The Day Ahead: A Big Sloppy Kiss for Market Data
"Market data" is an epic term in my universe. The stuff is everywhere these days, from rogue links on Twitter posted by faceless individuals to scrolling real-time news bits on your finance news app of choice. These insider-seeming numbers capture the attention of investors seeking the edge over the competition -- that is, the person on the other side of the trade. The problem with data mania is that it's not so insider once it's blasted out to a purchased 10 million-strong email marketing list -- one that naturally contains "active investors" who are acting on the guidance.
But there is a way to win from data, and it starts and ends with interpreting the numbers in a manner that the masses have failed to do. Personally, I am not a data fan. I use it primarily to develop a feel for the market and branch off into a litany of zany thoughts on it, and on specific sectors. What has brought me oodles of success through the years has been meticulously reading earnings-call transcripts and listening to presentations at investment banks, or jumping on the horn with management. Remember, data are the byproduct of events that have already occurred and, to some degree,, the market is likely to have already priced it in....649 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
There’s no substitute for a trading floor to get great ideas, so Jim Cramer created a better one at Real Money and blogs there exclusively. We then added legendary hedge fund manager, Doug Kass, with his exclusive Daily Diary and best investing ideas. Staffed with more than 4 dozen investing pros, money managers, journalists and analysts, Real Money Pro gives you a flood of opinions, analysis and actionable trading advice found nowhere else, and allows you to interact directly with each expert.
Already a Subscriber? Please login.
