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No matter what any CEO, analyst, "guru", "market expert", strategist, fund manager, trader or message board poster says (few show all their trades and investments like me, nor are they up 60% in 2008, see details here), never try to catch a falling knife. Before I list all the current ones, I really have to pound it into your heads that buying these things in hugely uncertain -- and possibly disastrous -- times like these is not only dangerous, it's just plain irresponsible.

Here are some current falling knives:

• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE)
• General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM)
• Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C)
• Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (NYSE: MER)
• Washington Mutual Inc (NYSE: WM)
• Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)
• American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG)

Now, I don't want to hear those "I'm a long-term investor in blue-chip stocks" and "these are quality companies trading at discount prices"-type comments. While it's possible these stocks will bounce, the risk-reward ratio is downright awful here, just as its been for the past several months (as I've been warning in posts like this and this).

Don't know where the market is headed? Some people think a full blown crash is possible; some believe this is a good time to buy while others just don't know what to believe. Well, I just don't care and neither should you.

Because if you're like me, you've learned to take everything one high percentage profit trade at a time, whether you're betting on higher or lower prices. That's right, I'm talking about easy individual market inefficiencies like THIS.

As for the markets a whole, it's the same pathetic guessing game it'll always be, filled with plenty of "gurus" with polished-sounding theories where only a few truly brilliant hedge fund managers guess correctly with the rest of us just trying not to pull a Bill Miller (look foolish).

Judging from previous articles like this, can you guess what I'm going to write about? By now I think you should know my core beliefs-while everyone and their mother is covering the wheeling and dealings of hugely important corporations hence efficient stocks like Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG), Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), my blog's readers and I are having much more fun profiting from trading mostly short selling...well actually all short selling-smaller infinitely more inefficiently priced companies like GRO, PTEK and STXX, all of which were "pumped up" by various temporary catalysts.

For Agria Corp (NYSE: GRO), it was message board hype, PokerTek Inc (NASDAQ: PTEK) had a combination of message board hype, rumors and press coverage and South Texas Oil Co (NASDAQ: STXX) got a stock promoter mention, and now that those temporary catalysts have come and gone, all three have reversed hard off their highs. And mind you, while many pumps are accomplished on the infinitely ore sketchy OTCBB and Pink Sheet exchanges, all three of these companies are trades on more reputable markets like the NYSE and NASDAQ. And yes, I profited solidly on all three, increasing my yearly gain to around 40%.

Now I'm looking at stocks like Source Interlink (NASDAQ: SORC) as a potential short, which is up on insider buying, a catalyst I don't respect, but since there's not enough space for me to cover all the details of exactly what I look for here--it's about chart patterns, price action and volume. Today, I am doing a special Friday the 13th marathon episode of my LiveStock show. To the untrained eye, I know these small stocks seem scary, but maybe after this journey, I can help you better understand them.

Timothy Sykes writes the blog timothysykes.com, is a former hedge fund manager, star of the TV show Wall Street Warriors and author of the book, An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund

As I wrote in this article, there's no way you should be buying Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock right now. Yes, it could break out to new highs, but until it actually does, it's just a triple-top chart pattern and considering we're talking about a measly 7% gain from here to the break-out level, just wait until it breaches $203 and does so convincingly. After all, if it's meant to fulfill the $300 prophecy as foretold by the oracles (aka market cheerleaders), you'll still have plenty of room to profit, just without all the risk. Yup, even with fundamentally sound companies, it's crucial that you consider technical analysis to your investments, as Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) shareholders learned the hard way after its perfect triple-top back above $700 (a top I called to short based on -- what else? -- technical analysis!).

Even though those are the stocks about which I get most email, they aren't the ones I want to write about today -- because the stocks I like are the ones I talk about in my new internet TV show LiveStock:



(Contact me with any stock market questions you'd like answered on live broadcasts every Friday from 1-2PM which you can view HERE) have been influenced by some kind of temporary catalyst, whether it's an analyst or newsletter recommendation, message board hype, or stock promoter spam. After that's gone, all you have left are struggling small-cap companies looking to raise capital. It's ugly.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, traders and fans of low priced stocks should ignore fallen blue chips like Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) and Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) and focus more on smaller volatile stocks like China Precisions Steel Inc (NASDAQ: CPSL) and Solarfun Power Holdings (NASDAQ: SOLF). Not just because fallen blue chip stocks are all about guessing major business trends and the time lags involved with pricing those into their stocks -- good luck with that -- but because these lesser known plays offer much more predictability due to their speculative nature.

Earnings, profit margins, product potential is all well and good for long-term investors in higher-priced names, but here in the gutter of the stock market (also known as penny stock land), those variables are highly irrelevant to predicting hourly, daily and even weekly price swings. Down here it's all about self fulfilling prophecies, pumping and message board hype.

Take for example, Middlebrook Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MBRK), mercilessly pumped by TheStreet.com's Adam Feuerstein for the past several months as a takeover candidate, as his sources indicate bidders in the $6 to $8 range. Now he might be right -- not that it's going to matter to the SEC -- and while he certainly can't compete with CNBC, in terms of effectiveness, his credibility and frequent teasing have predictably pumped this stock up a solid 20-30% so far.

I know, I know, with the economy sputtering, why would you ever want to be invested in an apparel company that produces expensive jeans? Let alone have it recommended by a typically short-selling trader like me! But before I tell you the name of this stock that despite the obvious economic problems -- strong oil, weak housing and the dollar, mounting foreclosure, etc -- is sitting right near all-time highs, looking to break out, let's do a quick rundown of its competitors in the apparel retail space.

There's Polo Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE: RL) and Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU), which after substantial runups and crushing drops off their highs, have been trying to find their footing. Then there are steady downtrenders Under Armour Inc (NYSE: UA), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO), Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ: PSUN), Liz Claiborne Inc. (NYSE: LIZ) and Bebe Stores (NASDAQ: BEBE). And last but certainly not least, the stock-that's-gone-absolutely-nowhere-for-the-past-six-years-meaning-its-been-useless-for-both-longs-and-shorts The Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS).

Forget about overwhelmingly random stock market noise and small daily percentage moves exemplified by the likes of all the most popular names such as Yahoo! Inc (Nasdaq: YHOO), Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C), Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE), Google Inc (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Apple Inc (Nasdaq: AAPL). Don't be fooled by the all-too-frequent daily commentary-those stocks are really only good for long-term investors and the few truly professional traders out there.

If you're neither, focus more on market inefficiencies because not only are they more predictable, but they're ideal for smaller investors and traders thanks to their illiquidity. Meaning the market offers up these high profit probability opportunities that the big boys can't and won't take advantage of-they're strictly for us little guys.

I'm talking about price moves created by the quirks of the finance industry itself-namely the media circus, stock promoters and hype that influence the great derided microcap market. For example, when a CNBC reporter inadvertently suckers amateurs by pumping a penny stock (good short selling opportunity as the stock is now down 50% in a month) or when a stock promoter is paid to hype a stock (another one down 50%+ in one month since).

LDK Solar Co. (NYSE: LDK) is one strange solar stock. Yesterday, on a day when other solar companies like Solarfun Power Holdings (NASDAQ: SOLF), Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ: CSIQ), First Solar Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) and JA Solar Holdings (NASDAQ: JASO) were all strong and despite earnings coming in at the high end of expectations and guidance solidly ahead of estimates, their stock was down. Not only was it down, but it also tried rebounding, only to fail. Not good at all for the bull case.

Experience has taught me to respect the price action the day after earnings. So when I see LDK trying to break out of a now 5-month old range, pretty much between $30 and $40 -- yes it was up to $50 in January and $20 in March, but those are outliers -- this is a very bearish sign. It's so bearish that I suspect that unless solar plays really heat up again, this stock will need many more weeks or months to break $40, and even then, it's got a ton of resistance all over the place due to bitter buyers in at much higher prices who will be looking to cut their losses.

While researching GPS maker Garmin Ltd (NASDAQ: GRMN) -- whose stock has lost two-thirds of its value in the last six months -- I can't help but pity those long-term shareholders who reject trend following and technical analysis in favor of investing for the long term. To them, it seemed like only yesterday that GPS was one of the hottest technologies around and this industry leader could do no wrong.

Well, that's usually the time to sell, just as I posted on Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) in January this year and on Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) in November last year, both before they each dropped 40% in just a few months. Because the truth is these popular technology stocks are all expectations. We're not talking Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)-type value investing here.

Sure, GPS is still hot, somewhat, but due to intense competition, margins have been evaporating, forcing analysts to lower their earnings estimates. In their latest quarter, Garmin further strengthened the bear case with spiking inventories and accounts receivable. None of that looks to change anytime soon, and even though it's got a P/E of 10, book value is all the way down near $11 per share!

Way back in early March I highlighted 10 horrifically downtrending stocks and said not to even think about buying them until they broke their nasty trendlines to the upside.

Over the past few weeks, many have displayed solid sideways price action, but it wasn't until yesterday that the high volume breakouts occurred. I'm talking about those 50+ million shares traded, 10%+ price surges beautifully accomplished by such popular names like Sprint Nextel Corp (NYSE: S), Broadcom Corp (NASDAQ: BRCM) and Level 3 Communications Inc (NASDAQ: LVLT).

Unsurprisingly, several other stocks also showed similarly strong price action:

RF Microdevices Inc (NASDAQ: RFMD)
Anadigics Inc (NASDAQ: ANAD)
Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ: SWKS)
Triquint Semiconductor Inc (NASDAQ: TQNT)
China Life Insurance Co. Ltd (NYSE: LFC)
Raymond James Financial Inc (NYSE: RJF)
Cerner Corp (NASDAQ: CERN)

Damn, it feels good to be right! Back in mid-February, when I warned investors not to buy Crocs Inc (Nasdaq: CROX) after its "big" drop, I had no idea they were going to warn and get crushed again so soon (see, Steven Mallas' post from last night). But the stock's chart pattern told me the odds favored the bear case.

So, you know what? I'm not particularly surprised. Because I play the odds based on what the charts tell me. Sure you're probably sick of hearing that from me, but for better or worse -- and considering my 21% return in the first quarter of 2008 by staying true to the charts, it's been mostly better -- this is my my experienced-based belief.

No matter the stock -- whether you're talking Google Inc (Nasdaq: GOOG) or Wachovia Corp (NYSE: WB), the oil, technology or retail industries, the time of year when it pays to be bullish, analyst expectations (they only get it right 30% of the time) or the market cheerleaders promoting crazy price targets like this one on Apple Inc (Nasdaq: AAPL) --if the chart is too steep, I'm wary. If the chart is downtrending, I'm short-biased.

Back on March 24, I made some very rudimentary predictions on BloggingStocks based on the chart patterns of some popular technology names. Let's see how I fared:

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) performed just as its chart implied it would -- a clear path from $140 to $160, but no more. Score one for technical analysis!

I noted that while Research in Motion Ltd (NASDAQ: RIMM) had a solid base, a ton of overhead resistance would prevent a big breakout-bingo, another perfect call -- no matter that it wasn't actionable -- the stock's barely higher now, just like the Nasdaq market as a whole.

The very day my original article came out, Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ: PCLN) did indeed breakout to a new high, but ever since it's done exactly squat. Hmm, was this a self-fulfilling prophecy -- somehow I can't quite claim victory here, although its definitely not a defeat.

When I saw the news of NTT DoCoMo (NYSE: DCM)'s new mobile phone that emits fragrances, I began wondering what other oddities today's corporate powerhouses may be working on. No financial advice here, these are just some ideas I came up with:

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) will unveil headgear that doubles as both headphones and a personal masseuse, giving tantalizing head, neck and shoulders massages.

In an attempt to help with falling click-through rates, Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)'s new mobile phone will be offered free as long as you sign Google's activation agreement requiring you to click on a mobile ad every hour, even while you sleep.

In this April 1st article, I wasn't kidding around when I chose less popular stocks over hotly debated names like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Lehman Brothers Holdings (NYSE: LEH). Because investing is not blogging-the amount of hits, traffic and debate a topic stirs up does not help you make money (in fact it might hinder it considering all the cheerleaders are already invested).

Instead, as I often say in posts like this and as I yell to random passers-by on the streets of NYC (for fun), "it's all about the charts, stupid!"

Now, one week later from that article, ask me if I am surprised to see 2 out of the 3 stocks from last week's article-Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT) and United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) continuing to breaking out to new highs, with Illumina Inc (NASDAQ: ILMN) "struggling" up only 4% on the week, a few cents off its highs.

In the last few days, bookselling giant Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) has made a few more enemies in the publishing world by forcing the little-known group of print-on-demand (POD) publishers to either submit to using its POD subsidiary, Booksurge, or risk being prohibited from selling on its industry-leading website. No matter the cost and complications of breaking off relationships with other vendors, reformatting books and a host of other problems, Amazon laid down the law, saying convert -- and do it quickly -- or face the consequences.

What's more disconcerting is that an official press release was made public only after smaller publishers like Angela Hoy of Booklocker.com started writing publicly about blackmail-type phone calls from Booksurge representatives. Fearful of losing their businesses literally overnight, many POD publishers such as iUniverse and Lulu have capitulated while strong willed publisher PublishAmerica refused to give in -- and was quickly made an example of when Amazon disabled the buy buttons on their book titles!

As an author selling my own critically-acclaimed POD book An American Hedge Fund on Amazon, outrage has compelled me to write about how unethical and more importantly, monopolistic this all is.