The Dow lost 15 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. Microsoft was down big, over 3 points or it would have been an up day. I'm going to wait to see what happens in the beginning of next week and then look to get some OEX puts. We'll see. Gold soared today up around $17. There seems to be no stopping this market. The XAU gained 6 points. I really want to buy some puts on the gold shares but it is a runaway market. I think I'll do it next week though. Sometimes you've got to take a chance. There is risk in any trade. There was more rumblings about Iran today so gold rose. We are overbought and have been for quite a while. However money seems to come in on any pullback. The volume wasn't great today and if we get some more rise early next week on light volume I'm getting some puts. At least that's the plan for now. ABX announces earnings after the bell on Wednesday and that may be the one that I try. I'll have to check the charts over the weekend. Mentally I'm doing OK. Didn't get a good nights sleep but it was enough to get through the trading day. I'm almost caught up on my reading and could be by tonight. I'm going to try and not do something stupid here just for the sake of trading. Perhaps I can find a decent trade over the weekend. I will try and get some rest also. That's it for today...

The Dow was up 28 points today. Advance/declines were about even and the volume was heavy. We were up higher and also were down a bit early. Could be a change in the works or just end of month volume. Bernanke spoke today and the markets liked it again. China raised its rates which was a mild surprise. Not sure what to make of it all but I don't expect any big moves up or down just yet. Gold was off $5 and the XAU got pounded, losing over 5 points. My order for puts was not filled and it looks like that I could have missed this downmove in the XAU. We'll see. Might get some rise in gold shares with the beginning of the month money flows so I'll hope for that. Then again, we might not. I'm not going to lament this too much but I think the time is now for a pullback in gold. The overall trend remains up so I will keep that in mind as I look to the future. Not much else to write about today. Mentally I'm doing fine, waiting for the next trade. Perhaps I should already be in it. I don't like to buy the options the first week after expiration but sometimes you just have to go with what you feel. The technicals also supported getting short the gold shares. I have been focusing on gold a lot lately but that's where the money has been. I'm still always watching the OEX and perhaps will have another trade there soon.

The Dow was up 71 points today. Advance/declines were slightly positive and the volume was pretty good. I still think it's a sideways affair here for a while. No OEX trades yet. Gold was up another $7 today and the XAU rose 2 1/2 points. I think we are due for a pause here as the volume was weak today. I placed a GTC order for some ABX puts. We'll see if it gets filled. Not all that sure that it's the right thing to do but it might work. We're overbought and have been for some time now. We could stay overbought so there isn't a lot of money in this trade. We also have plenty of time for the May option cycle. I'm not in a hurry to get this filled and it is priced accordingly. I'm trying to not make a trade just for the sake of having something. This trade is based on the volume pattern and the overbought nature of things at the moment. Who knows? I might cancel it tomorrow. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep as good as I could. I'm doing the reading that I need to get caught up on and I'm paying attention in case something changes here. Big Ben of the Fed speaks tomorrow and we'll see how that moves the markets. Otherwise it's just more of the same as I search for the next opportunity...

The Dow lost 53 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. The summation index is pointing down again. I still think we will get more drift than anything else right now. But you never know. Gold was up over $10 today but the XAU rose only a point. This portends lower prices to come. I might want to short the XAU here soon. We'll see. I haven't been doing the work as diligently as I should be right here. Too many outside things going on that need to be curtailed. I'm also tired from walking and playing golf yesterday. I didn't sleep well either. I need to get back on track and will attempt to do so starting today. The readings must be done and the charts must be checked. I'm mentally out of it at this point. The markets will not wait for me. They will do what they want. Which helps make this the toughest game in the world I think. You've got to pay attention all of the time. There are no shortcuts. You either put forth the effort and do the work or you perish. It's totally up to you. You're either up to the challenge or not. Why do you think so many can't do it? Because it's easy? Once you know what is required for success, you either keep up or you are just fooling yourself. And that gets expensive. So just do the work, give it your best shot or find another way to spend your time.

The blog will be early today because I'm playing golf. The Dow can't get moving today and is down around 6 points at the moment. Volume is nothing special. Advance/declines are decidedly negative. I would like to get short but the options are expensive and we have been moving sideways for weeks. Gold lost $12 today but the XAU is only down a point and a half. Trying to stay away from here for now. Same problem with overpriced options this soon into the expiration. I would expect the XAU to drop a lot more with that move in gold but it isn't happening. Usually it means higher prices in the near term. We'll see. Otherwise nothing to report. Mentally I'm doing OK. I need to keep at it. Discipline is necessary. So I'm keeping an eye on things and we'll just have to see how it all pans out. No trades really on the horizon but that could change. I'd like to wait a week but who knows? Dow looking at unchanged now and it is run in place type of day...

The Dow rose 4 points on option expiration Friday. Volume was average and the advance/declines were slightly positive. We moved around during the day but ended up basically unchanged. Gold bounced back over 12 bucks and the XAU was up 5 points. NEM gained back 2 points. The volume was good. Of course who could tell we would bounce back like that? The NEM calls ended up higher than where I sold them yesterday. But that trade is over and where we go from here is what matters now. I'm not exactly sure what to do right now so I'll probably be on the sidelines for a bit. I'll check the charts over the weekend and take it from there. I'll probably at least let a week go by. We'll see. Mentally I'm a bit tired as I haven't been getting the proper rest that I need. I have been getting caught up on my reading and that's a good thing. There is still more work to be done. It was quite an option cycle in April. Big gains and my biggest loss in some time. I need to get better. My focus has been pretty good of late. But in this game you've got to be good and you've got to be fast. Improvement is needed on my part. I'll continue to push on because really, that's all I can do. Hopefully things will get better. The work never stops and the markets wait for no one...

The Dow was up 64 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were negative though. Most of the gain was due to GM having good earnings. I don't see any big moves up from here. I think the expiration is keeping us up at this point. I expect weakness early next week. The story was gold. It got killed, down over $12. The first decline of significance in quite a while. It disappoints me that it just couldn't hold up for one more day. NEM came out with great earnings just as I had thought. But the weakness in gold was extreme and everything gapped down big. You can have everything go as you think and still get killed in this game. Volatility works both ways. I suppose yesterday would have been the time to sell and I might have if I wasn't waiting for the earnings. And it could have been a great trade if not for the pounding in gold on the same day. I dumped the calls early, when I realized that the market was not going to come back or even attempt to rally. My hesitation cost me some money, for sure. I should have just got out immediately but sometimes it's hard to tell. Or maybe I just got greedy but I'm not so sure about that. It wasn't completely clear to see what would happen. You really just never know. You can't predict a gap down like that. It's a tricky market in gold for sure. The highs and lows sometimes are pretty volatile. But you put forth your best effort and do what you can. I guess I was lucky to get out when I did. I'm not happy with the results and I should have done better. You really have to have your act together to play this game. The NEM calls showed a profit of over 400% but it should have been a hell of a lot more than that. NEM ended the day down 3 bucks. All the gold shares plummeted. The XAU lost nearly 10 points. Unheard of but it has happened before. I now need to regroup. The April option cycle has been brutal. I have nothing on the horizon and will have to wait for gold to settle down. My next thought is to get short the OEX for sometime in May. We'll see...

The Dow rose 10 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. No big follow through but at least it didn't fall. The inflation data was bearish but the market kind of shrugged it off. We are overbought here though. Gold rose over $10 and the XAU was up 5 points. This thing is out of control. NEM was up about a buck and a half. We were down on the XAU at one point and I almost sold the calls. But I did say I would wait until the earnings and that is tomorrow. But perhaps I just should have dumped them after they rallied. Either way this trade should make some money and if the earnings are good, a lot of money. I also remembered when I sold the ABX calls right before they turned around. Patience is needed in the game sometimes. The trouble here is that there are only 2 days left on the NEM options. So really, how patient can you be? It also looks like it is selling off in the aftermarket but tomorrow will be the key. Way overbought here also and I'm out tomorrow no matter what. I don't know what lessons are to be learned here but something will happen one way or the other. I'm probably going to stay away from gold on the long side after the expiration but the trend is definitely up and the money is flowing that way. I'll need to either short it or search for other opportunities. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. We still have tomorrow to deal with. Mentally I'm doing fine for now. Getting enough sleep and doing the reading that is necessary and catching up on things that need to be done. It takes time but the time must be put in to be successful. There are no short cuts.

Did I say something about buying calls yesterday? I was too busy watching NEM and have missed a good trade in the OEX. Hindsight is easy, isn't it? The Dow rose 195 points today on heavy volume. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 positive. OEX calls that I was looking at quadrupled. I didn't have the necessary focus to make that happen. I really needed to pay more attention. It is something that needs to be worked on. You just have to be on the ball and do the work necessary if you want to be successful in this business. There are no shortcuts. That's why it is so tough. And that's why hardly anybody can do it. You just gotta do the work, day in and day out. You've got to be on top of things. Any other type of effort just won't cut it in the long run. Most people are lazy and that is why most people fail. Gold was up just a touch today. The XAU rose 3 points. NEM was up around 80 cents and fell off from its highs. The calls I own are profitable. We are not completely overbought yet. I do expect weakness tomorrow ahead of the earnings. It will all depend on Thursday morning for this trade unless something drastic happens tomorrow. The other metal companies have announced great earnings and have risen on the announcement. That is what I am counting on for NEM. It doesn't mean that it will happen. But I'm trying to play the percentages for this earnings cycle. If we were completely overbought I would bail out early. But we're not so there is a chance this could be a great trade. Getting back to the overall market, I should have been paying attention. I'm not going to beat myself up over this forever but the fact remains I missed out. Risk is part of the game and I should have taken one there. I need to be able to handle more than one thing at a time. The focus needs to return. We'll see if we get any follow through tomorrow and we will wait for the NEM earnings on Thursday.

The Dow lost 63 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. We are oversold. The McClellan oscillator is giving a signal for a big move within the next 2 days. I think it will be to the upside. Do I have the guts to play it? I don't know. Probably should have bought some calls today. Inflation data on Wednesday could be the key. Or perhaps not. Gold soared $18 today. The XAU was up over 6 points. Oil closed above $70. NEM was up around 3 points. The calls I own are in the black. Now what to do? Earnings are coming out on Thursday. But I already have a nice profit. The earnings should be good though. But there aren't any guarantees. Gold is way overbought here also and out of whack with reality I think. It has a lot to do with the rhetoric from Iran lately. But this could turn out to be a great trade if it all falls into place on Thursday. If not, it could blow up in my face. It is never easy. I would really like to get some ABX calls here too because the volume is confirming the move higher. But perhaps I'll have to wait for some type of pullback at this point. Back to the OEX. Maybe I can get some calls tomorrow and dump them before the end of the week. It's risky but what isn't in this game? I'll have to check the charts. My attention must go to the NEM trade also. I'll need to check what the inflation number expectations are. Mentally I'm doing good, getting plenty of rest and I just returned from a beautiful hike. I need to focus my energy on what is going on here for the next few days and then relax when all is said and done. I think there are some great opportunities here, right in front of me. Whether or not I can take advantage of them will be the key.

A day off today. Gold did trade in the world today and was up a couple bucks. I can get caught up today on the reading I need to do perhaps. Or maybe just take it easy. Not much else to say. Just need to prepare for options expiration next week. That and the NEM trade needs to be taken care of. Just random thoughts today.

The Dow was up 7 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. It was a lackluster day as expected. So far all we've gotten is a weak bounce. Probably more downside to follow. I had thought about getting some GE calls since the chart was looking promising. The earnings came out today and the stock sold off. Didn't I say something about not getting any more GE options this year? I think I did and I need to remember that. Gold was off over a buck and the XAU rose a half. NEM was down a few cents. The calls I own are slightly in the red. Earnings for this one are a week from tomorrow, when the options expire. I'm thinking I might just bail out before them if I can show a profit. Or it might be too late to do anything by then anyway. I guess we'll have to see what gold does over the weekend. I'll need to check the charts and be ready for Monday. But it is a long weekend and I'll want to just take it easy for a while. Mentally I guess a little break would be OK. I didn't sleep all that well last night so I'm glad today was mellow. However I really need to do some more work to seek some other opportunities. The stock market itself has been moving sideways and it's hard to make money in that kind of environment. I also have some cash sitting in another account that needs to be put to work. So there are things to do and take care of over the weekend. But I will try and get some rest and take my mind off this crazy game...

The Dow was up 40 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were slightly positive. It looks like we are marking time until the long weekend begins at the close tomorrow. I wouldn't expect much to go on tomorrow. Next week will be the key. Summation index is still pointing down so that's the trend for now. We could move sideways perhaps. Gold was up a buck and a half. The XAU rose over 3 points. NEM was back up, over a dollar. The options I bought yesterday are back at breakeven. But that doesn't mean much except that I can maybe not lose any money here. The volume wasn't all that strong and gold itself is about where it can go for now at around $600. I should have gotten the calls cheaper. Looking back isn't really going to help I guess, so I'll manage the trade from here. Mentally I feel pretty good since I got lots of sleep last night. I suppose I'll have to wait for the NEM earnings unless something dramatic happens before then. I expect tomorrow to be a non-event all the way around. I'm behind in my readings and need to get back up to speed there. That's it for today...

The Dow lost 51 points on average volume. Advance/declines were almost 3 to 1 negative. We are about shot term oversold here. I am not going to try and trade the bounce. I have already made a dumb trade today. I bought some NEM calls today. They are already getting clobbered. Gold was down a couple bucks but the XAU was down over 3 points. I got the calls before NEM went into a freefall. I might just have to dump them tomorrow and take the loss before it gets out of hand. You have to be smart in the game. You have to be patient in the game. The charts were not at all in the right mode for me to do this but I thought the uptrend would continue here. There is still over a week to go but I will have to see something constructive in the next 2 days before the long weekend. The earnings on this one do come out the day before expiration and an upside surprise could save this if we are close enough to the strike price by then. But todays action didn't look good and I am probably a fool for trying to do this. The timing doesn't seem to be right. Mentally I'm tired and did not get a full nights sleep. I need some rest. This is a short week and NEM needs to get back to $52.50 by the close on Thursday for this to have a chance. It's a buck away. You can never be too sure about anything here and you've always got to be on yours toes against yourself. There was no good reason to try this trade but I had it in my mind and I did it anyway. I'm lucky to be where I'm at as it is so far this year because the trading has been terrible. Horrible. Just not any good. This trade is another prime example...

The Dow gained 21 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. Not a real positive day. The summation index has turned down and that means selling. We are almost oversold and will be in a day or 2. There isn't any compelling reason to try and do anything here. I'll wait for a decent signal. But the trend, for now, is down. Gold was up 9 dollars today. However the XAU was down half a point. Interesting. It usually means gold is about to have some weakness but who knows? I'd still like to try some calls again before the expiration. But if we can't get any buying with a 9 dollar move, then what? NEM is about at its uptrend line but the other issues have already broken through to the downside. This is a tough call. Short week this week too with a holiday on Friday. I was expecting to just have the XAU hang around this week with some downside to set up a possible rally again next week. But it's just a guess. I'll check things this evening and go from there. Mentally I'm still getting over the cold I had last week and am taking it easy today. I am behind on some of my reading and probably should catch up on it today. I'm ready for the next trade, I guess but physically I'm still a little drained. There is no room for the weak in this game and I am keeping that in mind. It has already been a miracle comeback again this year, with all the lousy trading that I've done. I'd like to get it together and be a little more consistent with the successes. Wishful thinking at this point...

The Dow lost 96 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were over 4 to 1 negative. There just weren't too many buyers. We were also up against the top of the channel in the S&P 500. No trades here for now. Gold was down 6 bucks and the XAU lost over 3 points. I would like to buy back some calls here at some point. There are 2 weeks left for this option cycle. It won't be easy. I might even just pass on it but probably not. I will check the charts over the weekend. I think we will get one more move up before the options expire. I'm still not feeling 100% but I do feel better than earlier in the week. I do need to rest. Therefore, another short post today.

The Dow was down 23 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. Employment report tomorrow. Gold touched $600 dollars today. It has been quite a rise. This is about as far as it goes I think, short term. I sold my ABX calls. I think that it could go a bit higher in the next 2 weeks but the signal to sell, for me anyway, was today. I did what I could. The profit was over 300%. But as I said before this trade should have been a lot better. I needed more patience. I was too early. And then sold half of it at a big loss. I hope I learn something from all this. I should by now. I later sold the NEM calls. I am hoping to buy them back cheaper in a couple of days. The profit there was a little over 80%. Perhaps this wasn't the thing to do. But now it's done. I will go from here. It is a frustrating game and a very tough business. That is reality. I am still feeling ill and will have to end this post...

The Dow was up 35 points on decent volume. Advance/declines were positive. Employment report is out on Friday. We are up against resistance. We'll see what happens. Gold was up a couple bucks. The XAU rose almost 3 points. ABX and NEM were both up nicely although off of their highs. It is almost time to dump the ABX calls and it could be as soon as tomorrow if I get a signal. We are just about there. They are showing the profit that I always thought they would. Now we could always sell-off tomorrow. There are no guarantees in the business. NEM isn't acting as I would like but there are over 2 weeks to go there too. I need to check the charts there but it is not as overbought as ABX. Gold hasn't hit 600 yet either. I am still feeling ill and will end this post now. I am getting better but not fully recovered as yet...

The Dow gained 59 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. Doesn't look like there are any sellers here but that could change. Gold was down a couple bucks but the XAU rose a point. I'd expect sideways action in the XAU this week and then hopefully an upmove next week. That is the scenario I'm looking for. ABX an NEM were both up a bit. ABX sold off from its highs. I look for that to consolidate here. I'll be looking to get out next week or when gold crosses $600. NEM creates more problems and I probably should not have done that trade. It could work out but in retrospect I should have just held on to ABX. I'm feeling horrible, I'm still sick and have no desire or strength to write any more today...

The Dow gained 35 points on good volume. However the market was up well over 100 at one point. And advance/declines were negative today. It bodes for down to sideways action at best. It wasn't any better in the gold market. The XAU was up over 4 points and closed barely up a point. This, while gold itself rose 8 dollars. There was a downgrade on NEM today and it sank. My options are in the red. I just never seem to get it right. It pisses me off. Still a little less than 3 weeks to go but I'm not happy. ABX was up a bit and I might at least be able to make some money there. But my trading is slipshod and I am not feeling well. I have the flu or something with a sore throat and I'm feeling weak. Therefore this post will end now. I can't think straight at the moment. It doesn't happen often that your physical condition will dictate things but this is one of those rare times...