Trading and Investing

Gold (cash futures) Yearly: Sky is the limit on this one, untill something happenes here.Let the trend be your friend--there is only one word for it, bull! It is quite likely that we are going to stop and meander between two useful fib levels of 1165 dollars and 825 dollars, when this bull runs out of steam, finally; Quarterly: same here, but the trading zone might be between 856 dollars and 1225 dollars when we finally come to our senses; Monthly: we have breached the first and second upperbanks and is now approaching the third and final upperbank near 1175 dollars. A downturn from ... Read Full Story

So far this week has been generous with our commodity ETFs moving higher, other than natural gas which is clearly in a bear market. Each of the commodity ETF trading charts below is at a different stage and it will be interesting to see how things unfold in the coming weeks. Trading ETFs is very rewarding when done properly; using multiple time frames for timing entry and exit points is crucial. My main focus is on the weekly and daily charts but I use a 30-minute intraday chart when the time comes to actually pick an exact buy or sell point. Below I have ... Read Full Story

(Reuters) - BofA Merrill Lynch lowered its 2010 growth forecast for global semiconductor industry and downgraded ten chipmakers, including Intel Corp <INTC.O>, turning more cautious on the group on expectations of a modest overshoot in global supply chain inventories. "While we believe the correction will likely prove short and shallow, we think any hint of a correction in the supply chain could punish (semiconductor) stocks," BofA Merrill wrote in a note to clients. The brokerage downgraded Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, to "neutral" from "buy," and made similar rating changes to rivals LSI Corp <LSI.N>, Marvell Technology Group Ltd <MRVL.O>, Texas Instruments Inc <TXN.N> ... Read Full Story

Equity markets have been retreating today, suggesting that a near-term trading correction may be underway. Economic data today was mixed with positive numbers, such as UK retail sales (3.4% over year vs. Street 2.9%) and Philadelphia Fed (16.7 vs. Street 12.2) being ignored as investors focused on weaker numbers such as U.S. mortgage delinquencies (9.6% vs. previous 9.2%) and U.S. leading indicator (0.3% vs. Street 0.4%). Considering that the U.S. numbers are all generally considered to be second-tier data, this response suggests that a number of investors may have been looking for a reason to lock in profits after recent market advances. We have ... Read Full Story

Crude oil was lower due to profit taking overnight as it consolidates some of this week's rally. Stochastics and the RSI are turning neutral signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near term. Closes below last Friday's low crossing at 75.57 would renew the decline off October's high. If December renews this week's rally, the reaction high crossing at 81.06 is the next upside target. Friday's pivot point, our line in the sand is 78.69 First resistance is Wednesday's high crossing at 80.23 Second resistance is this month's high crossing at 81.06 First support is the overnight low crossing at 76.91 Second support ... Read Full Story