In the past five weeks, all things in the world of bonds have done a lot of running… but on the treadmill. The popular bond ETF, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT), is essentially unchanged during that time … Continued
2134.72. That is the all-time record the S&P 500 Index (1948.86) notched on May 20. It is possible in the annals of stock market history this high will be viewed with the same level of trepidation/respect as 1553.11 (March 2000 … Continued
Since last Wednesday, there has been a sudden pickup in QE talk. That was when Bill Dudley, president of the New York Fed, said that “the decision to begin the normalization process at the September FOMC meeting seems less compelling … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of August 25, 2015. Change is week-over-week. (Please keep in mind that these holdings are as of Tuesday. By then, from high to low the S&P 500 was down 12.5 percent. In … Continued
U.S. corporate profits (adjusted for inventory valuation and capital consumption) broke a two-quarter downtrend in 2Q15, up 2.4 percent quarter-over-quarter to $2.06 trillion. This followed two consecutive quarterly drops in 4Q14 and 1Q15. A welcome change! The back-to-back drop in … Continued
Two different central bankers from two different continents made news yesterday – both giving us a nod and a wink that at best low rates are here to stay and at worst more stimulus may be coming our way. Peter … Continued
Velocity of declines in equities breakneck and unsettling Worse scenario is if oversold bounce/rally gets sold hard near resistance If consumer/CEO confidence is impaired, Fed’s tool box empty to tackle weaker economy Another interesting session in the markets! Stocks picked … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials contained in the Commitment of Traders report as of August 18, 2015. Change is week-over-week. (Please note that these holdings are as of Tuesday. The S&P 500 swooned six percent in the next … Continued
Market participants have no clue how to read Wednesday’s FOMC minutes. The latter failed to settle the debate as to whether or not the Federal Reserve will move in September. Treasury bonds are acting as if the message was dovish … Continued
ITB, the iShares Home Construction ETF, has broken out. Support at $26 goes back to May 2013, and was defended several times during late April and early June. Since late April, ITB had also been trading within an ascending channel. … Continued