January Jobs Report Positives: Residential Construction Momentum and the Participation Rate

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on Feb 10, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) The U.S. non-farm labor report for January, 2014 seemed to get universal disapproval. Yet, the stock market soared in response anyway. The bearish tidings that began last week week have almost … Read more

What the Homebuilders Said to Close Out 2013: All Eyes On the 2014 Spring Selling Season

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 6, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} The above quote pretty much sums up the attitude of homebuilders (ITB) going into 2014. It sounds like a classic sales pitch from a real estate agent, but the evidence … Read more

U.S. Jobs Report Pushes Australian Dollar Into Target, Australian Jobs Up Next

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 13, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) I started this year with a bullish bias on the Australian dollar (FXA) with a short-term target set at the 50-day moving average (DMA) (see Australian Dollar Starts The Year With … Read more

Canada’s Poor Year of Employment Should Pressure Bank of Canada and Canadian Dollar

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 12, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) It looks like the Bank of Canada was indeed setting the groundwork for easing monetary policy when it sounded fresh alarms about the Canadian economy last year. The extremely weak employment … Read more

U.K. Shopping Spree Sends the Pound Soaring

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 17, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) The United Kingdom’s Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported retail sales today that suggest consumers went on a literal shopping spree in December, 2013. {snip} The ONS reported the most notable … Read more

Euro Continues 2014 Weakness As Inflation Drops Again, Unemployment Remains At Record

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 8, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) Weakness continues for the euro (FXE) as 2014 seems to be confirming expectations I have outlined in previous posts. On January 7th, Eurostat reported eurozone inflation dropped to 0.8% in December … Read more

The British Pound And Euro Surge Despite Higher U.S. Rates

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 30, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) On Friday, the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield hit 3.0%, matching a high for the year. Rate are rising again across the yield curve. Source: St. Louis Federal Reserve This steady … Read more

A One-Chart Reminder Of the Market’s Obsession With Fed Tapering and Tightening

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 12, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Last Thursday (December 12, 2013), U.S. initial jobless claims came in at 368,000. This number was above “expectations” and above the on-going declining trend in the 4-week moving average. {snip} Source: … Read more

Canadian Dollar Extends Weakness As the Bank of Canada Sounds Fresh Alarms

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 3, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Source: FreeStockCharts.com The Bank of Canada was consistent with the change of tone from late October’s downgrade of the Canadian economy. In particular, inflation retreated further away from target: {snip} … Read more

Australian Dollar Left Hanging for the Year, But What About Foreign Debt?

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 3, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Source: FreeStockCharts.com After Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Glenn Stevens reminded the market that currency intervention remains in the toolkit for currency devaluation, I half-expected some semantic fireworks in … Read more