Action Points

I hope the market is down hard off the open tomorrow. If it is, I will be taking more profits from the shorts I've positioned myself in over the past couple of months and tightening my stops up on what I keep. Although my sentiment for the long term remains bearish, everything I'm seeing tonight screams a bounce is near / probable. I may be not successful, but I'm going to trade the charts accordingly. Remember, if you want to be a pro, you have to trade like a pro. That means you buy support.....you sell resistance......and you take ALL of the subjectivity out of the equation. When the charts are wrong, their wrong. You take the loss and move to the next one. I've posted a few setups below I've added to my radar heading into tomorrow. If you want to see a full version, simply click on the picture.

It was a very slow week as far as taking on new positions is concerned. Unfortunately, this commonly occurs given my trading style. I've learned (the hard way) that it's absolutely imperative to follow the charts and to not chase or force trades. I became profitable once I realized this simple truth. I feel I'm well positioned heading into next week as evidenced by the setups I'll be watching. Hopefully, there will be more setups that reach the actionable levels I have marked below. I'll try to make a new post sometime during the week if time permits. If you have an interest, sign up for the "Email Service" powered by FeedBurner. It's free, and I think the format is better than the blog.

Breakout Setups (Click on Symbol for Annotated Chart) CLXS Collexis Holdings RURL Rural/Metro CSCX Cardiac Science SOAP Soapstone Networks TRGL Toreador Resources IPGP IPG Photonics ITP Intertape Polymer ODSY Odyssey Healthcare ACAD Acadia Pharma OPNT Opnet Technologies OTIV On Track Innovations PMTI Palomar Medical Tech RRR RSC Holdings DLIA Delia's CHS Chicos FAS LEE Lee Enterprises BSX Boston Scientific HCKT Hackett Group USPH U.S. Physical Therapy VVUS Vivus FOLD Amicus Therapeutics CMRG Casual Male Retail CTCT Constant Contact LRN K12 MNC Monaco Coach GHS GateHouse Media CML Compellent Technologies AWBC American West Bancorp ADVNB Advanta CRA Celera FIRE Sourcefire AXL American Axle BWS Brown Shoe GLOW GlowPoint ETF Setups (Click on Symbol for Annotated Chart) GLD streetTRACKS Gold Trust IAU iShares COMEX Gold Trust QLD Ultra QQQ ProShares RTH Retail Holders SKF UltraShort Financials Short Setups (Click on Symbol for Annotated Chart) MYGN...

I'm not really sure what to think about the market. There's a part of me that thinks we've found a bottom, but the other part still sees too many "toppy" chart patterns. Unfortunately, the uncertainty in the market created by the government has created a far from normal situation. However, I still think there are still an abundance of opportunities as illustrated by the setups below. On the other hand, it may not be a bad idea to sit back and focus on ETFs until there is some sort of resolution. Common sense tells me that market calls will continue to be easier to make than individual stock calls. When you trade the market, the risk is reduced 20% since 20% of a stocks movement comes from the stock itself, while the other 80% comes from the market. By trading the market, the 20% stock movement is taken out of the risk equation. To keep things really simple, I would suggest trading the holders (i.e. QQQQ,. QID, SPY, SMH, DIA, etc.), which allow you to trade indivi...

Breakout Setups (Click on Symbol for Annotated Chart) FOLD Amicus Therapeutics PAR 3Par Inc QCOR Quest Pharma PMTI Palomar Medical Tech TRGL Toreodor Resources AUTH AuthenTec CTCT Constant Contact ADVNB Advanta CML Compellant Tech MNC Monaco Coach CRA Celera AWBC American West Bancorp LRN K12 Inc AXL American Axle BWS Brown Shoe TRX Tronox CC Circuit City OTIV On Track Innovations ITP Intertape Polymer OPNT Opnet Technologies USPH U.S. Physical Therapy HCKT Hackett Group VVUS Vivus ZOLL Zoll Medical QLTI QLT Inc GHS GateHouse Media BSX Boston Scientific PFFB PFF Bancorp DSL Downey Financial PLAB Photronics CRGN CuraGen CSCX Cardiac Science GLOW Glowpoint FIRE Sourcefire JCDA Jacada ARBA Ariba ARTG Art Technology ALLI Allion Healthcare DDUP Data Domain ACEC ACE*COMM MDOR Magnum d'Or Resources ETF Setups (Click on Symbol for Annotated Chart) IWM Russell 2000 iShares SKF UltraShort Financials ProShares SMH Semiconductor Holders RTH Retail H...

The review for the weekend was posted early because of the hurricane in Texas. It appears I live directly in the path so I wanted to get a post in before it hit and I had no power. If I'm able, I'll post additional setups before Monday.