Kara Crawford at kara@traderplanet.comadmin@traderplanet.comhttp://www.traderplanet.com/TraderPlanet.com offers its popular content for commercial syndication via RSS. The feeds include backlinks for the full articles and automatically assign author attribution, which is required. To syndicate these RSS feeds on a commercial Web site, TraderPlanet.com, LLC requires the execution of standard linking agreement. Contact Kara Crawford at kara@traderplanet.com for further details.en-ushttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134447-complacency_2_9_12http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134447-complacency_2_9_12<p>Do not get complacent because the market is quiet. Inaction can sometimes cause more damage than action. Do not forget to manage your trades. Crude oil is flirting with the $100/barrel level once again. I am mildly bullish but trade small as a trade back under $97.50-98 could mean lower ground. It is not the strength in Crude that I am impressed with but rather the relentlessness in the distillates that continue to push higher. Heating oil and RBOB are approaching the highest level they have ...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134447-complacency_2_9_12'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/815/?a=1071><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/murphy.gif border=0 /></a></p> mbwealth, TraderPlanet.commbwealth, TraderPlanet.comThu, 09 Feb 2012 21:27:35 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134375-c_mon_baby_let_the_good_times_rollhttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134375-c_mon_baby_let_the_good_times_roll<p >"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..." Arguably, this is the most interesting opening line of any novel in western literature. It popped into my head this morning as I read through my news, and I watched the market go from green to red right after the official announcement that Greece had reached a deal on its new austerity measures, measures demanded by the "troika" in order to receive the next tranche of its needed bailout. As the market flipped on the "good" news, I thou...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134375-c_mon_baby_let_the_good_times_roll'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/624/?a=1067><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/dinapoli.gif border=0 /></a></p> tradered, TraderPlanet.comtradered, TraderPlanet.comThu, 09 Feb 2012 16:41:24 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134348-a_message_from_louis_b_mendelsohn_president_and_ceo_of_market_technologieshttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134348-a_message_from_louis_b_mendelsohn_president_and_ceo_of_market_technologies<p ><span ><strong>Survive Or Thrive - The Market Under Threat Again</strong></span></p> <p >As long as I have been watching the market, one constant has remained - the market is always under some threat. Going back to the 1970s, the Arab oil embargo sent the market reeling, and before the decade was out, high interest rates, high inflation, and a general sense of "malaise" helped the market finish the decade under threat. The recession of the early 1980s fed right into the Savings &amp; Loan collapse and the Black Monday crash of 1987 he...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134348-a_message_from_louis_b_mendelsohn_president_and_ceo_of_market_technologies'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/832/?a=1073><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/jobman.gif border=0 /></a></p> markettech, TraderPlanet.commarkettech, TraderPlanet.comThu, 09 Feb 2012 15:21:57 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134214-quiet_trade_2_8_12http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134214-quiet_trade_2_8_12<p>Non event in the markets today but it does feel like markets are taking a breath for a big move...I am just torn on what direction. As trades develop I will try to keep you informed.</p> <p>Crude will close above $97 on the March contract today which puts the bulls back in control. Support is seen between $97-98 and aggressive traders can reverse their bearish trades and start scaling into long trades. RBOB is approaching $3...a level not seen since last April so expect momentum traders to lift this...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134214-quiet_trade_2_8_12'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/624/?a=1067><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/dinapoli.gif border=0 /></a></p> mbwealth, TraderPlanet.commbwealth, TraderPlanet.comWed, 08 Feb 2012 21:46:16 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134045-building_on_strength_2_7_11http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134045-building_on_strength_2_7_11<p>Metals, stocks and even foreign currencies continue to build on strength as 2012 has virtually been a one way trade...will this continue?</p> <p>Crude oil erased the previous week's losses adding 1.9% today but failed to close above $99 in March. I view that level as the pivot point so I remain bearish still. Be willing to cut loses on any shorts if prices trade through that level in the coming sessions. Natural gas continues to bounce around and I would suggest no long or short trades until we get ...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/134045-building_on_strength_2_7_11'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/834/?a=1070><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/wyckoff.gif border=0 /></a></p> mbwealth, TraderPlanet.commbwealth, TraderPlanet.comTue, 07 Feb 2012 20:55:37 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133842-true_commodity_play_2_6_12http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133842-true_commodity_play_2_6_12<p>After speaking with several prospective commodity clients today I want investors to recognize that by trading etf's or buying stocks in a commodity sector you are not trading commodities. That being said commodity trading is not appropriate for most investors but those financially suitable with some risk tolerance should explore futures, options and managed futures as a pure commodity play. Come on guys you buy your wife diamonds not cubic zirconia right? Crude oil lost ground today but the s...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133842-true_commodity_play_2_6_12'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/832/?a=1073><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/jobman.gif border=0 /></a></p> mbwealth, TraderPlanet.commbwealth, TraderPlanet.comMon, 06 Feb 2012 21:53:50 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133790-some_days_it_is_hard_to_be_mehttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133790-some_days_it_is_hard_to_be_me<p >Orchestration and negotiation are my two words of the day today. Oh, and let me throw in cold as kind of a bonus word ...</p> <p >The Iran situation is heating up, and this is not good news for the market. All we need is another late winter, such as we had last year - the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the Arab Spring, and the Libyan revolution. Those events disrupted the global supply chain and pressured oil prices, which pressured food prices, which then knocked a resurgent economy back on its he...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133790-some_days_it_is_hard_to_be_me'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/744/?a=1072><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/firman.gif border=0 /></a></p> tradered, TraderPlanet.comtradered, TraderPlanet.comMon, 06 Feb 2012 17:07:47 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133572-upbeat_expectations_2_3_12http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133572-upbeat_expectations_2_3_12<p>A positive jobs number and things heating up in Iran and Crude is back on the move advancing 1.5% today. We may see a bounce but until we see a trade back over $99 I still am thinking prices have more downward pressure. My target in March is a trade closer to $93-94 in the coming weeks.</p> <p>What is disturbing though is the disparity between the Crude daily chart and the distillates as Crude is on the lower end of the recent trading range while heating oil and RBOB are breaking out to new highs. I...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133572-upbeat_expectations_2_3_12'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/834/?a=1070><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/wyckoff.gif border=0 /></a></p> mbwealth, TraderPlanet.commbwealth, TraderPlanet.comFri, 03 Feb 2012 22:32:17 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133368-prepare_for_nfp_2_2_12http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133368-prepare_for_nfp_2_2_12<p>I think the number is fabricated but nonetheless it is market mover so prepare for tomorrow's jobs number.</p> <p>As of this post Crude is lower by 1% about in the middle of today's range trading lower for the seventh consecutive day. I think we see an additional $3-4 retracement before we run into serious support. If that assumption is correct expect heating oil and RBOB to lose 10-15 cents. Hello volatility...with 7% moves on a daily basis up and down I no longer have the stomach for natural gas. ...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133368-prepare_for_nfp_2_2_12'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/815/?a=1071><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/murphy.gif border=0 /></a></p> mbwealth, TraderPlanet.commbwealth, TraderPlanet.comThu, 02 Feb 2012 21:55:59 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133288-iran_oil_war_and_the_u_s_housing_markethttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133288-iran_oil_war_and_the_u_s_housing_market<p >Can you hear it? It is faint, but the beat is growing, and the sound coming our way could have a big impact on the market. Listen, the drumbeat for war is getting a bit louder, and if you have been listening to the republicans running for president, you most certainly have heard the beat.</p> <p ><i>The United States should deploy ships, step up covert activities, and sharpen its rhetoric to make more credible the threat of a U.S. military strike to stop Iran's nuclear program, a bipartisan group said o...</i></p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133288-iran_oil_war_and_the_u_s_housing_market'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/815/?a=1071><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/murphy.gif border=0 /></a></p> tradered, TraderPlanet.comtradered, TraderPlanet.comThu, 02 Feb 2012 17:09:30 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133076-hope_withers_for_february_market_breakouthttp://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133076-hope_withers_for_february_market_breakout<p >Today is the first day of February, right? Yeh, I thought so, but I wasn't sure when the market opened this morning and all three major indices jumped up, reaching toward 52-week highs, and the NASDAQ stepped into territory it has not seen in 11 years. The reason I wasn't sure is the headline of this column. As I read the words "Hope Withers" in the headline of an article, fear filled my very being and I expected the market to drop, perhaps significantly. So, even in in my fear-gripped state,...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/133076-hope_withers_for_february_market_breakout'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/624/?a=1067><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/dinapoli.gif border=0 /></a></p> tradered, TraderPlanet.comtradered, TraderPlanet.comWed, 01 Feb 2012 17:18:19 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/132911-the_january_effect_1_31_12http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/132911-the_january_effect_1_31_12<p>With one month under our belt how is your 2012 looking?</p> <p>RBOB, OJ, stocks, feeder cattle and all the metals were the upside movers in the month of January while natural gas was the only negative standout. Will these moves set the tone for trading in 2012?</p> <p>The move lower has been minor but Crude has closed lower for the last four sessions. Today a $3 rally was rejected as prices will close just above $98 the lowest close in one week. I continue to get mixed signals and would suggest waiting for...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/132911-the_january_effect_1_31_12'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/834/?a=1070><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/wyckoff.gif border=0 /></a></p> mbwealth, TraderPlanet.commbwealth, TraderPlanet.comTue, 31 Jan 2012 20:46:36 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/132689-if_equities_fall_1_30_12http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/132689-if_equities_fall_1_30_12<p>Over the next few sessions we will know but we may see some gains given back in equities as minor chart damage is being done. That being said expect higher trade in Treasuries and commodities on a stock retraction.</p> <p>Crude continues to flirt with $100 unable to pick a direction. The longer this consolidation pattern continues the larger the breakout the tough part is determining what direction will prices breakout. A settlement above $100.50 or below $98 would likely signal the direction but un...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/132689-if_equities_fall_1_30_12'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/834/?a=1070><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/wyckoff.gif border=0 /></a></p> mbwealth, TraderPlanet.commbwealth, TraderPlanet.comMon, 30 Jan 2012 21:31:36 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/131936-taking_a_breath_1_25_12http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/131936-taking_a_breath_1_25_12<p>I misread the recent action thinking we were approaching a turning point but now it appear the markets were just taking a breath and now the underlying moves are back on track....trade accordingly. Crude appears to be finding its footing as further sales are being rejected. With a settlement back above $100 I would become more friendly. On a close above $102 in March I then would be looking for buying opportunities thinking we get a new high...trade accordingly. I say a bottom is in on natura...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/131936-taking_a_breath_1_25_12'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/744/?a=1072><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/firman.gif border=0 /></a></p> mbwealth, TraderPlanet.commbwealth, TraderPlanet.comWed, 25 Jan 2012 20:46:01 +0000http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/131937-turning_point_1_24_12http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/131937-turning_point_1_24_12<p>Turing point...not today and probably not tomorrow but I would expect the equity market to give back its recent gains in the very near future. What that likely means is money out of stocks and into Treasuries and commodities...just an opinion. Crude remains in no man's land as prices could go either way in my opinion. My bias is leaning to the bullish side but I would prefer to be buyer on breaks. For instance I see solid support in March just under $94/barrel so long entries closer to that l...</p><a href='http://www.traderplanet.com/commentaries/view/131937-turning_point_1_24_12'>Read More at TraderPlanet.com &#187;</a><p align=center><a href=http://www.traderplanet.com/tradertube/index/832/?a=1073><img src=http://www.traderplanet.com/themes/trader_plain/gfx/jobman.gif border=0 /></a></p> mbwealth, TraderPlanet.commbwealth, TraderPlanet.comTue, 24 Jan 2012 22:08:15 +0000