ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
The last Housing Market Review covered data reported in October, 2017 for September, 2017. At the time, I lamented having too small an exposure to home builders while the entire sector rallied nearly non-stop. I was counting on seasonal patterns to deliver at least one buyable dip ahead of the seasonally strong period starting in … Read more
The angst may already be fading away. Last week, I chronicled the carnage across the stocks of home builders that erupted in response to the Republican plan for tax reform that includes a reduction in the cap on the mortgage interest deduction. The sell-off that likely had roots in the extreme displeasure emanating from the … Read more
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
The last Housing Market Review covered data released in March, 2016. At the time, the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) was accompanying the market on an extended rally from the February lows. Resistance at the 200-day moving average (DMA) slowed down the advance. In April, ITB cleanly broke through resistance only to come to … Read more
When I decided to start writing a monthly summary of the status of the housing market, I had assumed that housing was going to remain in or settle into a general holding pattern. I assumed little was going to happen to the upside or the downside for a while. Under those conditions, it did not … Read more
(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
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 9, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) It is still very early in the new year, but I cannot help notice the relative strength exhibited by iShares Trust – iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) and several major … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 7, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) I tracked down an article posted in Boston.com called “Renters Suffer as Evictions Surge in U.S.” after hearing the topic referenced in a recent Slate Money podcast. One of the guests … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 29, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) In several posts, I have noted that the consolidation in 2013 for homebuilder stocks could become a springboard for a fresh rally in 2014. It seems the homebuilder breakout may have … Read more
(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 6, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} The above quote pretty much sums up the attitude of homebuilders (ITB) going into 2014. It sounds like a classic sales pitch from a real estate agent, but the evidence … Read more