Forex Setup Week (August 10, 2014): Major Trends In Play

Currency markets have been providing some excitement during the past several weeks. Some will ascribe it to lower liquidity, but I think that explanation is too easy. Major adjustments are likely underway in sentiment and positioning, so traders will do well to review charts on at least a weekly basis to assess the bigger picture … Read more

China PMI Fallout Takes Down Australian Dollar Even As Rate Expectations Stay Steady

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 27, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) It looks like the rate implications of creeping inflation in Australia still outweigh disappointing job news and the latest China PMI reading. The market’s odds for a rate reduction dropped from … Read more

Forex Chart Review: The Power of 50 – Carving Out A Large Swath Of Key Pivots?

Tonight, January 14, 2014, I was casually doing my periodic check of forex charts and was absolutely startled to see so many currency pairs pivoting around the 50-day moving average (DMA). I was so captured by this pattern, I decided to post every single chart for the record. I realize that the tests and touches … Read more

Time to Watch the Forex Action Unfold: React, Not Anticipate

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 26, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) It has been a week since the Federal Reserve surprised the globe when it backed off from its earlier tough talk about bond tapering. The U.S. dollar index (UUP) plunged in … Read more

A Flat Summer for the First Time in 21 Years Balances Bears Versus Bulls

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 2, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The summer of 2013 delivered a flat performance for the S&P 500 (SPY). The S&P 500 closed at 1,630.74 on May 31st. The 1,632.97 close on August 29th ended the summer … 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

Forex Falllout From the Fed’s Latest Decision On Monetary Policy

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 20, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} The Federal Reserve announcement sounded a bit like something former governor Mervyn King might say about the prospects for the Bank of England’s bond purchase program: {snip} I imagine believers … 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

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

Three Reasons Why A New Bottom For Gold Will Likely Prove Elusive For Now

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 14, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) During the height of the banking crisis in Cyprus, I figured gold (GLD) would be a good trade. That lasted for all of a few days. {snip} I have seen some … Read more