A Rush for Safety Slashes Odds for Fed Rate Hikes and Spikes Volatility

The odds of getting four total rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this year are about as low as ever now. Even the odds for just 3 total rate hikes for 2018 are ominously converging upon 50/50. Source: CME FedWatch The chart above shows a 14.8% chance that rates will get to at least the … Read more

Betting the Swiss Franc’s Italian-Inspired Comeback Is Temporary

In mid-April I wrote expecting EUR/CHF to finally return to the old 1.20 currency floor set by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) years ago. Two days later, EUR/CHF did indeed hit 1.20….for all of a few hot minutes. For almost the past three weeks, EUR/CHF has plunged all over again as political turmoil in Italy … Read more

Forex Critical: A Speculative Breakout for the Euro

Speculators have not been this bullish on the euro since at least 2008. Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders These charts reveal a distinct sentiment shift on the euro this year. Since 2008, speculators spent the majority of the time as firm euro bears. The new high in net long positioning going into 2018 signals … Read more

Cocoa Breaks Out On European Strength

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 12, 2017. Click here to read the entire piece.) Looks like my rotational trade on iPath Bloomberg Cocoa SubTR ETN (NIB) is coming to an end. {snip} Source: FreeStockCharts.com {snip} The headline driver for this strong move was the European … Read more

Forex Critical: Speculators In the Euro Last Did This Three Years Ago

Ahead of the second and final round of the French Presidential election, I noted a burst of euro-optimism. That optimism continued in the form of speculators turning net bullish on the euro for the first time in three years. Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders While this flip from bearish to bullish for the first … Read more

A Fresh Burst of Euro-Optimism Ahead of the French Presidential Election

The French people will make a final decision on a President in less than 24 hours from the time of writing. Financial markets are in a much different place now than they were two weeks ago ahead of the initial round of voting. Thanks to the “French Fly” optimism is riding high and all assumptions … Read more

Above the 40 (April 24, 2017) – The Stock Market Breaks Out With A French Fly

AT40 = 61.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 63.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 10.8 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary Going into the first round of the French Presidential election, I figured the best case scenario was the absence of … Read more

A Euro Flush: Buyers Take Back Control For Now

By now, traders should know the drill on these highly anticipated events that promise dire potential consequences… Traders build positions in anticipation of or to hedge against the potentially “adverse” outcome of the highly anticipated event. An outcome interpreted as adverse occurs and markets respond accordingly. The expected response to an adverse outcome turns out … Read more

Gold and Silver Break Down: A Post-Brexit Roundtrip Triggered By Eurozone Rumors

Gold and silver may have finally topped out. The first technical clues came after SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) reversed all its incremental gains form the post-Brexit trade. I used that event and other indicators to posit a top for gold in late July. GLD promptly bounced from that support level. A month later I reiterated … Read more

How Brexit’s Collective Call to Caution Became A Chorus Of Opportunity

The referendum that punted the UK out of the European Union (EU), “Brexit”, is practically a forgotten memory for most people outside of Europe. For example, the aftermath of this vote now looks like an event that quickly shook out the most eager sellers in the stock market and thus paved a course for a … Read more