The Dow jumped 109 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. We started the day higher, sold off and came all the way back. I doubt we will move in a straight line up here. However I'm not expecting a catastrophic drop as we saw last Friday. I did end up getting some Boeing calls before the earnings tomorrow. It closed unchanged today after moving both up and down. That isn't a good sign with the market up over 100. Technically it looks like a buy so we'll see what happens. I haven't traded this issue before so I may just get out tomorrow one way or the other. Gold was up $3 and the XAU had a good day, up over 5 points. The gold shares really haven't sold off that much but they are trying to. Money continues to flow into this area. ABX was up over 1 1/4 on OK volume. NEM was up over 3/4. The earnings are out in a week. Perhaps I'll try some calls here as well. GE rose 23 cents on light volume. It looks like the $40 level is trying to hold here and perhaps it will. I'm still going to wait on this one though. Mentally I slept pretty good but am still getting distractions from the recent wildfires. Not much I can do about that. You've just got to keep going. We'll see how Boeing reacts to its earnings and take it from there.

The Dow bounced back 45 points today on heavy volume. Advance/declines were positive. We are still pretty oversold. I am expecting more near term upside. After that, who knows? I am really not expecting a dramatic down side move. I think the worst is over but I could be wrong. Gold lost over $8 as the dollar was stronger. The XAU lost over 4 points but came off the lows. ABX was down about 1 1/4 on average volume. NEM was a loser also. The gold shares have been due to drop for quite a while. They finally are. I think it will be a buying opportunity eventually. Earnings are out next week and perhaps I'll get some calls before then. I do believe the earnings will be good if not great. So we'll see. GE was up a touch on light volume. It, along with the overall market, was down early and came back. That is encouraging for the bulls. I am looking at Boeing, BA. The earnings are due Wednesday. It was up over 1 1/2 today on good volume. It is oversold technically. The options did not move that much today, which is puzzling. Also it was right at the longer term weekly up trend line this morning. If it holds, it should move higher. I'm thinking of getting the November calls. Mentally I'm not as focused as I should be. There are wildfires in the city today and I'm not able to concentrate so well. I slept OK but with smoke in the air it's hard to just focus on the stock market. But the market won't wait for me or anyone else. So I'll do the best I can.

Well, so much for buying OEX calls. I didn't, fortunately and it reinforces why you really don't want to try things the day before expiration. Anything can happen. The Dow got clobbered today, losing 367 points and closing on the low of the day. Advance/declines were 5 to 1 negative and the volume was heavy. There was no good reason to try the puts there either since we were already oversold. An expiration related sell-off? Recession fears? Collapse of the dollar? Who knows? These things just don't happen in one day. The daily up trend lines in the indices have been broken. We'll see what happens when we get to the weeklies. I would not be surprised to see an up day on Monday but... Gold held up well again. It barely moved. The XAU lost 3 1/2 points. ABX and NEM were both off around 50 cents on OK volume. Considering the overall market action, the gold shares held up rather well. I'm now thinking that you have just got to own some calls here before the earnings come out. However we are so overbought that it is dangerous. However it seems that money is just flocking to gold and you can't fight that. GE didn't do too bad today, off 75 cents on good volume. It is near one of the weekly trend lines at around 39.75. If that doesn't hold then it's down to 37 and that would be the ideal time to get some calls. That's what I'm waiting for at this point unless price movement dictates otherwise. Mentally I feel fine, got a good nights sleep. The battle here is with oneself, as always. Self control and discipline cannot be over emphasized. The market is a tough game in itself, you don't need to make it any tougher. What went on today, I don't know. I don't think that it will be a repeat of August but I don't know. Perhaps there is something going on again that the market knows but we do not. Next week should be interesting. I think we'll bounce early in the week but that's just a guess. For now it's the weekend and time for a break...

The Dow lost 3 points on good volume. Advance/declines were about even again. One day before expiration. I really wanted to get some OEX calls for tomorrow but the risk isn't worth it, unless it works of course. We are oversold short term and I expect an up move in the averages either tomorrow or Monday. Who knows, maybe I'll buy some calls on the open tomorrow but I doubt it. We are holding the daily up trend line for now. We were down for most of the day in a sideways channel for the OEX. So we'll see. Gold just continues higher, up over $6 as the dollar hit fresh new lows. The XAU came back over 4 1/2 points and ABX rose around a dollar forty. The volume was good. NEM was up but the volume was lighter. The move here in gold is remarkable. We are overbought and have been for quite some time. I'm about to just get some calls and forget about it. The pullbacks never last. Technically, gold and the gold shares should have corrected by now. They don't and you can't argue with the market. It is always right. GE lost 20 cents on OK volume. I don't anticipate any trades there in the near term unless it really drops. GE is usually a slow mover. If that changes then you know you're on to something. Mentally I'm tired. No good sleep and the work involved here lately has been a lot. But that is no secret and it has to be done to even have a chance. On to expiration.

It was a volatile day on Wall Street and we ended down 20 points. The Dow opened strong, up around 80 points. That eroded however and we were eventually down over 100. The daily up trend line was broken for a time. But then the market came back. I did have my eye on some OEX calls at one point but the price did not reach my target. The overall market was stronger then the Dow. Advance/declines were about even and the volume was good. I think we will go higher into the expiration from here. Gold was little changed again but the XAU dropped 3 1/2. I had an overnight order in for some ABX puts but it wasn't filled. ABX lost about a buck and a quarter on heavy volume. NEM was weaker as well on good volume, down over 1.80. The gold shares need a rest and have needed one for quite some time. ABX got more overbought then I've ever seen it and should drop or consolidate for a while. But I could be wrong. GE was up about a quarter on average volume. I'm not expecting much from GE in the near term. However longer term the trend is still up. Mentally I'm doing OK. Did not sleep as good as I would have liked. I suppose I will still be looking at the ABX puts if we get a snap back in the near term. Hard to say with the earnings on tap in 2 weeks. They should be stellar. The consumer prices came in a touch stronger today but the housing numbers were still in the tank. The data suggests that the Fed could cut rates again at the end of the month. We'll see. The summation index is still pointing down but I wouldn't be surprised if we get some kind of snap back after todays action. 2 days before expiration. No need to take any short term chances...

We lost another 72 points on the Dow today. Volume was good and the advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative again. Inflation data tomorrow and we are oversold. So it could get interesting. The summation index is firmly pointing down after today but that doesn't mean we can't snap back. I am looking for a higher then expected reading on the consumer side for inflation but that's just a guess. I actually wanted to buy some OEX calls today since we are about at the daily up trend line that began in mid-August. I expect that line to hold for now. Gold didn't do much today but the XAU lost over 3 1/2 points. ABX was down around 90 cents on OK volume. I would like to get short gold again here as it has had quite a run. It's not going to be easy though. Perhaps the prudent thing to do would be to let it correct and then get long as the trend is clearly up. We'll see. ABX has its earnings report in 2 weeks and that must be considered in the mix as well. Plus the Fed meeting 2 weeks from tomorrow. A lot to digest there for a trade. GE lost a nickel on average volume. There isn't much to do there now except wait for an entry point to buy calls. We'll have to see how weak the market gets here. I'm not expecting much but you never know. Mentally I'm doing OK, slept better last night. I'm trying not to do anything stupid here with 3 days before expiration but you know how that can go. There are conflicting indicators at the moment, so perhaps a change is in the works. I don't know. It could be the so called "sub-prime" dilemma again. Or maybe just bad earnings. So we'll see what tomorrow brings.

The Dow lost 108 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. We were down 180 at one point, getting close to the multi-week up trend line. Not sure of the cause but it might turn the summation index lower. We are short term oversold though. Gold was up over $8 today but the XAU only gained 3/4. Regardless I had to dump my ABX puts at a loss as that issue continued stronger, up around 70 cents on good volume. I still want to short this thing but will have to move to a different strike price. Gold itself is moving higher on lower volume and that is never good for the upside in the long run. That said it has been an amazing move in gold over the past 2 months. It's due for a rest but the timing is key. GE lost 20 cents on good volume and it looks as though this one has rolled over for now. I would wait until it gets back to the weekly uptrend line to look at the calls again. It could bounce around this week but it looks to me like the trend is now down for GE. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not get a good nights sleep. I would have liked to have seen another weak upside day today to get some OEX puts but it didn't happen. I'd like to try something this week but now I'm not so sure. Inflation data on Wednesday, should be a mover. I'll check things over again tonight and take it from there...

The Dow added 78 points today. Advance/declines were positive but the volume was surprisingly light. My thinking is that the bias will be to the upside early next week. But I could be wrong. Gold was down a couple bucks but the XAU rose over 2 points. My ABX puts are under water and I probably should have dumped them today. It's a cut the loss mode at this point. Perhaps I will roll over to November on those. GE had great earnings and sold off around 50 cents at the close. It was down over a dollar early. The volume was heavy. I think that waiting for GE to return to the weekly up trend line and then getting long would be the right strategy at this point. Mentally I'm feeling good. We got the inflation data and the retail sales today. They really didn't seem to matter much. We got a pop on the open and then just hung around all day. Technically, a light volume rally isn't the best thing to see for the bullish case. I might look to buy some OEX puts early in the week before the inflation data on Wednesday. I'll have to check things over the weekend. There are a ton of earnings coming out next week, so there will be opportunities to make money. Getting back to the overall market, the summation index continues higher. It's hard to fight that. There was a chance for it to roll over today but we continued to the upside. Yesterdays one day reversal may not pan out to the downside. So we'll see. It's the weekend and time for a break.

It was an interesting day on Wall Street with the Dow losing 63 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were negative. We were up over 100 at one point and then just started to drop. We were down over 100 too. It's a one day reversal which usually means lower prices to come. I have no idea why it happened. Perhaps the inflation data tomorrow will be higher then expected. But it is all just a guess. Perhaps it means nothing and we will continue on our merry way. Gold soared over $10. The trade deficit was lower but the dollar didn't rally and in fact went lower. ABX was higher early but fell back with the overall market and then made a comeback. It was that kind of day. The volume there was huge and ABX lost a dime. The XAU was up over 5 points but ended up only a quarter. I really think we are making some kind of top in the gold shares here. But I've been wrong before. GE lost 40 cents on average volume. I almost bought some calls when it dropped but decided against it. There is a lot of premium left in the options due to the earnings announcement tomorrow. Once that happens the premium will be sucked out of both the calls and the puts. Mentally I'm feeling OK. I actually like it better when the market is volatile. There are more opportunities. Tomorrow should be interesting. We'll see what today was all about. Whether it was a one day wonder or if there is something brewing again. We have the usual positive bias for expiration week upon us, plus earnings. So things could get interesting.

The Dow dropped 85 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were barely negative. The overall market was much stronger then the Dow, implying higher prices going forward. We were down around 150 at one point but buying the dips is the mantra for now. Gold was up $3 and the XAU rose 3 points. ABX was up 15 cents on heavy volume as we churned around in that issue today. My puts are under water but I think today would have been the proper day to buy them. Timing is everything. My scenario is that the trade deficit will be better then expected tomorrow and the dollar will rally. If that occurs it should drive the gold shares lower. I am seeing a valid sell signal on the RSI for the XAU here. We'll see. GE lost 20 cents and the volume was light again. It's a waiting game until Friday there. A lot of volume in the $42.50 calls for GE. I'm staying out for now but who knows about tomorrow? I'm not getting a legitimate signal from anything on the charts right now and it looks like it could go either way. The daily up trend is holding for now though. Mentally I'm feeling OK, got a good nights sleep. It seems as though the market just wants to go higher regardless of earnings or anything else. We do get inflation data on Friday, that could be a mover. And we have expiration week coming up. So I think the volatility will pick up here in the near term. I would still be leaning to the long side unless we get weakness in all the indices at the same time. There is still money looking for a place to be invested.

The Dow went to new highs again, up 120 points on good volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. The trend is up and staying there. It doesn't seem to matter how overbought we get. The Fed minutes were viewed as a positive so off we go. Enjoy the ride. Gold was up around $5 and the XAU rose almost 5 points. ABX was up over a dollar and my order for puts was filled. The volume in ABX was good. This trade already has the feel of one that isn't going to work. I'm thinking that we have consolidated in ABX and could break out. We'll know more tomorrow. Like the overall market, the gold shares have remained overbought for quite some time. So we'll see. GE tacked on 50 cents but the volume was light. There was a lot of volume in the calls though, so perhaps somebody knows something about the earnings due out on Friday. I'm thinking of getting some calls for that event myself. Mentally I'm a bit apprehensive about this ABX trade. It's my first fill in a while and I'm not feeling good about it. I really think that if ABX continues higher tomorrow, I'm dead. We'll see. Otherwise the overall market looks good. Every minor setback has been met with buying. Perhaps it will just continue to run up into the expiration. The summation index continues higher. Perhaps GE calls are the play for Friday. Time will tell.

It was a partial holiday today for Columbus and the Dow dropped 22 points. The volume was very light and the advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative. So you can't take much out of todays action most likely. Gold lost almost $9 and the XAU declined 2 3/4. ABX wasn't down much and the volume was light. I did have an overnight order in for some puts again but it wasn't filled. We could just be moving sideways here but I am still favoring the downside. However this issue, along with the overall market seems to be wanting to go higher. But you can never be completely sure. GE lost 20 cents on light volume. GE seems to just be marking time until the earnings on Friday. I might try something there, we'll see. Mentally I'm tired and did not sleep well last night. We have less than 2 weeks in this option cycle and I would like to take some profits somewhere. The Fed minutes will be released tomorrow and that will be a mover I think. So I will have to be positioned before then, if possible. But you never know. I looked at things over the weekend and believe that shorting gold at this point is the thing to do. The stock market is overbought but staying there and looking like it wants more upside. There are no easy trades out there at the moment...

The Dow rose 91 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. We were up around 150 on the Dow and got some profit taking late in the day. The employment number was in line with expectations and we rallied. It could have been any number and we would rally because the trend is up. The OEX calls were higher but not that much considering the up move. So on to next week. We should see some follow through early in the week. Gold rose another $4 today and the XAU was up almost 3 points. I'm beginning to think that we are simply consolidating before moving higher here but I'm not sure. The volume continues to come into the gold shares but we are overbought. ABX was up a third on good volume and NEM was up a half. There was heavy volume in the NEM calls. I am still considering the ABX puts and will check the charts over the weekend. It isn't as clear as it was a week ago. GE really did not participate in todays rally and that is not a good sign. It was up 7 cents on light volume. Perhaps it is taking a rest before the earnings next week. You'd really like to see GE up in line with the overall market. So something is going on here. Either the rally isn't to be trusted at this point or GE will not have the earnings that are expected next Friday. It's all a guess. Mentally I'm feeling OK. I have a couple of ideas for the two weeks remaining on Octobers options. Can't feel too confident without going over everything this weekend. I'll try and come up with some type of game plan and take it from there. The summation index continues higher and there really hasn't been any reasons to sell. It's hard to fight that. I think the release of the Fed minutes on Tuesday could be the next real market mover. We'll see...

The Dow was up 6 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. It's a waiting game for tomorrow. The overall market was stronger then the Dow. It has the feel of a market that wants to go higher. The OEX calls are more expensive then the comparable puts. So we'll see. Gold was up $8 and the XAU rose 3 points. ABX was up over a buck on good volume. Perhaps I am wrong and we will just get sideways action in gold instead of a decline. But I'm still thinking if the ABX puts get a bit cheaper that I am going to buy some. NEM was slightly higher on light volume. GE was up just a touch on very light volume. It looks like GE wants to roll over here and the market won't rally much without GE. The earnings are out in a week. Mentally I'm feeling OK. The market is waiting for the employment report and as I said before, I just don't have a good feel for it this month. The ideal scenario for me would be a decline in the market tomorrow into Monday and then get some calls for the OEX. But it's all just a guess at this point as the market will do what it will. I would like to make a trade but at the same time you've got to be patient and wait for a decent signal. It isn't easy to do but that's what must be done. Tomorrows number and the markets reaction to it should provide some near term direction.

The Dow dropped about 80 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. Is it the start of something big? I doubt it but you never know. At this point I will probably wait for the employment report and take it from there. If we continue to the downside, I will look to get some OEX calls. Gold was little changed but looks to be selling off a bit in the aftermarket. The XAU lost 2 points. Gold and the gold shares should be taking a rest here. It could last a while. ABX was up a touch today and the volume was good. I don't know what to make of that but I would like to still get the puts there if it rallies a little. GE was down over 50 cents on light volume. Again, it's due to take a rest as the technicals are overbought. So that is where we are at for the moment. There hasn't been any surprises one way or the other here. The market is working off the overbought condition and then I think we are heading higher. Mentally I'm feeling OK, slept pretty good. It's basically a waiting game until Friday and then we go from there. The ideal situation would be for the OEX to come back to the up trend line but that is a best case scenario. Still plenty of time on the options so there is no rush to do anything. I expect tomorrow will be a slow moving, light volume affair. we'll see...

The Dow lost 40 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were positive and the overall market was stronger then the Dow. Which implies that we are going higher and I do believe that we are. It's back to buying the dips for now. Gold got clobbered today and was off $17. The signs were there. The XAU shed over 5 1/2 points. ABX was down almost $2. My open order for the ABX puts didn't get filled and I canceled it. There's still a possibility that I'll get some puts here depending on the action from here. But it looks like the divergence in the RSI was for real. GE was pretty much flat on light volume. I still haven't gotten the earnings date there but it's overbought and I'll have to check the charts again. Hard to get the puts there in a market like this. Mentally I'm a bit tired without a good nights sleep. The focus this week seems to be on the employment report coming out on Friday. I don't have a good feel for it like I did the last time. Perhaps I'll wait for it to come out and take it from there but you never know. As always there is no rush to do anything at the moment. I'll check things overnight and take it from there...

A new month and a new all-time high in the Dow. We rose 191 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. We never got a break to buy some OEX calls at reasonable prices. And so it goes. We are going higher. The summation index continues to the upside. Beginning of the month and quarter money flows are evident. Any pullback can be bought. Gold was up 4 bucks and the XAU rose over 4 points. ABX and NEM were both higher. I do have an open order in for some ABX puts. I do believe the run in gold here is about to take a rest. The technicals are overblown to the upside and have been for a while. It could continue this way but the odds are against it. So we'll see. The dollar won't drop forever either but it could continue lower a bit more in the near term. GE was up 60 cents on heavy volume. This issue too, is very overbought and has been for a while. I don't want to short it though and would look to buy weakness. The earnings are due out at some point in October. Mentally I'm feeling OK, got a good nights sleep. I have no doubts that the trend is higher for US equities. At some point we will take a break and that will give the chance to purchase some OEX calls. I think it will happen this month before expiration but you never know. The premiums are still too high for me at the moment. That will change at some point. In the meantime, patience is the key.

The Dow lost 17 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. We got some volatility in the last hour as the month and the quarter ended. I would still like to own some OEX calls here but not without some type of pullback first. It may or may not happen. Gold soared $10 today to hit $750. The XAU rose about a point and a half but was much higher earlier. I'm thinking it was profit taking for the quarter. ABX was up over a buck on good volume. That said, I am looking to get some puts here. I do believe that the gold shares need more of a rest then we got this week. If we get some strength early next week in ABX I will probably try the puts. There will be a divergence in the RSI if all goes as planned. This is risky though as the dollar hit fresh new lows and shows no sign of turning around. The dollar is very oversold as gold is overbought. So we'll see. GE was flat on average volume. I think the earnings are due out next Friday. They should be pretty good but you never know what the stock will do on the actual report. Mentally I'm doing OK. Slept OK. Will have to check all the charts over the weekend. Beginning of the month and the quarter on Monday and I'm thinking that there will be money that has to be put to work. Employment report on Friday. But for now it's the weekend and a little break is in order. After that, some type of game plan for next week.

The Dow rose 35 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. It seems like we are just hanging around here with a slight upside bias. End of the month tomorrow. There isn't much that I can make of the markets action here. I'm on the sidelines until there is a valid signal. Gold was up 4 and change today. The XAU rose over 2 points. Volume was heavy to the downside for NEM again and light on the upside for ABX. Waiting for something there as well. GE was up a touch on light volume. Not much to report today. Oil had a good day up over $2. Mentally I'm tired with not a good nights sleep. It's a waiting game for now. That's all there is to it. You've got to be patient and wait for the opportunity. If we get a pullback it will be a chance to get long. If we continue to rise perhaps a shorting opportunity will present itself. However the trend is up and you don't really want to go against that. So there you have it. It's not very exciting but the market will do what it does and you can't argue with that.

The Dow rose 99 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. We opened higher, sold off and then came back. There was news about Bear Stearns selling a piece of itself and that was viewed as positive. But think about it. Why would a major brokerage sell part of itself? Because they need to raise money to cover their losses. Eventually the crowd will figure this out. I still say we are going higher though and I am looking at the OEX calls as I've said before. Gold lost 3 bucks today and the XAU dropped around 3 points. NEM got clobbered on some bad news. Volume was very heavy there as well. ABX was down over a buck at one point but came back somewhat. The gold shares needed a rest and they're taking it. GE was up a bit and the volume was nothing special. I'm still waiting for some weakness on GE to get long. The weekly chart looks like it's due for a pullback. The ideal scenario would be to retreat to the up trend line. Mentally I'm feeling fine. At this point it's a waiting game for a decent signal. There's nothing else I can do really. And so it goes. End of the month coming up which could skew things one way or the other. Not much else going on. Sometimes it pays to be patient. It isn't always going to be like it was last month, with huge moves. So you can't expect that to repeat itself and you have to act accordingly. It isn't always easy but it is the smart thing to do.

The Dow was up around 20 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. We sold off early in the day and came back. The NASDAQ was stronger then the overall market. It seems to me like we are just hanging around until the next move. I'm keeping an eye on the OEX calls. Gold didn't do much today and the XAU lost over 2 1/2 points. ABX and NEM were both down with the volume nothing special. The gold shares need to take a rest and are doing so. There is so much premium in the options that it doesn't pay to buy them at the moment. GE was up a quarter on light volume. So really there just isn't much going on today. Mentally I'm a bit tired. I have a couple of ideas but in general I feel we are working off the overbought conditions as we prepare to go higher. That is my main prognosis until the data suggest something different. At this point I'm thinking the proper time to get the calls could be the beginning of next week unless a valid signal appears before then. So for now it's patience and a waiting game.

The Dow lost 61 points on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. I'm sticking with the trend is up theory. Declines can be purchased in my opinion. I will be looking to get OEX calls when there is a decent signal. Perhaps this week and maybe early next week. We'll see. I could be wrong. Gold was little changed today and the XAU lost a point. I have an open order in for some ABX puts. ABX was down a touch today. It is way overbought. I think this is the spot where it takes a rest. Gold itself is overblown here also. I do however think that in the longer term, the gold shares will have another run to the upside. But I think for now the recent upside has gotten ahead of itself and it's time for a break. GE lost 40 cents on OK volume for a Monday. I'm still bullish GE into the beginning of next year. I'll be looking to get long as it works off the overbought condition. Mentally I'm feeling fine with a good nights sleep. Options are pricey here due to the roll into the next expiration month. There is no hurry to do anything until a valid signal appears. Patience is needed for now. Not need to force things as there is never a good reason to. Discipline remains key until the next opportunity appears.

The Dow gained 53 points today on better then average volume. Advance/declines were positive. We were up 100 at one point. Options have expired and we are rolling into the next month. The trend is up and I'll be looking to OEX calls at some point. Gold was little changed today and the XAU shed half a point. We are due for a rest here. I have an open order for ABX puts. We are above previous overbought areas that led to declines. ABX lost about 90 cents today on good volume. The problem is that the options have a ton of premium in them due to the length of time before expiration and the recent volatility. We'll see what happens. The dollar has broken down here and there hasn't been a bottom put in yet but I feel that the gold shares will be taking a rest before going higher. That's my guess at this point. GE was unchanged on good volume. The chart is toppy here but I am not looking to get short. I will be looking at the calls on any pullback. Longer term I do think this issue has upside potential barring any negative overall market surprises. Mentally I'm doing OK, although my ideas lately haven't been correct. The plus side is that I never took any positions on them so at least I didn't lose any money. It's not easy to be patient and sit on the sidelines but sometimes it's what you have to do. There are always other trades. I will go over things over the weekend and start again on Monday.

The Dow lost 48 points on average volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. It was a steady, slow moving decline for most of the day. Not the type of decline to trade this late in the option cycle. The market needed to have some weakness and we got it. I think you can buy the dips at this point. We will see new highs in the coming weeks in my opinion. But you never know. Gold continues to be the story and what a story it is. Up again today over $10. The XAU rose another 6 points. ABX was up $2 on very heavy volume. This issue has risen over 33% in 4 weeks! I would have never expected a move like that. NEM was up on heavy volume. The dollar broke to fresh new lows. At some point gold will take a rest but who knows when that may occur? We are so overbought that I really haven't seen anything like this recently. I'd love to short it here but we'll see. The momentum is parabolic at the moment. That never ends well but you can't fight the fact that the price just continues higher. GE was down a quarter on average volume. I think this stock will only be going up from here and will look to the calls on any pullback. Mentally I'm tired as I didn't get a good nights sleep. I don't have any solid ideas at the moment and the charts are not providing me any clues right now. I do think that getting long is the only way to go here, since the Fed just gave the OK for cheap money. You really don't want to fight that. Plus the seasonal effects should start to kick in for the bullish case. It won't be straight up, like it is in gold at the moment. But over time prices should trend higher. That's my guess...

The Dow added another 76 points today on heavy volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. We were higher earlier in the day and managed to hold on to a pretty good gain. I wanted to buy some OEX puts and had to fight myself to sit it out. There is still a chance that I will because I do believe that between now and the close on Friday there will be weakness. But the risk is very high and the timing must be exact. That's a tall order. Gold was higher by $5 today and remains very overbought. The XAU was up 1 1/3. ABX was unchanged on good volume, NEM was higher on heavy volume. I think the run in gold here needs to take a rest. I will be looking to get long on a pullback though. But like the overall market, we are so overbought that a decline is in the offing. GE was up a touch on good volume. Again, it's overbought and has been. Conditions like these don't go on forever. Of course things could remain propped up for the expiration. But sooner or later overbought conditions need to be worked off. Everyone is bullish now so you have to look the other way. Mentally I did not sleep good and am battling myself. As always the real conflict lies within the trader. It isn't easy to do the right thing but that's what must be done. The discipline required is tough to do sometimes. Right now is one of those times for me. I do believe some money can be made here before the end of the week. But it won't be easy...

The Dow had its best day in years as the Fed cut rates more then expected. We were up 335 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were 9 to 1 positive. We have broken out from the near term resistance. You really don't want to step in front of a freight train. My prognosis for buying puts just evaporated. That said, there's always a chance that I might get some on the follow through tomorrow morning. But there is no rush. Perhaps there is still something lurking out there for the Fed to cut more then anticipated. We'll see. Gold soared $10 after the announcement and the XAU rallied with it, up 6 1/2. All the gold shares were up on good volume. I did almost get some puts there today but did not. The technicals pointed to a drop in the gold shares here but they were wrong. In retrospect, it was a consolidation going on and we have broken out above resistance there as well. The dollar fell on the rate cut and that helped gold. There was no inflation in the produces prices and I expect the same tomorrow with the consumer prices. GE had a stellar day, up a buck fifty on heavy volume. It is very overbought here but staying there and continuing higher. The weaker dollar helps there as well. So it looks like up, up and away for the markets from here with new highs coming up. That is what nobody expected. So we'll see. Mentally I'm OK. Got a pretty good nights sleep. I have no imminent trades, perhaps a short tomorrow but I doubt it. Maybe October will be the way to go. Still, you can't deny todays action regardless of the seasonals. So we'll see...

The Dow lost 39 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. It was down from the start so there wasn't an opportune time to buy OEX puts. Fed tomorrow with producer prices. CPI on Wednesday. I don't think there will be any inflation in the upcoming numbers. If we do get a rally the next couple of days, I'll be trying the puts for the end of the week. But it's all just conjecture at this point. I do expect weakness in a big way at some point this week. There is a lot of premium in the OEX options for some reason. The ideal scenario is up tomorrow, follow through on the CPI Wednesday morning and then get short. Probably won't happen. Gold tacked on another 6 bucks today and is over $720. The XAU was off a third. We have stalled here and I don't know if we are consolidating before moving higher and even more overbought or have built a top and will roll over. The volume continues to be heavy. I was thinking about getting some puts here but now I am not quite so sure. I think that when the Fed eases tomorrow everyone thinks the dollar will tank. But that could very well already be in the market. It will be interesting for sure. GE lost a little ground and the volume was extremely light. It is a waiting game until tomorrow I suppose. I don't know, things really look like they could go either way here. The weak sell signal could have been worked off today. So it's a guessing game and no way should money be put at risk unless something definitive shows up. Once the Fed is out of the way it might get clearer. Or not. Mentally I feel OK. I will say that I've been indecisive here for a while but that is the nature of things sometimes. Having missed the move in gold and no clear signal with the OEX, the sidelines has been the place to be. Perhaps a trade will present itself in the next 4 days or perhaps not. I'm leaning to the short side if we get a pop tomorrow.

The Dow managed to tack on 17 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. We opened much lower and came all the way back, which bodes well for the bullish case. There is a weak sell signal here. But todays action will make me hesitate on the puts for now. That said, I'll be looking at the OEX puts on Monday. I think at some point next week there will be some weakness. It's just a matter of when. Gold didn't do much today and the XAU was up a half. The XAU rallied early and fell back. ABX did as well and I'm looking at the puts there for next week. I don't think there will be any inflation in next weeks reports and gold is due for a rest. If we rally early in the week I might give them a try. I'll need to see the charts this weekend. GE was down a bit on average volume. Hard to make much out of todays action in that issue. Perhaps we are building a small top, that's a guess. At any rate, it will all boil down to the Fed announcement on Tuesday. My guess is a quarter point cut and we'll see where the market goes after that. Anything can and will happen. The summation index is still pointing higher and has been for weeks. You can't ignore that. Todays action was positive going forward. It's a tricky game to play with one week left for the September options. Mentally I'm feeling good. I have a couple of ideas for next week but will need to go over everything this weekend. There is no pressure to do anything so I'll just take it as it comes. I can always sit it out and go to October. I don't think that will happen though...

The Dow rose 133 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were positive but not like what you would expect for a market up 133 points. The OEX is at 695 and almost ready to take out the recent highs there. I would like to get some puts at 700 but we'll see. If we end up positive tomorrow there could be a legitimate sell signal. But it's hard to buck the trend and the trend is up. This is also a very strong week so far. Gold was off $3 today while the XAU was up 1 3/4. FCX had a stellar day in that index. Both ABX and NEM were down fractionally on light volume. My guess is that we could go higher here but the end of this leg is near. The gold shares could be ready to roll over for a couple weeks here. But I could be wrong. My guess is a sell-off after the Fed announcement. GE had another great day, up 85 cents on good volume. That bodes well for the overall market. We are overbought there though so a pullback in GE would not be a surprise. But it looks like all systems are go for higher prices at the moment. So why would I be looking at the puts? The market will do what it has to. If things look too bullish, a reversal could be in the offing. I think we will sell off after the Fed announcement. That's my guess unless we break out before that, which is possible. Mentally I'm feeling OK. There is not much time left on the September options. We have been higher in the first 2 weeks. That sometimes reverses in the last 2 weeks. However the summation index continues higher and that is hard to fight. I might possibly put in an order for OEX puts overnight. We'll see. Perhaps waiting for Monday is the best plan. There's always tomorrow...

The Dow lost 16 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. Not much action today but we were up around 50 at one point. I'm sitting tight for now but if the opportunity presents itself, I'll get some OEX puts. Gold didn't do much today even though the dollar fell again. The XAU was up a quarter. I'll be looking to short the gold stocks here. We are overbought and have stayed there long enough. ABX was down 30 cents today on light volume and we could be building a top here for the short term. NEM was up a touch. GE was higher by 40 cents on good volume. GE is at times a proxy for the overall market and todays prices bode well for the bullish case going forward. That's a reason to wait a bit longer on buying the puts on the OEX. I will most likely do it if we get close to 700. But we'll see. It could just be a continued move to the upside. Mentally I'm OK. I'm trying my best not to force things here as we are running out of time for September. I'm thinking we will perhaps sell off on the Fed announcement but that is a guess at this point. We'll have to see how the technicals look when we get there. Anything could happen really. The summation index is still pointing higher and it is hard to contradict that fact. So it's a waiting game for a decent signal. There hasn't been any mention of sub-prime for a while. We also touched $80 for a barrel of oil today but it didn't do anything to the market. So maybe it's just up and away from this point. Doubtful, but you never know.

The Dow rose 180 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. Where are all the sellers? Could it be that we are sold out? Who knows? Are we going to new highs? The summation index is still pointing upwards. You can't argue with that. Gold was up over $8 today. It is starting to look like a straight line up. That won't go on forever. ABX was up 60 cents and NEM was up over a dollar both on decent volume. These stocks are due for a rest. I will be looking to get the puts here as they build a top. When NEM starts to outperform ABX a short term top is near. That has played itself out in the past. I will get long any pullback though as this breakout is for real I believe. GE was up 35 cents on average volume. Perhaps the calls there should have already been purchased. Mentally I'm feeling OK. My thinking at this point is to let the market run up a bit more here and then short it. That's a guess. More likely we are making a bottoming pattern and the market will be at new highs sometime in October. I could be wrong. The market will do what everyone least expects it to. No one is calling for new highs. So there is a chance that is exactly what happens. But for now there is the September expiration to deal with. We have been moving sideways. If the market was going to drop more then it already has, it would have already. That's my guess at the moment. I do not have any clear short term signals at the moment. There's always tomorrow.

The Dow gained 14 points on light volume. We opened higher, went lower, came back and sold off in the last hour. So it was an up and down day. Advance/declines were negative and the overall market was weaker then the Dow. There isn't a clear signal as to which way we go here. As soon as there is I'll take it. Gold was up a couple bucks. The XAU bounced around and ended close to unchanged. ABX was up, NEM was down and the volume was average. We are overbought here. I would like to short these on any more strength. However the more prudent thing to do could be to wait for a pullback to the breakout point and then get long there. We'll see. GE was up around 40 cents on average volume. I don't trust Monday rallies. GE will do better with a weaker dollar because it does a lot of business overseas. There will be a time to buy the calls I just don't think it is now. Mentally I'm a bit hesitant at the moment. The market could do just about anything here. Less then 2 weeks in this option cycle and a Fed meeting in a week. So it's really not a time to be guessing. If something appears by all means take advantage of it. But don't try and make something out of nothing. Is the sub-prime mess over with? If it is, then getting long is the way to go. But if it isn't, anything can happen. The technicals seem to be pointing in the direction that the worst is over. But that can change. So we are at an interesting point in the road. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

The Dow lost 250 points on a weak jobs report. Volume was average and the advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. It wasn't a blow out decline and I think we might just grind our way down to retest the lows of last month. That's a guess as always. We didn't close on the lows and actually tried to rally a couple of times. It wasn't a waterfall decline. The technicals have rolled over on a daily basis. Gold gained another $5 and the XAU lost a 1/4. ABX and NEM were up fractionally on good volume. The dollar was weaker, the US economy looks like it's going down the tubes and Osama released another tape. It can't get any better for gold at the moment. I am looking at perhaps getting some puts on strength early next week. We are overbought and have been. A pullback is in order. I still like gold longer term but nothing just goes straight up. A pullback will offer an opportunity to get long again in my opinion. But I could be wrong. GE was down 60 cents on good volume. If it gets back to the weekly trend line that would be the spot to buy some calls. That's the theory at the moment. Always subject to change. Mentally I'm a bit tired with not a good nights sleep. There are 2 weeks left for September options. As always there will be chances to make money. There's also a Fed meeting thrown in there. The summation index is still pointing higher I believe even with todays action. So there's a lot to consider going forward. For now it's the weekend and time for a break...

The Dow gained 58 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. The market was in a holding pattern today, waiting for the employment data. As much as I would like to have a trade on here, there is no clear signal. So I'll have to wait. The story today was gold, which rallied over $13 to cross $700 again. The XAU was up 8 points. The volume was heavy so I have to believe that it is for real. ABX was up 2 3/4 and NEM was up 1 3/4, both on very heavy volume. I put in an order for some NEM calls, in case we get a pullback. It looks like this time could finally be a valid breakout of the weekly down trend line in NEM. If so there will be plenty more room to the upside. Perhaps gold is foretelling a weak jobs number tomorrow. The dollar was weak today and that helped gold. GE gained 60 cents on good volume. It is overbought here but could stay that way. I don't have any trades in mind there unless we get a pullback. GE isn't something that I will chase. Mentally I'm feeling OK. Sometimes it is hard to be patient but not this time for me. I really get the feeling that the decline has seen it's low. We have never really retested it. That could all change tomorrow so we'll see. I did want to get short before the employment report but that has changed. My next guess will be before the Fed meeting unless a decent signal appears. With the summation index still pointing up, it will be hard to be bearish really. But anything can and does happen...

Well, so much for the beginning of the month being strong. The Dow lost 142 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. I will say this. It doesn't feel as though this is the beginning of something big. When markets go down they usually don't move sideways for most of the day as they did today. The employment report on Friday will be interesting. The summation index is still pointing higher. If we were positive today there would have been a signal to buy the puts. So we'll see what happens. Gold didn't do much today but the volume was good. The XAU lost about a point and a quarter. ABX was basically unchanged. I'd still like to get some ABX calls at some point. But it's probably too late. GE lost a third on average volume. I'm going to wait there. There is no rush for the options that I'm looking at. Mentally I'm feeling OK. I do not have a good feel for the events unfolding it seems but I do believe we have seen the lows. If at some point they get retested, that will be the point to buy calls. My guess at this point is that we won't do much tomorrow and we will see what happens on Friday. Light volume is never a good sign for the bullish scenario. But the market sometimes will do what the majority least expects. I have no problem stepping aside at the moment. As soon as I see something worth taking the risk I'll give it a try.

The Dow was up 91 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. We sold off about 30 points in the last half hour. It looks as though all systems are go to the upside here. It's got everything but the volume. Summation index moving higher and the overall market stronger then the Dow. I might still get short before the employment report but we'll have to see what happens tomorrow. We are almost to my upside target of 700 for the OEX and I'll try a short there perhaps. Gold continues to rally and was up $10. The XAU was up 4 1/4. The volume on gold itself was heavy. Not as much for the gold shares. ABX was up almost a buck. The weekly chart has turned positive. There was a lot of volume in the October 35 calls. It's overbought here on the daily charts but it could stay that way for a while. I will wait for a pullback, hopefully. GE was up slightly on average volume. I'm going to try and be patient there as well. Mentally I'm feeling OK. I did sleep pretty good last night. I am trying to figure out just what could happen here. I checked previous reading of the McClellan oscillator that had the same general numbers as we have had here recently. There is a case to be made for one more run to the downside. There are still 3 weeks for the September options. So I am leaning to a trade involving OEX puts at the moment. So we'll see what happens. This month has a tendency sometimes to be strong in the beginning and weak towards the end. It has happened before. For now it's a matter of waiting for the target and then deciding what to do there.

The Dow rose 119 points today. Advance/declines were about 6 to 1 positive. The volume was light again. We were up around 175 at one point before profit taking and end of month gyrations appeared. Bernanke spoke and didn't say anything negative plus Bush came out with a plan to rescue homeowners. It was everything the bulls could hope for. The rally has everything but volume and I do not trust light volume rallies. But you cannot deny price and the summation index is solidly moving higher. Next week all the players will return and we will go from there. Gold was up $8 today and the XAU rose another 3 1/2 points. ABX was up over a dollar and the volume was OK for a summer Friday I guess. The dollar was flat so I don't know what caused gold to move. Perhaps it was end of the month movement and squaring. I'm still bullish on ABX calls and will be looking for an entry point although it may be too late. The weekly indicators haven't turned up yet which keeps me out for now. GE was up a half on average volume. Mentally I'm feeling OK. No positions to start next month and I'll check things over the long weekend. I'm still leaning towards getting some OEX puts if we get overbought before the employment report. But that could change. I'm looking forward to this little break before we get back to business.

The Dow lost 50 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. We opened down around 100 came all the way back to be up around 25 and fell back again. The light volume skews the moves and it is impossible to get a handle on things from my perspective. I dumped the OEX puts for a 20% loss with 10% due to slow execution from the online brokerage website. But what can you do? That doesn't usually happen but it's something that could happen at any time. It wasn't a lot of money so that's a plus. I might try the puts again if a valid signal occurs. Bernanke is speaking tomorrow but it is a Friday before a holiday weekend. Anything could happen. Gold was off over a buck and the XAU lost a half. ABX was down 40 cents. The volume in the gold shares was light too. I'm going to try the ABX calls again eventually. GE lost 30 cents on light volume. I have an idea there for the calls if we get back to the weekly up trend line. I do think it will hold. But who knows? I've been wrong before. Mentally I'm tired. Did not sleep well again. The volatility takes its toll also. I'll be glad when tomorrows market day is done and I can relax for a few days. The summation index is pointing up and implies higher prices. Some other indicators are mixed. At the moment my thought is to get some OEX puts again if we rally into the employment report next Friday. It is not that far away. The small loss I took today was basically a bad entry trade. I was early. I did have chances to get out with a small profit during the duration of the trade but was greedy. Timing is everything in the game usually. Keeping the losses small is one of the keys. On to tomorrow.

The volatility continues on Wall Street as we rallied back up 247 points. This time advance/declines were 7 to 1 positive. The volume was light again and that is the problem here. You can't trust the moves without the volume. So the market gets whipped around from day to day. Who knows about tomorrow? My OEX puts are back in the red. Greed kills. I think I'll just get out tomorrow and step aside. There is no telling what Bernanke will say on Friday. There is a GDP report tomorrow. Gold was up a couple bucks but the XAU rallied 4 1/2 points. ABX was up a dollar. The volume was light here again. I'm thinking perhaps that I have missed the calls but there may be a chance. It's hard to tell without the volume. You can't argue with price action though. GE was up 60 cents on average volume. Mentally I'm a bit tired without a good nights sleep. I'm also not feeling good about not moving up the stop on the OEX trade when it was showing a small profit. You can always look back and say what you should have done. It doesn't matter after the fact but it is always good to go over the possible scenarios for the next time. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

The Dow took a hit today, down 280 points. Volume was light again as buyers took a day off. Advance/declines were 7 to 1 negative. Volatility increased and we went through the 200 day moving average line on the OEX. So perhaps we are going to retest the lows of mid-August after all. That was the scenario for the OEX put trade. Those are back in the black as now the question remains when to sell them. What is interesting is that even with todays action the technicals have barely rolled over. That could lead to quite a decline. But I don't think that's going to happen. I could be wrong. Perhaps everyone is just getting out to book the losses in August. That's a guess. I'll ponder these things this evening. Gold was down around 3 bucks and the XAU lost over 3 points. ABX lost over a buck on increased volume. There was a rumor of ABX buying NEM. So NEM was up big at one point on heavy volume. It did end higher but the rumor was squashed. I might get the ABX calls tomorrow if we get some follow through. I'm thinking that we will but the weekly chart is now bearish for ABX. Decisions will have to be made. GE lost almost a dollar on average volume. The calls I'm looking at aren't cheap enough for me yet. Mentally I didn't sleep all that well. Also todays action makes things a bit more puzzling. But I will check things out tonight and come up with some type of game plan for tomorrow. Not sure what that will be but I would expect at least some downside early. But you never know...

The Dow lost 56 points today on summer Monday light volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. The overall market was weaker then the Dow. My OEX puts gained a little ground but I still think they need to be dumped this week at a loss. Bernanke is speaking on Friday and I don't think I'll wait that long. But who knows? Gold lost a little over a buck today and the XAU shed 3 points. Can't explain the weakness there except perhaps an overbought condition. ABX lost a buck on light volume. GE lost 40 cents on light volume. And that is part of the problem here. The volume has dried up. There really is no conviction one way or the other. My thinking is that the decline has ended but that could be wrong. Was today the beginning of the retest of the lows? Time will tell. Volatility has come back down and that will depress option premiums. So there are a lot of questions that need to be resolved. Mentally I'm feeling pretty good. It is the last week of summer. All the players will be back after Labor day and we'll get back down to business...

The Dow had a good day up 142 points. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The only thing missing was the volume which was light. The shorts got squeezed, meaning me. The OEX puts I have are about to be stopped out. I never trust light volume rallies except for the fact that it is the summer and now for some reason things have slowed down. We also broke the daily down trend line today to the upside. However the volume really doesn't confirm it. But you can't argue with price. The summation index is pointing towards higher prices longer term. So the OEX trade becomes a cut the loss affair at this point. It's all you can do. The timing wasn't correct. Gold was up 9 bucks today and the XAU gained over 3 points. ABX was up a half and the volume was light. I would have liked to see better volume there. But like the overall market perhaps the sellers are gone. GE was up around 40 cents on average volume. The indices closed on their highs so we should see some follow through Monday morning. We are overbought and staying there which I did not expect following the recent sharp decline. Perhaps there won't be any retest of the lows. That's what I was counting on. Fortunately the recent volatility combined with the extra week on the options means I haven't lost that much on the OEX puts as yet. I'll have to bail out next week even if they don't get stopped out. Mentally I'm doing OK. My thinking is that we have seen the lows for this decline last week. I could be wrong. I will be looking to buy calls on any down draft. That seems to be the guess for the scenario going forward. For now it's the weekend and time to take a break...

The Dow ended basically unchanged today. We opened higher, went lower and then came back. Advance/declines were even and the volume was light. The OEX puts I have lost some value. We are still at the down trend line. At this rate I think that it could be broken to the upside. Now tomorrow becomes important. Although I feel that I have until Tuesday for this to work. I could be wrong. A couple economic reports out tomorrow. Gold was little changed and the XAU lost 1 1/2. ABX was down over a half. If I get a chance I'll buy some ABX calls again. GE ended slightly higher. Volume was lighter then lately. Mentally I'm doing OK. Slept well. I might have been early on getting the puts but I had to stick to the game plan. They don't always work. The OEX trades much more compressed then individual issues. The pace is quicker. Decisions must be made faster. It is a more difficult instrument to trade. But it does offer opportunities and that's why you trade it. We'll see...

The Dow soared 145 points today. Volume was light again. Advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. We are right at the recent downtrend line for the OEX. I bought some OEX puts. This looks to be a scalp trade the way the market is acting at the moment. We are short term overbought. There is a possibility that we just continue higher, breaking the trend line and turning all signs positive. That isn't the scenario that I have in mind but it could happen. The summation index is now pointing higher also. Tomorrow will make or break this trade most likely. We'll see. Gold was up around $3 and the XAU climbed almost 5 points. Obviously I sold the ABX calls a day early. ABX was up over a buck on light volume. It seems as though there aren't any more sellers all of a sudden. It's always easy to look back and say you should have done something different. But it doesn't matter now. I'll look to buy those calls again on a pull back. GE was up over 3/4 on good volume. That will help support the market here. So where do we go from here? If we continue higher tomorrow like today, then all signs will point to the decline being over. There is a chance that this will happen. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. Mentally I'm doing OK. The plan was to get short at the down trend line and I've stuck to that. Whether or not it works is another story. On to tomorrow...

The Dow dropped 30 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were positive and the overall market was higher. We are about to be short term overbought if not already there. It hasn't happened for a while. I don't think that a large decline is imminent but who knows. I really think that the next OEX trade is a short from the daily down trend line but we are not there yet. But I'd expect some weakness here soon. Gold was little changed again and the XAU rose about a point. ABX was up around 30 cents on light volume. I sold the calls I had for a 40% profit. They could move higher from here of course but if the overall market gets weak as I expect it will take the gold shares with it. I'll look to buy the calls again on a dip. I still think that trade has potential for the next few weeks. I could be wrong but it still appears to be a buy signal for the gold shares. GE was up a touch on average volume. Perhaps will get long on a pullback to the weekly up trend line. It all depends. The McClellan oscillator should turn positive today for the first time in weeks. The summation index also should be turning as well. Regardless, I expect the decline to continue unless we break through the down trend lines in the indices. That would change things. Hasn't happened yet. Mentally I'm feeling OK. Perhaps was a bit early on my exit from the latest trade but I do believe there will be another entry point. I would really like to see things slow down here for a couple of weeks but the market will do what it does. I'll just have to be prepared for anything and take it from there.

The Dow gained 42 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. We were both up and down about 100 points during the session. The overall market was weaker then the Dow. Can't say I have a good feel for what happens next. I'll wait for the indices to get to the recent down trend lines and take it from there. Gold was basically unchanged but the XAU rose around 2 1/2. ABX was up over 1 1/4 on OK volume. NEM barely moved. No reason for ABX to be so strong that I can see. The calls I bought last week are showing a profit. The question is when to sell these things. It's probably best to dump them when we get short term overbought but we're not there yet. Perhaps I can buy them back later. We'll see. GE was down a 1/4. Mentally I'm feeling good with a good nights sleep. I'll need to check the charts again tonight to get some type of feel for what comes next. I don't think the decline is over but we could go sideways here for a while. It is also possible that the decline is over. There should be a retest of last weeks low at some point. What happens there will be the key for the future. If it holds then the bottom is in. If it doesn't then we will head on down lower. That's my best guess at this point.

We had a nice expiration relief rally today with the Dow up 233 points. Advance/declines were about 7 to 1 positive. The only thing missing was the volume, which was light. The Fed cut the discount rate. Has the decline ended? That's the question of the day. It's probably over for a couple of weeks perhaps. But of course there will be surprises along the way. I can't say that it is completely over just yet. September can be a down month a lot of the time due to lack of money flows. Plus the volume on the rally is suspect. We are at the least going to eventually test the lows of yesterday. Gold snapped back $8 but it wasn't that great in my opinion. The dollar lost some ground also due to the rate cut. ABX and NEM were both up around 40 cents on good volume. I would have liked to see more upside. The gold share buy signal is still intact but it doesn't feel like a rally will occur at the moment really. My options didn't move. I'll need to see some better progress to the upside here or I might just bail out. GE had a great day, up 1 1/4 on very heavy volume. Perhaps it was a flight to quality. The weekly up trend line has held for now. Perhaps that will be the place to get long. At this point it looks like it. We should retest that as well and that could be the spot to purchase calls. We'll see. Mentally I feel fine with a good nights sleep. This was quite a week and I suspect we will slow down for the rest of August. That's just a guess because this market is nervous. September options have an extra week on them, plus the recent volatility which will keep the premiums high. There will be opportunities as there were in August. As always you just have to keep going in the game. But for now it's the weekend and time for a short break before we see what next week brings...

Another wild day on Wall Street. We ended the day down 15 points after being off well over 300 points. Advance/declines were negative and the volume was heavy again. It's possible that today marked a short term bottom. Only time will tell. I don't think it's thee bottom but we could hold up for a few days. There's a short term buy signal in effect. We could also go down 500 points tomorrow, that's what kind of market that we are in. Gold got shellacked today, off $20. I did say yesterday that there was a buy signal for gold according to an indicator I follow. That hasn't changed. I had an overnight order in for some ABX calls based on that and ABX got clobbered today, down 1 1/2. It was a point lower then that early in the day. I had put in an order with the expectation that it wouldn't get filled and I would adjust it. Well it got filled of course with a day like today. Even with ABX down, it's showing a small profit. The volatility keeps the premiums higher then usual. The XAU was down almost 7. So who knows what will happen tomorrow. My thinking is that this trade will work. We'll get some type of snap back in gold between now and when these calls expire I believe. So we'll see. GE is holding the weekly up trend line for now and rose 30 cents on heavy volume. Mentally I'm a bit tired without a good nights sleep. Expiration tomorrow and as usual anything can happen. It certainly has been an interesting summer so far...

Somewhat of a roller coaster ride today with the Dow off 167 points at the close. We were up 90 at one point. Advance/declines over 5 to 1 negative again with even lighter volume then yesterday. There is actually a buy signal on one of my indicators here. I don't know if I'm going to try it. Only 2 days left until expiration. It certainly isn't a trade I'd be confident of but we'll see. There's also a chance it just keeps going down. The economic releases don't matter right now as something big behind the scenes continues. We haven't had that final blow-off to the downside yet. I'm thinking it won't be until next month. Gold didn't do much today but the XAU fell hard again, down almost 6 points. NEM held up better then ABX. ABX was off over a point. I am actually getting a buy signal for the gold shares here relative to gold. I am thinking of putting in an overnight order for some October calls. We'll see. GE lost over 3/4 and is almost to the weekly up trend line. At this rate it won't hold but that remains to be seen. Like the rest of the market there are many more unknowns out there then usual. How long can the decline last? A 10% correction on the Dow is 250 points away. The fear level is pretty high already. Perhaps that will do it. But that's just a guess and certainly nothing to trade off of. The VIX is at 30 and could go higher. Mentally I'm trying to not do anything stupid. Like trade the OEX with 2 days left. Especially in a market like this. I do think a bounce is coming before the close on Friday. Trading it is another question.

Another interesting day in the markets with the Dow losing 207 points. Advance/declines were over 5 to 1 negative but the volume was lighter then we have seen again recently. We closed near the low of the day and that is never a good sign. We also need to hold 665 on the OEX or near term support is broken. We closed around 664. Unless we rally at the open tomorrow there will be trouble. There is talk now of money market funds that are in trouble and that, if true, would be a real problem. So we'll see what happens. Gold lost around a buck today but again the XAU was down, this time by over 4 1/2 points. ABX and NEM both lower but the volume wasn't all that heavy. The dollar was higher and although gold itself didn't react, the gold shares did. I'll need to check the charts here but there is no hurry to get the gold shares with the stock market in collapse mode. GE lost a half on good volume. No hurry there either but an up trend line on a weekly basis is approaching. Decisions will have to be made then. At this point it doesn't feel as though it will hold but we'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK, slept OK. Would like to try something here but there really aren't any decent signals at the moment and it is expiration week. It is a different kind of market at the moment. The normal indicators won't react or perform the way they usually would. This has to be taken into consideration. It doesn't hurt to be even a bit more cautious in such an environment. As I said earlier, the way I see it we either rally from the bell tomorrow or there will be trouble. Interesting times...

It was a relatively quiet day as the Dow only lost 3 points. Advance/declines were about even and the volume slowed down compared to lately. We did open higher and close lower and that's not a good sign usually. The overall market was a touch weaker. If we stay up for the next couple of days, I'll probably try a short. But it is expiration week. The risk right now seems to outweigh any potential short term gain. We'll see. Gold didn't do much today either but the XAU lost over a point. Volume was lighter here as well. ABX and NEM were both off around 3/4. The dollar was stronger today. GE didn't do much either, its pattern mirrored the overall market. Mentally I'm a bit tired. But there are no excuses. The game plan will be to get short at some point this week perhaps. Todays action doesn't really fit into that scenario. There are a lot of bears at the moment and that might produce a rally. But I don't know. Whatever has been going on lately is pretty big. We are holding the 200 day moving average on the major indices but a break of that will be trouble. The Russell 2000 has already broken through and is sometimes the leader, both up and down. So it's a waiting game at this point really. Without a good signal there isn't any gain in taking unnecessary chances. That said, there is always a possibility that a good set up will emerge this week. Time will tell...

The week has ended. The Dow lost 31 points on the now usual extremely heavy volume. Advance/declines were negative. We moved all over the place. Sold off early and came back. Are the markets manipulated? I have seen these types of conditions before. They will do whatever they can to stem off a panic. We haven't even gone down 10% from the high set a few weeks ago. But it feels like a crash. My guess is, judging from todays action, that they will hold it in here for now. The indices will have a bullish candlestick chart day today. If we can follow through to the upside Monday then I think the worst is over for now. So we'll see. That doesn't mean it's over, that's just my guess based on today. Gold was up $10 and the XAU rose a point and a half. Volume was heavy. It's hard to try and figure what to do here so I'm staying out for now. ABX continues to impress, up a half on good volume. The weekly chart looks toppy here or I would get the calls. I probably will down the road. GE lost around 3/4 and it was off almost a dollar more then that earlier. The volume was twice the norm. This issue will have a bullish hammer or hamari on it's daily candlestick chart with strong volume. This usually means the bottom is in. So we'll see. Mentally I'm a bit tired, not a good nights sleep. Not to mention the volatility which really takes a lot out of you on a day to day basis. But you just keep going. Expiration week is on tap. Who knows what will happen? I think we will bounce early in the week but that's just a guess as usual. For now it's the weekend and a chance to catch your breath.

The Dow got clobbered today, down 387 points. The volume looks incredibly heavy as it was a couple of weeks ago. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. We are heading down to test the lows and at this rate, they won't hold. But we'll see. The question is, who is going to want to hold stocks over the weekend? Just how long will this go on? Don't know. The McClellan oscillator almost made it positive yesterday but it didn't. So the summation index remains downward. Tomorrow will be interesting. Gold was down $13 as it was liquidated to cover losses elsewhere. The XAU was off 4 1/4. NEM was off almost a buck but ABX was only down around 30 cents. ABX was off almost a dollar at one point and came all the way back. The relative strength is back with ABX and that is a place to look. GE lost about a buck and a half on heavy volume. It's still far from the target I'm looking at to get long. Mentally I'm feeling OK with a good nights sleep. The volatility is getting extreme. That is just the type of market it is at the moment. I had an idea for the puts yesterday but wasn't filled. I'll be looking for calls at some point if a good signal occurs. There is no rush to do anything and next week is expiration. Until tomorrow...

OK, it's just getting a little too crazy for me. We ended up 153 points on the Dow with extremely heavy volume again. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. In the last 2 hours we were up over 180 points, moved into negative territory and then roared back to finish over 150 points up on the day. I had an order in for OEX puts that didn't get filled. Of course when we started to drop I wished that I had adjusted it. An hour later when we came back, I was glad I didn't. And there lies the problem with this market and attempting to trade it here. It is out of control volatility. It's happening for a reason and I still don't know what that is. The McClellan oscillator might have made it back into positive territory today and the summation index is perhaps starting to turn around. Those are positives if they occur. I still feel that the lows will be tested, I'm just not sure if that's the next trade now. Gold rose $4 today as the dollar was weaker even though interest rates went higher. The XAU was up 4 points. Both ABX and NEM had good days. Could it be time for the calls here? GE had another good day and is back over $40. Could it be that the decline is over and we just go up from here? It's possible I suppose. Perhaps it will be a repeat of last year when September and October were up months. However nothing can be discounted in a market like this. The trading is perilous. It's frustrating and tougher then usual to do. The smart thing to do is tread lightly until things calm down. Which isn't about to happen anytime soon with option expiration next week.

It was another crazy day in the markets with the Dow ending up 35 points. Advance/declines were positive and the volume was very heavy again. The overall market was stronger then the Dow. We were both up and down over 100 points during the day. The volatility remains one of the key issues right now. It's possible that the decline is now over but I do think a retest of the lows is in order. The Fed left rates unchanged and had its usual blabbering statement. The market sold off and came back. It's been an interesting summer. Gold was off a buck but the XAU rose over a point. ABX and NEM both ended higher with fractional gains. They too moved all over the place during the day. Volume was OK there, nothing great. The dollar is holding up here so far. The XAU seems to just be following whatever the market does at this point. GE was up on good volume. I'm not looking to trade that issue here just yet. However it has turned around and perhaps my scenario there will not come to pass. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep well. Also the volatility day after day takes its toll. As I've said before the moves become compressed and you really have to pay attention. You need to have a game plan and stick to it. Anything else won't work. This week has started out very positive but where will it end? We'll see...

The Dow soared 286 points today on very heavy volume. We broke through the short term down trend line. That's a good sign for the bulls. However the advance/declines were only slightly positive. That's not really what you want to see to get bullish. Today was good but it was probably a lot of short covering before the Fed. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ rose along with the Dow and that is a positive. The 200 day moving average held for the OEX. There are 2 weeks left in this option cycle. We will get a retest of the lows I believe and that could be the next trade. However the volatility is just so extreme there is nothing wrong with waiting it out until we return to a more orderly market. Preservation of capital. Mitigation of risk. These are things to keep in mind. Gold was down a bit over a buck today. The XAU sold off pretty good but came back to be down only 2 points. ABX and NEM both were down pretty good early and came back too. However with the market in a huge rally, up almost 300 points, you would have liked to see the gold shares participate. I would like to get long gold again at some point. GE had a stellar day, up a buck on heavy volume. Could today be that day that turns things around? Maybe. Mentally, I got a good nights sleep. I haven't got a good signal one way or the other here. Today was huge but is it the beginning of a new bull market? Again, the volatility is so high that nothing can be certain. Of course we were oversold but now are we overbought? When in doubt, stay out. Will there be better circumstances down the road? Of course. Will there be some money to be made here? Yes, but it won't be easy.

The Dow ended the week down 281 points today on extra heavy volume again. Advance/declines were 5 to 1 negative. We took out the recent lows on the close so we'll see where we end up this time. Monday should be interesting. These aren't the normal times in the market but when is it ever normal? There is something happening but what, I don't know. I'm on the sidelines for now. Gold was up over $8 but the XAU dropped 2 3/4. NEM was down but ABX closed higher. That's impressive in a market like this and I will look there eventually for the next gold trade. The gold shares are following the overall market. GE lost almost a buck. Mentally I'm doing OK. So where do we go from here? I'll check the charts again over the weekend. I know some of the indices are at or near their 200 day moving averages. Perhaps some have broken through. It would help things for the bullish case if we could find a way to hold here. I'm hearing a bit more panic in the news which would mean a bottom could be near. But I don't know. It's all just a guessing game in a market like this. I do have an idea of what I'd like to do next but there's no rush one way or the other. No summer doldrums this year but at least it's the weekend...

The Dow rose 100 points today on extra heavy volume again. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. We are working off the extremely oversold condition of late. There will be a retest of the lows and that will let us know where we stand. That could be the next trade. Gold was little changed. Earnings came out and ABX rallied early, NEM didn't do much. I dumped the NEM calls for a 70% loss. No sense in holding those anymore. They were losers from the start, off 50% the day after I bought them. Those trades never work out. The market collapsed and the gold shares went with it. I still believe that the gold shares will be worth owning again but perhaps not at the moment. The dollar has held up lately but if and when it breaks 80, that will be the time to own gold. GE ended up slightly, the volume was nothing special. I'm going to wait there. Mentally I feel fine and am looking for the next trade. It is always good to dump your losers. You don't use up anymore mental capital on something that isn't going to work and you move on. As long as you stick to the money management parameters you can stay in the game. There are no sure things. The question is where we go from here. I have a target in mind for the OEX but that could change. I'll try and be patient for a decent signal. We'll see what the markets have to say.

The Dow came back in the last hour, probably on short covering and was up 150 points. Advance/declines were negative and the volume was extremely heavy again. The overall market wasn't as strong as the Dow. Is the decline over? That's a guessing game. We did make a lower low in the indices with the McClellan oscillator higher. That's a short term positive. But the volatility is so high at the moment and the moves compressed that it's anybodies guess as to what happens next. Gold was down over $3 and the XAU dropped 3 1/3. NEM ended down on the day but it could have been worse. It too came back in the last half hour along with the market. Volume was heavy. ABX dropped also. Earnings for NEM tomorrow and I should really just bail out regardless. We'll see. Taking the loss would be the prudent thing to do. GE ended up a 1/4 on heavy volume and made the same final hour comeback. Mentally I'm feeling OK. We are in an interesting period for the markets at the moment. The trouble is that you really don't know what is going on but you know it's something. The uncertainty and the speed at which movements occur has changed dramatically. It makes the trading harder then it already is. As if you needed that. It also presents opportunities and situations to be taken advantage of. Interesting times...

The Dow lost 146 points today to close out the month. Volume was extremely heavy again. The advance/declines were slightly negative which was about the only positive thing for the day. We opened higher and closed lower and that is usually not a good thing. We got to the recent down trend line and sold off. If we can get a blow-off down day I'll look at the OEX calls. But it hasn't happened yet. Gold was up a couple bucks but the XAU lost a point. ABX and NEM both were up early along with the market and closed near their lows. I don't think the earnings will help at this point. Not in this type of market but we'll see. GE down another half on average volume. Again, I have a target in mind here to get long but we're nowhere near it yet. And so it goes. Mentally I'm doing what I can to stay positive in a negative trade. There are no illusions of a profit here so that's a plus. As for the overall market it would have to hold here tomorrow to turn the short term positive. Doesn't look like that will happen but who knows? Maybe the money flows can keep it up for a couple of days. But the market will do what it does. I'll keep an eye on it...

The Dow snapped back 92 points today on heavy volume. However the volume was much lighter then last week when it was extraordinary. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. The McClellan oscillator was at a -344 on Friday. It rarely gets that negative and a rebound always ensues. I was hoping for a washout down move this morning to get long. It didn't happen. That said, the quality of this rally stinks and I do believe prices will be heading lower. I could be wrong. If we continue with a weak rally I'll look for OEX puts. If we have a washout down day, I'll look for OEX calls. Gold was up $4 and the XAU rose 5 points. ABX was up good but NEM didn't rise as much. The relative strength perhaps has moved back to ABX and that won't help the NEM calls I own. Earnings for both out on Thursday. The volume today wasn't that great. I'm not a believer here either unless I see some better volume. We'll see. GE was up a half in sympathy with the overall market. I'm probably not going to do anything here until we get back to the up trend line. Mentally I'm doing fine. I checked the older charts of the McClellan oscillator and summation index to get a better handle of what might happen here. We really need to see some good strength to the upside or we are gonna go lower regardless. However I think we are eventually setting up for a good longer term buy point. But we probably aren't there yet. As for the NEM trade, it isn't going to work. Once the earnings come out, that's it. I will try and cut the loss if possible but I need to exit this week. At least that's the thinking right now. This is a time to pay close attention to what is going on and act accordingly...

Another 208 points to the downside today. We are in the fall apart mode. It doesn't happen often and I missed it. We closed on the low of the day. I'd be afraid of Monday at this point. Advance/declines were only 2 to 1 negative and the volume was extremely heavy. I was almost dumb enough to buy some OEX calls today. Didn't do it. It looks like 680 isn't going to hold for the OEX. Gold was down 2 and change. ABX and NEM both dropped about another 3/4. The XAU lost 2 1/2. I own NEM calls during a market meltdown. Probably should have sold them as soon as I bought them. There will be a snap back rally at some point but it might be from such lower levels that it won't matter. The dollar was stronger again today on the GDP and flight to quality so the fundamental picture for gold has changed with regards to the dollar. Earnings next week? Like I said before in an environment like this they probably won't matter. GE was down on good volume. Did I mention that I was looking at the puts? Didn't get any but the weekly chart is now breaking down. The support is around $38 I think and at this rate we'll be through it next week. Mentally I'm trying not to get too down on myself since there is so much time before August expiration and there will be money to be made. Not in anything I'm holding at the moment but for trades down the road. We're in a time for the markets that doesn't happen often. But when it does unless you're on it right away, it's best to just step aside. There are things going on that aren't explained in the charts and the indicators that you normally use. We are deeply oversold and staying there and that means lower prices. The selling will stop at some point but when that point is, who knows? It could be on Monday for all I know but I don't. It will bounce at some point. But for now it's the weekend so I'll try to relax and take a break...

The Dow got slammed again, down 311 points. Advance/declines were 10 to 1 negative. The volume numbers I'm getting are incredible so I will wait to see if they are correct. Is the decline over? Who knows? I guess the collapse started before I thought it would. That said we are blown out to the downside. There is support for the OEX at 680, today we got to 682. If 680 doesn't hold then the real downside will begin. My guess is that it will hold for now and break later but that is just a guess. Something is going on as there is a worldwide liquidation in progress. Everything gets sold. We'll see what happens. Gold got killed again, down over $11. NEM lost 1 3/4, ABX 1 1/4 and the XAU off 6. The calls I bought got slammed. Normally I'd just dump them but these aren't normal times. We'll get some type of snap back in the next few days and I'll cut the loss. This trade isn't going to work, I don't think the earnings matter anymore due to the market we are in at the moment. But you never know. GE was down on heavy volume. But everything was down. Mentally I'm doing OK. There will be trading opportunities galore for the August cycle. Capitalizing on them will be another story. There's no summer vacation this year, that's for sure. So we'll see what happens. I'll be looking for a snap back rally in the next couple of days because we are that blown out. What happens after that will be the key. Hopefully we'll hold up but there are no guarantees. It won't be boring, that's for sure...

The Dow as up 68 points on extremely heavy volume. Advance/declines were negative again and that's a problem. Don't exactly have a good feel for what's happening at the moment. Sideways would be a plus but I really don't know at this point. It's not as oversold as it could get. The premiums in the OEX options are much higher with the volatility. Sidelines there for now. Gold lost $11 as the dollar had an up day for a change. The XAU lost a couple of points but was down much more earlier. I picked up some NEM calls as it has been holding up a bit better then ABX lately. It too came back from earlier heavy losses. But the fundamental picture could be changing here with regards to the dollar. We are at the important level of 80 there and it appears to want to hold it for now. The technicals are blown out to the downside and have been for some time. I don't think a rally is imminent but the downside could be done for now. That said, money came into the gold shares when they sold off and the earnings are out next week. We'll see what happens. GE kind of hung around all day and ended higher. I still think this is overbought and will be looking to get some puts. Perhaps. Mentally I did not get a good nights sleep but continue to do the work that is necessary. My picture of the market isn't as clear as I'd like it and we could be heading to a danger zone. However with the end of the month coming up there should be some money flows coming in. After that it gets trickier. Technically we could go either way here but I don't think a collapse is in the cards right away. I also don't see any rally to new highs anytime soon. There is something going on here though...

Whatever happened to the summer doldrums? The Dow got clobbered today, down 226 points. Advance/declines were almost 10 to 1 negative. Volume was extremely heavy. We are blown out on the short term here. So I would be surprised if we were down another 200 tomorrow. The financials and the brokers have all broken their longer term uptrend lines. That doesn't bode well going forward. I'll be looking to short things. Gold gained $3 but the XAU lost almost 3 points. That's a change. We closed right at the uptrend line for the XAU that has been in effect for the last 4 weeks. NEM was actually up on the day and I'm thinking of putting in an order for calls overnight. ABX lost about a quarter. The dollar broke to fresh lows but it can't keep going down forever. The XAU really needs a rest here too. Earnings out next week for ABX and NEM. GE was down about a half today but it was holding up pretty well early. I'm still looking at getting the puts there. Perhaps we'll build a better top there. But it is overbought on the weekly chart and should begin to roll over. Mentally I'm doing OK. I would expect the market to not go into free fall here but I could be wrong. It's only Tuesday. The summation index is on its way to the zero line. If it goes through the market will collapse. I'm not saying that is going to happen anytime soon but when we get down close to it, you've got to be aware of what might occur. We are still far enough away that there is nothing to worry about at the moment. But it has to be respected. I'm thinking with the end of the month and the beginning of August, the market will hold up here. After that?

The Dow gained 92 points today on pretty good volume. As often happens, the day after expiration does the opposite of the expiration itself. Advance/declines were negative though and that isn't a good sign for the bullish case. The OEX options are expensive with the new cycle beginning but I would expect to see weakness in the markets at some point this week and tomorrow wouldn't surprise me. Gold lost 3 bucks and the XAU was about unchanged. ABX didn't do much but it refuses to go down at this point. It is way overbought. NEM had some bad quotes today, a vendor problem I'm guessing. Perhaps it will sort itself out overnight. The gold shares really need to take a rest but the money keeps flowing into them. We'll see what happens. GE was up again today on good volume. This issue also is overbought especially on a weekly basis. I'm looking at the puts for August. Perhaps should have bought them today. Mentally it's a bit of a challenge at this point. There aren't really any clear signals with the exception of the summation index which is pointing down. I'm inclined to go with that but the money inflows continue. There's no hurry to do anything but you can't be sure. It is a time to be perhaps a bit more cautious. Preservation of capital must always remain at the forefront. There will be better signals down the road as there always are. We shall see.

The Dow lost about 150 points today on expiration heavy volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. The summation index has rolled over and is heading down. That said, it's hard to say that today is the beginning of an extended downturn. Options expiration tends to skew things on Fridays. But that doesn't mean that a top hasn't formed here or is forming. Time will tell. Gold tacked on another 6 bucks but the XAU was only up a 1/4. Usually that means some weakness in gold coming up near term. However the gold shares have been on a tear and there seems to be no stopping them. They are extremely overbought. With a down 150 market today they held up considerably well. ABX continues higher, NEM took a slight rest. They won't go up forever but the money continues to flow into the gold shares. I have waited for a pullback that never came and the tendency is to just get in. However I will see what next week brings and the earnings a week after that. The dollar has remained very oversold as well which has led to this parabolic rise in the gold shares I believe. These trends won't go on forever. That said I still think there will be some money to be made there. Timing, as always, is the key. GE lost ground today and I'm now looking at the puts there. The weekly chart has gone about as far as it will go here. I could be wrong but I have started looking there. Mentally I'm a bit tired without a good nights sleep. I'll need to check things out over the weekend. But it is the summer and I plan on taking it easy too.

We managed to close at the 14000 level with the Dow gaining 82 points. Volume was heavy and the advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. It's been a pretty good summer so far. I'm on the sidelines with the OEX. Gold was up 4 bucks and the gold shares continue this incredible run. The XAU gained over 3 1/2 points. ABX and NEM were both higher on good volume. If and when there is a pullback you can get long these issues. Perhaps next week as things don't usually go straight up forever. GE tacked on another 1/4 on average volume. More earnings after the bell which should set the tone for tomorrow and it's expiration Friday. Mentally I'm feeling OK. There isn't much to do now with the next option cycle beginning on Monday. Just keep an eye on things and see what happens. ABX and NEM are out with earnings the week after next. Perhaps want to be long before. NEM also looks like it is finally breaking out of the multi-week down trend line. The options are pricey though. And these issues are over extended. But things can remain overbought for quite some time. We'll see.

The Dow lost 53 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were negative. We did come back strong in the last hour and we are also now oversold. Perhaps we will get some more buying into the expiration. I don't know. Gold was up $8 and the gold shares took off. ABX skyrocketed 1 3/4 on extremely heavy volume. It never did pull back. NEM was up over a point on heavy volume. There is money coming into the gold shares in a big way. If they ever do take a breather you can go ahead and buy the calls. The XAU has broken out and was up over 5 points. GE lost 20 cents today but was down more then that early. Mentally it's hard to watch the gold shares keep going up but there will be money to be made there regardless. I just have to be patient. The battle is always with yourself.