Consumer credit contracts by record amount in July

Consumer credit contracted $21.6 billion in July, a very severe reading and the largest on record. The consumer is still in defensive mode and will be cautious about spending.

Everyone keeps looking for a correction to develop, the market continues to catch a bid going up 5 days in a row and in fresh bull high territory. I will not be chasing strength on a swing basis up at these elevated levels,. I will continue playing small cap momentum stocks. Even the strongest of markets has to have a limit somewhere.

Very limited results by fading the gap, bailed out at 10:00am reversal time. Trading momentum stocks for now.

TMR

Meridian Resources - Bullish Flag

Extensive 3-D seismic data.
Aggressively acquiring acreage in exploration areas.
Operational control, quality, cost, timing.

ENER

ENER calls are seeing interest following AMAT-for-ENER chatter with 11.5k total calls trading vs 610 puts

SDS & SSO

My plan today is to fade the opening gap up and then go with the trend that develops after the first hour, higher or lower.

Gold

ANDS

ThinkEquity upgrades ANDS to Buy from Accumulate and raises their tgt to $4.

ANDS announced the final data sets from the proof-of-concept study with ANA-773. The data demonstrates that the oral immunomodulator ANA-773 is active and effective as an all-oral HCV regimen.

RTK

Once again, this alternative energy company in play.

PPHM

Interim Phase II Data Presented at XIV World Congress of Neurological Surgery Supports Potential of Peregrine's Cotara(R) for Treatment of Brain Cancer.

Vonage (VG), its mobile-phone app for the iPhone (AAPL) and iPod Touch devices is approved.

Global investors are finally questioning China's ability to drive global growth

Asset bubbles are forming in the stock and property markets. Companies are stockpiling commodities.
China's boom is more a credit-driven bubble. China's economic expansion is in doubt, given the slow growth in the US, Europe and Japan.

More Regulation, Less Profits

Finra says it will increase margin requirements for leveraged ETFs "by a factor commensurate with their leverage" (.pdf).

/ES & SPY breaking as buyers still not present

Consumer-less recovery

SPY -- Rally -- Volume ??

Short accumulation

This morning action provided an opportunity for profit taking on my short positions. From now until the close, I will re-enter FAZ, ERY, TYP which are close to a 52-week low, it looks like we are going to hit 1050 in the SPX.

AIG momentum impacts low-quality financial stocks CIT, ABK, MBI, PMI, HIG, BPOP

These squeezes in distressed names often punctuate the final stages of a near/intermediate-term rally. At-risk Financials rallies often signal the beginning of end of a bull market, one of those red flags that investors should be mindful of.

Select shippers moving higher

DRYS, TBSI, DSX, SBLK, EXM, EGLE, FREE, NM, ULTR, SB, DAC, GNK, PRGN, ESEA and FRO.