ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 30, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) As recession descends across Europe, fiscal policies have received extra scrutiny. Austerity measures have been promoted as keys for long-term economic stability but the necessary short-term pains have been understated. Without … Read more
Last week, I pointed out how the currency pair of the British pound versus the Australian dollar (GBP/AUD) was setting up for a breakout. That breakout occurred two days later and continues at the time of writing following weak consumer price index data from Australia. I sold my latest round of GBP/AUD long as I … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 27, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) As conditions ripen for a bottom in housing in 2013, I am more frequently reviewing the on-going dynamics of the unfolding recovery in employment. The rates of unemployment and under-employment, and … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 19, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) In November, 2010, Nassim Taleb (Mr. Black Swan) broke a long-standing media blackout to talk on CNBC about his distress over quantitative easing Part two (QE2). At the time, Taleb concluded … Read more
It took almost a month, but silver has finally joined gold in its post-Fed breakout. The chart below shows that silver has broken above stiff resistance at the 50-day moving average (DMA). This resistance has kept silver under a lid for five months. Source: StockCharts.com With the Federal Reserve promising to keep rates low through … Read more
Soon after I finally posted my review and critique of Robert Reich’s book on income inequality titled “Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future,” Reich published commentary which extended his analysis of income inequality to blame investors and shoppers for the problem. The concise argument appeared in an editorial in the Financial Times called “We … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 31, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Dynex Capital (DX) is one of several companies in the business of buying mortgage-backed securities. Specifically: {snip} Dynex Capital (DX) came to my attention because on Friday the company raised … Read more
I moderated my bullishness on the Australian dollar in early December because Australia’s terms of trade have likely peaked for now and the Reserve Bank of Australia had lowered rates twice. Last week, I recharged my bullishness on the Australian dollar after the Federal Reserve extended its dovish monetary policy. The Australian dollar experienced a … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 26, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) In its latest monetary policy proclamation, the Federal Reserve announced that it will likely extend the window for near-zero interest rates until at least late 2014. There was no hint of … Read more
This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 12, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Mainly thanks to a plunging euro (FXE), the U.S. dollar index (UUP) now sits at 52-weeks highs set in January, 2011. When the Federal Reserve telegraphed its second round of quantitative … Read more