The Bank of Japan Maintains Stimulus Levels Even As Inflation Sits Well Below Target

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 7, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) The Bank of Japan put on a brave face as it announced its latest decision on monetary policy (October 7, 2015) with a big miss on its inflation target looming in … Read more

A Good Time for Adjusting the Bearish Trading Strategy on the Japanese Yen

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on November 23, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Ironically, this situation was essentially manufactured by these same authorities, but sure enough the first attempts to rein in the runaway train have appeared. Almost right on schedule, Japanese Finance … Read more

Bank of Japan Further Diverges from the U.S. Fed – Risk Trades In Focus

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 31, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) It seems somehow appropriate in these extraordinary times for central banking that less than two days after the U.S. Federal Reserve officially ends quantitative easing (QE) through its bond purchasing program, … Read more

T2108 Update (May 9, 2014) – A Looming Cessation of Hostilities for Momentum Stocks?

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. It helps to identify extremes in market sentiment that are likely to reverse. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page. You can follow real-time T2108 commentary on twitter using the #T2108 hashtag. T2108-related trades and other trades are … Read more

The Yen, the Nikkei, and the S&P 500: Watch the Trends and Correlations

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 2, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Starting November, 2012, Japan’s longstanding efforts to devalue its currency finally began experiencing sustained success. Since the massive devaluation process started, both the Nikkei (EWJ) (NKY) AND the S&P 500 (SPY) … Read more

Mind Over Yen – The Monetary Psychology Of Reflating Japan’s Economy

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 18, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) “There is something you should know about me, about inception. An idea is alike a virus, resilient. Highly contagious. The smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can further define … Read more

T2108 Update (July 31, 2013) – Potential Consolidation As the S&P 500 Waits Out Growing Negatives

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. It helps to identify extremes in market sentiment that are highly likely to reverse. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page. You can follow real-time T2108 commentary on twitter using the #T2108 hashtag. T2108-related trades and other trades … Read more

Bear Market: Nikkei-Style

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 7, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Notably, this retracement erases almost all of the stock market gains from the Bank of Japan’s announcement of aggressive monetary policy in early April called “Introduction of the “Quantitative and … Read more

Take A Pause From Your Deflation Fears and Consider Some Counter-Evidence

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 25, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The Swiss franc (FXF) has started another weakening phase, putting an exclamation point on the currency market’s refusal to go along with the shrill, recent headlines claiming another deflation cycle has … Read more

Week of Major Currency Shifts Flips Me Bullish Australian and British Currencies

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 7, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} The market seemed to convulse on the notion that the Fed could actually end asset purchases but seemed to ignore the conditional of a much improved labor market and improving … Read more