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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must-have for a trader but mostly info-porn, January 19, 2008
This review is from: Stock Trader's Almanac 2008 (Almanac Investor Series) (Spiral-bound)
Amazon says this book is hardcover and it is. If you read carefully, it also says, "Publisher: Wiley; Spi edition (October 5, 2007)". I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is spiral bound within the hardcover; this is extremely useful because the hardcover book can lie flat on a table.
This book is a must-have for any active trader so you know what is going on during that time of the year. I mean seriously, it's only $25 and it's chump change compared to the amount in commissions you blow each month.
I was initially very excited about reading the book, but as time went on, I realized that the book mostly contains info-porn. You need to remember that most of what this book contains are averages of what happened in the past. Does it really help me to know that the authors believe that the probability that the S&P 500 will rise on January 22, 2008 is 38.1%? Nope, not really. The only thing it tells me is that I should probably hold my short positions for one more day just because this day has historically been weak. However, given that much of the recent market action has primarily been data driven (weakening economy, massive losses at banks, etc.), this information is of very little use.
There are, however, some things that are very relevant for 2008. In particular, the December low indicator (page 40) is extremely relevant because we just took out the December low.
UPDATE on July 24th: If I could figure out how to change the number of stars on this book's rating, I'd give it a one. You could probably make more money by flipping a coin rather than listening to this book.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Give yourself an edge in the markets this year., October 20, 2007
This review is from: Stock Trader's Almanac 2008 (Almanac Investor Series) (Spiral-bound)
This book is set up like a journal for taking notes through out the year. It is a quick read if you go straight through. It is meant to be read through out the year giving you an overview of how each month has done in the stock market over the years. It has great inserts of information after each month that explains past patterns like the pre-election years and how they out perform other years (The stock market has been up 68 years straight in a presendential pre-election years 2003,1999,1995,1991 etc.). The best 6 months strategy shows how investing from November 1st-April 30th out performs May 1st-October 31st over the last 55 years. If you invested $10,000 in only Nov-April in this time period you would have had an average return of 7.9% and $544,323, with May-Oct you would have had .3% and only $9,728. It has a great section about seasonal trading which explains what sectors go up and down traditional each year based on their business cycles.The almanac is all about increasing your odds of winning by making you aware of the times of the day, week, month and year do the best. It is truly shocking when you look at the historical data and how traders respond at different times due to psychology. Buy this journal and use it if you are a serious trader of stocks. It will make you more money by increases your odds of success.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stock Trader's Almanac does not disappoint, October 13, 2007
This review is from: Stock Trader's Almanac 2008 (Almanac Investor Series) (Spiral-bound)
My Stock Trader's Almanac 2008 arrived today. Some features of the 2008 Almanac that I am digging right now are
*2008 year at a glance
This shows you days the market is closed, option expiration dates and major holidays. Also includes the 2009 year at a glance towards the back of the Almanac.
*One page for each trading week, broken down by day.
What a great feature! You can incorporate your appointment calendar into the Almanac, making it more likely that you are looking at it on a daily basis. This part of the almanac also includes holidays, market profitability numbers, option expiration days, and icons that show days that have been 60% bearish or bullish on average during the past 21 years. Interspersed between all of this are Monthly statistics, and references to check other parts of the almanac such as Investor Seasonalities.
*Directory of trading patterns
This is the main reason I bought this book, was for the directory of trading patterns. Some of the patterns go back as far as 1900. Others not quite as far based upon data available, or a noticeable shift in patterns has occurred due to changes in the investment community (for example 401K availability increases).
*Strategy Planning and Record Section
Some really good spread sheets and checklists in this section. I am sure that I will be incorporating some of these into my tracking.
Whether you are new to investing, or a seasoned investor, Stock Trader's Almanac 2008 combines in one place the tools you need to track and improve your game.
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