The Dow rallied on the Fed, up 160 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were 5 to 1 positive. The Fed said nothing special but removed the tightening bias. At least that was the consensus of what came out. We are overbought. I do not think getting short is appropriate. My thoughts now are that the seasonal positive money flow will continue into May. But that's a guess. Gold was up a buck but then rallied in the aftermarket post Fed. The XAU rose 3 points on OK volume. ABX was up a half and my options are now in the black. The dollar fell today and I'm thinking that is what is driving gold at the moment. We are overbought here as well. I was thinking of getting out early in this trade but I am now thinking of holding on for a while. That could change. Mentally I'm feeling better with a good nights sleep. I'm doing what is necessary for clear thoughts while trading and that should help the bottom line. Marketwise I'm going to sit tight here for a while. The extra week in the options dictates the strategy for now. There is a chance that I could get in and out of this gold trade but we'll see.

The Dow was up 62 points on what used to be average volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. No real selling lately but that could change with the Fed tomorrow. The summation index is pointing up. No trades on the OEX for now. Closer to a short term sell signal though. Gold was up about 5 bucks today but the XAU didn't do much. This usually isn't a good sign for the gold shares. ABX was up slightly and the calls I own didn't move. There is time and like I said before I'm willing to give it a couple of weeks. But I would have liked to see some positive movement today. Volume isn't all that great here either. Mentally I'm doing good after a nice getaway yesterday to the mountains. The market has seemed to quiet down also. The vix is back around 13 again as volatility has shrank. But that won't last forever as we all know. Nothing else on the horizon at the moment. Looking a bit at GE again but that issue usually burns me. Just waiting on the Fed for now.

The Dow rose 115 points on lighter than lately volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. Sometimes the Monday after expiration you get a move in the opposite direction of the expiration. If that is the case than todays means nothing and we will head lower from here. All eyes and ears will be on the Fed for the next 2 days. I have no trades in the works here. Gold was just up a touch today and the XAU rose over a point and a half. Volume wasn't anything special. ABX was up around 40 cents but the options I have didn't move. I plan on holding this for a couple of weeks unless something drastic happens. Gold itself is still above the uptrend line of several weeks. Not much else to say, late post...

The Dow lost about 50 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were negative. The inflation report came out a bit strong but the market did not tank. Options have expired so I expect the market action to slow down. I do not see any trend for April at the moment. As I said before I think we are in for sideways action. I'll simply wait for a decent signal if one appears and take it from there. Gold was up over 6 bucks but the XAU couldn't even manage a gain of a point. Volume was heavy in some of the gold shares. ABX didn't move and my options are where I purchased them. I'm going to keep these for a little while. I think that I'll know within a couple of weeks if these will be winners or not. The dollar was weaker today despite the inflation data. So there are some crosscurrents at the moment. Mentally I'm feeling fine. I learned some things this week that will benefit me down the road. There is no doubt that my experience in the markets will have positive effects on my trading. My ideas have been pretty good recently even if my trading hasn't been up to snuff. Knowledge is more important than capital. The money will come and I will be a much better trader as time goes on. My discipline has improved but there is still a long way to go. The weekend is here and it is welcome for a little break. The Fed meeting next week will take center stage and we'll see where we go from there.

The Dow gained 26 points today on lighter volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. Perhaps we are just working off the oversold condition but more likely todays action dealt with the expiration. The news on inflation was bad but we still moved higher and that doesn't make any sense, really. I had an order in for some OEX puts again. My thinking is tomorrow the inflation data will be bad as well. But I canceled the order and will stay on the sidelines with expiration manipulation in progress. Gold was up over $4 and the XAU gained almost 3 points. ABX was up a half and the calls I own are back to even. Perhaps this trade will work out but it's early. Gold has held the uptrend line so far and that is encouraging. But with wholesale selling of assets that we've seen lately, anything can happen. Mentally I'm a bit tired today without a full nights sleep. Otherwise I'm doing fine considering that I missed that OEX trade earlier this week. But you have to persevere and move on. An extra week in the April options and also a holiday thrown in there. Could make for some slow trading. I might be out of this gold trade sooner rather than later. We'll see how the week closes out.

The Dow rocked and rolled today. We were down over 125 at one point but came roaring back to finish up 57. Advance/declines were positive and volume was extremely heavy again. The OEX bounced where it was supposed to and the markets are moving fast. Inflation data out the next couple of days. I might try the puts if we get some strength in the OEX tomorrow. We'll see. Risk is high but the movement implies profit opportunities. Gold was down over $7 today but the XAU rose a little over a point. I almost bought some more ABX calls but I didn't. ABX finished up a touch with good volume. The calls I've got are under water. I'm thinking that if they come back I might just get out. April sometimes tends to be a sideways affair. With the recent market action I don't think we will get any decent trend going for a while. I could be wrong though. Mentally I'm feeling better with a good nights sleep. I'm looking to do something before the close on Friday and I'm prepared for the outcome one way or the other. Volatility has returned for now.

The market got slammed today, down 242 on very heavy volume. Advance/declines were 5 to 1 negative. I missed out on the puts. I had an order in again and it did not get filled. I adjusted it down when I should have adjusted it up. Now I had a couple of days to get something done and I didn't which is frustrating. However there is still a chance with 3 days left to do something, so we'll see. I have been tired lately and that may have contributed to my lack of conviction. I knew we were going to test the lows. That said there is nothing I can do about it now. Gold wasn't down much in todays trade but the XAU got slammed as well, down over 5 points. My ABX calls were filled and now I don't even want them. We'll have to see how the week closes but this trade doesn't look good. Volume was heavy in the gold shares also. When the selling begins, it takes everything down with it. That seems to be the case with this decline. The market is nervous again and rallies will be sold. Tomorrow could get interesting. Mentally I'm feeling down again for missing out on the OEX puts. I really needed to just make my mind up and buy something. It is worse than losing money. I really hate to miss opportunities and this was one of them. Perhaps looking back the gold trade will pan out but it doesn't matter. It is a tough game and I need to sharpen up. My analysis is fine but my trading tactics need work. It's something that will need to be addressed. I will go on though because win or lose, that's all you can do...

Late post today as I had other commitments. The Dow rose 42 points on lighter than lately volume. Advance/declines were positive. The volume is tough to call here since it expanded so much in the blowout. Anyway, I still want to own some OEX puts before the inflation data Thursday and Friday. Perhaps tomorrow, if not Wednesday for sure. The summation index is turning to the upside here but I think it will be short lived. Gold was down a buck or so today and the XAU rose a point and three quarters. My open order for ABX calls is still out there. I'm not sure that it is a wise decision but I'm sticking with it for now. There are 4 days left before expiration. I feel that there will be a retest of the lows in the major indices. I don't know when but we are now somewhat overbought and if we get any strength tomorrow that should be the time to get some puts. The risk is high due to the timeframe. I am going to give it a shot. We'll see what happens.

The Dow ended up 15 points today on lighter volume. Advance/declines were positive. We were up 60, down 30. I did put in an order for some OEX puts but they never got filled. The risk is really going up with only 5 days left. I still want to be short going into the inflation numbers but they aren't until the end of the week. It is a tough game to play right now. I'll look things over this weekend and take it from there. Gold was down a few bucks today and the XAU lost about a half. ABX was little changed and my order remains GTC there. Volume was lighter than it has been. I think this will get filled next week but I might adjust it down again. There isn't any interest in gold at the moment and the dollar has been stronger. But this trade goes out to April so I think it is something that I will do. Mentally I am definitely tired because it was a very long day. I was up with the employment report and it really just came out as expected. Trading can take a lot out of you some days and today was one of those days for me. I'm glad it's the weekend and I can relax for a couple of days. I will check the charts over the weekend and come up with a gameplan for next week.

The Dow gained 68 points today on still pretty heavy volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. I did put in an order for OEX puts but it was not filled. We were up over 100 at one point. We reached the 1st retracement level today and sold off. Which means that could be it for the bounce. I sure hope not as I really want to own some puts before we retest the low. I think that is going to happen before expiration. But now all eyes will be on the employment report tomorrow. I don't have any ideas about this and will look to see how the market reacts. Gold gained a couple bucks and the XAU was basically unchanged. Volume was lighter than lately. I adjusted my ABX calls order down again. I don't see any real movement into gold or any strength here. I do want to be long gold however before the inflation reports at the end of next week. Mentally I'm being patient but I'm not sure this is the time to be. Tomorrow will tell a lot. I'm hoping for an early rally but I don't know. I'm a bit tired from not sleeping well but I don't think that affected anything that I did today. So it's time to just sit tight and wait for the morning...

The Dow lost 15 points today on heavy volume. Advance/declines were about even. We were up for a good portion of the day and fell off in the last hour. We haven't even met the minimum retracement here yet so I did not get any OEX puts. Perhaps we will just drop from here, I don't know. But I'm going to try and be patient. I will wait for a better retracement and if it doesn't happen then this idea won't fly. Gold was up around $6 today but the XAU was down over a half. Volume here was light. I still have a GTC order in for some ABX April calls. May not be the best idea but the charts say otherwise at this point. The uptrend line in gold itself is still intact. Now if that fails then I'll have to rethink things here. So I'm in a waiting game at the moment. I think that I will let the employment number come out on Friday and see how things react from there. It's probably the prudent thing to do. Mentally I'm feeling OK for now. I would like to try and make some money before the expiration next week. I do have a couple of ideas. But the markets don't wait for anybody and they certainly don't care about what I'm planning. So we'll see what transpires...

We finally got a bounce today with the Dow up 157 points on extremely heavy volume. Advance/declines were 5 to 1 positive. I have picked out some targets for the retracement and will buy some puts when we hit them. I'm not sure how far and how long we will bounce. The employment report is out on Friday. I probably want to own some puts before then. But we'll see. It could very well end up being an up week and then down from there. I am pretty sure that I want to get some puts though. There usually is a test of the low. So I have an idea of what I'd like to do here. Gold rallied $7 and the XAU was up 4 points. The volume in the gold shares was lighter than it's been but it was respectable. ABX was up a half and the options I wanted barely moved. I still have a GTC order in there but adjusted it lower again. It may take some time to build a bottom here in gold or perhaps it will even just keep heading lower. There is an uptrend line in gold itself that is still intact so I'm going to lean towards the calls until that breaks. Mentally I'm doing fine, just trying to be patient here. You never really know what the markets will do. You have to keep adjusting as you go along. I don't think the decline is over but it very may well be. So you've got to take all things into consideration. I'll keep the retracements I have in mind and short it from there. If it proves wrong, I will have to have stop-loss orders in place. Inflation data come out next week at the end of the week. I would like to be short before those numbers come out also. But that's next week...

The market continues lower as the Dow lost another 63 points. Advance/declines were almost 5 to 1 negative and volume was extremely heavy again. We closed on the low again, just like Friday. I am waiting for some kind of bounce to get short but it just isn't happening and that does not bode well going forward. The worldwide liquidation continues. Tomorrow will be interesting. If we keep dropping I might try and play the bounce later in the week when the McClellan oscillator gets past -300. It could happen. Gold lost around $4 and the XAU shed another 3 points. I did put in an order for some ABX April calls a couple of times but was not filled. It looks like we are at support there but in this market who knows? I left a GTC order in overnight but I might just cancel that as well. We'll see. Volume continues very heavy in the gold shares as well. And so on it goes. It could be that we just keep selling off without a bounce for a while but it has already been a while. There isn't much more I can say. The technicals are blown out. There is nothing to go on except past experience. That tells me there will be a bounce at some point and that is when you can get short for the retest. Other than that I just don't know. Mentally I'm a bit tired as markets like these tend to take a bit more out of you. There is money to be made on the option cycle for sure it just isn't going to be easy. I'll check things tonight and go from there.

The Dow lost another 120 points today on extremely heavy volume again. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. We closed near the low of the week which isn't a good thing. The worldwide liquidation of assets continues. It will be interesting to see what the culprit actually is. I almost bought some OEX calls today but stayed out. There will be a bounce but it will be hard to know when. Sometime next week is my guess but who knows. Gold was dumped again today, down over $20. The XAU lost over 4 points as it is just about sold out here I would think. Volume was heavy. I would like to get some ABX April calls soon. We are approaching long term uptrend lines and if they hold then this will be the spot to buy. If not then the gold market is in for much more trouble. I will check things over the weekend and develop a plan for what to do next week. The real question is how long will the selling last in assets? Just how much has to be sold to take care of whatever is happening in the markets? These are questions that I don't have answers to. The technicals of the markets are completely blown out after Tuesdays action. Something is going on but I certainly don't know what. I am on the sidelines for now but that will change and perhaps next week. It's a tough envirornment. Mentally I'm trying to do the right thing which right now could mean doing nothing. I will try and take it easy from now until Sunday night so that I'm ready for Monday morning. It will be another crazy week I think.

The Dow shed 34 points on very heavy volume again. Advance/declines were negative. There is massive liquidation of stocks going on here. I don't know why. Something has happened somewhere and it will all come out eventually. I'd really like to get some calls here for a short term play but we were down around 200 points on the open. Hard to say what will happen here and I have no idea when the selling will work itself out. I am seeing some readings that I have never seen before. Gold was down $7 today and the XAU lost 3 points. I would really like to get long gold but need to be patient. Volume was heavy again in the gold shares. We are nearing uptrend lines that need to hold if calls are going to work here. I'm sitting tight for now. I think that going out to April will be the thing to do. We'll see. It's a tough environment to trade at the moment. Perhaps the best thing to do is just wait it out at this point. Mentally I'm doing OK. I'm trying not to take any big risks here given the uncertainty. But I will take a position sooner or later since there is also some money to be made here if it is played properly. We'll see how it closes tomorrow.

The Dow came back up 52 points today. Advance/declines were positive and the volume was the 2nd most ever if not the 1st. All that volume and all we could manage was 52 points. I think we will need to test the low of yesterday at least. Interesting times but tough to trade at this point. I did want to get some OEX calls but the options didn't move much today. Gold was down around $15 but the XAU came back over 2 points. Volume was heavy and ABX did not participate to the upside. So there are crosscurrents there at the moment. I think if I do something there it will be going out to April. But we'll see. Mentally I'm doing fine. I've seen bigger one day declines then yesterday. They're usually buying opportunities but I want to wait this out for a while I think. No trades at the moment but of course I'll be looking.

Well, so much for the OEX calls. Or, maybe not. We had an event today, the Dow down 416 points on the heaviest volume ever. It was a mini-crash. Advance/declines were over 6 to 1 negative. There was a sell-off in China and panic set in. There is something going on here and of course I can't possibly know what it is. Somebody does and it will all come out later I suppose. The put buying had been pretty good for about a week now. Usually that sets up for some type of rally and that is what I was looking for. However in retrospect it was the smart money knowing in advance what China was about to do. China made a reference to starting to charge capital gains taxes and away we went. Markets around the world plummeted. We will most likely see some follow through tomorrow. I am really looking at getting some OEX calls anyway because there will be a bounce. The trouble is you just don't know when it will happen. Tomorrow? Before the end of the week? Next week. Oh it will happen for sure, it's just a matter of when. I'll look at the charts tonight and probably buy some calls at some point this week. Tomorrow most likely unless it's a repeat of today. The volatility has spiked big time. Premiums for all the options are inflated. There is opportunity though. Gold was down only a couple of bucks through it all today but the XAU lost over 10 points. The volume was heavy as you can imagine. I did put in an order for some ABX calls in the last hour as things started to come back a bit in that issue. But I now see that gold is off over $20 in the aftermarket and that won't bode well for the gold shares tomorrow. I might have to re-think things here and go out to April. However there will be a snapback here as well, I just don't know when. So there is a lot to ponder tonight as I try to come up with a gameplan for the rest of the week. Mentally I'm doing OK for now. I'm a bit tired but I will need all my stamina to handle the goings on here for the rest of the week. Hopefully the McClellan oscillator will give some clues later this afternoon. Other technical indicators will be blown out by todays heavy negative action. I have seen things like this before. It is either going to be a quick shake-out type of event or the beginning of a major move down. The money flows at this time of year are positive so I really don't think this will be a drawn out affair. But you never know. There may well be things below the surface that haven't come to light yet. It will be interesting at any rate. There will also be opportunities for those able to take advantage of them. I will try to be one of those traders.

No time to blog today due to other commitments. We are down around 13 points with a minute to go. Advance/declines are slightly negative and the volume is pretty good. Gold was up 3 bucks and the XAU rose a point and three quarters. The volume was good and it seems like there is no keeping gold down. I am still thinking of getting some OEX calls tomorrow. I expect a down day and that should do it for me. But we'll see. More tomorrow.

The Dow lost 38 points on average volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. It was a down day all day today. We are around the 50 day moving average on the OEX. I'd expect some more weakness early next week but then a rally. That is my scenario right now but I'll have to check the charts over the weekend. I'm thinking of getting long on Tuesday at the moment. Gold was up over $3 but the XAU did not follow and was off a quarter. Both ABX and NEM sold off again on heavy volume. They could be due a rest here. Gold and the gold shares are overbought on a longer term level but keep going higher. I'm not sure what to do here now so it's the sidelines. That could change over the weekend. Not much else to say here today. Not any data out. Mentally I'm feeling good and looking forward to the next trade. Timing is everything it seems. It never is easy either. I'm going to enjoy the weekend and get back at it on Monday.

The Dow lost 52 points on what looks like extremely light volume. Advance/declines were negative. Not any news out and the overall market was stronger than the Dow again. I don't know what it means and have no OEX trades at the moment. Gold was down a buck and the XAU moved around a bit but ended little changed. ABX came out with decent earnings and ended up selling off on heavy volume. I was fortunate to be in NEM which had good earnings too but rose 3/4 on very heavy volume. It did sell off during the day but I sold my options early for about a 45% gain. Both of these issues are overbought and I would expect them to take a rest here. It looks like they have moved as much as they can for now. The earnings came out good and gold moved higher by $20 yesterday. There is no more good news to come out and move these things higher right now. That is my thinking at the moment. I will perhaps look to get long again when they pull back. NEM is also at some key long term resistance. So I'll try and be patient. Mentally I feel good about bailing out of this trade today. It was a short term thing and I played it that way for a change. I really could have made some good money if I had looked at NEM earlier yesterday instead of ABX. But I salvaged something and that was a good thing. You have got to keep moving and make adjustments to be successful in the game. Especially on the shorter term deals. I'm a bit tired now but will rest up tonight. I'll have to look to next week for the next trade unless something turns up before then.

The Dow lost 48 points on light to average volume. Advance/declines were negative. The overall market was stronger than the Dow, implying higher prices ahead. The OEX puts I wanted yesterday would have been OK but they never really gained that much. Even bad inflation news couldn't keep the market down. The NASDAQ ended higher. The action was in gold which soared $20 today. Incredible. The XAU was up over 5 points. I had an order in early for some ABX calls before the market took off. It wasn't filled. I felt terrible. The earnings are out tomorrow. Both NEM and ABX were up over a buck on heavy volume. I really missed out. So I bought some NEM calls near the close. I had to pay a lot for them but we'll see what happens. It looks and feels like a breakout to me. I hate chasing moves though and these shares are overbought for sure. ABX has had better relative strength but the options that I wanted tripled today. This may not be the greatest trade in the world and tomorrow will tell a lot. If the earnings are decent and we rally at the open I will probably just dump them. But we'll see. It really could have been a great trade if my order would have been filled early. This is the second day in a row when I was there at the right time but the order wasn't priced by me right I guess. It's hard to say. You've got to be able to adjust and recognize exactly what is going on. It isn't easy to do. Anyway gold is at a recent high and I'm wondering if we will try and get to $700. Also NEM is at a longer term down trend line and if it can get through with volume then this trade will work. We'll see what happens tomorrow...

The Dow rose 19 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. We are short term overbought. I tried to get some OEX puts but my order wasn't filled. Inflation data out tomorrow. If we get a rally in the morning, I might try the puts again. We'll see. My hope was for a surprise number to the upside on inflation and a market drop. The fact that my puts didn't get filled leads me to believe that we will have a down day tomorrow. It's a guess. Gold was off about $12 today as oil was weaker. The XAU was off 2 1/2 points which really wasn't all that bad considering. In fact ABX and NEM were both down for the day but closed near their highs. Earnings out on Thursday. Do I want to get long here? I do but the charts are rolling over here. Perhaps the earnings won't matter. Also if we see weakness in the markets, the gold shares could go with it. I'm not sure what I'm going to do but maybe I'll throw a little money at the calls tomorrow. Mentally, I feel fine and I got plenty of rest last night. I have somewhat of an idea of what I'd like to do here, so we'll see what happens. Most likely, I should short any strength tomorrow. As for gold, I might have to let it go here. We'll see...

We didn't do much today for expiration. The Dow was up a couple of points on light volume. Advance/declines were even. I'd like to get some OEX puts for the rest of this month. That is the idea today. I will maybe pick some up when we re-open on Tuesday. We are just about short term overbought. I'll have plenty of time to consider things over the weekend. Gold was up around a buck and the XAU fell a point and a half on light volume. Earnings next week for ABX and NEM and I would really like to have some calls before then. But the technicals are blown out to the upside and have been for a while. Perhaps February was the cycle for this. But I can't help but think the earnings will be good and the stocks will break out. There is nothing changing the direction of gold at the moment either. It is moving higher. The inflation data was benign today. Housing starts were weaker. The dollar was up a touch, which was a mild surprise given the data. So I will have to consider everything over the weekend and take it from there. Mentally I'm a bit confused as to which way to go but my ideas have been correct lately but that means nothing going forward. I'll just have to try and sort things out over the long weekend and get ready for Tuesday.

The Dow rose 23 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. I stayed out of making an OEX trade. I would like to buy the puts but there really isn't any good signal. Expiration tomorrow and I'll be on the sidelines. A long weekend is approaching also. We are moving to overbought but aren't there yet. Gold was little changed but the XAU rose a point. There is no quit in the gold shares right now. ABX and NEM were both up fractionally and the volume was OK. I almost got some ABX calls for next month but didn't. We are so overbought here but it remains resilient. Earnings out next week. Same for NEM. I might give it a try, the fundamentals are there. The problem is that we have already moved up a lot. We'll see. Mentally I'm not in a good place, having missed out on some good gains this week. It is frustrating but I've got to just keep moving on. It's all I can do. Inflation data out tomorrow. Trading is the most difficult and challenging thing to do sometimes. I recognize this but it doesn't make it any easier. I guess you've just got to keep on moving and see what happens. I'm somewhat pleased that I did not try and trade the last day here. But it pales in comparison to what I should have been doing this week. I'll go from here.

The Dow climbed another 87 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 positive. We are breaking out to new highs in the Dow. There are only 2 days left for the options in the OEX. I am thinking about getting some puts tomorrow, if and when we get short term overbought. Although this isn't the best trade in the world, I believe that it could work. Or I might just sit it out. We'll see what the movement is. Gold was up about $4 today and the XAU rose a point. ABX and NEM were both up on good volume. This is the place to be. The dollar fell today after Fed head Big Ben turned into Gentle Ben. I am going to get some March calls on the next pullback. I think we are due for a rest in these issues before the earnings releases next week. We'll see. But gold just continues to move higher and I think the fundamental case for a weaker dollar is now intact and I am sorry I didn't buy in sooner. I also would have made a ton of money if I would have just held on to the ABX calls I purchased earlier. But there is no looking back really because it won't do any good. Mentally, most of my ideas have been right on lately so I am probably going to take a stab at the OEX puts. I also think the longer term is bullish for gold. Of course that could all change tomorrow but I doubt it. So we'll see what happens.

I had computer problems again at the open today. That's it. I'm on the back-up computer and I will not be using the other computer again. I will be shopping for a new one. End of story. I don't have time for computer hassles anymore. I should have bought one before when there were problems. The Dow rose 102 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. I could not get any calls this morning. I will now be looking at shorting this thing tomorrow or the next day. However I might just step aside and let the expiration pass. We'll see. The Fed head actually speaks tomorrow so we'll see what that brings. Of course I'm disappointed for not getting the calls but they were way too expensive yesterday. Gold was up a buck today and the XAU rallied 2 1/2. The dollar fell on weak trade data and oil was up. ABX was up on good volume. I could have gotten the calls cheap yesterday but did not. I thought about it but did not pull the trigger. I really need to get my focus back in the markets. There have been numerous opportunities that I have seen but not taken advantage of. Mentally I'm just not fast enough right now it seems. My ideas are good but transferring that to making money isn't happening. I've just got to hang in there because good things will happen if I can make them happen. Hard to say what the rest of the week will bring. Lots of data, that's for sure. I'm not believing the rally today. I will get some OEX puts if we continue to rise. I think that it's probably too late for the gold shares but we'll see.

The Dow was down 28 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. We are oversold. I do believe that we will bounce within the next couple of days. I am looking at OEX calls but they are still expensive. However I will look to buy some if we get more weakness tomorrow. It's expiration week. There is definitely a chance to make some money. Gold lost 5 bucks today and the XAU was down a point and a half. The volume on the gold shares was light. ABX and NEM both showed losses. I want to get long the March calls but there is a chance that February will work one more time. This is a much tougher call however because gold is not oversold. The dollar was weaker today and oil got clobbered, leading to golds weakness. If these trends continue, gold will correct. I would like to be long going into the earnings on the 22nd. I've said that before. However we have come back to the moving average lines in ABX and NEM so this could be the spot. I am leaning more towards the OEX trade though. But if the market rallies it will most likely take the gold shares with it. The trade number comes out tomorrow and that should do something to the dollar and gold. Also the Fed head, Big Ben is speaking the next couple of days. My guess is that he won't say anything to rile the markets and we will get the anticipated bounce. I could be wrong and usually am. Mentally I'm doing OK. The next trade will be important but it has to be short term if it is going to be for the February cycle. Tough call and it usually is.

It was an interesting day. The Dow lost 57 points on good volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. Again, as with the last gold trade, I sold my position a day too early. Each time I made profits but they could have been so much better. It's a frustrating game sometimes. My ideas are right on though so I at least have that going for me for a while. We're short term oversold now and should bounce. I'll think about getting some calls over the weekend. I should have been paying more attention today as opportunity was there. We'll see about next week. Gold had an interesting day as well. It was up $9. It is very overbought. However the XAU sold off after an early rise and was slightly negative for the day. That should not happen on a day up big on gold. So there is a divergence in place. This might actually be a shorting proposition but I'm bullish longer term and will look to buy the gold shares on weakness. ABX and NEM were up on good volume at the close, after selling off. The dollar was stronger today too, so there are a lot of crosscurrents going on in this market. The weekend is here and there will be much work to do. Expiration week is upon us and there is a lot of data coming out. I'll have to be ready and develop some type of gameplan. It will be a long weekend after expiration also. Earnings on the gold shares will be out on the 22nd. So there is plenty to think about for the next trade...

The Dow lost 29 points on good volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. We were down 60 at one point but the market just doesn't want to go down here. I dumped the OEX puts at a small profit. It didn't turn out the way I expected and I didn't feel good about the way the market was reacting. This was a short term trade anyway so I am glad that I'm out but I might want to try again before expiration. We are overbought on a longer term level. Where I should have been was gold which was up over $5 today and continues to rally in the aftermarket. The XAU tacked on 2 and 1/2 points. Both ABX and NEM were higher on good volume. These issues and gold are overbought and staying there. I want to get in here somehow but it really could be too late. Even going out to March looks expensive but I did want to own something before the earnings come out. Trading is tough. It is never easy. Days like today are hard. But you've got to hang in there and keep at it. There will be good trades if you pay attention and stick to it. At any rate I would not be surprised if the overall market went down here shortly. I think the only thing keeping it up right now is the positive expiration bias. I don't think I want to hold anything over the weekend but we'll have to see how tomorrow does.

The Dow was pretty much unchanged today on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. We were up around 30 then down around 30 and ended up where we started. I did buy some OEX puts. I am already not so sure about this trade. Perhaps I am early but my intermediate term work puts us overbought. The stop-loss order is already in. This is a short term trade and I will be out before the end of the week unless something dramatic happens. I will probably be out tomorrow, one way or the other. Gold was off a little over a buck today and the XAU lost 3/4 of a point. The volume here was light again. I think gold followed oil today as it was down over a dollar. The dollar itself fell a little. I am still looking for some gold share calls but probably not until next week. My focus at the moment is on the OEX. It was weaker than the overall market today which was different. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? It doesn't look like there is any important data out for tomorrow or the end of the week. I suppose we will be trading off of the technicals. Mentally I'm unsure of myself here with regards to this OEX trade. As usual I'm second guessing myself here at the close. It doesn't feel like a good trade. I certainly will be looking for a place to exit as soon as possible unless the market cooperates. We'll see.

The Dow was up 4 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. We are churning here as the market makes up its mind on which way to go. I'm still looking at getting some puts if things work out. I'll have to see some strength tomorrow. It's risky but then again what isn't in this game. Gold was up over $2 today, with the XAU up 3/4. Again there was no volume in the gold shares which has me worried about going much higher here. The dollar was weaker though. I'm on the sidelines here but certainly want to get some calls before the earnings come out later this month. And who knows, perhaps I'll get some calls before the February expiration. But for now I'm mainly looking for OEX puts tomorrow or Thursday if possible. It won't be a long trade, timewise. It shouldn't be. However if we sell off before I might switch to calls by Friday. It's never set in stone. Mentally I'm doing OK I suppose. I need to do a bit more work tonight to get in the right frame of mind for this next trade. If I have to let February go by I will. But I do think there will be an opportunity here and I will try and make some money from it. That's about it for today.

The Dow was up 8 points on light volume. Advance/declines were negative. I am now looking to short the OEX via puts. Wednesday would be the ideal day if we hold up until then. I'm going to buy puts Wednesday if we have any strength that day. We still have to get through tomorrow of course. We are overbought on a short term basis and will be on an intermediate term basis if we hold up a couple more days. Gold was up around $5 today in spite of some dollar strength. It's getting hard to figure out just what is going on here. The XAU didn't move much though, only up about a third of a point. ABX had another good day, up 40 cents. The volume is light in the gold shares though. I'm trying to wait for a pullback here but I think the bigger picture points to higher prices for gold. I'm a bit tired today and did not sleep well last night. Less than 2 weeks left on this option cycle so it does get a bit tricky. Mentally I'm ready for the next trade and think it will be the OEX puts if the market cooperates. Like I said before, there isn't much market data out this week so perhaps the market will move on the technicals alone. We'll see.

The Dow lost 20 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. The employment report was weaker than anticipated and the market really couldn't make up its mind what to do. The overall market was stronger than the Dow. I think a shorting proposition with the OEX will present itself next week, I'm just not so sure it will have staying power. I'll check things over the weekend. Gold got slammed today, down over $11. The XAU didn't do too bad considering, off over 2 points. ABX and NEM were both down a bit but really held up quite well. I still want to get some calls here again but it will be tricky next week. The gold shares seem like they'd like to go higher but they are overbought here. The dollar was stronger today also. I'd really like to go out to March to catch the earnings but the options are expensive. I'll try not to do anything stupid but you never know. I don't think there is a lot of data coming out next week but I'll review things over the weekend and take it from there. Mentally, I will try and put this week behind me and try and make some money from here. 2 weeks are left on the February options. I need to do some more work...

The Dow rose another 52 points today on good volume. Advance/declines were almost 3 to 1 positive. The volume was good. Employment report tomorrow. We are overbought here but it can stay that way and it does sometimes. I'm not looking at puts just yet but there may be an opportunity next week. Gold was up another$5 today. I sold out a day early. ABX had a great day and was up around 70 cents on heavy volume. It is breaking through some resistance at the moving average line. I will look to get the calls again on a pullback if there is one. But I clearly blew it on this trade as well. The volume came in today. Now there was no way that I could have known that but there were over 2 weeks left on the options. I really didn't need to be in a hurry. I think the carryover effect of not getting out on time with the last trade influenced my decision to sell yesterday. Each trade is unique. Gold is overbought here. I almost got some NEM puts which would have been a good thing at the time but I did not act on it. It was to be a very short term deal. I suppose that now I will simply wait until next week and get some ABX calls again if the market allows. Trading is very frustrating sometimes and today is one of those times. The profit I could have made would have met my expectations. Instead, I made some money but am not happy with it. Mentally I'm frustrated and disappointed. I need to put it aside and keep on going here. My ideas are correct at the moment and I need to take advantage of them. It's a very difficult game. That doesn't change. I just need to keep at it and get better, as usual.

The Dow gained 98 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were about 2 to 1 positive. The Feds statement was seen as bullish and that led to todays rise. The economic data came in mixed. The GDP was actually higher than expected and my guess there was wrong. However gold did rise over $7 today as the dollar lost ground. The XAU was up almost 2 points but the volume wasn't that great. I sold my ABX calls. It was around a 100% gain. I just didn't like the action in the gold shares today. With gold up good and a strong market rally, I would have expected to see a nice rise in the gold shares. It didn't happen so I bailed out. I would like to buy some calls again but at a better price. We are somewhat overbought here on the gold shares and I will be purchasing some more calls if we get a pullback. We are also overbought short term on the overall market but I'm not looking to get any puts right now. That could change when I check things later tonight. I suppose that the next event will be the employment report on Friday. I have no specific thoughts there. Mentally I am feeling OK. I am hoping that I did the right thing today. You might think that a 100% gain is good but it isn't when it could have been more. However I will put this trade behind me and move on. It is really what you have to do. It will be interesting to see where we go from here. I will be looking to get some calls in ABX or NEM before the earnings are reported near the end of February. Perhaps next week or the week after. That's all for now.

The Dow was up 32 points on average volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The overall market was much higher than the Dow, with the S&P 500 up over 8 points. That's the biggest divergence that I've seen in a while. Lots of economic data and the Fed tomorrow. Gold was up a buck and the XAU gained almost 2 points. The dollar was little changed. My calls are back in the black as ABX rose around 40 cents. The volume wasn't all that great though. I'm still a believer that the GDP will be weaker than expected, the dollar will drop and gold will rise. Hopefully the Fed won't be too hawkish. But anything can and will happen. Oil was up almost $3 today, which is huge. I think that maybe gold was just following that. Tomorrow should be a big day and I will have to think about bailing out of these calls and look to buy them cheaper down the road. That's the ideal scenario, we all know reality is usually much different. I do think the dollar will get weaker here for various reasons. We'll see. Mentally I'm doing what is necessary to try and keep control of my market emotions. I'm doing the after hours work required and I think that I will do a much better job trading from here. Easier said than done as always.

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.