Understanding Electronic Day Trading: Every Investor's Guide to Wall Street's Hottest Phenomenon [Hardcover]

Carol A. Troy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 1999

Information and interviews from the front-line entrepreneurs who are making this trading revolution happen.  

You get cutting-edge sources for real-time market information, news and analysis -- including the free “ticker” you can program to keep you on top of the stocks you're watching. 

From how this type of trading came into being, to where it might go -- from how to get your feet wet with a $1,000 investment, to a checklist of do's and don'ts -- this is the guide that works for you.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Online investing is the killer app of the Internet and it's been rapidly mutating in Internet time. Journalist Carol Troy has written a thorough overview of online investing that is particularly well focused on its evolution toward direct-access trading without a broker. According to Troy, about a third of all retail customer trades are now being done online, and more and more of these are executed instantly over electronic communications networks (ECNs). "Thanks to the silent cyberrevolution transforming traditional markets into online cybermarkets, anyone with a home computer can now trade stock alongside the professional traders on Wall Street," says Troy. "In fact, this new electronic access to the market has put the individual investor one-up on Wall Street. Online investors now buy wholesale. They nip away at he traditional markups between bid and ask that market makers once pocketed."

Understanding Electronic Day Trading covers it all: the hardware and software you need to start, the Internet connection options, reviews of the top online brokers, cutting-edge sources for real-time market information, news, and analysis; and traders' top picks for real-time information providers. There are interviews with the heads of exchanges, trading firms and data vendors, and reviews and screenshots of the best online resources. Most valuable are the author's explanations of the NASDAQ Level II screens and the inner workings of the market makers and each of the ECN participants. Also included are rules followed by top traders, and a set derived by the author who more than doubled her own small stake in a four-month experiment for this book.

Anyone from the casual online investor to the seasoned microtrader will find this book well worth reading, if only for the historical overview and glimpse into the future of this fast-changing business. --Scott Harrison

Review

One of the things most admired by art director friends is the cover -- a sort of Buddhist orange and a strong black -- designed by celebrated art director Roger Black, who redesigned Rolling Stone and The New York Times. --Carol Troy

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill (November 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071351523
• ISBN-13: 978-0071351522
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,289,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Photographer and former style editor in Manhattan -- with Conde Nast magazines and newspapers -- Carol has moved from her Soho loft and now lives in the small town of St. Helena in the Napa Valley. Jaunts to San Francisco and NYC via Jet Blue keep her style energies up, and she's a great admirer of Amanda Brook's millennial take on cheap chic.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Daytrading? NOT!, May 12, 2000

By 

Cynthia Rennolds (Alpharetta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Understanding Electronic Day Trading: Every Investor's Guide to Wall Street's Hottest Phenomenon (Hardcover)

I would have given this no stars but Amazon doesn't allow that. This book was useless except for the laughs I got reading about the authors "daytrading" adventures. For someone serious about daytrading there are MUCH better books out there. If you want to open a browser based online trading account with $2500 and do position trading then maybe, possibly, although I doubt it, you might find something of interest in this book.

Don't be misled though - this book has nothing to do with true direct access daytrading. For that check out the excellent "Electronic Daytrading Made Easy" by Sarkovich.

Good Trading

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Puh-leeze, November 2, 2000

By 

Glade Diviney (Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Understanding Electronic Day Trading: Every Investor's Guide to Wall Street's Hottest Phenomenon (Hardcover)

The author admits she hadn't done any day trading before late 1998, and that she held on to an Amazon short position for more than a year (as it rose one hundred points)! Is THIS someone you want to take money advice from?

Just to give you an idea of what to expect from this book: 1) lots of screenshots of web pages you've probably already visited; 2) lots of references to Troy's three trading tips, which amount to little more than "buy low, sell high" (gee, thanks); 3) a complete lack of information about how to develop day trading skills.

You'll like this book if you're interested in the history of electronic systems available to day traders. Otherwise, pass.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Usless fluff, April 28, 2000

By 

"sonomaphil" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding Electronic Day Trading: Every Investor's Guide to Wall Street's Hottest Phenomenon (Hardcover)

It forced me to give it a star, I wanted to give it zero stars! What a useless book! Half the book is the authors' interviews with various CEO's. The book will tell you what most of you already being online already know. A whole chapter is devoted to telling you which web sites to go to for financial info, like CNN and the Motley Fool. Another tells you which brokers are online. You can get this info at Yahoo. This book is a glancing overview of online trading. No real info, no info on techniques, no info to make you money. Don't waste you time or money. Get Toni Turners "A Beginners Guide to Day Trading Online" for real info.