Options provide a reliable way to measure investor/trader sentiment. The accompanying chart uses two sources – the CBOE put-to-call ratio and the ISEE index, all equity. The former is currently flashing yellow/even red, the latter not quite so. In other … Continued
Crude oil is on the move. Since early April to last week’s high, the Brent has gone up by over 11 percent. The West Texas Intermediate found a trough much earlier – early this year – and until the high … Continued
For the last five years, the S&P 500 index has bounced up and down within a channel. Technicals have been in gross overbought territory for a while now. The last time the index had a 10-percent correction was two years … Continued
How quickly the pendulum has swung the other way. When we last discussed signals coming out of the options market, the CBOE in particular was giving out signs that equities were itching to go higher. Nearly a month ago, the … Continued
Unlike a consistent Steady-Eddie CSCO of the past, the company’s quarterly results of late have been a hit-and-miss. In the U.S., business capex is lackluster but steady. In November last year, CSCO spooked investors with a downbeat outlook. In February … Continued
There are some interesting things happening in e-mini S&P 500 futures. First, non-commercials are now net short 121k contracts, nearly double from two weeks ago. In the intervening period, the S&P 500 index has managed to inch up, having backed … Continued
One of the ways the current U.S. economic recovery has seriously diverged from past recoveries is the lack of solid progress on the wage front. In May, year-over-year percent change in average hourly earnings of private-sector employees (seasonally adjusted) came … Continued
The title of the accompanying chart says it all. Despite all the talk behind the ongoing de-leveraging, facts point us to a different reality. Compared to 2007, the outstanding U.S. bond market debt is higher, not lower – $40.4tn in … Continued
The S&P 500 acts well. Since it found support at its 150-day moving average early February, it has appreciated 12 percent – that is in four months. In the process, it now has carved out support levels at 1900, 1885 … Continued
Breakouts are galore in U.S. equities. Of the three major indices, the S&P 500 and the Dow Industrials have managed to push into record territory. The Nasdaq is a laggard – yet to get past early-March highs. Ditto with the … Continued