Continuing to the downside as the Dow dropped 443 points on average volume. Advance/declines were over 5 to 1 negative. Has the volatility returned? Perhaps. Employment report tomorrow and that will be a mover. Which way is the question. I don't know. However I don't believe this is the start of another leg down to new lows. But I could be wrong. Gold lost 10 bucks and the XAU fell 8 points. ABX, GG and NEM were all down around 2 points on good volume. The dollar saw some strength on a flight to safety I'm guessing. I'm laying off gold for now. GE lost about a buck and a half on heavy volume. Tuesday was the day to get out. My calls are back to where I bought them. I'd buy them again here if I didn't already own them. Mentally I'm feeling OK. A bit disappointed that I couldn't do what was necessary earlier in the week but that's my own fault. The battle within goes on. Otherwise just waiting for tomorrow morning and we'll go from there.

Settling out for the day as the Dow lost 490 points on average volume. Advance/declines were about 4 to 1 negative today. We were overbought and a decline was in order. I don't think it's the beginning of the end. Summation index still heading higher. Obama was elected as expected. The employment report on Friday is the next event. I can't see that as being a positive but you never know. So we'll see. Gold lost $15 and the XAU shed 3 1/3, which wasn't bad considering the decline in the overall market. ABX and NEM lost ground but GG was higher on the day. Volume was average. I'm not looking at any trades for the gold shares at the moment. GE lost around 80 cents on average volume. The calls lost some ground and should have been sold yesterday. Going out to December should help the cause. The volume pattern looks favorable there but todays price action wasn't. However the option pricing there remains dicey. I still haven't figured it out. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep as well or as long as needed. Again, the focus and concentration needed to be successful is huge. It's probably more important than a lot of other things when it comes to trading. Of course the technical analysis and other market work must be done. But if you can't do what you have to do, when you have to do it, it won't matter. It's at times a battle with yourself and there is no getting around that. I'm still working on it.

Overbought and staying there as the Dow gained 305 points on average volume. Advance/declines were about 4 to 1 positive. I expected a pull back and it didn't happen. We went straight down, will we head straight up? Not forever. Summation index higher and I think we can all agree that a bottom is in. I'd expect some follow through tomorrow morning but after that we need to take a rest. Perhaps the employment report will be the catalyst for that. Gold had a stellar day as the dollar got pounded. The yellow metal rose $30 and the XAU tacked on 12 points. The bottom has been seen there as well. ABX, GG and NEM all rose around 3 bucks on good volume. What can I say except that I missed this move in the gold shares? Frustrating to be sure but it's the nature of the game. Too late now for this part of the move. GE had a good day, up 1 1/2 on heavy volume. The options aren't moving much though. It continues to be puzzling. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to dump the calls I own tomorrow and try and buy them back cheaper in a few days. That's the thought process at the moment. Mentally I'm doing OK. Trading is the toughest game in the world. I can't think of anything more challenging. The effort required to be successful is beyond most and at times beyond me. At least I know the facts about that and don't try and fool myself. I've missed some good opportunities lately but I also haven't been in a position to let myself succeed. That is changing as I now hopefully have the proper mindset and time to do what is required. We'll get the election out of the way and go from there.

A waiting game as the Dow lost 5 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. We are overbought and due for a pullback. The market is waiting on the election results and the employment report. But at least we are getting into a more normal market mode. Any retreat in prices can be bought in my opinion. Gold was up around 8 bucks today but the XAU was flat. ABX, GG and NEM didn't end with much of a change one way or the other on light volume. Wouldn't be surprised to see a pull back here as well. GE lost about 1/4 on light volume. The options went up in price which again, makes no sense. I'm holding for now but will be looking to get out. I think it is a legitimate play though. Mentally I'm doping OK, slept well enough. I am looking at some longer term trades in individual stocks as I mentioned before. However It looks like I've missed the moves because they have all rallied strongly from their lows. If we get a pull back in these issues as well, I will give them a shot. At the moment I'm stuck in HL which releases its earnings tomorrow. I bought it twice on the way down and it is a loser at the moment. No hurry there but the entry timing was way off. And so it goes.

Ending the month on a positive note as the Dow gained 144 points on what looks like lighter volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. I thought there would be some selling today but it wasn't enough to bring the markets down. Summation index higher and the markets remain overbought. Again, the worst is over for now. I'll be looking to get long when we get oversold. Gold lost $20 today and the XAU dropped 4 points. ABX, GG and NEM all lost over a buck on lighter volume. The dollar was stronger today. I think we've put in the bottom for the gold shares but that doesn't mean we couldn't go sideways for a while. I'm not looking at any trades there as of yet. GE was up a touch on average volume. The calls I own are still slightly in the black but the price movement of them continues to be a problem. I'll have to try and figure it out over the weekend. Mentally I'm doing fine, slept well enough. October 2008 was quite a month for volatility and though it has slowed a bit, it is still out there. I think we are heading higher but to what levels is the question. As I stated earlier, I am looking at some individual stocks for longer term plays. They have moved up here though and I do not want to chase them. That said, I feel we are moving into a favorable period for being long. The weekend has arrived and it's time for a break. I'll check the charts over the next couple of days and take it from there.

Another positive day as the Dow gained 190 points on lighter volume. Advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. End of the month tomorrow and I think we'll see some selling. But I could be wrong. Summation index has turned around to the upside again and hopefully will continue in that direction for the bulls. The bottom is in for now as I have said repeatedly lately. The question is if we get a decent rally or just move sideways. Time will tell. Gold dropped $15 today as the dollar stabilized. However the XAU gained 4 3/4. ABX, GG and NEM were all higher at least a buck or more on good volume. It looks like the fall in the gold shares has ended as well. The Gold/XAU ratio is still way out of line so there is room for the gold shares to move higher. I'm staying away from there for now though. GE was up a touch on average volume. The GE calls are still in the black but we are short term overbought. The price action on the options has been screwy lately also. I'm going to hold them until the beginning of next week and take it from there. Mentally I'm feeling OK. Haven't had the focus that I need lately but that is changing. I've also been looking at some individual stocks to purchase on a longer term basis. However, that isn't the same as trading so I'm not so sure. Looking at it though. We'll get through Halloween tomorrow and go from there.

Kind of an up and down day as the Dow lost 74 points on average volume. Advance/declines were 2 to 1 positive. The Fed lowered rates by a half as expected. Sell the news action? End of the month coming up. Where we go from here is the question. I still think we're forming a base here. Gold was up around $15 and the XAU rose 7 3/4. ABX and GG were both up over 2 on good volume. NEM was down a touch after yesterdays great move. I don't know if this is thee bottom for the gold shares but the volume was pretty good today. GE lost about 40 cents after being higher earlier. Volume was heavy. I'm still trying to understand the option pricing there. The GE calls I have are still in the black but the price movement is puzzling. Base building here as well. Mentally I'm a bit tired did not sleep as well or as long as needed. Data feed issues again and I hope today straightened things out for good now. Regardless, the markets go on. Credit issues remain but it isn't the same day to day bailout picture as it was before. I think the worst is over for the stock market for now.

An oversold bounce was expected but this wasn't. The market soared 890 points on what I'm thinking was good volume. I've been having trouble getting the correct NYSE volume again. Advance/declines were about 5 to 1 positive. We've formed a base in the last 3 weeks and I believe that it will hold for now. But you never know in a crazy market like this. Fed announcement tomorrow. I don't think it is as important as usual because the credit mess has taken on a life of its own. So we'll see. Gold was off a couple bucks but the XAU followed the overall market higher, up over 8 points. ABX up over 2, GG up 1 1/2 and NEM up almost 5 before its earnings announcement. There have been so many false up moves for the gold shares in the last few months that it is hard to believe that this could be the one that's for real. The Gold/XAU ratio is so blown out that the gold shares could rise 100% and it still would not be back to normal levels. The dollar did lose some ground today but only time will tell if it's the beginning of a sustainable trend. GE was higher by 1 3/4 today on heavy volume. My GE calls for December were finally filled but the options didn't do much even with a move of almost 2 points. Not exactly sure about what is going on in the option premiums but I think this is a trade that could work. Mentally I'm doing fine, slept well. Back in a trade again and I think I'll play it close to the vest this time around. My last few trades have been disasters but I'm feeling better about this one already. Which really doesn't mean anything. The market will go where it wants. So we'll get past the Fed tomorrow and go from there.

An up and down Monday as the Dow tanked late and ended the day down 203 points on average volume. Advance/declines were 4 to 1 negative. We are at the bottom of the base that we have been building for the last couple of weeks or so. I still believe that we will hold up here and not collapse again. I could be wrong. Fed meeting this week for whatever it's worth. We're oversold short and medium term after todays action. End of the month at the end of the week too. Should be interesting. Gold was up over $10 today but sold off in the aftermarket. The XAU lost 6 1/2 points. ABX, GG and NEM were all down over 2 bucks on good volume. The dollar continues higher and oil continues lower offering no support for gold. I don't know what to say there really. Liquidation of whatever is left to sell continues. GE was off a touch on heavy volume after being much higher earlier. That doesn't bode well for tomorrow. I still have the open order for December calls out there. Might get filled tomorrow. Do I still want them? Probably. But these are crazy times and the price movements I've seen in the GE options don't make sense lately. I'm willing to give it a try though. Mentally I'm feeling tired. Did not get as much sleep as needed. I'm looking at some stocks for long term buys here. Of course it hasn't worked out with HL but who knows? Health care and the solar industry is getting my interest at the moment. We'll see.

The Dow lost 312 points on good volume. Advance/declines were over 5 to 1 negative. Still building a bottom here in my opinion. I'm thinking that Monday will be a positive day because we have moved back to oversold on a short term basis. But you never know. Gold was up over $15 today. I am having computer issues again so the quotes are not up right now. The XAU was higher today, as was ABX, GG and NEM. GE was down on heavy volume. I'm leaving in the open order for December calls there. Mentally I'm doing as well as can be expected. The computer problems should be over by Monday morning, hopefully. You can't expect to be able to trade when there are data feed issues. It's hard enough when things are going normally, technology wise. So on it goes. I'll take a break over the weekend. Check the charts, if possible and go from there. I've got my on on some stocks to purchase for what I believe will be a playable rally in the coming months. But I could be wrong. It may just be a sideways affair until we head lower again next year. Time for a rest.

It was a back and forth day and the Dow ended up 172 on average volume. Advance/declines were about 2 to 1 negative. Today could have been the final retest of the lows but only time will tell on that. Could we break down here? I'm saying we won't but anything can happen. However, I still feel we are forming a bottom. Gold continues its slide, down another 20 bucks. The XAU was off 3 3/4. ABX, GG and NEM all shed at least a buck and the volume was very heavy. The Gold/XAU ratio is in double digits. Unheard of. I don't know what to say there because it is incredible. GE was off a bit but was much lower during the trading day. The volume there too was extremely heavy. I'm leaving in my open order for calls there. We did hit a new recent low in GE today. However I'm sticking with the bottoming scenario. Mentally I'm doing OK. Interesting times in the market this week. There is an extra week on the November option cycle as well. We'll see what happens tomorrow but the thinking here is that we will be heading higher.

Settling things out on a negative day as the Dow loses 513 points. The advance/declines are at least 6 to 1 negative on heavy volume. A retest of the recent lows? That's my story and I'm sticking to it. But in this environment, who knows? I do feel we are building a bottom here though. May take a while. The market, as always, will go where it wants. Gold continues to the downside, off over $30 today. The gold stocks have been obliterated. ABX and GG shed 3 or more. NEM lost 4. Volume heavy. Is there no end in sight? The dollar has had a tremendous safe haven rise since last month. Oil continues lower as well. Deflation? We'll see. GE lost over 1 1/4 on heavy volume. It didn't help the December calls that I'm looking to purchase. The price actually went up as the volatility premium returns to the prices. It makes some sense but it's a different kind of option market at this point. One of which I'm not familiar. I'm leaving the order in but I may change my mind tomorrow. Mentally I'm doing as well as can be expected. Still having computer and information feed issues. That doesn't make the trading any easier. We will have to see where the market goes for the rest of the week and take it from there.

To the downside today as the Dow lost 231 points on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. Volume has slowed from what it was but it is average by pre-collapse standards. Sure, we can go up and down for a while as the market forms a bottom here. Summation index continues higher. The worst is over for now in my opinion. Gold got trashed again, off over $20. ABX, GG and NEM were all down 2 or more on average volume. Nothing doing there for now. GE was up 20 cents on good volume. Up on a down day. The relative strength is there. I'm keeping in my open order for December calls. However it could be that GE is already going to move to the upside. I'm not going to chase it. Mentally I'm doing OK, having some computer issues. Feeling better but cannot push things here. If the GE trade comes to me I'll do it. Otherwise I'll be looking for the usual signals for the OEX which haven't appeared since we fell apart. I'm thinking things will get back to somewhat normal which should help with the overall trading. But you never know.

Continuing higher on a Monday as the Dow gained 411 points on average volume. Advance/declines are about 5 to 1. This should turn the summation index around as we begin to move higher on that index. The bottom for now is in. That's my opinion as it has been for a few days. That's not to say that I'm correct with that prognosis, it's just what I think. The market will go where it wants. Gold was up a couple bucks but the XAU rose over 9 points. ABX and NEM up over 3 points, with GG up 2 1/2. Volume pretty good for all as well. The gold shares either have to go up or the price of gold down to get the Gold/XAU ratio back to something resembling normal. I'd love to try and trade it again but I'm staying away for now. GE was up about a half on heavy volume. I like GE to the upside here. I'm keeping in my open order for December calls. Mentally I'm doing OK, slept well enough. A new option cycle and I've noticed some of the volatility premium is being sucked out of the option prices today. As we get back to a more normal market atmosphere, the option prices will shrink. That has to be taken into consideration. The game never gets any easier. Earnings will be coming out and that will be an individual stock mover for the next few weeks. On to tomorrow.

Option expiration Friday as the Dow lost 127 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. We opened lower, had a nice gain and then closed down for the day. We are forming a bottom here as far as I can tell. That's my guess at this point and I'm sticking to it. Sure we could go down to the lows again but I feel that they will hold this time around. So we'll see. Gold had another bad day, off over $15. The XAU was down 2 1/2. ABX, GG and NEM all down on good volume. Will gold come back? We're under $800 now. The dollar is the place where money is flowing. I guess I'll have to be patient with the HL shares that I own but I don't expect any rallies there anytime soon. It looks like a wait until next year scenario there. GE lost 1/3 on very heavy volume. I adjusted the open order that I have for December calls. I still think that is a trade that will work. But sometimes GE moves sideways for months at a time. And I always think every trade will work but we know better than that. I'm willing to give it a try though. Mentally I did not sleep long enough and haven't been 100% for a couple of weeks now. I am feeling better but not all the way back yet. There's work to do over the weekend. Charts must be checked. Reading must be done. The game never stops. I do think that the worst is over for now. Perhaps a rally will take place or it could be a few months of sideways action instead. Time will tell. For now it's the weekend and time for a break.

The post is a bit early today as I have other commitments. We are up almost 400 points at the moment. Volume is good and the advance/declines are negative. Weakness can be bought in my opinion and the worst is over for now. I could be wrong. It is expiration week so anything goes tomorrow. Gold got killed today, down $35. The XAU is off about 7 as we speak. ABX and GG down over 2, with NEM off 1 1/2. Volume extremely heavy on the gold shares. The Gold/XAU ratio sets new records everyday it seems. This can't go on forever. But who knows? Gold could be signaling deflation ahead and that is a possibility. If that's the case the gold shares will be dead money. Time will tell and I really don't have a handle on it at the moment. GE is up 1/2 on extremely heavy volume. I'm leaving in the open order for December calls but at this rate it will not get filled. I should cancel it before the weekend. I do believe that calls are the way to go there for now. Mentally I'm tired, did not sleep well. Still not feeling good either. It wasn't a good time to be ill but when is? I'm going to tread lightly here for now until I can assess the damage and come up with a game plan going forward.

Back to the downside and that is to be expected. The Dow dropped 733 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were about 9 to 1 negative. We are going to retest the lows. Whether or not they hold is the question. I think they will and I'm sticking with that forecast. However anything can happen in an environment such as this. It is options expiration week and that intensifies the moves both up and down. I'm a believer that the lows of last Friday will hold. Gold was flat but is rallying in the aftermarket. The XAU got clobbered again, down 12 points. ABX, GG and NEM were all off about 2 points on average volume. I'd love to get some gold share calls here but an looking elsewhere at the moment. GE lost over 1 1/2 on heavy volume. This is where I'm looking. I'm in no hurry but I am leaving in an overnight order for December calls. It will take a big decline to hit the price I've put in so we'll see. I'm not expecting the market to crash. It already has in my opinion. Mentally I'm doing as good as I can. Still not feeling well and that clouds things for now. It has been quite a month so far and no one knows what the future will bring. So we'll see what happens.

A bounce around day after yesterdays huge rise. The Dow ended down 76 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. Yes, it's not going to be straight up from here but I'm sticking with the belief that the worst is over. Any retest of the lows can be bought in my opinion. I could be wrong but in this case I don't think so. Gold lost a few bucks and the XAU was up almost 3. ABX, GG and NEM were all higher and the volume was good there. I still like the gold shares but have no trades in the works for now. GE lost 1/4 on very heavy volume. I'm still thinking December calls there. However at the moment, I'm inclined to just let this week pass. Mentally I'm still in a fog with the cold or flu. Not a good time to be trading, especially in a market like this. I'm not feeling up to it. There will be other trades down the road. It is a tough enough game when you're feeling well. Option expiration week as well. So I'll have to be patient and try to get back to normal. Forcing the issue here would not be a good strategy. On to tomorrow.

Finally a rally and a big one at that. The Dow had its best day ever, up 936 points on good volume. Advance/declines were 15 to 1. Dead cat bounce? No. We've seen the lows for this move down. We may have a retest but in my opinion it will hold and we've seen the worst for now. And it was pretty bad. But it's done. I do think that next year or later we will see lower lows but that is in the future. I'd say the final low will be in the fall of 2010. But that's way ahead of myself. For now I'd expect follow through tomorrow and then we'll head back down. But that's a guess. Gold lost another $15 today and the XAU rose 4 points. The gold shares were mixed with ABX off about 2, GG off 3/4 and NEM up 1 3/4. NEM has been the leader, so I would expect strength in the gold shares tomorrow. I dumped the remaining GG calls for the same 80% loss. It's time to move on. I did not recognize the extreme market conditions in time to do anything correct. If I did recognize them, I didn't react quickly enough. It was s series of dumb moves. I had chances to get out but did not. It's nobodies fault but mine. I'm still a longer term believer in gold here. The Gold/XAU ratio is still far out of whack. It will return to some sort of normalcy eventually. GE lost 1/2 on good volume. I don't know what to think about that. The market goes crazy upside and GE goes down? Not trades there. Mentally I'm still slow and not feeling up to par. I still have a cold and it is slow to move on. I am however finally flat and out of the market. My guess is that I'll stay that way until I'm feeling better. Finally some common sense. Costly though. It should be an interesting week but I'll have to watch from the sidelines.

Yes, it's a crazy time in the markets. We were down over 500, up almost 300 and closed off 128. Volume was heavy. The advance/declines were 2 to 1 negative. I think we are near the bottom. Perhaps a retest of the lows on Monday and a rally from there. That's my guess. We are as oversold as it gets. But who knows? In this type of atmosphere, anything goes. Gold got clobbered today, down $30 after being up $30. ABX, GG and NEM were all off 4 to 5 dollars on heavy volume. I dumped half the GG calls for an 80% loss. Probably should have sold them all but I do expect a huge rally at some point next week that will bring everything higher. I could be wrong. I really needed to be up early and things might have worked out better but I'm still sick. You can't expect good results if you're not up to the task. Definitely a bearish move for gold. GE was higher by about 1 3/4 today on insanely heavy volume. I think you have to get some calls there because that trade could work. What I didn't like was the options in December that I'm looking at barely moved even with a decent move in the stock. So we'll see. Perhaps I'll try it on weakness Monday. Mentally I'm spent. Tough enough to play the game when you're feeling good, which I'm not. I really should have just bailed out of whatever trades I had the day I felt ill. But it's always easy to look back. I will try and take it easy over the weekend but there are a lot of things to do. I do need a rest though. There is no making sense of what is happening at the moment. The sidelines are not a bad place to be. Cash is still King in my opinion. Time for a break.

Wrong again. I was looking for some type of rally here and it definitely didn't happen. Oversold and staying there which as todays action suggests, is dangerous. The Dow lost 678 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were 10 to 1 negative. It's as oversold as it gets. What I'm asking myself today is why haven't I been short? Incredible amounts of money are being made there and I missed it. Preoccupied with the gold trade? Too many other things going on outside of the markets? Feeling ill? No sense in looking back now. Even if I had owned some puts, I would have sold them long before today. But as I've said before, the normal technical analysis just isn't working in this type of environment. Gold lost $20 today but has rallied in the aftermarket. ABX lost 3/4, GG down 1 1/2, NEM off 3. All down on good volume. Now exactly how much longer am I going to hold out of the money GG calls with a week to go? I am getting as crazy as the market. Gold itself has held up well here but the gold shares just aren't keeping up. The premise was correct it seems but the trading vehicle was wrong. GE was off over a buck and a half on extremely heavy volume. Do the earnings tomorrow even mean anything anymore? I would like to have the guts to buy some GE calls tomorrow. Or lack of brains. GE is not going out of business and it's under $20 a share. We will see a bounce eventually and that is when you can take your profits. Sounds good in a reasonable market. Which this isn't. Mentally I'm tired and still not feeling well. Maybe being sick is a blessing in disguise since I haven't done anything stupid like buy OEX calls lately. I'm getting better though. Where do we go from here? Well the decline won't last forever. It's gone a lot further than I imagined. I'm thinking if GE is weak tomorrow morning I'll look at the December calls. But that's a guess just like anything else in trying times like these.

Down, up, down, up, down as you get the picture of todays action. The Dow lost another 189 points on good volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative. I still feel an oversold rally is imminent. Tomorrow? Friday? Yes I do think that is in the cards. The Fed cut rates today and so did some other countries around the globe. That won't unfreeze the credit markets but at least it shows that they're trying. These are some interesting times indeed. If I had any guts I'd buy some OEX calls on weakness tomorrow. Gold was up another $25 today and the XAU finally got into the act, up almost 18. ABX, GG and NEM all gained around 5 bucks and the volume was extremely heavy. Half the GG calls are back in the black. We are seeing 15% to 20% moves in stocks for just one day. It is insane. Only 7 days left for the October option cycle. However todays action in the gold shares, with the accompanying volume, says there is more room to go on the upside. I really need to be careful. GE was up 1/2 on good volume and the earnings are out on Friday. That is going to be market moving. Which way is the question. Mentally I'm slow and still not physically up to par. The wrong time for an illness, that's for sure. Some type of cold or flu but the markets don't care. I'll fight through it as best I can. Looking at some individual stocks that I'd like to hold for a few years but they too could be cheaper in '09 or '10. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

The song remains the same as the Dow lost another 508 points on good volume. Advance/declines were 6 to 1 negative. We are probably going to have a decent bounce here in the next 2 days. We are short term oversold. That doesn't mean we can't drop another 500 tomorrow. But a short covering rally at least should be in the cards. Gold was up $20 today but the XAU was 1 1/2 down and closed near the lows of the day. ABX was up 1/2, GG up 1 1/4 but NEM was down 1 3/4. NEM has been leading the way lately. Volume heavy as it has been. GG calls dead for the most part. GE was down a buck on crazy volume. Makes sense in a crazy time. Mentally I'm in a fog as I am ill. Got some kind of cold or flu last night and it has knocked me out. Not really what I need right now but that is the reality of the situation. Short post and I need some rest. Cash is still King.

OK. We are now in the most crazy market situation in quite some time. I'd say it's a once in a lifetime type thing but it was nuts in 1987 too. We closed down about 350 points on good volume. We were down almost 800 at one point. Advance/declines were around 15 to 1 negative again. How long we will go on like this? Who knows. It is a good time to be out of the markets unless you're short. Because there is no rhyme or reason as to what is going on. The technicals just are not working in scenarios like this one. Gold was up over $30 on the futures and the gold shares tanked. The XAU lost over 6 1/2 points and at one point was even about 10 points lower than that. ABX off 2, GG off 1 1/2 and NEM off 1. All on very heavy volume. GG calls=dead. Well not completely but they are blown out and less than 2 weeks to go. The Gold/XAU ratio that I talk about is setting new records every day now. Blown out. GE was off 1/2 on insane volume. Again, was much lower, under $20 at one point. Incredible. Mentally I feel OK, slept good enough. I don't know what else to say at this point really. Unprecedented times. Cash is King. Don't try to be a hero. Perhaps I'll listen to what I write here for a change.

OK, we finally got the bailout done. The market opened higher and closed lower for a one day negative reversal. The Dow was down 157 points on good volume. Advance/declines were negative. So now what? I certainly don't know. It is a volatile market and one that is unlike what we normally see. It isn't an easy trading environment. If I had any brain in my head, I would get flat and wait it out. Anything could happen. Gold lost another 10 bucks. The XAU gained a point after being much higher earlier. ABX and NEM had fractional gains after being much higher earlier. NEM was up over a buck. Volume was good. The GG calls are losers. However the Gold/XAU ratio is off the charts. That is the only thing keeping me in this trade at the moment. The buy signal is strong. So much so that I bought some more HL stock. Call me crazy but that's what I did. GE lost 60 cents on insanely heavy volume. Is GE going out of business? I sincerely doubt it. However is could be a sign of worse things to come. Mentally I'm tired and did not sleep as much as usual. It has been an intense week of market movement and it does take a toll. You begin to wonder if it's all worth it when it gets like this. There's always the sidelines I keep telling myself. I have the feeling that next week I'm going to listen. Perhaps. So on we go. What happens next week is anybodies guess. We sure didn't close on a positive note today. But it's all just a guess even more than usual at the moment. Yes, the weekend is upon us. A look at the charts. A time to regroup and come up with next weeks game plan. But most of all a time to rest considering the week that was.

It was back to the downside today as the Dow lost 348 points on good volume. Advance/declines were about 6 to 1 negative. Waiting on the bailout vote and who knows what happens after that? It is a crazy and volatile time. We are going back to test the lows I guess. But it is just that, a guess. Because these are some strange times indeed. Gold lost over $40 today and continue a touch lower in the aftermarket. The XAU was obliterated, down 20 yes 20 points in a day. ABX and GG both lost over $6 today. That's 20% of their value. Unheard of but there it is. NEM dropped 4 1/4. Volume was extremely heavy on the gold shares. Of course the GG calls are under water. However I bought some more. The Gold/XAU ratio is so out of whack that the buy signal is screaming. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. So we'll see. I can't believe the drop in the gold shares today but it happened. I don't know what it means. The dollar was stronger today but it's been up more than this and the gold shares haven't fallen apart like today. Again, it is a crazy time in the markets. GE lost 2 1/3 and the volume was astronomical. I mean it was 10 days volume compressed into one day. If it is a forerunner of things to come then we are going to collapse again. The volatility is off the charts. Mentally I feel pretty good, slept well. I don't know what else I can say here to fully grasp the uniqueness of the situation. It's unprecedented really. I now think that I should just listen to myself and get on the sidelines for a while. There is nothing wrong with that. Cash is King. It's not impossible to trade this kind of market but it isn't necessary either. When nothing makes sense perhaps it makes sense to do nothing.

We spent the day bouncing around with the Dow closing down 20 points on average volume. Advance/declines were slightly negative. Waiting for the Senate bailout vote tonight. The market is hostage to the bailout problem and it's a different type of trading atmosphere. No OEX trades for now. Gold was up $6 in the futures market but has sold off pretty good since. ABX and GG were both slightly higher after being up much higher earlier. NEM had a slight loss. Volume was good. The action in the gold shares today was negative for sure. The GG calls are barely profitable. The dollar was higher today. However, I believe we are at or near resistance for the dollar at theses levels. So we'll see. GE lost over a buck on insane volume. GE is issuing more common stock, never a good sign for the stock price. Warren Buffet said he would be investing in GE at this point. So it too bounced around but closed lower. I'm staying away from it for now. Mentally I'm a bit tired again, did not sleep as good as I could. So we go on to tomorrow still uncertain of what exactly is going on here. The sidelines aren't a bad place to be. Anything could happen at this point. There really are no clear technical signals and the volatility is extreme. Still plenty of time in the October option cycle. So we'll see what happens. Employment report on Friday if anybody cares.

Up and down as the roller coaster ride continues. A 485 point snap back on the Dow today with good volume. Advance/declines were 4 to 1 positive. Now a deal is coming, supposedly. I'm sure one is, one way or another. What the market does is another issue. It's a tough trading environment to be sure. A lot of premium in the options and whipsaw moves. I'll have to wait on trying the OEX at this point. The risk is higher than usual at the moment. Gold was down $15 on the futures and continued to sell off in the aftermarket. The XAU lost 1 3/4. ABX and GG each lost a couple bucks on decent volume. NEM dropped 1/2. I bought some GG calls. Not completely oversold technically but I wanted to give it a go. I'm expecting the dollar to fall later this week when the employment report is released and the deal is done for the bailout. I could be wrong but that should support gold. The Gold/XAU ratio is still solidly in the buy zone. So we'll see. GE came back and was up around 2 3/4 on heavy volume. The options barely moved considering GE was up 10%. That is what is meant by an overload of premium in the options. If the underlying instrument moves 10% and the options barely move, that isn't the type of situation you want to get into. If and when things settle down, perhaps GE will be a viable play. Earnings out on October 10th there. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep well. So what happens next? We will get this bailout deal out of the way and then it's back to earnings and data as market movers. The summation index is back in the negative but it's not going to stay there too long in my opinion. So I would guess we go sideways to higher in the coming months. However longer term I suspect we are still in a bear market. But it's all just a guess in the game. And as recent events have shown, anything can happen.

So we are in melt down mode as the Dow lost a record 777 points on what must be extremely heavy volume. Advance/declines were 15 to 1 negative. They rejected the bailout plan in Washington today. So it's the panic of 2008. It's not as bad as 1987 when we were down 22% in one day. We would have to drop 2000 points in a day to equal that. Trust me, the world is not coming to an end. Some type of plan will be enacted and the market will rally back. I'm not saying the the overall trend isn't down for a while. It is. For a couple years maybe. But that doesn't mean it's going to be straight down. How can you profit off of what is happening now is the question. Gold was up $5 on the futures and another 20 after the futures closed. The XAU lost 5 1/4 though. ABX continues to amaze with its relative strength, up 1 1/2 on very heavy volume and was higher than that. GG was flat on heavy volume and NEM lost 1 1/2. Volume heavy there as well. I still like the gold shares and have an order in for some GG calls overnight. However as soon as a bailout deal is done, money will leave gold in a hurry. So it's a tricky play. I have an idea of what I want to do so we'll see what happens. GE lost $2 on heavy volume. Not the crazy volume that we saw last week and that may be telling. I'm looking at the calls there, going out to November. There will be some type of snap back rally in GE between now and then. Timing will be key, as usual. But I think there will be money to be made there. Mentally I'm feeling pretty good, slept well enough. These are interesting times, no doubt about that. However the idea is to make money, so that is what must be concentrated on. There is risk galore, don't deny that. As I've said before there is nothing wrong with waiting things out on the sidelines until we get back to normal. Cash is King. This is a tough trading environment to be sure. However there is also opportunity if you can take advantage of it. Tomorrow should be interesting.

Opened lower and closed higher today for a one day bullish reversal in the Dow. We gained 121 points on OK volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative though. So we are still waiting for some kind of government bailout. It will get done it is just a matter of when. The market reaction to that will be telling. It looks like a rally would take place but that 's just a guess. Trying to trade it isn't the smartest thing to do. No decent signal for the OEX as yet. Gold rose around $6 today but the XAU dropped 3 points. ABX was up 1/2, GG lost a buck and NEM fell 1/2. Volume heavy there again. ABX continues to show incredible relative strength among the gold share issues. Perhaps that will have to be the next play. I'll be looking to buy weakness if there is any early next week in ABX or GG. GE was off 1/3 on average volume. Nothing doing there for now. Mentally I'm doing OK. Remained on the sidelines this week and that was the idea. Now next week I will be looking to do something. What that is exactly remains to be seen. The weekly gold share charts will not be looking bullish after this weeks action. So caution is advised. A lot of uncertainty out there on all fronts at the moment. We'll see what happens. Oil was lower today and the dollar a bit higher. Now what happens there after the bailout? A lot of questions but no answers for now. Nothing wrong with waiting it out really but you won't make any money. However you won't lose any either. The weekend is upon us and a break is in order.

A bailout deal is close was the news today and the Dow rallied 196 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. So who knows what happens tomorrow. It's a crazy time in the game. We were up over 300. It is practically impossible to trade the OEX here with all the volatility. As I've said before the normal technicals just don't work. So it's the sidelines for now on the OEX. Gold lost $13 and the XAU fell 4 points today. ABX lost 1 3/4, GG off 2 and NEM dropped 1/2. Volume was pretty good again. I'm still trying to be patient there and todays action shows why. We are still overbought on the gold shares and I will try and wait until next week to get some calls. And even then it may not be the right play. So we'll see where the gold market goes from here. GE was up 3/4 on heavy volume. A lot of premium in the options there at the moment. I'm going to have to tread lightly for now. Mentally I'm doing OK, slept well enough. Patience isn't easy but sometimes it must be done. I would like to let this first week of the option cycle pass and take it from there. So far so good on that count. I will probably wait and see how the market reacts to this bailout before taking any positions. I'm looking to get long the gold shares at some point here as I've said before. I haven't had a decent signal one way or the other in the OEX for quite some time. Eventually that will change. Until then I'll try and sit on my hands.

The Dow lost 29 points today on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. It was pretty much a sideways type of day. All eyes are on the Federal government and the passage of a bailout bill. Of course it's being held up while they talk about it for a while. But something will get passed and we'll have to wait and see the markets reaction to that. Gold was up a couple bucks today and the XAU gained 1/2. ABX and GG were up about a buck each and NEM lost 1/2. Volume was good but lighter than it has been. I'd still like to get some gold share calls again for October but there hasn't been a pullback. Oil was weaker and the dollar stronger but GG and ABX continued higher. I'll try and be patient. GE lost 1/3 on good volume. No trades there for now but I'm leaning towards the calls. Mentally I'm doing OK, could have slept a bit longer. So it's a waiting game for now. Not the easiest thing in the world to do but that's where I'm at. If we continue lower in the OEX it will set up a buy signal by Monday. The data releases are taking a back seat to the ongoing debate about the bailout. Interesting times indeed. Technically the market could go either way here. We'll see. The gold shares are overbought but haven't pulled back as of yet. Perhaps they won't. I'm keeping an eye on them. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Continuing lower with the Dow off 161 points on good volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. Waiting for the bailout package from Congress at this point. Summation index lower. Can't really say what is going to happen with the market at this point. It's all a guess as we are in uncharted territory. Anything could happen. Gold lost $17 on the futures but is coming back in the aftermarket. The XAU dropped 4 1/2. ABX and GG lost 3/4, while NEM fell 1 1/2. All had heavy volume again. We're overbought here and I would like to give the gold shares some time before getting long again. The options are full of premium with the volatility and length of time remaining in the October cycle. So it's a sit and wait game for now. GE lost 1 1/3 on good volume but not the crazy kind of volume we saw last week. I'll need to check the chart there. Could be signalling the overall market heading lower. Mentally I'm feeling OK, slept well enough. Well I'm at the point where I'll have to be patient for the gold shares here. The dollar is oversold and was a bit higher today but it could have more to go on the upside, hopefully. Oil pulled back too. The stochastic on the gold shares is overbought, so I would expect some type of retreat. But in this type of environment, anything can happen. Plenty of time, so there's no rush but the entry is going to have to be correct. So we'll see what happens.

The roller coaster ride continues as the Dow lost 372 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were 4 to 1 negative. The volatility to the extreme continues. Was the end of last week just an expiration related event? Do we now go down to new lows from here? Summation index will turn back to the downside with todays action. I don't have the answers. We are in an unprecedented era for the markets. Time will tell where this all ends up. It's a tough trading environment out there but there is money to be made. Risk is high though. There's nothing wrong with waiting until things return to some semblance of normal. Gold took off to the upside by over $40 today. ABX up 3, GG up 4 and NEM up 2 1/2, all on heavy volume. Incredible moves of over 10% in one day again. I am looking to get some gold share calls again if we get some type of pullback. I really don't want to chase it here. The dollar got pounded today and oil was up over 10% as well. I'm trying not to worry about selling out of my gold position early because it's done and over with. You always have to make adjustments and see things where they are now, not yesterday. There's still money to be made in gold in my opinion. GE lost 40 cents on lighter volume than we've seen lately. The premium in the options is off the charts with all the movement lately. I'll have to stay on the sidelines for now there. Mentally I'm feeling good, slept well. The game plan for now is getting some gold share calls again on any pullback. I'm trying to be patient but you never know. The XAU/Gold ratio is still way out of proportion. It's in the buy zone and has been for weeks. Either gold has to come way down or the XAU has to rise. Gold does not look like it is going to drop anytime soon with all that is going on in the world today. So I'll look to the gold shares for now.

Today the US government changed the rules. It will now bail out everything and everybody in the name of... Really, I don't know. The Dow rallied on extreme volume, up 368 points. Advance/declines were 7 to 1 positive. What a wild week. This should turn the summation index back to the upside. It is hard to trade the indices when things get like this. In fact, it's basically impossible. The volatility is too much. More luck than skill. Gold lost over $30 on the futures, rallied a bit in the aftermarket. The XAU was higher by over 7 points though. ABX up 2 3/4, GG up 1 and NEM up 2. All on good volume. ABX is showing the most relative strength here. I put in an order for some GG calls, was not filled. I may switch to ABX. However I'm waiting for some type of pullback in the gold shares now. GE was up almost 2 on insanely heavy volume again. Too late for the calls here. Mentally I'm tired. Did not sleep much last night. It's been quite a week. Yesterdays volatility in gold led me to get out but there is still more room to go on the upside there in my opinion. The weekly charts on the gold shares look like they have put in a bottom. The weekly OEX chart has put in a hammer bottom on the candlesticks. So the end of the world for the indices has been averted or postponed. It's time for a needed break from all the market madness. I'll be checking things over the weekend and getting ready for Monday. But for now some rest.

Volatile days are upon us. The Dow rose 410 points today on what I expect was extremely heavy volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. The market moved up a few hundred points in the last hour on the Treasury secretaries comments of another bailout. Bear market rally? My guess is that it was. A one day wonder until proven otherwise. Gold went crazy again, up $50 on the futures. However it began to sell off on the Treasury announcement. The XAU finished flat and the gold shares had one day reversals to the downside. ABX and GG were off on the day but the quotes are not reliable due to the volatility. Volume was the heaviest that I've ever seen it. NEM lost over 3 points. All the gold shares were higher early and closed much lower on the day. I dumped all my GG calls. Some had a 15% gain and the rest had an 85% gain. I was lucky to get out alive. That said I am looking to buy back the calls cheaper, perhaps even tomorrow. I don't think the rally in gold is over. GE was up 1 1/2 on insane volume again. I'm looking at the calls here on any type of pull back. It may be too late. Due to the volatility the options are very expensive. But I think getting long there will work. Mentally I'm tired and not feeling well. The markets don't care how you feel. It's been a crazy week so far and I suppose tomorrow will be no different. Expiration and we'll see what happens. I'll be checking things tonight but I think getting long gold again is the correct move at the moment.

Another decline today as the Dow lost 450 points on extremely heavy volume. It's a free fall. Advance/declines were over 12 to 1 negative at least. Summation index continuing lower. How low will the market go? Usually lower than you think. It looks like we will go down all the way into expiration at this point. You'd like to think there are some bargains out there but at the moment the world thinks every company is going under. They aren't but to tell where it all ends is impossible. Gold caught fire today as it finally became a flight to safety play. It rose $70 on the futures and continues higher in the aftermarket. The XAU rose over 10 points and is right at the daily down trend line. Another day like today and we will be through it which would be quite bullish. But it hasn't happened yet. ABX, GG and NEM all gained over 3 points on insane volume. It is a crazy time in the markets, I can't emphasize that enough. The GG calls have come all the way back from the dead and there is still over 4 weeks to go. However things can turn around and head back the other way overnight. That's what kind of game it has become. GE lost 1 1/2 on incredible volume. It's a panic sell for sure but you just don't know when it will stop. I would like to get some GE calls and am seriously looking at that as the next play. It's risky though but what isn't at this point? Mentally I'm tired again, did not sleep well. Really would like to get a good nights sleep. I've seen these kind of free falls in the overall market before. You don't want to get long too early. You also want to take the profits if you get any pretty quick. The volatility gets intense. As crazy as it sounds, it's kind of fun too. Well, at least it's not boring. We'll see about tomorrow.

Opened lower and closed higher for another one day reversal today. Not that it means anything in a market like this. The Dow was higher by 141 points on good volume. Advance/declines were negative. No follow through to the downside on a closing basis but these are crazy times. Fed stood pat on interest rates and the market rallied. Interest rates won't change the carnage that is happening at the moment. Things will change and be volatile day to day. I'm looking for weakness on Thursday but that is a guess. The sidelines are probably the best place to be at the moment. Risk is high. Gold lost around $6 but the XAU rose 2 1/2. The opposite action of yesterday. ABX up 3/4, GG up 1/2 and NEM up over a buck. Volume heavy again. The gold shares followed the overall market. Oil was down again and the dollar was stronger. Things just aren't following the normal patterns at the moment. Makes for tough trading. GG calls still in the red and probably not coming back. GE opened about $3 lower than where it closed. Amazing. It ended up 1/2 on insane volume again. I can't touch it at the moment in a market like this. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep well again. Expiration week and volatility at an extreme. I think we'll head back down this week before any stabilization but who knows? Trading in this type of environment is extremely risky. There will be better times to take chances. Yes, the profits now could come quickly but so could the losses. The normal technical analysis doesn't work when we get like this. There is nothing wrong with waiting for a better trading situation.

I'm not going to get into all the bailouts and bankruptcies. All you need to know is that we are in crash mode. The Dow lost 504 points today on what I'm guessing is extremely heavy volume. My volume figures are skewed again. Advance/declines were 15 to 1 negative. Extraordinary times are what these are. Summation index will be gapping lower and who knows how low we will go. Normal analysis just won't work now because it is a catastrophic event. Everything gets sold to raise capital. There will be opportunities to get things cheap. But you don't really know what will survive and what won't. The Fed meets tomorrow and what can they possibly do? It's beyond the level of interest rates, what is going on now. The sidelines is probably the best place to be unless you're short or own puts. Gold is a safe haven and rose over $20 again today. However the XAU didn't join the rise and lost 7 3/4. ABX and GG lost around 2 and NEM around 1. Cash must be raised and the gold shares are a way to raise it. The XAU/Gold ratio continues to be out of whack and I still think it has to get back to normal levels at some point. When that is, I don't know. GG calls still showing a loss but not as much as it would be without the crazy volatility. Nothing makes sense when the markets get like this. Fear overwhelms everything. GE lost 2 bucks on insane volume. It's a panic sell. Will GE go out of business too? I doubt it but who wants to step in and buy it here? Mentally I'm doing as good as can be expected. Did not sleep good last night though. Where do we go from here? I don't have the answers but I have seen collapses before. They don't last forever but they sure go fast when they are happening. Take it down all the way into expiration on Friday? It's possible. Gold rising and the gold shares falling? That's never a good sign of things to come. But who knows? In this type of market anything can and does happen. But usually, it's for the worse.

Once again we opened lower and fought our way back. The Dow was down 150 early and closed with a loss of 12 points. Volume was heavy and the advance/declines were positive. The market is trying to hold up in the face of bad news again. We are going to break one way or the other soon in my opinion. If we continue to the upside early next week I'm going to look at the OEX puts. It is a crazy and volatile time. Gold snapped back $20 today and the XAU rose 11 3/4. ABX and GG gained over 3 and NEM was up 2 1/2. Volume was heavy again. It is unprecedented to see these issues gain and lose 10% in just a day. The gold market had stretched so far to the downside that it is like a rubber band effect and now it is snapping back. Who knows how long or far it will go? We now have hammers on the weekly gold issue candlestick charts which implies higher prices unless we go right back down next week. The GG calls are still in the red but a day like today gives hope that the loss can be cut and something salvaged from this trade. But you never know. The dollar finally sold off today after reaching the 80 level of resistance. GE lost over 1 1/4 on extremely heavy volume. That doesn't bode well going forward if it serves as a proxy for the overall market. Mentally I'm feeling OK, slept well again. These are strange and volatile times in the markets. There are opportunities out there but there is also a lot of risk. Option expiration week is coming up. I really don't know how we have held up here so far but next week could get ugly if there is even more bad news. Perhaps there will be some announcements over the weekend. I'll check the charts over the weekend and get ready for what should prove a volatile week. But for now it's time for a break.

A one day reversal to the upside as we opened down over 150 points and closed up 165 on the Dow. Volume was heavy again as it has been a very busy week. Advance/declines were negative though, which has me not believing in this move. Short covering ahead of tomorrow is my guess. Volatility is king. I may try the OEX puts but it won't be until next week if at all. Gold continues its free fall, down $17 and continuing lower in the aftermarket. ABX, GG and NEM all gave back what they gained yesterday and the volume remains heavy. This has been a straight down market. At some point there will be a snap back rally and that is where I will dump the GG calls for a loss. Or perhaps there won't be. The Gold/XAU ratio has been blown out and I can't ever remember it staying like this for so long. I guess there is no reason gold couldn't just keep dropping because there hasn't been any support for quite a while. It is overdone to the downside most likely because of the tremendous dollar rally. We've come back to 80 there and that is where multi-year resistance is. I doubt it goes much higher from here. GE was up a touch on very heavy volume after being down over a buck early. Mentally I'm doing OK but could have slept better. Stuck in a losing trade and that is never a good thing. Almost expiration week and we'll see where the bias is. Inflation data and retail sales tomorrow so we'll see what happens.

The Dow ended up 37 points on heavy volume again. Advance/declines were positive. We were up over 100 but couldn't hold it in the last hour. I still get the feeling that we are heading lower here soon but I could be wrong. No trades in the OEX here and not much time left for the September option cycle. Gold was hammered down again today, off $30. It continues lower in the aftermarket. However the XAU rose 5 1/4. ABX, GG and NEM were all higher on heavy volume. That is a change from the carnage we've seen lately in the gold shares. This is most likely the bottom for the gold issues. I know I've said that before and been terribly wrong. But when the metal itself is tanking and the stocks are moving higher, you've got to take notice. We'll see what happens. GE lost a touch on good volume. Mentally I'm doing OK. Although I think we are heading lower, there really isn't a clear signal yet. I'll need to be careful since I am already stuck in the losing GG trades. Those trades will not be coming back and it's a cut the loss mode at this point. The Gold/XAU ratio is still out of whack, so I'd like to wait for that to find a reasonable level before closing out the GG trades. So we'll see. There will be opportunities in the OEX though. I'll keep my eyes open but have to be mindful of the risks with only a few days left in the option cycle. Speed will be important. Paying attention will be paramount. Trade numbers and unemployment claims tomorrow. Inflation data on Friday. It should be volatile.

It's a crazy market as the Dow lost 278 points on very heavy volume. And it's only Tuesday. Advance/declines were 6 to 1 negative. They tried their best to keep things up yesterday on heavy volume but it didn't work. It has the feel of a market that is going to fall apart. Summation index should turn to the downside here. I don't know what is going on but the selling continues. Gold got clobbered, off $10 on the futures and another $10 in the aftermarket. The XAU lost 11 3/4. ABX and GG off over 2 points. NEM shed over 3. Volume was extremely heavy. I have not seen anything like this downdraft in the gold shares before. The Gold/XAU ratio is in record territory. Carnage. The GG calls are dead. I bought some shares of HL today. I know, I must be crazy. Will the gold shares just go to zero? I don't want to say no but... It's a crazy game. GE lost a buck on heavy volume, reversing yesterdays gains. Mentally I'm doing as well as can be expected. Of course I should have gotten some OEX puts this morning but did not. Staying in a losing trade is costing me more than it should. I have to focus on what I'm in already, which takes away from trying other opportunities. That is something that I really need to work on. In retrospect I should have dumped these GG calls long ago. It seems as though I am making the exact same mistake as the previous trade involving GG. That's never a good sign. What happens tomorrow? Stay tuned.

OK we have a bailout. The US government went in over the weekend to save Fannie and Freddie from themselves. The Dow soared 290 points on very heavy volume. Advance/declines were about 2 to 1 positive. I'd like to say that the decline is over but I believe otherwise. The markets are acting completely out of whack. I still think we will break down from the lows of the summer. I am looking to buy some OEX puts before Thursday. That is the game plan for the OEX at the moment. Could change at anytime. Gold opened higher again and couldn't hold on. It finished unchanged while the gold shares got killed again. The XAU lost 5 1/3. ABX and GG shed another 1 1/2, while NEM lost 1/2. All on heavy volume. It's a broken record to the downside here. All my GG calls are under water. Either gold is going to go way down here or the gold shares are going to have quite a rally. I cannot explain what is happening here with the gold stocks. They have really fallen apart. The dollar sold off early and came all the way back with a vengeance. It's a flight to safety in my opinion and who knows what happens next? At this rate the gold stocks will all be going to zero. GE had a great day, up over a buck on heavy volume. Maybe the market just rallies from here according to GE. I don't believe it yet. Mentally I'm a bit tired, up early and not a good nights sleep. There are things happening in the markets at the moment that I don't have an explanation for. If I had any common sense, I would get out and step aside for a while until things calm down. What normally works for me in the markets, isn't working now. You always have to make adjustments. Whether it's a worldwide margin call or something else, I'm not privy to the information. The technicals aren't working. I don't think the XAU can get any worse from here but I said that a couple of weeks ago too. Gold and oil have stabilized lately but the shares of those two continue to plummet. We'll see where the markets take us tomorrow.

It was another reversal day but this time to the upside as the Dow was off 150 points early, turned around and ended the day up 32. Advance/declines were just about even and the volume was good. We got oversold and have bounced. I don't think that it's anything more than that. The employment report was weak as expected and I guess we got some short covering after the initial sell off. Perhaps we will set up for the next leg down next week. But who knows? Volatility has returned. Gold opened much higher and closed little changed. Oversold and staying there. The XAU had a fractional gain. ABX, GG and NEM were up a touch or unchanged on heavy volume. The first GG calls are in the red and the second are unchanged. I still think it's a buying opportunity for the gold shares here. That said, in this kind of market I'd be happy with break even at this point. Oil is still falling and the dollar continues higher. So the fundamental picture for gold remains negative at the moment. GE was up a bit on average volume. Mentally I'm doing OK. Not exactly sure where we go from here but the downside seems to be the path of least resistance. But we could be setting up for a nice rally in the second half of this month. We'll see. There were not any buyers for anything until today and my guess was that it was only short covering. But I could be wrong. It's time for the weekend, a check of the charts and a break.

Down hard on the day as the Dow loses 345 points on heavy volume. Advance/declines were over 5 to 1 negative. Most likely the summation index is turning down after today. It feels like another worldwide margin call as everything is being sold to raise cash. How long this will last is anybodies guess. We are getting short term oversold but aren't there yet. Gold lost $5 today but the XAU continues weak, off 5 1/2 points. ABX, GG and NEM were all lower with NEM leading the way almost $2 lower. Volume was heavy again. I bought some more GG calls for October. This didn't work the last time I tried it but the gold shares are so blown out here I had to give it another try. The original GG calls are under water. I think that the gold shares are a screaming buy here. We are seeing a flight to the US dollar on the fear factor. Eventually that should work its way to gold. We'll see. GE lost over 3/4 on good volume. I'm looking at October calls there at some point. Mentally I'm doing OK, did not sleep that well. So it is hard to tell exactly what is going on here at the moment. We had a huge reversal on Tuesday and it has proven to be valid. Everything is being sold. Could it be the beginning of a deflationary period for assets? I don't know. I usually go on the technicals or at least try to. Employment report tomorrow and I can't expect that to be robust. We'll have to see the reaction to it. Perhaps we will remain weak to the September expiration. But I certainly don't know. Tomorrow should be interesting.

We were down for most of the day but came back in the last hour to finish up 15 points. Advance/declines were even and the volume was heavy. Summation index still going higher. I think we are marking time until Friday. What happens then is anybodies guess. We could go either way at this point. There isn't a clear signal. I'll be watching and waiting. Gold lost a couple bucks today but the XAU dropped over 4 3/4. ABX, GG and NEM all lost 1 1/2 on heavy volume. There is liquidation of commodity stocks going on in a big way. A commodity hedge fund has failed. I think it's a good buying opportunity but technically the charts look like there is more to go on the downside. The GG calls are now losers. Of course I'm not pleased that I didn't dump them last week but I still think it will be OK with all the time that's left. But I could be wrong and often am. Oil and the dollar didn't do much today. GE was flat on light volume. Mentally I'm doing OK. Volume is back in the market, all the players have returned. I expect to see some fireworks on Friday. Which way we go here is the question. European bank meetings tomorrow. That could affect the dollar. I'll stay with the GG calls for a bit more but anything could happen. So we'll get through tomorrow and go from there.

It was a wild way to start the week as the Dow was up almost 250 early on, only to close with a loss of 27 points. Advance/declines were positive but the overall market was lower. Volume was good. It is a one day reversal to the downside but this market has been bouncing around for some time now. I'm on the sidelines with the OEX for now. Gold got clobbered, down $25 and it was lower than that. The dollar was higher and oil lost over $5. The XAU lost 10 points. ABX, GG and NEM all down around $2, with GG leading the way off 2 1/2. Volume was heavy, which isn't a good sign going forward for the bullish case. My GG calls are right back where I bought them. The price gapped down on the open, passing my stop loss price so the order wasn't filled. I'm leaving the order open for now but I might cancel it before the employment report on Friday. In retrospect, I should have been out of this thing last week but the stochastic didn't roll over until today. I might just hold it until October so we'll see. GE was up 40 cents on good volume. Perhaps it is saying that the market will be OK here. That's a guess. Mentally I'm doing OK, slept well enough. Questions remain about this market with todays action. There really hasn't been a decent trend in some time. We had the extended down trend and have moved sideways to slightly higher since. It's a tough trading environment. Plenty of time in the September cycle though. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

We ended the month on a down note as the Dow lost 171 points. Volume was light as the long weekend begins. Advance/declines were almost 2 to 1 negative. I don't know how much emphasis you can put on the action this week. The volume wasn't there all week. However the summation index continues to the upside and that has to be respected. Gold was off a couple bucks and the XAU lost 1 3/4. ABX, GG and NEM all had fractional losses on light volume. I still think I'm going to get stopped out of the GG calls. Either that or I'm going to have to sell them next week. We'll see. GE lost 60 cents on light volume. Mentally I'm doing OK, slept better than lately. Not much else to say on the last trading day of August. As usual I'll go over the charts this weekend and try and come up with some sort of game plan for next week. It will be good to have an extra day to think things over and figure out what to do from here. For now, it's time for a break.

More room to the upside as the Dow gained 213 points on better volume. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 positive. Summation index back to the upside. Short covering? End of the month movement? Beginning of a sustained up move? Plenty of questions. The volume wasn't that good normally but it is the last week of August. Long weekend almost upon us. Gold was up $4 but was much higher early in the day. The XAU had the same price pattern and ended down a 1/4. ABX, GG and NEM ended up slightly down to flat on light volume. The pattern for the gold stocks today was the same as it's been for most of the week. Opening higher and then selling off throughout the day. Basically the gold shares haven't been able to hold their gains. That doesn't bode well going forward. We're getting overbought here as well. My guess at this point is that I will get stopped out. We'll see. GE gained 60 cents on light volume. No trades there for now. Mentally I'm doing OK, haven't been sleeping good lately. I really don't know if this weeks market action is setting up for a fall or if we are going to get to 620 soon on the OEX. Sometimes what happens in September is that we are strong in the first half of the month and then weak in the second half. Or vice versa. The breadth has been very good lately. What's been missing is the volume. That is why it is hard to trust it at the moment. End of the month tomorrow and we'll go from there.

To the upside today as the Dow gained 90 points on light volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. Hard to make much of this weeks action but today looked good for the bulls. I think we'll meander into the weekend but that's a guess. Next week it'll be back to business. Gold rose about $5 today and the XAU gained 3 3/4. ABX and NEM gained a buck, with GG up 3/4. All had light volume and all are approaching short term overbought territory. The GG call trade continues to be positive. It will be a tricky time trying to get out of this thing with the most profit. And I still like it on a longer term basis. I'm thinking about just holding for the long term but the stop loss order remains in place. We'll see. GE was flat on light volume. Mentally I'm feeling better with a better nights sleep. End of the month coming up. The dollar bounced around and ended lower. Oil was up a couple of dollars. Both were supportive for gold. It may seem as though I've been posting a lot about gold lately but it's where I see opportunity at the moment. The OEX has been volatile and choppy. That's a tough trading environment. There hasn't been a clear signal there for me in some time. That will change but it hasn't yet. So I have to focus on what I'm looking at. It changes of course but for now it's the gold shares.

The Dow gained 26 points on light volume. Advance/declines were positive. No downside follow through and that was a positive. It felt more like summer in the markets today. That could be the story for the rest of the week. Gold moved up a couple bucks and the XAU gained a 1/2. ADX and GG were flat, while NEM rose 1/2. Volume was light again. Oil was up a touch and the dollar was stronger. The GG calls are losing time premium as we drift. I've got a stop loss order in. The stochastic looks like it could roll over here earlier than expected. If it does than I'm out and I'll look to buy them back next week. The other scenario would be that we continue to rally here in GG but that doesn't look like it will happen this week. But you never know. GE lost a dime on light volume. Perhaps I'll take a look at the September calls there. If I had the guts I would strongly look at some OEX calls here. But I don't have a clear signal yet. Mentally I'm feeling a bit tired, did not sleep well last night. Trying to do the right thing in the GG trade. The stop loss order eliminates some of the risk, which is important. However there is plenty of time for that trade to work. We're still oversold on a weekly basis. One of my thoughts is that there could be some selling in GG as we close the month and losing positions are eliminated. But that's a guess. Technically it could be rolling over here, short term. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

A downer Monday as the Dow lost 242 on very light volume. Advance/declines were over 3 to 1 negative. No buyers today and a thin market. The summer doldrums did not appear this year. Where we go from here is anybodies guess. It's a tough trading environment. No trades in the OEX on the horizon for now. Gold lost around 8 bucks on the futures. The XAU dropped around 1 3/4. ABX, GG and NEM all had fractional losses on light volume. I still like the volume pattern in the gold shares but that could change overnight. GG calls still in the black. I'm going to try and wait for the stochastic to reach overbought territory. That is the plan. It may roll over before we get there though. It's never easy. GE lost 80 cents on light volume. Nothing doing there for now. Mentally I'm a bit tired, did not sleep well. I was hoping for a slow week but that doesn't seem to be the case with todays action, price wise. A lot of people will be on vacation this week so I don't really know how much weight you can put on the moves. I would not expect a complete collapse here but you never know. I doubt it but that doesn't mean anything. I'm going to try and stick to the plan with regards to the GG call trade but I'm ready to get out if that's what the market is saying. So we'll see what happens.

A summer Friday rally as the Dow gained 198 points on light volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 positive. Are we heading to 620 on the OEX? Perhaps but there is still a long way to go there. The summation index should be back to the upside after today. No trades in mind for the OEX until we see a decent signal. Gold lost ground today, down $5 on the futures and twice that in the after market. The XAU lost 5 points. ABX, GG and NEM were all lower. ABX and GG each shed more that a point. The volume was lighter than lately. The GG calls are still showing a profit. The volume pattern is positive for the upside for now. But we know how that can change. The dollar had a good day and oil gave back everything it gained yesterday. I'm going to look for slow trading in gold next week. GE was up 1/3 on light volume. Would have liked to see it higher since we gained almost 200 points. Mentally I'm feeling OK, slept well enough. So where do we go from here? I suppose that I'm still going to wait for GG to get to the top of the stochastic range before I dump the calls. Unless something dramatic occurs. Perhaps we will take next week to build a better base there. I'll wait on the OEX. I'll be checking the charts over the weekend. For now it's Friday, at the end of summer and time for a break.

We opened lower and closed higher for a one day reversal in the Dow. It gained 13 points on average volume. Advance/declines were negative though. The news wasn't all that great and oil gained over 5 bucks. However the market was able to shrug that off and close up on the day. We broke the daily up trend line a few days ago on the indices but we haven't really seen a sustained down move. I don't exactly know what to make of it so I'm on the sidelines for OEX trading. Feels like it wants to move higher. Gold had a stellar day, up over $20. The dollar was weak today and oil helped support the up move. The XAU climbed almost 8 1/2. That is more of what I've been looking for. ABX, GG and NEM all posted good gains, with ABX and GG both up over $2 on the day. Volume was heavy and continues to confirm the move higher. The GG calls are doing well for now. When to exit is the next question. I would like to wait until the slow stochastic reaches its peak for the gold shares. It's not there yet. GE was up a touch on light volume. Nothing doing there for now either. Mentally I'm doing alright, didn't feel all that well last night. Trying to figure out just what the market is trying to say here. The news continues to be lousy but we haven't sold off that much. There are buyers out there. I suppose I will continue to wait for the OEX to reach the weekly down trend line at about 615-620. Summation index is moving sideways. No clear signal but like I said, it has the feel of a market that wants to go higher, for whatever reasons. We'll see what happens.

An interesting day today as the Dow gained 69 points on good volume. Advance/declines were positive. Bad news from the mortgage industry but we managed to move higher. We were a bit short term oversold but not enough to trade off of. Some data out tomorrow and that's about it for the week. The day was choppy, moving up and down a couple of times. No trades in mind right now. Gold was flat on the day but the XAU gained 2 1/2. Most of it was in FCX. ABX, GG and NEM all had fractional gains on very good volume. I'm seeing what I'd like to see here. The gold shares moving higher with good volume even when the metal itself doesn't do much. That said, we are overbought and a pull back in the gold shares would not be a surprise. The GG calls are still in the black. GE was flat on light volume. Mentally I'm feeling OK. Just trying to get through the rest of the month really. What I mean by that is we've had such a volatile summer this year, that I'd like to see things slow down before everybody comes back after Labor day. One of the facts of the game is that you always have to make adjustments. The analysis never stops and change is the norm. Usually in the summer you can take it easy every now and then because things slow down. That hasn't been the case this year. So if we could move sideways here for a couple of weeks, I'd welcome that. However the market goes where it wants to. That's another undeniable fact.

The Dow lost 130 points on average volume. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative. We have broken the up trend line from the beginning of the rally in July. The McClellan oscillator will be moving into negative territory and the summation index should begin to roll over. We can always snap back to the up trend line in the days ahead. We could always just turn around and head higher also, the way the market has been so volatile. No OEX trades for now. Gold was up $11 on the futures and the XAU rose 3 1/4. ABX, GG and NEM were all higher with GG leading the way, up 1 1/3. Volume was good and that is a positive going forward. I would have liked to have seen the XAU gain more ground in the past 2 sessions but we'll take what we can get. The GG calls are showing a profit. I would not be surprised to see GG move sideways for a while and that would not necessarily be a bad thing. GE lost about 1/2 on light volume. Was lower earlier. Mentally I feel OK, slept OK. Bad news on the inflation data today but we didn't exactly fall apart in the indices. We did break that up trend line though, so we'll see. I doubt gold will continue straight up here, as it did on the decline. Base building is probably in order. I'll have to figure out what to do with the GG calls. At this point I'm leaning towards selling them if a certain profit target is hit and hopefully buying them back again cheaper later on. We'll see.

It was a downer Monday as the Dow lost 180 points. Advance/declines were over 2 to 1 negative and the volume was light. Expiration hangover? Could be. We are back at the multi-week up trend line so we need to hold here or things change. Inflation data out tomorrow but like I said before, it's a slow week for data. Gold had a nice bounce, up $13 but the gold shares didn't follow. The XAU was up only 2 points. ABX, GG and NEM had gains between 1/2 and 3/4. Volume was good for a summer Monday though. MY GG calls are where I bought them. I still think I am a bit early there. The dollar didn't do much today. GE lost 40 cents on light volume. Mentally I'm feeling OK, slept pretty good. I think we may be in a for a 2 week lull here. Which makes managing the GG trade slow torture if I'm correct. There's entering the trade, managing the trade and exiting the trade. I would have liked to see the gold shares move much higher today considering the move in the precious metal. That fact that they didn't suggests that a base building period may be upon us. Or maybe it's just a rest from the recent collapse. Time will tell. I'm out to October but there will be time decay regardless. Looking at things over the weekend makes me think that I'm early there. So we'll see. I'm still going to wait for the OEX to hit 620 to short it, if we get there. Holding up right here is key.

A somewhat mild expiration as the Dow gained 44 points on light volume. Advance/declines were about even. It finally felt like a Friday in the summer. OEX at 599 and no trades on the horizon there. I really think we will slow down until after Labor day. But I could be wrong. Gold continues its free fall, down another 22 bucks. The XAU lost 5 1/4. ABX, GG and NEM were all off 1 1/3 on heavy volume. My overnight order for GG calls was filled. I think I'm a bit early here. There will be a divergence on the RSI if we hold up here but the gold market has the feel of something that wants to continue lower. Perhaps I should have been more patient. I'm out to October so we'll see what happens. I may just sell out and try again at the end of the month. We'll see. GE was up 1/3 on light volume. Mentally I'm doing OK, did not sleep that well. Well, I'm back in another trade and it feels a bit too early. But the timing is never exact anyway. The September option cycle has an extra week so that should keep the premiums a bit higher. Not a lot of data out next week so it could be pretty slow. The volume selling gold has been pretty heavy and I'm wondering how long that can last. Usually longer than you think. The macro picture has changed there also with the recent dollar strength. So why even try the calls? You've got to go against the grain sometimes. The dollar has already rallied. When everyone knows about it, it's too late. When nobody wants something is when you have to want it. So we'll see what happens. I'll be checking the charts over the weekend. For now though, it's time for a break.

The up trend line is holding for now as the Dow gained 83 points on what looks like lighter volume. Advance/declines were positive. Expiration tomorrow. Still in an uptrend as the news today was clearly negative but we went higher anyway. Summation index continues to the upside. I'm thinking things could slow down a bit beginning next week but it hasn't happened yet this summer. Gold was back down over $15 today. The XAU lost 6 1/2. ABX and NEM lost around 1 1/2, while GG dropped over 2. Volume was good but not as much as on the rise yesterday. I'm putting in an overnight order for GG calls again. I really think we are at the moment of truth for gold longer term here. We either hold up and continue the multi-year uptrend or we break down and the game has changed. There is a possibility that the game has changed with a macro shift into the US dollar. We are at a multi-year weekly downtrend line in the dollar index. If we break through on good volume, that will be the signal that things have changed. It could happen. GE gained 1/4 on light volume. Mentally I feel OK, slept good enough. Tomorrow could be an interesting day as well. I'm thinking that the gold shares could continue to fall off here and retest the earlier week lows. We'll see. They could also blow out to the downside and signal a continuation to much lower levels. Time will tell. I'm still going to wait for the OEX to get to 620 before I attempt anything there. On to expiration.

Continuing to the downside as the Dow lost 109 points on average volume. Advance/declines were negative. The Dow was weaker than the overall market. We also came down and touched the near term up trend line and bounced off. So we need to hold on here or the trend will change. Gold came back to the upside by $16 and continues higher in the after market. The XAU gained 8 1/4. ABX, GG and NEM were all higher by 1 3/4 on heavy volume. I'll say that the bottom is on for the gold shares. None of my calls were filled. That's usually the case when the trades are going to work. I suppose I should have made adjustments but it's early for the move. I'll look to get long as we work our way back to test the lows, if that occurs. Oil was higher today too. Another missed opportunity in gold but it's part of the game. GE lost 40 cents on light volume. It lends support to the theory that the decline here isn't going to last. But we'll see. Mentally I'm feeling OK, didn't sleep all that well. So where do we go from here? I will look to get some OEX puts when we get to 620 on the index. It could take a few weeks or it may not happen at all. I will look to get some ABX or GG calls on a retest of the recent lows. So there's a couple of ideas in the works. I'm not saying that I won't change my mind depending on market circumstances. September has an extra week on the option cycle so there's no hurry. We'll see how we close out expiration week.

The Dow lost 140 points today on OK volume. Advance/declines were about 2 to 1 negative. So much for the early week positive expiration bias. We're still in an uptrend though. Oil was lower today and that didn't help. No trades here for now. Gold lost another $13 but is coming back in the aftermarket. The XAU gained 4 1/4. ABX and NEM both up 3/4, while GG rose 1 1/2. They all had good volume. I'd like to think we are putting in a bottom here. I had some orders for calls in but they were not filled. I'm leaving in some overnight orders. The options didn't move much even with the gains of today and that has me puzzled. The gold shares are still very oversold. I think it's worth taking a shot here but it may just be a dead cat bounce. GE lost 1/4 on light volume. Although I haven't traded GE in a while, I still feel it's a good proxy for the overall market. Mentally I feel pretty good, slept well. I'm still making a case in my mind for the gold shares here. They have fallen so far, so fast that I have to believe a decent bounce is going to occur. I could be wrong. And I could be late. I'm going to try not to chase things here. There's also the possibility that we just move sideways for quite some time on the gold indices. 3 days before expiration. I'm also thinking that perhaps things will slow down in the next couple of weeks before Labor day. It hasn't happened yet this summer so we'll see.

More room on the upside for Monday as the Dow gained 48 points. The advance/declines were positive and the volume was good. The positive expiration bias seem to be in effect for now. My thinking remains that the OEX could get to 620 before it stalls. We're around 605 at the moment. Money continues to flow out of other instruments and into stocks. The summation index continues higher also. Gold is in free fall. It dropped $35 today as the dollar remains strong. The XAU fell almost 8 points. ABX and NEM lost over 2 points each and GG shed another buck. Volume was extremely heavy again. Oversold and staying there. I did put in a couple of buy orders for calls but they were not filled. Trying to catch a falling knife here? Probably. You really don't know when the carnage in gold will end. However the dollar has reached the point I expected resistance to come in. I'm going out to October on the calls. The gold indices have reached their 200 day moving averages on a weekly basis. Yes they could just blow right through them but I expect some type of attempt at support to surface here considering how oversold we are. But I could be wrong. It might just be an utter collapse. Gold is following oil and we are just about at the up trend line in oil from months ago as well. Support there should come in at 110 and we are around 115. I will check things again overnight and perhaps leave in some overnight orders. GE was up 1/3 on average volume. Nothing doing there. Mentally I'm doing OK, could have slept better. Not in a hurry to make a trade but I think there's an opportunity here. My guess is the overall market should remain positive for the beginning of the week at least. However I'm looking at the gold shares again. I think going out an extra month on the options will work to my benefit. The media is hyping how strong the dollar is all of a sudden and that usually is at least good for a move in the opposite direction. Dollar strength has helped stocks as money looks to invest in US assets of late. It's also taken gold and the gold shares down in a straight line. That won't last forever, will it?

Up and down we go. Back to the upside for the Dow as it gained 301 points on what looks to be average volume. Advance/declines were a bit over 2 to 1 positive. Still moving higher but this is a tough trading market. Positive expiration bias in effect? Could be. I think it has more to do with the dollar rally as investors look for dollar denominated assets. But that's just a guess. Gold continues lower, down around $15. The gold shares continue their free fall with the XAU off 6 2/3. ABX and NEM off a buck. GG down over 2. Volume heavy again. It's been an incredible drop for the gold shares. I'm still looking at going out to the October calls, perhaps next week. Oil has tanked, off another $5 today. The commodities are seeing money flee and it's finding a home in the stock market. The stronger dollar is the main reason in my opinion. We are just about at what I consider resistance for the dollar. So the time for the gold shares could be upon us. Or not. GE was up a buck on average volume. Its pattern is following the overall market here. Mentally I'm feeling OK, slept well. We have seen a tremendous shift in the money flows in the past few weeks. The question is how long can it go on? Usually, longer than you think. I'm going to have to check the longer term charts carefully over the weekend. No summer doldrums this year. But it's the weekend and time for a break. August in summertime.

Back to the downside now as the Dow lost 225 points on good volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 negative as we got the opposite of Tuesdays action. It makes for a tough trading market. I guess that's why I'm on the sidelines at the moment. Time for the OEX calls again? I certainly don't know and don't think it's worth the risk at the moment. Patience is what I'm calling for. It isn't easy. Gold lost $5 and the XAU fell 1 1/2. ABX and GG were both off 1/2, while NEM eeked out a small gain. Here is where I'd like to make a play and getting long is my choice. However I'm trying to wait until the dollar stops going up as it did again today. I really think that gold is done on the downside here for the most part. However I could be wrong and have been lately. GE lost 40 cents on light volume. No hurry there to try anything. I keep an eye on it as a proxy for the overall market but it isn't the greatest trading vehicle. Mentally I'm feeling OK. Doing my best to not make any stupid moves before expiration next Friday. But you never know. I don't see any compelling short term set-ups at this point in time. Yes, I'm looking at the gold shares again but I'd like to go out to the October options and they're expensive. So it's a wait and see type of approach for now. As I've said I even might wait until Labor Day to make the next trade but that is a long way off. Discipline isn't easy and it's not for everybody. But if you want to succeed in the game, you've got to have it. So I'm going to try and wait things out here and see where that leads.

A bit of follow through to yesterdays big gain as the Dow was up 40 points on average volume. Advance/declines were positive. We were off about 100 early in the day. Money continues to rotate into stocks and the trend for now is higher. Summation index continues higher. The OEX is at 597 and I think we could get to 620 before stiffer resistance sets in. Gold futures lost a couple bucks today but the XAU rose 5 1/2 points. An oversold bounce was due, no doubt about that. However the gold shares were mixed with ABX closing down on the day, while GG and NEM both managed about a gain of a point. Volume was heavy. The dollar continues higher here and gold probably won't do much to the upside while that trend is in place. But I am keeping an eye on things here because we could be forming a bottom in the gold shares. I'm going to give it some time though. GE was off 1/4 on light volume. Nothing doing there. Mentally I feel fine, slept well. Not much time to go in the August option cycle and I don't see any near term trades on the horizon. September has an extra week for the options and premiums will reflect that. I'm not trying to push anything here at the moment. If a good signal for the OEX appears, I'll trade it. Otherwise I may just lay low until Labor Day when all the major players are back. It's been a crazy summer but there's a chance things will settle down in August. Or not.

An explosion to the upside as the Dow gained 332 points on good volume. Advance/declines were 3 to 1 positive. It looks like we are breaking through the daily downtrend line today. That's a positive. The Fed left rates unchanged and the statement was viewed as bullish. No chance to buy the OEX calls now. This summer has been more volatile than any I can remember in recent history. No doldrums this year. Gold continues to get pummeled, down another twenty bucks or so today. Money is moving out of commodities and into equities. ABX, GG and NEM all lost at least 2/12 with ABX down 3. The XAU dropped 7 3/4. Volume was very heavy. No support levels are holding. It is an incredible ride down. The dollar is continuing higher for now and I think that is the main catalyst for the downside move in commodities. GE had a good day, up a buck on average volume. I'm not looking at doing anything there. Mentally I'm doing OK, slept alright. No trades in the immediate future as it stands now. I'm in standby mode, waiting for a decent signal. I'm not going to press things here after the recent debacle. So it's time to be patient with a wait and see attitude.

Monday in the summer as the Dow lost 42 points on lighter volume. Advance/declines were about 2 to 1 negative. The overall market was weaker than the Dow. Fed meeting tomorrow. Everyone expects no change in rates. No good signal one way or the other for the OEX. I'm on the sidelines. Gold dropped another $15. The XAU fell over 7 1/2 points. It has been an incredible straight fall down for the gold shares. They keep getting more oversold. ABX, GG and NEM all down, with the latter two dropping over a point apiece. At some point there will be a snap back rally. These shares are not going to go to zero. I am amazed that they have fallen this much in such a short period of time. But I'm not going to try and guess what will happen. I'm still licking my wounds from the last attempts at trying to call a bottom here. GE lost a touch on light volume. Nothing doing there for now. Mentally I'm doing OK. Less than 2 weeks left for the August option cycle. We should get some movement off the Fed statement tomorrow. Perhaps if we continue to see weakness into the middle of the week I'll get some OEX calls for expiration week. Summation index continues to the upside, which supports the long side. So we'll see what happens with the Fed tomorrow.

Friday in the summer as the Dow lost 51 points. I'm getting a bad data feed on the advance/declines and volume figures. Unemployment rose and we lost more jobs in July. Doesn't seem to be bothering the market that much. No OEX trades for now. Gold lost 5 bucks and the gold shares continued to get hammered. The XAU lost 6 1/4. ABX, GG and NEM all down on good volume, with ABX leading the way off 1 3/4. I thought that the bottom was put in this week but I was wrong again. The selling is relentless as money is just moving out of gold and into the stock market. Or so it seems. The buy signal reading for the gold shares is the highest that I can remember. But it isn't working. I'll need to check the longer term XAU charts this weekend. It could be the end of the bull move there but I don't really think so. GE was flat on light volume. Not trades there but perhaps I'll be looking at some calls there. Mentally I'm doing as well as can be expected following huge losses. It isn't affecting me as it usually does. I'm not really mad at myself. I'm just moving on. Risk control is something that I'll have to address and work on for the next trade. I don't have anything in mind at the moment and I may just take August off as far as trades go. I'm going to check things out over the weekend and go from there. It's time for a break and some relaxation.