Household formation has picked up speed, as have sales of homes, putting downward pressure on the supply of homes and upward pressure on prices. Prices are appreciating seven-eight times the rate of consumer inflation, hence not sustainable. US households are … Continued
Last week, Fed officials threw cold water on incipient taper talk, making it clear they would continue to purchase treasury securities. This followed a backup this month in rates in the long end of the treasury yield curve, with the … Continued
After the sharp contraction in economic activity in the early months this year, inventories are running low. Growth gets a tailwind as they get rebuilt. There is tight correlation between economic growth and corporate profits. Stocks are anticipating this. Home … Continued
US housing is going gangbusters. Sales are very strong. Builder optimism is at a record. Starts have recovered strongly. Amidst all this, ITB, having risen to a new high this month, is running into massive resistance. Housing activity has picked … Continued
The recovery in the economy from recent lows has been uneven. In equities, the S&P 500 (large cap) rallied to a new high last Friday, while the Russell 2000 (small cap) was rejected at a crucial resistance. Amidst this, several … Continued
Over the past year, housing data – both survey- and activity-based – have gotten better. Housing starts and sales of new and existing homes have strengthened since the December 2018/January 2019 lows. ITB just broke out of two-year resistance. Possible … Continued
Stocks have rallied big on hopes of even easier monetary policy. In the very near term, bulls carry the momentum ball. Medium- to long-term, a daunting task likely awaits them. The Fed’s toolkit is inadequate. Plus, its stimulative measures may … Continued
The 10-year T-yield not only lost a rising trend line from July 2016 but also decade-old support at 2.62 percent. TLT has been on a tear, but is overbought; digestion of the recent gains is the path of least resistance. … Continued
Post-Powell’s supposed dovish switch last week, equity bulls spent lots of energy to rally the S&P 500 within less than two points of the 200-day. If the trade-tariff truce the US and China reached over the weekend in Argentina is … Continued
If early this year the 10-year T-yield vouched for the strength of the US economy as it broke out of multi-year/decade resistance, what is it trying to tell us now that it seems to have hit the wall and is … Continued