Imminent (?) breakout retest on RUT probably validates bullish small-cap thesis

posted in: Derivatives, Equities, Technicals | 0

Small-caps relative outperformer past several weeks Hard to make fundamental case, but technically RUT acts very well Ideal, and probable, scenario: RUT pulls back for successful retest of recent breakout There is something very interesting going on in the small-cap … Continued

U.S. non-financials’ 2014 capX >internally generated funds. One-off, given energy dynamics?

posted in: Economy | 0

Subdued corporate capX now will adversely impact productivity later First time in 6 years, U.S. non-financials corporate capX exceeds internal funds Given new energy dynamics and impact on capX, too early to back-slap and high-five? U.S. corporations have not been … Continued

Peek into future through futures

The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of March 17, 2015.  Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: What a week!  In four out of the five sessions, the 10-year yield fell – down 18 basis points for the week.  On … Continued

Short interest fuel aplenty, can bulls exploit?

posted in: Equities | 0

Bulls have consistently climbed wall of worry, that is, elevated short interest Past 3 months, Naz/NYSE short interest sideways, shorts giving up? Hedgopia Risk Reward Index pokes head out of reward zone Post-FOMC, Wednesday sure felt like a session in … Continued

No rate hike in foreseeable future

posted in: Credit, Currency, Economy | 0

Fed gets rid of “patient”, but hints it will be patient in hiking rates Surging dollar impacts exports; Fed takes 2015 GDP forecast down a notch With economic data increasingly coming in weak, rate-hike odds this year next to nil  … Continued

KBE on cusp of breakout, even as XLF lags

posted in: Economy, Equities, Technicals | 0

Different messages coming out of two financial ETFs – KBE vs. XLF KBE similar to KRE, regional bank ETF, while XLF is large cap-dominated C&I loans have been growing nicely, but so is inventories-to-sales ratio, muddying picture How did U.S. … Continued

FOMC will probably dictate next big move for dollar index

Dollar index signaling it is ready to at least pause? Stronger $ will adversely impact both exports and earnings Fed can ill afford to send hawkish signal post-FOMC on Wednesday Over the past three sessions, this is how the U.S. … Continued

In age of personal branding, difficult to decipher if message is real or has ulterior motive

posted in: Commodities, Economy, Uncategorized | 0

Shortly after noon on Saturday, a Zero Hedge tweet caught my attention.  It was entitled “‘From Bubble-Blower To Energy Expert, Alan Greenspan warns ‘Oil Hasn’t Bottomed Yet.’”  Apparently he was on Bloomberg with Betty Liu, and in the interview talked … Continued

Peek into future through futures

The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of March 10.  Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: 10-year yields shed another 13 basis points in the week.  Nonetheless, note owners continued to sell near 2.04 percent.  And these traders, in agreement, … Continued

R b/w average hourly earnings and NFIB comp plans started breaking down a year ago

posted in: Economy | 0

Below is one of the charts often used – this blog including – to validate expectations for imminent upward pressure on U.S. wages.  It shows the correlation between year-over-year change in average hourly earnings of production and non-supervisory employees and … Continued