An Extended Forecast for A Stronger Australian Dollar

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 28, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) Australia’s Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE) recently released its September, 2014 quarterly report on Australia’s resources and energy sectors and analysis of key commodity markets. Each report includes forecasts … Read more

A Deceptively Strong August Jobs Report for Australia

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 11, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) The August employment report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) delivered a tremendous surge in jobs. The additional 121,000 people employed in August far exceeded the “consensus forecast” of 15,000. … Read more

Bad Signs: The Australian Dollar Trips As Iron Ore Stumbles Over $100

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on May 20, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) The miners of iron ore spent the last few years ramping up production capacity, and now they are ramping up production. The price of iron ore has steadily fallen in 2014 … Read more

Stevens Passes On Jawboning the Australian Dollar and Sticks to A Familiar Script

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 27, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) The Australian dollar (FXA) has been incredibly resilient in recent weeks. Weak economic data from China and concerns about excessive debt in the Chinese economy have barely dented the recent momentum. … Read more

It Had to Happen – An Outright Call for Iron Ore Collusion

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 26, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} The response was swift. The The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a statement indicating it will investigate the context and nature of comments made by Andrew Forrest, founder … Read more

More Rate Cut Pressure As Australian Dollar’s Multi-Year Weakness Fails to Curb Trade Deficit

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 2, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) A drop in the Australian dollar (FXA) toward a fresh six-year low has not stopped Australia’s trade balance from worsening. {snip} Source: The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Source for currency … Read more

Surprising Divergences Tugging At the Australian Dollar

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 31, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) Over the weekend another wave of rumors about plans for economic stimulus in China made the rounds. These rumors were credited for helping to drive China’s Shanghai index toward a 7-year … Read more

T2108 Update (March 23, 2015) – Countdown (Again) to Overbought Market Conditions

(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

T2108 Update (March 10, 2015) – Selling Intensifies With A Rush From Tech And A Parabolic Dollar

(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 Reserve Bank of Australia Slows the Momentum for Rate Cuts

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 2, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) This time around, the currency market seemed well-prepared for a rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). As luck would have it, the RBA did not cooperate. {snip} This … Read more