Where is the Top for Natural Gas?

We wrote a very telling research article on October 24th, 2019. We never published it because we had other articles scheduled to be published over the next few weeks in the queue and because our subscribers get our trade alerts before the general public. At this point, we are sharing that past article as well as some current research for Natural Gas that should be very interesting to you.

Pay very close attention to the original October 24th article, below, and our prediction that the $2.75 to $2.85 level would be a likely target for the upside price rally from the basing level below $2.30. Currently, Natural Gas is trading at $2.87 – reaching our initial target level.

If our research is correct, strong demand and limited supply globally may push Natural Gas well above the $3.20 to $3.40 level after a very brief pause happens near $3.00. In fact, Natural Gas may be getting ready to rally past 2018 highs ($4.93) if the situation presents itself for such an incredible price rally. What would it take for a rally like that to happen? Much stronger demand for natural gas because of an early, extreme winter and extended global demand.

Price reacts to supply/demand imbalances. In this case, if the demand far exceeds the supply capacities headed into the end of 2019, we could easily see Natural Gas rally above $4.00 very quickly. Could it rally even higher and take out the $5.00 level? Absolutely it could if the proper dynamics continue related to supply and demand globally.

Current Daily Natural Gas Chart

Remember to read the link from October 5th. We’ve been warning of this move for more than 60+ days and have authored multiple research posts attempting to keep our followers aware of this setup. This trade setup was telegraphed for us many months ago. All you had to do was follow our research and stay aware of the trends as this momentum base setup in October near $2.25.

Natural Gas moved higher by nearly 2% on October 24th as our researchers predicted nearly a month ago. This incredible momentum base below $2.30 seems to be a very strong support level for Natural Gas. We believe this next rally may be bigger than the last rally which reached a high near 2.70. Our Fibonacci price modeling system is suggesting a target price of $2.95 to confirm a new upside price trend. This means the price would have to rally more than +26.5% from current levels to confirm a potentially much bigger upside price move. Can you imagine seeing Natural Gas climb to above $4.50 again – like last year?

Near the end of October 2018, Natural Gas began an upside price move that really excited investors. The first upside price leg began in mid-September, near $2.75 and rallied to a level near $3.35 – a +21.6% upside price move. After a brief 12 to 15 day pause, another price rally began in early November 2018 near $3.23 and continued very aggressively over the next 11+ days to rally up to $4.93 – a +57% rally.

We issued a natural gas trade using UGAZ to members and this week we locked in 38.7% profit on a portion of our position and there is still a lot of upside potential left.

Is the same type of price advance could be setting up for an early November price rally from the $2.30 level to somewhere above $3.50? This would result in a +50% price rally from recent lows without using any leverage which would be just amazing.

October 5, 2019: Natural Gas Reloads for Another Price Rally

Previous Natural Gas Forecast Daily Chart

Our proprietary Fibonacci price modeling system is suggesting the $2.95 price level is critical for any further upside price action to continue above $3.00. The price must cross above the $2.95 level on a strong closing price basis before we could consider any higher price levels to become valid. Our researchers believe that suggests the $2.75 to $2.85 level becomes a very real upside price target for skilled traders to pull some profits and protect any open long positions.

Previous Natural Gas Forecast Weekly Chart

This Weekly Natural Gas chart highlights our Fibonacci price modeling system’s results and the Bullish Trigger Level near $2.95 (The GREEN LINE). Pay very close attention to how quickly Natural Gas moved higher in November 2018. If another move happens like that in 2019, we could be setting up for a big gap higher followed by about 10 to 15+ days of incredible upside price action.

Currently, the price of Natural Gas has crossed the Daily Fibonacci price modeling system’s Bullish Price Trigger level near $2.29. This suggests that we are now in a confirmed bullish trend as long as the price stays above the $2.26 level on a closing price basis. We would expect a continued moderate price rally from these levels to move price away from the momentum base level over time – before any breakout upside price move may begin.

This could become one of the best trades, besides Silver and Gold, headed into the end of 2019. Get ready for some big volatility in Natural Gas as winter weather takes over much of North America.

November will be the month of breakouts and breakdowns and should spark some trades. I feel the safe havens like bonds and metals will be turning a corner and starting to firm up and head higher but they may not start a big rally for several weeks or months.

October was a boring month for most major asset classes completing their consolidation phase. Natural gas was the big mover in October and subscribers and I took full advantage of the bottom and breakout for a 15-22% gain and its till on fire and trading higher by another 3% this week already.

If you like to catch assets starting new trends and trade 1x, 2x and 3x ETF’s the be sure to join my premium trade alert service called the Wealth Building Newsletter.


Chris Vermeulen
The Technical Traders

Gold Prices Continue to Breakdown

On January 28, 2019, our research team issued a research post indicating we believed that Precious Metals would rotate lower over the next 45+ days in preparation for a momentum base/breakout that would initiate sometime near the end of April or early May. Recent price weakness in Gold has begun to confirm our analysis and we believe this price weakness will continue for the next 2~4 weeks while traders identify a price bottom and hammer out a momentum base/support level.

Gold is currently down another -1% this week and testing the $1307 level after rotating back to near $1320. Our analysis continues to suggest price weakness in the Precious Metals markets going forward for at least 2~3 more weeks. We are expecting the price of Gold to fall below $1290 and ultimately, potentially, test the $1260 level where we believe true support will be found.

If you’ve been following our analysis, you were alerted the day of when we signaled the top as it formed near $1330 and to close out our GDXJ position for a quick 10.5% profit as we had been preparing for this top and rotation for a couple weeks.

This 240 minute Gold chart highlights our Adaptive Fibonacci price modeling system and suggests the $1295~1302 could become immediate support for this current downside price move.

Please take a minute to review some of our most recent research by visiting The Technical Traders Free Research and to learn why our team of researchers, software developers, and traders provide insight and knowledge that you just can’t get anywhere else on the planet.

The link to our research post, above, highlights our ADL predictive modeling system that is capable of identifying price moves many months in advance. Our most recent U.S. stock market forecast highlights the power and capabilities of our proprietary price modeling tools. As a member of our newsletter, you gain insights, training, daily market videos and many more resources that will help you identify and execute for greater success in 2019.

Chris Vermeulen
Technical Traders Ltd.

How To Consistently Make Money Day/Swing Trading

This has been the best week in a long time for intraday trades. The last 4 days the SP500 gave us 8 trades and all 8 turned into winners. Each days turning generating between $300 a $1250 per ES mini contract, although these can be traded using the SPY or 3X index ETFs.

Subscribers who day trade are taking this pre-market analysis and setups and making a weeks wage within 1 – 3 hours in the morning before lunch.

What makes these trade triggers is that they are the BROAD market SP500 so if you day trade other stocks knowing the short term market direction each morning add so much power to your other day trades for timing entries and exits.

SPY ETF 10 MINUTE CHART

This chart focuses on today’s spike higher and gap lower. both these played out once again and are based strictly on technical analysis and statistical analysis.

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Technical Analysis and Rates Unchanged – Here We Go

The U.S. Federal Reserve is one of the only central banks to attempt to raise rates consistently over the past few years, has possibly learned a very valuable lesson – no good comes from raising rates to the point of causing another market collapse. The news that the US Fed will leave interest rates where they are, temporarily, is good news for a number of reasons.

First, this allows the markets to shake out weaker players and weaker components of the corporate world. Where corporate debt levels are concerned, interest rates are tied to debt repayment liabilities and refinancing costs. Firms that are unable to manage at current interest rates certainly would not be happy about rising rates. This allows these corporations to either struggle to resolve their debt issues or collapse under the weight of their own debt. This will also play out in the foreign markets as well.

Second, it allows the housing market and private debt markets to shake out some of the “at risk” consumers. We authored an article a few months ago about how foreclosures and pre-foreclosures were starting to increase in nearly all markets. At the time, many people in the real estate field shrugged off these increases as par for the course. With the decreasing foreign investment in real estate and the increasing pressures on the local consumer markets, we saw a dramatic slowdown in housing starts and sales activities recently. This is because the demand side of the market is falling much faster than the supply capacity.

The uncertainty in the foreign markets, global central banks, and foreign investments have prompted many people to pull out of the local markets – even the hot markets. The at-risk consumers that were trying to sell near this top suddenly found the buyers were just not there or ready to make the commitment. This put the at-risk consumers in a difficult position as they could not flip their houses as easily as they could 6 months ago.

Yet, in the global equity markets, investors can sell or buy with much faster transaction times – at the click of a mouse button in most cases. This allows equity investors to pull capital away from risky investments and migrate that capital into more secure investments in a matter of minutes or hours – not weeks or months. And that is exactly what has been happening over the past 30+ days in the global markets.

Capital is repositioning for the next phase of this market; where the US economy is strong, housing continues to weaken and at-risk consumers continue to feel the pressures of the US Fed interest rate policies. Where foreign consumers attempt to deal with their own version of “central bank hell” and asset devaluations in an attempt to find more secure investment vehicles for their capital. Money market funds, investment funds and, of course, the US value/blue-chip equities are looking very promising right about now.

This Daily SPY chart shows our recent ADLC indicator (price cycle turning points) and our oversold extreme price levels shaded with lime green. When these two things align the market tends to rally for 1-3 days with strong momentum. During pre-market last week, we told our followers that the big gap lower in price was going to be bought and price should rally for 2-3 days, which is exactly what has unfolded thus far.

Global capital will continue to rush into the US markets as long as the US Fed does not do anything to derail things. Our research team believes the US Fed may even decrease the interest rates by 0.25% before the end of the year depending on how much pressure is placed on the economy by these “at risk” participants.

We will continue to keep you updated as to our findings and we want to urge you to visit The Technical Traders Free Market Research to read all of our most recent research posts. You really owe it to yourself to understand what is happening in the global markets right now and how we have continued to stay 30-60 days ahead of these moves for our valued members. There are so many opportunities setting up in the markets for traders it is almost hard to understand the dynamics at play right now. If you want a dedicated team of researchers and traders to help you navigate these markets, then visit The Technical Traders to learn how we can provide you with even more detailed daily research and support.

Chris Vermeulen

Let’s Look at the Three Issues That Might Drive Crude Oil Lower

Crude Oil has been a major play for some traders over the past few months. With price, rotation ranges near $5~$7 and upside pressure driving a price assent from below $45 to nearly $75 peaks. This upside price move has been tremendous.

Over the past few weeks, many things have changed in the fundamentals of the Oil market. Supply continues to outpace demand, trade tariffs and slowing global economies are now starting to become real concerns, foreign suppliers have continued to increase production, US Dollar continues to strengthen and social/political unrest is starting to become more evident in many foreign nations.

In fact, we felt so strongly that big downside move in crude oil was about to happen we posted a warning to oil traders two days before the drop started.

When we consider what could happen with oil in the future with regards to over-supply and the potential for constricting global markets, we have to understand that support will likely be identified at levels that are much lower than current price – possibly below $60. Yet, at the same time, we must understand that disruptions in supply and/or regional chaos, such as war or political turmoil, in specific regions could cause the price of oil to skyrocket as these disruptions continue.

RIGHT NOW, THREE KEY ISSUES ARE DRIVING OIL LOWER

* A stronger US Dollar is making it more expensive for foreign nations to purchase Oil on the open market as well as moving capital away from foreign local investments and migrating capital into the US Equities markets

* Supply issues (the increased capacity for greater supply) is resulting in a glut of oil available on the open market when we have dozens of supply ships still waiting to offload throughout the world. In other words, we have an over-supply of oil at the moment.

* A lack of any urgency or crisis event to support Oil above $65 at the moment. Given the slow, but consistent, transition towards cleaner more energy efficient vehicles and energy as well as the lack of any real conflict or crisis event to disrupt supply, it appears there is no real support for Oil above $65 – at least so far.

DAILY CRUDE LIGHT CHART

This Daily Crude Light chart shows a simple price channel that correlates recent price lows into a channel and shows a Fibonacci Retracement range for recent price rotations. We can see that the price of Crude is holding just above the 50% retracement level right now and any breach below $70 would be a very strong downside price breakout. Should price drop below $68, we could see a selloff to below $64 as price may attempt to establish a new “price low” to the downside.

MONTHLY CRUDE CHART

This Monthly Crude chart below shows us where we believe support and resistance price zones are located. You can see from the highlighted areas that resistance is located between $70~86 and support is located between $44~56 on this longer-term monthly chart. You can also see that the Fibonacci retracement levels for the current upside move are currently nearing 55~57% (above the 50% level and nearing the 61.8% level). The combination factor that Crude has recently rotated lower, near the upper price channel, within the resistance zone, above 50% and nearing 61.8% Fibonacci level, strongly suggests that we could see a stronger downside price swing in the near future. Until $60 is breached, consider this move simple rotation. Once $60 is breached to the downside, then consider this a deeper downside price move.

With so many factors in play throughout the world, one has to be aware that Crude Oil is a commodity that correlates to expected economic activities, global crisis events, and supply/demand factors. Right now, an almost perfect storm is setting up for Oil to continue to fall to new lows which will likely push Crude below $60 ppb (eventually) and may push it down to near $55 ppb (our upper support zone). We caution traders/investors through – any crisis news item, war or other disruption in supply could dramatically alter the factor that makes up this price prediction. Right now, without any of these issues, we see Oil continuing to fall towards the $60 price level.

Also, visit The Technical Traders Free Market Research to read all of our most recent free research posts. We believe you’ll quickly see the value in what we provide our members and our visitors by reading and understanding how we have continued to stay ahead of these market moves for months.

53 years experience in researching and trading makes analyzing the complex and ever changing financial markets a natural process. We have a simple and highly effective way to provide our customers with the most convenient, accurate, and timely market forecasts available today. Our stock and ETF trading alerts are readily available through our exclusive membership service via email and SMS text. Our newsletter, Technical Trading Mastery book, and 3 Hour Trading Video Course are designed for both traders and investors. Also, some of our strategies have been fully automated for the ultimate trading experience.

Get our advanced research and market reporting, Daily market videos, detailed trading signals and join the hundreds of other traders that follow our research every day and profit.

Chris Vermeulen
The Technical Traders Ltd.

Gold – A Unique Repeat of the 2007 and How to Profit

Since Spring is in the air here are some colorful charts and show you where we feel the price of gold and stocks are within the current market cycles. Below are monthly charts of the SP500 index and the price of gold. The first chart shows a pattern that gold formed just before stocks hit all time new highs and the bear market started. The chart is a little noisy, lots of analysis, but we color coded each area to break it into clear bits size analysis. The chart shows you what happened and what is likely to happen again.

You Are Here in the Stock Market

This is the current monthly chart, and if you compare the price action with the above chart, you can’t help but think things are set up in a similar formation as 2007 – 2008.

What Does All This Mean?

It means, the stock market is nearing a significant top and all everyone’s long term buy and hold investments should be reviewed and prepared for a rebalancing later this year. Precious metals should do well this year, stocks should top out and for you to preserve their hard earned money cash is always king for those who don’t actively trade. But if you do trade or you are an active investor huge amounts of money can be made during times of increased volatility, precious metals, and falling stock market prices.

Today’s Stock Market Analysis – Wednesday April 28th

What an AWESOME DAY! All our positions rocketed higher with our most recent entry in SIL (silver miners) leading the way. We closed our TNA position to lock in 17.7% on the second portion of that trade. Yes, we do feel the markets will run higher, but we also like to lock in the quick, easy money trades like TNA especially when the overall market is looking and feeling a little top heavy for a day or three. The chart below of the SP500 index paints a color picture of what I feel will unfold in the very near term.

In Conclusion

Our analysis of the markets was DEAD ON. We called the 2678 level on the ES as a key resistance level to watch before any breakout to the upside would potentially happen. We also called this market bottom nearly three weeks ago on March 28, 2018 and we locked in 17.7% today with our subscribers. We have been nailing these market reversals with incredible accuracy all year and we are just getting started with our Advanced Dynamic Learning systems [preview that system here] we have developed.

The bottom line is that smart traders and investors look into the future and position their money where they feel it will increase in value the most. We say this all the time, which is money is continually looking for the best ROI and flows from one asset class to another as the market evolves. With potentially another major financial crisis forming, war, and a bear market in stocks we do not doubt that we are about to experience a huge rebalancing of money over the next few years, and I feel precious metals may be the next little hot pocket for trades.

So if you want our pre-market video analysis showing you where the markets, oil, and gold are headed every day and want out ETF trade alerts be sure to join the Wealth Building Newsletter Here!

Chris Vermeulen
The Technical Traders

How to Trade as We Near March Top in Equities

Our focus is to provide you with updated and accurate market price predictions for all of 2018, we believe we are entering a period that will be fantastic for traders and active investors. We believe this recent volatility has shaken out the low volatility expectations and will allow the markets to start moving in a more normal rotational mode going forward. This means we’ll have lots of trading opportunities to profit from.

For those of you who have not been following our research over the past 2 to 3 months, we urge you to visit our Technical Traders Ltd. website to read our published research and to learn how we’ve been calling these moves in the markets for our members. We called the early 2018 market rally weeks before it started. We called the lower price rotation over a month before it happened. We called the bottom in this price correction almost to the day and told our members that we believed a very quick Pennant price formation was set up that will drive prices higher which we have seen this week.

Members know price should move higher leading to a March 15 price cycle peak. After that point, we’ll refresh our analysis for our members and attempt to provide further guidance. Today/Friday we closed our Short position in UVXY for a quick 50% in 9 days.

In this post, we are going to focus on one of our price modeling systems based on Adaptive Fibonacci Price Modeling and show you why we believe this recent price move will likely stabilize within a range while attempting future moves. Let’s start with the INDU.

WEEKLY DOW JONES CHART

This first chart is the INDU Weekly chart with our Fibonacci Modeling system at work. We’ve highlighted certain areas with notes to help you understand it in more detail. This adaptive modeling system tracks price high and low points in various cycle lengths, then attempts to adapt a major and moderate cycle analysis model to key Fibonacci predictive points. The end result is that we can see where key Fibonacci price trigger levels are and also see what our predictive modeling system is telling us where prices is likely headed.

This weekly, chart shows us that the current support level (originating from near April 2017) is nearly exactly where the current price correction found support. This level is currently acting as a strong base for current price action and will likely continue to provide very strong support going forward. You can also see the Bearish Fibonacci Price Level near 25,776 that is acting like Resistance. Notice that this Bearish Fibonacci Price Level also coincides with the BLUE Fibonacci projected price level.

It is still our opinion that the US major markets will continue moderate price rotation within these levels for the next 5+ days before reaching an intermediate price low cycle near February 21. After this price low cycle is reached, we believe a new price advance will begin to drive the US majors higher reaching a peak near March 15.

DAILY DOW JONES CHART

This next INDU Daily chart provides more detail of our projected analysis. Again, please read the notes we’ve made on this chart to assist you in understanding how we are reading it and interpreting it. The most recent price peak and trough clearly show the volatility spike that happened last week. It also shows us that the recent trough in price aligned almost perfectly with a Bullish Fibonacci Price Level from November 2017. We interpret this as a clear “double bottom” formation at Fibonacci Support.

The purple horizontal line is the Support Level originating from the earlier, Weekly, chart for reference.

This Daily chart shows more detail in terms of the Fibonacci Projected Price Levels and also shows the wide range of price that we are currently experiencing. Over time, this wide range will likely diminish a bit as the trend continues to consolidate price rotation into more narrow bands, but right now we have a very wide range of price volatility that we have to deal with.

Additionally, the current upward price rotation is above the Bullish Fibonacci Price Level from the recent lows. This is a clear indication that prices want to continue to push higher till some new price peak is in place. We expect that will happen fairly soon.

Notice how the Fibonacci Projected Price Levels are quite a way away from the current price levels? This is because the recent increase in volatility is alerting the price modeling system that we expect larger range price rotation. As newer and more moderate price rotations form, these levels will begin to consolidate a bit with new price levels.

As of right now, our analysis has really not changed much since last week. We believe the Feb 21 price low will prompt a rally into the March 15 price peak. At that time, we’ll take a fresh look at these modeling systems to see what they can tell us about the future.

DAILY SP500 (SSO ETF) CHART

The last chart I wanted to share with you is the Daily SSO chart. This chart helps to firm up our analysis of what to expect in the immediate future as well as continues to support our analysis that the US Majors will likely stall near current levels and retrace slightly headed into the Feb 21 price low. Remember, we don’t believe this Feb 21 price low will be anywhere close to the recent lows. This move lower will be much more subdued and moderate in size and scope.

With this SSO chart, the Adaptive Fibonacci Price Modeling system is showing a potential “Major Bottom” near the recent lows. This happens when the system identifies a potentially massive or major price bottom. Over time, the modeling system will confirm this trigger or replace it with a new trigger when it forms.

We still see the massive price volatility in this chart. We still see the Fibonacci Price Trigger Levels that tell us we are below the Bearish Price Trigger (near the recent top) and above the Bullish Price Trigger (near the recent bottom), so what should expect price to do? At this point, the most recent Price Trigger Breach is the Bullish Price Trigger – thus we are expecting prices to continue higher overall. The new Bearish Fibonacci Price Trigger, below the current prices, is what we would watch for any signs of price weakness. When that level is breached, then we begin a new potential down leg.

Right now, we will issue this one simple warning – the upside move is likely to be ending soon and preparing for our February 21 price low point. The fact that prices are showing that they’ve already reached the Fibonacci Projected Price Level is telling us this upside leg may be over for now which is the reason we exited our short UVXY position here for a 50% profit.

Next, we expect the US majors to rotate lower for a few days headed into a February 21 price low. This will be following by an almost immediate and strong upside push to a March 15th price peak.

This means we will be setting up for some great trades over the next few days/weeks. Imagine being able to know that near February 20-22, we should be able to “pick” the best opportunities for quick trades where the US majors begin a new up leg? Also, imagine how critical this type of information can be to you going forward?

Our research team at The Technical Traders site has a combined 53 years of trading and analysis experience. We develop specialized and proprietary price modeling systems, like these, to assist us in being able to provide our members with an “edge” in the markets. Of course, we are not always 100% accurate with our predictions – no one can be 100% accurate. We simply do our best to make sure our members get the best we can offer them each and every day. We want them to understand the opportunities that are playing out and we help them find the best trade triggers for profits each week.

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Chris Vermeulen

Have You Seen Palladium's Tradable Price Pattern?

Are you prepared for the next big move in the metals markets? Would you like to know what to expect in the immediate future that could save you thousands of dollars? Then pay attention to this message as we share something most traders are overlooking right now.

Our research team at Technical Traders Ltd. have spent years developing our skills and financial modeling systems. Right now, many traders are seeing the big upward price swings in the metals as a sign that prices will continue higher. Well, in the long run, they are correct. But right now we believe the metals will roll over and trend lower for the next few weeks setting up for the next leg higher.

Palladium is a perfect example of this Rollover expectation. Both the current long term monthly chart shows signs of a massive double top, and the daily chart WEDGE/Pennant formation is likely a washout high rotation pattern that will prompt lower prices over the next few days/weeks.

MONTHLY PALLADIUM CHART

This monthly chart to us is nothing more than a reason for the overbought Palladium market to have a minor pullback before potentially running to new highs. We could see a couple weeks or potentially a few months of weaker prices, but the point here is that price is overbought and at resistance on the long-term chart and imminent pullback is likely to occur for a tradable short or to re-enter after the price has corrected and shows signs of strength for another run higher.

DAILY PALLADIUM CHART

As you can see from this chart, we are expecting a rotation lower based on our modeling systems predictive capabilities that will result in a substantially lower price swing – possibly as much as -8 to -10%. We believe support will be found just above the $1000 price level.

Additionally, our Adaptive Dynamic Learning (ADL) modeling system is designed to scan historical price activity of any chart and find the unique price and technical indicator formations that operate as DNA markers for the price. It then continues to scan for new or repeating DNA markers in the market to determine probable outcomes of the price going forward. In this case, the ADL system is predicting a lower price swing to near $1020 near or after February 8th. After this price contraction, the ADL system is expecting a solid rally to form.

This should be important to all investors because long traders in the metals should wait for this pullback to happen before getting into heavy positions. Our analysis shows we should see a -4 to -8% price pullback within the next week or two before support will be found. Obviously, buying near the lowest point is the objective of trading and we believe the February 5th through February 8th time frame should provide the optimal bottom rotation period for metals traders.

Would you like to receive daily video analysis of our research for all the major markets as well as continue to receive our advanced research reports? Want to know that the US majors Indexes are going to do tomorrow or next week? Take a minute to investigate The Technical Traders [just visit here] to learn how we can assist you in your trading. Learn how we called this move in the US Indexes for 2018 and how we can continue to identify market moves before they happen with our proprietary modeling systems.

Chris Vermeulen

Positioning for “Swan Type” Disasters

Recently, the US, China and portions of SE Asia have been hit by massive hurricanes and cyclones. As investors, it is often difficult to understand the mechanics of how these types of disasters result in opportunities while thousands are attempting to rebuild and survive. Yet, as investors, it is our job to prepare for these outcomes and attempt to foresee risk and opportunities.

Over the weekend, we expecting Hurricane Irma to hit Florida and most of the South US, one should be asking the question, “How will this drive the markets over the next few weeks/months?” Let’s explore this question with some hard data and analysis.

US Population Density

The population in the South Eastern US is rather dense. There are also a number of key economic locations that could be disrupted if the storms starts to drift eastward.

Economic Output by Region

Consider that the South Eastern US represents a minimum of 1.6~2.2% annual GDP output.

When one considers the amount of destruction, disruption and economic decline that could be the immediate result of disasters such as hurricanes, one has to think about how the global markets will react to this level and type of event?

In comparison to the other geographic regions of the US, the South Eastern portion of the US still represents a substantially large portion of annual economic output/activity.

A massive disruption as well as asset revaluation event could cause a “blip” in the US GDP representing at least 2~3 tenths of a percent and could result in hundreds of billions in actual losses, economic output losses and infrastructure destruction.

Because of this, and other potential future events, we are concerned that the US markets may be headed for a correction event or bear market event in the near future. In the past, we have attempted to illustrate this potential by highlighting cycle events, key market breakouts and trends and, most recently, highlighted the 3-7-10 year cycle structures that play out in all markets. Now, we are setting up for an event that may unfold over the next 30~90 days as a “swan type event” that few are preparing for.

The US Dollar continues to slide. Our analysis showed that $92 was key support. Recently this level has been broken and we are concerned that the US Dollar may continue to slide lower. Overall, in terms of global competition, this may not be a tremendous hit. But in terms of purchasing power and the existing dominance of the US Dollar for trade, we could see some pressure in other areas.

In relation, our custom China/SE Asia Index is pushing toward the upward range of our price channel and could rotate lower on a Swan-type event (like a debt issue or political issue).

Oil is breaking downward as these global events and the transition to slower consumption continues to drive supply higher and higher. We could continue to see Oil based “Mini Swan Events” in countries that are dependent on Oil prices and income to support their economies.

US Banking and Insurance firms are sure to take increased risks with these types of events. As borrowers are displaced because of a “Swan type Event” and refocus on immediate needs/issues, delinquencies in mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and others will spike (quickly). This becomes a matter of survival (much like after the 2009 Credit Market Crisis) where people made choices to support immediate needs and not long term credit needs.

Metals, of course, have already started to make a move higher because of the risk of these events and global risks. Although, we still believe a short-term move lower (almost like a relief move) will play out over the next few weeks that will be the opportunity we have been waiting for. This move will allow investors to position metals trades for the potential longer term Swan event outcomes.

Lastly, our US Custom Index is continuing to provide a much clearer and defined picture of the Head-n-Shoulders formation that has us fixated on the potential of our VIX Spike dates, major cycle events, key rotations and, now, these potentially massive “Swan type events” to correlate into almost a Super-Swan Event. These hurricanes are passing events – they go away eventually. An economic event is something that takes much longer to resolve and restore. Much like the 2009 Credit Market Crisis, the results of a Swan type event can be long lasting and can result in massive asset revaluation.

We’re not saying the global markets are going to fall into another 2009 type event, but we are saying that our analysis is showing that “some type of event is setting up and IF it turned into a Super Swan event, then YOU (the investor) need to be aware of this potential”. If it simply turns into a correction or minor downturn, then you still need to be aware of this potential so you can profit from it – either way.

What will it take to setup and execute a series of trades that help protect against this type of possible Swan Event?

Join Active Trading Partners [visit here] today to learn more and follow our daily research reports to assist you in preparing for just this type of event. There is not a lot of time left before these potential events begin to play out. ATP will assist you by finding great trading opportunities and keeping you informed of the markets setups and potential moves/cycles.

Are you ready for the next Super-Swan Event? If not, join Active Trading Partners today.

Closed Another Winning Trade And New Forecast

Our trading partner Chris Vermeulen just sent over an email detailing his last trade of this holiday shortened week. Make sure to sign up for Chris' holiday special.....

Yesterday December 23rd we closed out a nice winning trade in XLE energy sector. If you have not yet closed the trade can should do so today and will locking an even larger gain of 4-5% return in only three days. The stock market closes early today at 1 pm ET. Today volume will be light and its not worth sitting around watching or trying to trade in my opinion. The best trade for today is to spend quality time with your family and friends.

Attached are couple charts that show where the market is currently trading with my short term analysis and why XLE position was closed yesterday. The market is primed for a sharp correction which may start Monday and if possible, we will take action, but volume will likely remain light for the rest of the year and first couple days of January, so the top may drag out a few more days. Let’s wait for a technical breakdown first before buying inverse ETFs.

I would like to thank all my followers and subscribers for their support and kind words throughout the year. It has been an extremely difficult market to trade with the broad market trading in a Stage 3 Distribution pattern. Hedge funds, mutual funds and those who hold individual stocks in their portfolio are all down sharply for reasons I have explained and warned about all year.

Early in 2015 I published a short book talking about how the US stock market was showing significant signs of a topping along with many timing cycles and events that were also unfolding and pointed to a new bear market that will likely last through 2016 and into 2017. Thus far, everything has unfolded as expected and once this Stage 3 Distribution pattern breaks down a new bear market will have confirmed and all kinds of huge trades will start to unfold. It will be a VERY DIFFERENT year than 2014 and 2015.

Chris Vermeulen – www.The Gold & Oil Guy.com

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Riding the Energy Wave to the Future

By John Mauldin 

“Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil.” –  J. Paul Getty

This week’s yuan devaluation was big news, but it’s really part of a much bigger saga. Events around the globe are combining to create huge economic change over the next few years. We are watching giant, multidimensional chess games played by some master players. Energy is the chessboard that connects all the players. What happens when the board changes shape in the middle of the game? If you don’t know the new energy landscape, you’ll have a hard time playing to a draw, much less winning.

Today I’ll tell you about some big shifts in the energy industry. These shifts are about as positive as can be, unless you need high oil prices to run your country. In the long run, these changes are bullish for the whole world, which I think this will surprise many of you. And though we’ve been used to thinking about energy and technology as two different facets of modern life, today they are inextricably linked.
When energy changes, everything else changes, too.

16 Candles

Thoughts from the Frontline is now entering its 16^th year of continuous weekly publication. I constantly meet readers who have been with me since the beginning – and even some who read an earlier print version of my letters. I put TFTF on the Internet in August 2000 as a free letter, starting with just a few thousand names, and was amazed at how rapidly it grew. It took just a few years for me to realize that this new thing called the Internet was the real deal, and I discontinued my print version. We now push the letter out to almost one million readers each week, and the letter is posted on dozens of websites.

I began to archive the letter in January 2001; and every issue – the good, the bad, and the sometimes very ugly – is still there in the archives, just as I wrote it. I will admit there are a few paragraphs, and maybe even a whole letter or two, that I would like to go back and expunge from the record. But I think it’s better just to let it all be what it is.

Investing in energy without the risk....Here's what our trading partner John Carter is doing.

I thank you for allowing me to come into your homes and offices each week. I consider it a privilege and honor to be able to offer you my research and thoughts. This letter has been free from the beginning, and my full intent is that it will always remain that way. Longtime readers know the topics can vary widely over the course of the year. I write about what I find interesting that week. I find that writing helps me focus my own thinking.

If you are reading this for the first time, you can go to www.mauldineconomics.com, subscribe by giving us your email address, and join my one million closest friends who get my letter each week. And if you’re a regular reader, why not give me a 16^th birthday present and suggest to your friends that they subscribe too! I also want to thank the staff and my partners, who make it possible for me to spend the bulk of my time thinking and writing. And traveling, of course. And now let’s think about energy.

The Cover Pic Indicator

Contrarian and value investors like to buy assets that are in distress, or at least “out of favor.” You don’t hear much about those assets at the time. That’s part of being distressed – everyone ignores you. So, following that logic, the last thing you want to buy is a stock or industry that appears on the cover page of popular financial publications. Commodity and energy bulls should take note of last weekend’s Barron’s cover.

“COMMODITIES: TIME TO BUY,” Barron’s practically screamed at its readers. In case you can’t read the fine print on the cover, it says, The harsh selloff in energy, gold, and other commodities is starting to look like capitulation. Opportunities in Exxon, Chevron, BHP, Goldcorp. Plus six funds and six ETFs to help build a position in this oversold sector.

I presume the photo is supposed to show the sun rising on an oil rig, not setting. The article quotes some very smart people who are bullish on commodities right now. Some energy stocks look like real bargains. Barron’s is simply repeating the market’s conventional wisdom: After a brutal decline, oil prices are stabilizing and should head higher as the global economy recovers.

That’s a perfectly defensible position – but I think it’s wrong.

It’s wrong because it misses a major shift in the way we produce energy. Many people think OPEC’s high oil and gas prices led to the US shale energy boom. That’s not right. The shale boom was born in a time of lower energy prices, and it was the result of new technologies that make recovering large quantities of oil and gas less expensive than ever.

I used to get the occasional letter from James Howard Kunstler, who would tell me that whatever letter I had just written was completely bass-ackwards, and how his books explained that we were going to run out of energy and then collapse. His books (Wikipedia lists about a dozen) and dozens of others warned us of Peak Oil. (For the record, James, a certain longtime editor on my staff made sure I got all your letters, reports, and more, as he is firmly in your camp! I kept smiling and saying that he was (and is) wrong; but Charley is a phenomenal editor, and you put up with a few quirks for brilliant editing that makes you look better. Besides, if the world does come to an end, I can wend my way to his survivalist farm and beg for a job and food, although I’m not exactly sure I’m ready to milk goats. Just for old time’s sake.)

I have written for years that Peak Oil is nonsense. Longtime readers know that I’m a believer in ever-accelerating technological transformation, but I have to admit I did not see the exponential transformation of the drilling business as it is currently unfolding. The changes are truly breathtaking and have gone largely unnoticed.

By now, you probably know about fracking, the technology where drillers pump liquids into a well to “fracture” the ground and release oil and gas deposits. It’s controversial in certain quarters, especially among those who hate anything carbon-related.

Fracking technology is moving forward like all other technologies: very fast. Newer techniques promise to reduce the side effects, at even lower operating costs. Furthermore, fracking is only the beginning of this revolution. The Manhattan Institute recently published an excellent (bordering on brilliant) report by Mark P. Mills, Shale 2.0: Technology and the Coming Big Data Revolution in America’s Shale Oil Fields. I highly recommend it.

Mills outlines the way the new technologies are turning this industry on its head. Shale production or “unconventional” production is really a completely new industry.

Here is a short quote: The price and availability of oil (and natural gas) are determined by three interlocking variables: politics, money, and technology. Hydrocarbons have existed in enormous quantities for millennia across the planet. Governments control land access and business freedoms. Access to capital and the nature of fiscal policy are also critical determinants of commerce, especially for capital-intensive industries. But were it not for technology, oil and natural gas would not flow, and the associated growth that these resources fuel would not materialize.

While the conventional and so-called unconventional (i.e., shale) oil industries display clear similarities in basic mechanics and operations – drills, pipes, and pumps – most of the conventional equipment, methods, and materials were not designed or optimized for the new techniques and challenges needed in shale production. By innovatively applying old and new technologies, shale operators propelled a stunningly fast gain in the productivity of shale rigs (Figure 4), with costs per rig stable or declining.

[Look at the above chart for a few moments; it’s truly staggering. In just seven years, the amount of oil per well in some shale plays has risen by a factor of 10! That is almost all due to new technologies that are increasingly coming online.]

Shale companies now produce more oil with two rigs than they did just a few years ago with three rigs, sometimes even spending less overall. At $55 per barrel, at least one of the big players in the Texas Eagle Ford shale reports a 70 percent financial rate of return. If world prices rise slightly, to $65 per barrel, some of the more efficient shale oil operators today would enjoy a higher rate of return than when oil stood at $95 per barrel in 2012.

Read that last paragraph again. Some shale operators can make good money at $55 a barrel. At $65, they can make higher returns than they did three years ago with oil at $95. I have friends here in Dallas who are raising money for wells that can do better than break even at $40 per barrel, although they think $60 is where the new normal will settle out. Texans are nothing if not optimistic.

To continue reading this article from Thoughts from the Frontline – a free weekly publication by John Mauldin, renowned financial expert, best selling author, and Chairman of Mauldin Economics – please click here.

The article Thoughts from the Frontline: Riding the Energy Wave to the Future was originally published at mauldineconomics.com.

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The Next Financial Disaster Starts Here

By Dan Steinhart

Individual investors take note….

Some of the world’s best money managers are betting on the biggest financial disaster since 2008. You won’t hear about this from the mainstream media. Networks like NBC or CBS don’t have a clue… just like they didn’t have a clue the US housing market would collapse in 2007.

Carl Icahn, a super successful investor who’s the 31^st richest person in the world, said this investment is in a bubble. He said that it’s “extremely overheated”… and that “there’s going to be a great run to the exits.” And this investment isn’t some complex derivative that only Wall Street and hedge funds can buy. Millions of investors hold it in their brokerage accounts.

The dangerous investment is junk bonds.

Junk bonds are usually issued by companies with shaky finances. They pay high interest rates to compensate investors for their high risk. Low interest rates have pushed investors into these risky bonds. Junk bonds are one of few places where investors have been able to get a decent income stream.

In 2008, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to near zero to fight the financial crisis. It has held rates near zero ever since. Right now, a 10 year US government bond pays just 2.3%. That’s half its historical average, and near its all time low.

Investors looking for income have turned to junk bonds. This chart shows the growth in junk bonds since 2002. As you can see, junk bonds didn’t grow much from 2002 to 2008. But when the Fed cut rates to zero in 2008, junk bond issuance took off:

JPMorgan reports that the number of junk bond issues soared 483% between 2008 and 2014. You might be thinking that you don’t own junk bonds… so why should you care? It’s true that many investors don’t own junk bonds directly. But many do own them through junk bond ETFs.

The Financial Times recently explained why junk bond ETFs are dangerous.… junk bond ETFs give the illusion of liquidity. Not all that long ago, bankers and asset managers promised to turn subprime mortgages into gold plated, triple A rated bonds.

Today, the apparently miraculous transformation is of deeply illiquid credit instruments, such as junk bonds and leveraged loans, into hyper-liquid exchange traded funds. Junk bonds are not “liquid.” That means there aren’t many investors buying and selling them every day. The Wall Street Journal reported that each of the top 10 bonds in the largest junk bond ETF traded just 13 times a day on average.

That’s not a typo. Investors only buy and sell these junk bonds 13 times per day on average. For comparison, investors buy and sell 47 million shares of Apple (AAPL) on average every day. Junk bond ETFs are extra dangerous because they make junk bonds appear liquid. HYG, the largest junk bond ETF, trades more than 6.8 million shares per today on average. That’s more than McDonald’s stock.

But as Howard Marks, hedge fund manager and one of the most respected investors in the world recently explained:

No investment vehicle should promise greater liquidity than is afforded by its underlying assets. If one were to do so, what would be the source of the increase in liquidity? Because there is no such source, the incremental liquidity is usually illusory, fleeting, and unreliable, and it works (like a Ponzi scheme) until markets freeze up and the promise of liquidity is tested in tough times.

Because junk bond ETFs create the illusion of liquidity, most investors don’t see the danger. They think they can sell their junk bonds ETFs just as easily as they could sell shares of Apple. They’re wrong. If too many people sell junk bonds at once, it could overwhelm the market and cause prices to crash.

Now, none of this has been a problem yet because junk bonds have been in a bull market. According to Bank of America, junk bonds have gained 149% since 2009. But as Howard Marks added, ”Nothing is learned in the investment world in good times.” … “Most of these vehicles haven’t been tested in tough times.”

All bull markets eventually end. When this one ends, junk bonds could cause huge losses to investors who don’t know about these risks. Junk bonds could easily drop 15% or more in one month.

And here’s the craziest part….Some of the world’s smartest and most successful investors are are betting on this exact outcome. They’re betting that the junk bond market will crash.

They’re calling it “The Next Big Short.”

You probably heard about the few hedge fund managers who made a killing when US housing collapsed in 2007. Dallas-based hedge fund manager Kyle Bass made $500 million by betting against housing. John Paulson made $4.9 billion by betting against mortgages. Today, one of the largest private equity firms in the world is raising money to bet against junk bonds... just like Bass and Paulson bet against housing in 2007.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Apollo [one of the world’s largest private equity firms] has been raising money from wealthy investors for a hedge fund that snaps up insurance-like contracts called credit-default swaps that benefit if the junk bonds fall. In marketing materials reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Apollo predicted: “ETFs and similar vehicles increase ease of access to the high yield [junk] market, leading to the potential for a quick ‘hot money’ exit.”

Other hedge funds like Reef Road Capital and Howard Marks’ Oaktree Capital are also raising money to bet on a junk bond crash.

As you can see from the chart of HYG’s (the largest junk bond ETF) price, junk bonds are down since June:

There’s no way to know if this is the beginning of the end of the junk bond bull market. But if it is, huge losses could come very soon. If you’ve made money investing in junk bonds, it’s time to cash in. Don’t bet against some of the best investors in the world who expect junk bonds to crash. We recommend selling junk bonds now.

P.S. Because this risk and others have made our financial system a house of cards, we’ve published a groundbreaking step by step manual on how to survive, and even prosper, during the next financial crisis. In this book, New York Times best selling author Doug Casey and his team describe the three ESSENTIAL steps every American should take right now to protect themselves and their family.

These steps are easy and straightforward to implement. You can do all of these from home, with very little effort. Normally, this book retails for $99. But I believe this book is so important, especially right now, that I’ve arranged a way for US residents to get a free copy. Click here to secure your copy.

The article The Next Financial Disaster Starts Here was originally published at caseyresearch.com.

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