. I wish I had a short position on this book at its current price, and could cover my short at the current used price! Save your money.



2. If you want to make money in the market this is book to read. This book is the key to the gold mine. He has the trading tactics right. You don't need any other book to win in the market.



3. This is simply one of the most instructive trading books in the market!
   
   Most trading books tell you how to recognise/identify patterns - but you dont really get clear guidance on entry and exit points. This book is different - you get step by step instructions on how to execute trades based on each of the methods taught.
   
   I have tried each of the methods taught and have been most impressed by the Guerilla tactics - it has a v high probability of success even in the current market environment...
   
   
   

5 comments about The Options Workbook: Fundamental Spread Concepts and Strategies for Investors and Traders, 3rd Edition.

1. This books explains most option constructions and how to calculate there potential profit. If you need to train yourself in spreads concepts, this training manual is for you. First the spread is explained and then some calculation examples are given. Don't expect a when to use these spreads manual. It's not there. This is a excellent book for training yourself in setting up all kind of option structures and know what the costs are and profits. Also all the Greeks are explained in detail, and the first manual that makes it understandable for me :-)



2. I am an amateur stocks and options trader. I have read, and continue to read, many books about the markets, about stocks, and about options. Options are more interesting to me than any other investing medium because of the ability to make quick gains and because of the innate limitation of losses. With so many options plays in existence, it's easy to get confused.
   
   I picked up The Options Workbook and it cleared away much of the mystery of options investing. This book outlines the most common options plays including spread concepts, butterflies, condors, and many other trading techniques. It contains a primer that teaches about the Greeks, and about how to read the fundamentals on potential investments.
   
   I didn't find a lot about chart reading technique n this book, but you can get that from other excellent books. Part of this book's strength is found in its quick charts that show, at a glance, exactly how to execute most options strategies for upward and downward moving markets. Since I have read this book, I have traded nothing but options and have grown my portfolio steadily. I'm no longer interested in buying stocks; they are simply too expensive and slow moving.
   
   Hope this helps.
   
   - Craig Nybo, co-author of Total Human: The Complete Strength Training System



3. I picked up this book in preparation for an interview I was having in the equity structured products desk at Morgan Stanley. Although I had taken a Financial Derivatives class at Wharton, this book helped explain the basics. It goes through all of the fundamental and basic strategies, as well as spreads. The value in the book is in doing the examples and working out the max gains, loses, break-evens etc. It seems basic but as you begin to put together more complex trades these exercises stay with you and guide your understanding. The book also does a decent job of explaining the Greeks and volatility. You won't come away ready to put on any overly complex trades, but you might be comfortable putting on your first call back spread knowing what your risk and reward profile is.



4. Haven't been able to put it down.The questions after each chapter really help you make sure you get the info.I can't wait to finish the rest of the book.The author has a great way to simplify the information.



5. Saliba describes each of his fundamental spread concepts and strategies in plain simple english, yet so concise, almost skeletal with such verve that I decided to construct a wall chart reflecting its contents.
   
   The wall chart now sits proudly on my wall ( in the presence of 3 other wall charts ) and shows the 7 categories of option strategies - Synthetics, Insurance, Directional/Neutral, Directional, Either Direction, Non Directional and Volatility and their sub categories etc.
   
   For this reason I think that Salibas book is perfect for the beginner.