Rick Ackerman

Bullion's weekly charts are still bullish, but the outlook would darken if some key supports in December Gold get hammered in the week ahead. In any event, gold and silver futures will need to rally robustly -- $20 and $1.50, respectively -- for bulls to regain the offensive.

Rapid subscriber growth is what has propelled LNKD higher, but the means by which the company achieved this growth have come under question with a lawsuit that says the firm hacked customers' e-mail accounts to steal names and addresses. If so, such tactics would be similar to those of Equity Funding Corp., an insurance company that collapsed in 1973 after it was revealed that many of its customers were fictitious. It will be interesting to see how long Wall Street can resist the stench here, since the stock has more than doubled this year and is a favorite of portfolio managers. It looks ripe for shorting in any case, and so I'll recommend buying eight November 200-190 put spreads for 1.10 or better. This order will be do-able only if the DaBoyz are brazen enough to try and open LNKD higher, presumably as a last-ditch attempt to distribute the stock. If that's not the case, we'll readjust our sights and figure out another way to get on board. ______ UPDATE (September 24): Yesterday's downdraft pushed the put spread out of reach, but I'll suggest keeping the 1.10 bid in anyway because the stock didn't get pounded nearly as badly as it would have if investors were concerned about scandal. We'll need a rally of perhaps $5-6 to get filled, but my guess is that it will happen when the Nasdaq high-fliers turn around once DaBoyz have accumulated their fill. _______ UPDATE (September 25, 9:24 a.m.):  The so-far $17 bounce this week is quite a bit more powerful than I had expected and implies not only that DaBoyz do not care about the apparently devious way in which LNKD has propagated itself, but that they intend to take the stock higher.  Since we cannot know when the scandal will precipitate out

Bulls and bears entered a duel on the hourly chart last week, hinting that Apple could be range-bound for weeks to come. Bears hold the edge on the daily chart, however, and could press their advantage if they are able to push this vehicle to a weekly close beneath 448.20.  That is the midpoint support of the corrective pattern A=507.92 (9/9); B=447.22, C=478.55, and it holds crucial importance for the short- to intermediate-term picture.

Technically speaking, silver's vital signs look somewhat more promising than gold's at the moment, but it will still take a 'booster' rally of at least 1.50 to end the  dominance of bears that has obtained since late August.  Assuming last week's 21.225 low survives, that would imply a print at 22.729. That number can be used as an entry trigger, but the actual trade should be done camouflage-style on a chart of three-minute degree or less. ______ UPDATE (September 30): Six straight days of asphyxiating tedium have not altered my outlook.

Two important technical thresholds lie not far below: 1) the 1280.00 midpoint support of the corrective abc pattern shown; and 2) a key structural support at 1271.80.  I would rate the first as the more important, since its decisive breach would probably spell more downside to at least 1126.10, its 'D' sibling.  The 1271.80 structural low could prove analytically useful nonetheless, since any 'running of stops' just beneath it would unburden the futures of profit-takers, presumably clearing the way for a strong rally.  Please note, however, that a marginal penetration of that number followed by a weak rally of perhaps $5 to 10 would be warning bulls to look out below. _______ UPDATE (September 24, 8:37 p.m. EDT): If the strong bounce off yesterday's low continues past 1336.10 today, bulls will not only be out of immediate jeopardy (see above), they'll be in good shape to regain the offensive.  Indeed, a close above 1345.00 would all but guarantee a continuation rally to at least 1384.40. (The provenance of these two Hidden Pivots is shown in the chart, a new one.) Traders looking to get long can use an 'a-b' pullback from between any of the half-dozen or so prior peaks recorded on the intraday charts since last Thursday.

It’s that time of year again, when talk of a government shutdown fills us with hope that Washington will actually go dark. Alas, for all of the disagreement, animosity and deep dysfunction on Capitol Hill, we can always count on our elected representatives to find a way to settle their differences and perpetuate themselves like some biologically invincible parasite.  Indeed, no matter how shrill the warnings of the mainstream media that Congress is finally about to take the Republic over a cliff, it will end up having been business as usual, with an outcome that is certain to please no one. Unfortunately for most Americans, our n'er-do-well government is not about to shut down. Rather, it is about to take a blind leap into the economic and political morass that is Obamacare. House Republicans have threatened to defund this legislative turd unless their budget priorities are met, but the Democratically controlled Senate is sure to return the volley with equal malice. Pundits from across the political spectrum think the GOP may be shooting itself in the foot, and there is some truth to this; for even if the Senate were to backpedal on its support of Obamacare, there aren’t nearly enough votes to override the presidential veto that would follow. Death by Obamacare Ironically, the laughably misnamed Affordable Care Act may never be implemented, since it appears to be suffocating under its own weight. The danger grows, however, that it will take the economy with it anyway, since the monthly premiums Americans pay for healthcare coverage have been increasing by 30% per year or more as employers struggle to implement the bill’s provisions, or at least go through the motions.  For their part, insurers have warned that the heftiest premium increases to date are coming in January. We will take

Bulls got sandbagged during the night session yesterday, but the downdraft that buried them will have no bearing on the ambitious rally targets I'd flagged here earlier. In fact, if the selloff continues and even picks up a little momentum, the E-Mini S&Ps would become a juicy buy once again. For precise details, check out today's E-Mini tout and the chart that accompanies it.

Priceline has just become the first S&P stock to hit $1000.  Judging from the way it is now consolidating the recent surge above a clear midpoint pivot at 988 (see inset), PCLN seems very likely to head still higher in the days ahead.  Since the 1048.32 target looks like a very high-probability number, traders should position from the long side until it is reached. However, it'll be a juicy short if and when that moment arrives, and bulls as well as those who have held no stake should be ready to fade the rally at that time. My suggestion would be to lay in some vertical put spreads then, but I'll have more-specific advice at the appropriate time. _______ UPDATE (October 2, 9:53 a.m. EDT): The stock has blown through our crystal-clear target with such force this morning that a much higher target at 1128.20 must now be regarded as Priceline's bull-market destination. It is derived by simply sliding the point 'A' low of the pattern shown down to 791.15, a key low recorded in June. If you were long from $1000 based on my earlier advice, you shouldn't have much trouble remaining long for another ride of $75.  _______ UPDATE (October 8, 3:00 a.m. EDT:  Use the 1032.24 Hidden Pivot shown as a target for this correction, keeping in mind that even a small overshoot would suggest there is more selling to be spent and therefore even lower prices ahead.  The target can be bottom-fished nonetheless, preferably by using camouflage on a chart of 15-minute degree or less. _______ UPDATE (October 10): The 10% selloff begun a week ago from 1074 has generated a robustly bearish impulse leg on the daily chart (see inset) while also exceeding the 0.618 Fibonacci line associated with the steep rally from late August's

Just a little more oomph is needed to generate an impulse leg worthy of the name on December Silver's 240-minute chart. As you can see, the apex of yesterday's moon shot narrowly missed exceeding a key 'external' peak at 23.265. In the meantime, the ABC overlay shows potential to as high as 27.2450 in the weeks ahead. The midpoint resistance at 24.233 will pose a daunting test along the way, but in the meantime, traders will need to pay close attention to the relatively few unspent 'external' peaks that will be available to us for purposes of lowering entry risk on 'camouflage' trades.