How To Trade the New Single Stock Futures

Jake Bernstein9780793157815, 0-7931-5781-1

A comprehensive introduction to the newest trading phenomenon in the United States.
Single stock futures (SSFs)-the trading of futures on individual stocks-is a new investment instrument in the United States. This union of stock and futures trading promises many new opportunities for investors; however, along with opportunity comes risk, which can only be resolved through experience and education.
For the first time ever, a leading stock and futures trading expert explains the ins and outs of SSFs, and tells stock and futures trading professionals as well as sophisticated individual investors how to move forward in the new world of trading futures on single stocks. Jake Bernstein offers an overview of the vital educational, procedural, and financial management issues regarding SSFs, including:
• The essential aspects of futures and stock trading that apply to SSFs
• Specific trading strategies, systems, and methods
• What works-and what doesn’t
• How to assess risks and rewards
Because SSFs don’t fit easily into either securities or futures categories, they are regulated by both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). These agencies soon will require continuing professional education on SSFs, for which this book can be a valuable tool.

---

Table of contents :
Local Disk……Page 0
Acknowledgments……Page 7
Contents……Page 9
Introduction……Page 11
Enter Stock Index Futures……Page 15
The Birth of Universal Stock Futures……Page 16
Imminent Action……Page 18
Goals and Objectives……Page 20
Who Am I and What Qualifies Me to Write This Book?……Page 21
Why Invest in Stocks?……Page 22
The Biggest Bull Market in History Comes to an End……Page 25
The Logical Step……Page 32
How Futures Survived While Stocks Crashed……Page 31
Death of the New Economy……Page 30
How the Experts Erred……Page 29
Heroes and Villains……Page 28
How and Why Volatility in Stocks Grew from 1982 through 2000……Page 27
The Evolution of Futures Trading……Page 35
Defining the Hedge……Page 36
What’s in It for the Players?……Page 39
Why Do Traders Trade?……Page 42
Understanding and Dealing with the Risk……Page 44
The Concept of Risk Transfer……Page 45
How Single Stock Futures Differ from Traditional Futures……Page 47
Summary……Page 49
The Origins of Stock Trading……Page 51
The New Era of Risk and Reward……Page 57
Stocks in the New Economy……Page 56
The New Role of Stocks as a Speculative Vehicle……Page 54
The Traditional Role of Stocks as an Investment Vehicle……Page 53
How Stock Trading Works……Page 59
Narrow- Based Indexes ( NBIs)……Page 65
Time Perspectives and Goals……Page 64
The Intent and Use of Margin……Page 63
Investing, Trading, and Speculating……Page 60
Examining the Single Stock Futures Contract……Page 67
The Mechanics of Trading SSFs……Page 71
Regulations……Page 70
How SSFs Work……Page 69
Fundamental Analyses……Page 73
Shortcomings of Fundamental Analysis……Page 75
Applying Fundamentals……Page 77
How to Select the Important Fundamentals……Page 78
How Stock Fundamentals Affect Underlying SSF Price Trends……Page 81
Short- Term Considerations in Using Fundamental Analysis with SSFs……Page 82
Available Alternatives……Page 83
Technical Aspects……Page 87
Technical Systems……Page 89
What’s Best for You……Page 93
Success at the Extremes……Page 94
Major Categories of Technical Indicators and Trading Methods……Page 97
Summary……Page 117
Summary……Page 110
Suggestions for Applying Trend Line Analysis……Page 105
Using Trend Lines in SSF Trading……Page 103
Traditional Chart Patterns……Page 98
Spread Trading in Single Stock Futures……Page 119
Technical Spread Indicators……Page 130
Why Trade Spreads?……Page 124
What Is a Spread and How Does It Work?……Page 120
The Importance of Correct Order Placement……Page 135
Types of Orders……Page 136
The Assets and Liabilities of Market Orders……Page 137
Market- on- Close ( MOC) Orders……Page 138
Market- on- the- Open Orders……Page 139
Stop Orders……Page 140
When to Use Certain Orders and When to Avoid Them……Page 142
Order Types as a Function of the System or Method Being Used……Page 143
Placing a Hedge Order……Page 147
Summary……Page 149
The Gap Trade……Page 151
The Gap Trade Concept……Page 152
Momentum Divergence……Page 156
Momentum/ Moving Average ( MOM/ MA)……Page 160
A Seasonal Strategy for SSFs……Page 165
Other Timing Systems and Methods……Page 168
The Psychology of Single Stock Futures……Page 173
Summary……Page 183
How to Improve Your Discipline……Page 180
Staying Up- to- Date— Another Form of Discipline……Page 178
How Discipline Impacts Profits……Page 175
The Persistence of Old Issues……Page 174
Day Trading Single Stock Futures……Page 185
The 30- Minute Breakout……Page 192
Channel Surfing……Page 189
Surfing the Moving Average Channel……Page 187
Other Aspects of Day Trading……Page 186
References……Page 195
Glossary……Page 197
Index……Page 209
All the helpful information you will need is here!……Page 1