T2108 Update (September 18, 2013) – A Surge Toward Overbought Territory

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. It helps to identify extremes in market sentiment that are highly gap down to reverse. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page. You can follow real-time T2108 commentary on twitter using the #T2108 hashtag. T2108-related trades and other … Read more

The Plunge in Housing Affordability Raises the Stakes for the Federal Reserve

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 15, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) As markets worldwide await the Federal Reserve’s meeting September 17-18th, I imagine that housing will play a major role in the decision-making for monetary policy. Interest rates have risen sharply in … Read more

Mixed Bets On Emerging Markets Add to Divergent Responses to Higher Rates

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 16, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) As markets head into a much anticipated Federal Reserve decision that should feature some resolution on the tapering question, I found it interesting to rewind the tape back to the recent … Read more

The Dollar’s Underwhelming Week Was Consistent With On-Going Trading Range

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 9, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Last week was supposed to be a dramatic week with a whole host of pronouncements from the world’s major central banks, the aftermath of the Jackson Hole confab, and major economic … Read more

A Flat Summer for the First Time in 21 Years Balances Bears Versus Bulls

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 2, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The summer of 2013 delivered a flat performance for the S&P 500 (SPY). The S&P 500 closed at 1,630.74 on May 31st. The 1,632.97 close on August 29th ended the summer … Read more

The Yen, the Nikkei, and the S&P 500: Watch the Trends and Correlations

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 2, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Starting November, 2012, Japan’s longstanding efforts to devalue its currency finally began experiencing sustained success. Since the massive devaluation process started, both the Nikkei (EWJ) (NKY) AND the S&P 500 (SPY) … Read more

First Solar Cashes Some Chips At A Good Time

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 13, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) First Solar (FSLR) has run an “intriguing” script since making an all-time low last August… {snip} The offering of shares is of course well-timed given the run-up. With its currency this … Read more

Lender Processing Services Completes Its Rise From Foreclosuregate

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on May 23, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) I have followed Lender Processing Services (LPS) for what seems like a very long time, a near lone voice on Seeking Alpha banging the table for LPS as a recovery play … Read more

Daily S&P 500 Trading: Monday Under-performance, Tuesday Out-performance And Other Patterns

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on May 16, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) On Wednesday, May 15, the venerable Art Cashin on CNBC offered his observations on the strange consistency in the Tuesday trade since the S&P 500 (SPY) printed its low in 2012. … Read more