The Best Laid Plans

The best laid plans of mice and men Go often awry, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy! Robert Burns, 1785 ORIGINAL POST:  6:45 AM EDT The wedges we’ve been watching on DX and EURUSD are playing out.  EURUSD has broken out… …and DX has broken down. But, it’s the USDJPY … continue reading →

Chart Patterns and You

ORIGINAL POST:  9:15 AM Last night, the dollar tagged the .786 Fib retracement of its decline from Apr 4.  It subsequently sold off almost to the .618 but, so far, is hanging in a rising wedge. The EURUSD re-tested the .500 Fib of its rise from Apr 3, and snapped back into its falling wedge … continue reading →

Charts I’m Watching: Apr 22, 2013

Looks like we’re getting some follow-through this morning on Friday’s technical rally.  But, this doesn’t appear to be one worth chasing unless it can push up strongly through 1560. I’ll play along on the opening with an interim long position, with tight stops for the fizzle that could come quite quickly.  If 1560 is exceeded, … continue reading →

The Storm Before the Calm

I’ve been quite bearish since going short on April 11 at 1597 [Big Picture: 11:30 update.]  Yesterday, though, SPX reached our initial downside target of 1540 and, as expected, paused. As we’ve discussed, this was an important points for bulls to take a stand.  It was also the ideal spot from which to launch the … continue reading →

Anatomy of a Top: 2000

The 2000 top shows just how “messy” tops can be.  Here’s the finished picture in perfect hind-sight.  It’s a very crowded chart, but every single pattern had a say in how the top unfolded. SPX had zoomed from 442 to 1478 in about 5 years, a not-too-shabby 234% gain for an annually compounded 27%. Once … continue reading →

Trading with Harmonics

The first of a two-part article on harmonics trading strategies. Part 1.  January 28, 2013 Harmonics are a great source of information about the market, but they don’t tell you how or when to trade any more than do MACD crosses or breadth indicators.  So, how do you use them?  This discussion of the basic … continue reading →

AAPL: Flirting with Disaster

Not since the summer of 1666, as young Zack Newton sat pondering gravity, has so much attention been paid to a falling apple. Should we care about AAPL’s deteriorating powers of levitation?  The $200/share drop since its September highs, especially on the heels of a new dividend and share buyback program, has been unnerving.  But, … continue reading →