I've got to tell you, it's getting harder and harder to find good opportunities in either direction. On the long side, those issues that were completely battered in late November have popped up 50% to 100% and seem far too dangerous to buy. On the short side, the market has been ripped to pieces so badly that it's difficult to find much that has "escaped" the damage.

All the same, there are still opportunities, albeit less juicy ones. I just shorted EEM (with a stop at 26.47). I don't think there's a gargantuan amount of downside here, but the stop is pretty tight, the shares are extremely liquid, and it's a good way to play any weakness for the balance of the year.

A general question for the group – – if one were to posit that the $CRX (Morgan Stanley Commodity Index) was going to head lower, how would one take advantage of that?

There are options on the CRX, but the spread between the bid/ask is something like forty dollars. And, no, I'm not making that up. So, errr, how about something a skosh more efficient?

Let's think about this graph of the S&P 500 for a moment:

There have been, since the November 21st lows, three surges higher. Specifically:

 What's interesting to me is the percentage changes for each of those lunges; they are, respectively, 15%, 10%, and 5%. In other words, it's getting weaker each time; plus, the last surge didn't even make a higher high.

This, to me, is simply more evidence that the market will cough and wheeze its way to the finish line next week. I remain short.

Good morning, everyone. Very little to report on what promises to be a quiet week, but it's always a good idea to get a grasp of the latest retracement levels vis a vis the ES. Here we go:

The support levels are much closer than the resistance levels; in fact, the only resistance level you see (at 910) is the only visible one here, as the next two are way up at 925 and 950; so those holding short positions (like me) might need to hang on tight if buying appears.

Friday of next week is the first trading day of 2009 (and, believe me, if the 30 minute rule ever applies, that'll be the day to observe it!) which should change the tone of this market, which has, let's face it, grown pretty monotonous lately.

…..a man with so much on his mind have nothing on his head?

………a man with a beard like this be a bald-faced liar……………

……..a man with so much explaining to do have no lips?