Riding With Elliott Management After It Labels Nielsen As “Undervalued”

Nielsen NV (NLSN) crashed to new all-time lows at the same time Facebook (FB) ran into its own historic post-earnings buzzsaw. At the time, I noted NLSN’s bad news about the business of monetizing user data was seemingly overshadowed by Facebook’s woes. NLSN’s operational difficulties seemed to warn investors to brace for more weakness ahead. … Read more

Redfin Waves A Red Flag Warning At the Housing Market

Redfin (RDFN) may have provided one of the first validations of the (presumed) investor fears that have weighed down the stocks of home builders since the February sell-off. In its last earnings report on August 9, 2018, RDFN provided this brief, yet significant, warning: “We expect U.S. home sales growth to slow and even perhaps … Read more

Forex Critical: Mexican Peso Weakens As Traders Bail on Emerging Market Risks

In my post reviewing the strength in the U.S. dollar index (DXY), I neglected to note a related weakening in the Mexican peso. On Friday, USD/MXN rallied into its 200-day moving average (DMA) and faded. Per my plan, I faded USD/MXN at the 200DMA. Much to my surprise, USD/MXN readily backed off 200DMA resistance. I … Read more

Above the 40 (August 10, 2018) – Facing Fresh Macro Challenges and Lacking Technical Confirmations, the S&P 500 Stalls Under All-Time Highs

AT40 = 51.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 55.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 13.2 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The indicators barely changed from the last Above the 40 post, but the technical winds are likely changing yet again. A little … Read more

Why I Am Not Worrying About Warren Buffett’s Record Stash of Cash

A recent Business Insider (BI) heading warned boldly: “Why Warren Buffett’s record-breaking cash stockpile should have investors very worried.” The BI’s evidence comes in the form of a record stash of over $130B of idling cash combined with major indices, like the S&P 500 (SPY), at or near all-time highs. Putting the two observations together, … Read more