March 11th, 2010
Published Daily
COMMENTARY for Thursday

Bull Tide Recedes with a Whoosh…

by Rick Ackerman on May 14, 2009 12:01 am GMT · 4 comments

Did the bear rally breathe its last with yesterday’s sharp reversal? We shall see. But we hesitate to call the hubris of the last ten weeks a sucker’s rally, since we do not personally know anyone who did not hate and revile it every step of the way.  A “bull trap” is what the rally will come to be called if stocks now fall in the weeks and months ahead, since many who eagerly bought into it will drown as the bullish tide recedes. However, since March 6, when the rally commenced on news that Citi had actually made money, it is bears who have been trapped. It could be said in their defense that trying to pick a top in the current economic environment is an unavoidable » Read the full article


TODAY'S ACTION for Thursday

A Scenario for Thursday…

by Rick Ackerman on May 14, 2009 6:27 am GMT

Index futures were too coy to call early Thursday morning, down just one tick and seemingly taunting sellers to push their luck by trying for four negative days in a row. (Note: On one of those days the loss was minuscule.)  My gut feeling is that stocks will open flat, trend moderately lower in the first hour, and then accelerate to the downside.


Rick's Picks for Thursday
$ = Actionable Advice + = Open Position
Current  Actionable  Open
All Picks By Issue:

ESM09 – E-Mini S&P (Last:882.75)

by Rick Ackerman on May 14, 2009 4:22 am GMT

The futures did a little jig at 880.00 to create a bottom near the end of Wednesday's session, but a Hidden Pivot support just below there at _____ is nonetheless worth bottom-fishing if you are a night owl looking for something to keep you awake. An ____ stop-loss is appropriate, implying ...

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GCM09 – Comex June Gold (Last:924.00)

by Rick Ackerman on May 14, 2009 4:39 am GMT

The Hidden Pivot at _____ was a logical place for yesterday's rally to top, so we shouldn't be overly optimistic coming in this morning, since Thursday's spiky high at 931.40 missed our number by ...

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USM09 – T-Bond Futures (Last:123^00.5)

by Rick Ackerman on May 14, 2009 5:02 am GMT

We've been tracking and forecasting the bonds higher since last Friday, when they turned from a low near an important Hidden Pivot support at 119^10. Now, having exceeded the first rally target subsequently given,...

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GOOG – Google (Last:389.05)

by Rick Ackerman on May 14, 2009 5:21 am GMT

We continue to hold a modest short position, a September 270 put purchased a while back for 8.00. The position is no longer tied to any technical rationale, but rather to my gut feeling that the rally in this stock since we acquired the put has been seriously misguided (much like the rally in Microsoft, a stock in which we also hold a small short position). Yesterday's $12 decline was therefore a breath of fresh air, but...

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INTRADAY TRADING NOTES for Thursday

Diamonds: Time to Ease Out of the Spread

by Rick Ackerman on May 14, 2009 2:26 pm GMT

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