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. Click here to read the entire piece.) After discovering that shorts ramped ahead of earnings for Research In Motion (RIMM), I decided to check in again on the short interest in Lender Processing Services (LPS)… {snip} Source: NASDAQ.com So LPS caught bulls … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece.) In late May, I wrote two pieces on Lender Processing Services (LPS) that reflected my increasingly bearish opinion on the company: “Rethinking Lender Processing Services Amidst New Allegations and Surging Put Activity” and “Shorts Close … Read more
“IPOs Boost Demand for Silicon Valley Mansions” – Bloomberg “US Housing Crisis Is Now Worse Than Great Depression” – CNBC These two headlines from Tuesday’s financial press describe well the dichotomy in America’s two-speed economy. Corporate profits have never been better but employment has rarely been worse. The housing market in Silicon Valley is benefiting … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece.) As I feared would eventually happen, LPS sliced right through support and made fresh two-year lows. On Tuesday, LPS closed down 3.6% on a third straight day of heavy selling volume. *Chart created using TeleChart: Put … Read more
As Banks Hold Foreclosed Homes, a Kink in the Housing Market – NYTimes.com The nation’s biggest banks and mortgage lenders have steadily amassed real estate empires, acquiring a glut of foreclosed homes that threatens to deepen the housing slump and create a further drag on the economic recovery. All told, they own more than 872,000 … Read more
Almost two weeks ago, I wrote a piece titled “Lender Processing Services Poised to Profit as Housing Market Worsens” in which I provided my thoughts and analysis about the latest earnings conference call for LPS. That piece included a detailed review of the entire earnings conference call. I concluded that the information management provided seemed … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece. Full article includes extensive notes from LPS’s last earnings conference call.) For two weeks, I have tried to post my notes from the first quarter earnings conference call for Lender Processing Services, Inc (LPS), a major … Read more
It seems the Federal Reserve may maintain some excuse to keep printing money. Hundreds of billions printed in the name of economic recovery and inflation can be seen almost everywhere except the housing market, one of two of the Fed’s main targets – the other being employment. (See “Inflation Watch” for running highlights of stories … Read more
On Wednesday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency rendered punishment on Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) and other financial institutions “…for unsafe and unsound practices related to residential mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure processing.” (See OCC Takes Enforcement Action Against Eight Servicers for Unsafe and Unsound Foreclosure Practices). The OCC now requires mortgage … Read more
On Thursday, the stock market was rallying but Lender Processing Services (LPS) was selling off on high volume. At its lowest point, within an hour of trading, LPS was down 7.5% on heavy volume. The stock recovered the rest of the day to close down 3.5%. It turns out that LPS was mentioned during testimony … Read more