Germany and Margin Issues Pressure First Solar, Overall Business Remains Healthy

While many gear up for the elections and the Federal Reserve, I am bracing myself for a barrage of earnings from solar companies. Thursday night, First Solar (FSLR) kicked off the earnings parade in disappointing fashion as the market reacted by taking the stock down 9%. It seems that the market agonized over two main … Read more

links for 2010-10-31

Fed Asks Dealers to Estimate Size, Impact of Debt Purchases – Bloomberg The Federal Reserve asked bond dealers and investors for projections of central bank asset purchases over the next six months, along with the likely effect on yields, as it seeks to gauge the possible impact of new efforts to spur growth. (tags: monetary_policy … Read more

LPS Earnings Provide Relief from Headlines of the Foreclosure Mess, Put Holders Remain Unfazed

The stock market responded favorably to Thursday evening’s earnings report from Lender Processing Services, Inc (LPS) by sending the stock up 5%. Buying volume was also strong at 3.3 million shares, almost doubling the 1.7M 3-month average. *Chart created using TeleChart: I suspect a material portion of this buying came from disappointed shorts who were … Read more

Overbought Signal Diverges from the Overall Market

The market has essentially maintained a holding pattern while awaiting the results of next week’s trifecta of news: the elections, the Federal Reserve’s announcement on quantitative easing, and the next employment report. So I was quite surprised to realize that for almost three weeks my favorite technical indicator, T2108, has been dropping. On Thursday, this … Read more

As Gross Reiterates His Call for A Top in Bonds, TBT Seems to Bottom

Bloomberg summarized the latest missive from Bill Gross in a piece called “Fed Easing to Signify End of Bull Market, Gross Says.” Gross called an end to the 30-year bull market in bonds thanks to the the Federal Reserve’s planned second round of quantitative easing. I decided to read Gross in his own words, and … Read more