Overview Tuesday 21 July...

It was a back and forth type of day. The bulls came out hot at the open, driving the $SPX to new highs, but the bears were able to knock them down midday, only to have the bulls rally us into the close to take the market to a slightly green day. It was a wild day, and tomorrow should be a wild one, too. We have AAPL, among others, reporting after the close (it's presently up a couple percent in the aftermarket), and we have some banks tomorrow (WFC and USB). This is a very easy market to get whipped around in, and it's almost nauseating in a way. The bears are actually trying to make a stand here, as they've been steamrolled for the past week plus.

Short-term bias: bearish (we've had a very powerful rally the past few days, but I believe resistance will kick in and drag us lower, as the big range between 875 and 950 remains intact on the $SPX for now and we are at the upper end of that range now, but we're trying to break higher)

Intermediate-term bias: bearish (I still think this correction will take us lower, perhaps to 800 on the $SPX and I don't think we're ready to power higher quite yet)

Long-term bias: bullish (I believe we put in meaningful, long-term bottoms in March, and would use the aforementioned correction to increase long exposure)

Pick updates:

Today was one of those days. Guess which stock on my watchlist was down the most. Yeah, it was PALM. No technical damage was done, but when one of your longs drops 5% in a day, it's always gutwrenching. If you're not already in it, now's a decent buying opportunity for a lower-risk entry. Even if $14 doesn't hold, I believe $13.50 will hold.

At least DFS went my way today. Not much, but it's a start. If you're not already short of it like I am, it looks like a decent short here.

RIG made a solid gap-up today, and did not fill it. This one could move later this week when SLB reports. ALVR, DELL, and FCX were also stronger than most today, each up a couple percent.

NOK continues to drift lower with no signs of a lift in sight. I think there will be a better short entry here in the coming days.

Pretty much all the others (AIG, BNI, BKC, BNI, CSX, CY, MDR, PPG, and SGR) were more or less flat today.

Postions: long DFS August $12.50 puts, PALM November $12.50 calls, and $SPX index fund in 401k