world stock market, us stock market

- Lack of jobs shocks the market.
- The skinny on the jobs report: the decent, the bad, the non sequiturs.
- Jobs report will in fact be the deciding factor for the Fed as a negative number gives it all the room it needs to cut without looking reactionary.
- Lots of leaders in good shape to make another upside move if the market can see through the jobs report.

Here's a trade from "The Daily" and insights into our trading strategy:

Chart by StockCharts.com

Company Profile
EARNINGS: 8-22-07
STATUS: Test 18 day EMA. BCSI made us a ton of money on its last run, gapping up in late April from a 6 week base and surging higher on strong trade. It started to come back and we closed out our positions, but now it has faded to near support at the 18 day EMA (72.60) and bounced off that level on Friday, posting a nice gain. It stalled at the 10 day EMA (76.53), however, as it tried to move on through. Still looks very strong and we are looking to move in as it breaks higher through the 10 day on some strong volume.
Volume: 1.795M Avg Volume: 1.006M
BUY POINT: $77.11 Volume=1.8M Target=$92.75 Stop=$72.48
POSITION: IYU AP - Jan. $80c (54 delta) &/or Stock

Learn more about "The Daily" with Stock Picks! - Issued 5 Times Per Week

Playing stock splits can be very profitable, but it takes know-how. Our stock split service focuses on three main types of plays:

1) pre-announcement (where we forecast an upcoming split prior to the company making the announcement); 2) pre-split (these plays are made in the days leading up to the actual split day); and 3) post-split plays (plays made after the actual stock split where the stock is showing continued or renewed strength).

We play pre-split plays as short-term plays. We get in when the technical indicators show us things look right, grab as much as we can, and get out, always being conscious of resistance and support. These stocks are highly volatile at this time, and can turn on you quickly. Don't let good profits disappear. Watch for turns, especially when a stock trades in a wide range and finishes off its high. That is a sign these stocks often give you that they are running out of steam. We usually get out and ask questions later. We can always get back in. We like to play in the money calls, preferably two strike prices in the money as this usually gives us a greater delta (the percent an option will mover versus the stock's movement). We prefer deltas of 75 or better. This means if the stock moves 1 point, the option should move three-fourths of that point. That means up or down.

Remember, wait to see the stock start to move up. Don't just blindly make a play and don't try to guess tops and bottoms. We can look at indicators to give us a clue as to what will happen, but we need the stock to confirm it for us.

Listen to Stock Split Report Editor Jon Johnson's
stock split interview on CNBC-TV [  Broadband  |  Dial-up ]

Here's a pre-split play and our current analysis.

Chart by StockCharts.com

Company Profile
When investing in the market you are always looking for an edge, looking to stack the deck in your favor. That is why our screening process starts with stocks that have higher earnings and sales growth than most of the market, have superior technical patterns, are in stronger sectors, and then any further factors. When you stack the positives on your side in such a manner, your odds of winning rise dramatically.

NOV fit all of these factors and was a pre-split stock to boot, i.e. it had announced a split. That often gives a strong stock some extra juice. We saw NOV set up a double bottom and start to form a handle, the stage prior to the breakout, so we put it on the report on 8-28-07. The next session it jumped higher and we moved into the play with some November $120 strike call options, paying $12 option. We will play pre-splits with both stock and options, but given the price of NOV we opted for the options so to speak.

The pre-split magic was working (along with the strong earnings, sector and technical pattern) and NOV had started its run. It was up $5 the day we entered, added $0.58 the next session, then $4.66 the next. The following session it piled on with a $4.41 gain. Four sessions, $14.80 run. Our options were bidding $18.50, a 54% gain. We decided to take some gain, banking $650 per contract. NOV tested back toward the 10 day EMA to end the week, a bit tired after that strong run, but it is likely to start higher again off of that support test. That will give us another opportunity to play the pre-split run., and that is one reason we like the pre-split plays so much, particularly when all of the other factors line up to stack the deck in our favor. 54% in less than four sessions is pretty good odds stacking.

Learn more about our Stock Split Report and how we have made gains of 321% with our powerful stock split plays!
Details Here.