Gold telegraphed tonight’s rally through resistance by an earlier failure to reach the ‘d’ target of its initial correction and by the shallowness of that correction. A secondary target at 1185.50 could still contain the rally, and bulls should not break out the bubbly until it is left behind in the dust. More immediately, as of 1:25 a.m. EST, the futures were just a tad shy of a minor Hidden Pivot at 1178.90, but any progress above it would put the 1185.50 pivot in immediate play. Here are two other minor pivots where we should expect a pullback that the nimble can trade: 1180.40 and 1199.20
COMMENTARY for Wednesday
Rick's Picks for Wednesday
Yesterday’s gratuitous swoon was practically the mirror image of Monday’s equally gratuitous hump. If the futures get squeezed above this tedium, look for a shortable top at exactly 1121.25. The midpoint sibling of that Hidden Pivot lies at 1108.25, and so a shallow pullback from just above that number — 1109.25 or so — could conceivably be used for a camouflage entry from the long side (see chart).
The futures looked to be developing thrust for a move to as high as 124^02, subject to midpoint resistance at 122^02. They need only reach 123^09 to trip a buy signal for an even larger bullish pattern that projects to as high as 128^13. That last number is somewhat fanciful at the moment, but there is no mistaking the incipient buying power percolating beneath the surface right now.
A longstanding target at 72.93 still looks compelling, although the dollar seems too well controlled at the moment to take the implied dive straightaway. If there’s any official support for the buck at this point, it would become manifest with a pop to 76.00. Failing that, however, we can only infer that the dollar has no sovereign friends willing to put their money where their mouths are.
If you shorted on Monday at 115.10 as advised, you were in within 0.02 points of the top. The pullback so far has been shallow but nonetheless sufficient to allow for relaxed profit-taking. Now, I suggest covering all but a small piece of the original position so that you will still have a nice profit if you need to cover what’s left above Monday’s high.
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This Just In... for Wednesday
Let me share with you two discoveries I made while attempting to wrest control of my household computers from their respective Wincrap XP operating systems. First is the problem of the ear-splitting ’BEEP!!!!’ that practically blows you (and those sitting near you) out of your seat whenever you raise or lower the speaker volume. Going into the control panel and changing the Sound Scheme to “No Sounds” is the intuitive solution and would be too easy, so we can rule that out right away. Here’s the correct procedure, in thirteen easy steps:
1. Right-click on My Computer; 2. On the Hardware tab, click on [Device Manager]; 3. On the “View” menu, select “Show hidden devices” ; 4. Under “Non-Plug and Play Drivers”, right-click “Beep”; 5. Click “Disable”; 6. Answer [Yes] when asked if you really want to disable it; 7. Answer [No] when asked if you want to reboot’ ; 8. Right-click “Beep” again; 9. Click “Properties”; 10. On the “Driver” tab, set the Startup type to Disabled; 11. Click [Stop]; 12. Click [OK]; 13. Answer [No] when asked if you want to reboot.
A second problem arose from my need to port Snag-It application’s user settings from PC to laptop. The relevant data file is stored in a very important folder called Local Settings that holds data files for most of the third-party applications that we use. Naturally, Microcrap does not want us to have access to this folder, nor to be able to see it even after we have checked the box labeled “Show hidden files and folders” in the Folder Options viewer. Despite the obfuscating tactics of the Redmond Bozo Conspiracy, you can access the Local Settings folder from the command line by typing the following string in the “Run” field: %Userprofile%\Local Settings
Hidden Pivot Webinar & Tutorials
The next Hidden Pivot Webinar will be held on 6/30 - 7/1. This two-day event is designed to teach you the risk-averse trading strategies Rick has taken to his seminars around the world. Once you have learned his proprietary secrets, you will approach trading and investing with enough confidence to make your own decisions without having to rely on the advice of others. For more information, or to register, click here.
Wal-Mart Brings Deflation with a Vengeance
by Rick Ackerman on November 25, 2009 4:08 am GMT · 26 comments
The Wall Street Journal’s op-ed page is probably the only place left in America where Wal-Mart’s predatory pricing model is viewed, without irony, as a good thing. Of course, the Journal doesn’t see it as predatory at all. In the eyes of the newspaper’s piously pro-capitalism editors, Wal-Mart’s everyday low prices are freeing up more disposable income for the working man. And retail space, too, since vendors who can’t cut the mustard in hard times are the first to go when Wal-Mart targets them in its crosshairs. This is creative destruction at its cruel best, and we supposedly should welcome it, since new and better-run businesses are waiting to take the place of those that have failed to meet the needs of » Read the full article