The Dow gained 3 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. The S&P 500 was negative but the NASDAQ was positive. It was a mixed day and really we are just waiting for the Fed on Wednesday. Gold lost a couple bucks but the XAU dropped 2 and 1/2 points. ABX lost about a dime which wasn't bad considering. The volume was light. However the chart isn't looking so good now. Oil lost over a buck and that probably contributed to the drop in gold. The dollar was weaker today. So it was a mixed picture in the precious metal as well. My calls are a bit over break even. I'm surprised that they have held up as well as they did. I suppose this week will be make or break for this trade. I have nothing else on the horizon at the moment. We are approaching short term oversold but I do not think I will be playing the bounce. The market isn't acting too good here. That could all change after the Fed but we'll have to just wait and see. Mentally I'm unsure of what to do here. I probably need to be thinking about dumping these calls. But my thought is that we will be getting a move lower in interest rates after the GDP is reported on Wednesday. That should support a rally in gold. But it's just a guess. Right now the volume is telling me to look for higher prices in ABX. I'm going to stick with that.

The Dow lost 15 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. The market had sold off more for most of the day. We could be on a holding pattern until the Fed on Wednesday. Gold lost around 4 bucks and the XAU was basically unchanged. ABX lost about 30 cents on light volume. The calls are still showing a small profit. The dollar was higher today but not as much as you would expect given the strong data that came out. We are right at the all important level of 85 and that I feel is the key to gold at the moment. The consensus here is for continued higher rates and that would support the dollar. There is a lot of data coming out next week and the Fed, so it will be a make or break time for this trade. I'm not feeling good about it at the moment but the volume did come in on the upside this week. Hopefully we'll get another pop to the upside and perhaps I'll exit. Mentally I'm doing what I can to stay focused and do the work required. I'll check the charts over the weekend and take it from there.

The Dow got clobbered today and lost about 120 points. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative and the volume was heavy. I don't know where this came from but you can't say that it is good for the bulls. It is being blamed on higher interest rates. Microsoft reports after the bell and that will carry over into tomorrow. Gold lost a couple bucks and the XAU shed about a point and three quarters. ABX was down around 30 cents on average volume. The calls are still in the black. I'm sticking with this trade for a bit longer. However the dollar was stronger today and looks to break the 85 level which is key in the short term. I can't see gold moving up with the dollar. A couple economic reports are out tomorrow and we'll see what they say. I don't know what to make of todays stock market action. But it can't just be dismissed. People wanted out of stocks, for whatever reason. Perhaps it will lead to a flight to gold down the road if it continues. Let me say this. I'm not a gold bug. I am just trying to make some money. Mentally I'm a bit confused after todays action. It looks very bearish on a daily chart. I had thought we would continue with strength in the stock market until the end of the month. It looks like I'm wrong. We'll see how we end up the week.

The Dow rose 88 points on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. The summation index should now be heading higher. We should see strength going into the end of the month. After that it could change. No OEX trades for now. Gold was up a couple bucks today and the XAU rose over 2 points. Money seems to be flowing this way even thought the dollar was stronger today. ABX was up over 30 cents on good volume. The calls are doing well so far. I would like to add some more calls in NEM or perhaps go out to March. I'm waiting for a slight pullback. It's tricky though. I don't know if this is the beginning of a multi-week move but I suspect that it is and I will trade it accordingly until further notice. It's also possible that gold is just moving up with oil as big money piles in again. Tough call. Mentally I'm a bit tired as I did not sleep well. But things are looking good with this trade so far and hopefully I won't repeat the mistakes of the past. But ya never know. Otherwise there is nothing else on the radar screen. Earnings for the gold shares come out in the March option cycle. They should be good but that doesn't mean anything as we learned with GE. Sure wish I could do that trade over again.

The Dow rose 56 points on good volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. Tech earnings are out after the bell and that should get things started tomorrow. No OEX trades for now. Gold moved up $11 today as the dollar was a bit weaker. ABX was up almost a dollar and my calls are in the black. Volume was heavy in the gold shares as the XAU had its best day in quite a while, up almost 6 points. Perhaps the money is flowing back into commodities as oil had a good day too. Or it could be just a bounce. Of course I now wish I had bought more calls and went out to March but I'll take what I've got. Timing is everything sometimes. Getting out will be the challenge now. However longer term the gold shares were oversold so this could be the beginning of a longer term move. The dollar was pushed back from the weekly downtrend line also for now. It could just be a consolidation or it may be the start of a new leg down. Time will tell. Mentally I'm fine for now but I can't be feeling too good. Trading is very fickle. I need to keep an eye on things and hopefully do this trade right. It's a process. I can't forget that. Otherwise I think the stock market will rally into the end of January and then we'll see what happens after that. Perhaps February OEX puts will be the play.

The blog is early today as I have other commitments and will be leaving at the close. It's a downside day as we have been off over 100 points on the Dow at times. Advance/declines are about 2 to 1 negative with about an hour to go. The summation index is pointing down again. We'll see how we close. I bought some February ABX calls this morning. Gold is down a touch today as is the XAU and ABX. The technicals are oversold on a daily and weekly basis for ABX. We are right at support and I expect it to hold. The calls were pretty cheap. I am expecting to manage this trade better than the last one. We'll see. I have finally come to the realization that trading is a process and not an end result. This is an epiphany. As for gold itself, it has been rising lately but the gold stocks haven't. This isn't a good sign however we are getting close to the .2 ratio for the XAU and the price of gold and that is a longer term buy signal. I would really like to go out to March on some gold share calls also but not just yet. We'll see how this trade goes. Mentally I've put last week behind me and I'm moving on. It's all you can do and what you must do. I've been getting enough sleep and doing the work necessary to give myself a chance to be successful. We'll see what happens...

The Dow was down 2 points on good volume for options expiration. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. GE earnings came out. They were good. It didn't matter. The stock lost over a point on heavy volume and my calls got killed. The loss was substantial, over 90%. I blew it once again. I suppose I should have never canceled the stop-loss order. But that's what you get when you take chances. I had a few chances to get out of this thing with a profit during the week and did not take advantage of them. I went for the big trade. It was stupid. This trade never panned out early as I had expected. It was a warning sign that I did not listen too. I knew I should have bailed out earlier this week and I didn't. I got what I deserved, I suppose. I will be starting out the year in the hole again. It sucks. My trading is pathetic. There is no discipline. I treat each trade as if it's the last trade on earth. As if I have to be right on every trade. Like every trade is going to be a blockbuster winner. They rarely are. It was foolish. I should have gotten out and moved on. I will have to put this latest mistake behind me and move on. I have no choice. Times like these stink but you bring them on yourself. As always the biggest enemy is myself. It's a bad feeling but there is no escaping it. I failed miserably once again. I begin to wonder how much more of this that I can take. The years and years of disappointments. The botched trades and bad decisions. It is the toughest game in the world. And more so when you're stubborn and stupid. Gold was up over 8 dollars today. The XAU barely gained 2 points. NEM acted better than ABX. I would like to make a trade here but the gold shares just haven't been moving with gold lately. The last time this happened it led to a big decline. We are at critical support for ABX and it needs to hold here. If not, then a bigger decline should be in the cards. I'll check things over the weekend. That's about it for today. There isn't much else to say...

The Dow lost 9 points on good volume. Advance/declines were negative. The market had a small rally early and then sold off. There was a sell signal on the McClellan oscillator last night. We were also overbought and we still are on an intermediate term basis. GE was down on heavy volume today. It sold off hard and I would have been stopped out but I canceled the stop-loss order. I wanted to wait for the earnings tomorrow. GE somehow rallied back some but was still down on the day. The calls had very heavy volume. I don't know what it means but tomorrow morning it will all work itself out one way or the other. I will try and sell out quickly if there is good or bad news. Tech has been selling off here and IBM just announced after the bell and it is down. My hope is that all the selling in GE took place today. We'll see. Gold lost $5 today and the XAU shed 2 1/2. ABX was down on good volume and is approaching a very important trendline. My thought at this point is that it will break it. Although I might take a chance and get some calls here. Oil continues to fall and was below $50 briefly today. Commodities are taking a hit but I don't think that will last forever. Perhaps some of the tech money will find its way there. Just a thought. Mentally I'm not happy with the way this GE trade has gone. I should have been out long ago. Short term trades are not supposed to last 3 weeks. I only have myself to blame. I'm hoping I can salvage not getting killed in this thing tomorrow. But that is a possibility also. At this point, all I can do is wait...

Computer problems again today so this will be short. The Dow was down 5 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. GE was down on good volume. The calls I own are right where I bought them. This has been a dumb trade that I should have been out of long ago. I'll wait for the earnings on Friday. Gold was up 7 bucks today but the XAU was barely up a point. I'm going to wait there. Mentally this computer is really starting to get on my nerves and I think it is time to just go get a new one. The machine needs to be reliable and this one just isn't. It is a pain in the ass that I don't need. Trading is hard enough. I don't need to make things harder.

The Dow rose 26 points on a bit light volume. Advance/declines were even. We are remaining overbought and I expect a down day tomorrow or the next day. GE was higher a touch today on heavy volume. I probably should have just sold out here today but I didn't. I am thinking at this point that we will break out to new highs on the earnings Friday. That is probably more hope than anything else but the technicals aren't completely blown out to the upside and there is a chance. If we hit my target before then, I'm gone. As I said before, I have been in this trade way too long. Gold was off a buck today and the XAU lost 1 3/4. The volume was light here. I am thinking of getting some February calls on ABX or NEM. However Freeport reported its earnings today and they weren't as good as expected, which could spill over into the gold shares. The dollar was higher today also. I'm probably going to let this week go by before doing anything but you never know. Inflation data out tomorrow and will be a market mover. Also earnings are coming in this week from some big names. It will be interesting but I am going to stay bullish here for now. Oil continues to fall and the next stop is $50. We'll see what happens when it gets there. For now I will continue to focus on GE and gold.

OK, I was pressed for time yesterday. Gold had a big move, up $13. The volume on the gold shares wasn't spectacular but it looks like a possible bottom is forming. This week will be key as candlestick dojis have formed on the weekly charts. The dollar is also coming up against some downtrend lines. So perhaps the next trade will be gold. Otherwise the market is overbought here and a pullback is in order. It is a short option expiration week, with a holiday on Monday. I really don't want to wait for the GE earnings on Friday but I might have to if we don't get any upside before then. This issue is overbought also. It's a tough call in a tough game. Mentally I'm trying to stay focused and do the right thing, the smart thing. But it isn't easy. This trade has lasted way too long for what it will bring, one way or the other. My discipline isn't where it needs to be yet. Sure, I have other things on my mind but the trading must come first in order to be successful. There are no shortcuts or excuses.

The Dow rose 41 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. The market did pretty good for itself really. But now we are short term overbought and moving to longer term overbought. GE was down a few cents today and did not participate. That isn't exactly what I needed to see. GE is overbought too. I have hung around this trade for way too long. The calls are worth what I paid for them and it looks like I'll be around for the earnings next Friday. That wasn't the plan or my intention. Running late here today and will try and continue this blog over the weekend. Gold had a good day.

The Dow rose 73 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. There was a buy signal on the McClellan oscillator last night and it was valid with todays action. There isn't a breakout just yet and we are getting short term overbought. So we'll see what happens. There is a long weekend ahead and tomorrows action should be interesting. GE rose around 40 cents on good volume. The calls are back in the black. If we can get some follow through tomorrow on good volume than this trade will be a winner. I am encouraged by todays action but we'll just have to wait and see. The ideal situation would be a breakout to the upside but that remains to be seen. The relative strength with GE lately has been the key to me holding on to this thing. Gold didn't do much today but the XAU was up almost a point. Probably in sympathy with the overall rise in equities. The dollar again was stronger today but we are getting close to some downtrend lines there on a daily and weekly basis. We'll have to wait and see what happens. Could be the time to get long some gold shares for February. Oil continues to fall and $50 is the next key level. All support there has been broken so it will be interesting. Could help the stock market if it continues to fall although it hasn't helped much yet. Mentally I'm feeling a bit better with the positive action in GE but what to do next is the question that needs to be answered correctly. I might just have to bail out before the weekend. Depends on tomorrow I guess. Otherwise I am getting over the cold I had and am feeling better physically as well. Trading is difficult and I would like this first trade to be a winner to set the tone for 2007. Time will tell.

The Dow was up 25 points on average volume. Advance/declines were even. The market is just not going anywhere. It's sloppy and there is no conviction one way or the other. It is a tough trading environment. We need to do something here soon. It hasn't sold off as bad as it could have so maybe we can get a rally going. GE didn't end much changed after today. My calls are losing money. I haven't been stopped out yet. Looks like perhaps that I will have to hold'em until the earnings announcement. I sure hope not. The president will speak tonight and that could affect the opening tomorrow. Gold was off a couple bucks today and the XAU lost over a point. The dollar was stronger and has been for a few weeks. Oil is losing ground and is now below $54. Is this a sign that the worldwide economy is contracting? Time will tell. Tech seems to be the only area lately that is seeing any buying interest. Mentally I'm tired and still feeling the effects of fighting off a cold. This GE trade has taken way too long and is very frustrating. But I'm sticking with it for now, looking for it to break out one way or the other.

The Dow closed off about 7 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. We were up, we were down and ended up basically unchanged. The market is trying to make up its mind which way to go. GE was up and down like the overall market and was unchanged on the day. My calls are where I bought them. The longer this trade goes on, I think the less chance this thing has to work. But I could be wrong and perhaps there will be an upside breakout. At this point I feel as though I'll be stopped out but I don't want that to happen. Gold was up $5 today. The XAU sold off early but came back late. It still ended down 3/4 of a point. However it looks like the gold shares are trying to put in a bottom here. Trade report is out tomorrow. I'm not feeling well as I have caught a cold. I am trying to not let it affect what I need to do here. Mentally, the trading year has not started as I expected so I'm a bit baffled as to what to do at the moment. I'll stick with the GE trade for a while longer. Earnings come out on the last day of expiration. I certainly don't want to hold on that long but who knows?

The Dow gained 25 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. We were oversold and entitled to bounce. Just what happens next here is important. The summation index is pointing down and that could lead to further weakness. Or we could turn things around and go on to new highs. I think the next couple of days are key to what todays action was. It means everything to my GE calls also. GE did nothing today by the close. We sold off early and came back to unchanged. The calls are right where I bought them but that won't last forever. I'm not feeling good about this trade unless tomorrow brings some positive action. We'll see. Gold ended up a couple bucks today and the XAU was basically unchanged at the close. ABX is acting much better than NEM and that is what I will trade when the next gold play happens. At least that's the way I see things at the moment. Mentally I'm trying to concentrate and do the right thing here. This was supposed to be a quick trade but my target was never hit and I'm still there. I'm not saying it won't work out but it better get going fast. If not, it'll be a loss and I'll move on.

The Dow lost about 83 points on good volume again. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. It could have been worse. However we are short term oversold here. I would expect a bounce but I'm not sure that it will go anywhere. GE was down another 1/4 and my calls are right where I bought them. I am really beginning to think that I just need to get out of this trade and try something else. 2 weeks left on the options with one less day due to a holiday. The volume on GE was lighter than yesterday. I'll check the charts over the weekend but it looks like it's time to go. I can always buy them back. Gold got clobbered today and was down almost $20. The XAU held up pretty good though and was only off about a point and a quarter. I don't think it's time to buy the gold shares here but it might be close. The dollar was higher on the strong employment report. I think that this week does some real damage to the longer term gold chart but I'll have to check to be sure. It was a short first week for the markets due to the extra day off for former president Gerald Fords death. The week did not go as expected in my view. I thought we would begin the new year to the upside. I will have to reassess things from here. Mentally I'm not feeling good about the GE trade. I should have played it very short term and taken the small profit that I had. It could still work out but I'm not so sure. I really don't see any good set-ups here just yet. Patience is key I suppose. Time to relax for a day or so and then check the charts for next week.

The Dow rose 6 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were even. We were down early, came back for a good gain and then fell back again. The market action is very sloppy here. I don't like it. The employment report is out tomorrow. We'll see what happens. GE lost about a quarter point on good volume. The calls are still profitable but I might just dump these things tomorrow. The scenario I had in mind just isn't panning out. Gold lost around 4 bucks and the XAU shed another 2 1/2 points. Volume was OK there. I'm staying away for now. Oil has been weak the first couple days this year and so have commodities. This leads me to believe that a worldwide slowdown in economic activity is at hand. I had already thought this earlier, in the US especially, due to the inverted yield curve. When copper broke through $3 last month, that confirmed it for me. I'm thinking that eventually it will lead to lower interest rates here and a weaker dollar. That in turn will cause gold to rise. But it isn't happening just yet. Mentally I'm trying to figure out this GE trade. I'll have to let the market do what it will and take it from there I guess. However it would be good to start the new year out with a winning trade. I usually don't.

It was a crazy day to start the new year. The Dow ended up 11 points on very heavy volume. Advance/declines were slightly positive. We were up over a hundred and fell hard to over 50 points down. The culprit was the release of the Fed minutes. I did not like todays action. I expected us to end up much higher on the day. The fact that the summation index is pointing down doesn't help the bullish cause. I was lucky. GE rose over 70 cents on good volume. Somehow and I certainly don't know how. My calls are in the black. I was looking for these things to double and I don't know if that will happen given todays action. My thinking is to get out somehow with a profit but that may not happen either. Trading is tough, no matter which way it goes. You've always got to be thinking on the fly. Gold was down over 8 bucks today and the XAU got slammed, off over 5 points. The volume there was good. The dollar was stronger today and I don't know the reason or excuse. I'm staying away from gold for now but and keeping an eye on it because I will want to get long in a big way there at some point this year. But for now it is GE as my main focus. Of course I would like to start the new year on a positive note. We'll see. Mentally I am not feeling good about todays market. Tomorrow will be important. If we follow through to the downside, it will say a lot about where we are going near term. I still think the money flow should be positive right now so I'm sticking with the calls. The relative strength on GE is really pretty good. I can't say that I'll hold on until the end of the expiration cycle or even until the end of the week. But it was a very interesting day and we'll see where we go from here.

The Dow lost 38 points on the final day of trading for 2006. Volume was light. Advance/declines were negative. I took the GE trade that I was thinking about today. I now own some calls for my first trade of the next year. My thinking is that we will see a rally on Tuesday that will carry the big cap stocks higher. The stop loss order is in. I don't think this will be a long term trade and I will probably be out on Tuesday or Wednesday if things go according to plan. But we will see. Perhaps the market will open the new year lower. There are always risks. The market sold off pretty good in the last hour. Gold was up almost 2 bucks and the XAU sold off almost a point. Volume extremely light for the gold shares again. I'll need to check the charts here again over the long weekend. I do know the summation index will be pointing down again and the overall market was weaker than the Dow today. My thinking is that todays trading was more end of the year related. But who knows? Mentally I'm doing good and am anxious just a bit to see how we open on Tuesday. It seems like it's been a while since the last trade. I'd also like to start the new year off on a good note. It is a very difficult game.

The Dow lost 9 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. I am thinking of getting some GE calls for January. GE had a big rise and is now consolidating the move. My thought is that there will be a nice gain on the first day of next year. The weekly charts project prices at least a couple of points higher than where we are today. I'm not sure this is the best trade in the world but perhaps it will work. Gold was up over 6 dollars today. The XAU only rose a point on light volume. The XAU hasn't moved as well as gold itself lately. I would like to trade the gold shares here but haven't. It is hard to get excited when the volume is missing. Not to mention the lack of confirmation in the XAU. So I'm sitting it out there for now. Mentally I'm doing as well as can be expected. I am trying to wait until the new year to get it going again but this GE trade could be my first. If the calls get to a price that I'm looking for tomorrow, I might just pull the trigger. You can never be sure of any trade and you really have to be nimble. Just yesterday I had said that I want to wait for the good set-ups. But they just don't happen all the time. There are reasons to take on this trade just as there are reasons to sit it out. We'll see.

The Dow was up 103 points on light volume again. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 positive. I suppose in retrospect I should have got some calls when we were oversold and down big on the McClellan oscillator. I guess I just wasn't paying attention. I am in holiday mode. Trying to take a break and that's what I'm doing. Gold was up around 3 bucks and the XAU rose almost 3 points. Again the volume was light so I really don't know how to treat it. The gold shares are oversold here too. I just don't trust light volume rallies though. I'm on the sidelines there. The prudent thing to do at this point I believe is to wait until next year. That is what I am going to try and do. Mentally I'm going to stay in stand-by mode. There is no reason to try and force things here. I am going to try next year to only take the good set-ups. I will try and trade less but with better success. I know it won't be easy but that is the plan for now.

The Dow rose 64 points on extremely light volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. Oil was down today. There isn't much to make of a day like this. It's a holiday week. Gold was up around $5 and the XAU rose 3/4 of a point. Volume very light here also. Not much to say except that the trading will be light this week and it's probably best to just sit it out here. I don't see anything on the charts that stands out at the moment. Better to rest up and get ready for the new year.

The Dow lost 78 points on holiday light volume. Advance/declines were negative. I was surprised we dropped that much but you really can't read much into it. Gold was little changed as was the XAU. Light volume there as well. Nothing earth-shattering to report. I'll check the charts over the long weekend and try to come up with something to start the new year. Otherwise it's time to relax.

The Dow lost 42 points today on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. One more day before the holiday weekend and I don't expect too much. Should start a holiday rally sometime next week. Gold was down around 3 bucks and the XAU lost about 2 1/2 points. Light volume there as well. Again as I've said, we're just marking time. On a bigger picture, yesterday the price of copper breached $3 to the downside. This was one of my benchmarks for the overall world economy. We should expect a slowdown to accelerate now. I expect that worldwide GDP will lessen as we go forward. That doesn't mean inflation will be gone, just that I expect growth will be less. That will impact profits and eventually market prices. It also should lead to a stop in interest rate increases or perhaps some rate declines. That is my big picture scenario at this time. I was wrong last year on my market call and that's something I won't forget. But you gotta just keep moving on. Anyway this years trading resulted in a net loss of a little less than 3%. It wasn't a good year. I sustained my highest single trade loss ever. That will not happen again. My win % was terrible too. There are things that I need to work on and I am getting to that as soon as possible. But for now it's time to wind down and relax for a few days. The holidays are here.

The Dow lost 7 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. Not a lot of movement. I really think we are going into holiday mode here. No trades on the horizon. Gold was down a little over a buck and the XAU lost 3 points. This doesn't bode well for gold. NEM just broke its uptrend line. The volume in the gold shares was light which tells me that there's no interest at the moment. I think the dollar was a bit higher today. There just isn't a lot to say about the markets at the moment. 2 days left before a nice long holiday weekend. We are on standby. Mentally I'm taking a little break here. Just relaxing and getting ready for next year. Perhaps tomorrow I'll tally up the final % numbers for 2006. It was a small loss but we'll get it exact tomorrow.

The Dow gained 30 points on good volume. Advance/declines were slightly positive. The market just keeps on going. There is no good reason. A lot of money floating around I guess. How long can it continue is the question. We are in a bullish time period though. Even bad inflation news didn't keep it down for long. Gold was up over 7 bucks and the XAU rose over 3 points. As I said yesterday we were just about at an uptrend line. Technicals oversold also. The volume wasn't much today though. Gold was also helped today by the weaker dollar and a sniff of inflation from the PPI. As much as I'd like to get some calls here, I'm going to step aside for now. But I'll be watching it. Mentally I'm feeling a bit relieved after visiting the dentist this morning. But on the whole I'm really marking time. I don't anticipate any trades until next week or early next year. It is time to sit back, take a look at the past year and set some goals for 2007.

The Dow lost 4 points on average volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative and the overall market was much weaker than the Dow. I think the only thing helping the Dow here has been GE, which has been up about 2 points in 4 days. The summation index has rolled over but the indices haven't really been hit. Gold was off a couple bucks and the XAU lost over 2 points. We are just about at an uptrend line for the XAU. The technicals are oversold also. I'd like to get long but just don't feel good about it. It's the sidelines for now. I do not think I'll be entering any trades until next year but you never know. The dollar has been stronger here and is coming off oversold conditions longer term. This doesn't bode well for gold. However money flows should remain positive for the next few weeks. It's never easy. Mentally I'm taking it easy. It's kind of like a vacation at this time of year. The big players are on holiday so I don't expect any earth shattering moves. The summation index needs to come off the high levels that it is at in order to rally again. So some weakness in the advance/decline line would be welcome for the bulls. There is no other news so it's kind of like time for a break. Of course the work still has to be done every day. But the urgency is gone for a while. There is also an extra week in this option cycle and that lends itself to marking time. So we will sit and wait for a decent signal and take it from there.

The Dow was up 28 points on expiration heavy volume. Advance/declines were negative. We are overbought once again, however the market just shrugs it off and continues higher. It is momentum driven. The inflation data as benign. Gold got hammered and lost over $11. However the XAU only lost a couple of points. The gold shares have held up rather well considering golds recent demise. I think it has to do with long only funds simply buying shares in sympathy will the overall strong stock market. At any rate it is interesting and makes for difficult trading decisions there. The dollar has been stronger here lately too but the gold shares are hanging in there. I'm still looking at January for the gold shares but who knows? As for other trading ideas at this point, I don't really have any. I think we will be in holiday mode for the next 2 weeks. It will give me a chance to regroup and get ready for next year. Mentally I'm just hanging around. The trading year is essentially over and I ended up with a small loss. I'll have to review the year and try and do better in 2007...

The Dow gained 100 points on good volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. I had thought the market needed a decline and was wrong again. I almost put in an overnight order last night for puts when I got a signal from the McClellan oscillator. But those signals just haven't been working lately. There is so much money floating around out there that the only way to go is up I suppose. But it won't last forever. Inflation data tomorrow. I really don't expect any surprises. Gold lost a couple bucks today but the XAU rose over a point. Most likely in sympathy with the overall market. ABX was stronger than NEM now. NEM is having trouble getting through a multi-week downtrend line. The dollar was higher again today also. Options expire tomorrow. My thinking is that it will be a non-event followed by a couple of weeks of listless trading before the new year. That's my guess and I haven't been right about much anything in quite a while. Mentally I'm kind of in stand-by mode. I haven't come up with a gameplan for next year yet. My ideas for this year just didn't pan out. There isn't much to do here at the moment. I also missed out on GE, as I had just looked at the chart before it broke out. It had a decent double bottom but I really wasn't paying attention. You don't make any money like that.

The Dow gained 2 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive but not by much. My OEX puts got stopped out early in the day when we were up around 50 points. It was a 50% loss. Not a great trade but I knew that going in. Not a lot of money involved but I really should have just sat it out. The battle is always against myself. But I'm moving on and was at least able to stop myself from doing something stupid again for the rest of the day. Retail sales came out good so we didn't drop as I had anticipated. I still think we're heading down here. Gold didn't end up much changed. It sold off early and came back to be up a tad. The XAU had the same action. NEM came all the way back as did ABX. I wanted to get some calls with 2 days left but did not. It's even riskier than the OEX in my opinion but the technicals are oversold. However the dollar is acting firmer here, so it's a tough call. I think it will be better to just let it go and look to January. There is an extra week on those options. So that's probably it for this year for me. It is a down year but not by much. Mentally I should take a little break here. The holidays will most likely be slow. I'm not feeling too bad about todays losing trade. It was executed properly, as have all the trades since that blowout in September. I really don't have anything on the horizon. Perhaps some gold shares. That's it for today.

The Dow lost 13 points on good volume. Advance/declines were negative. We were down over 50 points at one point but came back after the Fed announcement. I did put in an order for OEX puts and was filled. They are slightly under water. The Dow and the OEX would have been down much more but GE made a positive announcement. That issue alone helped the Dow stay up. Volume has gone up on the downside but I am not so sure of this trade. The stop-loss order is in. Retail sales will be announced tomorrow and we will key off of that. We'll see what happens. If we do head higher it will be solid because we will be breaking through resistance. If not then today was the final gasp up for the bulls. Gold was down a bit today , depending on which market for gold you looked at. The XAU was hit hard early too but also came back. NEM held up pretty well. The volume was so-so. I'm not looking to do anything there at the moment. So I'll wait until tomorrow. Expiration week has had a positive bias lately but we haven't seen much this week. I certainly don't want to wait until Friday for these puts. At this point I feel there is a good chance I will be stopped out. It isn't the greatest trade in the world. However if the market can't break through to the upside here, it will be worthwhile. Mentally, I'm a bit tired but ready to move on.

The Dow gained 21 points on lighter volume. Advance/declines were positive. I'd like to get some OEX puts here but there really isn't a good signal. That said, there is some evidence that we could be forming a top here. Sometimes you can't wait for a perfect set-up. This could be one of those times. The Fed meets tomorrow and we are basically on hold until their announcement. I will probably do something if I can get a good price. Gold was down a bit today but the XAU rose over a point. I did put in an order for NEM calls, it didn't get filled and I canceled it. The open interest did expand pretty good on Fridays heavy volume. There was some good volume in those calls again today. However the volume in NEM itself was weak and it rose around 30 cents. I'm not sure what to do here. I might just sit it out. The trade number comes out tomorrow morning and that should be a dollar mover. The dollar was weaker today. There are only 4 days left on the options. The risk for whatever trade I do here is extremely high. Mentally I'm trying to do the right thing. That could be no trade at all. I will check the various charts tonight and take it from there. There is also opportunity here if I can find it. I certainly don't want to lose any money here. We'll see what happens.

The Dow rose 29 points on lighter than lately volume. Advance/declines were negative. The employment report was better than expected but the session was rather lackluster. I would still like to get some OEX puts especially with todays action. We'll see about that on Monday. Gold was originally higher early but then sold off on some government officials comments. Early in the session, I canceled my open order for NEM calls. Gold ended down over 5 bucks and the XAU lost 2 1/2 points. NEM held up rather well considering and there was again heavy volume in the calls I'm looking at. I mean big volume. Open interest expanded yesterday with the volume. I don't know what is going on there but if the open interest expended again when I check on Monday, I might just have to buy those calls. The chart doesn't look good anymore though and if they're talking up the dollar it isn't a smart play. Not to mention the fact that there is only a week left on these things. Perhaps an announcement is forthcoming. I really don't know. Maybe people were just getting out of their calls too. I'll find out Monday I guess. Otherwise mentally today I was fighting myself not to make a trade. There really isn't a clear signal on the OEX but longer term it looks like a sell. Todays weak overall market lends credence to that. The low volume also suggests not much interest here. The summation index could roll over here too. I really need to check things carefully over the weekend. I do believe Monday that I'm going to do some type of trade.

The Dow lost 30 points on good volume. Advance/declines were negative. I did not get any OEX puts but they look like they will work. We'll see about tomorrow and the employment report. My computer still doesn't work and I'm on the back-up computer. It is frustrating to say the least. Trading is tough enough without other outside problems. I need to focus on the markets but with other things in the background it isn't easy. However no excuses are good enough in this game. Gold was down early and then came back. The XAU had a good showing and was up over a point. It had been down a couple points early on. NEM is really acting well here and I am leaving in an overnight order for some calls. I don't know if it will work but I am going to give it a try. It is too late for the OEX puts in my opinion and I'd like to make some money before the expiration next week. The dollar has held up well the past few days but that could change at any time. It is a risky trade with just about a week left but I saw some heavy volume in these options today so I think there is some major buying. We'll see what the open interest says tomorrow. Mentally I'm pretty tired as I did not sleep well. The trading has been trying lately and the computer problems just add to the stress. And stress does not make for good trades. I'm just going to continue moving forward and see how it goes. Tomorrow should be an interesting day. I think it could be a weak one.

Early post today as I have to pick up my computer. 10 minutes to go and the Dow is down about 30 points. Advance/declines are slightly negative. I am thinking harder about getting some OEX puts tomorrow. We'll see. Gold got hammered today, down $12. The XAU has held up pretty good, only down a couple of points. I'm not sure that I will get the calls here though. The dollar is starting to rebound. This is a trade that may not work now. I'm going to have to think hard about it. Perhaps it will be better to wait. Tomorrow will tell. I'm leaning more towards the OEX puts before the employment report. That's all I have time for today.

The Dow rose another 48 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. There seems to be no stopping this market. We remain overbought. I am still thinking about getting some OEX puts but it's risky. I will perhaps get some before the employment report. We'll see. Gold lost three bucks today and the XAU fell about 2 points. NEM held up quite well which was surprising. I am not so sure about getting long gold here. The dollar has stabilized and is way oversold. Any bounce in the dollar here will drain the gold shares. It too, is a risky play. I might have to look out to January as previously planned. I am having trouble here committing to a plan. The stock market could hold up here for a while. However I do feel there will be a short play in here soon. Gold may have had its run here. The volume yesterday was very weak to the upside although the weekly charts do look constructive. Mentally I'm trying to get to a good place. I need to remain objective and realize that there is no harm in staying on the sidelines. But there is no money made there either. I'm going to look things over tonight and take it from there.

The Dow rose 90 points today on very good volume. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 positive. New highs expanded. We have new recent highs on the S&P 500. Nothing seems to stop this market. We're overbought here but it could stay that way as it has recently. I do want to get some OEX puts but to buy them in the face of this isn't a good idea. At least I think it isn't. The Dow and OEX are lagging slightly here. The Nasdaq had a good day. I'm on the sidelines here. Gold didn't do anything but the XAU rose almost 2 points in sympathy with the overall market I'm guessing. I canceled the order for NEM calls. I still might do this trade but who knows. The gold shares, like the stock market, are overbought here. This type of trade looks good going out further, as it has for weeks. I'm waiting it out for a better entry I suppose. But in reality, this trade was missed. I'm not seeing open interest expand on ABX and NEM here, so I'm going to be a bit cautious. We'll see what happens. Not much else for today. Mentally I'm trying to get a handle on just exactly what is going on here. Less than 2 weeks now before expiration and I would like to make a decent trade. I'm not going to try and force things here though. Employment report on Friday and that is about it until the Fed meets. I'm going to look things over tonight and take it from there...

The Dow lost 27 points on good volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. The market at on point was down 120 points and came back in the last hour. I don't know if it was beginning of the month money or what but it did come back. I'd still like to get some OEX puts but will now wait. We could be forming a decent top here. Gold was down another couple of dollars and the XAU lost a point and a half. The XAU also sold off more and came back too. I modified the open order I have in for NEM calls and left it for over the weekend. The gold shares are overbought here but don't want to sell off. Of course that could all change next week but I'm still looking for higher prices there. The dollar continued weaker. Only two weeks left in this option cycle so it gets tricky from here. There will be opportunity. I'll try my best to take advantage of it. Mentally I'm trying not to do anything stupid here and trade just for the sake of trading. I don't really see a good signal yet for the OEX but it could come next week. Volatility has picked up and I don't know if it a sign of things to come or not. Not much data out next week until the employment report on Friday. The Fed meets the week of expiration. So it will get interesting, that's for sure. For now it's the weekend and the charts must be studied. The plan from here must be formalized. Rest will come later...

The Dow lost 5 points today on very heavy volume. Advance/declines were positive. If we hold up here for another day I am thinking of getting some puts on the OEX. Not completely sold on this idea but it could be the play. I haven't gotten a complete short term sell signal but one could take shape. Or perhaps I'm just antsy after missing out on gold. It rose over $10 today and the XAU went up over 5 points. The ABX calls took off and I am feeling terrible. I suppose those after the bell NEM trades make sense now. Some big player got good prices and cleaned up on the calls. I did place an order for NEM calls today but then canceled it. However I did leave in an order overnight in case we get a pullback in the morning. The dollar continued to fall today and I think that will continue. We are oversold on the dollar and it is in freefall. Gold is way overbought and staying there. I have seen this before. This is a move that I will chase. ABX really is acting stronger but the calls are way overpriced. My hope is that NEM will catch up. But that could all change as we move forward in time. I am also thinking about getting short the market here as the high volume today with no price movement tells me that the buyers might be done as the group in control here. It would also set us up for a nice rise at the beginning of next year. At any rate the OEX is a tough trade so I will wait and see how the market sets up for that. Mentally I'm feeling down for not putting on any gold trade but I need to move on and maintain focus. It may not be too late here but we'll see. Perhaps moving to a higher strike price and going to January will have to be the move. The monthlies in gold are bullish and the weeklies are only halfway to overbought. I'll think it over tonight and take it from there. I'd expect another pause here for gold soon but who knows.

The Dow was up 90 points today on heavy volume. Advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. Volatility has returned. But will we just keep going higher? Was the 150 plus point decline just a blip on the horizon? It is the end of the month which could skew things. But really, I don't know. The summation index should now be back into positive territory. I'm on the sidelines for the OEX now. I'm going to have to wait for a good signal. It isn't easy. Gold was down a couple bucks today but the XAU was up fractionally. It still seems like the gold shares want to go higher. There is no selling pressure. I am still looking at the ABX calls if I get a chance but it doesn't look like it will happen. I noticed some strange action in the NEM calls after the bell. I don't know what it means but the volume soared on some trades 7 minutes after the bell and the prices were low on the trades for the day. Can't tell if someone's getting in big or looking to bail out. I'll check the open interest tomorrow. Open interest has increased in the ABX calls and that's usually a positive. ABX is overbought here though but I'm thinking that it will stay there if the dollar remains weak which I expect it to. But nothing is for sure in this game. Mentally I'm hanging in there with the back-up computer and all. I'm not running as many things at once now in hopes the computer will perform better. But it is a problem. Gotta keep going though.

The blog today is early due to computer issues. There is a reason that this is a back-up computer. It cannot handle what I have to do. The Dow is rallying today up over 30 points at the moment. The overall market is stronger. Advance/declines are positive and the volume looks decent. I am missing out on gold though as the XAU is up over a point. ABX is acting well. Big Ben spoke today and that influenced the markets for a while. The dollar is still weaker. Gold didn't do much today. However I feel that this is where I need to be but it's probably too late. The computer problems here are taking center stage. There isn't much I can do at this point. I'm getting it fixed and I'll just have to move on. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

My computer crashed over the weekend and I am on a backup computer. It is older and slower but the show must go on until I can get the newer one fixed. The Dow lost 158 points on good volume. Advance/declines were over 4 to 1 negative. We got oversold pretty quick. The markets continue to be interesting. The dollar got clobbered again today and that could be part of the reason. WalMart reported weaker sales and that is another excuse. We will now be pointing down on the summation index as a sell signal. We are oversold and a bounce would not be a surprise. How good that bounce is will tell a lot. I'm in a wait and see mode for the OEX. Gold was up another couple bucks and I expected the gold shares to soar but they didn't. The XAU was up a half a point. I still want to get some calls on ABX or NEM here. But I will wait to see what happens. We should have moved higher here for the gold shares but there wasn't a lot of interest. I don't know what that means but we'll see. With the dollar in a freefall here I would expect money to flow into gold but it hasn't happened in a big way just yet. Perhaps I will go out to January as I wanted to do. We'll see. Mentally I'm a bit thrown off with the computer problems. At least I was prepared with a back-up but it isn't as good as the normal computer. It will do for now though. You've sometimes got to make adjustments. This is important in trading and the mechanics of exactly what you are trying to do. It isn't an easy game. But you've got to roll with what happens and keep on trying. There is a lot of data coming out tomorrow so it could get interesting. I will try and come up with some type of plan for tomorrow and the December cycle. But really my thoughts at the moment are a little scattered and I need to work on that...

The Dow lost 46 points on extremely light holiday volume. Advance/declines were positive. Hard to say what today means with such light volume. The dollar has gotten killed over the last 2 days so perhaps todays decline has something to do with that. Gold was up $9 and the XAU gained over 3 points. I want to be long the gold shares but I hate to chase the move. The volume was light and it did not close near the high. But the weekly charts say buy and I think I might get some calls if we get a bit of weakness on Monday. I'm going to try December and not January. I did put in an order today just to test the market and it didn't get filled. I don't usually do that but I did today. If it did get filled I'd still want to own them because I think we will continue to see strength there. The dollar chart looks like it is breaking down. That should help gold. We'll see. The only problem here is the fact that it was a holiday week. Not all the players were in the markets. So the moves we have seen may not be legit. There was some major violence in Iraq again and I think that helped to support gold here also. The gold market can sometimes just start going and it continues to run. It also has some crazy volatility that works both ways. I'll check things again over the weekend but the plan for now is to get long even with the recent move we've seen. Mentally I feel good with the holiday and all. Next week could be interesting. There is also a lot of data out on Tuesday and I'd like to be positioned before then if I plan on doing anything.

The Dow was up 5 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive and the overall market was stronger. We are very overbought here, at the top of the ranges on a lot of indicators. So a drop is imminent but none of the drops lately has led to anything major. Gold didn't do much today and neither did the XAU. Volume was light. It's pre-holidays doldrums and then a shortened session on Friday. So there isn't much really going on and this is more of a time to just take it easy. Sometimes the beginning of December is weak, setting up the end of the month and January to be positive. The market has had a very good run here and a pullback would probably be a good thing. But the market will do what it does, so if it just continues higher I suppose that wouldn't be a surprise either. Mentally I'm on hold waiting for the next trade. I'm not going to force things and will wait and see if I get a chance for the gold trade. Otherwise it will be the sidelines until a decent signal is generated.

The Dow gained 5 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. The overall market was stronger again. We shouldn't see much movement in the next couple of days with Thanksgiving and the volume will dry up. That's what usually happens. Gold was up 6 bucks today and the XAU rose about 5 points. I did not expect that but we were oversold on a daily basis. I'm hoping I haven't missed the beginning of the next upmove but it's possible. The volume wasn't all that heavy. I'm hoping that it was a one day wonder and we will come back down. Time will tell. I'll adjust to what happens here. My emphasis is still to go out until January. But you never know. The gold market gaps a lot so you've got to have some type of idea of what you want to do and then do it. I am looking at a certain level for ABX and when we get there, I'm in. There is also the chance that we get there and just keep on going down also. Time will tell. NEM has a different picture but the play could be there as well. It's all just a guess until we get there. The technicals need to line up daily, weekly and monthly. It seems they do that best with ABX. Mentally I'm tired due to getting up for an early appointment. Luckily there isn't anything really going on tradingwise at the moment. So I'm going to try and relax. The holiday is almost here and the markets should be relatively quiet for the rest of the week.

The Dow lost 26 points on average volume. Advance/declines were about even. The overall market was stronger implying higher prices down the road. No trades in the nearterm for me. Gold was little changed as was the XAU. Nothing doing there either for now but I will be looking to get positioned for January if the market cooperates. Not much economic data out this week and there's Thanksgiving too. So it is time to take it easy and not try to force things. I'll let this week go by and then take it from there. Mentally I'm doing fine and just waiting for the next signal. This year is about over and it hasn't been a good one so far, profitwise. But there has been some improvement as to the overall picture and trading strategy. At any rate, in this game you've got to just keep on going. So that's what I'll do.

The Dow rose 36 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. Perhaps this will lead to a pause in this upturn. Perhaps not. Next week should be slow with Thanksgiving, so I'll wait for that to pass before making any trades. Gold was little changed today as was the XAU. I am going to try and be patient here but it looks like getting long soon is the way to go. I am going to go out to January on the gold shares unless something out of the ordinary happens. SUNH seems to be stabilizing here for now. This is not a trade but a longer term stock that I'd like to buy. I've mentioned it before as it is in the healthcare industry. If it gets to single digits, I'm a buyer. There isn't really much else to say here. We are entering a period where there really isn't usually much action. December is generally pretty slow before the holidays. Perhaps I won't make any other trades for this year. Mentally I'm just hanging around at this point. Options expiration has passed and it will be slow next week. Of course I will be watching everything as usual but the urgency won't be there. I suppose I can get started on writing up my goals for next year and taking a look back at this one. But unless something drastic happens it will probably be a time to be patient...

The Dow gained 54 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were positive but not by much. The OEX puts I bought yesterday got stopped out for a loss of 45%. It's not as bad as it sounds since there wasn't a lot of money involved. I would love to be short here if there was some time left but the options only have a day to go. The inflation data was benign. Gold was down a couple of bucks today but the XAU got slammed. Down over 5 points. It moved in sympathy with oil which lost over 2 bucks. Interesting. I am keeping an eye on the gold shares here. I will be getting long gold when it sells off here. I'll be going out to January or perhaps even February. The NEM calls that I wanted got crushed. Sometimes the sidelines are the place to be. There really wasn't a good signal there. The key here will be when everybody else doesn't want it, buy it. Mentally I'm not feeling so down after the loss in the OEX. It was small and I am executing the proper tactics that I have implemented after the huge loss in September. I have been able to stick to the rules and that is a positive. I'm a bit tired from having to get up early but that's part of the process. It is really now time to come up with some strategies for December and beyond. The holiday week will be slow so I guess it's time to relax for a while.

The Dow rose 33 points today on heavy volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. The Fed announcement came out. I had an order for some puts in but adjusted it after the market didn't move much on the Fed news. The market then went on to make a new high and the puts got filled. The market sold off a bit after that and the puts are now slightly profitable. It is a risky trade. Inflation news tomorrow will be the key. I will need to get out of these things relatively quickly with only 2 days to go before expiration. The stop-loss order is in. Gold was a touch lower today. NEM was higher and the calls that I almost got yesterday would have made some money. However the gold shares sold off early and I could have been stopped out for a loss which really would have ticked me off. I still want to go long there but will wait for now. I don't expect much movement after this week because of the holiday. My feeling at this point is to get January calls in ABX or NEM. Mentally I'm feeling good having gotten a good price for the puts. But it could all blow up tomorrow as I well know. The OEX is at the top of the Bollinger band, overbought and I can't see it going that much higher from here. But sideways movement would kill this trade also. The data tomorrow will drive this trade one way or the other. I'll need to be ready to do what it takes to make it work hopefully. I really don't think I'll be holding on until Friday. The market just keeps going higher.

The Dow was up 86 points to a new high today on heavy volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. The market sold off early in the day and then roared back to the upside. I guess there is a lot of money to be put to work out there. The inflation report was favorable but retail sales were weak. If anything it looks like deflation by the report today. But that's another story. I did not take any position in the OEX but I am thinking about getting short tomorrow before the release of the Fed minutes. We will be overbought tomorrow. Now we could stay overbought as we have before. It's risky. Gold lost a bit of ground today and the XAU was off a point and a half. I did put in an order for NEM calls. However the charts do not show a definitive buy signal. We are not completely oversold. This potential trade was a case of me just wanting to put a trade on for the sake of making a trade in expiration week. Yes, it could work out but there isn't a good basis for the trade. There were some things in its favor on the short term indicators. But it could just as well not work. I canceled the order. It would have eventually been filled. It very well may have been a winner. We'll find out later in the week. There are 3 days until expiration. Risk is high. I still might try something but it will have to be quick. Mentally I'm getting tired from watching the markets all day. But there will be time to take it easy next week, which will be slow with the Thanksgiving holiday. I am doing the best I can to control myself here and not do anything stupid. It isn't easy...

The Dow was up 23 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. I do not have a clear signal here to trade although I'd like to. It's expiration week and next week is a holiday week. But I can't do anything if there isn't a decent feeling one way or the other. I would like to short it here because we have been up against resistance 3 times and haven't gotten through. But it's just a guess. The fight is against myself. Gold was down $4 today and the XAU sold off and then came back. I had an order for some ABX calls in. ABX sold off to the Bollinger band. It is oversold on a short and longer term basis. But there are only 4 days left on the calls. The risk is huge. I canceled the order but ABX continued to rally. I really want to go out on a longer basis with the gold shares. I'm looking at January but who knows? Perhaps I will still do this trade but it might be too late and it might not be the smart thing to do. Gold and the XAU itself are not oversold. Mentally I'm feeling as if there are a million things going on at the same time here. Expiration week will do that. Everything tradingwise is compressed. I need to focus on what exactly it is that I want to do here. The sidelines might be the wise choice but you don't make any money that way. However you don't lose any either. I'll have to see what the markets are saying tomorrow. There is a ton of economic data being released this week. We'll have to see if it gives the market some direction. I cannot make the market do what I want. I can only hope to try and listen to what it is saying. The tech stocks were strong today and we will not get a major sell-off if that remains the case. Oil was weaker, the dollar was a bit stronger. I need to come up with a gameplan and go from there. It is never easy...

The Dow gained 5 points on light volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1. We sold off and then came back. I had to dump the OEX puts. I would have liked to have held on to them but the market started to rally a bit and the overall market was strong even though the volume was light. The gain on the calls was minimum, about 30%. There was not a lot of money involved. There was more money in the losing ABX call trade as I woke up to be stopped out. Gold did not follow through and was down $7. The XAU lost around 4 points. The volume was lighter though. I lost around 45% on the ABX calls. I chased the move and was punished for being so foolish. You must always be on guard against yourself. Just because I had a nice trade earlier in the week I felt like I actually knew what I was doing. I didn't. ABX wasn't overbought but the XAU and gold were. I got caught up in the moment, when I should have waited for a pullback. It was a dumb move. I've had a lot of them this year. Option expiration week looms and there will be opportunities but it will be hard to trade with not much time left. I will have to come up with some type of gameplan over the weekend. Right now there isn't really a clear signal. I will have to check the economic calendar also. Perhaps it will be a time to sit on the sidelines. We'll see. Mentally I'm tired with such a busy week but I will move on and go from here...

The Dow lost 73 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were negative but not by as much as a down 73 market would indicate. That is a problem for me. The OEX puts didn't move that much even though we were down. I really think I need to dump them tomorrow but we'll see. We're not overbought or oversold here so anything could happen. There is no news tomorrow and I think it is a partial holiday for Veterans day. Gold soared today and was up over $15. The XAU rose 6 points as the dollar was weaker. NEM really did well as it has lately and was up 1 3/4. I bought some ABX calls. The volume was very heavy in the gold shares. Why did I get some calls even thought the move has already started? I am thinking that ABX will catch up with the rest of the gold shares. I did not think the order would be filled but it was. I could be wrong and it is a risky play. But the cost wasn't much higher than what I could have got them for yesterday. But the problem is that the action has been in NEM but the options there were way too expensive. We'll see what happens. I think I'm a bit more concerned about the OEX. It is a much harder instrument to trade. So I'll have to keep an eye on 2 positions. Mentally I'm feeling relatively good. Not sleeping as well as I would like but I'm not tired. Tomorrow will be interesting and I'll just have to see how the market goes. Option expiration week is next week so things will be skewed as usual. It is never easy...

The Dow rose 20 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were positive. We are right back up to the recent highs and short term overbought. I bought some OEX puts. It is a risky play but I'm going to try it. The stop-loss order is already in. I also put in an order for some ABX calls but they weren't filled. ABX got back to the Bollinger band and gold sold off over 8 bucks today. The XAU was only down a point and a half. Trade number out tomorrow. No time today to blog. However if I'm in tune with what is happening we should see some weakness tomorrow. But as always that's just a guess. The markets whipped around on the election results and the presidents press conference where he canned the secretary of defense. Mentally I'm maybe a little too optimistic about my trading now after a winning trade. It is always a battle within yourself. More tomorrow.

The Dow rose 51 points today on heavy volume. Advance/declines were positive. We were up higher earlier but sold off in the last couple of hours. I dumped the OEX calls that I had. I certainly could have gotten a better price but I wanted to get out. It was originally just a bounce play and so that's how I played it. They closed higher than what I got for them and that's depressing. You always want to get the best prices for your trades even though that's impossible. I always want to do better. The gain was a little less that 200% and I don't think that's bad but I need to do better. Perhaps I should have held on since we are moving strong. But I am thinking that this will be a double top here and I have an overnight order in to buy some OEX puts. We will be overbought tomorrow as I have said before. I'm going to give the puts a try and keep a close stop on them and we'll see what happens. Gold was little changed and so was the XAU. I do want to get long here and we are just about at the uptrend line that began a couple weeks ago. I'll have to make a decision when we get there but I would like to get some calls. I don't want to spread myself too thin though. And if I'm looking for a decline in the overall market it could take gold with it. But it's all just a guess at this point as it usually is. The OEX call trade was a great set-up. I'm not sure that the puts are but they very well could be. I'm hoping that I didn't exit the calls too soon but that is possible. Mentally I'm a bit tired from not sleeping that good with the recent hot weather. I also don't want to think that I'm invincible after a winning trade. I need to keep grounded and look for the next opportunity. I think that it's here but I'm not sure and never really am. Is anybody? Maybe we'll get a bounce after the election or perhaps the rally will take off again. However for some reason I think what I'm thinking will be right this time so I'm sticking to it. We'll see.

The Dow soared 120 points today. Volume was average and the advances beat the declines by 3 to 1. Are we going to new highs? Or is this the bounce I was looking for and that's it? These are questions that must be answered. I must admit I did not expect such a powerful rally out of nowhere. The OEX calls are making money but now the question becomes when to sell them. The market will be overbought by Wednesday. But it can stay that way for quite a while as just seen. Will we rally after the election? I don't know. I've moved up the stop-loss order so this trade will be profitable. But by how much? I really think I'm going to bail out by the close Wednesday unless something happens to change my mind. Gold was down a couple bucks today and the XAU sold off by a point and a half. I do want to get long some gold shares and will probably go out until next month or January. That is my thinking right now. NEM seems to be stronger than ABX this time around. That is what I'm seeing lately. We'll see. Mentally I'm feeling good after the weekend and having the market move as expected. But there is still much work to be done and the exit of this trade is the next challenge. It never is easy. I'll have to check todays statistics and go from there. I'm also still looking at SUNH for the long term. If it gets back into single digits, I'm a buyer and maybe even if it doesn't. But the question for now is if todays rally was for real and we should have some answers in the coming days.

The Dow was down 32 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. Down 6 days in a row on the Dow now. Who would of thought? The employment report was in line with expectations. Bonds dropped. We are really oversold here. I bought some OEX calls for a bounce. I am getting a signal to buy. The stop-loss order is in. I feel that this will be a winner but I don't think it will be a big one. However I have to act on the signals that I get or it is all just for naught. I would like to get short again after a bounce. Will it bounce? I believe so. Gold was up another buck today after selling off early. You just can't keep this market down. There seems to be a shift back into gold in a big way here. I will try and get long if there ever is a pullback. Longer term this looks like a trade to be in. I might possibly go out to January. We'll see. NEM seems to be acting better than ABX here. The volume has been pretty good into these issues. But perhaps it is too late in the short term. Mentally I'm doing as good as can be expected. It is the weekend but I have been busy outside of the markets lately which makes it tough to concentrate on what needs to be done. It is extremely difficult sometimes to keep things separate but it must be done. I am going to try and relax over the weekend and come back fresh on Monday.

The Dow was down 12 points on good volume. Advance/declines were negative. We are short term oversold. I put in an order for OEX calls but it wasn't filled. Employment report tomorrow. I may try and get long any weakness in the morning. I think this is a short term opportunity and a good one. Gold was up 8 bucks and the XAU was only up about a half a point. We have run into resistance here for the XAU. I think it will break through eventually but not just yet. Gold has rallied strong this week but the gold shares seemed to move in advance of it. I do want to get long there though. Mentally I just got back from the dentist so my mind is clouded by that. I think a trade is here, it's a matter of if I can get it in the morning. We'll see.

The Dow lost 50 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were about 2 to 1 negative. We should see the summation index turn down here. But this has happened before and the market steamed ahead. We are short term oversold here and I expect the market to move higher in the near term. However after a few days here it could get interesting to the downside. It may be time to buy some puts next week. We'll see. It was an interesting day for gold as it rose $13 and NEM came out with good earnings. However the XAU was basically unchanged. The volume was very heavy on the gold shares. ABX reports tomorrow. We are at resistance here for the XAU. But I would think we would bust through with all the volume. NEM was up about 40 cents but was much higher earlier. Don't know what to make of it all but I would like to get long some gold stocks on a pullback. When there is good news and the market doesn't rally on it, it usually means a decline of some sort is coming. But who knows? Getting back to the overall market perhaps the players are beginning to figure out that a slowdown is coming. That's what I think. But it's just a guess. The momentum market we have just experienced could be over and they never end good. Mentally I think I might be about to get a handle on things here but we'll have to see how things play out. A lower dollar will help support the price of gold also and it could be a place to hide if we get a substantial pullback. But that all remains to be seen at this point. Employment report on Friday will probably be the next market mover.

The Dow lost 5 points on good volume. Advance/declines were about even. We were higher and lower for the last day of the month. No real direction. I expect some money flow for the beginning of next month. Gold was little changed but the XAU rose 3 and 1/2 points. Again, I have missed out. NEM and ABX were both higher, although the volume on ABX wasn't that hot. NEM reports tomorrow. I canceled my open order for calls. Never got close to being filled. I might think about re-entering it if NEM goes down on the earnings but I doubt it. ABX earnings on Thursday. These issues are overbought but that means nothing lately as the overall market has proved lately. We'll see what happens but I am not happy about missing out on gold. But what can you do? You just have to move on. It is a very frustrating game at times. You somehow have got to keep going. Losses and misses. You might even begin to question why you are even in the game. Perseverance is the key in times like these. You've got to stick to it. There will be other opportunities but at the moment it doesn't matter. Mentally it's tough to go on. They say missed money is better than lost money but it sure feels the same. It's a crazy game. Well, I guess we'll see how the earnings come out.

The Dow lost 3 points on light volume. Advance/declines were slightly positive. No news or events to drive the market today. Employment report this week and that's about it. End of quarter tomorrow. Gold was up around 6 bucks today. The XAU rose less than a point. Don't really know what to make of that. I still have the open order for NEM calls but I will cancel it if it doesn't get filled tomorrow with the earnings now out on Wednesday. Suppose I'll just have to wait for something else. Perhaps I can do ABX if NEM doesn't have a good report. Or I can wait. The technicals are overbought for the XAU right now so buying calls here may not be the smartest thing to do. I don't have any good ideas right now. Perhaps will look to short this thing at some point in this option cycle. But you never know. Mentally I'm looking forward to the gold share earnings and the markets reaction. I could stay on the sidelines. I'm thinking now that perhaps they ran up in anticipation of the good news to come. But that's just a guess. Not much else to say here...

The Dow actually went down 73 points today on average volume. This is the first legitimate down day in quite some time. Advance/declines were negative. Does it mean anything? Probably not but we'll see. GDP came in weaker than expected. So the so-called soft landing now is suspect. I've given my economic forecast before. Inverted yield curve will lead to a recession and the tip-off will be when copper goes below $3. That's my guess. Gold was up a buck to around $600 but the XAU was down a point. The dollar was weaker here too. I adjusted the NEM trade down a notch but left the order open. Both ABX and NEM were down on average volume. I'm still sticking with the higher price theory here. Earnings for both on Thursday. I don't like the fact that the technicals are at the high end of the range but that could be worked off early next week. Honestly, you never know how the market will react to the earnings. But the way the open interest expanded for NEM, that will probably be the play. Hopefully there will be a sell-off there early next week for portfolio adjustment but that is just a hope. Mentally I'm feeling good and am ready for the next trade. Perhaps there will be a chance to eventually short this thing in November after all. But that's a dicey proposition at this point. For now it's the weekend and time to take a break...

The Dow up 29 points on good volume again. Advance/declines over 2 to 1 positive. It's a broken record. Will nothing derail this thing? Overall market stronger than the Dow. What can I say? We're on a momentum run and there is no stopping it at this point. I'm thankful that I have stopped trying to short it. But still, this is insane. We've seen it before but I certainly had no idea that it would happen now. Gold was up over 9 dollars and the XAU was off fractionally. The opposite of Monday when gold was down big and the XAU rose. Perhaps we will cool off here for a bit on the XAU. I still have an open order for NEM calls. Might switch to ABX if it drops enough but that may not happen. Earnings a week from today on both issues. Open interest expanded more on NEM during this rise so I'm leaning that way. But who knows? Microsoft announced after the bell and has sold off just a touch. GDP tomorrow and my hope is that it is stronger than expected and the dollar firms leading gold lower. The Dollar was lower today. The XAU is overbought here so I need a pullback to pick up some calls. Even so, this trade may not work but I am going to give it a try. Mentally not much to say today. Just waiting for an opening on the gold long side. Trying to stay positive and do what is necessary. Just have to keep going here...

The Dow was up 6 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. Nothing seems to be able to keep this market down. The Fed left rates unchanged. My prognosis was wrong. There was no hawkish statement. Still overbought and staying there. It just goes on and on. There is nothing else to do but watch. Gold was up around 3 bucks and the XAU rose almost 4 points. There is no pullback. I have an open order for some NEM calls but it probably won't get filled. I might try and just get something before the earnings next week because the volume says this move is for real. Gold moves dramatically sometimes and in both directions. I expect the earnings to be good but I haven't been right about anything in quite some time. We'll see what happens. Probably should have been buying calls on Monday. It is always easy to look back. Mentally what can I say? It is no fun being wrong all the time. The heavy losses I sustained before have now caused me to it on my hands when I should have been trading. That is the problem. You get gun shy and end up not doing anything when you should be trading. That's why losses are killers. You lose your confidence. And there is no place to go. You have to somehow forget about your past mistakes and move on. It isn't easy. Discipline is not to be taken for granted. The markets are unrelenting. If it was easy, everybody would be successful. Tough game.

The Dow was up 11 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. Overbought again and what else is new? Fed announcement tomorrow. The market just continues to go higher. Until there is a change, there is nothing else to say. Gold came back around 5 bucks and the XAU was fractionally higher. I'm still looking to get some calls here if we have a pullback. If not then I'll be on the sidelines. I might switch to NEM calls if the price gets low enough. Earnings for both ABX and NEM are next week on Thursday, so I'd like to be positioned before then. But the market knows this so I'm not the only one looking at things here. Sun Healthcare continues higher but as I said before that will be a long term holding and not a trade. Earnings there next week I believe. So today the overall market was weaker than the Dow again. I now see the volume was heavy. So maybe we fall a bit tomorrow. I'm looking for the Fed to come out with a hawkish statement with bonds and stocks to fall. That should support the dollar and send gold lower. That is my guess. And a guess is all it is because regardless of what everyone says, nobody really knows. Mentally I'm a bit stressed with computer problems this morning that required outside technical help and delayed my access to market information. These things happen and fortunately it was a slow day trading for me personally. So I'm a little drained and will end this blog.

The market was up 114 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive but not by a lot. How long can this go on? Nobody knows. But the internals are starting to get weaker on the advance. The McClellan oscillator has another non-conformation. Eventually there will be a decent decline. I have tried to pick it and now I have stopped. The market is not functioning under normal circumstances. It is a momentum run and they never finish good. Something will trigger the inevitable reverse. Perhaps the Fed on Wednesday. But it is all just a guess. Gold was down over $13 and the XAU rose a point and a half? Try and figure that out. The gold shares had good volume. It makes no sense. I would still like to get some ABX calls but I won't overpay for them. This too, is not the conventional movement given the change in the underlying. What am I to do I ask myself? Sit tight for now I suppose. Mentally I'm confused and so I must wait for better times I guess. But we all know how that goes. Most of all I must protect myself from myself and what a difficult challenge that always is. So it goes with trading. Perhaps tomorrow will shed some light on things.

The Dow lost 9 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were negative. I was able to make it through the day without doing any stupid trades. On to the November cycle. I am disappointed about missing out on Sun Healthcare. I have been wanting to buy that stock on a pullback for some time as a long term holding. But a pullback has never came and now it is going to the moon. It announced some type of takeover today and was up over 10%. I will have to look for another low priced issue in this area. These are long term ideas and do not involve trading. Gold was off around 6 bucks and the XAU lost over 2 points. Volume was light though and I'm a buyer of ABX calls on this pullback. Hopefully sometime next week. I just hope I'm good enough to pull it off. We'll see what happens. And who knows, I could be wrong of course. But that will be the next play. Mentally there isn't much to say. Trying to forget the huge losses this month. Trying not to be down about missing SUNH. You somehow have to put things behind you and go on. I've made mistakes before and I will again. I just can't let that stop me from going forward in the future. Trading is tough. There are no excuses. You're either good enough or you're not. These past few months haven't been my best. But I will try and put it behind me and continue. I'll check the charts over the weekend and get ready for next week...

The Dow was up another 19 points on good volume to close above 12000 for the first time. Advance/declines were positive. Got a sell signal on the McClellan oscillator last night and I had to fight myself not to buy any puts today. Expiration tomorrow. I will be pleased if I can stop myself from doing something stupid. The sell signals lately have just not worked and it doesn't look like that one will either but we'll see. It's a momentum market and the usual things just won't work. Gold was up $10 today and the XAU rose over 4 points. Volume was good. It looks like I have missed the boat here. But that's what happens when you've had so many bad trades. You just get into a funk and you really need some thing to break out of it. ABX moved much higher and the calls have gotten away from me. There is a slight possibility that I might move to a higher strike price but that remains to be seen. There is a ton of premium in the calls so I think that everybody knows that they will work. Perhaps it has to do with the upcoming earnings. I don't know but I am going to keep an eye on them and if I get the chance that will be the next trade. Mentally I'm not in a good place missing out on the gold. However I may get a chance there and might switch to NEM. The relative strength is with Barrick though and that really should be the play. Not much else on the radar. Fed next wednesday. We will probably be in a holding pattern until then after tomorrow. Google after the bell and it looks like it's in a rally. However Sandisk looks like it's getting killed. Who knows?

The Dow rose 42 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were positive. The overall market was weaker. The NASDAQ was down and the S&P was only up a point or so. The inflation data was benign. I think we are approaching a top here. I may try and short this thing before expiration. We'll see. Perhaps I should hold off and I will let the action dictate what I do. Very risky. Gold was little changed, down a little. The XAU lost over 2 points and the volume picked up a bit. I am still looking to get long ABX calls for November at some point. Earnings on November 2nd. We'll see. I think that is the next play. Volatility is returning to the overall market. That could bode well for the puts. Or not. Earnings continue to come out decent so far. They will probably be good next quarter as well with the sell-off in energy. Oil broke $58 today. Mentally I'm feeling fine, trying not to do anything stupid between now and the end of the week. The Fed meets next week and I expect no change. Otherwise it's a waiting game now, watching gold and the gold shares.

The Dow lost 30 points on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. We were off 90 points early but then came back. Is this the beginning of the long awaited downturn? Who knows? Tech earnings are coming out after the bell and they are mixed so far. Inflation data tomorrow morning also. I almost bought some puts after the bell but did not. As usual the battle lies within myself. Gold was off about $5. The XAU sold off early but then came back to be off just a touch. ABX came back too and the volume was good again. I am still looking to get some calls here but will not chase it. I may have missed it, time will tell. I would really like to make some money this week. I need a good trade because it has been quite a while since I've had one. Mentally I'm doing what I can to stay positive after the recent heavy losses. It isn't easy. You've got to just keep on going in the game. I have at least finally learned that cutting losses is just as important as making money. It is imperative. My best teachers are losing trades. However if that was the case, I'd have a PhD by now and be teaching the class.

The Dow was up another 20 points today on average volume. Nothing can stop it from 12000 so it seems. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. It implies even higher prices. I will have to fight myself not to short this thing sometime this week. We'll see. Gold was up a few bucks and the XAU was higher too. Volume is coming into the gold shares here for whatever reason. I am going to get some ABX calls if there is a pullback. We have inflation data out the next couple of days. They are potential market movers along with some tech earnings. Right now we are on a momentum swing. As long as we keep going higher, money will continue to flow into this market. I certainly don't want to try and fight that. The question is what happens when it ends? That will be interesting. For now there is no end in sight. We are overbought and have been for weeks. I may get a short term sell signal later in the week but that remains to be seen. Mentally I'm doing as good as can be expected, considering how much money I have lost recently. It has to be forgotten and the next trade must take center stage. It is the only way to go on. Not much else to say. It is Monday of expiration week. The will be opportunity here but I think I will prefer to go out to November. Time will tell.

The Dow was up another 12 points today. Volume was a bit lighter than lately however the advance/declines were positive. The overall market was higher. I had to fight myself not to buy some puts today. The trend is up and I cannot fight that. Every time I try I get burned. Yet there is something that tells me that when it starts to drop, it's going to be big. I need to fight that though because it hasn't worked yet and it is foolish to try and pick the top. That said, who knows what will happen next week? Gold was up $12 and the XAU rose over 3 points. ABX was up on good volume. I suppose I will be looking for a light volume pullback to get long here. That really should be my next trade. Money is flowing back into gold here, for whatever reason. I'll need to check the charts this weekend but that looks like the next thing. However you just never know there either but I think enough people have lost money there now. It is off the radar screen and I have had some decent gold trades in the past. I'll go out to December if necessary but will try November also. Mentally I'm feeling pretty good today and I don't know why. Perhaps because I didn't do anything stupid today. Maybe it's the pre-weekend high. At any rate expiration week looms and I'm sure that I will try some type of trade next week. We'll see.

The Dow was up 95 points on good volume. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 positive. I lost on the puts again and got stopped out. It was a dumb trade. I already knew it yesterday. It was a trade for the sake of trading. It lost about 35%. I guess I need to step back and take a break. I haven't had a winning trade in months. It's as if I'm starting out all over again. Last years good profits are like they never happened. I'm in a bad way. Nothing I'm doing is working and I am either wrong or missing something. This market is on a momentum feed and nothing will stop it at this point. The money just keeps going in on the upside. I've seen it before but I did not expect it now. There is nothing to do but watch and wait at this point. Gold was up a few bucks and the XAU rose over 3 points. I'd like to get some ABX calls but may have missed out here too. I was also thinking about some GE puts with the earnings coming out tomorrow. But when I'm in such a funk as I am now, it's probably better if I just sit it out. Mentally I'm in a bad way. I'm losing money, have had my worst month ever and don't have a clue. It's not a good place to be. I must somehow persevere in this negative environment. I have got to somehow snap out of it. We'll see what happens...

The Dow lost 15 points on increased volume. Advance/declines were negative. I bought some OEX puts. I have already put in the stop-loss order. This is probably another dumb trade but the market cannot go up forever. The money risk is minimal. I'm just guessing the top is here as I did before. We'll see. Gold didn't move much today but the XAU lost over 2 points. ABX was down good on heavy volume. I'm looking here but the market seems to say it wants to go down here. People are still just selling off commodities. I am looking to November here but it might be a bit early. Not sure so I'm staying on the sidelines for now. Mentally I'm afraid that perhaps I did this trade for the sake of trading. It happens. I don't have a clear signal but the McClellan oscillator did flash a sell signal yesterday. However today could have been it for the decline. We'll know more tomorrow. Trading isn't easy. It really is tough sometimes. I'm trying my best here and feel good about the fact that I am at least exercising some risk control. But the bottom line is profit and I'm down for the year after my latest fiasco. We'll see what happens with this trade...

The Dow picked up 9 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. Not much movement today. No trades on the horizon there. Gold was down around 5 bucks but the XAU rose over a point. I'm looking to do something on the long side there. But I am waiting for the bottom if I can find it. Earnings are starting to come out and Alcoa missed after the bell. I don't know how that will affect the overall market tomorrow. It still has the feel of a market that wants to go higher. I haven't gotten a decent technical signal in a while. Mentally I'm just hanging out and waiting. Sometimes that is the hardest thing to do. I would like to try another trade before expiration but I'll need to get a decent signal first. Not sure that is going to happen. Otherwise, it's a waiting game.

The Dow was up 7 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. It still seems like the market wants to go higher. Rising oil, North Korea problems and still the market wants to go up. Nothing is sending it into a sell-off. How long can this go on? I would like to try and get short again. Gold was up $5 but the XAU lost some ground. Volume was light there also. I'm looking at getting long for November gold. Just a thought at this point but I'm leaning that way. If there is another sell-off in the gold shares, I'm going to give it a try. Otherwise there is really nothing on my horizon. Less than 2 weeks until expiration so I'd like to try and do something. Mentally I'm just trying to wait for a good signal, follow the rules and not trade just for tradings sake. It isn't an easy task but nothing is in this game.

The Dow lost 16 points on average volume. Advance/declines were about 2 to 1 negative. The overall market was weaker than the Dow but we have seen this before. It seems like nothing can drive this market down. It is up, up and away. I feel like just putting the money in my mutual funds and forgetting about it. But we all know better than that. Just when you think the market can't go down, it will. Harder and faster than most will believe. I have been very wrong lately but the next trade could be another good one. Gold was up a touch and the XAU was little changed. I'm looking here again for a trade. I need to check the charts. This week could be the end of the decline. Mentally I'm doing OK considering how much money in losses I booked this week. I have vowed to never let that happen again and this time it's for real. I might have some medical issues coming up since I have to go to the doctor again next week but nothing will deter me from my ultimate goal of successful trading. I was having a good year and then just blew it out like a fool. However I will be making a comeback. That's the plan. The employment report took the bond market down but the stock market seems to be shrugging it off. Earnings begin next week and we'll see where we go from there.

Market up 16 points on good volume. Advance/declines 2 to 1 positive. Gold and the XAU up. Short blog due to doctors appointment.

The Dow continues higher, up 123 points today. Volume was heavy and the advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. I had put in another overnight order for puts. It was filled and then I was stopped out for a small loss. I finally followed the rules. That is the only saving grace from the substantial losses that just occurred. I will always follow the rules from now on. I dumped the other puts at heavy losses today. It was way beyond the time to do so. I was stupid and I paid for it. But I finally learned an important lesson that I hope I don't soon forget. The big loser was 90% of the trade and the other was 60%. These are killers and I am now down on the year. I will never lose that much on a trade again. Never. It won't happen. Stop-loss orders will be placed as soon as the trades are filled. This is something that I have known for some time but I have been too stubborn to do because I think my trades will always be winners. That is lunacy. My trades are usually losers so I will now protect myself from myself. The volume has told the story here as we continue higher. I just did not want to listen to it. That was dumb. The market has gone up regardless of the news and that should tell you something. The news doesn't matter right now. Money is simply flowing out of oil, gold and other commodities and into the stock and bond markets. I don't know how long that will last but there is no sense in trying to fight it. I need to also remember to keep a sane and open mind when I have a position. Because I usually just try and fit things into the trades that I take. Objectivity must be maintained. It has to. The recent losses have put a lot of things in perspective. How I trade from here will be interesting. There is still plenty of time this year to turn things back around. We'll see what happens. I'm out of time today.

The Dow was up 57 points to a new all time high. Volume was good. Advance/declines were slightly positive. That is the problem here. The overall market is not confirming the move in the Dow at all. That is why I bought puts and the situation hasn't changed. This market will fall but my timing was off. The indicators just remained overbought as they are now. But it will happen. Gold got pounded today, down over $20. The XAU lost over 8 points. Volume was heavy as money continues to pour out of commodities and into the stock market. Oil was down big too. I think a recession is coming but the market doesn't think so. Mentally I'm sitting tight, waiting to take my big losses. It's only Tuesday so we will have to see how the week closes out. Employment report on Friday. The market continues to defy the indicators. Just how long can that go on?

The Dow closed down 8 points in light volume trading. Advance/declines were negative. The overall market was much weaker with the S&P500 down over 4 points and the Nasdaq down 20. The OEX didn't move much and the puts are still big losers. I'll need quite a down move to salvage the losses and that isn't in the cards at the moment. I expect one more move to the upside and then maybe a decent downdraft. But that is a guess as usual. Gold was down a couple bucks and the XAU was up a little. Not much else to say on a Monday. Mentally I'm getting it together in a way that I hope will bring success. Discipline will be the key.