We hold two open positions, one a partial butterfly spread that will give us some riskless leverage on a rally into year’s end if we can complete it with stocks sharply on-the-rise. Late Thursday night, index futures were up, but not by enough to suggest that DaScumballs were fixing to pull out the rug. It looks more like they are trying to restrain buyers, actually, with the goal of short-squeezing the opening on whatever news they’ve been told is coming. _______ UPDATE (4:01 a.m. EST): Overnight action has gifted us with a long trade in Feb Gold that is still “live,” and a profit-taking opportunity a single tick from our target and two ticks off the so-far high in the E-Mini S&P. Check out my updates for further, detailed trading guidance.
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We already know the bad news — that the futures appear likely to fall to at least 1459.40, or to 1424.80 if any lower — so let’s shift our focus to some bullish alternatives just to keep an open mind. For starters, the good guys could retake control of the 30-minute chart with a thrust over the next 2-3 days exceeding 1635.20, a small peak made Wednesday on the way down. However, a more subtle signal — view it as an early alert — would be generated with a print today at 1590.20. Depending on how the rally from Thursday afternoon’s low plays out, a pullback from just above that number could create a low-risk entry spot for camouflageurs. I’ve sketched out this possibility on the accompanying chart. _______ UPDATE (3:45 a.m. EST): A pattern much like the one I sketched — with single-bar coordinates at points A and C — tripped an entry signal at 1588.20 at around 12:20 a.m. (A=1585.60 at 10:30 p.m., B=1592.10, and C=1586.50). Half of a four-contract position would have been exited at the 1589.80 midpoint of the pattern, and a third contract at 1593.00, the D target of the pattern. Imputing theoretical gains of 6.40 to the contract that remains yields an effective cost basis of 1581.80. For now, use a stop-loss at 1579.70, a few ticks below the ‘d’ target of a minor, corrective ABC that was playing out at around 3:45 a.m. If the futures turn and go higher without triggering the stop, use a 3.20-trailing stop above 1601.00. We’re not swinging for the fence on this one, but we are going for extra bases. _______ EXIT UPDATE 11:05 a.m. EST): The futures spiked to a high of 1603.50 at 7:35 a.m., and so we exited at 1599.50 when they detumesced. The selloff came all the way down to 1585.10, so we save ourselves a pretty penny by heeding the stop. Our theoretical gain on this trade was $1770. The futures have been unable since to surpass the 1603.50 peak, but they are working on a bullish impulse leg nonetheless with potential to as high as 1604.40 (5-min, A=1585.10 at 9:40 a.m., B=1599.90). So far, the C-D segment has stalled at 1596.30, 0.70 from the 1597.00 midpoint resistance associated with 1604.
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Wall Street did not exactly take Apple out to the woodshed following yesterday’s revelation that the firm has paid little or no taxes on foreign income of $75 billion. The stock flinched, down $2.73 on the day, but investors seem to recognize that revising 275,000 pages of tax code to force Apple to pay its fair share will require many years of wrangling on Capitol Hill. And who’s to say that the effort would not leave other loopholes just as easily exploited by the Sunnyvale behemoth’s clever lawyers and accountants?
Technically speaking, however, the news seems to have sapped some of Apple’s vital juices, since the stock failed for the second consecutive day to decisively exceed a small but nevertheless significant ‘external’ peak at 445.36 (see inset). That feat, trivial though it may seem, will remain crucial to the short-term picture. If and when it is achieved, expect the stock to rise to a minimum 449.9o, a Hidden Pivot target. If the pivot is easily surpassed, look for the bullish momentum to continue till week’s end, at least. Camo traders should position from the long side, using the 15-minute chart for leverage.
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Yesterday’s rebound in this vehicle was strong, although not quite as compelling as the one in Comex Gold futures. Moreover, the intraday low exceeded the midpoint support of the pattern shown by a decisive 52 cents, shortening the odds that its ‘D’ sibling at 22.25 will eventually be reached. We’ll give bulls the benefit of the doubt nonetheless, since mining shares are unlikely to languish if they catch their first whiff of strength in bullion in many months. From a Hidden Pivot perspective, this vehicle needs to keep running without taking a breath until 29.83 (a 5/14 peak) has been exceeded. Camouflageurs should look for entry opportunities on the 15-minute chart, since there are some choice ‘externals’ to be found therein.
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Tesla got short-squeezed to within 28 cents of the 86.72 target I’d proffered early Monday morning, but a second-wind rally to 88.00 suggests it’s got eyes for 104.44, the ‘D’ target associated with the first number. It can serve as a minimum upside objective for now, implying that all trades between here and there be positioned from the long side. We’ll plan on buying weekly puts if and when the target is reached, provided it happens before Wednesday of the given week. Please note as well that a lesser Hidden Pivot at 94.19 (see inset) has the potential to stop the rally cold and can therefore be used for spec camouflage shorts.
All signs point higher at the moment, but even Google will have to top somewhere. My best-bet for a short-able apex is 929.78, the Hidden Pivot target of a well-defined ABCD on the monthly chart (see inset). You can try shorting with camouflage at that number, or at the D target (in purple) of the lesser pattern, but until then all trades should incorporate a bullish bias.
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With the eyes of the world on Europe’s slow-motion train wreck, is it possible that MF Global, whose troubles were initially spun as an eentsy-weentsy $4B fender-bender, will turn out to be the Black Swan? The bankrupt broker’s saga has taken a fascinating new turn with news this weekend that the trustee plans to seize — and liquidate — gold and silver held for customers by MF Global. Click here for the full story at Jesse’s Cafe Americain.
Watch Three Recruits as They Learn How to Trade
by Rick Ackerman on December 16, 2011 3:14 am GMT · 6 comments
[Our recent offer of three $1000 scholarships to the January 11-12 Hidden Pivot Webinar brought a deluge of applications – more than 100 so far. The deadline was originally set for December 29, but we’re moving it forward to this Sunday, 11:59 p.m. so that we can provide a decision to you as soon as possible. Click here to nominate yourself or anyone else whom you think could benefit from the intensive, individualized mentoring that will be given to the scholarship winners. One recent graduate of the Hidden Pivot Webinar had this to say: “I will never look at charts the same way again. I have made back the cost of the course many times over both from trades taken, and just as important, from trades I stayed away from.”
For those who have already taken the course or who plan to take it, there are some significant benefits. Read about them below in the message from my wife, Marilyn, who is administering this first-time-ever offer. RA]
Attention all Hidden Pivot Webinar graduates! We have some special benefits for you coming up in January. As you may know, Rick has offered our first-ever scholarships for three seats in the January 11-12 webinar. His goal is to take three unlikely candidates and turn them into traders. How is he going to do that? And, what’s in it for you? For the next three months, Rick will be taking these three students through a thorough program to turn them into traders. This will include weekly online sessions with the students and special classes devoted to helping them achieve mastery of the Hidden Pivot Method. You can sit in on these interactive sessions, too. You will be able to refresh your knowledge and skill-set and get even more real-time guidance – directly from Rick – while he is showing the students the ropes.
What do you have to do to qualify?
The only requirements to attend these sessions are that: 1) you must have already taken the Hidden Pivot webinar or registered for the January 11-12 class; and 2) you must be a current subscriber to the weekly real-time tutorials held on Wednesday mornings (and recorded for viewing at your convenience). If you need to renew or restart your subscription to the Wednesday Real Time Tutorials, simply log in to your account page at www.rickackerman.com and add that product to your subscription. » Read the full article