Amber Hestla

Amber Hestla is Lead Investment Strategist behind Profitable Trading's Income Trader, Profit Amplifier and Maximum Income. She specializes in generating income using options strategies that minimize risk by applying skills she learned on military deployments and intelligence training to the markets.

While deployed overseas with the military, Amber learned the importance of analyzing data to forecast what is likely to happen in the future, a skill she now applies to financial markets. Prior to that, Amber studied risk management working undercover. While risk management is no longer a matter of life and death, she believes it is the most important factor in long-term trading success.

And although she makes her living in the markets, she continues to study the markets and trading daily. Her writing has been featured in trading magazines including the Market Technicians Association newsletter, Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities and Stocks, Futures and Options in the United States, and Shares, a weekly trading magazine published in the United Kingdom.

Analyst Articles

This week, the most important image isn’t a chart of the stock market… It’s a pair of pictures telling a fast-paced story about oil prices. The first is a daily chart of oil futures. The second of the pair is a satellite image of thick black smoke rising from Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq oil processing facility – that explains the price jump at the far right of the futures chart. —Recommended Link— Former Intelligence officer rocks the world of pot stocks with bombshell from SEC In just a few days, we’re going to pull back the veil… Read More

This week, the most important image isn’t a chart of the stock market… It’s a pair of pictures telling a fast-paced story about oil prices. The first is a daily chart of oil futures. The second of the pair is a satellite image of thick black smoke rising from Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq oil processing facility – that explains the price jump at the far right of the futures chart. —Recommended Link— Former Intelligence officer rocks the world of pot stocks with bombshell from SEC In just a few days, we’re going to pull back the veil on the biggest opportunity in pot stocks we’ve ever seen… On September 24 at 1 p.m. we’re releasing an exclusive interview that will rock the world of pot stocks. And anyone smart enough to follow along could walk away with an extra $260,000 in the next 12 months. Reserve your seat now. Here’s the first chart. And here’s the second. You may have seen this image over the weekend. Initial reports indicated Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched drone attacks on the facility, resulting in about half of Saudi’s processing capacity being taken offline. I have a third picture to show… Read More

For the past few weeks, I’ve been closely monitoring sentiment. Sentiment indicators measure what investors think about the markets. This class of indicators includes the weekly survey conducted by the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII). I’ve noted several times recently that this survey dates back to 1987. For an average week, 38% of investors are bullish, 30% are bearish and 32% are neutral. I believe it’s important to consider those long-term averages when looking at the current readings. Last week, just 28.6% were bullish, almost 40% were bearish and 32% were neutral. —Recommended Link— $5… Read More

For the past few weeks, I’ve been closely monitoring sentiment. Sentiment indicators measure what investors think about the markets. This class of indicators includes the weekly survey conducted by the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII). I’ve noted several times recently that this survey dates back to 1987. For an average week, 38% of investors are bullish, 30% are bearish and 32% are neutral. I believe it’s important to consider those long-term averages when looking at the current readings. Last week, just 28.6% were bullish, almost 40% were bearish and 32% were neutral. —Recommended Link— $5 Stock To Rake In $4.6 Million A DAY In 5G Patent Royalties Apple, Samsung, LG, and others will owe one under-the-radar company up to $6.65 billion in 5G licensing fees. potentially sending this $5 stock to Google levels or higher. Early investors could see $5,000 turn into $117,385 in the next 12 months. Stake your claim before this company’s name hits the evening news. Click here for full details. Source: AAII.com Currently, the number of bulls remains unusually low. More than 70% of… Read More

Tariffs and the trade war are still in the news. But they will be for some time. The uncertainty of trade is now the new normal.  That’s important because uncertainty is often associated with market declines. However, when uncertainty becomes certain, as it is now, traders tend to look past that news.  So, trade will be in the headlines for some time. Those headlines could lead to occasional blips in the market action, but it no longer seems likely that a trade war will be the catalyst for a bear market.  I know that sounds a little confusing. And I… Read More

Tariffs and the trade war are still in the news. But they will be for some time. The uncertainty of trade is now the new normal.  That’s important because uncertainty is often associated with market declines. However, when uncertainty becomes certain, as it is now, traders tend to look past that news.  So, trade will be in the headlines for some time. Those headlines could lead to occasional blips in the market action, but it no longer seems likely that a trade war will be the catalyst for a bear market.  I know that sounds a little confusing. And I know I often turn to parenting analogies to understand the market. I hope you’ll indulge me with another one…  —Recommended Link— Professional Investor Reveals Shocking New Pot Opportunity If you’ve ever thought about investing in a penny pot stock. don’t! I’ve discovered a unique marijuana profit-sharing plan backed by a U.S. Federal Law. And it’s paying a small group of regular people up to $55,563 a year. The next check run is just days away. I’ll show you how to sign up here. First children are the most stressful. Every time the… Read More

The Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cut set off another round of reports noting that interest rates are at 5,000-year lows.  Sound crazy? Well take a look at the chart below, which shows the history of rates…  …since 3000 BC.  This is interesting. It shows the highs and lows of world history. In times of global stress, rates generally rose. For example, governments often needed to pay higher interest rates to borrow during wars. The chart below shows the rate the Bank of England paid in the late 1700s.  ​  Source: Bank of England  Rates… Read More

The Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cut set off another round of reports noting that interest rates are at 5,000-year lows.  Sound crazy? Well take a look at the chart below, which shows the history of rates…  …since 3000 BC.  This is interesting. It shows the highs and lows of world history. In times of global stress, rates generally rose. For example, governments often needed to pay higher interest rates to borrow during wars. The chart below shows the rate the Bank of England paid in the late 1700s.  ​  Source: Bank of England  Rates rose after 1776, as England needed more funds to finance their role in the American Revolution. Rates came down after the war and rose again to fund the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s.  This pattern held into the 1900s. Even as the worst conflict in world history raged, interest rates were at historic lows in the 1940s. That’s because the central banks like the Fed worked with governments to hold rates down, making it possible to finance World War II.  The power of central banks has ebbed and flowed over the centuries. For now, the banks seem to be… Read More

This week’s analysis of the market seems to come down to one chart.  It’s a one-minute chart of the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE: DIA). This chart shows the minute-by-minute record of Friday’s market action.  As you’ll see clearly below, there’s only one factor that caused the big selloff on Friday morning – a tweet from President Trump asking whether Federal Reserve Chairman or China Chairman Xi Jinping is the bigger enemy.  In short, this marks a significant point in the market.  —Recommended Link— SECRET: Add $8,760 Extra to Any Retirement Account Finally… Read More

This week’s analysis of the market seems to come down to one chart.  It’s a one-minute chart of the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE: DIA). This chart shows the minute-by-minute record of Friday’s market action.  As you’ll see clearly below, there’s only one factor that caused the big selloff on Friday morning – a tweet from President Trump asking whether Federal Reserve Chairman or China Chairman Xi Jinping is the bigger enemy.  In short, this marks a significant point in the market.  —Recommended Link— SECRET: Add $8,760 Extra to Any Retirement Account Finally revealed! This “long lost” secret turns a quick 3-minute phone call into the opportunity to collect $8,760 checks. Every payment is backed by the full authority of the U.S. Government… and over $1.75 billion will be delivered to income-seeking Americans. But your action is required TODAY while the enrollment window is open. You must click here right now to get started. By themselves, Trump tweets can’t determine the direction of the trend in the stock market. Yet, it’s entirely possible we will look back in a few months and consider this to be the… Read More

An old trader once told me, “Trading is the hardest easy money you’ll ever make.”  In theory, trading is easy enough — all you have to do is buy low and sell high, right? After all, there are thousands of books claiming to have all the information we’ll ever need. In practice, however, trading is among the most difficult activities in the financial world. Despite the availability of a wealth of information, few do it well. In fact, all that accessible information actually makes it harder to trade successfully.  —Recommended Link— This “Good as Gold” Income Solution Could Pay You… Read More

An old trader once told me, “Trading is the hardest easy money you’ll ever make.”  In theory, trading is easy enough — all you have to do is buy low and sell high, right? After all, there are thousands of books claiming to have all the information we’ll ever need. In practice, however, trading is among the most difficult activities in the financial world. Despite the availability of a wealth of information, few do it well. In fact, all that accessible information actually makes it harder to trade successfully.  —Recommended Link— This “Good as Gold” Income Solution Could Pay You up to $3,379 per month FOR LIFE! Whether you’re hoping to build a bigger nest egg, travel more often, or just make the most out of your golden years, our advanced “Daily Paycheck” strategy is the most reliable way to DOUBLE your investment income. Click here to get started. Think about that for a moment.  If you could really win in the markets by simply buying stocks with low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios, then we would all be successful. As an old trader also once told me, “To know what everyone knows is to know nothing.” If everyone has the… Read More

If you follow financial markets, you almost certainly heard the news that the yield curve inverted. That news sparked a steep selloff in the stock market.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 800 points. That was the fourth largest one-day decline in history.  Now, let’s look at the news rationally.  —Recommended Link— This Wyoming rancher can put $565 in your pocket each week From my ranch, I send out an email every Friday to 1,065 regular men and women… and before the day is out, they pocket $565 in cash. The following Friday, they do… Read More

If you follow financial markets, you almost certainly heard the news that the yield curve inverted. That news sparked a steep selloff in the stock market.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 800 points. That was the fourth largest one-day decline in history.  Now, let’s look at the news rationally.  —Recommended Link— This Wyoming rancher can put $565 in your pocket each week From my ranch, I send out an email every Friday to 1,065 regular men and women… and before the day is out, they pocket $565 in cash. The following Friday, they do it again… and collect another $565. Of course, that’s just an average, but over time it works out to exactly $565.25. We’ve done it 219 times so far. ​​Join us for the next one here. In percentage terms, that 800-point decline was the 342nd biggest one-day drop. With the index above 25,000, the Dow fell 3.05% on Wednesday. That’s still bad, but it’s not as bad as it sounds when we hear it’s the fourth worst one-day loss in history.  The yield curve inversion also isn’t as bad it sounds.  The yield curve is a graph… Read More

Last week, stocks sold off and the week ended with a popular indicator showing a “sell” signal.  To understand, let’s look at a simple chart.  —Recommended Link— Life-and-death investing. At the office, we call them “essential-service” stocks. Because people don’t just want what they sell, they need it. Nobody is going to go without air conditioning in Arizona. It can be a matter of life and death. And try spending a winter in North Dakota with no heat. Forget it. So the companies that make these places livable have and extreme advantage over other businesses. Read More

Last week, stocks sold off and the week ended with a popular indicator showing a “sell” signal.  To understand, let’s look at a simple chart.  —Recommended Link— Life-and-death investing. At the office, we call them “essential-service” stocks. Because people don’t just want what they sell, they need it. Nobody is going to go without air conditioning in Arizona. It can be a matter of life and death. And try spending a winter in North Dakota with no heat. Forget it. So the companies that make these places livable have and extreme advantage over other businesses. ​​ Which is great news for us, because we’ve got a bunch of these stocks that are up 561% each. This is the kind of chart many market analysts ignore because it just seems too simple. The indicator at the bottom of the chart won’t be enough to beat the market, but it does help reduce risk.  The indicator at the bottom of the chart is the popular MACD indicator. And as I just mentioned, it’s on a “sell” signal right now.  In the past 10 years, owning the S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) only when… Read More

Today, I want to start by looking at some basic facts:  1. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates.  2. The Fed’s mandate is to “promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.”  Given those two simple facts, logic tells us that the Fed must have cut rates because unemployment is rising, prices are rising too rapidly, or long-term rates are deterring investment and capital purchases.  But that’s not why the Fed cut…  —Recommended Link— Professional Investor Reveals Shocking New Pot Opportunity If you’ve ever thought about investing in… Read More

Today, I want to start by looking at some basic facts:  1. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates.  2. The Fed’s mandate is to “promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.”  Given those two simple facts, logic tells us that the Fed must have cut rates because unemployment is rising, prices are rising too rapidly, or long-term rates are deterring investment and capital purchases.  But that’s not why the Fed cut…  —Recommended Link— Professional Investor Reveals Shocking New Pot Opportunity If you’ve ever thought about investing in a penny pot stock. don’t! I’ve discovered a unique marijuana profit-sharing plan backed by a U.S. Federal Law. And it’s paying a small group of regular people up to $55,563 a year. The next check run is just days away. ​​I’ll show you how to sign up here. According to Chairman Jerome Powell, the Fed cut to insure against downside risks from weak global growth; offset risks of trade policy uncertainty; and to promote a faster return of inflation to a symmetric 2% objective.  Weak global growth and policy uncertainty are related. That refers to the… Read More

“What will you do the first time your toddler gets swallowed by a tumbleweed?”  I actually ask people that question a couple times a year. It comes up in conversation when tourists cross my path here in Wyoming. That question is also my favorite example of unintended consequences.  —Recommended Link— SECRET: Add $8,760 Extra to Any Retirement Account​ Finally revealed! This “long lost” secret turns a quick 3-minute phone call into the opportunity to collect $8,760 checks. Every payment is backed by the full authority of the U.S. Government… and over $1.75 billion will be… Read More

“What will you do the first time your toddler gets swallowed by a tumbleweed?”  I actually ask people that question a couple times a year. It comes up in conversation when tourists cross my path here in Wyoming. That question is also my favorite example of unintended consequences.  —Recommended Link— SECRET: Add $8,760 Extra to Any Retirement Account​ Finally revealed! This “long lost” secret turns a quick 3-minute phone call into the opportunity to collect $8,760 checks. Every payment is backed by the full authority of the U.S. Government… and over $1.75 billion will be delivered to income-seeking Americans. But your action is required TODAY while the enrollment window is open. You must click here right now to get started. First of all, tumbleweed is big but it’s light. So, kids don’t get hurt when the wind blows tumbleweed into them, or when the wind blows the littlest kids into the tumbleweed. They just untangle themselves and keep playing.  But tumbleweed is an unintended consequence of living in the country. It’s a weed, so it cannot be stopped. It’s an excellent example of the annoyances that disrupt life in the country.  I… Read More