(Rational?) exuberance

Hello everybody,
The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the Impeachment Articles before taking them to the Senate Wednesday. She used 30 customized pens to sign, making each stroke with a different pen, which she immediately gave to someone present as a collectible. She was not the first to do so to mark a historic event. In 1948, President Truman signed The Marshall Plan (Economic Cooperation Act) using a dozen pens, and in 1964, Lindon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act with 75 pens. Meanwhile, there might have appeared a true "smoking gun" in the impeachment process in the person of Lev Parnas, who claims that President Trump knew and personally endorsed everything that was going on in Ukraine regarding the Bidens.
On the economic front, exuberance continues in the markets regardless the impeachment, maybe more rational this time than in the 90-s. There are indeed some powerful influences that combine to make a strong economy. And one of the main factors is that inflation remains very low in spite of very low unemployment. The Fed Reserve, consequently, does not have to raise interest rates, which additionally boosts the economy.
Our disposition for today remains the same again. With one E-mini (or similar) contract short, we are awaiting a signal for strengthening our short position by selling short one more if the S&P500 is sufficiently high.
Good luck,
ELP team

Persistent market

Hello everybody,
Our disposition for today remains absolutely the same today as yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that (to be confirmed as usual at 2.45 Chicago time for our subscribers). With one E-mini (or similar) contract short, we are awaiting a signal for strengthening our short position by selling short one more if the S&P500 is sufficiently high.
We wrote yesterday that the momentum had stalled for stocks to go higher for the time being. Well, evidently not, since the S&P500 has jumped over the psychological fence of 3,300 right at the start. Some sort of dope is administered to the markets all the time. This time is was the actual signing of Phase 1 of the trade treaty with China.
Russia meanwhile is on the brink of great changes. The Russian society demands change, and at last there will be one: Putin will now not be just President, but Great Ayatolla, the Father of All Slavs. I congratulate all Russians on that.
Good luck,
ELP team

Disposition

Hello everybody,
Our disposition for today remains absolutely the same today as yesterday (to be confirmed as usual at 2.45 Chicago time for our subscribers). With one E-mini (or similar) contract short, we are awaiting a signal for strengthening our short position by selling short one more if the S&P500 is sufficiently high.
Fundamental data brings no surprises, while technically, the momentum pushing stocks higher has stalled for now, and there should be a period of some regrouping if stocks are to go significantly higher again.
On the political front, the House will pass over the impeachment case to the Senate today. Meanwhile, new evidence has emerged of the Trump adminisration attempts to obtain dirt on Democratic candidate Biden and his son in Ukraine. We'll soon see how it influences the case.
Also today, as usual on Wednesdays, the EIA will make public the level of petroleum inventories. Several Fed Reserve officials are going to deliver speeches this week.
Good luck,
ELP team

Weekly performance review

Hello everybody,
The weekly results are to be found below:

Period	ELP	S&P500
5 days	0% (-$17)	0.94%
1 month	0% ($-17)	3.05%
3 months	13.93% ($9,753)	9.93%
YTD	0% ($-17)	1.07%
1 year	26.38% ($18,468)	25.77%

You can also check on ELP's December and 2019 performance in the Performance page.
If you want to receive our daily blog with performance reviews and other important developments, please subscribe HERE.
Good luck and a nice weekend,
ELP team

Going short

Hello everybody,
All right! We are short. We have a position, we are active at last. But the market is up, in this relentless uptrend. Like they say: beware of your desires, they sometimes come true.))) As we predicted, the market resilience spilled into new records yesterday, and, besides giving us the opportunity to go short at a decent price, it looks like it will still hover for a time at the top.
The Iranian scare fizzled as it became known that Iranians had deliberately avoided casualties among Americans. But you never really know: Iran may be preparing some other and more serious response in addition to the immediate and demonstrative one. The economy looks good: unemployment is low, GDP is growing, and even the balance of trade looks better. But all these developments seem to be reflected already in the stock prices. Our assessment is that stocks are high enough to expect a corection of sorts.
Good luck,
ELP team

Surprise!

Hello everybody,
Prices were mostly range-bound yesterday, but S&P500 futures plunged 50-60 points after the day close when it became known that Iran had bombed two US bases in Iraq. Early in the morning President Trump tweeted that "all was well" and there were no casualties among the Americans (one Iraqi officer died), and futures climbed back to approximately where they left off yesterday. To complicate things, a Ukranian plane crashed just having taken off from Teheran, with all people aboard (176) dying in the crash. Besides being an apparent human tragedy, it raises questions as to the safety of Iranian air space and Iran in general; airlines are changing their routes to avoid Iran entirely.
Still, the inertia of the trend and Trump's apparent unwillingness to begin an all-out war with Iran can yet help the S&P500 finally hit our target of 3266, and ELP to take a position (short). For the second day in a row we see a spectacular reversal of an early fall, and this resilience may push the index to yet another record. I recommend that anyone following our recommendations should place a limit sell order at 3266,00 at the start of trading today. I hoped yesterday that world leaders would refrain from surprises; it was a vain hope. Let's hope today that surprises will be positive, for a change.
Good luck,
ELP team

A top?

Hello everybody,
Today, it looks like we can finally hit our target of 3266 and take a position (short). The S&P500 futures are higher in the night trading hours, and yesterday we saw a spectacular reversal of the early fall, so there is every indication. I recommend that anyone following our recommendations should place a limit sell order at 3266,00 at the start of trading today. Let's hope that there will be no surprises from world leaders.
What we see now, take or leave the geopolitical complications, is the hightening volatility near the top of the price range. The top is always characterised, and a correction preceded by high volatility at the top. A correction is overdue, but this period of volatility is not yet over.
Speaking of the night trading hours: European traders and exchange workers are pushing for shorter trading hours, arguing that long hours of watching computer screens and taking (sometimes) hard decisions is bad for their mental health. That's exactly our point in promoting ELP Program: with it, you need only to allocate half an hour a day or less to do all the trading you need. Work smarter, not longer! ELP Program gives you time-tested and proven signals to enter the market when probability is best for the chosen direction. Subscribe HERE for a free 2-month trial period and judge for yourself.
Good luck,
ELP team

Weekly performance report

Hello everybody,
The week is out, and here are our weekly results:

Period	ELP	S&P500
5 days	0% ($0)	-0.16%
1 month	1.48% ($1,033)	2.83%
3 months	20.77% ($14,539)	9.58%
YTD	0% ($0)	0.13%
1 year	39.03% ($27,322)	27.76%

You can also check on ELP's December and 2019 performance in the Performance page.
ELP Program has been neutral for some time now being reluctant to enter this volatile market right now. Still, it has posted a solid performance this year if a little short of its average of 42.9 percent annual gain. Remember: it is in down years when ELP is at its best (see here Performance page). Subscribe to ELP Program to earn solid profit in S&P 500 up years and super profit in S&P 500 down years!
If you want to receive our daily blog with performance reviews and other important developments, please subscribe HERE.
Good luck and a nice weekend,
ELP team

Knee-jerk reaction

Hello again in this very NEW year,
And what an opening! After a spectacular climb up to almost 3260 (the futures did actually cross into 3260-ies in the afternoon) yesterday, a big shock later in the evening after the US had killed General Soleimani of Iran in a rocket attack on the Bagdad International Airport, in an apparent response to the embassy riots and prior rocket attacks on Americans. It's a pity really the attack was not today, for our target of 3266 to go short has almost been reached... Anyway, that target remains as the market shows some signs of recovery after the first knee-jerk reaction.
The events prove again that no-one can forecast where the markets are heading in the long run. Too many variables have to be considered, too many unpredictable situations and decisions have to be predicted. This is why our solution is this: do not try to predict the market; follow it. That said, there should be a method in place to decide when and how to enter. It is here where ELP Program comes in: it gives you time-tested and proven signals to enter the market when probability is best for the chosen direction. It does not mean that the market will go your way at exactly the point of entry; but it will go your way eventually. And another problem: when to exit? ELP Program provides answers to this one, too. Subscribe HERE and be ready to trade in 2020 confidently and profitably!
Happy holidays again,
ELP team

Futures

Hi everybody, and happy New Year!
Although the 31st was the end of the year, the end of the month, and so, logically, the end of the last week of the month, we will post our weekly results as usual on Saturday, when the week is tehnically complete. We will also update our performance page to include the monoth of December and the year 2019 in the results.
Today, I will take the opportunity to say a couple of words as to how ELP Program can be used to trade the S&P 500 index. First of all, I'll reiterate that ELP is intended mostly and primarily for trading futures. Any other markets, such as ETFs, options etc., require taking into consideration more variables, such as management fees, time to expiration and so on and so forth. It is possible, but we have not done it, concentrating rather on the S&P 500 futures, which provide excellent liquidity, almost round-the-clock trading and many other advantages.
That said, how can a trader take advantage of ELP Program? First, by subscribing to our signals service and making trades himself. Second, by letting us trade according to ELP signals on their trading accounts. The latter option requires a limited trading POA to be provided by the trader to the broker allowing us to trade in their accounts (without the right to deposit or withdraw money). We recommend the second option, because when a trader trades according to somebody other's program, he may have second thoughts at the last moment, or forget, be ill, be busy at work etc. For us, this IS out work, so we are guaranteed to make a trade when the time comes. The additional fees involved are rather symbolical. Ask us for details via the contacts on each page of our website
Happy holidays again,
ELP team