Over the past week, I’ve been talking with two trusted friends who are traders based in China. One of these men, Naida, ran a hedge fund in Singapore and then moved it to China to be closer to his wife and take advantage of the rising need for good investment advice and futures trading skills in the mainland. The other is an old friend, Wu, who used to trade in New York with me back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He’s one of the smartest guys I know and an expert in quantitative algorithms. Both lamented the hellacious… Read More

Over the past week, I’ve been talking with two trusted friends who are traders based in China. One of these men, Naida, ran a hedge fund in Singapore and then moved it to China to be closer to his wife and take advantage of the rising need for good investment advice and futures trading skills in the mainland. The other is an old friend, Wu, who used to trade in New York with me back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He’s one of the smartest guys I know and an expert in quantitative algorithms. Both lamented the hellacious market controls implemented by the Chinese government to calm volatility and stop the flow of money out of stocks. In the past few months, Chinese authorities have threatened to throw short sellers in jail and have instituted a 100x increase on day-trading commissions and astronomical increases in margin costs. They reaffirmed my concerns over the country’s deteriorating fundamentals and mentioned that investors and banks had taken on extreme amounts of leverage. In short, according to the first-hand accounts of these gentlemen, China’s health and risks are way worse than the majority of American media lets on.  And they tell me… Read More

The sharp correction in stocks over the past few months has investors searching for value. But as investors cope with various global economic risks and stagnant earnings growth, upside opportunities will likely be limited. So, with the major indices below their 200-day moving averages, a key bearish indicator, I’m searching for stocks that are bucking the technical trend. These stocks are the ones most likely to deliver bullish profits — sometimes in a very short amount of time, given the high volatility in the market right now. For instance, my Profit Amplifier readers recently closed a trade… Read More

The sharp correction in stocks over the past few months has investors searching for value. But as investors cope with various global economic risks and stagnant earnings growth, upside opportunities will likely be limited. So, with the major indices below their 200-day moving averages, a key bearish indicator, I’m searching for stocks that are bucking the technical trend. These stocks are the ones most likely to deliver bullish profits — sometimes in a very short amount of time, given the high volatility in the market right now. For instance, my Profit Amplifier readers recently closed a trade in international footwear and apparel giant Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) for a 27% return in just four days. That’s right; we opened the trade on a Tuesday and closed it on a Friday. That works out to a stunning 2,481% annualized gain. There were two keys to our success with this trade that I’d like to share so you can potentially replicate them in your portfolio. First, as I mentioned, Foot Locker was seriously bucking the bearish trend of the broader market. At the time of my trade recommendation, the stock was up nearly 30% year to date while the… Read More

#-ad_banner-#It’s amazing what a month and a double-digit percentage drop in the market can do to an investor’s psyche. Just a few short weeks ago, my colleagues were nearly all-in bullish and balking at my predictions of a correction. Some even took on-air jabs at my bearish thesis while the market hit all-time highs.  Last month, I took a meeting with a few local fund managers to discuss market conditions and strategy. Many gloated about their year-to-date returns of 10% to 20%. If they only knew about the results subscribers to my premium options service, Profit Amplifier, are enjoying in… Read More

#-ad_banner-#It’s amazing what a month and a double-digit percentage drop in the market can do to an investor’s psyche. Just a few short weeks ago, my colleagues were nearly all-in bullish and balking at my predictions of a correction. Some even took on-air jabs at my bearish thesis while the market hit all-time highs.  Last month, I took a meeting with a few local fund managers to discuss market conditions and strategy. Many gloated about their year-to-date returns of 10% to 20%. If they only knew about the results subscribers to my premium options service, Profit Amplifier, are enjoying in 2015. So far this year, our closed trades have averaged an 18.4% return in 39 days. I also warned my colleagues that a correction was imminent. I cautioned that their strategies did little to protect them from a sell-off of 10% or more. What they failed to acknowledge was that with each new market high, the chances of a volatile correction increased.  Needless to say, I’ve been flooded with calls and emails asking for my advice and help in the past week. Unfortunately, buying flood insurance after a hurricane won’t do them much good.  In the past month, we’ve witnessed… Read More

The market is coming unglued before our eyes. Yesterday morning the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 1,000 points and is down about 15% from its recent highs. I’m not surprised. I’ve been warning readers for more than a month that a correction — or worse — was around the corner. #-ad_banner-#My analysis was based on slowing economic data, downward revisions in corporate earnings growth, a strong dollar and the S&P 500’s high price-to-earnings ratio (you can watch my warning here). I showed readers… Read More

The market is coming unglued before our eyes. Yesterday morning the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 1,000 points and is down about 15% from its recent highs. I’m not surprised. I’ve been warning readers for more than a month that a correction — or worse — was around the corner. #-ad_banner-#My analysis was based on slowing economic data, downward revisions in corporate earnings growth, a strong dollar and the S&P 500’s high price-to-earnings ratio (you can watch my warning here). I showed readers of my premium newsletter, Profit Amplifier, how to protect themselves from a downturn using a simple options strategy. It’s working. My recent trades have delivered 39% in seven days, 69% in nine days and 33% in just four days. Given current market conditions, it’s crucial you understand how options work, specifically put options. If you’re completely new to buying put options, that’s okay. They’re one of the most basic and common options strategies. Puts 101 Puts are commonly used as a substitution for shorting stock. But with options, we have… Read More

I’ve studied and utilized a plethora of market theories and indicators over the years, many of which I still use on a regular basis. Of all the methods out there, the Dow Theory is arguably the oldest market timing system. Created more than 100 years ago from editorials written by Charles Dow, the founder of The Wall Street Journal, it’s also a theory I can easily examine, deconstruct and “build” with relative ease because of my years of experience working with it. #-ad_banner-#Today, I’m going to explain what the Dow Theory is telling us… Read More

I’ve studied and utilized a plethora of market theories and indicators over the years, many of which I still use on a regular basis. Of all the methods out there, the Dow Theory is arguably the oldest market timing system. Created more than 100 years ago from editorials written by Charles Dow, the founder of The Wall Street Journal, it’s also a theory I can easily examine, deconstruct and “build” with relative ease because of my years of experience working with it. #-ad_banner-#Today, I’m going to explain what the Dow Theory is telling us today — and how I plan to profit from it.   Dow Theory is based on the premise that the economy grows when manufacturers are producing as much as possible. Economic growth translates into profits for companies in the industrials sector, which should show up in the performance of their stocks. Getting goods to market requires that the transportation industry also be growing, which should drive the stocks of transport companies higher. This makes sense considering increased consumer activity and health should mean more cars being driven (automobiles and fuel), more goods being shipped… Read More

#-ad_banner-#When buy and sell decisions are motivated by emotion and then amplified by mindless computer programs, stock movements can become irrational. But after the dust settles and traders gather their wits, we often find prime trading opportunities. The starkest example of this recently is Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), which has suffered a mini-crash in the past three weeks with shares down as much as 16% from their July 20 high. Ironically, Apple’s violent move lower began after the company reported record Q3 earnings, beating estimates on the top and bottom lines. However, it sold only 47.5… Read More

#-ad_banner-#When buy and sell decisions are motivated by emotion and then amplified by mindless computer programs, stock movements can become irrational. But after the dust settles and traders gather their wits, we often find prime trading opportunities. The starkest example of this recently is Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), which has suffered a mini-crash in the past three weeks with shares down as much as 16% from their July 20 high. Ironically, Apple’s violent move lower began after the company reported record Q3 earnings, beating estimates on the top and bottom lines. However, it sold only 47.5 million iPhones, less than the 48.8 million analysts had expected. Shares immediately plummeted 6.7%, which was a gross overreaction in my opinion. But the selling continued and Apple dipped below its 200-day moving average on Aug. 3. Many consider the 200-day to be an important trend indicator. Stocks trading above this average are said to be in an uptrend, while stocks trading below it are considered to be in a downtrend. More importantly, a downside penetration of the 200-day moving average triggers sell orders. So… Read More

If you had bought shares of Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) in April 2012, you’d be up 175%. That’s an impressive return, especially considering the S&P 500 is only up roughly 50% during that time. But if you’d followed my Amazon trade last week, then you would have made the same amount in three days. And no, the 175% return is not an annualized gain. #-ad_banner-#I spotted the trade using my earnings algorithm. It’s a system that helps me predict — with impressive odds — whether a company… Read More

If you had bought shares of Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) in April 2012, you’d be up 175%. That’s an impressive return, especially considering the S&P 500 is only up roughly 50% during that time. But if you’d followed my Amazon trade last week, then you would have made the same amount in three days. And no, the 175% return is not an annualized gain. #-ad_banner-#I spotted the trade using my earnings algorithm. It’s a system that helps me predict — with impressive odds — whether a company will beat or miss earnings estimates. It helped me become one of the youngest successful traders on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, and I continue to use it to this day to give me an edge in the markets. So when my algorithm signaled that Amazon had good odds of beating analysts’ estimates when it reported on July 23, I immediately sent an alert to my readers. I recommended they purchase call options on Amazon, which would allow us to amplify our gains if shares moved higher. Read More

I consider myself lucky to have begun my career before the catastrophe of the dot-com crash. I got to see up close what a boom and bust looks like. As a 20-year-old on the Philadelphia trading floor, it was truly shocking. Friends, family and colleagues were getting suckered into companies that had no real business being publicly traded, let alone recommended by financial advisors. #-ad_banner-#It was this jarring experience that taught me invaluable lessons about the market, and today I would like to share with you an alarming trend I’m currently seeing that reminds… Read More

I consider myself lucky to have begun my career before the catastrophe of the dot-com crash. I got to see up close what a boom and bust looks like. As a 20-year-old on the Philadelphia trading floor, it was truly shocking. Friends, family and colleagues were getting suckered into companies that had no real business being publicly traded, let alone recommended by financial advisors. #-ad_banner-#It was this jarring experience that taught me invaluable lessons about the market, and today I would like to share with you an alarming trend I’m currently seeing that reminds me of those tragic days in early 2000. In the beginning they laughed at me when I said it was all a pipe dream. But in a few short months, I witnessed fellow traders with much more experience than me break down in tears. Some never recovered. It was hard to watch, and I was fortunate to not get caught up in the frenzy. I was able to sidestep the wreckage and come away in the black. Most importantly, that experience has helped me spot and profit from many corrections since. Read More

Earlier this year, I made the case to readers of my premium options service, Profit Amplifier, that a market correction could happen sometime this year. Just a few months later, that time has come. I recently warned investors about trouble brewing in Russia and China, and I was on the front lines during the dot-com bubble and its subsequent burst. Fortunately, I accurately foresaw both the dot-com bust and the 2008 financial collapse as well. And I not only survived both events, but prospered. #-ad_banner-#This time around, often-overlooked warning signs suggest hundreds of popular… Read More

Earlier this year, I made the case to readers of my premium options service, Profit Amplifier, that a market correction could happen sometime this year. Just a few months later, that time has come. I recently warned investors about trouble brewing in Russia and China, and I was on the front lines during the dot-com bubble and its subsequent burst. Fortunately, I accurately foresaw both the dot-com bust and the 2008 financial collapse as well. And I not only survived both events, but prospered. #-ad_banner-#This time around, often-overlooked warning signs suggest hundreds of popular investments will be in danger of experiencing 10% to 30% drops. And at worst, we could see a full-blown, longer-term correction. But once again, my readers and I have the chance to not only protect ourselves, but even profit handsomely from the trouble that’s on the horizon. And we’ll do it in a very simple, easy-to-understand way — by using put options. Given current market risk, it’s crucial you understand how options work. In early June, I introduced you to the basics of call options. Today, I’d like to discuss put options, which will… Read More

A week ago, I warned that an event was taking place that could spark the biggest correction since 2008. That day, the S&P 500 plunged 1.7% and the VIX shot up 22%. While traders panicked, I closed two trades for annualized returns of 1,205% and 2,111%. Since then, however, the market has rebounded strongly as investors’ fears about Greece and China were temporarily assuaged. So, do I think we’re out of the woods? Not even close. Now I know some of you may be thinking things are getting better. Stocks… Read More

A week ago, I warned that an event was taking place that could spark the biggest correction since 2008. That day, the S&P 500 plunged 1.7% and the VIX shot up 22%. While traders panicked, I closed two trades for annualized returns of 1,205% and 2,111%. Since then, however, the market has rebounded strongly as investors’ fears about Greece and China were temporarily assuaged. So, do I think we’re out of the woods? Not even close. Now I know some of you may be thinking things are getting better. Stocks are trading at all-time highs, the housing market seems to be recovering and unemployment is going down. Unfortunately, when you look closer at the numbers, you get a different story. When I made my July 8 prediction calling for the most significant pullback of this decade, I pointed to four major red flags. While this secular bull market may still have some good years ahead of it, numerous warning signs foretell a correction in the near term.  #-ad_banner-# Today, I want to discuss one of the red flags I’m seeing in detail. Margin… Read More