Stocks & Commodities V.

4:8 (315-315): Trading Tactics A livestock futures anthology

Trading Tactics
A livestock futures anthology
Editor: Todd Lofton
Publisher: Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Agricultural Commodity Marketing
30 South Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 930-8213 (direct line to order the book)
Price: $29.95

T rading Tactics will serve novice traders well as a survey of approaches to trading the livestock and
meat futures. Those who have four or five years under their belts may find that some of the chapters are
useful introductions to areas in which they have not spent time. Those who are not about to change their
established, effective trading style need read no further.
Initially, the most impressive thing about this slick, soft-covered book is its high production quality. The
graphics and typesetting are crisp and attractive. There's been no stinting on space and the author list is
extensive, thoroughly covering the most popular approaches.
At second glance, you may find a technique you've been curious about but haven't explored. For me, that
was livestock spreads, here explained by Phil Tiger. Even though I'm a confirmed financials trader, I've
often wondered if there weren't some profits in the inexplicable wanderings of the agricultural products.
The spreads article and the seasonality article by Courtney Smith prompted me to set aside a month or so
to work in that area.
If you're just starting out, Trading Tactics won't provide justification for throwing your money at any
instant trades. This is descriptive, survey material on such things as RSI, cycles, seasonal tendencies,
fundamental forecasting, Elliott Wave, moving averages, point-and-figure charting, contrary opinion and
options. Look here for a technique that makes intuitive sense to you, then follow up with in-depth
research.
I would like to put in a plug for Mike Burke's article on point- and-figure charting, a much-ignored
technique. Aside from Dunn and Hargitt, it's tough to find a good solid explanation of this approach in
today's publications. Here, so many examples are given that you can't help but come away with a better
understanding. Floor traders often use this approach as a quick and not-very-dirty indicator for trading.
Most novices could do a lot worse than to emulate them, at least initially.
Many of the approaches described here are used—and are just as effective—on other ag futures and
financials where they have different parameters and guidelines. These are the nuances which an
experienced trader will want to learn before diving into the meats. From this standpoint, Trading Tactics

Article Text Copyright (c) Technical Analysis Inc. 1

Stocks & Commodities V. 4:8 (315-315): Trading Tactics A livestock futures anthology

is of some value even to older heads.

Lastly, there's a benefit to reading the book in its entirety if you really know nothing about meats. By the
time you've seen the meats through the eyes of these 16 authors, you'll find yourself with a lot better
grasp of the way these markets behave as well as a good feeling for the tools you can use in trading.

Figure 1: A point and figure chart for February 1986 Pork Bellies with the daily data from which it was
constructed.

Figures Copyright (c) Technical Analysis Inc. 2