Here is a brief review of change in short interest in the September 15-30 period in the Nasdaq and NYSE Group as well as nine S&P 500 sectors. Nasdaq – short interest down 0.1 percent p/p; Nasdaq composite up 1.2 … Continued
Building on the crude theme a week ago, spot West Texas Intermediate crude did indeed break out of a declining trend line drawn from May 2015 (Chart 1). It rallied 3.3 percent for the week. For the last eight sessions, … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of October 4, 2016. 10-year note: Bloomberg ran a story on Tuesday saying the ECB would probably gradually wind down bond purchases before the end of quantitative easing, and that it may … Continued
U.S. banks’ commercial & industrial loans dropped $6.5 billion month-over-month in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2.06 trillion (Chart 1). These loans have come a long way – rising from a cycle low of $1.18 trillion in … Continued
Gold bugs were simply swamped with an avalanche of sell orders on Tuesday, with spot gold losing 3.3 percent. This was probably in the making. Ever since spot gold peaked at $1,377.5/ounce on July 6 this year, it had been … Continued
Chart 1 plots dividend yield for the 10 S&P 500 sectors. The data is as of 2Q16, hence financials still include real estate, which last month became a sector within its own right. The chart also includes buyback yield for … Continued
Crude oil sits at a critical juncture. Depending on which way it breaks probably decides stocks’ path of least resistance near term. Last week, OPEC announced its commitment to cutting output to between 32.5 million barrels per day and 33 … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of September 27, 2016. 10-year note: Once again, Mario Draghi, ECB chief, urged Eurozone governments to complement central-bank action. He was speaking before the European parliament on Monday. Mr. Draghi said there … Continued
Four and counting! That is the number of consecutive quarters S&P 500 companies have spent in dividends and buybacks more than they took in operating earnings. In 2Q16, these companies earned $222.8 billion out of operations, and doled out $98.3 … Continued
During the August 31-September 15 period, the Nasdaq composite rallied 0.7 percent – quite an achievement considering that at the lows on September 12 it was down as much as 2.2 percent. The tech-heavy index’s performance was also in contrast … Continued