Place your bets, folks! Are the broad averages developing thrust for a rally to new record highs? Or is all their flailing around over the last three weeks a topping process meant to drive bulls and bears to distraction? I’m betting on the former, although at the rate things are going I may not get to collect until hell freezes over.  From a technical standpoint, the performance of the S&Ps lately has been about as impressive as Barack Obama’s second term. Yesterday’s surge narrowly failed to surpass a significant peak to the left of it, just as the rally the day before had failed. One of these days the futures are going to close above one or more of the four peaks (see inset) that have been impeding their path to the Promised Land. It is then, perhaps, that we will be able to infer that the Mother of All Bull Traps awaits, beckoning like Circe from untold heights.