“What is good for General Motors is good for America”
“What is good for General Motors is good for America”
Back in 1955, Charlie Wilson, then chairman of General Motors Corp. made this somewhat pompous statement. Here we are, some 53 years later and look what is happening to the stock of General Motors (NYSE_GM). This stock is at a 53 year low and shows no signs of turning around.
So the question becomes, what happened to America and General Motors? How did this company lose its edge in the marketplace?
HOW DID GM GET IT SO WRONG?
Digging through the history of GM, I found one fascinating item. GM developed an electric car back in 1996 when gas was $1.28 a gallon! They named the battery powered car the EV1 and then basically scrapped it in 2002.
Today there is very little evidence that this car was ever in existence. I am sure you’re thinking right about how we could sure use a car like that today with gas prices trading over $4.00 a gallon.
When you look at the stock of General Motors, you’ll see that the high for the stock in the last eight years was around $68 in 2002. What’s interesting is that high point in the stock was right around the time GM scrapped its EV1 car.
So what happened to GM’s first electric car? GM claims there was not enough public demand. That could be, but I think the story is a lot more complicated than that.
You can see all the GM - Big Oil conspiracy theories in the movie
“Who Killed the Electric Car.”
WHY KILL THE GOLDEN GOOSE?
From a business standpoint, why would GM want to improve something that would kill the goose that lays the golden egg? General Motors tends to make most of its money on sales of replacement parts. Up to 40% of its profits come from selling replacement parts for existing GM automobiles, so why would they sabotage their own cash flow?
Unlike a gasoline driven car, which has many moving parts, an electrical car like the GM’s EV1 has very few parts to go wrong, so therefore part sales and cash flow would go right into the tank for GM. The other perception problem GM has with an all electric car with zero emissions is this: if GM produces an all electric clean car with zero emissions, it’s making an admission that all of their other cars are dirty, spew out harmful emissions and pollute the planet.
But look at how GM got it wrong. This may be one of the biggest blunders ever in American corporate history. GM took the lead in electric car technology (smart move), but was not convinced that they as a company could be profitable selling electric cars.
WHO OWNS THE MOST ADVANCE BATTERY TECHNOLOGY?
One fascinating piece of information is that GM acquired advanced battery technology from Ovonic’s in the form of a NiMH battery. This battery produces a stronger, longer lasting charge, and was the ideal battery for their second generation of EV1 cars. What came out later was truly a shocker, GM sold this amazing battery technology along with the patent (dumb move) to Texaco who was later taken over by Chevron. Now Chevron owns the technology and the patent!
You have to ask yourself the question… why would an oil company be interested in purchasing advanced battery technology from a major car producer like GM?
I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Fast forward to 2008 when everyone is mad as H#LL for having to pay over $4.00 for a gallon of gas. Back in 1996 when GM launched the EV1 with very little fanfare, the cost of gas was around $1.28 a gallon.
Why GM decided to scrap the EV1 and look for short-term profits in big cars as opposed to building and preparing to adopt a different business model is still a mystery and one that has decimated GM’s stock price in the last five years.
The automobile business has not changed in almost a century and the industry appears reluctant to embrace change. It would now appear that GM’s business model like many of its big cars is rapidly becoming outdated and destined for dinosaur land.
LET’S LOOK AT THE STOCK OF GM
Let’s take a look at the GM stock chart and see how you would have fared had you purchased GM stock at $68 in 2003. Then let’s look at the same stock using a MarketClub’s proactive approach. As you can see the results of a buy and hold strategy have been a disaster losing 79% of its value for all share holders while the proactive results have been quite stellar.
If a major company like General Motors can fall to a 53 year low, so can any stock on the big board.
Readers of this blog know that MarketClub uses a proactive approach when taking positions in the marketplace. The world has changed, and it has changed not only for GM but for many other mature companies that are using business models and products that are rapidly becoming outdated and will prove to be noncompetitive in the long run.
I’ll finish by saying: “What is good for America in the long run, are smart businesses that embrace change.” Maybe General Motors will get it, maybe they won’t. The market will decide that one.
Co-Founder MarketClub.com
A trading secret that’s 800 years old
I can honestly say that 30 years ago I learned how to trade the markets in the pits of Chicago.
It was there, in one of those sweaty, tumultuous, in your face trading pits, that I learned one of the most valuable trading secrets in the world.
This one trading secret opened my eyes to why things happen in the markets.
This trading secret, which is over 800 years old, is one of the most monumental mathematical discoveries of all time.
The publication in 1202 of the “The Book of Calculation” was never meant to be a road map to success in the markets. However, it turned out to be an extraordinary blueprint for how modern day markets work.
The number sequences contained in this amazing 800 year old book, is like having a virtual DNA for every stock, futures and foreign exchange market.
No one knows for sure why these number sequences work. Some traders believe them to be mystical, others, like myself prefer to call them one of life’s little mysteries.
I have been using this sequence of numbers to trade the markets for over 30 years. I have to say that after all this time, I am still amazed that these numbers still work!
My new 8 minute educational trading video that remains true to core principles of the “The Book of Calculation.” Show you step by step, exactly how you can benefit from using this trading secret.
Once you view the video and absorb this valuable educational trading lesson, you can apply the exact same principles you learn to your own trading. What could be better than that.
We do not require you to register to view this video.
Discover and benefit today, from what I learned over 30 years ago in the trading pits of Chicago.
Every success.
Adam Hewison
President, INO.com.
Be Our Guest
We welcome syndication of our content in your blog or on your trading website. Please feel free to use our content with attribution - more details here to syndicate our content
Be prepared with these three markets
Friday, June 20, 2008
FR: Adam Hewison, President INO.com
RE: 3 Markets that will change everything
Dear blog reader,
Every once in a while there comes a time in the market when you get to see some amazing trading opportunities.
I believe this could be one of those times.
In this special private video I analyze in detail the upcoming major moves in three major markets. This just maybe the most important video I have ever made on these three markets and I want you to see it.
Every success in the markets and in life,
Adam Hewison
Co-Creator, MarketClub.com
How to trade successfully in any market
Traders Whiteboard Series
Lesson # 8
In this edition of Traders Whiteboard, we will be looking at five key components that you need to be successful in your trading. The ones we have picked out today are not on every pro trader’s suggested list, so I think they will be a surprise to you.
We consider these five components to be incredibly important to anyone’s trading success, most of all yours.
If you have the time check out our other Traders Whiteboard lessons. We now have a total of eight lessons that you can benefit from and they’re available here.
Watch the whole Whiteboard Series
Wishing you the best in life and trading,
Adam Hewison for the Traders Whiteboard Series
Are you trading at the right ‘pace’?
Guest Post by Norman Hallett, CEO of Subconscious Training Corporation
—
A group of 1000 traders were recently asked, “What is the single most important mental/emotional concern you have that is preventing you from being the most successful trader you can be?”
The second most frequent response was the fear of blowing out their account. (For the record the first was fear of “pulling the trigger”.)
Why all this fear?
The answer is multi-fold, but one of the main causes is likely that we are overtrading or trading too much before we are ready… what I call trading at the wrong “pace”.
The more you put at risk, the higher level, or “pace” you are trading at.
When you first start out as a trader, you begin by paper-trading. You put no money at risk and you practice executing your trades the way your trading plan commands that you do. / No stress, no emotions/… there’s no money or ego at stake. Your (phantom) “equity” seems to rise with ease.
You’re chomping at the bit to up the pace. You’re ready to trade with “real” money.
You begin to trade the minimum number of contracts to effectively run your trading plan. For the first time you are now dealing with your emotions and notice that they are causing you to stray from your trading plan.
You recognize that emotions play a big part in your ability to trade successfully and you take the steps necessary to get back to trading with ice-in-the-veins confidence.
When you experience the degree of success you are looking for, you feel you are now ready to step up the pace of your trading again… to the level that you always wanted to trade at. Full speed!
Your first trade in the big-time went well. Wow!… this is great! But then it happens… an unexpected move against you. And it’s a big one. You never knew your emotions could be so debilitating!
Thoughts are racing through your head and you’re tempted… I mean REALLY tempted… to pull your protective stops because you want the market to rebound and get you out of trouble.
And right before you click the mouse to lift your stop, you screech to a halt. “You MUST follow your trading plan”, the voice in your head insists. You comply. You’re stopped out and market continues to a free-fall.
You’ve lost money today… a bit more than you would have liked to, but you’re proud of yourself and you actually feel pretty good.
Over the next few weeks and months you think back to that day… the day you could have blown out your account… and know that the profit you see now in your account would not be there if you were not ready, MENTALLY and EMOTIONALLY to trade at a full-out pace.
Now this little story is an ideal scenario. It happens to about 2% of real-world traders.
The fact is that most traders up the pace too quickly. They make 30% in their papertrading account in a month and kick themselves for not having the guts to use real money.
“Look at all the money I’ve left on the table,” they cry.
So they move to level 2 (not the minimum number of contract to run their trading plan). The result:
Too much emotion, too soon. Losses result.
I could go on with examples of moving up your pace too quickly and not being emotionally prepared to handle it… but I won’t.
I’ll just let YOU think back to what got you where you are today and let THAT be your best example.
But don’t beat yourself up… just scale back… now.
Then “train your emotions” to fit your trading pace and you too… YES, YOU TOO… can be in the trading elite.
It’s not rocket science. It’s including the development of your mind in development of your trading plan.
My best,
Norman Hallett, CEO
Subconscious Training Corporation
Makers of TradingMind Software
—
Normal Hallett will be speaking at the Orlando 2008 Investors’ Super Conference. Read more about the event here.
We alerted you on Monday’s blog … did you buy gold?
Gold is once again front and center as yesterday’s inflation worries from the Federal Reserve pushed gold up dramatically.
Readers of this blog will know that we issued a buy signal on gold at $905 basis the spot market on 5/19/08. Since that time, gold has moved up dramatically to its best levels in several weeks. We expect that this trend will continue as our “Trade Triangle” is still pointing in the positive direction.
Can we see a pullback in gold? Yes it is possible, but the trend is clearly set to go higher.
After a losing trade, SEE THIS POST, it is sometimes very difficult for a trader to pull the trigger on a new signal. This is precisely the time to trade after a bad signal. The odds are in your favor. Our last losing trade in gold is being more than made up for with our last “Trade Triangle” buy signal on gold. To make money in the market you must be consistent and disciplined; two of the golden rules of trading. Every success in life and in trading, Adam Hewison Co-founder of MarketClub.com Be Our Guest We welcome syndication of our content in your blog or on your trading website. Please feel free to use our content with attribution - more details here to syndicate our content
10 trades and $32,000 later … Crude Oil continues to deliver
10 trades and $32,000 later … Crude Oil continues to deliver
The price of crude oil (NYMEX_CL) continues to move higher aided by speculative and hedge fund demand. However, this market has exhibited no signs of a blow-off which are typical of commodity market behavior when a top is reached.
We have continued to trade crude oil based on our “Trade Triangle” technology and have been extremely happy with the results. In this short video, I’m going to show all of the past and present signals and the success rate we achieved using MarketClub’s technology
Since the beginning of the year, we have traded crude oil ten times.Out of those ten trades we have seen eight winners, one loser and one scratch trade. A scratch trade is when you get in and out at the same price.
The trade signals are based on using our “Trade Triangle” technology for crude oil. The ten trades produced gains of $32,250 for each contract traded. This represents a return of 331% (so far this year) based on the latest margins of $9,788 supplied by NYMEX for a single contract.
How high can crude oil go?
Pick a number, any number and that’s how high crude oil can go. Right now world demand, and not just US demand, is driving crude oil prices. The U.S. represents only 5% of the world’s population, but the U.S. utilizes 25% of all crude oil supplies everyday. With India and China coming on strong with their own respective economies, there is going to be intense competition to acquire crude oil at any price. Demand coupled with a sharp decline in U.S.Dollar value (last 6 years) are all contributing to higher prices.
The greatest challenge to traders and investors is not the current price of crude, but it is emotion. Emotion will play a big part in the crude oil market in the coming months and years. To be successful trading in crude oil, traders need to eliminate all emotions. The only way I know how to do this successfully is by utilizing a simple market proven strategy like the “Trade Triangle” technology.
Enjoy the video, and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us. We have a willing support staff to help members, and if you have questions about joining MarketClub they can also help you with that as well.
Thanks for taking the time to watch the video,
Co-Founder, MarketClub.com
Be Our Guest
We welcome syndication of our content in your blog or on your trading website. Please feel free to use our content with attribution - more details here to syndicate our content
New Educational Trading Seminars
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
FR: Adam Hewison, President INO.com
RE: New Educational Trading Seminars
Dear Trader,
Here’s your chance to tap into the world’s most comprehensive “brain trust” of market experts right from the comfort of your own home and watch your trading results skyrocket!
INO TV is the first collection of its kind ever made available to the public. This extensive library of trading seminars features 154 expert wealth builders on 547 streaming video and audio seminars. Each seminar is a step-by-step trading course that will show you how to generate a consistent approach in every market, using tested and proven techniques to create massive amounts of wealth.
INO TV is the only way for you to experience an actual trading seminar without the hassle of traveling far away from home, and without spending thousands of dollars for seminar and travel costs. You’ll learn from more trading experts at a far lower cost than you ever would have thought possible. In fact, it’s even better because with an INO TV seminar you can hit pause, rewind, and replay as often as you like!
Bringing the experts to your door is as easy as 1-2-3: The information contained in our seminars is a compilation of the exact strategies and skill sets that some of the world’s most brilliant money masters have used over the course of their trading careers. They’ve tested their techniques, made the obvious and not-so-obvious mistakes, refined and perfected their approaches to create their own personal fortunes. Instead of losing money by making your own costly mistakes, you can leverage the learning curves of the experts. It’s like having your own private council of coaches give you all the shortcuts to success!
Here’s Just A Small Glimpse Of What Our Experts Can Show You:
- How to spot and take advantage of moves that you can forecast years in advance.
- How to spot options trades that have a 95% chance of success.
- How to use professional money management techniques to lock in profits and cut losses to the core.
- How to experience in one year what it is like to make one million dollars. (One of our experts did just that and he will show you how he achieved that milestone and what it took to do it.)
The INO TV seminar series is the most comprehensive repository of trading information available anywhere today, and because we own all the copyrights, you’ll have a difficult or impossible time finding these materials anywhere else.
INO TV is for you if:
- You believe that the correct knowledge is essential to building your own personal fortune
- You want to find a trading approach that works with your personality instead of against it
- You’re interested in a more systematic, reliable, and stress-free approach to trading
- You want to profit from the same proven strategies that have made other traders wealthy.
- You want to make learning as efficient and as cost-effective as possible.
I urge you to take just a few minutes right now to learn more about INO TV. You’ll get a sneak peek at some of the experts who are featured in our seminar collection. Most of all, you’ll learn how INO TV can help you to bring in more trading profits, more quickly and more consistently than ever before.
Here’s to your best trading year ever,
Adam Hewison President, INO.com
Gold follow up … was it a good or bad trade?
Hello,
I am not sure if you watched my earlier video on gold, but I wanted to put together a quick follow-up video in light of what has taken place in the last 24 hours.
A few days ago we released a new video on gold. It showed that we had a sell signal using our “Trade Triangle” technology. I thought it would be interesting to follow-up on this video as this signal did not work out as we expected it to.
Now many of you may think this was a bad trade. I happen to think it was a good trade and here’s why…
One of the keys to being a successful trader is to be disciplined and follow your trading plan, or in our case follow the “Trade Triangle” technology. While our last signal resulted in a loss, our previous “Trade Triangle” signals resulted in a very large profit.
I want to share with you a trade that did not work out and show you how you should react when in a negative trade.
It is a very short video, but I think it will teach you a valuable lesson about trading and how the markets really work.
Every success in life and in trading.
Co-founder MarketClub.com
With The Volitile Markets Of Today You May Want To Learn About Stops
Room Full of Traders
If you ask a room full of commodity traders which skill is the most important in becoming a successful trader I wonder if anyone would respond the ability to take a loss? I doubt it, because taking a loss is considered a negative. Who wants to talk about the right way to lose money? I think every trader should!
I believe that possessing the mental toughness to accept a loss, and the ability to know when a loss should be taken, are traits I believe to be at the foundation of being a profitable commodity trader. Let us understand each other right now. If you trade commodities some of your trades, if not a majority, will be losers. If you are to be a profitable trader, I believe you must recognize this basic fact and have a bad trade exit strategy determined even before you put on any trade.
Learn more about stops.
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