Entries by Peter Brandt

Apple (AAPL) – Head and Shoulders above the rest.

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As a trader, my favorite chart configuration is the Head and Shoulders. The H&S pattern is easily recognizable (although for reasons I will not go into here, the novice chartist falsely finds the H&S form everywhere), produces far more reliable trading signals than more frequent patterns and is found at major turning points.

Apple has formed H&S patterns at many major turning points in recent years. The Factor has identified, alerted members and traded many of the following H&S patterns in real time.

Chart traders need to keep their eyes on Apple. The H&S pattern, when it occurs in Apple, is always worth a trade. Truly, Apple is head and shoulders above the rest.

Apple - $APPL H&S Head and Shoulders pattern

Cosmo Pharmaceuticals

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This stock is traded in Switzerland. This stock has generated more trading profits for me than any other stock I have ever traded. This, of course, does not mean the interpretation herein will be correct. COPN.S has been forming the "mother of all" symmetrical triangles.

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Explaining the Dominant Fundamental Factor

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All day long we witness market “experts,” brokerage firm research analysts, the talking heads on CBNC and Bloomberg and participants in social media (Twitter, private chat rooms, et al) present this fundamental data or that fundamental data as the factors they feel should be driving market prices. In 95% of the cases, the fundamentals presented by these voices are unimportant — the facts may be correct, but the fundamentals behind the facts presented are not “market drivers.”

Traders and analysts develop the opinion that the things they focus on are really important drivers of price.

Cost of Silver production
Fed policy
Employment data
Consumer optimism
Factory production
Rail traffic
Earnings
Corporate, private and government debt trends

Explaining the Dominant Fundamental Factor

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Dominant Fundamental Factor

I have a theory about the U.S. stock market (and all other markets). I have no idea if I am right or wrong, but I believe with all my heart I am right.

The theory is that there is only one major fundamental or global macro factor (at the outside, maybe two) that drives a major trend in the U.S. stock market. I call this theory the "Dominant Fundamental Factor."

All the other apparently important fundamental factors just create confusion and market noise.

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