The market just will not go up. I didn't have time to post yesterday but the market was up but could not hold its gains. Today the Dow was down 80 points on good volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. A bounce has been due and overdue. When it can't bounce, and is nearing the zero line on the summation index, we could actually crash. I mean completely fall apart. This is the scenario at this time. My GE trades will not work. I tried to sell the April calls but with GE down 50 cents today there is no bid. It could be a total loss. This trade will not work, it is a loser. Perhaps if the bounce that never comes happens, I can cut the loss. Sometimes you just get it wrong and that is the case here. The indicators just stayed oversold and that doesn't usually happen. The year ending in 5 looks like it is all wet. Oh well. Gold didn't move much today and the dollar was weaker. Again, confusing action. The gold shares continue to sell off. This is one of those rare times when nothing seems to be working properly. I should be flat and just in cash if I had any brains. But part of me wants to believe that a rally is coming as March ends and that we are at the lows of the year. But it just doesn't look good. All signs are pointing down and there is not much I can do about it. Employment number on Friday and that could really send us over the edge. It's all a guess at this point.

An off Friday. I did check my past McClellan oscillator readings. Previously when the oscillator got into the -300 level there were good rallies from that area. We got there on Wednesday. This was one of the reasons for taking on the GE trades. Also in the year ending in 5 theory, the lows for the year were always set in the 1st quarter, when there was a down start to the year as was the case this year. So I would expect some type of rally attempt next week even though I am very wary of these trades. I want to get out of the April GE trade as soon as possible. At least that's the thinking at this point. It could all change next week.

The market just will not go up. Down another 13 points on the Dow with light volume for a pre-holiday weekend. Advance/declines were positive but at one point we were up 60 points. Now I'm worried. We could go into crash mode. I hope I'm wrong. GE announced higher guidance and could only gain a quarter. The April calls look like they're not going to work. I'll give it another week or so but it isn't looking good. The year ending in 5 theory will be tested next week. We'll see what happens. Gold barely moved but the XAU lost around another point. It was a tough 4 days for the gold stocks. We shall see if that long term trendline holds up but it isn't looking good. I might try something there though. Probably shouldn't but a bounce at least, right? Except I've been looking for a bounce in the market and that hasn't happened either. Well there is a long weekend now. A chance to regroup and rethink just exactly what I've been doing. I'm playing golf on Monday also, so the post could be late or not at all. It looks like Monday will be another down day based on todays action. Who knows? Time for some rest...

A very interesting market. The Dow was down again, this time by 15 points. Volume was extremely heavy again at over 2 billion shares. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 negative. An oil refinery in Texas blew up today. Can things get any worse? Who would be buying calls in this atmosphere? Me, I guess. I purchased some more GE calls, this time going out to May. I really think that the decline is over right around here. The McClellan oscillator will hit over a minus 300 reading today. This is rare. It defines an extremely oversold market. I doubt we can go much lower here short term. Any bounce and I will probably get out of the GE April calls. I don't know if that trade is going to work. I'd like to get some OEX calls here short term if I had the guts. But I guess I have enough on my mind with GE. Gold was down 5 bucks and all the gold shares got slammed again on heavy volume. The major players are exiting gold here and you just can't fight that. The dollar was higher again and I will wait for it to get to 85 before considering gold again. Unless we break the major gold uptrend lines and then I will simply stay away. This has been a pretty intense week so far and thankfully it will end tomorrow. Perhaps will leave an overnight trade in the OEX.

Down again. The Dow lost 95 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative again. I don't know what to say. I thought at least a bounce was due. It hasn't come. That makes me worry. Perhaps we are going to freefall. We broke an important weekly uptrend line today. We will have to see where the week ends. The Fed rose another quarter and said it was worried about inflation. That did it. GE lost fifty cents and the calls I have didn't move because they are so far out of the money. Perhaps this is a loser, it sure looks and feels that way. I do believe in the year ending in 5 theory as I explained earlier today. But we will have to turn it around soon. Gold did not move during the regular session but dropped after the Fed announcement. We are right at the long term uptrend line. It doesn't look like it will hold. That will change my thinking on a lot of things. But it hasn't happened yet. Interesting times. I'd like to have the guts to step up and buy some gold calls here but I'll wait until a base is built. Hopefully. Only 2 days left this week and I see no reason to buy stocks. We could be in major trouble here. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

I did not get a chance to post yesterday as I left a half hour early to play some golf. We were down about 65 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. The McClellan oscillator is way oversold and I purchased some GE calls for April. They are far out of the money. I am relying on the fact that we should start to at least bounce here. I also am counting on the year ending in 5 theory which reaches its low for the year in the first quarter and then has a pretty good rise off of that. My guess is we are at that point here. Gold lost over $8 and the dollar was stronger. All the gold shares lost ground. However we are approaching an uptrend line for gold itself and I might possibly get long when we reach that line. It's risky but I think it could work. I also might stay patient and wait for May on gold. Not sure yet. The Fed announces today in about an hour or so. I'll be back later. Every once in a while you've got to get out and clear your head to come back fresh in this game. That is what I tried to do yesterday.

The Dow lost 3 points on an expiration heavy volume Friday. We were down a lot more earlier. Advance/declines were negative. We will bounce on Monday or Tuesday. We have to. Very oversold right here. I am also getting some signs that we could be approaching a major bottom. The indicators are looking that way even though there is a lot of negative talk around. Gold was up just a little today but the XAU was down a point. NEM was actually up and ABX dropped which is a switch from the usual activity. I'm not sure how much of todays action was expiration related for the gold shares. The dollar was higher again and we are near a downtrend line, short term. Inflation reports and the Fed next week, so although it is a short week it could be an important one. I'd like to get long gold again but not sure. However I will probably do something if I deem an opportunity is at hand. Sometimes the month before taxes on April 15th just moves sideways. I've seen it before in the past. So perhaps patience is a necessity here. Tough game to play. Also the option premiums will be higher due to the time remaining. So I will try and be careful. I will check things over the weekend and get back here next week. I'm playing golf Monday so the posting will be later than usual.

The Dow was down 6 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. The market could not make up its mind which way to go today. The overall market was better than the Dow. We need a bounce because we are way oversold. If we don't get a decent bounce, I would be very worried about a collapse. That's just a guess but we need some upside soon in my opinion. Gold lost $5 today but the gold shares hung in there. The XAU was up fractionally. When something like this happens it is usually a good sign for the gold stocks. Nobody wants to sell. I do not have a good buy signal here but I do want to get long ABX or NEM. I almost did today for a one day play but thankfully did not. I will roll into April if an opportunity presents itself. I'm trying to stay patient but it might move up without me. Hopefully not. It is a tough call. ABX really looks like it needs to back off before a long play can be started. The indicators are not where they were for the last trade, which I was very confident about. The dollar was higher today which again makes the action in the gold shares interesting. Perhaps it is just an expiration related event. That's what makes it difficult. I don't know if there is an expectation of higher prices which is causing players not to sell or if it is just an expiration week thing. Staying out for now but do want back in. No plays on the OEX here, although I would have liked to have the guts to get some calls. Maybe next week but the time factor will be in play. More tomorrow.

The Dow was down 6 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. The market could not make up its mind which way to go today. The overall market was better than the Dow. We need a bounce because we are way oversold. If we don't get a decent bounce, I would be very worried about a collapse. That's just a guess but we need some upside soon in my opinion. Gold lost $5 today but the gold shares hung in there. The XAU was up fractionally. When something like this happens it is usually a good sign for the gold stocks. Nobody wants to sell. I do not have a good buy signal here but I do want to get long ABX or NEM. I almost did today for a one day play but thankfully did not. I will roll into April if an opportunity presents itself. I'm trying to stay patient but it might move up without me. Hopefully not. It is a tough call. ABX really looks like it needs to back off before a long play can be started. The indicators are not where they were for the last trade, which I was very confident about. The dollar was higher today which again makes the action in the gold shares interesting. Perhaps it is just an expiration related event. That's what makes it difficult. I don't know if there is an expectation of higher prices which is causing players not to sell or if it is just an expiration week thing. Staying out for now but do want back in. No plays on the OEX here, although I would have liked to have the guts to get some calls. Maybe next week but the time factor will be in play. More tomorrow.

I'm back at this lame site because the one I just signed up for doesn't even have spellcheck. I'll continue to search when I can find the time. The Dow lost over 100 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. Important uptrendlines have been broken and the trend is down. That said, we are way oversold here and a bounce is to be expected. I've been saying that for awhile but it will happen in the next 2 days before expiration. Gold was up $3 today and the XAU was up almost a point. Volume was light though and the news today should have spawned a decent gold share rally. I've canceled whatever open orders I had for NEM calls. NEM was actually down today. ABX continues to show relative strength but the technicals are all overbought. The dollar was down today. My thinking at this point is to hopefully sit tight for the rest of this week and perhaps get long gold next week. Next week is a shortened holiday week. I expect volume to be light. There are some inflation reports coming out though. I still think the trend is up for gold but we need a pause here. I could be wrong and often have been. Just trying to stay disciplined at this time. Patience is key but it's hard to do.

Just lost my blog again. Tired of it. Looking for a new site.

The Dow lost 55 points on average volume today. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative. I again wanted to purchase some OEX calls today. We are oversold. But the market closed on its low today and the summation index continues downward. I am lucky I didn't but any calls but I feel we are due for a bounce. I am going to stay out though. 3 days until expiration. Gold didn't move much and neither did the gold shares. I canceled the March order for NEM calls and left in the April one. But I might cancel that one too, depending on where we go from here. I would still like to perhaps take a chance on an expiration play here. Not sure and it would probably be better to just go on out to April at this point. But I'm not ruling anything out. The dollar was slightly higher today. The current account deficit report for the 4th quarter comes out tomorrow. I think it will be a dollar mover but it is too late now and the gold options remained pricey. Getting back to the overall market, I think we broke the uptrend line today and that is not a positive. I might be able to get short if we have a snapback to that line. But some of the signals are mixed. I'm on the sidelines for now, trying to remain disciplined and patient.

Late post today as the Dow was down 30 points. Advance/declines were slightly positive and the volume was Monday light. I wanted to get some calls today, as we are right at an uptrend line. But I didn't. The summation index is still pointing down. But put buying has really increased here, which leads me to believe the market will bounce here. Gold was down $5. The XAU sold off early but came back to be down only a point. NEM and ABX came back as well but both posted losses. The dollar was stronger. I have an order for some NEM calls for March and April. Not sure about these. I will probably cancel the March order tomorrow, there are only 4 days left. The stochastic has rolled over. Perhaps should wait on the April calls also. I'm not sure but the weekly charts still have more room so I'm thinking this is just a pause in the uptrend. Again, I'm not sure. The prudent thing to do here would be to just sit it out this week. I think that is the proper strategy. Maybe I will. Account deficit number is out on Wednesday and could move the dollar. I think Greenspan talks sometime this week also. Kinda tired now. More tomorrow.

Dow down 77 points on Friday to close the week. The volume was lighter than usual and the advance/declines were negative. Today we broke some up trendlines. It's not a good sign. That said, we are oversold and a bounce is due. I almost bought some OEX calls today and might in the beginning of next week. The trade number came out but the dollar did not decline that much. Gold was up over $3 but the XAU barely moved. When that happens we are usually due for a pause in gold. ABX was up around a quarter but NEM hardly moved. It gets tricky now for these issues but I still believe in the uptrend. I am trying to be patient and wait for a pullback below 100 on the XAU to get long again. I might also try a very short term trade in gold next week, which happens to be expiration week. The better idea may be to go out to April on the calls. As for the OEX, the summation index has rolled over and any purchase of calls must have a tight stop-loss order. I probably should just wait for an opening to short it. I haven't made up my mind. When I don't have a position, I really want one because I love to play the game. But that is an issue I must fight when there is no clear signal or reason to enter the market. I'll check things over the weekend and then determine a strategy for the next week and beyond.

Seems like this site is having problems again. The Dow was up 45 points on good volume. Advance/declines were negative though. I guess I am going to look to short it here soon. Summation index pointing down. Gold did not move today but the XAU was down over a point. I was stopped out this morning on my NEM calls. I knew I should have just sold them yesterday. I still am having trouble on the exiting of positions. My greed needs to be worked on. Although the gain was over 100% the entry and the exit were both terrible. I chased it going in and I held too long getting out. You cannot be happy with actions like that. More often than not you will lose money. I now have no positions but I will be looking to get long gold again, perhaps a quick trade for next week. The dollar didn't do much today ahead of tomorrows trade number. I will perhaps remain flat over the weekend. My mood is not a good one at this point and I really need to keep my emotions in check. There are still opportunities to be taken advantage of. I'd like to see gold back off here a bit but you never know. Hopefully this thing will post.

The Dow got clocked today, down over 105 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were 4 to 1 negative. Haven't seen action like that in a while. This will turn the summation index down and a sell signal is in place. It didn't last too long the last time this happened. We'll see what happens this time. Oil was over $55 for a while and bonds got a mention for selling off. The dollar was weaker today but gold did not move. The XAU was up half a point and NEM rose around a quarter. But ABX, which has been leading, dropped and formed a doji on the daily charts. I think this part of the move could be over. The NEM calls are still in the black and I moved up the stop-loss order. But I am getting the feeling that I should have dumped them today. The trade number looms large on Friday. But with everyone focused on it, I fear it could be a non event. The ABX action concerns me. Looking back buying some puts on the OEX on Friday would have been a good move. There was a sell signal on one of my indicators. Perhaps I was spending too much time on gold, which probably was the case. Trading is a tough game. I am still, after all these years, working on my game. There are no easy answers. Hard work is what it takes and there is always room for improvement.

The Dow was down around 25 points on average volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative, suggesting more weakness than the Dow shows. There is support on the OEX around 580-581 and we closed at 582 and change. Now I can't say for sure which way we are going to go here. Most indicators are overbought but we all know that they can stay that way for awhile. Gold was up around $5 today. ABX and NEM were both up pretty good on heavy volume. My NEM calls are in the black. I am trying not to look back at the ABX calls that I sold last week but of course I must. Sure they are worth more now but at the time it looked like selling was the right thing to do. In hindsight, I probably should have held on to the April call since they had plenty of time left on them. I'll try and remember that for the next time. The dollar fell and is at support of 82. It should hold on here but there are no guarantees. The trade number on Friday will be a mover one way or the other. I'll probably hold on until then but the media is already talking about it so it might be a sell the news event. Gold is also $10 away from the resistance at $450. I we somehow can break through there, more money can be made on the long side of gold. I think we will get through there but I don't know when. For now it is a matter of holding on and paying attention. Gold and the gold shares are overbought here. Always decisions must be weighed and made. Making or losing money is secondary to trading properly and making the right decisions. That may not sound right but I really think it is. Trade well and the rewards will be there. Concentrate on the trading and the profits will take care of themselves.

This blog site continues to disappoint. If for some reason this does not get posted, I am moving. The Dow lost 3 points on light volume. Advance/declines were slightly positive. The market was higher earlier in the day but could not hold on. Perhaps we are due for a rest. I am not sure. Gold was up fractionally but the XAU sold off about a point. We have been turned back at resistance, which is 100 for this index. ABX and NEM were down. It feels like gold is about to roll over. My NEM calls are right back to where I purchased them. The stop-loss is still in place and I think this trade will be a loser. I hope I'm wrong but it looks like the stochastic is about to head down. The is a negative divergence on the RSI with ABX also. If however, we can get through 100 on the XAU, NEM will follow and the calls will be profitable. I'm not sure that will happen though. The dollar was slightly higher today. Weekly trend is still down. Trade number is out on Friday and that seems a long way away today. I don't know if the calls will hold up that long. I don't have any other trades on the horizon and need to do some research to find some new ideas. The COMPQ had a good day today and has been lagging recently. Perhaps it will get moving up again and I could look for something there. But my last trade with INTC was a loser, so I am hesitant to test those waters again. Not much else for today, but gold needs to pick it up here or else.

Rally round the employment report. Dow up over 100 points to new highs for the year. Advance/declines over 3 to 1 positive and good volume again. Looks like the year ending in 5 pattern could have legs. Long way to go though. No OEX positions. Gold was up $4 as the dollar weakened even with a good jobs report. Confusing but we shall just listen to the market. The XAU was up over 2 and 1/2 points and is again right at the resistance of 100. Volume wasn't spectacular for the gold shares. ABX continues to outperform and has broken above $25. In hindsight of course I would still like to be a holder of those calls I had. But at the time, I had to take the profit. The NEM calls I have are slightly in the black. And sure, I could have gotten some more cheaper yesterday. I'll hold them for now but I can't say I'm excited about them. The summation index should be pointing to the upside again. We aren't near overbought yet, so 11000 could be in the cards for the Dow. It is the weekend and I will try and take a break and rethink this NEM position. I've got to try and come up with some type of gameplan for the next 2 weeks. I can't say I'm as bullish as I was a few weeks ago. My thoughts are scattered at this point.

For whatever reason yesterdays blog did not post. This site is quite disappointing at times. Needless to say yesterdays post was important. I now have a small position in NEM March calls. I chased an intraday move and I think this trade is a loser. NEM was down over a half today with the XAU down over a point. Gold lost more than $2. ABX is showing good relative strength here and if anything, that was the issue to trade on the long side. Today the Dow was up over 20 points on positive advance/declines. Volume was strong again, which is a good sign. Oil was up around $54 and the dollar was slightly stronger. The employment report is out tomorrow and it should be a market mover. Which way is anybodies guess. I do not have a clear signal on the OEX here so no trades there for now. The XAU will have to have a nice up day tomorrow or the trend will have changed I believe. My stop loss order is in but I'm hoping this thing will turn around. Needless to say I could have gotten the NEM calls cheaper if I hadn't been so stupid. It's a humbling game and one that doesn't reward impatience. As always I am working on my trading skills for there is a lot of work there to be done. I will be looking for a different blogging site after yesterdays lost post.

Up over 60 points today on good volume. Advance /declines solidly positive. It has the looks of wanting to break to new yearly highs. We shall see. I'll try not to short it here. Greenspan is speaking somewhere tomorrow and the market may key on that. Don't know. Gold was down over $3 today and the XAU lost over 2 points. I suppose a short term top is in place, perhaps even a significant one. But I'm sticking with the short term scenario unless the dollar really starts to rally. I've got support at 95 for the XAU and 24 for ABX. ABX lost over half a point today. The calls I had dropped. I am still fuming over not getting better prices for them yesterday. I suppose I was lucky to realize what going on and at least got out of them. But there is no glory. I should have done better. The results were about a 300% gain for the March calls and around a 320% gain for the April ones. The Aprils were bought just at the right time as I was a bit early for Marches or the gain would have been more. I have turned around the mistakes of the end of last year and January. The account is in the black. That doesn't mean it's easy street from here on out. It just means that that was a decent trade. And that trade is over. It means nothing now. The next trade is the one that counts. I am working on what that will be. GE has lagged here which makes me wonder just how good this rally can be. But if we push through 580 on the OEX, it should be up, up and away. I see no real good set-ups right now, so I have to be patient. I will get long gold again if we get to what I deem support. It is a battle to play this game. I hope I'm up for it.

The market lost 75 points today on heavy volume. Advance/declines were not too bad, about 13 to 19. I think the volume perhaps was skewed by the bad news for Biogen and Elan. Maybe the end of the month had something to do with it. I am confused as to which way we go here but I'm leaning towards the downside and might take a position prior to Fridays employment report. Gold was up a little bit and the dollar was slightly weaker. I sold all of my ABX calls. As much as I wanted to hold on, I got out. ABX had good volume today but could not gain any ground. The stochastic has been overbought for a couple weeks and the RSI has been over 80 for a while. I did not get the best price of the day but the profits were good and I'll give an update tomorrow. I even sold the April calls, which have about 7 weeks left on them. My thinking is that I will buy these options back at a lower price and try this trade again. I am considering moving up to the next strike price since the stock has moved so much. Now I could be wrong. Gold has every right to just keep on moving higher. However it has been overbought for a while and I think a pause is due. I might even try something before Friday. It is difficult to sell out here for me. Time is on my side. But I think I'm doing the right thing. The technicals support it for now. Trading is the most difficult game in the world. I cannot stress that enough. Even with profits, I always seem to second guess what I do and try to think of a better way to handle the trade. As much as I know it is impossible to catch the exact high and low of a move, I continue to try and do it. I can sometimes get one of them but never both. The markets are just always moving and I've got to learn to live with that. At any rate, there is a chance I might switch to NEM for the next go round. It has been lagging but perhaps the interest in ABX has waned. For now I'll just have to sit back and watch. Try and come up with a strategy for the next trade. More tomorrow...

Up over 90 points for Friday. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 positive. That should turn the summation index back up. Volume was OK but nothing spectacular. It is beginning to look more and more like Tuesday was a downside blow-off. We need to get through 580 on the OEX. If we stall here I might buy some puts. Gold didn't move today. The XAU sold off and came back but wasn't up much. ABX was up a tad on lighter volume. I fear I have held on too long for this one. Again, overbought on the dailies and still looks like more room to the upside on the weeklies. The dollar was weaker today and we did not get the corresponding move up in gold. Yes, I'm worried. It's the weekend and we will see what is said before the open on Monday. I am a bit tired today and will continue with this on the weekend, hopefully.

Up another 75 points on good volume today. Advance/declines 2 to 1 positive. Perhaps Tuesdays decline was the end of a minor correction. Or the beginning of something more to the downside. However usually when we head down we don't get back to back days like the previous two. But the summation index is pointing down. Which brings to mind the fact that there is no perfect indicator. Gold did not move much today but the XAU was off over a point. ABX was down about a dime on good volume. I am worried now about this position. I think I should have gotten out today. Trading isn't easy. The dailies are overbought on this issue. I think I need to book the profits and look for something else. The problem is that the weekly charts suggest higher prices. The best scenario for me would be a sideways movement to work off the overbought condition and then move higher. But the market doesn't care what is best for me. It will move where and when it wants to. The dollar was a bit higher today and everybody seems to have forgotten Tuesdays decline. The weekly charts here too suggest that lower prices are ahead. There are still three weeks left on some of my ABX calls. I still have an open order for some NEM calls. Confusion will cost you money in this game. I will see what tomorrow brings. If ABX heads down it could very well be time to get out. Perhaps it isn't ready to break through the $25 resistance. It is a tough game...

We bounced back today. The Dow was up over 60 points on good volume but less than yesterday. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. I suppose I will be looking to buy some OEX puts. Maybe a day or two more of bounce. I could be wrong. I need to see where the downtrend line comes into play. The dollar was up a little today after yesterdays drubbing. Gold sold off and came back but did not gain anything. ABX was down a few cents and is stuck below $25. It should take a rest here but I am worried that perhaps the gain is over. The weeklies say otherwise though. NEM was up about a quarter on good volume again and I did put in an order to buy some March calls but the price has moved away from me. Perhaps a pause is due for gold here but I still think the dollar will get weaker and the gold shares will continue to rise. It isn't easy in the game as we all know. Still a couple days left this week so we'll see what happens. The inflation data today was tame. I don't know, perhaps yesterdays sell-off was a climax. I'm not sure but I'm still gonna believe it was the beginning of something bigger. Trading is a solitary pursuit. You must make your choices and live with them. There is nothing else to it than that.

We had an interesting day today. The Dow got clobbered, down around 175 points. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 negative on heavy volume. We are oversold. Due for a bounce but I believe that bounce can be used to initiate short positions. The heavy volume today may have signaled a short term end to the selling. Or not. The summation index has rolled over and the trend is down. Oil rose over $50 a barrel and the markets are nervous. Combine that with some dollar blabber from Korea and you have a jittery market. The dollar lost over a point. The markets did not expect that. Gold rose over $7. The XAU was up over 3 and 1/2 points. ABX was up almost a dollar. The calls are doing very well. Which brings up the problem of when to sell these things. ABX is at resistance of $25. The weekly chart suggests more upside so I am holding them for now. If by chance we get through resistance these calls could bring substantial profits. But who knows? The daily charts are way overbought for all gold issues. But this has the feel of an exceptional short term move. I could be wrong. Things can turn around rather fast in this game also. Inflation report due out tomorrow. It will be closely watched. Trading is difficult, even when making money. You have to be patient and disciplined. You don't want to get out too early on a winning position, thereby missing out on some of the profits. But you also don't want to give up what you have either. I still have a stop loss order in for these calls. I've got March and April strike prices. We have gotten to targets that I thought would take weeks to reach. Instead it has taken days. Perhaps this move is move powerful than I have expected. I don't really know. An interesting game indeed.

Hooray for the 3-day weekend. The Dow gained 30 points today on the back of a favorable ruling for the drug stocks. They provided all of the gains. Volume was good but the advance/declines were not. It was almost 2 to 1 negative. The summation index has rolled over. However we are just about oversold here so I do not expect a steep drop in here. I could be wrong. Gold did nothing today. The dollar did nothing today. You get the picture? ABX sold off early and came all the way back on light volume. It is overbought and I am trying to figure out how long to stick around here. I will check the charts over the weekend but the daily is way overbought. I would not mind seeing a slight pullback on light volume. I can wish, can't I? The calls are in the black and I have moved the stops up so they will not be losers. I'm looking for other opportunities but I need to develop an overall picture of what I think is going on. Perhaps we are going to roll over here. I will try and listen to the technicals and let the market tell me what to do. OEX puts might be the proper play but the timing has got to be solid. My confidence is high after this proper gold call so far. But things can change overnight. I am going to try and relax over the long weekend. Just sort of take it easy but still focus on the task at hand. On Monday even though the market is closed I will try and get back into the mode. Until then I will have to take a break and give my mind a rest.

An 80 point loss for the Dow today on increased volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. Could be expiration related. Or perhaps the start of something bigger. We will have to stay tuned. Greenspan blathered and blabbered in front of Congress again today. I don't think he said anything that roiled the markets. We were short term overbought. Gold was up slightly today and the XAU tacked on another point and a half. ABX announced its earnings and I guess they were better than expected. Up there 60 cents on very good volume. My calls are way in the black and now comes the job of exiting this position. And they have a month or 2 months left. The trend is still up for the weekly charts on this issue but the dailies are overbought. I should probably move up the stop loss order to lock in some profits. I'm going to hold the April calls for at least another month. The March calls are another story. Even with a month left, the RSI is almost to the top. This will be a tough call. We have reached the price target I had set and we got there fast. I might have to revise it upwards. However the point here is that what other good news can come out to push this thing higher? That's a dilemma. The dollar was weaker today and also has more room on the downside, weekly basis. There are no easy trades in this game. Win or lose it is a challenge. You do the best you can and I can live with that I suppose. But you can always improve and you can always get better. These are the things I need to do...

Volatility returned too the market today however we only ended up down a couple points. We were down rallied up and then closed basically unchanged. Volume was average and the advance/declines were even. Greenspan spoke and it was shrugged off. Gold shares were volatile also, selling off early, coming back with a rally and then selling off again. Gold itself sold off and came back to be unchanged. The XAU was flat, ABX gained a few cents. ABX reports its earnings tomorrow. I did not take the position in ABX calls because of any earnings expectations, so I will be happy to get that out of the way regardless of what happens. This trade is a dollar play. The dollar was higher early and sold off to end up with a small gain. I'm still believing this trade has some time to go, so I continue to hold the ABX calls. I'm also looking at NEM as a possible trade but it has been lagging here. Don't know. Inflation report out on Friday with a 3-day weekend to follow. We'll see what happens...

The Dow moved higher today, gaining over 45 points. Volume picked up and the advance/declines were slightly positive. Not a great day with the breadth. I'm thinking it's an expiration move up. Greenspan will jabber tomorrow and we'll wait for the markets interpretation. Gold was down a bit today as was the XAU and ABX. Volume shrank however and I feel a pause is due. But I still feel the weekly trend is up. I'm holding on to my calls. I am now going to lament a bit about the life of a trader. It is a lonely affair most times. I do my trading by myself because the less interruptions and disturbances, the better. However when the trading day is done it is frustrating that there is nobody to discuss the days events with. Most of my interactions are with people who haven't a clue about the markets. All they want is for me to make them money without them doing any of the work. For the most part people are lazy and go to their hourly pay jobs. They have no clue as to the concepts for making money for themselves, on their own time and terms. They flock like sheep, with no ambition and fairy tale dreams, hoping to win the lotto or something like that. It would be nice if once in a while somebody knew what they were talking about. But such is the life of a trader. It is my calling and I can't expect others to understand that. I know what I'm looking for and I have made my choice. Just felt like complaining a little about it today. It doesn't change anything. I'm still determined and set on reaching my goals, regardless of what others may think or do.

The market went nowhere today as the Dow lost 5 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. It looks like a holding pattern until Greenspan speaks on Wednesday and Thursday. That's my guess for the inaction and lack of interest. Gold was up over $4 again today as the dollar weakened. However the XAU did not have a very positive day and was up less than a half. Looks like the rally will stall here. Perhaps Greenspan will try to talk up the dollar again. Regardless, I think the tide has turned for gold here and we will be in a multi-week uptrend. ABX was up fractionally on good volume. My calls are still looking good. But whenever gold rises as it did today and the gold shares don't follow, it's usually time for a rest. Hopefully not a full fledged reversal. I really don't have any other trades in the works right now. I'm trying to focus on what I've got and take it from there. Perhaps the OEX is forming a top here. I am not sure and will be on the sidelines until some type of decent signal appears.

The Dow rose about 45 points to day on good volume. Advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive. The underlying tone was much more bullish then the actual price move. We are at new highs for the year. The declines of January have been erased. How much higher can we go here? I don't know but I expect the market at this point will run up into the Friday expiration next week. That will screw whoever is short and owns February puts. Just like the owners of January calls got it. Gold was up another 4 bucks today. The XAU gained a point and three quarters. ABX was up another quarter on good volume again. We are at the overhead downtrend line here. I would expect some pullback or sideways movement. I'm holding on to the calls. I don't think we will just go straight up and you really never know what will happen. But I feel confident that the downside is over for gold here. The dollar was up just a tad today. There is an uptrend line, short-term, that is in force right now for the dollar. I believe it will be taken out within the next 2 weeks. Perhaps we are building a little top here. Time will tell. I now have to decide on an exit strategy for the gold calls. I'm looking at 24 as a price to get out of the ABX trades at this point. I'll have to closely look at the charts over the weekend. It looks like perhaps a bottom is in for gold here. But it's just my opinion and my ideas so far haven't been the greatest. I'll try to keep that in mind going forward. But this particular trade looks like it could be a winner. No OEX thoughts for now. But I'll be keeping an eye on it.

The Dow rose 85 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were positive but not as much as you would expect for a market up 85. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lagged. So I guess the move is not to be trusted just yet. The trade number came out with less of a deficit for the month of December. It was a mover but not in the way one would expect. The dollar sold off and gold rallied. Again, the number itself did not mean anything. Once more the technicals must be the basis for trading decisions. The XAU soared for its best day in months, up 3 1/2 points. All the gold shares were up and ABX gained over 75 cents. All the call options I own are now in the black. My dilemma now is when to dump these things. I think we could have resistance at the 50 day moving average line for ABX at around 23. Perhaps I will get rid of the March calls there. But I think the longer term will result in higher prices and I will hold the April calls and look to add to that position. No other trades but I think a short on the OEX will present itself in the weeks ahead. I'll be looking to March for that. We'll see how the week closes out tomorrow.

Movement today as the Dow lost over 60 points on average volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative. No news so there was no reason to buy. Trade number tomorrow. Gold went nowhere today as did the dollar. The XAU was up a point. ABX gained about a quarter. I predict there will be some action tomorrow, however I do not know which way we will go. A possible bullish candlestick pattern has emerged on the gold charts. But it could be negated with a down day tomorrow. The dollar is stalling out at around 85 as I think the resistance is here. So it will be interesting to see what happens. One of the call positions is showing a slight profit, while the other is trying to come back to breakeven. I have over-leveraged this trade and that is not a good thing. But what can you do? It's too late now. Just can't afford to make the same mistake again. We'll just have to wait and see what the trade number is and how the markets react to it.

Another nothing day in the market. The Dow was up 8 points with light volume again. Advance/declines were slightly positive. We are marking time. For what, I don't know. At least there is no decline, so the sellers are at bay for now. Not much movement in the dollar, gold or the gold shares. Volume was good in the gold shares though. My call options have not been stopped out yet. Perhaps the trade number on Thursday will be a catalyst. There really is nothing else out there to be reported this week. So here we are, in the midst of winter, trying to make money. February options will wind down next week. The XAU really needs to hold on here or I'm dead. I'm betting that it will. If it doesn't it will be a major shift in the gold market. I expect that the trade number will go down though and that's not going to help the cause. I could be wrong but that is when the recent rise in the dollar started. Anything over 60 billion for the trade deficit would be a plus. Patience.

We didn't do much in the stock market today. The Dow was basically unchanged on light volume. Advance/declines were even. Not much news out this week. I think we have a shot at heading lower soon. Not a big decline, just not going up as we have lately. Gold was unchanged but the dollar moved higher and the gold shares fell. We are now at 85 on the dollar index and this is the level that I feel marks a top. I purchased some more ABX calls today, going out to April. The XAU is at the uptrend line of many weeks. It is now or never. It either holds here or these trades are losers. I should have waited until today to purchase calls but there is nothing I can do about it now. We are at the moment of truth. The volume was good on the gold shares today and my thought is that today was the last of the sellers. Time will tell on this but we are oversold and this is the logical spot to enter the trade. Trade number comes out on Thursday and we could get some movement one way or another off of that. That's about it for today. If I'm wrong on the dollar and gold then I will be stopped out for a loss. I'm surprised it didn't happen today.

A nice rally to close the week. The Dow was up over 120 points on average volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The employment report was weaker than expected. Sold off on that a little early but then roared back all day. The mode is up. Gold sold off another 2 bucks today. Greenspan talked up the dollar today. It rose somewhat. But the bond yield went lower and I think that brought the gold shares back some. The XAU sold off on Greenspans comments but came all the way back to be up slightly. NEM was actually up 50 cents and ABX was unchanged after both had been down early. I think we are looking for a bottom on the gold shares. Perhaps the G-7 meeting over the weekend will spur some movement. GE did not rise as much as the market, so nearterm I think we need a rest next week. My first thought on that only brought a brief downmove. Perhaps the next will be playable. But the trend is up and I don't really want to fight that. Who knows why and where the markets goes when it does? The technicals are the way to go. When they work of course. It is the most difficult and yet interesting game to play. I need to get better. About the game and myself.

It was a nothing day today. The Dow was down 3 points on average volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. Waiting for the jobs report. We are overbought. Summation index is pointing up. Wouldn't mind putting on a short here. But I am on the sidelines with regards to the OEX. Gold lost over $4 today and is at a point of no return. We are right at a multi-month uptrend line. If it doesn't hold here then the long term trend will change from up to down. Very important. The XAU lost a point and a third. ABX held up pretty well, only down around a dime. But it is critical to hold here for the long side. The dollar was stronger and is at 84. There is talk of how it is holding up. Tomorrows number may be a dollar mover. There is also a G-7 meeting over the weekend. I don't know how these things will affect the markets, it is a wait and see proposal. My stop-loss is in so there is not much more to do. We will have to see how the events play out.

The Dow up another 45 points on average volume. Advance/declines almost 2 to 1 positive. The Fed raised short term rates another quarter point. Ho hum. Nothing unexpected and the markets continue to rise. I would expect a pause here. Either tomorrow in advance of the employment report or on Friday. We are overbought. Gold was flat today. The XAU was up a little over half a point. The dollar was slightly higher. ABX was up about a quarter on light volume. The options I purchased are back to breakeven. The president gives the state of the union speech tonight. Perhaps will have implications for tomorrows action. Not much else, maybe put on a short before Friday. We'll see.

The trend is now up. We gained another 60 points on the Dow with 2 to 1 advance/declines. The volume was good. We have broken the downtrend line and the summation index has turned higher. Now I'm not saying it will be a straight line up but the path of least resistance is up now. Gold lost a little over a dollar and the XAU was up fractionally. ABX was down a few cents. The dollar index lost a little ground. The Fed will announce its decision on interest rates tomorrow. Should raise a quarter point again. Anything else will move the market pretty good. Not expecting that. My ABX options are losing money but not to the stop-loss point. At least the volume on the stock picked up today so perhaps interest is coming back. As for the overall market, I don't expect new highs anytime soon but the downtrend has ended. I don't have any other trades in the works for now but if we get too ahead of ourselves, I might consider a short somewhere. Not sure, in doubt and staying out. Gotta have patience and discipline. It's tough but that's the game.

The market rose around 62 points today, breaking a multi-week downtrend line. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive and the volume was average. Todays action should turn the summation index upwards. Are we out of the woods here? Could be. But it is the end of the month. Technically it looks like the decline has ended. Gold was down over $5 today. The XAU was only down fractionally. I bought some March ABX calls. We have reached the lower end of the Bollinger band. I have a stop-loss order in to limit the loss if my timing is off. It could be. We are oversold on the technicals for gold and at least a bounce could be in order. Don't know. The dollar was slightly weaker today. Employment report at the end of the week. Possible beginning of the month inflows for the market tomorrow. Tough game to play. I almost bought some OEX puts at the downtrend line today. However I did not, probably because I had already been filled on the ABX order. We'll see what happens.

The Dow was down another 40 points today on average volume. It did make a comeback in the last hour though. Advance/declines were barely negative. It is feeling like a market that wants to turn around and go higher. A lot of possible movement next week with the end of the Iraqi elections, the Fed and the employment report. Gold was down a little, the dollar was slightly higher. The gold shares sold off a tad on again light volume. Still no interest there. We are hold the recent lows. Perhaps a bottom is being formed. The XAU has about 3 1/2 points to go to get to the long term uptrend line. I'm trying to be patient. I almost bought some PFE calls today on another possible bullish chart formation. Like when I tried to do that with Intel last month. And how much did I lose? Didn't do it today and preservation of capital comes to mind. Discipline, patience can't be stressed enough. I will do a gold trade if it sets up for me. Would have liked to get long the OEX today also but did not. We'll let the weekend pass and take it from there.

The Dow was down 30 points but the tone of the market was much better. We got a last hour rally and the advance/declines were positive. Volume was average. GDP report tomorrow. Iraqi elections over the weekend. What that has to do with anything, I don't know but the media is starting to look at it. Perhaps a rally when it is over. Who knows? Gold was down a bit and the XAU was off a little. No volume in the gold shares. I'm trying to be patient there but there is a possible positive divergence. The dollar was a bit higher today. Summation index still pointing down but not as drastic as previously. Could it be ready to turn around? I don't know. What I need to do is wait for a decent signal somewhere and then act on it. Discipline will be required. It is so hard to do. This is an incredibly difficult game to play.

Dow up 37 points on good volume. Advance/declines were well over 2 to 1 positive. Have we reached the bottom? Don't know. A downtrend line is still in effect. Time will tell. Gold was up over $5. The gold stocks didn't move much. Don't know what to make of that. Trying to stay patient. Would like to get long but must not jump at it. It's going to be hard. Not much volume in the gold shares so there is no interest just yet. GDP is out on Friday, perhaps that will move things. Not much else to write. GE was down a tad. I figure tomorrow will be a hang around day waiting for Friday. The hardest thing is to be disciplined and be patient. I really would like to redeem myself after the latest trading fiasco. But I can't force things or I am doomed. The battle against myself is consuming me. I need to find a way to win it. At this point I don't know how...

Short post due to this site having problems, AGAIN. Dow up around 90 points on good volume. Advance/declines about even though so this is just a bounce, I believe. We shall see. Gold sunk today and the dollar was stronger. We have broken support on the XAU. There is a multi-week up trend line about 4 points away and I will be getting long if and when that line is hit. That is the next play. Either NEM or ABX. Both were down today. The dollar crossed 84 today and the resistance is at 85. Getting long gold at that point should work. That is what I have in mind. Otherwise it is a wait and see attitude for the market. There is a downtrend line in effect at this juncture. Summation index still pointing down. That's it for today.

The market continues down. The Dow lost 25 points on negative advance/declines. Volume was average. We closed at the low of the day. A bounce is due. A rally is due. But none has come. The recap of my most recent trades is as follows. 100% losses in half of them. 55% losses in the other half. What a way to start the year. Obviously changes must be made. It is up to me to make them. My emphasis must shift from huge gains to protecting capital. It is the way for now. I have no other choice. I cannot continue to bankrupt my mind with lousy trading tactics. The money doesn't matter as much as the emotional upheaval. That is the truth. It sucks to start out in the hole but that is my fault. Gold did not move much today but the gold stocks were down. ABX was the exception. I'm looking for a trade there but will have to be patient. The charts do not favor anything at the moment. GE was up today but not much. I'm thinking of getting long the OEX if it continues down tomorrow. There will be a short term signal if that occurs. But most of all I am trying to keep it together after devastating losses. My mind needs to be cleared out to be able to trade successfully again. I am working on it. It is always a work in progress. Discipline must be adhered to. There is no other way. Tough game.

Thursdays post did not print on the site. I will be looking for another site. I cannot take the time to write and then have technical difficulties. I have enough problems as it is. The Dow continues lower. Down around 75 points on good volume. Advance/declines were barely negative. Normally I'd say that's a good thing but this market is troublesome. Good earnings from GE could not move us higher and didn't do much for GE either. I sustained heavy losses to begin the year again. I have sold all my positions and now am out of the market. GE was down a quarter on heavy volume. I had a chance to take a small profit early and did not in one of the positions. I blew it again. I will now have to try to climb out of a deep hole again. I was somehow able to do it last year. 2 years in a row? That would be asking a lot. My mistakes remain the same and I must find a way to change or they will never go away. The market speaks to you and you have to listen. When the market speaks it doesn't matter what your position is. You have got to listen to the market. Your ego and wanting to be right all the time will kill you. Listen to the market. If you can hear it you are ahead of the crowd. If you can heed it you are a winner. I must somehow regroup and attack again. At this point I am a beaten trader. I will need to take some time off. How much, I don't know. Losing is a terrible feeling when you do it in the manner I just did. There is no one to blame but myself. I have been down this dead end road in the past. It is hard to recover. It takes a lot out of you. Nothing hurts more than losing. There is nothing good about it at this point. These lessons should have already been learned. There is nowhere to hide and nowhere to go.

I don't think anything will help this market. We were down again, almost 90 points on the Dow. Volume was average and advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative. There had to be weakness, even I could see that. There is no inflation according to todays report. If we can't rally on good news there is no hope. After the bell, QCOM guided lower and that will not bode well for tomorrow. EBAY just announced lower numbers also. Trouble. GE was down 50 cents today and I can already tell that I will get killed here. Serves me right. I put too much money into these trades and the earnings on Friday won't matter when we are dropping like this. So it looks like a rerun of last year with huge losses to start the year. Although I was able to come back last year, I am getting tired of the lackluster results that I generate. It is a lot of work and the returns just don't justify all the time that I put in. I think I will take some time off. Although the volume on GE was light, I'm thinking that was more of a lack of interest in the overall market than anything specific about GE. The gold shares were down and the dollar rallied a little. Not much else to say here. All signs point down.

Up again today, 70 points on the Dow. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive and the volume was good. I think that we are getting ahead of ourselves here. I expect some weakness at some point this week. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think so. GE was up 40 cents on good volume. Hope springs eternal. I'm holding out for the earnings on Friday unless it rallies big before then. Rallies big? I'll be lucky if I don't lose my shirt here. The week has started positive but I am not so sure it has any staying power. Perhaps todays action will turn the summation index up. Earnings are coming out in full force now, IBM reports after the bell. We also have an inflation report tomorrow. No shortage of news to move things around. The dollar was up a tad today and oil rallied but then finished unchanged. A best case scenario for the week would be a stable dollar with a drop in oil prices. Anything to get GE moving up. Even if it rallies this week, I still stand to lose everything in one of the trades unless a miracle occurs. And even if it did, it still is a bad trade. Doesn't matter if it makes money, it probably won't. Trading correctly is important. If you do that you will make money. The goal is to trade well and everything else will take care of itself. I'm still working on it. I have to get better or perish. It's that simple. I have no other trades on the horizon at this point. Finish up with GE and then take it from there...

A slight, light volume rally today with the Dow up over 50 points. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. There is nothing to get excited about with todays action. A lot of participants were off or went home early because of the long weekend. We will see more downside action next week, I'm sure of it. What happens to GE, I'm not so sure. We were up about 30 cents on light volume today. It is all going to be up to the earnings on Friday. I am a fool to let it get down to that but that is the position I find myself in. Summation index is still pointing down although the postings should be getting closer. No matter. There are some negative readings that have to be replaced on one of my indicators. Downside will happen. Inflation was non existent for todays number. Another reading will be on Wednesday. Gold was down a couple bucks, with the XAU down around a point. The dollar was stronger. I'm still gonna wait for the dollar to get to 85 before I get another position in gold. Patience. So now it's a long weekend which I will try not to worry about this GE position. It's simply a waiting game at this point. Hopefully the market doesn't completely collapse early next week and the GE earnings come in very strong. That is the only scenario which will bail me out at this point. Until tuesday or maybe sooner...

Another day another loss. The Dow got pounded in the last hour and lost 111 points. Advance/declines were negative but not even 2 to 1. The volume was average. GE lost around 50 cents and I am getting killed. I am a fool to have held on to these calls. I should have bailed out as soon as the summation index went to the downside. The market was telling you what to do and I did not listen. What a fucking dope. I have no choice but to wait for the earnings next friday and hope for a miracle. What an idiot. The market is oversold and staying there. That is never a good thing. We have now broken to fresh lows and the support has been taken out. We never got through the down trend line and so that is still in place. Buy signals are not working. I've been wrong here and I've been wrong before but it doesn't make it any easier. However, I can always make the money back. Gold didn't do much, the XAU was down a point. The last hour sell-off is another negative. Inflation report due tomorrow and that could be another nail in the coffin. Not much else to say. Oil was higher but still below $50. The dollar was up a tad. Long weekend coming up and nobody will want to be long going into that.

We got a bounce at the end of the day with the Dow up 60 points. Advance/declines were positive and the volume was average. The market opened lower, then closed higher so it's possible that it was a one day reversal. We closed right at a multi-day down trend line. Perhaps if we can take it out tomorrow we could get a few days of upside. But I'm not convinced the downturn is over. I only hope it is. GE was up around a quarter on good volume. It's encouraging but it is only one day. There is a downtrend line in place here also but GE is about 50 cents away from it. Will I hold on until the earnings next Friday? I don't know. Sure I'll hold the options with no bid, I don't have a choice. But I've got some others that might bail out the losers. Time will tell. Gold was up $4 today but the gold shares did nothing much. NEM was higher and ABX lower. Perhaps the relative strength has switched back to NEM. The dollar was weaker on poor trade numbers. I'm holding off on a gold trade until I finish with GE. Next week is a short week which must be factored into the trading equation also. Possibly got a divergence with the McClellan oscillator today but it depends on the action from here. Was today a one day wonder? Tomorrow will tell a lot...

Another downer of a day. The Dow lost over 60 points on negative advance/declines and average volume. The trend is down, has been down and will continue down. I am an idiot to hold onto the calls I own. GE was down 50 cents. One of the positions doesn't have a bid. Terrible. It looks like a repeat of last year, with huge losses to start the year. The same thing again? Looks like it. If you can't correct your mistakes you will just keep making them and losing money. These are the facts. There is no hiding from the truth. I will say that one of my indicators is way oversold and the market should get some footing here. Whether or not GE goes along for the ride is unknown. Gold was up a little as was the XAU. NEM was the best performer and that might be the play for February. Intel announces after the bell for the recent quarters earnings. Perhaps some good news will come out. But you can't escape the fact that the trading thus far has been ridiculous. Piss poor. Unacceptable. Perhaps it is time to get flat and regroup. Most certainly it is. At this point there could be no choice but to wait until the earnings next Friday. It is a sad place to be in but there is no hiding from the truth...

The Dow bounced a bit today, up 27 points. Advance/declines were positive and the volume was average. We have worked off the short term oversold condition and I fear we will be heading lower. I hope I'm wrong. GE was down again and cannot gain any traction. My calls, the bulk of them, are losers. Here too, I fear that there will be no bounce or sustained move to the upside. The technical indicators for GE remain oversold and that is not a good sign. With the summation index still trending down and the market not being able to hold its gains, we are in trouble. Unless there is a catalyst form out of the blue, this market is heading lower. Although one of my intermediate term indicators is about to flash a buy signal, I don't think it will be enough to save the GE calls. Gold shares bounced around but really didn't go anywhere. My focus is on GE though. That's where my money is. There are 8 days until expiration and 7 days until the earnings announcement. I allocated too much to this trade and that was a mistake. For whatever reason, trades like this rarely work out. Once in a while they do but usually they don't. Tomorrow should be interesting but I think it won't be good...

The employment report could not get us going to the upside. The Dow lost around another 20 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. This market just can't get going. It isn't a good way to start the year. GE was down again. It isn't looking good there. It could be a repeat of last years early debacle. Perhaps something can get us going next week. This thing is way oversold. The bounce was nothing and we are treading water. Gold continues down also. Although the gold shares didn't fall today, that market is blown out and will require some time to repair. The dollar was higher again. It should run into resistance at 85. I'll be looking at gold there. I really don't have much else to say here. We are in a decline and I own calls so what else can go wrong? I'm going to try and get back here this weekend.

Well, we got a little bounce today. And I do mean little. The Dow was up 25 points on positive advance/declines. The volume was good but not as much as on the recent declines and that is troublesome. The employment report is out tomorrow. There will be a good move. However the tone of the market isn't bullish and I fear the results. Only because I own calls. GE was up about a quarter today, bouncing off its 50 day moving average line. It has to hold that line or I am dead. The volume there was average. 2 weeks until expiration and the earnings report. Tricky call. I have too much money in this trade. Hindsight is everything. It's my own fault. I should have never purchased those last 20 calls. The gold shares are still falling and the volume isn't what it used to be. Gold has broken down. The dollar is starting to stabilize. Had to figure that would happen after everyone and their brother was bearish the dollar. Summation index pointing down and the McClellan oscillator was below -200 yesterday. Not a good sign. But perhaps we have washed out and can get something going soon. I don't know and I'm not sure. My tech plays of Intel and Microsoft aren't moving and I guess I'm glad I didn't lose too much there. My call/put ratio is getting bullish but not as good as I have seen it in the past. Anyway, this was a tough way for the market to start the year. Tomorrow should be interesting...

Down again. This market is in trouble. Another 30 points on the Dow with good volume. Advance/declines over 2 to 1 negative. I do not know what is going on here but it isn't good. Closed on the low of the day. There should be a bounce. If it doesn't happen, oh boy. GE was down, my calls are losers. I should get out on a bounce. If there is no bounce, it doesn't matter. We are at the 50 day moving average. If it doesn't hold then losses will pile up. My scenario was wrong. I'm paying the price. Summation index pouring down now. Everything down again. Market tried to rise today and could not. XAU was down again but the shares were mixed. Intel kept dropping. I've got short term oversold signals but nothing is happening. Trouble. I should probably just bail out of everything and get on the sidelines. But I am waiting for a bounce. It usually happens at this stage. Troubling times.

Big down day. Dow off about 100 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines over 3 to 1 negative. Down volume swamped up volume. It is either the blow-off end of this decline or the start of a good decline. We are oversold here for sure. I dumped the Intel calls I had for a 50% loss. Should have sold them last week. Intel was down again today. The earnings come out next week but I don't think even that would save this trade. I thought I saw something there but I was wrong. Not a lot of money in that trade so I can live with it. GE got slammed today as well, down over 40 cents. Most of the calls I have are under water there as well. This is turning into a difficult period for me. My original idea of how the year would start has proven to be wrong. I think a bounce is due and when it comes I am going to have to decide what to do with all those GE calls. A lot of money is at stake here. GE is also oversold but as you know sometimes stocks can just stay oversold. Stay tuned. Gold was only down a buck but the gold shares tumbled. NEM and ABX have now broken multi-week uptrend lines. I'm staying away from them for now. Microsoft was the only issue on my screen that held up today. Summation index pointing down and that's not a good sign. Should be oversold though. But it's trouble.

Happy New Year. The Dow lost over 50 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were almost 3 to 1 negative. I don't like it. I had expected a nice rise from the start today and it lasted about 5 minutes. The summation index has probably rolled over and is heading down after todays action. Intel lost 30 cents, the options are losers. I put in a sell order and it wasn't filled. Intel is around $23 and I have the $25 calls. Ain't gonna happen. I should have taken the loss last week. But I believed in my scenario and now that scenario is not going to play out. Intel is right on the moving average line and would need to go up good tomorrow for any chance to get out even. Not gonna happen. GE held in there and was up a couple cents. But it too will fall with the market and I must decide what to do there as well. Earnings come out on the last day of expiration. Oh my. I certainly don't expect a total collapse from here but I am not happy with todays results. Some short term stuff will be moving to oversold. But who knows? I guess I'll at least be waiting for the employment report on Friday. Gold got hammered today, down over $8. The XAU and the gold shares got clocked. Some issues are about to take out multi-week uptrend lines. If that happens, look out. I will check the charts again on NEM and ABX. Gold itself is right at an uptrend line also. The dollar was higher today. Pfizer was down, not looking to do anything there. It's just the first day of the year but it isn't how I pictured it to be. Sometimes making the adjustments to market conditions are the toughest things to do. The game isn't easy. If I have any brain in my head, I should dump the Intel calls before they are worthless and watch GE like a hawk. One never knows...

Another light volume, down day affair. The Dow lost 17 points on positive advance/declines. You can't make much of the action that happened this week. A lot of people were on vacation. The real game starts again on Monday. All the stocks I'm looking at had minor moves one way or the other. If anything, the options lost more time premium. I still think we will rally big at the beginning of the year. My hardest work will be where to exit the positions I currently own. I want to get out of the Intel trade as soon as possible. I almost bought some Microsoft calls today. My thinking is it will pop next week and money can be made. I didn't do it though. I already have a lot of cash out there in trades. This is a difficult game. I need to simplify it. Looking back over the last year, I really made some bonehead moves. I need to get better. I ended up with a gain of 22% on traded capital for the year. That just isn't good enough for the risks involved. Hopefully in the year ahead I will be able to control myself and make the right moves. It all comes down to patience and discipline. Until next year...

We continue to drift through the week. The Dow was down around 30 points on positive advance/declines. Volume was light once again and the decline took place in the last 5 minutes. GE went nowhere as did Intel. MSFT lost around 15 cents making it a big mover. Pfizer was down around a quarter. Gold was up a couple bucks. The gold shares didn't do much. I didn't see what the dollar did. ABX was up better than most as its relative strength continues. Gold has lost some of its luster here though. I'll try and be patient. There will be a play there on the upside at some point. Tomorrow should be just as boring if not more so. New Years Eve and a bunch of the markets are closed. Should be a snoozer for equities. I've written my trading plan for next year, so I'm ready to go. That's it for now...

More light volume inaction today. The Dow was down 25 points on positive advance/declines. I bought some more January GE calls. Why? I guess I am a firm believer in this trade. We are right at the trendline. If it holds here than this will be a winner. I expect it to hold. I expect a pop for the beginning of the year, which I have stated again and again. I also put in an order for some Microsoft calls. It didn't get filled and I canceled it before the end of the day. Perhaps I am too bullish. Time will tell. Intel didn't do much today and my options didn't move. Gold got clobbered, down over $9. The gold shares did not follow and were only down slightly. Again the volume was light. Hard to figure this week. But with light volume you can't put much emphasis on what goes on. Next week will be the key. Pfizer continues to impress and was higher again today. Missed that one, I guess. And so we wallow around in the meantime. The next couple of days won't mean much.

The week trudges on. Light volume rally today with the Dow up 78 points. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. GE did not participate, up only a few cents. My partial fill option order was filled. I think I have enough now. I don't like it when a stock does not follow the market up. It is not a good sign. I could rationalize it away by saying it is a holiday week. But I need to keep an eye on it. The technicals look good as they are not overbought. I'm hanging on until the new year. Intel was down a few cents, the options are losing time value. This trade looks more and more like a mistake, as I said days ago. Still gonna wait but it's looking like a loser. Gold was down and so were the gold shares. No volume and not much interest. Pfizer keeps rallying back. Wish I would have foresaw that one. Well it's only Tuesday. Would like to get through the rest of the week without anymore damage to my positions and hope the new year goes as planned. Interesting game but difficult.

It's a holiday week and the volume was light. The Dow lost 50 points and the advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative. It's not a surprise as I am looking for some downside here. I don't think it will last long but it should carry over to tomorrow. My open order for GE calls was partially filled. I hate that. Either fill it or not because now it's in limbo. The rest of it should get filled tomorrow but as you know, there are no guarantees in this business. GE was down around 20 cents as was INTC. The Intel calls are in the red again. No volume though so I am not all that worried but I'm not pleased either. I should have just bailed out of this Intel trade a while ago. I really don't know much about the tech biz. I am going to wait for the rally I expect at the beginning of the year but it could be too late by then. Gold was up around 3 bucks but the XAU did not rally much. ABX and NEM were up slightly on light volume. Dollar hitting new lows. I don't know how much you can read into the trading this week with very thin markets. I am sticking to my scenario until proven otherwise. Rally at the beginning of January, taking advantage of it with GE calls. I'll get some OEX calls if we keep dropping this week. Pfizer was up again today. No plans there but ya never know. We'll see if the rest of that GE trade can get filled tomorrow. I also added another trade at a lower price for the same calls. We'll see...

OK, the week is over. Dow up around 15 points on holiday light volume. Advance/declines were positive. Not much action. Fractional moves with no interest in everything I'm holding or looking at. Time for a nice long weekend. I'll be looking for weakness early next week and hopefully get some more calls if that happens. Merry Christmas.

The rally continues with the Dow up another 56 points. Volume was light and the advance/declines were positive. Again GE did not follow suit and was down. This time INTC joined it. When your stocks can't go up when the market does, you are in trouble. I don't like it and I think this market will head down at the beginning of next week, if not tomorrow. The GE calls are profitable but they won't stay that way if this continues. The Intel calls are right where I bought them. Perhaps selling them is the wise move. But I am sticking to my guns and holding on until the beginning of the year. Pfizer was up almost a buck today and I sure wish I had the guts to play that one. Maybe if it drops before the new year. But I probably shouldn't. Gold shares were down today on light volume. Gold was down a couple bucks. Almost time for a nice 3-day holiday weekend. You gotta take a break once in a while or you'll go nuts. It will be good to get this year over with. I'll be looking for strong trading profits next year, if my prognosis proves true.

So much for the decline. The Dow was up about 100 points today on 2 to 1 advance/declines. The volume wasn't all that good but it is a holiday week. This could move the summation index to the upside but we are overbought slightly with todays action. GE did not move, was off a couple cents. So much for relative strength. I don't like it when a stock doesn't move up along with the overall market. It isn't the most positive sign. Intel got an upgrade and rose 75 cents. My calls are back to break even. Perhaps should sell out here. But I won't. I'd still like to wait for the beginning of next year and I probably will. Gold did not move but the XAU was up over a point with ABX and NEM higher. Volume not all that good. I'm keeping an eye on it but I really can't see a play there right now. Perhaps it will be a safety flight play before the Iraqi elections. Don't know. Pfizer rose a little today. I could do something here but the risk is very high in my opinion. It has sold off a lot but it may take a while to form a base. Then again it may not. When in doubt, stay out. I'm sticking with the positive 2005 theory, with prices moving higher than expected. 15% to 20% for the year with the bias towards 20% or more. I think January will be a good month, with solid gains in the beginning of the month. It's all just a guess but what isn't in this game? Things should slow down the next couple of days before the long weekend. Hopefully the posts will be shorter.

The Dow was up about 10 points today on OK volume for a Monday. Advance/declines were about even. We were a lot higher earlier though and could see some more weakness tomorrow. But I am not looking for a big decline or any huge market moves. It is a holiday week. Probably going sideways to nowhere. And that is going to kill my out of the money Intel calls. INTC was down 7 cents today but the calls lost value and are now in the red. So I am stuck holding these things until the New Year bounce I am anticipating. The only good thing is that there is an extra week on the January options and that might bail me out. But I should have dumped them last week when my order didn't get filled. I could have lowered the limit price and been done with it. We are still stuck on the 50 day moving average there. Gold didn't move much. The gold shares gained a little after being up earlier in the day. Volume was light as there is no interest there anymore. GE was up around 30 cents and continues to be a good play. The relative strength is high. I still have an open order for some more January calls and the calls I own are in the black. Pfizer was down around a buck fifty but I am steering clear of this for now. But it might be playable soon. But who knows? Summation index still pointing down. Would like to just get through this week without any major damage and then take it from there.

Volume the story today as it is super heavy with the expiration and news from Pfizer. The Dow was down 55 points with advance/declines about even. Pfizer announced one of its main drugs causes heart attacks. They didn't say it like that but that's the jist of it. PFE got killed on massive volume. And I was looking to get calls. That goes to show you just how fickle this game can be. And dangerous. Overnight developments can ruin any position you have at any time. You've got to know this in the game. GE was down today and I am looking to get some more January calls. I'm still a believer in a nice pop at the beginning of 2005. The summation index has turned down and I did expect some weakness so I'm trying to take advantage of it. But of course, I could be wrong. Intel was down also and is right on its 50 day moving average. If it holds, my calls might make it. If not, they're losers. Gold was up a few bucks today as the dollar was weaker. The gold shares didn't move and the volume was light. There is no interest there for now but sometime next year they will perk up again and I hope I'm there to profit from it. So it looks like I'm pinning my hopes on GE and that's not a bad thing. Uptrend line is at $36 and if it holds I should be OK. If not? You know the story. Holiday shortened week coming up. I don't expect a lot of action. It will be a time to try and position for the beginning of next year. But the markets will be quiet. Sideways action could be the norm. As long as we don't tank, I think things will work out.

A mixed day today with the Dow up and the SPX down. The NASDAQ was down also. Dow up around 15 points. Volume was expiration heavy and the advance/declines were negative about 2 to 1. This will probably turn the summation index back down. I'm still looking for near term weakness. GE was down around 30 cents. Holding my options here. Intel was down and I had an order to sell my calls but it wasn't filled. Needs to hold the 50 day moving average line again or it's a loser. Don't know but I wish I wasn't holding any. Sox index is breaking an uptrend line. We'll see but I don't like it now. Gold was down as was the XAU, NEM and ABX. The dollar was stronger. Will look for calls on the gold shares when the dollar index gets to 85. Could be a while. Support for NEM at $42 and might go long there. Pfizer continued to rally and I think that I missed that one and probably will forget about it. Not really looking for anything else at the moment. I'm still a believer that next year will be good and that January should see higher prices including 11000 on the Dow. I will be looking to get long on the weakness I expect in the next few days. The trouble is with the holidays approaching there will not be much interest in the markets. That could skew things and make it harder to get orders filled. Perhaps stepping aside would be the prudent thing to do. However I will be looking for opportunity as I believe other players will be too.

This blog site is getting slower every day. The Dow was up 15 points on pretty good volume. Advance/declines were about 2 to 1 positive. The summation Index is turning back to the upside. We are overbought here though. I'm looking for some downside but hopefully not alot. GE went nowhere today. Intel was down a few cents and I'm worried about this trade. I'm thinking of just getting out while I can without a loss. However the technicals are oversold and I'm thinking it will bounce here before too long. Don't know. Gold was up around $4 but the XAU did not even gain a point. ABX and NEM were higher but on light volume. I'm on the sidelines there. Pfizer rallied to the 50 day moving average line, up a dollar. Looks like I may have missed out on this one. The tax selling I was anticipating may not come to pass. I'll keep an eye on it but it isn't looking good after today. The dollar was weaker but it isn't a headline factor for now. I'm looking for it to rise to the breakout point and then I will get long gold. I'm looking for some type of pullback in the overall market here. Then purchase some more calls on the OEX and selected issues. The game is hard and played for real by others with more savvy than me. This is known. However my skills are on the improve. I am learning more about myself. I am a successful trader for the year and not all can claim that. I will have an even better year in 2005 if I continue to pay attention. The game is interesting, time consuming and involves a lot of hard work. Not all are up to the challenge. But I am and will continue to be. I enjoy the game...

Gotta blog early again, need to get a haircut. About 5 minutes to go on another up day. Dow up around 30 on positive advance/declines. Volume looks average here. Fed raised rates another quarter point, which was expected. GE gave some in-line guidance, the stock is down a bit on heavy volume. Should go sideways for a while here. Gold was down over $3 but the gold shares are not moving down that much. Intel is up over 50 cents today and the calls I own are back in the black. I'm thinking of selling but will wait for tomorrow at the least. Pfizer is up, January calls are still too expensive for me. That's it for today.

The market is up 85 points with an hour to go. I am posting early due to playing 9 holes of golf after the market closes. Advance/declines are solidly positive right now but the volume seems lighter than usual. Gold was up $5 today but the gold stocks aren't doing much right now, XAU up around a point and a half. I think a longer bottom needs to be in place here. GE is still rallying, up another 75 cents at the moment. The calls are looking good. INTC isn't moving and the options are losing some time premium. Looks like a loser but it does have some time left. Pfizer announced a dividend hike, it's up a little. Waiting on the January calls there. Fed tomorrow and I think we will see some downside at some point this week due to a now overbought condition coming upon us. Summation index trying to turn but it would be better for January if it kept going down. We'll see how we close...

The market didn't do much today with the Dow down around 10 points. Advance/declines were slightly positive and the volume was lighter than lately. One week before option expiration. Then we've got the holidays. Could be a slow time. Probably want to stay on the sidelines unless something good presents itself. Intel was down today and I am worried about this trade. We are right at the 50 day moving average and it has to hold here. If it moves up I think I'll dump them. The weekly chart doesn't look good unless next week is higher by a point. GE announced a dividend increase and stock buyback today. It was higher on heavy volume, a good sign. My options continued higher. Gold was down around a dollar today. ABX and NEM were both down on light volume as the interest in the gold shares wanes for now. I'm keeping an eye on it but like I said before, it will take time for a base to build here most likely. Pfizer was down again and I am looking for the January calls here. I will most likely get some before the end of the year. Tax selling as I have said. I think this will be a good trade if the entry is done right. Well, we should slow down after next week. The Fed is doing something Tuesday. Probably another quarter point rate hike and we'll see how the market reacts to that. I'm sticking to my year ending in 5 theory. Summation index is still dropping which will hopefully set up for the rise in the beginning of next year. If we can stay in a sideways range, I believe my prognosis will prove correct. But in this game you never know...

An interesting day as the Dow sold off early and then came all the way back to close up around 55 points. Advance/declines were slightly positive and the volume again was good. I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm not convinced that it is for real. The Bollinger bands on the daily OEX chart are very tight, which implies a big move one way or the other. The summation index is still pointing down. Tricky call. Gold was down another buck and a half today. However the XAU, NEM and ABX were all up. Not a lot mind you and the volume wasn't as good as it has been recently. I'm going to let a bottom build there. GE was up around 30 cents. Those calls are still looking good. I got filled on the Intel calls this morning. This too came all the way back but then sold off again. It has to hold right here or the uptrend line will be broken and it will be a loser. Volume was heavy so perhaps the sellers have sold out here but that is just a guess. And a hope. Pfizer was down, no trades there. I read something last night that said that money management was the most important part of trading. It is important but I feel it is not the most important. Let me ask you, if you lose all of your trades, what difference will good money management make? Successful trading requires more skills than just good money management. The trades themselves are the most important. If you can't figure out how to trade it doesn't matter how much money you have because you will lose it all. Someone with a small amount of money that knows how to trade will fare better than someone with a lot of money that doesn't. There is no most important part of trading. It's all important...

We got some bounceback today, with the Dow up over 50 points. Advance/declines were positive and the volume was good. I think we will be going sideways here for a while, before the next leg up. That's my hope. Gold got killed today, down $15. What a move. It has been telegraphed by the weakness in the gold stocks. Today the XAU sold off big early but came back pretty good as did ABX and NEM. The XAU was only down around a point and a half. I'd like to let a bottom build here and then get long. But I might get some December calls for a bounce. Not sure. GE was up today and INTC was down. I have an order in now for some January Intel calls. Trying to buy them back. It is getting near the uptrend line. If it holds then the bullish case is still in play. If not, I'll cancel the order. Sounds good in theory, as it always does. Pfizer was up today, I'm watching it but no trades are imminent. Less than 2 weeks until expiration Friday. My best guess would be to stay on the sidelines and add to January call positions. That's the plan and I'll try and stick to it. Expecting sideways and weakness action for the next week. Summation Index still pointing down.

The market got clobbered today, with the Dow down 105. Volume was good and the advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. A decline was expected here, now we just have to see how deep it is. My guess is we won't go down that much. But what do I know? My March GE calls finally got filled. It took all session as they were partially filled for most of the day. That usually means the market makers did not want to give them up. I am going to put in an order for some more at a lower price. GE was down today. I sold the Intel calls for a 70% profit. Perhaps could have held them but I took the money and hope to get them back. The open interest expanded from the time I bought these. That is supposed to be bullish but my studies on this factor are inconclusive. I will repurchase some calls when Intel gets to the uptrendline, perhaps later this week. Gold was down a couple bucks and the XAU continued lower. ABX and NEM were down. The dollar was weak so we have some disconnect here. I don't know what to make of it but I'm staying away as some trend lines have been violated. Too bad I didn't get some puts when I saw the gold price, gold share divergence. It's always easy to look back. Pfizer didn't do much today and that could be a positive when we were down so much. I'll keep an eye on it. The Summation Index has rolled over to the downside so I would expect more weakness but not a lot. I'm still sticking with the theory of a good year for 2005. This could be the opportunity to get your calls for early next year. We'll see...

Today the Dow was down 45 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. There were some downgrades of a few Dow stocks. GE was down a little. I still have the open order for March calls. However this weekend I checked the monthly charts and it looks like there is a lot of resistance here. I'll try and be patient. I'm still looking for some type of decline in the market here, we are still overbought. Gold was down a couple bucks. The XAU was off over a point. NEM and ABX were both down. The XAU is oversold on a daily basis but not on a weekly basis. I'll keep an eye on it but I'm not really looking at a trade here. The dollar was a little stronger. Pfizer sold off again today. I'm looking for January calls. I've seen them double and now come back to where they doubled from. I am going to wait until near the end of this month if I do anything here at all. I've still got the Intel calls. Debating on whether to put in a stop loss order or not. Probably should and then maybe buy them back cheaper later on. It does look like a breakout on the weeklies though. It is never easy. Now for some words on trading and life. It takes a lot of sacrifice and discipline to be a successful trader. Usually those around you, family and friends, do not understand the commitment necessary for that success. Sometimes you have to make decisions regarding your time that will be unpopular. But you must. You cannot expect people to understand or even have the faintest clue as to why you do what you do. If you are fortunate enough to have some other traders around, they perhaps can understand the time issue. But for the most part, trading is a solitary endeavor. It involves a lot of work that must be kept up to date or you will fall to the wayside. Again, you are going up against some of the brightest minds and biggest monetary forces in the world. It ain't easy. For success to become reality you have got to pay attention and put the time in. There are no shortcuts to profitability. Others usually do not understand this. Others go to their 9 to 5 jobs and only see things in those terms. On the otherhand you, as a trader, have taken on a higher calling. You are taking on the most intense challenge in business in my opinion. You're part of the biggest game in the world. Don't expect others to comprehend the enormity of what you are trying to do. Some of your time decisions will be unpopular. So be it. You can make up for it at a later date. Sometimes you've just got to keep you nose to the grindstone and forge ahead. The rewards for success are well worth it.

The market moved around and went nowhere today. The Dow was up 7 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. The employment report was weaker than expected. I'm looking for weakness near term for the market. We are overbought again. Bond yields went down and so did the dollar. Gold was up about five bucks but the XAU did not follow. The XAU was up around a half, with both ABX and NEM up slightly on light volume. I'd like to get some gold calls but not yet. GE was down a little today. I still have the open order for March calls. Perhaps it will get filled next week. Intel was up strong on heavy volume. The options I have lost a third of their value from the high first thing this morning. Intel lost around 60 cents from the open. The calls are still in the black and perhaps a stop-loss order would be prudent this time for a change. Maybe I could buy them back later. However the original plan was to hold them until January. I'll mull it over this weekend. Pfizer was down today. Perhaps the tax loss selling has begun. There might be some tax loss selling in Intel also. I'm not sure. I'm still believing that next year will be a good one for stocks and will try to position myself for that this month. 2 weeks left in the option cycle. Barring some stupid moves by me or a market collapse, this will be a profitable trading year for me. Even with all the stupid moves and mistakes by yours truly. Will wonders never cease???

The market didn't do much today after yesterdays big rally. The Dow was down 5 points on heavy volume again. Advance/declines were negative. It usually isn't a good sign when the market goes nowhere on heavy volume. The employment report is out tomorrow and that will be the key for Friday. My instinct says the market is overbought and will sell off. But what do I know? Not much. Intel was down today ahead of its report after the close. The calls I own lost whatever profit they had and are break-even. The news looks positive after-market though. Still have a conference call to muddle through. GE was down but those March calls I'd like to get didn't move. The January calls are still in the black. Hopefully I'll be able to get those March 37.5's. Gold was down around 4 or 5 bucks today and the XAU got slammed again. It was off about 3 and 1/2 points. ABX and NEM were down on heavy volume. Could be the start of the unwinding of the long gold trade. Oil was routed again off over another $2. The dollar was up a little but anytime it doesn't go down is viewed as a positive. Bonds still in decline. Pfizer has done nothing but go up lately. I still am looking for the tax loss selling at some point this month for that issue. Might get some calls then. Like I said before, I would not be surprised if we got some sort of sell-off in the market tomorrow. But it looks like Intel is rallying pretty good in the after-market. Who knows?

Powerful move up today in the markets. The Dow climbed over 160 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. GE and INTC were both higher on good volume. I am now regretting adjusting the price on the GE March calls that I wanted. They would have been filled if I just left the ticket alone. But I went for a better price and it didn't happen. Perhaps GE will drop in the coming days and I will get another chance. But with todays action that isn't likely. The Intel calls are showing a profit and there is some kind of announcement from the company tomorrow. No matter. The longer term play is in GE and perhaps I should have just kept the focus on that. Gold was up a few bucks today but again, the gold stocks went nowhere. ABX was up a little, NEM down a little and the XAU basically unchanged. ABX has shown incredible relative strength here. The dollar was down again. Oil got killed today, down over $3. Probably helped the Dow rally. But interest rates are starting to rise. Sooner or later, that will affect the markets. For now though, it's still up and away. Employment report on Friday and we'll see what happens there.