When I first started investing, I talked to a lot of stockbrokers. The majority of them relied solely on fundamental analysis' as their decision support tool, quoting from company financial reports and earnings research for their investment advice. They fluffed off technical charts as hocus-pocus. Their standard chant: „I've never met a rich technical analyst.“

Tugging on the other end of the rope were the card-carrying'members of the technical analysts' club. „Who has time,“ they insisted, „to comb through pages of sleep-inducing reports? A chart tells you all you need to know.“

Fundamental analysis and technical analysis are the two major methods of examining a publicly traded company to determine the health of its stock. (I've been told that some folks buy stocks on the .strength of a company's astro­logical charts and a system of „sacred numbers,“ but for now we'll stick to standard analysis.)

Fundamental analysis is like taking an „x-ray“ of a company. It examines the internal financial fitness of an organization and tells us how strong it is. Fundamental analysts check out the supply and demand levels of the products and/or services the company produces. Then, they study company reports, profit and loss summaries, price-to-earnings (PE) ratios (calculated by dividing the stock's price by its earnings-per-share figure), market share, sales and growth, and brokerage analyst's ratings. Those who buy and sellon the strength of a company's fun­damentals generally buy a stock „for the long haul,“ and ignore gymnastics performed by the market on any given day.

Technical analysis is the study of time, price, and sentiment of a chosen equity (or market or index) as'shown o cnharts. The price action draws patterns on those charts. And, because human behavior can be repetitive, the price patterns can be repetitive. When keen-eyed technical analysts recognize one of those formations starting to form, it gives them a set of probabilities on which to base the stock's next move.

If fundamentals show us a company's internal strength, then a chart reveals that stock's perso­nality. As an added benefit, charts allow us to quickly compare price action of a specific stock to its buddies in the same industry, and to broader indexes such as the S&P 500. Obviously, charts have the advantage of speed, showing the „picture is worth a thousand words“ theme in action.

When you utilize fundamental and technical analyses together, you've got an accurate picture of a company's financial fitness and personality profile. That's why, more and more, we see technical analysts sneaking looks at a company's fun­damental information, and fundamental analysts furtively peeking at charts.

It appears the tug of war is slowing. Stalwart members of both camps have softened their stances and released their grips. A truce is in the offing! We, as wise and profitable short-term traders, recognize the value of both worlds. When we enter the market, we want all odds possible in our comer. To that end, the following section shows how to find the most comprehensive fundamental information about a company, in the least amount of time.