Each year, Americans buy over 600 million pounds of candy and eat over 1 pound each for Halloween.

It's a lot...

But are there opportunities to profit from Americans ritualistically eating way too much candy? You betcha!

Let's talk about it.

After a historic 190% run earlier this year, cocoa futures have formed a textbook consolidation pattern:

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Our International Hall of Famers list is composed of the 100 largest US-listed international stocks, or ADRs.

We've also sprinkled in some of the largest ADRs from countries that did not make the market cap cut. 

These stocks range from some well-known mega-cap multinationals such as Toyota Motor and Royal Dutch Shell to some large-cap global disruptors such as Sea Ltd and Shopify.

It's got all the big names and more–but only those that are based outside the US. You can find all the largest US stocks on our original Hall of Famers list.

The beauty of these scans is really in their simplicity.

We take the largest names each week and then apply technical filters in a way that the strongest stocks with the most momentum rise to the top.

Based on the market environment, we can also flip the scan on its head and filter for weakness.

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. New position in XLE.
2. No adjustments are needed today.
3. Exited USO and XOP at Profit Targets.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

In 2015 I was an entrepreneur, had my last knee surgery, and was still riding professionally from time to time—until my body finally gave out. 

I was also on the verge of starting my own fund while working for another one. 

In other words, I was busy.

My trading signals back then were based on 10-month highs which reflects how busy I was. 

We saw a new 10-month high by the end of the year, and that marked the beginning of one of the most legendary trends in financial history. 

I do not recommend attempting to pick bottoms and tops. It can be a dangerous game. 

Yes, when you occasionally get one right you can make a killing. But we also put ourselves at risk at getting killed. Especially fading short squeezes, and double especially if you're doing it via getting short common stock.

Smart options traders, however, have an advantage here. We can define our risks precisely. We're going to take advantage of this feature with today's trade, a bet on the unexpected.

I just got done with 2 days at Stocktoberfest in Coronado, CA - right across the bridge from downtown San Diego.

Every time I'm back there I think about all fun times we've had in Coronado over the years and all the stories from the past.

It's important to remember how we got here if we have any chance of moving forward and building on top of everything that we already have today.

This community is special. Our predecessors didn't have any of this.

The fact that I can fly out there with my friends, to one of the most beautiful places on the planet, talk markets, rates, business and meme tokens is an absolute joke.

It's not even fair. 

So it's up to us to take advantage. 

I did.

I got talk retail stocks with Jeff Macke.

Pearlman and I discussed the health benefits of avocados.

We debated market breadth and sector rotation with new people I had never met before. 

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. New position in XLP.
2. No adjustments are needed today.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

Below is the 6th ASC Mastermind Lab Course. These are special videos that will be made available throughout the duration of the 12-week course featuring conversations with professionals from across Wall Street discussing topics in their expertise. 

I wasn't ready to move on from intermarket analysis just yet. It's too important. So I called up Jason Perz, the newest All Star Charts analyst, and someone who is an expert in the relationship between bonds, commodities, and currencies. 

Jason and I discussed these relationships at length, how these markets have reacted to major historical events, and how a move in one market could impact another.

Enjoy my conversation with Jason.

Long bonds are sending a message loud and clear these days, and I’m all ears.

When the Fed started cutting rates last month, long-term bonds reversed course lower. They are making fresh 3-month lows this week.

This might seem surprising, but it's not as uncommon as you'd think.

We saw a similar situation in November 2018, when the Fed raised rates, but the bond market didn't buy it, with the TLT rallying for two years.

Now, the Fed is cutting rates, and long bonds are calling their bluff again. This time, by reversing trend lower.

You can see what I mean in the following chart:

We had a delta-neutral options position on the books that we stopped out of this week. Thankfully, it was not a big loss. It felt like the right idea, but the wrong instrument.

So today's trade is a similar trade in a stock from the same sector. We're going to take advantage of a possible continued consolidation and get out before their next earnings event.