Dallas, Denver, Seattle Help Tip U.S. Housing Economics Toward Renting Over Buying

Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University co-create a “buy versus rent” scoring system called the Beracha, Hardin & Johnson Buy vs. Rent (BH&J) Index. Last month, this index crossed a critical threshold for the first time since 2010: U.S. households are once again better off renting than buying. This cross-over provides further confirmation of … Read more

Above the 40 (September 4, 2018) – Fading Prospects for FOMO With A Borderline Bearish Divergence

AT40 = 57.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 57.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.9 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The momentum for FOMO (fear-of-missing-out) on the major indices effectively fizzled out with the start of post-summer trading. At one point, the … Read more

Australian Dollar: A Monetary Policy Statement Made for A Currency Rebound

In recent weeks, I have seen calls for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to cut interest rates. It's important to remember when the RBA moves to cut interest rates, there will probably be two (or more) 25bp moves. As my mate Saul Eslake once noted, interest rate changes are like cockroaches, when you get … Read more

Above the 40 (August 31, 2018) – A Pause for FOMO

AT40 = 57.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 57.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.9 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary In my last Above the 40 post, I discussed the early signs of a potential run-up driven by the “fear of missing … Read more

Housing Market Review (August, 2018) – Worsening Affordability Issues Add to Weakening Data

I saw a flicker of hope for home builders in the May Housing Market Review. Traders decided to snuff that flicker out very quickly afterward. When I wrote June’s housing market review and described a “struggling flicker,” the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) was once again bouncing off the bottom of 2018’s trading range. … Read more