Gold, meanwhile, remains my overwhelmingly favorite asset and the chart above gives me great comfort the “mother” of all gold bull markets remains intact (Relative strength getting stronger). As you can see, we’re coming to a decisive point on the chart where a break above or below trendlines is going to mean a lot.

Short and Sweet – Once again, yours truly not only avoided what an ever-increasing number of readers have suggested I should be since early this year (short the U.S. stock market), but I also suggested temporary membership in the “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” crowd and getting long the market heading into their biggest fable of the year: the Santa Claus rally.

To all those who went long the general stock market, great! Now start exiting ASAP! No, I don’t think the “happy” people shall fail to convince the sheep Santa is real. Nor do I wish to be the Grinch (Grandich) who stole Christmas just as we started to enjoy our presents. However, today’s Central Bank actions worldwide scare the living crap out of me!!! What we’ve witnessed is a “Hail Mary” and a “throw the kitchen sink” all rolled into one. While the momentum from this action can carry right through Christmas and into New Year, I’m not going to ride it all the way unless I get pictures it’s Tim Tebow quarterbacking it.

Gold, meanwhile, remains my overwhelmingly favorite asset and the chart above gives me great comfort the “mother” of all gold bull markets remains intact (Relative strength getting stronger). As you can see, we’re coming to a decisive point on the chart where a break above or below trendlines is going to mean a lot. Right now, $1,750 is resistance and $1,675 support. Obviously, it’s my expectation that the break shall be above the downtrend line in purple. We may need to trade sideways some more and knowing liquidity shall start to dry up the further we get into December, it may be wise not to react as soon as one of the lines is violated.

I shall continue to look to buy mostly on a “stink bid” process and shall do my best to keep you informed of such actions.

Please remember: my offices shall be closed from December 10th through January 3rd and blog posting shall be limited during that period.

Seasonality refers to particular time frames when stocks/sectors/indices are subjected to and influenced by recurring tendencies that produce patterns that are apparent in the investment valuation.  

Identified below are the periods of seasonal strength for each market segment. Each bar will indicate a buy and sell date based upon the optimal holding period for each market sector/index.

A seasonality study preferably uses at least 10 years of data. Most of our studies use 10-20 years of data, however, data may not always be available for periods greater than 10 years in length.   Studies using less than ten years of data can be used, but they tend to be less reliable. Results of shorter term studies have a higher chance of being skewed by a single data point.

Tendencies can range from weather events (temperature in winter vs. summer, probability of inclement conditions, etc.) to calendar events (quarterly reporting expectations, announcements, etc.).   The key is that the tendency is recurring and provides a sustainable probability of performing in a manner consistent to previous results.

The periods of seasonal strength for each market segment, as they are identified by Brooke Thackray. Very detailed article on Seasonal Investing by Brooke Thackray HERE

Ed Note: Lots more at EquityClock.com including charts of small portions of individual stock sectors in energy. For example, the following Energy Equipment Industry Seasonality indicates its about to go on a sharp run to the upside beginning soon. If you are going to be in the stock market……

Marc Faber of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report says equities may rally in the short term, but he doesn’t think it will be a long-lasting bullish move. “The rally came from a very oversold level,” Faber tells FOX Business Network. “We have a very strong support on the S&P between 1100-1150. And usually the December month is a strong month as well as January so we have seasonal strength and oversold conditions and we can rally, but I don’t think you should expect too much. I think we’ll get into overhead resistance when the S&P rallies another 5% or so between 1250-1300.” Faber says he recommends a portfolio that is equally divided among four assets: equities, real estate, gold, and cash. He also discusses why he thinks strong initial holiday spending in the U.S. is unsustainable, and what he thinks the end-game is for Europe.