On the ChartSmith Trader's Blog we have included fundamental news and information on various commodities, however, when it comes to actual trading decisions our decisions are primarily based on technical chart data.

Here's some thoughts on technical vs fundamental...

Charts give us the up-to-the-day information needed for making actual trading decisions. Each day's trading range has incapsulated the opinion and emotion of the world's trading clientel--taking into consideration supply & demand issues and concerns, the vote has been cast and the open-high-low-and close tell the story without human emotion. The prices represented on the chart are what they are, plain and simple, and based on specific factors as described in ChartSmith-Forging Your Financial Future, we can create trading plans that place the odds of success greatly in our favor while simultaneously reducing risk. That's the way we like it.

As for fundamental information, many of you have heard me call it "funny-mentals". The credit for that term goes to Mr. Ed Seykota of South Lake Tahoe. Funnymentals is a great description because this type of market information includes mostly ambitious opinions and emotionally driven sensationalized thoughts and ideas with sprinkles of factual data. Obviously this makes for a tough combination when trying to make sound trading decisions, not to mention attempting to stay committed to one's decisions. Like the legendary trader, Ted Warren, said in his book, How to Make the Stock Market Make Money for You, "...the trader (speculator) begins to run at the sight of his own shadow..."

Funnymentals are a part of the investing marketplace that Shawna and I find interesting and fun. This is why we love to include tidbits of recent news items along the way, keeping in mind that the fundamentals are more for entertainment than anything else.

Technical vs fundamental; now you know that we likem' both, but for two distinctly different reasons.

To your ongoing success (and fun!), Scott

Here's an email update we recently received from Zane Anderson Ministries. I believe Pastor Zane is hitting on a subject that touches every household in America- that being the way we view DEBT and the way DEBT is controlling us...I firmly believe that if Americans were to embrace financial principles on a biblically based level a lot of families would begin to see rays of hope streaming back into their lives. And for all of us that trade commodity futures this holds immense value too- so please read on! Scott

Debt is NOT a way of Life!

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
Proverbs 22:7 NASB

Our generation has been seduced by a spirit of mammon that manipulates our attitudes and beliefs about money. Debt is not a way of life. Our culture says whatever it is that you want, you've got to have it now! Credit card companies won't tell you that you could have ten of those things you bought for the price you paid on credit for one. If you have a credit card with a $10,000 balance, which happens be what the average American has these days, and you're paying the minimum, in most cases you'll never get it paid off. For one reason, what you pay off, you add back on to the card.

I know people who put a second mortgage on their home so they can have a nice vacation or a new car. It's time to break the mindset that comes with an inability for delayed gratification.

Proverbs 22:7 says if you owe, then your debtor owns you. You become a slave to your debt. We need to learn to restrain ourselves financially. We're so busy keeping up with the Joneses that we don't realize that the Joneses don't even like us. So what does it matter what they think anyway? If we don't have the money in the bank, don't spend it! It's really that simple.

If you have debt and want out, ask God to help you control your spending. Get some wisdom from an organization like Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace. Take steps to day to have a financial future.


(c)2010 Zane Anderson Ministries. This devotional was taken from an excerpt of "Got to have a plan, man" February 28, 2010. To purchase this sermon contact us at media@vwcaz.org. You can listen to this sermon here. All rights reserved.

For additional commodity futures information visit our all-new ChartSmith Trader's Blog!

To view this blog entry with photos and comment form click here: http://www.mychartsmith.com/id85.html

Recently we have had some time to nestle in with the family and watch some great NFL football games.  With the playoffs coming to an end and the Super Bowl fast approaching there has been some fun conversations in our home revolving around the exciting game of football.  

All of this activity has gotten me pondering some of the lessons I can remember from my football days while at Yosemite Union High School in the quaint little mountain town of Oakhurst, CA.  While playing ball at Yosemite High these lessons seemed only to apply to the game we were playing at the time but for me and my fellow teammates the wisdom our coach was imparting to us on the field was important "life lessons" that could be carried throughout our lives on and off the field.  Many of these lessons on the field have influenced the way I approach commodity futures trading as well.

Here's a few thoughts I gleaned from our team's head coach, Steve Raupp, that hopefully will get all of us well on our way to a positive and confident start as we begin to "kick-off" this amazing year before us.

Practice to win- don't just go through the motions, think of every practice as "the real deal".  This is the time to be in the present moment, totally focused on perfecting the skills that will ultimately bring us the result we're looking to achieve as a team on game day. (Analogous of paper trading the commodity chart formations?)

Conditioning- Coach Raupp said, "our opponents may be larger than us or possess more skill than us but one thing is for sure; they will not be able to match our physical agililty!"  We trained harder and pushed each other to be as conditioned as any team could be, believing that anything we lacked could eventually be overcome by massive effort. 

Take Ownership- the message we were receiving from our coach and the coaching staff was that we had to take ownership of every action, every play on the field, including the bad ones.  As individual members of a unitized team we had to mentally take ownership of that field before we ever stepped onto it for the Friday night game.  This mindset took away our tendencies to make excuses or place blame because we understood that whatever our team's objective, it was ultimately our responsibility to see it through.

Rookies Never Last- when called a rooky there's a couple of things a player can do.  He can fold under the pressure and allow the humiliation to tear him down emotionally, eventually to be seen leaving the game or the rooky can gather his intestinal fortitude, determination, and willpower to learn what needs to be learned and drive himself forward, never to be thought of as a rooky again.

Sell Out- I can still here Coach Raupp saying, "If you're out here on the field trying to survive then you can pack it in to the locker room and hang up your gear!  I need every one of you to give your team what it deserves, I need you to sell out!"  This was a call to both emotional & physical action, to "leave-it-all-on-the-field".  There was no talk allowed by the coaching staff that had even a hint of half hearted, willy-nilly, maybe-we'll-just-get-by attitude in it.  It was all or nothing and "sell out" became a core belief amongst the team.

Review- monday afternoon practices often began in a classroom with the team and coaching staff reviewing Friday night's game on film.  This wasn't loafing time, it was serious review of the plays we had executed effectively.  This also included a hard look at what we had done wrong, and what could be done to take corrective action when we were back on the field.  Reviewing film was a time for self assessment and honesty from each of us, a time when we had to swallow pride in order to recognize what had to be fully learned from the experience.  That's what made the experience on the field valuable--because we were determined to learn from it!

This is but a small number of examples I've learned from Coach Raupp and the game of football but I think that is one of the reasons I enjoy watching an occasional game because there is so many analogies that can be drawn from the activity on the field to that of my daily life. 

From commitment to family to persistence at work to building our dreams with passion and maintaining the patience to recognize that it's all a process...caring, sharing, loving, and the business of overall living requires the development of attributes that correlate in many ways to those we see in the players on the 100 yard playing field. 

Some people say it's just a game, but really, isn't that what life is in a way, a game?  I like to think of life as the greatest game of all offering each of us opportunities to learn and grow, if we'll only take the time to see them. 

I hope you will consider and create life enhancing analogies from the positive experiences in your own life and "kick-off" 2010 with renewed resolve and enthusiasm for your bright future!

Our best to you, Scott


*During my senior year Coach Raupp and his assistant coaching staff lead our team to victory as we became the North Sequoia Division champions for the first time in our school's history.  The year was 1985.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!  May the Joy of the Season be with you and the one's you love now and in the New Year to come. 
                                                                       Scott & Shawna

I want to share a letter with you written from our friend, Leslie Householder.  Leslie is helping people literally raise themselves up and completely change the direction of their lives.  Take a moment to check this out!

Dear friend,

Families across the world are scaling back on
unnecessary purchases and focusing on things that
matter most, like:

Family, faith, hope...

If the economy has necessitated this change, then
even a bad economy is something to be grateful for.

The world is full of illusions.  We're all being
tested right now to see if we will seek and cling
to truth and make choices that lead us to greater
personal freedom, or whether we will let the
'evidence' of disaster overwhelm us and lead us
to discouragement and ultimately an even tighter
feeling of bondage.

So, with that in mind, how goes YOUR battle?

Everyone goes through periods of discouragement,
or there could be no real victory.

Everyone.  Even people you look up to.

Even people who are doing well right now.

Discouragement is simply a natural part of the
package called LIFE.

But what separates those who conquer the battle
from those who are crushed under the weight of it,
is just one thing.

The only thing that separates the victor from the
vanquished is his or her thoughts in the heat of the
battle.

It's easy to think optimistically when things are
going well.  It's when things are TOUGH beyond belief
that the real winners emerge.  How do they do it? 
What do they know that perhaps you don't know?

Keep reading...

The hardest part is thinking optimistically when
things are NOT going well.  A person might try, but
if there isn't enough knowledge and understanding to
support that optimism, the optimism is fake at best,
and can even become destructive at worst.

Don't let your optimism destroy you.

You can't just hope and pray that everything will
work out.  You can't just affirm it superficially.
You need to have the knowledge that gives you REASON
to know that everything is going to turn out okay
for you. 

There is a way to know for sure, and it isn't just
from making a decision that you'll make it so.

The good news is that in hard times like these, for
some, the greatest personal victories of all time
will be won.

No victory will ever be so great as the ones that come
out of the most disastrous of conditions.  So if you
have it REALLY bad right now, you are among the most
fortunate - IF - you make your daily decisions based
on...More

Dear friends and fellow traders,

Over the past weeks and months Shawna and I have enjoyed hearing of your enthusiasm for commodity futures trading.  We are pleased to see you learning about this wonderful and interesting world of investing and it brings us great joy to share these fantastic market opportunities with you through the weekly updates. 

As we progress through the remainder of December and begin making our way into the New Year the ChartSmith Weekly Market Update will be postponed.  For the next few weeks it is our goal to spend a little more time with family and friends and a little less time on the computer. 

As you know, the commodity markets are one of the central focal points and passions of our life so you may hear from us a time or two through the Christmas season when you least expect it.  Look for an occasional "quick" update along the way--we'll still be here with you keeping an eye on the markets and I'll send out a notice when relevant market activity occurs. 

For now we just want you to know how important you are to us, as friends and fellow traders, and even more so as people that have an adventurous spirit for learning.  Keep reviewing your charts each day, paper trade the markets that are of interest to you, and enjoy this beautiful Christmas season!!! 

Happy Trading and Merry Christmas! 
                                                                                                           Yours, Scott Jones

We've enjoyed Robert Kiyosaki's books over the years.  Here's a tidbit of Robert's financial wisdom;  The rich build assets that they use to purchase other assets. The poor only have expenses. – Robert Kiyosaki

For those of you already onboard this trade as of Wednesday or Thursday of this week, from our review of Options History on U.S. Chart Co. it looks like you are already in profits of $1,000 to $2,000 per put option depending on the strike price you selected.  Congratulations and just as a reminder, this market has the potential to get even more volatile than it already has been so be sure to have a profit objective in mind and stick to your plan!  Happy trading, Scott

The road to success is not to be run upon by seven-leagued boots. Step by step, little by little, bit by bit—that is the way to wealth, that is the way to wisdom, that is the way to glory. ~Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton

When a market is at historical highs or lows, but there is no sign of a change of trend, my advice is to leave it alone and wait for signs of a change of trend.  Trade with the trend and be patient.
                   ~Victor Sperandeo, Methods of a Wall Street Master

More to All, Less to None.  ~Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich
In last week's newsletter I mentioned how we would like to reach out and let others know that there is a way to create additional cash flow without spending an inordinate amount of time beyond what they already spend at their normal job or business making a living.  Here's the results of what happened the past few days with our publisher:

Holiday Season Special:  ChartSmith-Forging Your Financial Future now 25% off...As mentioned last week, we have been working with our publisher on a new pricing arrangement and we're excited to share this great news with you now! 

Giving the Gift of Futures Education to friends and loved ones just got easier, ChartSmith-Forging Your Financial Future is now available at only $29.95!


Want a copy of the book for FREE?  We're not urging anyone to run out and sign up for a credit card but we do want to give you additional options when possible.  Amazon is offering, for a limited time, a $30 credit on your purchase when you enroll (1-minute process) in the Amazon.com Rewards Visa card from Chase.  If interested you can view details of this program during the checkout process on Amazon.com.  Simply click on the Amazon.com Rewards Visa option to enroll and receive your $30 purchase credit.

Free Enrollment:  Whether you're giving a copy of the book as a gift to a friend or loved one please remember to suggest Free Enrollment in the ChartSmith Weekly Newsletter to them.  This companion tool will bring them up-to-speed in today's global commodity futures markets with greater efficiency and ease!

Given the present condition of the economy, and knowing how important it is for families in today's environment to develop additional streams of income we feel it incumbant upon us to get the word out to as many folks as possible.  We would like to reach out and let them know that there is a way to create additional cash flow without spending an inordinate amount of time beyond what they already spend at their normal job or business making a living.  This week's unemployment report of more than 10% emphasizes the importance of this even more.

     Here's what we're doing and you can be in on this as well!  The timing is perfect for all of us as we roll into the holiday season to give the gift of investment education to friends and family.  If some of the special people in your life end up creating additional streams of income from commodity trading because you gifted them with knowledge of this great business they will be grateful to you forever! 

     We want this to be available to everyone at a bargain price!  Here's the plan; this week we contacted our book publisher to work out the details of reducing the per unit pricing on the book, ChartSmith-Forging Your Financial Future, by nearly 25%. This means the book's price on Amazon will be adjusted down from $39.95 to only $29.95 in the next few days.  The new lower price will enable more people to have access to this life enhancing commodity trading book with little money out of pocket, and that's a real value for everyone interested in buying a copy for loved ones or for themselves! 

     This is not available yet.  When this price reduction takes affect we will notify you here on the Trader's Blog.  Amazon is also working on a program that could bring the price of the book down by 50% when two or more books are ordered.  I promise you'll be the first to hear about the details when this arrangement is completed!

     ChartSmith's Weekly Newsletter is a companion tool.  Another way to share this amazing knowledge with others is to let them know about the Weekly Newsletter and the fact that enrollment is still free.  You've told us that the Newsletter is a great companion tool to the book and that's yet another way of adding value for every reader including the folks that mean so much to you!

     Holiday Gifts; ChartSmith-Forging Your Financial Future and the Weekly Newsletter is a winning combo that will bring a ray of sunshine and a blessing of hope to our friends and family during this winter season.  This empowering financial knowledge puts the media's news of uncertainty and fear in its place- creating a brighter financial future with a sense of great accomplishment and confidence to those who want it!  

     You can expect an update to arrive within the next few days!  
                                                                
                                                                       Blessings to you and yours, Scott

After receiving emails and phone calls from some of you letting us know that you had bought lumber a week ago prior to the limit up trading sessions we realized just how astute to market conditions you have become.  From your study of looking for and identifying commodities that have submerged into wholesale levels over the past few months you took the ambitious steps of committing to getting long lumber when the 4-day moving average line crossed up through the 9 and 18-day lines.  You accepted this tool action as adequate evidence combined with the fact that this soft commodity was trading in multi year lows for you to make your decision. 

This was sound and methodical reasoning and best of all it was decision making based on your own assessment of market conditions!  After reviewing the chart on Friday I think it's safe to say that a few of you secured profits exceeding 200% cash on cash returns.  We're pleased to see students receiving excellent profits based on safe and calculated trade decisions and applaud you for having the gumption to follow through.  And greater still, there is more of this to come.  So congratulations and thank you for letting us know!!

Note of Thanks: After receiving emails and phone calls from some of you letting us know that you had bought lumber a week ago prior to the limit up trading sessions we realized just how astute to market conditions you have become.  From your study of looking for and identifying commodities that have submerged into wholesale levels over the past few months you took the ambitious steps of committing to getting long lumber when the 4-day moving average line crossed up through the 9 and 18-day lines.  You accepted this tool action as adequate evidence combined with the fact that this soft commodity was trading in multi year lows for you to make your decision. 

This was sound and methodical reasoning and best of all it was decision making based on your own assessment of market conditions!  After reviewing the chart on Friday I think it's safe to say that a few of you secured profits exceeding 200% cash on cash returns.  We're pleased to see students receiving excellent profits based on safe and calculated trade decisions and applaud you for having the gumption to follow through.  And greater still, there is more of this to come.  So congratulations and thank you for letting us know!!

America's super rich are getting poorer. For only the fifth time since 1982, the collective net worth of The Forbes 400, our annual tally of the nation's richest people, has declined, falling $300 billion in the past 12 months from $1.57 trillion to $1.27 trillion.

Faltering capital markets and real estate prices, along with divorce and fraud, pushed the fortunes of 314 members down and drove 32 plutocrats off the rankings...More

Learning anything can be accomplished through perseverance and effort. 

     If a person struggles with an investment concept, with practice the concept will become easier.

     Through perseverance and effort, struggles become challenges and challenges become
energizing because we begin to understand that intelligence is developed through
hard work.

     What most call genius or talent was at first a seed of curiosity that was cultivated
 over time through tremendous and sustained effort.  Remember the addage, a
 successful person is born of a little inspiration and a lot of perspiration?

     Carol S. Dweck, in Scientific American (Nov. 07) states that "more than three decades of
research shows that a focus on effort - not on intelligence or ability, is the key to success...in life."

                                                           To your fabulous future and expanding success!    Scott

We first read about Linda Bradford Rashke's adventures in the markets a few years ago
in Jack D. Schwager's excellent work, THE NEW MARKET WIZARDS, Conversations
 With America's Top Traders. 

One might call her an investing anomoly of sorts; a multiple market player, a lady realizing
stellar success in an arena mostly associated with men - trading with the creative ability to
read the markets as if she were reading sheet music.  Seriously, that's how she explains
her approach to the markets! 

With the exception of one catastrophic event early in her trading career, Rashke made
 money steadily for a number of years as a floor trader on two different exchanges. 
After being injured in an accident in 1986 she was forced to trade from an office. 
This became a boon to her trading (almost instantly!) as she discovered that she
much preferred off-floor trading.  For many years now, Rashke has been a
consistently profitable trader...

Read more about this lady's unique approach to trading in THE NEW MARKET WIZARDS. 

“I’ve learned to think to myself, “Patience, patience, patience.”  I try to wait
until things set up just right before I take a trade.  Then, when I’m ready to take
the trade, I slowly count to ten before I pick up the phone.  It’s better to have
the wrong idea and good timing than the right idea and bad timing.” 

                                                          ~Linda Bradford Raschke

To your abundant wealth in every area of your life!  Scott

The more we share, the more we have. 

                        ~Leonard Nimoy, American actor, director and author

In her book, The Secret Door to Success, Florence Scovel Shinn wrote; 

...imagination is man's workshop, the scissors of the mind, where he is constantly cutting out the events of his life!

Although I've read her books I often enjoy re-reading them--if only to revisit the little jems of wisdom she so amazingly shared with people back in the 1920's and 30's. 

Good day to you and yours!!!    Scott

I recently re-read The Millionaire Next Door.  Almost forgot how profound and "potentially" life
changing that book can be...here's a quote from Thomas Stanley that pulls-no-punches;

Most people have it all wrong about wealth in America.  Wealth is not the same as income. 
If you make a good income each year and spend it all, you are not getting wealthier. 
You are just living high.  Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend.

~ Thomas Stanley, Ph.D., and William Danko, The Millionaire Next Door

To your ever expanding wealth!  Scott