Halloween is just around the corner. 

Already the monsters are coming out with two of NY's three papers already maxing out their headline fonts to scream EBOLA!!! to people on their way to work. As I noted to our Member in this morning's Alert (tweeted out too!) that made for easy shorts on the Futures:

Based on Ebola and the upcoming stress tests, I'd have to guess a sell-off is coming today.  Shorting /ES at 1,940 (tight stops, of course) and the Dow (/YM) at 16,600 are a lot safer than shorting /TF at 1,100 but all good lines to use and watch.  /NQ already failed 4,000.  

It's 7:54 and already the Egg McMuffins are paid for on nice drops off those levels and we'll take quick profits and run and hopefully get a chance to re-enter as I don't see this day going well.  

We're back to short in our Short-Term Porfolio but less aggressively so than last weekend as we can't ignore the underlying 3.5% gains our indexes have put up this week. 

As usual, the Dollar is being knocked down to support the Futures but it's not helping oil much ($81.24) so far.  Gold, however, bounced back to $1,233 and silver (/SI) went over our long line at $17.25 (very tight stops below).  Gasoline (/RB) was rejected at $2.20 – another sign that the underlying economy is much weaker than these indexes would have you believe.

In fact, GS reports today that China has shut 20% of it's Iron Ore production in the face of an inventory glus and prices dropping 40% this year.  The market is in the midst of a transition without precedent in recent commodity history as supply jumps and higher-cost mines shut, according to Macquarie Group Ltd. HSBC Holdings Plc, which cut its price forecasts this week, sees a 30 percent slump in Chinese output next year.  

“The market currently looks like a game of chicken where no player has blinked,” HSBC said. “The major producers are likely to compete heavily on production and costs, with little regard for market outcomes.”

New-home prices in China fell in 69 of the 70 cities monitored by the government last month, according to data today, adding to signs of a slowdown. The world’s second-largest economy grew 7.3 percent in the July-September period, the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2009.

If you want something to be afraid of, worry about China, worry about Europe – not Ebola!

Have a great weekend, 

- Phil