Another down week for gold – fifth in a row! Last Friday’s action in the meantime points to potential relief ahead – at least near-term. At one point when the metal made a weekly low on Friday, it was down … Continued
When VIX (12.22), the S&P 500 Volatility Index, spiked past 20 nine sessions ago, there was a lot of chatter as to if this time the breakout was real. It was not. In the subsequent eight sessions since that peak, … Continued
The yellow metal cannot catch a break. GLD, the SPDR Gold ETF, broke down last week, losing eight-month support at $110. The corresponding support on spot gold lies around $1,140. Friday, gold closed at $1,132.20 and GLD at $108.65. The … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of July 14, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Fed Chair Janet Yellen during her mid-week Humphrey-Hawkins testimony reiterated her desire to hike interest rates later this year, if data cooperate. On … Continued
In the right circumstances, U.S. stocks have room to rally – at least in the near-term. After the recent pullback, U.S.-based stock funds attracted $14.1 billion in the week ended July 8 – biggest inflows since mid-December (courtesy of Lipper). … Continued
June’s housing starts will be published this Friday. Month-to-month, this is a volatile series. May was down 11 percent, while April was up 22 percent. Historically, starts remain low. As Chart 1 shows, it is not often the green line … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of July 7, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: After the June FOMC minutes were released, investors pushed back expectations for the first interest rate hike to March next year. The minutes … Continued
Looking around, there is no lack of things for investors to worry about. Although that is not the impression one gets looking at how gold is trading. After an incessant rally, Chinese stocks are in the midst of a sharp … Continued
The July 2nd ITB 27.50 naked calls hypothetically written on June 24 ended up in the money by six cents. The ETF closed at $27.56 last Thursday. Calls were sold for $0.38, so, after assignment, it is now an effective … Continued
The SPDR Consumer Discretionary ETF (XLY) is primed for another short put options strategy. Last week, the ETF went on to rally 0.6 percent. Thus, the premium earned selling weekly June 26th 77 puts was kept. Could this work again … Continued