The latest numbers for the ECRI’s Weekly Leading Index (WLI) came out a few days ago… and all I gotta say is that spread traders should be “licking their chops” with anticipation right now.

If you’re not familiar, the WLI is one of the most reliable indicators that forecasters use in determining economic growth (you can read more about it on my post here).

Of course, its not perfect. And, it certainly doesn’t guarantee anything…

But over the past 30-40 years, any time the WLI growth rate has fallen to -10% (or lower), a recession has followed with 100% certainty.

Over the past several weeks, the WLI numbers have been slipping, and traders have been watching with eager anticipation for that all important -10% threshold.

Well folks, we’re there.

The numbers came out, and the most recent report shows a -10.5% growth rate.

So check out this chart:

(thanks to livejournal.com for posting the chart)

The red line indicates that all important -10% level. Anytime the WLI line has fallen beneath it, a recession was right around the corner… which may mean that the US is in for a double dip.

This means that for traders in my All Star Membership Site, and others who know how to trade the downside…

It’s Game Time.

To best take advantage of the opportunities that are around the corner, make sure to Prepare yourself mentally. Stay sharp and ready for when the charts set up according to your rules…. and get ready for confirmation.

But also, Prepare yourself financially. Now is the time to have every bit of capital at your disposal so that when the perfect storm of opportunities come, you’ll be ready to take action.

Are you ready? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Whenever someone sends me a Credit Spread success story, I get fired up because I know they are well on the path to accomplishing their financial goals… and I just can’t help but share it with you all.

A member of my All Star Membership Site, Tony Monk from Canada, wrote in a few days ago…

Like most people, he tried a bunch of different strategies, and finally found success with credit spreads…. I’ll let him tell you in his own words,

“When you get [Jeff’s] course, within a couple of months you will be trading like a sophisticated investor; and you will be trading something that the majority know nothing about, even your so called “financial advisers”.

Jeff helped me achieve results within a couple of weeks of learning Credit Spread Trading Made Simple.

I have taken some courses in trading straight directional options, and paid a lot for them. When I ran across Jeff’s site, I was amazed that being a seller of options was the only way to go, and now I can’t stop and I don’t want to stop ever. I look forward to Jeff’s Coaching Videos and Profit Alerts.

I have recommended Jeff’s site to everyone I know, and I will keep on recommending it to anyone who wants to make income producing monthly profits. I will recommend Jeff’s site to anyone who will listen, because truly….this is the best game in town.”

If you have a story similar to Tony’s, I want to hear about it. Either leave a comment below or shoot me an email at support@jeffreyziegler.com.

If you haven’t yet taken the leap to learn this powerful strategy, now is the perfect time.

The writing is on the wall… that this market is in prime position for a big move to the downside… and credit spread traders from all over can’t wait to take advantage of it. If you are ready to join them, get started today… because my entire home study course is now available online.

No more waiting around for a course to ship.

No more lugging around a bunch of DVD’s.

You get access to everything. Right now.

Just go to www.JeffreyZiegler.com to begin.

If you remember back in 2008 (2 years ago, almost to the DAY!), I made a Weekly Coaching Video that talked about a bearish formation that rarely happens.

In fact, it is so uncommon that it has only happened a total of 4 times in the last 10 years…. and the last time was a huge flashing warning sign about a likely downside move.

Shortly after I made that video, the market tanked in 2008 and all the members of the membership site did a song and dance because they knew how to take advantage of this downside free fall… which proved to be long and profitable… We lined our pockets while everyone else was taken by surprised.

Well, those same indicators are forming almost an identical pattern again as they were in the video 2 years ago.

Get ready to pull out your bearish strategies because these reliable indicators (which have never been wrong for me, by the way) have commentators everywhere watching and waiting for a downside spiral…

Leave a comment below and let me know how you are preparing.

The other day I saw a ridiculous movie trailer about a guy living in the present, who can see the future. The movie was so cliched, I almost laughed out loud… especially when the guy said,

“If you can see the future, you can change the present.”

Its kinda funny in cheesy Hollywood thrillers, but when it comes to real life issues, such as the possibility of another recession, everyone should ask themselves,

“If I knew for certain that we were going to ‘double dip’ back in to the recession of the past couple years, would I act any different?”

A few days ago, I wrote to you about Richard Russell’s prediction of the bottom falling out of the Market, a position supported by almost every major indicator. (if you haven’t read it yet, it is posted right below this one)

And the other day, I came across some more numbers that carry so much weight, many analysts think they are all but “predicting the future.”

You see these numbers came straight from a respected indicator called the Weekly Leading Index, published by the Economic Cycle Research Institute. Basically, this index measures the future of U.S. economic growth, and considers all economic factors… not just the stock Market.

Even though the ECRI is fairly well respected, they don’t get much mainstream attention because their numbers tend to be fairly honest and not “candy coated”.

For example, just over a week ago, their annualized economic growth rate had fallen to -5.7%.

Last week it fell again, all the way to -6.9%.

This is a 56 week low for economic growth.

In the 43 years that this indicator has been in existence, a reading of -3.5% or greater has only twice resulted in a false signal of a downturn, but 7 times resulted in an accurate signal of an impending move to the downside.

Every time the annualized growth rate has hit -10%, a recession has followed 100% of the time.

To make it easier to understand, here are those numbers graphically,

What does all this mean?

Well, Lakshman Achuthan, Managing Director of ECRI summarized,

“After falling for six weeks… the continuing decline in growth rate to a 56-week low underscores the inevitability of the slowdown.”

Although Achuthan is certainly in no rush to go out and say that we are headed to double dip a recession… the numbers don’t lie. These are cold hard facts from those that don’t often admit such negative information.

So I’ll ask you,

“If you knew the economy was poised for a pull back at best, and another recession at worst, would it change the way you act?”

Yesterday, I was reminded of a simple yet profound lesson I learned from Napoleon Hill… that had a huge impact on the way I trade.

He once said,

“Seek counsel. Not Opinions. Opinions are usually based off a lack of knowledge. Counsel is based off wisdom and experience.”

Every single time you flip on the TV, or surf around on one of many financial sites online, you are being bombarded with a steady stream of opinions based off ignorance…. which is why a skilled trader has learned to “protect his ears”.

Trusted counsel based off experience, however, is rare and worth more than gold.

Richard Russell has written the most respected market newsletter since 1958, called the Dow Theory Letters (largely considered the Granddaddy of all Investment Newsletters). His knowledge of the history of the market is simply unmatched.

Wall Street considers him more a Fortune Teller than a Market Forecaster because his analysis is so bulls-eye dead-on accurate.

Yesterday, I was reading one of his most recent reports where he said,

“Do your friends a favor. Tell them to “batten down the hatches” because there’s a HARD RAIN coming. Tell them to get out of debt  and sell anything they can sell (and don’t need) in order to get liquid. Tell them that Richard Russell says that by the end of this year they won’t recognize the country. They’ll retort, ‘How the dickens does Russell know — who told him?’ Tell them the stock market told him.”

The gist of his reasoning is that the most recent market fluctuations are giving strong indication that the market is in trouble. He later compared his opinion to the popular Barrons,

“The fact is that I’ve been seeing deterioration in the stock market ever since early April, and this is in the face of improving business news. The D-J Industrial Average is composed of 30 internationally known top-quality blue-chip stocks. These are 30 of ‘America’s biggest companies.’ If Barron’s is so bullish on the future of America’s biggest companies, then why isn’t the Dow advancing to new highs?

Clearly something is wrong. But what could it be?… If I read the stock market correctly, it’s telling me that there is a surprise ahead. And that surprise will be a reversal to the downside for the economy…”

While most people hear these words and choose to live in either total denial, or total panic… the truth is this is music to the ears of any knowledgeable spread trader.

I would add, don’t just tell your friends to ‘batten down the hatches’. Tell them how to turn this ‘perfect storm’ that Russell is predicting into a cash flow tsunami… that can set them apart financially from everyone. All they need is a proven and sound strategy in order take advantage of the windfall.

Richard Russell is a  pioneer in many respects who has predicted some of the greatest runs of the last 20-30 years. This isn’t just an opinion based off ignorance. This is wisdom I trust.

Take a second and think about your own trading.

What if he’s right? Are you preparing yourself now? If so, tell me how below.