The sun always rises in the east and sets in the west. But in life, things are not always this straightforward. Besides black and white, there is this thing called gray. And in the gray territory, things can get confusing. … Continued
US housing starts were a real downer in August, down 14 percent month-over-month, to 956k. Multi-family really took it on the chin, down 32 percent (304k), even as single-family relatively fared better, down two percent (643k). Monthly data tend to … Continued
The past couple of days, there has been much talk about deteriorating breadth on the Nasdaq Composite. The index consists of over 2500 stocks, with a combined market cap of nearly $9tn. It turns out nearly half are down in … Continued
As we await the FOMC statement this afternoon, the adjacent chart is apropos. In it, US federal debt has been plotted against interest payments (seasonally adjusted annual rates) of the federal government. The latter is calculated as a share of … Continued
Less than two weeks ago, when the S&P 500 Large Cap Index was giving out signs of fatigue, the VIX was giving out signs of stability. The former went on to post a new all-time high early this month, even … Continued
Tick, tick, tick. That is the sound of the clock ticking for the first rate hike by the Fed. It is coming sooner than expected. So it seems. Or, is it? At least that is how the market seems to … Continued
Another year, another record issuance! Probably. US corporate bond issuance is on course for another record year. August-to-date, as per the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, corporations have issued $939.2bn, of which investment-grade is $738.2bn and high-yield $201.1bn. In … Continued
Remember the August payroll report, which came in much weaker than the consensus was expecting? After six consecutive months of 200k-plus (April in fact was 300k-plus) jobs, August produced a mere 142k. Across the board, economists quickly brushed it off … Continued
Investors have spoken. Bring up yesterday’s daily chart on AAPL ($97.99), and it is all there to see. Two o’ clock was when sentiment shifted. Post-announcement of products in Cupertino, bulls valiantly rallied the stock nearly five points, seeking to … Continued
The importance of margin debt in U.S. equities’ persistent grind higher cannot be stressed enough. Other sources of funds are simply no match – at least have been that way a while. Despite persistent, year-in-year-out talk of an impending selloff, … Continued