Sam shares his experiences on becoming a professional trader

Over the past couple weeks, some very good questions have come in that I think may be on the minds of a few of our readers. Whether they are or aren't, the goal of this piece is to enlighten you through Q&A with key trading nuggets that can help you reach your financial goals.

I held a press conference for members of the Mumbai economic press. One of the questions I received was, "Will your technical analysis technique work on our (Indian) markets?" The answer is a resounding yes and is obvious if you understand what trading is all about.

The 7 Pillars is a unique summary of the tried and tested skill sets which any rookie speculator needs to learn from in order to get the results they are looking for. For this week's article, I would like to run through each of these 7 Pillars making them specific to the world of Forex trading, so we can all fully understand the main requirements and skill sets necessary to make it as a consistently profitable trader in today's financial arena.

The 7 Pillars is a unique summary of the tried and tested skill sets which any rookie speculator needs to learn from in order to get the results they are looking for. For this week's article, I would like to run through each of these 7 Pillars making them specific to the world of Forex trading, so we can all fully understand the main requirements and skill sets necessary to make it as a consistently profitable trader in today's financial arena.

By the time the market opens in the morning, I have a short list of securities I want to watch closely. I watch for opportune times to enter or exit positions on my list. One thing I monitor closely is where stocks are trading relative to Volume-Weighted Average Price (VWAP). A lot of large players like pension funds and mutual funds have rules about where they

This article is the continuation of the previous one, Could the S&P Go Higher Without the Financials Participating?, which discussed whether the U.S. market could continue going higher when its biggest component, the financials, is approaching supply. I highly suggest rereading the last article for better comprehension of this one.

I know most of you are wondering why I would write about a trade I would rather pass on than show you one that works. The reason I am doing this is because when it comes to selecting a trade, I usually pass on the majority of them.

In this article, I will discuss whether the U.S. market can continue going higher when its biggest component, the financials, are approaching supply.

Trading options has many uses: speculation, income, protection, and on. The current merger speculation around Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) is an example where investors and speculators can take some refuge by buying some protection. If a buyout from Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) does not occur, or if any other merger problems arise, the put options in Genzyme should offer at least some defense.

Options greeks refer to how option values respond to changes in underlying stock price, implied volatility, and time to expiration.

For a while the major Oil Companies and Drillers were drifting out of the news. The nasty leak from the BP well was not getting constant attention any more as a mostly successful cap was put in place. Four of the largest Oil Companies are beginning a program for rapid response to a spill, all of which is very good. The problem is part of the market is not buying this, yet.