Zacks Challenge Top Player Interview features Biovail Corporation International, Northern Dynasty, Valero Energy Corporation, Chesapeake Energy Corp. and eBay.

CHICAGO -- Zacks.com introduces its Third Quarter Challenge top player interviews, which feature insights from the leaders of the Zacks Simulator game. The Simulator allows investors to prove their stock picking abilities by competing directly against other players for prizes worth thousands of the dollars.

Zacks recently caught up with David Charette (aka: DavidC), who is among the leaders of the Zacks Third Quarter Stock Challenge. This player's Simulator portfolio has racked up an overall return of about 13% thanks to some successful momentum plays. Currently, the Simulator competitor has positions in Biovail Corporation International (NYSE: BVF), Northern Dynasty (AMEX: NAK), Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) and a short on eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY). Click here for the full story exclusively on Zacks.com: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2518

Highlights from the August 23 interview include:

How does he do it?

Many of David's investment ideas are influenced by the information gleaned from resources such as Yahoo Finance, Google, CBS Marketwatch, Zacks, Bloomberg, Barrons, The Kirk Report and Stockcharts. When using Zacks.com, this successful investor expressed how fond he was of the website's screening tools.

Currently, the Simulator competitor has positions in Biovail Corporation International (NYSE: BVF), Northern Dynasty (AMEX: NAK), Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) and a short on eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY). Click here to check out this competitor's entire portfolio: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2515.

How about selling?

If a momentum play lost its steam, this market watcher will sell. Similarly, if David sees extreme panic buying with a major surge in volume for taking profits, he may get out of a position. The momentum player mentioned, "For stop-loss, I use recent price supports and adjust the size of my trade accordingly."

Market outlook?

This market enthusiast thinks that we are heading into a major recession next year. He believes the recession will be sparked by a major slowdown in housing due to excess speculation. In fact, David would not at all be surprised to see the Dow dip below 10,000 by year end. Longer-term, however, this Simulator contender is a little less bearish. He noted, "the money printing Fed and the huge budget deficit will make sure that all assets inflate, including the stock market. The Dow will be at 20,000 one day but an apple will cost $3 and gold will be at $2,000."

Any advice for those to who are new to the market?

"Trade small until you're profitable on a constant basis and eventually you'll find your style and get the experience," replied David. He explained at least a year of trading while experiencing different types of market environments should be enough of a spring board for one to make the leap into more "big ticket" trades.

Check out the complete interview and learn more about the Simulator at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2518

The Challenge is On! Do You Have What it Takes?

Sign up now for the Zacks Challenge. It's free. It's fun. It's the place to show your investing prowess. The best stock pickers will be rewarded with thousands of dollars in prizes. Learn more at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2520

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