ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Stock Market Commentary Last week’s trading had something for almost everyone: volatility, churn, recovery, and a bank scare. A familiar story about renewed U.S.–China trade tensions expanded into a larger mosaic of market stress and resilience. Still, given market breadth remains broken, I see a market skating on the edge. The volatility index (VIX) summarizes … Read more
The bearish to bullish reversal ended for home builder stocks with a return to bear market territory. Today, October 9, 2025, the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) dropped under the threshold that defines a bear market: 20% below the all-time high (see chart below). The 2.6% slide on the day is part of a … Read more
Exactly one month ago, I explained I would stick with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) despite disappointing weakness in shares. I looked through the short-term bearish signal of a technical breakdown (below the 50-day moving average (DMA)) and pinned my expectations on AMD continuing to catchup with a red hot, AI-driven semiconductor industry. When AMD soared … Read more
Stock Market Commentary Finally the bears break in on all the fun the bulls have had for months. The stock market got overwhelmed with a flood of bad news that was just too difficult to ignore or look through (for now). The July jobs report was not just weak but also it included a massive … Read more
Stock Market Commentary The stock market looked ready to follow through on leaving its troubles behind. The S&P 500 even made a new all-time high. Everything seemed to fall apart on Friday. The final release of consumer expectations as measured by the University Michigan confirmed earlier preliminary numbers: inflation expectations soared and consumer sentiment tanked. … Read more