ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
The Market Breadth Summary Stock Market Commentary The first month of the new year ended in an eventful fashion with significant news both good and bad, sometimes abrupt. The bad news convinced me to go risk off again as breakdowns and pullbacks weighed heavily on individual stocks. The major indices hid the extent of the … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary The U.S. housing market ended 2025 with mixed signals. Builder stocks are stuck in trading ranges, builder confidence has stalled, and affordability remains strained. Pockets of strength in sales activity is likely coming from a softening price environment and higher inventory levels. The data points do not tell a single, … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary This edition of “What Happened in the Housing Market” is once again without data on housing starts and new home sales because of the previous shutdown of the Federal government. Yet, plenty of data dropped to confirm the on-going sluggishness of the housing market. Poor responses to key earnings report … Read more
Housing Market Intro and Summary This edition of “What Happened in the Housing Market” is truncated again because the shutdown of the Federal government. Yet, the shutdown did not prevent the stocks of home builders from outperforming the rest of the stock market for the month. Optimism over lower interest rates, improved affordability metrics, and … Read more
Jumia Technologies (JMIA) reached another major milestone on its way to becoming a sustained factor in African e-commerce. CEO Francis Dufay announced in the Q3 earnings call that “Jumia has reached an inflection point…We are building a solid foundation for sustainable, profitable growth and the results are becoming increasingly visible”. Last week, November 13, 2025, … Read more