In this business of analyzing market behavior, nothing seems to be more controversial than market forecasting.

As with any other type of published information, some of it is good, some not. The newslist is filled with those who do market forecasts as it is filled with so-called 'experts' who will tell you that it cannot be done. The debate continues unabated.

One thing is for certain, market forecasting is not only possible, but is being done everyday with uncanny accuracy!

When one of these 'experts' tell you that it cannot be done, what they are really saying is that 'they cannot do it'. It is as simple as that. Oh, they may or may not be profitable traders, that's not the issue here. What is the issue in this case is purely 'analyzing' the markets, not trading it. Although trading from an accurate market analysis is obviously profitable, it is a topic for a different post.

A problem many traders have is the expectation that a market forecast must be 100% accurate 100% of the time. Maybe this is where their hang up is. One must be realistic in first realizing that market analysis in any form is not 100%. What an analyst tries to achieve is a very high percentage of hits as opposed to misses in market action meeting original expectations. Much like forecasting the weather.

Another problem is making a determination after considering a very small sample of market forecasts from any particular source. For example, one who cannot forecast market behavior may look at the forecasts of another. That individual already starts off as a skeptic and looks at the forecast with a 'prove it to me' attitude.

Now, if the first one or two forecasts from a market analyst fails to materialize as expected, then that skeptic puts on blinders and may start waving the 'impossible to forecast the markets' flag. You can bet this person will not notice the next 10 perfect forecasts in a row.

Even the best forecasters may miss a couple, so a truly objective spectator may wish to sample a larger number of forecasts to get an better picture of accuracy. If a market forecaster can do better than 50%, which I personally feel is pretty low, then he is doing better than 1 out of every 2 and such information could be quite useful if traded with the right set of rules.

Many forecasters do worse than that, and many non-objective 'experts' are quick to label the whole science as 'a pipe dream' because of a bunch of amatuer forecasters. Might as well say that breaking the sound barrier is impossible since most cannot do it. This kind of blanket statement is ignorant and irresponsible.

To forecast market behavior, long or short term, takes desire, time, training and money. Those who really put in the effort to learn and apply what they've learn can one day find themselves forecasting market action with a high degree of reliability. However, as is fact that some have no patience or desire, some will never learn the science and art of market forecasting.

The universe is filled with wonders. Much of the universe man does not understand, yet as time goes by his awareness of all that surrounds him grows. Each piece of the puzzle found opens ones eyes that much more to other possibilities. Thus is the same with learning the characteristics of the market. Yet history teaches us that the majority will tell you the earth is flat and that you are crazy to think otherwise. These people will tell you that man will never walk on the moon. Man will never fly. Guess what? They're ancestors are here to tell us markets cannot be forecasted with a high degree of accuracy.

They will tell you that market forecasting is impossible and that you are better off flipping a coin. Such reasoning displays ones lack of vision, lack of understanding, and explains why they themselves cannot forecast the market. Who are you to claim to do something they may never be able to do? Neil Armstrong?

Those who have been OEXMASTER.COM members for sometime know that not only is market forecasting possible, but it is being done with a very high degree of accuracy each and every week. Rather then moaning over one or two that may not pan out, they find great excitement and benefit from the 10 or 15 that do pan out.

So when you read from someone that market forecasting cannot be done, remember that there will always be those who fail to see the forest from the trees and would quickly tell you that Mr. Edison is a fool if he thinks that someday people will be able to talk to each other from opposite ends of the earth.