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 February 7, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Lender Processing Services (LPS) has gained 31% year-to-date. This jump follows the activity of intrepid traders/investors who loaded up on LPS June $21 call options in December – these call options … Read more
I have written several pieces recently on the housing industry, starting with “Time to Buy the Dips in Homebuilders” (click here for an archive of my articles on housing). The main theme has emphasized that now is the time to start investing in a bottom in housing that I anticipate happening next year. I have … 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} It turns out that there is yet one more reason for buying the dips in KBH. The company is second only to Meritage Homes Corporation (MTH) for the percentage of … 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
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 23, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Earlier this month, I argued that 2012 is the year to start betting on a bottom for housing in 2013 (see “Time to Buy the Dips in Homebuilders“). One of the … 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.) I last provided a comprehensive review of the housing market on September 29, 2010 in “Still Expecting Housing to Bounce Along the Bottom Until 2013.” At the time, I reiterated the … Read more
This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 29, 2011. Click here to read the entire piece.) In early November, I wrote that a turnaround finally seems to be materializing for Lender Processing Services (LPS). Regulatory and legal issues have long been a severe overhang for LPS, so … Read more
This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 30, 2011. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Today, I am going to try again to make the case that LPS is potentially turning around. Here are the main points and observations: Short interest is down 34% from … Read more
Unlike Prior Decades, House-Price Changes in Largest District Cities Are Following National Trends (St. Louis Federal Reserve) Although some areas of the country had experienced declines in the past, few people thought a nationwide decline in house prices was likely. However, all national indexes of house prices did fall significantly in recent years. And if … Read more
China Bears Have It Wrong: Jim Rogers – CNBC Commodity bull Jim Rogers says hedge fund managers such as Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates and Hugh Hendry of Eclectica, who have been shorting Chinese related stocks and credits, have got it wrong. "Those guys have been dead wrong for two years. Chanos said two years … Read more