Rick Ackerman

Tesla-mania quite obviously has a grip on fad-dependent Wall Street, tracing out a parabolic rally that has drawn strength from a story that even widows and pensioners can love. The week's Big News (out of MIT, no less) is that Tesla's battery technology is way ahead of other carmakers' -- so much so that it may someday be possible to recharge a Tesla's batteries in five minutes. So felicitous have the headlines pertaining to Tesla been lately that one might think the company had hired one of those Hollywood PR firms that somehow gets America all jacked up over the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Anyway, our purpose here is not to argue with such insanity, but to provide accurate predictions and guidance for traders. In this case, judging from the ease with which the stock blew past a clear Hidden Pivot resistance at 142, we'll lay odds that it will get to at least 168.23 (see inset) before DaBoyz need to refresh their story. (Tesla Discovers a Cure for Cancer' ?) Accordingly, 'camo' traders should be looking to get long. Keep in mind that the scarier a trading vehicle acts, the easier it is to use camouflage tactics successfully.

Perhaps it will take more than a stake through the heart to kill this institutionally crazed bull market, since, so far at least, it would appear that the steep downturn in corporate earnings and an abrupt end to the Fed-sponsored real estate boom may not be enough to get the job done.  Still, there is reason to hope Mr Market is in the early stages of congestive heart failure, or perhaps a stroke, since the S&Ps have yet to take out my 1708.75 rally target -- a major Hidden Pivot -- after a week of trying. Another hopeful sign that the bull may be in the process of dropping dead is that the short-squeeze rally that recouped earlier losses yesterday failed to generate a bullish impulse leg on the intraday charts.  Dare we hope that stocks will finish the week with a delightfully nasty and well-deserved plunge?  If so, look for settlement near the 1674.00 correction target shown.  If it happens with a couple of hours left in the session, traders can bottom-fish there with a micro-tight stop-loss commensurate with your skill and daring.

Gold finally got airborne Thursday, generating the strongest impulse leg we've seen on the hourly chart in more than a month. The surge breached not only the single 'internal' and single 'external' peaks we require, but a second 'external' for good measure. This should suffice to keep the futures buoyant into next week, at least. It could also make any pullback that meets our 'camouflage' criteria a low-risk buying opportunity. To that end, I'll recommend doing your hunting on the 5-minute chart or less, but with one caveat -- i.e., that you not attempt entry until a second point 'C' has been created. This precaution acknowledges that yesterday's move will have turned many fence-straddlers, erstwhile snoozers and dabblers bullish. The goal is to let them all get stopped out on an initial, presumably failed, push of a C-D follow-through. Keep in mind that it might take a third point 'C' before most bulls have been shaken off and the rally resumes in earnest. From a Hidden Pivot standpoint, this rally has the potential to reach 1428.80. However, crucial resistance at 1358.90 would first need to be reached -- and then overcome.

For Baby Boomers, one of the most wrenching aspects of The Great Recession has been watching their retirement dreams slip away. Instead of inheriting the wealth their parents took more than 60 years to accumulate, Boomers can only watch in dismay as this once-vast sum is depleted by a combination of rising expenses, paltry yields and longer lives. Who would have imagined even a decade ago that $1 million banked for retirement would generate barely enough income for a modest lifestyle, never mind cruises to Tahiti, Broadway shows and golf vacations in Scotland? While their parents worry about running out of money if they live into their eighties and nineties, Baby Boomers are getting squeezed from the other end as their children graduate college with poor job prospects, worthless degrees and hefty college debts. And yet, there is no getting around the fact that these kids, as well as tens of millions of workers now in their thirties and forties who will never know financial security, will have to pay for the Baby Boomers’ Social Security and Medicare. Obviously, something has to give. But what?  That is the Question of the Week.

Gold futures were waxing bullish early Thursday morning. As of around 12:10 a.m. EDT, they were inches shy of creating a potentially tradable, impulsive pattern on the hourly chart. For detailed instructions on how to get aboard, Pivoteers should check out the chart accompanying today's tout.

I've been having a little difficulty lately believing my blandly disinterested indicators whenever gold encourages us with a so-so rally.  Is this one for real, destined for big things, or is it just a flash-on-the-pan?  Regardless, the fact that the December contract has reversed without having quite achieved a magnetic, clear-as-day correction target at 1268.70 is undeniably bullish.  Moreover, late Wednesday night the futures were just an inch shy of vigorously refreshing the bullish impulsiveness of the hourly chart with a push above the 1296.00 'external' peak shown. Traders should view a valid B-C correction from a tick or two above that number as an excellent opportunity to get long. To keep theoretical risk down to the customary 4 or 5 ticks, I'll suggest zooming down to the 3-minute chart or less when you look for your entry signal.

All of the hard work that bears put into pushing the futures a few measly points lower on Wednesday has been negated, DaBoyz having effortlessly recouped the day's losses and then some in the volumeless, antigravity atmosphere of the night session. If you've been yearning to short this hoax because of its close proximity to a longstanding rally target of ours at 1708.75, you should give up that impossible dream and simply trade it from the long side. In that regard, night owls should stick with the subtlest, most picture-perfect impulse legs they can find on charts of 5-minute degree or less. As of around 10:12 p.m. EDT, there was nothing to motivate.  However, I've highlighted a look-to-the-left peak that could provide an unbeatable camouflage buying opportunity if things play out according to our simple rules. In practice, that would mean a shallow pullback on the very lesser charts from no higher than 1694.25  If that occurs, you shouldn't hesitate to jump on the trade.

Index futures were an unremarkable bore early Wednesday morning, but night owls could reap a juicy payoff nonetheless by paying diligent attention to the correction pattern shown in the chart that accompanies today's E-Mini S&P tout.

Although this morning's tout for HUI sounds a despairing note, we can still give gold futures the benefit of the doubt, since they have yet to crush any compelling Hidden Pivot supports.  That could change today, however, if the December contract were to smash the 1268.70 target of the pattern shown.  That number can still be bottom-fished with a stop-loss as tight as four ticks -- or better yet via camouflage.  However, we should brace for the worst if it comes in the form of a battered 'D' correction target.