Soaring U.S. Corporate Bond Issuance — The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

posted in: Commodities, Credit, Economy | 0

U.S. corporate bond issuance is on track for yet another record year this year. In the first half, issuance totaled $877.7 billion, comprised of $697.8 billion in investment-grade and $179.9 billion in high-yield.  Annualized, both categories, as well as the … Continued

NYSE Margin Debt Near All-Time Highs — Implications For Stocks, C&I Loans

posted in: Credit, Equities | 0

NYSE margin debt just made an all-time high of $507.2 billion in April.  It fell 1.6 percent in May.  This was the first month-over-month drop in four months.  In the first five months this year, it grew nearly $43 billion.  … Continued

Peek Into Future Through Futures

The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of July 14, 2015.  Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Fed Chair Janet Yellen during her mid-week Humphrey-Hawkins testimony reiterated her desire to hike interest rates later this year, if data cooperate.  On … Continued

Weekly Cash-Secured Put On TLT

posted in: Credit, Derivatives, Technicals | 0

As expected, Fed Chair Janet Yellen, in her Humphrey-Hawkins testimony yesterday, reiterated what she, and other Fed officials, have been saying for a while.  They are data dependent, and if data cooperate, a rate hike is coming later this year.  … Continued

COT: Peek Into Future Through Futures

The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of July 7, 2015.  Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: After the June FOMC minutes were released, investors pushed back expectations for the first interest rate hike to March next year.  The minutes … Continued

Peek Into Future Through Futures

The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of June 30, 2015.  Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Non-commercials continue to reduce net shorts – currently lowest since September 23rd last year.  They have reduced net shorts by 98 percent in … Continued

Peek Into Future Through Futures

The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of June 23, 2015.  Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Yields pushed up nearly 21 basis points for the week.  Sales of both new and existing homes did well in May (even though … Continued

U.S. Home Prices Have More To Thank Supply Than Demand For Rapid Rise

posted in: Credit, Economy | 0

Of late, momentum in U.S. sales of both new and existing homes Post-bubble burst, price has appreciated much faster than sales improvement Builders express optimism but are cautious in starting construction; inventory well-behaved The upward pressure on U.S. home prices … Continued

Using Options To Play ITB’s Inability To Cash In On Week’s Good Housing Data

Over the past couple of days, U.S. housing produced two good reports for the month of May. Monday, existing home sales were published, coming in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million units – up 5.1 percent month-over-month … Continued

Peek Into Future Through Futures

The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of June 16, 2015.  Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Let us see if we can make some sense out of this week’s major developments.  The FOMC met, and it looked like members … Continued