Hooray for Bollywood!

It seems that "Bollywood" dance classes are "in."

The dance combines traditional Indian folk dances and hip-hop moves, and is becoming more and more popular with gym-goers in America.

Right here in Houston, Hybrid Rhythms, which opened in 2008, already has five locations. According to the American Council on Exercise, ethnic dancing like belly dancing, salsa dancing and Bollywood dancing are major growth areas for gyms, since lots of exercise junkies are simply getting bored with the traditional treadmill. Ethnic dance classes area also attracting people who don't usually exercise.

Well, the stock market did its own style of "dancing" today as it gyrated all over the place... and... like a belly dancer... "teased" us with a rally towards the end of the day.

It was just a tease, though. The DJIA ended the day in the red, down over 80 points with the Nasdaq down 16 and change. Guess the indexes just got tired of the "dance."

Anyway, I've found an interesting bombed-out real estate play today whose chart shows a beauty of a Morning Star RSVP Play. It could be ready to "dance" to the upside in a big way. I'll name it for my Premium Members.

Gentle Ben to the rescue!

Stocks bounced back strongly today after Federal Reserve Chairman "Gentle Ben" Bernanke calmed investors by downplaying any notion of nationalizing major banks.

Come to think of it... where has he BEEN lately? Kinda wish he had said something like that a tad sooner.

Anyway, financials led the market's strong rebound today from another shellacking during the prior session, which had stocks nearing 12-year lows.

And today's market action... with its strength and volume... marks the first day of a rally attempt. As I said yesterday, the market "owes" us at least a relief rally. We may have seen that today. But with the market so absurdly oversold short term, this could be a highly-profitable, playable rally. We'll see.

The DJIA was up a nice 236.16 points, or 3.32%, while the Nasdaq did even better percentage-wise, up 54.11 points, or almost 4%.

That's more like it!

Anyway, I've found a nice ARM Play variation on a small drug stock this evening. It recently doubled in five days before pulling back. But it's starting to move up strongly again. I'll name it for my Premium Members.

A few more fun movie facts...

Well, the Oscars certainly didn't set any ratings records, but they were more popular with TV audiences than most experts thought they would be this year.

In light of that, how about a few more "fun facts" I bet you didn't know about the movies? (Again, from the book "Who Knew?" by David Hoffmann).

Here we go...

"From Russia With Love" was chosen as the second James Bond novel to be adapted as a film after President John Kennedy listed it as one of his ten favorite books of all time.

In "The Graduate", the parts of Benjamin Braddock and Mrs. Robinson were originally offered to Robert Redford and Doris Day.

The title role in "Beetlejuice" was written for Sammy Davis Jr.

All the still photos of Forrest Gump picture him with his eyes closed.

According to the film's animators, you'll see 6,469,952 black spots every time you watch "101 Dalmations".

Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones was the college roommate (Harvard, class of 1969) of former Vice President Al Gore.

The signature line drawing of Alfred Hitchcock was drawn by Alfred Hitchcock.

A recording of a camel's moan was slowed down and used as the sound of the tornado in "Twister".

Well, that's it for "Fun Movie Facts". Hope you enjoyed them.

The DJIA would again certainly win no Oscar, but perhaps a "Golden Turkey" award for the way it's been acting lately. Another 250 point drop today. Where's the bottom? No one knows, since the "magic" 7,500 support level is now history, but we're coming up to the month of March, when the market usually turns back around.

We'll see if that happens this year.

Anyway, I've found a stock that's so oversold it could more than double and just be back at its 50-day Exponential Moving Average. It was up over 40% today on huge volume, so the bounce may have begun. I'll name it for my Premium Members.

Fun movie facts...

In honor of the Oscars occurring this weekend, I thought it might be fun to find some "interesting facts" about the movies. I found a bunch in the book "Who Knew?" by David Hoffmann.

Let's see if you knew any of these movie facts...

According to the author of "The Wizard of Oz" L. Frank Baum, the name Oz was thought up when he looked at his filing cabinet and noticed one drawer marked "A-G", a second tagged "H-N", and the third labeled "O-Z".

"Cinderella" has been made into a movie more times than any other story.

The sight of oranges in all three Godfather films signals that death (or a close call) is about to happen.

Director Wes Craven named Freddy Krueger after a kid who bullied him in school.

Burt Reynolds was cast as Han Solo in Star Wars, but dropped out before filming began.

In Pulp Fiction, the "F" word is used 257 times.

22 cigarettes are smoked in Casablanca.

Despite its 216-minute running time, Lawrence of Arabia has no women in speaking roles.

When the name "Alan Smithee" is credited as a film's director, it means that the real director has disavowed the project and does not want his or her real name to be used.

Well, I have more... but I think that's enough for now.

The DJIA would certainly win no Oscar for its performance this week. The index closed at a 6-year low due to bank nationalization fears. And it came close to reaching its worse level since 1997! Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd told Bloomberg the government may take over both Bank of America and Citigroup "for a short while."

But, as always, there are a handful of great charts, even in a bear market. HMSY is gorgeous, for example. I've liked that stock for some time.

But I've found a rare Baffle Play to recommend to watch on Monday. The stock was up over 50% on Friday on huge volume, and I think it has even more upside ahead. I'll name it for my Premium Members.

This is NOT science fiction - honest!

I ran across some "interesting facts" about the planets and other space-related objects today. See if you agree...

Every gaseous planet has rings.

Uranus is the only known planet that spins on its side; every other planet spins counterclockwise except for Venus. Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

A white dwarf is smaller than the state of Texas, but so dense that if a cubic inch of it were brought to earth, it would weigh more than 1.5 million tons.

A neutron star is so dense that a tablespoon of matter from it would weigh over 5,000 tons.

There are more stars in space than there are specks of sand on the Earth.

Next to the sun, the closest star to Earth is Proxima Centauri, which is part of the Alpha Centauri System 4.3 light-years from us, which has three stars. Proxima Centauri, and two larger stars Alpha Centauri A and B.

Fun stuff.

The DJIA committed what I had thought would be science fiction today... it took out its November low and is now at its lowest point since October 2002. The Nasdaq is still holding up above its November low. Both indexes are now in tremendously oversold territory, so... unless we just have a market crash (fingers crossed!)... we're due at least a "mercy bounce" here.

One strong sector today was Auto Parts. Good charts there include AZO, CPRT, ORLY, and AAP.

WFMI (Whole Foods Market Inc.) was up a tidy 37.24% on humongous volume due to several analyst upgrades. Pretty tasty!

But I'm going back to the Precious Metals sector for my recommendation today. I've found a dandy of an ARM Play setup. The stock was up over 18% today on huge volume, and I think it has even more upside ahead. I'll name it for my Premium Members.

Hey! Want to go on a "virtual date"?

Technology never ceases to amaze me. At least what you can do with it sometimes.

For example, online dating services are huge. Whatever demographic, race, religion, age, or whatever else you belong to, I'm sure you can find a dating service on the Internet just for you.

But here's something different I ran across today...

Want to know how the "first date" might go with someone? Well, go on a "virtual date" with them to find out!

That may soon become a reality, as major dating services are working on your ability to have an "online fling" with someone before going out with them. And this involves much more than just a chat line, where you can get the "preliminaries" out of the way first, before deciding to actually go out with each other.

In fact, a virtual dating web site named OmniDate lets users create online "representations of themselves" and then "meet" their date in a virtual bar or cafe to see how things might go.

I don't know about you, but sometimes the "old-fashioned way" of doing things is much more fun!

As far as the stock market goes, we seem to be still mired in an "old-fashion" bear market. We've seen several rally attempts since last November's (for now) bottom, but each time they've been thwarted.

 

Gold stocks are still going ballistic in this environment, as the price of the precious metal escalates almost daily because of the enormous investor flight to safe havens.

And I found a small metals stock today that popped over 40% in a decent Baffle Play setup. Based on its long-term chart, I think it has plenty of upside ahead. I'll name it for my Premium Members.

Cure for the common cold? Good news and bad news...

I ran across an intriguing article about the common cold I'd like to share with you...

According to the journal Science, scientists have unraveled the genetic code of the common cold.

That's the good news.

The bad news? The scientists also discovered the many different strains of the common cold are even more complicated than they expected. Due to the many mutations, researchers now believe there can be no "one cure", and that many different drugs will need to be developed to cure the cold.

The stock market also showed us some "good news, bad news" Friday.

The bad news concerned the sea of red across all the major indexes. The DJIA, Nasdaq, NYSE Exchange Composite and the S&P 500 all looked "under the weather" at Friday's close.

But the good news is that I'm seeing a handful of beautiful chart setups, even in the negative market environment. In fact, I was surprised at the quality of some of them.

And there's a small medical device company that exploded over 80% Friday (it doubled in price intraday) based on some HUGE news released by the company. I think the small stock could be a home run. I'll name it for my Premium Members.

Gold stocks continue to "shine"...

As I work my way through hundreds of charts this evening (as I do most evenings), I'm still finding the one sector sporting the nicest-looking charts continue to be the Gold and Silver companies.

Some of these beauties have more than doubled just since December!

And there was no shortage of great charts in the sector today. Just about any chart in that area will do, but especially nice are: AU, GOLD, HMY, DROOY (one of my favorites), IAG, GFI, and THM. Look at SLW in the Silvers too. One analyst I follow claims that Silver is now undervalued compared to Gold, and the Silver stocks may play "catch-up" to the Golds.

The precious metals area is seen as a "Safe Haven" by most investors and traders, so it's no wonder the sector is doing so well with the turmoil and uncertainty going on in the rest of the market.

Indeed, Gold futures added to their recent gains today, climbing above $940 an ounce to their highest level in nearly seven months, as investors continued to buy the metal amid doubts on new economic rescue plans unveiled in the U.S.

While I love the precious metal sector in general, I've found a beauty of an RSVP Play in - of all things - the embattled Finance / Insurance sector. It's a stock that sold for $80 in late 2007, and it's been beaten down to 4 bucks and change. But it was up huge today on humongous volume, and may be blasting out of a huge base. I'll name it for my Premium Members.

The economic stimulus bill passed. So why did the market implode?

It was not a happy day on Wall Street today.

The Dow plummeted 382 points, or 4.62%, and the Nasdaq swan-dived (or is it "swan-dove"?) 67 points, or 4.2%.

You would have expected just the opposite, with the economic "stimulus" plan getting through the Senate (barely), and some supposedly positive things about to happen to kick-start the broken financial system back into gear.

So I did some research to see what the market didn't like about today's events...

The new Secretary of the Treasury - Tim Geithner - made an announcement about the second phase of the $700 billion bailout package known as TARP (or the Troubled Asset Relief Program). Basically, the new approach is based on the elimination of toxic assets via a "bad bank", capital injections and fixes to the credit market, and help for homeowners in the form of mortgage relief.

Sounds pretty good - so what happened after that?

Well, one source I found today stated that poor Tim looked like a "deer caught in the headlights" as he made his announcement... which failed to inspire any confidence whatsoever. In fact, he did just the opposite.

After giving the few details about what the Treasury Department would do, our new secretary shockingly admitted the plan was just a "rough outline" and would likely be changed in the upcoming months as things evolve.

Tim then sped off to Italy for a speech at a G7 meeting - causing more uncertainty as many analysts speculate he was going to "put his head together" with other leaders to figure out exactly what the heck to do.

The stock market hates uncertainty. And the new administration has produced a TON of that lately, with no real show of leadership whatsoever. And the market certainly does NOT like "we'll figure it out as we go along" kind of thinking.

Let's just hope and pray we don't see the market crash here. Be safe (and alert) out there!

But even in the worst markets, there are always a handful of stocks doing surprisingly well. In this market, I'd continue to look at the Gold stocks for opportunities.

And if the market truly is "going to hell in a handbasket" - you can make huge short-term gains in the ultra-short ETFs - like FAZ did today (up 26% just today on huge volume).

I've found a beauty of a Baffle Play this evening too. It's a business equipment stock, and it's been beaten down way too much in my opinion. Selling for over $10 just last May, it's just over a buck and change now. I'll name it for my Premium Members.

Want taller children? Here's how...

More from the "Interesting Facts" department...

A study by the Bristol University of England found that children born in late summer and autumn are often taller than children born in winter.

The summer and autumn kids were on average a 5th of an inch taller than their peers by the age of 10, based on the study of 7,000 children.

The reason?

According to the study, mothers entering late-stage pregnancy in the summer get necessary vitamin D by walking around outside.

Makes sense to me.

The mixed markets themselves had a "taller vs. shorter" issue today. The Dow and Nasdaq came out on the "short" end, with small losses, while the NYSE Composite and S&P 500 looked slightly "taller" with small gains.

The markets seem to be stuck in a "wait and see" attitude until something of some substance comes out of Washington, D.C. in the form of an economic stimulus package. My feeling is that event will come soon, and could rocket the market up mightily.

So let's keep our fingers crossed.

I'm about to name a beaten-down stock that was up mightily itself today. Selling for over $33 just last June, it's at 7 bucks and change now. I think it's way oversold, (it has a P/E ratio of only 2.18 and yields over 8%) and I'll name it for my Premium Members.

Has the recession come to this? Say it ain't so!

Well, it seems the ongoing financial crisis is about to take its toll on yet another crucial area of our economy.

Brace yourselves, because this is serious.

It could put a damper on the biggest money-raiser for a certain world-renowned organization, for sure.

 Of course, I'm talking about the Girl Scouts, and the selling of their world-famous Girl Scout cookies.

Due to the financial woes assailing the economy right now, the Girl Scouts have had to reduce the size and amount of some cookies this year because of rising baking costs.

Specifically, Lemon Chalet Cremes will shrink in size, and there will be 2-4 fewer cookies in boxes of Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwiches and others.

So... for the good of the economy... but ESPECIALLY for the Girl Scouts (and lovers of their cookies)...

Let's get the economic stimulus package coming out of Washington fixed and implemented ASAP!

Speaking of which...

Rumblings from D.C. of that stimulus plan actually coming to life, along with another bank bailout package plan announcement, sent bank and other financial-related stocks soaring on Friday. In fact, you probably could have thrown a dart at a list of bank stocks and made at least 20% on your money on any stock the dart landed on.

The stock market itself felt "stimulated" again on Friday, with the Dow rallying triple digits once again with a sweet 217.52 point gain, and the Nasdaq up about the same percentage with a 45.47 point pop.

Once again, there were tons of nice RSVP (Rare Spike on Volume and Price) Plays on Firday. And I'd be remiss if I didn't go for one of these high-flying bank stocks as they arise, Phoenix-like, from the dead.

I've found a beauty of one (it's a bank stock, and you may be familiar with it). The chart formed a gorgeous MONSTAR (Morning Star on Steroids) setup on Firday, is up big after hours, and could keep soaring from here. I'll name it for my Premium Members.

PETA will love this, I'm sure...

I read an article today which had good news for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

It seems that some U.K. scientists have printed patterns of human neurons on the silicon surface of computer chips. Edinburgh University scientists dipped the PC chips into a protein broth (yum!), and the neurons grew along their etched patterns.

So what, you say?

Well, for one thing, the technology could be used to reconstruct damaged human tissue.

And it could also reduce the need for animal testing during drug development. New drugs could be tested on computer chips instead of animals.

PETA, and animal lovers in general, should be so happy.

The stock market was pretty happy today, with the Dow rallying triple digits again with a 106+ point gain, and the Nasdaq - once again - did even better percentage-wise with a 31+ point improvement.

There were tons of nice RSVP (Rare Spike on Volume and Price) Plays today, but I'm choosing a stock with a textbook ARM (Awesome Rising Method) chart to recommend to my Premium Members this evening. It's in the suddenly very hot Stem Cell sector, and after a recent pullback, popped 20% today as part of the ARM. I think it may have lots more upside to come.

Is Your Phone Number Worth $40,000? This one might be...

Remember that song by Tommy Tutone from a few years ago called "867-5309 / Jenny"?

Well, a DJ named Spencer Potter owns that number in the 201 area code, and wants to sell it through an auction on eBay. He says people began calling the number as soon as he got it for free five years ago.

And it could be a valuable number indeed.

eBay bidding hit around $5,000 recently, and Potter hopes to walk away with at least $40,000.

Not too shabby.

That would be $5,714.29 per digit (not including the area code). I like those numbers!

The numbers were not so hot in the stock market today, with the Dow down triple digits at 121.7, giving most of yesterday's nice gains right back. The Nasdaq did better, holding on for just a small loss of 1.25 points.

Shipping stocks did well today. Great charts there include: EGLE, EXM, GNK, TBSI, and DSX. Small Golds and certain Biotech stocks remain lucrative as well.

But I found a bombed-out, given-up-for-dead stock (and being practically given away as well) in a different sector today that formed a nice Baffle Play setup, popping over 20% on huge volume. Talk about a cheap stock - its P/E ratio is only 0.89! I'm about to name the stock for my Premium Members.

Here's another one for the "I could have told you that!" department...

I frequently run across articles in various periodicals that tell about elaborate (and sometimes costly) studies or surveys that end up with "obvious" results.

Here's a good one I came across today...

A survey by risk management firm ISO Quality Planning concluded that drivers of Hummer SUVs are five times more likely to get a traffic ticket than the average driver.

The reason?

Seems that the "sense of power" drivers say they feel behind the wheel of the big SUVs "may" foster more reckless driving.

No joke! I could have told you that!

The study did go on to say (and this is less intuitive) that, by contrast, drivers of the Chevy Tahoe, Jaguar XJ, and Buick Lucerne were less likely than average drivers to be ticketed.

I could not have told you that.

Anyway...

No recklessness in the stock market today, just rally time!

The Dow was up triple digits, 141.53 to be exact, while the Nasdaq did almost as well percentage-wise, galloping 21.87 points. The market seems to be in a trading range, with support still around 8,000 on the Dow and near 1,450 for the Nasdaq.

Now if we could only get some good news out of Washington, D.C., we might see a decent rally here.

Biotech stocks are "busting out all over", with some tremendous short-term runs appearing here and there. Take a look at the recent action in LJPC and GTCB for a couple of good examples. So solid buying interest is coming into that sector.

And I found another nice RSVP Play - it's a biotech stock that popped a little over 18% today on great volume after weeks of quiet trading. This could be the start of a good run for this small-cap stock. I'm about to name the stock for my Premium Members.

What a great Super Bowl! No matter which team you were rooting for...

What a game!

Pittsburgh's stunning 27-23 win over Arizona was one for the record books, to be sure. Plus it was just a GREAT game, decided literally in the last minute of play.

What was beginning to look like an easy win by the Steelers turned around in a hurry when Arizona finally got their passing game going, and the Warner to Fitzgerald magic started to kick in.

Down most of the game, Arizona actually pulled ahead in the last few minutes, 23-20. But they scored a little "too fast", and Pittsburgh pulled it out in the last minute with an unbelievable pass play from Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as he found Santonio Holmes in the back of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.

So the Steelers go into the record books with an awesome 6 Super Bowl wins in their franchise history. Not to mention James Harrison's record-breaking interception with the 100-yard touchdown run-back.

Arizona almost made it into the record books themselves with the biggest comeback victory in Super Bowl history. But it was not to be.

While I was personally rooting for the underdog Cardinals to pull it out, it was still a wonderful and enjoyable game.

The stock market did a little "comeback" of its own today. Although the Dow did end the day in the red, down 64.11 points, it closed well off its low of the day. The chart shows a possible Hammer bottom signal today. The Nasdaq fared better, ending in the green to the tune of just over 18 points. Its chart shows a more bullish Piercing Pattern candle formation.

My choice for the Chart of the Day?

 

Check out ANSW - Answers Corp. It's a beauty.

And I found a pretty nice RSVP Play - it's a biotech stock that reversed back to the upside over 31% today on some great news. I think it has much more upside to come. I'm about to name the stock for my Premium Members.