Here's Your Best Market Barometer

While fears of a market meltdown ripple across Wall Street, commodities continue to outperform. April 10, 2014     Here's Your Best Market Barometer   Crude to the rescue? How $100 oil helps the market Plus: Breaking down the "highly anticipated" correction   Greg Guenthner coming to you from Baltimore, MD... Greg Guenthner While fears of a market meltdown ripple across Wall Street, commodities continue to outperform. In the commodities world, most folks are focused on the big weather plays that continue to rip higher. Coffee, corn and orange juice are all working well this year. But what about oil? Crude crossed into triple digits again this week. This morning, a barrel of black gold trades for about $103. And that's good news for the markets... "We can look at crude oil as a market barometer," explains our own Matt Insley. "The point is simple: If people and foreign governments alike can afford $100-plus oil, the global market is not in dire straits. On the other hand, if the crude market starts to fall, it represents a leading indicator that the economy isn't spinning the cash it needs to survive." Here's a look at the 10-year price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil: "As you can see from this long-term chart, prices for crude oil have seen a lot of support since the 2009 market fallout. You can also see that we're smack-dab in the middle of crude's long-term trading channel," Matt explains. "In that sense -- and the sense that we're still looking at $103 oil at last check -- the global market still has plenty of wind in its sails... "Closer to home, there's even more reason to like an uptrending oil chart. You see, now that the U.S. is producing more crude oil by the day, the country's trade balance is moving in our favor," Matt says. "Along with that, more crude and natural gas production is providing real-world benefits to U.S. manufacturers." While we're keeping an eye out for a market correction, if crude continues to hold $100 and move higher, Matt sees no reason to fear a major market pullback here... And you know what the best part about $100 oil is? It's the fact that the U.S. is producing a massive amount of crude these days. There's a huge story brewing -- click here to find out more.         Is The White House Terrified of the "Secret $200 Retirement Blueprint?" If you've already retired, or want to retire soon, I urge you to watch this video presentation before we have to pull it down. This "Secret $200 Retirement Blueprint" shows you step-by-step how to grow a monster-sized nest egg with a little time and a tiny grubstake. Click here to watch this video presentation now.           Rude Numbers Targets, Predictions and Wild Guesses   $2.9 billion in cash buys Proctor and Gamble's pet food brands. Food manufacturer Mars Inc.--which already owns the pet brands Pedigree, Whiskas, Banfield and Royal Canin-- coughed up the cash... 9 out of previous 10 days have seen the S&P 500 move higher in the last 90 minutes of trading, according to Bespoke Investment Group. 25 points separate the S&P 500 from its all-time highs after the index gained more than 1% Wednesday afternoon... $1,323 is where you'll find gold futures this morning. Gold is quietly sneaking higher this week, positing a $17 in early trading today... 1,864 marks the spot for S&P futures this morning. The market is looking open right where it left off yesterday...     Rude Trends When to Buy... When to Sell   "The 'most hated stock rally in history' just got a little more hated - shorting of U.S. stocks just hit the highest levels we've seen since 200," reports Jonas Elmerraji from the trading trenches. "That either means that huge numbers of bearish investors just correctly predicted a major top in stocks for the first time in history, or that we've got a big contrarian buy signal." Yes, the market has looked ripe for a larger pullback lately. But if you read any of the financial news headlines, they keep talking about the "highly anticipated correction" every time the market sneaks lower. Highly anticipated. As if the market usually does exactly what a majority of us are thinking it will do. Right now, it's clear that speculators are beginning to bet on lower prices. I still think we could easily see lower prices from here. However, I'm not ruling out another mind-bending run to new highs, either. After all, this is what the market has done time and again for more than a year now. There's nothing wrong with playing either side of the coin here--short or long. But you have to stay nimble in this environment, or you run the risk of getting burned. [Ed. Note: Send your feedback here: rude@agorafinancial.com - and follow me on Twitter: @GregGuenthner]     Ignore At Your Own Peril Today's Must Read Links   Secrets of an Ex-IRS Hit Man Revealed [time sensitive] U.S. Mint to Devalue Your Money Even When Markets Crashed In 2008 And 2009 -- This Guy STILL Had Winning Years...     BE SURE TO ADD dr@dailyreckoning.com to your address book.       Additional Articles & Commentary: Join the conversation! Follow us on social media:         The Rude Awakening is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We do not rent or share your email address. By submitting your email address, you consent to Agora Financial delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Rude Awakening e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from The Rude Awakening, click here. Please read our Privacy Statement. For any further comments or concerns please email us at rude@agorafinancial.com. 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