From: owner-canslim-digest@lists.xmission.com (canslim-digest) To: canslim-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: canslim-digest V2 #350 Reply-To: canslim Sender: owner-canslim-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-canslim-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk X-No-Archive: yes canslim-digest Thursday, August 6 1998 Volume 02 : Number 350 In this issue: [CANSLIM] Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 12:11:32 -0400 Re: [CANSLIM] Kangas Re: [CANSLIM] Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 12:11:32 -0400 [CANSLIM] Connie Mack [CANSLIM] Re: Trendlines and Moving Averages, FWIF--Non-CANSLIM--Skip If Uninterested [CANSLIM] Re: Not directly CS - Having a plan RE: [CANSLIM] Re: Trendlines and Moving Averages, FWIF--Non-CANSLIM--Skip If Uninterested [CANSLIM] How to Spot the Bottom Re: [CANSLIM] Kangas Re: [CANSLIM] Re: Trendlines and Moving Averages--Mary [CANSLIM] Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 22:33:28 -0400 [CANSLIM] woodard's page Re: [CANSLIM] woodard's page Re: [CANSLIM] Re: Trendlines and Moving Averages--Mary Re: [CANSLIM] Connie Mack selling short Re: [CANSLIM] DOW down 298.66 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 10:12:44 -0600 From: Chris Reid Subject: [CANSLIM] Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 12:11:32 -0400 Nasdaq and NYSE up a percent after a dip at the opening Network +3% Internet Products & Services +2% Banks 1.8% Computers/Electronics,Etc +1.5% - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 10:08:38 -0700 (PDT) From: TM Subject: Re: [CANSLIM] Kangas Dan- You'll miss the "chemisry" between Paul and Susie, but save time here. http://www.nightlybusiness.org/comingup.htm Tannis - ---Dan Musicant wrote: > > On Tue, 4 Aug 1998 19:42:13 -0400, you wrote: > > :Dan: > : > :I assure you I read your post. And re-read it. It really says very little. I > :acknowledge that you were careful in saying very little. > : > :Saying that 25% is not an "unreasonable possibility" really isn't a > :statement that can be disputed, since "anything is possible". However, in my > :opinion, 25% is unlikely, given the 8% discount we have just had. Another > :25% would put us around 6000. Is that likely? I doubt it. Is it possible? > :Sure, "anything is possible". > : > :On a serious note, how did you prepare for shorting, and/or what did you do > :to prepare that you didn't do the last time around. I want to learn. Also, > :wouldn't it be easier for a novice like myself to put naked puts in a down > :market than to short? > : > :Nelson > : > > Hi Nelson, > > Yes, I did hedge me bets, and that's a consciously acquired skill! If > I phrase my statements carefully, I won't be wrong (but I may not be > saying much, as you observe!). You finally acknowledge the scope of my > statement to include the *anything is possible* type of concept, and > that's what my intention was as a retort to your question, little > more. I certainly didn't want to put on the cloak of the > prognosticator. That's virtually impossible, I think in this > situation. Agreed, -25% from here IS unlikely, highly unlikely. > Virtually impossible? Well no. > > I prepared for shorting be doing it a couple of times. I think that's > the way to prepare for shorting, pure and simple (if not > simplistic...). > > Preparing *this time around*? Well, I've been paying closer attention > to what's going on. For me, it has helped (I think) to watch a 1/2 > hour PBS broadcast M-F evenings, Nightly Business Report. It's > grating, but I tape it, FF through the ghastly parts. I especially > like the spot checks on the major stocks and indexes, economic > indicators, breezy and quick analysis. Paul Kangas used to be a broker > and has a sense of humour and I've gotten a gestalt from it all. Not > for everyone, and I don't like it sometimes, but it's helped me. > > I've been more select in my stock picking. A lot of issues that I > might have bought before I'm not buying now because I've found other > stocks that are more apt to perform for me. Stuff like top performing > groups, high RS, and maybe a healthy dose of luck. > > :Also, wouldn't it be easier for a novice like myself to put naked puts in a down > :market than to short? > > Well, Nelson, I consider myself pretty much a novice too. Not a > complete novice of course, but my knowledge is pretty spotty. For > example, I know practically nothing about puts and options. Can you > describe what a "naked put" is?? Thanks. > > Good luck to all. > > Dan > musicant@autobahn.org > > - > > _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 10:16:03 -0700 (PDT) From: TM Subject: Re: [CANSLIM] Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 12:11:32 -0400 Thanks, Chris. In today's IBD it is reported that yesterday- 194 of 197 industry groups were down. The exceptions: Electrical Connectors, up 5%, Metal Ores-Gold/Silver up 1.7%, Mining gems, 0% change. Only IBD market sector index up: Gold index 2.06% Networks down 2.1 % yesterday, already up more than that according to your data. Internet down 1.5% yesterday, so it is already in the black today. Banks were down 5%, you have them at 1.8%. TM - ---Chris Reid wrote: > > Nasdaq and NYSE up a percent after a dip at the opening > Network +3% > Internet Products & Services +2% > Banks 1.8% > Computers/Electronics,Etc +1.5% > > > > > - > > _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 13:20:44 -0400 From: Connie Mack Rea Subject: [CANSLIM] Connie Mack Members-- Though I have not posted in a couple of months, I have not ignored the several who still correspond privately and have not forgotten the many others. Dave's post yesterday about the emphasis on market philosophy (and psychology) and the shallowness of the talk prompted me to say what I have been saying in private correspondence. Those whom I speak with I have advised to be, at minimum, half in cash, and I have suggested that one ought to be 75 to 100% in cash. Their position is so because they have been letting technical indicators do the talking. Most of us have a mind fairly well integrated on one side, the side we attend to in everyday life, but fragmented on the other side, the side that trades and invests. No case is trivial for those having stayed the market too long, and even the trivial case can result in agony; but the internal conflict on the fragmented side is always confusing and, in the case of investing, sinister as well as confusing for the investor. DB is smart enough, but doesn't know enough. His talk is academic, philosophical, and psychological; it is much more puffery than practical. One can talk "M" and proceed on through the table of contents of O'Neill's work, but ultimately--from what posts I have seen--no one thoroughly understands "M" (or "N," "O," "P," or "Q"). Did I not see DB say recently to "wait for the bottom" and look for an "exhaustion" day? That is of little consolation to the investor who is probably down 25% already. Perhaps his broker or his accountant will credit those academic, philosophic, and psychological musings onto the right side of your ledger. If "M" is not a technical calculation, it is a tardy calculation. It is most like the infamous and ephemeral value. I note that members are reading technical books. Ought this reading not seem a bit ironical amidst the circumscription of "M"? DB has suggested a shorting thread. Does not shorting, too, shed light on what is ironical? Shorting is primarily a trader's delight, a technical delight. To suggest that strictly CS investors would even tempt themselves to shorting is unthinkable. Shorting and the technician are inseparable; shorting is the last thing a trader learns the intricacies of. Too, where is that CS purity so much advocated? Others who have been more eclectic toward the market were disparaged for their impurity. These impure ones whom I mentioned before--those who felt as if they were not welcome--are awaiting DB's "bottom" and "exhaustion" day. But they are awaiting in varying and favorable ratios of cash and equity. And it will their technical indicators that will tell them the opportune moment of entry. That which differentiates between a man who is smart enough and a man who is smart enough and also knows enough is some like the difference between knowledge and wisdom. The man who is both smart and knowing may dispense with supports on which other minds rely. The smart man, on the other hand, dispenses with nothing; he details the academically and philosophically innocuous, and footnotes them so that he may not appear as a solitary believer. Reflection on the market can not get to work unless some unevenness exists for it to get a purchase on. What kind of gnomic purity dictates that one never divulges what he is doing in his own account? What perverse theories of obligation and sanctity permit him to withhold his own prospective trades? I do not wish to see a man moving through the site like an afreet weighted down with an epidermis of books and footnotes, each with an affidavit confirming he is a legitimate investor or trader. Until I know that a man trades at least one $100,000 account, I consider his reluctance to tell me of his stocks in prospect and stocks that he "will" buy with the same indifference as I do my cat who won't tell me how he catches mice. Is this man not a Guildenstern who knows the pipes but cannot pluck out the heart of the mystery? All the hoary sterile talk about "M," philosophy, and psychology are mostly examples of semantic viscosity that are pretty sounding but are a sure fire way to reduce capital and shun profits in a correcting market. The electrifying market of the last few days can make your hair stand up like a 400 volt inquisitive cat that has just changed polarity. Do not mistake my comment as a repudication of CS; take it rather as a comment on the assumption that CS needs a complementary strategy to consistently conserve capital and make money. If you think that having come upon CS is a presumptive fact and good fortune, you will press your arrival for more than it's worth. You may think your arrival both miracle and sacrament; but you are about to be efficiently and assuredly separated from your money and will have to work doubly hard to recover. E.g., if your $50 stock goes to $25, you have lost 50%. But to recover you will have to see the stock rise 100%. When I get an SOS from a member, I don't consider it germane to ask in what language it is expressed. But it is germane to ask under what circumstances and with what principles he has progressed to his crisis. Some members have sent out an SOS and have been told to watch for the bottom and an exhaustion day, which is a knock-off of the pis aller to keep your head down and your butt covered. This advice should taboo every member, for you have not been told the truth. Members might infer themselves in this metaphor: Not every tree would be worse off to find itself a Stradivarius or just a banjo. But the tree might be angered to find itself a cardboard box or a toothpick. Respectfully, Connie Mack - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 13:08:11 -0500 (CDT) From: mckeener@ix.netcom.com Subject: [CANSLIM] Re: Trendlines and Moving Averages, FWIF--Non-CANSLIM--Skip If Uninterested Db, <> O'k, I'll bite. Why are you dating the long-term trendline in the industrials and NYSE from 2 years ago? I looked at Big Charts, timeframe a decade, and the bullish trendline was moving forward then. Is there something I'm missing here? I think the industrials will probably continue their upward momentum (after this temporary short fall having hit the 200d), because the long-term (10 year??) trendline is very much alive and fundamentals are still solid - low interest rates, good earnings and...? BUT, the MACD and oscillator, Stochastics, yearly, monthly and weekly are down, as well as the 3-line EMA. As a result, I say we need to wait for a few (3 to 5) days of up movement on high volume. Where would I get symbols for Dow Transports and other sectors? Couldn't find these to check their charts. Thanks. <> The NASDAQ chart pattern doesn't appear too different from the industrials. I wouldn't be surprised to see it hit its 200d on its down short/term momentum. As with the INDU, the daily, weekly and monthly MACD and Stochastics are pointing down, so again, time now to wait for sustaining rally of 3 to 5 days on above-average volume. Asia continues to trouble us and Clinton's unsteady position causes uncertainty which the market just doesn't like. Mary - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 13:41:30 -0500 (CDT) From: mckeener@ix.netcom.com Subject: [CANSLIM] Re: Not directly CS - Having a plan Kim, >>Having a plan has helped me control my emotions and made me more disciplined. It someone would of forced me to place a bet on the market a week ago I would of bet on a stronger rally attempt. However I lived by theplan. It did seem the market was kept me from having any knee jerk reactions to any of this.>> I'm still working on mine. It's CANSLIM, what else!! Sounds simple, but it isn't. So many factors affect the individual within the market, as Db so well expressed. Stick with it, Kim, it relieves pressure and holds back those emotions that constantly want to thwart your design. <> Good analogy. That's where stop losses protect your capital so you can continue trading. Also, knowing where you want to be under various conditions - volume, global and U.S. market, etc. Mary - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 11:46:07 -0700 From: "Rich Mau" Subject: RE: [CANSLIM] Re: Trendlines and Moving Averages, FWIF--Non-CANSLIM--Skip If Uninterested > Where would I get symbols for Dow Transports and other sectors? > Couldn't find these to check their charts. Thanks. If one enters a name that Big Charts doesn't recognize as a symbol, Big Charts will respond with a list of possible matches. Thus if one enters "DOW JONES", one will get a list of the symbols for the Dow Jones indexes that Big Charts carries. Rich - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 10:24:27 -0700 (PDT) From: dbphoenix Subject: [CANSLIM] How to Spot the Bottom The following is copied from Briefing.com with permission. While one man's confirmation is another man's noise (cf. "sentiment" and "moving averages"), I do think that it's helpful to maintain a sense of the "gestalt" (as noted earlier) of the market. Doing so helps one to avoid becoming wedded to a scenario and to avoid seeing every blip up as an imminent recovery and every blip down as an imminent collapse. Hope you find this informative and useful. - --Db Updated 04-Aug-98 How to Spot the Bottom Forecasting at what point the market will reverse course and resume its advance is nothing more than guess work. That's not to say that many of the guesses you've heard or read aren't educated ones, but the fact remains no one knows at what level the indices will bottom out. However, there are a number of indicators worth monitoring for signs that a bottom is just around the corner. Today, we profile those indicators. Mutual Fund Cash Mutual fund cash levels bottomed in April, with only 4.3% of assets held in cash. There are a few analysts who discount this old reliable indicator, noting that while the percentage is low in real terms, given the increase in total assets under management there remains plenty of cash on hand to sustain the underlying bull market. Though there is some merit to this argument, it is important to note that 1997 was another year of record inflows into stock mutual funds. Throughout all of last year, mutual fund cash levels averaged 5.7%, with the lowest monthly reading of 5.1% occurring in December. For a little historical reference, for the 15-yr period of 1979-1994, the percentage of assets held in cash dipped below 8.0% only once. So far this year, we've seen only one month - January - above 5.0%. The average over the six months of available data is an historically low 4.7%. Yes, there is more money under management. But the abnormally low percentage of cash holdings tells us two things. One, managers were very optimistic (through June). Two, portfolio managers are more likely to raise cash levels than lower them. Given current market conditions, managers will be slow to put new cash to work. They might even take some profits off the table to bolster cash reserves. The result of these actions will be a rise in mutual fund cash positions. A move back to the 5.3%-5.5% area would be a strong signal that the indices were positioned for a sustained recovery. Investor Intelligence Indicator Like mutual fund cash, the investor intelligence figures reflect market sentiment. And like mutual fund cash, it is a contrary indicator. In other words, when the figures exhibit strong bullish tendencies the market is probably due for a pullback. In April (again) of this year, the percentage of bearish investment advisors fell to 22.6% - a five year low. Meanwhile, the percentage of bullish advisors now totals 52.5% - just a few points off its 5-yr high of 56%, and comfortably above the generally accepted overbought level of 50%. As the correction unfolds and the speculative excess wears off, the percentage of bullish and bearish investment advisors will move back toward more normal levels. Buy signals will be generated when the percentage of bullish advisors drifts back to the mid- to low-40% area and/or the percentage of bears jumps back to the low- to mid-30% range. Advance/Decline Line Much has been written and talked about concerning the downward trend in the a/d line for the S&P 500. Most alarming has been the divergence between the breadth indicator and the average. Whereas the S&P charged to a new high in July, the a/d line has trended steadily lower since peaking in April (this month just keeps coming up). With market paying so much attention to this indicator, sentiment will improve greatly at first sign that indicator is reversing course. Given that many of the second and third tier names are already down significantly from their 52-wk highs, a recovery in this group shouldn't be too far off. Two straight weeks of positive numbers (in the weekly a/d line) with a strong bullish bias should confirm bottom. L/T Moving Averages Another indicator which has worked well in calling both intermediate-term tops and bottoms has been the convergence/divergence of the 50- and 200-day moving averages. In May (by definition a moving average lags the market) the divergences between the 50- and 200-day moving averages for the major market indices grew abnormally and unsustainably wide. The last time the divergences were this wide was back in August of last year - about two months before the October decline. In so doing, the moving averages, like the other indicators noted above, flashed a warning signal that a top was forthcoming. Sure enough, the indices set nominal new highs a couple months later before embarking on the current correction. Unfortunately, it will take time and/or a prolonged period of sideways to slightly lower prices before the moving averages converge to a buying point. In the DJIA, for example, this indicator won't flash a buy signal until the spread between the moving averages narrows to about 200-150 points. _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 20:30:57 GMT From: musicant@autobahn.org (Dan Musicant) Subject: Re: [CANSLIM] Kangas On Wed, 5 Aug 1998 10:08:38 -0700 (PDT), you wrote: :Dan- :You'll miss the "chemisry" between Paul and Susie, but save time here. : http://www.nightlybusiness.org/comingup.htm : :Tannis Thanks, Tannis. They're always touting their "WWW site", but I never checked it. In my software, just double clicking on the URL you provided took me there. I'll check it out. Dan musicant@autobahn.org - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 15:41:40 -0700 (PDT) From: dbphoenix Subject: Re: [CANSLIM] Re: Trendlines and Moving Averages--Mary <> The angle of ascent. "Long term" has no limit, unlike short or intermediate-term. It could be up to a century or more. But practically speaking, you look at changes in angle of ascent. For example, if you start your trendline at the end of 1990, you'll intersect the vertical axis at a lower point than if you only go back to the end of '94, at which point the angle of ascent changed. It changed again in '96. You'll hear market technicians on CNBC or wherever talk about the next level of support. When referring to trendlines, they mean that as you go back in time, the angles used to draw the lines are different. They are also longer, which supposedly makes them stronger and more important, just as the activity on weekly charts supposedly has more influence than that on daily charts (ditto with monthly and weekly). You're correct about the long-long term. If we break 8400, that doesn't mean we go to zero. It means only that we go to the next level of support at 8200 (or as Abby Joseph-Cohen said, 8100-8300). And then on from there. The strength of each level depends in part on how many lines converge there. What makes 8400 fairly important is that the trendline I mentioned and the 200d converge there. Breaking support, on the other hand, doesn't necessarily mean that it's all over. We broke the 200d MA on the Dow pretty severely last October, but the average climbed above it again within a few days and, with a rocky start, moved on from there in February. <> You came within a hair of it. But don't be surprised if any rally up runs into a few potholes. There are going to be people eager to sell, particularly if they bought in too late. There are also going to be daytraders who'll take quick profits on the way up or who try to play the swings up and down. And there may be fund managers who haven't been doing very well and don't want to do worse. There are all kinds of people out there, buying and selling for all sorts of reasons. And then there are the programs. And the hedge funds. Etc. Etc. - --Db _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 20:34:37 -0600 From: Chris Reid Subject: [CANSLIM] Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 22:33:28 -0400 Mentioned a long time ago I was working on some stock software, well I = still am, but the other day I started on a quick little app. Don't know = if it will be useful (should be done soon, although I have to finish = finals first). It takes the top 100 stocks (according to Value Line = Investment Survey)every week and lets sort through them by weighting. Eg "Hey program, give me the stocks who correspond to these weightings: = RS 30/100 EPS 20/100 PE 10/100 eps chng 40/100". Basically you assign = a number out of a hundred to a given attribute of a stock. The program = will spit out the top stocks based on those weightings. It will also = tell you what the weighting combinations were for the top ten stocks of = that week (lets you see the statistics behind the winners). Free for everyone if they want (email me privately as to not fill the list with unessentials)=20 At the End of the today Groups That Are sig. Up Networking + 3.35% Department Store 2.48% Household Products + 1.83% Personal Products +1.62% Groups that are sig. Down Drilling marine supply 3% Oilfield Equip. 2.7 Internet Service Providers 2.6 Electronic comp. And parts 2.5 And on and on Markets and Indexs (%) Nasdaq +.14 Dow +.7 S&P + .86 Russell 2k -.73 Nyse +.48 Amex -1 - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 21:39:24 -0500 From: "John Adair, M.D." Subject: [CANSLIM] woodard's page can anyone tell me how to find Ian Woodard's page. I cant seem to find his on wallstret city. - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 19:43:13 -0700 (PDT) From: dbphoenix Subject: Re: [CANSLIM] woodard's page http://sosadvisors.com/ianshome.htm - --Db _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 21:59:13 -0800 From: "Patrick Wahl" Subject: Re: [CANSLIM] Re: Trendlines and Moving Averages--Mary Date sent: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 15:41:40 -0700 (PDT) From: dbphoenix > You came within a hair of it. But don't be surprised if any rally up > runs into a few potholes. There are going to be people eager to sell, > particularly if they bought in too late. There are also going to be > daytraders who'll take quick profits on the way up or who try to play > the swings up and down. And there may be fund managers who haven't > been doing very well and don't want to do worse. There are all kinds > of people out there, buying and selling for all sorts of reasons. And > then there are the programs. And the hedge funds. Etc. Etc. And if I may use a dirty word here, the fundamentals may be headed the wrong way. I think what precipitated everything is the realization (finally, what took everyone so long?) that earnings are not going to meet the rosy forecast made in January for year over year gains. There were forecasts for something like 14% earnings gains this year, now scaled back considerably. When you have stocks like PFE with a pe of 50, GE at 35, etc., an earnings slow down has to put a dent in some of these valuations. A technical note - the charts of most of the smaller stocks I have been following have been severely damaged, and it will take a couple of months for any substantial bases to form. It may be slim pickings for a while in small cap land. - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Aug 1998 09:18:58 -0400 From: Ari Lawson Subject: Re: [CANSLIM] Connie Mack selling short Connie, Selling short is not anti-CANSLIM. HTMMIS,pgs.108-110. ARI - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1998 12:19:59 -0700 From: "Nelson E. Timken, Esq." Subject: Re: [CANSLIM] DOW down 298.66 Naked means you don't own the underlying security, just the option. Nelson - ---------- From: Dan Musicant To: canslim@lists.xmission.com Subject: Re: [CANSLIM] DOW down 298.66 Date: Wednesday, August 05, 1998 7:19 AM On Tue, 4 Aug 1998 19:42:13 -0400, you wrote: :Dan: : :I assure you I read your post. And re-read it. It really says very little. I :acknowledge that you were careful in saying very little. : :Saying that 25% is not an "unreasonable possibility" really isn't a :statement that can be disputed, since "anything is possible". However, in my :opinion, 25% is unlikely, given the 8% discount we have just had. Another :25% would put us around 6000. Is that likely? I doubt it. Is it possible? :Sure, "anything is possible". : :On a serious note, how did you prepare for shorting, and/or what did you do :to prepare that you didn't do the last time around. I want to learn. Also, :wouldn't it be easier for a novice like myself to put naked puts in a down :market than to short? : :Nelson : Hi Nelson, Yes, I did hedge me bets, and that's a consciously acquired skill! If I phrase my statements carefully, I won't be wrong (but I may not be saying much, as you observe!). You finally acknowledge the scope of my statement to include the *anything is possible* type of concept, and that's what my intention was as a retort to your question, little more. I certainly didn't want to put on the cloak of the prognosticator. That's virtually impossible, I think in this situation. Agreed, -25% from here IS unlikely, highly unlikely. Virtually impossible? Well no. I prepared for shorting be doing it a couple of times. I think that's the way to prepare for shorting, pure and simple (if not simplistic...). Preparing *this time around*? Well, I've been paying closer attention to what's going on. For me, it has helped (I think) to watch a 1/2 hour PBS broadcast M-F evenings, Nightly Business Report. It's grating, but I tape it, FF through the ghastly parts. I especially like the spot checks on the major stocks and indexes, economic indicators, breezy and quick analysis. Paul Kangas used to be a broker and has a sense of humour and I've gotten a gestalt from it all. Not for everyone, and I don't like it sometimes, but it's helped me. I've been more select in my stock picking. A lot of issues that I might have bought before I'm not buying now because I've found other stocks that are more apt to perform for me. Stuff like top performing groups, high RS, and maybe a healthy dose of luck. :Also, wouldn't it be easier for a novice like myself to put naked puts in a down :market than to short? Well, Nelson, I consider myself pretty much a novice too. Not a complete novice of course, but my knowledge is pretty spotty. For example, I know practically nothing about puts and options. Can you describe what a "naked put" is?? Thanks. Good luck to all. Dan musicant@autobahn.org - - - ---------- - - ------------------------------ End of canslim-digest V2 #350 ***************************** To unsubscribe to canslim-digest, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe canslim-digest" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message.