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

Above the 40 (February 1, 2019) – An Overbought Stock Market Aspires to Test 200DMA Resistance

AT40 = 83.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (6th overbought day)AT200 = 34.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (near 2-month high)VIX = 16.1Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Starting in November or so, I developed an expectation for a January sell-off based in anticipation of earnings warnings … Read more

The Canadian Dollar Pushes Past A Dovish Bank of Canada

The Bank of Canada released its latest pronouncement on monetary policy on the heels of a rapid rally for the Canadian dollar (FXC). USD/CAD was down 5 straight days going into the release of the January, 2019 Monetary Policy Report. Four of five of those days delivered substantial declines. The Bank provided a truncated summary … Read more

Above the 40 (January 4, 2019) – The Oversold Chronicles End As A Fed-Inspired Stock Market Explodes Higher

AT40 = 20.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (ended 13 days in oversold territory)AT200 = 14.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 21.4Short-term Trading Call: bullish (with caveats all over again) Commentary All oversold periods must end – it is just a matter of how and … Read more