It's really simple.
Tomorrow morning, the CPI will be released. The market will react. If it reacts poorly (which means down, which is a good thing), it's party time. If it finds the report vigorous and exciting for some reason, that's a bad thing for us. Because, simply stated, today made a lot of sense to me, virtually all my positions went up, and all my charts are positioned for juicy profits tomorrow. But a perverse reaction to the CPI could muck that all up in no time.
I said last week that Massey Energy (MEE) was looking like a good short, given its head and shoulders pattern. One person wrote in that evening's comments section.....
I'd stay away from shorting MEE... One of these Merger Monday's it's name is going to be on the "acquired list" and that's going to suck for anyone short it. Crappy management, but great reserves, and the coal bidness ain't going anywhere soon....
Denied. Again.
Yes, as I mentioned yesterday, the risk of the markets bouncing off their trendline was definitely there. The inflation rate (once you take away such non-essential luxuries as food and fuel) was low, and more signs of a worsening economy (anemic retail sales) had the perverse effect of pushing the markets higher.
So today might have been a turning point, but it was example eight thousand and twelve of false hope (e.g. yesterday's short, sharp shock).
It's hard to tell which way is up anymore. You could look at the Russell right now (intraday graph) and make a good argument for yet another bounce which is just getting started.
Using the same graph, you could also show a very plausible dome, indicating a market topping. Search me. After 11 months of banging my head against a wall, I'm as open to suggestions as the next person.
I'm going to have a lazy day and offer you some good weekend reading. Most of these links came from thoughtful readers, whom I would like to thank. I always welcome interesting reading, so feel free to post links in the comments section as you come across it.
Liquidity Boom and Looming Crisis from Asia Times
A Bear Market This Year? by Sy Harding, who also wrote this
The Great Crash of 2009 from the Interactive Investor Blog
The Bubble Hall of Fame
Dancing Bears