shioshvili @ Flickr
This isn’t New Agey hocus-pocus, necessarily.
This is reality.
The things you think about. The things you believe. The things you read and watch. The things that make you confident and the things that make you fearful are the very foundation of wealth generation–on a lot of levels.
The pricing of stocks and other assets reflect beliefs about their value. These beliefs aren’t just the thoughts and opinions of analysts and big-time market movers, they reflect your ideas, too. Now, your personal belief may just represent a fraction of that price, but when merged with the collective sense, you have mass market psychology.
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Internet, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy
belief, beliefs, indexes, information, market, Money, stock market, wealth
Pic by Peter Zoon @ Flickr
Americans know how to market.
From the pet rock to Milli Vanilli, Americans can package and promote the most unlikely products. It’s nothing new. Gone with the Wind made the Civil War sexy. The Wizard of Oz let people look over the rainbow in the depths of the Great Depression.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. But, a preoccupation on marketing is weakening product development. Companies, for instance, are spending more time and effort promoting products than conceptualizing and creating them.
It’s become a global obsession.
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Accelerating Technology, Internet, Money, Online Investing AI, Success, US Economy
global, ideas, innovation, internet marketing, market, marketshare, products, value
gbaku@Flickr
Economically, the recovery from the deep recession appears to be intact.The market’s back above 10,000 and company earnings have improved.
Although, economists are among those who are saying that the recovery isn’t nearly as strong as hoped–or promised.
A new administration with new ideas was the primary reason that most people expected a strong rebound. Plus, a historic worldwide stimulus effort by the global economic superpowers should have boosted the market precipitously.
Despite this, problems persist. Unemployment rates, although a lagging indicator, hasn’t crawled out of the basement. The housing market remains anemic. Business activity is skittish.
Some folks aren’t even expecting a recovery; they believe we’re heading from another crash.
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Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy
economy, finance, market, wealth
L.Marie@Flickr
As the maker of Automated Trading financial systems, we offer a few reasons why computer-based trading can help investors. They operate continually. They edit out emotions. And, they can be programmed for success.
When it comes to trading, it seems that most humans are programmed to lose.
This week, we’ll take a look at the ways you and I can be programmed to lose, especially when it comes to trading decisions.
In today’s post, we’ll take a look at social proof, a psychological theory, that may exert a powerful influence on unsuccessful trading strategies. Social proof is nothing more than “follow the leader,” except, in this case, no one knows who the leader is. And no one knows why the leader is the leader.
Here’s how it works.
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Automated Trading, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, Success
lose, market, Money, programs, stock market, stocks, trade
- hjl@Flickr
The market is run by emotions. It’s also ruined by them.
Despite what the financial world wants to think–and especially wants us to think–most financial decisions, from the casual investor to the commodities trader at Goldman Sachs, are emotional trades. It’s a gut feeling, or instinct, that prompts the trades.
And, in a way, that’s OK. After all, if most people invest with emotions, that should put you right in the pack of the trading action. It’s when investors become blinded by their emotions that things go awry. They fall behind the pack. They bet too much. They sit on the sidelines too long. They hold when they should fold, and fold when they should hold.
To avoid this, you need to know which emotions are most likely to mislead your investment actions Here are the seven most deadly emotions for investors.
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Accelerating Technology, Automated Trading, Business Strategy, Internet, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy
emotional, emotions, fear, greed, jealousy, market, paranoia, pride, worry
We’ve had some great conversations on this blog with our readers about the zero-sum nature of trading. Essentially, if one trader takes a winning position, another trader must take a losing position.
The logic would then follow that eventually, if our automated trading systems are perfected and reach a deep penetration into the trading community, there couldn’t be a market. There’s no way that everyone can win.
Or could there?
There are a few ways that trading can move beyond the zero sum theory.
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Accelerating Technology, Automated Trading, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy
Automated Trading, lose, market, market conditions, Money, wealth, wealth singularity, win, zero sum
Creative Commons by a4gpa
They say that life is a beach.
So is investing.
The undulating waves of trends and counter-trends. The froth of bubbles. The flotsam and jetsam of losses. And, sometimes, under the clear sky and hot beaming sun, the perfect wave forms.
And, like daredevil surfers, most traders paddle out to catch it. Soon, the sea is full of fellow traders riding this wave.
Unfortunately, the summer is not endless, the wave must crash to shore, and the roll of the good times… even the best times… must end eventually.
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Online Investing AI
assets, Automated Trading, market, Money, trading, trend, trend investing, trending, wealth
The obsessing continues.
For months we asked ourselves whether we were in a recession. Then we wondered if we were in a depression. Now, economists are wringing their hands deciding if we’re in a recovery, or what shape the recover will be.
There are several types of recovery that correspond to the trajectory of the recovery. Economists speculate we could face:
- V-Shaped: A deep drop and a quick bull market recovery.
- U-Shaped: A drop, then a gradual recover.
- Lightning bolt: A deep drop. Recovery. And then another sharp drop.
So, what recovery will we experience?
Who cares? Here’s why.
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Automated Trading, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI
depression, invest, Investing, market, Money, recession, recover, stocks, wealth
The real Monte Carlo casino in France. Creative Commons-Flickr
Speculation is a natural human function. It’s an unconscious risk analysis that goes on in your brain continually.
Daydreaming is a type of speculation. It’s a long play. Worry is another type of speculation–you’re literally betting yourself short.
There are even indications that the human brain is wired for speculation. Our brains release chemicals that make us feel good when we speculate. It’s one reason why people become addicted to gambling.
And, as the strip of pawn shops on the outskirts of Las Vegas are almost as long as the strip of casinos in Vegas indicate, people aren’t very good at speculating.
So, if speculation is ingrained into the human brain, does this doom us to lousy investment returns? Forever?
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Investing, Money, Online Investing AI
market, speculate, stock market, stocks, wealth
Adam Smith said that the best model of government spending should replicate the budget of a well-run family.
So, what are American families doing now in the face of the recent economic stress?
According to the latest consumer spending reports, Americans are reducing their spending more than a trillion dollars. They’re also saving more.
Much more.
A survey by AlixPartners LLP said that Americans will save 14 percent of their earnings to replenish retirement savings.
Other statistics reveal that Americans’ “Charge it!” lifestyle is on a break. We’re paying down debt in healthy chunks.
So, let’s review. When planning a budget, Americans are now:
- Spending on essentials.
- Paying down debt.
- Saving for the future.
Sounds like a pretty good plan.
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Business Strategy, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy
capitalism, economy, market, market-based, Money
is one of my favorite financial books of all time. It's an allegory about a guy who has a terrible job, and how he overcomes challenges to achieve his dreams.
