• Thanks for reading my diary and enjoy your evening.

My largest long is finally get a bit jiggy to the upside.

And I am outta here like the gentle giant, Jermaine Jones, as I have a 4:00 p.m. EDT appointment.

Thanks for reading my diary and enjoy your evening.

• I continue to tread warily through Mr. Market's smackdown of the shorts.

As I mentioned recently, over the last week, I have felt more like "American Idol's" Jermaine Jones, while  most investors have rejoiced, feeling more like "American Idol's" Joshua Ledet (my pick as this year's winner).

Speaking of Ledet, check out last night's performance.

I have always felt that the key to surviving over the long-term is to control risk and limit one's losses, and that has been my strategy all this week, as I walk precariously through Mr. Market's smackdown of the shorts.

• The subject will be Greece.

The IMF reports that Lagarde is planning a statement on Greece at 3:00 p.m. EDT.

And General Francisco Franco is still dead.

The rise is a bit too much too fast.

I just sold a portion of my CSX Corporation (CSX)  purchase from earlier this morning at $21.75.

I didn't intend to trade out of any, but the rise is a bit too much too fast.

• I sold the remainder of a bundle of longs today.

Housekeeping items: I eliminated small tag ends in the following stocks this afternoon: Waddell & Reed (WDR), SunTrust (STI), Parker Hannifin (PH), Legg Mason (LM), Fortinet (FTNT), Charming Shoppes (CHRS) and Broadcom (BRCM).

I am also eliminating my E*Trade (ETFC) common and calls longs on today's runup.

• I am back short Goldman Sachs (GS) at $123.

• According to Morgan Stanley, strength in the company's ex-coal business should allow it to at least meet consensus quarterly estimates.

Morgan Stanley is having a 2:00 p.m. EDT research call on CSX Corporation (CSX).

Despite weak coal markets, CSX is well positioned, and Morgan Stanley said at a conference this morning that strength in CSX's ex-coal business should allow the company to at least meet consensus quarterly estimates.

• Deutsche Bank removes Apple from its short-term buy list.

Break in: Deutsche Bank removes Apple (AAPL) from its short-term buy list now.

• The Nasdaq will close in the red.

My ludicrous forecast today is that the Nasdaq will close in the red.

• Jeff Hirsch interprets George Lindsay's 'Three Peaks and a Domed House.'

Here is a great post from my buddy/friend/pal Jeff Hirsch on George Lindsay's "Three Peaks and a Domed House":

Pardon the excessive use of charts today, but it helps me visualize the market situation. As the major averages push on resistance at 4-year+ highs we continue to track the current iteration of George Lindsay's famous Three Peaks and a Dome House Top Pattern (3PDh) in play since last year.

Today we continued our deliberations on this mother of all market patterns with Doug Kass of Seabreeze Partners and Ed Carlson author of George Lindsay and the Art of Technical Analysis.

The three of us basically agree that a market top of some sort is imminent and that a decline of some significant magnitude will ensue. My analysis places the top a little longer and higher away. I do not know at this juncture what either gentleman envisions on the down side, but I have compared my counts to theirs below. Ed uses a later-day Lindsay counting method that does not detail all of the 28 points that Doug and I rely on. Doug has plotted his count against the S&P 500, whereas Ed and I use DJIA.

In any event my count now puts us at the end of the first floor at point 20 and climbing up to the Domed House Top from points 21 to 25. Please refer back to previous posts for Lindsay's Basic Model. I have also posted a candlestick chart of the DJIA in the short term to illustrate DJIA strength, resistance and positive technical indications.

We finally closed above the February 24-27 DF/DM Double Doji as well as the March 2 Doji. I expect the rally to continue into the Ides of March bullish cluster to perhaps 3PDh point 21 then settle back to point 22 at end of March weakness then produce a final point 23 top in April or May as the Best Six Months comes to an end and we get our Seasonal MACD Sell Signal.

-- Jeff Hirsch, Stock Trader's Almanac, "DJIA in Top Formation" (March 15, 2012)

• After being stopped out of an IWM long last week, Goldman Sachs is back at it.

Goldman Sachs, which was stopped out of the same trade two weeks ago, is back recommending an iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (IWM) long now.

• Peter Boockvar provides a historical perspective. 

The focus on oil and the release of the SPR got the notice of Miller Tabak's Peter Boockvar.

Below are his comments, which provide a historical perspective:

With the story that we may be on the cusp of getting a globally coordinated release of strategic oil reserves, here is what happened last June, when it happened in response to the Libya supply constraints. On June 23, the day we saw the announcement of 60mm barrels being released (30mm from U.S. and 30mm elsewhere), WTI drop from $95.41 to $91.02. By June 30, WTI closed at $95.42.

• An Obama aide denies release of strategic petroleum reserve, according to a report.

Break in: Bloomberg reports that an Obama aide denies release of SPR just now.

• They include Grand Canyon Education and Bridgepoint Education.

I am adding to my shorts of two for-profit education stocks: Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) and Bridgepoint Education (BPI).

• It is now down by nearly $1 a barrel.

Crude is trending lower, now down by nearly $1 a barrel, a potential tailwind if it continues.

Energy stocks are getting hit on a Reuters column saying that there will be an immediate release of the strategic petroleum reserve.

I dont believe it.

• I bought some shares this morning.

I went long a new name this morning: CSX Corporation (CSX).

• The components to the Philly Fed release were squishy.

Similar to the New York manufacturing survey released earlier, the Philly Fed's headline was slightly above expectations, but the components were squishy.

New orders fell to a four-month low. Shipments dropped big time, though employment improved. The general business activity was unchanged.

Color the release inconclusive.

• Stay tuned for the results.

Late yesterday, I cautioned that Apple's (AAPL) market dominance and the daytrading community's preoccupation with Apple's weekly options were unhealthy conditions for the market averages.

Today, might be the first test of my thesis.

• Selectively.

I am selectively pressing my shorts this morning.

• The market breadth is poor.

In support of the last post, the market breadth is poor:

On the S&P 500 -- 159 advancers and 327 decliners.

On the NYSE -- 601 advancers and 1144 decliners.

On the Nasdaq -- 799 advancers and 1069 decliners.

• Today could be the day to press some shorts.

Gun to my head (and with Apple (AAPL) hitting $600, the figure): Today could be the day to press some shorts.

Stay tuned.

New York was mixed, but the March Philly Fed report comes today at 10:00 a.m. EDT.

There was less than meets the eye in the March New York Manufacturing Survey, which, at 20.2, beat expectations.

Specifically, new orders and shipments fell and prices paid doubled.

The six-month business activity outlook declined slightly.

The March Philly Fed report comes today at 10:00 a.m. EDT.

• Net-net, the economic releases should be viewed as a neutral for risk assets.

On the economic front, the headline PPI exhibited the largest month-over-month increase in seven months but was a tad below the consensus expectations (a positive).

The core number was +0.3% for the third consecutive month, which represented the highest print in nearly three years (a negative).

Tomorrow comes the CPI (+0.4% estimate), which is a more important gauge of inflation.

Initial jobless claims came in at 351,000, which was 6,000 less than consensus and the lowest reading in four years.

Net-net, the economic releases should be viewed as a neutral for risk assets.

• The bull market in bonds appears to have ended.

As I discussed on "Fast Money" this week, the bull market in bonds appears to have ended.

The yield on the 10-year is now above 2.30%.

• eBay receives a downgrade from Credit Suisse.

Credit Suisse lowers eBay (EBAY) to Neutral this morning.

• We present the latest odds from Intrade.

Here are the latest Intrade presidential odds:

• Romney wins Republican presidential nomination -- 87.6%.
• Obama wins presidential election -- 60.5%

• Same as yesterday -- and the day before.

I start the day net short, as I was yesterday and the day before.

• Run, don't walk, to read this week's Knowledge@Wharton.

From Knowledge@Wharton, Dr. Jeremy Siegel is bullish on the economy and markets.

I am shocked!

• Rumor has it. Stay tuned.

High above the Alps, my gnome is hearing that PepsiCo's (PEP) Indra Nooyi will be shortly replaced.

If his information is correction, I would expect Pepsi's shares to rise by a few dollars.

Stay tuned.

• Run, don't walk, to read Walter Mossberg's review of the new iPad in The Wall Street Journal.

But to Apple (AAPL) heads -- and in the NBA (nothing but Apple) market -- this is the most important column: Run, don't walk, to read Walter Mossberg's review of the new iPad in The Wall Street Journal.

• Run, don't walk, to read 'Why ECRI's Recession Call Stands.'

Run, don't walk, to read what is possibly the most important economic column of the week, as ECRI's Lakshman Achuthan and Anirvan Banerji explain "Why ECRI's Recession Call Stands"  (hat tip to Big Picture's Barry Ritholtz).

Whether you agree or disagree, this is a must-read.