Mercer said the cause of death was blunt-force trauma. This is something very difficult for us to comprehend or imagine. Campbell said that witnesses said that Barton was also upset about losses from investments in the stock market. Barton had quit his job with a chemical firm and had started trading stocks full time, becoming what is known in the securities business as a day trader. Day traders usually buy and sell small quantities of extremely volatile stocks, usually in technology firms, hoping to make quick profits on stakes held for less than one full day and sometimes as little as a couple of minutes.
Many day traders borrow money on margin to increase the number of shares they can buy and sell.
It is a risky way to invest, and most day traders give up after losing the money they invest. Harvey Houtkin, head of All-Tech, said in a telephone interview from the firm's Montvale, N.J., headquarters, that Barton had been a trader at the firm for about a year and had been a member of partnerships that had lost money. Such partnerships, a target of securities regulators, are often used to increase the amount of money their members can wager on stocks. Although the technology stocks popular among day traders dropped sharply last week and today, Houtkin said Barton had not traded at All-Tech since April. If you use it right, you will be able to hunt effectively and bring down nice buck.