same situation here...too much summary/too little analysis

In his Swing Trader portfolio, Melvin Pasternak looks for technically strong short-term trades. Among his latest "long" ideas is Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU), which explores for and mines coal and develops technologies to convert coal to fuels such as natural gas.

Pasternak bases his recommendations on rather sophisticated technical indicators such as doji candle formations, relative strength, Bollinger bands and MACD.

For those unfamiliar with these terms, one can simply note that he considers the stock both fundamentally favorable, and technically poised to move higher. He explains, "BTU has had a great run, going from near $10 a share in early 2004 to the mid-$70s in 2006. From there, BTU pulled back substantially, reaching a low of $32.81 in September 2006 before rebounding.

For the more technically-inclined, he says, "For the past several months, BTU has consolidated, establishing what appears to be a stage I base. In the last several weeks, the shares have broken out above their 30-week moving average (which is again beginning to slope upward), signaling the possible beginning of a stage II advance.

"Despite forming a doji candle, the candle remained outside the upper Bollinger band, which is a continuation signal. The relative strength line has broken a prolonged downtrend and is back above its own moving average for the first time since the summer of 2006.

"BTU has formed an ascending triangle with resistance at $50. Just above that, there is additional resistance at $52.75. ADX is on a buy signal and MACD is bullishly trading up through the zero line. My target on Peabody is $64.95 with a stop loss at $41.89."

For more stock picks from the leading financial newsletter advisors, visit Steven Halpern's free daily website, TheStockAdvisors.com.

"Another week and another 6-1/2 year recovery high for the S&P 500," says technical analyst Melvin Pasternak -- who sees several reasons to remain bullish. Indeed, Friday's close put the index above 1500 for the first time since September 2000. So what's next?

The editor of Swing Trader believes the S&P is now within "easy striking distance" of the all-time closing high set March 14, 2000, at 1527.46 and the intraday peak of 1552.87 made that same day.

As the rally over the past week unfolded, he notes, stocks rose on both economic statistics and takeover activity. He points to last week's report from The Institute for Supply Management (ISM), which saw its Manufacturing Index increase from 50.9 in March to 54.7 in April.

He explains, "That number allayed fears the economy might be cooling too quickly." He adds, "Even Friday's tepid non-farm payrolls number of 88,000 did little to dishearten the bulls. Instead, traders put together all the week's statistics and saw an economy that was not too hot nor too cold."

This "Goldilocks scenario" of moderate economic growth and tepid increases in labor costs, he explains, means inflation should stay low. As a result, he says, "This increases the likelihood the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged or even lower them in the coming quarters."