There is divergence in the markets. Tons of it. Large-caps are going one way and small-caps the other. Ditto with transports and high-yield. The Russell 2000 small cap index peaked on 1514.94 on October 5, before trending lower in a … Continued
Price is the final arbiter … is an often-quoted axiom in finance. Has truth in it. For a trend to establish itself, price has to cooperate. As long as this continues, there is no use fighting it. Of course, all … Continued
From a bear call spread to now short IWM, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, a decision time is at hand. Hypothetically on May 26th, a June 5th 125/126.50 bear call spread was opened for a credit of $0.56 (short 125 … Continued
Last six years, U.S. high-yield bond issuance of $1.6tn This week, several Fed officials signal imminent rate hike this year Junk bonds – popular risk-on vehicle – not likely to take kindly to end of ZIRP A week ago, HYG, … Continued
Sideways movement in margin debt a sign investors’ risk appetite waning? 35-year correlation between stocks and margin debt of 0.95, 2014 was only 0.28 In 2000 and 2007, peak in margin debt preceded peak in C&I loans by one-plus year … Continued
Russell 2000 suffers false breakout before retreating quickly Hedge funds not showing much interest in going net long RUT futures With 200DMA one percent away, small-cap bulls have opportunity to put foot down The Russell 2000 Small Cap Index is … Continued
2014 on track for 3rd successive year of $300bn-plus high-yield issuance; energy 15% of junk market By not cutting 30mn bpd production target, OPEC ready to lock horns with shale oil As both sides play game of ‘who will blink … Continued
Small-cap shares are lagging. This is no news. Small-caps have been a topic of discussion on this blog several times before. They have lagged their large-cap brethren, the S&P 500 Index, since early March. That was when money started to … Continued