With the beginning of a new year upon us, it is the perfect time to reflect on your trading over the past year, dig in to see what worked and fix what didn’t work, and look at how to improve your trading in the new year. As we all know, last year was a very…
DetailsTrading and investing can be a tough and lonely business, witness the challenges presented in the year 2015. Markets were mostly down, commodities like oil and gold were hammered but some stocks rose sharply, like Netflix and Amazon (the two best performers in the SPX 500). If you were bearish commodities during the year you…
DetailsMicrosoft is one of those “old” tech names that many traders consider boring. Well, sometimes boring is profitable and a worthwhile investment. The stock is up strong for 2015, and it even reached a multi-year high a week ago. Volume trends are strong as institutions accumulate the stock, and relative strength is impressive – the…
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Trading and investing is a tricky business. If you’re on your game, you’ll get far more trades right than wrong. Sometimes the ego gets in the way of a clear mind and you end up holding trades longer than you should. There will be losses; it’s just part of the game. However, unlike gambling in…
DetailsBiotechs have been some of the most volatile stocks in 2015, and Illumina has definitely been one of those. After dropping precipitously in September, it has made its way back toward the 200 ma for the third time. The time, though, Illumina may push through heavy resistance. (It’s worth keeping in mind that this name is barely…
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The first thing the market did following the first Fed rate hike in nine years was breathe a sigh of relief – and then react. In a perverse way, the market seemed to be applauding a tightened policy, which is counter to what we have seen for years. Sure, the near-zero interest rate policy (ZIRP)…
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Options Trading Webinar: How To Use Our Trading Chat Room To Bank Big Wins You’ve heard about our trading chat room. You’ve read stories about the big wins that members have cashed in on over the past two years. During this week’s options trading webinar, you get to hear from directly Explosive Option’s Chat Room members,…
DetailsDefensive names, like Kimberly Clark, Coca Cola, and Procter & Gamble, are great plays when growth and high beta names are being sold like hot cakes. These types of stocks do not lose much value, even when markets are volatile. Additionally, when money is flowing out of growth and beta names, it tends to flow…
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I often say there are a million reasons to sell, but only one reason to buy. Last week, it seemed that any reason to sell was a good, valid one, and boy, were the sellers out in full force. Time for a little stock market analysis to understand what’s going on. Poor price action and…
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Options Trading Webinar: How to Analyze Volume and Option Flow As a technician, I always have one eye trained on several indicators. They are indispensable guides for my success as an options trader, which is why I blog and talk about them so much. Because I already covered two favorites during previous webinars – sentiment and…
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