Featured Trades: (THE HEAD AND SHOULDERS IS IN), (SPX), (VIX), 1) The Head and Shoulders Is In. Much of the selling that took the Dow down 265 points on Tuesday was generated by a clear 'head and shoulders top' pattern setting up on the charts. This occurs when you see three consecutive peaks on a [...]

Featured Trades: (DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN’..?), (GLD), (INDU), (USO), (FXF) 3) Do You Remember When’¦.? The stock market managed to eke out a modest 29 point gain today, the first time in nine trading days. If it had closed down a ninth day, it would have been the first time since 1978. I remember those [...]

'This is about how long grandpa will work and grandma will live,' said CNBC commentator Steve Leesman about the debt crisis.

Featured Trades: (WHAT THE MARKETS ARE TELLING US), (SPX), (TLT), (TBT) 1) What the Markets Are Telling Us. I spent the morning doing a round robin with hedge fund trader friends of mine trying to figure how we all got this so horribly wrong. I did this as the (SPX) was ticking down to 1249 [...]

Featured Trades: (BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR) 1) Be Careful What You Wish For. Politicians are popping champagne bottles and celebrating the end of cantankerous negotiations over the debt ceiling. I say be careful what you wish for. Let me give you my quickie, back of the envelope analysis of the debt ceiling deal [...]

Featured Trades: (THE DEATH OF THE BOND VIGILANTES) 2) The Death of the Bond Vigilantes. Back in the seventies and eighties, when inflation was soaring well into double digits, the markets were regularly punished by a band of gun slinging traders known as the 'bond vigilantes.' Hard asset prices were running amuck, and there was [...]

Featured Trades: (HOW TO GET A FREE TRIP TO EUROPE)   3) How to Get a Free Trip to Europe. During my recent trip to Europe, I made another startling discovery about the woeful state of America’s 19th century health care system. I needed to get refills on my prescription drugs when I was in [...]

'Who knew the blockbuster this year would be a horror show,' said Tony Crescenzi, market strategist and portfolio manager at bond giant, PIMCO.

Featured Trades: (GDP IS ANOTHER BUCKET OF COLD WATER) 1) GDP is Another Bucket of Cold Water. Another bucket of cold water was thrown on financial markets on Friday with the shocking release of Q2 GDP of 1.3%. The whisper number prior to the release was at 1.9%, and even this figure is far short [...]

Featured Trades: (AN UPDATE ON RHODIUM)   2) An Update on Rhodium. I was recently interviewed by Daniela Cambone of Kitco News, a boutique firm specializing in the online research and trading of metals. I have known the Kitco people for a long time and they are one of the class acts in the hard [...]

Featured Trades: (WHAT THE TEA PARTY DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT THE BOND MARKET)   3) What the Tea Party Doesn't Know About the Bond Market. I have spoken to several Tea Party leaders since the movement sprung up a year ago, and have come to several conclusions. This is a genuine, grass roots movement composed of [...]