Market News

The Development of News

It is thought that news developed as a special use of the plural form of new in the 14th century. In Middle English, the equivalent word was newes, like the French nouvelles and the German neues.

Before the invention of newspapers in the early 17th century, official government bulletins and edicts were circulated at times in some centralized empires.

The first documented use of an organized courier service for the diffusion of written documents is in Egypt, where Pharaohs used couriers for the diffusion of their decrees in the territory of the State (2400 BC). This practice almost certainly has roots in the much older practice of oral messaging and may have been built on a pre-existing infrastructure.

In Ancient Rome, Acta Diurna, or government announcement bulletins, were made public by Julius Caesar. They were carved in metal or stone and posted in public places.

In China, early government-produced news sheets, called tipao, circulated among court officials during the late Han dynasty (second and third centuries AD). Between 713 and 734, the Kaiyuan Za Bao ("Bulletin of the Court") of the Chinese Tang Dynasty published government news; it was handwritten on silk and read by government officials. In 1582 there was the first reference to privately published newssheets in Beijing, during the late Ming Dynasty.

In Early modern Europe, increased cross-border interaction created a rising need for information which was met by concise handwritten newssheets. In 1556, the government of Venice first published the monthly Notizie scritte, which cost one gazetta.

Etiquette of News Reporting

News organizations are often expected to aim for objectivity; reporters claim to try to cover all sides of an issue without bias, as compared to commentators or analysts, who provide opinion or personal point-of-view.

Newsworthiness is defined as a subject having sufficient relevance to the public or a special audience to warrant press attention or coverage.

In some countries and at some points in history, what news media and the public have considered "newsworthy" has met different definitions, such as the notion of news values.

With the advent of the Digital Age everything we thought we once knew about journalism needs to be rethought. Today the work of journalism can be done from anywhere and done well. It requires no more than a reporter and a laptop.

There are many considerations when market news is involved:-

1. The reader and writer interpretation,

2. The distinction and reliance among tweet, blog post, newspaper story, magazine article, and book.

3. Professional or amateur input to market news items and a variety of “pro-am” relationships which has emerged.

4. The boundaries delineating for-profit, public, and non-profit media have become misconstrued at times, and the cooperation across these models of financing has developed badly.

5. Within commercial news organizations, the line between the news room and the business office is questionable,

6. The line between old media and new media has blurred, practically beyond recognition.

These alterations inevitably have fundamental ramifications for the contemporary ecology of news. The boundaries of journalism, which just a few years ago seemed relatively clear, and permanent, have become less distinct, while potentially the foundation of progress even as it is the source of risk, has given rise to a new set of journalistic principles and practices to survive the never-ending change encountered with modern technology!

It is indeed complex, but it seems to be the future.

News Trading

Trading decisions based on news developments are nothing new. Whether the market-moving news arrives by boat, carrier pigeon or Blackberry, traders have always been eager to be the first to exploit and act on information that may impact a given market.

Yet now news is only new for a fraction of a second. Algorithms and rules-based engines filter text as it appears online, identify its underlying meaning, assess its importance and then - when warranted - execute trades based on it. All this occurs in a matter of milliseconds. Ideally, a thousandth or two of a second before competing traders' algorithms do so.

At the same time, the definition of market news as it applies to trading markets is changing as well. In the age of Facebook, Twitter and social networks "we are seeing many new and different kinds of data sources that can be analyzed and mined for tradable insights," which in turn can be turned into machine-readable text or numbers and assessed for value by trading algorithms.

News Trader

From the development of news to market news, we have the emergence of the “news trader.”

A news trader is a trader or investor who makes trading or investing decisions based on market news announcements. Economic reports and other news can have a short-lived affect on particular markets. News traders try to profit by predicting how a market will respond to particular news.

News traders rely on short-term reactions to market news to drive the market in a particular direction. News traders can look at historical data to predict how future news can affect prices. By becoming familiar with certain markets, news traders can make a guess as to whether a stock or other trading instrument will increase or decrease in price following a market news report. Often these price moves happen within an extremely short period of time following the news; therefore, news traders must be quick to respond if they hope to capture profits. This also means that news traders must be one of the first to receive breaking market news.

Market News Items

This is a collection of important market news items, from economic, stock, volatility, world influences, to articles, periodicals, etc., that have a significant influence on the market today, which in turn influences our trading decisions and the bottom line -- profit!

• Why Stock Options?

-February 18, 2012
Most traders today still use stock options as pure speculation and don't realize the true potential of stock options. Now that we've reached a period that offers a low barrier to entry, it makes perfect sense to use options to their full advantage. Commissions are low and products are highly liquid. If you use the appropriate products, there is truly no edge now for the market makers.

• Stock Pullback – Time to Buy Portfolio Insurance!

-February 19, 2012
A stock pullback provides buying opportunities and this is evident so-far in 2012. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and Nasdaq Composite (COMP) have both rallied their way to new multi-year highs although several other equity benchmarks -- including the S&P 500 Index (SPX) -- finished the week just shy of their 2011 highs. Portfolio insurance became cheaper this past week, as SPX historical volatility was flat, while the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 17.78) decreased 14%, closing the gap between implied and historical volatility on the SPX.

• Volatility Soars

November 02, 2011
Volatility ETF options are relatively cheap in this rollercoaster market – profit from the downturn!

• Trend Strength Evaluated

October 29, 2011
Determine Trend Strength before you buy by using Moving Averages.

• Order Backlogs

October 28, 2011
This market indicator – Order Backlogs -- is definitely sending out strong signals to buy….. and the market is certainly following this theme!

• Earnings Continue Positive Trend

October 25, 2011
Earnings – 11 Straight Positive Quarters and still going Strong – But who’s Counting?

• Earnings Calendar for the Week Starting October 24th, 2011

The earnings calendar for this week, with 932 firms scheduled to report. Also some potential positive or negative surprises for several companies are outlined.

• Options Straddles for the Earnings Season

With earnings season just around the corner, here's a simpler options strategy – straddles - that's perfect for a company about to report.

• "Fear Gauges" Strike Again

October 18
The "Fear Gauges" marched higher yesterday, particularly volatility-linked exchange traded funds along with the CBOE Volatility Index. TVIX was the biggest gainer with 17%.

• Market Volatility – Perceived or Real?

October 12, 2011
Information regarding shorting VXX and the difficulties encountered, iPath, hypothetical historical prices and facts about VXX.

• Bad News – Good News

Before selling all your stocks and sealing the hatch on your bunker, stop, take a deep breath, and put this week’s pullback into perspective. Profit from the bad news – good news syndrome….how???