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Update 115: Stock Market-Rosy Prices On Spotty Data=Volatility-Read

October 16 2020 Option Professor Opinions & Observations

Good Day Everybody!….This was a pretty good week for stocks until the last hour of trading on Friday. As we said…the mid Sept highs at about SP 3430 was taken out and we could be setting up for a run toward the SP 3550-3600 area but news keeps coming out throwing water on the rally and we see a RSI DIVERGENCE in a number of the strongest sectors (Dow Transports) that could spell short term trouble. YES! we got great news on consumer spending with the retail sales numbers (we have told you about IBUY & XRT as easy ways to play it for months now). Consumers have gone Shopping which has replaced Entertainment…..are the closets getting full?? Aggregate Households are feeling good with wealth up debts down and savings up but shrinking with all this spending. The annual government deficit is at $3.1 trillion (our ENTIRE national debt was in the 3-4 Trillion range in the 90’s)….it’s a RECORD and only helped in costs by low rates. Also industrial production is negative and the trade deficit is jumping too. You’ve got many record or new highs in all the retailers many with very rich valuations and we still have half the lost jobs from earlier this year still lost (weekly jump in claims)……our suggestion is to remain vigilant as we approach the election…..some believe the upside for stocks is limited in the short term on the frothy part of the market and call options are enormous….does covered calls…collars…replacement trades using calls/spreads make sense…get the facts & decide…if we accelerate thru SP 3420 those odds increase….for now TINA & the Consumer are winning…next week we get EARNINGS from many companies such as BIIB KO COST HAL T VZ CSX TSLA AXP and many more with more to come…Fastly went from 135 to 85 in 2 days (almost 40% drop)…will we see more mutiny as data-prices-election collide? Stay Tuned!

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Stock Market

What’s in store next for the stock market? Are the lows in at SP 3200? In the next 10 weeks (year end) will we see a stampede into stocks? We believe in following the numbers so SP 3420-3363-3300 are keys for us and RSI staying above 50. We told you since July-Aug that Sept-Oct Nov could be VOLATILE months and so far we got our fair share….more to come? Well…chew on these numbers…the 1-2-3 year moving averages on SP are 3150-2998-2913 so could something occur to see a break toward those numbers? We’ve seen NEW highs on SP & Dow Transports with DIVERGENT RSI’s which can be short term problematic. P/E ratios (valuations) have exploded and 2020 targets of SP 3500-3600 have pretty much been reached. So prepare your plan if clouds surface and save some dry powder in the weeks ahead. We continue to believe the barbell approach will endure (tech-growth-value-materials-industrials-epicenter) and we may see a catch up trade soon. Many stocks & ETF’s on our Radar such as BEP BABA LULU MRNA SWKSS ITB FB UPS TSM QRVO AKAM and many more (oil could surprise in 2021).

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Bond Market

As we said…barring any surprises….we expect yields to rise as deficits-currency-et el will send yields up/priced down….something we told you for months and we see Treasury Bond futures sell off from 193 to 175 since March and TLT (20yr proxy for T-Bonds) fall from 180 to 160 similarly. Short term corporates and limited duration Munis have been our call with the exotics of floating rates-preferred-Junk and EM debt added for risk takers. The Fed may WANT longer term yields to rise to steepen the curve and get Banks & MONEY VELOCITY to get going as Japan & Europe get none with a flat curve. That’s our story and for now we’re sticking to it…..we’ll soon see

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US Dollar & International Markets

The Dollar was hanging in there this week not taking out 92 and trying to approach 94…we have told you that the move from 104 down to 90-92 area was OVER and a bounce would occur that would correspond to corrections and consolidations in the markets that ran up (Stocks-Gold-Silver-Euro ect.) So the next big leg up in metals-stocks-ect. and rates will probably need a break of the 90-92 Dollar rate otherwise a surprise move to 94-98 could spell a further correction of size in the aforementioned markets…..On the international front Europe’s got Covid spike problems and more and Asia and EM all are seeing a malaise presently…..again if the Dollars breaks–UP!

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Crude Oil/Natural Gas

Our view remains that the 30-35 area should be worst case for crude oil prices and so far 36 area has held (we are at 40). The rig counts …fracking business…and a cooperative OPEC spells supply controls and with all these cars sales going on…they’re going to drive somewhere and should jet fuel make a comeback we like the upside on oil & oil stocks in 2021 barring a surprise change in the current trends. We stay with best of breed like CVX COP KMI VLO EOG PSX SLB XOM BO RDS.A OKE to play this sector.

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Gold Silver Copper

As we told you when Gold & Silver topped out at $2100 and $30 bucks…we will see pullbacks toward their moving averages and consolidate their advances…this view continues so far this month. Do we anticipate a upside move between now and 2021??…..if we see the Dollar drop & long term rates rise (Inflation & Money Velocity could then jump)….we will add to core positions and ride the next wave which we told you was happening on the break ABOVE $1350 Gold & $19-21 Silver months ago. GDX GDXJ SIL SILJ are all on the radar plus many more….end of the calendar year & the beginning of the new year is Metals Time…..so don’t get caught sleeping at the wheel! Copper still maintaining the 3 buck level…infrastructure & housing…lots a copper used and needed and our buddy FCX (been bullish since single digits) still seems the place to be as long as above 12-14….we have others too

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Soybeans Sugar Coffee

We told you about Soybeans in the $8 area and we thought we could get a run with China buying…we cleared 10.00-10.50 but are stalled a bit now…we thought the recent move opened the door to hit 12 but just under 11 has been the max….prices got extended so a dip was in order….countries like Brazil with a lousy currency may step in and create a competitive pricing atmosphere…staying above 10-10.40 could keep us on track….election?? Regarding Sugar the call to get long when the 50 day 200 dayy MA’s converged at 12.30 was spot on ass we took off into the 14’s…now a bit extended but the trends remain up…if we clear 16 with cause….accelerate? Coffee continues to hold 105 support and if we print above 115-120 then things could get very exciting as they did when we said sub 100 was a steal.

REMEMBER…There is a substantial risk of loss in short term trading and option trading and it is not right for everyone. Consult your brokerage firm/broker/advisor to determine your own suitability. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Use Risk Capital Only

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Update 114: Stock Market-Rising Tide Lifts All Boats-Read More

October 9 2020 Option Professor Opinions & Observations

Good Evening…..This week was a very key week POTENTIALLY as we took out the SP 3363 resistance last week and the SP 3430 resistance this week and participation widened out considerably. Our original view that Sept Oct Nov time frame will lead to VOLATILITY has still played out and our view that a trading range of 3500-3100 is still in play but now we must consider that SP 3215 (61.8% retracement) could be the low and with stimulus and infrastructure either coming immediately or soon after…..that $4.3 Trillion of sideline cash (not counting private equity & corporate cash) is hard to step in front of as we know sellers will raise their offers to the moon if the market will bear it. Lots of dry powder & heavy Short Interest in the NDX. Covid is scary but the FOCUS may not be on CASES but SEVERITY (deaths) We are not totally out of the woods…..household income has been lost & drawing down savings only lasts so long….job cuts (as we told you would happen 6 months ago as corporations re-size for peak earnings) continue at the airlines, Disney, Warner Media, Banks and more. Housing, e-commerce infrastructure, Communications, Digital Lifestyle will remain the themes. However; a peak at bank earnings (loan defaults-Commercial Real Estate) plus retail sales and closing to what could be another Nightmare on Elm Street (A.K.A the Election) looms ahead…..so the barbell approach we’ve encouraged since March remains-Tech-Growth-Value-Utilities-Epicenter.

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The Option Professor Model Portfolio Ann Return (w trading costs): 321.6%

Stock Market

Next week we get earning from the banks and others plus Delta and more stimulus jaw-boning. Looks like B of A is getting into the pay day loan business and we got lots of merger action this week as well…Morgan Stanley got into it with Eaton Vance (is Invesco or Janus next??) while AMD and Xlinx are looking at a $30 Billion dollar deal and some talk of a Exxon Chevron merger but that may be more of the beer talk variety. International Paper IP & WestRock may be ready to profit bigtime on the move to paper shipping materials and as you can see e-commerce delivery just took the Dow Transports to RECORD levels not seen since 2018. This may also confirm an up move for Dow theorists as this piece of the puzzle had been missing. Workhouse is in the finger pointing game as with Nikola about the veracity of some of their data. Our favorite betting stocks DKNG PENN CHDN all are getting hit (DKNG announced a secondary offering-never welcome news) and all should be buys again in the not too distant future but maybe the reduced sports schedules & their nosebleed valuations have caught up to them. Some of the symbols of the recovery stocks on out Radar are TJX DLTR GM UNP CSX JCI BWA ROST SCI IEX GWW WYNN BKNG

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Bond Market

Not much to report here as yields were pretty flat all week with an upward bias. Of note is the % jump in yields has been 50% since the lows and 20% in the recent past…big numbers. TLT which we use to assess long term rates (and where we see the greatest duration risk) closed at 160 and it has broke the 50 Day MA at 164 and intra day broke the 200 day MA at 159.50. So we feel if the markets take off and growth starts cooking…TLT could accelerate to the downside HOWEVER…..the 50 day iss still above the 200 day (164-159) so this could be a garden variety pullback after a huge up move and should we close ABOVE 165 with weaker stock action…forget the bear-get bullish. We favor short term Corporates & limited term Munis but if you want to spike your drink…look to floating rates, preferred, High yield & emerging market debt if you want to stretch part of your portfolio & risk profile.

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US Dollar/International Markets

Europe is in a stall phase as Italy & Spain desperately need help from the Recovery Fund and soon. One of the Europe ETF’s we watch (VGK) closed at 54.50 with the 50day/200 day MA’s at about 53-51 inverted to the UPSIDE so unless we take out 50 maybe the cheap valuations of their shares win out. The BIG OPPORTUNITY overseas could be JAPAN (EWJ) as the Nikkei is flat on the year while the USA is up and Korea (EWY) and Taiwan (EWT) have both made good advances and some believe EWJ will play catch up. Emerging Markets China South Pacific all have been picking up steam. The US Dollar lost steam from last week…we told you a bounce out of 90-92 could go to 94-96 but then a reversal would occur….with deficits stimulus trade deficits and record structural unemployment…can you blame them? So if we hold 92.50/93.00 area (61.8% pullback) maybe we have more upside but the avalanche of printing could spell trouble for the greenback although are the Euro & Yen great alternatives?….No….but Gold-Silver-BitCoin ect.???

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The Option Professor Model Portfolio Ann Return (w trading costs): 321.6%

Crude Oil– Natural Gas

For those of you looking to renewables…a stock we have been keen on this year is BEP Brookfield Renewables which hit a low in March around 25 bucks and now trades 52. We have been telling you our view is that 30-35 is worst case for crude prices and we recently hit 36.50 and now trade above 40 again…we believe next year we will see a demand reversion while seeing RIG COUNTS lower than 2015 & fracking is a rough racket plus couple that with a well behaved Saudi supplier and for the patient the CVX SLB KMI & others may pay off…be careful of XOM who we read is borrowing money to pay the 9% yield…silly. Nat Gas is all over the place…LNG need to get back in the 50’s to renew our interest and a break under 45 could be a back breaker

We follow many ways to play energy….find out at optionprofesssor.com

Gold Silver Copper

Well these 3 had a great week as the Dollar faded and happy days are here again blared out of traders radios. We’ve been bullish copper since 2.50 and FCX since 7 bucks so we’re not just arriving here. We needed to hold 14 on FCX.. we did.. and now more upside. Housing & Infrastructure music to us. Gold & Silver hit short term lows in late Sept and turned up this week as the dollar hit the fade mode. Still in trading ranges with resistance in Gold at 1950-2000 7 the at the highs of 2100. Silver is above the 24 level which is a good sign but resistance at 27-30 looms ahead…..our mining shares GDX GDXJ SIL SILJ all got a bang to the upside…DXY takes out 90-92….we soar.

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Soybeans Sugar Coffee

How did our three bulls do this week?…Soybeans which we told you about since the mid $8 area made NEW HIGHS at 10.80 area and closed at 10.65..if China needs to hit a buy quota—we said the upside could be 10-12 or more. Sugar prices looked great and we said the buy was when we crossed the 12.30 area (50 & 200 day MA’s converged)….this baby closed at 14.22. Finally Coffee which was a favorite early this year…got way overbought…corrected right into our support zone (105-110) pooped back to 112 area for a nice trade but jury still out if that’s all we’re seeing….under 105-get outta town?? After big runs in any markets…always be careful of a reversion to the mean.

REMEMBER —-There is a substantial risk of loss in short term trading and option trading and it is not right for everyone. Consult your brokerage firm, broker advisor to determine your own suitability. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Use Risk Capital Only.

The Option Professor Model Portfolio Ann Return (w trading costs): 321.6%

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Update 113: Stock Market- Will Stalled Leads to Drop? Read More

October 2 2020 Option Professor Opinions & Observations

Hello Everybody….What a Week!!….We had a national embarrassment (the “Debate”)….we had President Trump et el test positive for COVID (reminds me of what my brother Kevin used to say to me “What Did You Expect?)… and we had a jobs report that confirms what we’ve told you for a while…the economy is slowing and so is the rebound pace and the easy wood had been chopped. Comparisons to this pull forward demand we saw is going to be tough and a spike in cases worldwide will not help…..earnings may get people feeling better & so would a stimulus bill…one of the 2 may not happen. From NYC real estate to downgrades by Moody…the turn around has lost steam…add in durable goods report…personal income (spending savings)..manufacturing pull back on top of credit card activity..open table..bookings for hotels and you get the picture…..if we take out SP 3450 (around mid Sept Highs)…we’ll reassess our opinion that the market hit a SHORT term peak and the correction could take us back to the SP 3100-2900 zone…..if we take out the recent lows of 3200 in the next couple of weeks the odds of that scenario coming to pass will exponentially improve as well. So will a stimulus bill & better news on the Virus get us back on the horse… maybe but we’re betting the other way until & if the yield curve steepens.. .the Virus subsides…the stimulus arrives and VALUE take out recent highs. We told you the Sept Oct Nov time frame could be tough and despite the rally which faded Friday…not ready to join the crowded “Pamplona” trade.

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Stock Market

As you know…it is a market of stocks and not a stock market and that was true this week. Mega cap Tech gave up the goose (FB AAPL AMZN MSFT ECT.)…while ZM PTON TDOC did well ass Virus cases spiked BUT we suspect the old story (when the cops raid the brothel everybody goes downtown) will prevail. If we break the QQQ’s….looking for the one-eyed man in the valley of the blind may not be wise. Energy shares got whacked like we’re either going back to the horse and buggy or cruise with the Jetsons…hey guys…stick your head out the window on the freeway..lots of fossil fuel..so when we see Chevron CVX paying 7% plus dividend currently & Royal Dutch Shell RDS.A…we figure blood in the street (not ours) is a good thing. Unusual option activity in DDOG AAPL NVDA & XPEO while stocks like UPS DE BABA DKNG CYRX SONY DIS ROKU were definitely on a radar this week

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Bond Market

The story here is JUNK bond issuance which saw the biggest Sept EVER on record and the 3rd biggest month EVER on Record. Hey.. tight spreads lowest rates EVER and record issuance and if these companies misss on earningss the mosst LEVERAGE ever maybe…how do you think it’s going to end? THe yield on HYG is about 5% and the high in Jan was 88.53…it closed Friday at 83.83…already lost the yield…now it’s trading under the 50 day and could break the 200 day anytime and daily volume off 20% or so…if we are correct on stocks possibly taking a leg down and if we take out 80 HYG investors may be reminded why they call them JUNK Bonds. NYC munis downgraded by Moody’s…the beginning of a stampede with no stimulus?

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US Dollar International Markets

We told you a SHORT term low was in on the Dollar in early Sept and a rally toward 94-98 areas was expected…right on! We also told you the March DECLINE from 104 on DXY also fueled the stock gold silver rally since late March…we also told you the TURN in the Dollar in Sept Upward also sent sstocks gold silver on their REVERSION TO THE MEAN TRADE which it remains in the midst of completing. We told you the Euro was a buy at 110 and a sell at 120 and so far that’s true (closed 117). It may be short term as the FED looks to explode the balance sheet further…but DEFLATION in the Euro zone & Japan is scary as a FLAT YIELD curve does not work as our view is MONEY VELOCITY cannot occur without a steeper yield curve…we don’t have it now but we believe we will in 3-6 mos but Japan & Eurozone do not have a clue. We believe there is a RISK of an ACCELERATING RISK OFF in EM Europe Asia in the weeks ahead especially if COVID comes back strong & the stimulus fight is He on & of course the potential of Election Chaos…hey if the numbers flow the other way…we won’t fight the tape.

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Crude Oil- Natural Gas

Crude Oil tanked this week ass the slowing economic numbers plus the Libya oil flood plus the Virus spike has the bulls on the run & bears controlling the tape…..BUT we believe 30 is worst case pending a collapse of the economy as next year a 40-50-60 print may be in the cards as DEMAND returns and that means oil refineries oils servicing ect may have value here. Natural Gas is a wild ride from 1.75 to 2.75 to 1.75 to 2.92 to close 2.44 OUCH

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Gold Silver Copper

The big story this week was the hit they put on Copper prices as we fell from like 3.07 to 2.83 (17% hit) only to close back at 2.98…..all things considered it hung in there and infrastructure and new home sales & China back in business can’t hurt..our baby FCX since 5 bucks has pulled back..stay above 13.50 & 14 and we say 2021 should be a banner year. The Gold and Silver were in trading ranges with Gold 2100-1900 and Silver 30-24 but those ranges were violated…long term still bull market but lotss of real estate between here and support…core positions hold …extra..WAIT!

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Soybeans Sugar Coffee

As you know we were bullish on Soybeans for months from the 8 to 9 range and felt a close above 10-10.50 could open the door to 10-12 as China demand and other factors could get us going…we went to 1.50 area turned down to sub 10 and closed at 10.20. Now a close ABOVE 10.50 could get our engines going or a close under 9.75 could stock a fork in the Bulls..WATCH The coffee market was one of our favorite this year and for good reason.. below 100 we saw a steal…rally toward 140 now hold the 105-110 area and a second sprint to the upside exists…let the cards come out….Sugar held the pullback support 9 to 10 area then the 11-12 area and busted well ABOVE key averages in the 12.30 neighborhood..we closed at 13.58 so far so good BUT it needs to surpasss 14 to really get trucking and there is a gap near the BREAKOUT POINT at 12.30..retest?? maybe but we are overall BULLISH!

REMEMBER -There is a substantial risk of loss in short term trading and option trading and it is not right for everyone. Consult your brokerage firm/broker/advisor to determine your own suitability. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results . Use Risk Capital only

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Update 112: Stock Market-How Low Do We Go From Here? Read On

September 25 2020 Option Professor Opinions & Observations

Greetings!…Well we told you a few weeks back that we had a BLOW OFF short term top and last week that DECELERATION was upon us and this week we saw strong selling followed by a week end rally. We told you credit card data. open table & hotel bookings were all rolling over and with no stimulus package the risk of those numbers softening is high. We saw durable goods orders roll over this week and while ISM & PMI numbers are hopeful Goldman Sachs CUT GDP estimates for Q4 in half! Let’s face it there is risk to the downside particularly if 3428 SP holds next week as the scary election (Trump may refuse to leave/rigged election/AG Barr at the ready) PLUS the panic to get RBG replaced but no panic on stimulus PLUS a COVID SPIKE in some states & EUROPE reminds us we are no out of the woods. Earnings will be forthcoming and as we told you in MARCH-APRIL…be prepared for surprises on the upside as less employees & real estate would help return to peak earnings. Hey..the long term trends are intact (we told you they were reestablished in APRIL when we got back above 2800 SP (3 yr MA) BUT REVERSION TO THE MEAN is occurring EXACTLY as we said & we EXPECT more to come. The 1-2-3yr MA’s on SP are at 3108-2963-2886 and we believe they are all FAIR GAME between now and year end but we targeted SEP-OCT NOV ass the time frame for this correction BACK toward the mean. This includes any and all OVERBOUGHT markets like we told you GOLD & SILVER would revert back down and it has big time….Again prices could get very choppy between now and the election & thereafter so IF we close up above 3428 we would be encouraged but maybe they would just be running the stops. Could there be an October surprise after rebalancing early next week? Sure…if it has anything to do with vaccines & stimulus (credible) then that would be different but we still have 13 Million on the dole and almost 900,0000 new claims last week….caution is the better part of valor.

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Stock Market

We got a big run in Covid stock beneficiaries late this week (PTON ZM TDOC ect) as the news of a Europe spike in Covid case got traders running with the idea of more cases coming our way and an extension of the status quo. The Nasdaq finished the week positive by we believe more wood to chop at lower levels absent a break in stimulus talk. Lots of stocks to follow-trade including JETS as more money for airlines on the way likely. The cruise lines (CCL ect) got upgraded as well as safe to sail expected soon. Uber caught a bid as we prepare for the Prop 22 vote & sports gaming in on the huge bull run (DKNG PENN WIMMY CHDN) as millennials maybe have found a pastime better than Robin Hood….online & anonymous…just like the want it. Stocks such as TECH PEP QCOM UPS XPO STC TGT Fire eye all were on the radar and vaccine stocks like NVAX & PFE & MRNA (who has certain technology that could unleash 23 more drugs) also got a look and GILD may be a worthwhile value around 62. Speaking of value…that trade hass been put off for now ass trends were broken and resistance held but we will keep an eye on that ball because quality firm & high dividends have value especially if we see the yield curve steepen. CSCO has a PE ratio that’s reasonable and when we return to in office activity then they will shine plus the generate 14 Billion in free cash flow and pay way above 3% dividend. WCLD & CLOU had good weeks as we ran back to tech at the end of the week. Disney Hong Kong opens this weekend so keep an eye on DIS

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Bond Market

The times they are a changin’ in the Bonds as we said markets are reverting to the mean and JUNK bonds have been been retreating for 2 weeks & had their worst week since April. At some point overleveraged (CCC debt was very popular) and the public’s appetite for crazy was going to correct. Defaults rates are at 8% and could go to 12% easy with a stalled economy and the unknown ways things may break (forbearance-stimulus-election). RECORD junk issuance this year and no beta protection in 60-40 portfolios which forces investors to take more risk-accept lower returns or redirect part of their risk % into more aggressive areas (Gold/Alternative Plays).IG short term is insulated ass the Fed is clear about supporting those but the rest (HY-Munis-Preferred Mortgages) may not have such assurrances though they have traded ass if they did. We said still with IG short term corporates and stay away from duration as if the Fed want to steepen the yield curve (help banks) and inflation up/Dollar down…risk & no return.

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US Dollar-International Markets

We told you that the Dollar hit a low in the 90-82 selloff zone and looked to rally EXACTLY what has occurred. We told you the Dollar TOPPED in March and fell 11% which sent Stocks & Gold-Silver & Euro soaring NOW we see the US Dollar hit the short term bottom in early Sept and since Stocks-Gold Silver Euro have been in the FADE MODE. We said if the Dollar breaks 93-94 and maybe goes further to 96-98 it could be a catalyst for a FURTHER FADE International market that benefit from a stronger Dollar and weak local currency (Turkey TUR Brazil EWZ & Mexico EWW) got a bounce but overall Europe’s PMI’s & Banks & Virus spike put them on the outs and Emerging Markets & Asia are fading as our economic numbers fade…the world is on defense as we said it would be in this time frame…if the numbers change-we change but for now FOMO has left the building…not the country.

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Crude Oil Natural Gas

After last week when we got a big jump to the upside..this week was a big nothing in price movement but we closed with a 40 handle. The BIG news was the machete they took to energy stocks in the last 2 weeks which wreaks of give up on the idea of a V shaped recovery and DEMAND returning soon. Best of breed is Chevron CVX with the best balance sheet to survive & thrive and a heck of a dividend north of 7% and so far secure. Keep an eye on this sector & the banks…very unloved very cheap. Natural Gas was a big winner when we spoke about it under 2.00 and a breakout up toward 2.75…we broke 2.50 and tanked toward 1.75 and this week on WED soared out of the blue to 2.75-2.90 area…our buddy LNG needs to break 52.

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Gold Silver Copper

Another REVERSION to the mean story ass when the Dollar turned that panic we saw to 2100 Gold & $30 Silver was OVER. We feel in the months ahead Gold in the 1800-1700-1600 areas and Silver $17-$20 range could be in the cards followed by a nice resumption of the powerful uptrends fueled by monetary base explosion and structural stimulus that will last for years. Copper has been a real soldier comparatively but did break 3.00 this week and our buddy FCX retreated as well (more reversion to the mean). Long term still up trending so don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.

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Soybeans Sugar Coffee

Blood Sweat & Tears sang “What goes up must come down” (were they traders?)…well that was the story on Soybeans as we shaved off about 50 cents off a great run which we told you about months ago. Resisstance was 10.00 & 9.50 on the way up…let’s see if it’s support on the pullback. China is supposed to buy 130 bill in 2nd half of this year to comply with phase one so maybe they’ll be back at the bar after backing off. SSugar; we told you was a go after it got above 12.30 an it had a good week while Coffee hasda a big pullback to former resisstance & breakout point 105-110 and turned up…it could be ready to re-caffeinate the bulls in the weeks ahead.

REMEMBER There is a substantial risk of loss in short term trading and option trading and it is not right for everyone. Consult your brokerage firm/broker/advisor to determine your own suitability. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results, Use Risk Capital Only.

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Update 111: Stock Market- Deceleration Is Here-What Now? Read On

September 18, 2020 Option Professor Opinions & Observations

Greetings Everybody! Our view remains that we are in a TRADING RANGE of 3500-3100 for now. As we told you for week that the VALUATIONS & PRICES were stretched in the Nasdaq & we directed you toward HEDGING strategies like Covered Write/Collars/Married Puts/Replacement Trades. The stocks that were bid up like AAPL TSLA MSFT AMZN GOOG NFLX ect had great jump in sales during the last 6 months BUT Price to Sales has soared & that we have already adjusted to ZERO interest rates…the comps are getting tougher as you look down the road…..in fact indicators like credit card spending, open table & hotel bookings have rolled over a bit and even housing starts were DOWN 5.1% in August…not panic time but pausing time The economy thru the lens of ISM #’s (56) and new orders index (near 70) give a firmer footing BUT almost 13 MILLION people are still getting $$$$ from Unemployment Benefits. As we have told you; the Russell Value versus the Russell Growth Index took out the 1999 highs….this week Russell Value was UP while growth sold off. As we told you…while we see much better values as TECH-SEMIS -MEGA CAP GROWTH-CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY (we we brought to your attention in March & April) as they approach their 200 day/1 year Moving Averages….we believe that the BARBELL APPROACH we said was the way to go REMAINS…(Growth-Cyclicals-Value)….In MARCH we told you the way we come OUT OF THIS is #1 TECH leads the way as WORK FROM HOME ect creates huge revenues for the likes of AMZN AAPL MSFT NVDA ect and with rates at ZERO VALUATIONS WOULD SOAR.. this is Exactly what happened #2 As we normalize the cyclical & the value names would play a serious game of catch up and the epicenter stocks as well.. OVER the next 3-6 months we believe this will happen. #3. We EXPLAINED that companies could return to PEAK EARNINGS much FASTER than any thought as they would CUT JOBS & NOT REHIRE plus cut back on Real Estate expenses (2 huge costs) again EXACTLY as we are seeing now. We said TANGIBLE ASSETS would be king (real estate-precious metals-businesses). You Should Ask….WHAT IS THE TAIL RISK?….it comes back to the value of the DOLLAR. In March; the Dollar hit about 104 during the crash as people rushed to “safety”…then they discovered the INTEREST RATE ADVANTAGE the USA had went out the window when Powell brought rates to ZERO. This led to a 10%+ DECLINE in the Dollar and BOOM there goes Tech & Metals & Real Estate. Around LABOR DAY; the Dollar stopped going down and Stocks & Gold & Bonds have now stopped appreciating. The Fed is TELLING you they will let INFLATION rise for a sustained time and OUR VIEW is that it is because it will happen as CURRENCY VALUE will be determined by factors #1. MONETARY DEFICITS (USA Money Supply is UP 25% more than 4X the NORMAL) #2 FISCAL DEFICITS (USA Fiscal Cliff looks like Niagra Falls) and #3. TRADE DEFICITS (No matter all the tough talk & tariffs-Ours is HUGE). Airlines & restaurants ect will be smaller…what to do?…they’ll RAISE Prices. In the next 3-6 months….our view is investors will WAKE UP and realize that the 10 yr Treasury yield is a joke & that the 30 year Treasury yield is a farce as the economy rebounds and the DOLLAR hits the skid after this short BOUNCE it’s enjoying. The Fed WANTS this in our view because MONEY VELOCITY is TANKING and you can’t get VELOCITY in a FLAT Interest rate structure (ask Europe & Japan how it’s working). Simply put the BANKS need to get involved to get Velocity going which means they need a SPREAD between short rates & long rates….otherwise it’s no good. Did you notice CORPORATE DEBT issuance has soared even on lousy companies BEFORE the election (CCC paper is outperforming)….maybe their higher Earnings can help them handle it….or the Fed gets a facility & buys.

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Stock Market

Lots to talk about here from Zoom to Snowflake & don’t forget the Apple show (though some apparently did). Zoom sales are up 350%+ in the last year and has 150+Million monthly users.. fantastic numbers…but the valuation is equally fantastic…the risk is will it be sticky when a vaccine comes out and how can they keep the pace & grow from the numbers out of the pandemic. Competition has got to be coming from others looking to create new revenue streams. Snowflake has a great story…the AI of cloud as it allows you to analyze and share data while getting insights…all very good for business. Great customers (146 of the Fortune 500 & counting) Great revenues (+133% in recent months) Great early investors ( Buffett & Brad Gertsner ect) Great Management (Frank Slootman-brought Digital Domain & ServiceNow to market/Partnerships (Salesforce)……so what’s not to like?? Well the price came out at 120 and rose to 319 down to 215 and went home at 240 so a wild ride it has been ass 100-150X Sales is a tough valuation. Other news was on Ford (new plant makes EV’s like the F150)…also Fed EX which is hiring 27%+ more than last year for the holidays and some say they could score big with VACCINE distribution. Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B is liked for some as when we turn the corner Buffett has got the AAPL/best insurer in the land/energy/banks /Japan rebound and a huge cash pile. Also Face book at 240-245 & APPL 85-95 area has bids plus Boeing who got news hammered (1000 cancels on Max) supposedly is near 150-158 support. Industrial names like Emerson Electric & Honeywell are worth a look as well as CPRI & OLN & DAVA. Too much to include here…so its time to go to optionprofessor.com and submit your email to learn about access to more.

Bond Market

We have had the view that the ETF’s on fixed income have been very overbought and would pull back closer to their moving averages and in the last six weeks they have done just that with TLT fading from the 172 to 162 and now have a number of moving averages crossing over. Longer term we see longer term rates rising as the recovery expands and the value of the Dollar resumes it’s secular bear market by year end. We have ETF’s we focus on to get income and ones we would suggest you avoid like the plague…to find out more go to optionprofessor.com and submit your email.

Us Dollar/International Markets

The Dollar rebound continues albeit mildly…if the DXY breaks above 94…look out below on the markets that rose in part due to a weak Dollar. We believe a break ABOVE 120 on the Euro could spell 125 but the Yen & Can$ remain subdued…some believe the AUS $ could make a run at parity if it breaks ABOVE 75-80 over the longer term….we’ll see how that unfolds. On International markets …most were on the defensive China (FXI) Europe (VGK) Asia (VPL) and Emerging Markets (VWO)…following the USA for now.

Crude Oil/Natural Gas

Lat week we told you the Saudis were discounting…this week they’re scolding OPEC…one the better performing sectors this week was energy (VDE) before pulling back…their remains short term DEMAND fears…we stay with our call….30-35 worst case downside and big cyclical appreciation as we get a more expansive recovery in the year ahead….again not enough room here to cover the ETF’s on both Oil & Nat Gas (which pulled back as we told you 2 weeks ago after overbought big up move) so simply go to optionprofessor.com & learn how you can subscribe to our Focus List.

Gold Silver Copper

The precious metals remain range bound with Gold 2100-1900 and Silver 30-24 meandering back and forth…if we break 94-95 on the Dollar Index..what we said for a while is that SEPT-OCT-NOV could be dicey for both Stocks & the Metals…..we saw a print in the 1800’s already during the decline ….can’t rule out a 1600-1700 print in the next period ahead. BUT longer term is a horse of a different color so we have a list of Gold & Silver stocks & ETF’s that we told you about in March April BEFORE they ran….Kinross just paid their first dividend in 7 years…get over to optionprofessor.com & learn about how to get our Focus List in metals. Copper is a Goldman Sachs favorite (Readers know it has been ours for 6 months!)…and our buddy FCX hit 17.50 this week…our bet since 6 bucks.

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The Option Professor Model Portfolio Ann Return (w trading costs): 515.4%

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Soybeans Sugar Coffee

The Soybean trade we told you about for months (remember the reference Waiting for Godot) is staring to accelerate as it looks like China is trying to help Trump get votes in the Farm Belt (along with his Billions in giveaway money) and he’ll call off the dogs a bit. we jumped to 10.43 this week and we brought thiss to your attention in the $8 range…not bad. It’s getting OVERBOUGHT short term but when beans go sometimes they go nutty…we felt a break above 10 could open the door to 10-12 window…RSI’s very hot In the Sugar trade.. we told you that the moving averages came in at 12.30 area and we could accelerate on a break above that area…this week we did and we closed near the highs…a close above 13.20 would be powerful but staying above 12-12.30 bodes well for the future. Coffee was a darling earlier this year as our focus list had us bullish in the 95-110 area BEFORE the move to 137….the break UNDER 130 put a fork in this one ….now our view at 113 is that if 100-110 hold…maybe it get back on the horse…..

Remember There is a substantial risk of loss in short term trading and option trading and it is not right for everyone. Consult your brokerage firm/broker/advisor to determine your own suitability. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Use Risk Capital Only.

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The Option Professor Model Portfolio Ann Return (w trading costs): 515.4%

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Update 110: Stock Market-Wait!! Buying ReLoad Coming-Read More

September 11 2020 Option Professor Opinions & Observations

Welcome Back!..We told you in prior updates recently that Sept-Oct Nov could be a time of sizeable re-valuation and a reversion to the mean (50-200 day moving averages) and that is EXACTLY what is happening. Will there be more to go? Well here is our view…..there are 2 ways the market is much more interesting to us. #1 is we go down and values are much much more compelling or #2…they start taking out the monthly highs indicating we’re back on track….otherwise making a decision in a trading range is foolish… and that is exactly what we are in right now…a trading range. Th election is coming up and who knows what story will be bought…the story of “The Greatest Economy in History of the World”….which included a 40% tax cut used for buy backs….news jobs that were lost & didn’t pay much….the America First baloney where we had a $63 Billion dollar deficit with China & an $11 Billion Dollar deficit with Mexico and in 2018 & 2019 the combined trade deficit with china was $764 Billion. No complaints that money hasn’t been EASY from the FED…1/2% T-Bills & 44% of GDP injected by some “creative” moves by Mnuchin & Powell to “comply” with The Fed Act 1913 forbidding the buying of exactly what is being bought by the “facilities”. On the other side you’ve got an alternative to whatever the heck has been going on….Trump’s scorecard has been the stock market so one would assume all measures short of outlawing selling will be done to get a rally pre-election. On the other side…who cares…the Fed calls the shots and if Powell sticks with Buy American Stocks…we should rally after the election. Stats like 52% of young adults live with their parents bodes well for housing. The 5G stampede is coming and NVDA (big data/gaming) Broadcom Qualcom are not bad fishing lakes in the next 2 months….Bill Ackman’s Pershing Sq’s portfoio seem confident in the future (Lowe’s QSR CMG Agilent ADP HHC MDLZ ZTS Freddie & Fannie ect). Nasdaq had it’s worst week since March and the quickest 10% drop (3 days)..they are revaluating things and if you’ve read our updates…it is what you expected…we discussed tactics for protection (Covered call collars married puts replacement trades ect)… ..those all made a lot of sense to many….fearful when others are greedy….

Questions on tactics or otherwise email [email protected]

Stock Market

Let’s cut to the chase…big cap growth tech semis covid beneficiaries all have to come back to earth and they are….epicenter & value stocks with its 14-16 P/E’s need to hear one word VACCINE and they will get the jolt they need to take out June Highs and at least go back to yearly highs or beyond…that is a lot of upside and compared to hoping some of the high flyers take out their recent highs…we would bet the former. We’ve said all along that the split trade (TSLA & AAPL) would turn into massive sells once they hit the market EXACTLY what happened….they should have been HEDGED…..now TSLA has gone into the 50 Day M-Average zone (300’s) a much better price than 502!…but it is AAPL that we find the most intriguing as the reality is their growth in top & bottom line in the last 2 yrs has been OK…but the future could be dynamic as 75-80 million I-phones have been ordered and the MARGINS on these could be huge plus Laptops Ipads & wearables which leads us to believe that 80-100 is a steal (a gap in the 90’s/200 day is 83+). There are many stocks we believe should be on an investors shopping list ans some can replace income too as they have dividends of 2.75%-3.75% so if you want to know just email us….plan now execute later is the idea.

Bond Market

Not much here to report as the Fed does it’s thing keeping savers in the dark and encouraging yield starved pensioners to take more risk (value stocks). TLT the proxy for the 20yr Treasury is stuck in a tight range after yields popped a bit..a break above 170 could mean get ready for even lower yields and a break under 160 could signal that someone figured out that a lower dollar inflation and deficit spending is not a good deal for 1% until 2040:):) Junk bonds (HYG) are testing lower prices and one would have to think if the Fed didn’t have a “Facility” to buy them they would be in the toilet. In Preferreds (PFF)…they’re hanging in their with a good distribution and many are linked to banks…so if you believe….Munis have been coming down a bit as job & service cuts have to occur unless while the Fed & Mnuchin are printing money they can find some for the states (the spent plenty on the airlines who are still firing people)….bailout is obvious. The emerging market debt we told you about (VWOB) has done well since March and if the Dollar resumes its downtrend later this year-a positive.

US Dollar/International Markets

Our position has been the US Dollar hit a short term low 90-92 zone and is in a muli-leg rally…closing Friday at 93.27 which means we are looking for the Euro to fade off the 120 rally area (closed 118 area)….IF the Euro breaks the highs then 125 becomes the next target if not 115-116 is ahead…the Yen & the Can$ are comfortably UNDER their M/A’s..& Aus $ stable 72-73 for now Looking at stock markets around the world most are stable but could see some selling Germany Brazil India with Japan (Buffett ?) & Korea showing some boat legs. Same story with ETF’s like VEU VGK VXUS VPL VT & more

Crude Oil Natural Gas

We told you in previous updates we thought a move down in crude oil could be in the cards and we saw a drop from 44-36 area in tha last couple of weeks…the glut of oil trade (contango has front month way lower than the back months) plus the nice guys Saudis cut prices …30-35 should be as low as she goes and sets up nicely for strong demand in 2021…that’s our view so keep an eye out for those high yielding oil/energy stocks. We were bullish on Natural Gas UNDER 2.00 and the breakout above and loved the move to 2.75 but warned that the market was over bought and a break of 2.43 could see prices crack EXACTLY what occurred this week (close 2.25). Our stock we follow LNG has 50-200 day averages at 51-49 and we closed at 49…so if we take out 49 the odds increase for at least a move to 45…hedge?

Gold Silver Copper Platinum

Short Term…we’ve said it looks like the “precious” metals have topped at 2100 Gold 30 Silver and the stocks ass well GDX at 46 and Sil at 53 but with the intervention Fed around the Dollar which has gained steam could reverse and then the metals get the green light….In Fact…when the Dollar turned DOWN from March 102 area and lost 10% is when stocks & metals roared. Now the turn in the Dollar (albeit modest) led to declines of both. Copper is another story as it has mainatined abov 3.00 and by doing so has made our favorite copper stock we told you about all year FCX make new highs this week….both are getting a bit overbough-keep it on a short leash

Do you have questions??..email [email protected]

Soybeans Sugar Coffee

Let’s see how these exciting Three Amigos did this week….we have been bullish Soybeans since the $8 area and have said that if start closing above 9.50 we could start accelerating to the upside and a close above 10 could set up BIG potentials gains opening up the 10-12 area….well Friday we closed near the highs of 9.98 so get your seat belts on because if we breakout for cause the momentum is building BUT if unable to break thru profit taking and speculative shorts & hedging could be problematic. Sugar has been untrustworthy in some regards as the breakout above 13 should have been a green light for a sustained advance but instead it went back into 11-12 support zone (close 11.93) bothe the 50 day & 200 day MA’ss come in at about 12.30 area so IF we get above there and hold/closes..we’ll like it. Coffee has been great to us ever since we first liked it under 100 nad on the pullback to 110 BUT as we ssaid the market move toward 139 was stretched and a pullback was expected and occurred (MA’s at 114/112) so at least a level of 125 or an acceleration thru 135 work as short term key points,

REMEMBER There is a substantial risk of loss in short term trading and option trading and it is not right for everyone. Consult your brokerage firm/broker/advisor to determine your own suitability. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results Use Risk Capital Only.

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Update 109: Stock Market-Timber! Now What to Expect? Read More

September 4, 2020 Option Professor Opinions & Observations

Greetings All!…Last week we said this week would either be a Stampede or a Blow Off Top and who knew we got both in many markets! We told you that the VIX was RISING during the rally…not a good sign…and many other red flags and that you should have your HEDGING tactics at hand (such as covered writes/collars/married puts/replacement calls/trimming ect)….we also invited your emails for more information to take advantage of our decades of experience…those who emailed us were VERY glad they did. S&P price to sales ratio was at a record….46% of all S&P stocks haven’t gained in 2 yrs…ZOOM had a market cap of $130 Billion on 2 or 3 billion of revenues!! The Fed is playing a stupid game (Trump Powell Mnuchin) are private equity leverage guys and could care less about debt…..run it thru the roof…get every company in America hooked on borrowing…try to get the public hooked on borrowing (although the public is not so stupid ass loan demand stinks & money velocity is i the tank)…..hey maybe their plan is if we get asset prices soaring through VALUATION expansion we can all get re-elected on greed…if not our big donors get all their stock losses back and we’ll do business with them when we leave…..44% of GDP in QE this time when in the last crisis in 2008 it was QE 5% of GDP–9X More??……last time it took a number of years to get the S&P 500 back to the highs…this time a few months??…..what’s the rush to blow out the balance sheet & USA Debt? ..Corporations are leveraged to the hilt and some don’t have much equity not a good thing. Unemployment says it’s “down” to 8.4% but still almost 30 million receive some benefits….11 million still out of work..16-25 yr old jobless rate at 20%.. and cuts by airline and other companies are forthcoming. The Fed is saying rates low until inflation zooms back (with money velocity tanking that’s a reach)….so they are encouraging RISKY valuations/borrowing/investing…. some factors in the recent spike & fall was call option activity which went off the charts…in our view similar to 1987 “program trading” as investors (some say Softbank) bought stock and sold call or bought stock to hedge short calls which squeezed Tech in particular and then the last 2 days unwound those positions (sold stock bought back calls) …all very risky activities as liquidity is problematic (we told you last week that if we roll over the SELL volume would DWARF the BUY volume EXACTLY what occurred). Now we have a vaccine on the way Nov 1 or 2 days before the election…we sometimes think we’re watching a suspenseful TV show (Remember Dallas & Who Shot J.R.?)….but this VIRUS is not a TV show & our people are not actors. Our Trade Deficit is Soaring!! So WHAT’S OUR VIEW RIGHT NOW?….well the best case is that we go into a TRADING RANGE and we work off some of the EXCESSES such as distance from the MOVING AVERAGES/VALUATIONS/COMPLACENCY and settle the VIX down after it jumped about 60% this week topping at around 38…it shrank during the drop so as a contrary indicator could mean a further bounce (from Friday’s lows TSLA-AAPL-PTON-AMD rallied 7% to 13% but S&P & Nasdaq sold off a bit into the close. WE suspect and brought to your attention that sideline investors ($5 Trillion) may be more comfortable in Banks/Health Care/Industrials/Materials…..Value-Dividend payers than speculating about Work From Home/Cloud/5G/Semis that may have to catch up with their valuations…which could take time…..expect a rocky road… consider selling cash puts on VIX spikes like this week on stocks you want to own (big put option selling activity on AAPL & MSFT this week)….but as we told you for a while..SEPT-OCT-NOV….is a potentially VOLATILE time and may not be for the faint of heart….having HEDGES on that puts parameters on your equity seems reasonable….we expect rotations & reversions to the mean…..LT..The Fed says Unlimited QE & no return on mmkt….T.I.N.A lives

Questions or want to learn more? email [email protected]

Stock Market

Well it had to happen at some point..the stuff that had been running since March that we brought to your attention back then ..Tech-Mega Cap Growth Semis & Consumer Discretionary (VGT MGK SMH VCR) had to come back to earth at some point and this week they did this week…S&P 500 came back to it’s former highs at 3390 (actually traded thru it) and if Nasdaq is to do the same we have at least a further 10% drop ahead…the Fed has obscured the real value of many markets with their “intervention”…from Treasuries 180-1 P/E…Investment Grade 50-1 to reputable stocks (AAPL 40-1 LULU 86-1) so anything is possible….we could go back to the highs or a little beyond or test the 50 day on the S&P around 3080 or the 200 day around 2900 so our base case is wide trading range and heightened volatility. Some like money center banks & regionals (VFH & KRE)….a diversified basket of dividend paying stocks (MGV VYM SCHD)….while sectors like REITS Industrials-Small-Mid Cap Value-Materials gain some traction (VNQ_VIS VAW VBR VOE). Our understanding is Quatum Scape is coming to market in Q4 with Bill Gates & VW involved & Michael Jordan (who knows a thing or two about gambling) hooks up with DKNG….Buffett sold another 1/2 of his stake in WFC and may dump the rest (stock rose Friday)…the transports ( FDX UPS UNP) seem to be enjoying big volumes while QCOM & AVGO may be best bets in 5G right now NVDA got hit on overvaluation but on the horizon you’ve got console, cloud, data centers, bitcoin and best yet Sony Play Station is expected to be a rock star when it comes out not to mention business wit EA & Take Two…..Phase 3 Virus trials happening and PFE AZN MNRA are lead dogs…speaking of dogs..Data Dog DDOG hass been hit but some are looking for long term value soon….Biotech is also on the radar as IBB & BIIB are both at junctures as we said epicenter stocks are coming back (CCL just had a cruise to Italy) so Department stores (M KSS JWN) hotels (MAR) Borg Warner had caught a bid…and banks with heavy credit card exposure (C COF) have come back strong….QQQ broke a long term uptrend so we will see if that portends further corrective price action…if you’re long term bullish…selling cash puts on volatility spikes or sell puts/buy calls if you think we are near a turn are strategies to price out….ass we said last week…Caveat Emptor Sep thru Nov

Bond Market

The story here is the steepening of the yield curve despite the drop in stocks which could mean the drop in stocks is over soon or it could mean that the forecast is for economic boom to hit when we get the vaccine. It could also mean that the Fed iss losing control of the long end of yields. Some belive EM bonds offer good value and if you believe in the banks the preferred are worth a look. High Yield bonds lost some ground this week but truthfully; like we told yo last week…the debt market prices are extended and a reversion to the mean started last week. More QE in Sept…well if Powell is doing a reelection troll then expect it & maybe a stimulus package to boot.. .CHina’s talking about selling bonds which also add uncertainty…the 3-5 year duration appears anchored and as we told yyou for many months…limited/short term duration corporates & munis not a bad place to park…long term bonds on the other hand seem like a suckers bet..low yields Mortgages got better news on performance and rates down to 2.85%….low.

US Dollar/International Markets

The Dollar Index hit a 52 week low on Tues at 91.75 but turned around by weeks end to close at almost 93 after having pierced that level. In contrast..the Euro tried to break 120 and failed to sustain it so we went home at 1.18 area…another potential REVERSION TO THE MEAN trade as the 50 day MA is 1.16 area and the 200 day is 1.11 area (just above the 110 area we told you was bullish)…we got a bounce in the Japanese Yen but still under resistance while the Canadian $ remains weak and the Aus $ remains firm….in worldwide stocks (VEU VXUS) not going anywhere and Brazil (EWz) faded off its advance last week….Japan (EWJ) slipped as well…China slide down (FXI) despite good manufacturing news…and in Europe France Spain Germany all gave it back (EWT EWG EWQ)…emerging markets and their debt realtively stable (VWO VWOB)…stay tuned…volatility ahead

Crude Oil/Natural Gas

OK..we told you we were suspicious of Crude prices in the 40’s short term and that paranoia was deemed warranted this week ass we got a nice $5 dollar drop from 44-39….the catalyst was oil rigs counts rose and even a Hurricane couldn’t slow down the refineries but did shut down more than 80% of off shore production in the Gulf of Mexico…longer term into next year we are still constructive on the oil supply / demand dynamic. Natural Gas is a market we have told you about when it broke above 2.00 and has since continued up toward 2.75 (great move) but this week settled at 2.57 so it is extended and could have a pullback but seems like it may want to make a run at the 52 week high at 2.91…a break of 2.43 (weekly low) would hurt. On the stock side..the majors (XOM CVX COP) all got hit and need a good 3% to 10% rise to get going while LNG is at 52 with 50-200 day MA’s around 5o

Gold Silver Platinum Copper Bitcoin

A full slate of Dollar/Inflation Hedges here for you..we told you last week we are in trading ranges which often happens after parabolic moves (like stocks) Gold 2100-1900 Silver 30-24 Platinum 1100-800 and we remain in them albeit testing the lower boundaries. GDX GDXJ SIL SILJ are all on the defensive and we hope to be able to load up before years end at discounted prices to be set up for an advance next year….we’ll see how the cards come out….Copper got above 3.00 and sso far has maintaine it depite housing stocks taking a bit of a hit and lumber prices tanking from 934 to 781 before rebounding to 875…wild ride….Bitcoin has been volatile from around 13 grand to 10 grand and closing at 10600…look into GBTC for exposure.

Soybeans Sugar Coffee

OK!! Last week we told you are patience paid off in Beans ass the broke 9.50 and ran to 9.67…so this week we maintained and added a few cents…now the hard part 10.00…can we do it..we’ll see but so fat the move out of the 8 range has been welcome….now the patience for Sugar has NOT been rewarded as the fade off 13 has taken us under 12.50 (not good) and truthfully the land of milk & honey is on the other side of 13 so something feels wrong here unless we can regain upside momentum. Coffee ass we told you was a buy under 100 and then again on a pullback to 110…this week we saw a RUN up to the highs of 135..a real winner and while we are extended…right now no evidence of a turn down-let it ride on a short leash

REMEMBER… There is a substantial risk of loss in short term trading and option trading and it is not right for everyone. Consult your brokerage firm/broker/advisor to determine your own suitability. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Use Risk Capital Only

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Update 108: Stock Market-Stampede or Blow Off Top? Read More

August 28, 2020 Option Professor Opinions & Observations

Greetings!….What a week…between the New Record Highs in the S&P 500 & the Nasdaq…..we had a major Fed announcement….a major Japanese Leader resign….a Cat 4 Hurricane…..the RNC deal….a 100+ year member of the Dow got booted…..protests & tragedy in Wisconsin….another million out of work.. So how was your week???. As we said months ago; late August could be pivotal as if we could keep the VIX between 20-25…big money may commit more $$$$ as relative stability has returned which is EXACTLY what we saw in the last 2 weeks. Important to note that the VIX stayed above 1996-2000 which saw a stock boom & Dot Com bust. Now we expect the end of this year and beginning of next year to be strong BUT our CONCERNS are in the NEXT 90 days. The jobs market stinks as 30 million collect benefits & we hover in a ball park 10% jobless….big companies (Coke) and profitable companies (Salesforce) and distressed companies (Airlines) are all handing out the pink slips…so the right sizing of companies that we told you about months ago involves cutting staff-so earnings rise. What will this do to consumer spending…..the Fed keeps printing (money supply is UP 30% while money velocity TANKS. We’ve pulled forward a ton of demand that is bound to cool off and the election is going to be a mess. Valuations or re valuation of companies had been the big driver (e.g. AAPL was 20X P/E now nearing 40X LULU was 56X now 86X and many more)……this is how short term bubbles form….call volumes have exploded and the skews suggest possible nervousness ahead…..IPO’s have exploded….Buffett still sits on his wallet….SO WHAT”S THE CALL?….well our view is Do Not Fight The Tape BUT the Time Zone ahead (Sept-Oct-Nov) AND the fever pitch of the rally AND the distance between stock prices & the moving averages (reversion to the mean) AND long term Treasury yields RISING AND the VIX trading 21+ AND VALUATIONS discounting a very ROSY picture….means that you MUST monitor prices and have defensive tactics at the ready (Covered Calls Writes -Collars-Married Puts-Replacement Trades-Trimming ect)….because if we roll over for CAUSE….the volume coming OUT will dwarf volume coming IN Caveat Emptor….

Note Option Professor has a Radar List of ETF’s we monitor in SECTORS and Option Professor’s 3rd Party Account in July up 15%+ & in August up 19+% To Learn More…go to optionprofessor.com and submit your email

Stock Market

Where to start…..many companies either made all time highs or 52 weeks highs or just had a great week……some that had our attention was the streaming wars companies (ROKU)…epicenter stocks (cruise lines- airlines restaurants-hotels-casinos)….Covid winners (Dick’s PTON ZM) and WDAY CRM CMG AMZN & cloud computing WCLD & MSFT……next week we’ll see how AAPL & TSLA trade post split…buy the rumor sell the fact..we’ll see…also smaller company (OSW) in Health & Wellness on cruises rose. With the boycotts in pro sports and rumors of less games in other sports ahead..they hit DKNG & PENN but longer term some say a 1.5 billion dollar market may look like 12 Billion over 5 years so keep an eye out there. Some are suggesting that a hedge on the QQQ may be worth a look as a Nov 275-250 debit put spread was at 6 and if a trader owned the Q’s and sold a covered call in Oct at 131 the 5 bucks received would pay for a good size of the debit BUT you must be clear on the real and opportunity risks of the strategy and other factors so consult your own advisor & brokerage firm.

Bond Market

Fed boss Powell came out with his let the inflation run hot before reacting to it spiel which allows him to keep printing & financing ballooning deficits ass far as the eye can see. Will the Dollar fail & will Gold ect zoom and will we look like Japan (1990-Present & 1933-1948 which employed this cheap zero interest scheme and where markets net go nowhere…time will tell..you tell us who will buy Trillions of Dollars of negative yielding debt…plus other Consumer/Mortgage/Corporate/Junk/Sovereign DEBT if EITHER the Dollar hits the skids or if INFLATION comes back…have you been to the store…buy a car or a house or pay bills lately….seems like we got inflation already…. ..the FED used 5% of GDP after 2008 GFC and now is at 44% of GDP..crazy.. for now short-intermediate tax frees have done fine but most of the debt market is EXTENDED & a reversion to the mean (moving averages) started

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US Dollar/International Markets

The Dollar lost it’s steam a bit this week as Fed talk of printing ad infinitum scared the bounce crowd and put the Euro back in the forefront as the Dollar pressed 52 week lows and Euro 52 week highs…..if we break 88-90 DXY it will open the door for 85 area which is the highs of 2012 & 2013….will the Fed defend the Dollar?…hey they just bought Junk Bonds so why not….but if yields creep up to .85%-1%+ that could be enough to stabilize it. If the Euro can take out 120…125 could be the target (highs of 2018)…..but a failure to do so..a moderate pullback towards 115 is not yet off the table. The Japanese Yen got news this week with Abe resigning for health reasons and we saw the Yen went into the tank toward 105…we never trusted the Yen since it failed in the 110-112 area…the Canadian $$ still looks weak as well but the Aus$$ has picked up steam as we told you 50 above 200 day MA Mexico is bracing for worst recession in a 100 years yet their stock market EWW hangs in there…..Brazil EWZ was up almost 5% Friday..watch for a turn…Europe is hanging in there EWU EWG EWQ but will stall lead to fall? .India INDA has had a big run so has BABA & Emerging Markets VWO. The world will probably follow the US so Sept-Oct Nov still is a 90 day close call

Crude Oil/Natural Gas

Hurricane Laura and her predecessor did not kill the refineries and or supplies were ample ass prices well behaved…we heard SLB was the play and it rose 4% on Friday….people are sour on oil sstocks but our view is they pay good dividends and will ultimately benefit from the reality that supplies have tightened (frackers rig counts OPEC) and the demand ahead will push prices substantially higher…everybody (PE) left now we come in. Natural Gas was a favorite of ours when it broke 2.00 and while it dipped Friday after a long run we saw LNG (53) has the 50 and 200 day MA at 50.

Gold Silver Copper Platinum

Gold liked what Powell said and had a good week up 40 bucks on Friday but remains in the new trading range of 2100 and 1900….Silver 30-24..Platinum 1100-800 with copper showing the legs to break out above 3.00….on the stock side the GDX and SILJ rebounded but still off their highs while 2 stocks in the Copper mkt we told you about FCX & SCCO were superstars this week

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Soybeans Sugar Coffee

Well one of the three amigos had quite a banner week…..the one that hass been Waiting for Godot…well this week Godot actually showed up as Soybeans provided a payday for the patient bulls as prices shot up over 50 cents a bushel and closed near the highs on good buying including China ect Sugar prices were bouncy between 13 and 12.50 but we remain constructive as long as the new range holds (11-13) as we believe demand during the recovery will boost commodities in general. Coffee prices continue to matriculate up the charts trading wonderfully technically..we had a buy under 100 followed by a breakout above 105-110 and pullback to 110 breakout point and now at 126….not the bargain it was….but Bellissimo!

REMEMBER …There is a substantial risk of loss in short term trading and option trading and it is not right for everyone. Consult your brokerage firm and broker /advisor to determine your own suitability. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Use Risk Capital Only

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Update 107: Stock Market-Acceleration Ending Sept-Oct? Read More

August 21, 2020 Option Professor Opinions & Observations

Good Day Everybody!…..We made new highs in the Nasdaq & the S&P 500 this week so the band plays on…..not on new sheet music but rather the same old song that has played out since March…..TECH and MEGA CAP GROWTH and CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY and SEMIS and HOUSING. These are areas we brought to your attention as we made the turn months ago but have taken on a life of their own….yes some companies numbers have improved but not to this magnitude of this kind of price action. Also; we told you if we could get the VIX down to 20-25 by late Aug…the sideline big money may start to commit as the wild swings risks may have abated. The Big Question about the run up is WHY? Our answer is that it is as usual a combination of things. Never short sell the USA’s consumers willingness to spend money even if they shouldn’t be. Unable to travel or go out to eat or go to a ballgame/theatre/amusement park or even go to Vegas and gamble; they took to the stock market to gamble (record new accounts) ….to e-commerce to buy things….pizza/fast food to dine….and spent on housing ect.. They couldn’t go to the gym (Peleton)..They could see a doctor or sign documents (TDOC-DOCU)…They couldn’t go to the malls (AMZN-UPS)..They were stuck indoors (HD-LEN-ITB)….plus their kids were home (NVDA-ATVI) while their parents needed to do business (ZM) and other business “right sized” by going to the cloud (WCLD MSFT) and communicated with each other (FB 2+Bill monthly users). OK….BUT WHY ARE PRICES FLYING? Our take is because of THREE (3) main things all emanating from the FED & DEBT…..you see the FED & Treasury (Powell & Mnuchin) didn’t let an opportunity to lower rates to ZERO ob money market funds and backstop all debt by either buying it or threatening to do so. This led to the 3 outcomes of #1. T.I.N.A which we told you in March when we saw the plan and it means there is no alternative to stocks and bonds if you want or need to make money (tear gas for savers). #2. Free Cash flow VALUATIONS are screaming because as related to the Treasury alternative (UN-INVESTABLE) so you get P/E ratios into outer space but deemed acceptable to some. #3. Companies can borrow at ABSURD rates for DECADES out in the future and pay almost NOTHING as yields in the 2% area are accessible to many companies and the JUNK (non-investment grade) is VERY low and maybe getting lower (no pay for the risk). These companies can play the same stupid game as before…buy back their own stock….mergers & acquisitions and capital expenditures (probably the last thing on their mind). We told you that OPERATING LEVERAGE includes less employees & real estate would lead to a quicker return to peak earnings and it’s happening. WHAT ARE THE RISKS? In addition to the USA fiscal cliff on SEPT 30th…There are many but let’s talk about a few….In TSLA which is over 2 GRAND a share up 400% THIS YEAR….They’ve got Battery Day on Sept 22 followed by DELIVERIES Oct 1-5 and the RESULTS in late Oct early Nov….could any of those things disappoint?…..AAPL is supposed to have this new phone & 5G capabilities which they said will be delayed…for how long and will the price be acceptable (China sales are slipping big time)? HAS COVID PULLED FORWARD DEMAND? This has to do with the SPIKE in e-commerce, dining choices, housing buys & upgrades. tech buys, interest in tech innovation used up their buying power and will this demand naturally go in to a fade mode? Certainly; the Dow Jones Transports have risen nicely in the last month as UPS & FDX ect have had lots of activity & pricing power but still lie UNDER all time highs while Small Caps (Russell UNDER 1746) and VALUE & MOST S&P 500 stocks still UNDER 52 week highs. It’s either GROWTH or No Growth and SEPT_OCT_NOV we’ll have a clearer picture of UNEMPLOYMENT-EARNINGS-ELECTION all of which have NOT been put into the equation…..Not a bad time to LEARN about COLLARS & MARRIED PUTS…Be Prepared–Will we get a sell off AFTER LABOR DAY followed by a YEAR END RALLY…..let’s see the aftermath of all these splits..stay tuned….

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Stock Market

There were a lot of stocks making record and 52 week highs and clearly the sectors we have mentioned to you months ago still lead (VGT MGK VOOG SMH VCR ITB) have continued to be money maker since we highlighted them in March and in fact using a simple 50 day moving average would have allowed you to ride this wave virtually uninterrupted. The Value stocks (MGV VYM VOE VONV VBR) and the International stocks (VEU VT VGK VPL) have failed to get the octane needed to get on the horse and catch up to their faster sectors. We believe a true bull run that will be sustained will include these so either more time is needed or the Liquidity rally is on borrowed time and investors chasing this rally will have a rude awakening before year end. NEXT WEEK..look for more retail earnings BBY JWN GPS Dollar General and Dollar Store….with tech sale BBY should have good numbers..Other stocks seein action Uber & Lyft who can continue their business while they appeal California’s employment driver status. Some say trading GILD off this week’s lows makes sense…DE had an upside bang while WFC (cutting staff) is a hop skip and a jump from new lows it saw during the crash. RXT helps migrate data to the cloud for AWS & Azure so keep an eye out. Another one that had a lot of option action was OXY which some are betting has an upside surprise in its future. Mostly all the thematic ETF’s (cloud-cyber security-precison medicine-internet of things-robotics) along with tech mega cap growth continue to be where the $$ is..how long?

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Bond Market

Let’s keep it simple…the Fed controls the shorter end of the curve and Treasury yields on 1 yr thru 10 yr maturities are virtually un-investable for income or capital appreciation….they want you to take more risk and finance these companies out of your desperation for yield—-good long term plan??…since when is loaning money to companies for little or no interest with 30 Million people receiving unemployment benefits sound like a good idea?…the people playing this game Trump-Powell-Mnuchin may not be with us for long but these moves will be….everybody likes to see their bonds go up….but if inflation returns and people want out…who takes the other side?..We just saw what happens when everyone wants out..the dealers disappear…in hopes our Fed shows up with their printing press money…. will the currency used to pay back be jeopardized?….will GDP ever justify the debt loads?..The Fed’s balance sheet has about doubled and more to come and is LARGER than the USA annual budget…..this is no exact science and mistakes can be made….looks like the 10yr may trade @ .50% to .85% for the foreseeable future but the 30 yr may fall out of bed if inflation and the dollar break badly…hiding out in munis..short term corporates has worked but corporations ($1.4 Trillion Issues in 2020) can’t print currency and as we have seen in foreign nations that don’t issue debt in their own currency..it can get scary. Is there a reason MODERATION can’t be a policy so rather than dramatic swings UP & DOWN in stocks & bonds (life savings) some stability reigns?…..I hope these temporary employees know their stuff

US Dollar/International

The US Dollar has gotten whacked in the last 4 months as our YIELD ADVANTAGE had gone out the window & our budget & fiscal situations stink Having said that..we have believed that the DXY is OVERSOLD in the 90-92 range and a counter trend rally may ensue…so far that is EXACTLY what is happening. We were very BULLISH on the Euro at 110 and we got a great run toward 120 at which time we believed are horse was tired and in need of a rest and it would sell off from the 120 area…so far EXACTLY what has occurred……we saw the Canadian $ & Japanese Yen as rolling over unable to hold gains while the run in the Aus $$ is stalled with the price of Gold. So there you are…..our view as of now..we remain flexible as events emerge.

Cruse Oil/Natural Gas

If Crude price get any flatter we’ll change the name to pancakes….we have traded between about 39 and 43 for the last 2 months but if we break under 40-38 we could go after the stops underneath. Longer term…we see 50-60 as the rig counts..frackers..OPEC fundamentals (if sustained) is a solid backdrop to increasing demand (remember only a very small % of cars are electric) that should happen as we get closer to normalization HOWEVER a shock after Labor Day with stock prices could instigate a sell off IF we get back under to 50 day & 200 day MA’s which are both right around 39-40. Natural Gas had a great run which was beneficial to us and LNG also had a run and this week we made a new high for the move in NG but volume is slowing and we are technically overbought short term so the breakout point was 2.00 so trimming/hedging and re-entry on a dip seems reasonable.

Gold Silver Copper Platinum

We told you the Barrick Gold purchase by BRK.B was being overblown as a 1/10th of 1% position in anyone’s portfolio should not set off alarm bells. We got a great SHORT TERM SELL SIGNAL after Gold went from 2100 to 1875 and rebounded to 2025…Our signal said to sell @ 2015 and we saw a drop back toward 1920…an 80 buck drop quick..nice!! From here…respect the 1875-2025 range…we told you at 2100 the 50 day wass in the 1800’s and the 200 day is in the 1600’s…got to the former…..maybe see the latter soon??? Learn how Collars & Married puts are used to protect values and hedge risk. Silver to us was a great buy on the breakout of 19-21 and a good sell at 30 (50% retrace)…so now closes UNDER 24 opens up a potential pullback to the breakout area 20-23 and a break ABOVE 28-30 could open up 35-50….right now we feel reversion to the mean makes more sense…but we’re flexible. Copper is being helped by the HOUSING craze as LUMBER prices have more than doubled as inventories are low and demand soars HOWEVER getting and staying above 3.00 has been elusive and if our scenario is that after Labor Day investors will sober up…then a pullback is the risk…stay tuned. Platinum is 30X rarer than Gold and trading at a quadruple digit discount so if we get ABOVE 1000-1200…is it a horse that will go from canter to gallop??

Soybeans Coffee Sugar

Well let’s see how the Three Amigos did this week…starting with Soybeans..they broke out ABOVE 9.00 and ran to 9.20 only to retest the breakout area and close around 9.03-9.04…still stuck UNDER the bigger resistance around 9.50 so let’s see how the cards come out this next week… Sugar prices have been a little psycho lately…we broke out above 9-11 range and ran to 13…backed off to 12.50..blew out the highs and went to 13.25.. then rolled over to close this week at 12.81..see what we mean….so now our belief is that the first range was 9-11 followed by a range of 11-13 and as long as we stay ABOVE 12 we will remain a believer-prices up over time. Lat but not least COFFEE has traded pretty good technically…we felt UNDER 100 was a bargain (it was)…it would break 105-110 and run (it did) and it would retest the breakout area of 105-110 and resume its run (it has)….NOW it’s stuck in a range of 125-110 and so far has a lower high….so we wait and see.

REMEMBER There is a substantial risk of loss in short term trading and option trading and it is not right for everyone. Consult your brokerage firm, broker and advisor to determine your own suitability. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Use Risk Capital Only,

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Update 106: Stock Market-Buffett’s Portfolio Speaks Volumes

August 14, 2020 OPTION PROFESSOR OPINIONS & OBSERVATIONS

Greetings!…..Taking a look at the many 13F filings that came out as of June 30th…..we focused on Berkshire Hathaway to get a flavor of what legendary investors are positioning for now that we made All Time Highs in the (NDX) Nasdaq & within earshot on the S&P (the Dow still 1600+pts below a Record) It looks like he reduced much of his banking shares (WFC -27%, JPM -62% BK -11% GS -100%) but in reality he has cumulatively $32 Billion+ in WFC USB and BAC without counting the buying binge in BAC in July which we read as very constructive on financials as we come out of the Covid lock down. With retail sales up 2.7% YOY and the Fed flooding the market with liquidity; one could argue that the banks may have Overcompensated for loan losses & cut costs so their operating leverage thus earnings could shock the street. Everything else for BRK.B appears to be holding on to their core holdings and most noticeable is their HOLDING CASH Equivalents to the tune of way OVER $100 Billion or about 25%-30% of their market cap. They got involved in gas storage this year & made moves in their OXY volatile holdings as well. There was a NEW addition that the press & dodgy coin salesman will seize upon and that is an $563 Million dollar position in Barrick (GOLD). Whether that done by Warren & Charlie or a subordinate is not known to us. GOLD traded between 18-28 during the period. HOWEVER the size of the position by our math is about 1/10 of the BRK.B market cap so we think AAPL is not being threatened ass their top holding nor we would read into it that Buffett’s long held view that Gold pays NO dividend and has NO internal rate of return thus is NOT a place that he would OVERWEIGHT. Other filings we found interesting was David Tepper’s positions in the payment processors PYPL SQ V MA although we favor the ETF IPAY as a one stop shop & Tiger increased positions in ZM & PTON..two darlings of the Covid crisis…Julian Robertson was once quoted that badmouthing NFLX was like badmouthing Santa Claus…on a side note ….we had the chance to play golf at his resort in New Zealand called Cap Kidnapper’s & if the the opportunity presents itself to you…..just go…breathtaking & remarkable. It feels like the markets have climbed to the top of the mountain and maybe lost some momentum….needs another jolt or maybe in Sept/Oct we could be hearing the old BB King song “The Thrill is Gone” as we head into the election……no evidence this week of that….put/calls ratios extreme as well as VIX since the March drop-Don’t fight the Tape…Don’t Go Asleep @ the Wheel …Wilshire 5000 to GDP Ratios is absurd & Buffett’s holding Cash NO Chasing Splits coming out of the woodwork…Time for Prince? Party like It’s 1999.. .Our view remains a barbell approach including Tech Growth Value stocks and the epicenter all based on a continued recovery…Will we test SP 3000-3200 areas or 10,000-9,000 Nasdaq BEFORE the election?…We’ll quote Bernard Baruch…..Buy Straw Hats in the Wintertime….suspicions/no proof.

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Stock Market

Many big stories out there this week including 2500 trucks ordered by Republic Services from Nikola which adds legitimacy to a pre-revenue company to some degree…still NOT our game. Also DKNG got whacked a bit even as gambling on sports is jumping albeit with insufficient events to bet on. BABA got added to the Hong Kong exchange which may get a boost from pension plan interests…they got earnings coming out next week a do many retailers like KSS HD WMT TGT and ones that we really feel have longer term runways like TJX ROST & ULTA as these guys sell DISCOUNT stuff and we believe consumers will have less money to spend and will frequent these companies…you saw what happened to Wayfair & Overstock right? AMC theatres & others are opening theatres Aug 20 with tickets at 50 cents..last time that was the price Mickey Rooney was starring as Andy Hardy….but with Disney going direct to consumers,,they got to move fast. BIDU got hit hard as their investment in QI looks shady as investigators seeing if QI overstated subscribers and other irregularities…Kodak may not get the loan unless they can explain some weird trading…ask P Michelson. We’re still watching 5G players nad infrastructure beneficiaries..stay tuned. Unusual option activity in SPCE LYFT PYPL while some say XRT is tapped.

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Bond Market

Big News here is that yields rose and the negative spread tightened EXACTLY what we told you was happening last week…the .60% spread moving to 1.65% spread that gave Gold a jolt and the Dollar a hit has abated…shorting bonds in the 181+ area was a moneymaker ass yields rose from about .50% to 75% a 50% leap. The Long Bond jumped well above 1.40% a the Fed auction did not go great and the supplies (deficits) are coming non stop like white river rafting. Cut corporate taxes 40%…cut payroll taxes..cut capital gains taxes..you got 10-14 facilities the Fed & LBO Mnuchin set up….money supply is exploding. Junk Bonds had the lowest yields ever this week on an offering and so the question is will the DEBT be deflationary….so far Corporates & Munis stable (GS locked out of NYC deal). Remember the FED is a lender so they help with liquidity not solvency so before long we will see how many they granted liquidity will be solvent.

US Dollar & International Markets

As we told you our belief is that the DXY at 90-92 and the EURO at 119-120 areas could be turning points IF the relative real yield would tighten and it has. Now longer term we remain bearish but over the next 1-3 months it would not surprise us to have a upward adjustment in the Dollar as the Yen Aus$ Can$ all seem to be faltering or stable at best and Covid problems seem to be resurfacing overseas. The ETF’s we follow for China-Asia/South Pacific/Europe/Emerging Markets such ass VEU VPL VGK VWO are all losing some altitude and like VALUE stocks are just UNDER 1-2-3 yr MA”s…with a BOOST they could break out and big winners BUT if they fade off these numbers…it may be a TELL that a more nasty selloff broadly could be ahead after Labor Day. Watch this carefully…it could be a key factor.

Crude Oil & Natural Gas

The market has gone flat trading about 43 to 41.50 so unless we break 40-38 you have to respect the DEMAND & SUPPLY constraints put on by Rig Counts/Fracking/OPEC something we told you about since March Madness. Some oils stocks & ETF’s like VDE have faded a bit but just like the stocks of INTERNATIONAL & VALUE….if they get a BOOST they can be right back on the horse but a fade after August could be a warning so we remain focused. We remain constructive on natural gas as the market in the last 10 days have been a solid winner for the bulls and Friday spiked up. Keep an eye on LNG & others which has doubled off the March lows….momentum strong.

Gold Silver Copper

We saw short term tops in the mining shares (GDX 46) and that led us to be suggesting pricing out covered calls & collars at 2100 Gold & 30 dollar Silver Premiums were rich and hedging made sense…a huge powerful selloff ensued…now we snapped back….next week every salesman for the metals will be touting Buffett’s purchase of Barrick but we quantified that for you above …so don’t go chasing waterfalls. The yields rising this week took an ace out of the metals hand so a wide trading range of 2100-1800 Gold and 30-24 Silver may be in the cards sans a Dollar or Interest Rate big move. Copper prices have faded of $3.00 area as China’s economic numbers are shaky..as we said FCX has to maintain ABOVE 14..this week it failed to do it.

Soybeans Sugar Coffee

WAKE UP!..Things are moving in Ags & Softs this weeks so maybe patience & persistence may pay off as we have been constructive on all three since March. These products are used globally and who knows how supply chains may be affected by Covid. What we do know is Soybeans had a 35 cent move to 9.00 and Sugar broke the 13 resistance and Coffee pulled back to the breakout point at 110 then rallied to 121 & closed around 117–textbook NOW..we need follow through and if we either get it or consolidate…we will be very pleased so that MAYBE we will get the the bang for our buck finally.

REMEMBER —There is a substantial risk of loss in short term trading and option trading and it is not right for everyone. Consult your brokerage firm, broker, advisor to determine your own suitability. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Use Risk Capital Only.