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5/25/2008 11:18:37 AM
It's been a tough year, for the markets and for us - here's where we stand.

Stock Barometer Analysis
The barometer remains in Sell Mode.
The Stock Barometer is my proprietary market timing system. The direction,
slope and level of the Stock Barometer determine our outlook. For example,
if the barometer line is moving down, we are in Sell Mode. A Buy or Sell
Signal is triggered when the indicator clearly changes direction.
Stock Barometer Cycle Time
Tuesday will be day 3 in our down cycle.
The Stock Barometer signals follow 5, 8, 13, 21 and sometimes 34 day Fibonacci
cycles that balance with 'normal' market cycles. Knowing where you are in
the current market cycle is important in deciding how long you expect to
maintain a position.
Potential Cycle Reversal Dates
2008 Potential Reversal Dates: 12/31, 1/11, 2/1, 2/13, 3/6, 4/5, 4/22,
5/23, 6/6. We publish these dates up to 2 months in advance.
The market moved lower into our 5/23 key reversal date. This may mean that
the market will be moving higher into 6/6.
My Additional timing work is based on numerous cycles and has resulted
in the above potential reversal dates. These are not to be confused with
the barometer signals or cycle times. However, due to their past accuracy
I post the dates here.
2007 Potential Reversal Dates: 1/10, 1/14, 1/27, 1/31, 2/3, 2/17, 3/10,
3/24, 4/21, 5/6, 6/15, 8/29, 10/19, 11/29, 12/13, 12/23, 12/31, 1/11/08.
2006 potential reversal dates: 1/16, 1/30, 2/25, 3/19, 4/8, 5/8, 5/19, 6/6(20),
7/24, 8/20, 8/29, 9/15, 10/11, 11/28. 2005 Potential reversal dates based
on 'other' cycle work were 12/27, 1/25, 2/16, 3/4, 3/14, 3/29, 4/5, 4/19,
5/2, 6/3, 6/10, 7/13, 7/28, 8/12, 8/30-31, 9/22, 10/4, 11/15, 11/20, 12/16.
The following work is based on my spread/momentum indicators for
the QQQQ, GLD, USD, USO and TLT. They are tuned to deliver signals in line
with the Stock Barometer and we use them only in determining our overall
outlook for the market and for pinpointing market reversals. The level,
direction, and position to the zero line are keys in these indicators. For
example, direction determines mode and a buy signal 'above zero' is more
bullish than a buy signal 'below zero'.
QQQQ Spread Indicator (NASDAQ:QQQQ)

The QQQQ Spread Indicator will yield its own buy and sell signals that
may be different from the Stock Barometer. It's meant to give us an idea
of the next turn in the market.
Gold Spread Indicator (AMEX:GLD)

To trade Gold, utilize the Gold ETF AMEX:GLD. This gives us a general gage
to the overall health of the US Economy and the markets, as well as to assists
us in the entry of positions in our stock trading service.
US Dollar Index Spread Indicator (INDEX:DXY)

To trade the US Dollar, I'd utilize the Power Shares AMEX:UUP: US Dollar
Index Bullish Fund and AMEX:UDN: US Dollar Index Bearish Fund.
Bonds Spread Indicator (AMEX:TLT)

To trade Bonds, I recommend Lehman's 20 year ETF AMEX:TLT. Note that the
direction of bonds can have an impact on the stock market. Normally, as bonds
go down, stocks will go up and as bonds go up, stocks will go down.
OIL Spread Indicator (AMEX:USO)

To trade OIL, utilize AMEX:USO, the OIL ETF. We look at the price of oil
as its level and direction can have an impact on the stock market.
Supporting Secondary Indicator

I monitor over a hundred technical indicators, some that are widely followed
and some that are proprietary. These indicators break down the market internals,
sentiment and money flow and give us unique insight into the market. I feature
at least one here each day in support of our current outlook - and to give
you an education on what professional traders utilize.
Summary of Daily Outlook
We remain in Sell Mode as the market moved lower into our 5/23 key reversal
date.
Does that mean that the market will be moving higher here? It very well could.
We'll be monitoring for a quick reversal back into Buy Mode.
One wild card in the marrkeets here is bonds. Bonds are pressuring support
and if they break lower, rates could be going up. This may actually be better
than expected, as it may support the dollar and reverse gold and oil. So stay
tuned for an interesting week to come!
Sorry for the delay in providing performance information. It's been a tough
year for the markets (Q's down almost 6%) and a tough year for us (Down 10.9%
in our Rydex Service. But we've been here before - in fact, in some of our
best years, we were still negative in May. But as they always say, past performance
does not guarantee future performance.
Here's a chart of the Q's with this years' trades so far. There's a lot of
information on it, so here's what it all means. The short red and blue lines
are the evenings we issued buy and sell signals in the Rydex and QQQQ Trader
Services. DSB readers get these signals the following morning. The think light
red lines are our key reversal dates that we provide at the beginning of the
year in our annual forecast.

Long story short, we use an always in system, which means we're either long
or short the market unless we actually close a trade, which we did once this
year. That would be noted by a short black line.
As you get the daily stock barometer charts, you'll see it's basically a line
that as it moves up and down, we move into buy and sell mode. Sometimes there's
noise (brief changes in direction) and we've established a set of rules that
allow us to handle that noise. That's where the system has a subjective component.
We try to eliminate the subjectivity of the system, but at the end of the day,
we do slip up. That's why we provide the signals to you daily - as most use
the signals to fuel their own systems.
I'll run through the big issues we've had so far.
The first trade signal of the year, ¼ wasn't a bad signal, but it was
delayed by 4 days. I normally don't delay things that long - but we gave credence
to a wide support and resistance band that had set up in 2007 and when it broke
below that resistance, we had to go short. We could have easily seen double
digit profits from that first trade.
On 1/14, we got an initial buy signal after the market has established a narrow
support and resistance zone. Our rule is to wait for the market to break resistance
before entering buy mode. We were impatient, wanted to book some profits and
went into buy mode early. That not only cost us 5.3%, but it took us out of
our first trade, which had we followed our rules to a t, would have definitely
yielded in excess of 10%, maybe even 20%.
What followed after that period was a wide consolidation that our system doesn't
do well with regardless. Remember, you can design a system for short, intermediate
and long term time frames. The DSB system will generally produce a series of
small profit and losses during this period as the market builds energy for
the next larger move, which came with our 3/12 signal, generating over 12.9%
in gains.
Unfortunately, that was our best trade all year.
What followed was a series of 3 out of 4 losses. And while the system is designed
to have losses, the each day that there's a delay moves profit into the loss
category. There were two such occasions in that following period. At the end
of the year, it all adds up - so a percentage here and there is a big deal.
Here's the chart with the date for the Qs and the Rydex. Note that we're entering
the Rydex positions at the close on the day following the signal. (Note there
are services that track us that use the am pricing - we don't promote the use
of the am pricing). Same on the Qs - you can enter in the am at the open, but
you're better off entering at the close on the following day - or if you can
trade during the day, best to enter at the 9:20 pivot - for you day traders.
Historically speaking, we've been here before. In 2004 and 2005 we were negative
early in the year and even as late as March and May before finishing with some
of our best gains ever. 2006 was just a bad year for me as I dealt with a divorce,
the death of an 18 year old nephew and the death of my father. Granted, that
shouldn't impact a system. But the biggest impact on the system is trend recognition
and the depth of the range. 2007 was a flat year well into October, so we switched
to following signals on every change in direction to take the trend, support
and resistance modes out of play. That obviously worked against us as the market
again entered a year end trend. So instead of having a few profitable trades,
we had 13 trades that lost over 31%. Not a great way to end the year.
That being said, we're back to the way things should be and if you have a
question about any one of my signals, please do not hesitate to challenge me
and I will explain it in more detail in my following articles.

If you have any questions or comments, email me at Jay@stockbarometer.com.
Regards,
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