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TNT INDICATOR AND NICE ARTEditor,
I've subscribed to your excellent magazine for some time now. May I say what a great mag it is, in every respect. In particular, your art director obviously has a style all her own. It would be easy for a publication to fall into the same old graphic style, but it's nice to see some individuality once in a while. Well done.
Anyway, to get to the point: A few issues ago you published the details of an indicator for implementing in both MetaStock and TradeStation software. The indicator was based on Linda Raschke's TNT indicator. I have set it up in MetaStock but want to use it in TradeStation and cannot for the life of me find the magazine in which the details were printed. My grasp of EasyLanguage (the language used in TradeStation) isn't good enough to translate the MetaStock code. I wonder if you could E-mail me the TradeStation version. Thanks very much and keep up the great work.
MIKE KLEINSTEUBER
via E-mail
Thank you for your kind comments. Unfortunately, we can't fulfill individual E-mail requests, due to the large volume of requests we receive for personalized responses. Later this year, our Web site (https://www.traders.com) will offer articles for fee-based downloading, as well as full-text search capabilities. For now, I suggest you check Omega Research's Web site, https://www.omegaresearch.com, to see if it offers the TradeStation code you seek. -- Editor
THOROUGHLY ENJOYABLE
Editor,
I thoroughly enjoyed your interview with Asoka Selvarajah in the April 1998 STOCKS & COMMODITIES. You asked very poignant questions that I felt Selvarajah answered honestly and eloquently. I was pleased to see he mentioned Robert Krausz as having had an influence on him. I have been using Krausz's program (Fibonacci Trader) for almost a year now with much success. I applaud your magazine and your good work!
JEANNE MERCHANT
Spring, TX
THE IMPORTANCE OF BACKTESTING
Editor,
After reading Robert Krausz's article, "New Gann swing chartist," in the February 1998 STOCKS & COMMODITIES, I realized the way I was trading would send me to the poor house. In fact, I was on my last trade. The article convinced me to stop trading and salvage the little trading capital I had left. I ordered Krausz's book, A W.D. Gann Treasure Discovered, read it and started backtesting with paper charts, pen and ink. I used all the data I had at my disposal, about three years' worth.
Well, my first trade using the system was a great success. I felt more confident with the trade than I had ever felt before. To date, I have two winning trades to one losing trade. Backtesting is now a large part of my trading life.
Thanks for adding new life to my trading career.
RICHARD SNYDER
THE WORKS OF W.D. GANN
Editor,
I am trying to get information on W.D. Gann's works, but I've had difficulty finding anything, except for some basic introductions to Gann angles. Could you reference some books or articles?
PHILIPPE ROY
Paris, France
You may be interested to read my Quick-Scan of Robert Krausz's new book, A W.D. Gann Treasure Discovered, in this issue. The book reproduces some newly discovered original work by Gann.
In addition, here's a listing of classic texts by Gann:
Gann, W.D. [1942]. How to Make Profits in Commodities, Lambert-Gann Publishing Co., Pomeroy, WA. Phone 509 843-1094, fax 508 984-3021.
Gann, W.D. [1976]. The Truth of the Stock Tape, Lambert-Gann Publishing Co.
Gann, W.D. [1927]. Tunnel Through the Air, or Looking Back from 1940, Lambert-Gann Publishing.
INFORMATION EXCHANGE FORUMS
Editor,
Is there a place where I can research indicators or formulas like the ones that appear in Traders' Tips? Is there a place where I can discuss technical indicators and formulas with other traders? For example, I want to know if anyone has already created a custom indicator for MetaStock based on the HiLo Activator indicator introduced by Robert Krausz in the February 1998 S&C.
NIMIT PHUTIRAT
via E-mail
See Equis International's newsletter, "The Equis Monitor," for information about MetaStock user groups. For Internet discussion, try logging onto a site such as realtraders.com, sponsored by Kasanjian Research, to chat with other traders about trading topics. In the future, we hope to sponsor a traders' discussion group at our own Web site.
Regarding the HiLo Activator, this indicator is available in the program Fibonacci Trader (from Fibonacci Trader Corp., fax 512 443-7119).--Editor
ON MOVING AVERAGES
Editor,
As a new investor of only two months, I began subscribing to STOCKS & COMMODITIES with the January 1998 issue. Exhibiting good judgment so far, don't you think?! Even as a beginner, I can see that the potential power of moving averages as they interact with one another and with daily price bars seems enormous. A framework for taking advantage of that information is what Technical Editor John Sweeney addresses in his article, "Applying moving averages" (S&C, November 1997).
I appreciate his daytrading approach, but something about his technique has left this novice confused. He suggests the entry point "can be specified the night before," yet it appears that the rule to "go long at the price of a rising average" poses a catch-22. The incremental extension of the moving average for any trading day requires that day's data, typically the closing price, to complete the calculation. How can tomorrow's entry point be determined the night before when tomorrow's close is necessary to calculate the value of the moving average for the trading day in question?
Referring to one of the charts on page 50 of the November 1997 issue, Sweeney writes, "Close inspection of point C (Figure 4) shows the 10-day moving average generating a win at 1...," but, in fact, the moving average that serves as the buy point for that transaction can't be calculated until you have the closing value at the end of the trading day. The value of the moving average the day before point 1 is too low to have generated a buy signal. What am I missing here? A more detailed example of determining the entry point would be very much appreciated.
GEORGE DAWSON
via E-mail
You are correct that the average cannot be calculated until the day is finished. However, it can be estimated. I do it by examining the last three to five days' values and extrapolating them to the upcoming day. Nothing fancy here: Just look at the trend of differences between the days and extend yesterday's value to today. Some traders use formal regression, some back out the "tail end" value and estimate today's close, but we're all just using our best guess. We don't have to be exact here; we're just looking for a reasonable estimate. Give it a try! -- John Sweeney, Technical Editor
RISK ANALYSIS
Editor,
The article "What is risk?" by Gary Anderson (S&C, April 1998) was excellent and insightful. It left me wanting to implement the method, but no specific calculations were given. Are any MetaStock formulas or spreadsheet examples available?
IAN JOHNSON
Richmond, BC, Canada
Sorry, we don't have spreadsheet or MetaStock code available. Please try contacting the article's author for information. The author's E-mail address was listed at the end of the article.-- Editor
TRADING WITH A SPREADSHEET
Editor,
Please consider commissioning an article geared toward traders using a spreadsheet as their trading platform. What I have in mind is something as simple as a moving average crossover system, with a broad variety of standard performance numbers (total number of trades, average win size, profit ratio, Sharpe ratio, etc.).
Although it would perhaps make for dry reading, I think many would find it useful to be able to construct a trading system in Microsoft Excel, for example. Traders could verify results from other trading platforms, have a backup system in place, and most likely, have more flexibility than most trading platforms currently allow.
CAB VINTON
via E-mail
We do try to present spreadsheet implementations of techniques whenever we can. Thanks for your expressing your interest in spreadsheet trading. Perhaps someone reading this will take an interest in submitting such an article. In the meantime, we will try to keep including spreadsheet examples. -- Editor
RELATIVE STRENGTH INDEX LOOKBACK
Editor,
I was reading Thomas Bulkowski's article on the relative strength index ("Improving the win-loss ratio with the relative strength index," March 1998). I really enjoyed it because it answered for me a simple but nagging question about the RSI, and that is, What lookback period is reliable?
My next question, though, is similar: What lookback period do you use for daytrading the RSI? Bulkowski recommended a nine-, 16-, 28-day lookback period using weekly charts, but what about day charts? What about hourly? Would I simply change the lookback to nine, 16 and 28 hours as opposed to days? And what if I am trading 15- or five-minute charts?
THOMAS VILLARUBIA
via E-mail
Interesting questions, and ones worthy of research. You could consider researching the ideas and submitting an article to us. -- Editor
ELLIOTT WAVE
Editor,
Great magazine. Wish it was biweekly!
Which of your back volume(s) containing article(s) explaining Elliot wave theory would you recommend for someone who is close to a novice level?
HOWARD TAYLOR
via E-mail
Here are a few articles we've published on Elliott wave:
Hartle, Thom [1996]. "At the crest of a tidal wave: Robert R. Prechter Jr. on the Elliott wave principle," interview, Technical Analysis of STOCKS & COMMODITIES, Volume 14: January.
MacDowell, C.R. [1990]. "Elliott wave dilemma: Bull or bear market?" Technical Analysis of STOCKS & COMMODITIES, Volume 8: January.
Thompson, Mark [1990]. "An overview in Elliott terms," Technical Analysis of STOCKS & COMMODITIES, Volume 8: August.
For more details on these and other articles, please visit the back-issue archive area of our Web site, which lists article abstracts. -- Editor
ERRATA
On page 96 of the April 1998 S&C, a review of Hit and Run Trading listed an incorrect Web address for M. Gordon Publishing Group. The correct Web site address is https://www.mgordonpub.com.