Rick Ackerman

Even though last week's extension of bull-mania exceeded the 5220.00 target shown by only a smidgen, it's still creepy. The 'hidden' resistance should have held, if for no other reason than that the pattern is too gnarly to be common knowledge. Granted, the point 'B' high is pork sausage, as noted here last week. But that's still not a good reason for its target to have been exceeded so easily. The rally did reverse to produce a close beneath the target, so it's still possible we'll see rationality reassert itself in the week ahead with a persuasive plunge. Unfortunately, SPY failed by two points to achieve a corresponding target at 520.54 before the sell-off began, so we took no short position with puts. _______ UPDATE (March 13, 11:03 a.m. EDT): The minor rally pattern shown has already produced two 'mechanical' winners while becoming increasingly gnarly, so expect it to produce a third profitable trade: shorting D=5287.25 when the futures get there. A small reverse pattern should be suitable for this purpose, but be sure to take a small partial profit if it works. You could also buy a pullback to p2=5204.00 'mechanically,' stop 5176.25.

The pattern shown was compelling enough to suggest that MSFT might make a top at the D target, 420.26. But THE top? My guess is not, which would make all of the jacking off for the last month a consolidation. It certainly doesn't look like it's setting up a plunge, although that could change very easily with a downdraft that penetrates three supportive lows recorded since January 31. In any event, I have no trading ideas to begin the week, so we'll have to see what develops.

Although I promoted a 2307 target here last week, I'm going to dial it back a little with the 2276.60 target of a larger pattern. For reasons of clarity alone, it should take precedence over the higher number, and therefore be viewed as a potential rally-stopper. In any case, resistances at both p and p2 were violated so brutally that there should be little doubt about using 2276.60 as a minimum upside projection. The rally was too steep even when it began early last week to catch an easy ride. The same conditions will likely obtain this week, so any attempt to get aboard would need to come from an intraday set-up on the lesser charts.

I characterized last week's price action as 'mildly discouraging' in the chart (see inset), but compared to gold's stellar performance, Silver's dirge was not merely discouraging, but pathetic. The rally stalled almost precisely at p=24.76 of a pattern that projects to 27.34, and I can offer no assurances that the resistance will get pulped next week. Whatever happens, I doubt that gold can go much higher without dragging silver along. Please note that a pullback to the green line (x=23.47) would trigger an appealing mechanical' buy, stop 22.18.

It's hard to be cautious after last week's steep, powerful rally, but we should take heed nonetheless that GDXJ would trigger a 'mechanical' short at x=36.77. I am not suggesting this, since the set-up, with a weak but lengthy impulse leg, is hardly ideal. But we should monitor price action closely after it's hit, since that's why we use charts in the first place -- i.e., to stay objectively on top of the trend no matter what we might think.

'Mechanical' buying opportunities are not supposed to feel like opportunities, since the buying often occurs with the trading vehicle falling hard to the green line. The Dollar Index got hit three days in a row last week, sending it plummeting to x=102.56, where a 'mechanical' buy was signaled. Instead of leaping on the trade I'll suggest paper trading it, the better to observe how an unappetizing possibility extricates itself from a bog. For the trade to work, DXY would need to rally to the red line without first dipping below C=100.62. _______ UPDATE (Mar 17): So far, so good: DXY has rallied from the green line and reached the midway point between the line and the midpoint Hidden Pivot at 104.50. At that price, taking a theoretical profit on 50% of the position would be in order.

Bitcoin mania looks likely to blow itself out at somewhat higher levels. The bitcoin ETF chart above suggests buyers will encounter significant resistance at 64.95, a Hidden Pivot target that lies 5% above Friday's closing price. If this impediment gives way easily or is exceeded for two consecutive weeks on a closing basis, however, you can expect more upside to the alternative target at 70.35.  That's fully 14% above these levels, and although that might seem to portend a powerful move, especially if it occurs in a matter of days, it would probably come as a huge disappointment to countless bitcoin fanatics who have been weaned and nurtured on predictions of $100,000 or more. I doubt we'll see anything like that, especially since the shitballs who control bitcoin, Black Rock chief among them, will have reaped more than their directors could spend in a thousand lifetimes if it climbs 'only' another 14% . It is for their benefit that regulators approved bitcoin ETFs in the first place, making the cryptocurrency affordable to riff-raff who had been priced out of the market even at its bear-market low near $15,000 in January 2023.  Fractional ownership, including with leveraged options, made it possible for kids who were collecting Pokemon cards just a few years ago to become players in the global casino. Virtual Tulips It's hard to imagine how high tulip-bulb prices would have climbed if Dutch teenagers had had access to virtual tulips in 1637, when the mania peaked. We are going to find out, though, when the crypto blowoff sputters out, as all manias eventually do, for lack of greater fools. In the meantime, here's a link to a recent interview I did with Howe Street's Jim Goddard. It explains why bitcoin would be more reasonably priced at $1-$2 instead of

The Hidden Pivot pattern shown, with a major rally target at 5165.25, is a poor specimen because its point 'B' high failed to exceed the 4765 'external' peak recorded in April 2021.  However, it should be considered good enough for government work, meaning the target should show some stopping power and could perhaps even prove fatal.  A reverse pattern trigger for the short is already in effect, predicated on a 143-point drop that touches 5006.50.  The implied entry risk on four contracts is $28,600, so we'll need to cut that down to size with a 'camouflage' trigger if and when the trade is signaled.

We have an unfulfilled target on the weekly chart at 430.58.  However, I'll treat the one at 420.26 shown in the inset as a possible major top until such time as it is exceeded. Paying too little attention to it cost me dearly when I failed to exit a profitable calendar spread held during the Option Experiment. There is a potential voodoo short from beneath the high, so stay tuned to the chat room and your email notifications if you've been itching to buy put options on this stock.