ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Every now and then, high options volume does precede unique stock activity (my own analysis concluded that high options volume is at best a signal to trade with the prevailing trend). Yesterday, Coventry Health (CVH) (a managed healthcare company) succumbed to heavy selling pressure and dropped 7% one day after briefing.com reported unusual options activity … Read more
Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT) closed out Tuesday’s trading with an impressive 6% gain on volume 58% higher than average. *Chart created using TeleChart: For six weeks, CAT bounced inside a small trading channel as it consolidated impressive gains from the July lows and July’s earnings report. CAT is plowing ahead despite lingering and extremely high skeptical … Read more
Last week, there was talk that the Bank of England would implement negative interest rates. I was all set to begin shorting the Pound (mainly versus the U.S. dollar), but the BoE simply maintained interest rates, made no changes to its quantitative easing program, and had nothing new to say. The Pound lifted in “relief”, … Read more
This past earnings season for solar companies was a general disappointment if measured by stock performance after the earnings releases although the season started with a bang when Sunpower (SPWRA) issued surprise guidance and generated a one-day, 29% pop in price. I wanted to review the conference calls of all the major, publicly traded solar … Read more
Steel Dynamics (STLD) has steadily rolled out increased guidance over the past few quarters. Last night, STLD increased July’s earnings guidance from $0.10 to $0.20 per diluted share to $0.20 to $0.25. This strength has come from orders and volumes in flat-rolled steel and metal recycling. Because STLD has yet to see any impact from … Read more
Five months ago, I flagged $45M in combined stock sales by the Toll brothers in their company’s stock. Since then, Toll Brothers (TOL) has been on a roller coaster ride: the stock was first up 15% from the time of my last post, then a two-month and 26% decline, and now a two-month 40% run. … Read more
Two days ago, MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) issued a late earnings warning stating that it “…experienced a disruption in production at its polysilicon facility in Pasadena, Texas due to an equipment failure on August 7, 2009, requiring a large portion of the facility to be shut-down…The lost production and related costs are expected to negatively … Read more
The dollar’s inexorable descent continued Tuesday as the index hit fresh 11-month lows after consolidating for 4 weeks. Accompanying the most recent weakening in the dollar has been a surge in gold and silver. Gold touched $1000/ounce and silver is now up about 44% for the year. Barrick Gold (ABX) has FINALLY eliminated its gold … Read more
First Solar (FSLR) wasted no time in securing a deal from China. One day after announcing the arrival of senior Chinese government leaders from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, FSLR announced that it had secured a major contract in Inner Mongolia. This 2 gigawatt desert solar power plant is exactly … Read more
Even as angry and restive voices grow louder and louder for confronting the Chinese assault on the global solar market, First Solar (FSLR) is hosting a delegation of senior Chinese government leaders from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China to talk shop on solar. FSLR’s press release states that the delegation … Read more