Above the 40 (June 13, 2018) – A Fed Buzzkill Ends Ambitions for An Overbought Market

AT40 = 66.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (ended 1-day overbought) AT200 = 55.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a 4-month high) VIX = 12.9 Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary Flipping short-term bullish was fun while it lasted…all of two days. The Federal Reserve hiked interest … Read more

A Path Higher for the U.S. Dollar: A Shrinking Trade Deficit

It is increasingly clear that President Trump and his administration will relentlessly pursue a goal of balanced trade with the rest of the world. Trump sees negative trade balances as an absolute bad, and his fiery political rhetoric highlights that positioning. If my interpretation is correct, then I want to stay net long the U.S. … Read more

Above the 40 (June 8, 2018) – A Promising Stock Rally Comes Up Short of Important Threshold

AT40 = 69.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 57.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a 4-month high) VIX = 12.2 Short-term Trading Call: neutral (“almost bullish”) Commentary Friday started out in bearish fashion. Apple (AAPL) took a broadside from yet another one of those … Read more

The Canadian Dollar Rallies As the Bank of Canada Sheds Caution and Resolves to Get Active

I completely missed how the Bank of Canada (BoC) was deftly tempering its rate hike designs with a claim that the Canadian economy still needs more accommodation. For example, in April’s statement on monetary policy, the BoC said the following (emphasis mine): “Some progress has been made on the key issues being watched closely by … Read more

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