A Million Dollar Reason Why Stock Trading Delays Must Be Fixed Fast

By Lance Jepsen

A cheap solution has been discovered by computer programmers for detecting millionth of a second delays in routers in data center networks. Automatic stock trading systems with even a millionth of a second delay can cost over a million dollars.

Purdue and the University of California computer science departments teamed up to work on the problem. They created a very small algorithm that requires no additional hardware to run.

This small programming code can detect delays as short as a millionth of a second in a router. The code will also detect packet loss as small and rare as one packet loss in a million. Every router in a data center can run this small code.

No new hardware is required. The team of computer programmers call their code the Lossy Difference Aggregator. The programming code has no speed penalty on the router in which it runs.

Institution stock traders and corporations that sell online stock trading platforms will go crazy for this technology. The reason is that if an online brokerage firm has a stock trading algorithm that reacts to an incoming market data feed even just 100 microseconds faster than the competition, they can buy millions of shares before their competitors.

Exchanges like the Nasdaq use very expensive custom hardware designed to track delays in the performance of routers at different key points within a data center network. But these hardware boxes are too expensive to be added to every router within a data center's network. Especially if that data center is running an automated stock trading system. By the time the I.T. Department detects a problem router, it usually costs the company 1 - 3 million dollars in delayed entry and exits on trades.

Router vendors will now be able to add this programming code to every router at no extra cost to the customer. Expensive external router monitoring hardware will no longer be needed.

The way router performance is monitored now is by expensive external hardware that tracks when a packet enters the router and when it exists the router and then takes the difference of those times.

This new computer programming code works almost the same way but instead of taking the arrival and departure times of every packet, it splits the incoming packets into groups and then calculates the arrival and departure times of each group. As long as the number of groups is greater than the number of losses, at least one group will give a good estimate.

Calculating the difference of the groups arrival and departure times and then dividing by the total number of messages gives a very accurate estimate of the average delay of a given router. This approach requires so little computer programming code that it really is about the same code as a simple counter.

A data center network that has this programming code built in to every router will be able to quickly pinpoint a faulty router that is adding an extra millionth of a second delay or that is losing one packet in ten million. - 23162

About the Author:

By Lance Jepsen. For free stock trading advice by master stock traders and free stock charting software go to stock trading

Three Tips to Boost Your Profits from Attending Marketing Seminars

By Ben Moskel

If you consider yourself a "seminar junkie" but are yet to get anything of value from your investments, then you need to read on. Ticket prices for seminars are sometimes several thousand dollars.

Live conventions are a significant investment of your time, money, and resources. With the three tips below you will be sure to make the best of your investment.

First, you need to prepare questions and goals beforehand and make sure they are written down. Each year I attend several events and spend tens of thousands of dollars on my marketing education. For a few weeks before each event I keep a notebook by at computer to think of questions to ask or really specific things I want answered at the upcoming seminar. Perhaps you have a question about how to use Google's Website Optimizer tool. Maybe there is a colleague you want to meet in person.

It is so easy to get distracted at a seminar and completely ignore the reasons you bought your ticket in the first place. That is why having the notebook handy will help remind you about your questions and goals.

The most important tip is to make sure you are assertive especially if you consider yourself to be a shy person. This may seem obvious yet so often seminar attendees fail to reach out and meet new business contacts. Resist the urge to hole up alone in your hotel room. Keep in mind that others also feel apprehensive about meeting new people and making conversion. I guarantee you will get infinitely more value from these rare networking opportunities than if you keep to yourself.

Remember also that these events are so rarely held and all the money you spent to get there. Often an event is only held once per year. When will you have personal access to these types of high level entrepreneurs outside of these events?

Even if it means you meet just one person of value. That just a single contact can help you add thousands of dollars in profits or many hours of friendship for years to come.

Third, implement, implement, implement! It is tempting to form a habit of attending seminars because it makes you feel like you are working and adding value to your business. These same people often get home and immediately begin looking for the next event rather than execute the highly value creating techniques they discover at the last seminar.

"Seminar intoxication," or the lack of execution is the enemy. While you are at the event you have grand ideas of executing all of the ideas you learned. However, once you get back home with all of the typical distractions and the seminar "buzz" has worn off, it is difficult to execute these same ideas.

The one way to combat this destructive cycle is to execute one simple idea at a time. Begin with just one idea, execute and then move on from there. Most of the marketing principles are time tested so they will be applicable even if not executed right away. You may also consider getting some inexpensive labor to help execute some of the techniques. This is especially true for highly technical type tasks or any activity you either dislike are are not proficient.

The idea is to be honest with yourself. If you know you are not ever going to teach yourself complicated php programming, but need it to implement a new strategy, then find somebody who will do it for you. Consider posting the project on outsourcing boards like elance or hiremymom.com.

If you find yourself investing hundreds of dollars, plus time energy and resources to attend seminars but do not get your money's worth, then use these tips and you will certainly see a more profitable return on your seminar investment. - 23162

About the Author:

Ben Moskel is a full time Internet Entrepreneur and free lance consultant. Ben has generated several million dollars in online revenue for many large retailers and service providers. He is the author of The Online Entrepreneur available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Help Yourself Buy The Right Home Owners Insurance

By John Fagan

In this article, we present a lot of different features that affect decisions to buy better home coverage policies. You might find this information useful in your search for the perfect home insurance policy. You should spend enough time searching the internet and other publications for more information on all the insurance policies before deciding on a home insurance policy!

Here we will discuss most of the aspects that effect a decision to buy a home coverage policy and how buyers can fix the problem areas that affect the cost of the plan and obtain good insurance cover. So, in order to get proper information about any home insurance plan read this article and apply these methods to aid yourself in making the correct decision and avail the perfect home coverage plan available and save a lot of money. Keep these guidelines handy while shopping around for the perfect home insurance plan.

Among the things that influence home coverage plan's premium rate and the maximum coverage the insurance company is willing to risk include the type of property, location, and material of construction and age of the property. The level of the crime in the area, house's size, and any particular services/safety factors if any installed in the building to decrease the probability of vandalism and robbery.

Location of your house (e.g. disaster-prone area or locality with high crime rate) besides size of house, availability of special amenities and safety features that reduce risks of vandalism and robbery besides building materials used are some other points that influence the home coverage plan's rate and the level of coverage extended to you.

Then you can also avail the services of a professional home inspector to discover any problem areas in your home (e.g. fittings and improvements) and fix these problems so you can make your home a lesser risk for the home insurance company to cover and they, in turn, give you a lower premium and wider coverage for your home insurance policy.

Moreover, think about other issues that effect plan coverage and rate of the home coverage plan e.g. details like your home's distance from the nearest fire station and fire hydrant and your home's physical condition. By regular home repairing and renovating you can prove that your home is disaster-resistant and you can bargain and shop for the right home insurance plan for yourself. For example, just by investing in toughened glass windows and providing adequate outdoor lighting you can reduce chances for damage caused by storms, vandalism and burglary to your home. Thus, you stand a better chance of being offered a lower home insurance policy with wide coverage.

Of course, coverage and cost are the two most important details when shopping for the best home insurance combo and you can successfully secure a quality policy by finding a happy balance between the two. Trying going over benefits, features, upgrades and special offers through tie-ups with auto insurance (usually offered by banks securing home insurance and car insurance together at cheaper costs) with your insurance advisor - and strike a bargain for this ideal combo! - 23162

About the Author:

John is a top life insurance traffic producer who works with top team industry leaders. Free Quote Insurance Agents that work for you.

Trading Strategy - Descending Triangles Downside Breakout

By Jeff Cartridge

The descending triangle is the most profitable chart pattern when trading short. The descending triangle is formed with the lower boundary of the price movement contained by a line close to horizontal and the top line slopes down toward the bottom line.

Descending Triangles Best Traded Short

The descending triangle does break down more than it breaks up with this occurring in 57% of the patterns. A downside breakout is profitable 45% of the time delivering an average profit of 0.92% in 9 days. A large number of downside breakouts (12.1%) return in excess of 10% gain.

Specific Setups to Improve Profitability

Short breakouts work better in falling markets which is clear from the results that were achieved in 2002 and 2008, so the market should be falling or consolidating. The best results are achieved trading descending triangles when the sector is falling. For some reason the trend of the sector at the start of the pattern is more important than the trend of the sector prior to the breakout.

A breakout from a descending triangle can occur anywhere on the way to the point of the pattern; it is not important exactly where the breakout occurs. The best trades occur when a down side break occurs after the stock bounces off the lower boundary and drops back before hitting the upper boundary.

If volume supports a descending triangle breakout then the profitability of the trades improves. For volume to support the breakout, volume when the stock is going down should be greater than volume when the stock is going up.

Trading Descending Triangles Can Be Profitable

You can improve your trading results by using a series of simple filters that have been outlined here. This select group of descending triangles delivers an average profit of 2.55% in 10 days and is profitable on 48% of the trades. Overall this makes descending triangles extremely attractive to trade.

Note: Statistics for this article have been provided by Patterns Trader after analyzing over 60,000 chart patterns on the Australian market from 2000 - 2008. - 23162

About the Author:

Jeff Cartridge is a private trader and created the website LearnCFDs.com A Simple Timeless Method for Huge Gains

Forex News Straddling Strategy (Part V)

By Ahmad Hassam

The risk of slippage is usually very high when trading the news. Currency prices tend to move very fast during such highly volatile market conditions. Slippage occurs when the price you intend to enter or exit the market is different from your actual transacted price.

Placing stop or market entry orders under such times do not guarantee anything. Slippage is the biggest problem when the market moves fast. These orders do get filled but mostly at different prices than you had intended.

Many market makers will wait till after the big move is over. Then they will fill your entry order. Sometimes, these entry orders may even get filled past your stop loss or profit target. This means that you would be left with immediate net loss.

Many brokers will fill your stop loss or take profit before filling your entry order with wide slippage. It is a trick that many forex brokers use in order to make profit by filling your position with a negative spread.

Suppose you have set your long entry stop for EUR/USD at 1.2564 and your profit limit is 1.2594. The forex broker may first fill your take profit at 1.2594. Then fill your long entry stop at 1.2604 with a 40 pips slippage.

You were confident that you would make a winning trade. If the orders had been filled at the prices you wanted, your trade would have resulted in a profit. But now you have a net realized loss. If the trade goes against you, the forex broker may fill your stop loss order first and then fill your entry order with slippage after that so as to widen their profits. With slippage you cannot predict anything what the broker will do with you.

Suppose, you had set your long entry stop at 1.2564 and your stop loss at 1.2544. The broker could first fill your stop loss at 1.2544 then fill your long entry stop at 1.2594 with a slippage of 30 pips. So instead of planned 20 pips loss, you now have a net loss of 50 pips due to slippage.

You should know as an individual trader that your orders will be kept pending till you get stopped out or your profit limit is reached during the release of news when the market moves fast. The more you stand to lose and the more the forex broker stands to make a profit, the larger the slippage you experience. Some forex brokers add slippage to any of your orders to increase their profits during times of fast moving markets when the volatility is high.

Many traders readily accept the risk of slippage as one of the realities of trading the news. However, they should know that slippage can eat up a huge chunk of profits and in the end affect their overall profit/loss. You can overcome the problem of slippage through the use of stop-limit entry order. More on it in the next article! - 23162

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Know These Forex Broker Games. Learn Forex Trading!