Trader Data

ttmd

Hi

I am not an active trader myself and I would like to pose a question to the forum- what extra data to professional traders have on a day to day basis relative to what is available to members of the public?

I mean I know what a Bloomberg terminal looks like and how much it costs, but there are charts and technical analysis pieces to be found on the net too, so I would like to know what advantage it confers.

I have a friend who worked on a trading floor, and said that anyone working beyond there has no chance. So basically, is it true that no amateur can equip himself with the tools and analysis that are available to a pro?

woodseb

most all the data is out there and freely available but its not very timely from free sources - i wouldn't attempt to day trade without live pricing and live news etc that i can get on my bloomberg but there is nothing to stop someone taking a reasoned medium/long term view of a stock from reading publically available data

guys like buffet and most good analysts don't spend all day on the bloombergs for example

MacStacked

Real-time squawak box services are hugely important and offer a huge advantage to any one trading listening to them.

Without this the amateur day-trader is at a severe disadvantage.

Obviously live prices and real time charting packages are fairly essential too.

All this is available to the public, just at a cost that may well be prohibitive.

Try:

www.tradersaudio.com

www.forexvoice.com

www.ransquawk.com

ttmd

thanks for the reply, i was interested to hear what you had to say.

it is useful for an interested amateur to understand technical analysis (candlesticks, bollinger bands etc.)?please correct me if wrong, but currently I have formed the view that they seem to be only useful in the short to medium term view and are not too useful to even intelligent amateurs.

Is simple accounting formulas, economic data and industry knowledge what an amateur long only investor should be dealing with?

Bullish

Hi ttmd,
Try googling thinkorswim this is a very good trading platform for tech analysis,
it also has a large section on options which are usefull for gauging future sentiment also included is live news feeds . you can Demo their software for free but it is 15mins delayed

Here is a usefull free site which deals with most areas of trading
http://www.informedtrades.com/f111/

Most investors dont concern themselves with tech analysis (especially candlestick charting) as this is more to do with shorter time frames like day or swing trades. But it would be usefull for an investor to understand oversold and overbought conditions to time the entry. But many use options trading to generate extra income from their long positions

MacStacked

ttmd wrote: »

thanks for the reply, i was interested to hear what you had to say.

it is useful for an interested amateur to understand technical analysis (candlesticks, bollinger bands etc.)?please correct me if wrong, but currently I have formed the view that they seem to be only useful in the short to medium term view and are not too useful to even intelligent amateurs.

Is simple accounting formulas, economic data and industry knowledge what an amateur long only investor should be dealing with?

No worries.

Understanding tech analysis is a good skill for anyone looking at the markets to understand. I use very little of them in my trading, but everyone is different and im sure there are plenty of traders that rely on them hugely and are profitable.

Pocketdooz has a thread My Places for Money in 2010, if you are an amateur long only investor this is exactly the type of thread you could learn alot from in terms of what data, accounting, industry knowledge is worth looking at.