The average home computer today is millions of times more powerful than the room-sized behemoths of the 1950s. Computing power continues to increase - and computers become more and more affordable every year. This has led to computers being nearly omnipresent in homes and businesses; and of course, computers have completely changed the way that many industries conduct business - and others have been decimated by new technology. There is one economic sector which is still evolving as a result of increasing computing power, a change which has been underway for over a decade now.

We're speaking of course of trading on the stock and commodity markets. Of course, trade timing is key to being successful with any sort of stock trading. However, in day trading, timing is of paramount importance. A trader who is the first to act is generally the trader who comes away with the largest profits.

Day trading is gaining in popularity due to the large potential returns. For example, day traders working at the larger brokerages can make enormous profits by leveraging trades at ratios of 20:1 and up. They use a short term loan to make their purchase of shares on the assumption that the trade will be profitable enough to earn the trader a profit as well as repay the loan.

Since leverage is one of the causes of the woeful state of the world economy at present, leverage has earned a reputation as being an extremely dangerous thing. Think of leverage as a tool; when used responsibly, it can be very helpful - but used improperly, it can cause serious damage. It all depends how the tool is used. Like a chainsaw, leverage is not inherently dangerous.

However, enough traders have made careless mistakes with leveraged trades to give day trading the same kind of dangerous reputation. While there are other ways to make profitable stock trades like the buy and hold strategy used by Warren Buffett, this is not a style which is well suited to every trader. Making profitable trades on this model means having an in depth knowledge of how the market works and of the long term prospects for the companies whose stock is being traded.

The increasing sophistication and declining price of computers is what's really changing the industry. More powerful computers mean more powerful software for analyzing the patterns in market behavior. What day trading really consists of is pattern analysis - patterns in price movements is what tells traders that a trade is likely to be a profitable one. Software called day trading robots is something which has changed the way many investors trade; these programs are very powerful analytical tools which help investors to make profitable trades and minimize their risk.

Some entrepreneurial traders who have access to day trading robots have taken to selling subscriptions to traders which provide recommendations based on the analysis this software performs. By and large, these newsletters are aimed at traders in the pink sheet market (also known as penny stocks). While these newsletters do cost, many traders find the analytical information these robots provide to be well worth the price of admission.

The market analysis available in these newsletters can be a useful tool for profitable day trading. However, it would be a mistake to use this information as your only source. A savvy trader should always do their due diligence and learn about the companies they're interested in trading along with the tips from day trading robots in newsletters. These tips are based on past performance of stocks and while they are generally a good predictor of future market behavior, traders should be aware that there is always some risk involved in trading on the stock market.