Within a month, RVX, the Russell 2000 Volatility Index, has gone from 17.34 to 46.66 to now back down to 23.70. Volatility has been very volatile. Going back to early 2013, RVX has found support at 14, consistently rising off … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of September 15, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: When the Fed finally raises rates – whenever that is – ahead of that move should we now pay attention to fed funds … Continued
Since China devalued its currency on August 11, there has been a lot of speculation as to if it has been selling U.S. Treasuries in order to defend the yuan. With the economy having slowed down and the Shanghai Composite … Continued
Later this morning, August’s housing starts will be released. In recent months, momentum has picked up. July was 1.21 million units (at a seasonally adjusted annual rate) – the highest since 1.26 million in October 2007. In non-recessionary periods, it … Continued
The Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day meeting today, the significance of which cannot be stressed enough. A lot is riding on this. After this meeting, there will be two more left this year – one late October and … Continued
One of the hallmarks of the current U.S. recovery has been conflicting signals coming out of the job market. The unemployment rate is low – nearly cut in half from 10 percent in October 2009 to 5.1 percent in August. … Continued
Are things really bad out there? Without a doubt, there is no shortage of things to worry about. From slowdown in China to volatility in emerging markets to continued deceleration in the global economy to the Fed possibly committing a … Continued
Gold is anything but golden these days. It has lost its luster. Not the metal, of course; it still glitters. As an asset, however, it is down in the dumps. Since its peak in September 2011 through the low this … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of September 8, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: More jawboning this week! Following in the footsteps of Christine Lagarde, IMF managing director, Kaushik Basu, World Bank chief economist, says the Fed … Continued
Up until recently, investor sentiment, as portrayed by Investors Intelligence’s weekly survey, was exceedingly bullish on U.S. stocks. Rightly so. The last time the S&P 500 Index had a 10-percent correction was in April-June 2012. (Although the September-October decline last … Continued