Things are getting more tricky again on the equities side. If you followed along in the comment section during yesterday’s session then you know that I took out a long position courtesy of our famed Zero indicator, which stepped up the occasion and cut through all the noise as usual. This morning the main question for me was whether to hold long or to exit and consider taking out a short position.

A grizzly bear is capable of running about 50 yards in 3 seconds, or up to 40mph. Clearly faster than any human alive and even faster than a race horse at short distances. But thus far at least it seems that over the past decade of hibernation the big bad bear may have put on a few pounds too many. For thus far all we have been seeing it do is roar, but not run. It’s time for the bears to put their purported sprinting skills to good use, as they are now beginning to run out of time.

I am somewhat occupied today but since we are clearly heading into rough waters I decided mix things up a bit and do a blast from the past which may benefit especially some of my newer readers. If you think the past year has been rough for you then understand what may loom straight ahead will test your mettle and skills in ways you may be unprepared for. This post aims at highlighting a few common misunderstandings and confusions that traders from all stripes seem to chronically fall prey to.

If I were to use a reference in popular culture to describe what’s currently unfolding in equities then I’d probably point at Walter White walking into the local drug kingpin’s lair with a bag of fulminated mercury in his pocket [episode 1-6]. Up until this point he’s merely been toying with evil, skated around embracing it, conveniently rationalizing his growing series of illegal activities and the drama he is about to unleash.