As the VIX Plunges to All-Time Lows, Speculators Abort Their Seasonal Gold and Silver Rush

A month ago, I wrote about the near seasonal pattern of speculators accumulating net long contracts in gold and silver from July troughs to October peaks. THIS year, the speculators started up on schedule but aborted the mission as net longs peaked well ahead of October. Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders So seasonal patterns … Read more

The Danger in DexCom…and the Opportunity

DexCom (DXCM) is a maker of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems. Last week, the stock of the company cratered after Abbott Laboratories (ABT) received FDA approval of its competing FreeStyle Libre flash CGM. It is the first system that allows diabetics to check and monitor glucose levels without sticking themselves. In response to the news, … Read more

A Wilting British Pound Reverses Gains from A Hawkish Bank of England

It looks like speculators flipped the script to go net long on the British pound (FXB) just in time to catch a peak. Source: FreeStockCharts.com As the chart above shows, GBP/USD just broke down below support at its 50-day moving average (DMA). The move looks like an exclamation point following the full reversal of the … Read more

A Silence Lifted: ShotSpotter Soars On A Change of Heart In Congress

Almost two months ago I wrote about the strong earnings profile and prospects of ShotSpotter (SSTI), a gunfire detection and location technology company. At the time, I noted that President Trump’s threat of “fire and fury” aimed at North Korea seemed to drown out the news. Today, in the wake of a horrible tragedy of … Read more

Housing Market Review – A Growing Rift Between the Data and the Stocks (September, 2017)

The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in August, 2017 for July, 2017. At the time, I described a change in tone that made me wary and even got me anticipating a larger pullback. The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) was struggling below its 50-day moving average (DMA) since a 2-month period starting … Read more