The Blogs

The Kirk Report

A website that I read everyday is Charles Kirk's The Kirk Report. Great daily commentary on the market by an obviously accomplished trader. One of the best features is that once or twice a week he does a post where he provides links to articles that cover investing/trading. If I have missed something worth reading, The Kirk Report usually does not.


Tale Of The Tape and Wall Street Fighter

Two websites that do a good job of discussing investing and trading but often break it up and mix in a little humor with links to off-beat news stories and other random, but interesting, stuff.


Fat Pitch Financials and Value Investing News.

Fat Pitch is a great vlaue investing website that breaks down stocks and offers a special situation service. Value Investing News is a community driven value investing news site where readers submit stories and vote on them. I think it is a great site to quickly see what others are reading and think worth while to share.


Abnormal Returns

A great blog that I read everyday. While they often post on timely stock market news, the best feature is the end of day link round-up where they post links to several of the best blog posts and news articles of the day. Quick and great way to catch up on anything you might have missed.


Howard Lindzon

Another blog I like to read daily is Howard Lindzon. He provides daily posts on a wide range of topics including stocks, the market, business in general, Web 2.0, and some fun but interesting other topics. The best thing I like about his blog from a stock market point of view is that he does a good job explaining why trends are important when thinking about stocks. The discussion of trends is not limited to just a stocks price history but covers the underlying real world reasons which support the price trend.


Trader X

A great site that breaks down short-term trades from a technical point of view providing an explanation as to the basis of entries with charts. If you are interested in learning about technical trading the Trader X site is one to spend some time reading.


Trader Mike

Trader Mike is an accomplished trader whose site offers a lot to the budding trader. He offers a daily link to articles of interest for investors or traders; a daily watchlist of stocks for short term trades; links to informative articles about how to trade; discussions on position sizing and risk measurement; and even goes into the details of his own trading system. In short, Trader Mike has shown a great desire to help others benefit form his experience. A blog like that is worth reading.


Bill Rempel

Bill Rempel's Nodoodahs blog was one of the first three blogs I came across when I first started learning about investing. It is also one of the best blogs I read and would be in any top five list of blogs that I have learned the most from. Bill mixes a lot of different topics on his blog outside of the stock market. The posts about the stock market though are unique because it is one of only a few websites (and one of the best) that attempts to mix the best qualities of various styles of investing to achieve success as opposed to relying on only one methodology. One of the best things I like about Bill's blog is that any stock market question or problem you might have Bill can offer a quick understandable mathematical formula to help show you how to solve the problem. In my opinion Bill's blog is one of the most intelligent bodies of work you are going to read for free on the internet and learn something.


Trading Goddess

Not only does the Trading Goddess post solid trading articles, she often takes a lighthearted look at the market and is not afraid to poke fun at herself. In short like every other great blog, she is smart and funny. The added bonus is she is a woman. So if you like humor, solid market analysis (and are tired of getting it from men) go check out the Trading Goddess. Did I mention she is a woman?


Daily Options Report and Simply Options Trading

The Daily Options Report is self-described as "Learn Everything You Need to Know About Options....And You Might Even Have Fun Doing It." Well Adam is not kidding when he says that.Like many of the blogs I like to read Adam mixes three things into his blog to make it a worthwhile read: solid analysis on the market, humor, and a daily round-up of interesting and relevant news stories with links. Adam is also a contributor to the Wall Strip show. Simply Options Trading is another solid options blog worth a look.

I would recommend either for those who want to learn more about options.


NYSE Trader

J.C. is a scalper. For those who do not know what that is, think a daytrader with attention deficit disorder. A scalper buys and sells shares by the second or minute. J.C. trades more shares in one day than the average person will trade in a lifetime.

Now for someone who is a wee bit more long term oriented you might wonder what value J.C.'s blog might have for me. A lot actually. For many, looking into the mirror and taking responsibility for the good and bad that happened today is a hard thing to do; it is even harder when it costs money. Yet everyday J.C. mans up and lays it all out. Whether you are an investor or trader, short term or long term, you don't get better until you can look yourself in the eye and acknowledge your mistakes, fix them, and move on. Reading J.C. helps understand that simple, yet difficult to do, concept.


Value Discipline

For those who invest using a fundamental approach, Rick at Value Discipline has a great blog. As described on his site, Rick is a professional money manager who ran a portfolio for institutions for over 25 years and now currently works with individuals.Using a value approach, Rick's blog offers analysis on specific companies and discusses topics timely to the current market. Like other fine blogs Rick does a good job of providing links to great articles and research material of interest to any investor.Rick was also named to James Altucher's Top 100 blog list found here. If you want solid fundamental analysis from someone who knows what he is writing about, Rick at Value Discipline is a blog I recommend.


Gannon On Investing

In my opinion, Gannon On Investing is one of the top 5 blogs out there for a new investor. Geoff writes from a strictly value investing point of view. This is not to say that he rejects other points of view; rather, he simply sticks to what he knows. In fact Geoff often discusses other styles of investing not as an exercise to prove them wrong but as a way to examine whether there exists any utility for the value investor.

In addition, the depth of analysis that can be found on Geoff's blog is amazing. Equally as stellar is the quality of the writing, which matches or exceeds what is produced by any institutional report. About the only bad thing about this blog is that Geoff sometimes can go several weeks without a post, which is understandable in light of the amount of time it obviously takes to produce quality research.


Accrued Interest

A great blog to read is Accrued Interest. Unlike nearly all other blogs out there that cover equity related topics, Accrued Interest is a blog that covers the bond market. Or as the author of the blog puts it:

"A bond market blog? Seriously? Yes, from the most boring corner of the investment world, its Accrued Interest, a blog about the bond market."

The author, Tom G., describes himself as a professional bond trader who oversees the taxable bond trading for a small investment management firm. The blog is well written and covers all things bond (or interest rate) related. Well worth the read.


Gannon On Investing

In my opinion, Gannon On Investing is one of the top 5 blogs out there for a new investor. Geoff writes from a strictly value investing point of view. This is not to say that he rejects other points of view; rather, he simply sticks to what he knows. In fact Geoff often discusses other styles of investing not as an exercise to prove them wrong but as a way to examine whether there exists any utility for the value investor.

In addition, the depth of analysis that can be found on Geoff's blog is amazing. Equally as stellar is the quality of the writing, which matches or exceeds what is produced by any institutional report. If you are just starting to learn how to participate in the stock market (like I was at this time last year) spending time reading Geoff's site may shorten your learning curve, I know it did mine.


Bill Cara's blog

Bill Cara's blog was one of the first blogs I read when I started investing. It is also one of the best for a new investor. The blog covers all aspects of trading and investing.

Whether you are interested in technical, fundamental, or quantitative analysis, Bill Cara discusses it all. Not too sure what market is right for you? Equities, fixed income, commodities, options, futures, and forex are all covered. Each section has a place on the main page where one can click and get an overview to each category. In addition to all this there are daily posts with commentary and links to research materials.

One of the best things about this site is Bill Cara's Week In Review. Every Saturday Mr. Cara provides an exhaustive analysis of what took place the week before and a look ahead to developing ideas. It is one of the best resources I have found. Overall Bill Cara's blog is one of the best and I recommend it to all.


Digital Breakfast

Digital Breakfast is another good blog that I read. As stated on the blog, the author's investment style to invest in "distressed or undervalued assets (securities and real estate). I hate paying retail and I'm always looking to pay 60 cents for $1."

The coolest thing about the blog is that the author uses neural networks to track trends. Specifically, the blog posts a link to the results of his neural network screen as it relates to the major ETF sectors as seen here. There is also commentary and analysis of individual stocks.


The Fly On Wall Street

The Fly On Wall Street blog is a very unique blog worth visiting. The blog provides daily commentary from an individual actually describing the moves made while managing other people's money. This commentary is offered in a refreshingly truthful and upfront manner.

The Fly (aka Broker A) discusses daily trades, provides market commentary, and offers a candid opinion in an attempt to cut through the noise offered by the market and the so called market pundits. The Fly's comments are important because when they are taken as a whole and approached as a cinematic movie rather than a snap-shot picture, reading the short posts over several days or weeks provides an insight into how the market ebbs and flows. Something that every investor and trader should understand. Broker A does so in an upfront and honest manner.


Chris Perruna's Successful Education Through Investing

Another blog I like to read is Chris Perruna's Successful Education Through Investing blog. Chris mixes it up offering articles on the market, individual stocks, finances, and even poker. It is his posts about individual stocks that I like most. The reason I like the individual stock posts is that Chris does not just look at the fundamental or technical factors. Using a mixture of the two styles, Chris demonstrates that taking the best from both fields can be helpful in making a purchasing decision.


Filtering Wall Street

A blog that I read on a regular basis is Filtering Wall Street. It is a trading blog which provides daily commentary about various markets, stocks, and individual trades made with associated charts. One of the nice features the blog provides to a new trader is a discussion and analysis of stock screens using various filters. Good stuff for those who are interested in technical analysis and are looking to gain a better understanding on how to use technical stock screens.


Stockbee

Another blog I like to read is Pradeep Bonde's Stockbee blog. Pradeep's blog is focused on communicating his interest to "trade and develop various systems based on various market anomalies and stock life cycle profiling." Pradeep offers daily commentary on the market and individual stocks. One of the things I like about the blog is that Pradeep takes the time to explain sector rotations and the effect earnings have on stocks. Using specific stocks Pradeep walks one through on how to analyze the movement and momentum. He also provides the occasional stock screen and discussion about money management and proper risk taking. Overall a good blog for trend and momentum players with value aspects as a plus.


Notable Calls

Another blog I like to read is Notable Calls. The blog provides a quick way to scan what stocks are in the news and why. It does so by providing a daily pre-market look at what brokerage and research firms are saying about particular stocks with a quick commentary by the blog author on how the news might affect the stock. Nothing fancy here, just good solid information.


The Kingsland Report

A blog that I found recently and now include in my daily reading is Jim Kingsland's The Kingsland Report. The blog author provides a morning market commentary and an evening review wrap-up. In between are insightful comments on wide range of market topics, such as, futures, metals, stocks, and general market and economic commentary.


A Dash of Insight

Much like one of my top five blog picks, Bill Rempel's Nodoodahs blog, Jeff does not massage the data to fit his view. Instead, like Bill, Jeff lets the data guide his view. It provides insightful commentary on the stock market. So if you are looking for a blog that makes an honest effort to allow the data to provide guidance in understanding the market, you should give A Dash of Insight a read.

Option Pundit

The Option Pundit does a good job of breaking down all things option related, from a look at the week ahead, to individual option trades, to explaining option strategies. The part of the website that got my attention and I like the best is the Option Pundit Toolbox.


Five Percent Stocks

As the name of the blog implies, the author buys stocks and holds them for a five percent move or 30 days, which ever comes first. Overall, a nice site to read about an interesting way to play the market.


Options The Easy Way

Another great blog that covers options trading. The blog offers many insightful posts on options. Options The Easy Way covers the material any new investor needs to know about trading options.


Afraid To Trade: Overcoming Stock Market Fears

As the name implies this blog is focused on addressing the common fears individuals have when it comes to trading. Whether it is buying, selling, or holding, a large part of stock market success is controlling anxiety and fear. This blog endeavors to help investors overcome those fears.


The Value Blogs

The Value Blogs is a collection of posts from several different blogs focusing on fundamental investing. The blog describes itself as "a one-stop resource for value investors." It does a good job of meeting that description. Overall, for those interested in reading blogs which focus on the value style of investing it is a quick way to see the latest posts.


Traderfeed

Exploring and understanding your competencies and limitations reigns paramount above all else. That is what the Traderfeed is all about. That is why, in my opinion, Traderfeed is one of the most important blogs a new investor or trader reads.


Gauging Corporate Financial Results

Normally the study of a corporation's financial statements (the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow) can be a real snoozer. Fortunately, the blog's author, Neil Carvin, came up with a process to make that study a bit more interesting. He has constructed Four Financial Gauges that provide a quick visual read on a company's financials. The blog posts updates on specific companies evaluating recent filings using the aforementioned gauges. Here is a link to an update on King Pharmaceuticals (KG) as an example. Gauging Corporate Financial Results is doubly a worthwhile read both for the content and the manner it is presented.