How to Spot a Tradable Market Top

If you are a long term investor, swing trader, or day trader, then you could find one or all of the charts below interesting. What I am going to briefly cover and show you could make you think twice about how you are investing and trading your money. I will be the first to admit you should not, and cannot, always pick market tops or bottoms, but there are certain times when it’s worth betting on one.

Below I have shared three charts, each with a different time frame using daily, 30 minutes, and a 10-minute chart. Each chart also has a different technical analysis technique and strategy applied. Each shorter time frame chart as we work down the page zooms in closer to more imminent price action that should take place over the next few days.

DAILY CHART SIGNALS MARKET TOP – INVESTING/SWING TRADING

The daily chart below shows a clear overall trend which is to the downside. Trends are more likely to continue than they are to reverse, hence the saying “The Trend Is Your Friend.”

A key piece of data on this chart is the blue investing cycle line at the bottom. If this is trending down or below the 50 level, then money should be focused on profiting from falling prices via inverse ETF’s, short selling, or put options.

Equally important are the yellow and baby blue cycle lines at the bottom. When these enter the upper reversal zone, we should expect sellers to step into the market and for the price to fall.

30 MINUTE CHART SIGNALS MARKET TOP – SWING/MOMENTUM TRADING

I apologize for the noisy chart below, a lot is going on there, but if you focus on the yellow text and drawings, it will help keep things simple. This chart shows several reasons why we expect the price to fall. Based on technical and statistical analysis this chart points weakness over the next 1 - 3 trading days.

10-MINUTE CHART SIGNALS MARKET TOP – MOMENTUM/DAY TRADING

Monday night (Jan 7th) after the closing bell the SPY ETF chart generated a sizable price spike to the downside. Those of you who follow our spikes and or at least know about these setups then you know we expect the price to reach at least one if not all spike targets which are 30%, 50%, and 100% of the spike within 36 hours.

So far in 2019 we have has six price spikes five winners, one loser which is an 83% win rate thus far. Today’s spike is abnormally large not sure what that means regarding this one being a success but it is another spike signal, and the odds favor a move down once you see the other analysis supporting this setup.

CONCLUSION

If you are boring long term investor and have been stuck having to ride the stock market roller coaster with your life savings my trading newsletter can help you with your long term portfolio to not only avoid losses but profit from the collapse with one simple inverse exchange traded fund which trades like a stock and you buy and sell it at anytime! Knowing when you put your nest egg to work, and when to back away and protect it is crucial if you want to become wealthy or become wealthy.

On the flip side, if you are an active trader looking for monthly trades then be sure to join the Wealth Building Newsletter today and receive my daily pre-market video analysis, so you understand what took place yesterday, during overnight trading, and what to expect when the market opens.

Subscribe today and become part of our trading community and prosper from the coming market correction and real estate downturn.

Sign Up for Chris Vermeulen's Wealth Building Newsletter Here > The Technical Traders

The Bond King Says "Short U.S. Stock"

Short the SP500.....That’s not something most investors would consider right now. After all, US stocks have been rallying for eight straight years. At this point, it’s hard to even remember what a down market feels like.

But that’s exactly what Jeff Gundlach thinks you should do. Gundlach, as you may know, is one of the world’s brightest investors. He manages more than $100 billion at his firm DoubleLine Capital.

On Monday, he told a room full of investors at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York to short (bet against) the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). This fund tracks the S&P 500. It’s the most heavily traded ETF on the planet.

It’s a bold call, to say the least.…
But Gundlach has a history of nailing calls like this. At last year’s Sohn Conference, he told investors to short the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) and buy the iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF (REM). If you had taken Gundlach’s advice, you’d be up 40% on this trade today. Gundlach was also one of the few people to predict that Donald Trump would become president of the United States. In June, he told CNBC:

People aren't getting along, they're not happy because of technology taking jobs, and sort of this long, slow grind of a new economy. And so they're looking for change, and I think Trump is going to win on the basis of that.

In other words, it pays to listen to Gundlach.…
But here’s the thing. Gundlach doesn’t think you should get out of stocks completely. Instead, he thinks you should “go long” emerging markets. These are countries that are on their way to becoming “developed” countries like the United States. Brazil, Russia, India, and China (also known as the “BRICs”) are the largest emerging markets.

On Monday, Gundlach told investors at the Sohn Conference to buy the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM), which tracks over 800 emerging market stocks. It’s one of the safest and most diversified ways to play emerging markets. Of course, you would have already known that if you’ve been reading the Dispatch.

After all, I’ve been pounding the table on emerging market stocks for months.…
In February, I outlined the bullish case for emerging markets. A month later, I told investors to “forget about US stocks” and consider emerging market stocks. I even recommended checking out EEM, just like Gundlach. Not only that, Gundlach likes emerging markets for the same reasons we do. I’ll share those with you in a moment. But let’s first look at why the “Bond King” thinks you should short the S&P 500.

U.S. stocks are incredibly expensive.…
Just look at this chart. It compares the total market value of the S&P 500 with the annual economic output of the United States, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP). This key ratio is now at the highest level since the dot com bubble.

US stocks aren’t just expensive from a historical perspective, either.…
They’re also much more expensive than emerging market stocks. Gundlach explained to CNBC on Monday:

The valuation of emerging markets is half the valuation of the S&P 500 when you look at things like price to sales, price to book, [and] Dr. Shiller’s CAPE ratio.

Dispatch readers know CAPE stands for cyclically adjusted price to earnings. It’s the cousin of the popular price to earnings (P/E) ratio. The only difference is that it uses 10 years’ worth of earnings instead of one. But just like the P/E ratio, a high CAPE ratio means stocks are expensive. You can see below that the CAPE ratio has surged to 29.5. That’s 76% higher than the S&P 500’s historical average. US stocks have only been this expensive two times in history: just before the Great Depression and during the dot com bubble. Meanwhile, the CAPE ratio for EEM is floating around 14, meaning it’s 52% cheaper than SPY.

To be fair, emerging market stocks have been cheaper than US stocks for years.…
And they’ve still underperformed them. But that’s starting to change. Just look at the chart below. It compares the performance of the S&P 500 with EEM. When this line is rising, it means US stocks are doing better than emerging market stocks.

You can see that’s been the case for years. But this key ratio just broke a long term upward trend line.
This tells us that emerging market stocks should outperform US stocks for years to come.

If you haven’t already, I recommend you pick up some emerging market stocks today.…
The easiest way to do this is with EEM or another major emerging market fund. These funds will give you broad exposure to emerging markets. Once you build a core position in emerging markets, you could consider investing in individual emerging markets. Right now, three of our favorite emerging markets are Poland, Colombia, and India.

As for U.S. stocks, I wouldn’t encourage everyday investors to short the S&P 500 like Gundlach recommends. Instead, I suggest you be very selective about what U.S. stocks you own. Avoid stocks trading at nosebleed valuations. Own companies with resilient business models and little debt.

The article “The Bond King” Says Short US Stocks was originally published at caseyresearch.com.

Webinar Replay...Low Risk Setups For Trading Precise Turning Points in Any Market

On September 6th John Carter of Simpler Options treated us to a special online training webinar. We discovered low risk option strategies for catching "bold and beautiful" reversal trades. John also showed us how to hunt for tops and bottoms using low risk setups for trading precise turning points in any market and so much more.

Watch the FREE Replay Here

Most traders have no idea how to capture the massive profit potential from trading major reversals. These days’ markets often turn on a dime and those who wait for ‘conservative’ setups either miss out or suffer steep losses.

Here's what you can expect to learn during this webinar session....

  *  A simple 3-step process to identify major market turning points in any market

  *  How to find low risk, high probability trades in today's volatile market conditions

  *  Why it’s finally possible to catch tops and bottoms in real time on almost any chart

  *  Why these ‘Bold and Beautiful’ reversal trades can be safer than ‘comfortable’ trades

  *  How to avoid getting suckered into the costly traps that most traders fall into

  *  How to adapt your trades automatically for choppy conditions AND big trends

  *  How to know when a support or resistance level is likely to hold or not


       Watch the FREE replay Right Here


       See you in the markets,
       Ray Parrish
       aka the Crude Oil Trader


Get John's latest FREE eBook "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here!

Did You See This Explosive Signal in PCLN?

Did you see how PCLN took off like a rocket the other day? Every trader dreams of catching a trade like that. But instead of making massive profits most traders get left behind. Or they get stopped out because they were on the wrong side of the move. It’s happened to all of us and this is what it looked like this time around in PCLN.....

So you gotta ask yourself..…

• How do you know when support or resistance is likely to hold?

• How do you know when to chase a ‘rocket trade’ like this move in PCLN?

• How do you know when a breakout is really a fake out?

The answer is hidden below the surface and you can’t see it just by looking at the chart. You can’t see it looking at volume or candlesticks or other popular indicators. And when you get these questions wrong you lose money. The good news is that now there is a way you can tell - in advance - whether a move is likely to fizzle out or take off like a rocket.

All you need do is spy on what Wall Street’s biggest funds are doing. You see small retail traders don’t generate explosive moves like that. When you see a ‘rocket trade’ it’s driven by huge institutional trade volume. The problem is that 9 out of 10 traders have no clue how to spot these opportunities. And that’s why they lose.

I’m telling you this because my friend John Carter’s been developing four all new indicators that reveal when a breakout is fueled by big money and when it’s likely to fizzle out. Listen, John’s the real deal. He’s been trading for more than 25 years and he’s famous for making profitable trades like this one in PCLN in front of a live audience. 

What you need to know now is that these four new indicators are crazy accurate but they haven’t been released to the trading public yet. However, you can actually check them out now because John just did a FREE training last night and I’ve scored you access to the recording.

Listen, you probably don’t want to take another trade until you watch this video. Once you see this training you won’t look at a price chart the same way ever again. Go ahead and get the whole story now because the recording will only be up for a few days.

>>> Click Here to Watch <<<

See you in the markets,

Ray C. Parrish

aka the Crude Oil Trader

P.S. Be sure to watch this ASAP because the training is coming down soon

Get John's latest FREE eBook "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here!

Hundreds of Oil Stocks Could Go to Zero…Will You Still Be Owning One of Them?

By Justin Spittler

The largest shale oil bankruptcy in years just happened. If you own oil stocks, you'll want to read today's essay very closely. Because there's a good chance hundreds more oil companies will go bankrupt soon. As you probably know, the oil market is a disaster. The price of oil has plunged 75% since 2014. In February, oil hit its lowest level since 2003.

Oil crashed for a simple reason: There’s too much of it. New methods like “fracking” have led to a huge spike in global oil production. Today, oil companies pump about 1 million more barrels a day than the world uses.

Last year, America’s biggest oil companies lost $67 billion..…

To offset low prices, oil companies have slashed spending by 60% over the past two years. They’ve laid off more than 120,000 workers. They’ve sold assets and abandoned projects. Some have even cut their prized dividends.

For many oil companies, deep spending cuts weren’t enough…

The number of bankruptcies in the oil industry has skyrocketed….

Bloomberg Business reported earlier this month:

Since the start of 2015, 130 North American oil and gas producers and service companies have filed for bankruptcy owing almost $44 billion, according to law firm Haynes & Boone.

And that doesn’t even include two “big name” bankruptcies in the last couple weeks. Two weeks ago, Linn Energy filed for bankruptcy, making it the largest shale oil bankruptcy since 2014. It owes lenders $8.3 billion.

A week later, SandRidge Energy declared bankruptcy. It became the second biggest shale oil company to go bankrupt. The company owes its lenders about $4.1 billion. Ultra Petroleum, Penn Virginia, Breitburn Energy, and Halcón Resources also filed for bankruptcy in the past couple weeks.

Hundreds more oil companies could go bankrupt this year..…

The Wall Street Journal reported last week:

This year, 175 oil and gas producers around the world are in danger of declaring bankruptcy, and the situation is nearly as dire for another 160 companies, many in the U.S., according to a report from Deloitte’s energy consultants.

Defaults by oil and gas companies are already skyrocketing. The Wall Street Journal continues:

Oil and gas companies this year have defaulted on $26 billion, according to Fitch Ratings data. That figure already surpasses the total for 2015, $17.5 billion.

Fitch, one of the nation’s largest credit agencies, expects 11% of U.S. energy bonds to default this year. That would be the highest default rate for the energy sector since 1999.

Many investors thought the oil crisis was over..…

That’s because the price of oil has surged 80% since February. Dispatch readers know better. For months, we’ve been warning there would be more bankruptcies and defaults. We said many oil companies need $50 oil to make money. The price of oil hasn’t topped $50 a barrel since last July. Even after its big rally, oil still trades for about half of what it did two years ago.

Oil prices will stay low as long as there’s too much oil..…

Although the world still has too much oil, the surplus has shrunk in the past few months. In February, the global economy was oversupplied by about 1.7 million barrels a day. Thanks to U.S. production cuts, the surplus is now just 1.0 million barrels a day. The number of rigs actively looking for oil in the U.S. has dropped by 80% since October. This month, the U.S. oil rig count hit its lowest level in 70 years.

However, many other countries aren’t cutting production at all. Saudi Arabia and Russia, two of the world’s biggest oil-producing countries, are both pumping near-record amounts of oil. Frankly, these countries don’t have much choice. Oil sales account for 77% of Saudi Arabia’s economy. And oil accounts for 50% of Russia’s exports. If these countries stop pumping oil, their economies could collapse.

Low prices have made it impossible for some oil companies to pay their debts..…

U.S. oil companies borrowed nearly $200 billion between 2010 and 2014. If you’ve been reading the Dispatch, you know the Federal Reserve is mostly to blame for this. It’s held its key interest rate near zero since 2008. This made it incredibly cheap to borrow money. When oil prices were high, the debt wasn’t an issue. Companies made enough money to pay the bills. That’s no longer the case. Today, many oil companies are burning through cash to pay their debts.

To make matters worse, many weak oil companies have been cut off from the credit market..…

Before prices collapsed, oil companies could refinance their debt if they ran into trouble. This could buy them time to sort out their problems. These days, many banks will no longer lend oil companies money. Bloomberg Business reported last month:

Almost two years into the worst oil bust in a generation, lenders including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. are slashing credit lines for struggling energy companies…
Since the start of 2016 lenders have yanked $5.6 billion of credit from 36 oil and gas producers, a reduction of 12 percent, making this the most severe retreat since crude began tumbling in mid-2014.

Oil stocks are still very risky..…

But that doesn’t mean you should avoid them entirely. As we’ve said before, oil stocks have likely entered a new phase. You see, when oil prices first tanked, investors sold oil stocks indiscriminately. Both strong and weak stocks plunged. In other words, investors “threw the baby out with the bath water.” You often see this behavior during a crisis.

Exxon Mobil (XOM), the world’s biggest oil company, fell 34% since 2014. Chevron (CVX), the world’s second biggest, dropped 48%. Now that oil has stabilized, the stronger companies are separating themselves from the weaker companies. This year, Exxon is up 15%. Chevron is up 11%. The crash in oil prices has given us a chance to buy world class oil companies at deep bargains.

If you want to own oil stocks, stick with the best companies..…

If you're going to invest in the sector, there are four key things to look for: 

Make sure you buy companies that can 1) make money at low oil prices. You should also look for companies with 2) healthy margins 3) plenty of cash and 4) little debt.

In March, Crisis Investing editor Nick Giambruno recommended a company that hits all of these checkmarks. It has a rock-solid balance sheet…some of the industry’s best profit margins…and “trophy assets” in America’s richest oil regions. It can even make money with oil as cheap as $35.

The stock is up 9% in two months. But Nick thinks it could just be getting started. After all, it’s still 30% below its 2014 high. You can get in on Nick’s oil pick by signing up for Crisis Investing. If interested, we encourage you to watch this short presentation. It explains how you can access Nick’s top investing ideas for $1,000 off our regular price.

This incredible deal ends soon. Click here to take advantage while you can.

You’ll also learn about an even bigger “crisis investing” opportunity on Nick’s radar. This coming crisis could radically change the financial future of every American. By watching this video, you’ll learn how to profit from it. Click here to watch.

Chart of the Day

Oil and gas companies are losing billions of dollars, we’re in earnings season right now. This is when companies tell investors if their earnings grew or shrunk last quarter. A good earnings season can send stocks higher. A bad one can drag stocks down.

As of Friday, 95% of the companies in the S&P 500 had shared first quarter results. Based on these results, the S&P 500 is on track to post a 6.8% decline in earnings. That would be the biggest drop in quarterly earnings since the 2009 financial crisis.

Oil and gas companies are a big reason U.S. stocks are having such a horrible earnings season.

As you can see below, first-quarter earnings for energy companies in the S&P 500 have plunged 107% since last year. Keep in mind, this group includes Exxon, Chevron, and other blue chip energy stocks.

Again, if you’re looking to buy oil stocks, make sure you “look under the company’s hood” before you buy it. Steer clear of companies that are losing money and have a lot of debt.

The article Hundreds of Oil Stocks Could Go to Zero…Will You Still Be Owning One of Them? was originally published at caseyresearch.com.

Get our latest FREE eBook "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here!

Mike Seery's Weekly Futures Recap - Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Gold, Coffee, Sugar

It's Saturday and that means it is time for a heads up from our trading partner Michael Seery. We've asked him to give our readers a recap of the this weeks futures markets and give us some insight on where he sees these markets headed. Mike has been a senior analyst for close to 15 years and has extensive knowledge of all of the commodity and option markets. 

Crude oil futures in the April contract settled last Friday in New York at 38.50 a barrel while currently trading 40.65 up over $2 for the trading week now trading above its 20 and 100 day moving average for the first time in 6 months. The selloff in the U.S dollar has pushed up oil prices tremendously over the last several weeks. Oil prices are trading higher for the 3rd consecutive day; however this rally has been based on very low volume which is a little concerning as I'm sitting on the sidelines in this market as I have missed the rally to the upside. The U.S dollar has hit a 6 month low and that has propped up many commodity prices and especially crude oil as gasoline and heating oil also have rallied substantially. You will notice this at your local gas station as you are paying much more than you were just three or four weeks ago as the tide has turned in the commodity markets. Rumors are circulating that Saudi Arabia is going to urge OPEC to start cutting production, therefore, pushing up prices even higher as their economy is struggling due to low prices. However, the chart structure is poor and sometimes you miss trades as this did not meet criteria to enter into and that's exactly what happened to me, as I am leery of this market in 42/45 level as I assume production will come back onto the table because of higher prices.
TREND: HIGHER
CHART STRUCTURE: POOR

He has been killing it in 2016, get Chris “the Gold & Oil Guy” Vermeulen’s Trading Forecasts & Trade Signals Today

Natural gas futures in the April contract is now trading above its 20 day, but still below its 100 day moving average settling last Friday in New York at 182 while currently trading at 194. I was recommending a short position getting stopped out earlier in the week as now I'm currently sitting on the sidelines. Natural gas prices are trading at a 4 week high. However, the chart structure is poor meaning that the 10 day low it's too far away to meet my criteria to enter into a new trade so keep a close eye on this market as we could get involved to the upside soon. The fundamentals remain bearish. However, that has already been reflected in the price as supplies are huge at the present time, but the bearish short term trend has ended in my opinion. The energy sector has caught fire over the last several weeks as crude oil is now trading at 42 a barrel which has also supported gas prices in the short term, but look at other markets that are beginning to trend with higher potential.
TREND: MIXED
CHART STRUCTURE: POOR

Gold futures in the April contract settled last Friday in New York at 1,259 an ounce while currently trading at 1,254 down slightly for the trading week in a very highly volatile trading manner as prices reacted sharply to the upside off of the Federal Reserve statement of not raising interest rates sending prices up over $40 in Thursday's trade. At the current time, I'm sitting on the sidelines in this market as I have missed the upside. However, I am not bullish gold at this price level as I think prices are topping out. However I'm not recommending a short position, but if you believe my opinion, I would sell a mini contract while placing the stop loss above the most recent high of 1,287 risking $30 or $1,000 per mini contract plus slippage and commission. Negative interest rates throughout the world have spooked investors back into the gold market as commodities, in general, have rallied as a whole. However, I remain bullish the stock market which continues to move higher as I think money flows will come out of the precious metals here in the short term. Remember when trading commodities it’s all based on risk as the risk/reward on the short side I think is in your favor, but it does not meet my criteria for an official entry into a new trade which has to be a 4 week low, but decide for yourself what's best for your trading account.
TREND: HIGHER
CHART STRUCTURE: POOR

Check out Adam's Hewison's "World Cup Portfolio"

Coffee futures in the May contract settled last Friday in New York at 125.80 a pound while currently trading at 134.50 trading higher for the 3rd consecutive trading session up around 900 points for the trading week hitting a 5 month high. I've been recommending a bullish position from around the 121.50 level and if you took that trade continue to place your stop loss below the 10 day low which currently stands at 119 as the chart structure is terrible at the present time due to the fact that coffee prices have exploded to the upside over the last week. The commodity markets, in general, have rallied substantially due to the fact that the U.S dollar has hit a 6 month low and it certainly looks to me that the bear markets are over with in the short term. However, if you have missed this trade the risk/reward is not your favor at the current time as you missed the boat so you must look at other markets that are beginning to trend. The next major level of resistance is the October high around 142 as I think prices could test that level next week as coffee prices are still cheap in my opinion as demand currently is strong. At the current time, I'm recommending a bullish position in cocoa and coffee as the soft commodity markets have certainly caught fire recently including the sugar market so start looking at the commodities to the upside.
TREND: HIGHER
CHART STRUCTURE: POOR

Sugar futures in the May contract settled last Friday in New York at 15.13 a pound while currently trading at 15.86 continuing its remarkable bullish run to the upside hitting a 14 month high as I'm sitting on the sidelines as the chart structure has not met my criteria towards entering into the trade. However, I'm certainly not recommending any type of short position as it looks to me that prices are headed even higher. Sugar futures are trading above their 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the short term trend is to the upside as the commodity markets have caught fire as who knows how high sugar prices can actually go as production cuts throughout major growing regions throughout the world are causing concerns about carryover levels pushing prices up tremendously over the last 3 weeks. Remember when you trade commodities the trend is your friend and trading with the path of least resistance is the most successful way to trade in my opinion over the course of time so do not sell sugar at this point, but if you have missed this trade sit on the sidelines and look at other markets that are beginning to trend as the horse has left the barn in this market in the short term.
TREND: HIGHER
CHART STRUCTURE: POOR

Get more of Mike Seerys call on commodities this week....Just Visit Here


Get our latest FREE eBook "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here!

Mike Seery's Weekly Futures Recap - Crude Oil, Natural Gas, U.S. Dollar, Gold, Silver, Sugar

It's Saturday and that means it is time for a heads up from our trading partner Michael Seery. We've asked him to give our readers a recap of the this weeks futures markets and give us some insight on where he sees these markets headed. Mike has been a senior analyst for close to 15 years and has extensive knowledge of all of the commodity and option markets. 

Crude oil futures in the April contract settled last Friday at 31.91 a barrel while currently trading at 32.00 basically unchanged for the trading week with a possible double bottom being created around $29 the level occurring. Crude oil prices are still trading below their 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the short term trend is to the downside as the long term trend is also to the downside despite the fact that several countries decided to freeze production this week, but that still leaves production at record levels as investors found that as another negative situation.

The volatility in crude oil is extremely high at the current time as I’m looking to possibly enter into a short position on any type of rally as the chart structure has improved tremendously, therefore, lowering monetary risk, but at this point I’m sitting on the sidelines waiting for an opportunity which could develop any day. The commodity markets in general still look weak as I still have many short positions in several different commodity sectors including natural gas which is hitting another contract low today as supplies are just too high across the board despite the fact that the U.S dollar may have topped out.
Trend: Lower
Chart Structure: Poor

Natural gas prices in the April contract settled last Friday in New York at 2.03 while currently trading at 1.89 trading lower 7 out of the last 8 trading sessions as the original recommendation was a short position in the March contract as we rolled over and if you took that trade continue to place your stop loss above the 10 day high which stands at 2.23 as the chart structure is very poor at the present time.

Natural gas prices continue to move lower on a weekly basis as this trade has gone straight down from the original recommendation so continue to place the proper stop loss as the chart structure will start to improve on a daily basis, as I still see lower prices ahead possibly retesting 1.75 and if that is broken I think we can test 1.50 as extremely warm weather in the Midwestern part of the United States continues to plague this commodity.

The fundamentals in natural gas are extremely bearish with all time high inventories as we were producing too many products especially in the energy sector including natural gas so continue to play this to the downside as I'm looking at adding more contracts once some type of price kickback develops, as I still see no reason to own natural gas especially as we enter the month of March, as springtime is upon us.
Trend: Lower
Chart Structure: Poor

The U.S dollar in the March contract settled last Friday at 95.98 while currently trading at 96.92 up around 100 points for the trading week as I’m currently recommending a short position from around the 96.90 level while placing my stop loss above the 10 day high at 97.50 risking around 60 points or $600 per contract plus slippage and commission.

The dollar is trading below its 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the short term trend is to the downside as prices are near a 4 month low due to the fact that the interest rates in the United States have been dropping dramatically, as lower rates mean a lower U.S dollar generally. Volatility in the dollar certainly has increased because of the stock market which is on a roller coaster ride daily sending shockwaves into currency markets.

The next major level of support is around the 95.00 level and if that is broken I think we can retest the 93 level in the coming weeks as it certainly looks to me that interest rates are even going lower as worldwide rates have turned negative in certain countries which is an amazing situation in my opinion as the risk/reward is in your favor at the present time as I am still recommending this trade even if you did not take the original advice.
Trend: Lower
Chart Structure: Poor

Gold futures in the April contract settled last Friday in New York at 1,239 an ounce while currently trading at 1,231 down about $8 for the trading week trading in a highly volatile manner. Gold prices are trading above their 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the short term trend is to the upside as prices have skyrocketed from the contract low around 1,050 and now have rallied over $200 in a matter of weeks as panic around the world is sending gold prices sharply higher.

At the current time, I am sitting on the sidelines as the risk is too much for me to tolerate as the only recommendation in the precious metals currently is the silver market as the gold chart structure is terrible. The S&P 500 has been extremely volatile in the year 2016 and that has supported gold prices however the S&P has rallied significantly over the last week, but it has not been a negative influence on gold as there is demand for gold at the current time and I’m certainly not recommending any type of bearish position as that would be counter trend and poor trading in my opinion so avoid this market at the present time.

Trading is all about risk as I see other opportunities in the commodity markets where the risk/reward is in your favor coupled with outstanding chart structure as gold does not meet any of my criteria to enter into a trade as sometimes you miss trades and that’s exactly what has occurred in this situation.
Trend: Higher
Chart Structure: Poor

Silver futures in the March contract settled last Friday in New York at 15.79 an ounce while currently trading at 15.47 down about $.30 in a highly volatile trading week with large swings on a daily basis as I have been recommending a bullish position from around 14.80 and if you took that trade continue to place your stop loss below the 10 day low which now stands at 14.90 a chart structure has improved tremendously over the last several days.

The next major level of resistance in silver is around the $16 level as we will have to roll out of the March contract into the May contract early next week due to expiration as I will give the new stop loss in that blog as well. Silver prices are trading above their 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the short term trend is to the upside as money flows continue to go back into the precious metals for the first time in several years as the precious metals have fallen tremendously from their highs just hit in the year 2011.

In my opinion, the U.S dollar has topped out which is bullish the precious metals so stay long this market while placing the proper stop loss as volatility has certainly come back into this market which is generally a bullish indicator.
Trend: Higher
Chart Structure: Improving

Sugar futures in the May contract settled last Friday in New York at 13.12 while currently trading at 12.64 a pound hitting a fresh 5 month low as I’ve been recommending a short position originally in the March contract as we rolled over into the May contract and if you took that trade place your stop loss above the 10 day high which stands at 13.50 as the chart structure is poor.

Sugar prices are trading lower for the 3rd consecutive day as I still think there’s a probability that prices will fill the gap at 11.80 which is still another 85 points away as prices are still trading far below their 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the trend is getting stronger to the downside on a weekly basis so stay short in my opinion while placing the proper stop loss.

Sugar prices experienced a rounding top which I’ve talked about in many previous blogs over the last several weeks peeking out around 15.50 as being nimble is a major key to success in my opinion as waiting for the trade to develop is definitely beneficial in the long run so stay short as I’m looking to add more contracts once the chart structure and the risk/reward meet my criteria as lower prices are ahead in my opinion.
Trend: Lower
Chart Structure: Poor

Get a few more calls from Mike on this weeks futures trading......Visit Here!

Mike Seery's Weekly Futures Recap - Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Gold, U.S. Dollar, Coffee, Sugar

Today it is time for a heads up from our trading partner Michael Seery. We've asked him to give our readers a recap of the last weeks futures markets and give us some insight on where he sees these markets headed. He has been Senior Analyst for close to 15 years and has extensive knowledge of all of the commodity and option markets.

Crude oil futures in the March contract are trading below their 20 and 100 day moving average hitting a contract and multi year low in Thursday’s trade before rallying this Friday currently trading at 28.10 a barrel up nearly $2 on massive short covering ending the week. Crude oil futures traded as low as 26.05 in Thursday’s trade only to rally, but this market certainly remains weak, but at the current time on sitting on the sidelines as the risk does not meet my criteria as the chart structure is very poor presently. As a trader you must think about probabilities of success and at the current time I’m only focused on the soft commodities as they have very tight chart structure with solid trends to the downside as crude oil remains choppy down these levels as the easy money to the downside has already been made in my opinion. The problem with crude oil is the fact that we have huge worldwide supplies as there is a possibility that the United States might be entering a recession due to the fact that the world has slowed down tremendously as global growth is a thing of the past in the short term.
Trend: Lower
Chart Structure: Poor

Get more of Mike Seery' Calls for this week....Just Visit Here

Natural gas futures in the March contract continue to head lower despite the fact of very cold temperatures in the Midwestern part of the United States currently trading at 1.98 as I’ve been recommending a short position from around the 2.14 level and if you took that trade continue place your stop loss at the 10 day high which now stands at 2.17 as the chart structure is outstanding at the present time. Natural gas prices are trading below their 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the short-term trend is to the downside as the long term now trend line is also intact so I remain short as I think there’s a possibility that we can retest the December 18th contract low around 191 as winter is almost behind us, therefore, demand could weaken even more. If you did not take the original trade wait for some type of price rally before entering, therefore, lowering risk as the 10 day high will not be lowered for another 9 days, so you’re going to have to be patient with the risk tolerance at this point. Natural gas prices are trending stronger on a weekly basis in my opinion as who knows how low prices could actually go.
Trend: Lower
Chart Structure: Outstanding

Gold prices experienced a wild trading week settling last Friday in New York at 1,157 an ounce while currently trading at 1,233 up around $75 for the trading week hitting a 1 year high as panic has struck the financial markets sending huge money flows into the interest rate market and precious metals. At the current time, I’m sitting on the sidelines in gold as the chart structure is terrible as the risk is huge at this point, but I’m certainly not recommending any type of bearish position as that would be counter trend so avoid this market at the present time. The S&P 500 has certainly propped up gold prices here in the short-term as gold prices are trading far above their 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the trend is to the upside as my only recommendation in the precious metals is silver. Gold is in overbought territory in my opinion as volatility is huge at the current time as we had over a $50 rally in Thursday’s trade as I think volatility will continue to remain high as there is so much uncertainty worldwide at the present time. The U.S dollar has also entered into a bearish trend topping out around the 100 level which is a fundamental bullish indicator towards gold prices.
Trend: Higher
Chart Structure: Poor

The U.S dollar in the March contract settled last Friday at 97.05 while currently trading at 96.12 continuing its bearish momentum as I missed this trade to the downside as I’m currently on sitting on the sidelines remaining bearish, but the chart structure and the risk/reward did not meet my criteria to enter into a short position. The dollar is trading below its 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the short term trend is to the downside as prices are right at a 4 month low due to the fact that the interest rates in the United States have been dropping dramatically, as lower rates mean a lower U.S dollar generally. Volatility in the dollar certainly has increased because of the stock market which is on a roller coaster ride daily sending shockwaves into currency markets as I’m looking to enter into a short position once the risk/reward is in my favor which could happen sometime next week so keep a close eye on this market as we could be entering into a new trade soon. The next major level of support is around 95.00 level and if that is broken, I think we can retest the 93 level in the coming weeks as it certainly looks to me that interest rates are even going lower as worldwide rates have turned negative in certain countries which is an amazing situation in my opinion.
Trend: Lower
Chart Structure: Poor

Coffee futures in the March contract are trading below their 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the short term trend is to the downside as this market remains extremely choppy and has been over the last 6 months as I’m sitting on the sidelines waiting for something to develop. Coffee settled last Friday in New York at 123.20 a pound while currently trading at 115.40 down about 800 points for the trading week as the commodity markets and especially the soft commodities remain weak in my opinion. However, a breakout has not occurred at the present time. Recently there has been very little fresh fundamental news to dictate short term price action as this is basically a technical trade, but keep an eye on this market as a breakout will occur in my opinion, so you are going to have to be patient as I do like trading the coffee market, but have not been involved for many months. As a trader you must be diversified for example sometimes the grain market or any other market might go sideways for a long period of time, so it’s tough to go to make money, however that’s why you must be diversified and look at all markets, as something is always developing, therefore, giving you a better chance of success in my opinion so keep a close eye on this market as I’m very hopeful one day we will be involved.
Trend: Lower
Chart Structure: Solid

Sugar futures in the May contract settled last Friday in New York at 13.14 a pound while currently trading at 13.12 basically unchanged for the trading week as I have been recommending a short position for several weeks and if you took the original trade we were short the March contract and now we have rolled over into the May contract while now placing your stop loss above the 10 day high which stands around 13.50 as chart structure is outstanding at the present time. Sugar prices are right near a 4 month low as one of my main reasons for selling this market was the fact of a rounding top on the daily chart taking about 3 months to occur, but as a trader, you must have patience as this paid off here in the short-term. The chart structure at the current time is outstanding as the 10 day low will not be lowered for another 7 days, so you’re going to have to be patient with the risk situation, as the next major level of support is around 12.75 and if that is broken I think we could test the contract low around 11.50 so remain short in my opinion as I still see no reason to own many of the commodities as currently I’m short cocoa, cotton, and, of course, the sugar market.
Trend: Lower
Chart Structure: Excellant

Get our latest FREE eBook "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here!

Mike Seerys Weekly Natural Gas Futures Recap

Our trading partner Michael Seery is back with his weekly recap of the Futures market. He has been a senior analyst for close to 15 years and has extensive knowledge of all of the commodity and option markets.

Natural gas futures in the June contract settled last Friday at 2.68 while currently trading at 2.56 down around 12 points for the trading week as I have been recommending a short position in the last several weeks as this trade has basically gone sideways to slightly lower and if you took the original recommendation place your stop loss above the 10 day high which currently stands at 2.73 risking around 17 points or $425 per mini contract plus slippage and commission and if you are trading the March contract the risk would be $1,700 plus slippage and commission as the chart structure is outstanding at the current time.

Here's more calls from Mike on Oats. gold, corn, wheat, soybeans and more!

Many of the commodity markets were lower this afternoon, however average temperatures in the Midwestern part of the United States are dragging natural gas prices lower with the next major resistance around 2.50 so continue to play this to the downside and take advantage of any rallies as the chart structure is outstanding allowing you to place a very tight stop therefore lowering monetary risk as prices are still trading below their 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the trend is to the downside as prices closed at the weekly low.
Trend: Lower
Chart Structure: Excellent

Get our latest FREE eBook "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here!

The Crazy Man’s Guide to the Bond Market

By John Mauldin

I invite you to inspect the following chart of 10 year interest rates in the US. If you don’t have a lot of experience with these things, let me clue you in: This is a very scary looking chart. It’s a classic head and shoulders bottom in yields.

If you’re one of those people who’s scornful of technical analysis, don’t be. Now, I don’t pay much attention to complicated stuff like Elliott Wave or Gann Angles, but there are some very basic technical formations that work reliably most of the time.

I had the good fortune of taking out a mortgage when 10-year rates were at 1.9%, which goes to show that the only time you get to top-tick stuff is by accident.

Now, this is actually not the low in yields. 10 year yields got to 1.4% a few years ago.

Of course, interest rates are even lower in Europe. Take Germany, for example:

I think that these interest rates (which are at 700 year lows in Europe) signify a bubble. Other people don’t, though—they point to x, y, and z as signs of deflation.

I’m very weary of the inflation/deflation argument. A lot of people lost a lot of money betting on inflation when there were obvious signs of inflation (QE). And I fear that a lot of people will lose a lot of money betting on deflation when there are obvious signs of deflation.

I’m a trader at heart, and I try not to get too attached to my views. I pay attention to price. And right now, the price action is telling me that the bond market might be in trouble.

Central Banks Buy High and Sell Low

The first thing you need to know about central banks is that they are the worst traders in the world. The worst. Probably the most famous example in the modern era was the Bank of England under Gordon Brown’s leadership puking its gold holdings—on the absolute lows, between 1999 and 2002. The idea was they had this gold sitting there not generating any yield, so why not sell the gold and buy paper that would generate some yield?

Whoops…..

A less famous example of bad trading by public officials would be the US Treasury’s decision to issue floating rate debt. Now, if the government has floating-rate liabilities, it should want interest rates to stay low, right?.......Whoops!

The all-time lows in rates. To the exact day.

So with all this in mind, don’t you think it’s interesting that the ECB is going to buy European debt—at 700-year low yields? At negative yields, in some cases? Central banks do not buy things on the lows. They buy things on the highs.

Of course, the ECB is not trying to make money on these transactions. Which is the whole point!

The Worst Investors in US History Strike Again

Betting on the end of what is a 30 year interest rate cycle is not a productive use of our time. This bond market has claimed the careers of many investors. It reportedly hastened the retirement of Stan Druckenmiller, arguably the greatest investor of all time, who bet against bonds heavily, thinking yields could not go any lower. They did.

Let me impart some wisdom here: The first rule of finance is that there are no rules in finance. Nothing works all the time. My favorite dumb rule of finance is the one that says your percentage allocation in bonds should be equal to your age. So if you are 60, you should be 60% in bonds.

My guess is that if interest rates rise 2%-3%, people won’t be saying that anymore.

You know what I worry about? I worry about the baby boomers. I worry about this generation, the worst investors in US history, who got carried out in the tech bear market in 2000 and got caned in the financial crisis of 2008, and after having been hammered twice in the span of 10 years in the stock market, went all-in on bonds.

Why? Bonds are safe. Everyone knows stocks are not safe.

Now, in retirement, none of these people expect their bond mutual funds to get cut in half, which would happen if interest rates went up about 3% - 5%.

Imagine if they did!

The disclaimer to all of this is that I’ve been a bond bear for many years, and I’ve been wrong. But for the first time, I think we have something approaching consensus that yields will stay low forever. People who think interest rates are going up are starting to sound crazy. I am starting to sound crazy. That probably means I’m close to being right.

If 10 year rates get above 3%, the previous high, we will know for sure. If that happens, pick up the Batphone, call the White House, sell everything. Why?

If you are still ignoring charts when they are making higher lows and higher highs, God help you.


Jared Dillian

The article The 10th Man: The Crazy Man’s Guide to the Bond Market was originally published at mauldineconomics.com.

Get out latest FREE eBooK "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here

Gold Still In Bear Cycle?

Well, not a merry Christmas for Gold buyers just yet. We have said in our TMTF forecast service to watch 1190 as KEY support and 1241 would also need to be taken out on a closing basis before we could confirm a new uptrend in Gold and the end to the 5 wave bear cycle. Not quite yet, and in fact in my stock service we have avoided Gold stocks entirely even with the recent temptations to get long because Gold to us is key.

If we are not over 1241 then we are not buyers of Gold equities, plain and simple. With 5000 stocks to choose from, why not stick with the sectors that are in the stronger uptrends and avoid those mired in the mud like Gold? For example you could be looking at Security stocks given all the cyber attacks worldwide that are only getting worse. Gold is money as we all know, but a downtrend is a downtrend. Trust what you see, not what you think for best results.

So right now the problem is we just gave up the 1190 support and the 30 week MA line on the weekly chart is your guide for key resistance to take out. We remain in the sidelines until its taken out. The chart below shows the blue line with the 30 week Moving average resistance, and you can use this same chart for the uptrend in the SP 500 which we have used recently for our subscribers as well. Don’t suffer from history bias and the hay days of Gold stocks and Gold, which ended in 2011…wait for the next Hay days to arrive, watch the 30 week moving average line before acting.



The SP 500 meanwhile is in wave 3 up from 1973 38% shallow wave 2 lows. That was a quick correction and the waves now are likely to be faster and shorter as we are in Primary wave 5 of this bull cycle, the last stages of the Bull if I’m right. 2131-2138 is your bogey ahead for first Fibonacci pivot resistance on the way to the 2181 target I had out over a month or so ago.

Join us with a 33% holiday discount at Market Trend Forecast

Ray aka the Crude Oil Trader


Get out latest FREE eBooK "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here

Mike Seerys Weekly Crude Oil Market Recap for Week Ending Friday December 19th

Crude oil futures in the February contract are up $3 this Friday afternoon in New York currently trading at 57.40 after settling last Friday around 58.08 a barrel finishing down nearly $1 for the trading week and traded as low as 53.94 before slightly rallying as oversupply and lack of demand continue to push oil prices to 5 year lows.

If you’re still short this market I would continue to place my stop above the 10 day high which in Monday’s trade will be 64.35 risking around 700 points or $7,000 per contract plus slippage and commission, however the chart structure will improve on a daily basis as the 10 day high will be lowered significantly in the next several days.

Get more commodity calls from our trading partner Mike Seery......Just Click Here

This has been one of the best trends in recent memory as prices have basically collapsed in recent weeks ever since OPEC announced that they will not cut production on Thanksgiving Day which sent prices sharply lower as there is also huge supplies here in the U.S. so who knows how low prices can go as I still highly recommended not to be buying this market so if you are currently not short I would sit on the sidelines and look for a market with better chart structure and less risk.

Crude oil futures are trading far below their 20 and 100 day moving average as consumers around the country are certainly benefiting from lower oil prices at the pump which is also good for the stock market in my opinion as volatility in oil is as high as I’ve ever seen it so be careful as volatility is here to stay.
Trend: Lower
Chart structure: Improving

Get our latest FREE eBook "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here!

Paper Gold and Its Effect on the Gold Price

By Bud Conrad, Chief Economist

Gold dropped to new lows of $1,130 per ounce last week. This is surprising because it doesn’t square with the fundamentals. China and India continue to exert strong demand on gold, and interest in bullion coins remains high.

I explained in my October article in The Casey Report that the Comex futures market structure allows a few big banks to supply gold to keep its price contained. I call the gold futures market the “paper gold” market because very little gold actually changes hands. $360 billion of paper gold is traded per month, but only $279 million of physical gold is delivered. That’s a 1,000-to-1 ratio:

Market Statistics for the 100-oz Gold Futures Contract on Comex
	Value ($M)
Monthly volume (Paper Trade)	$360,000
Open Interest All Contracts	$45,600
Warehouse-Registered Gold (oz)	$1,140
Physical Delivery per Month	$279
House Account Net Delivery, monthly	$41

We know that huge orders for paper gold can move the price by $20 in a second. These orders often exceed the CME stated limit of 6,000 contracts. Here’s a close view from October 31, when the sale of 2,365 contracts caused the gold price to plummet and forced the exchange to close for 20 seconds:

Many argue that the net long term effect of such orders is neutral, because every position taken must be removed before expiration. But that’s actually not true. The big players can hold hundreds of contracts into expiration and deliver the gold instead of unwinding the trade. Net, big banks can drive down the price by delivering relatively small amounts of gold.

A few large banks dominate the delivery process. I grouped the seven biggest players below to show that all the other sources are very small. Those seven banks have the opportunity to manage the gold price:

After gold’s big drop in October, I analyzed the October delivery numbers. The concentration was even more severe than I expected:

This chart shows that an amazing 98.5% of the gold delivered to the Comex in October came from just three banks: Barclays; Bank of Nova Scotia; and HSBC. They delivered this gold from their in house trading accounts.

The concentration was even worse on the other side of the trade—the side taking delivery. Barclays took 98% of all deliveries for customers. It could be all one customer, but it’s more likely that several customers used Barclays to clear their trades. Either way, notice that Barclays delivered 455 of those contracts from its house account to its own customers.

The opportunity for distorting the price of gold in an environment with so few players is obvious. Barclays knows 98% of the buyers and is supplying 35% of the gold. That’s highly concentrated, to say the least. And the amounts of gold we’re talking about are small—a bank could tip the supply by 10% by adding just 100 contracts. That amounts to only 10,000 ounces, which is worth a little over $11 million—a rounding error to any of these banks. These numbers are trivial.

Note that the big banks were delivering gold from their house accounts, meaning they were selling their own gold outright. In other words, they were not acting neutrally. These banks accounted for all but 19 of the contracts sold. That’s a position of complete dominance. Actually, it’s beyond dominance. These banks are the market.

My point is that this market is much too easily rigged , and that the warnings about manipulation are valid. At some point, too many customers will demand physical delivery and there will be a big crash. Long contracts will be liquidated with cash payouts because there won’t be enough gold to deliver. I saw a few squeezes in my 20 years trading futures, including gold. In my opinion, the futures market is not safe.

The tougher question is: for how long will big banks’ dominance continue to pressure gold down?

Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer. Vigilant regulators would help, but “futures market regulators” is almost an oxymoron. The actions of the CFTC and the Comex, not to mention how MF Global was handled, suggest that there has been little pressure on regulators to fix this obvious problem.

This quote from a recent Financial Times article does give some reason for optimism, however:

UBS is expected to strike a settlement over alleged trader misbehaviour at its precious metals desks with at least one authority as part of a group deal over forex with multiple regulators this week, two people close to the situation said. … The head of UBS’s gold desk in Zurich, André Flotron, has been on leave since January for reasons unspecified by the lender…..

The FCA fined Barclays £26m in May after an options trader was found to have manipulated the London gold fix.

Germany’s financial regulator BaFin has launched a formal investigation into the gold market and is probing Deutsche Bank, one of the former members of a tarnished gold fix panel that will soon be replaced by an electronic fixing.

The latter two banks are involved with the Comex.

Eventually, the physical gold market could overwhelm the smaller but more closely watched U.S. futures delivery market. Traders are already moving to other markets like Shanghai, which could accelerate that process. You might recall that I wrote about JP Morgan (JPM) exiting the commodities business, which I thought might help bring some normalcy back to the gold futures markets. Unfortunately, other banks moved right in to pick up JPM’s slack.

Banks can’t suppress gold forever. They need physical gold bullion to continue the scheme, and there’s just not as much gold around as there used to be. Some big sources, like the Fed’s stash and the London Bullion Market, are not available. The GLD inventory is declining.

If a big player like a central bank started to use the Comex to expand its gold holdings, it could overwhelm the Comex’s relatively small inventories. Warehouse stocks registered for delivery on the Comex exchange have declined to only 870,000 ounces (8,700 contracts). Almost that much can be demanded in one month: 6,281 contracts were delivered in August.

The big banks aren’t stupid. They will see these problems coming and can probably induce some holders to add to the supplies, so I’m not predicting a crisis from too many speculators taking delivery. But a short squeeze could definitely lead to huge price spikes. It could even lead to a collapse in the confidence in the futures system, which would drive gold much higher.

Signs of high physical demand from China, India, and small investors buying coins from the mint indicate that gold prices should be rising. The GOFO rate (London Gold Forward Offered rate) went negative, indicating tightness in the gold market. Concerns about China’s central bank wanting to de-dollarize its holdings should be adding to the interest in gold.

In other words, it doesn’t add up. I fully expect currency debasement to drive gold higher, and I continue to own gold. I’m very confident that the fundamentals will drive gold much higher in the long term. But for now, I don’t know when big banks will lose their ability to manage the futures market.

Oddities in the gold market have been alleged by many for quite some time, but few know where to start looking, and even fewer have the patience to dig out the meaningful bits from the mountain of market data available. Casey Research Chief Economist Bud Conrad is one of those few—and he turns his keen eye to every sector in order to find the smart way to play it.

This is the kind of analysis that’s especially important in this period of uncertainty and volatility… and you can put Bud’s expertise—along with the other skilled analysts’ talents—to work for you by taking a risk-free test-drive of The Casey Report right now.

The article Paper Gold and Its Effect on the Gold Price was originally published at casey research

Get our latest FREE eBook "Understanding Options"....Just Click Here!