Technical Analysis vs. Fundamentals
The best online trading software in the world cannot prevent you from becoming a victim of bad trading information. Some of the least useful information you’ll get comes from people who claim to be experts and who base all of their arguments on their expertise. Look for information that relies on evidence. For example, if somebody is saying that a given is likely to shoot up in price in a short amount of time, take a look at why they think that aside from the fact that they claim to be a futures trading expert. Do they have information about the stock market fundamentals in the near future that may have led them to believe as much? Do they have numbers to back up what they’re saying? If their entire case is built on their expertise, be very wary.
Beware the Political Blogger Disguised as a Futures Trading Expert
Right or left, political advocacy is not full of good trading advice. If you get the feeling that the trading information you’re getting off of a blog or a media website is more political than financial and that the writer is attempting to frame their arguments regarding trading advice, be suspicious.
The markets are information driven entities. Smart traders buy and sell positions in commodities and stocks based on empirical information, not based on their political affiliations. Sometimes, a political situation will impact the value of a given commodity. This means that trading information presented in the framework of a particular ideology is usually not particularly useful. For instance, unrest in a country that produces a lot of coffee may affect the price of coffee, but that doesn’t say anything about the political motivations of any of the forces causing that unrest. No matter what your political beliefs, put them aside when you’re making empirical decisions about the potential value of a company or a futures trade.
A Good Futures Trading Source is a Keeper
If you find someone who gives you good, solid trading information on stocks or futures trading, be sure to bookmark them. Good sources of information are hard to find and, once you find one, you want to make certain that you’re using it as much as possible.