Meeting Wednesday, October 10 - 5:30PM

Networking meeting to begin at 5:30 at BobbyQ's Restaurant in Westport, CT. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM. Please share your opinions with the group by posting a reply or by voting on an issue down at the bottom of this page. The presentation upstairs must end before 7:45PM to make room for 8:00PM Wednesday Poker Night at BobbyQ's. www.bobbyqsrestaurant.com for phone number and directions.

Group Purpose and Mission:
Primary Purposes: Network people and opportunities. Assess opinions on market direction.
Secondary Purposes: Education on trading styles, trading and information technology. Build an online database of group interests and books/resources owned by group members.

I am happy to have each of our gatherings as in informal network meeting where people share their thoughts on market directions, trends and how to make money in the markets. We can formalize this collection of data to form a weekly "Consensus" that we could post here. Let's find out if we have a strong "edge" as a group or if we should be "faded" as a contrary opinion.

We all want to have relevant and interesting presentations for the group meetings, so let's focus our efforts on knowing what we all want to learn more about. I'll put together a list of topics and distribute it at the meeting. Please also share your favorite financial-related websites too and I'll post them here.

Here are some ideas to consider for each meeting:
1.) An open discussion (debate style, with moderator) about one or more markets each week. Envision the Barron's Round Table discussions. This may be too "formal" for us.
2.) Investment club. Would you like to run a simulated portfolio through the website Marketocracy as a group? I have run an very successful investment club before and have more than a few good ideas on what we'd need to do to make it successful. Please share your thoughts here by posting a reply or bring your opinion about running a simulated portfolio to the meeting.

Investment Club Strategy:
Each week bring your idea(s) and be ready for a 5 minute or less discussion on each idea. We then vote to vote or we table until the next meeting. Tabling usually means we need more information. We either invest 10% in our best idea (or ideas) and review the other 10% holdings. Maximum 10 ideas in the portfolio. Once 10 ideas are active then any new idea would have to boot out an existing idea. Majority vote required for any decision to add or delete an idea. We can all track the performance at the http://www.marketocracy.com/ website. We can form an investment company around the concept if we are successful or just do it for fun.

Now, for the meeting Wednesday, October 10 -
I would like to present a slide show on some research I have been doing for many years about an "analog" to the current investment climate. The charts and data make the case that the current markets are closely mimicing a time period in the past. Since late 2002 when I realized the pattern, the markets have been unfolding accordingly and are confirming the hypothesis. Would you like to know what might be next? I am curious to hear your feedback. The forecast has implications on the level of interest rates, inflation, gold prices, real estate, stock prices, currency prices, Presidential election outcomes and mass psychology.

$50 PRIZE WEEKLY (or 2 - $25 prizes)
Lastly, remember to bring your "market forecast" to win $50 in a BobbyQ Coupon. See rules below. Whatever futures market (unless everyone wants to pick individual stocks, in which case there will be two categories and $25 for each prize) you think will move the most between the time of the meeting and the next meeting will win $50. We need to adjust the movement by dividing the price move by the average daily range (11-day average range) so everyone doesn't just pick Natural Gas (which seems to move 5%-10% every day).

Looking forward to seeing you Wednesday, October 10 at 5:30PM at Bobby Q's in Westport, CT. See http://www.bobbyqsrestaurant.com/ for directions.