Prediction for US dollar

I made the prediction for the dollar bounce about two weeks back. See post here.The prediction has been right on with dollar holding the down trendline and showing a nice bounce.

Now with the FED meeting tomorrow and the chart setup in a very nice way, I am expecting the Dollar to hit the upper dotted line before it starts pulling back.
So, you can expect GOLD and other commodities to start running again as the Dollar retreats.

New IPO- Intrepid Potash (IPI)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of fertilizer maker Intrepid Potash Inc. spiked more than 50 percent on Tuesday in the first successful initial public offering since Visa Inc.'s blockbuster deal last month.

Intrepid's IPO of 30 million shares priced at $32 per share, well above the expected range of $27 to $29 per share.

IPI closed at $50.40 on the first day of IPO.

According to its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Intrepid is the country's largest producer of muriate of potash, or potassium chloride, a fertilizer that helps regulate plants' physiological functions and improves plant durability.

Demand for potash has been driven by rising food consumption worldwide and rising demand for ethanol, which is made from corn. Some in the industry think potash prices may hit $1,000 per metric ton by the end of this year, according to a recent report from RBC Capital Markets.

Companies with bad earnings reports

'Adding NFLX'

As we go through the earnings season, I will be compiling a list of some of the companies that reported the worst earnings reports. This list is biased from my perspective. I am looking at how the Market REACTED to the earnings versus the actual report. These are stocks that you don't want to hold long.
The list:

* General Electric - GE
* Novatel Wireless - NVTL
* Crocs Inc - CROX
* Intuitive Surgical - ISRG
* Netflix- NFLX

I will add to this as the earnings bandwagon continues.

First Solar ETF- KWT

First Solar ETF launched; a bit late but this will be followed by a series of new Solar ETFs.

New York-based asset manager Van Eck Global marked Earth Day today by launching Market Vectors – Solar Energy ETF (KWT) on the American Stock Exchange^®. This new exchange-traded fund (ETF) is among the first solar ETFs listed in the U.S., and is unique in the degree of pure-play exposure it provides to the global solar industry. KWT seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Ardour Solar Energy Index^SM (SOLRX), the pure-play leader in tracking the solar industry. KWT’s total net expense ratio is 0.65%.

On an index-weighted basis, the companies in SOLRX derive well over 90% of their revenues from solar energy. Currently, the four top holdings are First Solar, Q-Cells, Renewable Energy and Solarworld, with weightings of 10%.

Updated Chart of S&P

We are still progressing towards the upper trendline. Everything is on the chart. No ifs and buts.
1400 also poses as the psychological barrier. I have been long for some weeks now and will continue playing on the long side. There is no need to play on the short side yet.

All earnings reaction very good

Citigroup, Honeywell today and GOOG, AMD last night.
ISRG the only damper even though earnings was good.

Couple that with Oil and Gold a bit down.
S&P 500 at 1386....now time to slice through it as I mentioned before.
Once we get through 1386, next resistance will be near 1396, where I expect a minor pullback.

Just look for day-trading opportunities, there will be tons of it as today is also op-ex day
Keep the bias on the long side that will be the easiest trade.

Good Luck !!!

Nucor Reports Record Results for First Quarter of 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE - News) announced today record first quarter net earnings for the fifth consecutive year. Consolidated net earnings for the first quarter of 2008 were $409.8 million, an increase of 8% compared to the first quarter of 2007 net earnings of $381.0 million and an increase of 12% from the fourth quarter of 2007 net earnings of $364.8 million. Diluted earnings per share increased 12% to $1.41 from $1.26 in the first quarter of 2007 and in the fourth quarter of 2007. The increase in earnings per share from the first quarter of 2007 is partially due to the reduced number of shares outstanding as a result of stock repurchases made in 2007.

Starting with the May 9, 2008 dividend payment, Nucor is increasing the base quarterly cash dividend rate from $0.30 to $0.32 per share. In addition to the $0.32 per share base dividend amount, the board of directors approved the payment of a supplemental dividend of $0.20 per share, for a total dividend of $0.52 per share. Nucor has increased its regular base cash dividend every year since Nucor began paying dividends 35 years ago.

My take: Not that great earnings. Glad to see that all other steel stocks viz. US Steel and AK Steel are down premarket. This is a good buying opportunity to buy these STRONGER stocks once the earnings effect of NUE subsides.