Periods of Extremely Low Volatility Remain Bullish – Now With Fresh Footnotes

The volatility index, the VIX, closed below 11 on April 24, 2017. That launched 184 trading days of extremely low volatility (ELV). The VIX is now just 1 more trading day away from finally bringing this historic event to an end. By my definition, it takes 20 trading days of the VIX closing above 11 … Read more

No Bottom (Yet) for Bitcoin

“I will be watching for signs of the durability of this latest Bitcoin bottom. If search interest wanes quickly, I will expect the recovery phase to fizzle relatively quickly like last time. If search interest remains robust, I will accordingly expect the recovery period to last longer.” This is what I wrote on January 18, … Read more

Stellar Cryptocurrency: Google Trends Confirmed A Top In Price

While Bitcoin (BTC) holds its recent low confirmed by a jump in Google search activity, I decided to look to see whether Google Trends correlated with another cryptocurrency. Stellar is a relatively new entrant on the scene. The cryptocurrency made a big splash at the beginning of the year by rocketing into the top 10 … Read more

Bitcoin Price Extremes Once Again Follow Google Search Trends

The trading volatility in Bitcoin (BTC) is delivering a healthy number of extremes. These accumulating extremes are helping me build associations between Bitcoin price action and Google search interest in the cryptocurrency. The latest round of extremes delivered some eye-opening associations which could help traders in the near future. This week, on January 15th, Bitcoin … Read more

Bitcoin’s Latest Sell-Off Tests the Bottom Signaled By Google Trends

At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) just experienced another large one-day loss…currently around 10%. Source: Yahoo Finance A week ago, sellers panicked and sent Bitcoin careening toward $10,000 as an orderly pullback from all-time highs suddenly became chaotic. Buyers quickly moved in and the cryptocurrency stabilized. Until last week’s low gets violated, I am … Read more

Google Search Trends Confirm the Bitcoin Run-Up

I am a fan of using Google Trends for understanding the dynamics of financial markets. I have specifically used it in the past for analyzing extremes in sentiment and trading on gold. Given Bitcoin’s latest historical surge – this time through $11,000 – I wondered whether Google (GOOG) searches were increasing alongside the price of … Read more

Indicating Market Fear? Keeping Perspective On the Surging Interest In World War III

On April 17, 2017 volatility expert Steven Sears wrote an article in Barron’s called “Profiting From the Stock Market’s Latest Fears.” In this piece, Sears recommends that long-term investors take advantage of rising market anxieties by selling put options. The most nervous investors can cope by “…stockpiling cash and buying some bullish call options to … Read more

Important Lessons from the Trump-Inspired Breakdown For Gold

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 27, 2016. Click here to read the entire piece.) The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) has increased 6.3% since December 15, 2015. The U.S. Federal Reserve hiked its interest rate the next day and made its second hike for this cycle … Read more

The Pound Receives Some Relief As the UK PM Faces Brexit Constraints

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on October 16, 2016. Click here to read the entire piece.) It looks like UK Prime Minister Theresa May will not be able to proceed with Brexit plans, hard or not, unchecked by other powers in the UK. The UK Parliament demanded … Read more

Gold Tops Out As Odds of Next Rate Hike Point Again to 2016

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 21, 2016. Click here to read the entire piece.) The post-Brexit run-up in the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) ended today. Source: FreeStockCharts.com The entire post-Brexit gap could easily fill if current momentum in other gold-related indicators continues. {snip} Source: CME … Read more