AAPL, our #1 stock-market bellwether, turned sharply higher from the ‘wrong’ place Monday, reversing off a 163.73 low that lay fully $3.50 above our target. This suggests bears still have some work do do, although, given the ferocity of yesterday’s short squeeze, they can be pardoned for not wanting to risk impalement just to look courageous. AAPL’s bellwether status is more secure than ever at the moment, since the institutional chimps who manipulate it and who have made Apple The World’s Most Valuable Company will need to do some serious levitating between now and New Year’s Eve to have a shot at recouping bonus money lost in this autumn’s market sell-off. It’s all right to bet against them, but we should look to straddle the bet as cheaply as possible.