I am always listening these guys as I’m always learning something new. It never late to learn. As I can state it is good to spent your time to learn. You should filter what you will take, but this will come with your own experience.
From the resent past. When all experts in early March were telling do not buy the bottom will be much deeper and every day was -1000. Nobody was buying the same story was on 3/23. Finally it turned around and people started to jump on. But big guys bought it before all of you. I was going against the market was investing in oversold good stocks with cash. Sure I was shorting that time for day trading, but started to have long positions too. Big technicals lost about less 20%. Some other lost 80%. CCL cruise line f.e. They have money for year to survive and at least will double, triple when they open. SA bought 8% stake from the company. Of course I did not know what was the bottom. What I was doing to analyze the price to buy if it was sinking down I was buying again till we got the bottom. When everybody got what was the bottom you will be trailed by institutions.
Market skills: technicals, stock/price/etc analysis, intuition. If you are perfect in at least one of these 9 of 10 you can use only one you will win. I am not therefore I’m utilizing all. However my best one is stock price evaluation. It you do it right, it does not matter about trend at some point of course. Plus I’m doing opposite to market so when it turns opposite I will have an advantage.
I got oil refineries stock it comes up slowly but surely. It is a shortage of refineries, guess what . I’m still not sure when to sell. Folks what is your opinion? Everybody buying now, good time to sell or still early.
The lab assignment was an exercise in "observation". As a chemist (and for any scientist) observation is vital.