Day Trading

No. A bank will not, as you need something to legal tie the funds too…even with a signature loan, you need to explain the reason for the loan (this is to prevent money laundering). Your only option in this case is a Margin Account through your broker. But since you trade options, you would already have a margin account, which means you know you do need to maintain equity in the account.
There is an alternative. BUT, I wouldn't recommend it.
You could engage in a Carry Trade. Again!! I do not recommend you do this for Day-Trading options or stocks!
You short a currency (the JPY is pretty popular). Just like shorting a stock, you get a credit. Since Forex is not regulated by the same Margin Rules as Equities, you can get 50K for a simply $500 account. With that credit, rather than buying Bonds with a higher interest rate than the rate of the shorted currency (Fed rate is 4.25, so you could get a bond around that rate, which JPY rate is .5%..you profit from the difference) you put that money into your options account. You need to be careful that you leave some room in your Forex account, as you do not want a Margin Call on this. And you need to make sure you monitor the currency market to make sure that the JPY's flat…although if it is dropping, you have the added bonus of making money there too.

I am not suggesting you do this, but just saying that there are possibilities out there. Just don't use this one, as it you need to be aware of what you are doing.

Stops aren't working? are they in the right places?
and you're not hedged with options, I take it.

***
with the current capability of computers, browsers and broadband, why limit yourself to only one news site?

you can have multiple such sites open in multiple browser tabs or multiple browsers.

look for the upcoming news/events list in places such as
money.cnn.com
yahoo finance
your TDAmeriTrade brokerage site

and/or any subscription services you get such as
investors.com
wall street journal online
bloomberg news
etc.

We are of like mind, but because I only have $10,000 to invest, I'm forced to Day Trade index futures. I'm not a Day Trader, but have been a position trader off and on for 15 years, mostly with options and futures. Tough game for the little guy with weak hands.

Check outthis link at TerraNova Online. The Investor platform is an escellent trading tool for a beginner, and is limited to one screen. I use RealTick and five screens, but it costs $250/mo. Ask about a free trial.

http://terranovaonline.com/

A lot of online brokerages claim to give you direct access, but if they take more than a second to execute your trade, it aint direct.

Find the articles online that have evaluated and compared online brokerages. I found a good one online in Barron's, but you'll find others in the trading magazines.

This is worth putting a little time and effort into, because it's a pain to switch, so once you choose, you're kinda stuck with it.

Townsend Electronics, the Parent company of TerraNova, is the one that digitized and electronified the Nasdaq. They are technological industry leaders and have a powerful and well built trading system.

What you should try is a free trial of their Investor platform, which I think is free anyway. Their rates are good also, but of course, it depends on how often you trade. It will take you months to learn all the bells and whistles of what this program can do.

The other top-of-the line program is TradeStation, but it costs big bucks to join and operate. Some people consider it the Cadillac of trading and technical analysis.

TerraNova is the home of the Day Trader, so they think nothing of you making several hundred trades a day. You don't have to do that, but it's okay here if you do.

Read vociferously:
"Which Is Better, Buy-and-Hold or Market Timing?"

"Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Market Timer

The Beginner's Bible in Technical Analysis is:
Edwards & McGee"Tech. Anal. Of Stock Trends"

Droke, ClifTechnical Analysis Simplified

Kahn, Michael N.Tech. Anal. Plain & Simple

Kamich, Bruce M.How Technical Analysis Works

Lefevre, EdwinReminiscences of a Stock Operator

Lofton, ToddGetting Started in Futures

Lowenstein, RogerBuffet (Warren)-The Making of a Capitalist

O'Neil, William J.How to Make Money in Stocks

Oz, TonyHow to Make Money From Wall Street

Rotella, Robert P.Elements of Successful Trading, The

Schwager, JackStock Market Wizards

Schwager, Jack D.New Market Wizards

Sperandeo, VictorTrader Vic-Methods of a Wall Street Master

Wasendorf, RussellAll About Futures

Slutsky, Scot and Darrell JobmanComplete Guide to Electronic Futures Trading

You can get every one of these books from your local library. If they don't have it, ask about Interloan Library System.

No there is no way you can apply. Unless you are able to get your demat activated. Don't worry as there are many other good IPOs coming for you enter SBI, BSNL etc… Happy Investing …

A 15% return in mutual funds is COMPLETELY unrealistic, and isn't going to happen on a consistent basis EVER!

If you dislike the 401(k) restrictions (placed on you by a company that are apparently trying to protect you from yourself!) then go work somewhere else!

Presumably you have all the data for what you've been TRYING to accomplish, so try this: get the historical data for all the funds that are available to you, and actually SEE if the way you think you can make more money actually works! Don't forget, you pay a FEE inside the fund every time you switch from one investment to another, the folks executing your trades are doing it to pay their rent, not to maximize your return!

To get the "most out of your money", if you are a "young person" (just a wild guess), put 100% of it in the MOST volatile fund option you have: that way, your payroll deducted contributions will buy more when the price is down, and less when it's up. Assuming the trend is up (long-term), you'll make out like a bandit without playing silly-buggers.

(P.S. My 401(k) is currently invested 55% in Fidelity Contrafund, 20% in Genesis Bond Fund, 15% in International, and 10% in a junk bond fund. I've had the same allocation for 3 years, and YTD I'm up 19.2%….with no transfers & without a single trade other than the "buys"!)

Quit trying so hard, you are only hurting yourself!

Go read some online articles that compare the main platforms. Just do an online search for "online brokerage comparisons" or something like that. I reccommend Scottrade as the trades are about as cheap as you will get. The downside is their margin rates are above average and I've seen mixed reports on their speed of filling trades. Still for me, they are perfect (but maybe not for you).

Etrade is supposed to allow you to trade on 4 or 5 stock marktes around the world – a huge advantage for a really smart investor or one that wants to focus on international stocks, but useless to most smaller investors (or most that want to focus on mutual funds – like you, maybe).

There are some other good ones. You'll find that OptionExpress is very good (never used this one myself, but they are well rated). More expensive that scottrade but margin rates are lower and maybe they are faster at filling trades.

Anyhow, thats my take on 3 of them but there are many more out there. Of course only used ones that are sipc insured, and again – I'd advise searching for more specifics on this via an online search. FYI, I think kiplingers had an areticle about this about 1-2 years ago. good article but alot can change in 2 years (and I'm not positive it was Kiplingers)

Best luck.

Here you go.

http://www.earnings.com/earning.asp?month=20070215&day=20061116&date=20070216&client=cb

Be aware that 90% of day-traders lose money. The odds are way against you. I recommend trying swing-trading (a few days to a few months time frame) first. The pressure is less and the timing not so quick. The exact same principles that apply to swing trading will prepare you for trading on shorter time frames. Or … you might decide you were making enough money in swing trading to stick with it.

As for sources, check with your brokerage. Many of them make learning tools available to their clients.

Best of success.

First off, you should know that "predicable" and "day trade" should never be used in the same sentence. If there was a predictable way to profit by day trading, a lot more people would be doing it.

That being said, if your looking to investing something that is the "least risky" and "most predictable" you should look at a low cost fund that tracks a broad market index . Check out VFINX, Vanguards mutual fund that tracks the S&P 500. If you looking for pure predictability, try a bond fund.

The others you mention Forex, Options and Commodities, are the MOST risky and LEAST predictable. And while they can be quite profitable for a professional trader, they are not suitable for the average/rookie investor.

I think you could make a decent sum of money, especially in the options and futures markets, and if you have access to borrowing funds quickly. Some derivatives are so highly leveraged that an investment of a few thousand dollars could make you very rich, very quickly.