Category Founder’s Trading Journal

Navigator Algorithms – 100% Cash

I am saving my best thoughts for a few days from now as I am still about 10-hours from home as the freeways go. I am enjoying the drive through some beautiful Southern Utah and Western Colorado country. 

I even had a chance to catch some breakfast in Rifle, Colorado, at our new Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s “Shooters Grill.” The breakfast was excellent, and yes, the waitresses actually did wear their weapons on their hips. It makes me wonder if that is where we are all headed, a reprise of the Old West. After all, crime was lower when everyone carried.

Of course, I am musing over the Biden administration testing the troops in D.C. for their political leanings. Let’s see if I have all of this right. We have defunded the police – now they can replace this bastion of Trump voters with loyal lefties. We will remove all Republican and independent military who voted for Trump (that will be about 90% of them and quite an adjustment period). Congress is proposing new secret police to monitor domestic terrorists (otherwise known as Trump voters). The intelligence community will focus inward on “white supremacy” – no more worries about their Chinese or ISIS comrades now that they are all on the same side. Speech that opposes the Biden regime will be deemed unconstitutional “hate speech.” I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Simply put, the Biden regime will convert all of the levers of power into loyal, lefty institutions. I would laugh if it weren’t so serious.

Clearly, I am not amused as I am smart enough to see how this will be used by all sides to oppress free speech and opposition. My job is to see how we can make money from all this, but I am not sure it will matter if these trends unfold this rapidly. After all, the new motto is “sharing is caring.” So we make money, but we have to share it in the form of draconian taxes.

Meanwhile, the US enjoyed a three-day weekend. In the Global Markets, the S&P 500 futures bounced off the mean. That would certainly be a positive start to the rest of the week. If the market can continue higher, we may realize the scene where the market wraps itself around the upper megaphone channel line, winding higher like a vine around the top of a fence line. Let’s see how the market handles this bounce when everyone is back today, and I will communicate further insights.

Meanwhile, I am eyeing those “Land for Sale” signs out here in the middle of nowhere. Nowhere seems to be a good place to be, while the greatest Country that the world has known adopts an ideology that has failed everywhere it has been tried. I am not sure where the hope will be after that – though I am having “Atlas Shrugged” fantasies that another place will arise for those of us who might not enjoy providing all the bounties for the communist harvest. Texas?

Don’t get me wrong. I do hope I am misreading the tea leaves. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed. Perhaps I am missing something? For a President that overwhelmingly won the popular vote by 80 million-plus, why the need for all the protection? Why the need to prevent Trump from running again? Didn’t they beat him handily? How could he be a future threat? I heard they beat Trump so badly that there were more votes than even people who voted. Now that is a victory like no other! I don’t get the paranoia. The Biden regime is acting like they did not win fair and square. Behavior matters more than words.

Thus far, the market is happy. As long as the market is happy, I won’t complain. I will presume I missed something. In politics as in many other things, sometimes the bark is worse than the bite. In the meantime, I am doing my 2021 forecast live at 6 pm PST Thursday. It will be recorded.

Be there. This may be the most important forecast of my career.

AF Thornton

Navigator Algorithms – 100% Cash

We are back to cash this morning as we triggered our stop yesterday at 3798.25 (5-day EMA) for a small loss from our entry at 3801.25. For the most part, the Tech Monsters continued to be punished by investors for their oligarchical attacks on the First Amendment. The S&P 500 index and the NASDAQ 100 both suffered. Meanwhile, the New World Order is preparing to grab the reins of government – and the cash printing presses are ready to roll with an additional $2 trillion stimulus proposal. If approved, the deficit will roll on up and over $30 trillion – but who is counting?

This morning, then, we get to add an element of WWSHD (when what should happen doesn’t). The $2 trillion Biden economic plan announced yesterday has done little to cushion the Big Tech blow so far. By the way, losses for Facebook and Twitter investors now well exceed $50 billion. The Class Action Plaintiff’s bar is going to have a field day with that for sure. So while we were stopped out for a small loss, we are gifted with the added pleasure of watching the Big Tech bullies get eaten alive by their leftist brethren.

I have a long drive back to Colorado this weekend. With one in three people enduring the China Virus in Los Angeles, I decided not to fly. I will be outlining my third attempt at the 2021 outlook on the way, which I hope to record Sunday night. I am even considering a live broadcast Monday evening so that I can take questions. We will see how the weekend goes.

It is only the second time in a year we have been stopped out with a small loss. But therein lies the value of stops. Both the market and sector leadership are in flux. 

The actions of the past week are unprecedented in a Democracy. More evidence surfaced yesterday that the left organized the unrest at the Capital well in advance and dressed up as Trump supporters in collaboration with CNN camera operators. But impeachment is just another day in D.C. now, so why bother to make sure it is justified. Perhaps that narrative could change slightly – that President Trump incited the left to riot – dressed up as his supporters. That way, they could blame him for last summer’s riots too. Truth is likely to become more and more elusive as time marches forward in this dystopian movie.

The market will now start focusing on earnings. Yes, it is that time again.

More on all of this soon. In the meantime, the market generated information is to stay out.

AF Thornton

Navigator Algorithms – 100% Invested

First, a couple of housekeeping items. I am operating from a hotel this week as I am working on a couple of California projects. Some of the security firewalls are blocking my automation. Stay tuned to the website at www.BluPrintTrading.com just in case something does not make it through. For now, I am sending links through Mailchimp.

So Gab.com is adding nearly one million users daily as it has become the “Big Tech Proof” alternative for the 75 million Trump “Deplorables.” The Christian family who runs Gab was way ahead of their time and saw this day coming. This is the first evidence that the eco-system for the other half of the country is well underway. Meanwhile, the political establishment is well on their way to squashing the Trump movement. It is not likely to work, seems unwise and may even strengthen the movement. Twitter (TWTR) and Facebook (FB) have jumped over the cliff – well-deserved for everyone but their shareholders.

The market is yawning at most of this, though it remains lofty. Today, we will get a peek into the Biden economic plan. That might give the market some further direction. We are in around 3801.25 on the S&P 500 futures with an initial target of 3830. We will continue to use the 5-day EMA as our stop and that sits around 3798 this morning.

It has been quite a week. Slowly but surely, things will settle down and we will get a better idea as to where the market wants to focus. Volatility will remain higher than normal until an intermediate correction finally presents.

Stay tuned,

AF Thornton

Navigator Algorithms – 100% Cash

As discontent reaches fever pitch, I have now scrapped my 2021 outlook video for a second time. It is a moving target, and that is why I lead with Aesop’s famous quote in this morning’s title. As all of you know, I disdain politics unless it impacts the markets, as is occurring now.

Short-term, the handful of market leaders that saved the stock market in the aftermath of the China Virus (and disproportionately influence the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100) are in as much turmoil as these companies have foisted on the rest of us with their draconian attacks on the First Amendment. 

This morning, Twitter is universally condemned by nearly every world leader who imagines themselves as its next victim. It is not a good idea to offend nearly every important policymaker in the world. Wokeness is for the little people – not them. 

Moreover, it may be fun to watch the leftist class action lawyers now devour one of their own as they seek shareholder retribution for Twitter losing $5 billion in stock value yesterday. By the way, Jack, your fiduciary duty is to your shareholders, not you’re arrogant, woke contemporaries. Not to get too personal, but if you dawned a turban with that ridiculous beard, it would look like Osama Bin Ladin is running Twitter. Things that make you go hmmm.

It would not be too bold to suggest that Big Tech may have just sewn the seeds of their own destruction. Facebook and Twitter might never see their recent all-time highs again. Hey, Facebook, do you remember MySpace? Dozens of knock offs will now flood the marketplace to serve the other half of the Country that Facebook hates.

So the challenge in completing my 2021 plan lies in forecasting the new conservative/nationalist eco structure that will rapidly replace the current tyrannical tech architecture bowing to the left. Opportunities abound. One other quick piece of advice to the radical voices attempting to overthrow the country; Wall Street is not red or blue. It is green. It will eat you up and spit you out for a buck. Plain and simple. So Wall Street will cater to many of these new start-ups as the Nationalist Eco Structure unfolds to compete with the Globalist Eco Structure before our eyes in real-time. I love the competition. One small solace to Big Tech – you likely won’t have to worry about Anti-Trust lawsuits very soon. There won’t be much left to break up.

In fact, 75 million Trump voters may stop shopping at Walmart, Amazon, and Amazon’s Whole Foods. I have to figure out what all of this will mean. Will we see a slide back to low tech – e.g., half the country will have their own storage devices rather than rely on the “lefty” cloud? Will the U.S. mail experience a resurgence? Will people actually get together and meet instead of being glued to their smartphones? Will half the country, or even half the world, ditch Apple? Where are the opportunities in all of this? Who benefits and who loses? This will be fun.

Anyway, I think you get the point. I will take another shot at the 2021 update by the weekend. Of course, all of this noise tends to distort the rising risks of inflation and a potential currency crisis leading to a depression of sorts. Just a couple of ancillary, minor points to be considered, right?

Meanwhile, thanks to the fact that there are more stocks in the market than a handful of Tech Monsters run by monster egos, the market traded rather balanced yesterday. The market could not attract sellers below Friday’s low or buyers above Friday’s high. It could have been worse, that is for certain. Nothing has really changed in terms of the narrative; the lofty sentiment and valuations may continue to lead to a sell-off and a chance to reposition around these new themes. As always, it is day by day. 

Being in cash is fine for now, but it will pay to capture the fever pitch frenzy around the inauguration. Hopefully, the peak in strife will lead or accompany a broad sell-off. I always like to zig when the crowd is zagging.

One more small piece of advice offered with sincerity in the midst of this somewhat dystopian information warfare. The situation is intense, to be sure. But never underestimate the good sense of the American people. We have far more in common with each other than the issues that separate us. The US Constitution has endured through worse.

Put away your smart device. Take a break from Social Media. Realize that Information warfare is designed to exaggerate our differences. Trust your instincts and think for yourself. Listen to the genuine concerns of the other side. Use the shoe on the other foot test. You might be surprised what we can learn from each other,

Finally, ask yourself this question: Why are they trying to divide us? The answer is simple. If we got together in our commonality, we would vote the politicians and their corruption out of office. Now we can’t have that, can we?

AF Thornton