An interesting start..

8:30am EST The start of the week was interesting. There was little real news to speak of and the market just floated along. Yes there was the piece by Mike Mayo saying the banks were going to crash and burn, but that wasn't news. The news stations didn't have much to cover yesterday. It looks like a lower open today and I would like to see it lower all day today. No healthy market ever goes straight up every day. Today will also be a little heavier with news being that Alcoa (AA) will be coming out with earnings after the bell today.

Anyone who has traded for any length of time knows that earnings announcements are all about expectations. In this case, the expectations for Alcoa are about as low as they are going to get. First, industrial metal demand has evaporated over the last 6-12 months. Second, Alcoa is a horrible business operator. They couldn't make money when aluminum prices were at record levels! How could they possibly say anything positive?

So what does that mean about the price reaction to the earnings announcement from (AA)? Probably not a whole lot. This is never a stock I want to buy because they run such a bad business. It won't be a good option trade because it won't move enough to make the trade profitable. Frankly, this is one I am going to stay away from.

I am salivating about the trading possibilities for next week. There are some big cap tech names reporting. Some of these companies will truly assert themselves as the ones to ultimately lead the market higher. Research in Motion (RIMM) and Oracle (ORCL) have already shown us that they have the earnings power and products for longer term growth. I think there are several more out there that will show us their strength.

Financials simply won't take us higher any more. They will be regulated to death and the growth possibilities will be limited. They aren't even dividend plays anymore, now that Wall St. in a sick and twisted way rewards a companies for cutting dividends. I am staying away from financials for investments. When the technicals are good, almost anything can be a good trade. You just need to be careful. We will see how things look after earnings today. Watch the price action in (AA) from 3:45pm till the close. That will tell you how their earnings will look. The people who trade on inside information (if you don't think it's happening, you're crazy) will give you the tell. Until next time, stay low risk..