TA vs. T&A

Technical analysis, it's been said of recent market action, is negligible. Doesn't work when the market is a drug addict and going through withdrawl symptoms. Bingeing and barfing, the shakes, cold sweat ... not a lot of logic or reason to intraday swings.

Not all TA has been off-base, however. ChessNwine over at iBankCoin has been dead on with his broad-based perspective, and his recent observations about the multitude of bearish engulfing patterns — many of which include shooting stars (or as I like to call them, upside-down hammers) — that point to another downswing.

It wouldn't shock me to see these candlestick reads miss. This is truly a drugged-out market. But history has set its footprints in these dizzying patterns before, and that bears watching, no pun intended. Any trade in these waters best be with a life preserver on hand and a life raft within reach. Arrogance will be punished more so today than any time, arguably, in trading history.

I expect more murkiness and churning in June, choppy waters for bulls and bears alike. I'd love to see a clear direction that can be traded with some semblance of simplicity, but that isn't going to happen, is it? Probably not. In that light, it's always best to appreciate life's pleasures. Rich or poor, we all need our joy  and fun.

Repeat after me:

I will not bemoan the decline of the market (or Western civilization as we know it)
I will not bemoan the decline of the market (or Western civilization as we know it)
I will not bemoan the decline of the market (or Western civilization as we know it)

Rinse and repeat.