The British Pound and Mark Carney: Lots of Noise and Little Action

The following chart reminds me that except for one post-Brexit emergency rate cut and its rapid reversal once the cut turned out to be unnecessary, the Bank of England (BoE) has done nothing with interest rates in the 9 years since the financial crisis. Source: Bank of England During an interview with the BBC on … Read more

Above the 40 (April 27, 2018) – The Market’s Stop Signs Fail to Yield to A Busy Earnings Week

AT40 = 54.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 46.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 15.4 Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bearish Commentary Source: My Daughter A week ago, I finally changed my short-term trading call: I went from neutral to cautiously bearish. When … Read more

Above the 40 (April 20, 2018) – The Stock Market Swings From Bullish Signs to Stop Signs

AT40 = 55.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 46.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 16.9 Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bearish Commentary The stock market faded from bullish undertones and back into the resting position. Now we can just look back at what … Read more

The Canadian Dollar: The Bank of Canada Keeps Applying the Brakes

Last June, 2017, Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada (BoC) Carolyn A. Wilkins stepped onto the stage with a surprisingly bullish message about the Canadian economy. This speech set the stage for the BoC’s rollback of “emergency measure” rate cuts that responded to the past collapse in oil prices. At the time, the … Read more

Forex Critical: Turkish Lira Snaps Back with Snap Elections

“…I decided to fade [USD/TRY] in anticipation of the next pullback. I also hope to collect a decent amount of carry as financial markets settle down a bit with earnings in the U.S. Still, until the CBRT takes definitive action, it makes sense to short the lira in the middle of what looks like an … Read more

Forex Critical: The Swiss Franc Completes A Reversal A Long Time in the Making

It was utter chaos in January, 2015: the Swiss National Bank (SNB) capitulated on its self-made 1.20 floor against the euro on EUR/CHF. The bottom completely fell out the currency pair and caused ripple effects around the world of forex. I barely traded the Swiss franc since then specifically because of what I perceived as … Read more

Above the 40 (April 13, 2018) – The Bears Engulf An Otherwise Uplifting Week for the Stock Market

AT40 = 45.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 44.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 17.4 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) gained 2.0% for the week. Yet the week felt like a loser given the way it ended. The … Read more

Longfin: The Bizarre Crypto-Stock Story That Reached Astounding Extremes

Source: CNBC Ever since LongFin Corp. (LFIN) soared astronomically four days into its stint as a publicly traded company, I have been fascinated by the story. At the time I covered the story, I wrote: “The trading in recent IPO LongFin Corp. (LFIN) may go down as iconic in this era of frenetic trading in … Read more

Fresh Troubles for the Turkish Lira

The Turkish lira is in trouble again. Last week, USD/TRY hit an all-time high amid more dire headlines for the Turkish economy and the monetary policy of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT). On April 3rd, Bloomberg reported the following issues: 7.4% GDP growth in 2017 is overheating the economy. Turkish companies … Read more