The Dow Industrials is on pace to creating history this week. Last Friday, it rose for 11 sessions in a row, for a cumulative gain of 3.8 percent. The longest streak was recorded in January 1987 when it rallied 11 … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of February 21, 2017. 10-year note: Are we in for a March shock? Post-FOMC minutes on Wednesday, fed funds futures were pricing in a 32-percent chance of a rate hike in the March … Continued
Say what you want, equity bulls deserve kudos! There is an unprecedented bid under the market particularly since the election (November 8) last year. The S&P 500 large cap index has nearly rallied 11 percent since! The rubber band keeps … Continued
Stocks keep making new highs, and earnings keep getting downwardly revised. That about sums up the current state of affairs in U.S. equities. With momentum as strong as it is, markets have turned a blind eye to multiples. Consequently, the … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of February 14, 2017. 10-year note: On February 15, 10-year yields hit 2.52 percent before retreating. That high tagged a declining trend line from December 15 when yields hit 2.62 percent intraday. This … Continued
China’s Treasury holdings rose by $9.1 billion month-over-month in December. This comes in the wake of six consecutive months of contraction during which it sold $194.7 billion worth. This was the first monthly increase since last May. Coincidentally or not, … Continued
The usual middle-of-the-road approach. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen’s Humphrey Hawkins testimony to the Senate yesterday, that is. (She appears before the House later today.) There were no hints as to if she was ready to vote for a rate … Continued
Peak optimism? We are increasingly beginning to hear commentators/observers use that phrase in media interviews, articles as well as on social media. Among other things, Charts 1 and 2 are probably to blame. In the latest week, Investors Intelligence bulls … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of February 7, 2017. 10-year note: On January 26, 10-year yields began dropping after hitting 2.56 percent, lower than the 2.62 percent on December 15 – hence lower highs. In the meantime, they … Continued
The latest productivity report had observers buzzing more about unit labor costs than output per hour. In 4Q16, unit labor costs jumped at an annual rate of 1.68 percent, up from 0.18 percent in 3Q16. This comes in the wake … Continued