As an options trader, I search for certain qualities in the charts. Knowing that time is against me when I buy options, I want a chart that shows some quick price movement in a short period of time. It’s very tough to find, and when there is not a catalyst to drive a price higher…
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Excerpted from an article by Abigail Stevenson on CNBC – @A_StevensonCNBC Jim Cramer considers transportation stocks to be one of the most important groups. Investors always need to watch them, because when transports outperform, that means commerce is strong and vice versa. This one little group can give a powerful read on what’s happening with…
DetailsInvestors and traders are once again trying to game the Fed by figuring out its next move. Unfortunately, this combination game of “chicken” and “musical chairs” only does one thing: put the players on edge. Of course, no one wants to be left holding the bag when everyone rushes out the exit doors, but no…
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During today’s webinar, we reviewed the current market structure. In short, the shaky markets have really thrown us off – and it appears that their shakiness has taken on a violent tone. It’s been a very tough market as volatility is low and option prices are cheap, but the market is not moving accordingly. I…
DetailsIt is often difficult for us to separate a good company from a good stock. Take Google (GOOG) as a prime example. As a consumer, I use Google multiple times a day – and not just for search. They have some really fantastic tools that I use all the time, too. But as traders and…
DetailsRedHat Software (RHT) is a resilient company that has been around since the dotcom days of the go-go 1990’s. They have persevered, changing with the environment, and now they are thriving in the new cloud space with some great offerings and services. Last week, they once again beat estimates and guided earnings and offered a…
DetailsThe Interwebs were lit up with talk yesterday regarding the new blog of former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, currently at the Brookings Institute. Mr. Bernanke wrote his first blog about interest rates, clearly defending the role of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) during his tenure. Make no mistake, Bernanke and his colleagues were going…
DetailsMany of us traders are trained to look for tops and bottoms and game the markets accordingly. Though it makes sense on the surface, these are not smart options trading strategies. Playing “tops and bottoms” is generally a loser’s game (more on this below); following through after seeing a top or bottom take place can…
DetailsToday I’d like to take a look at the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) chart to see if I can glean any insight into the current price action. When I view a chart, I like to look for patterns. After the V-shaped bottom was put in in December, we went into a multimonth period of consolidation…
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Before bringing my guest Mike Khouw into the conversation during today’s webinar, I talked about the recent volatile action. Yes, it’s been a roller coaster ride, but that’s really not much of a surprise this year. Given the amount of selling Wednesday, it stood to reason we might get some follow-on selling, and we did.…
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