The Turkish Lira’s Surge: How CBRT’s Monster Rate Hike Changes the Game

monster rate hike (Credit: Ping Timeout, Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games - Soccer | Jalan Besar Stadium on Flickr)

After Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “war of economic independence” came to an official end, I waited for evidence that the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) would get serious about fighting inflation. The monetary evidence may have arrived on August 24th in the form of a monster rate hike from 17% to 25%. In … Read more

A Slight Summer Cooling from Spring’s Peak – Housing Market Review

cooling (Yosemite waterfall)

Housing Market Intro and Summary May’s housing market was remarkably strong and represented the peak velocity of the spring selling season. June followed up with more relative strength but a slight sequential cooling as mortgage rates continued a march back to the top of the recent range. Housing starts, new home sales, and existing home … Read more

Sailing Past the Sunset – Housing Market Review

sailing past the sunset (Credit: sailing past the sunset by jackfraser on Flickr)

Housing Market Intro and Summary The spring selling season housing market looked “defiant” going into the end of a cycle. In June, the housing market looks like it refuses to let the cycle end as it sails past the expected sunset. New home sales and housing starts surged as the market for existing homes barely … Read more

Bulls Fade Fast from the Overbought Frontier – The Market Breadth

fade (Credit: Hercules Wrestling the Bull by carfull...from Wyoming on Flickr)

Stock Market Commentary: The summer of loving stocks is facing its first real test. In the middle of the week, the rally finally failed at the threshold of overbought market breadth. The stock market closed the week with market breadth confirming the end of the primary rally and the start of an important test of … Read more

Fed Avoids Ending the Summer of Loving Stocks

summer of loving stocks (Credit: Hippie tag ! by jocelyn.aubert on Flickr)

The Federal Reserve gave tacit approval to the unfolding summer of loving stocks. In its June decision on monetary policy, not only did the Fed hold interest rates steady, but also it rolled out improved overall forecasts for the economy. GDP growth for this year went from 0.4% to 1.0%, presumably lowering the odds for … Read more