{"title":"Favorite Articles From 2015","description":"Each year we survey our readers for our Readers' Choice Awards, which are published in the annual Bonus Issue. As part of the survey, we ask readers to vote for their favorite article from the past year. Here are the award winners for \"Favorite STOCKS \u0026amp; COMMODITIES Article\" from 2015:","products":[{"product_id":"stcov332trsy","title":"Stocks \u0026 Commodities V. 33:03 (28-31): Trading System Design: A Statistical Approach by John F. Ehlers and Ric Way","description":"Trading System Design: A Statistical Approach by John F. Ehlers and Ric Way\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJudging By The Numbers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHeres how to start with the basics and determine if an identifiable event has a statistical edge in predicting future pricesbefore you even start to build a trading system.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMany trading systems begin with indicators, and because of that, the question you should be asking is, What do indicators indicate? The correct answer is that most of the time, they dont indicate much. Indicators are just specialized filters.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVISIBLE SIEVES\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSome indicators, like the commodity channel index (CCI), relative strength index (RSI), and stochastic, are basically first-order high-pass filters that remove the longer wave components of the prices and display them as oscillators. Other indicators, like moving averages, are basically smoothing filters that remove the high-frequency components and aliasing noise. Of course, there are combinations of the two kinds of filters. The basic question still remains whether shaping the price data by filtering has any predictive power regarding future prices.","brand":"store-traders-com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52133973819761,"sku":"V33C03_945EHLE","price":2.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0900\/3843\/6209\/files\/unnamed_513aa238-6d34-4ab5-b0a2-83abbe96270c.jpg?v=1739659766"},{"product_id":"stcov331whis","title":"Stocks \u0026 Commodities V. 33:1 (16-22): Whiter Is Brighter by John F. Ehlers","description":"Whiter Is Brighter by John F. Ehlers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRelax, Its Just Noise\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhite noise, pink noise does it make a difference? It sure does, and here is how you can use noise theory to create an indicator with zero lag that works both as a countertrend oscillator and as a trend identifier.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNoise spectra are often described by color. Just like white light, white noise contains all frequency components having equal power. When I surveyed analysts description of market data, it led me to the conclusion that they describe it as pink noise. Pink noise is noise with memory, and I use this noise-with-memory concept to derive a market data synthesizer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHERE'S WHAT I DID TO MAKE IT USEFUL\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI turned the data synthesizer inside out to derive a white spectrum from the observed data. While simple, it is profound, because whitening the data negates the phenomenon I have called spectral dilation. Just because the derived white noise spectrum has uniform amplitude at all frequencies, it does not preclude the waveform from containing information. I then show how to extract the information in the waveform using a SuperSmoother filter. Since the derived waveform has a uniform power density at all frequencies, a range of optimum indicators can be created. These optimum indicators can be used on intraday data, in short-term trading strategies, and in longer-term trend followers.","brand":"store-traders-com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52133998625137,"sku":"V33C01_908EHLE","price":3.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0900\/3843\/6209\/files\/unnamed_95b9e897-1d56-4bc8-86e9-09070e07e657.jpg?v=1739661442"},{"product_id":"stcov33230ch","title":"Stocks \u0026 Commodities V. 33:12 (28, 30–33): Interview: Charting Your Way With Steve Bigalow by Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan","description":"Interview: Charting Your Way With Steve Bigalow by Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStephen W. Bigalow has more than 40 years of investment experience, including eight years as a stockbroker with major Wall Street firms: Kidder, Peabody \u0026amp; Company, Cowen And Company, and Oppenheimer \u0026amp; Company. This was followed by 15 years of commodity trading, overlapped with 12 years of real estate investing. He holds a business and economics degree from Cornell University, and has lectured at Cornell and at many private educational investment functions over the past 20 years.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBigalow has advised professional traders, money managers, mutual funds, and hedge funds, and is recognized by many in the trading community as the professionals professional. He is an affiliate of the Market Technicians Association (MTA, a not-for-profit association of professional technical analysts) and a member of AAPTA, the American Association of Professional Technical Analysts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSTOCKS \u0026amp; COMMODITIES Editor Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan spoke with Stephen Bigalow on September 10, 2015 about the value of candlestick charts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSteve, tell us about how you got interested in the financial markets and especially in candlestick charting.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMy real interest started when I was in college, but I was always interested in investing. At a young age, my dad bought me one share of Eazor Express, which was a trucking company in the northeast. The stock split two-for-one, so I then had two shares of the company. Id watch the stock every single day in the financial section of the newspaper...","brand":"store-traders-com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52133999804785,"sku":"V33C12_113INTE","price":3.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0900\/3843\/6209\/files\/unnamed_b7a48e68-1fe5-4610-8272-dbc1c40e2a69.jpg?v=1739661534"},{"product_id":"stcov338fole","title":"Stocks \u0026 Commodities V. 33:08 (8–10): Four Lessons From Three Decades Of Trading by Thomas Bulkowski","description":"Four Lessons From Three Decades Of Trading by Thomas Bulkowski\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you had the opportunity, why not learn a thing or two from those who have already figured out what works and what doesnt? Heres a chance to soak up some wisdoms as one trader shares lessons he learned as he traveled along his 30-year trading journey.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen I first started out, I taught myself fundamental analysis and then added technical analysis, so that today I use a comfortable blend of approaches. My trading activities allowed me to retire at the age of 36. That was over 20 years ago. Let me share four trading lessons I learned along the way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. Hold longer. Earn more\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 2005, I read an article about an accounting firm that handled the tax returns for over a thousand traders. Of them, 36% were profitable in 2004. In addition, just 4% of them made over $50,000 trading. In 2004, the S\u0026amp;P 500 index closed the year 9% above where it ended the prior year. The NASDAQ Composite gained 8.6%. I made 19.2%...","brand":"store-traders-com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52134005834097,"sku":"V33C08_038BULK","price":2.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0900\/3843\/6209\/files\/unnamed_33307e25-fe37-46e9-a12f-d52ed468f037.jpg?v=1739661789"},{"product_id":"stcov331deby","title":"Stocks \u0026 Commodities V. 33:09 (12–15): Decyclers by John F. Ehlers","description":"Decyclers by John F. Ehlers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTrends are great when theyre moving in the direction you want them to. But when they reverse, you dont want to be caught off-guard. Heres an oscillator that can signal trend reversals with almost no lag.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTechnical analysis literature is filled with descriptions of detrenders. If market data is made up of trends and cyclers, why are there no decyclers? Well, now there are, and I am going to describe them in this article. The primary advantage of decyclers is that they can identify trends as an indicator that has virtually no lag.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIT'S ALL A PART OF A BIGGER CYCLE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom my analysis perspective, there is no such thing as a trend. Rather, I view market data as a continuum of cycle periods with differing cycle amplitudes. With this viewpoint, a trend is just a segment of a longer cycle. Then, by considering all market conditions as segments of a spectrum, the technical analysis problem is reduced to simply finding the right filter...","brand":"store-traders-com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52134026117489,"sku":"V33C09_057EHLE","price":2.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0900\/3843\/6209\/files\/unnamed_98bbef8c-fd2e-4b8a-b285-e919cd018191.jpg?v=1739663038"},{"product_id":"stcov3334420","title":"Stocks \u0026 Commodities V. 33:13 (30–37, 44): 2015 Readers' Choice Awards by Technical Analysis, Inc.","description":"2015 Readers Choice Awards by Technical Analysis, Inc.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe are pleased to present the Technical Analysis of STOCKS \u0026amp; COMMODITIES magazine 2015 Readers Choice Awards (RCA). Each year, we put before our readers a ballot of products and services related to technical analysis and trading. The following pages present the products and services you and your peers chose this year as your favorites.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Readers Choice Awards begins each year with a list of products gathered by the editors of STOCKS \u0026amp; COMMODITIES, with space for write-in votes (given that our list doesnt claim to be complete). Then, to find out what our readers find to be the most useful for their trading, we ask them to choose their favorite products or the ones they find most useful from various categories by going to our website, Traders.com, and filling out the survey there. After that, we compile the results, just in time for the Bonus Issue you hold in your hands.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eProducts are categorized by their primary purpose. Just because a service or product is not listed does not necessarily mean that the product does not have features germane to the category. In addition, some categories are divided by cost so that the comparisons can be made on a more level playing field.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe winners in the Readers Choice Awards are almost always the dominant players in their niche, and rightfully so. You may have special needs for your trading, however, so you should keep in mind those products that are not the big names in the category of your interest before you make your final decision. The RCA is designed to be an aid for you when you are deciding on which of the numerous products and services currently available to use for your trading and investing. With that in mind, we think youll find the Readers Choice a terrific guide to products and services that youll be interested in.","brand":"store-traders-com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52134081266033,"sku":"V33C13_960RCAW","price":4.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0900\/3843\/6209\/files\/unnamed_e780d1de-547d-4a95-8d79-431d3bfd7430.jpg?v=1739665111"},{"product_id":"stcov332caco","title":"Stocks \u0026 Commodities V. 33:02 (22-25): Candlesticks, Condensed by Dave Cline","description":"Candlesticks, Condensed by Dave Cline\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStrength In Patterns\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTheyre the life of the partysimple, elegant, and add so much value. Heres how you can turn each candle bar into a set of three numbers so you can identify patterns and determine the strength of their predictive power.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCandlesticks are the epitome of information packaging. A candlestick can represent price actionthe hem \u0026amp; haw of buyers vs. sellers for a minute, a day, or a year. They tell which party won in the end, which parties began their fight in the beginning, how high the buyers pressed the sellers, how low the sellers drove the buyers (Figure 1). Candles are a simple, elegant device yet they convey so much information.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCOMPRESSING THEM\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe variation of candle wick heights and bodies makes it challenging to use them as a tool to consistently tell you what the market is doing.","brand":"store-traders-com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52134084542833,"sku":"V33C02_925CLIN","price":2.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0900\/3843\/6209\/files\/unnamed_d84b0bc9-a59b-4964-aeab-6282548afe52.jpg?v=1739665368"},{"product_id":"stcov333inge","title":"Stocks \u0026 Commodities V. 33:1 (38-43): Interview: Getting Smarter With Alexander Elder by Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan","description":"Interview: Getting Smarter With Alexander Elder by Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBe Calm, Be Disciplined\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlexander Elder is a professional trader and trading psychology expert based in New York City. He is the author of a dozen books, including Come Into My Trading Room (Barrons 2002 Book of the Year) and Trading For A Living, considered modern classics among traders.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eElder was born in Leningrad and grew up in Estonia, where he entered medical school at the age of 16. At 23, while working as a ships doctor, he jumped a Soviet ship in Africa and received political asylum in the United States. He worked as a psychiatrist in New York and taught at Columbia University. His experience as a psychiatrist provided him with unique insight into the psychology of trading. Elders books, articles, and software reviews have established him as an expert on trading.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eElder is the originator of the Traders Camps week-long classes for traders, as well as the SpikeTrade group for traders. He continues to trade and is a sought-after speaker at conferences in the US and abroad.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSTOCKS \u0026amp; COMMODITIES Editor Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan spoke with Alex Elder on October 31, 2014 about how to stay ahead in todays fast-moving markets.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat prompted you to write The New Trading For A Living? What is new since the book originally came out?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe publishers had been asking me for a revision for the last 10 or 15 years, and I always declined because I said the book was complete and stood on its own. What really prompted me to write the new edition is that new technologies started appearing and, seeing that, I decided I would come up with a wonderful interactive book. Well, that interactive book still hasnt been completed. Thats the next project. I thought it would take three months to refresh Trading For A Living and update it a little. Well, those three months became 18 months, because I found I kept getting smarter. The last sentence in my original Trading For A Living, which was published in 1993, was, Like any good trader, I continue to learn and reserve the right to be smarter tomorrow than I am today. And I felt a bit smarter. I learned things I did not know at that time.","brand":"store-traders-com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52134092636529,"sku":"V33C01_914INTE","price":3.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0900\/3843\/6209\/files\/unnamed_c6221834-5413-4a00-abac-939464604b2b.jpg?v=1739665980"},{"product_id":"stcov33310se","title":"Stocks \u0026 Commodities V. 33:05 (30–33): 10 Selling Tips by Thomas Bulkowski","description":"10 Selling Tips by Thomas Bulkowski\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePsst, Heres A Secret\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDo you spend as much time deciding to sell as deciding to buy? Here are 10 tips to make deciding when to sell easier.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe stock of Ferro Corporation (FOE) has flatlined like a dead animal since November 2013. It is now 2015, and I have more than doubled my money. Should I sell? Every trader or investor must answer that type of question for their own investments. In this article, Ill discuss 10 selling tips to help you find your answer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTip #1: Use stops. This has to top the list of selling techniques because it makes the process simple. If you use a stop-loss order, you can quit worrying about when to sell. The order will take care of that. All you have to do is locate the stop in the right place. Stop placement is an art beyond this article, but if you are having difficulty, use a volatility stop.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI learned about volatility stops from Perry Kaufmans book A Short Course In Technical Trading. The idea behind a volatility stop is to place a stop far enough away from the current price to avoid being stopped out on normal price movement. A volatility stop works well when no other stop locations are nearby...","brand":"store-traders-com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52134104891761,"sku":"V33C05_989BULK","price":2.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0900\/3843\/6209\/files\/unnamed_faaa583f-15c7-46e4-8473-cd38cea5f25f.jpg?v=1739666828"},{"product_id":"stcov33338in","title":"Stocks \u0026 Commodities V. 33:03 (36, 38-41): Interview: Using ETF Momentum Strategies With Les Masonson by Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan","description":"Interview: Using ETF Momentum Strategies With Les Masonson by Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDont Get Caught Unaware\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLeslie N. Masonson is president of Cash Management Resources, a financial consulting firm that he founded in 1987. Masonsons 44-year career has spanned trading, investing, financial advisory services, bank operations management, teaching, and corporate cash\/treasury management consulting. He was a financial advisor for six years offering investment management services to retail clients of large financial institutions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMasonson has authored books on cash management, daytrading, market timing, and relative strength investing using ETFs. He also writes book reviews for Futures magazine and has written product reviews for this magazine. His website is www.buydonthold.com and he can be reached at lesmasonson@yahoo.com.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSTOCKS \u0026amp; COMMODITIES Editor Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan spoke with him on January 5, 2015 about trading and investing in exchange traded funds (ETFs) using momentum strategies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLes, why dont you start by telling us a little bit about yourself and how you got interested in the financial markets.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIve been interested in the stock markets since 1957 when my grandmother gave me a few shares of PanAm Airways for my 13th birthday. From that point on I started reading about the markets, even though there were only a few books in my local library. I also traveled to Manhattan to visit the NYSE and AMEX visitors galleries during my summer breaks from junior high school. I opened a brokerage account for minors and I also attended a few stockholder annual meetings in the NYC area for companies that I owned.","brand":"store-traders-com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52134167576945,"sku":"V33C03_947INTE","price":2.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0900\/3843\/6209\/files\/unnamed_68b51610-0977-43dc-9140-c79667eb5991.jpg?v=1739669830"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0900\/3843\/6209\/collections\/favorite-articles-from-2015-21.gif?v=1739677622","url":"https:\/\/shop.traders.com\/collections\/faarfr207.oembed","provider":"Stocks \u0026 Commodities","version":"1.0","type":"link"}