Taming the Bear

Book excerpt: A bear market may last for a week, a month or even a few years, but it can take only a day, an hour or even a few minutes for the value of an investment portfolio to be slashed to half of its former value. Some bear markets start with a bang, like the crash of ?7, others creep up slowly so that investors do not realise they are in a bear market and carry on as if nothing has happened. Of course, not even the experts can accurately forecast what the market will do. However, there are signs that can indicate a bear market is approaching and, if recognised, give prudent investors time to take steps to safeguard their portfolios. The first part of this book describes how to recognise the signals that might precede a bear market, and how to watch the various indices for sell signals. The second part deals with methods to help both investors and traders to survive by understanding what changes in volume represent, when to use a moving average and how to stay ahead of the pack. Chris Tate guides the reader step-by-step through his methods, as well as using examples from his own extensive trading experience. He uses charts to explain what to look for in the market and what action to take. This is written in his usual easy-to-understand style.