Sellers take advantage of early-morning strength to sell more stocks Amidst this, transports, high-yields draw buyers; panic noticed in VIX:VXV action Trade could be developing, but given developments in energy space, sustained rally not probable Another ugly day! Could have … Continued
U.S. capacity utilization inched up 0.8 percentage point month-over-month in November. The 80.1 reading is the highest since 80.3 in March 2008. It is inching ever closer to the four-decade-plus average of 80.6 (going back all the way to January … Continued
Soft fundamentals, but gold continues to hold up well Large speculators added further to their net longs in gold futures Overbought near-term, but potential weakness likely gets bought near support Trend followers do what they do best. Large speculators are … Continued
U.S. unemployment claims near historical lows, job cuts subdued In a sea of stability, could an ocean of troubles be lurking? Crude drop in oil price has potential to throw a curve It is always cheap – and prudent – … Continued
U.S. retail sales jumped 0.7 percent month-over-month in November. Growth was well spread out – from cars to clothing to furniture to electronic items. Gasoline, of course, was down – down 0.8 percent m/m. But that drop was not sufficient … Continued
Bulls squander opportunity by failing to defend Tuesday’s lows on S&P 500 and Dow Put-to-call ratios just turning up, and have ways to go before they get overbought VIX surges 57% in three sessions; investors seek to protect 2014 paper … Continued
U.S. stocks quickly shake off China- and Greece-induced worries Can bulls use the reversal as opportunity to mount a breakout on Russell 2000? Several technical indicators have room to move higher still before they get overbought Whoa! Some reversal that … Continued
JOLTS data came out this AM, and continues to point toward a healthy job market. This data series only goes back to 2004, but as the chart below shows, it correlates well with U.S. non-farm payroll. Both leading up to … Continued
Not to beat a dead horse, but the current U.S. recovery falls short in many ways. One of which is wages. Six years into the recovery, the share of national income continues to tilt heavily toward corporations. Labor’s is just … Continued
Laggards since March, small-caps continue to fall behind large-caps With increasing signs of distribution, RUT, IWM face technical hurdles More pressure ahead if/when non-commercials start adding to net shorts Since end-September, large speculators have drastically cut back on their net … Continued