How to Monitor Market Conditions

MUST Read:

• ChartAdvisor.com.  This site publishes a weekly Market Summary on Friday.  An excellent chart pattern analysis site, it gives a good reading on the market condition.  I use this to help gauge my trades.  If one reviews the Market Summary reports, it warned investors about the 2008 market crash as early as Nov. 2007, when the market turned bearish.  It continued to warn investors of the bearish conditions throughout 2008 and early 2009 until around Mar. ’09 when the market started turning around.  This is an excellent site to follow for us to change our investing style when the market turns bearish again in the future.
• Schaeffersresearch.com:  This site publishes a weekly Monday Morning Outlook usually around Saturday noon.  This site combines technical analysis with market sentiment readings.

AVOID:

• Do not watch any talking heads on TV, including James Cramer or other stock analysts.  The main reason to avoid them is this: on Wall Street, you make money from other investors.  So you must always be one step ahead of them.  Millions of people watch those TV talking heads and analysts.  Many of these people will follow their advices.  From whom are you going to make money, if you follow the same advice?  The only way to make money from these talking heads, if you really want to listen to them, is probably by doing the exact opposite.  This is called contrarian thinking.
• Do not read or subscribe to too many sites or journals.  They will only confuse you.