Thursday, February 12, 2009

Rick Ackerman Radio Interview

– Posted in: Free

The world is experiencing a debt deflation, yet gold is hanging tough above $800. In an interview with Financial Lifeline Radio, Rick says gold hoarders shouldn’t sweat the details concerning what comes next, since they are well protected. Click here for the full audio of Rick Ackerman's interview.

Will You Qualify as a ‘Troubled’ Homeowner?

– Posted in: Current Touts

The short-squeeze that goosed the Dow back to unchanged yesterday was pretty tame compared to the violent spasms of last autumn. The Dow recouped 244 points in the final 50 minutes of the session, but that hardly compares with the wild action last October, when the Industrial Average registered two 1000-point swings back- to-back, and then a 700-pointer on day three.  (For good measure, a couple of days later, the blue chip average had fallen by 1,600 points, only to recover half the loss the next day. Ah, for the good old days!)     In the Rick’s Picks chat room, someone said Thursday’s final-hour binge was triggered by news that the Obama administration was crafting a mortgage subsidy plan for troubled homeowners.  We await further details concerning how one might qualify as troubled, but in the meantime we would suggest hiding anything in your closet with a pricey designer label, lest some envious appraiser queer your subsidy request with an uncharitable report to the mortgage lender.  (Further question: Will the notice we received yesterday from Cigna effectively doubling our household health-care bill help us qualify for aid of some sort? We certainly hope so.)   Think Local   Details concerning the mortgage subsidy plan were sketchy at press time, but, curiously, the lack of solid information didn’t seem to hurt stocks. Recall that Tuesday’s 380-point drop in the Dow supposedly was triggered when Treasury Secretary Geithner provided only sketchy details of the latest banking bailout. Maybe Wall Street cares about bailout details but Main Street does not?  Regardless, the enthusiasm that greeted talk of homeowner subsidies may prove to be a case of buy the rumor, sell the news, since any mortgage aid for individuals is likely to be just a trickle compared to the trillions of dollars that

IBM (93.18)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

Let's try shorting a 97.65 Hidden Pivot that turned up during yesterday's real-time tutorial session. We'll use March 90 puts (IBMOR), which should be trading for around 1.90, but I'll put out an advisory if it looks like we can improve on that price. The order is good through Friday. _______ UPDATE: Cancel the order. Da Boyz flushed Big Blue on the opening, taking it down 75 cents on a gap to greet the day.

March Silver (13.615)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

With precious metals trading well off their night-session lows, March Silver appeared bound for 13.910 over the near term. The midpoint resistance associated with that target lies at 13.680, a hair above Wednesday's 13.670 peak. There is one other hidden resistance that should be monitored for signs of a stumble: 13.770.

E-Mini S&P (828.75)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

Rangebound tedium is about to enter its second month, and as long as it continues, any opportunities will likely come from charts comprising 15-minute bars or less. Yesterday's price action was especially unappetizing, consisting as it did of "dueling" impulse legs on the 15-minute chart. There are times when we should look for other vehicles to trade, and this is one of them.

Dollar Index (85.72)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

The Dollar Index appears to be consolidating in a bullish triangle, but we should note as well that the upper threshold of this formation failed to achieve an 87.25 Hidden Pivot target I'd projected -- a mild negative. Because price action is narrowing within the triangle to a decision point, we should expect the dollar either to break sharply higher within the next 2-3 days, or alternatively, to pull back to just above 84. From a Hidden Pivot perspective there is only a bare hint of weakness in the right-hand edge of the chart, but nothing indicative of a serious breakdown.

April Gold (942.30)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

The minor trend has turned sharply higher as of 11:30 p.m., driven by who-knows-what. The April contract is trading at 942.30 at the moment, rebounding from an after-hours low at 936.50 where buyers seemed to be congregating. What is most interesting about the rally is that it has exceeded a fairly important peak at 938.20 that was recorded on October 10. That would be mildly encouraging if it had happened during the regular session, but the fact that it has occurred on relatively light volume at night suggests that buyers are confident that others will follow them in at still higher prices. As such, night owls should view any pullback of $2-$4 as a buying opportunity. There are targets galore above these levels, but we'll focus on 952.30 for now. If it is effortlessly busted, JP Morgan and their federally sanctioned ilk had better run for cover.