What can I say? The markets keep going up.

It's one-way traffic at the moment. The Dow has hit record highs, eclipsing the 13,000 level and . . . incredibly . . . finishing up in 17 of the last 19 sessions. There's nothing terribly important about the 13,000 level. The media makes a fuss simply because it's a round number and makes a good headline. Still, the sheer pace of the recent upmove is impressive, to say the least.

The poor shorts (of which I am no longer one, thank God) are getting pulverised.

As for me, it's been a quiet week.

I got stopped out of my Elan short but made some nice money in Apple. That's it . . . no other positions.

Why? A number of reasons.

Firstly, we're in the midst of earnings season, which means I have to pass on many of my usual technical set-ups. I keep coming across stocks that are setting up nicely only to discover that they're reporting earnings the next day.

Secondly, the market is extremely overbought at the moment. I'm not finding many long set-ups because I'm loathe to buy into stocks that have run straight up.

I'd prefer some kind of pull-back, but few stocks are obliging me. I'm not "nding many shorts because I prefer not to fight the trend. The market has been technically overbought for practically all of April but it keeps going up. Anyone who gets short simply because some technical indicator is signalling 'overbought' is asking for trouble, believe me.

The third reason is the most important. I haven't wanted to trade.

Last week was butchery (I lost 3,000, in case you didn't know).

When you get walloped like that, you become risk averse. That's not always a bad thing. Sure, you can miss out on some money, but it's better to take a break than to say 'I need to get my money back' and run blindly into some daft revenge trade.

Anyway, I'm no longer feeling so bruised. Time heals all wounds, even market-inflicted ones. The healing process was further aided by Apple's sterling performance this week, which is why I'd like to thank Steve Jobs and Co for helping a poor monkey bandage his battered soul.

The Apple trade was a nice, stress-free one. I sold half at $92 on Monday morning and offloaded the rest at $95 on Wednesday (the stock was reporting earnings after the bell, an event I hadn't the stomach to stick around for). As it happens, the stock blew past estimates and was trading above $100 . . . all-time highs . . .in the after-hours session. Do I regret not taking a chance and holding on? No. I know people who made a packet by buying into Amazon in advance of their earnings report this week. Good for them . . .

the stock soared almost 30% after management raised its full-year outlook. I also know others who shorted Amazon for no good reason and got their shirts handed to them.

That's not to say that all earnings plays are lotteries. In fact, I'd be interested to hear from readers who use top-quality information to make consistently profitable earnings trades. Thing is, most people make earnings bets armed with little more than a 'feeling'. 'I've got a hunch' are not words you'll ever hear this monkey utter.

As for the markets, a relatively rosy beginning to earnings season and some benign economic data doesn't really explain the recent strength. Traders relying purely on fundamentals have been scratching their heads as the market continues to blast forward. Hedge fund manager and blogger Barry Ritholtz (www. bigpicture. typepad. com) sees "a mixed picture, with momentum and trend overruling" the "decaying" fundamentals.

Doubtless, bulls will point out that Ritholtz is wrong in his fundamental analysis. Maybe, maybe not. There's little doubt that sheer momentum is playing a large part at the moment, however. Short-selling activity hit record highs recently. When the market keeps climbing, the beleaguered shorts are forced to close out their positions and buy back the shares, fuelling further price rises. As Ritholtz puts it: "Despite myriad potential pitfalls facing the market, overly large short selling creates a bid beneath the market.

When grateful shorts cover, they prevent any downside momentum from developing."

That's not to say that the current move is purely a product of panicky short covering. Volume has been heavy recently, implying that optimistic institutions have been putting money to work. It is a factor though, just not one that you're likely to read about in the mainstream media. You wouldn't want to believe the explanations for market moves that the newspapers come up with on a daily basis. Half the time, clueless hacks with tight deadlines will cite some irrelevant economic report as being the spark that ignited the latest market bonfire. You'd do well to take these daily summaries with a pinch of salt.

Going forward? As I said already, the market is currently too extended to get aggressively long whilst it's too strong to get aggressively short. The best shorts should be stocks that have not participated in the recent up-move. I'm eyeing up a short in Yahoo! The stock was hammered after its earnings report. If it manages to crawl up to $29, I'll get short. Strong stocks that pull back to support areas should be low-risk long entries. If the overall market pulls back, I'd strongly favour the long side in general. If it keeps going straight up, then it will do so without me. Better to wait than to chase a train that has long since left the station.

Weekly gain/loss: + 650 Overall balance: 38,650