OPENING POSITION December 1998
This month, the STOCKS & COMMODITIES interview is with hedge fund manager Mark Boucher, whom we interviewed previously in our April 1996 issue. He recently came out with a new book, The Hedge Fund Edge: Maximum Profit/Minimum Risk Global Trend Trading Strategies, and our curiosity about it led us to give him a call again to find out more. This time, throughout our talk, Boucher covers a number of topics, including his take on the current fundamental forces driving the global markets. Did he say fundamental? Is that allowed in Technical Analysis of STOCKS & COMMODITIES? Yes, I -- and he -- did, and while this topic may seem verboten to the technical purist, I personally found Boucher's views enlightening. In the interview, he does a nice job of walking us through an analogy of economics and then uses that to explain some of the market situations facing us today. And of course, we do move onto technical methods for approaching these ongoing market challenges. All in all, I think you will find the piece an interesting read.
Our feature article this month, "The Yen, Recursed," is another of Dennis Meyers' work on the currency markets. Here, Meyers introduces us to a new oscillator and a complex mathematical technique. To understand the calculation, we've provided an Excel sidebar, which will help you walk through the oscillator calculation. This is something that we are striving to do on a regular basis, because in this way, the calculations can be reduced to a series of steps in a standard format that should make the concept clear.
Toward that end, we have recently added to our editorial staff Stuart Evens, who will assist me in producing these sidebars as well as writing articles on basic techniques. We've hired Stuart in answer to your complaints that the magazine is too technical, and we realize that there is a need for more articles that explain basic technical analysis. Those articles are now on their way. Check out Stuart's article this month, "Plotting Trendlines." His discussion is based upon Victor Sperandeo's book, Trader Vic -- Methods Of A Wall Street Master. Even if you are a longtime reader, you'll probably find a little time refreshing yourself on the basics is time well-spent.
So these are some of the improvements we are working on as the holiday season presents itself and the New Year beckons. If you've thought of an article that presents basic technical analysis, then write it and send it on in to me. Not only that, I'm willing to consider articles on complex trading systems as well as simple methods. My goal each month is to provide a range of topics. I want to see the novice as well as the veteran find value in STOCKS & COMMODITIES. (Did he say value? Is that a technical term? We must remember that anything that helps us in our trading, fundamental or technical, is of value. And that's why we're here!) Trade well!
