The NAHB Finally Declares That the Housing Market Is Slowing

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) was just about as bearish on the housing market as it allows itself to get. In its latest press release on the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), the NAHB declared “…the housing market is now slowing.” The HMI plunged from 77 to 69 in a sign that … Read more

Hanging in There – Housing Market Review

Housing Market Intro and Summary In “Marching Under the Shadow of Recession Fears – Housing Market Review” I spent some time discussing the impact of the Fed’s move to normalize monetary policy. That impact continues to ripple through the housing data. Yet, individual home builders are not yet reporting much impact from rising rates. They … Read more

Stock Chart Reviews – Snapshots of the Fresh Bearishness

Stock Market Commentary: After much resistance to Fed hawkishness, the U.S. stock market gave way to fresh bearishness. The major indices dropped into new depths of the bear den. The stocks below are snapshots of the latest deterioration in the price action and decline in the technical health underlying the stock market. The ARK funds … Read more

Solid Housing Forecast from Freddie Mac Clears Way for Fed Rate Hikes

I doubted the ability of Freddie Mac to forecast the housing market once. Never again. In the immediate wake of the pandemic, Freddie Mac insisted that housing would recover rapidly. I was highly skeptical. Freddie Mac turned out to be too conservative! Fast forward two years and Freddie Mac has delivered a surprisingly solid housing … Read more

Bank of Canada: Inflation Is Too High, We Need Higher Interest Rates

In a blunt and direct discussion, Bank of Canada (BoC) Governor Tiff Macklem made a compelling case for fighting inflation by declaring that “the economy has entered this period of excess demand with considerable momentum and high inflation, and we are committed to getting inflation back to target.” To do so, the BoC hiked its … Read more