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This month's STOCKS & COMMODITIES interview is with private trader Robert Zellner. Zellner has the kind of experience that certainly made this interview an informative read, at least for me. In fact, his entire career, which includes working for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, managing the research department and trading for Ned Cook Industries, being president and CEO of Citicorp Futures, as well as taking on a number of other interesting and challenging positions, sets Zellner apart.
I met Zellner back when we were both working for Drexel Burnham Lambert. One of his responsibilities was to write a daily and weekly commentary on the interest rate markets, and I can recall him describing his expectations in terms of what he thought was important to the market. In other words, he wasn't offering his thoughts about the economy or a forecast for a particular economic release (not that he didn't have them); rather, what he emphasized was more his estimate on how the interest rate markets themselves might respond to upcoming events, such as the release of unemployment statistics. I remember liking his commentary, because experienced traders quickly learn that markets take on an almost myopic view of the world, overreacting this month to news that was looked at with a yawn six months earlier. This is something the novice trader often learns the hard way. I think you'll find his thoughts to be informative and, in many ways, eye-opening.
Our feature article, "Technical Studies And The Primary Cycle" by Raymond A. Merriman, offers a look at combining cyclical analysis with technical tools. As price action unfolds on the charts, our eyes are drawn to the rhythm, or cycle, of up and down movements. Now, there's been a lot of work toward identifying cycles; the problem is the degree of precision for forecasting when a cycle low or top might occur. Ever thought about applying technical indicators during the projected window for a top or bottom? Well, youÕre in luck, as this in-depth study looks at longer-term cycles in the stock market and then looks at the performance of technical indicators during windows of projected tops and bottoms.
Have you visited our Website, www.traders.com, lately? If you haven't, you might want to. We've made some upgrades, including a new search feature that allows client browsers to do full-text searches of our Website, our Volume Books (the archives of which are contained in our CD-ROM), or other Websites in our industry. The Volume Book archives are made up of thousands of articles we have published since 1982 and which are sold on our S&C on CD software. (And for those of you who've called, written, and asked: Our articles are not yet available to be purchased over the Internet, but we are working on it.)
And speaking of upgrades, we have added a new feature to the magazine. From time to time, an article may not fully describe some indicator or technical method that is integral to the piece, so in this issue, we introduce S&C Traders' Notes, which is a one- to two-page explanation of said indicator or technical method, complete with charts, formulas and a listing of reference material. We inaugurate the feature with two Notes -- one on the topic of intermarket analysis and one on the topic of the stochastic oscillator.
The markets, the Internet, and our magazine are all evolving. Our goal here at STOCKS & COMMODITIES is to help you keep up with the changing world. Trade well!
