Day Trading

I use Scottrade and love it! The stream from Scott works great. I don't know about BofA, but I suspect it's comparable. I'd think again about using Scottrade, they do one thing only and are very good at it. BofA does hundreds of things, some good, some not so good.

DIY?

Online trading has lowered commissions to the point where they are no longer the primary consideration. Ditto for good execution, if indeed they are Direct Access. If you decide later to trade commodities, options, futures, or currencies, TerraNova may be the only one that you can trade everything, real time, online, direct access. 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.

What you probably should be concentrating on is the best trading software or trading platform. But even then, everyone's criteria are different.

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. Active Trader, Futures Mag, etc.

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.

I use RealTick at TerraNovaOnline, but it costs $275/mo. I think the Investor package is free to use, and just uses one screen.

What you should try is a free trial of their Investor platform, which is free. 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.

First, try trading virtual money on a Simulator real time at Investopedia.com

Look into the Investor platform at TerraNovaOnline.com
I think this one is free if you open an account there. I use the full-blown package called RealTick for $250/mo. The Investor platform is the same software, sized down to one screen. I use five monitors. This is very technologically advanced softwarefrom Townsend Analytics, the one that digitized the entire Nasdaq last year. Cutting edge technology. If you make some money, then definately upgrade to RealTick.

Take a look at marketwatch.com. I was looking at one earlier today and while I was making notes, the price kept changing. It may not be "realtime" but it was surprisingly close just from that example. I don't know if they cover your exchanges, but some of your stuff is traded elsewhere too.

You need real time and use the 1 minute (tic) chart. I do not know if Yahoo has this but I know my broker does and i get it for free.

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.

In your scenario your gain would be larger if you short before the close on Monday. IF you are right. There is typically a large movement in share prices at the open. So if you wait until Tuesday, and the stock does fall you miss out on a big part of the drop.

The disadvantage to shorting on Monday afternoon is that you can't be sure what will happen overnight and the effect on the next day's stock movement. Which makes it more risky. Personally, I only short in real time, when I can see the price action in front of me.

After hours trading may cause a price shift which may be reflected in the next days open. If you monitor AH action, you can use that to validate your assumptions.

Http://www.thinkorswim.com/

There's a special address for Canadians, https://www.thinkorswimcanada.com/.

Simply the best for swing trading stocks and options. There's even an audio program all day (9:15-11:30AM & 1:30-4:00PM, EST) . The program also answers questions on specific technical questions (on specific stocks) & there's a video/chart which you can see the "ShadowTrader" actually show what he's referring to.

The platform is great (really great!!!). Charts are great (both TOS and Profet). Service is great.

They have many conditional order types including;
Blast 6
One Cancells Other (great for putting in a stop and limit price at the same time).
1st Triggers next
Chose by time & date execution.
Market Close
and many more

There graphs art great. Service is great. You'll be amazed. This platform was rated #1 by Barron's in their March 2007 best online broker article ((for software based brokers).
They were an incredible hit in Las vegas at the TradersExpo this past November. More people were checking them out more than any other broker.

I've been with them since April 2007.
(I have used Schwab (active trader program), Ameritrade, Scottrade and Fidelity).

The only thing they lack is "BackTesting" and that's coming out in this month.

Other ideas for good platforms;
TradeStation (good charting, backtesting + much more)
Iinteractive Brokers (fair charting, over 40 order types).

If you are using My Yahoo, you can set up up a Stock Portfolio segment right on your home screen. You can set up separate categories for each set of stocks (purchased, watchlist, etc.) It's very easy to use. The stock prices are updated every time you log on or hit "refresh". As with any stock tracking program, there is typically a 20 minute delay for stock quotes however if you have an online account with a brokerage, typically that website will enable you to get "real time quotes". For example, I use www.optionsexpress.com. It is a great brokerage site for both stocks and options. On that site, you can set "alerts" for either a percentage change (you set the percentage) or a dollar amount change in your stock price either up or down. The alert is sent to an email address of your choice. Check your online brokerage service because they most likely offer that service. Another program that I use to track stocks is www.marketwatch.com. It's free but you have to sign up or register for it. They also provide the ability to set "alerts" on changes in stock prices or news about your stock. Be sure to "opt out" of all of the free services and product emails or you'll get a lot of spam.

You'll really appreciate the chart & the recent news {headlines}.

Click on the blue link below:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=SGLS.OB

SGLS.OB: Summary for SIGNATURE LEISURE -
Yahoo! Finance