The Dow bounced back and was up over 60 points today. Volume looks like it was a bit better than yesterday and the advance/declines were about 3 to 1 positive. Perhaps the decline yesterday was a one day wonder. Time will tell. The end of the month is upon us and maybe that is bringing in more money. Gold actually came back and was up over 2 bucks today. The XAU rose over 4 points. And I'm kicking myself for selling the calls yesterday. But not too hard because you just never know. But ABX was up over 60 cents today. Now perhaps this trade would have worked like I originally thought but what can you do? I'm still holding the cheaper purchases but I sure would like to have them all now. But I'm not going to lament over what has happened, I've got to just keep moving on. I already have big losses for the year so I'm going to try and do the rest of this trade correctly. Todays gold action was on lighter volume but perhaps all the sellers are gone for now. The action was very positive. We'll see how the week closes out there. Still 3 weeks to go after this one and I should have taken that into consideration yesterday. But I was early there and put too much money in it. Mistake compounded by mistake. Trading isn't easy. Mentally I'm trying to stay steady amidst the ups and downs lately. This is a crazy game. I've got to get my act together fast. I will try and get back to the things that are necessary for success tonight. The work never stops. Back to gold itself, we are up to the resistance at $575. A break through there will be interesting but it hasn't happened yet.

The Dow lost 95 points today after the Fed raised interest rates again. Volume was light to average and advance/declines were negative. The Fed statement was hawkish and that led to the decline. It was the biggest loss in a while if my memory is correct. Gold sold off after the Fed move and that killed the rally that had been going on for about a week. I sold half of my ABX position at a substantial loss, about 75%. I don't think that ABX will be coming back after todays action and I probably just should have dumped it all. But hope is always a bad thing sometimes and that is all that is left in this trade. I've seen some strange things happen in the market but I don't anticipate anything saving the rest of this. I put too much money in this trade and that is why the loss is so great. That was a mistake and the discipline that was missing killed me. It is not a lesson that really needs to be learned at this juncture of my career but I got greedy and paid for it. There is nothing I can do but go on, perhaps with a little better perspective. Greed kills. It doesn't matter how many times that a set-up works, there is always the chance that it won't work when your money is on the line. My 1st quarter results are disastrous. Last year I was able to come back and have a good year after starting off just as poorly but to pull that off again is really asking a lot. I'll have to go slow and cautious from here. I still have half the ABX trade to get rid of. More losses most likely. Mentally I'm doing as good as can be expected with heavy losses weighing on my mind. I'm also tired from not sleeping well from all the drama in my life outside of trading. I need to get the focus back. I need to get the discipline. I need to go back to what works and forget all the rest of the bullshit. The work needs to be done and I have to stay with what I know is viable. This is a big hole to climb out of and I did not want to start the year off this way. But it is what it is and I will have to regroup and go from here. It's a tough game but I will do my best to get back on track and do the right thing...

The post is a bit early today due to the fact that I'm getting my car worked on. The Dow is up 15 points with just a few minutes to go. Advance/declines are positive. Seems like the market is waiting for the Fed on Tuesday. Gold soared $10 today. The XAU is up over 3 points but the volume isn't all that great. Most of the action is in AU, which has some type of buyout in play. ABX is up around 40 cents but it isn't helping the options much. I would have expected a better move in the gold shares given the action in gold. Perhaps the luster is off the trading in gold. The weekly charts do look promising though but we will have to see legitimate upside action next week. I don't know if that will happen. I think that perhaps the sideways scenario will play out. We'll see. Mentally I really think I need to get out of this trade and take a few steps back. I feel fine but my confidence isn't where it needs to be. I need to go back to the basics and not dwell on what looks to be a substantial loss. The markets are closing and the Dow looks to be up about 7 points. Volume looks like it picked up a bit from yesterday. That's it for today. I'm playing golf again on Monday so the next post could be Tuesday.

The Dow lost 47 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were about even. It seems like the market wants to go higher. Gold was down a bit but the XAU rose 2 points. That could bode well for the gold market. However ABX did not participate and was down a dime. And there lies the problem. Once again the gold market is moving to the upside but the particular stock that I'm in isn't moving. It's happened before and it is very frustrating. But it brings out an important point. You gotta stick with the indexes to guard against this very thing happening. I learned this a long time ago. There is less of a chance for manipulation. I can't explain why ABX isn't moving along with everything else. I am going to have one of my biggest losses with this trade. I don't think it will be moving back to the upside strongly. I think at this point it will linger in a sideways motion. There is nothing left to do but take the loss. There are 4 weeks left but I don't think that will help. The fundamentals are not in it's favor now. I blew it. I don't know if I can recover for the rest of the year. It will be hard for me to go on. Mentally, I'm spent. There is way too much going on outside of the markets in my life to be able to cope with it all right now. This is the time to step back from trading but unfortunately I'm in up to my neck. I've got to go back to square one. I need to learn from this debacle and do the right thing from here on out. It isn't going to be easy. So I'll just have to takwe it from here and see where it takes me. There are no excuses. I screwed it up...

Up about 82 points on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. Gotta make this quick because I'm running a bit late. Gold was down over 2 bucks but the XAU didn't move much. ABX continued to slide and it looks bleak for the options. At this point it will be my biggest loss ever unless it starts to turn around. I really broke one of the cardinal rules and put way too much money in this trade. The set-up had worked the previous times but it doesn't appear to be good this time. It's like I said before, it's my own fault. Discipline must be adhered to and I didn't do it. Mentally I'm shot now. There is no excuse for making dumb mistakes. I don't even know if I can recover from this one. This is not the way to run the business. The focus isn't there. The confidence is gone. And it's not even the end of the 1st quarter. I'll somehow have to try and regroup but I think some time away would serve me well at this point. More tomorrow...

The Dow lost 39 points today on what looks like light volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. We were higher early in the day and then just fell off. Not trades in the making for now. There is an extra week on the options for this cycle so they are all pretty overpriced. Gold was down over $3 today and the XAU lost 2 and a half points. My ABX calls are getting killed and there may not be any hope for this trade either. I did say I would give it a couple weeks, so we'll see what happens. But right now it looks bleak. Perhaps my thinking was wrong as that is what it looks like at this point. I suppose we could form a bottom here and rally, time will tell. But it really doesn't look too good at the moment. I took yesterday off from the blog as I went hiking. Mentally I'm doing OK, with the exception of this poor trade. But I've seen some strange things happen with the gold market and so I haven't given up hope on this just yet. I'll know more by the end of the week. It won't take a miracle but it will take some sustained upside action. Or maybe it just dies. I am still way overleveraged in this trade and that is my own fault. No getting around that. So sometimes you just get what you deserve. Otherwise there is really nothing else to say...

The Dow rose 26 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. It wasn't a volatile sessions, even with the option expiration. We are overbought and I wouldn't be surprised if Monday was a down day. Gold was little changed and the XAU didn't go anywhere either. ABX was up about 50 cents at one point and my options were in the black. But it sold off at the close and was basically unchanged. I didn't like the action. It doesn't bode well for early next week. Perhaps I should just get out of this trade and maybe today was my chance. But I will give it the 2 weeks that I said I would. Obviously my timing wasn't that good at the entry. This whole thing could blow up on me if we don't see some movement to the upside next week. It isn't the best of trades at the moment. You somehow have to keep going in this game. It is frustrating at times and this is one of those times. Mentally I'm doing what it takes as far as keeping up with my readings of the blue book and various magazines looking for insight. I am learning what I can but it is a mental game at this point, internally. I'm doing what I can. I will be taking off early on Monday to take a hike. I'm hoping it will clear my head out and then I'll be ready to continue the game. I'll check the charts over the weekend but I already think that they won't be bullish. I'm going to try and relax but we'll have to see what happens...

The Dow was up 43 points on good volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. We are overbought and I wouldn't be surprised by a pullback. Expiration tomorrow and anything can happen. I have no trades on the horizon. There is an extra week in the options cycle for next month so the premiums will be inflated. Gold didn't do much today and the XAU was down a point. ABX did not move much, it was down a nickel. The options are showing a small loss. We have moved to overbought there as well and I suppose the most I can hope for is sideways action. I'm really hopeful that I bail out of that trade in a couple weeks because I am overleveraged there and that is a mistake. However, I was a believer in the trade at the outset and I still think it could prove to be a winner. Mentally I'm doing fine, plenty of sleep. I am simply concentrating on the ABX trade and that is where the focus will be. Next week will be pivotal because I can't afford to have a big drop in the shares. It looks OK on a weekly basis and the extra week could actually help me there. That's it for today.

The Dow was up 58 points on better volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. The Transports hit a new high. We have broken out of the S&P trading range to the upside. All systems point higher I guess but we will have to wait and see just how far this goes. Could be an options expiration event. Could be for real. Gold was higher early but backed off and was only up around a buck. The XAU rose about 2 and a half points though. Unfortunately ABX did not go along for the ride. It was only up a few cents. The options are now almost breakeven. I'm giving it until the end of the month and maybe not even that long. I don't know what to expect but I was pretty positive when the trade began. Getting back to the overall market, we are overbought and on a trin basis also. You can't argue with price action though and we have moved higher. We'll see what happens. Mentally I am doing better. Got plenty of sleep last night. I really need this ABX trade to be done right. It's up to me. The trading so far this year has been terrible. I have the parameters for this trade and it will be up to me to keep them. I've got to remember not to get greedy. I'm hoping this trade will launch me into a series of decent actions and not into a year of abysmal abyss. Time will tell...

The Dow gained 75 points on light volume. Advance/declines were almost 3 to 1 positive. My puts got stopped out for a 50% loss. There wasn't a lot of money in this trade but it was a loss none the less. I gave it a shot and failed as has been the case for most of this year. I don't believe this rally, the volume just isn't there. Could be an expiration thing. Whatever the case, it's another bad trade. Gold was up another $5 today and the XAU gained over 2 points. Unfortunately ABX didn't rise with it. It is showing a small loss and more and more I'm thinking about just getting out and taking a break. But I did say I would give it until the end of next week. Nothing seems to be working of late. It really is time to scale back. Mentally I'm just not there as I have found out some bad news concerning my family. I would like to just close out the ABX trade but the show must go on. I'm also tired as I haven't been able to sleep good lately. So this really isn't the optimum time for me to be taking on risk and trying to play the game. The focus will be lacking due to outside influences. Knowing this and recognizing this is important. There isn't anything I can do about it for now. Having an overleveraged position at this time doesn't help things. But I will persevere because it's really all I can do...

The Dow was basically unchanged today, down 32 cents. Advance/declines were positive and the volume was light. I took a small position in OEX puts today. The stop-loss order has already been placed. My thinking is that there was no follow through to the 100 point rally of Friday and the volume has been light. No volume equals no interest. Another more important factor is that the summation index is still pointing down. There is not a lot of risk in this trade but there is not a lot of upside either unless we really get a breakdown. I don't see that happening but who knows? The technicals are mixed here but I'm taking a shot. Gold was up over $5 today but the XAU barely got higher by a point. ABX was up fractionally. I am still giving this until the end of next week so I'm looking to get out but not yet. This trade is now showing a small loss and I am way overleveraged here and it's my own fault. I still believe in it though so I am staying in for now. Not much else on the radar screen. Inflation data on Thursday. I'm not looking for much but you never know. Retail sales tomorrow. Mentally I'm dragging a bit from a poor nights sleep but hope to make up for that tonight. My mind is focused and my trading tactics this time are at least bearable. Whatever the outcome at least some things were done properly...

The Dow rose 104 points today on what looks like light volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. I am thinking of getting some puts on Monday. But I don't know for sure. Will check things over the weekend. I lost money on the XAU trade today. Gold opened up down over $10. I bailed out for a substantial loss. It didn't make sense at the time to hold on any longer. The loss was around 75%. Since the ABX calls have 6 weeks to go, I held on to them as opposed to taking a huge hit there as well. Gold came back to be down about $5 on the day. However the XAU came all the way back to be up over 2 points. The options I sold for a big loss made it back to breakeven. What can you do? Nothing, it's over and done with. Should I have held on? In retrospect, of course I should have. But you can never predict what's going to happen. I did what I thought was best at the time. I was wrong. The ABX calls came back a bit but nothing great and I'm still losing money there and I own way too many of them. I took more of a chance there and will hold them for a while at this point. I need to see a good week for gold next week to feel positive about this trade. I'm still thinking that it was the right thing to do but I really have too much money in that trade. The markets are tough. Mentally I'm going to try and make some money next week. I think that I have a viable play on the OEX puts if the timing is right. It probably won't be a lot of money and it shouldn't be with so little time left. I'm a bit tired from getting up early today. I'm a bit frustrated with the lousy XAU trade but it isn't as bad as I thought and I'm trying not to beat myself up over it. I will perhaps take a break after next week to clear my head out. But this weekend I will be working hard to figure out the next move. Sometimes you've just got to keep on going because really, it's all you can do...

The Dow lost 33 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. I did not take any OEX positions. Gold was up over $2 but the XAU lost over 2 points. My XAU calls were higher in the morning but closed lower and are now in the red. We are at around 125 and need a close tomorrow at 128 or better. Needless to say, I should have just gotten out in the morning. This trade is looking terrible. I need to exit tomorrow. That is probably the most prudent thing to do. What wasn't prudent was buying some more ABX calls for April. I have put way too much money into this trade. ABX was down over 80 cents today and I don't know what to say. We are way oversold here. Every time it has gotten this blown out it has rebounded. There are 6 weeks to go in these options. I just don't know about this time though because it looks like gold is really breaking down. And if the XAU doesn't show some life tomorrow, I could be a fool. I am breaking one of the key trading rules here by taking on too much risk. The trade is too big. I am taking a chance because I believe that this will work and sometimes you gotta break the rules to get good returns. Employment report tomorrow. Should be a market mover but it hasn't been lately. Mentally I was at the dentist today and that threw things off for a while. I need to get back to the blue book and get my act together. I know it seems like I say this all the time but if things are going to change for the better, discipline must be adhered to. Bottom line is that the trading must improve and I'm the only one who can do that.

The Dow was up 25 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. We were down over 60 points and bounced. That's all I think this is for now. It is a somewhat confusing market here because we have collapsed on the summation index and McClellan oscillator but prices have held up pretty good. I don't know what to make of it. Perhaps will buy puts tomorrow if we get to the downtrend line. Gold got killed today, down over $12. My overnight orders got filled right away in the morning. I'm nervous but that is nothing new. The XAU ended down about 3 points and ABX was off around 50 cents. Amazingly the options are about where I bought them. The XAU has to close the week at 128 or above for that trade to work. It's at 126 and change. I really need to get out of that as soon as possible because there is a chance that the uptrendline will be broken. We'll know more in the next couple of days. I also might dump the ABX calls if they get profitable because I think we will move sideways and I can get them cheaper within the next couple of weeks. But it is just a guess. We do need to hold the line here and only time will tell on that. But this is the area to take a chance so we will see what happens. Mentally I'm a bit tired but it's manageable. Thinking that I have to check the charts thoroughly tonight. The time is now...

The Dow gained 22 points today on somewhat light volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative though. Yesterday we were down around 60 points on good volume. I missed posting due to playing a round of golf. The summation index has rolled over and is pointing down. However we are shot term oversold and a bounce is due. Also the McClellan oscillator will be very negative after today, probably below -150. So I would expect a bounce but I think the trend is down and might get some puts on a bounce. We'll see. Gold lost around $5 today and the XAU dropped below 130. I had some orders for calls in but they were not filled. This is the area where I expect support to come in. The weekly trendline is here. But there is always a chance the line could be broken. Gold itself doesn't look all that good on the charts. I have some open orders in for the XAU and for ABX. The XAU is just a short term play for March, with ABX going out to April. I was confident about this trade before so I'm going to chance it. But I know full well that this could be the end of the run in gold also. I'm playing that it isn't just yet. ABX looks like the better trade, chartwise. I might try some OEX calls tomorrow also if the opportunity presents itself, although I feel the puts might make more sense after a bounce. But it's hard to tell what might happen and the market will always do what it must to frustrate the most. This is an interesting time in the markets and I sincerely hope that I'm up for the challenge...

The Dow lost about 4 points on lighter than lately volume. Advance/declines were negative. It wasn't a very good close. We were up over 70 points at on point. The volume was light and the advance/declines were weak. We also were at the recent highs. I should have had the guts to buy some OEX puts but I didn't. The signal just isn't there clearly. But after todays action, I don't think it needs to be clear. I think puts are the way to go here. I will check things out over the weekend. The McClellan oscillator will be key I think. The only problem is that we could just sit in a sideways pattern and that won't be easy to deal with. It's never easy. Gold was down a couple bucks and so was the XAU. I'm trying to be patient there and I will be, hopefully. It looks like we are trying to build a base here and that is my belief. I would like to make a strong play here because I think it has the potential to be a great trade if I can pull it off. But I don't want it to take up all my time because there will be opportunities elsewhere as well. But it is the main one I'm looking at, since the OEX is proving difficult at this time. Perhaps Monday will provide an opportunity to get short but it won't be as good as it was today I'm afraid. Mentally I can't beat myself up over missing out on a potentially good trade because you just have to keep moving on. I am trying to focus and do the things necessary for success. It should be automatic at this point but my mind has many other things on it right now. I need to take this weekend to get it together and come back with a definite gameplan on Monday. This is the most interesting and most difficult game in the world. I need to be up for the challenge...

The Dow lost 28 points today on pretty good volume. Advance/declines were negative. It seems the volume has picked up a bit on the downside lately. We have really gone nowhere for a couple weeks and it is very frustrating. The sideways action is not making for any big moves or profits one way or the other. I am leaning towards the downside but have no clear signal. It's getting harder for me to sit it out but I must for now if I can. Gold was up $4 and the XAU rallied over 3 1/2 points. Last night I noticed that ABX was right at the weekly trendline. This is the same line that I am waiting the XAU to hit. I thought about getting some calls but I was too late. ABX had a very nice move and the volume increased. Perhaps the XAU isn't going to go all the way back to the uptrend line. I am going to wait though because I have missed this move and we might come back down again to thwart whoever got calls today. I would like to go out to April on those options. The volume was there though, so I can be positive about getting the calls for gold. Getting back to the overall market, I'm just going to have to wait for something decent to appear as far as a signal goes. Perhaps they will take one last stab at the upside and then that could be it. Just a guess. Mentally I'm doing OK I guess. Sleeping enough, getting to bed on time. I would like to do something in here somewhere but I must guard against trading just to trade. Looking back on last year I made most of my money trading gold. Perhaps I can repeat that again...

The Dow rose 60 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. And so it goes. My intuition tells me that this is the snapback to the uptrend line that was broken. But most of the technical indicators are not supporting this theory. I hope that I have the brains to just stay out here but I don't know. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I should just be patient and wait for a good signal. Gold was up a couple bucks and the XAU rose 2 points. This has the potential to be a good trade when it happens and if it happens. But I need to wait for it and I will. Getting back to the overall market, I have seen that the beginning of March has been negative for the last couple of years. We are in that timeframe right now. Employment report is out on Friday. Could be a market mover but lately it hasn't. Perhaps that will change this week. But this is a guess as are most things when it comes to the economic releases. Mentally I did not get a lot of sleep last night but I'm feeling fine. I am fighting myself here to not get jumpy and trade just because I haven't in a while. It is a hard thing to do. Also I feel as if the market will roll over here but I could be wrong. The same type of action occurred at the end of last month and then the market moved higher. There is a lot of money floating around and it needs a place to go. Tough game and I don't like fighting myself. I also need a good trade to get my confidence back. Perhaps the sidelines are best for now...

The Dow lost 104 points on average volume today. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. We are perhaps going to reverse the summation index to the downside today. I'll know more when the McClellan oscillator comes out. The options haven't moved much though. I might get short if we snap back to the uptrend line that was broken today but it will have to be on light volume. We do have some divergences but the market has been pretty good lately so we'll see. Gold was up $7 today but the XAU lost over 2 points. Not a positive development on the gold shares front. I will get long when we get to the uptrend line at around 130. We are 3 points away. The volume has been negative there so it will be a tough call. I really would like a good signal somewhere. I'll try and be patient. As I said before after doing last years taxes, there were way too many bad trades last year. I have to not trade just for the sake of trading. Sometimes waiting is a good thing and other times you miss the move. Tough game. Mentally I'm doing fine but need to get my head back into it. I've had some time off and it isn't easy getting back into the groove. But the competition is not going to cut me any slack. I need to focus and concentrate on what has to be done to be successful. It isn't easy but I know what it takes and it's just a matter of doing it. There is no one to blame for the lack of effort but myself. So I've just got to do the work and put my best effort on the table. Anything less isn't worth the time...

The Dow was up 35 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. We were up higher and sold off right at the end. Don't know what that means. End of month tomorrow and the money should flow in again at the beginning of March. No clear signal but we are getting up against a weekly top line on the S&P 500. The XAU was down almost 5 points and gold lost about 4 bucks. I'm waiting for the uptrend line to be touched and that could happen this week if the action continues like today. So I'm a little scattered, marketwise at this point. Did not get a lot of good sleep last night. Mentally I need to get back in the groove of the market as I have been lax as of late. I did my taxes today and I made quite a few bad trades last year. There were way too many trade and way too many losses. On the plus side I did have some real nice gains occasionally. I will be trying to build on that. Gonna take it easy tonight and get back at it tomorrow...

The Dow was down 7 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive though and the overall markets were higher. It seems like the market wants to head higher. You can't deny that the breadth has been pointing towards higher prices. The only problem has been the volume, which has been lacking. The end of the month comes up next week. Money flow should appear at the beginning of March. We'll see. Gold soared $10 on a bombing in Saudi Arabia. The XAU rose 3 and a half points. Volume wasn't convincing there and I will wait for the trend line to be touched. Then I'll get long. Mentally I'm doing fine. I've been getting enough rest and I am simply waiting for a playable signal before I do something. Sometimes you've got to be patient and that was my problem with the last stupid trade I did. Hopefully I've learned something from that. I'm going to relax over the weekend. I'll check up on some charts and readings. But right now it looks like an upward bias.

The Dow lost 67 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative but not as much as a down 67 market would indicate. Not getting a clear signal so it's the sidelines for now. Gold was down around 5 bucks and the XAU lost almost 5 points and is right at the 50-day moving average. Still a bit away from the target of 130. Perhaps this market is through though. Time will tell but I will get long at the trendline. Kind of quiet in this shortened week so far. Mentally I'm feeling fine, not tired. I think the next trade will be a good one since the last few have really been terrible. I learning to move on. It has to be done. I'm not looking at any individual issues at this point but you never know. The week is almost over and I'll look forward to some more down time this weekend.

The Dow rose 68 points today on supposedly good inflation news. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive and the volume was light again. You can't deny that the trend is up though. No trades here for now. Gold was little changed as was the XAU. I have no good signals as of yet and nothing on the horizon that I'm really keen on. It is a good time to sit back and see what the markets say. I'll try to listen. Mentally I'm tired as I slept elsewhere last night and not all that good. I'm still trying to focus and I'm doing a better job of after market study. I will continue to try and get better. Doesn't look like any trades in the near term.

The Dow lost 46 points on light volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. Seems like the internals are pointing to higher prices. But we do have the inflation report tomorrow and that could change things. We'll see. Gold was slightly higher and the XAU rose almost 2 points. I have done the research and it looks like the XAU is a buy under 130. It is currently above 140, so I'll wait. Short week due to the holiday. Mentally I hopefully have recovered from the horrible trading last week. You've just gotta move on in this game. No trades for now except for gold if it comes up. I'm waiting for a decent signal on the OEX. Otherwise I'm continuing my study of the markets. I'm reading the blue book and trying to prepare myself for the next trade. Nothing else on the horizon for now...

The Dow lost 5 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. It was a uneventful expiration. A horrible week for me though as confidence is lost. Gold didn't do much and I will have to get the weekly XAU chart and plot my next move there. Just missed out on some big opportunities there in the first 2 months of the year. I expect it will be quiet there for a while and then pick up again. But who knows? As for the market, the summation index has turned to the upside. We will be overbought here shortly. I have no trades in mind at this point. I need to get it back together, mentally. My year has started off lousy, just like last year. I can't expect to be able to come back all the time but I usually do. And I will this time too. You somehow gotta believe in yourself even when you do stupid things. It is a long weekend and I will take the time to forget about all this stuff for a while and try to relax. I think I need to. But I will come back stronger than ever and take advantage of all that the markets have to offer...

Some days you have to ask yourself, how could I be so dumb? It happens and it shouldn't. The Dow rose 61 points today on lighter volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. My order for puts that I left overnight got filled right away. It was a loser from the start and by far my worst trade in quite a while. What happened? The summation index was about to go positive. The downtrend line had been broken to the upside on good volume. Advance/declines had turned to the positive. And I bought puts? Even when I knew that I shouldn't have, I did. And now you see that the enemy is in the mirror. Stupidest trade to date. With only 2 days to go no less. I really don't know what to say. After all the years of trading I still do mindless things. Greed, I suppose. It was a 70% loss. It is the first trade of the year that never had a chance. I'm tired of going back to the drawing board. Mentally I just don't have it at the moment. I will continue the work but I will have to get my head back into the discipline required to have success. It isn't easy. You lose confidence in yourself. That is never good. Especially after this failure. I will move on but I'm going to have to get cautious and watch out for myself. A break is in order. I don't know what else to do. I do have an idea on gold but will have to wait for it to get back to the trendline. But really, just where do I go from here? Continue this foolish pattern of no brain trading? What happened to the discipline? Perhaps this poor outing is a wake-up call to get serious. The markets are there providing plenty of opportunities. I'm just not up to the task right now. I'm going to have to take a few steps back and analyze just what is going on here. To do that trade in the face of conflicting data was just plain wrong. There is no point in putting in the time to do the work if you're not going to listen to it. Again I am reminded about just how hard it is to be a success in this field. It isn't for most but it is my calling. I'll need to make some changes and get ready to do battle with myself again. There is no hiding from the fact that changes have to be made. A trade like this is truly ridiculous. I can only place the blame on myself, move on, try to do better the next time and forget it...

The Dow rose another 30 points on good volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. We might be about to turn up on the summation index. Then why do I have an order in for puts? Am I an idiot? Maybe. We are overbought on the 5-minute, 15-minute and 60-minute charts. I am looking for a drop off of that. And with 2 days left I will not get greedy and will take whatever profit, if there is any. This is to be a quick, short-term trade if at all. The new Fed chairman speaks again tomorrow. It could be a market mover. We are near the top of the channel. But on the negative for this trade we have broken the downtrend line on good volume yesterday. There is usually a snapback to the line violated. It could have been today but I'm not sure. We may just run up into the expiration, that is a possibility. Inflation data on Friday and I may not even be in this thing by then. I may also gain my sanity and cancel this trade tomorrow morning. I will have to check the closing data. Perhaps I am just ansy to make a trade before expiration. I should ask myself, is this the best trade to be making right now? Things to ponder into the evening. Perhaps long is just the way to go here into March. Mentally I need to get some more sleep. My mind isn't totally sold on this trade. Only 2 days left? I suppose maybe I missed what I could have done and should wait until next month. Always can change my mind I guess. I'll check things tonight and see what happens...

The Dow jumped 136 points on good volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. My puts got stopped out for a 50% loss. I kinda knew that was coming yesterday. My inertia killed me. I should have been up early today to sell them. I also had opportunities to buy calls and did not. I would have been prepared for a move either way and I wasn't. I was lazy and although I was up early, I just went back to sleep. I wasn't up to the challenge of trading. It is my own fault. I probably should just sit it out for the rest of the week but I'm thinking f getting some puts again if we stall out here. New Fedspeak tomorrow and that could be interesting. Gold didn't do much and the XAU is still away from the weekly uptrend line. When it gets there, I'm getting long. Could take a while since the sell-off has been severe. But I think longer term it's a viable trade. My ineptitude has really killed my performance so far this year. Each trade I've entered was profitable at some point, yet I'm stuck with 3 out of 4 being losers. My trading tactics have been lame. I need to see what is going on for what it is, not what I'd like it to be. It is always easy to look back and say I should have done this or that. I'll recover and trade on though. I'm not believing this is the start of some big rally. I could be wrong but the advance/declines have been pathetic throughout the recent trading action. We have really been rangebound and only the Dow is near a breakout through the top. Sometimes, like I've said before, the Dow will lead but it isn't a strong leadership. Anyway there are 3 days before expiration and I might have to try something else. Inflation data on Friday. Maybe a play on that. But also just sitting it out might work too. There might be a sell signal after tomorrow though. Tough to move on after a bad, losing trade but it has to be done. Mentally I'm actually not feeling too bad except for my inaction this morning. Lazy doesn't cut it in any line of work...

The Dow lost 26 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. My OEX puts are right about where I bought them and I am getting extremely worried about this trade. We were down over 60 points and came back in the last hour. That isn't good for the short side. The call/put ration was bearish. That isn't good short term either. I've got to see some downside tomorrow but I don't know if it will come. Perhaps we will go sideways into the expiration. Maybe the volume had to do with the blizzard over the weekend. I don't know. I have a stop-loss order in but I would like to make some money. The summation index is pointing down and the weekly charts are bearish. I don't know if it's enough to save this trade though. Gold got killed again and the XAU was down over 3 points and has broken all support. I need to check the trendline on a weekly basis. We could be there. Mentally I'm tired because I haven't felt too well the past day or so. Just took a hike but the markets loom large. The new Fed president is speaking on Wednesday and Thursday. The market could be waiting for that. Not sure where we go but am sticking to the downside for now. We are back at the downtrend line and if it holds all will be well for the shorts. If not, I'll try and switch back to the longside. It ain't easy...

The Dow gained another 35 points today on what looks to be average volume. Advance/declines were slightly positive. The market made quite a comeback as we were down 60 points in the morning. The puts I own at one point tripled but now they are right back where I purchased them. Tough game. I actually thought about getting some calls as we rallied right back up to the downtrend line. If we break through those puts are dead. I think if we do get through there I'll get some calls but it's a hard decision because the technicals aren't really signaling a buy. The summation index is still pointing down and I'm going to stick with that. I think Tuesday will be the day to the downside according to what I've got. It's getting through Monday that will be the test. A lot of volatility here and that could help prop up the option prices. My trading tactics need work though. Gold was down big, as much as it was up yesterday. Crazy market there for now. Should of had some puts but what can I say? It is just the toughest business in the world. The challenges are not for the faint of heart. The discipline and work required for success are enormous. Mentally I need to continue to focus on the positives and do the work. My entries have been good and my anticipation of the direction has been excellent. My timeframes have been off as we are moving much faster, both ways, than I anticipated. I still think the downside is the way to go until that downtrend line is broken. Could happen on Monday or not. I will try and relax over the weekend but no guarantees there.

The Dow gained 25 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were slightly positive. We were up 80 at one point. We made it to the downtrend line and when we got there I bought some OEX puts. I have a stop-loss order in to cut the loss if we go higher tomorrow from here. The puts are slightly in the black but I don't know about this trade. We need some more positive days before this will work I think. But the market will do what it wants. Intermediate term we are getting oversold so I can't see a lot of downside from here yet. But I do think the lows will be broken, I just don't know when. Tomorrow will be interesting. The trade I missed would have worked out well and I would be out of it today. I lament missing that one. Just didn't feel good about doing it, like I said. Aftermath of the previous bad trade. It doesn't matter now and I need to do the work on this one. We'll see. Gold was up about $14 at on point today but the XAU only gained a couple points. The volume wasn't there either. Perhaps a rest is in order there. I will wait for it to pull back to the uptrend line and get long there. I need to get the chart on a weekly basis. The summation index is still pointing down and that was the basis for this trade. That and the downtrend line in effect. Trade data out tomorrow, could be a market mover. I wouldn't mind seeing a light volume up day. Next week is the key for this one, maybe. Mentally I need some rest and will get to bed early tonight to deal with whatever happens tomorrow. The markets are fickle and we are almost into expiration week. However I think this was the right thing to do and I was waiting for the touch of the downtrend line today. We got it and now the future awaits and what it brings...

The Dow rose 108 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive but not a lot for an up hundred market. My order for calls wasn't filled. And so it goes. You somehow must persist in the face of frustration. It's tough. I am now looking to get some puts at the downtrend line. But I'm not sure that this is the right play. The market had to rise here. I know it sounds all knowing but looking at the numbers that was what had to happen. I don't know how long it will last but it actually could be the start of a decent move. However the overall market is weaker than the Dow. Sometimes the Dow will lead, I've seen it before. I don't know if this is one of those times. You can only know after the fact. I'll short it at the downtrend line and if it breaks to the upside, I'll get out. It's all I can do at this point. Perhaps I got too cute trying to get in but I really think my fear of losing kept me from getting filled. It is the aftermath of the last lousy trade coming back to haunt me. The time was right but I just didn't get it. Now we'll see what happens tomorrow. Hopefully we go right up to the line. But there is more room to the upside. Gold was down a bit, the XAU tried to rally but couldn't. Perhaps will make a play there but I doubt it for now. I need to get more sleep, mentally I'm not feeling well after missing this trade. I have to somehow put it behind me because there is still time to make some money in this options cycle. It pains me to just miss out on trades more than it does to lose money. It just goes to show you how much work there is left that needs to be done...

The Dow lost about 50 points on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. I had an order to buy some calls during the day but pulled it back. It is really tough here as we have somewhat broken support but the market is oversold. I am confident we are going to get a decent up day before the end of the week. I left in an overnight order but it is going against what I think is right. Then why do it? There is no reward without some risk here. I have a price that probably won't get filled. The market isn't tanking here it is working its way lower. The summation index is pointing down and that is the trend for now. Even if this order doesn't get filled I'm prepared to get some puts for next week, so I can wait if necessary. But I think there is a long trade here. It will be a short one with a tight stop-loss order in if it gets filled. The action was in gold today. Did I mention I had just started to look at the puts? Well I was too late as gold plunged almost $20 today. The XAU lost over 10 points. This is unheard of! It just goes to show you that markets will do what they want, when they want. There was profit to be had for sure but I just didn't keep a good enough eye on it. I did not pay attention as I was busy with the overall market. That happens. But more work must be done. There are no excuses. Mentally I did not sleep enough and am tired. I have to be ready for tomorrow and the rest of the week. It is a tough game and that cannot be forgotten. I need to put forth the effort necessary for success. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

The Dow gained about 5 points on light Monday volume. Advance/declines were positive. I was thinking about getting some calls today and I kind of think that is the play here. But the summation index is pointing down. That is stopping me. Most of the technicals are overbought and the put/call ratio favors a buy. Perhaps I'll do it tomorrow or maybe it is too late. Tough call. I'd like to short gold or some of the gold stocks here. The XAU was up 4 points and gold rallied just a bit today. It looks like a sell on the RSI for the XAU, ABX and NEM. It's hard to do though because this market has been so strong and the money just keeps going in there. But it has to take a rest sooner or later. Not sure how to go about it there but I'm keeping an eye on it. Mentally I'm doing the work required, checking the charts etc. I'm a bit tired today but just took a nice refreshing walk to clear my thoughts. There will be an opportunity to make some money here in the next 2 weeks. I am ready and will try and not make the same mistakes as last month. My trading tactics will be better. It's my analysis that has to be correct this time. I think I have a handle on it but who knows. The market will go where it wants to. I'll watch and listen and we'll see what happens...

The Dow lost another 58 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were negative but not as much as a down 60 market would indicate. We are at a tough point here, tradingwise. The weeklies are bearish but the dailies are flashing a buy signal. I would like to get long here but just aren't sure it's the right thing to do. I will ponder this over the weekend and decide from there I guess. The summation index is now turning down I believe. The trend overall is now lower. But a long trade managed properly could be the right play for the short term. Then get short again at the downtrend line. That would be the scenario in a perfect world. But this is the market and anything can happen. I'm getting some buy signals from various indicators and sells from others. Perhaps sitting on the sidelines would be prudent but you don't make any money that way. Gold was down a bit today and the XAU lost almost 5 points. I would like to short this on a rebound. Will that happen? Don't know but I think it has a chance. Tough market though and you've just got to pay attention there. I also would like to see the inflation numbers in a week or so and get some OEX puts beforehand. I do have some ideas but when and if to implement them are the questions. Mentally I'm doing fine now that the dentist has passed. I'm ready to trade and just need to make up my mind on what to do. It's dangerous and risky at this point. I'll have to regroup over the weekend and see what happens. Short is ultimately the way I think I should trade it but who knows? Crosscurrents are tricky. This is one tough market to trade at the moment. I'll try and relax over the weekend but no guarantees there...

Dow down 100 points with 2 to 1 negative advance/declines. Volume good. It looks like I have missed this move. Did have an order in but did not get filled. Perhaps will try and get short if there is a bounce tomorrow. Summation index is probably headed down now. Short post due to dentist. Not sure about the duration of this sell-off because we will be oversold tomorrow. Might just wait for a solid signal. We'll see...

The Dow was up about 90 points today. Advance/declines were positive but not as much as an up 90 market would indicate. Volume was good. The Dow has broken through the latest downtrend line but the other indices haven't. If the Dow is leading us higher we could be near the end of the rise. I'm not exactly sure but who is, ever? I would like to get short here but there really isn't a clear signal. I think I'll just have to wait but we'll see what happens tomorrow. The XAU was down a bit but I didn't see that the puts moved too much. I guess I'll have to start keeping an eye on the dollar again. GE had a big reversal on heavy volume and that helped turn things around for the Dow. Not that I'm going to play GE again anytime soon. I would like to do something before the employment report but who knows? I need to play it smart and that is not always the thing to do. It sounds like it is though. I guess I could try and be patient and wait for a move to 1300 on the S&P 500. It is tough to try and trade on mixed signals but the market will do what it wants. Mentally I'm doing good and got plenty of rest last night. However I need to focus on what needs to be done here. The discipline isn't what it needs to be. I'll work on it...

The Dow lost 35 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were positive though. I'm getting mixed signals. Might have missed the opportunity to get short. I think that may be true as we are selling off in the aftermarket due to Google. I will have to wait for something solid if I'm smart about it. No guarantees there. Gold was down a bit but the XAU was up over 4 points. I think it was some end of month shenanigans. Might want to short it here but it is a freight train and it would be stupid to try. That said, a pause or correction is overdue and the technicals are all overbought. There is no rush to trade here. Mentally I'm a bit tired today and that isn't good for trading. Not much I can do about it though. Trying to remain positive about what I'm doing but that doesn't always work either. So for now it's a wait and see game. I would like to get short but who knows? Beginning of the month money flows should appear. If we can get higher here the next couple of days, I'll look for some puts. If not I guess I'll wait for a buy signal. Sometimes February isn't a good month and sets up for the rally into March expiration. We'll see.

The Dow was off 7 points today while the overall market rose a bit. Volume was average and the advance/declines were slightly negative. I would like to get short somewhere in here but I don't know if the market will accommodate me. We are overbought and a negative day will arrive this week. I would like to wait for Wednesday but who knows. Fed announcement tomorrow. End of month also. If we can go sideways into the 1st of the month, I can do it. Not a super strong sell signal yet but I think it can be. I'm going to be patient though. Lot's of time left for these options. I have an upper target in mind and when we get there I will have to think long and hard about it. Gold went to new highs today and I'm just here watching it. I do want to short it a t some point but cannot step in front of it now. Mentally, I think I'm ready for the next trade and will try and do the right things. I'd like to make it a good one. I'm getting plenty of rest and am not feeling too bad. I do have a dentist appointment later in the week but I should have a position by then. We'll see. I need to read the blue book and get ready. The time seems to be near and I have to be ready for it...

A rerun of yesterday, with the Dow up about 100 points. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive again and the volume was heavy. All things now look to point to higher prices. We are short term overbought though. I would like to find a place to get short knows? New highs are expanding and the summation index is pointing up. Perhaps I should just stay out. I will, for now. But next week will be a different story. Gold didn't move much today and the XAU was higher early but ended up just a tad. Watching it for now but no real gameplan there. Seems like there are some crosscurrents in the market here. I will have to check things over the weekend and come up with some ideas for next week. Lots of economic news with the Fed on Tuesday the most important I think. Perhaps I will get short before the announcement, if the market stays up until then. There will be a decent downmove at some point based on my indicators. When, is the question. Mentally I'm OK, not in peak condition but all right. I'm going to rest up over the weekend and get back at it Monday morning...

The Dow rose 100 points today. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive and the volume was heavy. I think we are about to get a short term sell signal tomorrow and we are just about at the downtrend line. Not sure what to make of this. Too early to get short I think and there is no signal on the summation index. I'm on the sidelines. Also GE cascaded to the downside and that is sometimes a forewarning of what is to come. But who knows? The XAU rose another 2 points today and that index just keeps going higher. Would like to short it but the money just keeps going there and I haven't exactly had my eye on it like I should. I need to pay more attention. Kind of lax this week since the expiration but that period is over. Mentally I'm a bit tired but nothing that should stop me from what needs to be done. We are entering a normally strong period of the end of month and beginning. So I'm on the sidelines. I think if things pan out I will get short before the employment number next Friday. I think GDP comes out tomorrow. Then there is the Fed meeting on Tuesday. So there won't be a lack of market moving events. I need to be disciplined and get ready to go. The money will be there to be made. The question is can I make it?

The Dow was little changed, down 2 points. Volume was pretty good again and the advance/declines were slightly negative. We haven't done much in the last 3 days, up about 20 yesterday. Don't know where we go from here but I'm going to wait for a signal either way. Gold was up about $4 and the XAU set a new high. GE has been steadily losing ground on heavy volume for a week. That does not bode well for the overall market, I believe. We'll have to see what happens. Yesterday was a nice little break but I need to get back in focus here. Mentally I'm a bit tired but hanging in there. The week after expiration is not normally the best time to trade due to the high premiums. Next week will be better and I will probably wait until then. I've put the last trades mistakes behind me and am going from here. It's what you have to do. Nothing will change what has already happened and I'm not going to sit here and lament. Looking for the next opportunity and hopefully I'll be good enough to take advantage of it. You just gotta keep moving because really, that's all you can do...

The Dow gained 21 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. I think we will see some sort of bounce here but a weak one. The summation index hasn't turned down solidly just yet. Gold didn't do much that I could see and the XAU was flat. Might want to short that here soon but I need to start watching it closely again. A nice break for the weekend and the options a re all priced high now after expiration so I'll be on the sidelines until a decent signal appears. Still smarting after last weeks debacle but I'm not one to dwell on it now. There is a lot of time and money left for this year. Hopefully I've learned from my past mistakes. Hard to say but we'll see. No clear ideas at the moment. Would like to see a snapback to the uptrend line that was broken on a daily basis Friday. Might try the SPX instead of the OEX if I can afford it this time. We'll see. Mentally I'm trying to keep it together as usual. Not feeling too sorry for myself as that won't serve any purpose. Just have to dust myself off and keep on going. Taking off early tomorrow to go hiking so the blog may not happen. I don't think there is much going on this week. Fed meeting sometime before the end of the month. Just coasting for now but keeping an eye on things as it must be...

The market got pounded on expiration Friday. Down 213 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines over 2 to 1 negative. I sold the OEX calls for about a 40% loss. I'm an idiot. Had a gain yesterday did not put in a stop-loss order and I got what I deserved. Could have sold first thing in the morning for break-even and waited for a bounce that never came. Did not manage this trade properly, just like the GE trade. Must make the proper changes immediately or just stop. Should have had 3 winners to start the year and am left with this. Horrible. I must get better. Very disappointing. GE was down hard, over a dollar on extremely heavy volume. I was lucky to bail out yesterday and absorb the loss before it became a total loss. Again, I should have gotten out of the OEX trade also. The exact same thing happened with the first OEX trade when I did not sell out the GE calls that were profitable. If I felt the need to bail out of the one trade I just should have gotten out of the other. Terrible trading tactics and I really need to step back and get it right for a change. Stop-loss orders are now mandatory. They must be moved up as a profit takes shape. If I get stopped out, so what? I have seen enough times when the trade just goes the other way and I sit there. Many trades have been winners that have turned into losers. Too many. The discipline required has got to happen now or it just isn't worth it. The money is there to be made and my ability to get the right trades is there, they just aren't managed correctly. It's up to me to change that. I need to work on that. That will have to be the priority. It will make things so much easier on myself. I cannot take the torture that much more. I have to have the ability to move forward in the face of frustration. It isn't easy. The weekend is here, I'm tired and defeated for now. I am going to take it easy next week and try to limit myself to only the best trading opportunities. I want to limit the commissions. I have already overtraded and did a bad job at that. It's time to take a step back, regroup and rest...

Blog didn't publish. No time now. Sold GE calls at a 70% loss. Still holding OEX calls.

The Dow gained 25 points on good volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. I bit the bullet and sold the GE calls at a substantial loss of over 70%. I did not want to wait for the earnings tomorrow. I am puzzled as to why these things even had a bid, being 30 cents out of the money and a slow mover. The volume there was huge also. Perhaps the options market knows something. We'll see tomorrow. The stock was down on heavy volume today. I don't know what it means except that I screwed that trade up and should have sold out when I sold those OEX calls. Seems like I start every year with a big loser and then have to fight my way back. Luckily I have already made some money with the first OEX trade. I am still holding the calls I bought on Wednesday but probably should have dumped them today. They are showing a slight profit and I will need the market to open stronger to have a chance at getting some profit there. I think the decline is done for now but you never know what will happen from one day to the next. Certainly we could be down tomorrow and these could be wiped out. As for GE I really don't know why the premiums are so high with only one day left. The earnings must really carry some weight. Mentally I'm a bit tired and will be glad when the week is done. I need to remember to just take the good set-ups and not trade as much. I also need to set better targets and use the stop-loss orders. I am disappointed with my performance thus far and a loss in this OEX trade won't help things. Anything can happen on expiration Friday and I am a fool for still being in this trade. I had a decent profit today and did not take it. Greed and foolishness are a stupid combination. We'll see what happens tomorrow...

The Dow lost 41 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. The Japanese market got hammered and had to close early which spooked the markets here. That combined with the earnings coming in poorly led the sell-off. We were off about 75 at one point. I bought some OEX calls. I still think a bounce is coming but my timing wasn't that good. There is also a downtrend line in effect now and we are on the way back to it. I didn't put a lot of money in this trade because it really isn't a good set up. I probably should not have even taken this on with just 2 days to go. But if we can get through the downtrend line, it could be a winner. It is right about where I bought it and the time factor looms large. Again, I don't usually do trades like this so we'll see what happens. I still own the GE calls and that sold off and came back also. But they are way in the red and I will think hard about just cutting the loss tomorrow in front of the earnings. I do not want to take a big loss here but it is possible. At this point I will probably wait for Friday and hope to get bailed out. We'll see what happens tomorrow. That trade, in retrospect, did not work out from the beginning and I held on anyway. Those kind of trades have got to be dumped early. I need to remember that. Mentally I'm again having problems of talking to non traders who just don't get it. As much as I'd like to discuss trading with others, it's a losing proposition. People just do not understand what it is, what it involves etc. It is a waste of my time to try and explain. Yeah, it gets lonely when you're the only one but I now realize that it's better than dealing with those that don't understand. I guess trading is a solitary business and that isn't going to change. The battle is with oneself and the markets. No need to discuss this with others. Let them live their lives and I will get what I can from the markets and leave it at that. Less hassle that way and there are enough problems without creating any more. We see what happens tomorrow and if I'm up to the challenge...

The Dow lost 63 points today on OK volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative. I had an order to get some OEX calls but it wasn't filled. The timing looked right and it would have had a profit by the end of the day. I just didn't act fast enough. But the signal here isn't the greatest. And I'm still holding a losing position in GE, which could turn into a disaster if I don't cut the loss here fast. I don't think I want to wait for the earnings. After the bell today a few major companies have disappointed and the market is getting slammed. GE will no doubt be down tomorrow. I have to rethink the gameplan from here now. Perhaps a long position in the last week is the wrong position. A solid buy signal is possible for Thursday if everything falls into place tomorrow. But maybe just sitting it out is the right thing to do. Because we will most likely set new lows tomorrow and break what I thought was support today. Tough game. I need to get done with GE somehow and not sustain a heavy loss. Time will tell. I'll need to check the support levels tonight. Mentally I'm feeling pretty good. Not beating myself up for missing the move today and in hindsight it looks like I can get those calls cheaper if I so desire. The GE trade looms though and I really don't want to wait until Friday. I have seen it work out before but the risk is really high. Might have to wait though with the weakness tomorrow. We are at the top of the S&P 500 weekly trading range and falling from there. That line seems to be key and we are not breaking to the upside. There is also a negative divergence in the RSI which I have noticed and may be influencing my hesitation today. Whatever the case there still should be an opportunity to get long sometime in the next 3 days for a profit. Whether or not I can do it is the question. I'll pick out some levels tonight and take it from there...

The Dow was little changed, only down 2 points. Volume was about average and the advance/declines were positive. I would have liked to see some more downside action. I still think that we could have a nice week next week. I plan on getting long again on Tuesday when we re-open if there is some downside. Otherwise I might have to sit it out, which I don't want to do. GE was up a few cents on light volume. I need to get out of this. It is a loser right now. I don't know if I can wait around for next Friday and the earnings. I probably shouldn't. Gold was up again, around $7 and the XAU hit another new high. This is where the money is, not in GE. I should have stuck with my original idea of the January 120 calls. Foolish not to. It is easy to look back though. So here I sit before a long weekend with a losing position and no clear picture of where we are headed. Not the best of shape to be in. Mentally I need a break and I will get it. It will be interesting next week and I have got to be up for the challenge. More upside early is not what I want to see. A down day Tuesday will get me in but it isn't the most sure of trades. Perhaps I'll use my head and wait. Don't know. Otherwise I am trying to maintain a schedule and do the work that is necessary. I do have some loose ends to tie up over the weekend but I need to rest too. It is a demanding game and time out to recharge and get a better look at things is in order. It certainly will drain you if you let it. Gotta control yourself as much as you can. Not easy but again, you've got to do what it takes to be successful...

The Dow lost 81 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were about 2 to 1 negative. I didn't like todays action as I am looking to get long. It worries me that we have actually put in a top. I will have to check the option numbers tonight. GE was down over 40 cents and that trade is now a loser. I suppose in hindsight I should have gotten out yesterday. We are right at the 50 day moving average. If it breaks it I had better sell. Right now it looks like it's going to be a loser. Note to self: Do Not Trade GE again this year. It is a dinosaur and doesn't move enough. Trade the OEX and be good at that. We'll see what happens. Gold was down a bit and the XAU was also. Would like to short that as a top looks like it is forming. Need to keep an eye on it. Hard work though when my mind is focused elsewhere on losing propositions. Trouble. Mentally I'm a bit tired. I need to get the gameplan for expiration week. I did want to get long at some point but I guess I will have to wait for a signal. Perhaps on Tuesday is what I am thinking at this point. Producer prices tomorrow and that should be a mover. We'll see how the market reacts. I really do need GE to hold in here. I do not want to have to wait for the earnings to bail me out because something tells me they won't. Also to keep in mind is that the S&P 500 is up against a longterm weekly resistance line and has not broken through. I don't know if it can. I really need to be careful here and will try. Hopefully I won't do anything before the long weekend tomorrow. I think I can have the discipline to do that. Maybe dump GE if it breaks. Not sure but that trade doesn't look good. It moved sideways and never got going during this rally. That should have been the tip off but I'm a bit slow sometimes, especially when I have a stake in what is going on. Foolish...

The Dow rose another 31 points today on good volume, again. Advance/declines were positive. I don't know how much longer this can go on. Very overbought. We will have a down day in the next 2 days I believe. I sold my OEX calls. I'm early, I think but I don't want to ride them down and then go back up. I plan on getting some calls on any weakness in the next couple of days. But I could be wrong and should have held on. I also could have gotten a better price for them today. We will see what happens tomorrow. This is a strong market for now no doubt. The calls had around a 400% gain. I'll try and buy them back cheaper or move to another strike price. GE was up 20 cents today finally. Those options are barely profitable. Not so sure as to what to do there. The stochastics are moving to the top of the range. Would like to hold on until next week but those earnings could be a problem. On the other hand they could be a catalyst. Tough call but if we rally there to $36 I will seriously consider getting out. Gold didn't do much today that I could see but I was focused elsewhere and do not want to spread myself too thin. Mentally I got a good nights sleep and have some ideas on how to act before the expiration. We'll see what happens but everything looks like it is panning out for now. But you can never tell in this game and I will have to keep an eye on things...

Did not get here yesterday as I left as soon as the market closed. We were up good again on decent volume. I expected some downside today and we got it early but then closed unchanged. Volume was good again and the advance/declines were positive. I really wanted to see at least a few points down on the OEX because we are way overbought. The calls are still looking good and it looks like I might just have to hold them until next week. The summation index is still pointing up and the McClellan oscillator just confirmed the new high prices. I would like to sell and buy back but it doesn't look like the market will let me do that. Unfortunately GE isn't moving and that is a pain in the ass. I should have gotten out when I had a small profit because this trade isn't panning out. There is not enough movement in this issue to be bothered with it. That is my mistake. We are just about at the 50-day moving average again and perhaps we can bounce from there. Again, earnings don't come out until the final day of expiration next week. I'll have to do something but don't know what just yet. Gold was down a touch and the XAU was off a bit. Would really like to short it here but am already involved elsewhere. I don't want to take on too much early in the year. Trade number out on Thursday and that could be a mover. We need some downside because the market is getting overbought both short and medium term. I expect a nice upmove next week, which is a shortened one, at some point. Trying here to decide when to position for that. Not an easy task. Mentally I'm a bit tired from being out last night and not in the norm. Discipline remains the key to success I believe and I have to be here to have that. The next few trading sessions will be key to getting off to a good start this year. It's possible but not with doing what needs to be done: focus, commitment, dedication, discipline, proper rest, concentration and desire. We'll see what happens...

I had a dentist appointment yesterday and did not have time to post. The market was flat. Today we were up 77 points on decent volume again. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. My OEX calls are doing nicely. The summation index is pointing up and everything there looks good. But that worries me. We are overbought. Now we could stay there but I am expecting some type of pullback next week. The question is whether to sell now and then buy them back cheaper or just hold on. I'll decide over the weekend. They do show a nice profit. GE isn't moving with the market and that bothers me since I have more money in that trade. It is slightly profitable. Another problem here is that the earnings come out on the Friday expiration. It hasn't broken out yet and it may not. Don't know what to do there. Gold got hammered yesterday but came back even stronger today on the weak employment report. The XAU is almost at 140. That would have been thought impossible a month and a half ago. Still bumming out that I don't have anything there. So there you have it for this week. It was a very good one for the longs. How long can it last? I don't know. Perhaps all the way to the expiration. I might play it like that. I need to go over things over the weekend and see what reports are coming out next week. Mentally I'm a bit tired. I am trying to do things right this year, at least to get off to a good start. I don't want to get too complacent here just because things are going my way. This can be a very cruel game. I'm going to have to pay attention and make some good decisions. Easier said than done. However it's the weekend and I will rest at least for a day and a half. I'll try and get my head together and decide what to do from here. It is never easy but what can ya do?

The Dow was up 32 points on good volume again. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. The OEX was higher and my calls are still in the black. GE was little changed although it was down for most of the day. The calls there are still showing a little profit. Gold was up a bit and the XAU tacked on over 2 points. NEM was higher too. The volume in gold still supports higher prices at this point and I am sorry that I have missed this. The money is going in there and that's all you can ask for. I can't chase it now though. The stock market needs a rest here and it will be interesting to see how the week ends. I should put in some stop-loss orders but I also think we could finally break out of the overhead resistance and if that happens I will actually make some money. But if it doesn't I will be a fool again. I'll try to not let that happen. Mentally I didn't get a good nights sleep and I'm tired. My mind is focused on what has to be done in the markets though. I will not let anything interfere with what needs to be done this year. I want to make this the best year ever. It can be done with discipline and keeping my emotions in check. Easier said than done...

The Dow rose 130 points today on heavy volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The market didn't do much and was negative in the morning but after the Fed minutes were released it rallied strongly. The OEX calls I bought have doubled. GE was down for most of the day but reversed late and ended up 30 cents. Now the question is if this is just a one day wonder or the start of a sustained move. I don't know. We are back at resistance. If we can get through there with some volume then we will go much higher I believe. Has yet to happen. Gold was up over $13 today and I am very disappointed that I am not involved. The XAU rose an astounding 7 points. NEM was up over $3. I had been considering the January XAU 120 calls and never acted on it. The price and volume patterns pointed towards higher prices and I didn't do anything. I had read an article that gold had reached a top and I let that sway my opinion. That was a mistake. I do make mistakes and missing this move in gold is one of them. You have just gotta go with what the market is telling you, whatever the market. I was a fool for this one. And I'm not very happy about it. Mentally that is gnawing away at me and I cannot let it affect what I must do with these other trades. I will try and stay focused. I have no targets for these other trades but I need to look at the charts. Stop-loss orders should probably be placed but I haven't done that yet. My priorities for the coming trading year must be put in order. I need to do the work and keep my head together. Everything else should fall into place...

The Dow lost 67 points today on again, light volume. Advance/declines were negative. I bought some OEX calls. I'm getting a buy signal, both short and intermediate so I have to take it. But the market is acting very poorly. GE was down today and my calls are now losing money. We are on the trendline and any weakness will negate this trade. I'm looking for the market to rally when it opens on Tuesday and perhaps I will just bail out of everything then. I will have to look at things over the long weekend. But right now it doesn't look good. Gold was up a buck but the XAU lost some ground and is right at its uptrend line. A break there could result in a short position but I have too much going on already. So I'm already in over my head for next year so let's take a look back at this past year. I started out losing 30% of my trading capital in the first 2 months. It was a terrible beginning which I do not want to repeat this year. But who knows? It was an up and down year. I made a lot of mistakes and had a few nice trades. But it wasn't quite good enough. There is room for a lot of improvement and I know this. My win % sucked. I got in late and out early. I got in early and out late. I had some options expire worthless which should never happen. I've got to get better. My trading account ended the year up 80%. It was a very frustrating year. I would like to have a better year in 2006. I've committed to doing the work. My discipline must improve. I know it isn't easy and I also realize that it is totally up to me. There are no excuses. I'll try and relax over this weekend and then get off to a good start for the next trading year...

Short blog today. Market not acting well, Dow down 11 on light volume. Advance/declines negative. GE up a few cents after being higher most of the day. I'd like to have the guts to pick up some OEX calls here but I don't. XAU still moving to new highs with gold actually down a bit. I am getting a buy signal on the overall market but it is short term. Perhaps I will think about it tonight and maybe get up early tomorrow and get some calls. Risky. No time today to write. More tomorrow...

The Dow was up 18 points on light volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. GE was down early and ended up basically unchanged. My GTC order for calls was filled. I don't know if I'm glad or sad. I suppose I still want to do this trade but I'm skeptical at this point. We have moved sideways for so long I don't know what to think. It is right at the uptrend line though so if ever there was a time to try this trade, now is it. We'll see what happens. Gold was up around $7 and the XAU broke out to a new high. NEM rallied also. Perhaps I should have kept a better eye on this for this is where the volume is. But it could just be an end of the year thing with managers wanting some gold shares in their portfolio. That's a guess. The XAU is higher now than when gold touched $540. I think it's a positive for the XAU. Time will tell on that also. I think we are approaching oversold here on the overall market and hopefully GE will rise along with it. Nothing is for sure in this game though. Mentally I'm OK but would like to get a bit more sleep. I've been getting up earlier than I used to. Don't know why. We should limp along to the end of this holiday week here I believe. But with the volume so light, anything can happen.

The Dow lost 105 points on light volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. No buyers today and I don't know what to say. I thought this would be just a slow week but who knows now? GE was down around 35 cents and is right at the trendline. My order is 10 cents away from being filled but now I don't know if I want it. I left it in though because I think by the end of the week today will be forgotten. Or maybe not. Gold was up $5 but I think the XAU was actually down today. I'll be keeping an eye on things for sure. Mentally I'm a little off with poor sleep lately and just a holiday mode. That has to change. I would like to get off to a good start trading next year for a change. It is up to me. Yeah the XAU was down over half a point. I'm going to stick with GE for now and it should get filled tomorrow or else today was the day to get it. You can never tell.

The Dow was down 6 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. It is holiday time. Next week should be slow with no real conviction one way or the other. Gold was little changed, the XAU rallied and then fell back. GE went nowhere. I still have my GTC order in but I'm thinking that I might cancel it next week. Not getting a good feel right now about where we are headed. Mentally I need a break but will stay focused on what I need to do. I'll review what happened this year and prepare for 2006...

The Dow was up 55 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. It is the holiday season. Volume will be light and the movement will have an upside bias. At least it should. GE was up about 30 cents on light volume. I am leaving in my GTC order and it doesn't look like it will be filled. We haven't gotten to the trendline as yet and may not for all I know. We'll see. But I think that at this rate I am pretty much done for this year. Gold was up 9 bucks and the XAU rose 2 and a half points. I guess I better keep an eye on this also. But the extra week on the options means that we are just arriving at the normal cycle. The market has moved higher and the OEX calls have barely budged. That is the trouble with extra time. Movement in the indexes doesn't necessarily mean movement in the option price. Mentally I'm doing fine with an extra half hour before going to work making for no time pressures. I'm looking forward to taking it easy over the long weekend and think that tomorrow will be a snoozer too.

The Dow was up 28 points on light volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. We were due a bounce and the market was much higher earlier in the day. I think we will move higher but hang around for a day or two. GE was down about 20 cents and is almost at the uptrendline. My order remains in effect and it could get hit tomorrow. Or I might have to adjust it if the line is touched. We'll see what happens. Gold was down today but the XAU rose 3 points. Interesting. I may need to keep a closer eye on that. Not much else to say about today. Mentally I'm feeling fine. The week should close quietly, with the holidays arriving over the weekend. Next week should be a snoozer early on also.

The Dow was down around 31 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were about even. I took yesterday off from the blog and we were down yesterday also. We are at short term oversold. Any downside tomorrow can be used to get long it you want to. However the summation index has turned down so I'm not so sure what to do here. I am trying to get long GE. I have a GTC order in for some January 35 calls. We are almost at the uptrendline for GE and I will get long there. If it doesn't hold, I'll get out. Might want to try some OEX calls here also. Not sure exactly what I'll do but should try something if the technicals call for it. Gold was down again today and is now under $500. The XAU fell a couple points too. Staying away from that market for now. No clear idea of what to do there. I'll wait for the XAU to get back to the trendline. But this market could be over as far as the longside goes. Don't know for sure but I'll keep an eye on it. No other trading thoughts for now but I do expect some strength here in the stock market towards the end of the year in anticipation of the new year. Mentally I'm a bit tired as I had to get up early today and did not get a full nights sleep. Also trying to be patient here as the options have an extra week on them. But I have to do it when the signal comes and it looks like we are getting one tomorrow but it could be a weak one. We'll see...

The Dow lost 6 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. I managed to stay out and did not make any trades this week. GE was basically unchanged. Gold was up a bit and the XAU gained about 2 points. We now enter the holiday period which generally has a bullish bias. However we are up against resistance and slightly overbought. Volume tends to dry up now too so it's hard to trust any moves. I would like to get long GE but now I'm not so sure. There are negative divergences out there on the McClellan oscillator and that cannot be ignored. I am also getting bearish readings on the CBOE call/put indicator. I guess I will just have to try and be patient to wait for a decent signal. Perhaps I'll take the rest of the year off at this point. Try and get ready for next year which should offer many good opportunities. Mentally I'm feeling better, getting over the slight cold that I have. I need to re-focus on what needs to be done here to insure the success that awaits next year. But for now I'll try and relax, enjoy the weekend and develop some type of gameplan for the new year. An extra week on the January options also will play into the scenario. But for now, rest...

The Dow lost a point on average volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative. We are almost done with expiration week. I think it is skewing things a bit. Overbought here and need a rest. GE was up on heavy volume. Looks like I missed that one. Not feeling good about that. Gold was down again today and the XAU was actually up about a point. No trades there for now. I am trying to sit it out here and so far have been successful on that count. Don't know about GE now but I still feel like it could work. Not much else for now with the holidays coming up. There is usually a positive bias and I don't know if I can play that. Mentally I'm not there today as I still have a cold and I had a problem with my teeth on top of that. So I'm trying to just hang in there for now and regroup. Looking ahead to improving my trading next year. This year I started out losing a lot of money and I don't want to repeat that. I don't want to be too cautious but I don't want to be stupid either. I've got to just go after the good trades if I can find them. I know what it takes, it is just a matter of me doing it. We'll see about expiration...

The Dow was up 60 points on a little less than average volume. Advance/declines were positive. No trades. I am trying to stay out of the indices before Friday. Gold got clobbered and the XAU was down over 3 points. I should have shorted it the day it was up $10 and then sold off. I wasn't paying enough attention. GE was higher and the volume was good. I want to go out to January on this issue but will wait for some weakness. However that may not happen and the technicals are oversold. We'll see what happens. I want to do it though and will if I get a chance. I'm not feeling well, I have a slight cold. This in turn is affecting my view of the market. So I'm staying on the sidelines for now. It is probably the best thing to do. Looking to get long GE and that is about it for now. Will keep an eye on the XAU for the uptrendline. Options expire on Friday...

The Dow rose 55 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. The Fed rose rates again and the market took off on the language of the statement. Which was bearish by the way. Go figure. I don't think there will be a trade for me now in the OEX or SPX but who knows, I do some crazy things sometimes. Perhaps if we get some weakness tomorrow but the risk here is a lot. I probably should look to go out to January with my GE idea and leave it at that. But perhaps I'll do something on a very short term basis if a signal comes through. GE was down a nickel on good volume. Gold sold off but the XAU hung in there. I'm going to wait for it to get back to the trendline. Overbought in all time frames. No need to be in a hurry there but that market has drawn a lot of interest and can't be ignored. Mentally I'm a bit tired from last nights dinnerfest and booze. Not the kind of situation for trading. I'm going to rest up tonight and just take it easy. That will help. I need to rest and I know it. I will try not to force things here but I get the idea that the market will run up into the expiration. Inflation number on Thursday. Trade number tomorrow. The smart thing to do here is probably just sit it out. But there will be some money to be made so..... But for now, rest.

The Dow lost 10 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. Entering a tricky period here to trade. I think we need to see some weakness and then maybe some strength at the end of the week but it isn't set in stone and it is just a guess anyway. Things will have to unfold perfectly or I probably shouldn't try to do anything. The risk is high. I will probably try and go out to January on the GE trade. No guarantees there either but at least I'll have time on my side. Gold rose over $10 at one point but the XAU ended up selling off and so did gold. I think the rise is over for now but who knows? Cutting this short today, more tomorrow...

The Dow was up 23 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. I dumped the OEX calls for a heavy 70% loss. Not the way I'd like to end the year but it's possible that I won't make another trade this year. Doubtful but possible. I could have sold out at a 60% loss but held on and then just decided to get out and start fresh on Monday. Sometimes it's better that way. This trade was a winner and I turned it into a loser and that is unacceptable. My trading has been horrible this year but it's not time for the recap just yet. I think there will be an opportunity next week but I don't know if I'll be good enough to take it. GE was up early but then sold off some. I almost bought some calls there but my order did not get filled immediately so I canceled it. I am going to get some January calls there next week. Maybe. Gold was up another $5 today but the XAU was down. This market needs a rest and I will try and wait there before getting long. I missed this move and it my own fault. When I could have been making some good money there I was busy taking a 70% hit in the OEX. Stupid. Mentally I'm not feeling all that confident after todays loss. I will have to forget about it and move on. That is the only way to do it. I will try not to dwell on it and let it affect the next trade. I have an idea and I will see if it works out next week. I am not feeling good about what happened today but what can you do. The volume has dried up and it doesn't look like the market can get any traction to the upside. That said, I'm going to try and relax this weekend and get back at it on Monday. It is a tough game, a humbling game and it certainly can take a toll on you mentally. I'm trying my best and I need to get better. That is the truth...

The Dow down another 55 points on heavier volume. Advance/declines were positive. My OEX calls are big losers. I probably should have just sold them today. The big cap stocks are getting hammered here but the overall market is strong. The OEX was down more than the SPX and that rarely happens. Bad news from Merck and Intel after the bell and that makes for a rough day again tomorrow. It pisses me off. But there isn't anything I can do about it. This trade is just a loser. I blew it again. Makes me wonder why I even bother with this shit. I am really feeling down on myself today and I don't know why. I need to keep it together and not let my emotions take over. It isn't easy. Gold and the XAU continue to climb and that is where I should have been. It doesn't make me happy. I pulled my GE order off the table. No sense in losing any more money at this point. I'm getting killed with the OEX trade. And it was a winner at one point. I should have listened to the market. When it sold off on Tuesday. That was the key. I saw it and didn't do anything. Now with Intel and Merck getting pounded, I'm doomed. This is a tough game. What more can I say. It just doesn't get any easier. It only gets harder.

The Dow lost 45 points today. It came back in the last hour and that is encouraging. The volume also contracted and that's a positive. Advance/declines were negative. I was expecting a pullback and if we can contain it here that will be good. If not my OEX calls will be losers like they are now. I should have dumped them yesterday and re-bought them back today but hindsight is easy. I'm not sure that they will work out now because they have not been able to take out the highs as yet and it doesn't look right now like they can. I tried to get some GE calls and this is strictly a short-term trade. I have a GTC order in and this is at most a 3 day trade right now. I don't know if it will get filled but we'll see. We should see some strength in the overall market in the next 2 days. That is my guess for here. Maybe not tomorrow but by Friday for sure. Gold continues to move higher and I just can't bring myself to get long when it has moved so far and is way overbought. But who knows what I will do. The XAU is now over 120 and the January calls I was thinking about are just too expensive. It is going to be tricky to get out of this OEX trade at this point. I may not get a chance at a profit. I think the GE trade will work if my scenario of some positive action takes place. My ideal situation would be a move to new highs but that is wishful thinking at this point. The Fed meets next week also and that will tone things down at the beginning of the week. Mentally I'm a little down for not doing the right thing but I still think there will be some moneymaking opportunities here before the expiration and I will try to keep in tune with what is happening to exploit them. I also do not want to project what happened last month into this one because I don't think I could get that lucky again so soon...

The Dow was up 21 points today but was much higher earlier and sold off at the end. This is not a good sign. Volume contracted going higher, another warning signal. Advance/declines were positive. My OEX calls are about back to what I paid for them and it doesn't look good off of todays action. The candlestick chart doesn't look good here either. I'm holding for now but I don't like the scenario. Tomorrow should be a down day. I don't expect a tremendous decline but time is running out and there is just a small window of opportunity, I believe. GE was higher and sold off to basically unchanged. The chart doesn't look good there now either but a play could develop. Gold was up a touch but the XAU rallied almost 3 points. Looks like a breakout and I did place an order for some NEM calls. Might be chasing it and that is deadly. Did not get filled but it is a market that really looks like it wants to go higher. Perhaps tomorrow if I get a chance but it's risky for sure. Mentally I'm tired and did not spend the day here and that has thrown me off of my routine which I don't think is conducive to good trading. I need to be in my office but I do have other responsibilities now and I am trying to juggle them. Focus and discipline must remain the keys and I cannot let anything deter me from my goals. The market requires the utmost attention and so that's what I have to give it. There are no shortcuts. I cannot let other things get in the way of success. That is the way it is. Anything other than my full attention is a waste of time and money. It's the truth, those are the facts and I must deal with them...

Early post today as I am leaving right at the market close. 45 minutes to go and we are off over 50 points. Advance/declines are almost 2 to 1 negative. I expected some weakness here early in the week and we are getting it. Unfortunately I think it could last until the close Wednesday and the OEX calls I purchased are already back to breakeven. I will try not to buy more even if they get cheaper. GE is higher today and I have an order for some calls there but I don't think it will get hit. Could bode well for the overall market but who knows. Might try to get them in the next couple days if they pull back a bit. Or not. Gold is up around $4 but the XAU isn't doing much. This is usually a negative sign. I need to wait here as we are just about as overbought as it gets. We'll see. Not feeling good about getting long right here for gold. Mentally I''m doing fine after a nice weekend and I will attempt to clear out my head some more today after the close. But the game looms large and I would like to end the year on a positive note. That said I do want to remain disciplined into the end of the year. It's not going to be easy but nothing is in this crazy game....

The Dow lost 35 points today on average volume, maybe a little light. Advance/declines were about even. Although the action implies higher prices, you never know. I'm still holding the OEX calls. I expect some weakness at some point next week but overall I think we'll see higher prices by the end of the week. After that, who knows? Gotta be careful. GE was down today and the volume picked up. Haven't bought the calls here yet and maybe I won't. Gold was down today as was the XAU. Really need to take a break here before I think about getting long again. There is a trendline about 5 points lower on the XAU and I guess I'll wait for that. Employment report was as expected and we did not get a lot of movement really. Not sure what to make of that but it is out of the way. Mentally I think I've got a handle on things here but I don't want to be too aggressive either way. I'm still on the year ending in 5 theory and so I want to be long into the expiration. Don't know if that will hold up but it should. I'm getting more focused and I can see that there is plenty of things to do here, marketwise. I need to stay on top of things regardless of the holidays. Summation index still pointing to the upside and I'll stay in tune with that. Trying to get enough rest and the weekend is here. I'll try and relax...

Back to the upside today as the Dow gained 106 points on good volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. The OEX calls I bought are in the black but they did not move that much. Disappointing. I am going to hold on for a while since there is just over 2 weeks until expiration. But this could be a tricky call. I might sell them next week and then buy them back in the final week. Way too far out to really know what is going to happen. GE did not move with this rally today and that is troublesome. Of course I still want some calls there so I feel good about that. But who knows? Gold rose over $6 today and the XAU bounced back over 3 points. Still overbought here but you cannot deny the move higher and I certainly want to participate. Gotta be careful though, there is way too much news coverage on this. Mentally I feel OK as my timing was almost right yesterday. But it is a dangerous game that I'm in here and I know it. Employment report tomorrow and we could head right back down. I've got to get some targets set up for this trade and also check the weekly charts. We are still overbought on the OEX so that's a problem going forward also. We did work off a little of that trin-wise in the last 3 days. Tough game and coming into the last month of the year. Tomorrow is important...