ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Evergreen Solar (ESLR) is a “penny stock” again. As the stock plunges to 8-year lows and toward all-time lows, it appears that the company will not survive this round of doubts in its viability. Note well that in the past, I have not had good things to say about ESLR: “ESLR remains the solar stock … Read more
If an asset bubble is characterized by accelerating euphoria as asset prices rise ever higher, gold is still not in a bubble. The skepticism directed towards gold continues to rise along with its price despite gold marking all-time highs the past two months. I decided to do a refresh of last year’s sentiment analysis on … Read more
If the summer ends up trading in a range, it will have a wider berth than I had expected. This week the S&P 500 broke both closing and intra-day lows for 2010 and confirmed an unfolding downtrend. The index is down 8 of the last 9 days. The good news is that the S&P 500 … Read more
The first half of 2010 has ended and another earnings season is upon us. The second quarter should be a time of easy comparisons as the economy hit a trough leading into spring of last year. If there is any credence to the argument that the economy is on a sustainable path to recovery, we … Read more
The strength in the Swiss Franc has accelerated. Even as the euro has stabilized somewhat against the U.S. dollar the past two weeks, the franc continues to set new record highs against the euro. The monthly chart of the euro vs the franc (EUR/CHF) shows how rapidly the franc has gained steam just in the … Read more
The British pound has gained a modest 3.5% since early June when I removed my long-standing bearishness on the currency. The momentum in the pound accelerated somewhat after last Wednesday’s release of the Bank of England’s minutes showed Andrew Sentance dissented from the rest of his fellow central bankers by calling for a rate hike. … Read more
As Research In Motion’s stock (RIMM) plunged the last repurchase program underwater, I speculated that RIMM would initiate another share repurchase program if the stock continued to go lower. It now seems that Research In Motion (RIMM) is indeed determined to prop up its stock with its hard-earned cash. During tonight’s earnings call, RIMM announced … Read more
Many homebuilder stocks, like Toll Brothers (TOL), went parabolic in April. The homebuilder index, XHB, hit 18-month highs at the time. Since flaming out, TOL is down 26%, and the homebuilder’s ETF, XHB, has sunk 23% in two months. This action further confirms the principle that parabolic moves more than likely signal the coming end … Read more
By now, I think we should recognize that low-volume rallies simply do not last – the odds tend to favor a return of most, if not all, those kinds of gains, sooner than later. Last week, I was particularly puzzled by a low-volume 2.4% rally on the S&P 500 that came on the heels of … Read more
California on 'verge of system failure’ – The Globe and Mail Golden State, like many others, is nearly bankrupt and desperately needs a bailout (tags: California bankruptcy economy govt_spending) Gold Prices – Saudis Hoard Twice as Much Gold as Thought – CNBC Analysts believe that central banks could be net buyers of gold this year … Read more