Did Fri Breakout On S&P 500 Change Facts Enough For Bears To Change Mind?

“When the facts change, I change my mind.  What do you do, sir?” The above remark is often attributed to John Maynard Keynes, the British economist, although some dispute it.  Regardless who said it, it is a nice quote. More … Continued

U.S. Stocks Increasingly Reliant On Buybacks, Even As ’15 SPX Earnings Set To Drop Y/Y

posted in: Credit, Equities | 0

Late last year as the Federal Reserve was unwinding quantitative easing (QE), there was suspense in the air as to how this might impact U.S. stocks.  Bulls argued QE was never a factor in stocks’ surge, rather earnings were.  Bears … Continued

Has margin debt peaked? Can have repercussions for stocks, C&I loans

posted in: Credit, Equities | 0

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

BBG poll of 54% expecting U.S. markets to outperform this year in line with giddy NAAIM sentiment

posted in: Equities | 0

Bloomberg poll: international investors most bullish on U.S. markets in more than five years Giddy sentiment in agreement with message coming out of NAAIM and II Inflows from overseas key; as of November they are MIA Some interesting tidbit came … Continued

Persistently rising SPX vs decelerating contribution from sources of capital

posted in: Credit, Equities | 3

NYSE margin debt only increased $3.3bn in November.  The S&P 500 rose 2.5 percent in the month.  Except for brief ups and downs toward the middle of 2014, margin debt has essentially gone sideways for the first 11 months last … Continued