Monthly Archives: February 2021

Changing Hands: Bonds

February 28, 2021 By in Bonds, Dow 30, Nasdaq, S&P 500, TLT, Van Metre

The financial press is rolling out the usual suspects; bonds yields are going stratospheric and hyperinflation’s just around the corner.

A more likely view, one that’s actually based on reality, the price action itself, bonds just changed hands; from weak to strong.

Those selling or going short bonds (weak hands) at this juncture are potentially left holding the bag in a big way.

Taking a trip back in time to Livermore’s day (Reminiscences), he stated time and again, the large speculators could not enter or exit their positions at will.

They needed to have some kind of ‘event’ with heavy volume so that it would mask their moves.

It looks like we just had such an event.

The weekly chart of TLT, shows two major volume spikes. One where bonds reversed lower and now … a potential reversal to the upside.

We’re dealing with probabilities and over two-hundred years of market activity (since the Buttonwood tree).

Huge volume spikes have significance. They typically signal a pivot or the start of one.

Using that reasoning, we may have seen confirmation of rotation not only in bonds but the markets themselves; The S&P, Dow, Nasdaq are pivoting lower, with bonds and the dollar reversing higher.

Summary:

The futures market opens in a few hours. It’s typically a light-volume affair for bonds.

At times, Steven Van Meter presents in his updates how bonds have been typically slammed lower in the overnight.

That type of action has been going on for months. We’ll be looking to see if there’s a change of character.

Stay Tuned

Charts by StockCharts

Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.

Real Estate: Downside Targets

February 27, 2021 By in DRV, IYR, Jerimiah Babe, Positions, Real Estate, Van Metre

IYR has reversed with a decisive ‘outside-down’ week.

This sector has likely seen its highs for the year and probably its all-time (recovery) highs.

The latest news from Steven Van Metre does not paint a good picture for the economy or the markets (bonds excepted).

Jerimiah Babe (J.B.) has also posted an update on Los Angeles. It’s a human and economic tragedy. Unfortunately, this is where the Cadillac has gone off the cliff.

We’ve continually held to the stance, there’s no recovery.

The “recovery”, is a mainstream narrative intended to keep the herd focused in the wrong direction and on the wrong things.

Judging by the hysteria with small cap short squeezes, physical silver and bitcoin (kind of hard to access when the power goes out), the promulgator to the proletariat, the mainstream media, has done an excellent job.

In fact, that is their job.

Interest rates might only need to stay elevated for a short while (a few weeks) to completely choke off any semblance of economic activity.

After that, collapse is likely to feed on itself. Even if rates eventually go back lower, it’ll be too late. The juggernaut has been set in motion.

This week had IYR posting outside-down. That in turn, added a print to the P&F chart which helped to complete a downside forecast.

Reaching the target levels puts IYR below all recent support. That support would then become resistance for any upside counter-trend action.

Ultimately, we’re looking for IYR to go below 2009, lows.

If that happens, it could take months or years. P&F charts are independent of time. They only show potential.

As provided in earlier updates, my firm is positioned heavily short IYR via DRV (not advice, not a recommendation).

From here and depending on market action, the plan is to increase that short until volatility prevents further, low risk entries.

As always, anything can happen and next week could be a miracle reversal. If so, we’ll assess price action at that time.

Stay Tuned

Charts by StockCharts

Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.

Real Estate … Implosion?

February 26, 2021 By in 1987, DRV, IYR, Real Estate, S&P 500, SPY 2 Comments

Watching J.B.’s (Jerimiah Babe’s) Los Angeles walkabouts, proves commercial real estate’s already imploded.

The instant the linked video starts, we see the root of the problem.

Neo-feudalism.

Of course, it’s all part of the plan but that’s a topic for another time.

What’s shown in J.B.’s video(s) is that one after another, commercial properties are boarded up and fenced off.

One might think it’s only progressive utopia California that’s having a rough time; taking a look at comments to his videos shows otherwise.

Just one example taken from the video link:

“Even if the U.S. lifted all lockdown restrictions 100% TODAY, I still think for many companies, its too late.”

The economy is not coming back … not in our lifetimes anyway.

No matter what happens, re-building will take many decades. Even so, the destruction has to be completed first.

We’re nowhere near downside end (economy, markets or otherwise).

On Thursday you would’ve thought from the news, we just collapsed by 50% or more. In fact, the S&P (SPY) was only down -2.41%.

Think about what happens we get the hit … that does not come back.

As early as May 12th of last year, this site began to note the similarities of the markets to August of 1987. In retrospect, that post (and the ones that followed) seemed a little premature.

It’s a different story now.

Markets even more extended; bond rates higher.

Throughout the years, going back to the early 1900’s, the professionals always preferred down markets. Profits (and fortunes) can be made much faster and with more reliability.

Fear is much easier to gage (on the charts) than greed.

With that in mind, we can look at real estate with a clear head and assess the opportunities.

It turns out, not only has IYR got itself into a terminating wedge, it’s doing so at Fibonacci time frames.

During the past six-weeks, my firm (link here) has been positioning in and out, and back in, several times using short fund DRV (not advice not a recommendation).

Just yesterday, before IYR broke decisively lower, that DRV position was increased to its maximum level thus far.

Obviously, a new high in IYR is not anticipated. The reason for selecting real estate as a strategic short (unlike the LABD swing trade) is for the downside potential.

Inverse leveraged funds work best during a sustained, directional move. It remains to be seen if DRV was a good selection; not only for a trade vehicle, but for the anticipated collapse in real estate.

Stay Tuned

Charts by StockCharts

Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.

Biotech: Downside Analysis

February 25, 2021 By in Biotech, IBB, LABD 2 Comments

The short position in biotech is active and now has downside targets.

These updates are an example of letting the market itself determine the (trading) course of action.

Yesterday, we said that price action itself will identify the stop on the short position.

We’re using LABD (3X inverse, IBB) as the trade vehicle; not advice, not a recommendation.

Looking at the daily chart of IBB, we’ve got what appears to be a Head & Shoulders top.

Two sessions ago, the neckline was completed. Yesterday, was a counter-trend move.

If we’re in an H&S top and that neckline is penetrated, it sets up a measured move target.

Getting back to the short on LABD. Our stop is yesterday’s high in IBB which loosely corresponds to the low of LABD (approx: 17.19).

The market itself defined the stop.

Now, we’ll follow this trade to its conclusion. The plan is either to stop out or exit at the IBB lower target.

Pre-market activity, LABD trading higher at about +1.00%.

Charts by StockCharts

Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.

Biotech Short, Revisited

February 24, 2021 By in Biotech, IBB, LABD, S&P 500 1 Comment

So, the biotech short via LABD got stopped out last session.

Even though price action by its own behavior early in that session said to exit (at the highs), the position was maintained for the sake of argument.

The original stop was set at LABD 18.35, which was the 4-Hour low, noted yesterday.

Late in the session that stop was hit.

The overall sector (IBB) remains in a reversal with both daily and weekly MACD momentum indicators pointing lower.

In fact, Weekly MACD has a double bearish divergence in the histogram with MACD lines about to cross to the downside.

Putting all that together, expectation for inverse fund LABD is to head higher after yesterday’s counter-trend move.

Once stopped out (at LABD 18.33), LABD was re-established at a lower price (not advice, not a recommendation).

That entry price is on the weekly chart below:

We’ve switched to a weekly chart to show there are two other times in the past year, where LABD had three weekly up bars in a row.

Those reversals had narrow ranges and thus were quickly negated. This time it looks different.

The current bar is not complete but with the overall market (S& 500) at extremes and ratcheting lower, probabilities are high LABD will close higher for the week.

As for setting the stop on the new position, we’ll let the market decide.

Counter-trend action in the early session is usually over by 11:00 a.m. EST.

We’ll look at LABD at that time. Till then, hard (emergency) stop is located at the weekly LABD low of 15.96

Stay Tuned

Charts by StockCharts

Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.

Trading Tip: Trailing Stop

February 23, 2021 By in Biotech, IBB, LABD, Wyckoff 1 Comment

Here’s one method to use for a trailing stop; Have the market itself tell you were it goes.

The reason brokerage trading platforms have so many options with an endless list of indicators, is that’s what the (retail) public wants.

It has nothing to do (as usual) with what works best.

Wyckoff himself said the market defines the course of action. The “tape” as he called it, was the master for decision making and no other.

Let’s look at what the tape is saying about LABD, the 3X inverse EFT of Biotech (IBB).

The sector has already been traded profitably last week. Shown on the chart below is another entry. Also shown, is what may be the most efficient method for stop placement.

For LABD over the prior weeks, we could have extracted a large part of its move using a trailing stop based on the 4-Hour chart.

LABD itself has defined that 4-Hour looks best at this point in time.

So, that’s what we’ll do (not advice, not a recommendation). The stop will be at the nearest 4-Hour low (currently, 16.27).

At mid-session today, we’ll move it up to the next 4-Hour low and so on until stopped out.

Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.

The 2021 Top

February 22, 2021 By in 1929, GME, Holiday Turns, S&P 500, SLV, SPY, TLT

Empirical data shows market tops tend to occur before, during, or just after a holiday week.

Probably the most famous market top, was September 3rd, 1929.

That top was the Tuesday following the Labor Day weekend.

Now, we have another potential Tuesday top; February 16th. The Tuesday following the President’s Day Weekend.

While shiny object distractions abound; Game Stop (GME) hearings, Silver (SLV) squeeze, Bond (TLT) rout and more, the market may have quietly and without fanfare, put in the highs for the year.

Judging from the internet and YouTube chatter, everyone’s expecting some type of immediate crash.

Well, since everyone’s expecting it, it’s not likely to happen. Or more accurately, not the way anyone expects.

The last meltdown about a year ago was pretty much a straight-down affair. If we’ve seen the highs, what happened last time won’t happen this time.

That leaves at least two options:

  1. Gap down 15% – 30% or more, overnight.
  2. Slow, grinding decline, hardly noticeable until one day …

The chart of SPY below shows a possible Head & Shoulders, top formation. It’s still very early in the chart as even the head of the pattern’s not yet complete.

Nonetheless, it’s important to be ahead of the game and anticipate the next moves of the market.

Note the volume’s tapering off as we get into a possible head formation. If there’s to be a Right Shoulder, a textbook case will have volume fall away even more.

It’s about a half-hour to go before the open. SPY is trading down -0.65% to -0.80%, while TLT is unchanged.

If TLT makes a new daily high above 144.32, it’s a good sign we may have seen the bottom of that market.

Stay Tuned

Charts by StockCharts

Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.

Finally, Inflation Shows Up

February 21, 2021 By in Bonds, Food Supply, GLD, GOLD, Gold & Silver, S&P 500, Solar Minimum, SPY, TLT, TMF

Its been nearly twelve years exactly since the market bottom of March 9th, 2009.

At that time gold tracking fund GLD, was trading around 90.

Today, it’s at 167, a gain of about 85%.

Gold futures for April ’21, closed this past Friday at 1,777.4

Either way, it’s a far cry from the $10,000/oz. that has been bandied about for what seems like forever.

Prices for energy and food are rising because of reasons not discussed in the financial media.

That media is certainly not going to educate the public.

In turn, that public has shown there’re certainly not going to educate themselves. If they were awake, news channel ratings (in the link) would be at zero.

Unfortunately, this time around, the game’s up.

The ongoing collapse will decimate those who refuse to wake up and will probably take some of those who are, with them.

Which brings us to the so called inflation, at hand.

What can be said? We can call it lies, misinformation, propaganda but none of those really get to the root.

Input prices are rising not from inflation, but from supply constriction and disruption.

For example, the corporate (big-Ag) food supply chain as reported on many times, is intentionally being destroyed. The result of course, prices go higher.

We’re also in a quiet sun-cycle period that only serves to help with (cold) weather extremes. The only discussion from the media concerning the weather is that’s it’s getting warmer, right? Opposite of reality.

So we’re taking that ‘opposite of reality’ as a contrary indicator.

Whatever inflation we’ve got after nearly twelve years, is probably at or near a peak … ready to head lower.

That includes the market as well. The likely outcome:

Market down, bonds up.

The daily close of long bond TLT, has it in a support zone. One attempt has already been made to position long via TMF (not advice, not a recommendation) as detailed in this report.

Once again this past Friday, another TMF entry.

Both bonds and the markets (i.e. S&P 500) are at opposite extremes. The risk of loss in bonds may have reached its nadir.

Charts by StockCharts

Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.

Biotech Short Nets 8.2% Gain

February 20, 2021 By in Biotech, Bonds, LABD, TLT, TMF 2 Comments

At this juncture in the market, trades are only to the short side.

The one exception is the bond market.

With everything stretched to never-seen-before extremes and ready to break at any time, bonds are in position to rally.

This short-story of the biotech short actually begins with a bond loss.

Going back in time a bit; on Friday the 12th, a long position was opened in bonds via TMF. That action was documented in this post.

Then, we had the holiday weekend and the Texas freeze.

These posts are originating from a location near Ft. Worth Texas, where temperatures reached a low of -3 F.

At the office, we have backup power and physical (hard-wire) connection for internet. Both systems operated well as main power was cut repeatedly over a three-day period.

Those conditions are mentioned because at the open on Tuesday the 16th, transmission, execution and update times on trades were affected.

A potential harbinger of things to come.

Imagine a nation-wide outage where the market’s down 15-20% and still collapsing. All the while, trade platforms are locked-up with brokers inundated.

During that open on Tuesday, bonds (TLT) gapped-down which was unexpected. Inverse fund TMF was immediately down about -4.5%.

Overall, the bond market is still in position to rally. However, the open on Tuesday said ‘not yet’ and we’re not going to change the trading strategy to one of ‘hope’.

With trade execution times slow (minutes, not seconds), by the time a confirmation came in from the broker, exit on the position posted a -5.2% loss: A dent in the account for sure.

At the same time, we’re monitoring a large set of equities and markets.

So, the immediate task at hand was could that hit be mitigated quickly. Was there an opportunity in another market for gain?

The short answer was yes. It was in biotech to the downside.

Price action on the platform was slow to update. However, it was clear from what was available, shorting biotech via LABD was high probability.

That’s what happened. Entry was at LABD 14.73, about ten-minutes into the session.

Obviously, under the conditions, stress level during re-positioning was high. Temperatures in the trading office were about twenty-degrees below normal.

It’s hard to say exactly, but sometime as the last trade was being entered or confirmed, main power was cut again.

Subsequent price action on LABD was fast.

By the time we’re halfway into the session, not only has the loss been mitigated but the account is showing green. Good stuff.

The position and the account finished the trade in the green and the rest is history. Entry and exit are shown on the 15-minute chart below.

On the exit and in retrospect, the trade was held for a bit longer than it should have been as there was potential for additional upside.

When it became clear it was not to be, LABD was exited with an 8.21%, gain as noted:

Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.

Real Estate Top

February 19, 2021 By in AMT, DRV, IYR, Real Estate

It’s about an hour before the close and real estate, IYR is struggling to reman above resistance.

Two charts are provided in this update. Weekly and hourly.

The big picture is the weekly.

Resistance at 88 – 90, level is clear.

The second chart is the hourly.

Price action on the hourly can be seen posting above resistance for about three trading days. Then, it reversed lower this past Tuesday, the 16th.

The largest cap in this ETF, AMT remains in its own down trend.

Today, it attempted to move higher but that higher level (around 229.50) could not hold.

At this juncture, AMT (chart not sown) is trading lower near 228-level.

AMT has been discussed previously. Most recent update at this link.

Summary:

Real estate, IYR is testing the attempted breakout higher during today’s session. So far, that test is not able to hold; indicating weakness.

In addition, last week’s up-volume contracted by -65% over the prior (breakout) week.

There is apparently no (or very little) support at these levels.

Market Positioning (not advice, not a recommendation)

I have maintained my firm’s position short this sector via DRV, the 3X inverse of IYR.

If IYR can’t get significantly above resistance during this session, the long awaited IYR top and reversal may be at hand.

Charts below:

Hourly chart of IYR

Charts by StockCharts

Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.