Trade charts al forall ; it’s worth WE have ali witnessed over the past 12 months the rise and fall of the high technology stocks. Many stocks, after explod- ing to new all-time highs, mav have gotten a bit ahead of themselves, as is typical during robust (bullish) moves to the upside. Experienced traders never, or rarely at least, forget that the market is a manifestation of fear and greed and that they are wading against other individuals, not against com- puters or the stacks them- selves. Many inexperienced marker players fail to compre- hend this critical point. As a result they are often confused as to why stocks often contra- dict rationality and all sense of reason. . _ Stocks can do nothing in and of themselves. Their prices are determined not necessarily by underlying fundamentals or business reasons, but largely ” by the perceptions of people. Ani it is well known that peo- ple’s perceptions are often controlled by their emotions. It is these emotions, primarily greed and fear, that often cause stocks to jump too far in both up and down directions. When the skies are blue - and the world seems great, greed dominates the landscape “and stocks tend to move well above what might be consid- ered, by a rational analytical individual, to be “reasonable” levels. It is at this point that some Wall Street analysts become confused because they don’t understand how stocks can continue to climb past their projected measurements -of underlying value. The key : for them, and for us, is to understand that stocks have ving map announce a new product. Because it is all about people and their emotions, under- standing how to read charts and the psychology involved in trendlines and other techni- cal studies becomes so impor- tant. All the accounting and economic formulas which cre- ate balance sheets, income statements, and ratios reflect what has taken place in the past. And the past has already been factored into a stock's current price. Charts, on the other hand, serve as a living map, built trade by trade, of the players’ current emotional state. It is the ultimate tool for the active trader, and anyone who enters the market arena without them is only secing . the market from a very limited one-dimensional viewpoint. rads@swifttrade.com NEWS photos Mike Wakefield MARK Shorter has owned and operated Addison Insurance Inc. for 13 years. Addison Insurance recommends Autopian From page 15 “It’s a very steady base of customers,” he said. “We're the neighbourhood insurance broker.” . He does not, however, offer private auto insurance. “Some of the brokers are doing the other, but [| haven’t found a company that’s doing a good enough jeb of it yer. 1 think the Avtoplan product is pretty good.” Also on the 3000-block of Upper — Lonsdale: — Esso; Queensdale One-Hour Cleaners; Lonsdale Fabricare Cleaners: Resort A re Fo Reservations Whistler. Commercial Avenues is a monthly feature of the North Shore News’ business section, While it is by no means a com- prehensive guide to any of the avers it focuses on, it seeks to capture a snapshot of the dav- to-day life of businesses selected at random that call the street Two Tire hone. If you have a business that is part ofa unique or oth- erwise worthwhile block, or know of any, please share it with us. Write ta Commercial Avenues, c/o Jan-Christian Sorensen, North Shore News, 1139 Lousdale Ave., North Vancouver V7M 2H4, E-mail . AMUNIROVLaT TIGER PAW ASC P195/70R14 no life of their own. When the average investor’s attitude or emotion changes from greed to fear, stocks, driven by these same le, tend to well telow reasonable Tevels, .. This is when the market - crushes the eternal market’ -optimists who can’t under- ‘stand why stocks are not turn- ing back. up because surely thev “can’t go any lower.” _. This wide vacillation from oves-depressed to over-extend- ed never stops, and it never _ will. It is what creates trading opportunities in long as well ’ as short time frames. It is what captivates individuals and ‘attracts them to the market. The experienced trader, understanding this, builds strategies around the changing, - emotional states of the masses, anticipating when one emo- tional state is about to give way to another. That is the “secret tactic of the professional trader or investor. : ‘Their edge lies not in -knowing when a stock’s cara- ings will be better than expected, nor in trying to guess when a company will yah 99 a | - & Year Racd Hazaré Warranty and 60,080 kin Tresdwear Warranty. Looking For Truck Tires? © Check out our wide selection of truck tires some sizes may be Umited INGLUDES INSTALLATION, BALANCING, VALYE STEMS AND LIFETIME ROTATION. CT a BFGocdricti coonfvEan e CARTER CHEVROLET - OLDSMOBILE 987-5231 . REGENCY PONTIAC - BUICK - CADILLAC - GMC 985-6333. _