hello cgb,

good catch on the may 21 date for diagnos.

regarding technical analysis if you have not read, edwards and magee's book on the subject you might give it a look. it is considered by many the bible of technical analysis. other interesting reads are welles wilder related texts and john murphy has some interesting tech stuff, or did at one time. there are many others also.

the stuff today that is free on the internet in regards to technical analysis tools and fundamental research sorting ability is amazing. we used to pay large $ for what is now free. however, being free renders much of it useless as everyone has the same tool, so what is your advantage? in order to make excess $ you always need an advantage!

personally, i have been trading and investing for about 35 years, traded on the floor of the CBOT, etc. many people i respect find technical analysis of and by itself to be a difficult way to earn money consistently over a long period of time (i am being polite here). however when combining technical analysis with fundamental analysis for entry and exit points or a variety of other trading ideas it can lead to reduced risk and enhanced profits for some.

everyone is different and you may have a unique feel for technical analysis.

the one bit of advice i would offer is to pursue an area of investing that interests you and you have a passion for. this passion will allow you to stick with something and do the research that often makes you more expert then your competition. this expertise will hopefully lead to excess profits for you.

all the best,

jsq