Citigroup (C) - Quick Takes Pro Chart of the Day

[Blaine Tarr]

Random Thoughts

The market got whacked again on Tuesday. So far, it only appears to be pulling back. Obviously though, it has to stop soon.

Everyone wants to know exactly where the market will turn from bullish to bearish. There is no line in the sand. Like Justice Potter Smith, I'll know it when I see it. Like life, take the markets one day at a time and things become much easier.

If I had to pick a spot, ideally, I'd like to see the Ps stay above their prior pullback levels, circa 1340.

The sector action has deteriorated a bit in here as of late. A few big up days would save many of them.

For now, the plan remains the same:

1) Honor your stops on existing positions just in case this turns into something bigger.

2) Wait for entries on new positions. Again, as I preach, this can often keep you out of new trouble.

Futures are up sharply pre-market. I'd almost prefer if they were soft and then reversed--just enough to get the shorts comfy and keep the longs a little nervous. This could set up the mother of all reversals back into the direction of the longer-term trend. I guess I shouldn't complain about a market going up when I'm long. That's like complaining that the beer is too cold.

Click here to watch today's Market in a Minute.

Best of luck with your trading today!

[Blaine Tarr]

Barchart.com's Chart of the Day - Atlas Energy (ATLS) for Apr 11, 2012

The "Chart of the Day" is Atlas Energy (ATLS), which showed up on Tuesday's Barchart "52-Week High" list. Atlas Energy on Tuesday posted a new 4-year high of $37.19 and closed up 1.27%. TrendSpotter has been Long since Feb 27 at $26.94. In recent news on the stock, Atlas Energy on March 14 completed the distribution of Atlas Resource Partners to unitholders. Atlas Energy, with a market cap of $1.8 billion, owns and operates natural gas processing plants and natural gas gathering pipelines.

[Blaine Tarr]

Random Thoughts

Well, make no bones about it, the market got whacked a bit on Monday. It's not the end of the world though. So far, this action only appears to be corrective in nature. Back the chart out a bit or even better, look at a 2-day or 3-day chart and you'll see that the market has formed a bullish TKO pattern.

Obviously though, it will have to start going back up to complete this pattern. In the meantime, this is all you have to do:

1)Honor your stops on existing positions just in case. 2)Wait for entries on new positions. As I preach, this can often keep you out of new trouble.

Futures are in flatsville pre-market.

Click here to watch today's Market in a Minute.

[Blaine Tarr]

http://antichartjunk.com/2012/04/09/...g-vs-gambling/

March 9, 2012:

"I have been observing StockTwits and Twitter as it relates to trading for about a year and a half now and I would like to relay some of my observations, perhaps very obvious to some. I think it is crucial to first off describe the differences of investing vs. trading vs. gambling. The investor is someone who typically seeks out an edge through value with a longer time frame. An investor might invest in diversified ETFs or mutual funds and such stocks as BAC, JPM, GE, XOM, and PG. The trader is someone who typically seeks out an edge through growth with a shorter time frame (note that the goal of many traders is to be in a strong growth stock for a longer time frame as huge gains can be made, but in general the time frame is shorter). A trader might trade such stocks as AAPL, ALXN, PCLN, MA, and SBUX. A gambler is someone who has no edge who relies on luck in the short-term while in a longer time frame will always lose money. Though some believe that investing is a more of a gamble, like Jesse Livermore who states that investors ?make a bet, stay with it, and if it goes wrong, they lose it all,? I believe investing has its place, such as investing in diversified low-cost ETFs in retirement accounts which require peace of mind and inherent longer time frames. Clearly it is possible to trade in one account and invest in another (and even gamble in a third!). Regardless, a trade that is made without an edge (such as beyond a pivot point or clear breakout on poor quality stocks or even top quality stocks in a poor acting market or without increased volume) is a gamble. I believe this unique commitment and patience required for succesful trading makes investing better for 90% of individuals.

So how does this apply to StockTwits and Twitter? What I have observed are naive users who seek out tips on these services (and even CNBC which routinely features unaccountables who provide advice with no indication of their own strategy) on when to buy and sell stocks not knowing the other user?s time frame, risk tolerance, entry point, sell rules, goals, overall strategy etc. It seems that these lemmings desire some sort of human confirmation before acting. These users who are clearly blindly following others and high-flying extended stocks show up in droves in an uptrend but disappear when the overall market changes, probably along with their portfolio. These users do not understand the behavior of the stocks they are entering and do not have their own clear strategy. A study of INVN on StockTwits is a fascinating study as many users were clearly following others who were making purchases on a pure guess that a low was set and then selling at a lose as it fell through its 50-day moving average. The fact that these users sold reveals that they are traders, albeit gambling traders. A simple study of INVN?s volume showed a purchase at this second bounce from the 50-day moving average lacked any sort of trader?s edge and therefore was and still remains a gamble for the trader. It remains debatable on whether INVN currently has an investor?s edge.

Long story short, obviously someone who partakes in the market must clearly understand their own strategy (write it down!). My suggestion for those who use StockTwits and Twitter for market purposes is to seek out other user?s who clearly have the same methodology and ignore the lemmings. It is the investor or trader who avoids gambling by remaining true to a strategy, whether that is the methodology of Livermore, Darvis, or O?Neil or not, that is most succesful."

[Blaine Tarr]

I was told by TC to keep an eye on this one... hobo as well.

[Blaine Tarr]

April 10, 2012 - ITT (ITT)

[Blaine Tarr]

How to Boost Your Returns With ONE Secret ETF Strategy"

Free Webinar Recorded on Tuesday, December 3rd at 8:00 PM EST (New York Time)

In this free online class John Carter will share with you:

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