Friday, August 31, 2012

Thursday's gold trading gave us a compelling target at 1647.50, but there is a good chance that the bears will drive the futures below that level while Bernanke is speaking, irrespective of what he says.  Pivoteers can easily find the pattern on the hourly chart beginning at 1666.70 (the 'A' point).  Perhaps the big question is whether the sellers will be able to take out the prominent prior low at 1636.30.  Traders should try to get long if and when the futures reach an extreme short-term oversold condition during Bernanke's speech, which starts at 10:00am Eastern time.  (Posted by Doug “harry” McLagan)

Yesterday's low breached the 13024 midpoint support shown by 45 points, implying more weakness is coming. If so, the 12872 'D' sibling of that Hidden Pivot is a logical place to look for a bounce. If there is none, it could presage a selling rout next week as Wall Street attempts to emerge from a summer of extraordinary tedium.  Click here for a free trial subscription that will allow you access to all features and services at Rick’s Picks, including real-time updates and a chat room that draws experienced traders from around the world 24/7.

It seems unfair that, with a three-day holiday weekend upon us, we should have to suffer the mild disconcertment of whatever nitwit behavior the stock market exhibits when The 'Nank says whatever it is that he's going to say.  Some have predicted that traders will infer that QE3 is being promised us no matter what The 'Nank says, but because of yesterday's decline, we're not so sure.

[With the global economy being kept afloat on a sea of lies, deceptions and delusions, Rick’s Picks has tried to tell it like it is. Unfortunately, in addition to the looming financial crisis there is yet another threat that would overshadow even the collapse of the banking system. In the guest commentary below, Erich Simon asserts that the U.S. is unprepared for an outbreak of bird flu and  that many millions of lives could be lost as a result. Although we had asked Erich how one might prepare for a pandemic, his response was grimmer than we had expected. To begin with, if you think you’ll be able to safeguard yourself and family by wearing face masks and practicing “social distancing,” you may be gravely mistaken. Read on to learn why. RA] Back in 2005, following the discovery of a highly pathogenic virus that had jumped the species barrier, Ted Kopple hosted a Nightline panel of health and emergency response officials. The subject was almost too scary to talk about, but an impassioned Kopple pressed his reluctant entourage. He learned little, but the lack of details was telling. The panel agreed unanimously that the time had come to start stockpiling water, “but not yet food.”  Shortly thereafter, in April 2006, the White House called a meeting to create a national response plan. Included were public disclosure guidelines and a pre-fab sound byte for the news media: "Officials fear that bird flu could mutate into a form that becomes easily transmissible…". Today, that fear has been realized. According to recent experiments sponsored by the Atlanta Centers for Disease Control, there are only five remaining mutations along one genetic background. In layman’s terms, this means that a single, naturally occurring strain could touch off a pandemic, In the months since then, the