Intel Advantage Over Microsoft in A Pairs Trade

Ever since my friend “Mr. Bull” gave me a ribbing over writing a bearish piece on Intel (INTC) the day before a strong one-day rally, we have used Intel as a metaphor for whether the bulls or the bears are in control of the market. For the five weeks since then, INTC has gone nearly … Read more

The British Pound Awaits A Catalyst

Earlier today, the Bank of England (BoE) maintained interest rates at 0.50% and did not change the size of its quantitative program… and the market essentially yawned. Such sluggish behavior has characterized the British pound’s behavior against the U.S. dollar for almost three weeks now. Source: dailyfx.com charts (Click for larger view) The over-extension of … Read more

Copper Trying to Defy Double-Dip Dangers

While we await another challenge of the June highs by the S&P 500, copper has quickly recovered almost all its losses from the sell-off that began in May. Copper is potentially heading for fresh post-crash highs. Source: stockcharts.com Of course, copper is now much more important to the emerging and developing markets than to developed … Read more

A “Stealth Rally” In Solar Stocks, Part Two

I wrote earlier about a “stealth” rally in solar stocks featuring ReneSola (SOL), Solarfun Power Holdings Co Ltd (SOLF), LDK Solar Co Ltd (LDK), Trina Solar Ltd (TSL), and First Solar (FSLR). In all the excitement, I managed to neglected (at least?) two other stocks publicly traded in the U.S. that are in the green … Read more

Market Goes From Overwrought to Over-Bought In One Week Flat

I tried to make the case on Monday that the shrill commentary about the struggling American economy and its tepid stock market were getting overwrought with the kind of fever only a contrarian could love. It turns out there were other sentiment indicators flashing important extremes: “Bullish Sentiment Plummets to Credit Crisis Low“ (CNBC, August … Read more