Category Archives: Wyckoff

Biotech, Trending Lower

October 6, 2021 By in Biotech, LABD, SPBIO, Wyckoff

Early Session

The Lies And Reality, Don’t Match

You would think with all the announcements about corporations (forcing) their employees to become ‘fully protected’, the biotech sector would be launching higher.

After all, that sector’s about to get a massive increase in revenue as the major players continue on with their ‘protection’ plan.

Just yesterday, late in the day was this announcement.

Looks like 1,400 non-compliant, undesirables have been dealt with.

Let’s do some math.

If that was 2% of the workforce, that means just for this employer alone, approximately 68,600 (subtracting 1,400 from 70,000) have now received a ‘bonus’ from the company.

If the scientific (real science) estimates are correct, the ‘elephant‘ will begin to kick in within six months and be fully effective (terminal) within five years.

This example is not the only one … Southwest Airlines just announced a similar push; fully ‘protected’ by the end of the year.

With all this good news, one would expect the biotech sector (SPBIO) to be launching higher in an unstoppable rally.

Um, no.

Let’s take a look at what’s really going on with the price action.

SPBIO (and 3X inverse, LABD):

We’re going to use the 3X inverse SPBIO fund LABD, for our analysis.

We’re about 30-minutes past the open and SPBIO, is heading lower with inverse LABD, moving higher:

We’re going to digress just a bit; updating on the ‘alternating’ action discussed in this update.

Price action above, is choppy and overlapping. That’s different from what we see now:

With all that being said, it’s possible LABD, has just confirmed the right side of a trend-line:

As a reminder, biotech (SPBIO) is the only major index that just finished three down quarters in a row.

If current action continues … it’s on track to make it four.

Wyckoff said it a century ago:

‘Somebody always knows something. That something, is reflected in the tape (price action)’.

The lies and reality don’t match. Biotech is losing steam … possibly in anticipation of an ‘event’ of some kind.

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.

The Dollar Ruse

October 2, 2021 By in Dollar, GLD, Gold & Silver, UUP, Wyckoff

What if it’s all a lie?

It seems that its been going on forever we’ve heard phrases like: ‘dollar destruction’, ‘gold’s going to $10,000,/oz’., ‘rampant inflation’, ‘hyperinflation’ and on.

What if (speculated in yesterday’s post), it’s all a lie?

It takes a very flexible mind (technically termed, “neural plasticity”) to be able to wrap itself around and understand the diabolical agenda being played out before us.

The good news is, Wyckoff analysis cuts through all the lies.

Now past a century old, this technique has stood the test of time.

Which brings us to the dollar.

Dollar Destruction: Just Another Lie

Reminder: Way back in late December of 2020, was the first bullish update on the dollar.

The next chart shows UUP, may be in a trend and just about to contact overhead resistance.

We’ll investigate further how UUP behaves if and when it gets into the resistance area.

One thing about the dollar that’s obvious from the chart, it’s not going down.

At this juncture, there’s no dollar destruction.

The dollar and gold are still inversely correlated.

That means continued downward pressure on the metals and upward pressure on the dollar.

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.

Bonds … Kabuki Theater

September 29, 2021 By in Bonds, Livermore, TLT, Wyckoff

Early Session

What Is The Bond Market Saying About Itself?

With all the media press and hype, you would think bond yields have just spiked above 15%.

We have to remind ourselves that everything, that is, every move, every press release, every interview, is controlled.

Controlled for the purpose of “deception” as Livermore put it during an interview with Wyckoff in 1921.

With that in mind, who stands to benefit from the sharp move lower in bonds?

Seems like the obvious answer is, the short-term shorts and the longer-term bulls; especially if the hapless ‘hedge funds’ have jumped on the band wagon to short the market.

Bond (TLT) Analysis:

What Is The Market Saying About Itself?

The sharp move lower over the past four trading sessions, has likely cleared out the weak hands and emboldened the shorts to short some more.

The problem is (for the bears), we’re at a 50% retrace of the March 18th low. In addition, price action has just penetrated well known support.

That puts the bond market (TLT) in spring position.

We can see from today’s open, TLT is gap-higher and now, just below the support level.

We’re at the danger point, where the risk of going long is least (not advice, not a recommendation).

Because the four-day down-draft was so swift, don’t expect TLT to launch into an instant and sustained rally.

There may be quite a bit of testing (if and) before this market heads higher.

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.

Gold (GDX) Bulls … Exhausted?

September 1, 2021 By in DUST, GDX, GDXJ, GLD, GOLD, Gold & Silver, Gold Miners, Positions, Wyckoff

Mid-Session

Intraday Hourly GDX Reversal: Signs of Trouble?

It took one more day than expected.

With a slight new daily high, we’re potentially at the end of the GDX rally.

It should be noted: The past two weeks of trading have stayed within the price extremes of the wide bar posted during the week of August 20th.

This is called ‘inside action’; typically signaling preparation for the next phase … whether up or down.

Note, the inverse fund DUST pushed just 0.02 points (DUST, 19.78) below our stop level (not advice, not a recommendation).

That position was elected to be maintained … we’re still short.

The hourly unmarked chart of GDX is below:

Next, we invert the chart to mimic the inverse fund DUST:

Now, comes the mark-up:

From Wyckoff’s writings all the way back to circa 1910, he discussed ‘shortening of the thrust’.

When net progress becomes less and less … we know we’re nearing the end of the move.

Throw into the mix the high level of resistance at the GDX 33.00, and probabilities favor the downside … upside for DUST (not advice, not a recommendation).

Stay Tuned

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.

Set-Ups, that Repeat

August 19, 2021 By in CAT, David Weis, LOW, Spring-to-Up-Thrust, Wyckoff 33 Comments

Late Session

Wyckoff: ‘Spring to Up-Thrust’

Years ago, while reading one of David Weis’ daily updates, he made a comment to the effect:

‘I can’t count how many times I’ve seen a spring, go straight into an up-thrust’.

His observation stuck with me through the years. Being the engineering type, I naturally wanted to know why.

Why does that market observed phenomenon occur?

Pursuing the question from a data perspective, it became clear that finding an answer, would be a never-ending quest.

I abandoned the ‘data’ idea; but the question lingered.

During that time, observation of the markets proved Weis’ point. Some markets tend to go straight from ‘spring to up-thrust.’

One example that’s taking place now, is CAT:

Another example in the potential set-up phase is LOW:

The reason for the phenomenon remains open. Obviously, the market’s going to go where there are orders.

It’s likely, under the right price action and psychological conditions, when support is penetrated enough (amateur) participants sell and then sell short.

Those undisciplined traders continue to move their stops higher (against their trade) as the the market moves higher; ultimately taking them out at the up-thrust top.

How do I know this? Because that’s exactly what I used to do.

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.

‘When’s the next Bear Market?’

August 17, 2021 By in Biotech, IBB, Jerimiah Babe, LABD, Livermore, SPBIO, Wyckoff, ZeroHedge

9:47 a.m., EST

ZeroHedge Report Acts Like It’s Not Here

Jerimiah Babe says “Have You Looked Outside?”

If the mainstream media is good for anything, it’s the ability to keep the herd, the retail, (Robinhood kids, et al.) fully distracted until it’s absolutely too late for action.

Even though this report from ZeroHedge gives all kinds of ‘signals’ saying we’re not there yet; It even goes as far as showing there’s no yield curve inversion. Of course that means ‘no risk’ of bear market.

Then going on to say, ‘None of these measures indicate a bear market is near’. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up.

What’s the table above (yesterday’s close) say about what’s really going on?

At this point it’s obvious the media are not going to discuss the on-going bear market in biotech, SPBIO.

Doing so, would require some kind of investigation as to why? That would open Pandora’s box and have everyone digging for truth … something to be avoided (censured) at all costs.

Amateurs always want (need) to know why.

Livermore was never concerned with the why. He looked for ‘what’. What is the price action doing now or what is it likely to do.

As Wyckoff said, ‘the why always comes out later … after the fact’

‘Why’ is a useless trading strategy.

However, in the case of biotech, we can take a good guess what the ‘why’ is all about.

Fall and Winter are very close now. As this interview with Stew Peters reveals, Fall and Winter are when we get the real picture of ‘side effects’.

Biotech is ahead of the pack on the downside and for good reason.

Positioning:

Positions have not changed except for additions of LABD as SPBIO declines and LABD heads higher (not advice, not a recommendation).

As a reminder, this site’s not interested in day trading or even swing trading unless that’s all the market offers.

No, we’re interested in positioning strategically.

This type of trading is modeled after the host’s twenty-four years of experience with aircraft flight test and certification.

A typical project would take five to seven years to complete; have a near infinite number of complex stages along the way with each one a profession unto itself.

At this juncture, biotech may be poised for the largest implosion ever seen in market history.

Stay Tuned

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.

Livermore, Wyckoff, & Loeb

July 24, 2021 By in Biotech, BIS, DUST, GDX, GDXJ, Gold Miners, IBB, JDST, LABD, Livermore, Loeb, Wyckoff 1 Comment

Buffett’s not on the list

After thirty-four years of researching the markets, focus has narrowed to three masters from the early 1900s; providing a solid framework for addressing the markets of today.

More detail on these masters can be found at this link.

Summarizing their knowledge as follows:

Strategy, Tactics, & Focus

This update demonstrates how those tenets are being implemented.

Strategy:

In Livermore’s fictional autobiography (Reminiscences), he muddled around for years before identifying his niche.

That is:

‘What’s going to (or what’s likely to) happen in a big way.’

That insight has been used to identify the biotech sector as ripe for complete (and well deserved) implosion; more so than any other sector in the market.

For many months, the case continues to build for collapse.

Here’s just one more brick in the wall; providing even more support for implosion.

Tactics:

Wyckoff committed his entire professional life to decoding the market and its moves.

He is (as far as available data shows) the father of technical analysis.

Terms like ‘support’, ‘resistance’, ‘accumulation’, ‘distribution’, did not exist before is treatise, “Studies In Tape Reading”, published in 1910.

His bottom line:

Price is moved by a force of its own; having nothing to do (in a causal way) with fundamentals:

‘What is the market saying about itself.’

The biotech sector SPBIO, is tag-teaming with gold miners GDX (and GDXJ), for downside leadership.

SPBIO finished the week down -27.5%, from its February 9th (2021) high; running a close second to GDX, which finished the week down – 27.6%, from its August 5th (2020) high.

From a speed-of-decline standpoint, biotech’s in the lead.

Focus:

Loeb’s brutal admonition was: ‘The naïve, lazy, mediocre, ignorant and the incompetent “diversify”.

His follow-on corollary was: ‘Real market opportunities are few. If one is discovered, it must be used to its maximum extent.’

Loeb’s assessment of those in the market, is not much different from Wyckoff’s:

“The average man never makes a success of Tape Reading.

Right you are! The average man seldom makes a success of anything.” (emphasis is Wyckoff’s).

From the above list, ignorance can be fixed through determination, study, tenacity and the never-ending search for (market) truth.

The others, not so much.

Using Loeb’s tenet, that is, ‘focus’, we’ve taken it and have gone short and continue to go short (not advice, not a recommendation), the biotech sector via LABD.

Summary:

There’s no guarantee the short trade will work out; yielding a significant gain.

Any number of things can happen:

Internet outage, power outage, terrorist attack, supply chain and transportation shut-downs … literally, anything.

However, being short (from a personal standpoint) is better than wringing one’s hands, cowering in fear, looking to the (bought and paid for) financial media to provide direction on what to do in this unstable environment.

Epilogue:

By using the life’s work of Livermore, Wyckoff & Loeb, its been determined, being short biotech (and possibly the mining sector) is the appropriate market stance.

With the caveat that even now, one might need to exit the trade; it still appears at this juncture, the on-going short (not advice, not a recommendation) is the most focused profit opportunity given the current environment.

Stay Tuned

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.

Random Notes

July 18, 2021 By in David Weis, I Allegedly, Jerimiah Babe, Mentoring, Random Notes, Wyckoff, Zig Ziglar

The usual suspects for the week.

No. 1

Let’s start with some comedy

The tree frog on the little boy is the best.

No. 2

So now, it’s ‘Monkeypox’

Of course, it needs to be in Texas

One has to wonder if the Oligarchs are going to make an attempt at lockdown … for our protection. Or, maybe it’s ‘for the children’.

Here’s just a little reminder of how small town Texas deals with community organizers.

Time stamp 0:13.

‘Hey, I’ll bet you I went to a better school than you went to.

I went to Berkeley, they didn’t screw my mind.’

You can’t make this stuff up.

At least in this town, the police are still protecting the citizenry.

Just think about how pissed these ‘Bubba’s’ are going to be when they find out Trump is part of the cabal as well.

No. 3

The boy that cried ‘wolf’

Nobody agrees with everything Jerimiah Babe has to say.

If you’re watching his videos, then you’re there to get some additional insight.

Comments to his uploads are usually friendly and complimentary … or may have a suggestion or two.

However, when you see something like this, it’s the mark of the unprepared; possibly one who’ll be an early casualty in the coming troubles:

But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away;

Noah spent anywhere from 55 – 75 years building the ark (now resting at the base of Ararat).

It was probably good sport to go down and hurl insults (like that above) … after all, nothing’s happened … yet.

No. 4

Plan, Prepare, then Win

Zig Ziglar probably said it best:

‘First, you have to plan to win. Then, you have to prepare to win. Then, you have to actually do the winning.’

The David Weis story from yesterday, is an example of implementing this approach:

First, I planned to win (being mentored by Weis):

The Plan:

What was going to be required to not be dismissed out of hand as unsuitable material.

Dr. Elder (a friend of Weis) had already shown that getting into a trader camp was an application/approval process.

Therefore, getting an audience (with these professionals) was not a done deal … it didn’t matter how much money you had.

I set out to educate myself as much as possible on Weis:

The Preparation:

Weeks before I sent off an e-mail asking if he still provided mentoring, I had memorized his part of the Elder video. Watching his section at least 20-times or more.

I also searched the internet for any technical articles he had published. I came across (and purchased) a two part series on Wyckoff and trading bonds.

That article had appeared in Stocks & Commodities Magazine in the early 1980s.

I purchased the Wyckoff Trading Course that he discussed in the video. My e-mail to him included those facts.

I had done my homework and was serious about the craft.

There’s no doubt, the up-front effort increased my chances of ‘passing’ the interview.

I was prepared to win.

The Winning:

Yesterday’s anecdote is proof of the actually winning.

Towards the end of the mentoring series, Weis asked me if I would give up my spot for others waiting in line.

I did and the sessions were never completed. That’s a story for another time.

No. 5

Ahead of the pack

The anecdote above brings up an important fact that’s also repeated in videos from Jeremiah Babe and Dan, iAllegedly:

Be ahead of the pack.

It may be the entire system of ‘woke’, along with supported and protected stupidity (disguised as ‘diversity’), is about to collapse in on itself.

If so, it will be messy and chaotic.

Being ahead of the pack gives you options. You can take action while no one else is around. There’s no apparent alarm.

Preparations can be performed more easily and without the stress that comes from running with the herd.

Stay Tuned

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.

Psychologically Unprepared

July 13, 2021 By in Biotech, BIS, DIA, Gold & Silver, Great Depression, IBB, LABD, Northman Trader, Sven Henrich, Wyckoff 1 Comment

11:43 a.m., EST

When the break comes … it’s not coming back

Nearly 100-years ago, Wyckoff, stated:

‘If you can’t completely ignore the news and the financial press, you will never be successful in the markets’ (emphasis added).

In line with that, we have this: The very first sentence from this article out of barchart is questionable to say the least.

First:

There is no rapid ‘re-opening’. There never was. There is no ‘pent up’ demand.

Massive credit card usage shows the U.S. consumer has been decimated; using credit just to survive.

It should be (but somehow for some, it’s not) obvious we’re in a controlled demolition of the economy (including the food supply) on a world-wide scale.

Second:

Price increases are the result of supply chain (also, controlled demolition) shutdown not inflation.

Uneducated Economist has probably done the best job of ‘boots on the ground’ work to completely dispel the inflation false narrative.

He called the current and now waning lumber price spike two years ago. That’s how you know who to trust or believe. Take a look at their past analysis and see how it ‘aged’.

Third:

The U.S. population collectively, has never experienced real hardship. Those who made it through the Great Depression have all but died off.

There is no one around to give said population a swift kick in the pants and tell them to ‘suck it up’.

Northman Trader

Sven Henrich has come out with an excellent market update, linked here.

Towards the end of his analysis he states; ‘when the break comes, it will be quick, deep, keep going and most (if not nearly all) will be psychologically unprepared.’

Which brings us to biotech.

LABD Analysis:

Biotech SPBIO, is back as downside leader: Down just over -25%, from its highs in February, this year.

The daily chart of (inverse fund) LABD is below. The market itself is showing us it wants to follow the repeating pattern of trendlines (not advice, not a recommendation).

If the entire structure (from the February low) is actually a trading channel, it’s hard not to overuse the word ‘massive’.

Non Confirmation:

As of this post, the Dow, the S&P and the Composite are unchanged to slightly higher. Yet biotech SPBIO, is down -1.2%.

We won’t know until it’s all over … but it looks like biotech could somehow be the catalyst (along with the dollar and gold?) that precipitates the final reversal in the overall market.

Stay Tuned

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: Now, It Gets Real

July 5, 2021 By in Biotech, BIS, IBB, LABD, Mike Yeadon, The Speck, Vernon Coleman, Wyckoff 1 Comment

Biotech reversal

No one is looking

The only way for price action to even hope of printing a Fibonacci series (daily chart), is when virtually no one is looking.

A quick YouTube search of “Biotech analysis“, turns up these links:

Best Biotech Growth Stock to Buy Now?? : Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Stock Analysis

3 Cheap Biotech Stocks With 100% Upside in 2021

Biotech analyst on CRISPR technology: Early data is very promising

Those three, are the most recent.

Looking at each, none of them even hint things could go wrong.

To be really cynical (and probably correct), the senior trading professionals may know this sector’s at risk of implosion.

They task junior employees to cover it; attempting to talk it up.

Analysis: SPBIO

Moving on to inverse fund LABD, we have Fibonacci correlation on two time frames:

In addition, from a Wyckoff standpoint, we’re in spring position on the weekly and daily time frames.

All of this points to high probability (not advice, not a recommendation) that biotech and specifically the weaker SPBIO, has pivoted to the downside (LABD higher).

Naming Names:

A couple of days ago, we had Dr. Yeadon (former Chief Scientist, Pfizer) absolutely grilling and eviscerating his interviewers, covered here.

Then, we have Dr. Coleman deciding to name, names.

Now, it’s getting real.

With this type of high-level pressure being applied from internationally known and respected (real) heroes, one has to think, it can’t be long before the lie is fully exposed; blowing the entire sector, wide open.

Stay Tuned

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.