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Last week's rally ended with 10-Year rates sitting just above a midpoint Hidden Pivot resistance at 4.38%. If Monday's close is above this number as well, that would portend more upside to D=4.63%. This would be bad news for all who owe dollars, a class of businesses and individuals whose size is almost beyond imagining and which includes commercial real estate developers who have been hanging on for dear life. It will also put further pressure on bullion, which has faltered in recent weeks. If there's a silver lining, higher rates will also constrain our elected representatives in Washington from spending like drunken sailors.

The futures bottomed Friday at a key support, the 30.728 midpoint Hidden Pivot of a pattern that projects to as low as D=28.18. The pattern is gnarly enough to offer some potential trading opportunities, including bottom-fishing at p,  p= p2=29.456 or even D. Also, a rally from the sweet spot between p and p2 would set up an enticing 'mechanical' short from x=31.999, stop 33.275.  As always, a decisive penetration of the midpoint support (p=30.728) would portend more slippage to at least p2, or possibly D.

The Dollar Index is stealing up on a key Hidden Pivot resistance at 107.36 that is associated with a D target at 109.30. The pattern is clear and compelling, so we could be confident its target will be reached if buyers push past p with ease. That is what I expect, and it would have negative implications for gold, as mentioned in my update for the February Comex contract.  Shorts at p and D can be attempted nonetheless, using any vehicle of your choosing that corresponds directly or inversely with the dollar.

I'll trash bitcoin in a moment -- my new hobby -- but first a yellow alert for everyone who thinks the stock market's inevitable collapse is most likely to happen shortly after the first of the year. Although that seems quite plausible, fulfilling popular expectations is not how Mr Market usually works. Think how many lives he could wreck if the collapse were to begin any day now, at the height of Santa season. We should be especially cautious because premium levels for put options on the S&Ps have fallen to near-record lows. Although that does not tell us exactly when the crash is likely to begin, it does make one thing all but certain: The stock market's initial plunge will be so breathtakingly swift and steep that put prices will soar in mere hours to stratospheric levels where no one will want to buy them. Count on it. Concerning Bitcoin, I couldn't resist the temptation to weigh in at WSJ.com after they ran an article last week that attributed Bitcoin's extremely high price to 'scarcity'. The headline drew the usual crowd of youths who seemed to agree. Reaching deep into market history, one of them helpfully pointed out that Bitcoin has outperformed all other investible assets over the last decade. Who knew? Whatever he believes, it is indisputable that Bitcoin  -- unlike tulip bulbs, which can produce beautiful flowers -- has an intrinsic value of zero.  Granted, there's nominal value of perhaps $2-$3 per token because the blockchain within which cryptos are created can be used to effect and record financial transactions securely. But $100,000? That's absurd, considering Bitcoin cannot accomplish those tasks nearly as efficiently as credit cards or cash. Violent Money? And what kind of crazy 'money' explodes in value from five cents to a hundred thousand

With TLT poised for a breakout, I've lowered my target for rates on the 10-Year Note to 4.094%.  The pattern is pretty nutty but still good enough for government work. That means D can be bought with a tight stop, using whatever vehicle you favor for trading the swings in long-term rates. Also, a decisive penetration of the Hidden Pivot support would imply rates are likely to fall even further. Could this indicate a recession is imminent? We'll worry about that after we've seen interest rate bears -- i.e., those who expect yields to fall -- interact with the support.

The chart shows two invisible impediments that could trip up bulls this week. The first lies at 446.62, the D target of a conventional pattern begun from 400 in early September. The second is a trendline resistance from a head-and-shoulders pattern that will come in around 455. Together, these potential rally-stoppers represent thick layers of supply between current levels and July's record 468. The oddity is that until July MSFT had been leading the market higher. Is it about to resume that role after underperforming lunatic-sector stocks for the last several months? We should be ready for this possibility in any event, so stay tuned for updates in the days ahead. _______ UPDATE (December 12, 10:45 a.m.): A diabolically sick time for MSFT to be short-squeezing higher just when the lunatic sector is coughing and wheezing itself to death. One could almost believe the chimpanzees who purport to 'manage' money actually do meet in a smoke-filled room to plot each gratuitous, stupid sector rotation. If the stock hits 460, I'll throw in the towel on that promising head-and-shoulders pattern that has perfectly defined and controlled the stock's ups and downs for the entirety of 2024.

The weekly chart I posted last week set a high bar for bulls. I've downsized this week to the hourly chart, which shows TLT about to test the resistance of a Hidden Pivot midpoint at 94.64. The rally has come far enough since November's sub-90 low to warrant the benefit of the doubt. As always, a two-day close above the red line or a decisive penetration of it would imply more upside to at least p2=97.18 or even to d=99.72).

Last week's slight penetration of Nov 19's external high at 32.03 was bullish, although not very. It generated a weak impulse leg on the daily chart that implies any retracement this week that holds above 30.095 would be corrective and therefore a 'buy'.  A further push up to p=32.483 would certainly call for a tightly tightly tightly tightly stopped short, presumably with a 'camo' trigger fashioned from the 5- or 15-minute chart. My worst-case target is 29.160, a back-up-the-truck number for those of you who have been waiting since early November for a better buying opportunity (daily chart, a= 33.76 on 5-29-24).

Skittish about the stock market's manic climb?  Consider moving some of your savings into T-bills, which are currently yielding around 4.25%. You could do worse. Some of my friends are reluctant to take e ven a little money off the table because 2024 was such an incredible year for them.  One is a retired lawyer who racked up a nearly $500,000 gain in Nvidia.  She sold enough shares to buy a condo in Palm Beach, but her portfolio is otherwise unchanged and showing a return of about 40% for the year. She and her financial advisor are confident her portfolio will do equally well next year. Both of my siblings had a similar experience, but they have since moved most of their nest eggs into Treasury bonds and bills.  It has been an extraordinary year for them, and for millions of Baby Boomers who owned stocks, real estate or both. Who could blame them for thinking that the bull market begun in 2009 might have another year or two left in it? On the other hand, valuations are at their highest levels ever, and a real estate downturn seems all but certain because mortgage rates are stuck at levels too high to attract first-time buyers. And few would deny the stock market is out of its mind, a beast on steroids; we all sense this in our bones. Consider the way speculators have shrugged off ominous tariff news. Trump has threatened our two biggest trading partners, Mexico and Canada, with protectionist levies that would punish U.S. auto manufacturers in particular and cause grocery prices to surge anew. The President-elect also seems hell-bent on implementing immigration restrictions that would tighten the supply of workers, particularly for unskilled jobs. He's Bluffing, Right? Toward the end of the Roaring Twenties, when Congress was