Apple is out with their earnings and share price is headed lower.  I could begin to speculate as to why, but the short of it is simple—there are more people selling shares of AAPL than buying.  I got off half my positon today, taken Friday amdist the calamity, but that will do very little to shield the loser.  This will end up being a losing trade.

The question becomes, does the NASDAQ get lit up tomorrow?  The market stopped its one-directional jaunt this afternoon, of only briefly, which allowed individual stocks to behave a bit.  However, tomorrow is news heavy and price could get loose. 

I have lots of exposure to the long side.  For me to sit here, in my underpriced chair and tell you I am comfortable with my position would be a lie.  I would like to have more cash and less call positions in the red. 

However, I am still green year-to-date, odd as it may seem.  This may change tomorrow. 

Intermediate term balance is teetering on the edge of the abyss—the abyss being prices we have not seen since November.  Living to fight another day is always paramount, even if you are wrong on a trade.  I may be wrong in expecting a revision to the mean on intermediate term balance.  At least, that is what the market information to- this point is leading me to believe.  

On a more positive front, Elroi caught the turn higher this afternoon while I was freezing myself in the arctic cold.  He earns a gold star.  May he continue to labor through the night, trading opportunities he sees fit for algorithmic success.

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I trimmed the Apple long position purchased yesterday to a modest earning’s announcement size.  It was a cheap fix yesterday and I took some of the money.  My book is otherwise intact.  I want to see tomorrow’s print with my book of longs.  There are plenty of earnings out this week.  The overall action is about to get very interesting.

I am #teambreakout.

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I never missed a step, working though the weekend as forecasted.  It was only at about 9pm last night that I cracked open a cold amber ale and watched some Amazon prime.  When I took to my PC this morning, it was with the intention of working a premarket analysis.  I became slightly disturbed when I saw the dip I missed Friday and started rifling though charts like a madman.

Then I went to iBankCoin to poach some picks.  Finally, I realized the market is closed today.  GREAT NEWS.  I have much to cover with you, finest folks of the interwebs, regarding my expectations for a strong week.  Stay tuned.  I am infinitely grateful for this market holiday.

Stay tuned my friends, stay tuned…

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Over the past two days I have had the pleasure to observe, in real time, incredible auction activity. And for the most part I got it right.

After pressing deep into the edge of intermediate term value, the long term timeframe entered the market and asserted itself, thrusting the marketplace back into the middle of balance.  Their actions were not discreet.  First was the reactive buying tail printed into the close yesterday.  Then today the market could not fill the overnight gap, and after an hour of trade the long timeframe demonstrated initiating trades via range extension above the first hour of trade.

The NASDAQ started the day stronger then counterpart S&P.  Watching the S&P is what caused my second folly on the day.  I covered the shares in X I bought at the bottom of that big red candle.  My primary vision was for balanced, two way trade in the market and considered the early prices an opportunity to scratch the position.

We went to the edge of intermediate term balance yesterday afternoon and found buyers.  Said buyers were reactive initially then they became emboldened and initiated additional risk into the lower tail of balance.  The dynamic move erupted into a feeding frenzy of sorts.  Elon took to the helm of his rocket ship and made high decree that words as we know them are broken.  He made other audacious claims, like inventing the question mark.  As an investor, you have to love this guy.  He times these PR bombs technically perfect to trap and pummel shorts.  Pity I capitulated on most of my exposure Friday.

One cannot mull about their losses.  I opted instead to allow the rest of my very long book to press on and I went for a swim.  I returned to end the day up a tad over 2.5% on the day.  I have one of my algorithms back to full functionality, I have built B.F.S. volume profile charts, and I have momentum to build upon.

Favorite positions into Friday: MLNX, TSLA, LITB, and Z.

Still huge in: CREE, RVLT, BALT, and OWW (I know, a motley crew of sorts)

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For your consideration:

http://youtu.be/Qm2Bh2QtkRk?t=3m37s

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This is it, fine people of the interwebs, the moment where I typically blow myself into 1000 pieces via pure, unadulterated gluttony. Take last Thanksgiving for instance, where two dinners would have been sufficient, yet I pressed on and had a third while sitting Indian style on a linoleum floor. I felt like a grain fed cow afterward.

I have put all of my capital to work, in a variety of methods, to achieve a levered risk stance. On the surface, the risk seems immense. Curiously enough however, most of it was assumed at much lower prices. I have worked my eyeballs and fingers tirelessly to gain entry into my positions patiently, a little slowly, tenderly…and now we wait.

Some crazy-eyed speculator killed himself, but before he did he told everyone he made the most money by sitting.

I’m echoing the dead man. I have targets in mind higher. My book was propelled today by an influx into LED lighting. Tomorrow Elon Musk will see fit to throw Tesla investors a bone, enriching himself in the process. Thursday the Israelites will bid for shares of MLNX, and I will have my merchant cart out, selling bottles of water and neckties.

I am describing rotation, you see? I came into the game at the depths of market calamity and fumbled my way around the high correlation world. Stock picking, and the easy to define risk associated with it, just meant you had five positions stopping out all at once every time the market traded lower. ETFs and their traders were king, it was pretty lame.

Now we skip on landmines, gingerly, and one or two combust our portfolio higher every day.

Stay tuned as the market attempts to rain pianos on my person.

Top pick into tomorrow’s tape: TSLA

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The year is off to a bang over here in the club cadet casa de Raul, where I just so happen to be exhibiting the Midas touch in real time on these internets. Year-to-date, I am up a sultry 4.99% melting all surrounding snow as I walk, barefoot, down the arctic streets of Detroit.

4.99% has come so easy and may not seem too elegant, but consider too the fact that FSLR is one of the largest positions in my book and all the sudden WOW it is special. Typically, in the short history of Raul, a move like FSLR had today after being downgraded by Goldman would throw three weeks of performance in the back alley where five villain algorithms would slice them into thousandths and split their booty. Today instead I just watched FSLR meltdown, not adding, not puking, but instead with good sportsmanship. Three day rule is in effect on this position meaning, if selling abates these next three days I may add to my loser. If selling accelerates I will cut loss, and if buyers overreact I may sell into the bounce and take my interests elsewhere.

I took boss scales in YELP and C, and when paired with my Chinese lotto numbers LITB it was a pretty fluffy day.

I want TSLA. I was out of pocket this morning when my entry was on a silver platter. Now things become much greyer if you know what I mean. I still hold my longs from 10/31 and 11/08 with a cost basis at $144.10. Remember, my thought process on this trade has been we see $200 before $100. I am looking to take out my laser pen and add some juice to the name via call options because that’s how we roll in the future. We’re getting juiced, carefully, yah!

Finally, my wounded algos have been without food or water for days. My market profiles cut out every day yet Mirus futures refuses to admit the quantity of red gravy they have spilled on their servers. I am starting up an IQ feed tonight to get the algos back to firing signals, although they will not be auto executing until Mirus and Multicharts kiss and make up.
In the meantime, I like buying my favorite stock chart when I get a good market profile/order flow setup on the index boards. Correlations are through the floorboards and you get tons of bang for the buck with individual names. Option addict got me hip to this environment. I am working diligently to not get spoiled.

It will assuredly get harder this year to bank coin, but right now the market is in give mode. Trade accordingly.

Sincerest Regards,

Raul

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My expectation on this shortened holiday session is to see markets balancing with a slightly bullish bias.  Given then conditions precluding this holiday trading session, and given the expectation of balance and drift, I anticipate us spending time getting familiar with yesterday’s volume point of control (VPOC) at 3560.25.

The VPOC represents the most traded price level during regular trading hours yesterday.  This price was found to be most acceptable by both parties to the auction, buyers and sellers.  When we trade into a VPOC, the market tends to slow as if trudging through thick snow.  This is the effect of auction participants becoming active at the level.

I have highlighted yesterday’s VPOC, as well as a few scenarios on the following market profile chart:

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There was nothing subtle about the positioning required to bank coin this month.  If you directed your browser to iBankCoin you were greeted with picks, long side, delivered with the specific intent of outperforming your peers in the stock market.

Big gap days can be a challenge to trade intraday.  I came to my terminal and bought the opening print in SSYS.  That was it.  Then I sat back and let the market go on a holiday trot.  And it did.

Twitter nearly printed the six four handle.  I have my shares, do you?

In summary, cut the lights out, crack open your finest liquor bottles, and enjoy the blackest Christmas in stock market history.

Merry Christmas from all the staff here at Raul and co.  May your Christmas be warm and spirited.

Best Regards,

Raul

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I hear a faint jingle and smell peppermint schnapps.  If I’m not mistaken, Uncle Santa the giver is near.  The markets are behaving Santaesque, if only intraday.  During the opening and closing bell the Coca Cola bears, juiced up on sugar and caffeine, take wide swipes at the market—pawing bits of flesh into their mouths as if it’s warm honey.

Much like the children, I have some Christmas wishes.  The first is blood.  I want more blood.  I sat on my hands diligently today, keeping my fingers off the buy buttons.  I put on an AMZN YOLO trade, buying tomorrow’s 390s.  That was it.

Under the surface, I was brooding like Ryan Gosling, circling my prey like a vulture while waiting for the highway traffic to clear.  I had an opportunity intraday, but I held off.  I am being very selective with my 10% working liquidity.

Should I see one more day of selling, if only for the morning, I will be drawing my battle lines and buying FCEL, ZNGA, more GOGO, more RVLT, or any other ticker that tickles my risk appetite.

One more day

All I want for Christmas is one more day of selling, Friday the 13^th.

I may have to pay up, because today offers the discounted prices of uncertainty.  More information costs more money.  You’ll learn this as you trade more.  It’s fun.

One more day

Good night,

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