Apple has more cash reserves than the US government

"Also, with a $75.9 billion balance, Apple is obviously doing really well in the “cash reserves” department, but it sounds even better when you hear the U.S. Treasury Department say that the government now has a total operating balance of $73.8 billion."

And, its the world's top smartphone vendor.

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From comments - JNY, 072711

A nice trade from Ray for those of you looking to do something later in the day:

"Thu - for those of you who trade later in the day, JNY made a nice setup off a hammer (5-minute timeframe) when price broke the morning high. I entered on a break of the 1:35EST bar and sold at the fibonacci extension for a .30 gain. Doesn't look like much, but almost 2.5% and I'll take it. Fibs over the morning low to high, 8EMA provided support."



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Send in the seals...

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Something a little different

I tend to find one of these explosive movers every week, and while this was not what I would consider a "textbook" setup it was still a nice, low risk/high reward opportunity.

ATRN gapped up and printed a wide range first bar, but it did leave a long upper tail (bearish). Price pulled back over the next three bars but reversed and rallied sharply back through the retracement zone (RZ) and to the Fibonacci extension (FE). Price then pulled back to solid support from the opening range high (ORH) and a rising 8EMA. I entered on a break of the 15th bar's high (which closed back above the FE). I exited half my position at $6, and the other half on the pullback to $5.50.

There were some red flags, namely the long upper tail on the first bar and the ninth bar. But overall price was acting bullish and when it closed a second time above the FE (search this blog for "beyond the Fibonacci extension" setup), I had a feeling it was setting up for a nice move.



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Happy Friday!

I've been slow to get back in the blogging groove since returning from vacation. Comments are still robust, but I have not added a lot of value. However, others have and are adding value - there is some good information if you take the time to read what they are writing.

In August, I am going to try to focus the blog on one setup so everyone can see how often it happens and how often it works. Focus has been the key to my success, and the biggest problem I see from others is they try to do too many things and as a result tend to trade too much. I will try to flesh out my ideas and share them in the next week or so.

Have a good end to your trading week and a good weekend. If time permits, I will try to put up a chart or two over the next few days.

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From comments - QCOM

I thought this was an interesting trade posted by Fred in comments. His analysis is below, but if I can "Monday morning quarterback" for a minute (as I didn't personally trade this setup), I would like to offer the following observations:

1.) Even though Fred took profits at the halfway point between the high and the Fibonacci extension, it is interesting to note that the setup did eventually reach the FE, and would not have been stopped out (assuming the stop was the opposite extreme of the entry bar). I am not pointing this out to say Fred should have held - in fact, I think he did the right thing and took profits at a critical point once he saw weakness and resistance (see his analysis). I am only pointing it out because it is always interesting to see how these things play out.

2.) The high tails on the first and third bars made this a riskier setup than usual. It is fine to take a setup with more risk, as long as you acknowledge and plan for it. The tails are most likely the reason the setup took so long to unfold. For those of you guys who insist on looking at setups later in the day, QCOM presented a few opportunities to enter as it tested and successfully bounced off of the Fibonacci zone.

From Fred:

Took QCOM today, 5-minute chart. I think it was a perfect setup on a break of the 5th bar, which was rising off the 8EMA and bouncing off the 50%, not to mention offsetting bars. It didn't make it to the extension, but I took .40 out of it and was anticipating a possible reversal as resistance was at a whole number ($57), and it was the halfway point between the high and extension. The doji 10:15 bar confirmed, and I took profits. In retrospect it would have been a great short.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I am consistently finding good setups and winners, or not trading.



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Fighting boredom

I have seen a lot of discussion in comments about fighting boredom. That is one of the reasons I refined my strategies/methodology to trade in the first few hours of the session.

Most of the time, I am done for the day by 11:30EST, and many days I am done by 10:30EST. I also have the added benefit of focusing on higher-probability trades - if you are a long-time reader of this blog, you will know I often state that, all things equal, setups that occur earlier in the trading session have a higher probability of success than setups that occur later in the trading session. It makes sense as you often hear traders "giving back gains" as they trade later in the day.

Just something to think about!

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Reader trades

I am still shaking the rust off after vacation. Here are a few reader trades - click "comments" on the last post to read the details.







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Catching up on what has been happening...

But, in reality, there is only one event that occurred during my absence that is worth discussing. One of the greatest moments in baseball history, as a matter of fact.



Watch the moment here.

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X will return next week

Posted by Admin (last Admin post before X returns):

X is going to be off on vacation for the rest of June (and early July). He asked that I make a post a few times a week to facilitate anyone who wanted to make comments or discuss trades/setups.

Here is a photo of a funny sign (funny if it wasn't your bike, that is):



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New post for comments

Posted by Admin:

X is going to be off on vacation for the rest of June (and early July). He asked that I make a post a few times a week to facilitate anyone who wanted to make comments or discuss trades/setups.

Here is a photo of the Oregon Coast:



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