I have combined stock market trading and tag clouds to create Market Clouds.

Market Clouds shows the popularity and activity of stock market companies.

The font size of the symbol is determined by the symbols market trading popularity or activity. A bigger font size means the stock is actively trading and popular. A smaller font size shows the stock is less active and less people are trading it.

I find tag clouds and market clouds fascinating. Clouds are a way to order and prioritize seemingly endless amounts of data and information flow.

Market Clouds allow you to quickly visualize the popular or active stocks of the day, by weeding out inactive or unpopular stocks by making them smaller, and showing us the juicy plays and most popular and active stocks with huge letters.

Check it out and let me know what you think about Market Clouds!

Google has introduced Google Finance pages for stock charts, news, and company data. The Google Finance pages aim to compete with the likes of Yahoo! Finance and Microsoft’s MSN Moneycentral.

I still prefer using Yahoo! Finance for most of my research, but the I do enjoy the crisp look and feel of the new Google Finance pages. Over the coming weeks I see myself utilizing Google Finance pages more and more for my stock market research.

The Google Finance main page for a stock ticker displays useful information, such as basic balance sheet information, company news, and an interesting chart application. The charts allow you to scroll left or right allowing you to seamlessly move forwards or backwards in the price and volume history of a company. Check out GOOG at Google Finance to browse Google’s stock price and company information.

Well, I like the new Google Finance pages. What do you think about them?

I was reading a news aggregation website, reddit, and came across a blog article regarding Google buying Sun Microsystems.

Logically, I could see this rumor coming to fruition. I think part of me would like to see Sun, a company I respect, purchased by Google, another company I highly respect.

Google and Sun are (supposedly?) working together to create Google Office - an online suite of software to challenge Microsoft Office. Sun is known for it’s excellent server hardware and the Java environment. Google is constantly and perhaps exponentially growing in its need for data storage and processing power. Google needs more computing resources. Fast. Google may also need more human resources, another advantage it would gain from buying Sun. Sun Microsystems engineers and developers consistently produce high quality software and systems.

My question is: What could Google possibly gain from purchasing Sun Microsystems? True, Sun has the hardware and people that Google could use. But does Google really need Sun Microsystems?

The only possibility I can think of is based on another rumor: the GoogleOS.

Has anyone else heard this rumor of Google planning to buy Sun?

Read the original article: It looks like Google’s Buying Sun After All.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

A stock trader friend linked me to an article stating the “Google Buying Sun Microsystems” rumor is completely false and the rumor is being used to manipulate Sun Microsystem’s (NASDAQ: SUNW) stock price. This article contains background information regarding the rumor’s author and the rumor history. Read the article: Digg is used for Sun stock manipulation.

It appears this rumor has been verified as being a completely false rumor.

Last week I had a horrible experience. My car was broken into right outside of the office building I work at. It gets worse. I had forgotten to grab my backpack containing my laptop and my mobile computing gear. The thieves got my laptop!

I was very busy the day it happened, working on a complex database project for a client. Normally my laptop goes with me every time I go into the office. The police actually telephoned, alerting me my car had been broken into and needing to speak with me to file a report.

My laptop is still missing. I do not expect it will be recovered.

Anyways, I do most of my online development and personal surfing on my laptop. Without it, I have been barely able to manage my emails and websites. Thus, the lack of updates to TradingWinner.

I still do not have a replacement laptop. But I did get my desktop machine at my house in usable shape to perform research, browse the web, and update my sites. My laptop ran Windows XP, while my desktop computer is running FreeBSD - quite a switch to make for all my online activities!

By the way: Factory alarm systems only go off when your car door is opened. The thieves simply bashed in my rear windows and grabbed my backpack. I did not know this, but the police officer that helped me out explained this to me. I was disappointed. Time to invest in a real car alarm. Any recommendations?

TradingWinner is Back in Action.

Here’s a quote from Donald Trump regarding leadership and personal ability I find very truthful. I was browsing some blogs and came across Donald Trump’s Blog.

If you’re in a leadership position now or have your sights set on one, it’s important for you to figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are, then assess where to go from there. Take some time to sit down and try to review your personal strengths and weaknesses. I think you’ll find it’s a very eye-opening exercise. - Donald Trump

Personally, I see Donald Trump as great businessman, evident by his success. When it comes to leadership and creating successful businesses, I hold Donald Trump’s thoughts and opinions in high regards.

Applying this quote to trading: As a trader, we are our own leaders. We do not command a team, but we make all the crucial decisions. These decisions, whether good or bad, affect our most valuable employee: ourselves. Just like Donald says, we need to review our strengths and weaknesses. Example: Do we get scared holding a stock we’re losing money on? If so, this is a weakness, and we need to re-think our trading strategy to minimize risk and minimize the effects of emotional trading.