Good Thursday afternoon, one and all. Well, looks like my guess was wrong about Greece not agreeing to the austerity measures established by the rest of Europe as the only way with which bailout funds would be provided. Oh, there was violent rioting in the streets, more defections, and a broad sense of humiliation across the entire country, but the country's lawmakers gave the agreement a thumbs-up. U.S. stocks went higher as a result, of course. After all, investors are simply supposed to "buy good news", right? We'll see. All I can say is, don't be surprised when none of these measures don't make a dent and Greece comes back to Europe again in a few months to let them know it still can't pay its bills. You just can't go from being a socialist country to being a capitalistic version of a socialist country in the matter of a few weeks. But, whatever. I don't want to spend any time on Greece today because (1) it is what it is now, and there's nothing we can do about it, and (2) we've got some far more important things to talk about today. Let's just dig in. Once again I find myself thanking John Monroe for reminding of something important I could have easily overlooked. As he explained to Elite Opportunity subscribers today, there's a method to the madness to all this recent - and increasing - volatility. I don't want to get too deep into a complicated discussion. We just don't have time. Let's suffice it to say when the market's swings start getting wider/taller, then something's usually brewing in the way of a major move. The increasingly wide swings are just the way the bulls and bears wrestle with one another trying to make it happen. The fight gets more violent as time passes on, until eventually, one side or the other lands a knockout punch and starts a prolonged trend. With that as the backdrop, take a look at the daily chart of the S&P 500 below. The swings ARE getting bigger. You can tell that just by looking at it. And if you can't tell, then the fact that the Bollinger bands are moving farther apart after contracting all the way through May will tell you. It just means the volatility is picking up - both sides of the table are punching harder. As for what this means in the near term, if the volatility really is increasing then we have to assume the S&P 500 will finish the job and retest the upper band line currently at 2141. The band will rise in the meantime though, so it could be well above 2141 by the time it's tested. The S&P 500's peak in May was around 2135, so we're talking about a move pretty deep into new-high territory here. That's bullish on the surface, but in a bigger way it actually has bearish connotations. See, something else John Monroe has also often told Elite Opportunity members is, tops often start just when the market has managed to make it look like a rally has begun. A tip-toe into new-high territory after all this time would be a great way for the indices to fake most people out in a big way, setting up a big, painful, and surprising pullback. We'll talk about that if and when the time comes. For now, let's switch back to our usual chart of the S&P 500. It's in this timeframe the picture gets a little cloudier. Broadly speaking, thanks to today's big advance we've now logged sizeable gains in four of the past five trading sessions. Yet, we've got room to run before bumping into the upper Bollinger band, or even before revisiting the prior peak around 2135. The index closed at 2124.29 today. The only real worry I have with this chart is, the VIX has already made it back to a key floor at 12.0. If the bears wanted to piece together a comeback effort, this would be a pretty good place to do it. The only flaw in the "VIX is at key lows" argument is, it may not be at THE key low. The VIX's lower Bollinger band now rests at 10.35, and while a VIX at that level was unthinkable not too long ago, you can't help but wonder now if that's what's in the cards. The NASDAQ Composite's chart offers some different perspective, though I wouldn't say it was any more helpful. The NASDAQ tested its May peak today, without clearing it. This makes tomorrow a big one. If it clears 5164, I think at that point it'll have to go ahead and make a run on the upper Bollinger band currently at 5212. If it balks and pulls back, then we'll have to wait and see what happens at 5055. I tell you what though... with the VXN breaking under a key floor at 13.4 and closing at the lowest close for the VXN we've seen since I-don't-know-when, there's no denying we're ripe for a meltdown from the market. The question, can we get even more ripe for a meltdown? If the VXN reaches the lower band at 11.4 though, be afraid. Be very afraid. [If it's going to happen, it would likely happen at the same time the composite hits its upper Bollinger band level.] I'm not deliberately trying to send you a mixed message here. I'm just trying to explain how this isn't a scenario where you want to be making big bets and then turning your back on them. This is a situation where patience will lead to victory. The trade-worthy move will be here soon enough. Just keep your eyes on all the things - and levels - we just discussed, and don't be afraid to bet against the crowd when the time comes. Anyway, I know most of you probably have some sort of an opinion on Netflix (NFLX), especially fallowing last quarter's earnings report posted Wednesday afternoon. No matter which side of the fence you fall on with NFLX, I thought Bryan Murphy made a great point about the company today with his one chart regarding the way Netflix's books have changed over time. You may also want to take a look at who PharmaCyte Biotech (PMCB) added to its advisory board today. If you're going to compete, why not add a team member who helped make your competition what they are today? I'll leave you with that for today.