The 1Q14 GDP print was a shocker, to say the least! Real GDP inched up a mere 0.1 percent SAAR, versus consensus expectations of 1.2-percent expansion. Sure, it is the advance estimate, with two more still to come. Sure it … Continued
NYSE margin debt declined slightly to $450.3bn in March from February’s all-time high of $465.7bn. This is a minor drop, but going by the two major previous peaks this millennium, this has the potential to be an important reversal in … Continued
Equities are acting confused – almost schizophrenic – not able to make up mind whether they want to move up or down. They have been on a roller-coaster ride lately. An active trader could not be asking for a better … Continued
The release of February’s commercial and industrial loan data ensued a lot of excitement. ‘Finally!’ was the typical reaction. The $36bn increase (to $1.67tn) was the largest month-over-month rise since October 2008. March data just came out, and we learn … Continued
One of the common themes that we so often hear is that there is a lot of dry powder still left to push stocks higher. Bulls have been steadfast in holding on to their gains. Yes, there were sell-offs in … Continued
After having flashed decent enough of a signal last week that volatility was ready to move lower – hence higher odds of higher equity prices – the VIX has indeed pulled back. Equities are rallying; volume could be better, but … Continued
Going by action on the S&P 500, Russell 2000 and Nasdaq 100, non-commercial futures traders have been gradually cutting back on their net longs for a year now, but they are yet to get aggressive in raising their short bets. … Continued
There was a lot of excitement early this week after U.S. retail-sales data were released. At 1.14 percent, month/month change in retail and food services was the highest since September 2012. ‘Motor vehicles & parts dealers’ helped a great deal … Continued
It increasingly looks like the market wants to move higher – at least in the near-term. The past several days, it has been choppy, a lot of back-and-forth, marked by dojis (on a chart). Today was no exception – opens … Continued
Are we there yet? Have we yet reached the escape velocity? You know the 6.96 miles-per-second speed needed to break free from the gravitational pull of the earth. I am of course figuratively referring to the prevalent expectations that the … Continued