Six STEPS To Improve Your Trading Results

Today, I would like to share with you six steps that I'm confident will improve your trading results. When you have been around the markets as long as I have, you will notice how things work in the real world and how they translate into the markets.

Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this approach, like many things in life when you break them down, they're really not that complicated. One of the many challenges we have as humans, is we tend to want to make things more complicated and complex than they need to be.

Step 1. A market begins to move with the sponsors who have insider knowledge as it relates to a particular stock or futures market. This information will move a market up or down depending on the insiders' information. (These buyers are very smart and recognize opportunities early) Continue reading "Six STEPS To Improve Your Trading Results"

Apple Is Trending Higher While Amazon Is Trending Lower, Why?

Yesterday, the Trade Triangle technology flashed two important signals for two major stocks.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) triggered a new green weekly Trade Triangle, signaling that the upward trend was resuming. This signal pushed all of Apple’s Trade Triangles into the green column, indicating that higher prices could be ahead for this stock.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) triggered a new red weekly Trade Triangle, indicating prices should be going lower. This signal pushed all of Amazon’s Trade Triangles into the red column, suggesting downside pressure is ahead for this stock.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) - Major Trend Bullish

New Green Weekly Trade Triangle on 3/24/14 at $539.66

Apple, who has enjoyed remarkable "rock star status" in the past, has really fallen into a sort of pedestrian-type mentality and doesn't seem to have the cachet that it once enjoyed. However, the chart formation that Apple is coming out of indicates the potential for another big move up to the $700 a share level. Perhaps this has to do with the potential partnership with Comcast or some new technology that we have yet to see.

I like the overall chart pattern on Apple and the continuation Trade Triangle breakout to the upside. I also like the fact that the major support, which was the previous high seen in September of last year, also represented a major Fibonacci support zone for this stock. My analysis on Apple would change should it move below the $520 level and major support at $500.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) - Major Trend Bearish

New Red Weekly Trade Triangle on 3/24/14 at $354.48

Continue reading "Apple Is Trending Higher While Amazon Is Trending Lower, Why?"

Coffee - Starbucks' Achilles' Heel

Today, I am going to be analyzing the relationship between Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) and its main raw commodity, coffee beans.

Let me start off by saying that I really like Starbucks and the coffee it sells. In fact, my favorite drink at Starbucks is a Venti Coffee Frappuccino with one third the ice, blended five times.

Major Challenges

Starbucks faces a major challenge, one it cannot control - the price of its major commodity, coffee.

With one of the worst droughts in history hitting Brazil's coffee belt region, it is rapidly pushing prices higher. This is no ordinary drought as it is forcing more than 140 cities in Brazil to ration water. Reports in Brazilian newspapers indicate that some neighborhoods are receiving water only every three days. This is serious, as Brazil produces most of the world's coffee.

With Coffee (NYBOT:KC.H14.E) prices at 14-month highs, there is little to suggest that this trend is going to change any time soon. It would appear as though early predictions are indicating that coffee supplies could be 5 million bags lower than consumption for the 2014–2015 season. Continue reading "Coffee - Starbucks' Achilles' Heel"

How To Improve Your Trading In February

Hello traders and MarketClub members everywhere! Welcome to the new trading month of February.

Today, I am going to do something a little bit different, I hope you enjoy the experience and find it educational and informative. To start with, I am going to analyze a static chart of the stock of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT).

In addition to posting a single static chart on the blog, I am also going to be doing a video of that same chart. The video is short, to the point, and explains how I analyze stocks using the tools in MarketClub.

Today's in-depth analysis of Applied Materials shows a confluence of technical indicators that do not add up to a positive outlook for this stock. Remember, any analysis I do at MarketClub should not be considered a recommendation or an endorsement to buy or sell a particular security.

Click the chart to watch Adam's video analysis of Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

There is an old adage in trading that goes like this, "they slide faster than they glide". Translated, that means stocks go down faster than they go up.

Here are the 8 technical aspects that could spell trouble for Applied Materials. Continue reading "How To Improve Your Trading In February"

Chart to Watch - S&P 500 Futures

We've asked our friend Jim Robinson of profittrading.com to provide his expert analysis of charts to our readers. Each week he'll be analyzing a different chart using the Trade Triangles and his experience.

Today he is going to take a look at the technical picture of the S&P 500 Futures Contract (CME:SP.H14.E).

This week let's take a look at the S&P 500 futures contract.

When trading futures with the Trade Triangles you use the weekly Trade Triangles to tell trend and the daily Trade Triangles to time the entry and exits.

The weekly Trade Triangle turned red Trade on 1/13/14 and a red daily Trade Triangle on 1/21/14 which would have put any one trading the E-mini S&P 500 with the MarketClub system short just before Friday's 1/24/14 big down day and break of support. Continue reading "Chart to Watch - S&P 500 Futures"