We're All News Junkies Now!

There is an odd phenomenon that we seek to know the news in order to either guide our trades -- or justify them. More often than not, the news has already influenced prices before most of us are aware of that news. News is, by its very nature, a "lagging indicator"; the news media can't report it until after it occurs. It's the nature of the beast -- baked into the cake, so to speak.

Thus, in this day of instantaneous news availability (esp. online) it becomes increasingly irrelevant because of its instantaneousness, since nearly all news quickly becomes "old news". Still, we seek that news fix. It's part of our psyche! It is a constant temptation to seek more news, but as soon as we have some bite of news, we then seek even more news. We seek more current news, more instantaneous news! We have become news junkies! I still feel the draw, but the more I am able to disconnect my trading from news-related events, and concentrate on the charts instead, the more effective my trading becomes. Strange, but true, phenomenon!

Several months ago, someone in this forum suggested I turn off the news media and just watch the charts. He said it improved his trading. Now, it is improving mine!