RF's Financial News

Sunday, March 1, 2015

This Week in Barrons - 3-1-2015

This Week in Barrons – 3-1-2015:

"I grew up in a world where people enjoyed the freedom to communicate without being monitored, measured, analyzed, sorted or judged by systems.” … Edward Snowden

Thoughts:

Dear Ms. Yellen:

Lately, I’m feeling violated. There are no secrets anymore. The ‘social bubble’ that we’re living in is giving me a false sense of hope and trust. Do you think it’s healthy when:

- TV remotes are going to listen to our conversations? These new remotes will log my face, what TV shows I watch, and the websites, emails and conversations that it overhears. This information will then be SOLD to third parties.

- The newest ‘talking Barbie’ will come with voice recognition and access to Wi-Fi. Barbie will log her conversations and will also ‘sell’ these interactions to third parties.

- The headline in the Business Insider reads: “Oregon man fatally struck by Amtrak train as he posed for a Selfie on the Tracks".

- The average person believes that they have over 200 friends, but in reality have only met 10 of them?

Ms. Yellen, you went before Congress this week and explained that although interest rates will be rising – you’re in no big hurry to do so. But in the same breath, you told Congress that ‘under no circumstances’ do you want them AUDITING your FED. So although it’s our money and you are appointed (not elected), you don’t seem to feel the slightest obligation to let us know where, how, how much, and when our money is being spent.

I won't bore you with the details, but the month of February was a scary month:

- 33 of 38 economic indicators fell short of their estimates,

- The Keystone Pipeline was killed – again,

- The Chicago PMI touched ‘deflationary’ levels,

- The 4^th Quarter GDP was revised downward from 5% to 2.2%,

- The price of ground beef hit an all-time high,

- The Ukraine experienced hyper-inflation as their currency collapsed,

- The Greeks renewed their rioting, as they rejected increased austerity,

- AND the U.S. Government declared the ‘Internet’ officially under its control. Correspondingly the FCC refused to release the documents under which it will ‘govern’ the Internet.

It doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots between the FED not wanting Congress to AUDIT it’s books – to the FCC not wanting to release the rules surrounding how they’re going to govern the Internet. It seems that Government agencies don’t want their privacy invaded.

Well, it’s weeks like this one that I wonder who is violating me more. Is it the information gatherers – that ‘monitor, measure, and analyze’ our information in order to sell J.Q. Public stuff that he doesn’t need and can’t afford? Or is it our FED that ‘sorts and judges’ the information in order to make our economic systems survive at the expense of the vast majority of its citizens?

The Market:

According to the latest analysis from Goldman Sachs, hedge funds that are holding approximately $3 trillion – are 57% long the stock market. This is the highest commitment to stocks ever – including the market peaks back in 1999 and 2007. How can this be? There are sell signals everywhere. (a) Stocks are at all-time highs. The probability of a move to the upside is 0.23%, while the probability of a move to the downside is 6.3%. (b) The probability of a positive trend continuing for a 5^th consecutive week is less than 16%. Again, it doesn’t take a genius to know that the stock market isn’t where it is because of fundamentals and tremendous economic growth. The numbers are telling me that (this coming week) the market favors the downside. So I’m taking some profits at the top of this trend, and crossing my fingers that the selloff stops before the S&P dips below the 1,980 level.

Factually, nothing says global recovery like:

- Home Depot announcing that they will be buying back more stock than what is owned by all of their largest institutional investors combined.

- The National Association of Realtors reporting that existing home sales fell 4.9% in January. This was the lowest re-sales total since last May 2014.

- Learning that QE is still with us as the FED (by their recent own admission), is still buying mortgaged-backed securities, buying government treasury bonds, and keeping interest rates at zero.

- Seeing Israel and China cut their interest rates – making it 21 global central banks that have slashed their interest rates in the first 2 months of 2015, and

- Viewing 33 out of 38 economic reports in February missing their estimates to the downside.

Last week the DOW and the S&P both made new highs. Normally when indexes make new highs, the index itself will run higher for a couple of days and then fade back to ‘confirm’ the breakout. A breakout is ‘confirmed’ when the breakout level becomes the new ‘support’ level. If this test of support is successful and the index reverses back to moving higher, then you can be fairly confident in the resumption of the upward trend.

For example, this coming week the first test of the new S&P breakout will be the 2,100 level. If this level fails, then the breakout level from last year at 2,090 comes into focus. As long as the 2,090 level holds, then the general ‘up trend’ is sill intact; however, if we break and close under the 2,090 level – then it's an indication that something deeper is about to happen.

Right now I'm not terribly concerned, as Fridays have been strange days lately. I do think that the bears are watching, and Monday will be interesting indeed as history always repeats itself. The ‘Dot Com’ bubble had Alan Greenspan lowering rates – which triggered increased borrowing and spending – which inflated both the housing and stock markets. Then Alan began raising rates back to normal (6%). The ‘Housing’ bubble had Ben Bernanke lowering rates – and doing the exact same thing. Which brings us to our current ‘Interventionist’ bubble. Unlike Greenspan and Bernanke, Ms. Yellen has yet to raise rates or actually end QE. So when this asset bubble bursts (and it will), what will the FED do if rates are already at zero? It can’t lower rates if rates are already at zero., and there is no: “Our rates are already at Zero – Get out of Jail Free’ card. Unfortunately, raising rates and ending QE goes against the current FED’s fear of deflation. However, when this bubble bursts, we need to understand that our FED has no tool set left to save us.

TIPS:

Below is a chart of the ‘technicals’ for the up-coming week:

A couple thoughts for next week:

- Nike (NKE) – as earnings are coming up in March, I’m looking for a move higher,

- Google (GOOGL) – is looking like it wants to move higher,

- KSU – is moving higher, and of all the railroads it has the most upside potential,

- Proctor & Gamble (PG) – is looking to follow JNJ which broke-out to the upside last week,

- Gilead Pharmaceutical (GILD) – is looking to break-out to the upside,

- Russell 2000 (RUT) – I’m waiting until it fails the 1,215 level before doing a call-side butterfly,

- Samuel Adams (SAM) – had a disastrous quarter, but could be ripe for an Iron Condor moving forward, and

- FDX (FDX) – I will be adding the 190 Call Credit Spread onto our Put side to form an Iron Condor this week.

I’m still using the market volatility to sell into, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a market pull back early in the week. Some of my holdings going into the week are as follows:

- CF – MAR – BUY the +310/-315/+325 Call Butterfly, along with the +280/-290/+295 Put Butterfly – both for Credits. [Yes, you will ‘get paid’ for buying this pair,]

- IBB – MAR – BUY the +345/-350/+360 Call Butterfly, along with the +300/-310/+315 Put Butterfly – again both for Credits. [Again you will get ‘paid’ for buying this pair],

- KR – MAR – BUY the +72.5/-75/+80 Call Butterfly,

- KR – MAR – SELL the -67.5 / +65 Put Credit Spread if it drifts lower early in the week,

- CP – MAR – SELL the +170/-175 to -200/+210 Iron Condor,

- COST – MAR1 – BUY the +145 / -150 / +155 Butterfly earnings play,

- RUT – MAR – SELL the +1040/-1050 to -1270/+1280 Iron Condor,

- SPX – MAR1 – SELL the +2065/-2070 to -2135/+2140 Iron Condor

To follow me on Twitter.com and on StockTwits.com to get my daily thoughts and trades – my handle is: taylorpamm.

Please be safe out there!

Disclaimer:

Expressed thoughts proffered within the BARRONS REPORT, a Private and free weekly economic newsletter, are those of noted entrepreneur, professor and author, R.F. Culbertson, contributing sources and those he interviews. You can learn more and get your free subscription by visiting: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com> .

Please write to Mr. Culbertson at: <rfc@culbertsons.com> to inform him of any reproductions, including when and where copy will be reproduced. You may use in complete form or, if quoting in brief, reference <rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com>.

If you'd like to view RF's actual stock trades - and see more of his thoughts - please feel free to sign up as a Twitter follower - "taylorpamm" is the handle.

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Views expressed are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer, an endorsement, or inducement to invest and is not in any way a testimony of, or associated with Mr. Culbertson's other firms or associations. Mr. Culbertson and related parties are not registered and licensed brokers. This message may contain information that is confidential or privileged and is intended only for the individual or entity named above and does not constitute an offer for or advice about any alternative investment product. Such advice can only be made when accompanied by a prospectus or similar offering document. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Please make sure to review important disclosures at the end of each article.

Note: Joining BARRONS REPORT is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of RF Culbertson and Associates.

PAST RESULTS ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. THERE IS RISK OF LOSS AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GAIN WHEN INVESTING IN MANAGED FUNDS. WHEN CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS (INCLUDING HEDGE FUNDS) AN INVESTOR SHOULD CONSIDER VARIOUS RISKS INCLUDING THE FACT THAT SOME PRODUCTS AND OTHER SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT PRACTICES MAY INCREASE RISK OF INVESTMENT LOSS; MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AS MUTUAL FUNDS, OFTEN CHARGE HIGH FEES, AND IN MANY CASES THE UNDERLYING INVESTMENTS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT AND ARE KNOWN ONLY TO THE INVESTMENT MANAGER.

Alternative investment performance can be volatile. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his or her investment. Often, alternative investment fund and account managers have total trading authority over their funds or accounts; the use of a single advisor applying generally similar trading programs could mean lack of diversification and, consequently, higher risk. There is often no secondary market for an investor's interest in alternative investments, and none is expected to develop.

All material presented herein is believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. Opinions expressed in these reports may change without prior notice. Culbertson and/or the staff may or may not have investments in any funds cited above.

Remember the Blog: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/>
Until next week – be safe.

R.F. Culbertson

<mailto:rfc@culbertsons.com>

<http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com>

Sunday, February 22, 2015

This Week in Barrons - 2-22-2015

This Week in Barrons – 2-22-2015:

"In Greece, Wise men speak – Fools decide" … George Santayana

Thoughts:

Dear Ms. Yellen:

As the story goes, Bobby Fisher (the chess grandmaster pictured above in his match with Boris Spassky) could think 12 moves ahead of his opponent. As of this moment, I think Greece is having trouble thinking one move ahead of the ECB. My attempt to simplify the negotiations:

- GR Move #1 = The Syriza Party (a far-left Socialist group) recently gained control of Greece, and (up until last week) threatened to exit the Euro (which amounts to a full default on their loan obligations) in exchange for more bailout money.

- ECB Move #1 = The ECB reacted by eliminating Greece’s ability to use their own Greek bonds as collateral for any loans. This forced a temporary stalemate between Greece and Europe.

- GR Move #2 = Then Greece offered some concessions to its previous stance, and pledged to work with the ECB as long as Greece was paid an ‘additional’ $270 billion dollar in bailout funds.

- ECB Move #2 = Germany (being nobody’s fool) rejected Greece’s application out of hand and issued a statement: “The Syriza Party threatens to leave the Eurozone, default on all of its debts, end austerity in Greece – AND expects Europe to give them $100’s of billions to do so?” They went on further to explain that Greece was never serious about fiscal responsibility, and blames everyone else for all of the debt that they have created.

- GR Move #3 = The Greek people have elected Socialism. Unfortunately Socialism requires money to survive, and the only one giving Greece money is Europe. Therefore, on Friday the Greeks accepted a 4-month extension of their existing loan agreement with NO NEW terms, and conceded some important elements.

- ECB Move #3 = You don’t have to be a chess grandmaster to see how this game plays out.

None of the above changes the fact that the world is dead broke, and in debt all the way up to our receding hairlines. There is no mathematical way out of our collective economic condition. Ms. Yellen, you either have to continue creating new money and debt out of thin air forever, or there has to be a gigantic ‘reset’ button. History shows us that there are only two solutions out of hopeless debt. The first is massive default, and the second is war. Ms. Yellen, if you’re thinking 12 moves ahead, which move do you see coming first?

The Market:

Factually:

- The ceasefire in the Ukraine is not holding, but no one wants to admit it.

- This week’s oil inventory report showed an incredible oil surplus. With nobody cutting production, what happens in a month or two when we fill up all of the oil storage containers?

- Global shipping is at a standstill, as the Baltic Dry Index is close to historical lows.

- The Philly FED’s February Manufacturing survey fell for the 3^rd consecutive month.

- Baker Hughes reported that the number of rigs actively drilling for oil and natural gas in the U.S. is down by 30% (406 rigs) from a year ago.

- Mortgage applications were down 13%.

Several weeks back, I wrote of the lack of ‘skilled’ workers in the U.S. This week Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce came out with a study showing that not all college majors are ‘created equal’. The unemployment rate for recent college graduates varies wildly, depending upon the bachelor’s degree. The lowest bachelor’s degree unemployment rates are for: education (2.4%), then biology and life sciences (2.6%), followed by healthcare (2.7%), engineering (2.8%) and then computers, statistics and mathematics (3.5%). The highest unemployment rates are for architecture (10.3%), social sciences (10.1%), psychology and social work (9%), law and public policy (8.6%), humanities and liberal arts (8.4%), and followed by communication and journalism (8.2%). The report is also quick to point out that it’s really what you GET for your money. After all, college graduates are carrying over $1.2 trillion in debt. The good news is that recent college graduates have an average starting wage premium of 140% over those with only a high school diploma. But that’s not the same for every major. Recent college graduates who major in the arts, psychology, and social work earn an average of $31,000 a year – only $1,000 more than the average high school-educated worker. However, those majoring in engineering earn (on average) $57,000 a year, almost twice as much as high school graduates.

As for the markets, Friday had every chance to be a long boring grinding session. After the 100 point morning decline, the news hit about a potential ECB / Greek deal. And (on the surface) the ECB and the Greeks had agreed to a 4-month loan extension in exchange for Greece giving up many ‘non-negotiable rights’. So what happens now? The Greeks have until early this week to ‘make it official’. If the agreement is signed, realize we will have to go through this same nightmare again in 4 months.

With that news event as a driver, the DOW joined the S&P on Friday in making all-time new highs. This week (along with the Greek decision) we have a two-day Fed meeting that will culminate in a Ms. Yellen press conference. Due to both of these events occurring in the same week, I am safe in predicting that this market could go ‘big’ in either direction. For example:

- If the Greek deal is off and its citizens are rioting – then we will lose those new market highs quickly.

- If the Greeks ratify the deal, and the FED stays dovish about not raising rates too quickly – then the market could add a few hundred points in short order.

- And if the Greeks ratify the deal, but Ms. Yellen talks a little tougher about raising rates – then we could trade sideways and choppy.

So for this week we are trading day-to-day. The market has made new highs; let’s see if the market can hold onto them.

TIPS:

J.P. Morgan (JPM) and Facebook (FB) both pinned for us on Friday – creating quite a windfall. This means that based upon the market direction, option buying volume, etc. – that JPM and FB both ended the day exactly on the share prices that I had predicted. Congrats to all of you who were with me on those two trades.

Below is a chart of the ‘technicals’ for the up-coming week:

A couple thoughts for next week:

- Dominion Resources (D) – looking at buying the MAR +72.5/-77.5 Call Debit Spread,

- 3-D Printing (DDD) – looking at buying the MAR +30/-28 Put Debit Spread,

- Dr. Pepper (DPS) – looking at buying the MAR +75/-80 Call Debit Spread,

- Amgen (AMGN) – looking at selling the MAR -145/+140 Put Credit Spread

- Nike (NKE) – as earnings are coming up in March, I’m looking for a move higher,

- Devon Energy (DVN) and Marathon Oil (MRO) – as energy finds a bottom, a move higher could be in the cards, and

- FDX (FDX) – as this stock lies dormant – the idea of selling an Iron Condor is intriguing.

I’m still using the market volatility to sell into, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a market pull back early in the week due to the market’s irrational exuberance surrounding the Greek situation on Friday. Some of my holdings going into the week are as follows:

- CF – MAR – BUY the +310/-315/+325 Call Butterfly, along with the +280/-290/+295 Put Butterfly – both for Credits. That’s right – you will ‘get paid’ for buying this pair,

- IBB – MAR – BUY the +345/-350/+360 Call Butterfly, along with the +300/-310/+315 Put Butterfly – again both for Credits. Again getting paid for buying this pair,

- KR – MAR – BUY the +72.5/-75/+80 Call Butterfly,

- CP – MAR – SELL the +170/-175 to -200/+210 Iron Condor,

- RUT – MAR – SELL the +1040/-1050 to -1270/+1280 Iron Condor,

- RUT – MAR – BUY the +1130 / -1200 / +1260 Call Butterfly,

- SPX – MAR – SELL the +2050/-2055 to -2125/+2130 Iron Condor

To follow me on Twitter.com and on StockTwits.com to get my daily thoughts and trades – my handle is: taylorpamm.

Please be safe out there!

Disclaimer:

If you'd like to view RF's actual stock trades - and see more of his thoughts - please feel free to sign up as a Twitter follower - "taylorpamm" is the handle.

If you'd like to see RF in action - teaching people about investing - please feel free to view the TED talk that he gave on Fearless Investing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Z9I_6ciH0

Creativity = http://vimeo.com/user8991651/review/105373017/0d0c374c28

Investing = http://vimeo.com/user8991651/review/105373016/a5e84dd610

Marketing = http://vimeo.com/user8991651/review/105373015/d7237d026d

Sales = http://vimeo.com/user8991651/review/105373014/0e44b43962

To unsubscribe please refer to the bottom of the email.

Note: Joining BARRONS REPORT is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of RF Culbertson and Associates.

Remember the Blog: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/>
Until next week – be safe.

R.F. Culbertson

<mailto:rfc@culbertsons.com>

<http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com>

Sunday, February 15, 2015

This Week in Barrons - 2-15-2015

This Week in Barrons – 2-15-2015:

"Me? I don't have a money problem. Now my creditors, THEY have a money problem" … Willie Nelson

Thoughts:

Dear Ms. Yellen:

This picture reminds me of the old adage, "If you owe the bank $1,000, YOU have a problem. If you owe the bank $1 million, THEY have a problem."

Willie Nelson was known to have enormous debts, and one day (when a reporter asked about them) he replied: "Me? I don't have a money problem. Now my creditors, yeah – they have a money problem." Along the same lines, I’m concerned: Does anybody really pay their bills anymore?

For example: The IMF (International Monetary Fund), after being worried about the situation in the Ukraine, has decided to grant them yet ‘another’ bail out loan. Ironically most of the money will go to paying back much of what the Ukraine owes to Russia. But when will the Ukraine ‘ever’ pay back the IMF? Greece is still in talks where they are asking the EU to forgive ALL of their debts. And if the EU does that, who pays back all of Greece’s creditors? The size of the Greek debt is really unimportant. What really matters is WHO they owe the money to. This could be another ‘Lehman’ moment where Greece folds, and the ripples go throughout the banking community and ‘blow up’ (and declare worthless) all of the derivative contracts based upon Greek debts throughout the world.

The more I think about this, it was just last week when the EU told Greece: (a) “We don’t do bridge loans”, and (b) “You have 10 days to tow the line or leave the EU.” So if the EU does offer a 70-year ‘bridge loan’ to Greece, that means that Greece (a country broken beyond repair) will have shown the EU who is boss.

I find that paying your bills goes hand-in-hand with telling the truth. This week the world was notified that Brian Williams (of NBC News) had been placed on an un-paid suspension for 6 months – for various ‘non-truthful’ indiscretions. The ties between politics and media have become so convoluted that it’s virtually impossible not to touch on a ‘conflict of interest’ wherever you step: For example:

- Elizabeth Sherwood is the White House Special Advisor. Ben Sherwood (the President of ABC) just happens to be Elizabeth’s brother.

- Hillary Clinton’s Deputy Secretary was Tom Nides. Virginia Mosely (the President of CNN) is Tom’s wife.

- Susan Rice is the National Security Advisor. Cameron Rice (the Executive Producer of ABC News) is Susan’s husband.

- And Ben Rhodes is the White House Security Advisor for Strategic communications. David Rhodes (the President of CBS) is Ben’s brother.

I’ll stop here, because with these types of connections, dependencies and implications – it’s impossible for any news anchor (Brian Williams included) to deliver you the truth 100% of the time.

Ms. Yellen, with you being a staunch Keynesian (along with the entire Federal Reserve Board of Governors) I realize you view deflation as the greatest threat to our economy. In fact, your current policies are focused on creating a 2 to 2.5% ‘inflationary’ environment. You must be frustrated by having to continue: (a) a Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP), (b) buying treasuries and mortgage backed securities, (c) watching the dollar move higher, (d) view our ever-widening trade gap, (e) see our capital inflows weaken, and (f) watch our Consumer Price Index (CPI) contract. The consumer weapons used to fight inflation are ‘credit’ related; however, the consumer weapons used to fight deflation are ‘cash’ related. As every nation continues to ‘pass-the-buck’ to every other nation, I’m curious – when are you going to press the ‘re-set’ button? The reason I asked is that the next time I hear Willie sing: “If you’ve got the money, I’ve got the time” I’d like to know that somebody actually had the money to ‘pay their bill’ and that anybody is consistently telling me the truth.

The Market:

This market is moving based upon three elements: (a) the price of oil, (b) the strength of the U.S. dollar, and (c) the availability of ‘easy’ money. Historically, no bull market ends without a ‘speculative’ phase. If 2014 was the bull market that everyone loved to hate, then 2015 will be the ‘speculative’ phase that precedes the ending of the bull market. This next phase could be very powerful and easily take us from 4,400 to 6,000 on the NASDAQ. Some signs that I’m seeing for that are: (a) Bonds (TLT) are quickly falling, (b) the U.S. dollar is going sideways to higher, (c) the Yen broke support and is falling, (d) Oil prices are stabilizing and remaining low, and (e) Gold prices are falling.

This week:

- U.S. Initial jobless claims jumped to over 300k. Why are 304K people on the ‘first time’ unemployment line – if jobs are so plentiful?

- Retail sales FELL 0.8%. Evidently all the money people are saving on gasoline isn't making it into the stores.

- The Baltic Dry Index (the main ‘shipping’ measure) has hit record lows.

- Home mortgage applications fell 9%.

- Russia was given permission by Cyprus to open a military base a mere 40 miles away from an existing NATO base.

- Russia (after signing the world’s largest energy deal with China) is now talking with Turkey and Egypt to trade in ‘home currencies’, not U.S. dollars.

- Germany came out publically against the U.S. saying: "We are NOT on board with sending arms to Ukraine, because arming them will NOT create peace".

- Marine LePen (the leader of the third largest political party in France) came out and said: “As for the Ukraine, we should not behave like our American lackeys. The aim of the Americans is to start a war in Europe by pushing NATO to the Russian border.”

Last week the S&P made a new high, with the DOW only a handful of points away from that lofty goal. There is a possibility that the S&P breakout won't hold; however, the smart money is with the DOW making it over its old highs. If the DOW manages to get up and over the December highs, that means the Russell 2000 index (IWM), the S&P and the DOW will all be at new highs with NO overhead resistances. That could indeed cause a short squeeze, and the markets would move considerably higher in a short period of time.

So watch for the DOW to close over 18,053. If that happens, then anyone who was shorting that upper resistance area will get scared and buy into this market in a heartbeat – sending things even higher. But, a single day of all-time highs does not a trend make. So we need to consider that the S&P could be showing us a false breakout, and certainly any bad news out of the Ukraine or Greece could drop us like a rock. After all, the world right now is a powder keg, and matches are lying around everywhere.

TIPS:

Google, Twitter, and some of the stocks that previously held the markets back are beginning to ramp-up fairly aggressively. TLT (the bond indicator) is experiencing some serious selling, and has broken below its 55-day moving average. I’m looking for TLT to stabilize, but the fact that TLT came down so aggressively is adding more fuel to this stock market rally.

Below is a chart of the ‘technicals’ for the up-coming week:

A couple thoughts for next week:

- FedEx (FDX) to the long side – ahead of earnings,

- Winnebago (WGO) and Nike (NKE) = looking to get long,

- Procter & Gamble (PG) has gotten crushed with the strength of the dollar – looking at selling a Put Credit Spread.

- Apple (AAPL) is a little extended, and selling a weekly Call Credit Spread seems like the right move.

- Gilead (GILD) is on the move again – and could be a great long candidate.

- Styker (STK) along with Merck (MRK) are also looking good to the upside.

I’m still selling into this market volatility, and don’t be surprised if we see a pull back early in the week – prior to monthly options expiration this Friday:

- TWTR – FEB – BUY the +46/-50 Call Debit Spread,

- JPM – FEB – SOLD the +58/-60 to -60/+62 Iron Condor – looking for a pin around $60 this week and therefore also BUY the FEB +58 / -60 / +62 Butterfly,

- NFLX – FEB – SOLD the +450 / -455 Put Credit Spread,

- AAPL – FEB – BUY the +128 / -130 / +132 Butterfly – looking for a pin around $130 this week,

- RUT – MAR – SELL the +1040/-1050 to -1270/+1280 Iron Condor,

- RUT – MAR – BUY the +1130 / -1200 / +1260 Call Butterfly,

- SPX – FEB – SELL the +1870 / -1875 to -2110 / +2115 Iron Condor

To follow me on Twitter.com and on StockTwits.com to get my daily thoughts and trades – my handle is: taylorpamm.

Please be safe out there!

Disclaimer:

If you'd like to view RF's actual stock trades - and see more of his thoughts - please feel free to sign up as a Twitter follower - "taylorpamm" is the handle.

If you'd like to see RF in action - teaching people about investing - please feel free to view the TED talk that he gave on Fearless Investing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Z9I_6ciH0

Creativity = http://vimeo.com/user8991651/review/105373017/0d0c374c28

Investing = http://vimeo.com/user8991651/review/105373016/a5e84dd610

Marketing = http://vimeo.com/user8991651/review/105373015/d7237d026d

Sales = http://vimeo.com/user8991651/review/105373014/0e44b43962

To unsubscribe please refer to the bottom of the email.

Note: Joining BARRONS REPORT is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of RF Culbertson and Associates.