Swiss National Bank Speaks Frankly On Growing Downside Economic Risks

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) released its latest decision on monetary policy on Thursday, March 21. Apparently the warnings from the SNB were drowned out by the rallies in financial markets that day. The SNB dropped its growth forecast, its inflation forecast, and reiterated that economic risks are biased to the downside. I took particular … Read more

Above the 40 (March 8, 2019) – A Newly Precarious Stock Market Scrambles for Support

AT40 = 54.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 38.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 16.1Short-term Trading Call: bearish Stock Market Commentary The above tweet begins the dilemmas that lay ahead for short-term trading after I first flipped bearish ahead of Thursday’s selling. First, I … Read more

Forex Critical: The Australian Dollar Buckles Under Economic Pressures

It is time to abandon my bullish expectations for the Australian dollar (FXA). On March 6th Philip Lowe, the chair of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), reminded financial markets that the near future holds the same likelihood for a rate cut as it does a rate hike: “There are plausible scenarios under which the … Read more

The Relationship Between Recessions and Housing Starts

The latest airing of Marketplace included a segment titled “Making sense of housing market data.” The segment explained the five key housing data points that Marketplace uses to gauge the health of the housing market: housing starts, new home sales, existing home sales, pending home sales, and the Case-Shiller Home Price Index. In my monthly … Read more

Forex Critical: Australian Dollar Weakens On the Risk of A Rate Cut…That Is Not Imminent

After reading the February 6th Address to the National Press Club of Australia by Philip Lowe, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), I am not so sure the market “got it right.” The following statement alone was used to suggest that the RBA might cut rates in the near future: “Looking forward, there … Read more