It is a long article: http://nymag.com/news/businessfinance/53617/ "Just because the markets have been tanking doesn't mean a buck can't be made. While the stock market's volatility has confounded the formulas of investment bankers and hedge-fund managers, it has also offered unprecedented opportunity to day traders, who monitor the markets second-by-second and thrive on short-term transactions. New York Magazine profiles day trader Peter Milman, who has made almost $500,000 in the past three months. Milman calculates his transactions via a controversial technique known as "technical analysis," analyzing not the value of the companies whose shares he's trading but rather "the movement of the crowds." One trader says "you become a psychologist of the stock market and trading off the mood." Says another, "Technical analysis has been thought of as a black art or voodoo. But it's no different than a football coach watching film to prepare for his next opponent."
Read the readers' comments too, pretty interesting. Most of them just don't get it... "These kids are crooks. No idea what real life is. They will all have an eventual visit from the hard knocks fairy. There are nurses cleaning poop, soldiers defending their freedom and teachers preparing the young. All so investors can place their money in a market that these goons will eventually suck out. They should be jailed!!! By obamalover11 on 01/26/2009 at 11:36am"
This is from a trader: "Some of these comments are absurd. America was built on people willing to take risk. Traders don't "suck out" anything from the market, in fact we make it easier for your retirement account institutions to find the liquidity they need to keep costs low, and that gets passed on to you. As a trader of 10+ years... - I will pay over $300k in taxes this year - I donate thousands annually to local and national charities - I support local services by hiring contractors, plumbers, electricians in this time when there is no other work for them. - I support the economy by spending when many cannot afford to -I provide liquidity to the market which makes it more efficient, saving the public money in their mutual funds, pension funs, 401ks, and IRA's. If you don't understand why liquidity is important look at what happened in Oct 87 when only the institutions were there to provide liquidity (hint: they backed away and refused to trade) -I pay over $100k in commissions and fees annually which funnel back to the brokerages and exchanges, allowing them to create jobs. The comments about other aspects of Wall Street providing a service are a joke. Wall Street was not created for you, it was created for them. Self-educate yourself and you will have no need for a brokers services other than allowing exection of trades and account maintenance. You can take advantage of the system, or let it take advantage of you (how are your retirement accounts doing?). By SFtrader on 01/26/2009 at 1:53pm"
I traded with em at broadway trading back in the day. The brother, Serge, was on the cover of Forbes. They have not blown out.
trading at an office is so late 90's many of the top BIG daytraders swing traders retail trade remote at home with their pyjamas or at the beach with mobile trader. or trade while at work with trading as their second job or sideline business.