Thursday, September 20, 2012

Google is chugging so hard it looks like it's fixing to pull Apple higher!  We'll know whether this already record-breaking surge is merely a warm-up if GOOG blows through a Hidden Pivot target not far above that I've flagged in today's GOOG tout. For a peak behind the subscriber wall and access to all of Rick's Picks features and services, click here for a free trial.

A recent story in the WSJ described how shifting its 85,000 employees to a high-deductible medical plan has had a negative impact on one of GE's core businesses: medical imaging.  Employees are getting far fewer scans because their out-of-pocket costs are so much higher, with a material effect on imaging-equipment sales.   But not on the stock, evidently, since it is up 50% since January.  We can attempt to short it nonetheless because the rally is approaching a fetching Hidden Pivot target at 23.70.  Accordingly, and just for the hell of it, I'll suggest getting short by buying four Nov 23 puts if the stock gets within 2 cents of the target.  Stop yourself out if GE subsequently trades for 23.82 or more.  I'll update my guidance if this order fills, so check back intraday if warranted. ______ UPDATE (September 28, 1:20 a.m. EDT):  I'm still in love with the idea of shorting the stock at 23.70 target, notwithstanding the viciousness of yesterday's short squeeze. There are some changes in my instructions, however: 1) Raise the stop-loss to 24.20; and, 2) buy Nov 24 puts instead of Nov 23 puts.  My guess is that they'll be selling for around 0.80 with GE at or near the target. ________ UPDATE (October 11, 3:29 a.m. EDT):  Like a whole bunch of other important stocks that have turned lower without having quite reached their respective Hidden Pivot rally targets, GE's latest rally has failed 52 cents shy of where we'd hoped to short the bejeezus out of it. The bearish implications would be compounded with a print over the next two days beneath the 22.07 low recorded on September 26.

Amidst yesterday's asphyxiating tedium, the futures were unable to breach the 1460.50 external that would have alerted us to an impending rally.  A sign of weakness?  I doubt it. More likely is that the Sleazeballs who rig this game lacked even the mote of 'good' news needed to trigger off even a modest short squeeze.  Short-squeezes are how bull markets get from one level to the next, through previous resistance, but with the headlines still obsessing over Romney's horrific, world-ending, campaign destroying, how-could-he-have-said-such-a-thing "47% gaffe," DaBoyz lacked an excuse to pop this vehicle even the couple extra points it would have taken to get bears' attention.  Yesterday's trading suggestion remains valid nonetheless, and I've sketched it hypothetically on the accompanying chart to guide you.  You can learn to "camouflage trade" yourself.  Click here for a free trial to Rick's Picks.

[What happens when a $2.4 billion casino-hotel fails?  It’s never happened before, but we may find out if Revel, Atlantic City’s spectacular new pleasure palace, continues to take in far less each month than is required to service debt from its mountainous construction costs.  We asked our good friend Mike Schurr for his thoughts on this topic. A Philadelphia real estate developer who summers in downbeach Margate where we grew up, Mike sees big trouble ahead -- not only for Revel’s financial backers, but for Atlantic City itself. RA] I’m not an expert on many topics, but with twenty five years in the real estate business and Jersey Shore vacations that stretch back to my childhood, I know a thing or two about the intersection of these subjects.  First let me begin by saying there are a few places on earth that I love more than Margate, New Jersey. The beach, the smell of the ocean, the ability to bike everywhere and the close proximity to the poker rooms of Atlantic City make this small town a gem of a resort, at least for me. The proximity to Atlantic City, which lies on the same 8-mile-long island, is both a blessing and a curse, but that's a story for another day. For decades, visionaries have touted Atlantic City as America's Playground, with dreams of palatial casinos and resorts attracting the masses from all points north, south and west. I on the other hand view the town as a colossal failure in urban renewal and a notorious center of political graft and corruption. The latest in a series of missteps, one that proves there is no such thing as a deal Wall Street doesn’t like, is the recently opened Revel Resort. Although a book could be written about how not to