I can't begin to tell you how many people have approached me in recent weeks laughing about how they're happy I'm back on the Gold train.

Why wouldn't I be? Our gold trades are working.

One thing I learned the hard way in this business is to do less of what's not working and do more of what is.

It sounds too simple but I can't emphasize enough just how important this concept is.

This isn't like a Roulette wheel of randomness. Markets trend. That's why Technical Analysis works, because we're looking for trends.

One thing we know about new lows is that they are not a characteristic of uptrends.

We know this.

So here's an update on that whole Growth vs Value thing: New Monthly closing lows all the way down the cap scale.

Commodities have been a part of the discussion for quite some time. As base metals and precious metals alternate between their outperformance, another commodity is now taking center stage.

Cotton has been on our radar for quite some time, but we've been waiting for a resumption in trend. Much like the equity market, cotton too was stuck in a sideways mess.

Well, it seems like that mess has cleared.

This week we're looking at one long setup in Cement. Commodities and Infrastructure are bouncing from crucial levels. We'd like to look at a name from this segment.

We retired our "Five Bull Market Barometers" in mid-July to make room for a new weekly post that's focused on the three most important charts for the week ahead.

This is that post, so let's jump into this week's edition.

As Technical Analysts, our primary goal is to identify the trend. If it's headed higher, it's positive. If it's headed lower, it's negative, and if it's stuck in between, it's sideways.

Sounds simple? Well, sort of.

As traders, your primary goal is to make money. Yes, we're all here to learn, but isn't the goal also making money?

Follow the trend, trade/invest accordingly, and book profits.

Sounds simple? Well, not so much.

Risk Management is probably the most important and the most undermined concept in the market. A great plan can turn into a disaster with bad execution. An average plan can turn into a success with good execution. It's the execution of the plan. That's where the magic happens.

From the desk of Steven Strazza @Sstrazza and Ian Culley @Ianculley

Here we are on Friday, and it's been yet another eventful week for the commodity complex.

Steel futures ripped higher. Corn was limit-up on Thursday. Lumber continues to digest its gains with the same volatile fashion it made them in, giving back another 10% on the week.

And then of course there's Dr. Copper which appears to have successfully defended former resistance turned support at its all-time highs from 2011. It's impossible to overstate the importance of how this massive base in Copper resolves.

Bulls definitely don't want this move to evolve into a failed breakout... The 4.50-4.60 zone is the line in the sand. 

As for Energy Markets... Crude Oil making its highest daily close since October 2018 might be the biggest development of all.

We’ve talked a lot about Crude...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

We had fun with this one all week. We can frame it in the context of Ford’s aggressive foray into the EV market or more narrowly as an expression of suburbanite luxury truck preferences. It fits well within the growth to value conversation as well as “old is new and new is old” themes. Even if it’s not seen strictly as a pair trade, it reflects a shift in investor interest and preference. After establishing a big base versus Tesla (one which looks an awful lot like an inverted head-and-shoulders pattern), Ford is poised to break out and move into empty space. 

What if these consolidations in Financials and Materials do NOT resolve higher?

What then?

We're continuing to see strength and leadership in the semiconductor space. And a name the All Star Charts teams has been high on for some time has recently begun to break out from a new consolidation. Being that the stock is also making all-time highs -- you know situations like this get me excited.

So heading into a long Memorial Day Weekend, we're putting one more position on the books to round out our month.

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Earlier in the week, we held our May Monthly Conference Call, which Premium Members can access and rewatch here.

In this post, we’ll do our best to summarize it by highlighting 5 of the most important charts and/or themes we covered, along with commentary on each.

Let’s get right into it!

Do you see something else here?

Massive tops? Check.

Lower lows? Check.

Lower Highs? Check.