James Altucher's Daily Blog Watch - Blog Review

James Altucher's Daily Blog Watch

Like Abnormal Returns, James Altucher's Daily Blog Watch is another excellent way to save time. Six times a week Mr. Altucher posts links to several articles and blog posts that merit attention. For those who do not have time it is a quick and easy way to stay on top of the investment blog world.

Additionally, as author of three great books on investing, the creator of the Stockpickr website, and a successful hedge fund manager, James Altucher's Daily Blog Watch provides the new investor and trader with access to a daily news briefing from an individual who offers valuable insight. The best part is that this access is free. So too are many other of Mr. Altucher's writings at TheStreet.com.

James Altucher's Daily Blog Watch has saved me time and provided value to my education as an investor/trader, and I think it will do the same for any new investor or trader.

James Altucher's Daily Blog Watch

The dk Report - Blog Review

The dk Report

The dk Report is a blog that provides an excellent daily overview on what transpired in the market. Mixing commentary with economic analysis accompanied by charts, The dk Report reviews how sectors, industries, and indices are performing.

Well written and detailed The dk Report nonetheless presents the material covered in a manner that even the new trader or investor can grasp. For the new trader interested in learning how to study market trends using charts, The dk Report provides informed analysis while not overwhelming the novice reader.

The dk Report

Cheap and Safe - Stock Screen

Here is a screen that looks for both cheap and relatively safe stocks. It comes from the Stingy Investor website which provides good resources for the new investor. You can make the screen by using the free deluxe screener available at the MSN Money website.

1. A member of the S&P500

2. Debt-to-Equity Ratio less than or equal to 0.5

3. Current Ratio of more than 2

4. Interest Coverage of more than 2

5. Some Cash Flow from Operations

6. Some Earnings

7. Price to Sales ratio of less than 1

Here is a link to the screen and the rationale behind it.

The Aleph Blog - Blog Review

The Aleph Blog

Another solid blog a new investor or trader may benefit from reading is the The Aleph Blog. The Aleph Blog is authored by David J. Merkel,a commentator at the website RealMoney.com. The Aleph Blog covers a wide variety of topics including macroeconomics, derivatives, quantitative strategies, insurance issues, corporate governance, etc. One of the better things that the The Aleph Blog does, as stated on the blog, is a review of the inter-linkages in the markets in order to understand individual markets better.

The highest compliment I give about the blogs I read is that a blog not only informs and educates, but also challenges its reader to think. The Aleph Blog does just that. A new investor or trader should make the effort to read The Aleph Blog.

The Aleph Blog

Best Stock Market Blogs As Voted By You

Last week I posted the top 10 blogs that have helped me the most since I started investing 18 months ago. Now it is your turn.

I created a list on Amazon's Unspun of Stock Market Blogs. The site also allows for the creation of a Widget as you can see on the right.

Either by visiting the above link or using the interactive widget to the right feel free to vote for those blogs you feel are your favourite or that have helped you the most. This list is by no means complete so feel free to follow the above link and add any blog you feel deserves a vote, even your own. Hopefully over time the list will present to the new investor or trader a road map to the more useful blogs.

Please note: Except for the first ten which are the blogs I have learned the most from, I started this list by simply selecting other blogs I enjoy from my blog roll. I will leave it up to you to rank them by voting.

Top Five Blogs For a new Investor Or Trader - First Half 2007

At the beginning of the year I selected the top five blogs I felt contributed the most to my development in the first 12 months as an investor and trader. You can see that post here. The five blogs I mentioned are Geoff Gannon: Gannon On Investing, Bill Rempel: Nodoodahs Investing, Bill Cara: Capital Markets & Social Equity, Michael Seneadza: Trader Mike, and Howard Lindzon: Trends - Find Them, Ride Them, and Get Off. Those five blogs I thought were essential in my obtaining a 19.63% return for 2006.

All of the above are still great blogs and I think any new investor or trader should read them. Of course learning is not static and as my knowledge grows so does the circle of blogs I draw on to learn from. To build on my previous "Top Five Blogs of 2006" I thought it would help other investors to know what other blogs I am currently learning the most from besides the above five. Therefore, the following are the five blogs (in addition to the aforementioned five) that I feel have had the most impact on my ability to achieve a 14.96% return in the first half of 2007.

1. Traderfeed

Exploring and understanding your competencies and limitations reigns paramount above all else. Traderfeed offers insightful analysis on how to unleash the inner power of your mind to increase market performance while at the same time controlling the destructive mental tendencies we all have that decrease investing performance.

2. Daily Options Report

Daily Options Report is a great resource for an investor or trader looking to utilize options as a means to enhance market performance. The author, Adam Warner, goes out of his way to explain in terms understandable to the uninitiated options trader what options are all about. Mr. Warner is also quick to respond to any questions is readers might have.

3. Maoxian

Since 2001, the author of the Maoxian blog has been providing insightful market commentary on all time frames and every style of investing and trading. While the current material is well worth the read, great value can be found in the extensive archive. For those wanting to read a perspective on the market from someone who was blogging before there were blogs then Maoxian is the place to go.

4. Cheap Stocks

Perhaps the best blog to read on applying the teachings of Benjamin Graham is Cheap Stocks. Each post provides a great teaching tool to the new investor who desires to see an example of the traditional "Grahamian" style of value investing. Reading the blog archive at Cheap Stocks, which dates to 2003, a new investor will be rewarded with a better grasp on traditional fundamental investing.

5. Abnormal Returns

Everyday Abnormal Returns provides a comprehensive review, with links, to some of the best investment and economic related posts on the Internet. Often, the posts are organized around a daily topic or theme. If you are a new investor or trader and do not know what to read, Abnormal Returns can help because it collects the most relevant daily links to the best investment related articles on the Internet which will then provide an invaluable education.

There it is, the five most important blogs to me in the first half of 2007. I think any investor or trader will be well served to read the blogs listed in my "Top Five Blogs of 2006" and the blogs listed currently for the first half of 2007. I know they helped me.

Cheap Stocks - Blog Review

Cheap Stocks


Another blog I enjoy and have learned a great deal from is Cheap Stocks. Cheap Stocks focuses on finding traditional value investments. In other words, Cheap Stocks finds value in assets as opposed to growth. The blog does this by using the teachings of Benjamin Graham to highlight stocks (often obscure and unlisted) which provide the investor with a demonstrable margin of safety.

While the blog is not updated as often as one would like (avg. of 5-6 posts a month) each post provides a great teaching tool to the new investor who desires to see an example of the traditional "Grahamian" style of value investing in action. By reading the blog archive which dates to 2003, a new investor will be rewarded with a cinematic view of the rewards that await those willing to take the road less traveled in stocks unloved or unknown.

Overall, Cheap Stocks is one of the best blogs that educates the new investor on traditional fundamental investing.


Cheap Stocks

First Half 2007 Results - Corrected

One of the reasons I am not Bill Rempel is I am math challenged. This morning, after writing this post late last night, I realized I made an error on my spread sheet. I had the dates off and therefore the number was wrong.

For the first six months of 2007 my year to date, annualized, is 14.96%. Using a simple interest calculation (current balance divided by January 1, 2007, starting balance plus any contributions without regard to date made) reveals a gain of 13.9%.

Sorry about the confusion. Suggestions on a good summer math camp I can send myself to will be appreciated.