Home Builders Buckle Under Tax Reform – Reviewing the Damage

In my last review of the housing market, I ran out of time to comment on an emphatic statement from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) regarding its failure to influence the Republican plan for tax reform. The tax plan coming out of the GOP side of the House of Representatives includes a provision … Read more

Forex Critical: Speculators Back Down At A Critical Juncture for the British Pound

When speculators finally flipped bullish on the British pound (FXB), it looked like the action came right as the currency was making a peak against the U.S. dollar (DXY0). The timing of my observation happened to mark the bottom for GBP/USD, and now speculators have backed down from their nascent pound bullishness. They now hold … Read more

Above the 40 (October 25, 2017) – The S&P 500 Wavers Its Way Into A Close Call

AT40 = 57.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 56.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 11.2 (was as high as 13.2) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary It took three days for the volatility faders to show up again. Nerves in volatility trading … Read more

Above the 40 (October 16, 2017) – A Quiet Bearish Divergence Out of Overbought Territory

AT40 = 69.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) – ended 12 straight days overbought AT200 = 59.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 9.9 Short-term Trading Call: bullish (see caveats below) Commentary AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages … Read more

Ulta Beauty Gets Ultra Ugly

I first wrote about Ulta Beauty (ULTA) in early September, 2016 after it confirmed a bearish breakdown from support at its 50-day moving average (DMA). I never traded the stock and missed the entire recovery and 31% gain to the last peak and all-time high in early June, 2017. It took another bearish breakdown for … Read more