Pre-opening Comments for Tuesday October 21^st

9:10 AM EDT: U.S. equity index futures are lower this morning. S&P 500 Index futures are off 17 points in pre-opening trade. Weakness is occurring despite more evidence that credit markets are thawing. The LIBOR rate eased from 4.06% to 3.83% in overnight trading.

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com www.stockcharts.com

Earnings reports by major companies influenced early stock market trends. Most companies reported slightly higher than consensus earnings. However, a few missed consensus significantly and offered negative guidance. Major companies reporting higher than consensus third quarter earnings included MMM, Pfizer and American Express. Caterpillar reported slightly less than consensus earnings, but offered positive guidance. Dupont reported significantly less than consensus earnings and offered negative guidance.

This morning, the Bank of Canada reduced its overnight lending rate from 2.50% to 2.25% and guided toward the possibility of further reductions. The Bank of Canada is looking for a mild recession by global economies. The Canadian Dollar weakened in overnight trading and moved slightly lower on the news.

Goldman Sachs added Citigroup to its Conviction Sell list this morning. The stock is lower in pre-opening trade.

The U.S. Dollar continues to trend higher. Strength has triggered weakness in commodity prices including crude oil, gold, silver and copper.

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com www.stockcharts.com

Technical Action Yesterday

Technical action by S&P 500 stocks once again was non-existent. No S&P 500 stocks broke resistance or support. Most stocks remain locked in a trading range based on their lows on October 10^th and their highs on October 14^th. Up/Down ratio for S&P 500 stocks remains at 0.03.

Technical action by TSX Composite stocks was almost as quiet. One TSX stock broke resistance: Telus. Up/Down ratio for TSX Composite stocks remains at 0.02.

Tech Talk’s appearance on BNN Television yesterday

Top three picks were iShares on Canadian S&P 500 Index (XSP), the Claymore Canadian Fundamental ETF (CRQ) and Technology SPDRs. Following are links to the interview:

http://watch.bnn.ca/market-call/october-2008/market-call-october-20-2008/#clip104259

http://watch.bnn.ca/market-call/october-2008/market-call-october-20-2008/#clip104260

Interesting Charts

The credit freeze continues to thaw. The three month LIBOR continues to move lower.

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com www.stockcharts.com

The TED spread declined again.

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com www.stockcharts.com

A thaw in credit is giving positive short term momentum to equity markets around the world.

All sector SPDRs except Materials recorded a low on October 10^th. All either recorded a MACD buy signal during the past few trading days or is about to do so. Moves above highs reached on October 14^th will complete short term bottoming patterns.

All charts courtesy of StockCharts.com

Adrienne Toghraie’s “Trader’s Coach” Column

How to Stop Complaining

By Adrienne Toghraie, Trader’s Coach
www.TradingOnTarget.com

Today, I had the privilege of listening to a trader who has lived a long and incredibly exciting and successful life. Well-dressed, articulate, self-confident, and afraid of nothing, he faces the world with a sense of peace and acceptance.

We were discussing the state of the economy, when he said that there was one thing he never did. “I never complain about anything, “ he asserted. “I’m completely responsible for my life and what I can’t change, I accept.” Then, he quoted Ray Charles. “It is what it is.” I laughed and told him that I had just written an article with that exact title. “Actually,” he continued, “there are four things I never do. And because I never do these things, I never have to complain about anything.”

‘The four things I never do.”

1. I never WORRY. He talked about how he used to worry about everything. Then, one day, he realized that “It is what it is” and he would have to adjust. He believes strongly in the responsibility of the individual to adjust to changing circumstances. Although he must be close to seventy years old, this trader is constantly adapting and adjusting to the changes in the world and in technology. Giving up worry is not easy, and it was a conscious decision for him, but he looked at the cost benefit ratio of worry and decided that it had very little benefit, but it would certainly shorten his life and make whatever time he had less enjoyable. In addition, it would consume considerable energy that could be applied to other things. It impaired his sleep, robbed him of concentration and focus, and cost him dearly in the markets. When he added up the costs and the benefits, it was a no-brainer, to quote him. So, he no longer complains about the things that are worrying him, because nothing does.

1. I never get ANGRY. He acknowledged that he had spent much of the first part of his life being angry. He also confessed that his anger had nearly always led to some form of violence. “I have come to see that violence does not occur without anger,” he said. “And I have come to understand that violence is the wrong way to go.” So, the only way to resolve this for him was to give up anger. Again, this is easier said than done. He had to do a lot of work on himself to give up anger. This involved a combination of serious soul-searching, religious conversion, and therapy. Often, professional help is needed in a situation where anger is always present. Issues from his childhood had to be addressed and he had to learn to reframe traumatic and demeaning experiences that made him feel powerless and exploited. He also had to give up the notion that he was a victim. Victimhood fed his anger and his anger, in turn, created situations in which he could allow himself to feel even angrier and more victimized. So, he no longer complains about the things that anger him, because nothing does.

1. I never allow DRAMA in my life. He had learned the hard way that the people he allowed into his life could bring him peace and happiness and support or they could suck those joys out of his life. He talked about the fact that he had to sever ties with people who create drama in their lives with self-inflicted troubles. Addictions to alcohol, drugs, gambling, and food were the primary cause of the dramas that people brought to him. But not taking responsibility for their actions was the other cause he mentioned. It is interesting that he now lives alone, but that he is very much involved in the community, in his church, and in his trading business. So, he no longer complains about the people who bring their dramas into his life, because he does not allow them in.

1. I never allow STRESS in my life. He found that stress was a principle cause of complaining. The more stress he felt, the more likely he was to complain that he was overwhelmed, that things were not going well, that he felt under pressure to perform or meet other people’s expectations. So, he decided that he did not have to do anything that he did not want to do. But, he wanted to do the things that would be necessary to keep him financially and physically and emotionally healthy and prospering. He made a concerted effort to find ways to reduce stress, from taking better care of himself, to increasing his spiritual connections, to attending to things before they became problems by increasing his personal responsibility.

Our non-complaining trader says that he calls this strategy, WADS, for no Worry, Anger, Drama and Stress. He credits his sense of peace and happiness and all of his success to WADS. This does not mean that his life has no ups and downs. “I face the same challenges as others,” he said. “I just face them differently. I made the decision to do so.”

There is much to be said for WADS as a way of life for traders. If you do not feel that this strategy is useful, do what our trader did. Develop your own strategy, one that responds to the issues that you face and that stand in the way of your success. Just remember, if you find yourself complaining, then you need to look inside to see what is causing it and then take action.

Master Class
Presented by Adrienne Toghraie

Master Trader’s Coach

Author of 9 books on Traders’ Discipline

The aim of the day is to provide you with Winning Psychological Models for Trading

You will learn from Adrienne

• Lessons Adrienne has learned to assist you in overcoming your self imposed limitations
• A success model to direct your mind towards the information you want and need to become a master trader
• A success model to deal with time management and getting things complete
• Lessons of professional traders

Who should attend

• Those who want to learn the pitfalls and lessons before they start to trade real money
• Those who are struggling with earning profits as a trader
• Those who can’t get to the next level of success
• Those who want to speed up the process to become a master trader

Tropicana Hotel Las Vegas

Sunday, 23 November 2008 – 9 AM – 12:30 PM

$500 – pro-rated early enrollment – limited seating

NOW $300

Sign up on line – www.TradingOnTarget.com è OR CALL
919 851 8288

Bill Carrington’s Blog

Should you own ETFs on crude oil or ETFs on energy stocks? Bill’s blog provides the answer. Link to the blog is as follows:

http://www.gettingtechnicalinfo.blogspot.com/

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Disclosure: Mr. Vialoux does not own securities mentioned in this report.

Disclaimer: Comments and opinions offered in this report are for information only. They should not be considered as advice to purchase or to sell mentioned securities. Data offered in this report is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed.

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