Stock Scan Results by the Rambunctious Pig As At 7:15 pm EST November 22, 2014

The contents of this post may temper your trading strategy for the next couple days. I have created an 'index' of 992 stocks that trade between $10 and $25 at the close Friday so that I can measure certain aspects of that 'index' and also to compare individual instruments against it as well.

The first scan that I can describe was to measure the momentum of the index and also the momentum of the 992 instruments as decreasing or increasing as of Friday close.


First, here is the chart of the index that I created.

The lower chart shows the 'homemade' momentum indicator and, as you can see, the momentum is almost neutral for the group.

Next I did a scan to determine how many are decreasing and how many are increasing in momentum.

• Decreasing in momentum are 508 instruments
• Increasing in momentum are  484 instruments

The count is just about even and not really anything to base any decisions on based on Friday's data.

Here is another look at the same chart with a Slow Stochastic.

As you can see, the Slow Stochastic is approaching the overbought area which may indicate a move is coming.

Certainly we can not use this chart as any measure except perhaps to consider when making the trading plan for the next week.

I wanted to share that research today and as time passes I will be improving the scans on that group of stocks and sharing those with you.

I wish you the best with your trading strategy for the coming week.

Good Trading..!

Forex Scan Results by the Rambunctious Pig As At 5:15 pm EST November 22, 2014

One scan only this afternoon and this may affect your trading strategy for next week. Actually this is not a scan but a chart that reflects the momentum of the Forex market in the past few days.


I have made an 'index' of 56 currency pairs, including Gold and Silver, in order to be able to have a look at the momentum of the Forex market in general and also to be able to compare performance of individual currency pairs to the 'index'.

One of the indicators that I use on this chart is a 'homemade' momentum indicator that can reflect the direction of the momentum of the 'index.

For today's purpose, the chart only shows the 'homemade version of the momentum indicator, I have a couple more 'homemade' indicators that I use for different purposes.

Now here is the chart and you will see that the upward momentum of the past two months has turned bearish, which to me indicates that the market may be losing some of the steam it has been showing.

You will see that the last candle is similar to bearish engulfing, an indication that we may some reversals in coming days.

Hopefully this information will benefit your trading strategy for the coming week.

Good Trading..!

Magic Bands Scalp Trading Strategy As As November 21, 2014

There was good volatility in the Forex markets today and some excellent opportunities using this simple strategy.

Let's review a couple charts.

First is AUDUSD, you can see a nice move up and then a gradual move down, two simple entries for profit.

Next is EURGBP. There was a nice bearish entry and then another on a retrace. It is important to  be sure that there is a slope on the 15 Bollinger Band and preferably on both sets of Bollinger Bands. This will keep you out of the chop.

GBPUSD. There were a couple bear entries, the second one being after a retrace. Once those two were finished, the next couple  of the potential entries were suspect based on the slope of the BB lines.

I have several more charts below, that you can observe..... note that the best entries have a good slope on the Bollinger Bands.

USDCHF Once the long move finishes the Bollinger Bands flatten out.. close the trade and look for another trade, avoid consolidations and ranging markets with this system. There are many opportunities daily with this system on different currency pairs

On the AUDCHF, once the price retraces to the 50 Bollinger Bands, it is time to get out of this pair and look for another pair to trade. There is no value to trading in the choppy market, it usually ends up in a loss.

CADCHF  Once the long entry retraces.... get out of this pair and look for another entry on another pair...  Stay away from the consolidation periods!

As mentioned, most important is the slope of the Bollinger Bands. There are enough entries available on different pairs that we can pick and choose and be selective as to the entries we take.

In order to be able monitor several pairs for trade opportunity I have a moving average crossover alert set for the 15 crossing the 50, That allows me to be aware of what is happening on different currency pairs as the day passes.

Again, a stop loss is important in this type of trading, I use a trailing stop as well.

Next week we will probably see more volatility in the markets and many resultant opportunities for this simple trading strategy.

Good Trading..!!

Ichimoku Trading Strategy Chart of the Day, November 17, 2014

AUDNZD: After a pair of Dojis there is a Tenkan cross and price is dropping, a clear signal for a short entry.

There had been significant support holding price up for many days and the Ichimoku Cloud could not be breached with many attempts. At last price was able to break through the cloud and there should be a good move resulting.

Ischimoku Kinko Hiyo is an excellent trend trading strategy used by many banks and institutional traders.

Using the Magic Bands Trading Strategy on Daily Charts

The Magic Bands trading strategy can be applied to daily or weekly charts as well as scalping charts.

It needs only a minor change which is not completely necessary. There is another indicator called the 'ribbon' which adds a bit of colour to the chart as well as denoting momentum. The ribbon expands as momentum builds and that may be useful for some traders as they inspect their charts to look for entries.

The chart may also be enhanced by the Gator oscillator which shows the momentum, that is optional and is not necessary to use this trading system effectively.

Of course, on a longer chart a person will want to include a trailing stop as the position may last for several days or weeks as shown in the USDJPY chart below. You can see that the long entry lasted for several weeks.

Here is a chart of the Dax Index and on it you can see some great entries as that index has been climbing steadily for several months until this past summer. Once again this simple trading strategy has been able to bring significant profits with a minimum of maintenance to the portfolio.

There are many Forex pairs and Stocks and Indexes that have long trends and are quite well suited to this trading strategy. It requires only a few minutes a day to review a sizable portfolio to do what ever maintenance and entries are required.

To locate instruments that may be suitable for this type of system a person needs only do a scan for trending stocks or currency pairs and there are many to choose from. Probably those with some volatility would appeal to many investors.

The indicator settings  can be found on this page Magic Bands Scalp Trading Strategy along with some other information.

One more chart that I have here for you to glance at is that of Sweet Light Crude, you can easily see that a trend following  strategy would have reaped excellent profits in the past eighteen months.

Be sure to use a trailing stop with this system as the markets are completely unpredictable.

Good Trading..!

Currency Wars Brings to Light Another Trading Strategy

How could currency wars generate a trading strategy?

A week or so ago, The Bank of Japan too action which could affect your trading strategy. The decision to enter the market supposedly to buy assets has the effect of boosting the markets and devaluing their yen currency.

Michael Casey , of the WallSteet Journal opines “A Currency War looms”. This could be quite serious as Japan has effectively lowered the prices for is auto production and that will affect jobs in other countries. At some point the affected nations will have to respond.

The United States Dollar has been rising for quite a while and that will allow the purchases of foreign goods to seem cheaper, US manufacturers will be feeling the pressure and may have to cut costs, meaning layoffs.

When the US Dollar settles lower, exports increase, profits increase and employment numbers improve.

Naturally as the large economies such as Japan and the US move their currencies and make adjustments to their trade, other countries are affected, perhaps finding it difficult to sell their goods.

As a result of these manipulations we can expect other nations to take actions to improve their economies.

What has this got to do with trading strategy?

Certainly currency devaluations will be bringing volatility as countries make adjustments. And this will be to the benefit to nimble traders and astute investors.

Here is a handy trading strategy to allow you to benefit from currency wars.

One example that we can watch is the comparison of the two currency pairs EurUsd and UsdDkk, these two have an inverse relationship and good profits can be earned as these two move. Certainly the European Union will be making moves to stimulate growth in coming days and that will cause these two pairs to move nicely. As part of this strategy entries will have to be adjusted regarding size and spreads as they are quite different. The beauty of their strategy is that the pairs move together and in opposite directions.

There is a lot of pips in this little strategy, it is well worth your time to study it and paper trade it until you master it.

One of the Simplest Trading Strategies!

Is a Moving Average system going to be a good trading strategy?

As we always have the option of using several different strategies it is to our advantage to have experience with more than a couple in order to cope with different circumstances and time frames and markets. One strategy may not work based on volatility, while another may not work because we have not the time to sit in front of the screen to monitor a chart, or, we may have only a few minutes to trade and we want to do as well as we can.

Many times I have wished to have an automated strategy so that I did not have to spend time at the screen, especially when the best time to trade is at 3 or 4 am each day. Alas I do not always have an automated strategy and I have to get by with a manual method.

Today I want to share with you a simplified strategy that uses a stochastic and a moving average on a one minute chart. We will use a 200 ema and a 14,3,3 stochastic and plain OHLC bars to keep this as a simple strategy.

There is something else that we need, we are going to place some deviation lines around the moving average as they can be used for support and resistance. You will see on your chart how these extra lines will suit the strategy quite well. Looking at a chart, it is interesting how these lines seem to fit so well with this strategy, you will see that as soon as you set up and start to scroll the chart.

How to begin?

A most important aspect of this strategy is that we get the stop loss set so that we are protected as soon as the order is placed. As you are well aware, the market can offer volatility and the risks can be huge if we are not protected. We could be distracted from the screen by a noise outside or a child or a pet and instantly endure a loss.

I would like to suggest the stop loss be no greater than ten pips, in fact, that may be too much. The important thing is that there be a stop loss.

Now that we have the stop loss in place and the indicators on the chart, let’s have a look at what we can see by scrolling. The first thing to notice is that the 200 ema and the deviations act as both support and resistance for price. The lines give you an idea as to what you can expect as price approaches these lines.

Next we can notice that the stochastic seems to react as these lines are approached and the hooks in the stochastic are potential entry or exit points.

In many systems you would be buying when price is above the 200 ema and and shorting when below…. trend trading… In this trading strategy you can use the deviation lines to decide as to whether long or short entries are valid.

On inspection, you will find that the lines are about ten or twelve pips apart…. Using the stochastics and the lines allows you to make profits quickly.

You will recall that I advised a maximum stop loss of ten pips, the distance between a pair of lines.

The meat and potatoes of this trading strategy.

I will make a few pics to illustrate how we can use this configuration.

This first pic indicates a short in a down trend, the stochastic is well above the 80 line and as you can see the entry will be good for at least ten pips.

On this pic, which is just a few bars after the first short entry we can re enter or add on if we did not take a profit on the first trade. You can see that we still have a down trend,

On this next one we have an uptrend so we will enter a position long. And we will be watching the stochastic to see if there is going to be bearish divergence.

In this last pic we have an uptrend to enter on and then after a few bars the stochastic is telling us that there is another entry that will give us a quick 15 or 20 pips.

In summary, there are several entries that you can use with this method, and if you are able to spend the screen time to practice this could become one of your favorite trading strategies. It will take time to master, it is not going to be a 5 minute exercise, you can plan to spend a few hours with live charts before you catch on and can make the entries so as to have profitable trades.

What do you think of this trading strategy. Perhaps you will take a minute to discuss it.

Should You Use The Macd In Your Trading Strategy?

Meet the Macd.

To use this indicator effectively, we will have to understand some of its development and history. Many traders use it as do many larger institutions, it has widespread acceptance around the world. To give a bit of background a quite from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MACD

MACD, short for moving average convergence/divergence, is a trading indicator used in technical analysis of stock prices, created by Gerald Appel in the late 1970s.[1] It is supposed to reveal changes in the strength, direction, momentum, and duration of a trend in a stock's price.

The MACD indicator (or "oscillator") is a collection of three time series calculated from historical price data, most often the closing price. These three series are: the MACD series proper, the "signal" or "average" series, and the "divergence" series which is the difference between the two. The MACD series is the difference between a "fast" (short period) exponential moving average (EMA), and a "slow" (longer period) EMA of the price series. The average series is an EMA of the MACD series itself.

The MACD indicator thus depends on three time parameters, namely the time constants of the three EMAs. The notation "MACD(a,b,c)" usually denotes the indicator where the MACD series is the difference of EMAs with characteristic times a and b, and the average series is an EMA of the MACD series with characteristic time c. These parameters are usually measured in days. The most commonly used values are 12, 26, and 9 days, that is, MACD(12,26,9). As true with most of the technical indicators, MACD also finds its period settings from the old days when technical analysis used to be mainly based on the daily charts. The reason was the lack of the modern trading platforms which show the changing prices every moment. As the working week used to be 6-days, the period settings of (12, 26, 9) represent 2 weeks, 1 month and one and a half week. [2] Now when the trading weeks have only 5 days, possibilities of changing the period settings cannot be overruled. However, it is always better to stick to the period settings which are used by the majority of traders as the buying and selling decisions based on the standard settings further push the prices in that direction.

And more from www.technitrader.com

MACD is the very popular Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator. It is a trend-following indicator developed by Gerald Appel in the 70's, during a very different market than we have today. The theory of MACD is that when two moving averages cross, a significant change of trend in the stock's price is more likely to occur. As with all indicators, the moving average crossover is not a "sure thing" and should not be considered an absolute truth as you trade stocks.

Appel attempted to improve on that concept by using 3 Exponential Moving Averages to form 2 indicator lines. What MACD does is it plots the point spread between 2 different Exponential Moving Averages-a slower and a faster one. This is the first line. Then, a second Exponential Moving Average is plotted against the first. This is very similar to Stochastic. It can also be plotted as a histogram or bars, like Volume and Balance of Power are commonly used.

• Widely used
• Measures convergence and divergence
• Shows trending markets and ranging markets
• Best suited to longer time frames
• Is adjustable to current conditions
• Can be found on most trading platforms
• Is not the most accurate in ranging markets

how to interpret the macd indicator

This is how some people use the Macd to enter and exit their trades.

You can see on the chart some arrows indicating entries and exits. Notice in the section where the price bars are, the arrows lag behind the crosses of the indicator. Often the indicator gives a signal well in advance of the price bars.

There is one serious proviso, because of the length of the smoothing period on the indicator, a sharp adverse move in the price may not be reflected and there could be a loss incurred.

Observing the bars in the histogram will allow the trader to detect changes in momentum and perhaps enter or exit his trade. The gap between the moving average lines will also be a guide to momentum.

• Used for entries and exits by some traders
• Illustrates momentum
• Often indicates changes before moving averages 
• Crossovers signify changes

how to trade the macd indicator  

First things first.!

The Macd Indicator can be found on most charting platforms if not all. It is a widely used tool and there are several versions. People use their own version as to what reflects their individual needs. For purposes of this discussion we will use the standard settings of 12 26 9.

The Macd Indicator has a most useful function for the day trader or the longer term trader in that it can be used to identify and confirm the trend. It can also be used to measure the end of a range bound period.

Traders have methods for trading with the trend and also within ranges, the Macd can help to illustrate the current market to help with decision making.

This chart shows how we can determine a trending market or a ranging or non trending market.

To further confirm as to what may be happening regarding trend, we can look at the next higher time frame also.

Of course there are other methods of confirming trends such as moving averages or stochastics, for our purpose at this time we will look only at the utility of the Macd Indicator.

A much Faster entry and exit using the Macd.

How can I use the Macd to my advantage in trading?

Most of the time a trader will be watching for a crossover of the lines to make entries and that has been a successful technique much of the time. By adjusting the lengths of the moving averages a person can make the entries much quicker than the 12 26 9 setup.

By shortening the 26 to a lesser number, the indicator will be come much more reactive to price changes and allow for faster entries and exits.

There is another way of using the indicator besides the crossovers. The histogram provides a signal, often well in advance of the crossover. You will notice that in a rising market the bars get longer and longer as the market advances and then they start to get shorter……. An entry signal. Conversely, as the market falls, the bars get longer and longer until they start getting shorter. A signal!

To use this type of signal we will have to observe the histogram bars as they move away from the zero line, going up or down and then keep an eye on the length of the bar. As soon as the bars begin to level off and get smaller, we have top be prepared for an entry or exit.

Of course this is not a perfect technique, it is a guide only and must be confirmed with price action or perhaps a complimentary indicator such as volume.

Here are a couple videos that are quite informative showing the Macd in action.

This one is a bit older and still has effective methods.






Enjoy your application of the Macd indicator and its uses!

Do you have any suggestions or ideas as to how to use the Macd? I would love to discuss them with you.

Can you Use A Stochastic Momentum Index Trading Strategy

Simplified and profitable trading strategy.

The Stochastic Momentum Index offers a simplified approach to trading, especially with Renko bars.

This indicator is easily located with a search on the internet as it is not included in all charting packages, if not found it can easily be coded to suit whichever platform requires it.

I am attaching three charts from today and you will see that it shows a pending change in direction as it approaches and passes the 40 level.

Personally, I use a moving average as shown on the charts as a confirmation.

On each of the charts above, you will easily see how the trend change was depicted, making this indicator a simple way to measure as to when entries and exits can be made.

Each trader will have to adjust the indicator settings to get the chart to talk to him/her vividly, other than that the indicator does not need much else in the way of support.

Study these charts for a few minutes and then have a glance at the articles I have attached to clarify the various applications of the indicator.

Once you have studied the articles and the charts you will be able to easily adapt the Stochastic Momentum Index to your trading system.

I have added an excellent video at the bottom of the page, the author explains in detail as to how she uses this tool.

Technical analysis: key levels for FTSE, DAX and Dow - IG
Tue, 26 Aug 2014 10:04:15 GMT
Technical analysis: key levels for FTSE, DAX and DowIGHowever, with the stochastic momentum index also sitting at extreme levels traders should be careful before going all in. A look at the intraday chart shows that 6820 is holding back upward moves ...
Read more ...

Here are some tips as to the use of the indicator

Stochastic Momentum Index: Its Formula and Trading Use ...
http://www.informedtrades.com/ Wed, 11 Dec 2013 16:16:59 -0800
Trade the Stochastic Momentum Index Indicator on the Forex.com Platform KEY POINTS REGARDING THE STOCHASTIC MOMENTUM INDEX Introduced by William Blau.
Read more ...



FREE TIME USER: Stochastic Momentum Index (SMI)
http://freetimeuser.blogspot.com/ Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:11:15 -0800
Stochastic Momentum Index (SMI). Developed by William Blau in 1993, it is an extension of the Stochastic Oscillator indicator, only calculated slightly different (it regards the mid range instead of the true range of the price per period).
Read more ...

The following article emphasizes the simplicity available from this strategy.

Stochastic Momentum Index Strategy Review | Forex ...
http://forex-trading-blog.com/ Tue, 14 Jan 2014 06:06:40 -0800
Stochastic Momentum Index Strategy Review. It is Easy to learn Forex strategy that takes only a few minutes a day to find and manage trades. It uses readily available charting tools and visually oriented method for rapid and systematic ...
Read more ...


The author of this video goes into detail as to how she applies the indicator to her charts and how she interprets it. This is well worth watching.

Make A Great Profit with A Renko Trading Strategy.

Make A Great Profit with A Renko Trading Strategy.

This morning Google offered a great opportunity in the pre market for quick profits.

There was a significant drop, the move was quick, price bounced back up and then down and now it is trading in a range that allows some profits as it skips back and forth.

This is a Renko chart which is actually quite simple and clearly shows the moves.

The three moving averages are sma5 on the open shifted 1, 3, and 5.

Renko offers a way of monitoring the market and accurately entering and exiting while avoiding poor entries due to choppiness.

There are many ways to configure a Renko chart, some are quite simple and some are more complex, it is up to the user to configure his chart so that it speaks loudly to him.

Renko charts offer an alternative which is well worth studying.

Google is especially suited to a Renko chart because of its price moves throughout most days.

Here are a couple more Renko charts, one for Gold and another for Oil. Again you can see that these are easy to trade with and quite profitable.

US Dollar Pairs Trading Strategies (as at August 26, 2014)

Will the US Dollar Index affect your trading strategy today?

Yesterday I pointed out that some divergence had appeared and that the US Dollar Index may be slowed in its advance, and sure enough, there is some weakness appearing this morning.


Using the standard Macd indicator to detect the divergence, I am sure that several other oscillators will show similar.


This can affect your strategies with several of the currency pairs as they will be adjusting to the US Dollar.


US Dollar Index Forecast August 26, 2014, Technical Analysis - FX Empire
http://news.google.com Tue, 26 Aug 2014 04:53:05 GMT
FX EmpireUS Dollar Index Forecast August 26, 2014, Technical AnalysisFX EmpireThe US Dollar Index gapped higher during the session on Monday, clearing the $82.50 level. With that being the case, the market looks like it's ready to continue to go all ...
Read more ...


This article from Bloomberg has some interesting insights as to how the US Dollar moves in realtion to rates, be sure to have a look.


US Dollar Rallies Precede Fed Tightening Cycles: Chart - Businessweek
http://news.google.com Tue, 26 Aug 2014 01:40:00 GMT
US Dollar Rallies Precede Fed Tightening Cycles: ChartBusinessweekThe CHART OF THE DAY shows the U.S. Dollar Index climbed about 7 percent during periods six to nine months before the start of the previous three central-bank tightenings started in Fe ...
Read more ...

How Will News About The Euro Affect Your Trading Strategy

How will news of the EURO affect your trading strategy?


From what I am reading in the articles below, there is a grim situation around the value of the EURO and that situation is not about to change anytime soon. Forex trading has been affected by the bearish move of the EURO for several weeks and there seems to be no end of bad news.


The economies seem to be floundering and sentiment is strong that the EURO is weak.


Something that I have discovered from reviewing some charts is that technically the decline of the EURO may be slowing and, in fact,  an uptrend may be close at hand.


Have a look at these two charts. You can see the bullish pattern on EURUSD and the bearish pattern on USDDKK. These two currency pairs constantly travel in opposite directions and both are showing a reversal pattern.

This leads me to believe that the bearish news may be about to cease as the reversal begins.


Dollar Rallies Versus Euro in Longest Streak Since 2012 on Fed - Bloomberg
Sat, 23 Aug 2014 04:15:31 GMT
Dollar Rallies Versus Euro in Longest Streak Since 2012 on FedBloombergThe dollar rallied against the euro in the longest stretch in more than two years as data from housing to jobless claims signaled faster economic growth, bolstering speculation th ...
Read more ...








Where Next? LATEST Forecasts for the British Pound, Dollar and Euro ... - Pound Sterling Live
 Fri, 22 Aug 2014 15:17:31 GMT
Pound Sterling LiveWhere Next? LATEST Forecasts for the British Pound, Dollar and Euro ...Pound Sterling LiveBritain's pound sterling (GBP) has seen fresh weakness set in following the release of data which points to a cooling in the rate of expansio ...
Read more ...



The Eurozone Is Being Sacrificed Upon The Golden Cross Of The Euro - Forbes
Fri, 22 Aug 2014 17:46:37 GMT
The Eurozone Is Being Sacrificed Upon The Golden Cross Of The EuroForbesWelcome attention is being paid to the way in which the European Central Bank, and European politicians, are sacrificing the economy of the eurozone to that golden cross of the e ...
Read more ...

As we are adjusting our trading strategies for the future, we should perhaps consider the megatrends that we are becoming part of. Long term trends certainly influence our profits and it is best to have some awareness as to how they are influencing our lives and profits.

Following is an article by Brian Bloch which is very enlightening as to our present and future circumstances. This article appears on Investopedia.

   Megatrends For Maximum Profits

By Brian Bloch   A A A

Related Searches: Trend Following, Trend Trader, Forex Trading Strategy, Reviews of Stock Trading Software, Day Trading

In 1982, John Naisbitt's book 'Megatrends - Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives' popularized the idea of looking at the world and figuring out the main things that were happening and that were likely to happen in the future. More than 25 years later, we can see that a lot of what he wrote was right. We do have massive globalization, a knowledge-based economy and so on. Understanding and acting on such trends is fundamental to long-term investment strategies.

This article takes a look at some of these key (mega) trends and how they are likely to influence the investment landscape over time. There are in fact many such trends, and all have some sort of impact on the financial sector. We will examine a few major and a few minor trends to gain an impression of this broad field and what one can do to benefit from it.

The Aging Society
This is probably the dominant trend and a true megatrend that will influence the financial landscape for decades. In industrialized countries, the age pyramid has changed radically - from a nice triangle with lots of young people and a few elderly, to a bell shape with an alarming number of aged. This means that growth rates in the current top economic nations such as the U.S.A., Germany and France are likely to stagnate or decline. Immigration can counter this aging trend to some extent, but it cannot eradicate the effects.

As far as investment is concerned, this means that industries that care for the aged are likely to flourish, while industries and careers that rely on young people (teaching, for example) are likely to face hard times. Also, developing countries with more traditional age pyramids are growing fast. There will be investment opportunities in the developing countries, not just in the obvious cases of China and India, but in all sorts of places in Asia, South America and even Africa as these countries continue to industrialize. (Find out how factors such as a country's age group can affect your investments in Demographic Trends And The Implications For Investments.)

The Battle for Resources and Raw Materials
The combination of population and economic growth in the 'tiger' regions (Southeast Asia) must use up resources, which is likely to increase demand - and prices - for energy, food, water and just about anything else needed to keep these young economic powerhouses operating.

Any well-constructed and managed portfolio will take advantage of such trends. This could be accomplished by putting some money into resource-based investments and funds.

Climate Change
Climatic change and carbon dioxide emissions are ugly problems that seem to be with us to stay. If the polar ice caps continue to melt as many scientists predict, sea levels are likely to rise and storms may increase in frequency and severity. Although these events present a serious global challenge, investing in the solutions can be both philanthropic and lucrative. (To learn more, read Evaluating Green Equity Investments and Top 10 Green Industries.)

No one really knows exactly how the climatic situation will develop, and it is important not to assume either that a total disaster is pending or that everything will be just fine. In terms of investment, however, it is clear that how environmental issues are handled by companies will impact the future. Putting this simply, firms, products and services that are environmentally friendly, should, other things being equal, present better opportunities than polluters. And products providing wind or solar power, or other forms of alternative energy are likely to have a bright future. (For more insight, see For Companies, Green Is The New Black and Five Companies Leading The Green Charge.)

The 21^st Century Is Asiatic
Naisbitt advised people to forget about countries and focus on regions. Indeed, many investors now work more in terms of international industry sectors, such as steel or pharmaceuticals, rather than countries.



Countries will still remain important, but investors may find it prudent to invest more than before in areas that are growing particularly rapidly. Alternatively, American companies that themselves have become more globalized, may benefit.

Further Trends: Mega and Not So Mega
There is no shortage of other trends that will influence our lives - and our money. For instance, international terrorism acts cost money to counter. Billions have been spent in this area and, unfortunately, it appears to be a trend that will not be going away any time soon.

Values also evolve over time. For instance, in 2007, many technology publications indicated that people are developing a desire for simplicity. As such, products and services that cater to such needs and preferences may become important. As technology becomes an essential part of communication so does making it more user friendly. After all, many people are driven to distraction by having to learn complicated new software applications and how to work intricate new gadgets every few months.

Mobility is also likely to continue to advance and progress and goods and services, as well as people, will move around.

And then there are mutating life models, an evolving working world and consumer patterns, microtechnology and also an increasing number of derivatives in the financial world. All in all, there are trends galore.

How Reliably Can One Predict These Trends?
Despite the above, the future cannot be predicted accurately, at least not in all respects. There are so many considerations, elements and unknowns that one cannot take anything for granted. Nonetheless, it is necessary to be aware of trends and take them into account in your investment strategy. And - if you look closely - it's possible to get a pretty good idea of how many will develop.

What is less certain than the trends themselves is how exactly they will develop and interact with one another. Yet, it is certainly possible to draw some sensible conclusions about likely impacts on investment and what best to do with one's money. Truly reliable and accurate predictions, on which you can put the proverbial bottom dollar, are not in the cards. The prudent approach is to keep as informed as possible on the various trends and be guided by your knowledge - within the constraints of the standard wisdom on investment. (For more on investing using a more traditional approach, check out Advanced Financial Statement Analysis.)

Conclusions
The world is evolving constantly and partly in the form of various mega, middling and minor trends. While it is essential to be aware of and act on these trends, the sheer number of them and their complex and ever-changing interaction prevents any analysis from being smooth sailing. The trends can be your friends, but which ones and to what extent?

The bottom line is that you should bear the trend landscape in mind, but don't take wild risks on a future that ultimately remains uncertain.