To my readers,

It all started in 1968. Back then I had access to a desk calculator with a magnetic card that could be programmed to perform 60 steps automatically. Using this machine, which had to be fed data by hand, I started looking for the Holy Grail -- the single technical market indicator that could be relied upon to invariably tell me when to buy and when to stand aside.

Now, over forty years later -- having used IBM 360 20's, 300 baud modems and remote computers, and a Radio Shack "Trash-80" in the 70's, a UNIX based machine with 1 meg RAM and a clock speed of 8 in the early 80's that cost $36 thousand, and now a pretty large Dell workstation and all the data riches of the Internet -- I am still looking for that one indicator that will do it all.

But over forty years I learned that no single indicator will ever do it all, and no indicator will even do it consistently. What I have grown to rely upon is a group of indicators that I inspect daily, and a method of averaging the number that are positive, neutral and negative. Even this is not foolproof, but it is useful in guiding me in and out of the market.

I've also learned that every indicator requires interpretation to determine the levels that correspond with bullish conditions and levels that are bearish. No two individuals will analyze a group of indicators in precisely the same manner. It is a subjective analysis that requires attention every day.

I intend to share with you all the indicators that I use, adding to this encyclopedia chapter by chapter until they're all there. But that said, I am certain that there will be changes as we go along -- so I see this as an endless work in process. Today I use 29 indicators, but many more are under study, in the hopes that they will become useful down the road. As I learn more about them, you'll hear about them first -- right here.

Happy trading,

Fred Goodman

Fred Goodman, CFP, is a fee-only Certified Financial Planner based in Los Angeles. You can send him your questions and comments via e-mail at Fred@MarketMonograph.com. E-mail sent to Fred may be edited for clarity and brevity and published on this web site, and may include your name unless you request anonymity or specify not for publication. The charts and commentary represent what Fred  thinks about the market and what he is thinking of doing for his own account and for accounts he manages at the time of writing. Fred, his clients, or his family may have positions or may make trades in securities mentioned in these commentaries.  There is no guarantee that you will profit from trading as discussed herein. You may lose money and Fred assumes no responsibility for what you do or do not do with this information. Copyright © 2006 Fred Goodman. All rights reserved.

For information purposes only, offered as a periodical of general circulation; not to be deemed to be recommendations for buying or selling specific securities or to constitute personalized investment advice. Derived from sources believed to be reliable, but no warranty is made as to accuracy.