- halfbrain.com web-based spreadsheets and presentations...now try that with your office 2000 suite...complete with automatically updating, embedded stock quote functions.
- nassim taleb's homepage homepage of the author of the highly acclaimed options trading book "dynamic hedging: managing vanilla and exotic options"...this chap knows his shadow gamma and volatility forecasting techniques down cold...of greater interest to me, though, are his observations about trading in general: the two basic types of traders, the importance of trading with a stop, and the flaws in VAR analysis.
- wallstreetcity.com one of the very few places i know of on the web where you can get free historical stock prices going back over a year (yahoo finance does have recent ones)...necessary for most any type of quantitative analysis beyond the bigcharts.com variety.
- lightreading.com reading this will make you feel like george gilder did 5 years ago...now tell me that doesn't pick up your spirits.
- optionetics implied volatility extremes list valuable wrap-up of issues that have options trading at historically extreme implied volatility levels...a starting point for exploring vega-oriented options trades.
- contingency analysis comprehensive overview of professional risk management concepts and techniques...closest thing to an online textbook on the subject.
- techweb encyclopedia i am not a geeky techie nerd...a geeky nerd, yes, but definitely not of the techie variety. but that doesn't stop me from sounding like one, oh no...after each session with this online glossary of technological terminology, you too can annoy the customers at starbucks no end, blathering on about asynchronous transfer modes and time division multiplexing.
- quote tracker if you're not already wasting your hard-earned cash on some fancy real-time trading platform, take a look at this kickass program...only free intra-day charting program i've found. neat usage of the real-time quotes that come with just about all discount brokerage accounts these days.
- industry performance charts nice little java applet that shows relative performance of various industries over user-defined time periods. check out the other useful java-based tools on the main site stockcharts.com.
- risk arbitrage primer this useful piece will get you up to speed in the speed-bump-less world of risk arbitrage investing. but if you pursue this route, be forewarned: when you experience an "ouchie" in this game, it really, really hurts.
- the deal.com fabulous coverage of the "deal economy." an absolute must-read for the aspiring special situations investor, as it gives both up-to-date coverage of breaking deals as well as insightful commentary on their implications. essential reading.
