ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
Clearly, I am not yet bearish enough on the Japanese yen. When the U.S. dollar last traded at 100 versus the Japanese yen (USD/JPY), the dollar completed a 12.7% rally from its lows in December, 2008 and January, 2009. This was also the last time the U.S. dollar generated as large and sustained a rally … Read more
Someone forgot to tell the Australian dollar that financial markets are in “risk on” mode. While the Australian dollar is still up for the year against the U.S. dollar, it continues to lag the S&P 500 (SPY) by a greater and greater distance. The Aussie is now up 2.6% versus the U.S. dollar whereas the … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 5, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip}…this is a good moment to describe finally why I recently sold my long-term holdings in the Rydex CurrencyShares Australian (FXA). {snip} Never once have I pondered the possibility of the … Read more
Almost two weeks ago, I underlined the case for on-going weakness in the Japanese yen. The U.S. dollar had rallied to 80.60 against the yen (USD/JPY) in almost a straight line. I chose that point to close out my yen shorts to wait for what I thought would be an inevitable pullback from such a … Read more
On Tuesday (February 28), the British pound finally broke out against the U.S. dollar with a resounding surge above its 200-day moving average (200DMA). The struggle to break this resistance lasted the entire month of February. Despite this technical breakthrough, I remain skeptical that the British pound will deliver much follow-through before faltering again. Indeed, … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 24, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Ever since I heard hedge fund manager Kyle Bass lay out a convincing case in August, 2010 for a massive sell-off in the Japanese yen, I have had a hard time … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 16, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) The U.S. dollar and Japanese yen have played an up and down game of seesaw since July of last year. The USD/JPY, or the inverse of the Rydex Currency Shares Japanese … Read more
A week ago, I reviewed the technicals on the Australian dollar versus various currencies. If you blinked, you missed the picture-perfect setup against the Japanese yen (AUD/JPY). I pointed out that a retest of the 200-day moving average would provide a good entry point. AUD/JPY did not quite touch this point of important support, but … 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.) The path for a peak in the Japanese yen is turning into a much more arduous one that I had hoped. Last week, I pointed to an imminent acceleration in purchases … 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