My Love Affair with the Australian Dollar Has Officially Ended

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 5, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip}…this is a good moment to describe finally why I recently sold my long-term holdings in the Rydex CurrencyShares Australian (FXA). {snip} Never once have I pondered the possibility of the … Read more

T2108 Update – February 7, 2012 (Picking up dollars in front of a steamroller)

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. 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 posted on twitter using the #120trade hashtag) T2108 Status: 88% (overbought day #25) … Read more

Australian Dollar Breaks Out Versus the Japanese Yen

A week ago, I reviewed the technicals on the Australian dollar versus various currencies. If you blinked, you missed the picture-perfect setup against the Japanese yen (AUD/JPY). I pointed out that a retest of the 200-day moving average would provide a good entry point. AUD/JPY did not quite touch this point of important support, but … Read more

Australian Dollar Ends Year Flat, Maintaining Close Correlation With S&P 500

This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 1, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) At the end of 2010, the Australian dollar closed at an all-time high against the U.S. dollar; the Aussie gained 14% and yielded 4.75% (for more details see “The Australian Dollar … Read more

Governor King Still Gives Me Plenty of Reason for Remaining Bearish on the Pound

On June 15, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King spoke at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet for Bankers and Merchants of the City of London at the Mansion House. The speech covered very familiar themes for King and the Bank of England. King first acknowledged the squeeze on the economy in the United Kingdom: “The challenge … Read more

Looking for Silver’s Higher Margin Requirements to Create A “Cooling Off” Period

A surprise increase in margin requirements after the close of business November 10th apparently contributed to the climactic end to silver’s parabolic move on Tuesday. This also explains why gold’s fade was not nearly as bad a silver’s. Details are available in the following references in order of publication: CNBC (Tues): “CME Taps the Brakes … Read more

Will the Real Safety Currency Please Stand?

In “The Dollar Is Headed Lower“, Randall W. Forsyth wrote in Barron’s that “The dollar’s trend now is unequivocally lower. And that’s apparent whether you look at fundamental factors or the technical picture on the charts.” He does a good job of summarizing the current condition of de facto competitive devaluation that is increasing the … Read more

Doubting the Decade of the Franc

The Swiss franc is back to all-time highs against the euro, and the extrapolations have begun. This morning, Bloomberg reports that UBS expects the franc to remain strong for the entire decade: “The Swiss franc will stay strong and investors should hold it as a proxy for the old German deutsche mark as the currency … Read more

U.S. Dollar Enjoys Largest One-Day Rally In 19 Months

Now THIS is the way to start a relief rally. The U.S. dollar index surged on Wednesday 1.84%, marking its largest one-day gain since a 2.72% gain on January 20, 2009. At that time, the dollar was in the middle of a sharp and major bounce off its 200-day moving average (DMA) support on its … Read more

Australian Dollar Firming But Resistance Looms

I last wrote about the Australian dollar during its worst slide since the financial crisis. At the time, I claimed that the slide was probably good for a short-term bounce, but the currency could easily go even lower given macroeconomic concerns. Since then, the Australian dollar has firmed up nicely and formed a potential “W-bottom” … Read more