This is why we can't have nice things...

Did you notice that the journalists are catching on to these trends that have been in place for so long?

And not just any journalists. The most reliable contrarian indicators in the history of financial publications are telling you that the U.S. is the Envy of the World and they expect it to keep going - even after a decade and a half of this...

Here's the exact quote:

"The American economy has left other rich countries in the dust. Expect that to continue" - The Economist

So cringe.

Those of you who have been following along know how much money we've all made by using this publication as a contrarian indicator.

Not only are they journalists - which are a great fade to begin with.

But they are journalists parading around as economists.

Double whammy. 

We've discussed this at length over the years. Here's...

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Our Hall of Famers list is composed of the 150 largest US-based stocks.

These stocks range from the mega-cap growth behemoths like Apple and Microsoft – with market caps in excess of $2T – to some of the new-age large-cap disruptors such as Moderna, Square, and Snap.

It has all the big names and more.

It doesn’t include ADRs or any stock not domiciled in the US. But don’t worry; we developed a separate universe for that. Click here to check it out.

The Hall of Famers is simple.

We take our list of 150 names and then apply our technical filters so the strongest stocks with the most momentum rise to the top.

Let’s dive right in and check out what these big boys are up to.

Here’s this week’s list:

*Click table to enlarge view

We filter out any laggards that are down -5% or more relative to the S&P 500 over the trailing month.

Then...

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

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

Let’s dig in!

Last week, I wrote to you about how winning is hard -- because holding out for large wins is easily the hardest thing we attempt to do as traders. Sitting through pullbacks against the direction of our trade is so. damn. hard.

I highlighted a trade we currently have on $CM. It was pulling back and testing the mettle of anyone long -- including me. Here's where it was at the time:

You can see how one might have been nervous about losing their large open gains?

I argued this is exactly what must be done if we want to have a chance at earning the outsized gains that are absolutely essential to long term success.

Well, we haven't won anything yet. But just one week later, our patience is being rewarded: 

In today's weekly Options Jam Session (click the video at the top), we talk about this $CM trade, what our next steps are with it, as well as review some other current option positions that need some updated stops as we ride favorable trends.

Sean McLaughlin | Chief Options Strategist, All Star Charts

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

We love our bottoms-up scans here at All Star Charts. We tend to get really creative when making new universes as we want to be sure they will deliver us the best opportunities the market has to offer.

However, when it comes to this one, it couldn't be any simpler!

With the goal of finding more bullish setups, we have decided to expand one of our favorite scans and broaden our regular coverage of the largest US stocks.

Welcome to The Junior Hall of Famers.

This scan is composed of the next 150 largest stocks by market cap, those that come after the top 150 and are thus covered by the Hall of Famers universe. Many of these names will someday graduate and join our original Hall Of Famers list. The idea here is to catch these big trends as early on as possible.

There is no need to overcomplicate things. Market cap is a quality filter at the end of the day. It only grows if price is rising. That's good enough for us.

The bottom line is it is a bull market. We...

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

1. New position in XLV.
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!

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

We all know how dreadful it can be to get through airport security.

Clear Secure is trying to be the remedy by using biometric data to provide identity verification and expedite security at airports and other venues.

Last quarter, the stock rallied over 20% following its earnings report and has nearly doubled since.

Despite the stock's strong performance and highest price since 2021, the bears are still betting against it. The amount of shares held short is near its highest level in history.

Let's talk about how we're playing it:

During the gold rush of the 1800's, there were fortunes made by some who were digging for and discovering gold.

But the REAL money was made by the entrepreneurs who were selling the pics and shovels to those gold speculators.

Along this similar train of thought, there are more than just semiconductor manufacturers that are going to benefit from the massive amount of investment done in the Artificial Intelligence space.

Today's trade is a year-long bet in one area that is starting to get attention by the AI players.

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Welcome to The 2 to 100 Club.

In this scan, we look to identify the strongest growth stocks as they climb the market-cap ladder from small- to mid- to large- and, ultimately, to mega cap status (over $200B).

Once they graduate from small-cap to mid-cap status (over $2B), they come on our radar. Likewise, when they surpass the roughly $30B mark, they roll off our list.

But the scan doesn't just end there.

We only want to look at the strongest growth industries in the market, as that is typically where these potential 50-baggers come from.

Some of the best performers in recent decades – stocks like Priceline, Amazon, Netflix, Salesforce, and myriad others – would have been on this list at some point during their journey to becoming the market behemoths they are today.

When you look at the stocks in our table, you'll notice we're only focused on Technology and Growth industry groups such as Software, Semiconductors, Online...

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

1. New position in TLT.
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!

Earnings season used to be a time I didn't necessarily look forward to as a swing trader.

On the one hand, I've always viewed it as great for bringing volatility and movement to the markets -- which traders thrive on for making money.

On the other hand, I was always uneasy about holding open swing trades overnight into a binary earnings reaction.

I learned this unease in my early trading years when I traded stocks for the very simple reason that my good-til-canceled stop loss order was meaningless in the event of an overnight gap through my stop loss level. I didn't have as much control as I'd like. In fact, in these situations, I had none.

It's taken me some years to warm up to the fact that I don't necessarily need this same mindset when trading defined risk options positions and spreads.

Yes, I can still lose money if a stock gaps through my risk management level (the level I predetermined at which I would close my losing position). But if my risk was defined -- meaning I know the maximum I can lose, and no more -- then an earnings gap in my face will only result in a loss that is more or less like any other loss I take.

I generally keep...